GERLINDE HAID YODEL FROM AUSTRIA A CONTRIBUTION TO EARLY EUROPEAN POLYVOCALITY

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Rebecca Bridges
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1 274 GERLINDE HAID YODEL FROM AUSTRIA A CONTRIBUTION TO EARLY EUROPEAN POLYVOCALITY Yodel means a style of singing or calling by syllables without semantic meaning that involves switching the registers of the voice rapidly from head voice (or falsetto) to chest voice. To yodel is still very common in several regions of the east alpine area. It seems to be an ancient skill founded in pastoral culture which has changed repeatedly in the course of the time. Maybe as it often occurs in folklore certain archaic features remained in yodelling. My contribution deals with the problem whether we could find an ancient style of polyvocality in yodelling and whether we could recognise thereby some origins of European polyvocality in general. It was already Wolfgang Sichardt in 1939 who got down to the problem of historical layers in alpine yodelling. Proceeding from the youngest to the eldest layer, following the parameters form and tune, he was able to find out five categories: 1. Type of Schnaderhüpfel. Symmetric construction, schematic change between tonic and dominant harmony and harmonic embedding of the tune in this change. No rhythmic variation of importance. 2. Type Barock : origin in the models of menuet and Ländler. 3. Type Renaissance : Stylistic and formal relation to techniques typical in the style of A-capella: principle of tenor, canon, quodlibet. 4. Type Middle Ages: technique of voice crossing (e.g. discantus, motetus). 5. Pregregorian type: FA-modus. In my contribution I deal especially with the technique of voice crossing. Could voice crossing in yodelling really go back to the Middle Ages? I have to remark that voice crossing is still alive in yodelling of the alpine area, but it is only one kind of technique in alpine yodelling. Similar conducted voices in close position are more common nowadays in yodelling as well as in singing. In the core of these textures we find always polyvocality of two voices which can be enlarged until three, four or even five or six voices. Our assumption that yodelling with voice crossing could reach back to the Middle Ages is confirmed by the texts of these yodels an idea with which nobody has dealt systematically till now. But if we look at the registrations of yodels since ca 1900 we can perceive that many yodels with voice crossing have texts with only a few consonants. And this is an indication for their age, because it corresponds to the name of this vocal style which is jodeln (=yodelling) only since the late 18 th century (1796). In the centuries before it was johlen (= yo-ing), which means to shout yo. Johlen (yo-ing), the elder word, meant obviously singing or shouting by vowels, under use of only some less consonants. Jodeln (yodelling) with a lot of consonants imitating instrumental music (hodl didldadl ridi etc.) is the younger form. One can see in the elder registrations of yodelling both phenomena: voice crossing and use of only a few consonants. This fact underlines the supposition of an old layer. I will now focus on some registrations forming a group of variants, which I call Wurzhorner according to the name of the most famous yodel of this group. Wurzhorn means a kind of alphorn, once well known in the Dachstein region, where also the registrations come from. Josef Pommer, famous folk music researcher of Austria, who wrote down most of them at the turn of 19 to the 20th century, noticed, that some of these tunes were indeed played on the alphorns still in his time. There are some more quali-

2 275 ties attesting the outstanding particularity of this yodelling tradition: some variants are called Koibåsa, referring to a special motion of the face while singing: koibåsn means to shake with the chin; the singers shake with the chin while jumping from note to note. Other variants are called Küahsuacher or Küahmelcher, which means to search the cows and to milk the cows, thus referring obviously to the connection of these yodels with stock-breeding. The classical Wurzhorner has a length of 10 bars, two and two bars joined together, shaping in the whole a simple ternary form. The first two bars are repeated and constitute section A1, two more bars are also repeated and constitutes section B, finally the two first bars constitute section A2 as a reprise. All phrases end crustic at the end of the measure, thus creating the typical feature of this kind of yodelling. In each section the first bar shows dominant harmony, the second one tonic. The measure can be binary or ternary and is mostly a slow one. Very often we find diminution by eighths, interrupted by quarters at the end of the phrases. As usual in alpine yodel tradition in general the performance practice is a capella without instrumental accompaniment in solistic instrumentation. The main voice begins, the counter voice joins in. Each part is conducted in two different positions, a low one and a high one. The tones in the low position are sang with chest voice on syllables with å and ä, the tones in the high position with head voice on syllables with i. Syllables with u occurs both in the low and in the high position. Both voices are singing nearly the same tones and the same syllables, but complementary (see ex.1). The registrations I deal with show the following varieties: Der lång Wuschzhorner ( Ramsau 1901; ad Nr. 342): By accompanying the main voice by a higher voice in similar motion arises polyvocality of three voices (see ex.2). Der Koibåser (Liezen 1895; Nr. 339): can be repeated at one s pleasure and ends at the downbeat of the last measure, thus creating a final melodic third in the main voice. No diminution by eighth in the main voice (see ex.3). Der Koibåser (Ramsau1901; ad Nr. 294): has only 8 bars because of lacking of the repetition of section B. We see no eighths in the notation, but the quarters are divided by the two vowels å and u (see ex.4). Der Åiåiåi (Liezen, Rottenmann,1895; Nr. 340): Binary measure; 12 bars because of the repetition of section A2. It can be repeated at ones pleasure (see ex.5). Der Jåijåijåi (Schladming, 1898; Nr. 341): Binary measure, 8 bars. Neither section A1 nor section B are repeated. Section A2 is formed as a period with 4 measures in length. In section B similar motion in one measure (see ex.6). Der Dåppldu dippldå (Ramsau 1900; Nr. 295): Binary measure, only 6 bars, ending at the downbeat of the last measure. The funny syllables of the text correspond with the dotted notes in the tune (see ex.7). Der Wuschzhorner (Ramsau 1901, ad Nr. 297): Period with 8 measures, ending at the downbeat of the last measure, thus creating a final melodic third in the main voice (see ex.8). Der kuschz Wuschzhorner (Ramsau 1901; ad Nr. 339): No more countervoice but two voices in similar motion (see ex.9). Lära Bred: in section B a motion from subdominant harmony to tonic harmony (see ex.10). Characteristic for the whole type of yodel is the creation of a carpet of two different sound colours the singers play with by changing continually pitch, voice register and

3 276 Gerlinde Haid syllables. We have a comparable phenomenon in Lithuanian vocal polyphony sutertine, called text-polyphony. Although these yodels display probably characteristics of the era of Middle Ages and the origins of polyphony, as already Sichardt remarked, there is no doubt that they were modernised in the course of the time. First of all they have been interspersed by harmonical thinking of the 18 th and 19 th century. Their combination of polyphony in Music as well as in poetry is a phenomenon one can find only in folk music; it is certainly a particularity in the framework of European polyvocality. Nowadays the type of yodelling I presented here has disappeared largely from live singing. Yodelling is really very common in several alpine regions, but most singers prefer yodels with more than two parts in similar motion with or without bass. One can still hear lines in contrary motion, but these voices are conducted very freely, fitting optional to the texture with two or more voices in similar motion. Unlike this the counterpoints of the type Wurzhorner are not optional but determine these type as a sort of descant. Finally I want to mention that during my studies for this presentation I discovered an interesting note of Josef Pommer, who remarked that one of these yodels was produced by two brothers in the forties of the 19 th century on alphorns in the Dachstein region. One of the brothers died, the other one emigrated to the Caucasus! Thus if you permit me this joke I am not only able to give you a contribution to the archaic polyvocality in Austria, but perhaps also to the origins of yodelling in Georgia! References Födermayer, Franz und Gerlinde Haid: Jodeln, Jodler, Jodel. In: Österreichisches Musiklexikon, Hrsg. v. Rudolf Flotzinger, Bd. 2, Wien 2003, S Pommer, Josef: 444 Jodler und Juchezer aus Steiermark und dem steirisch-österreichischen Grenzgebiete. Wien Auflg. Wien Senn, Walter: Jodeln. Ein Beitrag zur Entstehung und Verbreitung des Wortes Mundartliche Bezeichnungen. In: Jahrbuch des Österreichischen Volksliedwerkes 11, Wien 1962, S Sichardt, Wolfgang: Der alpenländische Jodler und der Ursprung des Jodelns. Berlin 1939 (Schriften zur Volksliedkunde und Völkerkundlichen Musikwissenschaft, hrsg. v. Werner Danckert, 2). Slaviunas, Zenonas Jono: Zur litauischen Vokalpolyphonie. In: Deutsches Jahrbuch für Volkskunde 13, Berlin 1967, S

4 277 magaliti 1. audio. greti Staineri da heli gebaueri. (Ramsau / Schladming). Cawerili da gasifrulia g. haidis mier, 8/04 EXAMPLE 1.Audio. Greti Steiner and Heli Gebauer. Ramsau / Schladming. Registration and transcription: G. Haid, 8/04 Wurzhorner

5 278 magaliti 2. Der lång Wuschzhorner (Ramsau 1901; ad Nr. 342) EXAMPLE 2. Der lång Wuschzhorner (Ramsau 1901; ad Nr. 342)

6 279 magaliti 3. Der Koibåser (Liezen 1895; Nr. 339) EXAMPLE 3. Der Koibåser (Liezen 1895; Nr. 339) magaliti 4. Der Koibåser (Ramsau1901; ad Nr. 294) EXAMPLE 4. Der Koibåser (Ramsau1901; ad Nr. 294)

340) magaliti 6. Der Jåijåijåi (Schladming, 1898; Nr.

7 280 magaliti 5. Der Åiåiåi (Liezen, Rottenmann,1895; Nr. 340) EXAMPLE 5. Der Åiåiåi (Liezen, Rottenmann,1895; Nr. 340) magaliti 6. Der Jåijåijåi (Schladming, 1898; Nr. 341) EXAMPLE 6. Der Jåijåijåi (Schladming, 1898; Nr. 341)

8 281 magaliti 7. Der Dåppldu dippldå (Ramsau 1900; Nr. 295) EXAMPLE 7. Der Dåppldu dippldå (Ramsau 1900; Nr. 295)

9 282 magaliti 8. Der Wuschzhorner (Ramsau 1901, ad Nr. 297) EXAMPLE 8. Der Wuschzhorner (Ramsau 1901, ad Nr. 297) magaliti 9. Der kuschz Wuschzhorner (Ramsau 1901; ad Nr. 339) EXAMPLE 9. Der kuschz Wuschzhorner (Ramsau 1901; ad Nr. 339)

10 283 magaliti 10. audio. eleonora da maqs Sancl, bad ausi, eselbax. Cawerili da gasifrulia g. haidis mier, 8/04 EXAMPLE 10. Audio. Eleonore and Max Schanzl, Bad Aussee, Eselsbach. Registration and trascription: G. Haid 8/04 Lära Bred

MUSIC THEORY CURRICULUM STANDARDS GRADES Students will sing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.

MUSIC THEORY CURRICULUM STANDARDS GRADES 9-12 Content Standard 1.0 Singing Students will sing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. The student will 1.1 Sing simple tonal melodies representing