Fifty Resolutions For A Choral Conductor

Author(s): Harriet Simons

Source: The Choral Journal, Vol. 21, No. 7 (MARCH 1981), p. 41
Published by: American Choral Directors Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23545708
Accessed: 27-06-2016 04:37 UTC

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Letter to
to tIie
jUe ecTitor.
ecHtor. ..
Dear Editor:
After reading Lee G. Barrow's article
concerning editions of Vivaldi's
"Gloria" which was done with thorough
scholarship, I nevertheless feel inclined
to say a word on behalf of the edition of
Alfredo Casella. I personally believe we
are indebted to Casella, not only for
bringing this lovely work to the fore, but
also for weeding out the harmonic and
formal anomalies that apparently can be
seen in the original score.
To be more specific, it seems to me
that Casella's C-sharp in measure 43 of
"Gloria in excelsis Deo" does a much
better job of maintaining harmonic ten
sion than B-natural. His A-sharp in
measure 3 of "Gratias agimus tibi"
similarly is much to be preferred to the
bland A-natural. The A-natural in
measure 9 of "Propter magnam
gloriam" is also more in style than the
A-sharp which seems shocking and un
characteristic.
Casella's deletions in several of the
movements are final touches which
beautifully round out the forms,
eliminating traces of monotony, and are
particularly needed in the case of page
11 of "Et in terra pax" in order to avoid
successive cadences on C-sharp minor.
Finally, I find Casella's change in
measure 57 of "Qui sedes" to be made in
the greatest of taste, the E-sharp being
obviously more satisfying than G-sharp.
I suppose there is no way I can justify
my support of Casella's version on
strictly musicological grounds, except to
suggest that scores in the time of
Vivaldi had neither the veneration nor
the finality of scores of later periods, and
that the opera of Vivaldi is so huge that
it is quite likely that many of his works
could have stood revision. An
understanding of the harmonic language
of Vivaldi and a feeling for form and
phrase are indispensable tools for
editors and interpreters of his music. If
a musician of Casella's ilk cannot be
trusted in work of this sort when it
makes so much musical sense, can any
of us hope to recreate the spirit of
Vivaldi in interpretation, a far more sub
tle art? Let us not forget that first, last,
and always, music is for the ear.
Dr. Eric Nisula
Saginaw Valley State College
CHORAL and VOCAL MUSIC
WORKSHOP in ENGLAND
Nonington College, Kent, England near
Canterbury July 22 - Aug. 5, 1981: 3 hrs.
credit available (u.g.;g.) with Dr. Derek
Hyde & Professor Emily Lowe. For
more information, contact Office of In
ternational Studies, Eastern Michigan
University Ypsilanti, MI 48197 or call
(313) 487-2424.
MARCH
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Fifty Resolutions For A
Choral Conductor
By Harriet Sim ons
This year I will:
1. attend a convention, class or workshop.
2. take my group on a tour.
3. commission a new composition.
composition.
4. perfect the choir's attacks on vowels.
5. take voice instruction.
6. encourage my singers to be more responsible for the choir's success.
7. teach my tenors and basses how to mix registers.
8. plan and order music early.
9. prepare every rehearsal.
10. read The Choral Journal and other professional magazines.
11. remember to instruct the ushers not to admit cameras and tape
recorders to concerts.
12. start and end rehearsals on time.
13. go to a colleague's concert.
14. tape a rehearsal and then eliminate at least one revealing bad habit.
15. learn some new music.
16. rearrange seating occasionally.
17. check the range of the tenor part before ordering the music.
18. acquire a new conducting outfit.
19. learn all my singers' names.
20. write a letter to the
the Editor
Editor of
of The
The Choral
Choral Journal
Journal —
— or
or even
evensubmit
submitan
an
article.
article.
21. try to help my singers become more sensitive to the texts they sing.
22. have my choir perform for a nursing home or similar "difficult" au
dience.
23. assign someone the task of making sure the rehearsal room is in order.
24. arrange at least one social occasion for us all.
25. eliminate critical gestures and sarcastic comments from my rehearsals.
26. remember that the singers desire "peak experiences" as much as I do.
27. be on guard against vocal abuse and insist on proper vocal habits at all
times.
28. accept compliments graciously that are paid us after concerts.
29. recognize and provide for the need for release from tension in rehear
sals.
30. take the choir to hear one that sings better than they do.
31. be careful not to blame the choir for my errors.
32. vary my programming.
33. submit a tape to a music convention.
34. solve a discipline problem early rather than enduring it all year.
35. stop complaining about the singers' inadequacies.
36. arrange an exchange concert with another conductor.
37. neither over nor under-estimate the abilities of my singers.
38. read or re-read one book on conducting, music history or performance
practice.
39. refrain from copying music that is copyrighted.
40. rehearse without piano more often.
41. keep the choral library in order.
42. wait for silence before speaking or conducting.
43. get my program copy in on time.
44. emphasize good posture daily and provide a model for it.
45. think through one bar of the music before giving a single preparatory
beat.
beat.
46. give clear directions and keep my lectures short.
47. obtain good recordings and photos of this year's group.
48. compliment the singers when they deserve it.
49. be considerate to my loved ones as concerts draw near.
50. remember that although I'm not perfect (or hopeless) I am capable of
improving.
1981 Page 41