My point was NOT that you shouldn't use facial expressions when singing oratorio. If you reread my message I specifically said no MAJOR facial expressions. There's a difference between the kinds of histrionic facial expressions one uses in opera and the kind of suggestive but subtle facial expressions one should use in sacred music. Again, it's a question of the PURPOSE of the work. In the case of opera, the purpose is theatrical - so conveying the emotion through one's body and face are not just valid but imperative. In the case of sacred music, the purpose is NOT to draw attention to or glorify the singer AS SINGER. It's for the singer to be a vessel through which the message of the text, reinforced by the music, is carried. If, to convey the message, it helps to use some moderate facial expressions, certainly one must do so - it's ridiculous to sing "My heart ever faithful" by Bach with a scowl, for example, or "He was Despised" from MESSIAH with a big grin. But it's just as inappropriate to put on an extremely agonized facial expression for the latter, which might be perfectly appropriate if one were playing a suffering character in opera, but which would be distracting in sacred performance, and worse would inappropriately shift the focus from the message/music to the singer.
KM ............................ NEIL SHICOFF, TENORE SUPREMO http://www.radix.net/~dalila/shicoff/shicoff.html
My Own Website http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + I sing hymns with my spirit, + + but I also sing hymns with my mind. + + - 1 Corinthians 14:15 + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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