[Choral Piece] Difficult but cool! A work that overwhelms its listeners
You may have found your way here because you’re looking for a free-choice piece to sing at a choir competition or because you want to improve your choral technique! In this article, I’ll be introducing choral pieces that are quite challenging to sing.
Fast tempos, sudden tempo changes, wide melodic leaps, and complex staggered entries between parts—these pieces have it all.
If you can make it through the works listed here, you’ll surely feel a great sense of accomplishment.
Be sure to read to the end!
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[Choral Piece] Difficult but Cool! Works That Overwhelm Listeners (21–30)
Friend ~Time of Departure~NEW!Sakushi sakkyoku: Kitagawa Yujin / Henkyoku: Aizawa Naoto
“Tomo ~Tabidachi no Toki~,” written and composed by Yujin Kitagawa of Yuzu.
While it’s a J-pop piece, it was created with choral performance in mind, making it an excellent match for choir.
Compared to pieces known as difficult choral works, this one is relatively easy.
That said, it does have the characteristic challenges of J-pop.
In particular, the opening phrase of the chorus features large leaps in pitch, so the soprano line can be more demanding than in a typical choral piece.
Its heartwarming melody is truly impressive—be sure to check it out.
Cherry blossom seasonNEW!Lyrics: ATSUSHI / Composition: ATSUSHI, Tatsurou Mashiko / Arrangement: Masanori Katou
Sakura no Kisetsu is a song by EXILE’s ATSUSHI, released as a single in 2015.
As it was created as the assigned piece for the Junior High School division of the 81st NHK All-Japan School Choir Competition, it’s a work with a high level of completeness as a choral piece.
The pre-chorus and chorus evoke the vibe of Boyz II Men, whom ATSUSHI deeply admires.
With its somewhat Western-style choral arrangement, it can be considered a work of high difficulty in that sense.
Hear My Prayer, O LordNEW!Lyricist: H. Paaselu / S. Sandström
Here, I would like to introduce a choral piece from the classical repertoire.
“Hear My Prayer, O Lord” is a work by Henry Purcell, one of the great composers of the Baroque era.
It features beautiful harmonies with the serene quality characteristic of Baroque music.
In the period when Baroque music was mainstream, ensembles often centered on the voices of castrati—men castrated before their voices changed—but today it is generally sopranos who cover that range.
Each vocal part is clearly independent, and the sustained notes are extremely long, making vertical alignment challenging; moreover, it simply demands strong fundamental stamina as a vocalist.
In short, it is a high-difficulty piece.
with yousmileNEW!sakushi: mizumoto makoto emi / sakkyoku: mizumoto makoto
I imagine many of the people reading this article are middle and high school students who belong to choir clubs.
The piece I’d like to recommend is “with yousmile.” As a choral work for middle and high schoolers, it could be considered fairly well-known.
While the dissonances themselves aren’t intense, it brings out the appeal of both the male and female parts, resulting in outstanding power.
It’s a piece where the accompaniment, rather than the vocals, is more challenging, so it’s definitely one that the accompanists should check out.
Resonating LivesNEW!Sakushi: Nishibe Toshihiko / Sakkyoku: Mizuki Kaoru
If I were to recommend a dramatic, high-difficulty choral piece, I think “Resonating Lives” would be appropriate.
Although it’s in 2/4 time and the tempo itself is simple, the work features a fair number of clashes between the male and female parts, making it fairly challenging.
In particular, the powerful male part from the middle onward requires considerable vocal volume and very precise vertical alignment, so it’s especially demanding for the men.
Among mixed chorus works, this is one in which the men often take the leading role, so it’s recommended for those who want to delve deeply into the male parts.
refrainNEW!sakushi: Kaku Wakako / sakkyoku: Nobunaga Taketomi
Refrain is a work that vividly portrays the feelings of adolescents.
The album is subtitled for children’s chorus and piano, and its defining feature is a style that fully showcases the unique beauty of children’s voices.
While the piece has a melody that feels like an orthodox ballad, its dynamics are quite dramatic, making the support from the men in the low register extremely important.
Although the sopranos and altos stand out, the bass part is surprisingly challenging, so be sure to listen with that in mind.
Time Travelersakushi: Fukada Junko, sakkyoku: Hashimoto Shōji
Released in 1990, “Toki no Tabibito” (Time Traveler) is a three-part mixed chorus piece with lyrics by Junko Fukada and music by Yoshimichi Hashimoto.
The secret behind the song’s difficulty lies in its rich use of key changes! Part 1 is in F major, Part 2 in D minor, Part 3 in D major, and Part 4 in G major—rapid, dramatic modulations that can easily cause you to miss notes if you’re not careful.
In addition, the soprano doesn’t carry the melody throughout; the lead line shifts between parts at each modulation, making it quite a challenge to memorize who sings the main melody when.
