In a message dated 1/10/2002 9:44:56 AM Eastern Standard Time,
dalila@R... writes:
<< Actually, I think there are times when singers *are* - and MUST BE - more
than "just musicians". In an opera, certainly, they must also be *actors*;
and if in a Broadway musical, they often must also be *dancers*.
How many violinists can you say the same about? >>
karen,
that is true in a very literal sense but, even if we are just standing
there singing, we are more than just musicians. we are, of course,
literally the instrument and, unlike other instruments, we can make claim to
being distinctly shaped.
more importantly, as musicians, we deal in the non verbal expression that
is music but, we are the only musicians who also deal in verbal expression.
even when just singing 'ah', it is hard to completely block out a verbal
association. unless you were raised by wolves, we humans think verbally.
it is automatic to do so (and even wolves have their language). in
combining verbal expression and the non verbal expression that is music, we
singers are more like a movie complete with dialogue and soundtrack in one
being. this makes us very different from the instrumentalist. even in the
close attempts by instruments to resemble a 'story', such as 'peter and the
wolf', they still require a narrator to make the associations.
it is for this reason that i feel sorry for the instrumentalist who can't
even gesture to make his/her vision clear as, their hands are always occupied
in the operation of their instrument. for this, they must rely on kindness
of empathy to make their feelings known.
mike
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