Right, as promised here are my unedited thoughts on the finalists:
I’m writing this a week before the final of the Mary Otty Carol Competition, hosted by Bristol Choral Society. In seven days’ time my thoughts can be compared with the verdicts of the judges and the audience. By singling out some of the shortlisted entries I don’t want to imply the others were not deserving of a place in the repertoire.
My favourite of all was Matthew Heyburn’s setting of I saw a fair maiden, the text also known as Lullay mine liking and Myn Lyking. This, the only finalist which used the harp, had some of the same feeling as Holst’s setting (not the only piece on the shortlist over which the spirit of Holst hovered) but I felt would be a worthy winner in its own right.
An honourable mention to Nu tendas tusen juleljus by Jamie Brown, a minimalist setting of a short text in a language I’ve never sung in before, Swedish. When initially confronted with this I thought it might not be interesting to learn and perform, but there is far more going on in it than appears at first.
I suspect the audience prize might go to Pam Slatter’s setting of I saw Three Ships for its obvious tunefulness. I was not surprised to find out that the composer has a lot of experience of composing and arranging.
I’m told by those who looked at all the submitted entries that modes were in fashion this year, and some of this was evident in the shortlisted finalists. Another common feature in the shortlisted entries was slightly irregular rhythms (multiples of 7 featured in various ways), something that because particularly obvious when it came to recording them with a click track.
I was proved right and Pam Slatter won the audience prize; she was also pronounced the winner by the judges. Second place went to a piece I haven’t mentioned, James Williams’ setting of Christ’s Nativity. For the record, the other finalist was Mark Chaundy’s There is no Rose. As well as modes, the judges remarked that sharps were also in fashion!