Performing Poetry and Music in the "Classics"

WHAT IS SO IMPORTANT ABOUT THE in music and literature that they have been foundational in our society, colleges, and universities for centuries? What draws a student to study the classics in poetry and music? How do we teach meaning in literature and music for a successful performance, preserving traditions and quality in various styles, lighting a passionate fire in each student?For centuries teachers and scholars have inspired young people to love music and to look deeper into poetry, the meaning and the music for the creative art within. As we know, the arts fulfill a deep need within us as we continue to study and enjoy classic literature, reading and singing thousands of pieces of humanity's self-expression. Excellent teaching is critical to the perpetuation and popularity of the art of singing.We all have had students who started with performing simple folk and popular songs, yet concluded their high school or college careers singing Schubert, Debussy, or Argento. They truly love knowing the music and will always enjoy having this enrichment in their lives. As teachers we have a very long oral tradition that is satisfying and rewarding as we guide and lead students to successful careers as teachers, therapists, and performers. This is a great responsibility and sacred trust in education.Think of the thousands of expressions of emotion available to us in language and singing. Singer and audience enter the wonderful world of imagination when the singer forgets self or how great he/she sounds. As listeners we can tell immediately if a performer is portraying the character or is self-conscious or self-absorbed. As singers, we can judge our success only by knowing if we have communicated well with the audience. The goal should be that the technique serves the performance, and the music and text serve the emotional portrayal of the character. Communication is the goal, and artistry will be the result of well rehearsed techniques.Throughout the history of mankind, people have enjoyed reciting, acting, and making music. Let us consider techniques that contribute to good characterization, poetry recitation, and singing.To be successful performers we need strong visualization and creative thinking whether we are on or off stage. What is our concept of our role, whether the song has a character or not? As we prepare, we need a synthesis of harmonic elements, melody, rhythm, accompaniment, and texts. The study of these elements of a song is crucial to understanding, knowing, and loving it well enough to perform it.Some composers set poetic meter in a melody line without losing the natural stresses of the words. Pierre Bernac writes about the fusion of words and music.In vocal music, the sonority and the rhythm of the words are an integral part of the music itself. The word is itself a musical sound. The sonority and stress and rhythm of words inspire no less, and at times even more, than the emotion they express ... the music of the poem is as important as the music set to the poem. The music of the words and the music itself are one and the same; they should not be disassociated.1Two principal means by which poets achieve musical quality are rhythm and tone color, although their approaches and perceptions can very widely. It is both interesting and instructive to compare multiple musical settings of the same poem composed by more than one composer, for example, C'est l'extase (Verlaine) by Debussy and Faure, or Erlkonig (Goethe) set by Schubert and Loewe. Of course, not all composers set poetry. For example, Dominick Argento set prose texts to music in From the Diary of Virginia Woolf and Casa Guidi, based on the letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. These works are similar to singing an operatic story.Techniques for articulation and enunciation come from many authorities. Giovanni Lamperti states,In my opinion, it is not absolutely necessary for a singer to have a big voice, nor even a pretty one. …