Chapter 11

Record 5, Prosodic Elements
in Song

The singing of two songs, one in French and English, and the other in German and English by four singers provides the listener with an opportunity to study all of the musical and aesthetic elements of each song which are here displayed in a controlled musical mold.

The recording displays three personal dimensions of each singer:

1. His vocal endowment, i.e., the beauty of his vocal sound, the vibrato rate, his range and tessitura.

2. His vocal technique, i.e., his breathing and control of intensity.

3. His sensitivity to text, i.e., what he does with the word to enhance its meaning by using stress and intensity through refined techniques of articulation, how he chooses the proper phoneme to assure the correct pronunciation of the word and the manner in which he controls this phoneme within various frequencies and intensities, how he makes the word come to life so that the listener may understand instantly the emotional content and meaning of the word.

It must be remembered that these singers are professionals and that each possesses the technical mastery which would have enabled him to fulfill any variation of tempo or intensity if he chose to do so. Nevertheless, the interpretation of each song varies with each of the four singers.

Of the three areas of analysis, endowment, technique, and sensitivity to text, the most rewarding area for analysis is sensitivity to text. Within this personal dimension the song becomes a success or a failure, for here the singer is creating or destroying the values of intimacy and personal intent, or the meaning of the word. See the word, an implement of interpretation, p. 5.

To prove this point employ the following analytical procedure: Choose the singing of either song that you like the best. Write down the reasons why you prefer this particular rendition—

1. Beauty of voice.

2. Refinement of vocal technique.

3. The degree to which the singer is successful in his attempt to make each word light up, that is, in his attempt to make each word beloved.

Now, using the criteria of judgment that you have devised, try to make your singing of the same song more meaningful and thereby beautiful.

SUGGESTED PROCEDURE FOR USING THE
SONG EVALUATION GUIDE

The student will record in English the songs, “Au Clair de la Lune” by Jean Baptiste Lulli and “Widmung” by Robert Schumann. After the student has been oriented in the process of analysis and after he has thoroughly mastered his songs, they should be recorded in the original language and the analytical process repeated.

Analysis of these recordings is made with the assistance of the following voice-technique inventory. Such recording and analysis may be made at any time during the student’s experience with formal voice training within studio or diction classes. In both instances the inventory is most successful after the student has memorized the text and music. No singer is able to concentrate upon himself until he has mastered the textual and the musical elements of his song.

The disciplines of phonemic identification and stress as well as the principles of vowel migration are presented to the student by dramatic comparison as he listens to the recorded examples of the same song.

The instructor will thoroughly analyze the student recording and by means of the inventory refer to sections of the text to which the errors of the song are directly related.

EVALUATION GUIDE FOR DRILLS AND SONGS

Breathing

Breath Intake (adequate—inadequate)

Chest (is—is not) held high

Breathing is (clavicular—thoracic—abdominal)

Expiration

The sound (is—is not) sustained by the breath

The singer needs (more—less) breath pressure

Drills are needed in:

Phonation

Vocal force (too little—too great—adequate)

Tensions in the neck and the throat result from:

Pitch problems result from:

Range problems result from:

Diction

Check pronunciation of:_______,_______,_______,_______.

Tongue lacks firmness on:

Tongue in retroflex on:

Lip rounding (excessive—insufficient—adequate)

Lip spreading (excessive—insufficient—adequate)

Jaw is (too open—too closed—adequate)

Consonants need (voicing—lip movement—firmness at the palate—accentuation of initial and the final consonants.)

Vowel migration (effective—indifferent—careless)

Musical

Emphatic stress (more—less)

Emotional stress for dramatic fulfillment

Hold vowels for the duration of the note value

Rhythmic insecurity at:

The Songs

Lulli’s “Au Clair de la Lune,” arranged by Bainbridge Crist has been chosen as a study piece for the development of proper diction and interpretive habits in a spatial environment for four reasons:

1. The tonal compass of the song does not exceed an octave and all pitches lie within the stable vowel pitch range, (C to C for all voices).

2. There are no excessive intensity problems within the song. A mezzo-forte level should be maintained in all verses where vowel variety and tonal contrasts should be attained by employing more piano tones than forte. The singer should attempt to hear his voice in the hall even though he is singing mezzo forte. This song should be a fine discipline for the loud singer.

3. The text provides a sophisticated situation that demands a stylistic interpretation from the student. He must employ all of the subtleties of stress, phonemic accuracy, and body discipline to sing this song successfully. The same song, sung by soprano, alto, tenor, and bass (Record 5), reveal slight alterations of dynamic levels but all radiate enthusiasm for the meaning of the word and its position within the textual syntax.

4. The musical accompaniment, when played expertly, provides a musical background that entices the singer to become a part of an ensemble. As the unity of ensemble is perfected the elements of diction, i.e., pronunciation, enunciation, and articulation become disciplined tools of utterance.

Phonetic transcriptions of the song texts in English, French and German are provided and should be used as criteria for phonemic accuracy and vowel coloring. Compare the recorded songs with these transcriptions.

Only the soprano and bass sing the French text. Soprano, alto, tenor, and bass sing the song in English. The phonemic positions of the French vowels within this song and within the basic drills have been recorded by Flora Wend— the eminent French soprano.

“Au Clair de la Lune” in French and English is found on Record 5 as follows:

“Widmung” by Robert Schumann is an excellent study piece because the intervallic skips provide an opportunity for the singer to observe and apply the principles of phonemic migration at intensity levels of mezzo forte to forte as well as mezzo piano to mezzo forte.

The teacher should determine the intensity dimension of the student voice in this song by demanding that the singer extend himself vocally to attain the impassioned fervor and jubilation concealed within this song text. Such emotional levels are never reached unless the singer effects a total unification of mind, body, and voice, in that order.

The proper phonemic position for each note is indicated above the song text for both English and German and the proper interpretation of these positions may be observed in the recordings of these songs by soprano, alto, tenor, and bass.

“Widmung” in German and English are found on Record 5 as follows:

AU CLAIR DE LA LUNE

(French)

(English)

Au Clair de la Lune

In the Moonlight

WIDMUNG

(English)

(German)

DEDICATION

(WIDMUNG)