Re: Voice under construction (fwd)

[moshe denburg <denburg...>]

On Friday, January 31, 1997, "Jennifer R.Goodman" <jenifer (at) 
unix(dot)tamu(dot)edu> wrote:
 
>With luck the list can help me answer a question. I came back from
>my first trip to Klezkamp in December (yes, it was wonderful; 
>believe it!) wondering this: What sort of voice training should a
>female singer have if she wants to learn to sing traditional 
>Jewish music, especially traditional Ashkenazi music?  I do
>already know she should learn as much Yiddish as she can. I also
>know that in the case of this singer neither operatic training 
>nor cantorial training would be appropriate. But on a positive
>note, what should be done? Who, specifically, should she be
>listening to, and why? And, yes, I know that the subject of
>female vocalists is already controversial, but, after all, 
>both the female singer and controversy have been Jewish 
>traditions since the days of Miriam, if not earlier.

Dear Jennifer,

In my opinion, there are several ways to approach the matter. Firstly, there
_are_ women who utilize a more classical training to sing Yiddish songs.
This is one aspect of the tradition - a kind of art song. The more
contemporary 'Klezmer' related style concentrates on a more Folky voice. The
closest analogy may be Jazz singing, which emphasizes good pitch centering
with a minimum of vibrato. This, in my opinion, would be a good all-round
voice training that accords with contemporary Yiddish song interpretation.

The Cantorial art is in many ways close to the classical forms of singing,
in that it requires, traditionally, a classically (Western) trained voice.
However, *listening* to the melismatic style inherent in Cantorial music
will certainly help to give one a taste of Jewish musical style - and the
modes used in Cantorial music are basically the same as those utilized in
popular Jewish song.

In contemporary Yiddish singing I have come across two basic approaches. The
traditional approach  expresses everything from the absurdly humorous to the
unabashedly sentimental. The contemporary Klezmer related approach
de-emphasizes the sentimental, and tries to put a tougher edge on the
singing, imo. 

Regarding the 'controversy' about women singers - there have always been
women singers among us. The proscriptions are in the context of traditional
Orthodox worship only. Even among the Orthodox however, there are many who
will listen to women singing, from recordings if not in live performances.
In Israel, there are many fine women singers who sing texts from the liturgy
and are heard everywhere. In sum, I wouldn't worry about the issue - strict
Orthodoxy on this matter is not very widespread.

I hope this is of some help.

Moshe Denburg