Perspectives Programme Booklet

aBOUT DARIUS

Singaporean Composer-Conductor Dr. Darius Lim is the Founder and Artistic Director of Voices of Singapore Choral Society & Festival. An internationally published composer (Edition Peters, Walton Music, Muziksea, Pana Musica) and established conductor, he is most known for his unique infusion of lyrical, dramatic, instrumental, and theatrical elements in both the choirs he directs as well as his choral music. His choral works and arrangements have been sung by choirs from all corners of the globe.

His numerous hats in the music industry include Council Member in the Asia Pacific Choral Council, Board Chairman of the World Alliance of Children’s Choirs, and Deputy GeneralSecretary of the National Instructors & Coaches Association.

Dr. Lim is most known for founding the Voices of Singapore Choral Society - one of the country’s leading choral societies with 20 choral singing groups that range from children’s choirs to adult choruses, a professional choir, a special needs choir, and various other ensembles. He also runs the annual Voices of Singapore Festival that brings together more than 10,000 people from all walks of life to sing at the iconic Chijmes Hall.

He was the first Asian choral conductor to graduate from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama with a Masters in Choral Conducting (with Distinction) and attained his Doctorate of Musical Arts from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music.

Dr. Lim’s interests lie in serving the community through the pursuit of building communities through musical excellence and artistic experiences that would inspire and uplift.

aBOUT VSL

The Voices of Singapore Ladies Choir (VSL) consists of semi-professional singers, musicians, teachers, as well as passionate amateurs who are eager to discover new experiences through music-making and developing a deeper understanding of the nation’s cultural heritage.

Formally founded in 2014 as VOCO Singapore Ladies Choir by Artistic Director Dr. Darius Lim, they are the first independent all-female choir in Singapore. The choir has performed with Philomela (Finland), University of London Chamber Choir, The Coronation Singers and numerous other ensembles.

In June 2016, the choir embarked on their first international European tour, giving concerts in Amsterdam, Krakow, London (England), Great Rissington and Cardiff (Wales). During the tour, the choir was awarded the 2nd Prize in the Chamber Choir category of the 2016 Cracovia Cantans International Choir Competition in Krakow, Poland. The choir most recently received the Gold award at the 2021 World Choir Festival.

The choir joined the Voices of Singaapore Choral Society at its inception in 2019 and was renamed Voices of Singapore Ladies Choir.

PROGRAMME

exsultate Justi

Lodovico Grossi da Viadana Musica Aeterna

Lorenz Maierhofer Ave Maria

Gustav Holst

O Antiqui Sancti

Hildegard von Bingen, arr. Michael Engelhardt

I Thank You God Gwyneth Walker Even When He Is Silent

Kim André Arnesen

Didn’t My Lord Deliver DanieL

American spiritual, arr. Moses Hogan Infinity

Ola Gjeilo (Commissioned by Voices of Singapore)

The Impossible Dream

Mitch Leigh (music) and Joe Darion (lyrics), arr. Jonathan Wikeley

The Night of Rainbows

Darius Lim Fly Me To The Moon

Bart Howard, arr. Nicholas Hare Imagine

John Lennon

SONGS OF HOPE

SONGS OF DREAMS

SONGS OF

exsultate Justi

Lodovico Grossi da Viadana

Sixteenth century Italian composer and priest Lodovico Viadana created this effervescent work that is now a choral performance classic, continually popular with choirs around the world seeking to perform traditional music. The Latin text is taken from Psalm 33 in the bible, and is a triumphant call to rejoicing and praise.

TEXT Exsultate, justi, in Domino; rectos decet collaudatio. Confitemini Domino in cithara; in psalterio decem chordarum psallite illi. Cantate ei canticum novum; bene psallite ei in vociferatione.

TRANSLATION

Rejoice in the Lord, O ye just; praise befits the upright. Give praise to the Lord on the harp; sing to him with the psaltery, the instrument of ten strings. Sing to him a new canticle, sing well unto him with a loud noise.

Musica Aeterna

Lorenz Maierhofer

Musica Aeterna is a fascinatingly festive choral composition that speaks of music and its place in divine praise. One of Austrian composer Lorenz Maierhofer’s many choral works, it features an unaccompanied choir, and combines forms of expression of contemporary choral music with the tones of centuries past.

TEXT Musica.

Musica aeterna.

Omnia ad maiorem Dei gloriam. Musica ad maiorem Dei gloriam. Omnia ad maiorem Dei gloriam. Musica. Musica aeterna. Magna cum laude.

Aeterna musica.

TRANSLATION

Music.

Eternal music.

Everything for the greater glory of God. Music for the greater glory of God. Everything for the greater glory of God. Music.

Eternal music.

With great praise.

Eternal music.

AVE MARIA

Gustav Holst

A prayer that has countless musical incarnations, this version of Ave Maria was written by English composer Gustav Holst of “The Planets” fame. Composed when he was 26 years old, Ave Maria features a double chorus, and is prophetic of a later Holst, as he breaks away from the stoic Victorian church music to embrace freedom in the use of dissonance within diatonic harmony.

TEXT Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum.

Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.

Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis. Amen

TRANSLATION

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, pray for us sinners. Amen.

O Antiqui Sancti

Hildegard von Bingen, arr. Michael Engelhardt

One of the first sacred musical morality plays to be written, Hildegard’s Ordo Virtutum (Play of the Virtues) centres around Anima (Soul) and her struggle between the Virtues and the Devil. The play opens with the Prophets and Patriarchs raising the question, “Who are these, who seem like clouds?” O Antiqui Sancti is the chorus that the Virtues boldly sing in response. Engelhardt sets the original chant melody to contemporary harmony and groove.

TEXT

O antiqui sancti, quid admiramini in nobis?

Verbum dei clarescit in forma hominis, et ideo fulgemus cum illo, aedificantes membra sui pulchri corporis.

TRANSLATION

O ancient holy ones, why do you marvel at us?

The Word of God gleams brightly within the human form, and therefore we shine with him, enhancing the parts of his beautiful body.

I THANK YOU GOD

Gwyneth Walker

The text of this piece is taken from E. E. Cumming’s poem “i thank you God for most this amazing day”. Its American composer Gwyneth Walker describes this work as a song of praise. A piano introduction spanning the keyboard’s range expresses expanse and life. Look out for the recurrence of the phrase ‘I who have died am alive again today’, which reiterates themes of rebirth and gratitude.

TEXT

i thank You God for most this amazing day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today, and this is the sun’s birthday;this is the birth day of life and love and wings:and of the gay great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing breathing any–lifted from the no of all nothing–human merely being doubt unimaginable You? (now the ears of my ears awake and now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

EVEN WHEN HE IS SILENT

Kim André Arnesen

Even When He Is Silent was commissioned in 2011 by the St. Olaf festival in Trondheim, Norway. The original text was etched onto a wall at a concentration camp after World War II by a Jewish prisoner. As the composer read them, it was a credo - a simple but powerful proclamation of the suffering Jew’s faith over his circumstance, hopeless and dark though it may seem. This song speaks of faith in God, love and hope, in the same way that we are certain of the sun and the coming dawn despite the impossible darkness of life’s valleys.

TEXT

I believe in the sun, even when it’s not shining.

I believe in love, even when I feel it not.

I believe in God, even when He is silent.

Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel

African-American Spirital, arr. Moses Hogan

Moses Hogan was a pianist, conductor and arranger, best known for his settings of spirituals, a genre of American folk music with deep roots in African-American history. This familiar spiritual speaks of hope and the promise of deliverance for all who are oppressed. We present Moses Hogan’s dynamic and exciting acapella setting of this spiritual, adapted for two-part treble voices with accompaniment.

TEXT

Didn’t my Lord deliver Daniel, And why not a every man?

He delivered Daniel from the lion’s den, Jonah from the belly of the whale, And the Hebrew children from the fiery furnace, And why not every man?

The wind blows east and the wind blows west, It blows like the judgement day, And every poor soul that never did pray Will be glad to pray that day.

I set my foot on the Gospel ship, And the ship, it begin to sail, It landed me over on Canaan’s shore, And I’ll never come anymore.

INFINITY

Ola Gjeilo

Infinity is a piece commissioned by Voices of Singapore and was premiered by the Voices of Singapore Children’s Choir (Concert Group) and Voices of Singapore Ladies Choir in September 2022. Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo’s beautiful setting of Emily Brontë’s poem “Tell me, tell me, smiling child” leads us to contemplate our childhood dreams. Not all will come true. Yet there’s that “mighty glorious dazzling sea stretching into infinity.” Who knows what yet will be?

TEXT

Tell me, tell me smiling child

What the past is like to thee?

An autumn evening soft and mild

With a wind that sighs mournfully

And what is the future happy one?

A sea beneath a cloudless sun

A mighty glorious dazzling sea Stretching into infinity

DREAMSSONGS OF The Impossible Dream

Mitch Leigh (music) and Joe Darion (lyrics), arr. Jonathan Wikeley

This song first debuted in the 1965 musical Man of La Mancha. It was awarded the Contemporary Classics Award from the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. It has been a vehicle for countless solo artists, among them Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Johnny Mathis and Jennifer Hudson.

TEXT

To dream the impossible dream

To fight the unbeatable foe To bear with unbearable sorrow And to run where the brave dare not go

To right the unrightable wrong

To love pure and chaste from afar

To try when your arms are too weary To reach the unreachable star

This is my quest To follow that star

No matter how hopeless No matter how far

To fight for the right Without question or pause

To be willing to march, march into Hell For that Heavenly cause

And I know if I’ll only be true To this glorious quest That my heart will lie peaceful and calm When I’m laid to my rest

And the world will be better for this That one man, scorned and covered with scars Still strove with his last ounce of courage

To reach the unreachable star To dream the impossible dream

NIGHT Of rainbows

Darius Lim

Rainbows do not happen at night. Written by Darius Lim, this song has the ethereal effect of chasing the impossible, and was originally composed for children to dream and imagine. It was recorded in the VOS Ladies Choir’s 2017 album “Songs Beneath the Moonlight”, available on major music platforms, as well as Singapore Airlines’ inflight entertainment system, KrisWorld.

TEXT I saw the crystalline waters sail through the colourful waterfalls, It is the night of rainbows softly glowing in the sky. A silver moon and a star, the black and golden unicorn, It is the night of rainbows, come and sail away with me.

Nocte Illumina! (Night illuminate!) Sail through the rainbows, Dilucidus (Clear and bright), the night is bright.

O Arcus Pluvius! (Oh Rainbow!)

Praelucidus! (Shining bright!)

O Night of the rainbows

Praecantitio (Enchantments) Incendium (Fire burning)

Aqua (Water) Ventus (Wind) Terra (Earth) Aura (Air) Caelum (Sky) Stella (Stars) Luna (Moon) Magus (Magic)

Open!

Seek and you shall find the light in the darkness and Search for the starry night. Endless abounding light. Dance in the dark mystic night of rainbows, The magical flowers of colours, You fleet and you float in the rainbows, the endless abounding light.

DREAMS

OF FLY ME TO THE MOON

Bart Howard, arr. Nicholas Hare

Originally titled “In Other Words”, Fly Me to the Moon is a well-known cabaret ballad by Bart Howard, with Frank Sinatra’s version literally flying to the moon on Apollo missions. The euphoric feelings of love sends one over the moon, and from that perspective, love is all one sees.

TEXT

Fly me to the moon

Let me play among the stars

Let me see what spring is like

On Jupiter and Mars

In other words, hold my hand

In other words, darling, kiss me

Fill my heart with song

And let me sing for ever more

You are all I long for All I worship and adore

In other words, please be true In other words, I love you

IMAGINE

John Lennon

Lennon’s best-selling 1971 single Imagine encourages us to imagine a world of peace, without materialism, without the forces that divide. Said to be inspired by the poems written by his wife Yoko Ono, this song was once described as Lennon’s “greatest musical gift to the world”, “an enduring hymn of solace and promise that has carried us through extreme grief.”

TEXT

Imagine there’s no heaven

It’s easy if you try No hell below us

Above us, only sky Imagine all the people Living for today

Imagine there’s no countries

It isn’t hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people Living life in peace

You may say I’m a dreamer

But I’m not the only one

I hope someday you’ll join us And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man Imagine all the people Sharing all the world

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Starlight Voices

A weekly choral and music exploratory programme for Children with Special Needs

Aims:

Building music literacy skills of beneficiaries

Enabling beneficiaries to be more consciously aware of others around them through increased social interactions with other members in the programme

Let’s Sing! Programme

A weekly choral and music exploratory programme for beneficiaries from organisations like the Children’s Society who are vulnerable, at-risk or from underprivileged backgrounds

Aims:

To build up the confidence of the participating beneficiaries

Allow the participating beneficiaries to feel a sense of belonging and community through shared performances and music making

Silver Voices

A weekly choral and music intervention programme for seniors with and without dementia

Aims:

To improve seniors’ cognitive functions, emotional and mental health through music participation

Creating a community of likeminded music lovers to feel a sense of belonging in their silver years

VOICES

OUR SUPPORTERS

We would like to express our deep gratitude to the following supporters:

CORPORATE PATRON SUPPORTING CORPORATE DONOR

INCLUSION PARTNER

VOS PATRON ($50,000 and above) Catherine Tan Maurine Tsakok The Oswald-Lim Family

VOS ANGELS ($20,000 and above) Anonymous

PRINCIPAL DONOR ($10,000 and above) Anonymous Anonymous Chan Kok Hua Elaine Teo Elisabeth De Rothschild

SUPPORTING DONOR

($2,000 and above) Anonymous

Bernice & Christopher Franck Bina Rampuria Caroline Goh Jennie Tan Joanna Tan Julia Raiskin Rachel Teo Sri Tan Shook Wah Low Sin Leng Titus Yeo & KC Lim

FRIEND OF VOS

($500 and above)

Anonymous Anonymous Anonymous Alyce Chong Cynthia Teo Danny Leung

Goh Entinne Hong Hai Jared Lim

Jennifer Lewis Kenneth Chan Michelle Liem

Mr and Mrs Stefan Ho

Mr and Mrs Daniel Tan Patricia Yeo

Tania Pemberton

Tracy Anne Forster

Tracy Yang

Yuri Robinson

PERFORMERS

CONDUCTOR

Darius Lim PIANIST Joyce Lim PERCUSSIONIST Hazizi Jaafar

DOUBLE BASSIST Julian Li

VOICES OF SINGAPORE LADIES CHOIR

Allen Losey

Chan Xi

Cindy Chua

Denyse Leong

Diana Narbutaite

Evangeline Han

Germaine Leong Hannah Megan Adams

Joanna Tan

Josephine Sim

Jovie Gonong

Joyce Ang Kelly Kiew

Kristina Fassi

Lina Lim

Loh Wai Sim Melisa Leung Nicole Lee Ong Jiawei

Ong Wei Ling Rachel Poo Rebecca Tan Roe Curie

Serena Breot Tay Hwee Ling Wee Hong Hong

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

VOS BOARD

Catherine Tan (Chairperson)

Christopher Cheong

Darius Lim

Foo Fatt Kah

Kit Ho

Tan Shook Wah

PRODUCTION TEAM

Artistic Director: Darius Lim

Stage Manager: Gabriel Ching

Assistant Stage Managers: Dione Au Mervyn Ye

Host: Gerald Wong

Backstage Assistant: Luke Teo

Design: Serene See

Video Production & Sound Engineering by Poco Productions: Lo Sheng Hong Muhammad Hairul Hazim Bin Ismadi Cai Rui Rong Aw Wei Zheng Branson Tan

Photography by Oneclickwonders: Daniel Ho

FRONT OF HOUSE

Front-of-House Manager: Corliss Tay

Sureeporn Ho Lee Chui Leng Stefanie Loh Elizabeth Yeo Janice Phua Jocelyn Tan Edwin Yeo Dorothy Ng Joy Wong

Our deepest gratitude to Syahan, Noh and the team from Arts House Limited.