October 15th is the 100th birthday of the premiere of Schoenberg’s masterpiece, Pierrot Lunaire. Lucky me, I had my first crack at performing it last night and will get another chance tonight. It has been a fascinating journey to learn this strange and wonderful music. There have been many days of utter bewilderment, endless hours with a metronome, and tears. Quite a few tears with head-bashing on the piano keys. But it has all been worth it. It has been such a joy to work with the crème de la crème of Vancouver: Corey Hamm (piano), Mark McGregor (flute), Cris Inguanti (clarinet), David Gillham (violin), Marcus Takizawa (viola), Ariel Barnes (cello) and Marguerite Witvoet (conductor). Seriously, it doesn’t get much better than these guys!
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I’ve been really fortunate with new repertoire in the last few years. My pianist and I have had several song cycles written specifically for us. Have we commissioned these works with all the money we have lining our pockets? Indeed, no! I am not independently wealthy, nor do I seem to have much luck receiving grant money from the Canada Council. We have been fortunate enough to have composers approach us asking if they could write a piece for us. This is always a really exciting prospect, especially if I have admired the composer’s music for a long time. Often the process becomes a collaborative one. I am always thrilled when I can have my say in the vocal range, style and especially the choice of poetry. If a composer comes to you and offers you their talents, say “yes”! Being the first to interpret a song is so exciting!
Here are a few things I’ve learned about the beautiful collaboration between composer and performer:
1. Be specific with your vocal range. Let the composer know where you feel your voice shines best. Is your technique good enough to sing in your passaggio for an extended amount of time? Are you more comfortable with lyric, legato lines or do you excel at quick, running passages and super high notes? This is the kind of thing composers want to know before they get started.
2. Discuss poetry. If you have a specific poet in mind that you love and whose words speak to you, let the composer know. Several months ago my pianist suggested a Canadian poet to me and the composer. We were all smitten and the happy result was that the poet came from across the country for the premiere and we all became friends! It was a glorious collaboration! If you choose words from a poet who has been dead for a long time, you can just go ahead and use the poems. However, if the poet is alive or their work is not public domain, you must get permission by writing to the publisher or the poet directly. In my experience, poets are thrilled to have their work immortalized into song!
3. Learn carefully. When you get the score, be very thorough, making note of all markings, pitches, rhythms etc. If something doesn’t make sense to you, ask the composer. Often mistakes happen when the music goes to the copyist.
4. Make a rehearsal with the composer. Once you’ve rehearsed the piece with your musical partner(s), invite the composer to a rehearsal and get them to be as picky as possible. This is an incredible opportunity for you so ask as many questions as you want. This is a huge luxury! Imagine how cool it would be if you could sit down with Mahler for an afternoon to discuss your upcoming performance of Des Knaben Wunderhorn.
5. Tell the composer if something doesn’t work for you. It can be a daunting thought to ask them to change something that they’ve poured their heart and soul into. But remember that they want their music to shine and will often bend over backwards to make you sound great.
6. Hopefully, the composer will be at the premiere, but make sure you tell them about every following performance too. They should know that their piece is well-loved and it is important for them to be able to post performances of their works on their websites!
7. If you are commissioning a piece, be sure to apply to the Canada Council for funding. Who knows? You might just get lucky! Make sure that you also refer to the Canadian League of Composers for commissioning rates and model contracts.
http://www.canadacouncil.ca/home-e.htm
http://www.clc-lcc.ca/index_en.php
Have fun! It is an incredible honour to have music written specifically for you and a joy to interpret a piece for the first time!
One of the trickier elements of contemporary song is rhythm. I have often heard performances in which the rhythm took a secondary place to the pitches. Not only is it incorrect, but it also takes away from the flow of the text. Good composers spend many hours considering how they are going to set the text so that it can be easily understood by the audience. If the performers then start meddling (unintentionally) with the rhythms, then the emphasis of the text can easily be lost.
The second step to learning Contemporary Art Song is to make those rhythms right!
1) Start with your pencil in hand and take note of where there are any changes in time signature and tempo markings. If the signature is changing from 4/4 to 6/8, has the composer gone to the trouble of marking that the eighth note stays the same? Does the tempo suddenly change? Is the marking in a language you don’t speak fluently? Circle, underline or highlight these things and use your dictionary. It’s amazing how often little details can get lost in the shuffle.
2) Mark the strong beats. I always find it helpful in the beginning stages of learning to know exactly where the strong beats are. Drawing a line from the voice part all the way down to the bass line in the piano gives a good idea of what to listen for once you start learning pitches.
3) Read the text. This should actually be your number one priority, not number three! You can never read the text too many times. Read it apart from the rhythmic setting and then read it in rhythm. Say it out loud. Not only does this help solidify your musical understanding, but also you will gain a new vision of the meaning of the text every time you read the words. More on this later.
4) Use your metronome! It’s horrifying how rarely singers dust them off. Most instrumentalists never leave home without one in their bag or instrument case. Make note of the tempo markings and stick to them. Be really strict with yourself at first about staying in exact tempo. Once you’ve lived with the music for a bit, then you can start using rubato. For myself I just find that I am way more confident in the performance stage when I’ve spent ample time with my metronome.
That’s it! Four easy steps to get the rhythms right the first time. As we all know, there are few things more annoying than having to unlearn a mistake. I’ve been there many times and it always makes me feel like banging my head against the wall. Seeing the details on the page at the very beginning is crucial to learning new music with speed and accuracy. You won’t regret it!
Next week: Pitches! Make the learning fun!
Sweet Songstress 