Comments on: The Cultish Appeal of Singing Together http://eyesclosedlistening.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/the-cultish-appeal-of-singing-together/ A seventeen year old vocalist, trombonist, and composer Thu, 03 Sep 2009 23:43:29 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: musicrob http://eyesclosedlistening.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/the-cultish-appeal-of-singing-together/#comment-16 musicrob Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:50:16 +0000 http://eyesclosedlistening.wordpress.com/?p=74#comment-16 Yes. Which is not to say anything against instrumental music. I LOVE instrumental music. Instruments are capable of things voices simply aren't (namely, nine chords that don't sound cheesy), and they can handle a lot of genres– indeed, most– better than voices can. Vocal jazz is nothing like real jazz. Symphonies are written for instruments for a reason. And marching choir might be the only thing more interminable than show choir. But realizing that ensemble vocal performance has a different physical and emotional return– I'd almost call it a spiritual return– was a big step in my musical development. Today, the director of the voice program here at Northwestern discussed a moment when, as an undergrad, he sang a full mass– directed by Robert Shaw. There was one moment in particular, he said, when, in the penultimate movement: "I started to realize something really good was happening. And then suddenly– we were *together.* The roof collapsed, the walls fell down, the heavens opened, and we were all linked together as one. And after that moment, there was no way I wasn't not going to somehow do music for the rest of my life." This followed his previous comment: "It doesn't get any better than performing chamber music." Yes.

Which is not to say anything against instrumental music. I LOVE instrumental music. Instruments are capable of things voices simply aren’t (namely, nine chords that don’t sound cheesy), and they can handle a lot of genres– indeed, most– better than voices can. Vocal jazz is nothing like real jazz. Symphonies are written for instruments for a reason. And marching choir might be the only thing more interminable than show choir.

But realizing that ensemble vocal performance has a different physical and emotional return– I’d almost call it a spiritual return– was a big step in my musical development. Today, the director of the voice program here at Northwestern discussed a moment when, as an undergrad, he sang a full mass– directed by Robert Shaw. There was one moment in particular, he said, when, in the penultimate movement:

“I started to realize something really good was happening. And then suddenly– we were *together.* The roof collapsed, the walls fell down, the heavens opened, and we were all linked together as one. And after that moment, there was no way I wasn’t not going to somehow do music for the rest of my life.”

This followed his previous comment:

“It doesn’t get any better than performing chamber music.”

]]> By: junegirl http://eyesclosedlistening.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/the-cultish-appeal-of-singing-together/#comment-15 junegirl Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:38:59 +0000 http://eyesclosedlistening.wordpress.com/?p=74#comment-15 So like the world of marching band competitions with its traditions, rivalries and small-world dramas. (A few years ago, I believe a Princeton sociology major wrote her senior thesis on the social dynamics of one of the New Jersey Drum & Bugle Corps.) Which raises this question...Nina Rastogi says there is an extra, physical dimension to the pleasure of making music together for singers. Do you think there is a difference in physical or psychic reward in making music together with our voices rather than with musical instruments? So like the world of marching band competitions with its traditions, rivalries and small-world dramas. (A few years ago, I believe a Princeton sociology major wrote her senior thesis on the social dynamics of one of the New Jersey Drum & Bugle Corps.) Which raises this question…Nina Rastogi says there is an extra, physical dimension to the pleasure of making music together for singers. Do you think there is a difference in physical or psychic reward in making music together with our voices rather than with musical instruments?

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