"The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba" has a triumphant quality that would make it ideal for the summer concert or a graduation ceremony. Unfortunately, there wasn't an opportunity for such a performance this year because of the pandemic. However, before the end of the semester, it was broadcast through the Primary School's PA system. Further, Dominic Murtagh, Head of Primary Music, and Year 5 students sought to make the best of the situation by recording the piece for posterity's sake, so that everyone in the Pao School community can enjoy it.
For the complete recording and a behind-the-scenes look of the Queen of Sheba performance, please visit the link below.
Queen of Sheba
The great German composer George Frideric Handel originally composed "The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba" as a sinfonia for two oboes and strings as the first scene of Act III in the oratorio Solomon.
Dominic and some of the students who participated in the music piece recording
Under the guidance of Dominic, Year 5 students rejigged the famous piece for a contemporary nine-person ensemble that included three violins, two cellos, one liuqin, one drum and two keyboards. The inclusion of the liuqin, a traditional Chinese stringed instrument, gives the performance a distinct East-West feel, adding a fresh twist to Handel's sprightly composition.
"The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba" has a triumphant quality that would make it ideal for the summer concert or a graduation ceremony. Unfortunately, there wasn't an opportunity for such a performance this year because of the pandemic. However, before the end of the semester, it was broadcast through the Primary School's PA system. Further, Dominic and Year 5 students sought to make the best of the situation by recording the piece for posterity's sake, so that everyone in the Pao School community can enjoy it.
The students learned the piece in several rehearsals over the course of a week. Some students participating in the recording had never played together before. The results are impressive given the limited time the students had to learn the music.
"The students really rehearsed this for the most part by themselves. They quickly took control of the tempo and playing. Eventually, I just stood back," Dominic says.
"The biggest challenge was learning to play this as an ensemble” says Y5B Michael. "Sometimes the cello was too loud. Sometimes, some people would play too fast or too slow."
Fortunately, there were children of different musical skill levels playing together and the more experienced children helped the newbies to synchronize their playing.
Performance opportunity is absolutely vital; without that, there is no direction. COVID has been tending to isolate people. Music does the reverse of that - it brings people together.
——Dominic
Thanks to contemporary technology, the students have been able to easily share the recording of the performance with their classmates, teachers and parents. Hearing the students find their musical footing in this exuberant performance reminds us of music's wondrous ability to to convey human expression.
Please see below for the list of students who took part in the recording:
Y5A Yvonnie, Y5A Grace, Y5A Mable, Y5A Susie, Y5B Bobo, Y5B Michael, Y5B LeLe, Y5B Selene, Y5D Bobby
