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Importance of Poetry and LanguageStudy and performance of this literature for both singers and pianists begins with poetry and language. It’s fair to say, that if you have no real interest in poetry and language, or are unwilling to explore possibilities, that this repertoire may not be for you. It’s no secret that many opera librettos are somewhat lacking on their own. The opposite is true of song literature. Composers have often chosen great poets for their settings.
Famous Poets Often Set By Composers : German Goethe, Heine, Eichendorff; French Baudelaire, Verlaine, Mallarmé; Russian Pushkin, Ajhmatova, Tsvetaseva; Spanish Lope de Vega, Alberti, Lorca;English Shakespeare, Dickinson, Auden, Whitman, Arnold, Graves, Cummings.
The first issue is knowing what the poem is about, not only in general terms, but also what each line and word means. It is essential also that you can pronounce the language of the poem accurately. This is not only important for artistic success, but it can be vital in your ability to find work. No respectable music department hires a voice faculty member who mispronounces the basic languages for music. Pianists may also find that facility with language will make a difference.
Vocalist and Pianist as Equal ArtistsCultivated musicians and listeners understand that a recital with a vocalist and a pianist is a complete collaboration. The singer may be the headliner, but the musical reality is equal musical status. Obviously this attitude must be held by the performers themselves. The legendary performances of this literature are by two people, the pianist just as famous as the singer.
This equality is also the basis of successful performance, singer and pianist bringing ideas and energy to the interpretation. If there is no magic between the singer and pianist there’re won’t be much impact in performance. Audiences sense this—either the excitement and intensity of collaboration or the boredom and distraction of two performers just going through the motions.
Song Cycles as High Points of Artistic Achievement
The concert performance or recording of a song cycle is without doubt a highpoint in a career. While a singer may have good reviews and responses from a particular recital, the performance of a great song cycle will been considered something special. In a musical life that may have few chances for performance in opera or with orchestra, song cycles offer a “pinnacle” music experience for performers and audience.
Importance of Knowing the Repertoire
Classical musicians are expected to know important repertoire. We would be amazed if someone couldn’t recognize Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, Bizet’s Carmen, Bach’s Mass in B minor or Mussorgky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. So, it is unthinkable that singers and pianists may not be familiar with the song repertory. A candidate for a degree in vocal studies would be in trouble not knowing the song repertoire. No professor at the college or conservatory level would likely be hired who stumbled in an interview question about basic repertoire. And pianists who include performance of a song cycles in their resumes show something more than the usual. Not only does it reflect a particular type of artistic development, it shows a respect for other musicians and suggests that the pianist would make a good colleague. In a choice between two pianists of equal ability in the piano repertory, the inclusion of this additional aspect of musical life may well make the difference.
Exploration of Musical Colors
All good vocalists and pianists explore musical color through timbre. And together, the possibilities of new colors create a unique palette of sound that only these particular performers can offer. Exploration of these “duo-colors” that can be drawn from nuances of harmony, structure and dramatic intent, present singer and pianist with endless possibilities. Once discovered, each performer may take with them that discovery to other musical situations.
Exploration of Characterization
Song repertoire offers a special world for the exploration of characterization. The extent to which this process is utilized or shown in performance will vary radically from one musician to another. Some react badly to over-acting in performance whether it be the gesticulating singer or a swooning pianist. At the heart of the matter perhaps is honesty. When an audience believes that the dramatic gestures are organic to the interpretation, they are more likely to approve. When they sense theatrics rather than honesty, they are more likely to suspect the performers. But on a practical level, audiences expect much more movement and acting on stage than in the past. That is just the nature of a changing culture. But such trends remain for each performer’s sense of what works for them.
Collaboration between a singer and a pianist offers a special chance for musical characterization. The performance is not a soliloquy but a dialogue –a scene or a play with two musical “actors” -singer and pianist.
New kinds of recitals have emerged in the last 10 years. With the realization of the need to attract audiences with more movement and drama, new experiments of staging classical music are appearing. Such explorations offer more collaborations with directors, actors, and multimedia experts. Some of these experiments are bound to be “cheesy.” Most experiments that push boundaries risk over-reaching. But performers should be mindful of that younger generations respond in new ways. It’s not wrong to “play” to the audience, as long as one retains an informed sense of good taste and sincerity.
Choosing the Path
So how can the young musician either beginning his or her studies or concluding them make sense of these changing times and resolve to either move forward or continue on a musical path already begun? In this respect, some things never change. The one thing that has remained constant throughout the centuries is that we enter a profession with no real promises of the kind of financial rewards found in many other professions. We become musicians because the creative drive is so strong and the need to make music resists even logical arguments against it. That said, it seems wise these days to be especially creative and flexible in creating a musical life. Song, Lied and Mélodie can be important for that path as a source of endless artistic exploration.
Mezzo-soprano Milagro Vargas is a professor of voice at the University of Oregon and maintains a blog at songliedmélodie.blogspot.com. Her professional website is milagrovargas.com.
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