Choral Speaking

[catwithcreamy.livejournal.com]

Was anyone here at a school where they did Choral Speaking? It seems to be one of those intriguing lost skills of  yesteryear...linked with elocution lessons perhaps? (Although I can't imagine any Kingscote pupil needing those). I think when I used to play the piano in a music competition festival in the 70s there were still classes (ie competitions) for Choral Speaking, but I can't really be sure.

Comments

[debodacious.livejournal.com]

At my Primary School we used to enter the Choral Speaking section of the local arts festival - the whole class would recite/perform a poem. The only specific one I remember doing is The Dong with the Luminous Nose, but I think there was a compulsory poem and a free choice each year.

[hooloovoo_42]

In unison, or bits at a time? Is this like when Miranda said she remembered the "big girls", including Karen, performing for the Junior Side?

[debodacious.livejournal.com]

Well both - it was mostly unison, but I think there were solo lines too. I think Miranda's Junior Side memory was more of a group mime while someone recited - although this might be a description elsewhere as I seem to recall Peter saying it.

[catwithcreamy.livejournal.com]

Yes, my recollection is that it was a mime - with Lois (?) narrating.

[rosathome.livejournal.com]

Definitely Lois narrating.

[antfan.livejournal.com]

Don't remember Lois narrating - Jan was appearing as a brother who murdered his sisters though and Miranda was very impressed by her acting - maybe where her crush began? And Karen was one of the surviving sisters being mournful.

[hartleyhare.livejournal.com]

I teach Choral Speaking occasionally - not for competitions, but to get students listening carefully and working on expression and intonation. I tend to do it with younger secondary students.

[ooxc.livejournal.com]

yes - but we called it Recitation - and, yes, it was taught in Elocution - and we gave it up after Third Form (11/12) except for the tiny minority who went on doing Elocution

[catwithcreamy.livejournal.com]

Interesting! Do you think it was A Good Thing to have done?

[ooxc.livejournal.com]

Yes, I loved it, and was sorry to give it up - but it depended rather what we were reciting

[joyeuce]

Not at school, but at Sunday School we did it. It was a class in the local Circuit Youth Festival (with a Bible passage, of course) until it folded in 1992.

[antisoppist.livejournal.com]

At my comprehensive in the early 80s we once did a "school revue" as an end of term performance which included choral speaking. Some bits were unison, interspersed with solo lines and small groups. One of the poems was Vachel Lindsay's The Congo in which I had to shout "Harry the Uplands" all by myself and it was terrifying.

[ethelmay.livejournal.com]

At least it wasn't one of the bits about "Fat black bucks"!

[colne-dsr.livejournal.com]

Choral speaking does still exist, because the Colne Luther Greenwood Memorial Festival (of which I have the honour to be Treasurer) still has a Choral Speaking class. Not very well subscribed, unfortunately, but it does get at least 1 entry every year.

I did a bit of choral speaking at school, in 1976.
"By the banks of the Semmerwater,
A city rich did dwell.
To it's people 'twas known as a city of gold,
But the rest of us called it hell." (Cue distorted expressions and grotesque poses.)

I don't know if that's a real poem or one our English teacher wrote.

[jackmerlin.livejournal.com]

In the Welsh Urdd (young peoples')Eisteddfod competitions they still have a category for choral speaking (though it's not called that, it has a Welsh name) which schools enter. You can see the best ones on S4C when it's on (summer halfterm usually).As far as I know it's well subscribed.

[(Anonymous)]

A friend just posted on FAcebook that her 8yo daughter won "Verse Speaking Eisteddfod" today. So it does still exist here in Australia.

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