Randy Reuscher wrote:
>I do not believe it is the "de-emphasization" of the consonants that makes
>the words difficult to understand in opera but the muddying of the vowels.
>Many consonant sound can be inferred by the context, but when the vowels all
>tend to migrate towards "uh" throughout the whole voice, including the bottom
>where they should resemble speech, you end up with mush.... Pure vowels mean
>understandable vowels. If they are not understandable, there is in a sense a
>communication disorder, and the vowels cease to be phonemes and/or morphemes
>because they carry no meaning.
Here's another view of a couple of aspects of this:
1. Do consonants or vowels contribute most to understandability?
I think consonants do. If I give you only the vowels in the name of the
province where I was born, can you guess it?
I was born in: [a a e a].
Try again when I give you only the consonants: [s sk tch w n].
Consonants, if they are pronounced clearly help a great deal in conveying
meaning.
2. a) In my opinion, vowels must be modified to a certain degree to
achieved balanced resonance. This can be grossly overdone, but perhaps it
is most necessary for the soprano voice especially on the highest notes
which seem to need an "ah" shape no matter what word you are singing! I
think that the context of the sentence and the presence of consonants can
help with meaning if the vowel must be modified.
b) Consonants can be part of the "vowel line" if they are allowed to
have pitch and vibrance. (voiceless ones excepted) The vowel line is also
influenced by efforts by the singer to "track" the singer's formant and
keep the "ping" there on each note no matter what vowel is required. In
Sündberg's research on acoustics of the singing voice he explores how the
"Singer's Formant"(around 2800 Hz.) is achieved, by changing the shape of
the vocal tract. Sopranos: clustering the 3rd, 4th and 5th formant, and
more jaw opening on high notes. All other voice types: widening the pharynx
so that it is 6 times wider than the opening to the laryngeal port.
(supporting research by Ingo Titze)
Randy, I agree that many singers obliterate the purity of vowels and
changing them all to "uh" would certainly do that. Keeping the vowel
identity is important wherever it is possible within the context of a bel
canto line which is even in timbre. The price we pay for this evenness is a
certain degree of vowel modification.
Cheers, Karen Jensen
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