Dear list,
More and more the final 'r' in German lyric diction is being treated as a
schwa /@/ or as the upside-down lowercase 'a' (lowest back vowel). I
continue to teach all r's as flipped or rolled with the caution that current
practice is changing. I do this because most voice teachers and many
coaches treat the r's as flipped and many native-speaking singers of German
still flip all r's.
I do not like the use of the 'upsidedown a' because it puts stress where
none should be. I'm not wild about using the schwa either. In both cases
the dropping of the final 'r' as a consonant promotes more glottal onsets
when following words begin with vowels (in beginning singers). Eg. nur
ein, der eine, er ists, etc.
How do you deal with the 'r' these days? I don't teach German until next
semester but I'm really wrestling with how far to go with this detail of the
language. It's probably not worth going into in depth for a freshman
diction class but I want my students to be as current as necessary with
performance practice.
As I listen to CDs of Lieder and opera I hear that most r's are flipped or
rolled and this will always be the sound my ear prefers for these artforms.
My allegiance is still to Siebs!
FYI, I'm not inexperienced as a diction teacher. I've taught it
successfully for 25 years. I'm just trying to decide what to do and how
much to do.
Thanks for listening and thanks in advance for your input.
Cindy Donnell
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