13. Interpretation

Interpretation in singing may be defined as the manner, style, and feel­ing used in the presentation of song material.

Manner — The first consideration in interpretation should be the re­lationship between audience and performer.

The song material will determine first the manner in which the song shall be presented to the audience. Song material may first be divided into subjective and objective material.

Subjective material includes songs of prayer, lullabies, and love songs addressed to one person.

Objective material includes songs of narration and address or atmos­phere songs.

Subjective songs demand an indirect manner in presentation.

The performer should consider the audience as eavesdroppers.
He should look over their heads to avoid meeting their eyes.

Closing the eyes may even be permissible if not carried to an extreme -that is, if not done in too many songs. If used too much, singing with closed eyes becomes a distraction to the audience.

Objective songs on the other hand demand a direct manner in presentation. The singer is actually attempting to contact his audience. The audience is part of the presentation.   Glances should be met, but not held.

A prayer is usually not made or sung except indirectly. No glances should be met in this type of material.

A story in song, narration, demands direct contact. A narrator, for example, turns from one to another to impress or hold his audience.

The manner in which song material should be presented musically is suggested by all composers, but need not be adhered to rigidly.

Dynamics, that is, loud and soft singing, crescendos and decrescendos; tempos, that is, andante, allegro, accelerando, and ritardano are usually written in. Legato, staccato, holds, optional notes, grace notes, turns, trills, portamentos are usually indicated. All suggest the intent of the com­poser as to the musical manner in which a song may be interpreted.

Style — In the matter of style, style is in itself manner. Song litera­ture itself usually calls for a particular style.

Song literature may be divided into four groups: Classical Romantic Modern Popular

Classical song literature is sung first for beauty. Strong emotional feeling other than sincerity is eliminated. The songs of Bach and Handel fall in this classification. Their presentation usually demands a traditional presentation.

Romantic song literature demands an equal division between beauty and feeling. This song literature includes songs of Schubert, Schumann, and Mendelssohn.

Modern song literature calls for a balance in favor of strong feeling — songs of Hugo Wolf, Richard Strauss.

Popular songs call for emotional treatment and effects not generally accepted as good taste in what is generally called classical music.

Feeling — In a consideration of song literature from a standpoint of feeling, the personal equation is the most important factor. This is the basis of artistry.

Who is the interpreter?

What is his background, his environment?

Does he have a dramatic talent?

Can he read into the interpretation of a song something of his inner feel­ings, or does he just sing the notes?

Is he afraid that he may make a fool of himself?

Is he afraid of how he may look or appear in his interpretations ?

Is there something in the quality of his voice that moves the listeners to tears, to laughter, to sadness, to joy?

Can he run the gamut of human emotions, or is he purely intellectual in his approach?

It is usually said that one must have lived, to be a good interpreter. Ex­perience no doubt seasons the powers of the interpreter, but a vivid imagina­tion, one of the attributes of a dramatic talent, can make up in part for lack of experience.

The movies may give experience in interpretation. Motion pictures and television afford picture education in various emotions, such as anger, greed, revenge, joy, fear, and contentment.

What one singer may read into the interpretation of a song may be en­tirely different from the rendition of another. Interpretation is essentially individual.

One does not expect two conductors to direct music in the same manner. Interpreters should not be imitators, although a study of another's work is invaluable. Such a study shows what mayor may not be done. Another's style may be adaptable.

Song literature itself helps to cast its own spell or create its own mood if the singer submerges his personality sufficiently to find the true inter­pretation.

The singer should be careful not to over-interpret. His head should rule his heart; that is, the singer should rationalize his emotionalism. He should develop a dual character, the one character who directs, the second character who performs.

Song Literature — The question in most singers' minds is "What song literature shall I sing?" The answer lies in a wide acquaintance with song literature. Songs that appeal strongly to the singer, that actually give the singer a thrill, will undoubtedly be the best ones if they are within his limita­tions.   Here lies the art of a good voice teacher or vocal coach:

1. To apply the proper song to the singer's development.
   
2. To use some material slightly beyond the singer's vocal capacity, to show new objectives to be reached.
   
3. To allow time for development.   A perfected technique may require years of development. Personality or magnetism may show itself only after considerable experience.
   

The play of imagination must have examples of artists and a wide ac­quaintance with song literature to feed on.

A command of tone color maybe acquired only after the one-register or one tonal-line is developed.

All of these, then - technique, personality, imagination, and tone color -develop as the singer gains in experience.

Interpretation at its best requires memorization of song material.

How to Study a Song — The appeal of a song to a singer may lie either in the text — the idea projected by the words - in the music itself, or in the combination of words and music.

In a song in a foreign language, a good word-for-word translation is practically a necessity in order that the true meaning of the song may be clear. If a translation is sung, it should fit the music as well as reveal the meaning of the text. One must not depend on free translations since they may not carry the composer's intent at all. All translations vary because of publishers1 copyrights. An exact translation helps to establish the at­mosphere or mood for the words and music together.

Memorization differs with the person. Some singers are fast, others are slow to memorize. Some have photographic minds and visualize the printed material. Others learn by ear, or by copying the material. Some material that gives the performer a thrill, or chill, or great satisfaction, is usually easily learned. To memorize the words separately from the music and then with the music is in reality two procedures.

In the case of foreign languages, an exact translation which reveals the true meaning of the words is often an aid in memorization. Many hearings of the song both played and sung will begin to create a feeling for the at­mosphere or mood.

The singer should not feel compelled to sing a song in the original or published key, but should consider whether the tessitura of the song fits his voice. On the other hand, a change of key may destroy the real character of the song. To lower the key may change brilliance to sombreness. To raise the key may change sombreness to brilliance.

Summary

Consider whether the song is subjective or objective material.

Consider whether the song is classical, romantic, modern, or popular.

Be informed, if possible, as to traditional ways of handling, as in ora­torio or opera selections.

Study the musical intent of the composer in the musical marks of ex­pression.

Examine the song for vocal difficulties and be sure you sing the correct notes.

Determine the closing points of the vowel sounds, and if you are having trouble with high notes, vocalize them, using the vowel sound in the word. Bring your imagination into play to avoid just the singing of notes.

Consider the tempo — Unless the song is in march time, allow for give-and-take , that is accelerando and ritardando, to make the presentation more interesting.

Keep in mind that what you take in time you must give back. Be careful that you do not break the rhythm. Avoid the cheap effect of holding high notes too long. Use variety of dynamics in repetition of similar musical phrases. Keep in mind that song material must be seasoned through repeated public performance.

Do not trust to the inspiration of the moment to get by. Be well-poised.

Stages in the development of poise — Practically all singers go through a progression of mental attitudes in the development of poise. These attitudes may be listed as follows:

1. Fear
2. Pugnacity
3. Indifference
4. Confidence
   

All first appearances are accompanied by varying degrees of nervous­ness based on the fear of a possible poor performance. Loss of memory, dryness of throat, perspiring hands, trembling — these are a few disturb­ances due to fear. To combat these, the singer should leave nothing to chance in the way of preparation, and should not put too much confidence in the inspiration of the moment to carry him over difficult spots.

Nervousness should not be looked upon as a hindrance, but as an aid to the performer to give a better performance. The pugnacious attitude is an attempt to overcome a fear of the audience. "I'll show you" is the thought in back of pugnacity. Instead of considering the audience as separate in­dividuals , the audience should be looked upon as a unit or solid group. Or one should pick out individuals to sing to, or to direct interpretation to, without being too obvious in the selection.

The "I don't care" or attitude of indifference usually loosens up the per­former from nervous tension. "I'll do the best I can do. That's all anybody can do," he argues.

If a singer is to make a definite impression or move his audience, he must be reasonably beyond the stages of fear, pugnacity, and indifference. He must be so well poised through confidence in himself that he can really bring out of his song material interpretative results that will hold and thrill his listeners. He must be a salesman of his song material, not to the point of overconfidence but to the point of good taste.

It is safe to say however, that no solo singer, either experienced or in­experienced, is completely free from nervousness before making an appear­ance.

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