University Singers (UMaine) - City Called Heaven

[mastahace41]

Go U Maine!! The soloist killed this! But like most it was too fast. Aaargh, this was almost going to be my fave version.

[CocoBeautyMagic]

Absolutely amazing!!!

[Egdirnam]

Do any Black people live in Maine? The chorus did a pretty good job on that Negro Spiritual. Great soloist. Keep up the good work.

[hannahindaworld]

@Egdirnam I live there...

and I did honor choir..

only black person there

2% minority what's good.

[mastahace41]

@Egdirnam  Ha ha, yeah...I'm black and live in Maine...but ain't many brothas walkin around let me tell you.

[lilmissbuck]

Beautiful but way too fast.

[1annienumber]

tht sounded awsome + it helped me with how it goes 4 regon, and its not 2 fast; hatas

[concaran]

GOO BEARSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[RandomArtistry]

Wish they slow it down quite a bit...let it grooove...

[MrDBalm]

@RandomArtistry I agree... I sang this in High School both with my Concert Choir and at All State Chorus and we sang it much, much slower.

[el1337ness]

The repeats of the chorus were absolutely awesome. Very powerful and jaw dropping.

[ajames102]

This was way to fast for my taste!

[TubaHero17]

It was a little fast, my choir did it slower, but still. Great job.

[Meditry93]

0:42 Skip directly to the song

[sagem97]

I must also say that the soloist stays in tune 99% of the time but at the beginning of her solo she sounds just barely sharp

[yomega69]

too fast, my only critique

[reinadelfutbol10]

doesn't really grasp the theme of the song

[born4broadway]

I liked how you had a female soloist! We had a male soloist and I liked it a lot. And I have seen other male soloists for this song. But I REALLY like the female voice in this part! Especially her's! Bravo! :)

[melhouse1000]

She was amazing!

[NiniZucchini]

just too fast...shame..

[RentDiffy]

@NiniZucchini I agree. They all have a beautiful sound, are precise, enunciate...but when my choir teacher was introducing this song to us, she painted a mental picture of weary workers trudging through the mud, with each step taking great effort. I feel like the tempo in this version ruined that vision.

[sagem97]

@RentDiffy you gotta keep the Psycho-acoustics in mind, looks like their in a church or auditorium of some sort, so the acoustics are gonna be Epic, not to mention the size of the choir. If you want a choir concert or band concert get a church or a small gym with wooden seats because the wood in the gym or the carpet or cloth and what not is gonna absorb so much sound which is good so it doesn't sound completely unbalanced.

[TheDuplessisSam]

Yes- Soloist is working it. Who said kids from Maine can't have some soul?

[mileyfan10344]

I'm singing this when our choir goes to new york

[Xinator24]

i loved Mrs. Poelinitz. She was the best instructor ever. Yes, i knew her. She is epically awesome. If you think I'm faking, I'm in the All-City Elementary Youth Chorus in downtown Chicago. We practice at Whitney Young High School and I am the student who has been there the longest so far (7 years). WE MISS YOU MRS. POELINITZ!!! <33

[FiremanMike1013]

This isn't about who is better than who. Just listen to the song.... It's about your Lord and Savior and his beautiful Kingdom. It gets me how nothing can just be for him anymore. People are too selfish anymore.

[acpatriot1]

to the ppl that said this was fast it is just alittle bit but its still good and this is how my high school choir sung it

[sexyking19]

the NMMEA All State Mixed Choir is singing this song this year-and the concert is this weekend! hope they do good

[neonrider333]

AHHH! My school is singing this piece, and I have a solo! They have an amazing soloist- I am so jealous of her!

[x0RawRbabY0x]

@ all the people who said its too fast, ITS A GOSPEL PIECE, NOT A FUCKING WALTZ. RELAX.

[Emmoaallee]

we're singing this for high school celebration of music, and I got the solo. I'm Scared!

[tigerlilypurple90]

The soloist HAS A VOICE!

[MelloFersure]

It was such a good performance!

However, The soloist seems a bit out of her range. But She is still wicked good!!!

[idoltyler06]

I really love the dynamics in this. The soloist is just wonderful.

[97pd48epbh]

we sing this to but waaaay slower. good job youse!

[krtarch23]

my choir is singing this song! and wow! you guys are really good!

[kisskissthisbitch]

we r sing this at r school

[BriskxRawr]

Damn I LOVE the soloist's voice!!

[bethyv17]

We are singing this.. and I loveeee it!(:

[DRIZZYLOVERALLDAY]

my choir soloist was better no ofense

[MyGleeky]

LOVE it!

[abshire1]

to fast

[chiorboy314]

Well I would agree it is a bit fast but I don't see that as a big issue. I think your choir has a strong powerful sound and good blend. Aside from a few placement issues I think you soloist also does a very good job. Goodwork =)

[seagullied]

This is ridiculous, the ppl who are like "My choir was better" this isnt a competition! its a group of students performing something they worked hard on! Who cares if "your soloist was better" or "your alto part was louder" this is THEIR video of THEIR hard work and effort. the comment section is not the area to boast and showboat. Just watch the damn video!!!

[redbrian3655]

@seagullied WELL SAID!!!!!! 

[getawayred]

/watch?v=FcjirnRAaww&feature=p­layer_embedded

sung alot better

[cederontherule209]

we are doing this song again at black hills high school

[1037pm]

ridiculously fast.

[SROdude]

I think we all know as choir singers, this is too "pop" for me. The soloist is using completely horizontal vowels.

[operaboi1992]

A little too fast. Additionally, those quavers on the choral parts are marked tenuto. This was performed staccato.

[FlySK3]

this is sung to fast yo....

[SuperMusicLuver101]

this is amazingly good! very inspiring.... the tempo could be slower but awesome dynamics! and the soloist is exceptionally good. bravo! :)

[mzinde45]

I love the soloist voice. Great job

[mzinde45]

I love the soloist voice. Great job

[stardust69]

way too fast. It de-emphasizes the struggle and the pain of the song. Great soloist though

[0samone8]

what an awsome JOb soloist!!!!..

[MissStar091995]

I love this song. When you put it all together with the solo and the choir, it sure sounds wonderful. (I tried out for the solo, but I didn't get it...Darn my Mainer accent...) Great video.

[johnnydepplover19]

we r singing this song in chorus i have a solo in it :)

[Vocellist2010]

way too fast

[sweetNnice1]

thats cool how im in middle school and im singing this but its 6-12 grade choir so yeahhhh

[rtguy23]

Five stars!

[hammondman94]

TOOOOOOO FAST!!!!!!!

[wolfmanjmal]

That chick is awesome.

[Skull2Burn]

my choir's singing this song!!

[SingingRachelsSong]

My school is singing this song, I am fortunate enough to have the solo.

[skittlepumpkin]

I ADORE this song :) Last time I heard it was when I sang it with the Inter Mennonite Children's choir all those many years ago

[CMajorDane]

waaayy to fast. I did this in high school too. I loved. Did it at All-state.

[PrOtEcTeDhEaRt13]

this is like..wayy fast but i still like it :]

our school is doing the same for our next concert, im excited! :p

[polarbearlove]

WAY too fast

[Silverbaby181]

I love this song, I sang this at my school too! I got the solo for it! It is an amazing song. I love it so much.

[LJisdaking]

one of my best songs.. but the tempo for the chorus is too fast.. its takes out the 'sorrow'

[SleppySnail2]

my school sang this song

[rtguy23]

one of my favorite songs.... i have univ of miami on my youtube page...

[kidnflorida]

For a pre-dominantly 'white' group, the sound is alright.

[psychominion12]

waaayy to fast!

[LepriCon92]

too fast !!

[iPh03n]

@LepriCon92 It aint that fast :0

I like it :)

[m3talh3ad1994]

@LepriCon92 i agree, this song needs to be sung so much slower

[JordynJitters]

wow this is really fast.we dont sing it this fast.haha. but its good. solo great.:]

[JesusFreak12309]

this is really good but it sounds much more prof. if it was slower and when u sing tomorrow its also a dotted quarter note sooo u dont hold it :)

[xxitskellifiablexx]

THIS SOLOIST WAS GREAT. :] i just thought the piece was a little rushed, i'm doing the solo for this, i think they should've slowed down just to bring the soloist out more. she deserves it! :]

[s0xCuTexSoxFiNe]

She was amazing!

[lisaface24]

please consider the comments you are posting. Our soloist has access to this, and it might hurt their feelings that the comments are a little cruel about her abilities as a singer. Just consider giving comments a second thought.

[123007rjo]

i sang this my freshman year in high school. our soloist was better, and we brought the alto part out more than they did.

[4bidden2c]

It was too fast...it completely changes the feel of the piece.

[shadamey]

were doing this song at my school. too fast but i just love the soloist <3 im playing her part :D

[Notanothershv]

too fast! i wish i could put my choirs recording on! this song is about tryng to get to heaven! should be slower...great soloist tho

[ChoirNerd93]

One Word: Amazing!

[mateo4707]

Really good choir, really good soloist...but it was just way too fast.

[xoxLydiaE25xox]

i agree with his989 a lil bit cuz i think they are going kind of fast...it's kind of suppose 2 be slower...but o well...the soloist is really good though...i sang this song at my school too...thtz y i thnk the song is kind of going too fast...just my opinion though...good choir though...

[TheLyricBox]

It's a conductors choice to speed it up if they want even if the composer meant it to be slower. This is where some conductors fail. This choice is a fail. I agree it's too fast!

This song is a slave song. Picture slaves digging, working away in the fields. It was meant to emulate the rhythm of a slave working which wasn't equal to someone running the 100m in the olympics.

The choir is great don't get me wrong, it just feels like its rushed... as if the emotion behind the song doesn't matter.

[his989]

Way toooo fast to deliver what the composer intended to deliver :O...

I don't understand why they soloist for this song always a girl haha...

She was slightly flat in the beginning but she found her place in the middle.

Btw, very nice choir! Impressive singing skills! :D

[petrelaninja]

I've heard other choirs do it this fast, but this one seems to pull it off much more clearly and effortlessly...I think personally, even though they took it too fast to feel it they did a better job than some choirs who took it reaaallllyyy slow to put the feeling into it...i still felt something out of this even though it was so fast

[wildfireluvr00]

EXTREMELY FAST!!!

[stung6191]

The reverb does NOT do the soloists voice justice.

[takeApeek11]

holy crap slow down!!!!

[musicxazn7]

we're singing this for my chorus.

so excited!

i LOVE this song(:

[americancutie1]

WAY TOO FAST.

slow down, where are you rushing off to?

[crzyemo3]

woah, she is really good.

[rocktheclassics81]

I REALLY like her voice....

[rocktheclassics81]

Best performance on youtube

[Rickpat001]

r u kidding me HAHAHAH she is a good singer but she dosnt sing that kind of song well at all!!!!

[rocktheclassics81]

well i think she does. :)

[armada113]

its way too fast. you cant put the soul into it that fast. this song is amazing but only amazing if you mean it. sorry fellas not a huge fan. my high school choir performs this better

[bandbaby14]

I totally agree with you. My high school choir did this better too and all we had 10% of our choir and it was our second practice.

[crazykatelyn1221]

when we sang this in region we phrased 'left' as 'ullleft'

[PianoManv2]

I sang this for a junior high all state choir, and I have to say that our soloist was better. I agree with sfelton1 when s/he says its lacks soul.  I think that our 7th, 8th, and 9th grade group compares with this college level. That is either a pat on the back of our ensemble, or a slap on the wrist to this one...

[sfelton1]

They sang the notes but you have to feel the song. The voices blend well but missed the mark on the soul. I wish there was a recording of my high school choir when they sung this song to show you what I mean

[brittanyabigail18]

The soloest in this is really good!!!

i would perfer it at a slower tempo though!

my chorus is doing this peice for our choral evaluation!!

i love this song its so much fun to sing!!!

[kelvin6pisces]

the soloist is amazing. i would have prefered it at a slower tempo but its nice.

[twinklebean85]

The director missed the whole point of this piece. The decision to take it at a slower or faster tempo isn't a trivial thing -- the whole piece depends on it. The reason it's supposed to be much slower is because it echoes the pain felt by the slaves. Each downbeat is like a heavy foot step. This rendition made it sound like the slaves were skipping happily!

[sandradee33]

this is so great!!! =]

[CSpurgeon376]

I love this arrangement. Great job!

[NikkayandBriiShow]

ahhh i love this song.

my chorus sang it last yearr <3

amazingg memoriess.

[Amonaella]

I love this girl's voice...Awesome singing!

[idoltyler06]

It was a bit fast, But otherwise the choir and overall performance was fantastic on the choirs part. And on the soloist, I did feel a ton of emotion, when she went for that tender high note and if you look you'll see how much she really meant what she was singing. So great job

[serenalove82]

Other than it being a little too fast,it was perfectly fine and good choice of a soloist.She was an amazing.

[abyrev]

Woah, Just a little too fast. You all sound marvelous though. I've done this song with One Voice Check it out. However, We just did it with a reunion choir at Methodist Univeristy and BNGP this old white lady who directed us said you have to "get black" to sing this song!!! lol!!

[lisaface24]

I'm a member of this choir, and I've done this piece before in another choir, and I agree that doing it slower gave more chance for emotional inflection. The sped up version, I feel, had less passion.... and also being the soloist it made it difficult to add to the songs emotional meaning... I enjoyed singing this, but I wish we would have done it a little slower... thanks everyone for your great comments on this song!

[shinysocks]

Speeding a song like this up that fast strips away any kind of style and meaning and doesn't leave room for dynamics. The singers were good and she did really well on the solo. I would love to hear her do this if she had more time between notes to play around. I'd like to flick that director's nose. :D

Thanks for posting this... It's nice to hear the different interpretations of it, even if I don't agree with them.

[areyouinthecheetos]

I thought it was pretty good!!

We're still learning it in my choir....

[YBlackMagician]

Jesus, those notes are shorter than a pinky finger. And now emotion, whatsoever.

[Aipopo132]

and the solo needs control on those skips

she also needs to slow down wit the rest of the choir

[Aipopo132]

No feeling no sorrow so dont say it that you do not have it. And yes too, too fast

[rassmith78]

I sing this song for state back when i was in high school. the slower version is a lot better..has more feeling

[atheish]

waaaaayyyyy too fast

[hammondman94]

Amen!!! We did this at church and tore church up!!!!

[xinanutshellx]

This is pretty good.

The chorus sounds amazing.

And the soloist was quite impressive.

nice voice, all of them.

[littlejay12]

thornton is singing this again.

[jrucker13]

Nice Job...

I do feel that it is too fast. In order to capture the striving gospel setting that this song is communicating, the tempo should almost drag. Drag as if the song is a direct representation of how hard the struggling is and can be for a 'poor pilgrim left in this wide world alone.' If rushed, is sound too 'pop' style and doesn't stay true to the authentic performance practice the song was written to portray.

[boredguy2112]

I did this song for all county and we did it for one of our concerts...amazing song! you guys rock!

[Bgirl07]

we song this in high school, we clowned though! lol

[issaiah21]

i do mine in two weeks look out for it.. Wish me luck! you killed it.

[wharp75]

The soloist was perfect for this piece, but the tempo is way too fast. Slow down!

[1901elina]

I'mg trying out for this solo tomorrow!

[kellyx3jellyx3belly]

their going too fast. im singing this in my chorus, and we go at a slower tempo. other than that good job. the soloist is great.

[reggaediva07]

the soloist was ON POINT!!! the choir in itself was ok but the soloist killed it!!!

[Karh59]

LMFAO

I KNEW IT WAS U. im not gone put yo name on blast, BUT U STUPID!!!!!

LOL

LUVS YA!

[deairasexci]

we r sinign this in our school chorus program at pine forest middle on may 5

[davidito16]

this is strange way over tempo, it is kinda cool though

[smexytbone]

we're singing this song in our choir as well.

great job!

[x88keys4Himx]

my choir is singing this song right now... you guys are amazing! especially the soloist- wow! =]

[taylorSHAKEEdown]

amazing