Karen Mercedes wrote:
> Oh, I've heard some studio recordings in which things were sung so
> egregiously *wrong* that I was convinced that the only excuse was that the
> singers didn't use the scores, and had terrible memories to boot.
And I've seen singers make musical mistakes sans score, then
use the score, and make the same mistakes plus a few more!
Sometimes they just don't know the notes or (more often) the
rhythms, and the piece of paper doesn't solve the problem.
I think it's one thing to have the score at hand and
available for the occasional tricky entrance or odd meter.
But (in an ideal world) if a singer doesn't know the music
well enough to sing it without the score, he/she has no
business presenting it before the public and asking people
to pay, in my opinion. I've seen many "concert"
performances of opera, or oratorios. The soloists who have
their heads buried in the score - whether because of lack of
preparation or lack of confidence - give a far less
compelling performance than those who give the impression
they don't need the score. So my rule is, even if you need
it and have it in front of you, pretend that you don't need
it.
Peggy
--
Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
"Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile"
mailto:peggyh@i...
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