In a message dated 9/22/00 2:10:28 PM, allegro@e... writes:
<< Apples to oranges, folks- you can't
apply the same curriculum and expectations to every singer.
>>
So true, but Shawna, you also can't apply all the criticisms and descriptions
made here lately about choral directors and choirs to every choral director
and choir. It has given me headaches to read the sad words that so many have
written. I hate that so many of our colleagues had the negative experiences
that are written here. Your comment, "if I never sing a mass again...etc."
was very painful to read. I have a big, full voice; however, I'm not
certain I would ever have figured out the myriad ways I could use it until my
first opportunity to sing the second Kyrie in the Bach B Minor Mass. It was
also a great experience to sing in opera chorus in college. It was also
terrific to sing for Robert Shaw in a professional situation. It is great to
sing for my present conductor, and it is a thrill to sing a solo recital
filled with arias, art songs, spirituals, and whatever my heart desires to
sing.
None of us speaks for ALL of us. There is such hurt here, obviously...among
folks who are having a tough time getting credit they deserve for degrees, or
some who resent singing in choruses...but there is a great gap of
understanding here, as well. We are not all cast in the same mold, thank
goodness, but it is my belief that our generosity toward others' backgrounds
should perhaps be greater.
You also said: <<Sheesh- why not have a "large-voice" chorus, that does
larger works
(perhaps opera choruses in concert?!?!) that won't blow out a budding
Heldentenor? The small church choir voices can go do Lauridsen in the
Chamber chorus. Both will be happy. >>
Interesting. I always thought that the soloist -- recitalist was a great
singer if she could sing more than one way. Solid technique building also
builds a voice which is flexible and which can do more than one thing. There
is a reason that messa di voce is not the first exercise we learn when we are
building technique...it's hard! But once we have that range of dyamics and
breath management under our control, we have an exciting range of color in
our vocal palettes.
The soloist is a leader...but you don't build leaders off on their own. The
chorus -- whether an opera chorus or a symphony chorus or a chamber group --
gives singers an opportunity to do what he or she cannot do singly. It keeps
us humble and remembering that "it isn't enough to sing your part...you have
to remember what you're a part of..."...bad grammar, but a great thought.
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>
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