Clifton College Website

House Part-Song Competition 2007

The Part Song competition is a highlight of the Clifton year held just before half term. This is a chance for the school to hear some real singing; that is singing in tune, in time and well arranged and presented. However it is also a competition and the judge always has a difficult decision to make at the end of the performances. All of the songs are sung a cappella which means that there is great scope for musical flair and ingenuity.

First up was School House. Their version of 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' was an amazing one. They had strong lead singers with an alternating bass line to complement the high pitched singing of the lead singer. It's never easy to go first but thoroughly well deserved applause greeted them when they finished.

Hallward's ‘Mr Sandman’ was equally interesting. The way they used their voices and gave alternating notes to the audience as they turned their heads from side to side gave an interesting effect. The almost flawless performance was probably lost on some of the audience due to the lack of clarity from some of the singers and the lack of volume.

South Town gave an interesting version of the Queen songs 'Fat Bottom Girls' and 'Bicycle Race'. The musical ingenuity of the arrangement meant this was an incredibly interesting song to listen to and was a really inspired choice. This was not picked up on so much by the judge but this really was a clever song in the way that it was performed.

West Town had a very strong lead vocalist when performing 'Sway'. She really stole the show but the backing to this was equally stunning and really gave depth to the song. Here they created alternating levels of tone and volume. They really let the lead singer come through the background vocals and therefore carry the song along so much better and they deserved all the credit that they got.

Moberly’s House gave a tremendous performance. Their interesting choice of a medley of songs 'Hero', 'In the Jungle' and 'Want you back for good' complemented each other well to give a good mix of genres. They really showed that they had a huge variety of voices and there were many solos by various people which showed the consistent talent in this house.

Oakeley’s turned to 'Under the Sea', a fiendishly difficult arrangement, at which they made a brave attempt. Here again some strong voices were obvious and some nice blending of sound.

East Town's bizarrely wonderful version of 'Trashin' the Camp' showed the range of vocal talent that they have in the house and the solos that came through the background singing were truly awesome. Like Wiseman’s however the impact was slightly less than it could have been due to the volume.

Worcester House set the tone for their song lighting the Chapel with candles. The singing added greatly to this atmospheric song. The high notes were hit with confidence and the contrast between voices made for a truly awe inspiring performance. The slightly shaky start and the difficulty of the song that they chose may have worked against them in the final analysis.

Wiseman's performed last but ended the competition on a strong note. They stuck to the original version of 'Don't Worry Be Happy' and the rich background from the lead vocalist was outstanding and really accentuated the tune of the song. However this may have been too good a background as it muffled the lead singer, which may have stopped them achieving real acclaim for their performance.

There are always winners and losers in these competitions but West Town were deserving winners this year. The competition was as hard as ever to judge due to the great range of choices of songs but also the huge talent and musical ingenuity on show. However the adjudicator from Oundle handled the summing up sensitively and well.

Can’t wait for next year!

R. Lewis

© 2006-12 Clifton College