Golden voices
Thailand’s award-winning choir The Bangkok Voices recently two gold certificates at the 4th Vietnam International Choir Competition last month. They were one of the two choirs that represented Thailand among 40 others from 15 countries. The event was hosted by the Interkultur Foundation and the Vietnamese government.
The Bangkok Voices won gold in the chamber choirs mixed voices category, and another gold in the sacred choir music category. The four winning songs that the choir sang in Hoi An were Sanam-luang, a Thai contemporary composition by Dnu Huntrakul; O Sacrum Convivium, composed by Vytautas Miskinis; Amor De Mi Alma, composed by Z. Randall Stroope; and Kalinda, composed by Sydney Guillaume.
The Bangkok Voices are no strangers to such awards, having won two gold medals and a platinum nomination in the first Xinghai Prize international choir championships 2012 in China. At the First Asian Choir Games in Jakarta in 2007, they won a gold medal in the mixed chamber choir category and a silver in the gospel and spiritual category.
“The Bangkok Voices is an outstanding choir with a marked, great choral sound, and a fantastic conductor,” said Prof Dr Ralf Eisenbei, artistic director of Interkultur and competition organiser. “What is worthy of praise is their amazing interpretations of European and international choral music. The competition piece Christus Factus Est by Anton Bruckner, which needs great skills and much empathy for the choral literature of Romanticism, was most convincing.”
The Bangkok Voices is a chamber choir with more than 30 volunteers from different backgrounds. Members are between the ages of 18 and above 30, and sing music of all genres, from pop to Thai classics. Formed a decade ago by Dr Kittiporn Tantrarungroj, who is also their conductor, the choir’s vocal teacher Piyawat Panthana was an original member.
“My efforts of having to practice twice a week paid off,” said 18-year-old tenor Pathorn “Ja” Swasdisuk, who is studying music at Chulalongkorn University. “However winning doesn’t make us the best choir. We have to keep fighting against our own gravity to be better.”
Alisa Jesakul, a 29-year-old soprano, added: “This group gives me the rare opportunity to represent our country abroad. I’m jealous of the support and attention that Thai sports teams get, though I understand that choral music is unpopular in Thailand. However we hope to get some more support [in the future].”
Dr Kittiporn said: “Even though choral music is only emerging, it has yet to gain the respect that it deserves in Thailand. Thai people perceive singing choral music as a Western practice because they usually see people sing it in Christian churches. Because Thailand is a Buddhist country, people don’t pay much attention towards choral music.”
Piyawat added: “When Thai people think about choral music, they tend to imagine backing vocalists singing chorus verses — a factor that causes Thai people to not take choral music as seriously as they should. I wish to see some more support that can push us to develop even further.”