Abstract:
This paper addresses the concept of colours in the choral aesthetic, with specific reference to the New Zealand choral scene with its influence from the Pasifika and indigenous Maori vocal colours. The presenters from the University of Auckland, Dr Morag Atchison (one of NZ’s leading voice teachers and sopranos, and the first DMA graduate in voice from a NZ university) and Associate Professor Karen Grylls (Head of Choral Studies, leading choral pedagogue and conductor), will discuss this changing paradigm of the New Zealand choral context. The presentation will include audio and video examples of choirs, ensembles and their connection to the world of the soloist as a point of comparison for the development of a choral aesthetic. A New Zealand sound: from Kings’ College Cambridge to Auckland in the Pacific From the seventeenth century, as Britain sought to civilize the world, New Zealand was set to become a part of the British Empire and, as a result, the indigenous music was missionized. Gradually, musicians from Britain arrived to work in churches, communities and universities. In 1958, Peter Godfrey, a former chorister and choral scholar at King’s College Cambridge, emigrated to NZ to take up the position as Director of Music at Auckland Cathedral and Lecturer in Music at the University of Auckland. He was largely responsible for establishing the excellence of the wonderful choral tradition we enjoy in NZ today. In the seventies, the Auckland Dorian Choir, which he directed, comprised around 60 singers, with a soprano colour that resembled the sounds he brought from Kings. The sopranos sang with little vibrancy, mostly head tone and rarely much louder than mezzo forte. With still strong ties to Britain, it is hardly surprising that many singers today still have that sound as their colour of choice. New opportunities for young singers: the eighties and nineties Following on from the itinerant instrumental music scheme begun in the forties, William Walden Mills started the National Choral Holiday Courses in 1964 to develop choral singing. In 1979 Guy Jansen founded the New Zealand National Youth Choir and later in 1986 the New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir. In Auckland, Epsom Girls’ Grammar, Rangitoto College, Aorere College and Westlake Girls’ High School led the way with their music curriculum and strong choral programmes. When the New Zealand Choral Federation established the secondary school competition The Big Sing in 1988, the course of secondary school choral music took a new and exciting path. Singing at The University of Auckland In the nineties, it was compulsory for voice students to sing in a choir at university. All music students sang in the massed choir for university concerts and graduation, yet singing students were dissuaded from singing in the auditioned choir by their voice department. It was the belief of the singing teachers at that time that soloists trained as soloists and did not sing in a choir. The perception remained that choral singing embraced the King’s sound of the eighties, a non-vibrant treble sound, at odds with free phonation. For young singers in the nineties, their choral experience was contrary to their studio experience. With the growing influence from American and Scandinavian conductors, pedagogues and choirs, the seeds were being sown for a change of view: trained singers were able to sing in choirs. Today, with the change of ideals in the choral and vocal departments, the University of Auckland, with its increased demographic of Maori and Pasifika students (whose cultures are rich in singing), aspires to engage with the best of choral singing. It is currently the country’s only provider of tertiary undergraduate and postgraduate choral conducting training, and has a collaborative and collegial environment for studio and ensemble singers. The Vocal Teaching As voice professionals we work to impart a healthy, integrated technique to our students, but when the idea perpetuates that singing in a choir can ruin your voice, what can be done? The choral team at the University of Auckland consists of a conductor, an associate conductor, vocal coaches, language coaches, movement coaches, cultural advisors, collaborative artists, and significantly, universal support from the voice department. Ensuring vocal health is our top priority. Singers thereby gain confidence that choral singing is a healthy choice and an essential part of their vocal and musical education. Singers also know that their vocal health and development is being taken care of, and with technical advice being given in the rehearsal, conductors have much more freedom in their choice of vocal colour. The studio teachers teach both choral and solo repertoire, as necessary, embedding solo technique in the choral literature. To gain necessary musical, performance and ensemble experience, voice students are encouraged to sing in choirs/ensembles, both inside and outside the university. What do we value: our ensemble aesthetic Fundamentally, we value an ensemble sound that is free, healthy, vibrant, flexible and engaged: one that uses the unique colour of each individual voice in a way that achieves a a beautiful, stylistically appropriate sound. In the studio, physical awareness is paramount, and despite often well-meaning physical exercises in the choral warmup, physicality can easily be ignored. Movement experts in the rehearsal ensure that physical awareness is as important as technical aspects such as vowel production. A singer cannot ‘hide’ in the choir. When individuals take a back seat, posture and body engagement suffers, vibrato becomes uneven, and the tone becomes unbalanced. We place emphasis on story-telling and text analysis to inform the choice of vocal colour. Communication through story-telling is a critical component of the ensemble aesthetic; solo singers without a story are uninteresting, and choirs are the same. It is the emotion that creates the communication, which influences the colour and the aesthetic. Our musical team encourages the language of the studio to be a part of the choral process. As a result, singers can sing freely and there is a clear connection between the solo and the choral worlds. The Process Our process begins with the text: meaning, pronunciation and interpretation. With the word for word translation and IPA written in the score, the fundamental challenge is to achieve a uniform vowel colour. The flat, spread, swallowed vowels of the New Zealand accent are far removed from the vibrant, free sound we want. The use of the Wiremu Vowel Clock has become a familiar part of the rehearsal process. It is a quick way for a New Zealand ensemble to achieve focused vowels and unified resonance. Notes, rhythms and musical understanding follow. Stylistic requirements influence both the size of the ensemble, the choice of colour and the positioning of the singers inside the ensemble; sopranos, with their developing formants, need especially careful management in this regard. Finding the optimal place in the ensemble for each singer to sing freely, with balanced intonation and vowel colour, remains the challenge of our profession. However, it does not matter how expertly matched the voices are, if there is no uniformity of vowel, the sound will lack balance. The changing paradigm for young and professional singers from NZ In New Zealand today, the best vocal and choral training in schools and universities aspires to create a shift from the amateur to the professional. There is no doubt that there is a long list of attributes needed for the young professional singer. As Deanna Joseph’s article in the Choral Journal 2015 states, the paradigm for the professional singer in the 21st century is changing. For a career in music a young New Zealander must travel. Their success often comes down to whether they can work overseas, and this is difficult for those with only a New Zealand passport. There are of course the exceptions, but for most singers with the black and silver passport, the return home is inevitable. It is our responsibility as pedagogues to ensure a fulfilling pathway for our singing students. If they can seamlessly move between the choral and solo worlds, they are giving themselves a better chance of a career in music. The Maori and Pasifika voices are very much a part of New Zealand’s presence on the world stage and it is increasingly evident in New Zealand that singers with a strong choral background successfully audition for places in Young Artist Programmes and professional chamber choirs overseas. These issues are relevant in choral/vocal worlds beyond the Pacific.