Perfect Fifth 2025: a 15/10

While the venue of the concert – the VJC Performance Theatre – may seem somewhat simple, it is certainly familiar, reinforcing the theme of intimate storytelling that the Victoria Junior Guitar Ensemble aimed to present to the audience. The name Perfect Fifth is suitably generic, the perfect fifth being the second most consonant interval after the octave, and the cornerstone of all triadic chords, placing all of the diverse pieces played under one umbrella. The name of the performance thus allows for a lot of interpretation, and therefore a wide range of pieces to be performed.

Guitar Ensemble during final rehearsal in the VJC Performance Theatre. Photo taken by Tan Hong Kai (24S51) from VJC Photography Society.

Guitar, while forming its repertoire, formed a pastiche of diverse musical styles, genres, periods, and performers. Their repertoire was split into six chapters to reflect the various aspects of the group, as well as  to give the performance its structure.

The concert began with Chapter I, in which the entire ensemble presented two pieces in the style of Classical guitar. The first piece, Hungarian Dance No. 1 by Johannes Brahms, was arranged for the classical guitar faithful to the original, with every line neatly segregated by register. However, the structure of the piece is slightly modified. The trills and dynamic shaping indicated by Brahms were well-executed, with the crescendos on the descending scalic patterns being especially noteworthy. While the fluency of the ensemble could be improved on, the energetic way that the classical guitar and lute were played in this piece made it a splendid opening  to the concert. Chapter I continued with A Town with an Ocean View by Joe Hisaishi, arranged similarly for the Classical guitar and adjacent lutes, and conducted by the student conductor Javier Wong Zhong Hoe. The ensemble plucks out the melody, with the pizzicato capturing reminiscence timelessly, while extended guitar performance techniques – such as the tapping of the soundboard – created a percussive timbre alongside the few percussion instruments included, which constructed a nice polyrhythm. The contrasting section of the piece was done smoothly and in a different dynamic, proving that the ensemble is proficient in large-ensemble Classical guitar pieces.

And so began Chapter II, where both a solo piece as well as a duet piece were performed. Firstly, Jayden Soh performed Capricho Árabe by Francisco Tárrega. It was presented confidently – the Arabian microtonal system was mimicked well through his guitar slides, and the Spanish rhythms were well-captured with his techniques of tempo rubato and trills. The mood changes throughout the performance were brought alive through the tone shifts, although his bodily expression could have been made more compelling. 

Jayden performing Capricho Árabe. Photo taken by Janelle Ho Yi Xuan (24A11) from VJC Photography Society.

Following Jayden’s solo was a mashup and medley Just the Two of Us (Maybe?), largely based on the song by Bill Withers and Grover Washington Jr, performed by the duo of Ma Jia Chen and Chiar Hongzhen. Although technical issues caused Hongzhen to make errors, the humour with which he reacted to them with, as well as his stellar ability at chordal accompaniment, allowed the audience to quickly forget about them. 

Hongzhen in the midst of performance, downplaying earlier slips. Photo taken by Janelle Ho Yi Xuan (24A11) from VJC Photography Society.

The duo's sense  of rhythm on the electric guitar, the clear melody of the piece, and the  well-attempted dynamic changes captured both the audience’s attention, and the mood of the piece spectacularly.

Jia Chen and Hongzhen upon concluding their duet. Photo taken by Janelle Ho Yi Xuan (24A11) from VJC Photography Society.

The two were clearly well-versed in their guitar performance technique, which shone through their excellent amping. The performance provided a neat and perfect close to Chapter II of the concert.

Right after Chapter II, the concert continues with Chapter III. The third chapter served as an intermissionary section to the performance. Firstly, the piece Accidentally in Love by Counting Crows was brought to the audience by a small junior ensemble. This piece presents to the audience the Guitar  ensemble’s inclination to play popular tunes. A percussive feel was given to the piece through the clapping and tapping of guitar soundboards and the skilful dynamic shaping enhances the emotions of the lyrics unsung. The pop piece ends with a stellar perfect cadence, easing the audience into the calm performance of Minuet in G Minor. The 2 minutes of slow, graceful Baroque dance music was performed by the entire junior ensemble, which put the minds of the audience at ease. The Classical guitar arrangement of this Baroque piece replicated the timbre of the harpsichord with its twangy, plucked feel, and the idiomatic terraced dynamics of the piece were retained. This piece clearly highlighted the astonishingly rapid  speed at which the novice Guitar members had picked up its numerous difficult performance techniques.

Then comes Chapter IV, which comprises two performances by the student bands within Guitar Ensemble. The Strawberries present Linger x That’s So True, a mashup of songs by the Cranberries and Gracie Abrams respectively, with several instruments like the keyboard, the drumkit, and vocals added to the performance. The band demonstrates good coordination through their creation of a full musical texture. The solo on the electric guitar in the middle of the song effectively switched up the vigour, volume, and strumming patterns, thus allowing for a welcome change in mood of the piece. The vocalists swapped vocal lines accurately, though were sometimes overpowered by other instruments. The music, while simple in theory, was very complex in expression, but was nonetheless pulled off well by the performers. The mood in the audience was infectious, helped by the glowing wristbands worn by the players, which contributed to the upbeat vibe of the piece. 

The Strawberries after their performance. Photo taken by Janelle Ho Yi Xuan (24A11) from VJC Photography Society.

After The Strawberries’ performance, an all-boy band plays Autumn Leaves, an interesting piece where its sombre and slow melody is juxtaposed against its strong fast beat and mellow keyboard chords. The keyboardist was particularly skilful in swing rhythm and syncopation, creating a jazzy, improvised feeling. The frontline instruments were, understandably, led by the electric guitar, and a drum brush was used in appropriate fashion for modern jazz. The expression was somewhat lacking, leading to a loss of interest midway through, but the jazziness made it a wholesome piece regardless.

This opens Chapter V, a remarkably varied return of the full ensemble, with some additional instruments like the guitarrón mexicano, which has its own solo in Csikós Post, added. ’V’ denotes the dominant chord in Roman numeral chord notation, a chord a perfect fifth up from the tonic, which is apt, considering how this section of the performance seemed to be the main segment of Perfect Fifth. In the first piece of Csikós Post by Hermann Necke, the rhythms, sudden dynamic jumps, and detached staccato are all executed perfectly. Soft sections in the call-and-response pattern are intimate, and even the loud sections are suitably startling with the use of the guitarrón. The lead into the recapitulation of the piece was very fluent, both in terms of scalic patterns and motifs from other Classical works put into this arrangement. 

The next song, Memories Overture by Yuudai Hatanaka, was clearly composed specifically for an ensemble of guitar from the way the timbre of the guitar is utilised, and is played beautifully by VJ Guitar Ensemble. The sweeping crescendos and loud dynamics create an air of drama, and the jaunty detached chords are stunningly captured, alongside the intimacy of the opening section. The vibrato and tremolo effects were well-attempted. In the latter part of the piece, the dynamics were slightly too extreme in soft sections, but the overall contrast between the happier and sadder emotional sections made up for it with their thorough musical expression.

Then, the concert’s  final section, Chapter VI, commences. In Roman chordal notation, ‘V’ to ‘VI’ denotes an interrupted cadence, and a continuation of the music. Similarly, the structural and technical prowess of the complete ensemble continues into the final piece, which was a mashup of the rock song Hana ni Bourei by Yorushika, as well as the Main Theme from the poker roguelike, Balatro, which is an interesting fusion of musical cultures. The two themes are initially presented separately, before they merge together. The arrangement by the student conductor and Alto section leader deserves much applause and praise. The nostalgia of Hana ni Bourei is well-expressed through dragging rhythms, repetitive phrases, and changes in harmony between phrases, which makes the piece very emotional. Next, Balatro’s Main Theme is performed with its signature lo-fi beats on the drumkit, and plucked notes and percussive soundboard tapping. The trills are well-sustained, and the transition to the mashup section is extremely sudden and effective. This section, interpolating the two themes, thus has all the elements described for the individual themes. The skilful manner in which the piece was performed, allowing the themes and beats to blend well together, certainly made Perfect Fifth’s ending chapter a highlight. Furthermore, as the coda slowed down,  the entire concert ended with poignant emotions that left the audience hanging and wanting more – which could very well have been the intention of the ensemble.

Guitar Ensemble performing its final piece. Photo taken by Janelle Ho Yi Xuan (24A11) from VJC Photography Society.

Through the concert’s six chapters, the VJC Guitar Ensemble effectively presented their ability to express various different kinds of musicality and skill – in different group sizes, different musical styles, and different moods. Although there were a few fluency issues, they act as a testament to the learning process. The ensemble continues in its work of teaching new members the guitar., and their confidence and resilience to challenges could easily be felt by the audience.

The audience interspersed cheers, applause, and other forms of support throughout the entire concert. Their support evidently boosted the confidence and morale of the performers onstage, which made the concert a joy to witness. A testament to the support of friends and family, and to the independent musicality of the ensemble, one would rate the concert a 15/10, akin to the pitch ratio of a perfect fifth.