Vocalist.org archive


From:  "Lloyd W. Hanson" <lloyd.hanson@n...>
"Lloyd W. Hanson" <lloyd.hanson@n...>
Date:  Thu Apr 26, 2001  7:17 am
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] Bach MAGNIFICAT editions


Dear Karen and Vocalisters:

You wrote:
>What intrigues me is how much more singer-friendly the Magnificat solos
>are *without* the Edition Peters "suggestions" for tempi and dynamics. I
>just knew in my heart of hearts that if I sped up the tempo just a few
>notches on "Esurientes", I'd have very little trouble with that endless
>run. My problem is *not* coloratura agility - it's that the slower the
>coloratura, the more obvious the breaths in long runs seem to me - they
>throw off my natural rhythm. I find I do better when the coloratura is a
>little faster, rather than slower. The breaths seems to just take care of
>themselves if my throat is allowed to move at its natural rate, instead of
>being slowed down uncomfortably.
>
>Does that make sense?

That makes perfect sense to me. The tempo in all coloratura arias
are, in my opinion, adjustable to the needs of the singer within
certain limitations. Each singer can do coloratura at an individual
tempo level decided by the natural qualities of the voice. There is
no fixed tempo for this music, only general tempo concepts.


--
Lloyd W. Hanson, DMA
Professor of Voice, Pedagogy
School of Performing Arts
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ 86011

emusic.com