Dear Isabelle and Vocalist:
I'm back after a break. Went to Texas and sang in the New Texas Music Works
Festival, which was a blast. I'm back in Lincoln for awhile.
What an interesting thread to jump into. I have some general comments,
using some snippets from Isabelle's original post as starting points.
On Mon, 12 Jun 2000, Isabelle Bracamonte wrote:
>
> In fact, I think that lieder, in many ways, is much
> more demanding of an individual instrument than opera,
> which is why I totally disagree with the practice of
> giving young singers a steady diet of lieder until
> they are mature enough to "handle" arias and roles.
This can be very true. I think of, for example, "Gretchen am Spinnrade."
Yes, it's Schubert, but it's actually quite heavy for a young voice. I
wouldn't think of assigning this song to a singer who didn't have enough
stamina for dynamic and range demands. Remember, the thyroid and cricoid
cartilages of the larynx do not begin to ossify (and therefore achieve
dependable strength) until the early twenties.
I also recall something interesting about Schubert's use of the fortepiano.
The modern piano can achieve greater volumes because of the use of cast iron
in the frame and through the technology that allows for sturdier strings.
Please Vocalisters, correct me if I'm wrong, but as I understand it, the
fortepiano was not constructed with a cast iron frame and could not attain
the extreme ranges of volume we are used to in this day and age. So singing
"Gretchen am Spinnrade" or "Erlkönig" with a fortepiano would mean that the
singer would not have to compete with a pounding modern grand piano.
> To take one example, singing a high pianissimo
> (correctly, now, not just flipping it into falsetto or
> flooding the tone with air for a breathy soft sound,
> or, of course, choking back the sound in
> strangulation) is one of the most difficult technical
> concepts that exists, and one that often comes quite
> late in the training, when the bodily strength and
> understanding of good vs. bad tension are able to be
> grasped. There are famous pianissimi in arias, but
> there are many, many more art songs that demand quiet
> singing constantly. Hard stuff! And you're teaching
> a 21-year-old to phrase a lovely, whispering line
> before she can produce all those notes at a correct,
> healthy mezzo-forte?
Good point again, Isabelle. In my understanding and experience, pianissimo
can be a "cart before the horses" issue. In other words, in the best-case
scenario, the healthy mezzo-forte you mention would be a result of equally
efficient respiration and phonation. The breathing is working well and the
vocal folds are adducting as efficiently as possible. When the student can
do that, the finer points of dynamic contrast can be addressed. Singing
pianissimo involves a somewhat intricate coordination of respiration and the
use of the closer muscles in phonation, and I think it's important for a
singer to establish a "baseline coordination" before finessing. I think the
issue of dynamics is much misunderstood by singers, teachers, and
conductors, and that this causes problems in many genres or styles,
including art songs and arias, musical theater (loud, louder, loudest), and
choral singing (soft, softer, softest).
> And clearly, you *can* teach anyone to sing correctly with
> any material (like Porpora and the 5 years of
> vocalises), but I really think that hopeful opera
> singers learn to sing opera by singing opera.
I agree that a hopeful opera singer should have a repertoire of
age-appropriate arias. One thing I've been happy about at Wesleyan is that
our undergraduates get to sing opera in both fully staged productions
(non-miked) with orchestra and in scenes/workshop productions. Many of our
alums have let us know that when they get to grad school, they oftentimes
have more stage experience than their colleagues who studied at larger
schools.
But I'm not entirely sure that the genre is the most important criteria. I
would instead advocate finding the right song for the right person. Here is
a short list of the things I try to take into consideration:
1. Range
2. Tessitura
3. Phrasing:
Long phrases?
Short phrases?
Lots of rests between phrases or not?
4. Demands of dynamics
5. Age of singer, vocal development
6. Register transition points
7. Timbre and vocal weight of singer
8. Musical and vocal skills needed to sing this song/aria:
Agility?
Legato?
Staccato?
Etc.
9. Personality of singer:
Able to carry off extreme drama?
Able to portray characters?
Able to carry off comedy?
Etc.
Whether I'm trying to tailor a song to a student's abilities and
personality, or I'm trying to find a song or aria that will challenge or
stretch a student, these are the things I think about. Maybe we can all
have fun adding to or subtracting from this list.
Finally, I would like to say that repertoire assignment can sometimes be
quite a vexing thing to deal with, from the teacher's standpoint. I have
done numerous read-throughs with students over the years to help them find
repertoire that they like and will actually practice. Some students have no
opinion at all about what they should be singing. Some are opinionated, but
choose badly. Some have exquisite taste and great instincts. Some have
the most irritating knee-jerk reactions and you have to "sell" them on a
particular song or aria that you know will be absolutely stunning pieces for
them, and that they'll thank you for later. But I have to admit my biggest
issue is balancing the student's need to sing in a variety of languages and
styles versus my need not to hear the same songs over and over again! :-)
Cheers!
Jana
--
Jana Holzmeier
Dept. of Music
Nebraska Wesleyan University
5000 Saint Paul Ave.
Lincoln, NE 68504
jjh@n...
402-465-2284
Visit the Music Department website at http://music.nebrwesleyan.edu/
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