As an adjudicator of high school and college choral festivals, I’m
always thrilled to hear a student group that has it all—vibrant dynamic
sound, elegant phrasing, and artistic musical expression. In such cases,
it is evident that the director provided an environ-ment in which the singers
were able to develop excellent vocal techniques, impressive ensemble unity
and expressive musicality. “Judging” such a group is largely
a matter of complimenting the obvious.
On the other hand, I have heard many groups whose sheer enthusiasm for
choral singing proves inadequate by itself to produce the performance
level described
above. Often, singers in such groups have had little or no exposure
to fine choral singing. Given the meager offerings of quality choral
music
we find
in the media, this is not surprising. And while local high school football
games often appear on television, local high school choral concerts
rarely do. In fact, choral music of any kind is virtually absent
in the popular
media except during the holiday season.
It would appear, then, that the primary responsibility for providing
positive and gratifying choral experiences for singers with limited
exposure rests
with the choral music teacher. Playing recorded examples of fine
singing is an obvious part of the solution, and is relatively easy to accomplish.
More challenging, however, is teaching singers how to achieve the
results
they may have come to admire.
I have sometimes observed choral teachers focusing more on the
imaginary music in their heads, than on the actual sound produced
by their
singers. They create a type of delusional “self defense” that
blinds them to the actual condition of their choir.
Some teachers are in this predicament, ironically, because they
themselves had excellent choral experiences. Quite likely, they
were attracted
to choral directing because of an inspiring music teacher. Large
numbers of
similarly
enthusiastic future teachers flock to the best colleges to be further
inspired by the finest choral directors academia has to offer.
Since top-level collegiate
choral ensembles normally consist of auditioned singers, there
is often little need to “cover the basics.” Spoiled by their own “Cadillac” choral
experiences, they are often ill prepared for the shock when they encounter
the “jalopy” sounds produced by their first high school
choir.
Lacking skills to improve the sound of their choirs, many neophyte
directors retreat into the hallucinatory state described above. They
could easily
escape this condition if they better understood the elements that lead
to choral
success.
When adjudicating choral groups, my primary responsibility is to
provide encouragement and helpful suggestions. Whenever possible,
I record
my evaluation “live” so
the director and singers can later review the audiotape and hear
the performance characteristics that prompted each comment.
It has concerned me that such brief remarks on tape may not be thorough
enough to be useful or fully understood by student singers,
or even by many directors.
This is largely why I decided to write this book. At the very
least, it will help clarify my comments to the singers and directors
whose
performances
I have adjudicated. At best, it will interest other choral directors
and singers who wish to explore every possible means to a better
performance.
As one might expect, most choral festival performances fall somewhere
between perfect and embarrassing. Interestingly, I find myself
making similar suggestions
at nearly all of them. It occurred to me that my repetitiveness
might simply be a result of a need to reiterate and reinforce
my particular
point of
view; and, to some extent, this is probably true. On the other
hand, since my scores
have been generally in line with other judges, it may also be
due to directors’ general
unawareness of certain factors that contribute to fine choral
performance and how those factors can be successfully implemented.
Can vocal groups with assorted talent levels achieve a stunning
blend? In my opinion, it is not differences in vocal training
that prevent
vocal blend,
but rather an actual disregard for blend and/or the lack of awareness
of the techniques necessary to achieve it. The primary purpose
of this book,
then, is to identify the elements that contribute to a beautiful
choral sound and to provide methods and exercises by which to
help actualize
it.
The ideas and exercises herein are largely based on my own practical
experiences working with singing groups—both amateur and professional. They are
applicable to a wide variety of musical styles—from barbershop quartet
to opera chorus—from the theater to the cathedral. Solo
singers, as well, may find techniques here to enhance their artistry
and
professional cachet.
Most of the concepts in this book were originally contained in
a “Read
Me” supplied to singers who joined the L.A. Jazz Choir
workshop, a training group that often led to a position in the
professional
group. Given
that nearly all the members were experienced and accomplished
singers, many with music degrees, their frequent remarks that
these concepts
were uniquely
helpful to them seemed especially significant to me. It suggests
that some of these views are not widely shared, in either the
professional or academic
world. In the event this is true, I am pleased to offer the ideas
and
practices that have proven helpful to my singers. I hope they
prove helpful to yours,
as well.
Gerald Eskelin