Karen wrote:
>I believe the reason we "accept" (and, for me increasingly, *prefer*)
>soloists in oratorio using their music is that it is wholly inappropriate
>for an oratorio/sacred soloist to gesture with the hands, face, body,
>etc. Sacred oratorio is not meant to be *acted*. The "book in hands" is
>not there so much as a reference for the singer as a prop to prevent the
>singer from indulging in gesticulations, etc. IN oratorio, *all*
>expression should be through the voice, possibly reinforced by the eyes
>and a subtle change in facial expression. The music is meant to be wholly
>NON-self-serving - to glorify God, not the singer. The singer is merely
>the vessel and instrument by which the music glorifying God is conveyed.
>Obviously, most human beings are to fallible to be truly egoless when
>performing sacred music. The next best thing is to *try* to be egoless and
>to at least *appear* to be egoless so that your concern with self is not
>conveyed to the listener.
I've always wondered about this, actually. For the sake of being devil's
advocate, I have to ask how a singer could *separate* vocal expression from
acting. To my way of thinking, the acting and singing come from the same
place! I don't agree that *any* music is "not meant to be acted", since I
believe that acting is part of singing. And of course many of the
oratorios are stories; surely there should be some kind of acting involved.
On the other hand, as you say, expressive choices in opera ought to be
designed to draw the listener's attention to the meaning of the music and
text, rather than to draw attention to the skill of the performer. (I
believe this to be true for most music, not just oratorio. But then again,
I don't sing bel canto...) And I can think of few things more repugnant
than an oratorio soloist miming or gesturing the intent of the words!
Ideally, glorifying God in oratorio singing doesn't entail standing still
like a bump on a log, nor does it entail prancing about. In the wise words
of my friend Alexa, "Just sing the notes and mean the text."
Naomi Gurt Lind
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| | Replies | Name/Email | Yahoo! ID | Date | Size | | 11768 | Re: gesture in oratorio, was: reading skills, etc | John Link | | Thu 5/10/2001 | 2 KB | | 11856 | Re: gesture in oratorio, was: reading skills, etc | Jeffrey Snider | | Sun 5/13/2001 | 2 KB | | 11872 | Re: gesture in oratorio, was: reading skills, etc | Patricia M Smith | | Mon 5/14/2001 | 5 KB | | 11877 | Re: gesture in oratorio, was: reading skills, etc | Tako Oda | | Mon 5/14/2001 | 2 KB | | 11989 | Re: gesture in oratorio, was: reading skills, etc | Ian Belsey | | Thu 5/17/2001 | 3 KB | | 11880 | Re: gesture in oratorio, was: reading skills, etc | DIANE M. CLARK (MUSIC DEPARTM | | Mon 5/14/2001 | 2 KB | | 11882 | Re: gesture in oratorio, was: reading skills, etc | Karen Mercedes | | Mon 5/14/2001 | 3 KB |
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