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From:  RALUCOB@a...
Date:  Wed Sep 6, 2000  8:40 am
Subject:  Re: [vocalist-temporary] question


as a choral director, because you are dealing with singers having to
produce specific pitches, you have to base your decision on what notes the
singer can produce primarily. you may end up with a tenor, who can't sing
above an F, singing bass just because he has a good low range and is limited
in the high range. if this tenor, for example, takes voice lessons or, even
just by singing more, finds his upper range then, it would be right to be
flexible enough to suggest he change gradually to singing tenor. there is
also the danger that this same singer may stay stuck in bass by singing bass.
however, unless he is going to go through the process of changing (either
with a teacher or some 'sing with the cd' method) then his only two options
are, sadly, sing what you can or don't sing.

in regard to timbre, a group of mostly untrained singers are going to
produce a wider variety of timbres than traditional catagories can handle.
this variety in timbre is best handled in how you arrange the singers if you
are looking for a 'blend' (there was a book by howard swan called something
like 'a symposium on choral conducting' that dealt with that subject).

mike

emusic.com