P r e fa c e .

Th is book is in som e m easu re the outcom e of th e

, ,

au th or s d esi re to be of ser v i ce to su ch as n ee d
’

a n ce in th e work of or an i zi n a nd con du ctin Ch oi

g g g r

or Ch or al Soci ety .

I t is h oped th at it wil l brl ng aid. su

i ggest on and

stim u l us to w ork ers in th is fiel d I ts produ cti on h as

.

a ffor d e d pl easur abl e em pl o m ent for th e sp ar e h ou rs

y
of a pr ofessi ona l l i fe for a consid erabl e p eri od M ay .

its perusal be to m a ny a sour ce of profit .

T H E A UT H OR
.

B oston, J a n 1 9 0 1
. .
 Pre face to the Sev e nth Edition

Thanks due and hereby tendered to the large number

a re

persons who have used this book a nd expressed their a ppr e

ati on o f it and especi ally to the many p r of e ssi on al mu sic i an s
,

ho have recomm ended it .

That th econ si derable am ount of a ddi ti on al m a tter i n clu ded

1 thi s,
the Sev enth E di ti on br inging th e w ork u p to da te m ay
, ,

ta k e it o f i ncre a sed value is th e incere

s wi sh of

T H E AUT H O R .

Bo ston , Au gust, 1 91 9
.
Choir an d Choru s Conducting .

Part I .

ORGANI! AT ION .

CH A PT ER I .

Introduction . organi zing a church choir a cco unt sh o ul d

- In
be taken o f the special purpose for which it i s d esigne d
whether it i s to lead the people in song or to sing as proxy for ,

the people or both The style o f music to be s ung an d the si z e

,
.

o f the au ditorium are als o item s for con si d eration .

A quartet is sel d om efiectiv e in the promotion o f goo d

congregational singing A quartet which sing s mo d ern tunes
.

with their rich harm oni zation and i s given to over-m u ch

,
“
expre ssivenes s in the way o f shadi ng an d variation s o f
tempo discourage s the average worshipper an d prevents hi s
,

j oining in the hymn singing Where a quartet i s to be u sed

.

to lea d the congregati on in the hymns it shoul d be mad e u p o f

,

powerful voices an d freq uently sing the mel ody in u nis on ,

,

k eeping a stea dy pace .

Chur ch music available for quartet of male or female

,
6 CH OI R AN D C HORUS CO NDU CTI NG .

As compare d with the q uartet o f mix ed voices both ,

th e

m ale and fem ale quartets lack v ariety o f tone -color and are
con sequently deficient in expre s siveness Both male an d .

female quartets are ca pable o f rich effects .

The popular ear appreci ate s the virility o f the voi ces an d
the richness o f the close harmony in the singing o f the m ale
'

q uartet , and such a choir is there fore much in deman d for

Speci al kin ds o f work , par tic ul arly the singing o f the more
”
simple settin gs o f familiar and gospel hymn s .

The female q uarte t lacks the virility and breadth o f tone

o f the male quartet I t can be used , however, to g ood
.

ad vantage to give variety to a service I t is very seldom used

.

alone as a choir .Some beauti f ul sac red mu sic h as bee n

written by g ood co mp osers for its use .

T he M aleQu artet Choir I n organi zing a male quartet

.

choir, great car e must be taken to s ecure a proper balance o f

the voices The firs t or hi ghe st tenor, shoul d be the lightest
.

voice , ( have less volume than the other s ) , an d should pl ay

“
abo ut high ”
E , F , an d G with eas e an d freed om The .

se con d or lowe st ba se shoul d have the greates t vol ume , an d

should d escen d with eas e an d f ull voice to the low F A .

mistake i s o ften mad e in placing a heavy , semi barito ne voice

-

as the secon d tenor o f a male q uartet I n s uch cas e the balan ce

.

o f part s i s lost ; the inner part i s mad e too promi nent A .

better pl an i s to have a first tenor sing secon d tenor It i s .

f u nwi s e to u se a heavy bari tone as the firs t ba ss o f a male

quartet The firs t an d secon d basses then soun d too much
.

”
alike , their parts become mu d dy an d they over balance th e
,
-

tenors The greates t error is to put a s econ d tenor into th e

.

position of firs t tenor The quartet will then always soun d

.

top heavy , ther e will ever be danger o f fla tti ng an d blen di ng

-
,

an d d elicate sha ding will be well n igh impossi bl e o f attain

-
 Firs t tenor an d se con d bass voices are , in thi s co untr y ,
comp aratively rare Sometimes a young tenor wh o has thought
.

his compass o f eff ective ton e s restricte d to hi gh G ’

has a ,

light thi n upper voice whi ch he is afraid to use J u dicio u s

,
.

training o f that light upper voi ce on downwar d S cales an d

arpeggios gradually increasin g the force o f the notes , will some
,

times d evelop in s uch a n one a good fir st ten or voice

F
.

T he em ale
Q t The voices f or a f emale
u a r et
—
q u artet
choir m ust balance as d o those o f the male quartet The first .

F
S oprano s hould h ave a li ght , lyric voice , singing ea sily aro un d
upper E , and G With this voice sho ul d be a ssociate d a
.

li ght , hi gh mezzo S oprano , or better a first soprano singing a s

-
,

s econ d s oprano The first alto shoul d be a mezzo con tralto , or

.
-

a me zzo soprano who has a goo d low A The second alto m u st

-
.

“ ”
needs be the bas s o f the quartet an d shoul d posses s a r oun d
f ull to ne to low F This voice seldom sing s higher than thi rd
.

Space 0 , treble cle f The or di nary choir s oprano shoul d not be

.

u se d as a first soprano in female quartet work The voice i s .

too f ull in character , an d the part run s too much above the
limits withi n which it is mos t at eas e O ccasionally what ha s .

s eeme d to be an unpromising , weak soprano voice o f not m ore ,

than a n octa ve in compass , from mid dle Gr ( treble cle f ) to high

G has under training , turned out to b e a genuine lyri c, or
,

first S oprano
Fs
.

T he em ale Trio
The best combinati on for the tri os
.

for female voice sometime s met with in music for the church
i s usually that o f a light , high soprano for the upper part with ,

a high mezzo soprano for the secon d part , an d a broad , l ow

-

mezz o soprano or chorus alto for the lo west par t As a ru le

-
.

the hi gh mezzo soprano i s given the upper part b u t the effect

-
,

is never o f the be st The characteristics of eac h compo sition

.

must govern the choice o f voice s The point here m ad e i s that .

fre quently the tr u e effect o f the music i s not bro ught o u t be cause
a voice o f too heavy a charac ter i s a ss i gn e d to the u pper par t .
8 CHO I R A ND CHORUS CONDUCT I NG .

The voi ce s o f a male an d o f a female q uartet should

tape r in v ol u me as sh o w n in the accom pa nying

T enor . I Soprano .

T he M ale or F
as an aggregation o f q uartets
Thi s may best be con si d er ed
em a le Ch arm —

The f ull bod ied voi ces m u st be

.

kept off the uppe r parts , o r a tOp-heavy effect, with flat

ting , is almost inevitable .

T he M i x ed Qu artet Choir . T h e mi x e d q uaSoprano ,

r te t —

Contralto , Tenor an d Bass— is a form o f choir pop ular in the

U nited States . I t is s el dom well ch osen either as to balan ce or
blen din g of v oi ces .

A s a r ule , in s electi ng singers for a q uartet ch oir , one voice

( u s ually the sop r an o or the tenor ) is s ettled u p o n ,
f or variou s
reason s , musi cal an d otherwise as one that m u st be had , an d
,

the remaining three voices are taken without much thought as

to whether they will blen d and balan ce with the one firs t
cho sen A maj or part Of the available appropriation i s u s ed in
.

paying th e special voice , and nece ssarily the committee i s

hampered i n the work of ch oosing the remai ning members of
the q uar tet .

A s a res ult a calle d quartets are Often mad e up in a

o-

e c u liar ma nn er A s for i n s ta n ce : A light, hi gh sopran o, a

p .
 G
O R A N I! A T I O N . 9

full voiced contralto a robust tenor a b ari tone T his combina

-
, ,
.

tion is t o o light at top and b ottom .

An other ill balanced choir o ften met wi th is this : A full

-
, ,

dramatic Soprano a me zz o-contralt o a light tenor a full low

, , , ,

bass .

Perhaps the leas t satisfactory combi nati on is one not infre

q u e ntly f o und i n the wealth i e r ch u rche s in wh i ch the d esi re ,

for voices poss e ssin g extremely hi gh an d l ow tones is gratifi ed

at con si derable expen s e H ere i s fo un d A light , hi gh sopra n o,
.

a contralto , a l yr ic ten or , a l ow ba ss A d uet betwee n th e .

s oprano an d bass of thi s combination i s abo ut as satisfactory as

wo ul d be one by the piccol o an d ba ss t uba of the orche s tra .

Voices o f gr eat po wer , and voi ce s o f e xtremely hi gh or ,

l ow range as the cas e may be are co mparatively scar ce

, , The .

very ful l l ow bass in America i s m ore scar ce than the light ,

, , ,

hi gh s oprano Good tenors o f a ny cla ss are n ot at all plentif ul

. .

There i s al so a lack of gen uine l ow contr altos M ost quar tet , .

contraltos are mezzo s oprano s wh ose low ton e s are :heav y

,
-

an d full T OO O ften thes e l ow to ne s are arti ficial ( forced ) an d

.

to the c ultivate d ea r acc us to med to the g enui n e contr alto v oi ce ,

,

d ecid edly unplea sant .

U n d er the se circ u m s tan ces it i s less di fficult an d expe ns ive

,

to form a quar tet choir on the basi s of a bariton e v oi ce for th e

bass par t Thi s woul d nat urally mean the association with
.

s uch a bass o f a me zzo-contr alto , a lyric ten or an d a hi gh ,

soprano M uch of the mo dern m u si c for quartet choirs is

.

wr itten for all the v oi ce s at hi gh pitches pres umably for th e ,

sake Of brilliancy and s uch a quar tet as h as j us t been menti on ed

,

i s need e d to do it j u sti ce .

Followi ng i s a s u gges ti on for tw o quartets drawn up with ,

referen ce to balan ce o f voi ces :

No 1 .
—A light, hi gh soprano, a. mezzo-contralto , a lyric
10 CH OI R A ND CH ORU S CONDU CT I NG .

N o 2 — A full , me zzo or dramatic sopran o , a contralto , a

. .
,

rob ust tenor a f ull l ow bass

, , .

A n item o f eq ua l importa n ce with balan 0 e o f ton e in

makin g up a quartet choir i s th at o f the blen ding quality o f ,

the voices There can be no tr ue quartet singing without thi s

. .

-times a singer is acceptable as a so loi st but un satis factory

Oft ,

in quar tet, becau se the quality o f the v oice ma ke s it

.

“ s ck out
ti from the other voices Frequ ently thi s i s, to a .

la rge exten t , a matter O f voice pro d uction A for ced tone may .

”
be on the pitch , but it will not blen d P er fecti on o f into .

nation i s an ab sol ute pre-requisite to the blen ding of voices N o .

matter h ow well a s inger may perfor m in other respects , i f he

has a tendency to sin g off the pitch on a given note or vowel ,
that singer i s not properly available for fin e q uartet work .

I n th e gra n d orches tr a the in struments are divided into

.

families ; that is, gro up s having the same general tone col or ;
as for in stance , the trio of trombones or the quar tet o f
, ,

strings ; each in strument havin g a certain in divi d uality as it

sounds its note o f the chord , yet each member of the trombo ne
or string family havin g a voice which bears a str ong color
re semblan ce to the voices o f the other member s o f the family . .

When the members o f one o f thes e families sing together

the blend i s very clos e an d the effect full an d rich So with
,
.

hum an voices When fo ur moderately goo d voice s are foun d

.

in one family so that a mix ed q uartet may be formed there

,

from there is u s ually a s trong family likeness among the

,

voices , a re semblan ce in tonal h u e , which gives a cl ose , r i ch

blen d .

I t i s not nec e ssary , however in ord er to satis facto ry blen d

,

In
g I n a q u artet ch o ir that all the v o i ce s
,
s hall be O f the same
general tone color The compo ser for the orches tr a a n d the
-
.
,

organi st stu dy the combining o f instr ument s an d s top s o f

,

different col ors so as to se cur e speci al richn e ss or brillian cy ,

.

So a bri ght , vibrant tenor v oi ce is sometimes n ee d ed in a

 OR G A NI ! A T I O N . 11

q ua rtet wher e the bari ton e i s Of a r ather sombr e q uali ty T he

.

one v oi ce complements the other , i s mo difi ed by it . I n th e

same way a r ather aci d s oprano may be s weetened so mewhat
a n d blen d s u rpri singly well w i th a con tr alto o f a so ft , so mbre ,

envelopi ng quality o f ton e .

I t i s evi d ent that in ch oosing voices for thei r blendi ng

qualities there i s a n opportun ity for the ex ercis e o f a fin e sen se
of to ne-color Tho se wh o have charge o f the organi zati on an d
.

drill ing O f ch oirs wo ul d d o well to st u dy the char acter is ti c

timbre s o f the h uman v oi ce from it s lowes t to its highest
registers ; an d al so the qualities o f organ s top s an d or chestra l
in str ument s, singly and in combinati on .
12 CH OI R AN D CH O R U s C O ND U CT I NG .

CH A P T E R II .

T he Qu intet Ch ain O ccasionally it is u seful to have the

—

ser v ices o f both a ba s s a nd a baritone in conn ection with a ,

quartet choir . There is one leadi ng di rector i n the Eas tern

States who i s fond o f this combin ation , and makes speci al
arr angements o f fiv e-part music for i ts u se .

T he Do uble M ix ed Qu a rtet ( O ctet ) A choir o f eight .

-

v oices m ade u p o f M i x ed Quartets N os 1 an d 2 above men

,
.

ti on e d is one Of the mo st effective combination s po ssible for a

,

church s ervice in whi ch solo singing s trong hymn leadi ng an d

,

a variety o f concerted work is desired From thi s combination .

a director may organi ze Two mi xa i quartets , a female qu artet ,

a male quartet If well cho se n a s to blen di ng the f ull com

.
,

bination will have s ufficient sonority to give a sati s factory

interpretation o f many O f the larger anthem form s Eight .

good well blen d ed a n d thoroughly trained voi ces in s uch a

, ,

combination wi l l give much more bread th O f tone and musica l

, ,

sati sfaction generally than will double the n umber o f ordi nary
,

choru s singers It i s not necessary that these singers shall be

.

especially fine soloi sts in ord er to Obtain the bes t effects in

concerted singin g The d ouble quartet need not therefore ,
.
,

r epre sent exactly d ouble the ex pen se o f the excepti onally fine

solo quartet O ne Of the quartets may consist o f less experi

.

e n ce d singers , yet the combined effect un der a competent

trainer be very good The greatest care however must be
.
, ,

exerci sed in regard to the item s o f bal an ce an d blen d o f v oices ,

as above set fo rth , or b e s t res u lts cannot be exp ec te d .
 C H A P TE R III .

T he Ch oir of Boy s an This for m o f choi r , i n

d M am
—

which the tr eble and so metime s the alto part i s s ustain e d by

boys whose voice s h ave not cha nge d , whi le men sing the tenor
and bass parts , i s in favor in the Episcopal Church I t i s .

generally or rather popularly known as the Boy Choir A s a .

rule this type o f choir is not a succes s , musically , becau se the

boys voices are not properly or s u fficiently tr ained E xtremists
’
.

a ssert th at only by such a choir can the M usical Serv i ce be

rightly given . O thers find the boy s voices inadequate to a
’

proper interpretation o f parts o f the Serv ice Laying a si d e

.

thi s debate d question , an d a ssuming th at a B oy C hoir is

wanted it may be sai d , a n d with emph a sis that only one who
, ,

thoroughly un derstands the training o f the female voice shoul d

be entruste d with the form ation a nd drill o f s uch a choir .

Given such an instructor he will , o f cours e find his m ateri al

, ,

wherever he can in the Sunday School , the publi c school , the

private family .

I t i s o f li ttle u se , in America , to en d eavor to organi z e a

Boy Choir upon a purely volunteer basis The best plan is to .

pay each bo y a stated su m per rehearsal an d service , and by a

system o f bonuse s and fine s reward or punish him in connec
tion with such matte rs a s a tten dance , punctuali ty , good order ,
an d so on The best voice s , a s a rule come from the home s O f
.
,

the mod erately well to do These chi l dren are out o f door s a
- -
.

good deal , relatively strong , an d have some refinement , which

tell s favorably upon the voi ce quality The average A merican
.

boy is an energetic mortal , an d unles s he i s checked at home ,

hi s enthu siasm u po n the street an d playgroun d Operate s to
inj ure the q u a lity o f hi s voice .

I n many cities an d to wns o f thi s co untry sight si n ging i s

taught in the public s chool s A fair d egree o f ability in note
.
14 CH OI R A ND CH O R U s C O NDUCT I NG .

r eadi ng i s o ften gain ed Where the teacher o f the r oo m or i n

.

charge o f the m u sic lesson happens to have been well taught -

vocally , to po ss ess a mu sical voi ce , and goo d ta ste , the sch olars
at least d o not inj ure their voi ces in the sight singing work -
.

Too Often the teachi ng of m u sic i s entrusted to one who lacks

the qua lifi cati on s en umerated City Boy Choir mas ters have
.

le arned to know an d dr ead the public s chool tone exhibited by

boy s whose sight singing work in the public school s i s d one
un d er a grad e teacher who h as but li ttle m u sical knowledg e ,
an d no ear for goo d tone quality .

I n some choirs o f boy s an d men the alto part is s u n g by

men who u se a kin d o f fals etto tone quality I t i s di fficult to .

fin d a boy alto voice which has s ufficient power to be eff ective ,

-

an d at the same time i s o f pleasing quality If however , one .

,

i s li kely to worry over di ffi culties in the organi zati on and man

a gem en t of a Bo y Choir he h a d best not take up the work In .

the nature o f the cas e , the choir mas ter can look for but three
or four year s o f goo d se r vice fr om bo y s upon whom he has

spent m u ch careful effort At the change o f voice the choir

.
,

boy is lost to the choir H e may r e appear a s a tenor , barito ne or

.
-

ba ss h e may not even have a voice goo d enough for choir work
—
.

Only what i s known as the H ea d voice which , to the boy ,

-
,

so u n d s like a girl s voice shoul d be u s ed by the treble boys

’
.
, .

There i s no da nger , whatever in h aving both small boy s an d

,

girl s sing hi gh to nes , provi d ed thi s H ead voice be u sed M uch -

.

p ower , however , cannot be l ooke d for There is intensity .

c arr ying p o wer , but not volume The organi zer o f the Boy
.

Ch oir mu st , there fore , provi de many more boy s than men .

Only act ual tes t o f the voices available wi l l d etermi ne the pro
p o rt i on a te n u mbe r s If
. he listens to the choir s inging an
anthem , stationing hi m self at a li ttle di stan ce fro m them he ,

w ill get at the matter o f balan ce Obvio u sly the lead er of a

.

Boy Choir must be constantly on the look o ut for n ew material .

I f he i s wi se he will establish some sort of a waiti ng lis t, or

robati on er s class
’
.
16 CH O I R AND CH O R U s CO NDUCT I NG .

each . H ere it must again be pointed o ut that owi ng to ,

great differences in voi ces as to s onority nothing short o f ,

act ual test in the singing o f an anthem will enable the

D irector to know whether he has s ec ured a goo d ba la nce o f
to ne . I t will usually be found however that the bass an d , ,

soprano must average a larger number o f voice s than the other

F
division s i f these part s o f the compo sitions s ung are to have
due effect ew organi z er s reali z e the importance o f secur ing
.

a solid bass When this di vi sion is s ufficiently powerf ul , and

.

sing s with firmness , the musi c has a solidity highly grati fying
to the cul tivated ear There i s also much less danger o f
.

fla tti n g Too o ften chor u s choir singing has the eff ect o f a
.

vocal trio , ( soprano , alto an d tenor ) with the pe dal organ ,

filli ng in the ba ss which the voi ce s fail to s upply .

A Table
Sh owi ng Compass of Chorus Voi ces Al so Range o f Be st Notes .

pitch i s in di ca ted j
Com p ass. B est Notes
.

H igh ( lyric ) Saprano .

H igh M p
ezz o—So ran o .

( Comm onl y d Sop

call e rano. )

L ow M ezzo-Soprano .

M ezzo-Con ral o t t ) .

Contral to .
 OR GA NI ZA T I O N . 17

H igh ( lyr i c ) Tenor .

Low Tenor .

Bar iton e .

NO ET — Th ere ma y b e , in any ch oru s, ex ce onal pti

o ces i n each c lass, of vi
a range e x cee di i it i di t d
ng th e l m s h ere n ca e Cu l a on and . rac ce w l ltiv ti p ti i
b g
ri n vi i g
to m an y o ces ncrea se of ra n e a nd of son or y Y ou ng o ces e el o it . vi dv p
pii
in su r r s ng w ay s, and it t f dv b
is h er e or e a i sa l e for th e ch o r rec or to m a k e i di t
f t
re q u en i ti
e x am na on s ofvi o ces and r e-c l assifica ti OD S of h i s orces L et be f . it
i ti t d t d t t t i t b pp i
d s nc ly u n e rs oo ha h s a le a l es only to a era e ch or us o ces, v g vi
and not to sol o o ces vi t t t t
Bes n o es ar e h ose on es in a o ce w h ch ca n b e
. vi i
su ng it w h p id b t
ow er , a nd for a con s er a l e im e wi h ou t a t gu e On h ese t f i . t
i t ti t ti
notes n ona on i s m os cer a n , and cl earness and sm oo h n ess in el ery i s t d iv
t i
m os eas ly a a ne tt i d .

The classifica tio n o f voices i s a matter o f knowle dge and

skill upon the part o f the examiner The di vision to which a .

voi ce bel Ongs is not to be d eci d e d upon the item o f compass

alone but the chief po int i s to discover the n a tural timbre and
level o f the voice Sometimes lyric or high S opra nos are
.

exceed e d in upwar d range by mezzo S opra nos but their natural -

,

tone quali ty or timbre light an d fl u te like bird like together

,
-
,
-
,

with their facility in run s an d s cales and power to sing for ,

a co nsi d erable time above third space C freely an d easily ,

shows their cla s s Lamperti , the el d er , say s

“
A Soprano may be recogni z e d by the facility with whi ch
the upper G is emitted ; no di fficulty will b e experience d in
enu nciating wor d s on the highest note s , nor in hol ding a long
breath upon them This is the crucial tes t , be cau s e there are
.
18 CH O I R AND CH O R U s C O NDUCT I NG .

sometimes con traltos that can sing up to the high C , but they
cannot pronounce word s on the upper no tes wi thout e ffort a nd
”
great detriment to the voi ce The above test o f ease in pro
.

n u n cia ti on a nd ability to hold a tone f or a long time at a high ,

pitch should also be applied to m ale voices A b aritone may

,
.

be able to sing hi gh A at a clim ax but this d oe s not prove hi m ,

a tenor Many tenors through la ck o f proper cultivation , are

.
,

un able to sing rightly from D upward and so can sca rcely ,

reach the high G except with great effort Such m ay well be .

classed with low tenors or baritone s notwithsta ndi ng th at their ,

lower notes m ay be comp aratively wea k I n A merica mez zo .

Sopl a n OS and b aritone s predominate there are more hi gh

‘

S oprano s th an tenors or low basses .

The actual cla ssi fying o f voices is best done in private ,

each voice being examined separately The tricks that voices .

pl ay wi th their owner s , under the nervous strain o f a n ex a m i

n ation are m ani fol d and odd , a n d the ex aminer must be on
,

the alert to guard against being misled a s to the real nature o f

the voices he lis tens to A plea sant friendly cheerful m anner,
.
, ,

on the p art o f the examiner is most help fu l in this connection

, .

If the candidate can be m a de to feel and act n aturally t o —

permit the real voice to show itsel f under the in fl uence o f a

friendly chat and a plea sant smile the result will be s atis fa ctory
, , .

Where for reasons it is n ecessa ry to cla ssi fy voices from the

mass in the rehearsa l room there is perhaps less nervousness
, ,

on the pa rt o f the candi dates but the ta sk o f the examiner i s

,

m a de somewh a t more di fficult H e m ay walk about among

.

his singers while the test exercises are bei n g sung noti n g the ,

chara ct eristics o f the voices as he p a sses and lat er a ssigning ,

pa rts O r he m a y ca ll up a number o f male or female singers

.
, ,

indiscriminately , lis ten to their singing a nd a ssign p a rt s at ,

once A finer subdivision ca n be made l ater by taki n g members

.

from each division in fours , an d putting them through the

te sts .
 OR GA N I ZA T I O N . 19

Voice Classificati o n Tests

-
.

N o. I . M odera to . N o. 2.

N o. 4.

V V V V

Lahdab, 1311, 111,

12

N o. 5
.

ah, lah, beh, nee, p0, too . Lah, beh, nee, p0, too, lah, beh, nee, p0, too . .

N OT E Th ese
—
t i rom th e l ow e s
est e x erc ses sh ou l
b e u se dch g endf t p it iv
for eac h cl ass of o v i
ce , a n d w ork e ch rom a ca l l y u w ar d to th e l m ti
of th e p d i it
vi
o ce as it pp
a ea rs T h e syl l a l e
. l ah sh ou l b
b e m ad e w th ou t m o em en d i v t
of th e ja w th e ac e sh ou l f d p
w ea r a l easa n t e x r ess on a n d th e u er ar of p i pp p t
th e b od y sh ou l d
b e en sl gh tl y orw arb t i f d
T h e a r eg o a n d sk a re of fa r
. p gi ip
v t bi i
m ore a l u e h a n th e scal e in r ng ng ou t th e ru e ch arac er of th e o c e t t vi .

b
T h e syl l a l e l ah , ”
on e as d di d
r ec te , h as a l so a S ec al a l u e in th s conn ec p i v i
tion . i . f i i
E x erc ses N os 4 a n d 5 u r n sh m a ter a l for th e u se of tests recomm en e dd
b y L am ert p i . i p i i
N ec essa r ly th e r onu n c a t on of th e sy ll a l es, to h a e a ny b v
v al u e as a es t t p p d
for th e u r ose i n h a n , m u st b e a e m te w h ra y, tt p d it p i d it
d i ti t
s nc n ess an d sm oo h n ess i n ew t vi p
T h e a use w l l pro e th e a l ty of th e
. i v bi i
i
s n er to prol on a h
g g
h n oe ig t .
2O CH O I R AN D CH O RU S CO NDUCT I NG .

Having complete d the classification o f voices the Ch oir

Directo r may find that the parts do not bal ance This defect .

must be remedi ed i f the best grade o f work is to be done It .

i s not well to have too m any light , high S op ranos The lower , .

fuller , richer voice s o f the S opra no s and mez zo S opranos have a

-

Speci a l value I n gl v m g bo dy and color to the tone o f the Choir .

A S a rule in A merica , the greatest lack in chorus choi rs is that

,

o f a s ufficient bo dy o f tone in the tenor A skil f u l di rector

.

will , in favorable pa ssages , rein force hi s tenor parts by using

the lowest voices among the contra lto s in combination with the
tenors H ewi l l al s o constantly listen to hi s barito nes with the
.

h Ope that one or more o f them , under cultiva tion , may give
sign s o f ad ded freedom a nd tr ue tenor quality on the upper
notes , an d become ava ilable for the tenor division .

Frequently , in volunteer choirs , there i s di fficul ty in

securing a s ufficient number o f altos , la dies havi ng the idea
tha t the alto part i s o f secon da ry importance or tha t it i s,

especi ally d i fficult o ften pre ferring to strain to sing the u pper
,

notes o f the S opra no p a rt rather than to j oin the alto divi sion
, .

The D irector m ay efiectiv ely combat these notions by poin ting

out that the alto part is o f equal importance with the soprano
that the harmony i s incomplete without it H e may also refer
.

to the advice o f great comp o ser s to stu dents o f music to learn

to sing an d pla y the second part for the sake o f mu sicianship ;
o f cultiva ting the harmonic sense Schum ann ha s said
.

Lo s e n o Oppo rtunity o f playin g mu sic , d uo s , trio s , etc .

I f all were d etermined to play the fir s t violin , we shou ld

never have a complete orche s tra .
 OR G A N I ZA T I O N . 21

“ Sing in ch or u se s in d ustri o usly , esp eci a lly the mi ddle voi ces .

Thi s will make you a goo d reader, an d intelligent a s a

”
m usician .

A s a mean s o f di scovering material for the alto division

the C horu s D irector m ay require all the soprano s to sing the
alto , whi le the S oprano p art i s playe d firmly upon an in str u
ment . While this i s being done he shoul d li s ten for tho s e
singers among the S oprano s who eas ily , a nd w ith some forc e o f
tone r each the A ,

an d who while perhap s making errors in readi ng the alto part

,
“ ”
Show a disposition to make a second which harmoni z es
with the instrument Such voice s can u s ually be transf erred
.

to the alto division with goo d res ults .

”
A caref ul study o f the table o f B es t N otes of ch oru s
voices will bring many s uggestion s as to the proper make u p of -

a n effective choral body A s ha s alread y been hinted , a j u di

.

cions mixtur e o f the variou s classe s o f voices i s d esirable , as i n

thi s way f ulnes s o f to ne , an d richne ss o f color i s obtaine d .

A multiplication o f the number o f barito nes , for in stan ce , may

give bass enough to balance the other division s o f the choru s ,
but the ba ss will lack the depth an d richness it wo u l d po ss ess
were some o f the bari tones with drawn , an d a few low ba sse s
ad ded in their stead I t i s the differen ce betwee n the eight
.

foot an d the sixteen -foot tone o f the pipe organ .

The remark s made hereto fore with referen ce to blen ding

, ,

apply in the organi zati o n o f a choru s choir I t shoul d be .

remembered howev er th at where most o f the voices o f a

, ,

di visi o n o f a choru s are o f a goo d blen di n g quality , li t tle

roughne ss e s in a f ew i n di vi d u al voi ces will be a bsor be d or lost

in the ma ss o f tone .
22 CH O I R AND CH O R US C O NDUCT I NG .

Some organi z ers thi n k it desirable even neces sary , to have ,

what i s called a leading voi ce for each di vision o f a chorus If .

a voice leads in such a way a s to be heard above all the other

voices o f its di vision , then the bal ance a nd the blend o f the
choir i s destroyed The highes t ty pe o f choral singing is not
.

possible for the choir , so long a s the lea ding voice is retained .

”
A certain conductor , about to perform the M essi ah in
“

an A merican city f eared for the promp titude a nd firmness of

,

his tenor di vi sion o f thi rty singers At the last moment ,

.

therefore he engaged the services o f a loca l qu arte t tenor who

, ,

wa s a ready rea der , to lead the tenors This gentlem an wa s .

powerf ul o f physique and lung a nd lov ed to sing H e was a

,
.

G erm a n a butcher and his comm and o f E nglish not o f the

, ,

best . The a udience wa s therefore more amused th a n e di fied

to hear one s tentori a n tenor voice declaiming , high a nd clear
above chorus a nd orchestra ,

“
All l vee li gh scheep I All l v ee ligh scheep I
- -

I t is certa inly a m atte r of com fort to conductor and chorus

to know th at there are in ea ch di v ision singers who ca n be
, ,

depended upon t o sing the righ t not es at the righ t time , and ,

in the right way What is desirable is not a lea di ng voice in

.
,

the common accep tati on o f the term on ea ch p art but th at all

, ,

the singers o f ea ch di vision sh all follow the conductor s lead

’
,

promptly and a ccurately singing a s one great SOpr a n o alto ,

, ,

mnor or bass voice a s the ca se m ay be N o listener o f culti

, ,
.

v a te d ta s te a nd no chora l D irector worthy o f t he n ame desires

, ,

to hea r one singer s trike in always j ust before and louder than
everybody else , in the attempt to lea d .
24 CH OI R AN D CH OR US C O NDUCT I NG .

in su stai ni ng the mu sical service o f the ch ur ch , a nd i t is there

fore wi se to recruit the ch oru s so far as po ssible fr o m the
, ,

you ng people connected with the chu rch .

The principal f eeders for the voluntary choru s choir are

the Singing Class an d the Sun day School It is sometime s a
,
.

good plan for the D irecto r to establish a class in sight singing -

for the congregation without fee if thereby he can train and

, ,

sec ure material for hi s chorus choir I n most congregation s .

may be found a number o f yo u ng men an d women wh o woul d

take advantage o f an opport u nity to learn to r ead n otes in a n
evening cla ss A general clas s for the congregation ol d an d
.
,

young has in certain cases been carried on one evening each

, , ,

week for tw o term s o f ten week s each during the wi nter A

, , .

Simple te xt bo ok ha s been u se d with a black board and the

,
-
,

intere st o f th e class well sustained so that an exhibition o f

,

Sight readi ng Of mu sic equivalent in d ifficulty to the ordinary

-

modern hymn tune has been given at the close o f the te rm

, .

The res ult o f s uch a work has been to prep are a number o f
young men and women for singing in the chorus ch oir o f the
church A nother result h a s been the revival o f intere st among
.

the older people in the congregational hymn Singi ng .

The D irecto r o f a voluntary choru s choir will d o well to

tak e charge o f the music in the Su nday School and make hi m ,

s elf pleasantly acquainted with the young men and women he

fin ds there .H e will th u s come to know o f available choir
material of which he wou l d not be likely to learn in any other

Another plan for securing goo d material for a chorus choir

is to adverti s e and to promise that a porti on o f the time
at each rehear sal S hall be given to system atic cla ss instruction
in voice culture an d the art o f singing Thi s promise must O f .
,

co ur se be fa ith q y k ept There are those w h o m aintain that

,
.

nothing o f v alue in the way o f cultivation Of the voice can be

done in class I t is tru e that for the highe st r es ults , individual
.
 OR GA N I ZA T I ON . 25

instruction in the use o f the voice is nece ssary A voice .

tra iner who has thought out the principles u pon which he work s
can , however prepare exercises in the two or three f un da
,

m e n ta l s o f voice culture s uch as control o f the breath relax

, ,

a tion and freed om o f the throat , tongue and face ; and vibration ,

or reson ance ) which pra cticed ca re fully under hi s supervision ,

,

will improve the tone production o f at least a maj ority o f hi s

cla ss
.

The promise o f s uch instruction a nd o f the rehearsa l an d

,

performance o f a good class o f mu sic , will u s ually do much to

attract desirable singers .

C H A PT E R V II .

Whether the choru s choir be pai d or volu ntar y , it sho ul d

have but one hea d the D irecto r
— .

Experience teache s that in choir management the authority

Shoul d re s t upon the shoulder s that bear the responsibility .

The C hoir D irector Should take for hi s motto N O responsi

”
b ility witho u t corresponding a u thority A chorus choir with
.

a con stitution and by laws , a s et o f officer s an d o f committees

-

on membership , music , etc , etc , electe d by the choir is pr a cti

. .
,

cally a society for the prevention o f the pea ce an d efficiency

”
o f Choir D irector s . Such Officers an d committe e s a s are
n ecessary S hould be appo inte d by the D irecto r , an d he s houl d

al so make the required rule s .

That he should ex erci se intelligence an d caution , an d stu dy

hi s people , an d the Special circumstance s un d er which he
labo rs , goe s almost witho u t saying A volunte er choru s choir
.

is prac tically a little kingd om , ru le d by an autocra t who yet

must obtain an d retain the con s ent o f h i s s ubj ects to his govern
ment The head o f s u ch a n organ i zati on h ol ds an extremely
.
26 CH OI R AN D CH O R U S C O NDUCT I NG .

diffi c ult pos ition H e can

. best retain it by d oing everythi n g
possible to secure the respect and goo d will o f hi s choir mem
bers w hile maintaining to the utmost the di gnity o f his Office
,
.

The glove mu st cover the fingers o f steel O n all m att er s o f .

choir m a nagement as upon questions o f musical interpreta tion

, ,

his word must be law If he can ma ke hi s membership reali z e

.

th a t his one concern i s for the music tha t all he does is wi th

o ut person a l prej u dice with no thought Of merely having his
,

own way , but with an eye single to the best possible musica l
r esults he will have but little trouble in keep i ng up his orga ni
,

za ti on , an d m a intaining his right ful position as hea d thereo f .

H e i s sure to meet with a few irreconcilables whose motto

“ ”
i s rule or ruin N O mercy Should be shown to such
. They .

should b e dr opped without hesita tion , and be fore they h ave

had time to demorali ze the membership Such are found at .

time s a m ongSt the best singers who cannot well be d one with
,

out I t i s far better to suffer their absence th a n their

.

mischievou s , di squieting disintegrating presence , B esides .

,

every directo r o f experience knows th at the Singer ha s no t yet

been born whose pre s ence is vital to the existence o f a choru s
choir A n exhibition o f di gnified courteous independence on
.
,

the part o f a choir directo r ha s been kn own to reform even a

“ ”
s uppose d irreconcilable .

Volunteer choru s choir singers are not alway s humble ,

“ ” “
preferring one another They sometimes prefer to sit in
.

”
the highest seats where others ha ve been sitting The choir .

s eat question ha s occasioned much j ealousy and some tro uble ,

for choir d irecto rs A good plan is to change the s eating o f

.

the choir at stated intervals say every two month s A success

, .

ful choir directo r h a s m a de it a rule to a dvise every member O f

hi s volunteer chorus that possession for a length o f time gave
no title to a particul ar seat ; that no member o f the choir
“ ”
owne d any s eat , but each was sea te d at the request o f the
directo r .
 OR G A N I ZA T I O N . 27

C H A PT E R VII I .

What Shall be the tests or conditi ons for entra nce into the
chorus choir In this m a t ter the D irector will necessarily be
governed somewhat by circumstances .

H e must take into a ccount the gra de o f service expec te d

o f h im . If no sight rea ding test is adopted , with a view to
-

barring out no singer whose voice is a cceptable , good work may

be done on o ccasion by dint Of an enormous expenditure o f
time an d labor A s a ch a in is no stronger tha n its weakest
.

link , so the non rea ders o f a chorus choir a re the measure o f

-

the strength ( or ra ther , weakness ) in perform a nce , o f the

,

organi za tion N O m a tter how much labor m ay be expen d ed

.

upon the service music for Sun da y , there can be no c ertainty

that one or more O f the non readers will not m ake a false entry ,
-

or sing wrong notes an d m ake d iscord where there should be

,

harmony I t i s frequently the case tha t singers with good

.

voices a n d genuine talent a re poor rea ders o f notation Their .

very gi fts have O pera ted to cause them to neglect the stu dy o f
Sight rea ding Ma ny sal aried qua rt et S ingers are such poor
-
.

rea ders tha t they a re constantly in f ear o f a sudden , though

necess ary ch ange in the service numbers , a nd a lways beg for
“ ”
next Sun day s music a week ahea d
’
This is not a s it .

should be Thoroughly competent choir directors who h ave a

.

voice in the engagement o f soloists a re more and more giving

the preference to re ady music rea ders Who can blame them
-
.

Where a choir di rector , in order to secure a su fficient

supply o f acceptable voice s m ak es no test o f sight-reading he
, ,
28 CH OI R AN D CH O R US CO NDUCT I NG .

can only h Ope to d o good work in com fort by converting his , ,

choir into a S inging class and giving systematic ins truction in

note reading
- .

A S will be in ferred from wh a t h a s been sa id in regar d to

ba lance and blend o f tone a n exa min a tion o f the voice as to
,

quality , power a nd comp a ss should be insisted upon a s a condi

tion o f a dmission O therwise a choir is likely to be burdened
.

with dea d wood meaning thereby ineffecti v e a nd obj ection

- ’
,

able vocal m a teri al I t seems to be ordered by the fa tes that the

.

worst singers sh all be the most faith ful members o f voluntee r

choru s choirs Sometimes the person al rel ationships o f certain
.

ineffective choir membe rs m ake it ver y di fficult for the Director

to dispense wi t h their ser v ices Y et he can never expect to do
.

”
good work while ca rrying a load o f dead wood The -
.

nomin al streng th o f the choir m a y be S ix ty voices , and looking ,

upon the aggrega tion o f singers the congregation will expec t ,

a volume o f tone proportiona te to the forces engaged They .

will be disappointe d ; a nd congregations are not more back

ward i n cri ticising the work o f the choir a nd choir director
tha n they are in m a king rem arks upon the minis ter s sermons ’
.

There is also a da nger th a t the really eff ective singers in

the chorus will tire o f the m any repeti tions at rehea rsals m a de
necessary by the ineffici ency o f the dead wood a nd withdraw -
, .

O n the whole it is better not to a dm it dea d wood or i n ca se

,
-
, ,

much o f it is found in a choir whe n first ta ken cha rge o f to ,

elimin ate it at once and risk resul ting criticism a nd antagonism .

Of course where there is a chance tha t present dead wood

,
-

m ay by instruction in sight singing and the principles of voice

,
-

use be converted into live , use ful vocal timber , the D irector
, ,

will wait and work .

Those w h o not h a v ing voices , persist in trying to Sing ;

,

those whose v oices h a ve been worn out in the service those who
h av e ra dica lly defective voices are so much dea d wood I t is ,
.

“
a sa d fa ct th a t those chorus singers who ha v e lost the voice
 OR G A N I ZA T I O N . 29

they had are the very last person s in the world to re co gni z e
their condition N o mere hint will bring them to a reali zing
.

“
se nse o f it Wi th such the D irector must ha ve a
. heart
”
to heart talk and in preparing himsel f for it he will need to
,

cultiva te pa tience , pe rseverance and a good temper .

C H A PT E R IX .

A n intelligent , popular young la dy or gentleman may be

appointed as C hoir Secretary The Secretary s duties may be
.
’

to keep in d uplicate a registe r o f membership , properly cla ssi

, ,

fi ed and o f attenda nce a t rehearsals and services

,
One copy .

will be in the D irector s pos session for his u se The Secretary

’
,
.

may be o f consi d erable help to the D irector i f he b e a man o f,

goo d j udgment and sympathetic nature , in welcoming membe rs

and inquiring a fter d elinquents I t is best however , for the
.
,

D irecto r to keep in personal touch wi th ea ch member o f the

choir ; an d without Showing the lea s t partia lity , or losing
,

di gnity , demonstra te th a t he kn ows a n d i s interested in every

S inger un der his ca re To be a ble to call ea ch member o f a
.

large chorus choir by n a me is a gi ft worthy o f cul tiva tion .

The power to remember n ames , a s well a s fa ces h a s m a de ,

m any friends for politici ans A nd in a good sense the D irector

.
, ,

o f a voluntary chorus choir mus t be a politici an .

Another help ful o fficer is a Librari an , who wi th his ,

assistant Shall keep the music i n goo d order and distribute

, ,

and collect the same a t rehearsals The D irector should never

.

pe rform this duty I t is not proper to his office It would be

. .

wise for him to pay for this work ra ther th an to do it himsel f .

E xperience teaches tha t these two officers under the ,

Director , are all tha t a re really need ed in the carrying on o f the

work o f a large chorus choir A multiplicity O f offi cers an d
.
3O CH OI R AN D CH O R U S CO NDUCT I NG .

committees in choir work breeds tro uble If you wan t a thi ng .

”
well done d o it yourself , is a saying which , applie d to the
—

conduct o f the aff airs o f a chor us choir , has in it m ore tr uth

than p o etry .

C H A PT E R X .

T he Choir of Chi ldren ’

s Voices ( Bo y s a n d Girls) . A well
trained choir o f chi ldren s voi c es may be SO used as to add
’

greatly to the interest and profit o f a church service .

There is an ethereal purity a p a ssionless sweetness in the

, ,

to ne o f a well traine d children s choir which is powerf ul to stir

- ’

the h ea rts of the people

.
.

Chi l dren s voice s are comp aratively weak A chi ldren s

’
.
’

choir , therefore Should be organi ze d with a view to securing

,

d elicacy o f tonal effect , rather than brea dth and force The .

author d oes not Sh are the Opinion , held by some voice trainers , -

that the child voice ought not to be used on high tones The .

average boy or girl between eight and fourteen yea rs o f age ,

i f properly taught to Sing softly and sweetly with chest up and ,

smi li ng fa ce will develop unconsciously the pure H ea ds-voice

,

an d be able to reach

with ease and beauty o f tone If chil dr en are allowed to use

.

nothing but this so ca lled hea d voice dow n to the lowest note s
- -

of their comp a ss , there can be no forcing o f the voice .

The SO called Chest tone given out on

- -
32 CH O I R AN D CH O R US CO NDUCT I NG .

C HA PT E R XI .

T he Ch ora l Society The history o f choral societie s in

.

A merica i s a long record o f disappointed hopes and ambition s .

B ut few choral societi es have any great length o f li fe The .

most perm anent o f these organi za tions are to be found among

the G erman American communiti es These music lover s com
- .

bine the soci a l wi th the musica l purpose ; build music club

houses and expect to p ay for music j ust as they expect to pay
,

for provisions It is to them one o f the neces sities o f li fe

. .

A merica n singers O ften look upon ch oral singing a s something

which ought not to cost them any money , or a s a proper source
”
o f re v enue H ow much is there in it for me ? is the
.

q uestion frequently a sked by an American Singer who h a s been

invited to j oin a choral society meaning not how much o f —

pleasure o f instruction o f mental improvement and r efin e

, ,

ment but h ow much o f money dollars and cents

,
—
.

The choral society organi zer w h o meets with such a

response to his invitation is a dvised to drop the questioner at
Once H e m a y attend a fe w rehearsa ls a s a result o f coa x ing
.
, ,

b u t he ca nnot be depended upon he is sure to be absent when

most neede d H e i s also a dvi sed to beware o f the en thusi ast
.

w h o gushes a bout our society ”

and the wonderful thin gs
which it is to accomplish through somebody s efl or ts If a do zen ’
.

or twent y quietly earnest music lovers agree to meet statedly

for the practice o f chora l singing possibly at firs t at a pri vate
,

house , there is ground for h Ope o f a perm anen t organi zation ,

and one which will grow in numbers and effici ency A little .

effort will develop such a comp any in almost any A merican

town o f four thousa nd population .

M uch o f wha t h as been said regarding the organi za tion o f

 OR GA N I ZA T I O N . 33

the vol untary ch or u s choir o f mix ed voices , applies to the

organi zation o f the choral society The shorter the con stitu .

tion and b y-laws the fewer the officer s an d committee s , the

,

less machinery the better

,
.

A Presi d ent Vice Pre si dent , Secretary Tr eas urer , an d

,
- -

Librari an , a C ommittee on M embership an d a C ommittee on

M usic , C oncerts and Soloist s ( including the C on d uctor ) i s
s u fficient mac hi nery for the carrying on o f the busines s o f a
large choral society .

I t is pres ume d that the society will elect its offi cer s and
committee s , annually , at the las t meeting o f each season The .

choice o f a C onductor is best le ft to a committee m a de u p o f

the officers and one representative from each o f the four d ivisions
of the choru s .

The Secretary Treasurer Sho ul d pres ent a full report to

-

the society at the annu al meeting .

The officer s , with the C ommittee on M usic Concerts an d ,

Soloist s , may form a B oard o f M an agers , or Fi nance C ommi ttee ,

for the financing o f the affai r s o f the society .

A good pla n for organi zation is to provi d e for three class e s

of members :
IS FL FM I E E MB E R S .

The se to pay a fixed su m and to receive a certain number

,

of sea ts for each concert and privilege s in the wa y o f atten d

ance at all rehear sals .

2D— A SSO C I A T E M E MB E R S .

Thes e to p ay an annu al fee , an d to receive there for a cer

tain number O f seats for each concert and the privilege o f ,

atten din g special ( final or s olo ) rehear sals .

CT I VE ( SI NG I NG ) M E MB E R S
3D— A .

These to pay an annual fee ( us ua lly higher for gentlemen

than for ladie s ) an d to r eceive there for the benefit of the
34 CH OI R AN D CH O R U S C O NDUCT I NG .

instruction at the rehearsals and pleasure from the concerts , .

In some ca ses a cti v e members recei v e complimenta ry ti ckets

for fin al ( solo ) rehea rs als I n o ther ca ses , a ctive mem bers
.

recei v e one complimen ta ry ticket for concerts These are .

points a s to which each society mus t decide for i t sel f a ccor ding
to circums ta nces .

Where a cti v e members p ay an annu al fee the society ,

usually supplies Copies O f the works s t udied This pl an is .

strongly recommended for where members purcha se Copies it

,

is O ft en found th at some fail to bring music t o rehearsals and .

considerable inconvenience results A choral society , more .

over , should have its own library , a s while the membershi p ,

will change , the society m ay persis t and works will be per ,

f ormed several times wi thin a series o f year s .

E ach society must fix i t s own tests for a dmission to singi n g

membership a s circums ta nces al t er ca ses The a dvice o f the
,
.

Conductor however , should be asked and gi v en great weight

,

in this regard .

So too with reference to the work of the committee on

, ,

the choice o f music concerts and soloists If a wise choice in

, .

the m atter o f a Conductor h a s been m ade th at O fficial is best ,

able to j udge w h at music the society m ay hope successf ully to

prep are and perform h ow m any concerts should be gi v en in
,

one season and wh a t solois t s are needed

,
The committee .

shoul d , therefore , give due weight to the C onductor s Opinion ’

on these m atter s Indeed i f it were not th at some o f the best

.
,

Conductors are a s children with referen ce to fin a nce it might ,

be said th at in regard to the ques tions j us t referred to there

need be no committee , the decision restin g with the C onducto r .

Sa d aye most sad yet a musing a re some o f the tales th at are

, ,

told o f the stru ggles between C onductors and Fin ance C om

m i tte es o f chora l societies The fa ult is by no means always
.

on the side o f the C onductor A sm all min d ed commerci al .

-
, ,

in artistic commi ttee man find s it di ffi cult to sympathi z e with

-
 OR GA NI ZA T I ON . 35

the des ire of an enthu si astic artistic con d uctor , on fire wi th

,

love for his art w h o wan ts the very best singer s that ca n be
,

had for the solo parts , and a ll the instruments called for in the
Orches tral score .

A Conductor who desires to organi ze a choral society must

bear in mind : First th at he needs to m ake m any friends ;
—

then to do all in his power to keep them ; Secon d that he —

must expect active Opposi tion from other pro fessionals pa ssive ,

resis tance from lazy singers , and discouragement from a con

si de ra bl e cl ass o f people who never can see h ow a n v thi n g worth

while in choral music can be done in their community They .

are sometimes dog i n the m anger

- - people usu ally pessi
-

mists This la st men tioned cla ss ( the pessimists are perh aps
.

the most dangerous o f all They should be caref ully kep t out
.

o f the ranks o f the society , for their conversation and m anner

are most demorali zing One such member ca n do more to kill
.

a society than hal f a doz en enthusiasts ca n do to keep it alive .

The C onductor a s orga ni zer should bea r in mind th at the

, ,

indolent m ay be s tirred up and possibly converted into willi n g

and eff ective workers If the Conductor is m ade o f the right
.

sort o f materi al the pessimists will not discourage hi m while ,

the j ealous Opposi tion o f other pro fession als wi ll but stir him
to greater eff ort s .

When the co operation o f leaders in prominent soci al and

-

musical circles ca n be secured , the ta sk o f organi zi n g a choral

society is comparatively easy I t is not wi se however to rely
.
, ,

upon wha t are known as society people for choral m ateri al or

perm anent support The great maj ority o f choralists come
.

from the ranks o f those who are moderately well c d a nd -

,

whose social engagements occupy but a small p art o f their time

and att ention . Society is f ond of fa ds and will drop a
conductor , or an enterprise as quickly as fashions in dr ess are
discarded .

The singing clas s can frequently be d eveloped into a choral

-
36 CH O I R AND CH O RUS C O NDUCT I NG .

society This can be establishe d by means o f circular an d

.

newsp aper advertising a nd pers onal ca nv assing

,
.

A success ful choral society m ay sometimes be organi zed in

a minor city by interesting a well known ci ti zen and issuing
-
,

a call in his n a me , and th at o f the C onductor , through the

newsp apers for Singers to rehearse and perform a standard
,

oratorio The work chosen should be one generally known , at

.

lea st by repu te a nd one which good Singers are likely to wish

,

to rehearse for the sake of becoming a cq uainted wi th the

m u SI C .
 Part II .

T HE CHOIR DIRECT OR .

C H A PT E R I .

O ne wh o man age s drill s an d con d uct s the performa nce of

,

a church choir is in America us ually called a Choir D irecto r

, , ,
.

A s a rule the m u sical hea d o f a choral s ociety the one who

, ,

prepares for an d conducts the performance s thereo f i s properly

,

called the Con d uctor the direction o f the affairs o f s uch a

,

society u s ually d evolvin g u pon the o fficer s an d comm ittee s

electe d for that work .

The Choir D irector i s o f cour se a gentleman Whether

, .

”
he be a pro fess or o f reli gion or not , he will re spect the
religiou s Opinion s o f others an d by hi s demeanor , prove hi s
,

good breeding an d fitness to a ct a s a lea der in the servi ce o f

song A wise clergyman appreciates a Choir Director who
.

Shows an interest in the public service in all its parts A wi se .

Choir D irector will en d eavor to culti vate friendly r elati on s

38 CH OI R AN D CH O RU S C O ND U CT I NG .

CH A PT E R II .

The tru e teacher love s hi s s ubj ect an d has a con suming

d esire that other s Shall love it To s uch a one the coming
.
,

into the eye o f the pupil o f the gleam o f awakened interes t i s

at once reward and incentive to renewed effort The skilful .

drill ma ster know s hi s s ubj ect and how to pres ent it in such
,

fashi on a s to arou se an d sustain interes t on the part o f hi s

choir H e S O arr anges the work o f the reh ear sal as th at the
.

singers derive pleas ure from it even tho ugh they m ay be ,

attacking di fficulti es .

I n real te aching one obj ect i s to lea d tho s e taught to fin d

,

out for them s elves Telling i s not all o f tea chi ng The f un da
. .

mental facts Shoul d be pre sented the thi ng be fore the Sign the ,
‘
easy befor e the di fii cul t from the k nown to the un known in
, ,

progressive ord er P upil s learn by doing The drill master

. .

who explain s too much who talk s a great d eal was tes time
, ,

an d str ength B etter make nec essary s tatements a nd explana

.

tion s as brief as i s con sistent wi th clearness an d get the singers

to d oing to making their own experiments ob servation s
, , ,

compari son s .

To e d ucate is to draw out The bes t teachi ng i s that

.

which s o prep ares a stu d ent that he know s h ow to st u dy .

There i s an art o f teaching as well a s an art Of singing an d ,

choir directo rs d o well to study the literat ure thereof an d as ,

well the late st works on applied psychology T he best grade .

o f work in the rehear sal room is no t to be stumble d upon I t .

i s the res ult o f a nat ural gi ft for lead ership an d teachi ng

devel oped by stu dy .
 O CH OI R AND CH OR U S C O ND U CT I NG .

C HA PT E R I V .

The s ection o f this work devoted to choir orga ni zation

contains sugges tion s as to the attitu d e o f a C on d u ctor towa r d

his choir .

In the rehearsal room the s uccessful drill mas ter i s court -

eou s, firm impartial , tactf ul and patient

,
H e i s the lead er, the
.

fount o f instruction and the only one permitted to exercise

authority H e may li sten to suggestion s from member s o f his
.

choir or other s in private ; he Shoul d permit no public inter

ference with his authority or f unction s by choir member, music
commi ttee ma n , clergyman , or any one else
-
.

Preparation for the work o f each rehearsal ca nnot be too

thorough The u se o f every moment shoul d be determined
.

be forehan d The drill m a ster will find it profita ble to spend

.
-

some minutes immedi ately before each rehearsal in quiet ,

reposeful thought with the one Obj ect O f bringing his mind
,

into a sta te o f pea ce so th at he may enter the rehearsal room

,

thoroughly master o f his own soul , an d prep ared to meet

Obsta cl es and Opposition with serenity A man who is .

master o f himsel f who knows j ust what he purposes aecom

,

p l i shi n g at each rehea r sa l and exactly

, how to se t about to do
it , has a tremendous power over choralists The high s tru n g .
-
,

ex citable m an , who leaves hi s working plan to th e inspiration

o f the moment or d ecision o f circumstances may expend a gr eat ,

deal o f effort in the rehear sal room , but results will be u n sa ti s

fac tory.

I n carrying o ut a seas on s work in a sy stematic w a y the

’
,

D irector will fin d it ad van tageou s to make for his private use ,

from an ordinary memorandum book , a C onducto r s Record ’

Book upon a plan somewhat as follows :

 T HE CHO I R D I R E CT O R . 41

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42 CH OI R AN D CHOR U S C O NDUCT I NG .

It is well to pl an the season s choir work in a dvance , with

’

a Vi ew to bringing about definite results A s for instance .

A n increase Of membership .

Regul a rity
and punctuali ty in attendance .

A n advance in the gra de o f music performe d .

Improvement in quality and volume o f tone .

A dded expressiveness in per form ance .

Something ca n then be definitely pl anned for each rehear sal

h aving a direct relation to the carrying out o f the general
scheme for the se ason .

The point is th at i t is wise to h ave a definite plan to f ollow ,

and not to trust to ch ance or circumstance or mere routine
, ,

work for improvement A t the close o f ea ch rehearsal the

.

D irector wi ll find it profitable to mentally review the ev ening s ’

work th at he m ay discover whether a step forward ha s been

made , and i f not , where the fa ult lies .

C HA P T E R V .

The Choir D irector must secure a nd m aintain goo d order ,

a nd respectf ul willing obedience in the rehea rsal room He
,
.

must first o f all be able to rule himsel f, to keep hi s t emper and

be courteously firm .

I n dea ling with a l arge volunteer chorus choir in the ,

rehea rsa l room , i t is well to h av e i t understood

That a nnouncements wi ll be m a de but on ce .

That all conversa tion must cea se when the D irector Speaks .

That when one divi si on is being rehearsed other divisions

m ust Ob serve s ilen ce .
 T H E CH O I R D I R E CT O R . 43

Some members will ofi e n d against even s uch simple ,

reason able rules a s t he abo ve Direct person al , public reproof
.
,

is seldom a dvisable When i t is used ( a s after repeate d

.
,

general and private warnings h ave proven ineffective ) it S hould

be m a de as short an d sha rp a s possible The moral effect is .

thus en h anced .

A private interview wi th a recalcitrant member i s advised ,

rather th a n publi c reproo f or remonstrance by letter The .

leader o f a volunteer choir who can write a letter o f remon

strance to an Offending Singer which will not be mi s un d erstoo d
or use d against him is a clever m an B efore a per son al inter
,
.

view with a n offen d er i s ha d i t is wise to take a fe w minute s

,

for quiet meditation during which the a ttempt Sh oul d be m a de

,

to elimin ate every vestige o f temper from the soul , and to

cultiva te a Spirit o f brotherly kindness When a choir member
.

h as been reproved it i s o ften a good plan to a sk such a one to

,

do for the C hoir D irector or choir s ome little service If this .

is done in a kin dly w a y , in the presence o f the choir , the

member will u su ally perform the ser v ice gl a dly feeli n g that ,

the leader cherishes no resentment has confidence in him , an d

,

wi shes the choir to know it Cases are on record where

.

valuable but thoughtless members h ave been saved to a choir

an d ch anged into real helpers o f the leader by the treatment

indi ca te d. I t will not alway s work ; there are dispositions

which are not to be reached in thi s way With them it is rule.

or ruin and for the choir as a whole it is best to promptly

,

di spense with the presence o f these irreconcilables .

44 CH OI R AN D CH O R US C O NDUCT I N G .

C H A PT E R VI .

Where the form o f service permits , the Di rector w ill a dap t

his sel ections in both text and s tyle o f music , to the cen tral
,

theme o f the s ermon When sermon , hymns , s olo s a nd con

.

certe d pi eces all tend to the en forcement o f a particular thought ,

the effect upon the congrega tion is likel y to be power ful ; cer
ta i n ly much more so than where the s ervice music bears little
or no relation to the theme o f the discourse I t i s sometime s .

impossible to fin d selections p a rticularly a ppr Opria te to a sermon

topic I n such ca se the well eq uipped D irecto r will at le ast be
.
-

able to choose numbers which will not be incongruous H e ca n .

give a to ne to the s ervi ce , one o f solemn worship o f praise or

’

o f thanksgiving a s may s eem best under the circums tances

, .

Too many services have a s li ttle point and symmetry as does

the ordinary dreary , hodge podge known a s the miscellaneou s
,
-

”
concert . They cause the intelligent and s ensitive worshiper
to wonder on what ground anthems are introduced into the
public service .

I n planning the giving o f s ervice s and concerts the Choir ,

Director will do well to keep in mind economy o f means an d

strength .

I t is unwi s e to give heavy fugal choruses with few voices

,

on a part ,
I t is tiring to the singers a nd un fair to the
composer , as the interpretation is necess arily in a dequ ate .

Quartet choirs should confine themselves to selections requiri n g

less volume and breadth in delivery .

Compo sition s h avi ng many unison p assages are o ften

e ffecti v e and req u ire as a rule less time for prep arat ion th a n
, , ,

piece s with full harmony throughout .

T h e frequent u se o f unaccompanied m u sic i s s trongly

 T HE CH O I R DI R E CT O R . 45

recommend ed Its rehearsal compels the Singer s to rely upon

.

themselve s , and gives Opportunity for Ob ser ving the many lesser
d e fects which are so likely to escape noti ce when an accom pa n i
ment is being pl ayed U naccompanied choir s in ging , when
.

well done h as a powerf ul effect upon a con gregation or a u dience

,
.

M ost people prefer the sweet tone s o f the h u man voice to those
o f any instrument mad e by man .

The preparation an d performance o f concert program s

furnishes variety in work for a chor u s ch oir , and stimulates
interest I t sometimes happen s that a choir is so engrossed in
.

its concert work , that interest in the S un day s ervice music

S uffers This shoul d be guar d ed against The choir Should be
. .

made to un d ers tan d that its rea so n for exi stence is its Sun day
service With the choral society the case i s different
. .

A s a mea sure o f economy in preparing for a concert the

,

Choru s Choir D irec tor will frequently take up choruses from

the oratorios an d cantata s which can afterward be used in the
church s ervice .

Experience has led to the m aking o f the follow ing su gges

ti ons to C onducto rs Of choirs a nd choral s ocieties in regar d ,

to concert giving :
The D irecto r shoul d so refer to the concert a s to m agni fy
the choral work no m a tt er h ow eminent the soloists engaged
, .

The chorus i s the backbone o f the choral concert Ev erything .

possible shoul d be done to ca use the members to feel that the

concert is theirs The a dvertising must not minimi z e the
.

choral features o f the program .

D etails o f h all and p latform arrangement s Shoul d be given

into the han ds o f trustworthy committees I nstructions .

Shoul d be clear an d conci se , an d committ ee men held r espon -

si ble for the perf ormance o f their d uties The D irector shoul d ,
.

however , see for him sel f in goo d seas on , whether his instru o
,

tions have been followed I t is the only safe pl an

. .
46 CH O I R AND CH O R US CO NDUCT I NG .

T he seating o f the chorus a nd distribution o f music should

be pl a ced in the ha n ds o f s ecretaries a nd li brari a n s a n d the
work left to them .

The meeting a nd ca re of vi siting artists should be left to

committees including at lea st one officer o f choir or society
,
.

The C onductor Should alw ays be courteous to a rtis ts but

K
,

should no t run a ft er them .

eep no audience wai ting begin on time —

.

The C onductor should be the las t person engaged in the

perform ance to take his place .

I n doing so he Should bow to the au dience S ignal ,

for atte ntion li ft his baton and begin the concert with as litt le
,

fuss as possible .

Appl a use should be acknowledge d wi th a b ow E ncores .

'

repeti ti on s of choral or orches tra l numbers should be avoided —

.

Rarel y can the fine eff ect o f a first perform a nce be duplica te d
an anti -clim ax is a thing to be avoided .

Auditors and critics j udge by results an d take no account ,

o f wh at the C onductor ma y consider to be extenuating circum

stances Seldom is a conductor oblige d to gi v e a concert H e
. .

should never do SO unless satisfied th at the work in h and i s

well prep ared O ne failure is more talked o f th an two
. .

succe sses it is the way o f the world

—
.

The Conductor should h av e n a ught to do wi th h andling

money in connection wi th a concert exce p t to accept the ,

Co nduc tor s fee a nd receipt for it

’
, .

Let the understanding between the C onductor and the

fin a nce committ ee o f a concert be thorough a nd clear a s to
a moun t to be allowed for soloist s orchestra etc M uch trouble , ,
.

will thus be avoided .

I n the ca se o f a choral s ociety gi v ing tw o to four concerts

per season it is sometime s well to use loca l soloist s for at least
,

one concert G ood j udgment is needed in the managem e nt of

.
48 C HOI R AN D CHO R U S CO NDU CT I NG .

CH A PT E R VII .

An important par t of the work o f a Co n du ctor i s the

arrangement o f service an d conce rt programs .

I n those ch urches where the texts to be used in the mu sical

n umbers a re stated by ecclesi a stical authority the Conductor ,

has but to co nsi d er the matter o f the appropri ateness o f the

musica l se ttings The music Shoul d be o f a cha racter suited
.

to the mea ning or emotional content o f the text The numbers .

Sho u l d vary in to nality an d to some extent in style Other .

wi se ear an d voi ce be come wea ried Lo ng anthem s with little

.

change o f k ey or tho se in four part ha rm on y thr o ughout a re ,

likely to become tedi o us to the listener The intr od u cti on of

.

solo parts heighten s the effec t and prevents mon otony .

I n chan tin g an extended text it is well to use tw o chants ,

one for the first , and another in a different key for the secon d
, ,

half o f the se lec tion .

A s ha s been intimated where the choice o f ser v ice selec

,

ti on s i s wholly in the han ds o f the D irector it shoul d be hi s,

aim to ch oose text s an d m u sic whi ch w ill rein force the ce ntral
i d ea of the s ermon or s ervi ce I n general care should be
.
,

taken to avoi d in congr uity , as regar ds the subj ect o f the

s ermon an d the texts s ung the spiri t o f the other p arts o f the
,
.

servi ce and that o f the music The selections in a given

.

ser v ice while showin g variety in key , mod e and use o f more
,

or fewer voi ces shoul d not pr es ent violent contras ts in sty le

, .

There Shoul d be unity with variety A lugubrious anthem for

.

quartet with long-drawn o ut Slowly mov ing phrases ha s been

, , ,

followed in one service by a brilli ant fl orid anthem o f prai se

,

for solo Soprano . There was variety witho ut u nity If one .

selec tion w as in harmony with the to n e o f the service the ,

other certainly w as not .

 T H E CH O I R DI R E CT O R . 49

AS an ex ample o f a well a rrange d servi ce , an a ccount is

given o f a n a fte rnoon service held at ing s Ch apel B oston
Mr B J Lang , organist a nd di rector The music wa s sung
. . . .
K ’
, ,

by a solo quarte t and a sm all chorus o f adults , mixed voices .

The organ prelude w a s a bout fi v e minu te s in length , a nd

O f a quiet devoti on a l cha racter
,
After the Opening collects , .

”
the following selections from M endelssoh n s St Paul , were
’ “
.

sung °

R ecit Co ntra lto ) A s H e J ou rn ey e d Towa rd D a mascus

. .

Ar i a B ut the Lord is Mindf ul o f H is Ow n ”

.

R ecit ( Tenor
. a nd B ass ) a nd C horus — “
A n d as he
’
j ourneyed .

‘
Saul why persecutest thou M e 3
,

And he said , “
Lord who art Thou
,
77

”
“
And the Lord sa id to him ,
I am J esus Of Na za reth .

whom thou persecutest .

And he said trembling and astonishe d

, ,
“
Lord wha t wilt
,

Th ou h ave me to do ?
And the Lord said to a nd go into the city h im , “
Arise ,

and there thou shalt be told wha t thou mus t do .

N ext came the scrip ture lesson prayers a nd a hymn for , ,

the choir “
Hark Hark My Soul Angelic Voices Swelling
, ,
”
, ,

the organist improvising for a few minutes a t its close using , ,

tune as a theme unti l the minister had taken hi s place ,

,

prepared hi mself for his address .

”
This w as upon the topic o f Visions A t its conclusion “
.

”
fu rther selec tions from St Pa ul were given a s follows z
“
.
»

Chorus Rise up Arise l

Choral Sleepers wake , a voice i s calling
, 1
“
And H is Companions ”
Recit . Tenor —
.

”
Aria Bass O G od , have mercy .
50 CH O I R AN D CH O R US CO NDUCT I NG .

At the conclusion o f the aria the congregation sang a

hym n and the service closed wi th the benediction , a nd a

tasteful orga n postlude .

I t will be noted th at the theme o f the sermon and o f the

musical service w as one and the same .

C H A PT E R V III .

Progra m m aking for choir and choral concerts is by no

-
,

means a simple m atter The C onduc tor must consider .

His duty to his art : the music must be a s good a s it is

.

possible t o give wi th benefit to the a udience a s well a s to the

performers .

N ext the interpretati v e forces ava il able i n other words

, , ,

the numbers and Skill of chorus a nd orchestra and the ca libre ,

o f his soloist s .

The si ze o f the a uditorium ch amber music rarely sounds

well in a l a rge h a ll .

The importa n ce o f v ariety and contra st in a r ou sirig and

sus ta ining in teres t I t is o ft en a good pla n to gi v e tw o short
.

works o f contra sting s tyles Some symphony program m akers .

proceed app arently , upon the pla n o f lea ding up to the h ea vies t
.

item upon the program They pla ce the m arch the suite ,
.
,

etc first reserv ing the symphony for the la st number This is
.
,
.

a mis ta ke The largest w ork is tha t which m akes the greatest

.

dema nds upon the s trengt h o f bo th players a n d listeners , and

is bes t given firs t w hen both p art ies are fresh and their power
,

of concen t ration strongest .

I n prep aring w h at is known a s a miscellaneous program ,

involving the services o f vocal and instr umental soloists a nd a

 T H E CH OI R DI RE CT O R . 51

choru s , certain points shoul d be care f ully atten d e d to . As a

gen eral rule
Do n ot
.

Follow one n um be r with another in the same key .

Give two sad or tw o bright selections consecutively .

U se two s olo voices or instruments o f a simil ar chara cter

in s u ccession ; as , a S oprano and a tenor ; a contralto and a
bass a fl ut e and a violin .

Follow one voca l n umber with another when an i n str u

mental number could be pla ce d between .

Mix reci tation s and music A concert is no t the place for

.

elocutionary display .

Place comic or humorous selections on the same program

with serio us music .

Fail to choose an eff ective number for the close o f the

program the las t impression should be a good one .

Cater to popular ta ste any more than is absolutely necessary

to get people to attend the concert Give some n umbers o f a
.

hi gh grade well done

-
, . Then will p ublic taste be educated ,

and art j u stified o f its friends .

U nde rtake la rge works for the s ake o f outside or news

paper reputation when the forces av ailable are inca p able o f a n
adequa te inte rp r eta tion th ereo f To do so is t o work an
.

inj us tice to the composer , to art and also to make trouble in

,

the choi r.
 Part III .

T HE CHORAL CONDUCT OR .

C H A PT E R I .

Intro du ction I n prep aring for his work the ch oral

.

co n d uctor will fir st stu dy the technical items o f his art sing

ing h armony , counterpoint compositi on score rea ding and
, , ,
-

time beating If he expect s to deal with an orchestra he will

-
.
,

study a good work on the orchestra and ins trumentation an d ,

i f po s sible one orchestral instrument pre ferably a stringed ,

instrument The listening first to a small orchestra and later

.
,
“ ”
t o a gran d or symphony orchestra score in hand noting , ,

the trans ference o f themes from one instrument to another ,

and the use o f the variou s families o f the orchestra in combi
n ation and contra st , i s also recommended .

The choral con d uctor who ha s made a serious study o f

voice culture and singi n g has a d ecided a dvantage over one who
has not Suppose he ha s not a good voice ; he shoul d never
.

th el ess study singing that he m ay know how to treat the voi ce s

,

o f other s A choral con d uctor who does not understand the

.

voice can not hope to secure the finest effects from hi s choru s ,
and is likely to cause in j ury to some voices .

”
D r H R Streeter author o f Voice building says :
. . .
,
-
,
“
A m a n m ay be an artistic fl u ti st he may rea d a musical
score well a nd h ave an accurate knowledge o f tempos ; he
,

may even po ss ess the abi lity , whi ch s ome d o n ot, o f composing
52
 TH E CH ORA L CO ND U CT O R . 53

a good score fortu nate circ um sta n ces and fri ends may unite
to bolst a him up an d keep him in p o sition he may poss ess all
these an d many other req ui site s , an d then u tterly fail as a
”
directo r o f voices .

A conductor who cannot Sing , but is a goo d vi olini st , will

be able to teach hi s ch or u s to Sin g wi th a tr u e legato , in the
—

Singing style . Pianists and organi sts who have not been
trained as singers usuall y make the least effective ch oral
c on d u ctors
.

CH A PT E R II .

T he ability to beat time grace fully a n d corr ectly pr e

suppos e s a f eeling for tem po an d rhythm , an d a stu dy of the
metho d o f in di ca ting the p ul se s a n d their s ub divi si on s , so that
the per former s may know exac tly when to take up the entran ce s ,
an d may keep time a s o ne man F urther, by the motion s of
.

hi s bato n , an d the expression o f hi s feat ur e s , the con d u ctor

in dicates the variation s of force the sforza ndos, cr escendos,
—

dimi nu endos, special a ccent s an d emphas es .

The con d u ctor s bato n sh o ul d be li ght , and o f a col or

’

easily dis cernible H i s acti on s in time beating sh o ul d be as

.
-

graceful an d u nobtr usive as poss ible H e sh oul d n ot, by his

.

gesture s , obtr u de his personality between the a u dien ce an d the

music . Abo ve all , s tampin g the foo t , or rapping upon the
m u sic d esk , an d other noi se s mu st be av oi de d .

No general r ule , o f co urse , ca n be lai d do wn for the mann er

of con d ucting Each con d ucto r wh o has the q uali fication s by
.

nature an d s t u dy f or the w ork will be st s u ccee d when he is

,

mo st natural , or uncon sci o u s in the act o f con d uctin g Per

,
.

ha ps the m o st s triking personality for bol dne ss , r u gged str en gth

an d magn eti s m American s have s een at the con d u cto r s d esk
’

was An to n Sei dl . H is pla y with th e ba ton was fr ee , bu t his

54 CH OI R AN D CH O R US CO NDUCT I NG .

face the chief mea ns for expressing his w ishes to his men
wa s .

Emil Pauer h as a decided , strong beat and a good deal of

virili ty .

G ericke the present conductor o f the Boston Symphony

,

Orchestra h as a v ery decid e d beat , a nd makes considerable

,

work o f conducti ng .

Theodore Thoma s is probably the most gr acef ul great

conductor A merica ha s known H is motions in beating time
.

form a series o f bea uti f ul curves H e stands firmly upon his

.

feet a nd does not reach out or bore in to ward his men Arm
, .

a nd wrist do all the work , with a n o ccasional side gla nce o f

the eye to prep are a n entra nce , or a slight gesture of the left
h a nd to emph a si ze a point o f accent or shading .

The point o f chi e f importance in time beati ng is tha t the

-

baton shall clearly a nd decisively in di cate the prim ary a ccent .

Some pro f ession al and many amateur con d uctors wave the
baton in a series o f semi circles leaving the performers in doub t
-

a s to which motion indicates the strong accent the down bea t —

.

A style o f time beating which brings the baton to a point o f

-

rest on ea ch bea t m ay be somewhat an gular to the eye ; it i s,

however , very clear and com fortable to the performers The .

down beat , at le as t , should be easily di scernible by everybody

concerned .

The baton m ay be used wi th ease i f held lightly between

thumb and fingers ( somewhat as the violinist holds his bow )
at a point a short di stance from one end :
56 CH OI R AN D CH O R U S C O ND U CT I NG .

an d dr opped with a quick motion at it s en d , whi le the right

h a nd beats the time a s usual .

Excess o f gesture is to be avoi ded The left han d sh oul d

.

be sparingly used It may come into pl ay effectively as sh own

.

above Also in other ways , as for instance : To in dicate the

.

entrance o f voices or instrument s ; to silence a performer ; to

s ubdue force o f to ne by a downward , repressive ges ture ; to
s ecure a cr escendo by a gra dually rising moti on ; to in dicate
s ubdivisions o f the beat The left hand i s to be looke d upo n
.

merely as an as sistant to the right ha nd in the work o f time

beating and con d ucting There i s no more l u dicro us sight
.

than the two handed con d uctor , as he wave s bo th arm s wil dly
-

and continuously in the air in a tremen dou s effort to give a n

in spir ed r eadi ng of the m u sic .

C HA PT E R III .

The method o f time beating recommen de d is a s follows

-

(E
Si mple D uple M easure 2 2 2
or 2 4 8

2g
6
Compo u nd D uple M ea s ure :
16

Two beats to the mea s ure D own ( strong ) ; up ( weak )

— .
 T H E CH O R A L CO NDUC T OR . 57

When the rate o f movement is very Slow the beat is thus

Simple D uple M ea su r e

Comp ound D uple M ea sure

N OT E — b
T h e l arge , l ack figu res Sh ow th e point of rest on ip l
th e pri nc a
b ea ts
. Wh en th e pu l se is su bd i id
v ed th e should re ceiv e
i i
e spec a l em ph as s .

Simple Triple M easure :

3 23
Co mpound Triple M ea s ure : 2 g 1%

Threeb eats to the mea s ure D own —

( strong ), right ( wea k ), up ( weak ) .

58 CH O I R AND CH O RUS CO NDU C T I NG .

Compo un d Triple Measure

9 8
7

C ompound Qua druple M easure : 4 8 15

Four beats to the measure — D own ( s trongest ) , le ft ( weak ) ,
right ( s trong ) , up ( wea k ).
 T H E C HORAL CONDU CTOR . 59

m ovements :
I n slow

Simple Quadruple M eas ure

Co mpoun d Quadruple Mea s ure

12 1 1

The Sign E i s u se d for four pulse measu re ca lled common

-
,

time . The bea t note v arie s : it m ay be in one case the whol e

n ote in others the h al f or the quarter note .

The Sign !Eis used for mea sures o f different v alues ; but
s uch mea sures must be considered as tw o pulse measures and
-
,

tw o beats given D ow n u p- .

“
A lla B r ev e
. O riginally a species o f time in which every
bar conta ined a breve or four minims ; hence its n ame I n
, .

thi s time chie fly use d in the older church mu sic the minims ,
, ,

being th e unit o f meas urement , were to be taken fa s t, s ome

what like crochet s or qu a rter notes in ordinary time This .

time was als o ca lle d A lla Cap ella ch urch time ) Mod ern A lla
.
.0 C HO I R AN D C HORUS CONDUCTI NG .

time Simply di ffers from or dinary common time by bei ng

br eve
alway s beaten or counte d with two minims ( an d not with four
quarters ) in the ba r , and , therefore i s really qui ck common ,

time I t is indicated in the time sign ature by E i e , the E

.
, . .

which is us ed to Show four —quarter time wi th a str oke down ,

”
through it Grove s D iction ary of M usic an d M u sician s
.
- r
’
.

“
A cap ella :

I n the church style vocal piece s unaccompanied

( )
1 .

( )
2 C hurch music in duple time ’ ‘
Stainer an d .

”
Barrett s D iction ary o f M usical Term s
’
.

I n v er y quick movements bea t triple measure th us :

practi cally in dicati ng , by the down beat , only the first pul s e o f
each mea sur e .

Likew ise , beat quadr uple measure thus

1 —
3

practi cally in di cating by a down an d up beat , only the strong

pulses— the first an d third .

The choral conductor rarely has to d eal with fiv e pul se -

mea s ure Thi s ca n s ometimes be taken as three two , D own

.
-

rl gh t u -
p, do wn -u
p I n s uch case t
. he first dow n bea t shoul d be
more vigorous than the s econ d down beat in the measure I t .

can al s o be taken thu s D own left-right u p u p - - -

.

When a piece begins on other than the first beat o f a

mea s ure , the con d uctor need not give the pr ocee di n g beats he
Should however , m ake a Short preparatory motion with the
,

baton before giving with m arked clearnes s the beat on which

, ,

the Singer s or pl ayers enter Thi s to warn the per formers to

.

be rea dy to attack promptly on the beat This preparatory .

motion is not n ee d ed when the piece begin s on the s econ d p art

Of the beat a d eci d e d marking o f the beat i s s uffi cient .
 T HE C HORAL C ONDU CT OR . 61

C H A P TE R IV .

In bea ting time in recita tive it ,

is
importa nt tha t the
con ductor shoul d b e thor oughly fa mil i a r With b oth the voca l

a n d i n strumenta l pa rt s of the score H e mu st be in depen dent

.

of the p r i nte d score a n d thu s a b le to concentra te hi s a ttention

upon the perfo rmer s, e speci a lly the r eciter .

A s a rule , shor t ca dentia l chords, i n a r ec ita tive , a s a t

in the following exa mple , a r e struck afler the voi ce h a s cea se d
HAND E L
M ih e ss a .
”

Be l
ho d ! He shal l come, saith the Lord of Hosts .

When the or chestra i s to enter on the Wea k pul se of the

mea sur e , as a t i n the extr a ct given b elow the fir st b ea t mu st ,

not b e given too str ongly , or ca reless pla yers may str ike the
chord too soon H u m
T h C ti ”
e re a on .
62 CHO I R A ND CHORUS CO ND U CT I NG .

Wher e rests occupy one or more measures, as in the

follow in g extr ac t a t a l l b ea t s except the fir st i n ea ch mea su r e

m ay b e om i tte d The r egula r b ea t for ea ch pul se must be

.

resume d w h e n the i n str umenta l a ccomp an iment begin s .

M ASS EN
6t
ET
"
Eve .

C ’
td
es
’
un t e fl et du Ci e l qu e ton front se 00 lo r e, Je

voi s, d
a ns tes re gard s ,
-
l uir e un vi - v nt
a é l
C a ir !

In the follow in g excerpt the h a r mony cha nges only on the

first p u lse of ea ch mea sur e It i s necessa r y , ho w eve r i n or der
.
,

tha t the tympa n i of the or chestr a m a y know a n d ob ser ve the

mm po desire d, to give four bea ts to the measu re The singer , .
64 CHO I R A N D CH O RU s C ONDUC TI NG .

When thi s is done , ca re mu st be ta ken to follow the singer

with preci sion to dw ell upon ea ch b e a t a t the po i nt of r est so
as not to a n ti ci p a te the movemen t of the voi ce to the n ote upon

the follow i ng b ea t . For exa mple , i n si n ging the r e cita ti ve

fr om the Ro se M a i den quoted a bove the soloi st m a y
,
”
po ssib ly pa u se somew ha t on w i nter , a n d r i ta r d con si der a bly
“ ”
in deliveri n g the w or ds I mu st .The b a ton mu st b e hel d
a t the poi n t of r e st on the do w n b ea t a t w inter until the
syll a ble ter i s complete d then moved qu i ckly to th e left a s
, ,
“ ”
the singer deliver s I a n d hel d ther e until the la st con sona nt
“ ”
Of mu st is soun ded a nd so on .

C HA P TE R V .

An importa nt pa rt of a chor a l con ductor s pr ep a r a tion for

’

hi s w or k i s the development of im a gin a ti on , a n d the culti va

tion of ta ste a n d feeli ng H e shoul d fa mi lia rize hi m self wi th
.

the ma ster pieces of li ter a tur e , especia lly the w or ks of the

-

im agin a tive wr ite rs H e shoul d a lso embra ce every Oppor tun ity
.

for hea r ing or chestr a l a n d or ga n mu si c , a s the se sti mula te the

fa ncy a n d emoti on s of the sen sitive mu si ca l soul O ne mu st .

him self feel i f he i s to m a ke others feel .

B er lioz sa ys
“
The or che stra l con ductor shoul d know the compo sition s,
the na tur e a n d comp a ss of the in struments, a n d shoul d be a ble
to rea d the score Tho se he di r ect s shoul d feel th a t he feels,
.

compr ehen ds, a n d i s moved ; then hi s feelings, hi s emoti on s,

”
commun i ca te them selve s to tho se w ho m he di r ect s .

When p r epa r i n g for a serv i ce or con c er t the con ductor will

thor oughly fami li ar i ze hi m self w ith the scor e , w or ds a n d
mu si c H e mu st deci de w ha t i s the mea n i n g of the w or ds a n d
.

the content of the mu si c in other w or ds, upon hi s i nterpreta

,

tion of the w or k a s a w hole .

 T H E C HORAL C OND U CT OR . 65

An in str umenta l compositi on ca rr ies its own messa g e .

A compo si ti on in w hich w or ds a n d mu si c a r e joi ne d pr e ,

sent s a difi er en t prob lem In the fir st ca se the c on d u ctor

.
,

st ri ve s to b r i n g out or inter p r et the str uctu r a l a n d techn i ca l

b ea uty of the mu si c , a n d , if he be a m a n of i m a gin a ti on a n d

fine feeli ng he w ill en dea vor , thr ough h is pl a yer s, to m a ke h i s
,

a u di e n ce feel somethi n g of the emoti on a r ou se d b y the mu sic

in h i s own soul .

The phr ase i s O ften u sed

“ ”
M r J on e s h a s set M r s Smi th s wor ds to mu sic
. .
’
.

A p r oper conc ep ti on of the r el a ti on of w or ds a n d musi c in

a voca l c ompo siti o n w oul d m a ke the ph r a se r ea d thu s

“ ”
M r Jone s h a s set mu si c to M r s Sm i th s w or ds
. .
’
.

The Office of the mu si c i n a voca l compo siti on i s to illu m i

n a te the sen t iment of the w or ds to i nten sify the moo d of the
,

text N ot al l mu si c set to w or ds a c com pli shes these effects, a n d

.

som eti me s mu si c a pp r op r i a te to the w or ds i s so ba dly per

for me d a s to defea t i ts pur po se .

E v i dently the impor ta nt point for the chor a l con ductor i s

to a rr i ve a t a n a dequ a te conception of the mea n i n g or senti
ment of the text Then comes the stu dy of the mu si c a s musi c,
.

a n d a l so i n i ts speci a l r el a ti o n to the te x t a s i n di ca te d a b ove .

The mea n i ng of the w or ds m a y b e co n si der ed i n tw o w a y s

The o r di n a r y sen se of the w o r ds, a s l a ngua ge con vey
( )
1
ing thought .

2) The emotion a l sen se or content of the la ngua ge , a s

ex pr essi n g fe eling .

D i stinct enuncia tion and rti cula tion ,

a and the pr oper
groupin g of w or ds, a r e the chi ef mea n s for br ingi n g out the
sen se of the te x t .

’
M id pl a y sur e , sen d pa l a ce s, though w ea m a r ome ,

Be it a verse , oh w u m b ull ther e snow pla y sly com b .

66 CHO I R A N D C H OR U s C ONDU CTI NG .

The for egoi ng , though perh a ps somewha t over-dra wn , is a

sugge stive illu str a tion of de fective utte r a nce b y a si nger .

To secu r e a di stinct deliver y , specia l a ttenti on mu st be

p a id to the c on son a nts pa rtic ula r ly to those w hich end w or ds
, .

E a ch w or d mu st b e utter e d w i th the p r oper soun d of the vow el ,

a n d w i th a clea r div i si on b et w een i t a n d the follow i n g w ord .

O ther w i se , w e h a ve such a bsur diti es in choir singing a s

“ ”
Oh (
glor i ou s soa p . h Ope
”
r a d
The con sec te c o eyed b ea r
r ss- .
( cross I
’
d b ear ) .

“ ”
Mke lea n ( clea n your hea rt
a .

“ ”
The sol dier s stee r ’
( tea r
) . .

O h Lo ar th oh oo a rt moy Ga w d ”
.

Oh
( , Lo r d ,
Thou my G od
art

Ca pta in John Sm i th h a ving gon e to sea hi s w i fe , requests

”
the pr a yer s of the con gr ega tion .

The foregoi n g a nnouncem ent by a church cler k show s the

necessity of a pr oper gr oup ing of w or ds, i f the mea ning of the
la ngua ge i s b e m a de clea r .

Good si n gi n g i s a n exten sion of good spea ki ng The .

si n ger shoul d d eliver the w o r ds as a goo d r ea d er w oul d - do .

H e shoul d si n g sen se To thi s en d the singer mu st regul a te

.

h i s br ea th i ng for by it he punctua te s the sentence

,
.

Br ea th mu st not b e ta ken
B etw een sylla b le s of a w or d .

B etw een w or ds tha t n a tura lly fa ll into a group , a s

“ ”
I w ill go to my y Fa ther .

Thy merci es h ow ten der h ow y fir m to the en d ”

.

A w ell know n hymn run s thu s

-

“
A n d ever y day I live I seem
”
To love Thee more a n d mor e .

The poetica l ph r a sing req uir es th a t the brea th b e not tak en

 T H E CHORAL CONDUCT OR . 67

” “ ”
af ter se em , ( as i s u sua lly done ) , b u t a fter live a nd th e ,

rema i n d er of the cla use sung w i th on e b r ea th .

A uthori ties difi er somew ha t a s to the w i sdom of fr equent

b r ea k s i n the melo di c outline in or der to br ing out the sen se Of
the w ords .

T A
. M . Ri ch a r dson sa y s
“
Though a fr e sh supply of br ea th is not r equir ed a b rea k ,

shoul d be m a d e in o r d er to m a ke the sen se clea r .

Fi n ding “ follow i n g ”
,
keepi n g , “
,
str uggl i n g
’
.

H er e ea ch w or d i n tr od uces a fr esh thought When a br ea k is

.

”
ma de a t the Hthe me a n ing i s br ought home .

P er con tra , ! S i eb er sa y s
“
A lthough the i nter p u nctua tion of the te x t w ill often be
a suffi ci ent gu id e w e sh a ll fr equently fin d ou r br ea th too short
,

to sin g fr om com m a to comm a , or , on the other ha n d m ay ,

encounter them so often , tha t to u se ever y one of them for a

br ea thi ng pl a ce w oul d cut the ca n ti len e i n to fr a gment s And .

yet thi s ki n d of so ca lled mu si ca l decla ma ti on i s fr eq uently

-

‘
hea r d, especia lly in qua rtet choi rs w her e it i s styled to sing
,
’
w ith expr essi on .

We reca ll her e the w ell -know n li ne

“
Ther e , w i th my Sa vi our , Br other, Fri en d ”
.

In such ca se s it i s u su a lly po ssible to effect a compromi se

whi ch per m i ts of the pr eser v a ti on of the fl ow Of the melo dy ,

w h i le b y mea n s of sk i lful enuncia ti on a rt i cula ti on ac ce n tua

, , ,

tion a n d em ph asi s th e mea n in g of the w or ds i s m a de clea r

, .

Thi s style of d eli ver y , how ever , i s tha t of the a r tist a n d i s ,

not often hea rd .

SA “ 0f Singers
68 C HO I R A N D CH ORU s CO N DU CTI NG .

C H A P TE R VI .

The text of a voca l composi tion i s next to b e stu die d with

refer en c e to i ts senti ment or emoti on a l content O ne m ay si ng .

w ith di sti nctness

“ ’ ”
I come to w a tch o er thee ,
in a m a tter of fa ct w a y , a s though sta ti n g a ma them atica l
- -

pr ob lem The objec t of soli citu de m a y ga ther from the l a n

.

gua ge u sed th a t the si n ger pr opo ses to spen d some pa rt of the

even ing i n h er vi ci n i ty in the ca p aci ty of a w a tch ma n Whether .

he doe s so fr om person a l inter est in her w elfa r e or b eca u se he

h a s b een e m ploye d for the w or k does not a ppea r H i s sta te .

“ ”
ment con veys no senti ment , b etr a y s no em oti on a l content .

It i s the b a l de st decla r a tion of a fa ct N ow it i s qu i te ea sy.

for one sen si ti ve to the h igher u se s of l a ngua ge to fin d i n these

w or ds a n expr essi on of d evoti o n . Thi s i s the emoti ona l content
or se n ti m e n t of the te x t for w h i ch the cho r a l c on d u c tor mu st

seek a n d w h i c h he mu st i n te r p r et to hi s a u di e n ce
,
Thi s i n volves .

a c on si d er a ti o n of a pp r op r i a te e m ph a si s tone color , a n d sh a di ng
,
-
.

A cc ent i s a pa r ti c ul a r str ess pl a c e d upon a sylla b l e In .

mu si c i t i s the str ess w hi ch , Occur ing r egul a r ly , divides the

pul se s in to gr oup s or mea sur es .

Wor ds ha ve thei r own a ccents Ta ke the w or d Foun do

.

” ”
ti o n
. The a ccen ted sylla b le is da .

M u si c w h i ch i s w ell a da pted to the w or ds b r i ng s the

-

metr i ca l a n d the ver ba l a ccents together When it does not , .

a s in the follo w i ng e x cer pt ,

Spir it of mer cy, etc.

the metrica l a ccent m ay be mo difie d .

 T HE CHORAL CONDUC T OR . 69

In the follow ing excer pt , a t a n unimporta nt w ord is

wr on gly pla ce d upon the str ong pulse Of the mea sure

T . B . A
L DR I C H . S . B . S CH L E S IN GE R .

Up to her chem - her win - dew, A slight wire trel lis

Thi s m i sta ke i s fr eq uently m a de by b ungling tra n sla tors .

”
P la ci n g the A on the la st b ea t of the secon d mea sur e, a n d
givin g the fir st tw o bea ts of the thir d mea su r e to the w or d
“ ”
sli ght w oul d r emedy the defect w ithout inj ur ing the mu sic .

E mpha si s i s a speci a l for ce given to a w or d .

In the cla u se
“
D ea r Lor d, I ca nn ot let thee go , ”
“ ”
ca nnot i s the empha ti c w or d , a n d shoul d receive speci a l
“ ”
str e ss .The senten ce I love you , m a y b e delivered w ith
,

the empha si s upon either of the thr ee w ords, a s

I love you .

I lov e you .

I love you .

the mea nin g b eing difi er en t in ea ch ca se .

M u sic w hi ch i s w ell w r itten for w or ds ri ses a n d fa lls w ith

-

the ebb a n d flow of the inten si ty Of the sentiment of the text .

B ut ther e i s mu si c w hi ch fa il s i n th i s r ega r d The or di na r y .

hymn-tune mu st nece ssa r i ly do so w ith r efer ence to some Of the

sta nza s u se d in connection ther ew ith .

A n empha ti c w or d w i ll sometime s fa ll upon a w ea k pulse

of the mea sur e or a w ea k pitch of the melo dy .

H er e i s a ver se fr om one sta nza of a hymn

So let our lips and lives ex -

press
7O CHO I R AN D CH O R U s CONDU CTI NG .

In thi s line a n un i mpo r ta nt w or d, let, fa lls upon a str ong

pul se w hi le the empha tic w or d, so, i s pla ced upon a w ea k pul se .

In the line next a b ove , the w or ds a r e properly pla ced w ith

r ega r d to a ccent a n d emph a si s .

Where w or ds a r e mi spla ced , as in the first lin e quoted ,

they mu st r ecei ve proper stress i n depen dently of the mu si c , so
as to ca u se the sentiment or emo tiona l content of th e text to

sta n d out w i th clea r ne ss .

It shoul d b e kept in mi n d tha t empha si s m a y ea sily be

overdone C on ducto rs a r e sometimes so expr essive a s to
.

a ppea r fu ssy a n d ri di culou s O nly w hen the chor a l con du c tor

.

by a n intelli gent , symp a theti c stu dy of the text , h a s ma de i ts

sen tim ent or emotion a l content h i s ow n , i s he r eady to sec ure

a n inter pr eta tion ther eof b y hi s cho r u s .

The fr ee , w ell tra i ned voice , i s ca pa ble of a m ul titu de of

s h a d es of tone colo
-
r . B y tone -colo r i ng i s mea nt , not the
pa ssing fr om one degr ee of loudness to a nother , a s some un d r
e
sta n d the term ,
b u t giving to the voice the qua lity a ppro .

p r i a te to the sentiment of the w or ds A singer shoul d a l w a y s

.

express .

Ton e color ing i s neith er sh a di n g n or a ccent

-
, On e m a y.

sa y :
“ I
lo v e you , ”
yet the colo r of the voi ce the qu a li ty of
,

tone , m a y e xp r ess to the sen si tive ea r quite a di ffer ent senti

ment , m a y gi ve the lie to the w or ds
— .

E ver y sha de of sentiment expr essed in w or ds h as its

a ppr opr i a te tone color - Ther e i s a w i de fiel d for the exer ci se
.

b y the chor a l con d ucto r of imagin a ti on a n d sk ill i n getting hi s

si nger s to feel a s he does the emotion a l conten t of w o r ds a n d

mu si c If he ca n ma ke his singers fee l

.
— if
he can stir th em
72 C HO I R A N D CH O R U s CO N D U CT I NG .

CHA P TE R VI I .

A poem or pro se text a r ou ses in the compo ser thoughts,

im a gi na ti ons, feel in gs, a moo d H e n a tur a lly a ttempts to
.

exp r e ss h im sel f i n mu sic Someti mes he sets his mu sic to the

.

text w h i ch h a s inter este d him The mor e sen sitive he i s to the

.

pl a y of thought a n d feeli ng in la n guage , a n d the gr ea te r hi s

comm a n d of the m a ter ia ls O f compo siti o n , the mor e l ikely i s
he to w rite mu sic w hi ch enha nces the effect of the text .

The chor a l con ductor will stu dy the mu si c w ith a view to

di scover i ng a n d b r i nging out i ts S pecia l rela tion to the text
a n d , a s w ell , i ts spec i fica lly mu sica l content
'
H e will deter m in e
.

the ra te of movement , or tempo , ph r a sing , a ccentua ti on , sha d

ing tone for m , tone coloring a n d style Of delivery ; in short ,
,

the interp r eta tion of the compo sition a s a whole .

A s to In terpret ation in genera l :

Some chor a l con ductors a r e sa ti sfied w ith b roa d, m a ss
effects I f the cor r ect p i tches a r e sung , the singer s keep time
.
,

a n d d evelop the mo st Ob v i ou s clim a xe s they a r e sa ti sfie d

,

They do not ca r e to tr oub le them selves much a b out the fi n er

det a i l s of cho r a l inte r p r eta tion O n the other ha n d, cer ta i n
.

con ductor s empha size deta il s to such a n extent th a t the compo

sitiou i s hea r d a s a th i ng of sh r e ds a n d p a tche s a n d some so ,

refine the chor a l singing a s to ta ke a ll vi r ility from the

per for ma nce .

G ood mu si c pul sa te s w ith life ri ses a n d fall s in b illow s of

soun d . Ther e i s a c urving w a ve outl in e of the phr a se , the
,
-

se c tion , the per i o d a n d , mo st b r o a dly , of the movement

, It .

i s for the con d uctor to b r i ng out these cur vi ng w a ve outline s ,

-
.

Thu s is secur ed b r ea dth of phra sing a n d w ell proporti oned -

 T HE CHORA L CONDUCT OR . 73

mu sica l expre ssion O ver emphasi s of deta il detra cts from th e

.
-

cfi ect of a compo si tion as a w hole .

Richa r d Wa gner h a s some sugge stive pa ra graph s a s to

“ ”
Tempo in hi s b ook on C on ducting , the sub title of w hich i s -

“ ”
A Trea ti se on Sty le in the E xecuti on of Cla si ca l M u sic .

H e sa y s
“
I received a good lesson a t Pa r i s in 1 839 w hen I hea r d ,

the or che stra of the Con serva toi r e rehea r se the eni gm a tica l
N i nth symphony The sca les fell fr om my eyes ; I ca me to
.

un der sta n d the va lue of correct exec uti on , a n d the secr et of a

goo d per for ma nce The or chestra h a d lea rned to look for
.

B eethoven s melo dy in every b a r ,

’
a n d the

orchestra sa ng tha t melo dy Thi s w a s the secret ”

. .

“
French mu sici a n s, in the m a i n , b elong to the Ita lia n
school ; i ts influence upon them h a s b een b enefici a l in asmu c h

as they h a ve thu s b een ta ught to a ppro a ch mu si c m a inly th r o u gh

the med ium of the hum a n voi ce The F r ench i dea of pla yi n g
.

a n in st r ument w ell i s to be a b le to si ng w ell upon it A n d as .

a l r ea dy sa i d the superb or che str a sa ng the symphony The .

,

po ssibility of its bei n g w ell sung implies th a t the tr ue tempo

h a d b een foun d, a n d thi s i s the secon d point w h i ch i mpre sse d
me a t the ti me . H e , ( the con ductor ) , fou n d
the ri ght tempo w hil st pe r si smn tl y fixing the a ttention of h i s
or chestra upon the M elee !melody in a ll its a spects] of the
symphony .

“
A
right comprehen sion of the M elos i s the sole gui de to
the right tempo ; these tw o thi n gs ar e in sep a r able : the one
implie s a n d qua l i fie s the other ”
.

Stu dents of con ducting w ill fin d Wa gner s b ook thought

’

provoking thr oughout .

1 L u ssy y ssa Rel a tive tempo ho w ever , i s the a ll impor ,

-

tant ma tte r i n the exec ution of a piece ; everything depen ds

1 M usi ca l E xp r essi on —
M . M . L ussy .
74 CHO I R AND CH O RU s CONDU CTI NG .

upon it , not only the strength of the metrica l , rhythmica l a nd

”
expressive a ccents, b ut a lso the cha ra cter , the entire r en dering .

“
The norm a l tempo ca n never b e the

result of arb itr a r y r ules ; a nd depen ds neither upon the

composer nor the per former In fa ct , the tr ue tempo Of a
.

compo si ti on th a t w h i ch
,
most exa ctly inte r
pr ots its in most thought , i s the tempo w hich re sul ts from its
”
a ctua l structu r e .

The student of con ducting i s recommen ded to r ea d a n d

“ ”
r e re ad M L ussy s cha pte r on Tempo
- ’
. .

Wa gner a n d L ussy a r e in thi s di scussion , concerned w ith

,

pure ( i n str umenta l ) mu si c .

The na tur e of the text h as much to do w ith the tempi

a dopte d for a voca l w or k A con du ctor of fine fee ling a n d
.

good taste will instinctively a dopt a ra te of movement con so

na nt w ith the pr eva iling sentiment of the w ords, a s w ell a s
w i th the ch a ra cte r of the musi c On e w o ul d not con duct a
.

movement ha ving a qu iet , contempla tive text such as ,

O ne sw eetly solemn thought

”
Comes to me o er a n d o er ,’ ’

a s ra pi dly as w oul d b e a pp r opr i a te for a movement ha vi ng a

text givi ng expr ession to a ctive , or inten se feel in g a s ,

“ ”
M a ke a joyful noi se unto the Lor d .

The grea ter the n umb er of per for mers a n d the la rger th e
a u di tor ium , the slow er w ith i n rea son a b le l i m i ts, shoul d be the
,

pa ce a dopted This to give clea r ness to the deli very a n d tim e

.

for the mu si c to rea ch a n d pr oper ly impr ess a ll hea rers .

It i s w ell -known th a t compo ser s a r e fr equently the least

competent j udges a s to the pr oper mmpi for thei r w ork s .

Thei r printe d in dica tion s of te mpo , ther efor e even w hen given ,

in figur es for the metr onome a re to b e rega r ded mer ely as

,

suggestion s or a ppr ox i ma tion s They sometim es om it to give

.

di rec tion s a s to tempo, or do so in a ca reless ma nn er T hey .

 T HE CHORAL COND U CTO R . 75

a r e, w iththe printers, li able to error , in a ffixing metronomic

fi gures to compo sition s T h e con ductor , therefor e , ca nnot rely
.

exclu sively upon the ma r k s given in the score for his te mpi .

The mea n i ng of the term s u se d by compo ser s as tempo

in dica ti on s, i s not al wa ys clea r Usua lly their di rec tion s a r e
.

given i n the Ita li a n la ngua ge O f la te some E ngli sh a n d

.

A mer i ca n w r i te r s h a ve come to u se the E ngli sh la ngua ge as,

“ ”
for in sta nce Slo wly i n pl a ce of a da gi o
,
.

In the following ta ble the ter m fi r st gi ven refers to ra te of

spee d the secon d h a s a l so a r efer ence to the style or cha ra cter
, ,

of the mu sic thi s w oul d, n a tur a lly , infl uence the tempo .

Table of \Vor ds Suggestin g Ra te of M ovement

Lento slo w La r go slow b roa dly
— —
.

Slow . A da g ss mo
i i —
slow er tha n A dagi o .

L ghetto
ar —
not so slow as La rgo ; La r ghetto

A n da nte going a t a mo dera te p a ce .

A n da ntino not so slow as A n da nte By some .

M oderate . u se d to in di ca te Slower tha n A n da nte ) .

M o dera to— a t a mo der a te pa ce — A llegr etto

ra ther lively .

Presto— qu i ck ; A llegro not so fa st as Presto , —

Q u ic k . me rr y , lively .

Pre sti ssi mo ver y quick Vivace— lively

—
.

Tempo commodo— in convenient time .

Tempo or di n a ri o— in or dina ry ti me , ( a l so, a

mo der a te degree of
T T h e e ffect of ce r ta in of these w or ds i s modi fied by the
u se of other w o r ds a tta ched thereto as
,

M alta much , very , ( M olto a llegr o— very q uic k )

—

P in mo r e —
A ssa i very —

M ano le ss —
P aco— a little ,
a n d so on .

T See Rudiments f
o M a nor — u
C mmin gs .
76 C HO I R AN D CH O RU s CONDU CTI NG .

E x a ctly h ow low , mo der a te , or qu i ck the p a ce of a move

s

ment shoul d be i s not i n di ca ted b y the u se of the ab ove quoted

ter m s Thi s i s left for the con ductor to deter m ine Some
. .

mo der n composer s fa vor om itti n g to a gr ea t extent dir ecti on s

for tempo a n d sh a ding r elyi ng upon the mu si cia n sh ip a n d
,

goo d ta ste of the i nterpr eter Wher e these qua li fica ti on s a r e

.

la ckin g , i t ma kes b ut li ttle di fl er en ce w hether ther e b e ma ny

or few printe d di r ecti on s a s to tempo a n d exp r e ssi on .

The se poin ts mu st b e con si der ed a s ha ving a b ea r ing upon

the questi on of the pr oper tempo for a p i ece of chora l musi c
1 The senti ment of the text
. .

2 The melo di c cha r a cter of the mu sic

. .

The tempo mu st b e slow enough to permi t of the full

development of the melo di c b ea uty of a ll the pa rt s .

3 I ts ha r mon i c con str ucti on

. .

When cha nges of ha r mony a r e fr equent the p a ce mu st

b e slo w er tha n w her e the chor d does not cha nge for seve ra l
b ea ts
.

4 I ts metrica l a n d r hythm i ca l ch a r a cter

. .

Singer s must h a ve time to enuncia te an d soun d clea rly

ever y w or d a n d note .

When ther e a r e frequent ch a nges of key , metr e or rhythm ,

the tempo mu st b e r ela tively slow .

As agener a l p r inci ple , i t m ay b e sa i d tha t the mor e com

pl i ca te d, the mor e cr ow ded wi th deta il s the mu si c the slow er ,

the te mpo P er for mer s mu st h a ve time to give the mu si c

.

a dequ a te utte r a nce a n d the mu si c mu st h a ve t i me to impr ess

,

itself upon the hea r er .

The co n ductor shoul d deci de upon a nor m a l , or a ver a ge

tempo for ea ch movemen t a n d shoul d m a ke depa rtur es ther e
,

fr om o n ly for a goo d mu si ca l rea son , a n d not a s a ma tter of

ca pr i ce , or simply fr om an uni ntelligent desir e to b e expr essive .
 T HE CHORAL C OND U CTOR . 77

Sudden cha nges fr om a slow to a quick tempo , or vi ce v er sa ,

w ithout goo d rea son , a r e a s Obj ecti on a b le a s the ha b it ua l
su dden dr opp i n g fr om a for te to a p i a ni ssi mo so much fa vor e d

by m a le qua r tet s w h o th i n k in th i s w a y to m a ke somethi ng of

si mple mu si c .It i s not so ea sy a s i t w oul d seem to hol d to a
regula r , uni form tempo for even a shor t per i o d N or i s it ea sy .

to rememb er the nor ma l tempo of a movement , especi ally

un der cir cum sta nces tha t exci te the con d uctor or per for mer .

P ra cti ce in b ea ti n g a movem ent th r ough a t a nor m a l tempo to

the tick of the metr onome i s ther efor e r ecom m en ded .

“
A n Ol d voca l sc o r e of The M e ssia h h a s no metronom i c
“ ”
in di ca ti on s a s to tempo The chor u s Glor y to G od h a s the
.
,
”
dir ecti on A n da nte a llegr o ;
“ ” “
or goin g a t a mo der a te p a ce ,
b u t in a c heer ful l i vely m a n ner
,
The mo der n e di ti on s gi ve
.

metr onom i c figur es, w hich , of cou r se a r e much mor e defi n i te

,

as sugge sti on s r ega r di n g pa ce The in di ca tion for the a b ove

.

“
chor u s i s : A llegr o J 80 ; ( i ti m e )
. : The chor us . A nd ,

the Glor y of the Lor d i s a l so m a r ke d A llegr o, b u t the metr o

nom i c in dica ti on i s n ow J 1 1 8 time )
: These metr onomic .

i n di ca tion s a r e suggesti on s, a n d no con d uctor i s b oun d by

A compa r i son of these choru ses on the ba si s of su gges,

“
tion s a lr ea dy m a de , show s tha t the mu si c of A n d the G lor y
”
of the Lor d wi ll sta n d, a n d ca ll s for a mor e ra p i d tempo tha n
,
“ ”
tha t of Glor y to G od The fir st h a s pl a i n si mple , str a ight
.
,

for w a r d rhythm s Ther e i s sel dom mor e tha n one syll able to
.

a b ea t note , a n d fr e q uently more t h a n one note to a syll a b le .

The a ccompa n i men t m a r che s on w i th the sa me simpli ci ty

th a t cha ra cter izes the voi ce p a rt s C ha nges of ton a lity a r e
-
.

i nfr eq uent .

“ ”
The musi c of Glory to God, in the a ccompa niment , h a s
fr equen t sca le p a ssa ge s i n th ir ds a n d sixths w i th m a ny notes to
a bea t a n d th i s po i nt s to a some w ha t mo der a te tempo
, Ther e .

is a l so , a pa ssa ge of i mi ta ti on in w hi ch syn copa tion pl a y s a

,
78 CHO I R AN D CH O R U s CONDU CTI NG .

pa rt , a n d the rhythmic figur e requir es a very ra pi d enuncia ti on

of syl la b les on cha ngi ng pi tche s Thi s a ga i n look s to w a r d a
.

c omp a ra tively mo der a te tempo The a nti phona l p a ssa ge a t

.

“ ”
the w or ds goo d wi ll , in whi ch the sOpra n os a r e a n sw er e d b y
the other voi ces, ca ll s for a ra te of movement w hi ch w ill
permit of a dign i fied , clea r , i n ten se deli ver y of the w or ds a n d
cha nging chor ds So , w i th the long susta i ned note s gi ven to
.

“ ”
the a nnouncement A n d pea ce on ea r th To hurr y the se.

la st menti oned pa rts of the chor u s w oul d b e to r educe the one

to mer e cha tter , a n d ta ke fr om the other tha t a tmospher e of
repo se w hi ch the sentiment of the w or ds d em a n ds .

“ ”
A H ymn of the H omela n d, b y Si r A r thur Sulliva n , i s
”
ma r ked mo dera to .

The home land ,

the home land
, the land of the free

A piece of thi s ki n d , w ith i ts simple r hythm s a n d pla i n

har mon i e s m ay w ell b e ta ken a t a fa ir ly r a p i d t em po .

“ ”
Say , Wa tch m a n , w h a t of the N ight ? b y the sa me
compo ser , i s a n e xa m ple of a fine a nthem w hi ch i s u sua lly
ta ken too slow ly in a ll the full chor u s pa rt s except th e la st , . .

The mu si c thu s b e comes somew h a t tir esom e the mor e so ,

b eca u se of the m an y long note s a n d the d oub l i ng of the b a ss

in the low er p a rt of the r egister .

C ongr ega ti o n a l hymn s shoul d b e sta r te d a t a pa ce con

s on a nt w i th the s ent i ment o f the w o r ds a n d ch a r a cte r of the
mu si c a n d k ept fa i r l y clo se to on e ra te of m ovem en t N oth .

i n g w or r i e s the a ver a ge chu r ch goer w h o w i she s to joi n in the

-

hymn singi ng mor e tha n a fr equ e n t cha n ge of p ace by lea der

a d
n o r ga n
,
unle ss i t b e the s u dd e n ch a nge f r om loud to soft of
w h i ch so m e o r ga n i s t s a r e q u i te fon d w hen t r y i n g to pla y hym n s

w ith ex pr essm n .

Wher e ther e i s a somew ha t fr equent cha nge of metr e a n d

80 CHO I R A ND C H O RU s CONDUCTI NG .

shoul d be given to fin a l chor d s— a point on which ma n y

singe r s e r r .

A s stu dies in expressi ve va ri a tion of tempo , these sel ec

tion s a r e sugge sted
” M ore et Vi ta ) G ouno d
A h , Wha t Sh a ll We , ,
.

”
Blessed Jesu , Fount of M er cy , ( Sta ba t M a ter ) ,

F
D vora k .

K
”
O or a C lo ser Wa lk With God , M B F oster . . .

”
The D ay i s Past a n d O ver , J C M a rks . .

”
The Pa rti ng i ss, Pin su ti .

”
A H ighl a n d M other s Lull a b y ,
’
E B Smith . . .

P olyphonic mu si c mu st be ta ken a t a pa ce w hi ch w ill give

“ ”
ful l Opportunity for m a king clea r the wa lk of ea ch pa rt .

”
See To M a n G o d s Uni versa l L a w,
,
’
Sa m son ) Ha n del
”
“
In that D ay, Sir G eorge E lvey , a nd the Bach C hurch
Canta tas .

T he chora li st uses a ccent a n d emphasis, pr ima rily , to

b r ing out the mea ning of the w or ds M u sica l a ccentua ti on is
.

su bor di n a te d, w hen nece ssa r y , to this purpo se .

The metrica l a ccent shoul d a lw a ys be felt , as a k in d of

persi stent , unvar ying un der p ul se G ood phr a sing , how ever ,
-
.

fr equently req ui r es i ts sub ordi n a tion Tha t i s a n ill tra ined

.
-

choi r w hi ch , i n a ll sty les of music , ma r ks w i th for ce the first

pul e o e ch me ure on e two thr ee , one tw o thr ee
s f a a s —
,
- - - -
.

H er e i s a n excerpt fr om H enry Leslie s p a rt song Sleep

’
, ,

Littl e Bir die

A llegr etto non tr opp o .
 T H E CHORA L CO NDUCT OR . 81

To m a rk deci dedl y the a ccent on the fir st bea t of ea ch

, ,

mea sur e , w oul d br ea k the phr a ses i nto fra gments E qu a lly .

“ ”
i n a rt i stic i s the p r a ctice of ki cki ng out the la st note of a
phr ase as a t
P I N SU T I
T he Sea h a th i ts P e a rl s ” .

Y et gret
a or is my hear ;t
T he
FA NIN
M i ll W
er s
’
G
ooi n g

a nd of ccenti ng a note mer ely

a b eca use it is ta ken by
fr om a low er note , a s a t
G OU N O ” D
N igh t .

With i l
no se - ess t t
foo -s eps tread ing, cv
’
ry val ley

When verb a l empha si s i s over done , si nging ceases a n d

decla m a ti on ta kes i ts pl a ce .

Usua lly the str on g a ccents ta k e care of th em selves ; the

seco n da r y a ccents nee d Speci a l a tten ti on When a bea t i s .

di vi de d the fi r st note of the re sulti ng gr oup re c eiv e s a n a ccent

,

c ommen sur a te , i n for ce , w ith i ts po si tion i n th e mea su r e .

For exa mple a t ea ch b elow

is foun d measur e of six eighth notes

a Upon the a cc entua
-
.

ti on of ea ch mea su r e w ill depen d the hea rer ’ s conception of the

82 CHO I R AN D CH O R U s CONDUC TI NG .

The mea sures a re ex tra cted fr om the follow ing

Far
M E R CA A T E
A w a y th e am p
D
C
N
F
i r es.
”

Shall you ev
’
ry t
s ep de fend

M AC
R ose of
KN I
E ! E
S h a ro n .
”

F
ol low the track of the flocks,

In pa ssa ge s li ke the follow i ng

BR AH M S .

then is hear t
’
s de light !
the fir st note of ea ch gr oup on one b ea t mu st b e a ccen ted .

The lega to mu st , how ever b e p r e ser ved

,
.

Chr om a ti c ( di sson a n t ) to n es mu st b e del i ver e d w ith fir m

ness— other w i se they w ill a ppea r to ha ve b een sou n ded by
m i sta k e
.

Syncop a tion i s a tra n sfer en c e of a ccent fr om i ts r egula r

pla ce i n the m ea sur e
HA N Y D
C ti re a on .
”

M EN E SSO N
D L H
L d Sau a l on .
”

Praise Je ho vah, . bow be fore Him .

In such p assa ges p a in s mu st be ta ken to del iver th e syn co

 T H E CHORA L C O NDUC T OR . 83

pa te d note w ith fir mness a n d to sin g w i th w ell su sta ined tone -

.

Suspen si on s must b e a tta cked fi r mly , a n d w ell susta i ned as -

,

G OU N D O
M o rs e t V it a .
”

bra ham .

T h e ma r ca to, by ome
s w rite r s i n te r ch a n ge d w ith ma r tella to,

in di ca ted thu s J J r equi r e s tha t the notes b e sung w ith a

sl ight a ccent , yet clo se ly co n n e c te d .

The stenta to i s i n di ca te d by the w or d, a n d by th e r epeti ti on

“
of the a cc ent ma r k , a n d i s de scr i b e d a s a hea v i e r

ma r ca to
.

TSi ebe r y s of
sa the m a r tella to th a t it r
,
equ i r e s l i ke the ,

stemta to hea vy a cce n tua ti on , b u t the to n es a r e m o r e sep a r a te d ,

,

for m i ng a com bi n a ti o n of the sta cca to a n d the sten ta to .

A n i ntell igent elega nt p r onu n cia ti on of the w or ds i n tr uly

,

voca l mu si c, w ill often suggest cer ta i n n i c eti es of sec on da ry

l

a c c entua ti on I n w or k i ng up the finer cla ss of mo der n mu si c

.

for choi r s a c o n d ucto r i s co n sta n tly ca lle d upon to e x er ci se

,

goo d ta ste , as w ell a s tech n i ca l k n o w le dge , a n d i n the depa r t

men t of a ccentu a ti on a s mu c h as a n yw her e .

“ ” “
The Sea h a th its P ea r l s, P i n su ti , a n d The Sp a n i sh
”
Ser en a de E E lgar , a re recommen de d a s stu di es in r efin e d ,
, .

expressive a ccentua tion .

1 Op . ci ted.
84 CHO I R A N D CH O RUs C OND UCTI NG .

CH A PT E R IX .

Phra sing , asher e con si der ed , is the proper punctua ti on of

w or ds a n d mu si c . The di vi sion s of the text mu st be m a r ked so
tha t the w or ds m a ke sen se .

The note s w h i ch r hythmi ca lly , melo di ca lly , a n d ha rmoni

cally fa ll into gr oup s mu st b e deli ver ed a s phr a ses
,
When .

the mu si c i s w ell a dapted to the w or ds, the la tter usua lly

i n di ca te the proper phr a si ng of the mu si c .

A know ledge of musi ca l structur e i s necessa r y if the con

d uctor i s to b e ce rta i n of the phr a si ng of ea ch pa rt i n the va ri ous
styles of v Oca l compo sition .

In chora l singing phrasing i s a ffecte d by the exigencies of

br ea th ta k i ng
- . Breadth of phrasing necessita tes infre q uent
br ea th -ta ki n g
.

In some in stances the phra sing of a ll the pa rts i s si m u lta

n eou s in other s, as in the excerpt given b elow :

J G CA LL COT T
w M l igh t
. .

”
H O W S ee t th e oo n .

Here will we sit, and let the sounds, the sounds of

ea ch pa rt has its own , in depen dent phr asing .

In the follow ing exce rpt the two pa rts of the verse ,
 TH E CHORAL COND UCTOR . 85

sepa ra ted by the co mm a mu st be ,

di stingu i shed in delivery .

The mu sica l phr ase , how ever mu st ,

be sung with one b rea th

G N D”
OU O
N igh t .

Soft and dark,

’
oer the l
hi ls ;

In music of a fuga l n a ture , the w ords give little in dica tion

of the phr a si ng . They a r e r epea ted a ga i n a n d a ga in a n d ,

often w ith a v i ew merely to furn i shi ng ma ter i a l upon w hich

the singers m a y voca l i ze Such musi c mu st be phr ased w ith
.

pa rticula r refer ence to i ts form a l con str uction See the chora l .

w ork s of Ba ch a n d H a ndel .

When ta king b rea th betw een phrases, as i n the foll owin g

O V ST A NF
OR D
Co y don
. .

r , A i
r se .
”

My true love doth ex eel Fw t

or s ee ness, for

the gen era l r ule i s Rob the last note of a phr ase of suffi cient
ti me for ta ki ng the h a lf br ea th a n d soun d the first note of
-

the succeedi ng phra se stri ctly in time .

The tra diti on a l r ule for the phra sing of flor i d pa ssa ge s
requir es tha t they shoul d be sung w i th one brea th Some of .

the long r un s in the chor u ses of the ol d w riter s a r e trying to

chor a li sts b u t a ca r eful hu sb a n ding of the brea th p a rticula r ly
, ,

on the fir st notes of such pa ssa ges, will u sua lly m a ke it possible

to deliver them w ithout di vi si on Thi s br oa d phrasing a dds
.

mu ch to the im pressiveness of the m usic .

86 CHO I R AN D C H O RU s CONDUC TI NG .

Wher e the co n str ucti on of a p assa ge per mi ts it i s a llo w a ble ,

to divi de it by r epea ti ng the w or ds a s i n the follow i ng excer pt

at
HA Y D N
C i
rea t on.
”— “
A w ak e th e

In tt
sa e

B r ea th ma b
j t ken
‘

y e a

Wher e the dir ecti on of a run changes

B ose I
Sta b a t M a te r .
”

Wher e the genera l di r ecti on of a r un i s i nter r upted b y a sk ip :

HAN E D D
A i d G l t ”
“
c s an a a ea.
W r e tc h e d L o v e rs .
”

f See H a ndbook for Si ngers — N Grok ea

‘
'
. .
88 CHO I R A N D CH O RU s COND U CT I NG .

In genera l ,
B r eath shou ld not be ta ken
Immedi a tely before the strong pulse of the mea sure :

B etw ee n a chr oma tic note and the note next succeed ing

”
Sta b a t M a te r .

Betw een the lea din g tone a nd the tonic see 1

‘

ab ove , and :
H A ND E D
D tti n g n T De um
e e
”
e .

Betw een a u p n sion a n d its resolution

s s e ; except w here
th e r esol ution is interrupted by skip
H A ND ED
T o M n Go d U n i
” ”
Sa m son . a
’
s v e rsa l L aw .
 T HE CHORA L CONDUCTOR . 89

Th ese rules a r e gener a l , not i nva r i a ble .

L ii tgen gi ves these r u les

“
A voi d in
ta k g br ea th the a rticle a nd a n Oun ;
—
be tween
the a rti cle a n d a n a dj ective a n a djective a n d a noun a per so
n a l p r onoun a n d a ver b ; the con stituent p a rt s of compoun d
te n ses A voi d ta kin g b r ea th a fte r a pr eposi ti on ”
. .

The follow ing selection s a r e suggested for stu dy in rega rd

“
to phra si ng
“ ”
G oo d N ight , Beloved Pi n su ti , .

“ ”
Thou A rt M i ghty , O E r os, ( P syche ) Gade .

“ ”
Ha il , Sm i li ng M or n , Spofforth .

“ ”
Love M Little Love M e Long , H L a h ee
e , . .

”
H ow Lovely a r e the M essengers,
( St P a ul ) M en del
. ssohn .

Urbs Syon Unica ( H ora N ovi ssima ) H W Pa rker . . .

C H APTE R X .

Va rying the pow er of tone on a note or a group of note s

is ca lled sha di ng .

The ea r dem an ds va riety The moti ve the phra se , section ,

.
,

perio d the movement , shoul d b e sha ded w ith a j u st a ppr ecia

,

tion of the expr e ssi ve va lue of the r i se a n d fa ll of pow er of

ton e a n d so a s to give ea ch memb e r of the w ork its du e,
,

r el a ti ve for ce .

In or der to determine the a pp r opr ia te sh a di ng b oth te xt

a n d mu si c mu st b e stu di e d When w ords a r e repea ted ( except
.
,

w here they a r e u sed mer ely to furni sh sylla b le s on w hich to

90 C HO I R AN D CH O R U s CONDU CTI NG .

si
ng as in certa i n fuga l chor u ses) , it i s u sua lly for the sa ke of
,

emphasi s Thi s w oul d or dina rily in di ca te a n i ncr ea se of for ce :

.

B A CH
Od e of M
o urn i g
n .
"

It i s a m i sta ke how ever to pla ce too much empha si s

, ,

upon deta il s The sha di ng shoul d b e con sona nt w ith the

.

genera l cha rac ter of w or ds a n d mu si c , a n d not degenera te

into mer e fussi ness over p a rticul a r w or ds or phr a se s .

“
J
r The mo r e complex a p assa ge a n d the mo r e,
metr ica l ,
°

r h yth m i ca l ton a l a n d mo da l exce ti ons it conta i n s, the mo r e

, p
”
sonor i ty it r equ i r es .

A scen ding p a ssa ges shoul d gener a lly be del iver e d w i th a

cr escendo,
a n d d e scen ding pa ssa ge s w i th a decr escendo The .

cr escendo i s sometimes in dica te d for a de scen di n g p assa ge

E E L G AR
i de
.

"
S pa n sh S e re n a .

The sw ell a gra du a l incr ease follow e d b y a li ke

gra dua l decr ea se of po w er of tone— m ay be m a de to cover on e

‘
note , a ph ra se or a la r ger divi sion .
,

An old sa ying run s thu s

”
D o something w ith a long note .
 T H E C HOR AL CONDUCTOR . 91

—
K R ose
I n fl a m m a tus
I
.
"

When a s ection is thus sha ded , the effect is goo d

P I N S UT I
T he Se a H
a t h I ts P ea r l s.
”

But my t
hear , my heart . my heart hath its love .

The fi r st p a rt of the chor a l movement following the

“ ”
sopr a no solo in Lovely A ppea r , ( R edemp ti on h a s thi s
melo di c outline :

10 mf _ > -
p

The passa ge i s for voi ces in uni son a n d i s m a r ked p . The ri se

a n d fa ll of the melo dy , ho w ever , w oul d sugge st a sl ightly

m arked sw ell a s in di ca ted b elow the excerpt

, .

Repea te d notes seem to ca ll for an increase Of for ce

S UM A NN
CH
G ip y Li f
s e.
"

A troop of the vag - a - bond gip

- sies.
92 CHO I R AND CH OR U s CONDUC TI NG .

When a composer repea ts a n i dea , its delivery shoul d

ordina rily b e va ried A scen ding imita ti on w i ll u sua lly ca ll
.

for grea te r for ce ! See note ] .

branch — os are rus t - ling a soft lul - la - by .

fine exa mple of the a r ti stic sha ding of a descen ding pa s

A
“ ”
sa ge i s foun d i n the The Sea Ha th I ts P ea r l s of Pi n suti ,
.

In deed th is pa r t-song a ffor ds a n illu stra tion of m a n y effect ive

u ses of va r ia tion of a ccent a n d tona l pow er a s a mea n s of
mu sica l expr essi on The p a ssa ge referre d to i s thi s
.

P I N S U I‘I’

T he S ea H
a t h Its P e a r l s.

Are mel t ing a way wi ht love

, a way wi ht

a way with love .

N OT E — T o t k ly b tu lly k to x
th o
w h o m is a e n
se ha i a see ul e press a partic ar
wo d t t
r , ra h er to g v x
h an o to
i e e pressi n g l t
th e t en erao ly
sen i m e n , an d n
t o lly to
e x ce p i n a z gl wo d
em phasi e a si n e o to ll
r , i t m ay se em i na pp r p ria te ca
x o u o
for e t ra f rce p n th e wo d l u b
r
“
s wo d o t
m er a n d th e bo r s f
”
A r ad e r .

v w
ie t t t o w ll ow
of in erpr e a i n i sh fi t
,
t tt xt
i n th e rs pl ace , h a his te is n ot d ra
t ot o l b ut
ma ic , or em i na , lym eretv d ly d tv
narra i e , a n d m il esc rip i e ; a n d ,
o d ly t t
sec n h a th e d g d t d do
sh a i n in ica e t go z
es n ot a n a g ni e th e m ea n i n of
t t tk w ol u ly u l t
,

ei h er se n e nce , a en as a h e I t is a p re
. lg m sica a nd e i tim a e
eff t
ec .
 THE C HORA L CONDUCT OR . 93

It will be noted tha t the melo di c outline of the ab ove

excerpt i s a descen ding sca le pa ssa ge

and though ther e i s a n i nter medi a te r i se a n d fa ll of the w a ve

of soun d , w i thin the secti on the a ppr opr i a te , n a tu r a l dyn a m i c
,

va r ia ti on i s a b r oa d decr escen do like the gra dua l sub si dence of

—

tha t w a ve w h i ch h as be en cr ea ted by a su d den di sturba nce of

the su r fa ce of a pool .

Sometimes a repetiti on ( i m ita ti on of a n i dea i s efl ectiv e

w hen deliver ed p i a no, i n contra st w i th a p r ece di ng for te
M ASS E E N T
”
E ve .

Viens ! so is tri om -pha n -te , Et soi s a do ré e

Su dden cha nges from lou d to soft , or soft to lou d mu st be

ma de w ith di scr i min a ti on .

When a ser i es of h igh note s h a s been deliver e d w ith

for ce , a n d the melo dy dr ops to a l ow pi tch , the ea r w elcomes a
cha n ge to soft po w er
DVOR A
S ta b a t M
K a te r .
"

F ac . . ut te cu m lu ge am .

The follow ing excer pt show s a n efl ec ti v e u se of the ab rupt

cha nge of ton a l pow er
MO A ! RT
T w l ft h M
e a ss.
”

A llegr o
.
f

Et in te r - ra pa x ,
94 CHO I R AND CH O R U s CONDUCT I NG .

Al so the foll ow ing fr om a fa vorite a nthem

DU D BUC
LEY
Roc k of A es g
K .
”

Let me hide my self

The follow ing excerpt show s a su dden cha nge fr om soft to

loud tone The poeti ca l a n d mu si ca l i dea s a r e emphasi zed ,
.

upon repetiti on , by the cha nge of pow er :

A nda nte con moto

.
T he
FWW
L d
.

or
. ODEL L
is T h y K e eper.
”

pp
He re - stor eth my soul, He t
re - sor - eth my sou ,l He

A w ell - melo dy , ppe ng fi t in

defin e d a ari
voice p a r t rs on e -

and then in a nother , must b e br ought out by shadi ng

J C D P AR E R
. . .

T h e R v e r S p r tei
Ki .

.
”

of eve

A lta — The t
s ar of eve is her wa cht light ,
96 C HO I R A N D C H O RU s CONDUC TI NG .

H . B SH E L L E Y
.

H ark , H a rk ,
M y S o ul ” .

The mu sic of the o

gs pel leads us home .

A compo sition for chor u s, w ith a n i n depen den t solo p a r t ,

( or p a r t s) mu s t b e sh a d e d i n su c h a m a nn e r as th a t the voca l

obbliga to sha ll be clea r ly di scer n ible .

A s stu di es i n thi s dep a r tment the se pi eces a r e sugge sted

,

C ontr alto solo a n d chor us To D u st H i s Glor y , ( Sa mson )

—

H a n del.

Ten or solo a n d chorus of fema le voi ces—; T hd VVa v e

'

Sw eep s M y Br ea st ( Cr usa der s) , Ga de

, .

Sop ra no solo a n d chor u s Ha ppy A r e We ( M or e et

—
,

Vi ta ) , G ouno d .

F
Ba ri tone solo a n d chor us of fema le voi ces— On the
La ke of T ra um T h i eri ot

K
—
. .

Tenor or sop r a no solo a n d chor us of m a l e voi c es— H i e

Thee , Sha llop — ii ck en .
 T H E CHOR AL CONDUCT OR . 97

Sopra no C ontra lto d et

a nd u w i th choru s—
C hri tm s as— r

( A nthem ) H R Shelley
,
. . .

Sopra no solo a n d fema le choru s O S i ng to God, ( N oel) , —

G ou n o d .

Polypho n ic voca l mu sic requ i r e s pa rt i cula r trea tment In .

the ol d sa cr e d mu si c m a dri ga l etc th e voi ce pa rts a r e of

, ,
.
,
-

equa l i mporta n ce E a ch i n tu r n m a y a n noun c e a subje ct

. .

E a ch p r oceeds as a n i n depen dent p a r t a s one of the th r ea ds ,

u sed i n w ea ving the contra punta l w eb .

The fir m stea dy , or ga n li ke su sta in i ng of tone , w hether

,
-

loud ha l f loud or soft i s a pr ime r equi site to the pr oper

,
-
, ,

d eliver y of th i s mu si c .

Succ essive a n n ouncements by difl er en t voice s of on e su b

j ce t mu st b e deliver e d w i th like pow er or sha ding In the .

follo wi n g e x cer pt a s ea ch vo ice e n te r s, the fi r st n ote of the

,

subject i s de l i ver e d w i th b ol d a c c e n tua ti o n The cr escen do .

proper is ca lle d for only a fter a ll the voi ces ha ve enter ed .

P L A ES N A
T RI
"
Sta b a t M a te r .

cr esc.

Soprano .

cr esc .

Alto .

Cor di me o va li - de

T enor .

8 ve lower
. .

C o di
r~ me 0 vs - li de

Cor di - me o v al - li - de
98 CH O I R AN D CH O R U s CONDUCTI NG .

H AN D E D
(1 )
M ih
“
e ss a .
”

f
Soprano .

A men, A

Alto .

T enor .

8 v e l ower
. .

Bass .

men, A men, A

B elow i s given a nother sugge sti ve i llustra ti on of the

“
m a n a gemen t of succe ssi ve entr a nces
AN O NI O LO I
T T T
”
C r u ci fi x u s
07 68 c
mp
lst T enor .

8 ve ower
. l .

Cr u CI fi

2d T enor .

8 ve ower
. l .

67 68 0 .

lst Bass .

cru ci fi xus cru

m fg) dolc e /
.
fl

2d Bass .
1 00 CHO I R AN D CH O R U s C O NDUCTI NG .

“ ”
The chor u s B ehol d the La mb of God ( M es si a h ), is

c h a r g e d w i th feel i n g , a n d h a s m a ny poi n ts of mu si ca l i n ter est

w h i ch ca ll for e x p r essi ve sh a di n g The deli ver y of the

.

e x cl a m a to r y ph r a se B ehol d th e La mb of God l by the a lto ,

Sop r a n o b a ss a n d te n o r i n su cc e ssi on shoul d , i n ea ch i n sta n c e ,
, ,

be w el l m a r ke d Wh en a ll the voi ce s ha ve enter ed a n d a r e

.

“ ”
sou n di n g a s i n measur e 9 , a
,
sw ell m a y b egi n w h i ch sha ll
“ ”
h a ve i ts cli m a x a t the en tr y of the sopr a n o a t B ehol d i n
mea sur e 1 0 , a n d decr ea se i n pow er to the en d of mea sur e 1 2 .

A t mea sur e 1 3 a cr escen do c ulm i n a ti ng a t mea su r e 1 5 m a y

, ,

b egi n . The follo w i ng phr ases ( mea sur es 1 6 a n d 1 7) m a y be

del i ver ed , the fi r st wi th mo der a te a n d the nex t ( a r epeti ti on ) ,

w i th co n si der a b le for ce Then be gi n s a long B flat , the d om i n

.
-

a nt ,
for the SOpr a n o w ith a str on gly m a r ked r hyth m i ca l
,
.

figur e , sung by the r e ma in i n g voi c es, movi n g b elow i t Thi s .

i s follow ed by a n other lo n g su st a i n e d dom i na nt D g iven to , ,

the Sopr a no w ith a str ong figu r e movi n g un dern ea th a s

, ,

b e for e These long ton es shou l d b e susta ine d w ith or ga n l ike

.
-

fi r m n ess The low er p a r ts m a y b e sha ded to con for m w i th the

.

va r ia ti on of for c e suggeste d by the r i se a n d fa ll of th e m elodi c

outl in e , the i nten sity of a l l the pa r ts n a tur a lly sub si din g some
w h a t a s the movem ent w i th a w ell m a r ked ca den ce dr a w s to
,
-
,

a c lo se .

Thi s mo de of tr ea tment by sha din g give s to the sta n da r d

or a tor i o chor u s a n i n ter est w hi ch i t ca n n ot ha ve w hen su n g i n
th e u su a l fa sh i o n , n a m e ly , a s though i t w e r e a n o r ga n p i e c e
—

w r i tte n for a n i n str ument of one stop a n d w ithout a sw ell

peda l .
 T HE CHORA L COND U CTOR . 10 1

C H AP TE R XI .

If a rti stic c ho ra l si n gin g b e hi s a i m , the con ductor

must fir st se c ur e m a ster y by hi s choir of the ele menta r y
techn i que of chor a l si ngi n g Thi s i nclu de s : M usi ca l ton e
.

q ua li ty a b i li ty to deli ver ton e w ith va ryi n g degr ees of po w er ,

a n d to su sta i n ton e ( or ga n to n e ) ; co rr ect i n ton a ti on
-
pr eci si on
i n a ttac k a n d r el ea se of to n e r hythm i c a ccura c y the lega to
th e sta cca to the por ta men to c orr ect pr onun ci a tion di stin ct
enun cia ti on a n d a rti cul a ti on .

The fir m susta in i n g of tone a n d the b in ding of to n es ( the

lega to ) a r e the fo u n da ti on of goo d style i n sin gi n g .

C hora l ists a r e a pt to be ca r eless a s to r hythm i ca l a ccura cy .

They mu st be ta ught to give ea ch note its f u ll v a lue a n d ,

e specia lly to ob ser ve the dotted n ote s .

Pr ec i si on i n a tta c k a ll the voice s soun di ng si multa n

—

eou sl y —
i s i n di spen sa b l e
. T h e sta r ti n g of the note shoul d b e
clea r w ithout either a pr eli m ina r y br ea th r u sh ( a Spir a te ) or a
,
-

ha r sh cli ck in the thr oa t A goo d pa tter n given by a singer i s

.

of mo r e va lue i n se c u r i ng cor r ect a tta ck th a n m uch w r i tten or

ver ba l a dvi ce E x er ci ses for a tta ck a n d sta cca to phr a ses a r e

.
,

fa tigui ng to th e thr oa t a n d shoul d not be pr a cti se d over mu ch -

.

A l l the voi c es on on e p a r t shoul d move fr om on e pitch or

one sylla ble to the nex t a t e xa ctly the sa me i n sta nt Some .

si nge r s a r e slo w i n pa ssi ng fr om a n in i ti a l co n son a nt to the

fol l o w i ng vow el they m a ke a pr eli m i n a ry mu r mur of i n defin i te

p i tch on the con son a n t in stea d of del i ver ing it clea r ly a n d
co m i n g a t on ce to the vo w el soun d . O ther s for m the vow el
impur ely , gi ving a pr el i m ina r y soun d, as u a h for ” “ ”
-
ah .

These fa ult s p r ev e nt tha t pr eci si on of a tta ck on ea ch pitch a n d

'

sylla b le w h i c h i s so eff e c tive a n d much to b e de si r ed .

102 CHO I R AND CH O R U s CONDUCT I NG .

Prec i si on and elega n ce i n the r elea se of the la st note of a

ph r a se i s a n i mpor ta nt i tem of goo d style Som e sin ger s ha ve .

a v i ci ou s h a b i t of k i ck i n g out a fi n a l note Ther e a r e thr ee

.

w a y s of en di n g a ton e
W i th u dd e n a p of the ja w
( )
1 a s n s ,

( )
2 W i th a q U i ck c lo su r e of th e th r oa t a cc om p a n i ed

b y a cli ck or pu sh ,

( )
3 C le a r ly , e leg antly , b y m a n a ging the b r ea th a n d

lea vi n g thr oa t , ja w a n d tongue fr ee .

The la tter i s corr e ct .

The sta n da r d of pr onuncia ti on va r ies somewha t a ccor ding

to loca li ty The u sage of e duca ted r efined soci ety gover n s
.
, .

In singing , for the sa ke of goo d tone qua lity , vow el s a r e some

-

w ha t b r o a d ene d . P ure , di sti n ct deli ver y of b oth vow els a n d

con son a nts, on the b asis of the sta n da r d of pr onun cia tion
a dopte d , i s imper a tive I f the w or ds a r e to b e un der stoo d the
.
,

con son a n ts mu st h a ve ca r eful tr ea tment The fin a l con sona nt.

i s too oft e n suppr e ssed .

B y j u di ci ou s tr ea tmen t of con sona nts much m a y b e done

to a fl ect the styl e of deliver y of a phr a se or sen ten ce Some .

F
.
tim es the explo sives m ay b e sha rpen e d , or softened , in such a
w a y as to i n te n sify th e eff ect of w or d a n d mu si c or exa mple , .

in the following excerpt :

P I N SU T I
G d ig
oo -n h t, B e l ov e d ”
.

A d ca ntabi le.
11
0 0 n ante

g ” in “ goo d ” shoul d be softened

“
the ha r d, explo sive ; so
“ ” “ ”
w i th the t in n ight , w hi ch shoul d ha ve a soft , velvety
“ ”
deli ver y a lmo st like the th in thi n The voca l con so .

“ ” “ ”
na nts m an d n ca n b e so trea te d a s to increa se
104 CHO I R A N D CH O RUs CONDU CTI NG .

The expr essi ve u se of con sona nts mu st not be ca rr i ed too

fa r singing i s done upon vow els .

“ ”
Chora lists a r e over fon d of slurring or smea r ing
-
Thi s .

hab it mu st be over come The sk ilful delivery of the p or ta mento

.

i s a different ma tter a n d a n i mporta n t i tem of goo d style

,
.

The r efined , elega nt del i ver y of such phrases a s the follo wing
i s a test of the tra i ning of a chor us :

E E LG AR
S i de
.

”
pa n sh S e re n a .

She l
s eeps,

At the p or tamento i s to be u sed A t fl there of . i s da nger '

slur r i ng To ma ke a cr escendo a t I pa ssing fr om the c to the f

.

w i thout slurr in g , i s not ea sy .

“ ” r i
A di sti ncti on i s ma d e b etw een the form o s ze of tone
a pp ropri a te for one or a noth er sty le of c ompo sition Ther e .

“ ”
a r e three for m s of tone the sma ll , medi um a n d la r ge
—

T F rel orm
te a to siz e or volume n ot to inten sity
s , ,
. T he
sm al l for m is a pp r op ri a te for the d eli very of the li ghter

1 8% T he Voice — E . J Myer
. .
 T H E CH O RAL C O NDUC TO R . 105

compo sition s, glees ma dr igal s a n d pa rt songs, especi a lly w here

,
-

the movement i s ra pi d a n d ther e i s a sylla ble to ea ch note , as

T MO ERL Y
M th M yi g
.

”
N ow is th e on of a n .

Now is the mon h t of may mg, When mer ry lads are

Play ina fa la, 18» la, 121. Is le.

- 1a. 1a.

The gr ea ter pa rt of chor a l singi ng ca ll s for me dium for m ,

the la r ge for m b eing i n dica ted chi efly for br oa d, solemn , or

dra m a ti c ph r a se s or movements in a nthem ca nta ta a n d , ,

ora torio Ther e a r e phr a ses in or a tori o w hi ch r eq uire the u se

.

of the sma ller form s Usua lly con ductors encoura ge a style
.

of deliver y in ora torio in w hich there i s little v a ria tion fr om ‘

the la r gest for m of tone of a som br e color Thi s i s a m i sta ke .

to secur e b est results in thi s connec tion , i t i s necessa r y tha t

the con ducto r un der sta n d the voice .

H in ts a nd Su ggestions —
C onti nuing the
tudy of th e s

item s tha t go to ma ke w ha t i s ca lle d style in chora l si ngi ng , a

con ductor m a y con si der these suggestion s
P i a no passa ges a r e not necessa rily to be sung more slow ly
tha n pr ec e ding lou d p assa ges .

If chora li sts un der sta n d tha t ea ch singer i s expected to

give only h is pr oportion a te fr acti ona l p a rt of the tota l volume
,

of tone , the shading w ill b e smooth a n d effecti ve .

In selecti on s requir ing humm i ng a ccomp a n i ments the ,

qual ity of tone ca n only b e mu si ca l w hen the humm ing i s done

on tr ue br ea th control a n d w i th loosen ess of thr oa t .

It i s a mi sta ke to hurry the pa ce in flor i d passa ges .

C hora l ists m ay thus be j umpe d over a w ea k or da nger ous spot ,

10 6 CHO I R AND CH O R U s CONDUCTI NG .

bu t the mu sic i s not r ea lly su n g T O O fa st a tempo m a ke s

.

co rr ect del iver y of r un s diffi c ult .

M u si ca l tone qu a lity i s only to b e secur e d w he n voi ces

ha ve no p r onounced fun da men ta l defects, a r e un force d a n d
tr ue to pi tch .

Whe n b r ea th h a s to b e so ta ken a s to di vide a phr ase , the

fir st n Ote a fte r r enewa l of b r ea th sho ul d be sung w i th the
volume , i nten si ty a n d c olor tha t cha r a cteri ze d the note pr ece d
ing the br ea th ta ki n g
- .

G oo d sty le ca ll s for br ea dth of phr a sing ; full firm tone ,

requi r e s a gener ou s supply of br ea th The w ell tr a in ed chor u s

.
—

e xhib i ts b oth .

“ ”
The u se of the explosi ve or its dyn a m i c Opposi te the
, ,

a sp i r a te d a tta ck i s a m a tter of style i n d eli very A force .

“
ful a u dib le asp ir a ti on of the w or d H a at

GO NOD ” U
R d m p ti n e e o .

Ha ! thou tha t t
dos de claro
.

is mo st effectiv e .
108 C HOI R AND C H ORU S CO N DU CTI NG .

C H A P TE R XIII .

The o rigin al idea of Recita tive was to express i n m usical

n otation so fa r as possible the nat ural in fl ecti ons and m ov e
,

m e nt o f the sp eaking voice I n deli v er y it req uires not so

.

mu ch singing as declamation with fi delity to pitch and to

,

the tru e cha racter of the speaking v oice I n pure recitati v e .

there m ust b e n o suggestion of regul a rity of rhyt hm Th ere is .

,

how ev e r a sp ecies of choral semi recitativ e written by modern

,
-

composers which , whi le possessing more or l e ss rhythmic

r egularity calls in a measure for the declam ato ry sty le of
, , ,

d elivery An ex a mp le is here given :

.

T he R
e v enge .
”

Basses .

And we had not fought tham in vain,

 T H E CHO R AL CO N DU CT OR . 10 9

But in per i lous l i

p gt h

B elow is given another example of choral sem i recitative -

in w hich the smooth legato singing style of deli v ery w ould

, ,

b e inappropriate M usical decla m atio n , with fervent exp ressio n

.

of emotion , is called f o r :

G OUN OD
Re d e m p ti o n .
”

Ah ! ye priests who con-spired ! ye your- l

se ves were m

What timc ye to the

1 10 CHO I R AND CH O R U S C O N DUCT I NG .

C H APT E R X IV .

Where the choice of h ymn t unes is left with the Choi r

-

Director he will naturally st u d y the words and select m usi c

, ,

appropriate in its chara cte r to the sentiment of the te xt H e .

mu st st u dy the te xt stan za by stan za and va ry the style o f

,

delivery to suit the changing s e ntiment of the lin e s I n s ome .

ch u rches it is the c u stom to sing the serv ice at a rapid pace

thro ughout ; i n oth e rs it is sung in a sl ow dra w ling mann e r
, .

Cha nge o f rate of spee d is an important factor of styl e in hymn

singing This m u st be d one with j u dgment or the p e ople w i ll
.
,

become con fu sed and r efu se to sing The character of a t u n e

.

may be radi cally cha nged by singing it m u ch faster tha n its

normal speed T unes h a v i n g ch anging harmony on ea ch beat
.

requ ire a comparati v ely slow tempo Th ose in which the

.

harm ony changes in f requ ently may be s ung at a comp a rati v ely
rapid tempo This i s a matter for caref ul study and experimen t
.

by the C ond u ctor .

112 CH OI R A N D CH O RU s C O ND U CT I NG .

tio n , an d a little of that which calls for special effort The n .

they mu st be kept doing In this connection it is suggested

.

that the di rector

H ave a plan of rehear sal clearly in m i n d an d work to it .

B e thor oughly in ear n est in eve rythi n g .

Talk little , have the choi r si n g mu ch .

Tell n othing that si ngers can be led to discover for them

selves .

G ive r easons for exercises an d call upon singer s to use

imagination , to com pare and to criticise .

In announ ci ng page, number , stave , ph rase , or point of

depa rt u re , make each statement clearly and decidedly , and
decline to r epeat it L et the inatten tive who never kn ow
.

“ ”
where it is understand that they tr eat the leader u nfairly
,

and are gui lty o f di scou rtesy .

Alternate easy with di ffi cult nu mber s .

H ave one di v isio n liste n while another si ngs ; then a sk

q uestions .

Vary pitch of exer ci ses styles o f m usic studi ed illustr a

tions .

If a n i n div idual or di vision is inatten tive , give som ethi ng

to do
K.

eep the r ehearsal roo m well ventilated

Have each singer sit away fro m back of chair
-
.

Change singers from sitting to standing p ositio n occa

sion a l ly .

G ivethe choi r som ething to think about keep the sin gers
looking for points .

En courage , en cou rage , enco u rage .

As a p r eliminary to the rehearsal it is well to call attentio n

to the differe n ce betwee n practising and studying , and a sk that
singer s study while they practice .
 C H A P T E R II .

Happy is the choir co n ducto r whose singers ar e all m usic

ea d er s .

When there is n eed o f it instruction in sight singing well

,
-

epa y s a conductor for the trouble it costs An exam ination .

f the v ario u s sight-singing methods and text books offered in -

his co u ntry will show each conductor somethi ng that will be

sefu l to him in this part o f his wo rk A good teacher w ill be .

ble to do m u ch in this line with no m ore material than a large

la ck b oa r d r uled with two permanent m usic sta v es witho u t ,

lei s or bar lines .

Where the av erage ability to read m usic is good it is Often ,

r ofita b l e to gi v e a f ew minutes at each rehearsal to Special

rill upon u n u sual rhythms If a com position to be rehearsed

.

on ta i n s any such they should be st u died on a monotone at a

, ,
”
i ddle pitch to a syllable
,
lah or ,
The item of
,

itch is thus eliminated from the problem one thing at a time —

.

I t is help ful to the SOpr an O and bass divisions to give them

drill i n singing inner parts A hymn tune in w hich the soprano
.
-

n d alto parts are of moderate comp a ss may be practised the ,

Opr a n os singing the alto and the altos the S oprano part SO .

ith the teno r and bass .

Special drill in following the conductor s beat is also best ’

riven upon a monotone and a simple syl lable or u pon a t une

hich is th oroughly familiar I n such case att enti on is easily
.

uon c en tr a te d upon the c onductor s indicati ons I t is useless

’
.

O expect a choir not fam iliar with words or m usic to follow

, ,

l osel y a conductor s beat The choir m ay in this exercise be

’
.
, ,

sked to sing on e syllable to a b eat next two and so on the , , ,

on du ctor v arying his tempo f o r purposes of drill , som ewhat

,

r ra ti ca lly .
ll 1 CH OI R A N D CH ORU s CO NDU CT I NG
.

CHA PT E R I II .

Pu r ity of i n to natio n is ab solutely i n di sp e n sabl e to good

si nging .

Whe n si ngi n g flat or sha rp is caused by la ck of ven tila

tion ; want o f attentio n ; of con ce n tratio n upo n th e p itch ;
physical fatigue or nervous n ess the r emedy is obvious , .

O ne voice— a constitution al flatte r or sha rper , will o fte n

dr aw a di visi on or the whole choi r fro m the p itch That voice .

m ust be r em oved .

I f the bass divisio n is ca ref ully looked a fter an d kep t

solidly I n tune the u pper voices a re not so likely to fall from
,

p itch If the ba s s falls , the other parts ar e al m ost certain to

.

follow .

A m uggy atm osphere will som eti m es cause fl a tting .

Am ong other causes o f false i n to n atio n a re the followi ng

Wan t of su ffi cient breath through failur e to Ob serve prope r
breathing places -
.

Fa ilure to suppo r t the tone with the br eath i n p ia no

passages Choralists freq uen tly act as though un der the
.

impression that so ft n otes will sing themselves O n the con .

tra r y the so ft notes , i f they are to b e tr ue to p itch an d o f

,

proper colo r a n d carryi ng power , m ust be gi v e n with coneen

tra tion o f thought on pitch and en ergetic breath suppo rt .

“
G i v e n a ph rase , it is indispen sable that the sa m e e n e rgy of
‘

vocal em ission should be employed in singi n g it p i a n o as i n

singi n g it for te, or , to exp r ess it bette r, the sam e i n te n sity of
116 CH O I R A N D CH O R U s CO NDUCT I NG .

Where a choir sings sharp it is u s ually because o f n ervous

ness or the presence of the habitual sha rper
,
.

M ore thorough drill gi ving gr eater familiarity with the

,

m u sic and con fi d e nce in themselve s and the cond u ctor will
have a good effect The habit ually offending v oice must be
.

re mo ved If sev eral singers who usually sing in tu ne sh ow a

.
,

disposition to sing sharp the practising Of vocali zes and the

,

particular passages o n oh and oo ( a s in food ) will give

good r esults .

C HA PT E R I V .

The stu dy of exercises ear tra ining aids i n music read

for - -

ing intonation , and blending

,
A fe w min u tes may well be
.

giv en to s u ch w ork a t the beginning of the rehearsal .

I n this connection the singing of chora ls slow mov ing ,

-
,

strong hymn t unes and s u ita ble anthems w ithou t a ccomp a ni men t,
-
, ,

and w ith special attenti on to inton a tion testing w ith t u ning ,

fork or pitch pipe is strongly recommended

-
,
“
Hymn of th e .

”
H omeland by A S S ulli van and Come U nto H im by
,
“
. .
”
, ,

G oun od are s ugg e ste d as ty pes o f anthems that m a y be used

,

in this w ork .

The imp ortant point is to form in singers the habit of

listening to the pitch nex t to tra in the m so that they become
,

accu stomed to t h e acc u rate sound ing Of the intervals used in

m u sic Th i s lat ter in v ol v es the st u dy of the maj or and min or
.

d i atonic scales the chromatic scale and drill in so u nding the

, ,

various chords To this m a y be added with advan tage , special

.
,

study of un usual m elodic skips or progressio n s .

 T H E CH OI R . 11 7

CH A PT E R V
-
.

I t should n ot b e necessary to present a n argu m en t in favor

of vocal exercises for adult choirs The fact is howev er.
, ,

that few choi r leaders fully appreciate thei r value as sav ing
-

time and labo r i n impro v ing the singing of a choir They .

“
sav e ti m e , as one says becau se ,
they concentrate attentio n
”
upon one point at a time and r eally ed u cate the choir
,

singers . The choir director who gives a few m i n utes at

the beginning of each rehearsal to voice training exer cises wi ll -

soon fi nd his reward in the increa se d effi ciency and resp o n si v e

ness of his choir The impro v ement will come m uch m ore
.

quickly than i f he depends for it upo n the ordi n ary r outine of

r ehearsa l drill .

These ex ercises should incl u de work on the following item s

B reath contr ol ; productio n of the vowels ; tr eat m en t of
the consonants ; attack and release of tone ; the legato sta c ,

cato agility ; shading ; accent uatio n ; tone colo ri ng ; ph rasi n g

,
-

( with especial re f erence to the q uick or hal f -b r eath ) the three

forms o f voice ; blending of voices .

All voice work sho u ld be done in as p ure an atm osphere

as possible and witho u t und u e physical effort
,
.

With regard to breath control the proble m is 1 ) to learn

-

to take a fu ll breath qu ickly and n oiselessly usually thr ough ,

the m o uth witho u t raising the shoulders ( 2) to send ou t the

,

breath with energy and gr ea t slown ess w hile producing tone , ,

leav ing laryn x throat tong u e j aw and lips free from ev en a

, , ,

s u spicion of stiffness F irst exercises req ui r e a slow inhalation

.
,

and exhalation witho u t to n e on a m en tal ( silen t ) vowel .

Later the inhalatio n is q uicker , and the exhalatio n slow, an d

with tone .
1 18 CH O I R A N D CH O R U s CO NDUCT I NG .

The repetition , on the slowly out-m oving breath , O f th e

ordinary n u merals or l ette rs of the alphabet , in an easy
,

con ve rsati onal m anner each alternate wo rd without ton e , i s

,

use ful in gaining breath control The breath must always be .

”
renewed befor e the singer feels that he is out of breath .

I t is unwise to force the voice in the least ; po w er i s n ot

th u s to be gained N or m u st the tw o extreme notes at either
.

end of th e voca l compass be practised Right practice on the .

m iddle range w ill ens ure the correct production of the highest
and lowest tones w hen these are n eeded The extreme tones .

m ay be so u nded occasionally in pra ctice

, , .

A sim ple p racticable vowel schem e , for u se in choral voice

,

training is the followi ng

Long Vo w e ls . Short Vo w els .

E F eet
as in i as in Fit
A as in F ate c as in Let

Ah as in Farm a as in Sat
Aw as in Law 0 as in Got

0 as in N O u as i n Ou t
0 0 as in F ood 0 0 as in F oot

Initial Y is alw ays a very close sound of e, ”

writte n
T
7,
U
éé .

I nitial W is al ways 66 as i n F ood .

yet—éé- é— t
Example
.

‘ ’
w on —
Oé —
ii -
n .

I n the production o f the vowels throat tongue j aw and , , ,

lips m ust be l eft e ntirely free fr om stiffness The tip of the .

tongue m u st lie gently against th e lower front teeth on all

vow els The position of th e mid and back ton gue alters
.
,
-

som ewhat for certain vowels I t is best to let the tongue .

alon e If the singe r thi n ks correctly the vowel sound he

.

1 See Sp eech
'
i n Song, E ll i s
.
1 20 CH OI R I N D C H O RU s CO NDUCT I N G .

C H A P TER VI .

Singers learn to a considerable extent by imitation That .

choir is fort unate whose director is able to gi v e a model of

good tone qu ality I n studying the vowel the item of qu a li ty
.

of tone is to b e always in mind .

The tone of good qu ality is clear resonant , expressive , ,

with intensity or carrying power in b oth p i a n o and for te It is .

“
n either nasal , palatal gu tt u ral woolly n or breathy
, , .

N a sa li ty , tho u gh sometimes the res u lt of di sease , is u sually

caused by habits of speech w hich ind u ce rigidity of som e part
Of the v ocal apparatu s Calling attention to the defecti ve
'
.

so u n d and contrasting it with the correct sou nd of the vowel is

helpfu l S o also instr uctions as to relaxing neck , tongue and
.
,
“ ”
j aw while singing The st u dy o f attack on the vowel Ah
.
,

with thou ght concentrated upon the upper front teeth as the
p oi n t at which tone is fi rst felt and s u stained is also benefi cial , .

B reath control combined with absence of rigidity of a n y

,

part of the v ocal instr u ment and intelligent st u dy of atta ck

,

on the vowels w ill usually remedy the de fects of tone qu ality

,
-

above m entioned .

”
A semi nasality of tone is ca u sed by pr efixi n g n , or
-

”
“ ”
m to a syllabl e as “
I n do not know
,
-
This bad habit .

is easily corrected by proper consonant drill .

The v ow el m u st al w ays be sung so as to be understood .

“ ” “ ”
Ba dly tr ained singers change Ah into Aw , at high p itches ,
fi nding themselv es u nable to give the correct vowel This is a .

matter of throat ri gi di ty in tone prod u ction The artist .

unconscio u sly m odi fi es the qu a li ty or color so as to retai n ,

richness and res onance as the pitch changes b ut does n ot

, ,

obliterate the v o wel In choral drill the di recto r must give a

.
 T H E CH O I R . 1 21

pattern for such m odi fi catio n o f v ow el q uality as is necessary

in singing the scale on on e v owel and requ ire the class t o liste n ,
“
and compare At high pitches E ( as in feet
. is apt to be
m ade too shrill and 0 0 ( as in
,
food ,
too d u ll lacking in ,

clearness and in tensity These need m o di fi cati on in q uality

.

the on e in the direction o f breadth an d richness the other ,

toward brightness .

C HA P T E R VI I .

The use of Ah Aw and O with rather dark timbre , aids

, , ,

i n developing v ol u me .

Resonanc e — intensity carrying power are dev el oped

— —

1 B y v ocali z i n g with bright timbre u sing chiefl y E ,

.
,
”
and A ( as in fate )
2 B y de v e loping v ibration thro u gho u t the body , with
.

special attention to focu sing v ibration at upper front teeth .

3 By incr e ase Of ( controlled ) breath press u re

.
-
.

Practice for res onance sho uld be done with a smi ling eye ,
and raised an d loosely held upp er lip .

j
‘

The syllabl e s la h n ee deh tha h th as in

,( tho
,
u a n,
d oa k,

may be practised in this connecti on Special care should b e .

taken to prese rve abs ol u te freedom o f throat ton gue and j aw ,

in practi sing these syllables Each o f the fi rst four is practised

.

wi thou t a moveme n t o f the j aw .

T ses l
P o ychr ome Lessons — . FW . . Root .
1 22 CH O I R AN D CH O R U S C O NDU CT I NG .

CH A PT E R VIII .

A s h as b een sa id hereto fore the first and m ost importa nt

,

r equisite to the blending of voices is that each voi ce shall be

exactly in tune N ex t eac h m ust be free from striking de fects
.
,

of tone quality . Thi rdly all must mov e from on e pitch and
,

on e s ou nd ( vowel ) to another at the same instant .

The choir directo r will find it advantageo u s to Spend some

W e on blending exercises during the study of which he m ust
,

i n sist upon each singer produci ng a tone o f as good quality as

possible listening to his neighbor and endeavoring to amalga
, ,

m ate the tw o voices so as to make an effect as of on e large voice .

A good plan is to ha v e the v oice of best quality sa y ,

am ong the Sopranos s ustain a tone for se veral beats the others
, ,

of that di v ision listening and then one by one s oun di ng the

,

sam e pitch endeavoring to prod uce a tone o f similar general

,

quality an d to melt the voices i n to each other so that no on e ,

w ill be distinguishable fr om the m ass This ex ercise may be

.

sung at various pitches an d after two or m c e divisions hav e

,
r

bee n practised separately they m ay be blended on the notes o f

,

a cho r d .
! S ee pa r ag raphs upo n Ear
A for ced to n e will n ot b le n d I t i s in here ntly un tu n e f ul
. .
1 24 CH O I R A N D CH O R U S C O NDUCT I NG .

The swell may cov er a note or a phra s e P ractise on this

,
.

item may be h a d on a s u itabl e hymn tun e used fi rst a s a -

,

vocali z e and next with words , as

K
,

D E S EE U T R T .

Drill Should in s u staining l ong note s ev en l y ,

be h a d ( )
1 ,

with so ft , m edi u m a n d full p ow e r ( 2) in qu i ck , s oft singing ,

“ ”
for w hich N ight by G o u n od is recommended ; and ( 3) in
, ,

the rapid alternation of soft and loud tones on diff erent pitch e s
and syllables .

C HA P T E R X .

The rapid , clear flu e nt deli v ery of scales runs , arpeggios

, , ,

and ornam e nts calls for v oca l agility and is m ost ea sily
, ,

accomplished at l e ss tha n fu ll pow e r of v oice th e ha l f v oi ce

“ -
.

A u seful preliminary practise is the foll owing

M oder a to .

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha .

“ ”
Should ligh t — felt but almost inau dibl e
'

The h b e v er y , .
 T H E CH OI R . 1 25

The sho rt n otes m ust be detached an d delivered clearly , ,

but without a harsh stroke or explosion in the throat .

S cales , r u ns and ornam e nts m u st be s u ng l egato ( the

,

n otes m u st be closely connected ) u nless Specia lly m arked oth er

w ise. There m u st be no sl u rring of on e n ote i n to the other
each pitch m u st be artic u lated clearly .

F irst drill for agility may be made on s m all gr oups a s ,

Lah, lah, lah Lah, lah, lah

Ah. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Lah, 1a , lab, lab, lah, 1a , mamm

al an i ,

Ah. ah, ah. ah, ah, 811,

Lam lah , @ 1311, 18-

h
Ah ab, 311 .

The l m ust be very quick and the j aw m ust n ot m ove .

The scale , ascending and descen di ng m ay ne xt be prac ,

ti sed the acce n tuation being so varied that the notes fall into
,

gr oups o f tw o,
th r ee and f ou r each All v owels sho u ld be u sed
. .
126 CH O I R A N D CH O R U S CO NDUCT I NG .

In descendi ng sca les parti cular atte n tion S hould be pa id to

in to n ati on a n d clea r a rticulation of each n ote .

Drill m ay n ext be upo n the arpeggio :

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

A S to em b ellish m en ts , drill m ay be m ade upon the fi gure

used M edi um p itches Should be selected and th e principal
.
,

v ow els used .

” “ ”
T h e Appoggiat ura p roper long va ria bl e a ppog
gi a t u r a ) is indicated in the ol d mu sic by a small n ot e pr e c e ding
th e p rincipal note . I t varies in l e n gth , re cei ve s an a c cent a n d ,

ta kes its ti m e from the s u cceeding note U s ually it takes half .

the ti m e o f the followin g or princi pal n ote

Written . E x ec u ted .
128 CH OI R A N D CH OR U S C O NDU CT I NG .

The M orden t consists o f three n otes— a pri n ci pa l to n e , th e

to n e on the degr ee n ext b elow ( or above ) , a n d the pri n cipal
ton e :
Writte n . E x ecu ted . Wri tten . E x ecuted . Written . E x ecu ted .

’
L A R ussell in whose wo r k on E mbellish m ents “ ”
r . .
, th e

subj ect is treated i n a m ost comp rehensive and thorough

m an ner , says
I n modern m usic accent first tone of m orden t In m usic .

of a n d p rior to B ach s ti m e accent the third tone

’
tr, with . .
,
”
U p pe r auxiliary triplet f orm no delay
,
Accent fi rst tone
,
. .

The T u rn is composed of a prin ci pal ( written ) note and

an upper an d lower au x iliary Whe n not written in small .

n otes n ext the p rincipal note it is in di cated by the S ig n me

It m ay begi n with the upper, or lower auxiliary as a bove or

with the pri n ci pal n ote

Written . E x ecu ted .

The upper an d lower , or b oth auxiliary n otes m ay be chrom at

i cally altered The accidentals are usually placed ab ove or
.

3
below the Sign a ,
o r both N

1
'
E mbellishments f M usi c,
o L . A Russell
. .
 T H E CH OI R . 1 29

In the old ( classic ) m usic the sign s for the app oggi atura
are so m etimes wr ongly printed on e being used where the eff ect
,

of the other is really desired F or a full discussion of this

.

“
subj ect and o f the rule s for the deli very of the Turn the ”
, ,

rea d e r is re ferred to M r R ussell s work s]

.
’

In the deli v ery o f embelli shments regard Should be had

to the particular character of the music ( light and ga y or ,

heavy and sad ) and the legato Sho uld be carefully preserv e d .

The rapid d elivery Of the chr omatic scale presents especial

diffi culty in the m atter o f intona tion It should fi rst be .

”
practised slowly with hal f v oice
,
and breath thoroughly
-
,
“ ”
under control A p u shed breath will make its rapid j u st
.
,

delive ry impossible This scale may with ad vanta ge be fi rst

.

st udied in small rhythmic sections SO constr u cted as that the ,

ca r may r etai n a note of the co mm on chord as a p oint O f r est ,

or guide for ex ample

ah,

Passages calling for agility are frequ ent i n the oratorios

a n d cantatas o f the old m asters These fu rnish good material
.

” ”
for choral drill in this department see Me ssia h S amson , ,
” “ ”
“
Cr eatio n ,
Matthew Passion The chor u ses Wretched .

”
Lovers ,
”
and G alatea D ry thy Tears , from Acis and
,
“

”
Gala tea , ( H an del ) , a r e particu larly r e co mm e n ded .

t op . ci t. See a sol A rt of Singi ng, P art II . W m Sh ak espeare

.
;
M ethod of Si nging, J Stock hausen
. .
130 CH O I R A N D CH O R US CO ND U CT I N G .

CH A PT E R X I .

T hepromp t , sim ultaneous attack of th e first note a nd

release of the last n ote of a phrase is indi spensable to good

T this end the singers m ust be drilled u ntil thor ou ghly

o

familia r with the music , especiall y as r egards time and p itch .

The conductor mu st not gi v e the signal for the atta ck u n til

he is s u re he has the attenti on o f all the Singers .

Promptit u de in attack depends largely u po n breath -taking .

Choralists Should take breath in good season befor e the moment ,

for attack arr i ve s .

F or drill in attack a Slow m o ving hym n tune m ay be used

- -

in this way L et each divisio n sing in turn one or two wo rds , ,

Of the text taking care to b egin at exa ctly the right m om ent
,

SO that the te mp o is strictly m aintai n ed F or example : .

\l

Sav iear, bl ess ed Sav iour, List on whil e we sing.

( Sop s ( Altos
’
.
(T enors

N ext , r eq uire on e di vision to sing until the signal is given to

another di vision to take up the melody , which may be done at
any point . Thi s will keep attention concentr ated upon the
cond u ctor The power of tone must be maintai n ed , so fa r as
.

circumstances w i l l allow by each di vision as it begins to Sing

,
.

The choir may then be drilled to Sing the line in un ison ,

taking brea th as marked , bu t without altering the tempo The .

repetitio n s m ay b e haste n ed, SO as to give dr ill i n taking the

1 32 CH O I R A N D CH O R U S CO NDUCT I NG .

n ormal attack The explosive attack with click at the larynx

.
,

and th e s oft aspirated ( breathy ) attack may occasionally be

, ,

u sed for sp e cial ex pressiv e purp oses

,
.

The acqu isiti on of the normal attack by a choir m ay b e

aid ed by the practise of Ha ! h a ! ha l three tones on on e
“
,
’

”
pitc h at fi rst w ith a w ell marked audible
,
- “
H ,
grad ually ,
”
red u cing the force Of the H until it disappears and the
“
,
“ ”
tone b egins as a clea r Ah withou t aspirate or click N eithe r .

ja w nor tong u e S ho u ld move d u ring this exercise The pitch .

may be varied Later the ex ercise m ay be us ed i n thi s form

.

ha ! ha !

Special technical exercises on attack Should not b e practised

long er than tw o min u tes .

E ach di v ision of the choir Sh ou ld be enco u raged to attack

“
with b oldness If yo u make a mistake , m a ke a decided
.

”
on e ,
is a freq uent saying o f a cond u cto r whose choru s i s
n oted for b oldn ess and pr w ision in attack .
 T H E CH OI R . 1 33

C HA PT E R X I I .

The foundation O f the S inging sty le is the lega to .

Fi rst drill i n thi s departm ent is had on voca li z es .

Familiar hymn t unes m ay be s ung to each of the princi pal

-

vo w els in s u ccession with the obj ect of acq uiring the ability
,

to carry the tone f ro m on e pitch to an oth e r fi rmly smoothly , ,

and with clear artic ulation of each pitch , av oiding smearing o f

the intervals Later a change fro m on e vowel to another may
.

be made upon each n ote Thi s in v ol v es the eq uali zation o f

.

the vowels i f a true legato is to be obtained S ingers are apt

,
.

to change the color of the tone when they change the vowel .

C onsequ ently , the phrase does not present to the ea r as it ,

Should do , a s m ooth unbroken line of tone

,

E EH AH 0 00
b ut an effect something like thi s

E EH AH 0 00
1 The A H is the central vowel i n pitch an d colo r , an d the
’

high pitched and hi gh -c olored E and E H S hould be brought

-

down , and the low pitched and dark colored OO and 0 be

- -

brought u p toward the pitch and color lev el of a rich Ah .

This by n o m eans prevents variation of tone color for e xpres -

Sive pu rp oses It Simply m eans equ al freedom and bea u ty Of

.
134 CH OI R AND CH O R U S CO NDUC T I NG .

ton e on vowels, with a true legato i n passin g fro m one

a ll

syllable to another , as w ell as in going fr om one pitch to

another The enrichi ng quality or color of the full -throated
.

I talian Ah the noblest O f vowels , is blended with or diffused

, ,

through each of the other vowels , and thi s wi thout causi ng

F
a ny vowel to lose its indi v iduali ty .

ir st drill on eq uali zation m ay be given , at one p itch , thus

Al i — E h
Ah— Eh— E
Al i — O
Ah— O- OO
Ah— E
Ah OO
—

E — Ah
OO— Ah

In makin g these vowel changes there should be little m ove

m ent of the j aw tongue and lips should be free .

D rill for the stacca to wi th a vowel is subj ect to the sam e

i n struct ions as a re given for the vowel attack I t Sho uld n ever .

be long continued as it is a severe gymna stic for the throat

-
, .

T h e sol fa syllables doh r e mi etc f ur n ish good m ate rial

-
, , , ,
.
,

for staccato practice Preli mi nary practice m ay best be m ade

.

on on e syllable as la h at a m ediu m pitch

, ,
.

A good legato delivery can only be atta ined on the basis

of breath co n tr ol
-
The to n es are drawn or Spun into each
.

other yet with each p itch disti n ctly i n dicated

,
.

B reath -co n trol is eq ually impo rtant f or the co rr ect delivery

of the stacca to for without it the successive short tones are

, ,

ce rtai n to be struck with a click or explosio n in th e la rynx ,

which is m ost da nge rous to the th roa t an d voice .

1 36 CH OI R AN D CH O R US C O NDUCT I NG .

In deci di ng u po n pr o n un ciation for singing it shoul d be ,

r em embered a s a p ri n cipl e that singing or the sustaining of

, , ,

tone is done u pon vowels

, F or the sake of broader richer
.
,

tone q uality in singing v owels may be som ewhat m odi fi ed as

, ,

compar ed with their use in speech Where two pron u n ciations .

have eq ual autho rity that having the broadest vowel Should
,

be chosen for S inging .

If a syllable is to b e susta i ned it Should be furn ished with ,

“ ” “ ” “ ”
a vowel as : ,
Sp oken and n ot Spok n eO
p p , u l n ot ,
H H

A vocal co n son ant is a p oor s ubstitute for a vowel

(Written ) (Wrongly sung ) .

F
l ai s. F
I.
ai 1

( Rightly sung .
)

Ther e are Six short vowels so called O f these the a ( i n

,
-
.

“ ” “ ”
sa t l a ment ) m ay be m uch broadened toward
,
Ah as a ,

is thi n and unm u sical O f the remaining vowels i as i n

.
, ,

pi ty ; e , as in l et ; 0 as in l ot ; and 0 0 as in foot or pu t
, , ,
“ ”
m ay be given somew hat of the color of Ah T he u i n .
,
“ ”
cu t,
is closely allied to ah , an d needs b u t Slight m odi
fica ti on .

modi fi cation m ust be kept within b ounds , SO that

V owel
the individ uality of the v ow e l may not be lost O therwise the .

wor ds may b eco m e u ni n tell igible .

 T H E CH OI R .
1 37

“ ”
The Short i of pity m ust n ot be changed to the e of
“ f eet ”
,
as is likely to be the case with those S in ge rs who hav e
“ ” f
been tr ained m uch upo n e in the placi n g o the voice .

“ ”
O f the long vowels , a fate h as a second sound
as in ,
“ ” “ ” “ ” “ ”
or vanish like i in pity : eh f ; o a s i n so has a -

“ ” “ ”
vanish like 0 0 in food In singing the tone m ust b e
.
,

sustai n ed upon the fi rst or p ri m ary vowel and the second 0 ! ,

van ish lightly and q uickly touched as the syllable is e n ded .

( Written ) ( Rightly sung ) .

( Not )

F a eat.

In “
uch wor ds as ar e , p eer , n ea r , there fou r , ther e is
s
”
,

a te n den cy to dwell upo n a second vowel , i m mediately precedi n g

”
the r I n all such cases the vowel effect is enha n ced by
.

pronou n cing the pri m ary vowel long , al m ost eli m inati ng the
“ ”
secon dary v owel , and givi n g the r a Sho rt , so ft trill .

( Correct ) ( Incorrect )

( N ea r .
)

The vowel ”
e i n let as used i n fin al syllables for
“ ”
, ,
“ ” “ ” “ ” "
in stance : Speak eth ,
-
sta rt e d a n the m
“
a n ge1
-
,
-
,
,
-
,

S ho u ld be gi v en with ca re b ut may b e Shaded Slightly toward

,
”
“
ah . I t must not be changed to u i n cut, thus :
“ ” “ ”
”
a n- th ii m .

“ ” “
The interm edi a ryvowel foun d in whether p ear ,
“
bu m ,
” “
thi r d ” wer e ,
: “ ” “ ”
wo rthy , ap proxim ates or lea n s
1 38 CH O I R A N D CH O R US CO ND U CT I NG .

” ”
toward u in cut Tone should . be usta i n ed
s on
“ ”
vowel , an d n ot on the r ele m e n t as : ,

( Not) Bur 11.

”
Ca re Should be taken to give fi nal “
r a so ft , short trill .

”
B u— rn n ot B u— n .

“
S uch w ords as light lah— it ) m ust be sun g

( Correct ) ( Incorrect )

Lah eet.

” “ ”
A ye m ean i n g yes is pr on oun ced as is the pe rso nal
“ ” “ ” “ ” “ ”
pro n oun I . Aye meaning ever as the a in fate , .

”
The b efor e a vowel
“
,
or
“
h, is pro n ounced “ thee :7

”
before a co n so n an t , thu .

“ ” “ ” “ ”
I n listen ,
o ften , an d Simi lar words, the t is n ot

sounded .

” ”
“ H eaven
,
leave n ,
etc m ay so m eti m es b e pr o n ounced
.

as of on e syllable i f as o f tw o syllables the second m ust have

a disti n ct vowel befor e the fin al consonan t See gen e ral pri n .

cipl e above .

The requirem e n ts of rhym e will usually decide whether

“ wi n d
Shall have the long or the sho rt I When possible , .

for the sake of so n ority , the word should be pro n oun ced with
the long so un d .
1 40 CH O I R AN D CH O RU S CO NDUCT I NG .

Whe n a conson a nt i mm ediately pr ecedes r or 1 as : pr br , , ,

tr dr k r gr pl b 1 t1 d1 kl g1 the combination is to be
, , , , , , , , , ,

treated as on e so u nd and usually allotted to the vow el

,
“ ” “ ”
followi ng : i se cret tri plet -
,
-
.

“ ” ”
Words such as s upply an d suffer Should be con ,

sider ed as ha v ing b u t on e medial consonant and that allotted

” ”
to the f ollowing vow el as : su ply su f er
-
,
-
,
.

Av oid errors s u ch as P r efix i ng m or n where not p art Of

“ “ ” “ ”
the word n do for do
- m benighted for benighted
,
-
.

Fail u re to repeat a consonant which en ds on e word and begins

”
the n ex t as :
,
th a tr a i n “
for that train Fail u re to sepa .

rate words by distinct utterance of fi nal and initial elements

“ ” “
as a w a k r igh t for aw a ke right , th ev e n i n g for the
” ‘ ” “ ” “ ”
evening 1 th a tea v e n ly for that heaven ly ,
, g l or i ou sop e

f o r glorious h Ope .

En u ncia tiom this chapter , as indicate d , enun ciation

—
In
r efers to the u tterance of the vowel sounds The pronunciati on .

of a word hav ing been decided u pon its v ow e l e lements m u st ,

“ ”
be deli v ered with fi delity and clearness If Ah is intended , .

“ ”
then Aw m ust n ot be s ung The fi rst a n d great req uirement .

for en u nciation is that the vowel sounds shall be so u ttered a s

to be easily u nderstood I n orde r to effect this the utterance
.
,

of the consonants m u st n ot be permitte d to m odi fy the v owel ,

or
”
bl ur it in the least degr ee F urther the vow el m u st .
,

have as m uch as possible of the time of the n ote to w hich it is

placed ; the longer the d u rati on of the v owel , the more likely
”
is it to be understood The tr u e Singing sty le demands the
.

sustain i ng o f tone thi s is do n e on the vowels .

Whe n syllables change rapidly on on e pitch gr eat care ,

m ust be take n to give the vowe ls purely with true ,

“ ” “ ” “ ”
full sound Sho rt words
. at an and etc are , , , ,
.
,

o ften m uch slighted as regards enunciation as well as i n the ,

 T H E CH O I R . 1 41

articulati on of co n son a nts When on e v owel ( syllable ) i s

.
, ,

gi v en to se v e ra l pitches care must be taken to keep the v owel

,

di stinct on all pitches .

The prac tice of the syllables 1 2 3— 4— 5 6— ah la h, — — —

” "
beh n ee, p o, too; and doh — r e,—rni , fa h,— sol, la h,— si , o n m ono
,
— — —
,
- -

tones and scales , at temp i r anging from very sl ow to very fast ,

,

is r e commended for st u dy in en u nciati on The tho ught , i n .

this e x ercise , m u st be centred on the v owels that they may be ,

kep t true and fu ll The featu res m u st be kept f ree fro m r i gi di ty

. .

The di phthongs may be practised in this order

I— OO ah — I aw — I ah —
oo

( tu n e ) ( y)
m (oil ) ( now)
( v i ew ) ( l igh t ) ( y)
b o ( tow n )

The tongue tip should lie lightly agai n st the lower fro n t teeth ,
and the j aw r emain m otionless .

l
A rticu a ion
t.
—
I i conso n ants are constan tly o v er -e m ph a

si z ed the lega to is destroyed the S inger does n ot sing If too

—
.

little attention is gi ven to the utterance of consonants , the

S i nger is n ot u n de rstood .

The larger th e a u dito riu m , the more force ful Should b e the
delivery o f conso n ants E xaggeration , however , Should b e
.

avoided .

The delivery of a consona n t may be em phasi z ed or m o di

F
fi ed for a special , expressive p urpose .

i na l consonan ts are most o fte n slighted .

”
The v ocal conso n ants are : m , n , l r and the co mbina
“
, ,

tio n n g .

They should be give n su ffi cient du ration to m ake the m

di sti n c t, but not to take th e place of a vowel P roperly .
142 CH OI R A N D CH O RU S CO NDUCT I NG .

deli vered they co n tr ibute greatly to the preser vatio n Of th e

legato an d to i ntelligi bility .

The sem i vocal co n sonan ts v , th ( as in

-
z in
“ ” “ ” “ ”
oo z e , and zh , ( the z i n az ure ) have a sound which
is o f the n at u re of a b uzz These elem ents are inher en tly
.

u nm usical and Should be dwelt upon only long enough to

,

ren der them distinct .

The sub vocal consonants b d j , ( as in J oh n and so ft

-
, ,
“ g ” as in with g ( as in hav e a very
brief m omen t of v ocality preceding the explosion which
characteristically clos e s their utterance .

All the consonants so far named may be practised upo n a

m on otone , and also up on the pitches of th e scale wi thout ,

the aid of a precedi ng or follow in g vow el S uch practice is .

usef ul in sec uring in telligibility and good tone producti on .

An absol u tely essential req ui rement for this ex ercise how ,

e v er , is complete freedom from stiffn ess of ja w tongu e and ,

li ps
. D one with rigidi ty at ei ther point it is dangerous
to the voice .

To ga in a sense o f the v oca lity of b , d , j a nd ,

h ard g , this
exercise m ay b e pra ctised

e - bb o - dd e - dge (J ) e -
gg .

The eff or t should be to s u stain th e tone on the s e cond note a

m oment be fore permitting th e explosion which completes the
,

articulation of the consonant .

The consonants p t k are n on -voca l

, , , and ,

explosi ve .

The con sonan ts f an d S , together with th e conso n an tal

1 44 CH O I R A N D CH OR U S CO NDUCT I NG .

” ”
The “
sub vocals - b , d , hard g an d j may also
,
“
, ,
be
practised with vigor , yet without waste O f br eath .

In the case o f f th ,
s Sh a n d the aspi rate h , , ,

there is u sually a waste of breath When rightly d one the .

con trol of the breath is n ot for an instant abandoned .

If the singer will rightly control his breath managing i t ,

constantly a s though singing only on vow els he may sing ,

lega to and at the same time del iver the co nsonants with
disti nctness .

This m ethod Of delivery holds good n o matter what the

co n sonant or combination of consonants used .

D rill on the consonants may be made

( )
1 O n
the consonant alon e ,
( )
2 W ith a v o wel preceding ,

( 3) With a v ow el following ,
( )
4 W ith a v o w el preceding and f ollowi n g .

A good w ork o n elocution will furnish a list of conso n ant

co mbinations which m ay be used for special dr ill as n e eds may
indicate .

”
The sol fa syllables , do r e mi , etc
-
, la h beh n ee p o, too
,
.
, , , , ,

and ordinary n umerals from on e to eight may be used (in a ,

monotone and scales for drill upon consonants The staccato .

deli v ery is partic ul arly useful as a fir st step ; afterward the

legato m a y be used .

These consonants can a n d Should be practised wi thout

movement of the ja w :
talk daw n cha lk , corn kill go, thou la w , r od no, r i ng
, , , , .
, , .

N o m a tter what the action of the tongu e in forming a co n so

n ant it m ust lie lightly again st the lower front teeth on all
,

The words Of a hymn tune , an the m

-
or chor us m ay be
 T H E CH O I R . 145

a n alyzed, a n d u se d for dr ill i n enun cia ti on a n d i n a r ticula ti on

'

0 1 con son a nts a ccor di ng to the p ri nci ple s he r e i n gi ven As

'

.
,

1 2 3 4 5 6
”
Sa vi or , I my cr o ss ha ve ta k en .

( )
1 C on son a n ts s v , r ; vow el s e h i i l i
—
,
— —
,
—
.

2) V o w el s A h i — —
.

3) C on son a n t— m ; vow el s— a h i —
.

( )
4 Con son a nt s k r , ( or k r ) s ; vow el A W
—
, ,
—
.

( )
5 Co n son a n t— v ; a spir a te h vow el A h — —
.

( )
6 C on son a nts t k , n ; vow el s— e h i a n d e
—
,
—
( as

in Wh eth er ) .

Specia l ca r e mu st be ta ken , in recita tive , to deli v e r the

con sona nts di sti nctly .

C HA P T E R XV .

D r il l upon the thr ee for m s of voi ce !se e page 1 04 ] m a y b e

given thu s
Sm al l Fo r m M outh sli ghtly Open ; tone upon the l ip s l ittle
—
,

volum e Pr e l im in a r y p ra cti ce on a m o n oton e

.

Lee nee tee dee , thee vee mee

,
—
,
— enun cia te d r a p
,
— —
,
—
,
—
,

i dly a n d sm oothly p mf a n d N e x t som e l ight glee or p a r t

, , ,
“ ”
song a s,
Y ou Stol e my Love by M ac fa r r en ,
.

M e di u m For m M outh mor e O pen —

pr elimina r y dri ll a s a bo v e ,
on
”
Leh neh teh deh theh veh , meh
,
—
,
—
w i th the three
,
—
,
—
,
— -
,

K
degr ees of for ce N ext u se a n a n them of p ra i se ( not of
.

d evotion or a sp ir a ti on ) such as I Will S i n g u n to the Lo r d ”

,
“ ”
b y O H Tebb s ;
. . The Lor d i s Thy eeper by F W , . .

W odell or a selection , such a s The Wr eck of the H e sper us

,
“ ”
,

by T A n derton
. The gr ea ter pa r t of secula r a n d sa cr ed
.
14 6 CH OI R AN D CH O R U S CO NDUCT I NG .

m u si c i s to b e sung on me dium for m given selec tion m a y ,

. A
by e on of
r as cha nge of style , r equir e the u se of ea ch for m i n
a lter n a tion .

La r ge For m —
M outh w ell open . P r eli min a r y dri ll , as a b ove ,
on
“ ” “ ” “ ”
Ah, aw , a nd
oh , p r efixe d by l , n , t , ( 1, th ( in
”
thou ) v , a n d m N ext a solemn or gra n d a nthem r equi ri ng
.
,

br ea d th a n d ful n e ss in ton e a n d ph r a sin g for i ts a d equa te

i n ter pr eta tio n , a s, Blesse d J esu , Fount O f M er cy ”
by
”
D vor ak ; I n fla mm a tu s, Ro ssi n i ; “
H ea r Ja co b s G od, ” ’

“ ”
( S a mson ) H a n d el C r e do , ( M 8886 S olenn elle ) G ouno d .

Time i s sa ved by givi ng some dr ill in a ccentua ti on , prim a r y

”
a n d secon da r y , On a mo n oto n e to the syll a b le la h This .

develop s a feeling for a ccen t , w hile the m i n d i s n ot tr ou ble d

w i th pr ob lem s Of cha ngi n g p i t ch , enunci a ti on a n d a c cent a t ,

the sa me tim e .

k in ds of mea sure a n d r hythm should r ecei ve a tten

A ll

F
tion Pa rt icula r ca r e should b e ta ken to develop a feeling for
.

secon da r y a ccents or exa mple :.

ma y be a ccente d in tw o w a y s .
! See C ha pter on Ti me

ver y light pr essur e shoul d b e given to the fi r st note of

A

F
ea ch gr oup of note s ta king the time of a b ea t In this way .

rhythmic gr ouping i s ma de clea r or exa mple .

148 CH O I R AND C H O RU s CO NDUCT I NG .

The first sen tence m ay be u tter ed w ith br ight tone a nd ,

the sec on d w ith da r k to ne th roughout To do thi s successfully .

the singers mu st b e a sked to a ssume for the moment tha t they , ,

a r e a c tu a lly exp r essi n g thei r own feeli ngs i n the l a ngu a ge u sed .

The tone if the voca l or ga n s a r e fr ee w ill n a tura lly b e da r ker

, ,

“ ”
or mo r e somb r e i n the secon d th a n i n the fi r st sentence .

Th is i s the gr ea t pri nc iple un der lying a r ti stic tone color i n g for -

si n g in g .

E a sy pl eces I n w h i ch the se n ti ment i s a lte r n a tely joyou s

a n d sa d m a y ne x t b e u se d a n d the c ho ir a ske d to d e scr i b e
, ,

i n the i r ow n l a ngu a ge the cha nge Of senti ment or moo d l i ne

, ,

b y l i ne . N ext they m a y be a ske d to sing r eta in i n g the menta l

, ,
“ ”
p i ctur e a s descr ib e d Th is w ill a i d in givi ng a pp r op r ia te
.

color Of tone a s the text i s del iver e d

,
.

Sentences for dr ill on b r ight tone a r e

”
Ha il , sm iling mor n .

Bri ghtly glow s the da y ”

.

“ ”
Sw eet spri ng i s her e .

”
Ha r k ha r k , the la r k
,
.

“
M a y , lovely smi ling M a y ”
.
,

F or da rk tone
“ ”
I a m so sa d .

“
Thou a r t gone to the gra ve ”
.

“ ”
Weep I sr a el w eep
, ,
.

“
Ha r k from the tomb s a doleful soun d I
,

The tone s of the scale ha ve ea ch a specia l effect B ob i s .

F
“ “
descri be d as the str ong a n d fir m tone Re the hop eful or
“ “
r ou si n g tone ; Mi the ca l m tone ah the desola te or
“
a w e i n sp i r i n g tone
-
Sol th e g ra n d clea r or tr umpet tone ,
“ “
L ah the w eeping or sorr ow ful tone ; T i ( or Si ) the ,
”
se n si ti ve , p i er c i n g or b e see ch i ng tone
,
Ob vi ou sly dr ill for .
,

sk i ll i n tone color i n g ca n b e ma de mor e effecti ve w hen c on

ducte d with the u se, not only Of a pp r opri a te text , b u t a l so of

 T H E CH O I R . 14 9

a ppr opria te inte rva l s The b right tone ca n , then , be most

.

qui ckly developed on the a rpeggi o , doh, mi , sol ; a nd th e

”
da r k tone on the a rpeggi o , la h, doh, mi .

The C hoir C on ducto r m a y e x pect to mee t di fficul ty in

tea chi g or developi ng tone colori n g
n - A mer ica n s ( or the
.
,

A n glo S
-
a xon s, ) a e so s
r elf c on sciou
- s,
self -r ep r essed ,
th a t they
feel em b a rr a sse d as though m a ki n g them sel v e s r i di culou s,
,

w hen e n d ea vo r i n g to give them selve s up to the feel ing of the

te x t a n d to sin g emoti o n a lly B ut qui et , ki n dly per seve ra nce
,
.

b y the tea che r w i ll do w on de r s in thi s connecti o n A little.

w or k on th e e x er ci se s given w ill soon form in the si nge rs the

,

ha bi t of givi ng them selves up to the emotiona l content O f the

tex t a n d mu sic , a n d the r e sult w ill be cho ra l singing w hich ,
though po ssibly techn ica lly defective in some respects, will
thrill the hea rt .

C HA PT E R X VI .

T he inger needs mor e tha n the living b rea th

s .

It i s the b rea th i n the chest un der contr olle d pressure on

w hi ch the voice i s sa i d to lea n a n d wh i ch gives the full , clea r
note .

The voca l in str ument i s sometimes referr ed to as a n

A eol ia n h a r p The b r ea th i s not to r u sh b u t to floa t a cr o ss
.

the stri ngs ( through the thr oa t ) a n d thu s m a ke sw eet mu si c .

D r ill for br ea th control h a s a l r ea dy been dea lt with in a

genera l w a y .

In or der to phr a se w ell the lungs mu st a t a ll times b e w ell

supplied w ith b r ea th Singers mu st therefore lea rn
.

( )
1 To me a sure the phra se with the eye , hol ding it in
mi n d a s a unit, not as a seri es of in divi dua l notes, before
15 0 CH O I R AND C H O RU s C O ND U CT I NG .

dr a w ing b r ea th This wi ll en sure the taking Of a supply of

.

b r ea th commen sura te wi th the length a n d cha ra cter of th e

phrase .

( )
2 To hu sb a n d the b r ea th , e spe c i a lly th a t w h i ch
r ema i n s a t the e n d of a phr ase This prevent s the colla p se of
.

the chest so common with b a d singer s, a n d a con sequent jer ky

inha la tion for the succee ding ph ra se .

( )
3 To ta ke the qu i ck o r h a lf -b re a th noi sele ss ly ,
a n d
w ithout di sturb ing shoul der s thr oa t ja w or tongu e , ,
.

Dr ill for N O 1 w i ll suggest itself to the choir di r ector

.
-
.

Si ngers shoul d be en coura ged to rea d a hea d in mu si c , a s in

r ea di ng or di na r y pr i nt .

1
*

D ri ll for N O 2 ca n b e given. on a hymn tu n e a ski n g the ,

si ngers to stop for one b ea t a t the en d of a line , ( ta ki ng no

“
n ew br ea th , ) a n d then to si ng Ah for four slow counts w ith
full voice a n d goo d qua li ty .

D rill for N O 3 m a y be h a d on the scale sung to the vow el

.

“ ”
Ah . Br ea th m a y b e ta ken a fter ea ch gr oup Of tw o note s,
then thr ee etc The sca le must b e sung strictly in time a n d
,
.
,

the br ea th ta ken in the time of the last n ote of a gr oup by a ,

qu i ck light outwa r d movement a t wa ist-centre in front , a nd

, ,

a t ba ck un der shoul der-b la des .

1
’
See A rt of Singing .
— Wm . Shak espeare .
15 2 CH OI R AND CH O RU s C O NDUCT I NG .

CH A PT E R XVIII .

H ym n -s in gin g .
— C hoi r hym n s shoul d
-
pr a cti sed w i th be
especia l r efer en ce to exp r essi o n T h e object i s ei ther to ma k e
.

a n i mpr e ssi o n upo n the co n gr ega ti o n to cr ea te a mood or to —

voi ce for the people , p r a yer a sp i ra ti on p r ai se etc

, , , ,
.

D ri ll in these hymn s shoul d b e especia lly dir ecte d to the

followi ng po i nts

( )
1 Study of the mea ni n g of the w or ds of ea ch lin e , as
w ell a s of e a ch sta nza .

( )
2 V a r i a tion of tempo as w ell as o f ,
po w e r a n d tone
color .

( )
3 D i stinctne ss of enunci a tion a n d a rt i cula tion .

( )
4 A voi d a nce of the Sp i r i t of c hoi r di sp la y or concert -

pe rfo r m a nce

The hym n s
and
.

“
“

M (
L uz B enigna ,
the
er r i ot, D ”
a y i s b“
y
”
by
N ow
Dykes ( Lea d,
“
,
K in dly

Ba r n by , a r e sugge ste d for stu dy i n thi s conn ecti on .

C ongr ega ti ona l hymn s should b e studi ed w ith especia l

reference to the follow ing poi nts
( )
1 P r eci si on tta ck a n d release
of a .

Ste d i ne ss of te m po
( )
2 a .

Sh r p defin ition of r hythm

( )
3 a .

The choi r pr epa ra ti on sho ul d b e for l ea di ng a n d en cou r

-

a ging the congr eg a ti on i n the hymn si ngi ng

-
.

When a congrega tion la gs these devices m a y be u sed

( )
1 D emi sta cca to
- deliver y of a lin e or tw o by orga n
a nd choi r .
 T HE CHOI R . 15 3

( )
The r elea se of the fin a l note of the phrase a moment
2
too soon Thi s w i ll u sua lly b r ea k a congrega tion of the ha bit
.

of holding on to the fina l note of the phra se .

( )
3 The s light a nticip a tion of the fir st b ea t of the

O rga n a n d choir mu st of course w or k together in the use

, ,

of the se dev i ce s .It is of little u se to si ng more lou dly , or try

to hu r ry w ithi n the phra se .

A ll th a t h a s he r eto for e b een sta te d a s re q ui r e d for a rti stic

chora l si ngi n g a ppl i e s to the deli ver y of the choir hymn It i s .

a que sti on h ow much ca n b e d one i n the w a y of expre ssive

deli v ery by the choir a n d orga n in the congr ega ti on a l hymn .

C i r cum sta nces mu st gover n w ha t i s po ssible w ith one con gre

ga t i on i s not w i th a nother . The point to be b orne in mi n d i s
to tr a in the choi r to lea d , a n d to encourage the people to sing
in the congrega tiona l hymn s .

“
G o spel hymn s ca ll for no specia l drill , except po ssi bly
in the ma tter of r hyt hmic a ccura cy gi v ing a ll note s their d ue
.
—

va lu e a n d i n the a voi da nce of slurring

—
.

Some time m ay be given to cha nti ng , followi ng the drill

upon hymn s Thi s drill should b e directed to the following
.

p oint s :

( )
1 A di stinct ,
dignifie d ( not hurrie d ) delivery of th e
Rec ita tion .

( )
2 The delivery of the ca dence in strict time .
1 54 CH OI R AND CH O R U s C O NDUCT I NG .

C HA PT E R XIX .

T a k in g u p ne w m u sia
The following suggestion s a r e
—

m a de w i th a v i ew to the sa vi ng of ti me a n d la b or , a s w ell a s
to securi n g a r ti stic r e sults
Ha ve the w or ds of the text r ea d in con cert om i tti ng ,

r e petiti o n s
. A sk for op i n i on s a s to genera l cha r a cter of the
text , a s : joyou s or sa d
, .

Ca ll a ttention to va r ia ti on of senti ment emotiona l cli ma xes,

,

im agery e m ploye d a n d desc r i pti ve pa ssa ges .

Ha ve the four vo ca l p a r t s pl a y e d i n str i ct tempo Requ i r e .

ea ch di vi sion to follo w w i th the eye w hile l i ste n in g .

Ha ve on e move m ent sung thr ough a t a mo der a te pa ce ,

m a king no stop s, no m a tter w ha t er r or s a r e com mi tte d .

In str uct the si nger s to go for w a r d a s w ell a s they ca n Thi s .

develop s confi d ence , a n d a b il i ty to rea d nota ti o n r ea dily .

A sk for Opi n i o n s as to the gener a l c ha r a cter of the mu sic ,

a s sa d or j oyou s, etc a l so va r i a ti on , if a n y , in ch a r a cter of
.

phr a se s or secti on s .

Ca ll a tten tion to the cha ra cter i sti c r hythmi c a n d melo dic

figur es of w hich th e movem ent i s c om po sed a l so to i ts ton a l i ty
a n d p r e d omin a nt ha r mon i es U se a n in str ument to illustra te
.

w ha t i s sa i d .

While the singing i s going on , the D ir ector shoul d note

err ors a n d poi nts of difficulty , espe ci a lly a s to r hythm i n te rv a l , ,

intona tion , compa ss len gth of phr ase a n d execution

,
.

P ra ctice unu sua l or difficult r hythm s upon a monotone ,

a t medium pitch , to la h next w ith w or ds, a n d lastly w ith
w or ds an d m usic .

A n u n usual or difficult inte rva l shoul d b e pla yed un til its

156 CH O I R AN D CH O RU s CO ND U CT I NG .

con struction of the mu si c A cho i r w hich h a s been l ed to

.

di scover h ow a n ew selection i s m a de or put together i s sure ,

to sing w ith intell igen c e a n d to r eta in a n i nter est i n its w ork .

In r ea di ng n ew musi c , mi sta kes a s to rhythm a n d interva l

shoul d neve r b e over looke d A fter the fi r st r ea din g w i thout
.

stop the e r r or s mu st b e dea lt w i th as sep a r a te i tem s

,
It i s of .

little u se to sing a whole secti on or phr a se repea te dly i n th e

h Op e th a t err or s wi ll someho w di sa ppea r They a r e much
.

mor e li kely to b ecome confi r med .

When pra cti sing a difficult p a ssa ge it i s u sua lly b est to

first ta ke i t slo w ly a n d to gra d ua lly a ugment the ra te of
,

movement .

Pe rfectin g M usic —
I t i s w ell to perfect one selection , i f
po ssib le , a t ea ch r ehea rsa l .

The singer s shoul d be note perfect in the selection , so tha t

-

time ca n be given to points of expr essi on a n d style .

W hen thi s selection h a s been gone thr ough w ithout a

b r ea k , wi th the a cco m p a ni m ent , i t m a y b e su n g , a cap ella .

O n ly w hen a num b er h a s b een w ell sung , w i thout the a i d of

i n struments, ca n it b e sa i d th a t it h as b een per fecte d by the
choir .
 T HE CH OI R . 15 7

C HA PT E R XX .

H ints on Choir Prepara tion For giving a choir con fi

.
—

de nce noth i n g equa ls much dri lli ng i n una ccompa n i e d si nging .

A selecti on shoul d b e sun g throughout a t lea st once w ith

Ou t e rr or b e for e i t i s per forme d .

Some di r ector s a n d choi r s spen d much time upon the

mo st pleasi ng or lea st di ffi cult p a rt s of a compo sition O n .

the contr a r y , the mor e difficul t pa rts shoul d ha ve mo st

a ttention.

P o i nts of da nger , ( such a s a su dden cha nge of meas ure or

tona li ty , the pla cing of one chor us a fter a nother w ithout brea k
or pa u se , or the a ssoci a ti on of d ecla ma tor y a n d d eta ched
ph ra se s w ith a continuous solo pa r t ) shoul d be r ehea r sed un til
,

they a r e the b e st know n po r tion s of a compositi on

-
.

In a n or a tori o the fin a l chor us i s u sua lly one of the m o st

di ffi cult a n d i s o ften sl ighte d Thi s i s a mi sta ke It should
. .

b e thor oughly pr ep a re d The la st impression m a de ought a t

.

lea st to be a goo d on e .

Inter est i s increa sed a n d l a bor lessened b y rehea rsing di ffi

c ult a n d easy selecti on s in a lter n a tion .

It is w ell to put in rehea r sa l w hen po ssi ble se lection s for

, ,

ma le a n d fema le voices sep a ra tely Thi s gives v ar iety a n d

.

rests the voice s .

The simulta neous ri sing a n d sitting of a chor a l body i s to

b e pra cti sed in the r ehea r sa l room— not befor e a n a u di ence .

The singer s shoul d be i n structed to ri se a t a given si gn a l ( the —

qu ieter the si gn a l the b etter ) a n d to sta n d motionle ss when

once upon thei r feet .

Singer s shoul d not sing i nto the mu sic b ook .

158 CH O I R A N D CH O R U s CO NDUCT I NG .

The singer wh o wa nts to be hea r d a bove or longer tha n

the choir shoul d be supp r e ssed .

S inger s shoul d not be kept long upon pitches in the upper

thir d of their r a nge E xper t voca l tea cher s do not per mit
.

their pup il s to pr a cti ce upon their extreme notes They m ay

.

touch them occa si on a lly tha t i s a ll

—
.

In ca ses w her e solo a n d chora l p a rt s of a number a ltern a te,

a n d the solo s a r e to b e sung by a fo r e ign a rti st it i s w ell to
,

h a ve a loca l singer ta ke the solo pa rt a t rehea r sa l s so tha t the ,

chor u s m ay b ecome a ccu stome d ther eto In such ca se , too , a

.

sub stitute w ill b e rea dy shoul d the fo r e i gn si nger fa il to a rri ve .

The D irector shoul d sing for the choir , in illu stra tion ,
never w ith them .

H e shoul d li ste n to the choir , occasion a lly , a t a con sider

a ble di sta nce. D efects will thus be di scovered w hich w ould
otherw i se b e over looked .

The orga ni st w h o i s a l so a ccompa ni st , shoul d a r r a nge h is

regi stra ti on a n d h a ve a nother pl a y , o cca siona lly , w hile he
listens, a t a dista nce, to ch oir a nd organ .
1 60 CH OI R AN D C H O RU s C O NDUCT I NG .

Where the m a le contingent i s compa ra tively w ea k

w ell to b r i ng the tenor s a n d ba sse s nea rest the a udience .

i s sometimes pa rtia lly a ccompli shed thus

The mo st common a rr a n gement of a sma ll b o dy of mixed

v oi ce s i s th i s

‘
When w or k s ca lling for a doub le choi r a r e performed , it i s
b est to a rr a nge for a complete choir on ei ther si de of the .

con ductor .

The orchestra m a y be sea te d thu s

The per formers shoul d be sea ted q ui etly , an d in thei r

pl a ces b efore the a ppea ra nce of the con ductor .
 SE R VI E C AN D CO N CE RT . 16 1

CH A PT E R I I .

T he Choir in Concert Perform ance The choir Should

—

k now i ts m u si c so w e ll tha t the fa i lu r e of a c compa nying orga n

or o r c he stra w i ll ca u se no em ba rr a ssment O rga n motors a r e
.

rt i cul a r ly u n r eli a b le A c ho i r tr a i ne d to si ng wi tho ut a ecom

p a .

a n im en t i s i n d epen dent of the o r ga n

p .

I f a n or che str a i s to b e em ploye d, it shoul d be thoroughly

r e h ea r sed
. O r chestr a l pla yers a r e often in dolent a nd sometimes
i n di ff er ent . They w ill r ehea r se as li ttle as po ssi ble The choi r .

shoul d kno w i ts mu si c ver y w ell b efore rehea r sing w i th the

or chestra . O therw i se ther e w i ll b e confu si on a n d a gr ea t

w a ste of ti me a n d la b or .

”
R ehea r se
, rehea r se , rehea r se , a n d a ga in rehea r se .

A fter the chor us kno w s i ts mu sic , a s m a n y rehea r sa l s a s

po ssib le of chor us wi th or chestr a Sho ul d b e held .

Specia l r ehea r sa l s of the la dies by them selves a n d like wi se

of the gentlemen a lone a r e econom i c a l .

A chor a l b o dy , as w ell a s a solo singer , m ay b e a ffected b y

nervou sness or sta ge fr ight The mu si c soun ds ver y odd to
.
,

F
the a m a teur chor a l i st in the concer t h all a s comp a r ed w ith
, ,

i ts efi e ct in the r ehea r sa l room or thi s a n d other r ea son s it

.

i s w ell to ha ve a t lea st one r ehea r sa l i n the a u di to r i um i n

w hich the c oncert i s to b e given Well mea ning b u t fu ssy
.
-

frien ds a n d cr i tica l a dmir er s sho ul d b e kept out of the chor us

room until a fter the con cert .
16 2 H OI R
C AN D CHORU S CO ND U CT I NG .

C H A PT E R III .

T he Conductor in Perform ance The con ductor will do

—

w ell to look over h is mu sic , or a t lea st the mo r e i mporta nt

numbers th er eof, immedia tely b efor e a per for m a nce .

The con ductor shoul d fa ce h i s for ces w i th a smiling coun

ten a n c e
. Shoul d he b e ner vou s or a nx i ou s, he mu st not b etra y
hi s feelings, or the per for mer s w ill b ecome troub le d a n d fea rful .

A t a ll points of po ssib le da nger , such as diffi c ult en tri es,

etc , the con ductor shoul d w a tch hi s for ces to see th a t they a r e
.

rea dy be for e the moment for a tta ck a rr ive s N ei ther chor a l

.

i sts, o r che stra pla yer s, nor soloi sts ca n b e depen de d upon to b e
a l wa y s rea dy .

The con ductor sta n ds b etw een the compo ser a n d the
li stener a s a n interp r eter Upon him re sts the respon sibility
.

for securi ng a n a dequ a te inter pr eta ti on of the compo sition .

H e i s ther efore of necessity cl othe d w ith equa lly com pn eh en d

sive a uthor ity . Soloi sts as w ell a s chor u s singer s a n d or ches

tra l pl a yers a r e p r oper ly un der hi s dir ection I f a Si nger b e
.

incompetent , he w ill r efu se to con duc t for such I f a Singer .

be competent a n d experience d, the con ducto r w i ll not tr y to

impose h i s w il l upon the a rtist a s to m a tter s of style in dcli v
ery concer ning w hi ch per son s of ta ste m a y differ b u t w ill ,

furni sh a di screet sympa thetic a ccompa n iment w hich sha ll

,

do ju stice to the vocal , a s w ell a s to the in str umenta l p a rt of a

compo sition . If how ever , the soloi st shoul d for a n y rea son
,

in d ulge in a del i very w hich w oul d ten d to r ob the mu sic of i ts

legitima te efiec t i t i s the con ductor s duty to p r otest The
,
’
.

so loi st h a s h i s ri ghts ; h e mu st b e given a la r ge me as ure of

1 64 CH OI R AND CH OR U S C O NDUCT I NG .

O f H a n s Ri chter s con ducting thi s E ngli sh w riter sa ys it

’

i s m a r ked by Splen di d b r ea dth soli di ty a n d ri chness, a n d a b ove

,

“
a ll , b y unva r y i n g a ccur a cy a n d hi gh ser i ou sne ss H e h as .

w o r ke d up de ta il so fa r a s h e th i n k s pr oper a t the r ehea r sa l s

, , .

A t th e p er for m a n ce he lets it look l a r gely a fte r i t sel f A n d so .

w e get th a t feel i ng of br ea dth of r e stra i n e d str ength , of d eep

,

a n d spl e n di d ca lm the c on ductor b en ds hi m self to the ta sk of

ge tti ng o n ly w ha t ca n be got ea sily b efor e a n a u di en c e the ,

str o n g l ights a n d sh a do w s, the sub tle va r i a t i on s of te m po .

Tha t i s th e mo st Ob v i ous pa rt of Richte r s techn ique ; a n d no

’

on e shoul d over look the fa ct th a t hi s b ea t mea n s someth i ng to

ev er y mem b er of hi s b a n d , tha t he h as p ra cti sed a n d Ob ser ved

un til he h as lea r ned h ow to ma ke hi s men pla y softer or
lou der fa ster or slow er w ith the sma ll e st possib le expen diture
,
”
of effor t u on h i s own pa rt
p .

In these m a tters Theo dor e Thoma s of the Chi cago O rchestr a

a n d Ri chter a r e much a l i ke A n d they a r e e x cellent mo del s
.

for gr o wi ng con d u c tors E xce ss of effort a n d ge sture on the

.

pa r t of a con ductor detra c ts fr om the efiectiv en ess of a

per for ma nce I f a con d uctor mu st sa w a b out a n d b ea t the
.

a i r , let h i m do i t o n ly in the r ehea r sa l r oom .

H in ts When a con ductor know s a scor e

.
—
by hea r t h e h as
pow er over hi s for ces .

When a con ductor fa ll s to sta mp i ng w ith hi s foot it i s a

sign of w ea kne ss H e h as lost c on trol of hi mself a n d of the
.

perfor mer s .

When a con ductor b ea ts tune for a solo voi ce or a qua rte t

a ccomp a n i ed b y one in str umen t only , i t i s a Si gn th a t the

pe r for mer s a r e not fit to appe ar or th a t the con d u c tor ha s an

i tch for w a v i n g the stick .

The con ti nui ty of the stor y of a w or k : ca nta ta or ,

ora tor io Shoul d not be br oken by the repetition of a numb er

,

in a nsw er to a ppla use .

 SE RVI CE AN D C O NCE R T . 165

When a choir sings fla t w i th or ga n a ccomp a niment it i s a

mi sta ke to dra w a dditi ona l po w er ful stop s A softer or ga n , .

wi th m uch str ing to n e , a n d four foot flute stop s i s help ful

- .

When gi vi ng a w or k in w hi ch ther e a r e fr equen t a n d

extreme cha n ges of tempo , i t i s w ell to go over these pa r ts
w ith a metronome shortly b efor e the perfor m a nce .

The con ductor shoul d a r r a n ge for the si multa neou s r i sin g

a n d sitt i ng of the chor u s d u r i ng the per for m a nce of a ca nta ta
“ ” ”
or or a to ri o It i s w ell to m a r k the scor e Ri se a n d Sit
.
,

a s ther e i s da nger th a t , in the multipli ci ty of d eta i ls w hich

cr o w d upon the con ductor he m a y over look thi s one a t some

,

po i nt duri ng the per for ma nce , with re sulting emba rra ssment
to a ll concer n e d .

The e ou s m in ded con ducto r w ill di scourage the encore

s ri -

fien d A pr ogra m if properly ma de , 1 s complete , a n d repeti

.
,

tion s or i n ter pola ti on s i nj ur e it .

When a n or chestra i s employed Opportunity shoul d be

given for tun ing b etw een the pa rts or di vi si on s of a ca nta ta or

or a tor io .

-b ea ter
T he N eed for a Conductor time . A
d uri ng per
for m a n ce i s not nece ssa r y for a qu a r tet or doub le qu a rtet choir -
.

The dir ecto r w h o i s a l so one of th e si n ger s i s in clo ser touch

w ith the qua rtet i n per form a nce a n d h as b etter contr ol of the
,

si nging , tha n the dir ector w h o i s a l so the orga ni st The .

or ga n i st di r ector i s usua lly pla ce d b eh i n d the qua rtet , a n d,

-

ther efor e , ca nnot w ell j udge of the effect of the si ngi ng .

“
Ther e w a s never a n i dea l chur ch service in w hich the
musi ca l pa r t w as con d ucted by an or ga ni st , enga ged in pla ying
”
the or ga n F H Tubb s
. . . .

The chor u s cho ir , for the b e st w or k , needs the dir ection of

a compete nt con ductor in perfor m a nce .

“
The church choir i s b ut a ch ora l so ciety ha ving a s pecia l
166 CH OI R AN D CH OR U S CO ND U CT I NG .

Ofli ce . In e ssentia l req uirements in the lea der ,

a ch u rch choir nee ds the sa me k i n d of a m a n a n d mu si cia n
”
w hich the society ha s . F H Tubb s
. . .

In ca thedra l s a n d chur ches w her e much ela bora te mu si c

i s b ei ng done , the only w ay to get the b est perform a nce , i s b y
ha vi n g a con ductor . Thi s i s b ecom ing mor e a n d mor e
cu stoma r y , an d i n thi s case the or ga ni st w ould b e subo r di n a te
”
to the con ductor . Sir G eorge M artin , of St Pa ul s, Lon don ,
’
.

E ngla n d .
1 68 CH OI R A N D CH OR US CO NDU CT I N G .

The chief recru iting groun d i s the Sunday

Organiza tionr —
school The chi ldren if encouraged to do so will bring can
.
, ,

didates from among thei r fr ien ds in th e school and the h ome .

T he D irector must examine each voice sep ar ately and privately .

The child with a n aturally sweet voice, though a wea k one ,

will be p referred to the child with a strong bu t coarse voi ce .

A t thi s point it ma y be w ell to say that th e contr olling p r inciple

in deal ing with the voices of childr en should be voice-con serva
“

”
tion . The n atura l u nforced tone of the average chi ld voice
, ,

when the little singer i s w ell a n d happy i s mu si cal A ll so

,
.

called training of th e child voi ce should h ave for i ts m ain obj ect
the con ser v ation of thi s n atur al be auty of voi ce when u se d in
song The chi ld should be encour aged to keep ever in mi nd
.

“ ”
the motto sing softly and sweetly whether on high or low
, ,

pitches and whether in solo or choru s performan ce

, .

C lasses of children for tr aining in mu sic prop erly chosen

“ ”
for thei r u se in singing for pleasur e ma y a dmit member s at
Six year s of age or even younger
, .

If the class or choir i s to sing regul arly in servi ce or con

cert it i s well in mo st ca ses not to admit a boy or girl bel ow
, , ,

nine year s of age to full m ember ship A boy i s u sually of little

.

ser v i ce to a choi r be for e h e i s ten year s of a ge B oys of eight .

a n d nine m ay be a llow ed to a tten d r ehea rsal s to get th e r mitine

of choi r work an d m ay perhap s occa sion ally sing a t a service

,

with th e older boys bu t they shou ld n ot be expected to do th e

,

full serv i ce work except in case of ear ly physi cal development

, ,

until ten or eleven year s of age A gi rl wh o i s com p aratively

.

ma ture at nin e year s ma y be admi tted with boys of tha t age

to a choi r of boys an d gi rl s wher e th er e i s car e ful tr ai ni ng and ,

the choir i s asked to do only an occa sion al servi ce or concert ,

an d th en in only the most carefully cho sen mu si c so th a t th ere ,

“ ”
will be no danger of for cin g th e voice b ec au se of too low or
too hi gh pitches tone su sta ined too long or b ecau se the music
, ,
“ ”
ca lls for too much full voice singing -
.
 T H E C H OI R . 1 69

If regular sta ted service is r equi red the child singers should
, ,

be put on sa lary an d subjecte d to a system of fines a t the dis ,

cr eti on of the D i r e ctor for non a tten dan ce ta r din ess or i n fra c
,
-
,

ti on of di sciplin e Such i mposition of fin es should h owev er be

.
, ,

done a ccor ding to a system impar ti a lly a dmi ni stered th e child

, ,

ha ving been tol d upon joining th e ch oir exactly wh at ar e th e

, ,

r equi r em ent s .N o on e is quicker th an a chil d to sen se an d r e

sent p a r ti a lity or inju sti ce in th e a dm ini str ati on of a n or g an i z a

tion a n d no one m or e r ea dy to r en der obedience an d gi ve re sp ect

,

wh en assu r ed by exp er i en ce tha t r ul es ar e ma de to b e ob eye d ,

a n d th a t th e D i r ecto r i s f ai r a n d j u st in h i s con du ct of th e

a ffa i r s of the choi r .

Chi ldr en ar e sen siti ve a s to dress a n d for thi s r ea son ch il ,

“ ”
dr en s choirs shou ld be vested
’
Childr en s cla sses should a t
.
’

lea st be r equ ired to rem ove thei r ha ts at r eh earsal s a s well as ,

a t con c er ts
.

T h e p r oblem of the chil dr en s ch oi r or cl ass i s to ar ou se

’

a n d su sta in inter e st Speci al r ew ar ds an d h on or s for regula r ity

.

of a ttendan ce an d punctuality hav e been tr ied w ith su ccess ,

varying a cc or din g to ci r cu mst an ces T h e chil d w ill be p r esent .

r ovi ded th e c o Op er a ti on of th e p a r en t h a s
a t each reh ea r sa l
( p -

fir st been secu r ed) if h e or she i s r eally inter ested in th e w ork .

T h e keepi n g u p of the ch il d s in ter est i s th e D ir e ctor s bu si

’ ’

ness . Fr equ ent publi c app earan ces ar e h elpful C hildr en like .

to si n g for th e joy it br ings them an d th ey al so like to h a ve ,

thei r r ela ti v es an d fr i en ds h ea r th em si n g T h e gr ea test in flu .

en ce in th i s c onn ecti on h ow e ver i s th e skill of th e teacher

, ,

in th e w ork of th e r ehear sal r oom S tr i ct bu t kin dly di scipline

.

i s al so a f a ctor Reh ear sal s sh ou l d b egin be car r i ed on an d

.
,

closed in a n or der ly m a nn er Th i s incr ea ses r esp ect for th e

.

organiz ati on a n d help s to r etai n inter est

, .

The aver age a ge of the Chi ldren s Ch oi r or C la ss w ill so ’

, , ,

far a s the higher age li m it i s con cern ed be bounded in th e case

-
,
”
of the boys by th e p er io d of th e
“
ch ange of voi ce In some .
170 C H OI R A N D CH OR U S C O NDU CT I N G .

e thi s i s noticed a t thirteen ; sometimes not till over sixteen ;

cas s

u sually aroun d four teen yea rs of age Thi s fa ct in the life .

of the boy s voice m akes it necessa ry for th e D irector to be

’

constan tly on the wa tch for sign s of the change in the voices
of hi s boys so tha t he m ay recl assify the voi ce or otherw i se
,

m an age it so th at it m ay not be injured a n d th e qu ality of

, ,

the choir w or k su fier T h e gi rl s w ill usually want to w ithdraw

.

from the children s choi r a s soon as they have the feeling tha t
’

“ ”
they a r e getting too big to sing w ith ch ildr en .

Use of a Chur ch Ch oir of Chi ldr en T h e C hi ldr en s C hoir

’
—

c an best be u se d to supplement th e singing of th e a dult choir ,

eith er r egula r ly or upon o ccasion thu s gi v ing va r i ety an d fuller

,

exp r ession to the mu sica l p ar t of th e service and making a u se ,

of the child materi a l in the congregati on and community whi ch

re-acts f avor a bly u pon the chi ldr en a nd upon the lives of th e

F
a dul t portion of the chur ch a nd commu n ity a s w ell .

or a long time an d in ma ny pl aces exp er t voc al te a cher s

h ave know n that the singi ng a s conducted in th e publ ic sch ools

h as resulted in such h ar m to the voi ces of the chil dr en a s to
di scour age many of them f rom a ttempting to sin g in la ter life .

In the case of some students wh o on leaving school took up , ,

the study of singing it h a s been difficult to get them back upon

,

tha t n a tural basi s of singing whi ch i s essen ti al er e th e rea l w ork

of a dult voi ce develop m ent an d tr a ining for a r ti stic singing can
-

be entered up on To-day in som e publi c sch ools the tea ching

.
, ,

of sight singi ng and choru s singi n g i s carr i ed on with c ar eful

regard to the proper u se of the voice and childr en f rom such ,

school s m ay be expected to come to the voc a l te a cher in con

dition to proceed at on ce w ith their mor e a dvan ced stu di es In .

other school s the study of r ea ding by n ote i s str essed and little
a ttention p ai d to th e k in d of ton e u sed in the doi n g of th e

Sight singin g an d chor al wor k

- In cer tain in stances wher e p ar t
.

singi ng i s in dulged in it w oul d see m th a t not tone-qu ality bu t

,

the holding of the p art secu rely i s the chi e f en d in vi ew .

1 72 C H OI R A N D C H ORU S C O NDU CT I N G .

down to qui te low p itches in th e wom a n s voi ce bu t th e tone

’
,
“
i s comp aratively wea k on the lower notes It i s thi s H ead
.

” ’
voi ce quality which th e trainer of chil dr en s voi ces mu st work
for an d bring down to their lowest notes H e must lea d them
, .

to such a na tura l unfor ced u se of their voices as w ill en able

,
“ ”
the Head-voice qua li ty to Show itsel f Thi s it w ill do with .
,

th e grea t ma jority of children girl s an d boys wh en they try to

, ,

sing softly an d sw eetly in th e u pp er p a r t of thei r com ass w ith

p ,

the fee ling th at singing i s th e expr ession of happin ess .

“ ”
It is thi s Head voice whi ch certain tr a iner s r efer to when
they speak of the T HI N regi ster .

“
F irst exerci ses for chi ldren in th e development of the He a d
”
voi ce should p roceed from a given pitch D OWN WA RD or ,

”
the H ea d voice ma y be gotten by leap fr om a soft short tone
“
,

to the fif th or octave above .

T h e i mport ant point i s th a t h aving foun d th e H e a d voi c e

“ ”
,

on a compar atively high pitch th e chil dr en should be led to

,

know its qua lity and to carry tha t quality downw ard thr ough
the whole com p a ss .

“ ”
T h e ca rrying of H ea d voi ce to the b ottom of th e com
p ass a ssures mellow expressive mi ddle an d low tone s Though
, .

the l atter m ay not b e str ong they will alw ays be mu sic al ex
, ,

r essive blen dable an d the singer s will sing in tun e

p , ,
.

Chi ldr en s choir s should do mu ch uni son singing a nd not

’
,

a t too low pi tch es . Wh en tw o-p art singing i s enter ed up on th e ,

singer s shoul d not be divi ded into tr ebl es ( sop r a nos) a n d a ltos ,

bu t con si der ed a s SOpr an os an d a ltern ate upon th e low er p ar t

,
.

If there b e a chil d voi ce whi ch show s a n atu ral tendency to

grea ter breadth an d lower pitch than the avera ge an excepti on ,

m ay be m ade in hi s or her case bu t the in structor sh oul d c ar e

,

fully w a tch an d often r e ex amzine su ch voices for th ey m ay

-
,

change quite suddenly in ch aracter .

T h e point i s to a voi d keeping sopr an os wh o can read r ea d

“ ”
fly an d hol d the p ar t u p on a lower p ar t me rely becau se of
 T H E C H OI R . 1 73

the facts ju st stated and thu s ru nning the ri sk of their de

,
“ ”
v eloping a so-called chest tone which i s contrary to the nature
“ ”
of their voi ces really a throaty tone of unmu sical quali ty
,
.

Th i s i s bad for the indivi dual singer and injur iou s to th e ton e
qua lity of the whole body of singer s and tends to ca u se singing
,

out of tune .

T hese rem arks hold good with regar d to the u se of thr ee

p art music for chil dren s choir s L et it be dealt with for the
’
.
,

most p ar t as written for thr ee equa l Voi ces tr ebles and th e

, , ,
“ ”
childr en a llowed to sing e ach p a rt in tur n If H ead voi ce i s
.

u sed no chil d c an injur e hi s voi ce by singing th e upper p ar t

,
.

“ ”
In the ca se of the na tural alto whether boy or gir l ther e
, ,
“ ”
should al so be tr a ining to develop H ead voi ce and th e singer ,
“
ta ught to carry it to as low a pitch as possible For H ead .

”
voi ce I S loose fr ee thr oat Without the norm al n atural a ction
,
.
,

of th e vocal or ga ns it w ill not soun d If chil dren with n atu r ally

.

“ ” “ ”
low voices a r e encour aged to c arry the qu ality an d f eeling
“ ”
of Head voi ce to as low a pitch a s possible ev en should they ,
“ ”
on their lowest note s not succeed in pr oducing He ad voice ,

th e tone they do p r oduce will be much better in qu ality th an

that whi ch would be produced wer e they encouraged to u se the
”
so c a ll ed
-
“
ch est voi ce and carry it from their l owest a vailable

K
note u p w ard .

Th er e i s no a dvanta ge in ta lki ng to young singer s about

“ ”
Re gi ster , whether cal le d T H I C T H I N an d S M A LL or
, ,

C HE ST M E D IU M and HE A D
, .

C H A P T E R II .

T EA CH I F
NG BRE A T H ING OR SINGING T O JUNIOR AN D
SE NIO R CH IL D RE N S CH OIRS A N D CLA SSE S
’

The first and most imp ortant lesson i s to teach the chil
dr en to stan d with the weight upon th e ball of either foot heel s ,
174 CH OI R A N D C H ORU S C O NDU C T I N G .

near together the UPP ER ch est k ept up b ut without strain

, , ,
“
the chin inwar d an d very slightly dropped Thi s i s Singer s .
’

”
P osition which M U ST B E RE T A I N E D in all exer ci ses
, .

E x er cise 1 — Right h an d on the upp er chest to see tha t it

.

neither ri ses nor f alls Left h and p alm inw ard finger s u p .
, ,

ward a few in ches in f ront of th e lip s Regar d each finger-tip

, .

as a lighte d c an dle an d blow out the c an dl es in su ccession

, , ,

with a short light puff of air ta king a quick breath a fter blow
, ,

ing out each light .

Ex 2 S ame as E x 1 except tha t n ow th e fiv e can dl es ar e

.
—
. .
,

blown out without r en ewing the br eath .

Object To com p el a n a tur al unconsci ou s acti on of the

—
,

di aphr agm: an d wa i st I nfuscles in the taking a n d sen ding out

of the breath without a ri sing or f a lling of th e bony f r am ew ork
of the u pper chest .

Ex 3 O ne han d in fr ont ju st under the brea st bone th e

. .
—
,
-

other h and at th e back just below the shoulder bla de to ob ,

-
,

serve th e movement of the body inw ar d an d outw a r d a t sa i d

points Inh ale slowly thr ough the n ostril s u ntil the h an ds h ave
.

moved out about one-h alf an inch E xha le slowly through th e .

K
mouth m aking a su sta ined soft hi ssing soun d like tha t of ste am
, , ,

f rom a locomotive valve the body returning to a norm al p osi ,

tion . eep the UP P E R C H E ST u p w ithout str ain th r bu gh

ou t
.

Object — T comp el combined di aphr agma ti c an d inter

O

c osta l acti on wh en inh ali n g an d a s w ell in th e c on tr olli n g of , , ,

the outgoing breath .

E x fi — S ame a s E x 3 except tha t upon exh al ation th e

’
. r
,

ja w i s a llo w ed to drO
p loo sely a s though h ang i ng b y s
,
tr i ng s ,

from the ear s the tongue to rest lightly a gain st the lower f ront
,

teeth an d an i m aginary long su sta ined A H i s bre athe d out

,
-
.

O bject To compe l control of the outgoing b reath while

—
,

the voca l organ s ar e in a f r ee non -r igi d condition and in th e ,

norm al a djustm ent for vowel emi ssi on .

 C H OI R A N D CH ORU S CO NDU CT I NG .

through the nostrils ; bring the han ds quickly to the fir st p osi

tion (exhaling noi selessly through th e well Opened mouth ton -
,

d a w h an ging loo sely ) a t the same time en de avo r

g u e fo rw ar j , ,

ing to RA IS E very slightly the U P P E R chest to meet the in

coming h an ds .

Object To incr ea se chest exp an sion and make more cer

.
—

ta in the holding up of the upper chest while sin gi n g .

Ex 9 .Inhale (exp an ding on e half inch at the wai st front

.
— -

an d back ) ; wa it an in sta nt then retaining a t the wai st and ,

back a slight f ee ling of exp a n sion sing lightly with conver sa , ,

tion al weight of voice quickly an d di stinctly at an ea sy pit ch

, , .

1 2 3 4 -5 6 soo (or sah )

- - - - -

on ce su sp end action (no singing inh aling or exha ling ) whil e

, ,

coun ting m entally at the same rate as the singing

1 -2-3
a n d at once ,
without hesi ta ti on ,
a gain sing in the same mann er
a s before

(
1 -2-3-4 -5-6-sooor sah )
count a ga in me ntally
1 -2-3
while u pending action ; then release su ddenly the rem ainder
s s

of the singing b reath Do all on one inha lation and keep the
.
,

UP P E R ch est U P throughout C hange th e pi tch chromatically .

up and down bu t sing only wher e th e exerci se goes ea sily

,
.

Object T O set up a h abit of combined dia phr a gma tic an d

—

inter co stal (rib mu scle ) c ontr ol of the breath in the act of

- -

singing .

N ate A ny set of f amili ar syllabl es as preferr ed for in

—
,

stan ce : L a l a l a etc or L OO 10 0 10 0 etc m ay b e u sed in

, , , .
, , , ,
.
,

pl ace of the figures in E x 9 . .

 TH E CH OI R . 1 77

C H A PT E R III
F
.

*
VO I CE T RA ININ G EXE RCISES O R CH IL D REN S CH OIRS ’

A N D CLA SSES

H ere given a few f un d am ental voice-tra ining exerci ses

are

for C hildren s C hoirs and C lasses

’
.

F
FU N D AM E N T A L VO I C E -TRA I N I N G

F
E XE RC IS E S OR C H I LD RE N
W Wodell . .

No 1 .

Di ode r a t o

Ex N o 2
. .

EX N O 3 A l l e r o
g
. .

m H V
. .

Yo u ,

Ex N o 4
. .

A d a g io

W h o, W h o, W h o, W h o,

A uthor
’
s rights reser v e d‘
1 78 CH OI R A N D C H ORU S C O NDU C T I N G .

E x N o 5 A da g i o
. .

E x N o7 A l l e g r o
. .

PP L a h

Ex NO 8
. .
l ay le e _
_Ah a o
c A ft — a.

A l l egr o

1% oo, oo, oo, 00 ,

A h , A h . A h. A h.

E x N o 10
. .

A l l e gr o
1 80

E x N o 16
. .
C

f
’
- >
H OI R A N D C H ORU S C O NDUC T I N G .

PP

11
0 ’
W ho o Ah
H e A A 11

The chi e f object is to bring the chi ldren to an uncon scious ,

skilful u se of the br ea th for singing a n d to kn ow an d u se

,
“ ” “ ”
H ead voice . T h e Br eathing E xer ci ses a lready given will
prep are for the a tta inment of the fi r st item a nd should be ,

prac ticed da ily and a t each r ehear sal in the order given .

With regar d to securing a n atur al uncon scious p roduction

,
“ ” “
of Hea d voice essenti a ls a r e : Singer s P osition ; a smiling
,
’
,

happy child ; the f eeling on the p art of the chil d tha t singing
i s a plea sur e i s play not a ta sk ; every exer ci se to be the
, ,

exp r ession of somethi ng norma l to the h appy intere sted child ; ,

a bsence of rigi dity throughout the body .

A n i mp or t ant an d h elpful devi ce i s the u se of Wi de ski p s ,

as the fifth a n d octave ta ken f r om below as a lready sugge sted

, , ,

followed by D OWN WAR D sin ging for first study ra ther than
, ,

Singin g sca le p a ssa ge s f rom a given pitch U PWA RD .

“ ”
With some the u se of 0 0 a s in food if done with free ,
'
,
”
forw ard tongue f a vor s the p roducti on of Head voice
,
“
Cer .

tain w ell-known ch oir ma ster s f avor thi s vowel for choir-train

ing It must be u sed un der skilful di rection or the tongue will
.

be drawn ba ck a n d the thr oa t stiffened T oo much singing of

.

0 0 give s a som br e color to th e voi ce on all vow el s a n d thr ough

“ ”
out the r ange O ther choi r tr ainers f avor A w as in law for
.
-

“ ”
f un da ment al work an d th e securing of Head voice Here .

“
a ga in exa gger a tion mu st be avoi ded a n d the danger of a h ol
”
low tone guarded again st .

M a ny successful voice-tr ainer s f avor th e u se for fun da ,

menta l voice-tra ining of th e Ita li an Ah

,
Thi s vowel prop .

“ ”
e rly sh ades towar d the rich de th of color of A w in la w
p ,
 T H E CH OI R. 1 81

“
rat her than towar d the A in a a s too many A mericans pro

nounce it .

With the b reath under control the head slightly dropped , ,

chin inwar d the jaw h angin g ( flo a ting ) lo osely an d a sm ile in

, ,

the eye s the u se of a quick L with moti onle ss jaw p receding

, , ,

the vowel whi chever it ma y b e assi st s in the prod ucti on of

, ,
“ ”
H ea d voice .

With the b rea th under control th e head slightly dropped , ,

chi n inwa r d fl oa ting jaw an d a smile in the eyes th e u se of

, , ,

a very soft short H , ( aspi r a te ) p re ceding th e vowel

,
one th a t ,

c an sca rcely be f elt by th e sing er mu ch less hear d by th e li stener

, ,

with the thought th at the soun d i s gui ded tow ar d th e top of

the hea d at the back ( foll owing the curve of th e skul l as the
“ ”
p itch ri se s) assi sts
,
in the p r o d u cti on of H e ad voice .

It i s u seful to in struct th e children to will a feeling at the ,

“ ”
instant of beginn ing to sing as if they were dri nking in a
,

”
wi de stream of tone — “
inhaling the sound an d to k eep thi s —

feeling throughout the singing C ar e mu st be taken th at the

.

tongue i s not pulled ba ckwar d I ts tip mu st rest lightly a gain st

.

th e lower f r ont teeth upon A L L vow el s T h e th ought of .

“ ”
drin king in assi sts in secur ing uncon sciou s b r eath contr ol a ,

more Open soun d-tube an d a comp ar atively lower and better

,

suppor ted po sition of th e la rynx all of which ar e f avor able to ,

ea se of tone production p articul arly upon high pitches and to

, ,

a fi rm clea r delivery of flori d p assa ges

, .

“
Al ways on beginning to sing let the ch il d will to get a
'

, ,
”
little ta ll er ; to f eel tha t h e i s gently gra dually slightly lifting , ,

th e top of hi s che st an d hi s body gener a lly the merest tr ifle up

“ ”
out of hi s hi p s an d al so , getting a little b it w ider between
front an d back a t a point ju st un der the b reast b one an d b eneath -

th e shoul der b l ade s Let h im will to fee l thu s thr oughout hi s

- .
!

singing— a trifle more strongly when singing upwa r d than when

singing d ownwar d There mu st b e no lifting of the shoulders

.
1 82 C H OI R A N D CH OR US CO NDU CT I NG .

ap ar t fr om the genera l upward movement of the trunk of th e

body .

“ ”
In all w ork for Head voice at first th er e must be no ,
“ ”
trying for power of tone The motto mu st b e Sn softly “
.

”
an d sweetly .

“ ”
Ha v ing secured a H ead tone on the upper n ote the ,

singer mu st be en cour aged to li ste n to a n d r em em b er its qu a l

ity a nd a lso to recognize the sp aciou sness emptiness sen sation

, , ,

of f reedom in the back of the mouth a nd thr oa t an d as well , , ,

th e flutter ing or Vi br a tion up under the top of the head a t the

“ ”
back whi ch in most cases char a cter izes H ead voi ce
,
T he .

recogni tion of the vi br a tory flutter in the hea d need n ot h ow ,

“ ”
ever be in si sted u pon
,
T h e rec ognition of th e H ea d voi ce
.

qua lity an d accompanying throa t f reedom mu st be developed

. .

Then the w il l mu st be exerted to reta in thi s p eculi ar an d beau

tiful qu ality on a ll the notes of the voice E v erything possibl e .

mu st be done by the teacher to a rou se in the pup il a n inten se

“ ”
desir e for thi s lovely Head voi ce qu ality an d thro at f r eedom .

T h e Y p receding a vow el i s u sed to assi st in sec ur ing a

well open ed mouth the ja w be ing thr own fl exibly dow nward
-
,

an d the t on ue a llow ed to follow it

g .

The judgm ent of the In str uctor mu st be u sed to deci de

h ow l ow or high a n exer ci se m ay w ith adv a nta ge b e c ar ri ed .

The chi e f points to be borne in mind ar e : Y oung voi ces mu st

not be asked to sing too low cer ta i nl y n ot to sing w ith power
,

upon their lower tones They mu st not be asked or allow ed to

.

sing upon an
y pit ch hi gh or l ow upon
, w hi ch they
,
c a nn ot
pro

du ce a tone with comfort to themselves a n d with a musi cal

qua lity .

Tr anspose the exer ci ses down or u p by semi tones It i s

, ,
-
.

n ot well for a ti m e a t l ea st to a sk chil dr en to sin g hi gh er th a n

, , ,

F or at mo st G or low er tha n M i ddle D or C

’
,
’
,
.

T he Head Voi ce can u su ally in fi r st stu dy he mo st easily

“ ”
, ,

foun d on the HI GHE R tones of the voice If it doe s not come .

1 84 CH OI R A N D CH OR US CO NDU CT I N G .

on one pitch or the pitch ri ses The VOWE L is al ways to be

F
.

“
thought of as formed I N T H E U PP E R RO N T M OU T H H ead .

” “ ” “ ”
voice ma y be con sidered as a refl ecti on or echo in the
upper back he a d of the vowel soun d in the m outh When .

“ ”
H ead voice i s u sed the vibra tory flutter of the vowel in the
,

upper f r ont mouth w ill be comp ar a tively weak .

Sing the exer ci ses in one brea th unl ess otherwi se indicated
,
.

T here mu st be no movem ent of the jaw between the fi rst

and secon d syll ables of E xer ci ses N os 1 2 3 6 a n d 8 ; n or be .
, , ,

tween the syllables of E xer ci ses N os 7 1 1 ( secon d line ) 1 2 .

, , ,

and 1 5 ( four th an d fi fth line s) O n E xer ci se N o 9 a llow th e

. .

j a w to f a ll sli ghtly a s the pitch ri ses ; rever se d e scen ding See .

tha t the tongue follows the teeth cl osely O n Exer ci ses N os 6 . .

an d 1 3 lift the ch est a very little ste adily th r oughout except ,

K
tha t on the last full mea sur e of N o 1 3 the feeling of lifting .

i s not to be so str ong as previou sly O n E xerci ses N os 8 1 1

. .
, ,
”
1 2 1 5 an d 1 6 emph asize the thought of
, ,
“
D RI N I N G I N
while singing .O n a scen ding p assages whether skip s scales , ,

or arpeggi os emphasize the slight exp an sion un der the shoulder

,

b lades and m ake sur e of th e tr ifling lifting of the top of the

chest and tr un k gener ally out of the hip s .

Gen era l Obser v a ti ons I n tra in ing choirs of qui te youn g

—

children it w ill sometimes be found tha t a mong th em i s one wh o

sings at an ab norm ally l ow pitch Such a chi l d i s n ot always
.

“ ”
a monotone . The cur e i s to h ave h im li sten to children wh o
sing at the cor r e ct pitch an d imita te them .

”
A young child i s sometime s sai d to l ack ear for mu sic
“

when the cau se of h i s in ability to correctly i mi tate a tu ne sung

“ ”
or pl ayed i s not a defect of ear bu t a lack of contr ol of the
,

vocal in strument Imita tion a fter mu ch li stening will help

.
, ,

in such cases Bu t there m ay well be in stru ction un der the

.

“ ”
gui se of pl ay which w ill b ri ng th e little singer to a normal
conditi on with r egar d to ab sen ce of rigi dity and to an uncon
sciou s control of the br eath in singing .
 T H E CH OI R. 1 85

F . B rewer of the St J ames (London ) School for B oys

C .
, .
,

lecturing before a T eachers C on ference upon School Singing

’

M usica l H er al d a i d tha t in hi s opi ni on in tra ining chil dr en

( )
’
s ,
’

sca les mu st b e practice d softly an d D OWN WA RD

“
pr oducing ,

tone that i s relatively weaker bu t more bea utiful P ar t-singing .

should b e in dulged in f r eely If the three p art selections are .

-

well cho se n an d soft sin ging i s the r ul e no damage to the boy s

’
-
, ,

voice thr ough singing the lowest p art can occur The p arts .

”
m ay be i nter-changed .

M i ss L Whi bley a successful speci ali st in th e in struction

.
,
“ ”
of childr en in singing (M u si ca l H er ald) star ts with inf ants ,
“ ”
from yea r s of age These are li steners A t 4 1A; and u p
. .

to year s the children begin with songs an d ditties whi ch

“ ”
they can enj oy an d mostly dram a tize songs an d si nging —

games The voice-culture is given to childr en from

. year s
“ ”
of age up ward The H ead voi ce i s u sed exclu sively sta rting
.
,

a t the top of th e sc ale of E b m a jor with 0 0 ; Ah w ith the same

quality of voi ce comes later .

C har les Santley a celebrated ba ritone tr aine d in the Old

, ,

“
Italia n School of singing says : M ak e your choir boys sing ,

A h A E O 0 0 as holding note s bu t e speci ally include a ll

, , , , ,

th e vowel s in one l ong note an d they ar e on the r ails for prog ,

”
T e ss—
th at i s if th ey have any bra in s
, .

Dr R R Terr y Westmi n ster C athedral Lon don says :

. . .
, , ,
“
Wh en th e b oys ar e taught to p r oduce their tone p roperly th e ,

more they sing the b etter it i s for their hea lth P roperly .

”
trained b oys can sing all day without f ati gue .
1 86 CH OI R AN D C H ORU S CO N D UCT I N G .

C H A P T E R IV .

T HE C HO IR O F B O Y S AND M EN .

The questi on a s to the relative number of b oys an d men

in a choir mu st be settled according to th e circumstan ces of ea ch
”
ca se Troutbeck ( C hur ch Choir Training H W Gray C o )
.
“
, . . .

“
says : There shou ld be a t least as many effective boy or gi rl
trebles as there are voi ces of the other p arts collectively and ,

under some ci rcumstances even twice as many will not destr oy

”
the ba lance When the choir i s complete he gives the follow
.
,

trebles 2 altos 2 tenors 2 basses 1 2 in a ll

6 , , , ,
.

1 4 trebles 4 a lto s 4 tenor s 6 basses 28 in all

, , , ,
.

20 trebles 6 a ltos 6 tenor s 8 ba sses 4 0 in a ll

, , , ,
.

”
The balan ce of a choir will depend not So much up on
“

the number as upon the strength of voice of boys and men T h e .

size of the a u ditor ium the char acter of the organ tone h ave
, ,

a l so a r el ation to the number of voi ce s nece ssa ry to ma ke a n *

effe ctive choi r O nly p r acti cal test can determi ne thi s questi on
. .

“
M r J ames E B a gley of B ost on rem arke d shrewdly :
. .
,
Lis ,

ten to one of the l arge E pi sc op a l choir s a s they p a ss you in

the p rocessional an d you will fin d th at a bout six of the oldest
,

treble boys are doing p r actically all the singing gi vi ng the —

”
choir tone wha t body it h a s in the treble H e i s of opini on .

that to secur e an effective group of choir boys it i s n ot al w ays

“ ”
n ecessa ry to establi sh a prepa r atory choi r of boys In places .

where for p ra cti cal rea son s it i s not possible to h av e su ch a

, ,

choir goo d results can be Obta in ed by bringing young la ds

,
“ ”
into the choir rehearsa ls as probationers thu s giving th em ,

training and routine O ccasi on ally th ey m ay be used in th e

.
1 88 CH OI R AN D CH ORU S C O NDU CT I NG .

s olo or en semble w ork and th e boy will be assi sted to keep his
,

voice in good con dition A ll thi s i s pr edi cated upon the require
.

ment that the boy i s never allowed to sing w ith the coar se
“ ”
chest tone bef or e r eferr ed to an d i s not permitted at any , ,

time to sing higher or lower tha n he can do so with comfort

,

to hi m self an d a good qua lity of tone .

“
Let no choir tr ai ner overlook the importa nce of the will
”
in g of a good tone qu ality by each member To a ssi st in thi s .
,

p attern tones of good quality should be given by the tr a iner or ,

taken from member s of the choir .

The exer ci ses gi v en her ein for voi ce tr aining ar e suitable -

for the u se of both boy and gir l chor i ster s .

The following in qui ry was sent to severa l pr om in en t School

M u sic Supervi sor s an d C hoir m aster s : -

“
C O N SI D E RI N G T H E PRE S E N T A N D FU TURE
WE LF A RE O F T H E B O Y S VO I C E ’

“
Q l Should the boy sing in choir or choru s duri ng the
.
—

period of the br eak or ch ange in his voice ?

‘ ‘ ’ ’

“
Q 2 Sh ould the boy du ring sai d period be giv en any
'

—
.
, ,
‘ ”
voice tra ining work either indivi du ally or in cl ass ?
-
’
,

A su ccessful c athedr al choir ma ster wri te s : -

“
In an swer to your question s N o 1 and N o 2 . .
,
“
A S a rule N o , .

“
B ut in my experience I have had several notable excep
tion s wher e boys with good alto voi ces have continued to sing
”
an d developed in time into goo d counter-tenor s .

S amuel W C ole D irector of M u sic B rookline ( M ass )

.
, ,

P ub li c S chool s wr i tes :
,
“
Query 1 I f there i s a break I an swer N o If the voice
.
—
, , .

gradually goes lower and does not rebel aga in st a norm al u se

,

of it I answer Y es Thi s latter con dition describes the vast

, ,
.

majority of boys I have been un able to di scover th at a ny

.

harm h a s been done to an y of them if they are n ot required to .

sing a lone but only in classes A t thi s age the aver age boy
, .
 T H E C H OI R
. 1 89

can i mplicitly relied upon to protect hi mself again st any

be
form of activity which causes him inconvenience Query 2 . .

The boy during thi s period should N OT be given voi ce-tr aining
work E X C EP T I N C LA S S E S and even th en with the utmo st ,

car e f
’

Willi am J Shor t Supervi sor of M usic P ublic Schools

.
, , ,

N ortha mpton M a ss writes :

, ,
“
Query 1 — Y es
. I see n o harm if un der careful super
.

vi sion .

“
Q uery 2 — Y es trai n f r om the to
.
, p d ow n bo y to s ing a lone —

”
or in cla ss softly easily
— —
.

E dwin N C B arn es Supervi sor of M u sic P ublic School s

. .
, , ,

E ditor E a stern School M usi c H era ld says : ,

P er son ally I do n ot allow my b oys to Sing during the

“
,
‘
period of change ’
I tri ed the pl an of having b oys sing softly
. .

I came to have very deci ded doubts a s to th e gain to the boy or

to the choru s an d then boys a s a rule do not rem ember the
, , ,

injunction when it i s given I feel my boys come b ack stronger

‘
.
’

for the complete rest For a supervi sor wh o h ad not b een in

.

the school s of his city long there might be some trouble in get ,
‘
ting the b oys going again b ut I h ave not h ad to consi der that
’
,

angl e as alm ost to a bo my ladd i es-

”
, y li k e t o s in g .

C HA PT E R V .

T HE H I GH S C HO O L C HO I R .

“ ”
change of voice there is in the case of
A t the p eri od of ,

the girl u su ally no very m arked sudden developm ent in power

, ,

or alteration of timbre A certain matur ity of qu ality some

.

times makes itsel f kn own at a comp aratively early age A s a .

rule the ch ange of voice from that of the chi ld to that of the
,

young woma n is very gradual .

1 90 H OIR A N D
C CH ORU S CONDU CT I NG .

contralto i s a ra re voice It i s sometim es ex

T he true .

hi bi ted by a comp ara tively youn g gir l bu t thi s i s the excep ,

“ ”
ti on The coar se so called chest tone exhi bited by some young
.
—
,

ladies in hi gh schools i s not to be conf ounded with th e n atural

contralto which i s not only low in pitch bu t a lso comp aratively
, ,

deep and rich in qua lity Such voi ces need to be wa tched an d
.

warned aga in st f orcing p articular ly in a scen ding p assages Let

, .

them be sati sfied with l ess power on the lower and upper
mi ddle pitches than upon their natur ally powerful lower note s .

These voi ces can al so be help ed through the bri nging of th e

“ ”
H ea d voice down from th e upper pitches thr ough the mi ddle

oung women wh o have sung in choir s w ith untra ined

Y ,
“ ”
voices have sometime s exhi bited a comp ass of f rom G to low
,
’

G two octaves b ut these voices showed on the notes f rom Mi d

, ,

dle C downwa rd nothing of the contra lto timbr e Thei r low .

pitched tones comp ar ed with those of th e r eal contr alto were

, ,
“ ”
as tho se of a light bar it on e singing a L ow G when com pa re d
“ ”
with tho se of a genuine se con d bass sin ging at th e same ,
“ ”
pitch They w ere really young voices whi ch ha d not yet foun d
.

themselves It would be doing a w rong to su ch voi ces to place

.

them in the chor u s to sing alto merely b ecause they could

.
”
reach th e low G Ther e would be danger tha t un der the
“
.
,

stimulu s of chorus singing an d the na tural ten den cy to imi ta te

,

the stronger voi ces ar ound them they would force the lower ,

ton es .

Some have noti ced in youn g contralto voi ces a hi gh p ar t

“ ”
whi ch i s descr i be d a s a spur iou s sma ll r egi ster an d whi ch ,

gra dua lly di sapp ears as the voi ce settles Suppose one of th ese .

voices to be erroneously cla ssed as a soprano w ould not th e ,

result be di sa strou s to tha t voi ce ? If the young singer wer e

“ ” “ ”
taught to u se Head voi ce an d to sing on the breath no ,

harm coul d c ome to the voi ce .

B oys at a certain stage of their lives as singers begin to

, ,
1 92 H O I R A N D C H O RU S
C CO NDU CT I N G .

“ ”
the cha ngi ng Of the voice arri ves, he may sometimes sm g
a lto for a ti me if he i s c arefully instructed to avoi d even th e
,
“ ” “ ”
suspici on Of forcing hi s tone As hi s vocal di ap a son low .

e rs yet more he will natur a lly sing tenor an d if it continue s

, ,

to fall he will sing a s a baritone or bass I n all choru s Sing .

“ ”
ing by the cha nging voice the domi n ating thought should
“ ”
b e to see to it th at no b oy sings out of hi s class There i s .

a s much danger to the n ew voice in sin ging tOO l ow a s in sing

“ ”
ing too high A ny attempt to f orce power of tone mu st
.

b e c arefully guarded a gain st It mu st not be taken for gr anted

.

“ ” “ ”
that bec au se a boy with h is new voice can sing ba ri tone
.

“
that hi s voice i s r eally a b aritone It m ay b e a tenor in the .

”
m ak ing a nd for thi s reason young m ale voices a s alrea dy
, ,

intima ted while in the peri od Of change an d b efor e they are

, ,
“ ”
settled nee d f requent exami na tion and r e classification The
,
-
.

“ ”
settling of som e voices i s accompli shed almost in a day or ,

in a few weeks I n other ca ses it t akes three years and even

.

The high school b oy should b e given an opp ortunity to

m ake the best of hi s voice T O do thi s let him h ave in di v i du al
.
,

in struction in singing if possible and at lea st skilful cl ass

, ,

teachi ng Fr om the time hi s voi ce fi rst shows sign s of lower

.

ing th e general principle upon which tra ining should be con

,

ducted i s a s follows : U se the remn an t of the b oy tr eble voice -

,

with its free thro at and velvety qu a lity a s a m odel for the ,

sen sation an d qu ality which the singer shoul d k eep in min d

when u sing his voice T O thi s en d let him a lways sing softly
.
,

d uring the fi r st p art of the period of change u sing D OWN ,

WA RD scale pa ssages an d arpeggios from a note wh ich he

.

F
can still produce in the fre e treble voice an d car ry th e sen sa ,

tion and qu ality Of that tone D OWN W A RD A S A R A S P OS

S IB LE T h e vowel 0 0 ( food ) and th e deep Ah ar e good for
.

first study By in si sting tha t th e sen sation and velvety qu ality

.

Of the Old free treb le tone shall be retai ne d while sin ging well
 THE CHO IR . 1 93

down into the territory of the new (controlli ng brea th and

singing softly en ough to ensure thi s) gradually the new voice
,

will appear with a li k e freedom of thr oat and musical quality .

O bviously the student mu st b e in structed to sing in simi lar

f ashion in hi s chorus work or not to sin g at a ll until he has
,

developed a degree Of comm an d of hi s n ew voice on thi s ba si s .

La ter with more skill in control of breath pr essures and

, ,

through the use of pr eliminary con sonants such as M an d N

,
“ ” “ ”
for f acia l reson ance an d ! an d Th ( thou ) for mouth
,

resonance he will be ab le to sing a vi r ile r inging tone with

, ,

out losing the freedom of the throa t or the sweetness of hi s

“ ”
voice Such do not feel tha t they have to pu sh up the voice
.

to its higher pitches .

Thi s procedure if generally ad opted in school wor k would

, ,

result in the saving to the prof ession Of m any tenor voi ces now
lost thr ough lack of proper in struction a t the per iod of th e
changing Of the voice The unfortun ate l ads when left to
.
,

shift for them selve s u su ally gr avita te to th e lowe st p ar t— the

,

“ ”
bass and tOO O ften with their new and still ch an ging voices
—
, ,

e n deavor to m ak e enough noi se to b al ance the other arts

p .

O thers stra in in a throaty m anner to sing what i s by courtesy

”
ca ll ed
“
tenor . Later if any Of them f all into the h ands of
,

a profe ssion al te acher Of singing ther e i s a lot Of wor k to be

,

done to restore them to the norm al way of thinking and doing

with regar d to the use of their voices in song .
1 94 C H O I R A N D CH ORU s C O ND U CT I N G .

CH A PT E R VI .

T HE C O M M U N ITY C HO RU S .

T he C omm unity C horu s gr oup of person s young and

is a ,

Old ,
Of b oth sexes brought toge ther
,
w ithout ex amin a tion a s
,

to voice or ability to rea d by note for the purpose Of giving

,
“
exp r ession to in divi du al f eeling in song and doing a th ing
,
”
a t the same time w ith the other fellow .

Successful leaders in th e organiz ation an d conducting Of

”
si de Of the w ork
“
community cho r uses stre ss the soci al Peter .

W Dykem a Of the Univer sity Of Wi scon sin a leader in thi s

.
, ,
“
type of un der taking says : C omm u nity mu sic i s soci ali z ed
,

mu sic It i s mu si c for the sake of the p eople rather tha n mu sic

.
,

for the m ere sake Of mu sic Thr ough community singing the
.

”
people a r e ma de to expr ess them selves An other leader says :
.

“
Commu nity singin g i s e ssenti a lly a social m ani f estation It .

is not di r ectly con cer ned w ith arti sti c p rodu ction It i s an .

oppor tunity for the people of thi s country to a ssemble in group s

and exp r ess the m selves in a n ew w ay Comm unity singing
.

( le aving a si de a rti stic c onsi de r ation s a ltog ether ) i s va lu ab le ,

b ecau se it h as favorable physical r eaction s it lessen s f atigue ; —

mental rea ction s— it i s good fun ; spir itu al reaction s — it welds

people together It can be m ade an effective agency in b uild
.

”
ing up the spir it Of tr ue A m er ic ani sm .

The success Of any comm unity choru s i s nine tenths a m at -

ter Of leader ship The organizer and con ductor of a community

.

chor u s need not necessarily be an expert mu sici an B ut h e mu st .

be a n enthu si astic lover Of sin ging an d as well Of h is fell ow

,

men H e mu st bur n w ith a desire to have everybody with wh om

.

he c ome s into contact enjoy group singing a s much a s he does .

1 96 C H O IR A N D CH ORU s C O ND U C T I N G .

“ ” — “ ”
exerci se Of loveablene b ein g just folks with the crowd
ss ,
“ ”
Of t act sheer gri t
,
— he mu st get the people with hi m .

F rom a mu sical stan dpoint he must have a strong sense

of rhythm and be able to beat time in such a way tha t no one
c an f a il to un dersta n d wha t he wan ts It makes no difference .

whether he u ses a b aton or hi s h an ds and a rm s He can sway .

a r oun d jump int o the a ir, ru sh from si de to si de Of the pla t

,
“ ”
form slam an i m agin ary punching ba g— all these thi ngs are
,

done . T h e one point Of importance i s th at he sh all make hi s

group feel wh at he wants in the way Of starting stopping sing , ,

ing f a st or slow loudly or softly H e can u se his own voice

, .

mu ch or little The m ost successful leader i s he wh o gets other

.

p eople to sing .

A ll the devices Of the song leaders who h ave accomp an ied

su cce ssful evangeli sts ar e use d b y the community choru s dir ec

tor. Fir st the la dies m ay sing then the gentlemen N ow th e .

p eople on thi s si de of the room ; n ow tho se on the other si de .

L at the galleries sing the fi rst p art O f the song and the whole ,

body come in on the choru s Let th e l adie s h ave the a ir a n d

.

K
th e men th e refrain N ow the g al lerie s m ay ha v e the first line
.

a n d the body O f the h a ll the sec on d an d so on thr oughout

,
N ow .

“ ”
let thi s side of the h all sing eep the Home Fi re s B urn ing ,

a nd a t the same time th e other si de Of the h all sing

“
There s ’

”
a Long Long Trail
, A nd so on
. An ything within reason
.

to keep u p the interest an d the enthu si asm .

T h e l ea der mu st have a thorough un der stan ding with hi s

a ccomp ani st so th a t the in stru menta li st w ill be with him every
,
“ ”
moment ready to star t stop r epea t boom things with hi s
, , , ,

in strument when the r espon se from the singer s i s weak to give ,

“ ” “ ”
a str ong lea d when neede d to get the crowd going .

“ ”
T he regul ar metho d of time beati ng for th e choru s le ader
-

i s set f orth wi th d i a gram s in thi s wor k p ages 5 3 to 6 4

, ,
The , .

c ommunity choru s lead er woul d do we l l to pra ctice ti m ebeat

ing accor ding thereto so th at he may have a soli d groun d

,
 T H E C HO IR . 1 97

work of knowledge a nd skill in case he is called up on to handle

a chorus and orchestra .

T h e orchestra player ask s from a con ductor th at he in di

hate th e b ea ts clear ly H e has n o love for the cond uctor wh o
.

i s at a ll un certain as to his down bea t or for the leader who , ,

instead of p a ssing clearly from the fir st to the second the second ,

to the thi rd an d the third to the fourth b eat keep s hi s baton

, ,

constantly on the move through the air describ ing a series Of ,

more or less indefinite up and d own side-wi se or circul ar move ,

Wh en Of necessity a b ea t is divi ded the choru s singer and

.
, ,

the orchestra l player in p ar ticular needs to know whi ch Of th e

,

two three or m ore b ea ts in th e measure i s being divi ded at a

,
“ ”
p articular moment, that he may b e able to come in correctly
“ ”
a fter a rest .

“
T h e surest way in which to b ecome a sati sf actory time
” ”
b eater i s to begin by making a di stinct point Of rest a t th e
“

e n d Of e ach beat-movement an d to go wi thout hesit ati on di

,
“ ”
r ec tly f r om one rest-point to another Ther e can then be .

n o mi staking the b ea t it i s desire d to indicate w ith the baton .

“
When th e chorus leader h as pra cticed thi s sort Of time
.

”
bea ting for a con si der able per iod he will find him self if at , ,

all gifted for le ading making certa in minor m odificatiOns of

,

the moveme nts of th e b aton which skilled con ductor s employ

to in di cate changes in p ace accentuation force style in de
, , ,

Wlide vigorou s strokes Of the b aton indi cate strong vigor

, ,

ou s a ttack an d delivery by player s an d singer s A s th e f .

r educed the stroke s Of the baton bec ome shorter and le ss vi g

,

orou s A gr adual cr esc en do m ay be ca lled for by gr adu ally

.

increasing th e di sta nce for e ach stroke or where th e n ature , ,

“ ”
Of the mu sic perm i ts a temp o r a ry su sp n si n
e o O f time beating
-
,

by a long drawn movement Of th e outstretched h an ds from the

-

cente r outwar d a s th ough pulling out a gra du al incr ea se Of

,
1 98 C H O I R A N D CH ORUs C O NDU C T I N G .

the tonal force The left han d is of ten u sed to outline the
.

figur e or phrase allotted to a speci al divi sion Of the chorus

or a p arti cular orch estral in strument ; to in dicate entran ces ;
“ ”
r elea ses of phrases ; supp ressi on s of wr ong entr an ces or Of
an Obstr e or ous singer or pla yer ; w hile the ight h n d i
p r a s
“ ”
bu sy with the time -be ating In a slow or m oderato move
.

ment in music of a light delicate or graceful type in 6 -8 9 8 , , , ,

-
,

“ ” “
or 1 2 8 a s for in stan ce With Verdur e C lad ( C rea tion) H e
-
, , , ,
” “ ”
Shall Feed H i s Flock an d H ow B ea utiful Ar e the Feet
,

( M e ssi a h ) Where ,e ach be a t mu st b e in di c a te d a simple move ,

ment of the b aton hand from the wri st i s sufficient except

-
,

where speci a l dyn ami c effect s are wa nted Some Of the most .

effective conductors have been a mong the quietest in their move

ments A n excess Of bodily movement in conducting i s wa ste
.

ful of energy an d O fttimes i s a sign th at th e leader i s l acking

,
“ ”
in tha t subtle intangible b ut very real something commonly
,
“ ”—
called magneti sm the cha racteri stic quality Of the horn con
ductor .

“ ”
O ften in slow m oveme nts it i s necessary to divide th e ,

hea t in or der to keep choru s or soloi st an d orche stra together ,

.

H e Was D espi sed an d B ehold the Lam b of God

“ ” “ ”
( M e s

si ah ) ar e ca ses in point Until he has become exper ienced in

.

“ ”
thi s sort Of time bea ting th e conductor sh ould m ark well
-
,

“ ”
the prim ary pa rt Of ea ch di v i ded beat H e mu st in all ca ses .

study c arefu lly th e rhythm ic con stru ction Of the mu sic ; he

“ ”
w ill then gradu al ly ce ase to b e a mer e time -b eater and be ,

c ome a n in ter rete r in dic a ting cle arly the structu r e of th e

p ,

c omp osition .

O rchestra l players unli ke modern ch ora li sts, h ave no more

,
“ ”
“
th an thei r own part (possi bly with an occasion al cue m ark ed
”

F
therein ) b ef ore them They ther e fore n eed accur ate gui dan ce
.

from the c on ductor a s to when to b egin to play or thi s rea .

son the con ductor mu st b e c ar eful when he wi she s the pl ayer

, ,

to b egin to give hi m d ue noti ce by moti on Of the b aton the

,
'
, ,
200 C H O I R A N D CH ORU s C O NDU C TI NG .

moment , so a s to voi d
a co nflict with the delivery Of the v oice
part.

CH A PT E R VI I .

C O M PET I T I O N AN D OT H ER FE ST IVA LS .

N otwi thstanding dverse cri tici sm the B riti sh continue

a ,
“ ”
their C ompetiti on F estival s at which b odies Of children and
,

a dult s sing for honor s and prizes From thi s f act it m ay be

.

inferr ed tha t with all the possible weaknesses Of such enter

pri ses including the c atering in som e cases to a commerci al
, , ,

more than to an arti stic spirit and the arou sing Of jealou sy
,

and resentment ra ther th an frien dline ss an d happin ess b ecau se ,

Of the verdict Of the a dju dica tor s on the whole the C ompeti
,

tion F estiva l h as been advanta geou s to the singers and to the

art Of mu sic . Under good m anagem ent with the mu si cal de ,

v elopm ent Of the p a rticip an t s ra ther than the mere winning Of

prizes a s the chi ef Object an d thi s stea dily to th e fore th e

, ,

C ompetition Festiva l could be m ade of val ue in thi s country ,

e sp eci al ly in a rou sing publi c inter est in th e mu si c wor k in the

public school s and in stimulating chora l singing

m
.
,

In the United S ta tes choral singing needs all the sti u lus
“ ”
tha t c an be foun d for it C ommu nity singing i s a step in
.

thi s dir ection b ut should a s soon and as far a s possible be

, , ,

supplemented b the or ganiz ation Of cl asse s an d choru se s for

y
the stu dy Of mu sic a s mu sic In struction in note reading and
.

voice cultur e shoul d b e p rovi ded as p art Of the me an s for the

tru e mu sical development Of the comm un ity A t p resent ther e .

ar e in m any town s an d cities of thi s country a t le ast two group s

which need thi s O ne is th e con si derable num ber Of a dults

.

“ ”
wh o h ave n ot h ad tra ining in chil dhoo d in mu sic such a s i s ,

now afforde d b y some Of our public school s The other i s the .

too large cl ass of young people particul arly b oys who th ough
, ,
 THE C HOIR
.

“
hav ing h ad musiC in
chool until graduation, have since for
”
s

gotten most of th at which they had acquired in the school music

cour se an d have f ai le d to ally themsel v es w ith any org ani z ation
,

p r ovi ding mean s for further cultivation Of love for and skill in
si n ging goo d voc al mu sic These are the young A merica n s wh o
.
,

when they sing in group s, u su ally shout out some trashy ditty
Of the blue a n d yellow covered variet Thi s i not inten d ed
y s .

as an indi ctm ent Of th e public school mu sic system N ever .

th eless one ca n scarcely avoi d won dering why it i s if that sys

, ,
“ ”
tem doe s so present its subject as to make mu sic lover s Of the -

pupils so m any pupils on leaving school either drop their

, , ,

m u sic altogether or grav itate to th e w i shy-w ashy stuff tu rned

out by profession al h acks There i s ther efor e in thi s country
.
, ,

a real need for the exten sion Of the u se of good voca l mu sic ,

an d particula rly Of opportunities for young eople to l ea rn h ow

p
to sing together with certa inty as to pi tch an d rhythm with ,

good tone qua lity an d with the exerci se of f ancy imagin ation
, ,

an d ta ste in inter pret ation Here the choir leader chor al

.
,

con ductor a nd M u sic Supervi sor m ay find a fruitful fi eld for

the exerci se Of their power s Of organ iz ation man agement and ,

tra ining to th e marked b enefi t Of the com munities wherein

,

they l abor .

The mu sical development Of th i s coun try depends more

u pon the type and amoun t O f mu sic in stru cti on an d tra ining

given in the public school s an d through children s an d a dult ’

choir s an d choru ses than u pon any other f actor H ence the .
,

recommendation her ein for th e form ation O f choir s Of children ,

“ ”
a s well a s of ad ults an d for the pr oper u se Of the
,
C ompetition
Fe stival The late Dr W G M cN a u ght who h ad earned di s
. . . .

tinction a s a n in structor and a s an a djudic ator at C ompetiti on es

,
“
,

F
tiv als in B rita in wrote as follows :
,
The mu sical festivals of
the educationa l an d competitive type ar e a healthy im ,

porta nt and pregn ant f actor in p opul ar mu sical progress They .

provi de teachers cond uctors chorali sts and others interested

, ,
202 C H O I R A N D CH ORUs C O ND U C T I NG .

with b ject-lesson s
O i deals of execution not otherwi se read
a nd

ily obtainable They are a gr eat school of mu sic for the p eople
.
,

a nd especi ally for chor al con ductor s an d chor a li sts In .

ma ny places comp etition s have cre ated quite a school Of scien

tific tra ining where no i dea s Of su ch a sc i en ce p reviou sly ex
i sted . O ne Of the mo st valu able r esults of the movement i s
that hundreds Of chor a l societies h ave been given a motive for
the pr actice Of beautiful Ol d and n ew un accomp ani ed mu sic in ,

which form many gifted composer s h ave embodied some Of

”
their choicest thoughts .

A n other type Of M r usi ca l F estival w ith the competition

,

featur e minimiz ed i s th a t in whi ch each school or choru s r e

,

hearses sep arately th e same mu si c then rehear ses by di stri cts

, ,

an d fin ally the best p r ep ar ed group s ar e cho sen to m ake up

”
“
the Festival C horu s The School M usic Rev i ew H W Gr ay
.
, . .

N ew Y ork an d the M u si ca l H era ld Lon don give de

, , ,

tailed inform ation as to thi s for m of Festival a s carr ied on in ,

“ ”
Great B ritain In thi s country the M aine Festival s hel d
.

each fall in P ortlan d and B an gor un der W R C hapm an give

, . .
,

a n example of th e suc ce ssful u se Of the

“ ”
Festival i dea in su s
taining interest in good chor al mu sic and singing thr ough out
a wi de terr i tory In B rookline M ass M r S W C ole, the
.
, , . . .

M u si c Supervi sor h as for some years ca rried on annu al con

,

te sts in singing for honor s b etween the cl a sses of th e same

gr ades in the variou s town school s T h e result has b een an.

incr ea se of interest in chor al mu sic a mong the pupils and their

fri end s and the people of the town generally .
204 C H O I R A ND CH ORUs C O N DU C T IN G .

pi an o i s ab solutely necessary to any comb in ation where th e

full harm ony i s not otherw i se adequately represented In .

“ ”
certain cases the vi ola p ar t i s a rr anged so tha t a third violin
represents it Those interested in the esta bli shment Of H ome
.
,
“
C ommuni ty or School O rchestras will profit by reading The
”
M odern S ch ool O rchestra by L M Gordon a new w ork
,
. .
,
The .

ai m of the volume i s to a dvoc ate cl ass stu dy Of orchestr a l i n

stru m en ts in the public school s a nd to provi de a working pl a n

,

for the gui dance Of inexperienced in structors The enthu si ast .

wh o m ay know very littl e in dee d about orchestra l in stru ments

“ ”
a nd their u se yet de si re s to
,
l ead an am ateur orchestra w ill ,
“
fin d her ein ju st th e inform ation an d m ateri a l he needs The .

”
A m a teur B a nd Gui de by E dwin F ra nko Goldma n conta in s a
, ,

multitude Of valu able p r actica l hi nts for the conductor Of an

a m ateur Orche str a .

The hope of the am a teur orchestra to a con si dera ble ex ,

tent lies in th e exten sion of the teaching Of the violin in

,

classe s in th e publi c schools Loose lea f metho ds for thi s work

.

by leading publi sher s are already in exten sive u se S chool bo ards .

a r e bu t ju st a w aking to th e u sefulness a n d importa nce Of scho ol

tr aining in or out Of regul ar school hour s in th e pl ayi ng of

orchestral an d b an d in stru ments Supervi sors an d mu si ci an s
.

g ener ally w ill d o w ell to a gita te thi s q ue stion con st a ntly T h e .

m unicipal ity may Of ten with great b enefi t to itself prov i d e

, ,

for in struction and furni sh the in stru ments on loan to the

,

y ou ng pl ayer s .
 L I TE RA T U RE . 205

Par t VII

LIT E RAT URE

C H A P TER I.

It i s h p ed h a th e c assi e o t t fi d l t
l
i s of w ork s i en b e w m ay gv lo
pr

R
ov
oot
e or p r a c i ca a e
T h e V i c e an d S i ngi ng
A c mp e e s s em Of E
.
o —
t l v l u to
“

o l t yt du t o
d
th e r e a e r s O f h i s

ca i n i n S i n i n
rt wo k
T ech n i c a nd A r t of S i n i n g —
g g
T he
g
W
o
P r e sse r
.

.
.

.
F . .

CO , P h i a
. l .

“
A rt Of S in in g g
”—
F r a ncesc L a m p er io t
R i cor i , L n n d .o do . .

l t d to
T r a ns a e i n E n i sh gl by lt
Wa e r J e , kyll
M A O se r a i n s p n b v to u o . .

th e A r t O f S i n i n g ga cc r i n o d g t dto l t l
to th e r a i i na I a i a n sch oo l .

“
A r t of R e sp i ra i n to
” —
L ii tg en D on ajOW Sk i , L n n o do
S ma ll . . .

p am p h l e t .

T h e A t of B e a t h i ng L eo K o ne E S W rn e N Y
“ ” —
r r . r . . . e r, . .

Gym n ast i s of th e Vo i c — O G uttm a n E S W n e N Y

“
c e.
”
. . . . er r, . .

Vo ca l I n st u t i o n
“
E d m u n d J M yer
r cCo m p l e t e a nd p ac ti ca l
.
”—
. . r .

T h e o P e se C
. r P h i la
s r O .
, .

D i ct i o n for S i n gers a nd Co m po se s H G H a wn T h o
“
. r .
”—
. . . e .

P es er C
r s P h i la O .
, .

P r o n u n c i a t i o n for S i ng r s A J E ll i s J Cu w en S o ns
“ ” —
e . . . . . r ,

L o n do n D ea l s w i th E n gli sh I tal i n G erm n a n d F n h p onu n

.
, a , a re c r
ci a ti on .

Ch i l d s V o i ce B eh nk e B r o wn 0 D i t so n B o to n
“ ’ ” —
.
~ e. . s .

M u i c R ea d i ng — P o p u l a M th od Of S i gh t S i n gi n g F nk
“ -
” —
s s r e . ra

D am o sch G S h i m e N Y
r . . c r r, .

“
x
N e w E e ci s s or f S i g h t S i n
r gi n g C l a sse se — B oo k s I I I I II - .
” 1
'

, , .

W W Gi l ch i st T h e o P sse C P h i l a
. . r . . re r C .
, .

M e t h o d of S o l feggi o
“
L A R u sse ll G S hi m N Y A .
”—
. . . . c r e r, . .

h i gh g a d e t ex t b oo k
r -
.

S u p p l em nt to M e th od of S o l feggi o L A R u ss ll G
“
e
”—
e

F
. . . . .

S h i me r N Y Cl a ss w o r k for t w o o th ee vo i s
c r , . . r r ce .

M e t h od i l S i gh t S i ngi ng
“
ca W R oot i n 3 p a ts One or .
” —
. . , r .

t h b est
e T h e o P resser CO P h il a
. . .
, .

R u d i m en t a l Cl a ss T ea ch i ng — H R P a lm er Jo h n Ch u r ch
“ ”
. . .
,

Ci nc i n n a t i 56 p p . .

T e ach r s Cl u b —G e o r ge F R oot Jo h n Ch u ch CO
“ ’ ”
e . . . r .

E a r T ra i ni ng — A rt h u r E H cox T h eo P e sser Co P h i l a
“ ”
. . ea . . r .
, .

I nt e rv a l s Ch o rds and E a r t r a i n i ng J P B o wn 0 D i t so n
“ -
”—
,
. . . r ,
.

B oston 1 1 0 pp . .
206 C H O I R A N D C H O RU S C O ND U CTI NG .

u “
t s Of M u
R di men W H Cum m i ng s T h eo P resser si c.
”—
. . . .

P hi l a 72 p p. W e ll p l a nne d fo u se i n cl s e
.
- r a s s .

S t a n d a r d G ra d d C ou se Of S i n g i ng H W G ree n
“
e In 4 r .
” —
. . e .

g d e T h o P sse C P h i l a
ra s. e . re r C .
, .

H a m o n y a n d Co m p o si ti o n H a m o ny B o o k f o B g i n n ”
— “ '
r . r r e ers .

P r to n W a r e O m
es B r i e f v i t l nd p a cti a l T h e o Pre .
, a a r c . . r e sse r
C C .,P h ila .

P a ct i a l H a r m o ny ( O n a F n ch B asi ) H o m e A No i
“ ” -
r c . re s r . rr s .

P a t s I a n d I I w i th k e y
r C ov e s m od e n ch o m t i h a m o n y T h o . r r r a c r . e .

P sse r CC P h i l a
re .
, .

H ar m o n y : A T ex t B oo k H A Cl a rk T h e o P ss
“ ”—
C -
. . . e. . re er C .
,

P h i la .

M od e n H a rm o n y
“
rA E a gl e fiel d H a ll T su pp l e m n t xi t .
” — . . O e e s
i ng w o k s B o ston M u i c CO
r . s .

Cou nt e p o i n t S t r i ct an d F r e e H A Cl a k e T h eo P
“ ”—
r , s r . . ,
r . . r es e
CO Ph i l a
.
, .

M u si ca l F o rm s E P a u e r T h o P r CC P h i l a — . . e . esse r .
, n

H omO p h oni c F o rms P Go tsch i u s G S hi m N Y A —

. . e . . c r er , . .

r ce n t w o rk
e .

M u si ca l A na ly si s —A J Good i ch Jo hn Ch u h cm
“ ” '
. . . r . rc .

c i nn a ti .

T h e Orc h estr a E P ou t T h eo P s —
. r . . r e se r
CO P h i l a
.
, .

T e a t i se on M od e rn I n st r u m n ta t i o n H ec to B l i oz O
“ ” -
r e r er

F
. . .

Dit on s B o sto n .

O ch st ra a n d H ow to W ri t Co d
“ ”—
T h e r for I t
e A e . . r er .

ma st ly w o k C u w en
er S o ns L o n do n
r . r ,

P ra ct i a l M a n u a l t t i o n G to n B o h A h o t
,

“ ”—
f O ch c O r e s ra . as rc . s r ,

c o m p eh n i b l er gu i d e b y a n o h est l p l y
e s an d o n du to , rc ra a er c c r.

B osto n M u si c C o .

C e ci l F o rsy th p o si to y O f i n fo m t i o n
“ ”—
0 ch e st a ti on r r A re r r a

FF
. . .

M a cM ill a n N Y . .

A cco m p an y i ng H ow to P l ay fro m S o W
“ ”
— é ti s c re .
— . .
0
.

R ee v e s L o n do n , .

I ll u st a t i ons i n C h o i r A c co m p a n i m e n t D ud l y B u k G
“ ”—
r ,
e c . .

S h i me N Y
c r r, . .

T h A t of A c omp a n y i n g L i n do
“ ”—
e r +A H Ch i fly fo th Ac . . . . e r e c
c om p n i st a t tha P i no G S hi m e N Y e a . . c r r, . .

B oo k s of R efe en ce fo th e I n t u to a nd Ch o l L
r de r s r c r ra ea r .

“
G ove s D i t i o na y f M u si c a n d M u i ci n s I n 5 vo l s A n
r
’
c r O s a .
”
. ex
h u ti v e a ut h o i t y
a s T h o P e e C P h i la
r . e . r ss r O .
, ~

Co m p l t e P o n ou n i n g D i t i o na y O f M u si l T
”
“
e r m H A c c r ca er s, . .

C la ke r T h eo P . C P h il . r e sse r C .
,
a .

S tan d a r d H i sto y of M u si c J s F Coo k A p op u l r w o k

“
r .
”—
a . . e . a r ,

T h e o P es r Col P h i l
. r se , a .

H i to y of M u si c W J B l tz ell T h o P es P h il
“ ”
s r C .
-
. . a . e r se r O .
, a .

L e so ns i n M u si ca l H i to y J C F i ll m o T h o P ss
,

“ ”—
s s r . . . re. e . re er

C C P h ila
.
, .

E m b ll i sh m nt s O f M u i c L A R u s ll A co m p h n i v
“ ”—
e e s . . . se . re e s e

a n d c l e ar p e e n ta t i o n of th e su b je ct
r s T h eo P e P h ila . ,
r sser .
20 8 C HOI R C H O RU S C O ND U CT I N G
'

AN D .

CH A PT ER II .

t ion
FB y
.
”
or th e orch estr a —
Dr . A . G .
. L
M i ch e
“
se-
t
oo l
ll .
ea f Vi o l i n M e th od for Cl ass I nst r u o
U se d i n th e B o sto n S ch oo l s 0 . .

D i tso n B o sto n .

M u ni ci p al L oo l
“
Vi o l i n M e th od for cl a ss i nst r u ct i o n
se- eaf .
”—
.

C a r l F i sch e r N Y ,

F
. .

T h e J uv e n i l e V i o l i n Me t h od F i r st ste p s i n v i o l i n p l ayi ng
“ ” —
. .

B y F r a n z B or nsch ei n or fou r v i o l i n s a n d p i a n o w i t h Op t i o na l
‘
.
,

v i o l a a nd cell o p a rts Ca r l Fi sch er N Y

’
.
, . .

G u i d e for O r ch est ra L ea d er s A w ell a r r an ge d cat a l o gu e

“
.
”—
.

C a r l F i sc h e r N Y I n t h i s w e fin d : T h e B e gi nn e r s O rc h e str a l
“ ’
.
, .

A lbu m D e si gne d esp eci a lly to a i d p er so ns w h o h ave h a d l i tt l e

”—
.

exp e r i e n c e i n th e w o r k to o r g a n i z e a n d i n st r u ct g r ou p s of a m a t e u r
’

p l a yer s Of r ea l v a l u e i n Co mm u ni t y w o r k T h e u su a l i nstru “ ”
. .

m e n t a t i o n a n d i n a dd i t i o n p a r t s for th e m a n do l i n o r ch e st r a T he
“ ”
.

C a r l F i sch e r s P r o gr essi v e O r ch est r a h as a th i r d vi o li n p ar t

’ “ ”
.

w h i ch m a y b e u se d i n th e ab sen c e Of a v i o l a T h i s set i s e sp eci a lly .

p r ep a r e d for ch u r ch sch oo l or h o m e o r ch e st r a s T h e i n st r u m e n t a
, .

t i o n i nclud e s th e u su a l fu ll o r ch est r a w i th a d l i b p ar t s for “ ”

,
“
,
”

E b a l to sax o p h o n e E b a l to s T u b a t h i r d v i o l i n a n d a l so p art s for

.
, .
, , ,

m a n do l i n T h e Ca r l F i sc h e r
. C o n ce r t F o l i o h as a l i st O f p i e ces
“ ”

su ch a s th e B r i d a l Ch o r u s f r o m L o h e n gr i n ; I nt erm e zzo Ca v a ll e r i a ,

R u st i ca n a ; S p a n i sh D a n ce M osk ow sk i ; L a r go H a n d e l ; p l a y a b l e b y , ,

sm a ll c o m b i n a t i o n s fr o m v i o l i n a n d p i a n o u p T h ese m a y b e d on e .

b y a H i gh S ch o o l o r ch est ra O f good gra d e T h e Co ncer t A lb u m

'

.
“ ”

c a n a l so b e p l a y e d b y a sm a ll c o m b i n a t i o n O f i n st r u m e nt s w i th

p i a no I t h a s so l o
. vi o l i n Obb l i ga to v i o l i n a n d o rgan or h ar
“ ”
,
“ ”

m on i u m p a r ts ad . l ib .

o u l a C o nc t A lb u m A coll ect i o n of exc ll en t n u mb s

“
P p r
'

er .
”—
e er
b y c ll d cl i l w i t s b ut of m d i u m g a d e of d iifi cj l ty
SO -
a e
“
a ss c a
”
r er e r i .

T h e rea e vi o l i n o bb l i g to a nd H a m o ni u m p t s T h e m u i s
r
“
a
”
r ar . src
s o a n g d t h t i t c n b e do n
rra e fi ti e l y w i th v i o l i n n d p i n o o
a a e e ec v a a ,
r
n y a dd i t i o n l n u m b r of i n st u m e n t s u p to th e u u l fu ll
’ “ ”
a a eo r s a r
ch e t a s rT h e v i o l i n p l y e s m u t b e a b l e to w o k i n a l l p o si t i o n s
. a r s r
f o m th
r fi st to th fi fth B o sto n M u si c CO
e r e . .

S u n d y M u si
“
A co ll e t i o n
a of pi s for o ch est ra of
c .
”—
c e ce r
m e d i u m g a d e Of d ifii cu l ty ( v i o l i n f o m fi st to th i d p o si t i o n ) o
r
‘
r r r a

p p i t
rO fo u se i n ch u h S u n d a y s h oo l Y M C A m e t i n gs
r a e r rc , c , . . . e
t h e h o m e i cl T h e i n t u m n t a t i on p ov i d s for th
.

a n d fo r c r in e . s r e r e e
f u ll o ch t a w i th p i n o o m p n i m e n t T h e
“ ”
t u m n ts of th
s r e e r es r a a cc a er
o ll e t i o n of favo i t e H ym n a n d a n gem ns of w e ll l i k e d
,

is a c c r s, rra e -

n u mb rs b y st n d a d c o m p o
e rs O Di t o n
a B o sto n r se . . s .

T h e S h o o l O h e st a T h i s o ll t i o n S h o w s H n d e l M oz a t
“ ’ ”—
c rc r . c ec a , r ,

H a y d n B ee t h ov e n M n d e l s oh n S ch u b rt R u b i n t e i n Gl u k F i m l
, , e s ,
e , s , c , r ,

e tc on i ts l i st of p i e c s
.
, T h e s i es i s m a d up f e sy n d m od e . er e O a a
e ra t l y d i ffi cu l t co m p o i t i o n s sco e d w i t h sp ci al
e r fe e nc to th s r e e r e e
n ee d s of a ma t e u r h i gh sch oo l a n d S u nd a y sch oo l o r ch est ra s
, T he e — . r
 L I TE RAT U RE . 209

a re violi n obb l i gato and h armo ni um p ar ts T h ere a re i n a dd i t i o n

“ "
. ,

to th e lea d e s fi t v i o l i n p a t th ee dd i ti o na l fi rst v i o l i n p ar ts
“
r
’ ”
rs r , r a
d e cr e asi n g i n t e ch n i ca l d i fii u l ty P o v i si o n i s a l so m d e for th
‘
c . r a e

al to a n d th e E b l to saxo p h o ne I n a S p e i l “
u se o f th e E b . . a . c a
S i s a c ll o o bb l i ga to p a r t i s i n l ud e d w h enev er Of dva n t g
er e
”
.
’
e
”
c a a e ,

G S ch i rm er N Y
.
, . .

D an ce A lb um A set Of num b ers b y goo d m u si ci ns p e

“
.
”—
a ,
ra s

ti a b l e for th e sm ll o h e st
c w i t h or w i t h out p i no ; n ot too
a rc ra, a
d iffi cu l t for th a v a ge H i gh S ch oo l o h e t e T h e e i s n o vi o l in
er rc s ra . r
“
bb l i ga to par t T h e
O
”
r p ts fo a l l th e i nst u m nt s f th
. re a e ar r r e O e
fu ll o h est a i f w ant e d T h i s i s r l m u si c T h
“ ” “ ”
rc r a . ea . er e are
n umb of w a l tz es a q u i ck t ep ( tw o step ) n A g e n t i ne ta ngo “ ”
er s
- i a r
, , ,

e tc . G S ch i m N Y . r er , . .

Co n c e t Al b u m for O r ch e t a fl h e e n u m b pl ye d
“ ” ‘
r s ca n b s r .
— s er e a
b y sm a ll o r h st a o any l s c o m b i n ti o n Of i n t u m n t
e r . r e ser c a s r e s, ac
co d i n g to a v a i l a b l
r m a t i a l e i t h er w i th o w i t h out p i n o e T h e er , r a . er
a re v i o l i n Obb l i ga to a nd h a m o ni um p a ts T h i s o ll e t i o n i s
“ ”
r r . c c a
fi n e one m u i a lly a n d i s u se d b y h ot e l o ch e t
, s c th ,b ett r cl r s r a s, e e a ss
O f m ov i n g p i tu e h ou se o ch t a s a n d for c o n c t p o g ra m
c r G r es r ,
er r s. .

S ch i rme r N Y , , .

S t a n d a d O ch e st a B oo k
“
r A n excell en t co ll ct i on v i o l i n i n
r r .
”—
e ,

fi st to fou th po i ti o n M h es M elod i s W l tz s I n t m zzo

r r s . arc , e , a e ,
er e ,

R ve i e
e r S u i ta b l e for good H i gh S h oo l o h st
. In t um nt c rc e ra . s r e a
t i o n i ncl ud s st i ng w ood w i n d h o n t o mbo ne d u m s a n d p i a no
‘
e r s, ,
r , r , r .

T h eo P r . r Co P h i la
esse .
, .

T h e A m a t e u r O ch e st ra F o l i o T h i s se t i n cl ud s b oth c o n e t
“ ”—
r . e c r
a n d d a nce m u i c T h e i n st u m n t a t i o n i n cl ud s th
s . u u l st i ng r e e e s a r s,
Cl ar i ne t s o n e t s h o ns t o m b o n d u m s a n d p i n o T h v i o l i n
, c r , r , r e, r a . e

p a r t i s w i tt en i n th fi st p o si t i o n
r T h c ol l t i o n i s u se fu l fo th ee r . e ec r
a dv a n ce d Co m m u n i t y a nd th e H i gh S ch oo l o ch t
“ ” “
I t i s h ow r e s ra .
m a k e d a n d fi ng e e d ”
A co m p n i o n s t of th e sa m e gr a d e i s I n
“
r r . a e

T one L n d O D i t so n B o sto n
”
a . . ,

T h e D i t on M ch F o l i o T h e D i t so n Co nce t Or ch t
“ ’ ” “
and s ar , r es ra
F ol i o a e for fu ll O h t a a n d p i a n o T h se a e g ra d d as
,
"
r
“ ”
rc es r . e r e
f o m m e d i u m to d iffi u l t
r
“
an d m y b u s d b y th b ett er g a d f c ,
”
a e e e r e O
H i gh S ch oo l o rch e t as T en L i g h t O v tu for o h e st a i a
“ ”
s r . er r es rc r s
c o ll e t i o n
c of c o m po si t i o n s i n s co n d nd th i d g d es v i o l i n e a r ra ,

p o si t i o n s f ro m fi rst to t h i d I n t u m n t t i o n for fu ll
“ ” “ ”
O r . s r e a r

c h e stra a n d p i a n o R o ll i n so n B nn tt a n d G u en w a l d a . w ll ,
e e r , re e

n t d i n t h e se se t s m n t i o n d i n t h i s p ag M i ni tu “
re p re se e ph e e ar ra . a re
S am p l e E d i t i o ns Of fi st v i o l i n p a ts of sev l of th es s i es fo
”
r r e ra e er r

F
,

o ch est ra can b e h a d u p o n a pp l i ca t i o n 0 D i t so n
r B o to n . . s .

Gal x a y of O ch e st ra M u i or l a g e or sm a ll o h st
“ ” —
a r s c. r rc e ra ,
w i t h p i a no or o ga n a co m p a n i m en t a n d o a a n g d t h t r sm ll c , s rr e a a a er
c o m b i na t i o n of i n st r u m n t s m y b e u d i f th l g n u m b i e a se e ar er er s
n ot a v a i l b l e M o t Of th e n um b e s h v e n Obb l i g to v i o l i n p t “ ”
a . s r a a a ar .

A cell o Obb l i ga to p t i s i n l ud e d w h n v er Of a dv nt ge S om
’ “ ”
ar c e e a a . e
O f th e se l e ct i o n s d o n ot g o i nto th e h i gh st v i o l i n p o i t i o n s G e s . .

Sc h i rm r N Y e , . .

M u si c for S m a ll Or ch t a s — A s t of p i eces of fine g ra d

“
es r .
”
e e
21 0 CH O I R AN D C H O RUS C O ND U C T I NG .

by lg o
E a r , C w en, H o l b oo k r G u od
e , L em a r e, o n , etc G y H W ra . . .

N ew Y r ok .

“
t u
A m a e r a nd S ol ch o t
O rch es ra M u si c l t ” —
go d u
A i s of o m si c .

g d
a r ra n e t u
for am a e r a nd sch oo l o t fi t v ol
r c h e s ra s, i n w h i ch t h e rs i in
p a rt do
s ngo b y o d
o t e n t d o to
th e h i r p t y
si i n, a n d t
h e a r e O f en
w tt
ri o d
en d i v i si i n fi ll out
r e r to o y
th e h a rm n bo g T he wi n i s a ll .

u lly
c a r ef k d
ma r e t t l d Nov ll o S o
T h e set i s en i e
.
“
e
’
s dch ol Ban
u
M si c ”
. H W .G y ra . N Y . ,

“
u o S oo l
T h e J ni r ch o ty
a n d C mm u n i t Or ch es ra v lu bl
” -
1A a a e .

co ll t o
ec i n for th e bg “
g o
e i nni n
”
t r ch e s r a fi t T he o
rs a n d se c n d
v ol t
i in p a r s a r e pri n e t d to g t g g g v ll u
e h e r , a n d th e Ope n i n pa e s i e i
t t d
s ra e t u to o
i n s r c i ns c n cer ni n g dl g
th e h an i n l y g a nd p a i n O f th e

v ol
i i n a nd v ol i a tu t to
T h e i n s r m en a i n p r
. ov d uu l
i es for th e s a

t g t w o ut t w o
s r i n s, fl e s, l t o t two
E h C a r i n e s a n d c r ne s, l to Eb a h O r n s,
‘

t o bo t bl
r m ne , re b
e a nd l b
a ss c e fs ( or E b du b ll
a ss ) , r m s, o e s, p i a n .

l o ov o
T h ere i s a s p r to l “
i si n f or th e O p i n a
”
ob o
u se of th e olo e p i cc , ,

o o l to
S p ran , a ta nd xo o
e nor sa b to
ph n es, ari oo
n e a n d b ass ll n Wi i s .

u
M si c
“

o d v ol
a n d se c n
l
t
C i n ci n n a i
t
T h e Ch a p e O r ch e s ra
i i n ( or m a ndo l
OIi O
v ol
tu
”—

in ) ,
.

t to
b
i a a nd
l ud fi
I ns r m e n a i n i n c
ut t w o
a ss, fl
F e,
es r st
.

Bb
l t tw o
C a r i n e s, t o
E h cor n e s, l st a nd 2n d h rns i n E b , r m t o bo ne i n
t b
re l e a n d b l ’
b to d u
a ss c e fs, ce ll O or a ri ne, o
r ms a n d p i a n T h er e i s .

l o
a s o t ol
a p a r t for SOl O B b c r n e , or s o E h c a r i n e ,l t w h i ch m ay b e
u dse d ult
in e fa v ol
of Not
i i ns ov o
e th e p r i si n for th e u se of
.

man do l l
i ns i n p a ce of or w i h t v ol i i nsol o fi t to t d
V i i ns f r m r s h ir .

o to
p si i n .o t u d
Vi l i n p a r i s c e S O as to k o b l to l y
m a e i t p ssi e p a
t ou g out
hr h fi t
i n th e rs to p osi i n t bl o u ty
P ra c i ca e for C mm n i
“
.
”
a nd
t
oth er a ma eur orch es ra s t l
C L B ar nh ouse, Osk a oosa , Iowa
. . . .

C H A P T ER III .

“
S tud i es an d S o ng s T h o s T a pper S u ppl ement a ry Si gh t .
”— '

. .

r ea d i ng m a t e r i a l for sch oo l u se i n 3 vo l s T h eo P r esse r CO P h i l a , . . .

, .

“
F i ve M i n ut es E xe r ci ses
’
F l o r ence A M a r sh a ll Co m b i ne si m p l e
.
”—
. .

v o i ce t r a i n i ng exe rc i ses w i t h p a r t S i n gi n g
- E sp e ci a lly u se fu l for -
.

ch i l d r en s ch o i r s T w o P a r t S o l f e gg i Ja m es H i ggs A co ll e ct i o n
’ “
- ”—
. . .

O f su b je ct s fr o m Ol d m a st e r s ( D u ra n t e H a n d e l e tc ) ca l c u l a t e d to , , .

i m p r ov e m u si ca l t a st e a s w e ll a s sk i ll i n th e u se Of th e vo i c e a nd
,

n ot e r e a di n g Fi ft y T h r e e P ar t S tud i e s ~J E V ernh a m T h ese

- “ ” - —
. . . . .

m ay b e u se d b y ch i l d r e n s ch o i r s to g ood a dva n t a ge as th e y a r e
’ '

k ep t w i th i n th e co m p a ss O f an o cta ve from Mi dd l e C u p W ri tt en , .

w h o lly i n th e G cl ef Usefu l a s vo cal i z es a nd a l so a s exer ci ses i n

.

si gh t si ngi n g
-
H W Gra y N Y
F
. . . .

Var i ou s Co ll e ct i ons a n d B oo k s on S i gh t S i n ging an d Vo ca l

,

-
,

T r a i ni n g — or Cl a ss a nd I n d i v i du a l u se M a d e b y p ra cti ca l i n .

str u ctors O f l a r g e exp eri en ce T h eo Pr esse r CO P h i la . . ., ..

212 C H O I R A N D C H O RU S CO N DUCT I NG .

CH A PTE R IV .

T he l i st Of p ub l ish ers ca ta l o g ues gi v en b el ow r efers to Octa vo ’ “

e di t i o n s u n l e ss ot h e r w i se sta t e d I t r ep r e se n ts a n i mm e n se am ou n t .

a n d v a r i e t y O f m a t er ia l for th e u se O f c h o i r s an d ch o r a l so ci e t i e s .

T h e a n n ot a t i o ns m a y b e Of serv i ce to di r ectors se ek i ng sel ect i o ns

for sp e ci a l u se s .

T h e o P resse r Ph i l a d e l p h i a S i nge r s H a n d B oo k Ch o i r
“ ’ ” “
. .
,

a n d C h o r u s H a n d B oo k H a n d B oo k of M u si c for V i o l i n a n d
” “
,

O t h er I nst r u m e n ts H a n d B oo k of O r g a n M u si c D escr i p ti ve
” “ ” “
, ,

C a t a l o g u e of M u si c W o rk s M u si c T ea ch er s H a n d B oo k ” “ ’ ” “
T he , ,

m a t i c Ca t a l ogu e Of V o ca l M u si c ”
'

Nove ll o E w e r L o nd o n a nd N ew Y o r k S p e ci a l C a t a l o g u e s ;
, ,
“
M u si c for th e Ch u rch for th e H o m e for th e S ch oo l a n d for ,
” “
,
” “ ”

th e Ch ora l S o ci e t y
“
M u si c for a l l co m b i na t i o ns O f vo i ces E x
.
”
.

t ensi ve l i st S p eci al l i sts for th e E p i sco p a l S e rv i ce S o ngs a nd

. .

Ca n t a t a s for ch i l dr e n s vo i ces
’
.

O l i v e r D i t so n B o sto n S p e ci a l cl a ssi fi e d ca t a l o gu es Ch o i r “
. .

L ea d e s L i st f M u i c fo th e P rot ta n t Ch u h Mu si c fo a ll
r
’
O s r es rc .
”
r
c omb i n a t i o n s O f vo i ces O a to ri o s a n d S a d C nt t a s S p eci a l
. r cr e a a .

c a t l o gu s O f secu l a
a e m u si c fo a l l vo i c s S ecu l a C ant a t as a nd
r r e . r
l a ge C h o a l W o k s
r r r .

G S ch i m N Y S p eci al cl a s i fie d c at a l o gu s T h e Ch o i
. r er , . . s e .
“
r
Ma st e s Gu i d e ; m u i c fo th P ot e t n t C h u ch
r
’ ”
s T h Ch o r u s r e r s a r .
“
e
C o n du cto r s G u i d ; m u i c fo l l co m b i n a t i ons of vo i ce s L i st of
’ ”
e s r a .

st an d a d O a to i o s a n d Ch o
r r l wo ks r ra r .

A th ur P r S ch m i dt B o sto n S p e ci al cl a s i fi d c tal o gu e O f
.
, . s e a ,

ch u r ch m u si c a nth e m s a n d p a t so ngs , S p e i a l l i st Of l a g er h o a l r -
. c r c r
w o rk s .

B o sto n M u si c B o sto n Cl assi fi e d ca ta l o gu e Ch u ch mi si c . . r i ,

ch i efl y b y l a d i n g A m e i a n w i t e s
e r c r r .

Wh i t e sm i th M u i c B o sto n S p e ci a l ca ta l o gu e O f Ch u ch
s . r
m u si c .

B F W b od M u si c
. . B o sto n P ub l i sh th e Ch o i r J o u rn a l .
“ ‘
,
”

a se ri es O f a nt h m s Ca ta l o gu e O f p a r t so n gs
e .
- .

J o h n Ch u h C i n ci n n a t i a n d N w Y o k
rc Sp eci a l cl assi fi d e r . e
ca t a l o g u e O cta vo M u i c fo A l l C h o i s M u si c fo sp i a l oo
“ ‘
"
. s r r . r ec
ca si o ns M u i c for th e R o m a n Ca t h o l i c Ch u r h O to ri o s Can
. s c . ra ,

t a t as A l so a l i st Of e asi er ch o ra l m u si c a nd m u si c for ch i l d e n s
,
,
r
’

vo i c s Wo k s for u se i n Ch o a l Cl as s a nd Co nventi o ns
e . r r se .

J F i sch er
. B ro N w Y o r k E x t ensi v e ca t a l o gu e O f m u si c
.
,
e .

fo th e R o m a n Ca t h o l i c C h u r ch
r .

B oos y N ew Y o r k
e C l a ssi fi e d ca t a l o gu e Ch o ru ses f ro m . .

t n d a d Orato i o s S acr d Ch o r l w o rk s M u sic for th e E p i scopa l

s a r r . e a .

S e rv i ce a nd th e R o ma n Ca th o l i c Ch u r ch .

L u ck h a rd t B el d e r N ew Yo k C l assi fi e d ca ta l o gu e S p eci a l , r . .

l i st of h i gh gra d e secul ar musi c for men s voi ces w i th a ccompa ni

- ’

ment for orch est ra .

 L I T E RAT U RE . 21 3

C l ay ton F S u mmy
. Ch i ca g o S h ort l i st Of ch oi r musi c
. .

Fi llm o re B ro s Ci nci nna t i S acre d and secu l ar musi c for all

, .

c omb i n a t i o ns O f vo i c s e .

S i l ve B u de tt
r, r B o sto n S e i es Of ch o r u ses fro m Ma sses
. r ,

O ra to ri o s a nd O p e ras a r a nge d for sch oo l ch o i r s

, r .

Geo ge Mol i nea ux N w Yo k Cl assi fie d ca t l o g ue S c e d a nd

r ,
e r . a . a r
secu l a r m u si fo a l l co m b i na t i o ns O f vo i ces
c r S p ecia l l i st O f sacre d
.

a n d sec u l a r m u si c fo m e n s vo i ce s ’
r .

L o en z P ub
r . Da y to n a nd N ew Yo k Chi efiy ch u rch m u si c r .

of e vange l i cal t yp e .
 C O N T EN T S

P A RT I .

G NIZA T I ON OR A

C HAP T ER I .

I n t rodu cti o n T he Chu r ch Ch o i r Q u a r t et of M en s Vo i ces an d of

— — ’
,
Wo m en s Vo i ces T r i o Wo m en s Voi ces Ch oru s Of M en s
’ —
,
’ — ’

Voi ce s an d of Wo m en s Vo i ces Q u a r t et Of M ixe d Voi ces T h e

,
’ — —

B a l a n cin g a n d B len din g of Vo i ces 5

C H AP TER I I .

Q uintet Ch o
i r— D oub le Mi xe d Q ua rt et 12

C H AP TER I I I .

o
Ch i r Of B oy s a n d M e n— T r a i ni n g O f B oy s V o i ces ’
13

C H AP T ER S I V V VI VI I VI I I I X , , , , , .

C h o ru s of Mixe d Vo i ces T a b l e of “
B est Not es—”
Cl a ssifica ti on Of —

Voi ces S ecurin g M at er i a l T h e S ea t Q u est i on I n efii cient

— “ ” — —

M em b er s 15

C H AP T ER X .

o
Ch i r Of Ch i ld r en s
’
Voi ce s 30

C HAP T ER XI .

Cho l S o i ty
ra c e — P lan f or Or g a ni z a t i o n —
C o du to
n c r as Or g z
a n i er . 32

P A RT II .

T H E CH OIR DIRE CT OR
C H AP TERS I I I , .

P er s on l Qu li fi t ion
a a ca s 37

C H AP TE R III .

T e chn i c a l Qu a lifica tions

21 4
21 6 C O N TE N T S .

P AR T IV .

T HE CHOI R
C HAP T ER I .

Ch o l D i ll— S cu
ra r e r in g an d H ol din g A tt nti on
e 111

C H APT ER S I I I I I I V , , .

S i gh t S in gin g— S in gi ng F la t or S h a rp— E a r T r a in in g
- -
1 13

C HAPTER S V , VI , VI I .

Voi ce -Pr odu ti onc — B r ea th C ontr ol— T he Vow l e s— Diphthong s Vo l

C HAPTER VI I I .

B lendin g of Vo ices 122

C H AP TER S I X, X ,
XI I I
XI , XI I , .

S i n ing g Flexi bi li ty
—
'
— T he S well A gi li ty
’
S cales Runs Orna
— —
, ,
m en t s A tt ack —
an d Re le a se— L ega to— Vowel E qu a li z a t i o n
S t a cca to 123

C HAP TER XI V .

S p eech in S ong— Pr onun ci a t i on — En un i t i on

c a — t ul t i on
A r ic a 1 35

C H APT ER XV .

E xpr essi n— o S peci al Dyn ami cs S h a ding T one Colorin g—

— — - Em otion l
a
E pressi x on 1 45

C H AP TER XVI .

B r e a t h M a n a g em en t —
- T he H a lf B r ea t h
-
. 1 49

C HAP T ER X VI I .

P l an f or o
Ch i r -Reh e a r sa l 15 1

C H APTER XVI I I .

D li v y
e er Of H ymn s— t g
Ch a n in 1 52

C H AP TER XI X .

1 54

C HAPT ER XX .

o
Ch i r -P repa r a i t on , ( H int s on )
 C O N TE NTS . 21 7

P A RT
V .

SERVI CE A N D CONCERT
C HAPT ER 1 .

Sea ing t Of P erf o rmers— Ch our s an d O r ch es t ra 1 59

C HAP TER II .

o
Ch i r i n C on t P f o
ce r er rm an ce — Reh e a r sa ls Of Ch o u wi th
r s O rch es t ra
S t g F i gh t
a e- r .

C HAP TER III .

C ondu to c in P er f
r o mance— Condu to
r c r an d S oloist— Ce leb rate d Con
ductors at Wo k r . 1 62

P A RT VI .

A PPENDIX
C HAP T ER I .

T h e Ch i r o Of l
Ch i dren s V i ce s— Or ’
o ganiz a ti on U se Of a Chur ch
—

Ch i r o Of l
Chi dr e n—
T h e T r a inin g of th e Chil dren s Class or ’

Ch i r o 1 67

C H AP TER I I .

T ea chi n g B rea t hin g f or S inging to Jun ior an d S enior Chi l dren ’

s
Ch o i r an d Cl a sse s 173

C HAP TE R III .

Voi ce T r ai ni n g E xe r ci ses f or Chi ld r en s

’
Ch ir o and C la sses 1 77

C HAP TER IV
T h e Ch i r o Of B oys an d M en 1 86

C H AP T ER V .

T he H i gh S ch ool Ch i r o 1 89

C HAP T ER VI .

T he Co m m uni ty Ch ou r s— Or gan i z a tion — T he o

C mm uni ty Ch ou
r s

L ead er .

C H AP T ER VI I .

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C mpe i i t t on and O h er t F estiva ls .

C H AP T ER VI I I .

T he H m e o “
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a nd S ch oo l O r ch e st r a 20 3
218 C O N TE NTS .

P A RT VII .

LI T E RA T URE
C HAPT ER I .

T he Vo i ce an dS ingi ng Mu si c Rea ding H ar m ony an d Compo si tion

— —

T he Or ch est ra A cco mpanyi n g B ooks of Re f e r en ce

— —
205

F
C HAPT ER II .

or th e Or ch es t ra 20 8

C H AP TER III .

P ub li S h oo l
c c a nd Co mm unit y M usi c 21 0

C H APTER IV .

P ub l i sh er s Ca t l o gu
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220
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T H EO . P R E S SE R C O .

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1 7 1 2 C h e st n u t S tr e e t P h il a d e l p h i a , P a .

221
 ems
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T H EO . P RE S SE R C 0 .

T h e Qu ic k e st M a i l O rd e r M u si c l
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1 7 1 2 Ch e s tn u t S tr e e t P h il a d e l p h i a , Pa .

222