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CONCEPTS OF INTERPRETATION 217
of interpretation, therefore, really belongs to the final or culminating
stage in the training of the singing voice, encompassing all basic elements of vocal technique and also the attainment of virtuosity in expressing the language of song. "It is the highest branch of the singer's art.** [Greene 209, p. 1]
The art of interpretation includes many variables of vocal expression, such as pitch, intensity and duration of tone, and their composite effect upon the quality of the singing voice. Negus claims that mammals and birds have evolved the highest forms of intercommunication because of the greatest variations of pitch and loudness attained by these species. [418, p. 344] Vocal nuance reaches its greatest flexibility in man, according to Brown, because of the prevalence of ideational and emotional factors in his thinking processes. Subtlety of thought demands subtlety of expression. Therefore, the singing of a song is something more than the mere combination of breathing, phonation and pronunciation. That which is added is the interpretative factor, an illusory coordinating intelligence that synchronizes "the subtle powers of mind and body ... to a common end.*' [75] Through the inherent flexibility of man's thought, then, great flexibility of expression is developed since the idea always begets its own medium of utterance. If the interpretation is poor, either the concept is at fault or the conditions of the instrument are not right, or both. "Have something to say, and know how to say it." [Clippinger 112; 104, p. 48]
"Intelligent interpretation ... is the end and aim of singing/* says Brines. Without it, the song degenerates into the merest choice of words for the expression of ideas and is completely devoid of interest and aesthetic appeal. [63] According to Greene, the interpretation of a song includes more than lyric quality and clear diction. It also requires an intensified, personal expression of the meaning. [Op. cit., p. 145; also Henderson 240, p. 67] "The psychological relations between the performer and listener must be worked out.** [Seashore 506, p. 118] Mood and meaning are concomitant factors of interpretation; one "expresses in music the emotions of the soul, while the other expresses in words the poetic thoughts of the mind." This duality of thought and emotion is conveyed in the phraseology, style, musical expressiveness and vocabulary of the song. [Aikin 4] According to Kwartin, the primary elements of interpretation are musical, vocal and verbal. All three combine to present a dramatic "tone portrayal** of the song. [325, p. 96] " *In the beginning was the word* seems to be an accurate description of the genesis of song,** says Douty. The word inspires the melody and "the emotion engendered by it |
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