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Crescendo Ignace "Iggy" Jang |
Symphony chorus singers
treasure Carnegie Hall gigAs concertmaster of the Honolulu Symphony, I greet the conductor at the beginning of each concert. When we shake hands, the conductor is symbolically greeting the entire orchestra. Part of my job is to communicate the conductor's ideas to the rest of the string section and to unify our army of string players -- the violins, cellos, violas and basses -- so we're all playing in union.
When the Honolulu Symphony Chorus joins us onstage, we also welcome chorus director Karen Kennedy, who conducts both the chorus and orchestra. It's her job to ensure that all the voices and instruments are playing in union. That's more than 130 vocalists and 63 musicians, and Karen guides us all through the music.
I've asked Karen to share her experiences with us today, to give you insight into the world of choral conducting and the latest news from our chorus, which recently performed at New York's Carnegie Hall. Take it away, Karen!
"How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" the lost musician asked the native New Yorker.That is precisely how the Honolulu Symphony Chorus made it to Carnegie Hall in November: hours and hours of practice."Practice, practice, practice!" the wizened man replied.
At Carnegie Hall the chorus performed a program of Mozart's work with the New England Symphonic Ensemble. It was a whirlwind trip that was months in the planning. And it wasn't just rehearsals that absorbed our attention. Many chorus members had to buy or borrow an assortment of cold-weather gear to cope with an unpredictable New York City winter!
We also had to prepare ourselves psychologically for this special performance. At Carnegie Hall we enjoyed the thrill of singing on a stage shared by so many great performing legends. Musically, the preparation was no different from that of a concert here in Honolulu, the goal being the same for either venue: to give the most inspired and artistic performance possible.
Despite the cold weather, we received a warm reception upon our arrival, which we enjoyed throughout our stay. With more than half of our chorus members present, we had a balanced representation of the sections that comprise a symphony chorus.
The voices of a chorus are categorized according to vocal range. Sopranos and altos are the high and low female voices; tenors and basses are the high and low male voices. Each of these sections in the Symphony Chorus contains 30 to 40 singers, and together they produce an awe-inspiring sound.
Chorus members also bring a wealth of personal diversity to the group. In addition to professional musicians, our ranks include doctors, nurses, educators, students, lawyers, park rangers, jewelers, engineers and ministers, who range in age from 17 to 70-plus.
All are volunteers who meet once a week for 2 1/2 hours to engage in a vigorous session involving physical and mental cross-training. Rehearsals are a full workout! During rehearsal, singers are asked to do math as they count rhythms, and study history and politics when they discuss the time period of the music's composition. Rehearsals also include literary studies, as vocalists must understand the text in order to interpret whether its sentiments are cheerful or gloomy, elated or enraged.
Foreign language is studied as well because the texts of many great choral masterworks are often in French, Italian, Latin or German. Vocalists rehearse for hours to pronounce each word correctly.
Last but not least is the aerobic aspect of rehearsal. The act of singing requires very deep breathing in addition to singing the notes, so a rehearsal is a workout all on its own!
After a physical warm-up the real work begins, and our aim is to craft an interpretation of the music. Interpreting a composer's work is a challenging task. Musicians imagine a composer's intent by studying the social and political environment during his or her lifetime. The life circumstances of the composer can influence everything from the form of a work to the choice of tempo, dynamics and text.
All this rehearsal time does have fringe benefits. Professor Graham Welch, director of educational research at the University of Surrey, has studied the physical benefits of singing for more than 30 years. He claims that people who sing regularly are generally healthier than people who don't. He also notes that singing not only improves lung capacity, but tones abdominal muscles and improves overall circulation while relieving muscle tension.
NEXT MONTH, the Honolulu Symphony and Chorus will perform Carl Orff's famed "Carmina Burana." This work features Middle High German and Medieval Latin texts, with music composed during the 20th century. These texts, taken from a manuscript found at the Bavarian monastery of Benediktbeuren, date to the 12th and 13th centuries. The music connects the medieval age to the 20th century by combining ancient chant with contemporary rhythms and harmonies.
"Carmina Burana" focuses on a wide range of themes from love and lust to drinking, fate and morality. Orff obtained the manuscript in the 1930s and quickly crafted it into one of the most popular music masterpieces of our time. Featured in soundtracks and movie scores, this piece demands large choral and orchestral forces. For this special performance, we'll have more than 200 gifted vocalists onstage with the symphony orchestra. Some of these vocalists will have traveled from around the world to sing with us, and we're thrilled to welcome them to Honolulu.
I invite you to join us on April 2 and 4 at the Blaisdell Concert Hall to experience the mysticism and excitement of "Carmina Burana."
Ignace "Iggy" Jang is the Honolulu Symphony's concertmaster. His column will appear on the Monday prior to each concert of the season to illuminate works to be performed. E-mail comments and questions to Jang at suggestions@honolulusymphony.com