The great master teacher of singing, Giovanni Battista Lamperti, once said: “There is no ‘attack,’ no ‘mouth position,’ no ‘tongue control,’ no ‘voice placing,’ no ‘fixed chest,’ no relaxing this or that muscle, no stiffening any part of the body, in fact, nothing that would not spring frominstinctive utterance.”l Choral teaching must release voices, not manufacture them. In this light, as choral conductors we must choose our words carefully. If we use certain words to achieve a vocal result, we should illustrate the sensations associated with them, bearing in mind that words can mean different things to individual singers. Good singing involves not isolated components,but an integrated physical and mental whole. It may be necessary to have varied ways to presentthe same technical idea, so that all singers in an ensemble may more fully realize an efficient and healthy manner of singing. The Italian manner suggests moderation and balance in art, and for Italians vocal/choral pedagogy seems to be no exception.
(From the Choral Journal article “The Words We Use,” by Donald Callen Freed)
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