In This Issue Bringing Transformative Collaborations to Life by Thomas Lloyd Pg.2 Recruiting Students to the Choral Program Pg. 7 by Pat Wiehe Rhetoric in Bach s Mass in B Minor Pg. 9 by Robert Russell It Takes Two to...collaborate! Pg. 17 by Jane Moore Kaye But I Don t Have Time! A Case for Teaching Music Literacy Pg. 19 Part I by Michael Driscoll Does Your Choir Speak Conducting? Pg. 23 by Patrick Walders ADVERTISERS DIRECTORY Cultural Tour Consultants Pg. 4 Eastman School of Music Pg. 12 Harmonium Choral Society Pg. 18 Hartt School of Music Pg. 14 Lee University Pg. 6 McCloskey Institute Pg. 20 Messiah College Pg. 16 The Musical Source Pg. 7 Orpheus Music Press Pg. 15 Sunderman Conservatory Pg. 25 SUNY Potsdam Pg. 15 VoiceCare Network Pg. 8 Voices United Pg. 16 Sincerest thanks to fellow editors Emi Eiting (Virginia Harmony) and Susan Gedutis Lindsay (Massachusetts Music News), without whom this issue of Troubadour would not have been possible. They are true colleagues in every sense of the term. J. Nicosia, Ed.
Page 2 TROUBADOUR April 2011 BRINGING TRANSFORMATIVE COLLABORATIONS TO LIFE by Thomas Lloyd I m sure most choral directors would agree that among the most satisfying music-making we ve experienced has been in shared concerts with other choirs and conductors. The rewards of such collaborations can become transformational in people s lives. Choral collaborations enable us to cross cultural barriers that often separate us from people who see the world through perspectives different from our own. However, arranging these collaborations can also require a much greater degree of patience, persistence, flexibility, and even humility than we normally have to summon then safely within the more familiar confines of our own choral programs. In many ways the internet has made it easier to connect with others around the world. But the web also allows us to more restrictively self-select content that only reinforces our personal perspectives and prejudices. More importantly, while communication over the web can enable and even at times enhance face-to-face interaction, it can also seduce us into thinking that our emails, texts, and tweets give us anything close to the multi-dimensional experience of a face-to-face interaction. Furthermore, recent studies 1 confirm what many cultural leaders have long known: that one of the most effective ways to overcome prejudice and misunderstanding is through personal contact between people from different cultures. Music provides a unique and powerful way to begin this personal contact between groups of people who otherwise might never encounter each other in person (or know what to say to each other if they did!). This article will try to outline briefly some of what I have found to be important ingredients for successful collaborations. Some of these suggestions are directly related to travel abroad, but many can be applied to local collaborations as well. (In the case of community choirs, where it can be more difficult for many singers to participate for financial reasons or because of work and family obligations, planning a combined tour with another community choir in your area can bring all the benefits of collaboration close to home with those of encountering people in an unfamiliar culture abroad.) Bucks County Choral Society combined rehearsal in Budapest To begin with, it is important to be clear about what will determine whether or not a collaborative project is successful. For me, there are two essential outcomes: 1. that each person involved comes away with the sense of having at least a glimpse of a perspective on life and the world different from their own (including the insights that can come from seeing ourselves as others see us ); 2. that they come away not only with a sense of the otherness of that newly encountered perspective, but with a clearer sense of the commonness that all people share, and a deeper sense of what it means to be human. Of course there are also some dangers lurking in these hopes and expectations, which need to be addressed head on before any collaboration begins. I do believe that the experience of sharing music-making with people from an unfamiliar culture can be truly transformational in a relatively short period of time. But it can also lead participants to believe that through such an experience, they have genuinely come to know another culture, or, worse yet, become an expert on that culture to those who haven t had that personal experience. 2 With this in mind, there are at least two cautions that can be emphasized to singers at the start: 1. The point of interacting with people in an unfamiliar culture is not to acquire or possess cultural experience like a souvenir or trophy, but to become more fully aware of how much more we don t know about the world than we realized before. Awareness of our profound ignorance (which is actually quite hard to acquire in itself) is the beginning of genuine learning.
Page 3 TROUBADOUR April 2011 2. When sharing your experience with others after your return (another challenge in itself), understand the limits of your exposure and speak specifically of your experience, not globally. That is, avoid the temptation to say, I recently sang with my choir in Turkey, and so I know that the Turkish people think that.. Instead, say something like, I recently sang with my choir in Turkey, and one of the Turkish singers I met there said that in her opinion.. So how to go about choosing choirs with whom to seek collaboration? There are usually a number of overlapping considerations. To make sure the musical part of the collaboration can work, it is good to seek out cultures with a vibrant indigenous choral tradition where choirs of your peers (students or community members) are active and available at the time of year you can travel. This will tend to rule out summertime travel to countries in the northern hemisphere, but there are many countries below the equator in South America, South Africa, and Asia that are ripe for choral collaborations when our summer is their winter. Bucks County Choral Society combined choirs in Timisoara, Romania It can be a good idea to start by looking within your own choir or community for people from cultures you might want to encounter. The United States is still a nation of immigrants where most areas are home to people from all corners of the world. When my college choir travelled to Ghana, one of our students had grown up there himself. Knowing this student from the start gave us a reality check against our untested projections of what life in Ghana would be like. In one group conversation about fears of what we might encounter in Ghana (primarily about tropical disease and food-born illnesses we might encounter, for which everyone was required to get the necessary vaccinations) the Ghanain student mentioned that when he was considering coming to America to go to college, friends in Ghana warned him to beware of all the guns on our streets a revealing turn-around of American fears that it s the rest of the world that is a scary place. We also learned a great deal from him as he examined his own cultural identity both before and after visiting his home country with his American friends. Many countries also have local cultural organizations in American urban or university areas. Before travelling to Turkey recently, my college students were treated to a home-cooked pot-luck supper offered by the local chapter of the Turkish American Friendship Society. They also gave us a chance to try out our new Turkish songs, practice our Turkish pronunciation, and ask questions about what to expect in modern Turkey. Having a perspective on both their own culture and American culture made them wonderful personal resources both before and after a trip. In an academic choral program, choosing a region to visit where a faculty colleague has research interest or familial roots can make student preparation for the exchange much richer. This can be especially fruitful in colleges that are small enough to enable collaborative teaching in preparation for a tour. My last three college tours have involved other faculty in teaching, helping to make local arrangements, and going along on the trip itself as a co-leaders and teachers. In addition, these faculty have brought along non-singing students with special academic interest in the culture being visited. These students have loved being part of the experience, and become the perfect advocates back home for what makes collaborative choir tours special. Pre-concert meeting with Young Democrats 3, Poland The most critical personal connection for a collaborative choir tour to another country is the local point-person in that country, capable of managing all the logistical concerns of hotels, busses, and the setting up and promoting concerts. While having a comfort level with the US representative is important, any tour management company, large or small, is only as good as its local coordinator in the host country. Ask up front who that person would be and what the track record is.
Page 4 TROUBADOUR April 2011 That information and good references from choirs who have travelled to that country with that local tour coordinator are the best way to make an informed judgment. I have also led several tours where I have worked directly with managers in the host country, such as the parent of a foreign student, an active college alumna, or a faculty colleague on leave. While these arrangements also require thorough testing of the waters, taking time to be sure the source has the experience, contacts, time, and trustworthiness to make all the arrangements, they have been among the most satisfying tours I have done. I know many directors feel it is important to visit the country and all the prospective venues and hotels in advance of a tour, but this is not something I have done nor regretted not doing (as nice as it might have been if I could have afforded it!). Either way, knowing and trusting the people you re working with to make the arrangements is key, since they should be much better informed than you about local situations unless you have substantial experience living in the country yourself. Brazil - Juiz de Fora Combined three choirs Musically, whether close to home or abroad, the most sensitive and important relationships are with your conductor colleagues with whom you hope to collaborate. When contracting with an American tour company, be sure that they will not have a problem with your being in direct contact with collaborating conductors once the initial commitments have been made. If the tour grows from a conductor or choir with whom you already have a connection, all the better. But whether a stranger or a friend, this is where the humility, patience, persistence, and flexibility really come in. In any relationship, one side or the other takes the first initiative. If you are the suitor inviting a colleague to be an equal partner on a tour, you have to accept a number of responsibilities: o MUSIC THEATER LANGUAGE NATURE TRADITIONS CELEBRATIONS VITICULTURE MARKETS Creating interesting tour combinations is our specialty and we are never short on ideas. Contact us for ideas for your next concert tour. www.culturaltourconsultants.com (866) 499-3799 toll free info@culturaltourconsultants.com Cathy, Nancy & Melissa P. O. Box 2740, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49003 U.S.A.
Page 5 TROUBADOUR April 2011 humility: not missing any opportunity to tell the people you hope to collaborate with how grateful you are for their time and consideration; flexibility: carefully listening to understand their particular interest in collaborating, leaving enough decisions open so the plans can be adapted to meet their ideal of what a collaboration could be; persistence: knowing that until the project is fully off the ground, and sometimes thereafter as well, you or someone in your organization will need to be the point person to make sure things get done that have to be done - if the project was your idea to start with, you ll need to be the one most responsible for making sure nothing falls through the cracks from beginning to end; patience: accepting that as the initiator of the collaboration, it will be a while before your sense of urgency about moving things forward is matched by your partner; in particular, if you are of a type of academically trained American conductor to whom your singers might refer to (some with admiration, some maybe not so much!) as a control freak, collaborations are a wonderful way to learn that the rest of the world takes a little more time to get things organized, and likes to allow for a little more possibility of spontaneity (this is a good thing, but still a hard lesson to learn!) Thanks to email and Skype, it is much easier to share planning with colleagues, even in remote parts of the world, than it used to be (though internet access is still not as fast or available in many parts of the world as it is in the West). Sometimes it is only possible to perform as separate choirs on the same program. But the benefits are so much greater if the choirs also sing at least one piece from each other s repertoire together, under each other s conductor. Musical sharing at school, Turkey When I first started doing tours like this, I remember being told not to bother preparing music from the country being visited, the reasons being, you ll never sing it as well as the natives of that culture, and people want to hear you sing Western music, not their music. While both of these statements are true up to a point, and points well taken for any proudly ambitious American conductor, I m glad I never took this advice. To begin with, struggling to come to some kind of terms with the sounds, rhythms, and inflections of a foreign language are an essential ingredient to engaging with a culture. And music makes that struggle much easier, because the music supplies so much of the sounds, rhythm, and inflection itself. In my experience, going to the trouble of learning music from your host choir s repertoire is always taken as a sign of respect. While we might not sing this unfamiliar music with much flare before we leave home, we certainly will sing it more idiomatically after we come back. Audiences in my experience respond the same way hearing a foreign choir, especially an American one, singing one of their songs with a positive attitude will be received not as presumptuous, but as deeply respectful, and often will bring the most heartfelt response of a concert. Many countries have an unofficial but widely known national song (much less stodgy than a national anthem), like Góralu in Poland, Dinpa Sen Ahonya in many parts of Ghana, or Te Quiero in Venezuela these songs invariably bring an especially warm smile to many faces. Of course it is also important to share our own music, whether from the Western classical tradition or from America s greatest contribution to the world choral repertoire, the African-American spiritual. It is interesting to see all the excitement in the US these days about flash mob sings, where a group of singers shows up in a public place to suddenly break out in song together. This kind of spontaneous music making is already very common in many parts of the world, and can be a wonderful way to connect with strangers in a public place. Humility does play a role here as well, though, as it is important to always check with your local contacts with you first to make sure the time and the place would be welcome to the people going about their daily business. The most valuable benefit of sharing repertoire is that it makes it necessary to rehearse together! I have been privileged to witness so many times the electricity that happens when after a period of awkward hellos and eying each other from a distance, a group of young people or community choir singers come together to rehearse. Inevitably, from that moment on, all kinds of spontaneous sharing happen for the next 2-3 days singing their favorite pop songs, having discussions together or individually about perceptions of each other s culture, taking over a restaurant into the night with singing and dancing, all capped off by shared performances for
Page 6 TROUBADOUR April 2011 enthusiastic audiences who become our instant friends because we re singing with their friends. When I took my college chamber choir to Poland a few years back, I knew that our first rehearsal with our host choir would be at the end of 24 hours of overnight travel, door to door. I feared I was really asking for trouble (and if the singers weren t college students, I would have been!) But the excitement of sitting next to their welcoming peers and singing together after weeks and months of anticipation made immediately pushed away any memories of the fatigue of long hours sitting on planes and busses. Of course there are also many bumps along the road to meaningful collaboration nothing involving a significant number of people coming together with highly varied backgrounds and expectations can be done without plenty of things not going as expected. But the singing is always there as the reward, as the ingredient that allows us to let our collective and individual guards down for a few memorable moments to see the world and ourselves through the eyes of others, and feel a renewed sense of our shared humanity. ENDNOTES 1 See Robert Putnam and David Campbell, American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us (Simon and Schuster, 2010). http:\\www.simonandschuster.com/search?term=american+grace 2 Edward Said s controversial monograph Orientalism (Vintage Press, 1978) set off a still ongoing discussion about the misappropriation and misapplication of cross-cultural experience, especially by people coming from the West. http://www.amazon.com/orientalism-edward-w-said/dp/039474067x Thomas Lloyd is Director of the Choral and Vocal Studies Program for Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges, Artistic Director of the Bucks County Choral Society, and Director of Music at the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral. He has shared concerts with conductors and choirs in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Latin America, as well as closer to home. As past Eastern Conference R&S Chair for Community Choirs, he organized the first ACDA Eastern Community Choir Festival at the 2010 Philadelphia Conference.
Page 7 TROUBADOUR April 2011 RECRUITING STUDENTS TO THE CHORAL PROGRAM by Pat Wiehe The following article is reprinted from Resound, ACDA Central Division newsletter, Spring 2010, by permission. Building a successful high school choral program requires attracting and motivating students to excel musically. Show choir programs with their public performances and oppor-tunities to compete with other choirs can be an important element in stimulating interest in choral music. But how does one attract students initially? If a choral director waits until students enroll at his/her school, talented students may not discover the school s choral program until sometime during their freshman or sophomore years. Obviously, strong programs at the elementary or middle school levels can and sometimes do play a vital role. However, my experience has been that there is a great deal of variability in the vitality of choral programs in elementary and middle schools in a given school district. Some schools have strong programs, which produce high enrollment in choral classes at the high school level. Others do not. So is the high school choral director fated to have students from weaker feeder schools bypass choir at the high school level? This doesn t have to be, and our Half Notes program is one very effective way of attracting young singers to our high school choirs. Half Notes involves students primarily from the third through sixth grades, signing up to perform with the Counterpoints, our top high school show choir, during half-time at one of our high school basketball games. A routine taken from a well-known film or musical (e.g. 1001 Dalmatians; Mary Poppins, High School Musical III) is taught on a Saturday morning a week or two before the scheduled performance. The music is on a CD at both the rehearsal and the performance. It takes a Saturday morning to teach the music, singing, and dancing. Two dance captains from our show choir lead the workshop. All of the high school show choir members are assigned to one or two Half Notes, depending on enrollment. (There were a little over 100 elementary and middle students signed!"#$%&#$'()*+$!"#$%&$'()'$"*%+'%#*',-&-./-'(0'$"'%'!"#$%&'()*+, -$!"#$%&&'#()$*+#,&-.#.!)"/0# #./01$(2/134$356$7/834$ 90:;8$'<=8;34;:>:$ $?@"A$?B >2 $'>1==>$+C$ C3:2;5D>/5E$%($!"""!$?FG""F!')*H(I$!"!FJGKFK@?B$L3M$ $ L;56;>NO0:;834:/018=P8/O$ QQQPO0:;834:/018=P8/O$ -!"#$%&'()!&**+,!+-)+(.+.!/012!&(!3,#()+.!4'$#%!*,&4!45(6!.&4+$)#%!3'78#$9+,$:!! "#$%&'()$!5;5,.+.!&(!5!%5$+!76!%5$+!75$#$:!<8+5$+!#(='#,+!!"#$%"!&,.+,#(>:!
Page 8 TROUBADOUR April 2011 up this year to work with 55 high school performers.) The younger students are invariably awe-struck at having the chance to perform with the high school group, and the high school students take their roles as mentors very seriously. The Half Notes receive a CD with the music to which they will perform at the game so that they can practice at home. We meet early enough before the game to review the routine a few more times together. All students receive a t-shirt which contains the Counterpoint logo and a Half Note design (shown here) which identifies the music. It is worn during the half-time performance. This year we also incorporated a simple prop, miniature basketballs. Students pay a fee of $20 to cover the cost of the t-shirt, the CD, and the prop. After the half-time performance, the Counterpoints make sure each of their charges is connected with a parent or guardian. They give their Half Notes a picture of them together, which was taken at their rehearsal. Many of the Half Notes go on to become Counterpoints. We have had this program for 14 years, and some of my current Counterpoints still have their t-shirt(s) from their Half Note days. The Half Note program is not designed to be a fundraiser. I received a grant to purchase a button-maker. Each student gets a button with her or his name on it when they sign in at the Saturday morning rehearsal. Recruitment for the program is through the choral music teachers at the various schools, including area private and parochial schools. Parents help with the Saturday registration and a rehearsal water break. All of the schools choral directors who participate receive a t-shirt and usually help to publicize the workshop. The program is very popular with the athletic director as well, as it typically adds 100-200 paying adult spectators to the overall basketball game attendance. In Washington Township, our choral program is alive and growing thanks in large part to the Half Notes Workshop. Patricia Wiehe received her BS and MM degrees from Ball State University and began her teaching career in MSD Washington Township, Indianapolis, in 1967. With the exception of eight years at home raising her three children, she has taught continuously and has been at North Central High School since 1981. Pat directs five of the ten North Central choirs. Her gospel choir, the Northernaires, was the featured choir at the Indiana MEA Conference in 2005. Her top women s choir, the Descants, was named Indiana Women s Show Choir Champions this past March. She is currently ACDA Central Division R&S Chair for Show Choirs.
Page 9 TROUBADOUR April 2011 RHETORIC IN BACH S MASS IN B MINOR by Robert Russell Rhetoric is the art or science of using words effectively in speaking or writing, so as to influence or persuade. It was at one time a regular part of any student s instruction. Today its practice is relegated to the classrooms of graduate schools or law schools, as we are more apt to be persuaded by the power or glamour of a message than its logical construction. Bach, an ardent student of rhetoric, composed his masterworks, especially his vocal works, according to the principles of rhetorical argument. As the Leipzig lecturer in rhetoric Magister Birnbaum informs us, Johann Sebastian Bach so perfectly understood the resemblance which the performance of a musical composition has in common with the rhetorical art that he was listened to with the utmost satisfaction when he discoursed of the similarity and agreement between them; but we also wonder at the skillful use he made of them in his works. Therein lies much of the musical integrity of the Mass in B Minor. Heralded in 1812 by Swiss conductor Georg Nägeli as the greatest musical work of art of all ages and peoples, the Mass in B Minor of Johann Sebastian Bach stands today as one of the monuments in the composition of sacred music and the sine qua non of Mass composition. It had its genesis in the composition of a Missa in l733, written to honor the accession of Friedrich Augustus II, the new Elector of Saxony. With these words Bach sought the position of Hofkapellmeister at the Dresden court: To His Most Serene Highness, the Prince and Lord, Frederick Augustus, Royal Prince in Poland and Lithuania, Duke in Saxony,... My Most Gracious Lord. Most Serene Elector, Most Gracious Lord! To Your Royal Highness I submit in deepest devotion the present slight labor of that knowledge which I have achieved in musique, with the most wholly submissive prayer that Your Highness will look upon it with Most Gracious Eyes, according to Your Highness s World-Famous Clemency and not according to the poor composition; and thus deign to take me under Your Most Mighty Protection Such a most gracious fulfillment of my most humble prayer will bind me to unending devotion, and I offer myself in most indebted obedience to show at all times, upon Your Royal Highness s Most Gracious Desire, my untiring zeal in the composition of music for the church as well as for the orchestra, and to devote my entire forces to the service of Your Highness, remaining in unceasing fidelity Your Royal Highness s most humble and most obedient slave JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Dresden, July 27, 1733 The Missa the Kyrie and Gloria that traditionally comprise the Lutheran Mass had no performance at the time of its composition and lay unattended for more than a decade. During the final years of his life (1747-48) Bach once again returned to the Mass text as he was reviewing and revising his life s work. Bach conductor Helmut Rilling observes, With the supreme command of vocal and instrumental compositional techniques that he had developed over his lifetime and the absence of the urgency of an impending performance, Bach was prepared to come face to face with the awesome task of dealing with the central tenets of the Christian faith. To the Kyrie and Gloria Bach added a Sanctus, composed in l723 for the elaborate Leipzig Christmas celebrations. The Sanctus is the only portion with a verified performance during Bach s lifetime. The remainder of the Mass was newly composed or recomposed
Page 10 TROUBADOUR April 2011 from earlier cantatas. The result is a composite work in four sections that Bach designated Missa, Symbolum Nicenum, Sanctus, and Osanna/Benedictus/Agnus Dei. Since a concert performance of the work requires about two hours, its function is liturgically cumbersome. What has emerged is a work of art that summarizes the life and faith of a master composer. Bach scholar Alfred Mann notes, The Second Part of the B Minor Mass shows the magnificent enrichment of his craft produced through the remarkable process by which the master, at the close of his career, turned student again searching for new levels of expression which transcended contemporary understanding It became his crowning achievement at sacred music. After Bach s death in 1750, the musical world, absorbed in the new Classic style, ignored the works of the outmoded Sebastian. C.P.E. Bach performed his father s Credo in 1786, but it was more than sixty years after Bach s death that the Berlin Singakademie attempted the complete Mass; by 1814 the Mass was a regular part of the Singakademie repertory. Johann Nepomuk Schelbe promoted Bach s Credo with the Frankfurt Cäcilien- Verein in 1828, but the Frankfurt singers developed a prejudice against the composition because of its insuperable difficulties. Schelbe s love and labors for the greatest work in the history of art remained victorious over the prejudice of loud-mouthed dilettantism. Chaos at the first rehearsal gave way to order, and order to understanding, until friend and foe alike admitted, after the first rehearsal never in their lives to have heard anything more profound and exalted. (Gerhard Herz) KYRIE ELEISON Bach s setting of the Kyrie respects the traditional three-part call to confession: Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison. The introductory four measures suggest the magnitude of the entire composition through a weighty and complex musical texture of winds, strings, and five-voice chorus. The following fugue is constructed on an intricate subject comprising four parts: an initial repeated note, an ascending chromatic line, a dramatic leap of a seventh, and a sigh motive of a descending second. The effect is one of pleading as Bach uses musical gestures symbolic of the beseeching text, Lord have mercy. Through the entire fugue the subject is presented only in its original form (never in lengthened or compressed values), symbolic of the gravity of the text. Musical tension builds through the 21 separate melodic entrances. The simple aria form of the Christe eleison contrasts sharply with the profound opening movement. A vocal duet represents the dual nature of Father and Son (Kyrie and Christe) while the unison violins symbolize the unity of the two. The concluding Kyrie eleison is also a fugue, set here in a style reminiscent of the older sixteenth-century motet. On a number of occasions in the Mass, Bach links his own confession of faith to that of the universal Church by using older techniques of motet composition or by quoting Gregorian chant as a melodic motive. A powerful conclusion to the Kyrie syncopated entries that mount one upon another to the highest soprano range and a stunning major resolution to the f# minor movement prepares the way for a striking fanfare than opens the Gloria. GLORiA Bach generates dynamic rhythmic propulsion throughout the entire vocal and instrumental ensemble, brilliantly proclaiming, Glory to God in the highest. A lyrical Et in terra pax follows with a modulation to the key of G major, a pastoral contrast to the dazzling opening in D major. Trumpets and timpani momentarily are silenced, entering midway through the movement and propelling the full instrumental complement to a joyous conclusion. In the Laudamus te aria Bach reduces the ensemble to strings alone, accompanying the soprano and obbligato violin.
Page 11 TROUBADOUR April 2011 The first part of the Gloria concludes with a stile antico (Renaissance motet style) setting of Gratias agimus tibi (We give thanks to you for your great glory) that Bach has recomposed from Cantata 29 Wir danken dir, Gott. The cantata translation, We thank you God and proclaim your wonders, highlights the textual relationship between the original cantata and subsequent Mass movement and proclaims Bach s intention as he reworks older materials: Bach used previously composed music not because of any liturgical exigency; he was under no deadline at the time he composed the Gloria. And certainly he did not use it for failure of imagination. Bach recomposed the older music because it had a place in the new setting, musically contrasting with the preceding movements and setting the mood for music to follow. Modern notions of plagiarism did not concern him or his contemporaries. Borrowing was common and composers freely used old music in new contexts. In his several recompositions in the Mass, Bach transcends mere recopying as he infuses the older music with new meaning. A trio of quietly expressive pieces begins the second major section of the Gloria. The first four movements center on praise of God; the next three are prayers for mercy. Domine Deus, scored for tenor, soprano, and flute and accompanied by strings, introduces this section of the Gloria in a lilting, delicate musical ambiance complemented by softly expressive voices and instruments. Qui tollis peccata mundi (Thou who takes away the sins of the world) borrows its music from Cantata 46 Schauet doch und sehet (Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow). Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris completes the trio, featuring the plaintive timbre of the oboe d amore and alto accompanied by strings. Quoniam tu solus Sanctus scored for bass, obbligato horn, bassoon duet, and continuo and the concerto-styled Cum Sancto Spiritu conclude the Gloria. The trumpets resound in highest tessitura and the fanfare ending resolutely concludes the movement itself and the massive setting of the entire Gloria text. Throughout the Gloria Bach demonstrates to his prospective patron, the Elector of Saxony, his command of the gamut of musical expression through his exploitation of old and new styles of composition, through his spotlight on five different solo voices, and through his solo settings for all of the voices of the orchestra: wind, double reed, brass, and string. As he instructs us in the art of idiomatic choral and solo composition, Bach at once creates a Mass setting never before imagined and not since equaled. SYMBOLUM nicenum The Credo (Symbolum Nicenum) is Bach s most tightly knit movement. The chiastic structure reflects the care with which Bach organized this movement, pivotal in the Mass and central in the Christian confession of faith. Credo in unum Deum Patrem omnipotentem Et in unum Dominum Et incarnatus est Crucifixus Et resurrexit Et in spiritum sanctum Confiteor unum baptisma Et expecto resurrectionem Gregorian cantus firmus/ stile antico Fugue: choral concerto Aria: vocal duet Choral imitative Choral passacaglia Choral concerto Aria: bass solo Gregorian cantus firmus/stile antico Fugue: choral concerto Nowhere in the Mass does Bach more authoritatively demonstrate his command of musical rhetoric. Two pairs of movements for chorus frame the Symbolum Nicenum. The first of each pair utilizes stile antico with a Gregorian cantus firmus. The subsequent fugue is a choral concerto in D major with full orchestra, including trumpets and timpani. Working toward the center, Bach composed the third and seventh movements as arias, the only two movements to use solists. At the center of the Symbolum Nicenum and thus at the heart of Bach s understanding of the Christian faith are three choral movements, the central of which is the Crucifixus. The crucifixion stands at the center of the Symbolum Nicenum, at the pivot of the entire Mass in b minor, and at the core of Bach s understanding of faith. Bach s most luminous musical composition is found in the choral trilogy at the heart of the Credo. The tenets of rhetorical argument docere, delectare et movere to teach, to delight and to move are never more compellingly drawn than in the heart of the Symbolum Nicenum as Bach sublimely teaches, delights and moves listeners and performers in an inspired way. Through his choice of 49 measures (seven times seven) for the Et incarnates est, Bach symbolically aligns this movement with the ecclesiastical number for wholeness or perfection. The movement is further marked by a visual symbol of the cross: the unison motive of violins I and II. Numerous sharps intensify the cross symbolism; in the German language the word for both cross and sharp is kreuz.
Page 12 TROUBADOUR April 2011 The central movement of the Credo is one of the most expressive compositions in all of music. Composed on a four-measure lamento bass common in the Baroque Era (as Purcell used in Dido s lament), Crucifixus is a reworking of Cantata 12 Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen (Tears, Laments, Sorrows, Fears). If we need any further evidence that Bach did not consider recomposition to be an inferior means of creating new music, then we need only consider this, the central tenet of the Church s affirmation of faith. A pulsating, chromatic ostinato bass is repeated thirteen times, symbolic of Christ and the twelve apostles. Melodic and harmonic meaning is infused in the sigh-motive and the emphasis upon the tritone. An instrumental concerto of virtuosic proportions proclaims the joy of Et resurrexit. The contrast with the previous et sepultus est could not be more dramatic. Bach ended Crucifixus with voices in lowest tessitura accompanied by bass instruments. Et resurrexit begins with full orchestra and voices in high tessitura. Rilling notes, Nowhere in the history of Mass composition is the belief in the resurrection expressed with such absolute confidence as it is here. The entire movement sweeps upward: fugato passages from lowest to highest instrument, vocally leaping lines, and highlighted trumpets ringing in the stratosphere. Following the Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Bach concludes the Credo with Confiteor unum baptisma and Et expecto resurrrectionem mortuorum. The initial confiteor melody on the text I confess one baptism contrasts with a second theme on the text for the remission of sins. The third section presents both melodies simultaneously, as Bach symbolically conflates the two theological ideas. Midway through the movement Bach quotes the Gregorian confiteor melody, adding an objective and universal character to the setting. The transition to Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum marks the only occasion in the Mass, aside from the opening Kyrie, that Bach sets the same words in two different musical styles. The adagio transition is characterized by harmonic instability and modulations to remote keys as if Bach were musically expressing some apprehension about the resurrection from the dead. The eight measures preceding the final movement explore all twelve tones of the chromatic octave as Bach modulates from remote flat keys to remote sharp keys. Three measures before the end the tenors symbolically rise above all other voices on the word mortuorum, Summer at eastman 2011 Eastman Choral Institutes An excellent opportunity to gain professional development or continuing education credits. The camaraderie of fellow conductors and teachers makes for a stimulating and enjoyable experience. Enrollment in each Choral Institute is limited to 14 conductors. Each participating conductor will conduct Voices, the professional chamber chorus in residence at the Institutes. Choral Conducting: Artistry, Vocal Pedagogy, Musicianship July 11 15 William Weinert, director Faculty: robert mciver, monica dale A weeklong workshop focused on topics that choral directors and accompanists address in the context of choral singing. This course will involve daily sessions in conducting, singing, musicianship, class performance, vocal pedagogy, repertory selection and movementoriented Dalcroze Eurhythmics. Professional development Hours: 30 $2,300/2 credits $625/noncredit Choral Conducting Workshop: American Choral Landscapes American Music by American Masters July 18 22 SPecial guest: craig Hella JoHnSon; William Weinert, director Practical approaches to rehearsal technique, performance practice issues, score analysis and preparation. Each participating conductor will work with both teachers. Professional development Hours: 30 $2,300/2 credits $625/noncredit Housing and meals are also available in the Eastman Student Living Center www.esm.rochester.edu/summer summer@esm.rochester.edu In NYS 585-274-1400 or 1-800-246-4706
Page 13 TROUBADOUR April 2011 and the wayward tonality finally settles in the key of D major. Achingly expressive, the 24-measure adagio link from the objective Confiteor to the triumphant Et resurrectionem mortuorum underscores our appreciation of Bach s theological understanding and his need to vivify the text with persuasive musical treatment. In a concluding bravura choral concerto Bach sets Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum to music from Cantata 120 Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille (God, man praises Thee in the stillness of Zion). Expanding the original four-voice model to five voices, Bach emphatically sweeps the listener into the whirlwind of resurrection through a composed crescendo that accompanies the exultant choral proclamation and I look for the resurrection of the dead. The resurrectionem and amen melodies derive from the cantata melody on the text climb up to heaven. The amen... is not only the conclusion of the Et expecto, but bound as it is to the prospect of eternal life, it is also the conclusion of the entire affirmation of the Credo. From the paucity of forces of its beginning in the tenor and viola, the amen develops itself by the continuous addition of every available group within the ensemble, building in intensity by the upward voice-leading to the cadence in the last three measures Through the eighth notes in the high trumpets and sixteenth notes in the winds and first violin, he gives this confirmation of the text an extraordinarily vital and with the short-held final chord, an ecstatic interpretation. (Helmut Rilling) Sanctus and Agnus Dei Sanctus was composed for the Leipzig communion service of December 24, 1723, ten years before the Missa and twenty-five years before Bach completed his setting of the Mass. The text is from Isaiah 6:2-3, and symbolic representations in the text influenced the composition. The text reads, Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings; and with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to the other and said, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of Hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. The three pairs of wings, the triple cry of Sanctus, and the Church s reverence for the number three are lavishly illustrated as Bach orchestrated the Sanctus for three trumpets, three oboes (the only appearance of three oboes in the entire Mass), three strings plus continuo, and a six-voice chorus divided into choirs of three each (Bach s only use of six-voiced chorus). As an aside, we may also note that if we cube three, we reach the 27 movements comprising the complete Mass. The massive accumulation of sound throughout the entire orchestral spectrum in the 17-voice Sanctus contrasts with the opening of the Pleni sunt coeli, which dissipates energy immediately through a lone tenor entrance accompanied by bass. The buoyant fugal line contrasts with the weighty polychoral Sanctus. The climactic energy of the Pleni sunt coeli is further intensified by the twentyvoice scoring of Osanna, the most extensive use of musical forces in the Mass, and the only movement in which Bach specifically divides the chorus into two four-voice choirs. An intimate three-voice Benedictus follows the gigantic Osanna. A meditative attitude of restraint expresses the character of blessedness appropriate to the text. For the Agnus Dei Bach creates an expressive, meditative mood through minimal scoring for unison violins, alto, and continuo. Unusual is his placement of a fermata within the aria, the only such example in the Mass. By use of the fermata Bach offers the listener and performer a time of reflection on the meaning of the suffering, death, and redemption. Chromatic vocal and instrumental lines intensify the expressive setting. Bach repeats music from Gratias agimus tibi for his setting of Dona nobis pacem and once again demonstrates creative use of previously composed music. In Rilling s words, The concern here is not with the suppliant prayer for God s mercy, but rather with the praise of God and the acceptance of his promised peace, liberated from the tribulation of the preceding miserere nobis. J.S. Bach honored, outside Thomaskirche, Leipzig, Germany Rhetoric the power of persuasion through the spoken or written word and also through music. Bach, the master of musical rhetoric, astonishes us with his acute sensitivity to the absolutely correct choices of music for the text at hand. Textual considerations aside, Bach s musical organization makes a powerfully cogent statement in its own right. Throughout its 1500-year history of musical composition, Gregorian to modern, the Mass text has seen thousands, even tens of thousands, of
Page 14 TROUBADOUR April 2011 musical settings. The Mass in B Minor of Johann Sebastian Bach remains today as the most compelling, most musically reasoned, most aesthetically rewarding of all settings a standard of excellence perhaps for all time. Robert Russell, director of choral music at the University of Southern Maine, served ACDA for six years as R&S Chair for Youth & Student Activities and two terms as Maine ACDA president. He has contributed articles to Choral Journal and led numerous festival choruses. At USM he conducts two choirs and teaches music history and choral conducting; the Chamber Singers are preparing for their fifth European Tour to Andalusia, Spain. As music director of Portland s Choral Art Society, he has led the Society s three ensembles Camerata, Singers, and Masterworks Chorus in concert for the past 31 years and prepared choruses for performance with the Portland Symphony Orchestra. FO R MO R E I N FO R M AT I O N G O TO : Butt, John. Mass in b minor. Cambridge University Press, 1991 http://www.amazon.com/bach-minor-cambridge-music-handbooks/dp/0521387167 Green, Jonathan D. A Conductor s Guide to the Choral-Orchestral Works of J. S. Bach. Scarecrow Press, 2000 http://www.scarecrowpress.com/catalog/singlebook.shtml?command=search&db=%5edb/catalog.db&eqskudata=0810837331 Hochreither, Karl, tr. Melvin P. Unger. Performance Practice of the Instrumental-Vocal Works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Scarecrow Press, 2002 http://www.scarecrowpress.com/catalog/singlebook.shtml?command=search&db=%5edb/catalog.db&eqskudata=0810842580 Rilling, Helmuth. Johann Sebastian Bach s B-Minor Mass, tr. Gordon Paine, Prestige Publications, 1984 http://www.amazon.com/johann-sebastian-bachs-b-minor-mass/dp/0911009051/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=utf8&qid=1299606798& sr=1-2 Wolff, Christoph. Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2000 http://www.amazon.com/johann-sebastian-bach-learned-musician/dp/0393322564 Announcing The Summers-Only Masters of Music Education Program Choral Conducting Emphasis Beginning Summer 2011 Earn your Masters of Music Education degree in 3 summers Learn from nationally and internationally recognized instructors Edward Bolkovac, D.M.A. Primrose Fuller Professor of Choral Music Division Director, Vocal Studies, The Hartt School Stuart Younse, PhD Instructor in Music Education and Choral Studies Artistic Director, Connecticut Children s Chorus Past President, CT-ACDA Designed to help the choral director develop in six different skill areas including: conducting choral methodology musicianship for the conductor musicianship and literacy for choral students vocal pedagogy educational philosophy The program is interactive and hands-on, based on active participation by each student at the Summer Institutes and completion of Fall Practicums after each summer institute. SUMMERTERM 2011 Hartt Summerterm Office The Hartt School University of Hartford 200 Bloomfield Avenue West Hartford, CT 06117 Dee Hansen, Director 860.768.4128 dehansen@hartford.edu www.hartford.edu/hartt/summerterm
6.26. 11-7. 9. 11 Choral, instrumental & piano tracks available This was my fourth year in a row that I have attended CYM, and I don t intend for it to be my last. -William, Potsdam, NY crane youth music music programs for middle and high school musicians ages 12-18 www.potsdam.edu/academics/crane/cym 315.267.2167 or cym@potsdam.edu
M A S T E R of music in CONDUCTING messiah.edu/conducting NEW CLASS SESSIONS BEGIN IN JULY AND JANUARY.
Page 17 TROUBADOUR April 2011 IT TAKES TWO TO...COLLABORATE! by Jane Moore Kaye The following article is reprinted from Virginia Harmony, ACDA state newsletter, Winter 2010 by permission. Accompanists and conductors come in all shapes and sizes with various musical backgrounds. Partnerships being what they are and as in love and marriage, you can t have one without the other. Making the music on the page come alive is their shared goal. It is the responsibility of the conductor to be a good communicator with a vision for the music and to encourage the accompanist to believe in him and join him in the musical process. It is the accompanist s responsibility to fulfill the conductor s musical vision. A good accompanist must be a mind-reader, think and play like an orchestra and most importantly have bionic ears. Guidelines for a Fabulous Conductor-Accompanist Partnership I. Give your accompanist a rehearsal run-down before you start. Put the repertoire in the correct order and let them know of any detours along the way such as repeats, omitted passages, etc. Also, indicate how you wish to conduct the warm-up. If the accompanist is playing the warm-up, let him know how you wish for the warm-up to go as every conductor has different styles. Be sure you and the accompanist are reading from the same edition. Indicate usage of measure numbers or rehearsal letters or both. II. Make sure you can be seen clearly. III. Speak distinctly. Give directions in the following format; page, system, measure number. For example, We are starting at page two, first system, third measure on the second beat where the tenors come in. Allow time for turning to the proper rehearsal spot. If the accompanist cannot keep up with your instructions, chances are that the choir is not. IV. Wave your arms in a clear and precise manner. Where s the beat? calls to mind that Wendy s commercial of long ago. V. Don t rehearse at an impossible tempo because the orchestral reduction may be difficult to decipher. A good accompanist knows what notes to leave out and still retain the integrity of the music. VI. Try to maintain eye contact at critical junctures in the music such as cadences, tempo changes, rests, fermati, cut-offs, etc. VII. Don t assume that you can hear everything. The accompanist has the best seat in the house and may hear singers creating sounds outside the composer s intent and which may go undetected by you. Trust their experience and bionic ears and don t feel intimidated when they bring this to your attention. Before rehearsal starts, work out a system wherein your accompanist may in a timely manner let you know of a singer s mistake. It s best to correct it then and not let it become ingrained into the muscle and tonal memory of the singer. VIII. Don t attempt to talk or yell out instructions to the accompanist while she is playing. The distance between the podium and the keyboard is often great and the volume of sound emanating from the choir makes it impossible to hear. Chances are the accompanist can t read lips. IX. Know your stuff! It is not the job of the accompanist to teach the music to the choir. Before you step on the podium, you should know what every voice part is doing separately and collectively. If you don t know the music, you are putting the accompanist in the untenable situation of having to correct you and this is embarrassing for all concerned. A good accompanist cares enough to say something.
Page 18 TROUBADOUR April 2011 X. Pay your accompanist well and on time and she will not forget it. There is nothing more embarrassing than to have to ask for your paycheck. XI. Do unto others will take you a long way to a productive rehearsal. Trust and respect are the most important attributes of a fabulous conductor-accompanist relationship. A good accompanist can save a bad conductor or a difficult musical situation. Communicate your musical desires to your accompanist then let go and trust their musical instincts. If there are none, then perhaps after rehearsal you can gently suggest to your accompanist that they go bowling instead of accompany. This will most likely not be the case because you have spent time and effort to find the best player out there. Some of the most beautiful music made has not been in the concert situation but instead in the process of rehearsal. Unveiling the layers and revealing the music that lies beneath is what happens when there is respect and trust between the conductor and accompanist. The collective effort involved in this creation of music elevates the experience to that which is beyond our realm. Jane Moore Kaye performs in the greater D.C. area as an active recitalist and accompanist. She has shared her love of choral music as accompanist for the ACDA Voices United Conference and is also active in district and statewide choral festivals. Jane is the organist and pianist for Providence Presbyterian Church in Fairfax, VA, vocal coach and accompanist for the University Chorale at George Mason University and accompanist for the Concert Choir and the Master Singers of the Fairfax Children s Chorus. Highlights of her career have included performances at the White House, the National Cathedral, the Kennedy Center and high-level Pentagon events to include the National Prayer Breakfast and the prayer service following 9/11. She earned a BM in Piano Performance at Emporia State University and an MM in Piano Performance at Sam Houston University.
Page 19 TROUBADOUR April 2011 BUT I DON T HAVE TIME! A Case for Teaching Music Literacy - Part I by Michael Driscoll The following article is reprinted from Massachusetts Music News, Summer 2010, by permission. My rehearsal time is so limited. I have a concert coming up and I have no time to teach literacy. How can I teach them to read independently when they know nothing and we have concerts to present? Teaching music literacy is tedious and time consuming and will turn off my students. These are common concerns of music educators and are concerns that I have struggled with myself. We all want students to appreciate and love music just as much as we do. I believe that teaching students to become musically literate, independent musicians is vital part of helping students gain a deeper love and appreciation for music. Fortunately, teaching literacy does not have to consume vast amounts of class time. Furthermore, in the long run, teaching literacy saves time because students are able to learn music much, much faster AND they can do so without the aid of a piano or teacher singing it for them. In this installment I will present some of the basic principles of how I teach music literacy. In a future installment, I will present some techniques for how I teach and assess students quickly and efficiently, how I choose repertoire, and how I approach teaching an excerpt from the choral literature. I will also provide a list of repertoire that has worked well for me. Finally, I will discuss challenges and successes I have experienced with my students at Brookline High School provide written feedback from both current and former students. At Brookline High School, I teach two unauditioned and one auditioned choirs. All three learn almost all music entirely by sightsinging. Students come to my program with a wide variety of backgrounds and skills. Some cannot identify any music notation, some can identify basic music notation, and some have been taking private vocal or instrumental lessons for years and can read music notation very well. However, very, very few of them can sight-sing even a simple melody accurately. Therefore, at the beginning of each year I make the assumption that all students know nothing. My choirs include students taking chorus with me for the first time through experienced students who are taking the class for the fourth time. I need a method that is going to get the whole class reading quickly so that the experienced students don t become bored and the new students don t fall behind. The process I use for teaching literacy is based largely on the work of Dr. Carol Krueger (Florida Southern College) and Edwin Gordon. The basic idea of this approach is that music is a language and should be learned like a language. Music can be broken into two major elements: frequency/pitch (tonal) patterns and time (rhythm) patterns. These two elements need to be taught independently at first and then integrated as the students skill increases. The system I use for teaching rhythm patterns is the Takadimi syllables system developed by Richard Hoffman, William Pelto, and John W. White (http://www.takadimi. net). For teaching tonal patterns, I use moveable-do solfège syllables with la-based minor. I also use the Curwen hand signs in conjunction with the solfège syllables. While there is debate about the effectiveness of the Curwen hand signs, I have found that some students really benefit from the kinesthetic connection. In addition, as I will describe later, I find the Curwen hand signs invaluable in quickly assessing a large number of students. I use three main phases in teaching students music literacy: Prepare the ear (both tonal and rhythmic patterns) Prepare the eye (both tonal and rhythmic patterns) Integrate both tonal and rhythm patterns I will describe in greater detail below the preparation of tonal patterns. The approach to preparing rhythm patterns is essentially the same.
Page 20 TROUBADOUR April 2011 PHASE 1: Prepare the Ear Successful sight-singing requires the ability to audiate a given rhythm and/or tonal pattern. Audiation is a word coined by music education researcher Edwin Gordon: hearing and comprehending of sound that is not physically present. In other words, in order to successfully sight-sing, one needs to be able to hear a given rhythm and/or tonal pattern in an inner ear, the mind s ear, without any sound actually being present. Without this ability, sight-singing is little more than guesswork. Step One The goal of this step is to introduce the solfège syllables and aurally familiarize the students with the sound of these pitches so that they can begin to identify the relationship between the pitches. I sing many 3 to 5-note solfège patterns with the accompanying Curwen hand signs to students. The students immediately sing the patterns back. Initially, the patterns I use are limited to just three tonal syllables: do, re and mi. There are only twelve possible three-note patterns using do, re and mi: drd, rdr, drm, mrd, dmd, mdm, mdr, rdm, mrm, rmr, rmd, dmr. The whole process of singing these patterns takes less than one minute. Eventually I expand these patterns to include all pitches in the major scale, but the patterns remain limited to 3 to 5 notes in length. Additionally, because I use moveable-do solfège, I change the tonic pitch daily so that students ears don t become locked into a single tonic pitch. These patterns must be practiced regularly until students have thoroughly mastered them. Step Two The goal of step two is to determine if students are able to decode tonal patterns they ve performed in step one. Step two usually takes place one to two days after we have practiced step one for a few days. I sing (or play) the same patterns as in step one, but now I sing the patterns on a neutral syllable and I do not use the Curwen hand signs. The students are instructed to sing the patterns back using the correct solfège syllables and Curwen hand signs. This is one instance where I find the Curwen hand signs invaluable. In a large class of students, I cannot always hear whether each student is singing the correct syllables. However, if the students are using June 23-26 Queens College City University of New York Flushing, NY (La Guardia Airport) July 18-21 Endicott College Beverly, MA (on Boston s North Shore, Logan Airport) The McClosky Institute of Voice Summer 2011 Seminars - 29th Year Graduate credit and CEU s available Experience TRUE VOCAL FREEDOM At the McClosky Institute of Voice Summer Seminar! For more information, visit www.mcclosky.org, or contact: Jay Lane, CMVT at 978-897-5372
Page 21 TROUBADOUR April 2011 the Curwen hand signs, I can quickly visually assess whether individual students can correctly identify the solfège syllables in the tonal pattern I have performed for them. If students are unable to do this step successfully, then I know I need to return to step one. As with step one, this process need not take more than one to two minutes per class. In my early attempts at teaching music literacy I did not spend nearly enough time teaching Phase One, which led to many unsuccessful - and ultimately frustrating - experiences for me and my students. PHASE 2: Preparing the Eye The goal of Phase 2 is to associate patterns learned in Phase 1 with musical symbol(s) for those patterns. Once the students ears have the ability to correctly decode a set of tonal patterns, then the next step is to show them the musical symbol that represents that tonal pattern. For this phase flashcards are an invaluable teaching tool. Keep in mind that my high school students come to me with a wide variety of skills and backgrounds, which requires that I assume they know nothing about standard music notation. My goal is for every student to be able to read some simple musical patterns in the first couple of days. On the other hand I don t want to spend weeks teaching them note letter names, intervals, key signatures, etc. before we start reading. This is chorus class after all they want to sing! Fortunately, there is a way to do this! Each of the short tonal patterns introduced in Phase I can be made into flashcards. The tonal reading flashcards I use include a 5-line staff without clef, meter signature or key signature (see inset). A square is used to indicate where the tonic is located. This square can (and should) be placed anywhere on the staff, since in moveable-do solfège the tonic note can be located anywhere on the staff. These simplified flashcards allow the new reader to focus on the solfège syllables/notes and their relationship on the staff without the need to know or be confused by rhythm, meter, pitch letter names, key signatures or interval qualities. In addition, these same flashcards can later be used to teach patterns in the minor mode by making the square become la (assuming one uses la-based minor). It only takes a couple of minutes to run through a series of these flashcards. Resources for Teaching Music Literacy in Chorus Rhythmic Patterns Tonal Patterns
Page 22 TROUBADOUR April 2011 PHASE 3: Integrating Tonal and Rhythm Patterns Integrating both tonal and rhythm patterns is the final phase in learning to sight-sing. Initially, the sight-singing exercises must be kept simple and should only incorporate tonal and rhythm patterns that have been learned in Phases 1 and 2. If a given exercise incorporates a newly learned tonal pattern, then the difficulty of the rhythmic pattern must be reduced. If a given musical exercise incorporates a newly learned rhythmic pattern, then the difficulty of the tonal patterns must be reduced. Be sure to introduce only one new concept at a time. Also, it s better to teach literacy skills for short periods of time consistently than to have occasional marathon sessions. Students welcome the opportunity to learn to read music and receive a great deal of satisfaction from being able to learn a piece of music on their own without assistance. Teaching this material benefits me, the teacher, as well. I can introduce more repertoire now because my students learn music much more quickly. I don t have to drill parts! My own musicianship has improved tremendously as a result of doing this work daily. Finally, I feel a great deal of satisfaction knowing that I have helped my students learn a skill set that enables them to become independent musicians and gives them lifelong access to vocal music. A musically literate choir should not be limited to students who are naturally talented or whose parents can afford private lessons. With training, ALL students can acquire these skills. It s up to to help them achieve that potential. Music literacy skills can be taught fairly quickly without requiring vast amounts of class time. In the long run teaching these skills will save class time, although the teachers effort and planning may increase. I didn t figure out how immediately to get my choirs to sight-sing all of the music. Over time, with patience and a lot of trial and error, I was able to make it work. Even if you are only able to incorporate some of this work into your classes initially, something is better than nothing. In my own teaching I ve found that the benefits reaped are well worth the effort. Michael Driscoll is Director of Choirs at Brookline High School, where he directs three choirs, advises student-run a cappella ensembles, teaches AP music theory and class piano. He has been Music Director of Boston Saengerfest Men s Chorus since October of 2001, and has led Boston them on tours to Portugal, Vancouver & Toronto, Canada and twice to London, England. Michael was Assistant Conductor of the Masterworks Chorale for four years under Allen Lannom. He has also directed the choirs at Emerson College and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Driscoll is currently serving as Treasurer for the Massachusetts ACDA. He is a passionate advocate for teaching music literacy skills in the choral classroom and has given presentations on the subject at the Massachusetts MEA All-State Conference, at two Massachusetts ACDA Summer conferences at Gordon College and at two workshops sponsored by Massachusetts ACDA and AGO. He graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1997 with a BS in Electrical Engineering and a minor in Music. He completed his master s degree in Electrical Engineering at WPI and received his master s degree in Choral Conducting from New England Conservatory, where he studied with Simon Carrington. Look for Part II of Michael s article in the September 2011 issue of Troubadour. F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N G O T O : The Gordon Institute for Music Learning http://www.giml.org Publications by Edwin Gordon http://www.giamusic.com/bios/edwin-gordon Progressive Sight Singing by Dr. Carol Krueger http://www.amazon.com/progressive-sight-singing- Carol-Krueger/dp/0195178475 The Rhythm Book by Richard Hoffman http://www.takadimi.net Music Aptitude: Critical Ages for Music Learning http://www.menc.org/v/general_music/music-aptitudecritical-ages-for-music-learning/
Page 23 TROUBADOUR April 2011 DOES YOUR CHOIR SPEAK CONDUCTING? by Patrick Walders The following article is reprinted from Virginia Harmony, Fall 2009, by permission. Let s get right down to it. Singers (vs. vocal/choral musicians ) are notorious for having minimal music literacy, and perceived as not possessing the level of musical skills of our instrumental brethren. I believe singers have minimal literacy when it comes to the language of conducting as well, and at all levels- K-12 through adults, including professionals. In 99% of my K-12 experience, conducting was discussed only in an instrumental setting. Why? I remember learning a 6 pattern in 6th grade band because the music called for it. (Yes, of course, choral musicians never have to count over 4, I know, and goodness help us if a piece with mixed meter or a compound time signature falls in our lap!) Nonetheless, when is the last time we shared the method-to-the-madness with our choirs? Okay then, so what do our choirs look for? I have found both young people and adults watch the choral director s mouth, because chances are, they are mouthing the words. I have also found that choral conductors often conduct syllables, especially in a homophonic context, when they think they are conducting phrases. This is also a reason choirs cannot keep time by themselves, or have a skewed sense of steady beat. They focus so much on a director from the neck up, perhaps because they ve subconsciously accepted the fact that their conductor s gesture doesn t seem to mean anything. Point: Giving your ensemble a fair chance They simply may not speak your language and it s your (our) job to teach the phonics. Reflect: What does your gesture mean to the ensemble? Does your gesture say anything? When is the last time you saw yourself conduct on videotape? When is the last time you had a conducting class, lesson, or coaching? Have you ever had a conducting class, lesson, or coaching? Group Therapy: Have you ever invited your choir to conduct as a group in rehearsals? I highly recommend it. It s group therapy for you and them as it breaks the ice and may get them out of their comfort zone. More importantly, it allows them to learn a bit of the language being waved at them. They will better appreciate the difficulty and coordination of it all if they have to do it! (Some will resist, mind you, but they will come around!) 1. Choose a current piece your choir knows well, and ask them to put down their music and look at the chalkboard or dryerase board in your choir room (or bring one into the sanctuary!). 2. Draw a large 3 and 4 pattern (RIGHT HAND perspective) on the board, and number the beat points (or icti). 3. Choose a slow, steady beat and have your choir say, in-time, down, in, out, up and repeat. 4. Pause them, and, WITHOUT meter, ask them to conduct a 4 pattern with their RIGHT HAND, and trace the pattern on the board. 5. Do steps 2-4 from a LEFT HAND perspective. 6. Ask them to use their dominant hand (allowing lefties to conduct with their LH) now, and conduct the 4 pattern to a steady beat, saying the beats 1,2,3,4 or down, in, out, up, lead by you, repeating ad libitum. 7. Do steps 2-5 using a 3 pattern. 8. Use both hands and mirror patterns of 3 and 4. Rotate every bar if they get bored. 9. Apply this to the piece they know, and have them sing and conduct at the same time. (This is difficult, at first.) 10. Ask for a volunteer to conduct the ensemble. 11. Discuss and demonstrate using differences in size with your gesture to show dynamics. Ask volunteer conductors to change the size of the gesture to change the dynamics, as the choir says the beats. See if they do it enough, or if the ensemble follows. Further down the literacy road you can increase and decrease the tempo, and ask for staccato and legato patterns in a stop-andstart demonstration-experience format, or dictated on-the-fly. Don t be afraid to go SLOWLY, and just do a 4 pattern for a while. Once they re comfortable, you ll feel it. Then you can move on to 3,2,5, mixed meters, etc. If you have dancers in your choirs, or people with dance training, encourage them to tap into their training, with extended and graceful arms and fingers. (NOTE: Do not encourage the foot positions like that of a ballerina!)
Page 24 TROUBADOUR April 2011 Non-Dominant Hand Involvement: If your choir has some slicksters who find the above easy, offer an exercise for their nondominant hand - the shaper - putting it in a very simple context. Tell them this also controls volume. (They should latch on to this.) Eventually, everyone should be expected to do this. 1. Using the non-dominant arm, extend it out as if the person was going to offer a low handshake (a low-5 vs. high-5 ). Raise it upwards for 4 counts with the palm facing upwards, not exceeding the shoulders. For the next 4 counts ( 5,6,7,8 ), turn palm over and lower the arm to its original position. 2. Lead and observe them, and coach on-the-fly, if you know they would be comfortable with coaching, or care to be coached. 3. Switch this exercise up by asking them to raise the arm 2 beats, and lower for 2. Raise 3, lower over 1 beat. Raise 1 beat, and lower over 3 beats. Once they master one hand at a time, then they should conduct with both hands. Try mirroring, where both hands are doing the same thing, and then incorporate non-dominant hand independence at the same time, using the above exercises simultaneously. Over time, I expect your choirs will have a better grasp of the language of conducting, and if presented in a positive and non-threatening manner, and in little segments, your choirs will learn to speak the language well. Curriculum in Schools: I remember seeing a 3 and 4 pattern on the chalkboard in my ele-mentary school choral/general music class. I can still picture how pretty I thought they were. Have you ever considered allowing a student conductor, or a member of your choir, to conduct? (I ve found that a lot of students and adults will never ask for something because they think it s not allowed, rather than asking if it s allowed in the first place.) As members of ACDA, teaching our choirs to conduct is a must, in my opinion. We should aim not only to foster choral musicians but also conductors. I urge teachers to make this part of the music curriculum, if it isn t already. I believe it to be as important as teaching sight-reading. This fine arts skill would have immediate visibility and immediate feedback and/or assessment would be available through videotaping. Keep it in groups if you feel students would be more comfortable. Have daily segments of your lesson plans designated for conducting. Encourage student/assistant conductors who can mentor others. Have an application process to earn the position. Feature a student conductor on every concert and make it a prestigious honor to earn. Perhaps an honors level could be established? Invent a Conducting Studio, using a group format, and have students learn and conduct unison and 2-part pieces for each other. Chances are, these pieces may be the level for some of your developing choirs anyway, and now, you ll have built-in sectional leaders who may have never thought about it before! I ve always wondered why most choral programs do not have the Marching Band equivalent of a Drum Major, especially at the high school level. It would seem to me that an opportunity to conduct in high school, let alone elementary or junior high, would be extremely attractive to students. My high school had one of the best programs in New York State, but the opportunity to conduct did not exist for me, K-12, nor was there ever a history of student conductors, to my knowledge. This thought just occurred to me, and, especially considering the All-Counties/States I attended where I sang/played for influential conductors, I am puzzled as to why I never asked my teachers if I could conduct?! I auditioned for solos, and even accompanied my Middle School choir one time, but never thought about conducting. In high school, I knew conducting looked pretty enjoyable, but I guess I never thought it was an option at that time? Conducting As A Second Language (CSL): It s time. Our choirs need to become more fluent in conducting. This will open the door to more interesting programming, and compound meters will be less intimidating, simply because your choirs can now transfer their conducting knowledge more easily to their body, in the context of the piece. Rosetta-Stone?: I m thinking about asking if Rosetta-Stone could help in my crusade of Fighting Against Conducting Illiteracy. Maybe they could have courses for both Conducting AND Sight-Reading? They are universal languages, are they not? I see a goldmine.
Page 25 TROUBADOUR April 2011 Time is Precious: When considering the lack of contact time we have with our choirs, the last thing to consider is adding conducting to the list of to-dos. Would you consider conducting literacy once/month? Once/week? Can you at least agree to make this effort at the beginning of the school year or church season? (It s excellent for church retreats, especially after a glass of wine.) I promise this time spent will help you. Conclusion: I tell my choirs that they need to think like a conductor. I go further and tell them, No matter who you are and what major you re in, you must be able to physically translate how each piece of music goes. It doesn t need to look pretty, but the observer should get the sense that you have a physical connection to things like tempo changes and rubati. We live in an age where students have access to so much information, especially through video media. Encourage students to view exciting conductors of our time like Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic on YouTube. Conducting will quickly be in your school s vernacular, and fluency will be passed peer-to-peer. Conducting literacy will prevail, and your music making will be even more rewarding. Small steps, remember. Becoming Hooked on Phonics comes with knowing your A,B,Cs first. Patrick Walders is finishing his seventh year as the Director of Choral Activities at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA. Under his direction, the choirs at JMU have performed regularly throughout the Washington, DC, region, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The Madison Singers and JMU Chorale have collaborated with the National Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorale (Washington, DC) on multiple occasions, and were honored to perform, by invitation, at the 2006 Virginia Music Educators Association State Conference and the 2008 Virginia All-State Conference. Currently, he serves as Virginia s representative for the National Collegiate Choral Organization and is President of the Virginia ACDA (2009-2011). In the Washington D.C. area, he is a member of Orpheus, a professional chamber choir under the direction of Philip Cave, and The Washington Bach Consort, under the direction of J. Reilly Lewis. He holds a bachelor s degree in music education from (SUNY) College at Fredonia, an MM in choral conducting from the Westminster Choir College and a DMA in conducting from the University of Maryland- College Park. At the end of this academic year, he will move to San Diego, CA, to begin work as Director of Choral Activities at San Diego State University. The Sunderman ConServaTory of music Bachelor of Music in Performance Bachelor of Science in Music Education Bachelor of Arts in Music For audition dates and requirements, go to: www.gettysburg.edu/sunderman_ conservatory/admissions_aid/ For further information contact Sunderman Conservatory of Music, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, PA 17325 tel: 717-337-6815 www.gettysburg.edu/sunderman_conservatory