Dear Linda and Vocalisters:
You wrote: >I think what causes consonants to break up the legato line is what >happens when singers unwittingly sing like pianos (very slightly). If >the singer momentarily drops the vowel tone to go and do another, to >wit, a consonant, this break with legato will be perceived. It's >interesting how often this happens without realising. If the singer >makes a concentrated effort to maintain the tone right up to and into >the consonant and out the other side, I see no reason why the consonant >should break up the vowel line, even when it is unvoiced and has length, >like ss or ff.
COMMENT: I agree completely with this description of how to maintain the vowel line through consonants. You presented a nice articulation of factors that are in play during the process.
You also wrote: >On the subject of colouring vowels, do you think this is more an >Italian/German phenomenon? With the recent death of Suzanne Danco there >have been a lot of recordings of hers played on UK radio this past two >weeks, and I was struck with how different the French sound often seems >to be, with a greater differentiation and definition of the vowels. >Lloyd, do you find the "French Way" different from the Italian, and if >so, do you think they are both suited to the performance of music from >each other's tradition?
COMMENT: Sorry to say, I am not familiar enough with the singing of Suzanne Danco to use it as an example.
Here is a limited American view of vowel coloring as I have noticed it in singers and from teachers in these countries. There is a difference, and a marked one, between the use of vowel coloring in Germany, Italy and France. Germans generally do not care much for chest voice in female singers but would rather that a low form of the middle voice be used. Italians seem to find the female chest voice sensuous and encourage its use when appropriate. French singing seems to fall clearly into two camps, one of great delicacy in which mf is often the loudest dynamic and a much more dramatic vocal expression. But the French are very careful about vowel accuracy because it is such an important part of their language, not only for meaning within words but for inflection which is more subtle. I would agree that the French sing "with a greater differentiation and definition of the vowels".
But I find nothing in any of these variations that would be a detriment to performing operas or songs from any country with the vowel usage that is common to the singers language and their singing tradition.
Randy has made mention many times about the distortion of vowels in the female lower voice and he appears to attribute this not only to some pedagogical techniques but to the opera tradition itself. The singing of Rene Fleming, in particular, has been mentioned as displaying very distorted vowels in her lower range. From the little I know of the technique she has been taught by her teacher it would appear that the closed vowels, especially [e] are used on a regular basis for vocalizing and that she is encouraged to "hang the jaw" as much as possible. If this is so, and that is a big if, it is logical that she would not be as able as she should to form all of the vowels in all portions of her range. And if that is true, and it is a big if, then I would not consider that technique to be adequate for the needs of her roles.
Personally, I do not find her low voice to be that offensive nor do I find her vowels that off base. But I do find the overly bright, highly emphasized vowel production of Dawn Upshaw more than a little upsetting. I wish for a better balance between bright/dark in her voice.
All of the above, when it applies to individual voices, is only my personal likes and desires. It is of no real importance unless it indicates some malfunction of the vocal mechanism and I do not think this is displayed by either singer. They both have fine technical use of the their voices.
So the question remains, does Opera require a distortions of the vowels in order to create that operatic sound? Lets tackle that on in another series of exchanges.
PS. This discussion has brought me back to one of my resources. I would like to quote Miller regarding the "The Well Balanced Vowel", page 74.
"The ideal (singing tone) is acoustic mobility rather than acoustic stabilization".
"Balancing resonance factors is best accomplished through timbre uniformity, not through uniformity of buccopharyngeal positioning".
"Unification of vowel timbre results when each vowel is permitted, in freedom, to assume its own distinctive acoustic shape while 'tracking' the frequencies that provide the voice with its carrying power".
Thanks for the discussion.
-- Lloyd W. Hanson, DMA Professor of Voice, Pedagogy School of Performing Arts Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ 86011
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