"Lloyd W. Hanson" wrote:
>
> ...For me the result is that the text is more clearly stated
> because the intention and direction of the musical line carries the
> text. My brain has less to need to put the words back together and I
> obtain textual meaning more quickly and easily. The music becomes
> the dramatic element even though the text may have been the
> motivation for the creation of the music. Libretti (stories)
> motivate the creation of opera and, of course, opera tells stories
> but not primarily through words. The stories are told as emotions
> primarily through the music. Few opera stories are worthy of
> consideration beyond the music they inspired. But most opera stories
> are very worthy of the emotions they elicit and it is music that
> primarily carries this element
Oh yes. I took a performance seminar and music history from an guitarist. He
believed that music was itself a language. (Of course, instrumentalists would,
I
think, have no trouble believing that concept.) In music history, he had us
listen to a piano piece (which?) that Beethoven had written after he had an
argument with the woman in his life (name?). He illustrated how you could hear
the argument could be heard and followed in the music even though there were no
words used. My professor used it to illustrate his thesis that some people seem
to think in music rather than verbally.
In the performance seminar, he helped me with "How Beautiful are the Feet of
Them" from the Messiah. He showed me that feeling the pulse "of those feet
walking," gives that piece life. I adore Heather Harper singing this piece
(actually all the solos in the Messiah), for she understands the music and it
works. Likewise, I've heard a professional singer locally that can with sing
"Rejoice..." with abandon, but who can't make "How the feet of them..." really
work. Music itself, all alone, unadorned by any words, is a language too.
Vocalists have a hard time sometimes reconciling performing while using two
languages at the same time. However when they work together the result is
powerful. At least that is how I understand it.
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