----- Original Message -----
From: "Lee Morgan" <LMorgan923@t...>
<< snip >>
> The worst choral experience I ever had was working with a
conductor who
> believed in achieving blend by singing softly. With a largish
voice, it was
> really hard for me and I left that choral group after one season.
(I also
> found that the group had a very pallid, boring sound and never moved
me
> musically.) Ever since then (and that's been about 20 years ago),
I've been
> tremendously lucky in choral conductors. Good choral singing can be
> tremendously rewarding. The only problem is that it's not always
good.
I've used this analogy before, but what you said reminded me of it --
Let's say you want to weave a purple cloth. You have alternatives:
1. Choose only purple threads. Carefully select them so that they
match exactly. The cloth will definitely be purple. It will also
have little life or richness. But it will be purple.
2. Choose threads of any color, but dye them purple. Do whatever it
takes to make them *appear* the same. Unfortunately, dying weakens
the fibers of some of the threads, but so what? At least you get a
purple cloth, at the expense of the individual threads.
3. Choose red and blue threads. Throw in some mahogany, forest
green, bronze, gold, and yellow. Carefully position the threads so
that the reds and blues are predominant, with the other colors peeking
through to achieve the best effect. You'll get a cloth that will look
purple, but it will have the richness of a tapestry, with shimmering
lights and darker shadows.
Guess which one I prefer?
I've been turned down by directors that are like #1 (thank heavens!),
I've sung for at least one director like #2, and had the great good
fortune to sing for several that were like #3.
That said, I *do* modify my dynamics, since f to me is usually
equivalent to around ff+ in a choral setting. I've been trained to
sing so as to be heard over a 100-piece orchestra, so I adjust the
volume, but still sing with my "whole" voice. This works well for me,
as it prevents the kind of exhaustion that I used to experience in a
choral setting (singing with a breathy unsupported tone). The one
experience I had with a #2 director was in an Episcopal church choir,
where I was expected to mimic the sound of a 12-yr-old boy (and me a
dramatic soprano) in *everything* we sang (including spirituals).
That *really* doesn't work!
Cheers!
Lana
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