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From:  Nancy Fontana <cantabella_nf@y...>
Nancy Fontana <cantabella_nf@y...>
Date:  Tue Mar 27, 2001  7:09 am
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] miller on agility (to karen)


--- Greypins@a... wrote:
> dear karen and the rest of you grumpy
> vocalisters,
>
> one could legitimately criticize my
> knowledge of physiology as being
> incomplete, inarticulate and, at times, even
> scatter-brained. so, i shall
> quote richard miller on the subject of vocal
> agility.
>
> in his book 'training tenor voices' on
> page 88 in the chapter
> 'developing agility', mr. miller says:
>
> "it is clear that the tenore di grazia
> (tenore leggiero) requires
> facility in negotiating rapid running passages.
> not so widely recognized is
> the need for agility from all catagories of
> tenors who sing roles from the
> romantic and even verismo lteratures of the
> nineteenth century and early
> decades of the twentieth century. passages
> such as rodolfo's opening lines
> from the first act of la boheme must be agile,
> supple, and flexible.
>
> the ability to be flexible is a
> requirement not only of running-note
> passages, however. unless a tenor of any
> vocal weight or catagory can move
> his instrument with ease, he will lack freedom
> in singing sostenuto." one
> would assume this applies to all other voices
> as well.
>
> not only does miller suggest that all
> voices are physiologically capable
> of agility, he insists that it is required.
> the examples in the chapter are
> 'il mio tesoro', 'ev'ry valley' and 'ecco
> ridente'. so he is talking about
> the same type of coloratura we have been
> bickering about.
>
> it seems logical that any voice capable of
> giggling or chuckling would
> also be capable of coloratura. miller says
> one of the things that happens
> to tenors who are mistaken for baritones is
> they have difficulty with agility
> as they have been attempting to artificially
> darken their voices. it is not
> unusual to find singers calling themselves a
> voice of a lower fach when they
> have difficulty with their tops. in order to
> validate their claim, they
> often find themselves artificially weighting or
> darkening their voices.
>
> i am not one who would say if you can't do
> it for real, don't do it.
> my motto is 'do what you can and fake the rest'
> but, know the difference.
>
> still praying for world peace,
> mike
>
AMEN Brotha GREAT SERMON!
NANCY FONTANA


=====
Nancy Fontana
The Rocky Mountain Woman



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12518 Re: miller on agility (to karen) mb10912@w...   Fri  6/8/2001   6 KB

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