"What a wonderful choir they would have if they truly understood the
possibilities that a fully developed voice can create." So true. I've been
very lucky to have worked mostly with choral conductors who have understood
this, and have not as a rule felt a great deal of pressure to either produce
a straight tone or to hold back too much. Consequently, singing choral
music is one of the great joys of my life. I've always loved ensemble work
anyway (I grew up playing the flute in band and doing a lot of accompanying
on the piano) and choral singing puts a lot of things I like into one
package.
The worst choral experience I ever had was working with a conductor who
believed in achieving blend by singing softly. With a largish voice, it was
really hard for me and I left that choral group after one season. (I also
found that the group had a very pallid, boring sound and never moved me
musically.) Ever since then (and that's been about 20 years ago), I've been
tremendously lucky in choral conductors. Good choral singing can be
tremendously rewarding. The only problem is that it's not always good.
My church choir did a really good Evensong last night. We sang a Sumsion
setting of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis and were really allowed to wail
on the Glorias. I was cranking out at full volume and felt within the
envelope of the choral sound. And yet, the piano sections were piano and
had a lovely delicate sound. It's a challenging choir and I really enjoy
it.
Lee Morgan
Mezzo soprano
-----Original Message-----
From: Domisosing@a... [mailto: Sent: Monday, October 22, 2001 11:07 AM
To: vocalist-temporary@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [vocalist] Re:soloist voice singing in the choir
Randy,
I have come to the exact conclusion as you have. Singing in a choir is an
excellent opportunity to develop a love of music, literature, and to expand
ones musical knowledge. However, every single one of my students who are in
choir, is constantly confused and torn between what I teach them in studio
and what their choir teacher is asking of them in class. Unfortunately,
music
education programs do little to prepare directors on how to use the voice,
to
their detriment. What a wonderful choir they would have if they truly
understood the possibilities that a fully developed voice can create.
Mary Beth Felker
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