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singing-msg - 7/6/00

Judging whether a song is period in style. Period comments and referances on singing.

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The following is from an article I posted to the Rialto. It describes

my criteria for determining if a song is appropriately period in style.

Lord Miklos Sandorfia

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Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

From: andrew at bransle.ucs.mun.ca (Andrew Draskoy)

Subject: Re: Authenticity & Analogy

Message-ID: <1992Jul3.193957.7078 at morgan.ucs.mun.ca>

Date: Fri, 3 Jul 1992 19:39:57 GMT

Bertram proposed a model for analysing songs/performances to

determine acceptability for authenticity, on the criteria of tune,

lyrics/language, and instrumentation.

What to sing and how to sing it while maintaining that "A-feeling" has

been my main focus in the society. I've come up with what I feel is a

satisfactory approach. Let me see if I can put it in words. (I should

explain that I sing folk, traditional, and other songs outside the SCA.)

When I learn a new piece, I look at it's elements to see if they are

period, blatantly non-period, or somewhere in between. I also check

my overall impression of the piece, since quantitative analysis only

works so well on an abstract artistic object. If *any* element is

obviously non-period to my perception (being vaguely knowledgable about

it) then I won't sing it at an event, though I might consider it at a

post-revel. Period english songs are unfortunately rare, so I think

it's valid to flesh out a repertoire with pieces that still maintain

a period feel.

I look at slightly different elements than Bertram suggests. Keeping

in mind that I haven't done this consciously, here's my stab at a checklist

(everything here is personal opinion, BTW.)

1) melody

If separated from playing-style and arrangement, I consider this the

least worrisome of the lot. Melodies are the least-restricted part

of a song, so it is harder to be blatantly non-period here. The

rythmic structure of the melody is the part that will most likely

"give away" an OOP tune. Modern scales are mostly a subset of those

used in period, so that's less of of problem. Knowledge of hexachords

and such might be useful in analysing a melody, if you wanted to do it

methodically. Certain motifs appear in a lot of modern music, and of

course they shouldn't be there for a period-style performance.

2) arrangement

i) instrumentation

So far as I can tell, the most common way to perform a song in the

Middle Ages in most places was without accompaniment. For some

places and times, instrumental accompaniment on particular instruments

may sometimes be appropriate. Period-style instruments are hard

to come by, but modern equivalents played in period style can

still provide the appropriate feel. (i.e. modern recorders or

neo-celtic harps vs. Medieval or Renaissance ones). Modern variants

of late period instruments are considered jarringly OOP by most

people (e.g. guitars), so I personally won't use them except at

post-revs. I am also rather affronted by the fake lutes-strung-and-

tuned-and-played-like-a-guitar that I have seen at Pennsic,

but maybe that's just me.

ii) harmony

Any accompaniment or vocal harmony should use intervals that were

used in the appropriate place and time, not modern chords.

3) lyrics

a) language

i) period dialect

Period pieces in the original language are wonderful to hear.

Personally, I get someone to teach me how to pronounce the dialect

in question so that I don't mangle it too much.

ii) modern English

Most people don't understand period dialects. I love singing

Anglo-Norman songs, but they're not so good for telling a story,

getting a message accross, or keeping attention on a performance.

Either poetic translations or songs in modern English can still

have a period feel. It's a matter of content and idiom. Look

at the old Child ballads (the ones he documents as coming from

period sources) as examples of songs that have evolved from period

to modern language. Also, some other languages have a rich

folk-heritage of old songs, which are documentably period.

Hungary, for example.

b) references

any references to OOP objects, events, times, and places obviously

destroys any possibility of a period feel.

c) form

I mean this in a poetic sense - rhyme and metre and all that.

Some forms are period, some aren't. (BTW, I have yet to find

a book of poetry forms that consistently includes chronological

information. References would be appreciated!)

d) style

This is hard to define. It includes symbolism, idioms, stock

phrases, common analogies and plot elements. Basically, the things

that are different between a period story and a modern one. One way

to develop a sense of this is to read lots of period stories

and listen to and study lots of period songs.

4) singing/playing style

It is difficult for most musicians to keep modern techniques,

styles of improvisation and ornamentation out of their performance

and substitute period ones. Still, that's what you have to do.

I love playing recorder with Highland bagpipe ornamentation, vibrato,

and four-note pitch-bends, but recorders were probably not played that

way in period. Similarly, a blues or jazz feel would ruin a period song.

Sorry, this is off the top of my head and not as coherent as I would like,

but I'll send it anyway to stimulate further discussion.

References (from memory - I'll double-check later):

McGee, Timothy; Medieval and Renaissance Music - A Performers Guide

Child, Francis J.; English and Scottish Popular Ballads

Bartok, Bela

- a study of Hungarian folk song - I don't recall the

title, send email if you want bibliographic data.

-----

Miklos, singer in herald's clothing

beyond the Glass Mountain, farther than the birds fly

dancing away in far Ar n-Eilean-ne

andrew at bransle.ucs.mun.ca

Date: Fri, 8 Aug 1997 07:43:43 -0700 (PDT)

From: Heidi Johnson <heidij at rocketmail.com>

To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu

Subject: Re: Singing

---RMcGrath at dca.gov.au wrote:

> Thank you to those who have so kindly responded to my request re period

> vocal styles. I've just returned to my desk, and have realised to my

> disappointment that I was not precise enough in my request ...

> I am a trained musicologist, tho have spent the past 3 years studying

> psychology as light relief. :-) To be more precise in my request, I'm

> interested in how current research thinks medieval and renaissance vocal

> music ought to be performed, specifically in how the voices ought to sound.

> I acknowledge that a musicologist ought to know these things, but the fact

> is that when real life keeps on intruding and the necessity for a career

> change, the beautiful things of life may sometimes be neglected. :-( So I

> am not up to date in every aspect of research.

> Rakhel Petrovna

Rakhel,

As a former musicologist myself, and a trained vocalist, I rather

thought you might be asking more about technique than general musical

form.

My understanding is that the tide is slowing ebbing away from the

extreme view that allows no vibrato in anything written before the

1600s. In the case of sacred music, the "pure tone" interacts with

the architecture in a marvelous way, and, particularly when the

harmonic complexity increases, a case can be made for less

"extraneous" harmonic overtones. And of course, several composers

wrote with the long decay in mind. (Boy, it's fun stuff to sing!)

But, that's still the "old school" position, I think. Considering

(though even this is debated by some vocal theorists!) that vibrato is

a natural element of the voice, I don't see how a vibrato-free tone

can be applied universally to madrigals, chansons, chant, etc.

In the case of madrigal singing, it's often easier to match and

blend voices with less vibrato. But there's good and bad techniques

for achieving that effect. Badly repressed vibrato can ruin a voice.

Trust me - I almost did it myself singing madrigals in my 13-year-old

voice at the age of twenty. Anyway, I think I'll stay in the shallow

end of the pool and not dive into registers and turns and all that.

I'm sure the uninterested will thank me.

I think properly controlled vibrato is a wonderful tool for

expression. I'd certainly hate to see it excluded without some

concrete evidence. So, if anyone has any recordings made before 1600,

I'd love to hear them! :)

Thanks for the interesting question!

Kassia of Trebizond

Barony of Nordskogen, Principality of Northshield, Kingdom of the

Middle

Date: Fri, 8 Aug 1997 10:38:12 -0500 (CDT)

From: fiondel at i1.net

To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu

Subject: Re: Singing

> I think properly controlled vibrato is a wonderful tool for

>expression. I'd certainly hate to see it excluded without some

>concrete evidence. So, if anyone has any recordings made before 1600,

>I'd love to hear them! :)

Milady, Kassia, I agree with you. However, there is one point on

which I am unclear. We are discussing two different types of music.

Sacred music (intended for performance in church or hall) and secular

music (e.g. madrigals). These had two different performance types

and, in many cases, two different types of performing groups.

Sacred music, a la masses, oratorio, motets, etc., was nearly always

performed either in a church/cathedral or in a large hall. My college

choir never could understand why our conductor was so adamant about

singing the tone as evenly as possible, until we got to the European

cathedrals and halls. When the music is performed in stone or

marble rooms, the echo created completely changes the way the music

is heard. An extended echo factor requires both a slowing down of

"part" harmony (otherwise, the tonalities overlap, and may or may

not be pleasing to the ear), and as little vibrato as possible. Yes,

the vibrato is a natural part of the voice. However, the slight up

and down of the vibrato is enough to "muddy" the tonality, given a

cathedral's echo factor (which can run from 2-15 seconds, depending

on the size and ceiling height). The vibrato that causes the major

problem is in the higher voice parts (particularly the soprano) since

the vibrato of the soprano is much faster than that of the lower voices.

Although a bass vibrato can also cause problems, if it is wide enough

to confuse the hearer as to where the "foundation" line is. In college,

working for the director of choral music, he and I did research on how

this problem was overcome. Typically, the soprano parts were sung by

young boys, for specifically these reasons. Young boys have virtually

no vibrato. So what you get is a single, "clean" tone, which holds the

melody line as it was written by the composer. So, in period, the

vibrato, at least in the highest register, was avoided whenever possible.

Now, secular music is an entirely different story. These were sung in

much smaller, more intimate places. Thus, a much reduced, or non-existant

echo problem. In madrigals, rounds, chansons, and others, the vibrato

poses no difficulty to the integrity of the music.

As for recordings pre 1600 <g>, if you get recordings of a good boys

choir, or, better, a recording of a good boys choir along with an adult

choir, it will give a good indication of what sacred music sounded like

in period. The music, as far as we can recreate it, was the same, and

the voices are similar in mix as to what they would have had.

Okay, I guess you all know this fascinates me. :) Sorry if I've bored

you to death.

Fiondel the Song-Spinner

mka Michelle Heitman

Former Vocal Performance Major

Date: Fri, 08 Aug 1997 12:41:19 -0700

From: "Finella Harper (MKA Wendy Creek)" <finella at lightspeed.net>

To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu

Subject: Re: Singing

RMcGrath at dca.gov.au wrote:

> I'm interested in how current research thinks medieval and renaissance vocal

> music ought to be performed, specifically in how the voices ought to sound.

If you'd like to try a really good book on the subject, try "Medieval

and Renaissance Music, a Performer's Guide" by Timothy McGee (university

of Toronto Press ISBN#0-8020-6729-8). It's copyrighted 1985 so it's

fairly current and it is a wonderful resource that discusses all types

of vocal techniques from the medieval and renaissance period, including

sacred, secular, solo, and ensemble singing, as well as instrumental

technique.

Unfortunately, it's a little hard to get. My apprentice has been trying

to get a copy and she's had to call the University of Toronto Press

themselves. Since you're in Australia this is probably out of the

question, so if you're interested in knowing more about the book or

you'd like help getting a copy, e-mail me privately and I can have her

order another one and make arrangements to send it to you. As I recall

it costs just under $20.00 (American).

Finella

Date: Fri, 8 Aug 1997 18:54:11 -0500 (CDT)

From: fiondel at i1.net

To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu

Subject: Re: Singing

> I for one am thrilled to have more musicology on the list.

> That said, I have a couple of questions. First, what do those of you who

> perform period vocal music in the SCA do about the "magic and religion"

> stricture?

<snip>

For the most part, I don't worry about it. First, much of the sacred

music was written in Latin, so, unless you have an audience of Latin

scholars, they aren't going to know whether you are singing sacred or

secular music. Find something that has a pleasing, or rousing, or

deliciously melancholy melody line, and have fun. The only problem

with the church music that's available is that most of what remains

for us to know is in parts. Now, if what you want is to start a

group, then that's fine. But if you are looking for solo pieces, there

isn't much repertoire available that I have found. If anybody knows

of some, that would be great.

> Regarding the secular repetoire, I've been having a hard time finding

> things to sing that aren't very late period or impossible to document.

> I've found a lot of troubadour music, but I'm not good enough with French.

Is late period a problem? :) Most of the sources that one *can* find

are in the style of music which was developing in the 13th and 14th

century. Some of the tunes were reused many times, as well as some of

the poetry. So, while it may not be documentable that your Chanson

from 1596 was performed much earlier, a very good case could be made.

But that, of course, is a whole 'nother bucket of fish.

> My voice training was mainly in Italian and Latin, and I can muddle through

> Spanish and German, but that's about it. The books on secular music in

> English have maybe ten songs that date before 1550, and most of them

> have heavy religious references.

Three suggestions. William Byrd (1540-1623), John Dowland (1563-1626),

Thomas Morley (1557-1603). Of these, the best for solo performance is

John Dowland. I have a book published by Stainer & Bell (American

Agents Galaxy Music Corporation)1971, which is called "Fifty Songs in

two books". The second contains music written and published after

1600, but the first has 25 songs, all secular in nature, written and

published prior to 1597. Late, yes, but still period. And very nice,

singable songs. Some light-hearted, some very melancholy. They pretty

much run the gamut. William Byrd has a number of very pretty, sad,

"unrequited love" type songs, but the book of his songs that I had

got up and walked away, so I'll have to find it again. Morley is

rumored to have written solo songs, but I have never been able to find

any in print. Still, if what you want is secular part music, Morley

is wonderful. Frequently depressing lyrics, followed by a bunch of

Fa-la-la-la's. Delicious. *AND* relatively easy for a young and/or

inexperienced group to sing.

>The Baroness of Arn Hold is trying to

>encourage more performances of period music and I would like to get a

>group going in my area (but, again, the problem of lack of interest).

One way to gather up some interest is to start with Rounds. At a

Baronial meeting (Do other groups do "Medieval Moments?") teach a

simple round. There are a great number of them which are period, fun,

and easy to learn. Just look up rounds in the local library. If yours

is anything like ours there will be a bunch of entries. Anyway, after

they have actually seen how easy is can be to perform (a round can be

taught in a matter of 10-15 minutes), you very well may find people

being more interested in the complicated part songs. Most people don't

express interest in music because they think they "Can't do it." Once

you prove they can, you'll have an easier time.

Hope this helps.

Fiondel the Song-Spinner

Date: Mon, 18 Aug 1997 21:24:21 -0400 (EDT)

From: "Greg Lindahl" <lindahl at pbm.com>

To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu

Subject: Re: Singing

> I wish I understood better why so many people seem to be intimidated at

> the prospect in singing in another language. Didn't they sing "Frere

> Jacques" or "Cielito Lindo" as kids? "La Bamba"? The pronunciation in

> singing doesn't have to be perfect. I think it is really a tragedy that

> the enormous corpus of French, Italian, German, and Spanish period vocal

> music is largely ignored in the SCA. Perhaps what we need is a phonetic

> guide to these languages.

Timothy McGee's latest book has not only a phonetic guide but a CD

containing pronunciations, which I find much more useful than figuring

out linguistic scribbles. I used it to learn the pronunciations for

Edi Beo Thu, which is in Middle English, but it covers all of the

major early langauges, i.e. the stuff you use for Troubador songs and

the Cantigas de Santia Maria.

-- gb

McGee, Timothy James. _Singing Early Music: The Pronunciation of

European Languages in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance_. Indiana

University Press, 1996. ISBN 0-253-32961.

Date: Mon, 18 Aug 1997 21:25:19 -0400 (EDT)

From: "Greg Lindahl" <lindahl at pbm.com>

To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu

Subject: Re: Singing

> Is there anyone on the list, or someone you know with e-mail, who is

> learned in the area of "period" vocal styles?

There's a whole mailing list devoted to this sort of topic in the

sca -- the minstrel mailing list. To subscribe, send mail to

majordomo at pbm.com saying

subscribe minstrel

-- gb

Date: Mon, 18 Aug 1997 21:05:54 -0700

From: bshuwarg at lausd.k12.ca.us

To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu

Subject: Re: Singing

Regarding the subject of singing early music, I just came across this

information on pp.55-57 of Tim Mc Gee's "Medieval & Renaissance Music - A

Performer's Guide", Univ. of Toronto Press, 1985.

"The voice is referred to by a number of writers from the late fifteenth,

sixteenth, and early seventeenth centuries from France, Germany, and

especially Italy.....Because of the agreement - or lack of disagreement

- in the various instructions and fairly wide geographical distribution,

they can probably be taken as a general European view of singing in the

late Renaissance. The information in these writings can be summarized as

follows:

Advice given by two or more writers

1. Sing with the mouth open only as wide as in casual conversation. Do

not open it wide or close the teeth.

2. Place the singing tone in the front of the mouth. Avoid singing from

the back of the throat or through the nose.

3. Use a moderate tone. Do not force the voice.

4. Sing with a steady tone that does not change in pitch, volume, or

intensity. This appears in the contxt of singers who attempt to convey

emotion by unsteady vocal production - by varying the intensity and pitch

of a single note or by rapid and frequent chnage of volume in a short

passage. It probably does not intend to advocate colorless and unvarying

expression. As early as 1535, Sylvestro Ganassi was urging

instrumentalists to imitate singers' use of flexible volume for

expression, and Giulio Caccini gave a number of expressive vocal examples

in his instructions of 1601.

5. Rapid notes should receive clear articulation. Passages with text

should be articulated clearly in the throat. However Finck warned

against sounding like a goat!

6. Avoid excessive body motion while singing. Maffei found so

distasteful and distracting the custom of expressing emotion with

trembling lips and motion of the head, body, hands, and feet, that he

forbade any motion at all. He even recommended that singers use a mirror

to help limit excessive eye motion. Zaconi (1592) agreed motion was to

be avoided, but he stopped short of Maffei's extreme, and Caccini,

writing for the professional, encouraged support of expression by the use

of body motion.....

"...the attitude of the 16th century writers towards the voice would be

even more appropriate for the early centuries: a good vocal tone is one

that is light and agile."

I'll let you all know what the Boston Camerata have to say on the subject

of singing troubadour/trouvere music when I return from my voice

masterclass with them in Provence in the middle of September. I'm leaving

in 12 days, and boy am I excited!

Helisenne de Gue-Pierreux