Thais thrill at German choir festival
The Bangkok Voices stuns German audiences at the recent International Choir Festival in Baden-Baden
Acclaimed Thai choir The Bangkok Voices has successfully convinced German listeners that Thai songs can be adapted to the choral style of the West and still sound beautiful.
The a cappella singers did so at performances in Berlin and at the recent sixth International Choir Festival that took them to Baden-Baden, Germany. The choir also wowed the crowd in Otigheim, the birthplace of the festival, and many other towns and villages in the southwest of Germany.
German audiences attending the festival showed their appreciation by rising in standing ovations for the 26 choristers from Thailand at all six concerts in which they participated.
There was also warm applause for the choir at the Spring Charity Concert in Berlin organised by the Royal Thai Embassy there.
Thailand’s Ambassador to Germany Dhiravat Bhumichitr, speaking at Trinity Church, said music was a universal language, and The Bangkok Voices can be considered a medium of communication between Thailand and Germany.
Under the leadership of Dr Kittiporn Tantrarungroj, a surgeon by profession, the choir performed altogether 30 songs in Germany.
Twelve Thai songs were performed ranging from classical favourites such as Lao Duang Duen, to folk and pop hits. Compositions by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and a tribute to His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua by Khunying Malaival Boonyaratavej were added to the concert in Berlin. In performing Thai folk songs, The Bangkok Voices incorporated local dance and movements.
Western works ranged from a masterpiece by Anton Bruckner to spirituals, pop and light listening.
Festival music director Matthias Böhringer commended Dr Kittiporn on the wide range of music he had prepared.
“He remarked that our repertoire was very wide, ranging from Bruckner to Abba. He was also impressed with the quality of our singing given that we have no professionals,” Dr Kittiporn said.
“The choir impressed many people. I hope also that we meet again,” Böhringer added.
Böhringer has directed some 2,000 singing clubs in the southwestern region of Germany as president of the choral association of Baden-Baden. The festival’s organisation director, Sebastian Kuhn, affirmed there was strong interest in choral music in the
region, with 13 singing clubs in the village of Otigheim alone. A large number of senior citizens sang in the festival, showing how much importance they lend to coming together in music.
“Going to Germany was a big step forward for The Bangkok Voices. For a long time we had wanted to go to Europe, and received many invitations, but we were short of financial support. This time we went thanks to support from the festival and the Goethe Institute,” Dr Kittiporn noted.
Founded in 2005, The Bangkok Voices has won several awards, including silver and gold medals at the World Choir Games in Xiamen, China, in 2006, gold and silver medals at the Asian Choir Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2007, a platinum award from the Xinghai International Choir Competition in 2012, two gold awards from the Guangzhou International Open Competition in 2012, two gold medals from the Vietnam International Choir Competition in 2015, and a gold medal from the AKS Choral Grand Prix in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in 2016.
At the festival’s sixth edition, The Bangkok Voices performed in six concerts at six different venues. These included the Weinbrennersaal in Baden-Baden, the open air theatre in Otigheim that is the biggest of its kind in Germany, the open air museum in Gutach, and three churches.
At the St Paulusheim Church in Bruchsal, the audience applauded enthusiastically from the first song the choir performed, Bruckner’s Christus Factus Est, to the last, the choral adaptation by J. Eichelman of the William Tell Overture by G. Rossini, for which they gave a standing ovation.
Kuhn had asked Dr Kittiporn to include the overture in The Bangkok Voices’ repertoire because the story based on Schiller’s play meant to a lot of people in the southwestern part of Germany. Appropriately, at a time of friction in many parts of the world, the festival sent out a message for all people to come together, and for music to thrive and live on.
This was evident in the songs sung by all choirs in the finale of the main concert late last month. These were Spirit Of Brotherhood, by Matthias Böhringer, with lyrics by Dirk Solte, and inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Viva La Musica, composed by Malcolm Goldring.
Besides The Bangkok Voices, choirs from France, Japan, Latvia, Mexico and South Africa joined 15 German choirs in the festival.
The next international choir festival will take place in 2023.