| Share page | Visit Us On FB |
|
CONCEPTS OF INTERPRETATION 223
of the technical factors of voice production. Twenty-two statements support this opinion. Davies believes that the singer should aim to sing a word rather than to make a tone. The word, which is thought made audible, is always the vehicle of tone, and voice production should be regarded as a mental rather than a physical experience. [127, p. 124] The accomplished artist always sings thoughts, rather than mere tones, "Voice must grow out of language." [Edward Johnson 306] Lawrence Tibbett believes that vocal and interpretative techniques should be learned simultaneously. "It is inconceivable/' he says, "that one could first learn to sing the notes of a song and then graft a layer of "interpretation* ova: them. - . - [Therefore] I am inclined to approach the entire question of study from the interpretative rather than the purely vocal standpoint." [614] Witherspoon holds that "technique and expression are inseparable/* P>77» P- 7] Lotte Lehmann is of the same opinion. "The ideal way would be to teach singing and stagecraft [interpretation] together from the very start." [539] According to Margit Bokor, a master of technique always gives the impression that he is without technique; in short, the art is to conceal the art. [54; Judd 309, p. 32]
Other opinions in this group are summed up in the following representative statements:
1. Interpretation is a form of "story telling." Therefore, the singer must forget himself (technique) in the expression of the song. [Brines
63]
2. Interpretation demands freedom from technical cares so that thought may be directed exclusively to the mental rather than the physical factors of expression. [Conklin 121, p. 48; Parrish 442]
3. No technical accomplishment is worthy of a singer unless it seems effortless and unobtrusive to the listener. [Henschel 265, p. 7; Henderson and Palmer 242, p. 11]
4. "Sing a word rather than ... a tone." [Diwer 138, p. 42]
5. Mechanized vocal training tends to stifle originality since it divides the attention between production and interpretation. [Barbareux-Parry34, p. 111]
6. In Caruso's singing, thought and feeling were always uppermost. He refused to make "the words slaves to the tones." [Marafioti 368, p. 8]
7. The singing voice is a reflex action. When the tone is sufficiently motivated, the entire vocal instrument automatically "springs to life, independent of thought and muscle, yet served by both." [Brown 72; Tillery 616] |
||