Links leading to the ACDA Journal (hard copy/online), AGO (American Guild of Organists) Journal, Creator Magazine, IJRCS, NATS, and numerous other publications abound on Facebook and other online sites. Throughout these publications, numerous articles on the choral art are easily accessible; some are scholarly articles with documentation, many are practical, contain lovingly written bios of our mentors past and present, and numerous ways to hone in on ones skills throughout. Of late, I have found recent ACDA articles referencing Paul Salamunovich, and from a Facebook link to throwcase.com. Within these articles, there is one secret ingredient that makes music come alive.
What is the spice that brings out the flavor of the music? Is it, the beautiful tone we want to achieve? Yes, this is very important and a component of the choral experience. Is it, the dynamics or the placement of singers? It is all this, and more! However, one element that comes to the forefront is, what is the composers intent, and how do I, as a conductor, accommodate these suggestions. These suggestions are either in the composer’s hand, or in that of the editor/arranger.
I once received an email, from a very well intentioned conductor regarding an arrangement I had written. This conductor was so pleased with her reinterpretation of the ending of this work, as she believed it would be more effective to have a grandeur ending. Well, the piece was titled “Echo Nowell.” The first word in the title gives it away. Has anyone ever heard of an echo increasing in volume as it decays?
Paul Salamunovich has always made light of his fantastic gift of creating beautiful sound. However, this is not what makes the difference, according to the maestro. He continually states, paraphrased: People think I am creating all kinds of marvelous sounds, for which people "oo" and "ah!" Simply, I am reading/conducting what is in the score, i.e., dynamics, tempo markings, etc., this, as stated by Salamunovich, is why my work seems dynamic. Although tone, phrasing, and quality singing play a major role. The music itself has something to say.
In the throwcase.com article, the author references a violinist, John Man, and his teacher Dorothy Schnupsky’s teaching methods. Man admits, “I tried just playing the way I want over and over and over again, hoping that it would get better,” he said. “It never did! It was like, the more I played it the same way the more it would sound the same. What could I do?” Then Man had a thought. I should try what my teacher has been telling me.
Schnupsky, on a regular basis sarcastically shares with Man and all her students the secret to her teaching philosophy, The Job. “As musicians, our Job is to play the music as musically as possible,” she said. “So if you look at things like the notes, and perhaps the dynamics and phrase markings, and basically every other instruction that has been dutifully laid out on paper using a sophisticated and clear system of notation developed over centuries, then your playing will improve. I charge an hourly rate to say this.”
“The results have been incredible!” said Man. “It’s as if following the advice of an older, more experienced musician allows me to somehow cultivate effective working habits better than my own.”
A hard-learned lesson that runs throughout music making, follow the map. Sure, we can apply our great ideas to the music we are performing. However, when we run up against a wall with our ensembles, we need to circle the wagons, and start from the beginning of the trip using the map, to keep from ending up in the same place, lost. Follow the notation, it is a musicians GPS.
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