Greypins@a... wrote:
Greypins@a... wrote:
> however, i'm not sure that what i suggest as a healthier way for the
> female to sing, would ever fly in an opera. the style is what it is. but,
> in a choral situation, where some of the parts are actually quite low, it
> might be best to use whatever voice is strongest at a given range.
Mike, if you think choral soprano parts are "quite low",
it's clear you've npt sung many of them. Sure, you don't
get the extreme high notes (or low notes) very often. But
you often get sustained high tessitura which is very
difficult to do well unless one has a solid classical vocal
technique. Choral singers actually sing continuously,
longer, than most singers doing opera roles, and you're
forced to stay in one part of your voice, which can be very
hard on the voice. For example - Carmina Burana, that I'm
singing now, is high in tessitura for all the voice ranges
in many sections. Very challenging. The second-to-last
movement, Blanziflor et Helena, is a killer, and I don't
know a singer whose voice doesn't feel tired by the end of
the movement (thank goodness the last movement following
lies in mostly in the middle voice).
Also, the Haydn Lord Nelson mass I sang this this time last
year is another high tessitura soprano part. Only a few
actual "high notes" (A or above), but there are long
stretches where you don't go below D an octave+ above middle
C (e.g., the Credo!). At the end of that movement, I was so
glad to "descendit de coeli" down to G above middle C. VERY
challenging vocally. No way a soprano can sing that part
carrying up chest voice. The technique has to be perfect not
to get tired singing it. Believe me, if I hadn't acquired a
reasonably good classical vocal technique, there is no way I
could have sung that music according to my standards (i.e.,
sound good). I hear at close range plenty of choral
sopranos who don't have solid classical technique try to
sing that music, and it is not a pretty picture.
Peggy
--
Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
"Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile"
mailto:peggyh@i...
|
|  |
