> I'm highly pleased that you cited Bach's voice type - of course he would
>have sung - he was a trained singer and his music shows the kind of vocal
>knowledge that non-singers don't seem to be able to fake. I just didn't
>think of this, obvious though it now seems. (I thought he was writing for
>me: this is going to take some adjusting :o))
I knew you'd be tickled about that:)
Dear John,
On vibrato. I agree, I don't think there is ever zero vibrato
at least there has to be the aural to musculature loop and sometimes the
change is more easily perceived than static correction. It's also clear that
it was known at the time how brief the life of a gut string would be
if any serious amount of vibrato was attempted. SO...obviously it was
something held desirable and the reason for the development of metal
strings. I believe this happened about Mozart's time. I can't nail it down.
Does anyone know?
In the words of 17yo son, " Mozart said it just wasn't good enough and
a change was needed." You don't argue with a teenager!!!!
He also has a beautiful recording that I can never find, of a vocal piece
Bach composed for a gathering of the brothers. Wonderful music and
a good indicator of the family musical values. Also, don't forget Anna
Magdelena was a professional singer when they married.
> I further think
>that the 'authorities' that considered 'vibrato' an abomination were either
>writing about wobble or were crusty iconoclasts struggling against what
>everyone did.
I agree, but it can easily become tasteless and I find it difficult to hear
the
amount of vibrato in my singing other than by recordings then the shock
usually leads me to tighten it rather than venture closer to the limits of
good taste. I think that control of vibrato is somehow related to support.
Does anyone else find that? I say that because the problem seems to be
most obvious when re-establishing the technique after a lay-off. Still, a
wobble that falls within the definition of vibrato remains a wobble.
> I don't believe there was ever a time or place, except England in the
>1970s and 1980s, when a certain amount of vibrato was not normal. I know in
>my own voice that vibrato is something that blooms out of the voice when
>you *stop* doing stuff, rather than something manufactured, as it must be
>on a string instrumen
I was interested to hear one of the top German tenors recently who would
begin a phrase with a tightly controlled vibrato and as he sustained the
vowels late in the phrase would develop a wider and less attractive vibrato
that seemed to be connected to over-relaxation. Peter Schrier I think.
Anyhow thanks for the input
Regards Reg.
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