Vocalist.org archive


From:  John Alexander Blyth <BLYTHE@B...>
Date:  Tue Aug 15, 2000  5:43 pm
Subject:  Recent recitals and 'honest' singers


My 'Dichterliebe' recital went off quite well yesterday, though I notice
from viewing a not too good videotape that those moments where I couldn't
help but 'act' were not as effective as when I just sang. There were
moments when my love of the music and my identification with the
protagonist were almost overwhelming, and those were certainly not even of
average effectiveness.
I must however wholeheartedly agree with Lynda Lacy about the necessity
for balance. Further we cannot just sing completely coldly and, whatever
people say about Callas, she had an average career length and people still
talk about her more than about most living singers!
So much of what a composer asks of us is just a firm and beautiful line,
subtly inflected by what we know of the words and the dramatic situation.
Even normal speech ideas can distort the musical line (to my ears)
unacceptably, especially with an English speaker, such as myself, where we
use variations in loudness and pitch for emphasis. That's one reason why I
feel it is so important to sing (for example) German with a German accent,
or, strikingly, French with a French accent, as opposed to just getting the
phonemes right.
And (different thread, but "if you like this you'll love...") while by no
means a seasoned pro, I've now done enough acting to understand how very
different stage and operatic dramatic skills are, though they have many
things in common. Primary among what they do share is a necessity to keep
emotional involvment with the character and situation from impinging too
heavily on technique. Film and TV acting don't require the same need to
project and sustain, as the camera and microphone will pick up all that one
needs to convey. Likewise, those singing styles that habitually use
microphones need give no attention whatsoever to projection. On an
unamplified (and, for some, distant) stage we must resort to artifice to
convey all sorts of seeming subtlety or spontaneity.
p.s. Taking the rough with the smooth:a subsequent recital of
"Dichterliebe" at an old folks home didn't sound half as good: the reasons
were classical - lack of sleep, singing through a cold, failing to check
the acoustic beforehand. To which I added a couple of refinements of my
own: trying to fix all the things I didn't like about the previous day's
recital, and regressing to the way I used to sing in the middle of choir
tours. I'm sure I'm not the only singer who has to watch out for
regression. Be ye warned, young singers! john

At 07:56 PM 8/5/00 -0400, you wrote:
>
>In a message dated 8/5/00 5:38:34 PM, radishes@r... writes:
>
><< I am beginning to believe more and more that the ideal
>singer ...acts solely as a vessel for the voice of the composer,
>without feeling the need to 'become' the composer. I do
>not think that a convincing singer/actress is one who
>allows the power of the music to dominate her personality,
>but rather, sits back and lets her voice merge with the
>composer's legacy (and that of the text of course). >>
>
>One of Richard Miller's statements I have heard over and over in his
>masterclasses is "Take care not to allow the music to rob you of your
>vocalism." I do NOT believe he meant that singers should not express the
>music as well as they can, but rather that there be a balance. It is also
>his philosophy that (I'm trying to quote him accurately) "...true artistry
is
>possible only when technique permits...". Balance is key. Most singers do
>not possess it naturally, but rather must find that combination which
>uniquely defines his or her maximum performance.
>
>Sincerely,
>Lynda Lacy
>
>Lynda Lacy, Director of Choral Activities
>Jackson Preparatory School
>Jackson, Mississippi
>"Allow your voice to serve the music, not the other way around." - B. R.
>Henson
>
><A HREF="http://hometown.aol.com/lynda313/myhomepage/profile.html">Lynda and
>the Fine Arts</A>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
John Blyth
Baritono robusto e lirico
Brandon, Manitoba, Canada

emusic.com