“Lost in the Night”. “The Vagabond”. “The Open Road”. No, those are not headlines, novels or films. Those are the titles of songs performed by Highland High School’s Choir Department at their performance entitled The Sweet Sounds Of Poetry.
The evening concert wasn’t just about singing. It was a marriage between song and spoken word. Before each musical number, there was a piece of poetry recited. Throughout the night, there were patterns used not only musically, but also poetically. For example, the music started andante, which is an Italian musical term for a moderate speed tempo, kind of like a walking pace. Then, they progressed into a crescendo, an Italian musical term meaning growing, as in a swelling of sound, or becoming louder. This induced excitement from the audience and created energy throughout the auditorium.
Another pattern that was demonstrated was a round. A round is a musical composition, or a perpetual cannon in which groups of singers repeat the same melody of a song at different times. This pleased the crowd immensely.
Continuing on with the recognizable performance, there was a pattern of familiarity demonstrated by a medley of nursery rhymes spoken and sung. The poems were recited in a beat/pulse rhythm. The songs were Humpty Dumpty, Little Bo Peep, Little Jack Horner, Mary Had a Little Lamb, and Old King Cole. These were fun for the audience to revisit their childhood.
A notable performance was when a teacher named Katie Houston presented an original piece of poetry about her students.
A touching display of emotion was when a student talked about the holocaust and the hope and faith the Jewish people retained in the midst of war and destruction before she performed a musical number with the enchantant choir.
Overall, it was a celebration of what makes us all human.