Finding Vocal Artistry

By Glenda Maurice

This book is about the sincere quest for profound artistry as a performing musician, and as a teacher of a profound art form. It is an attempt to define the indefinable. It is my personal attempt to make today's art world connect with insights, feelings, instincts, and simple truths about the Classical Arts that have somehow gotten lost over the years. We must inform our students, drill them, encourage them, and above all, insist that they perceive mastery of their craft as viable only if they use the craft in the diligent pursuit of artistry.



Finding Vocal Artistry speaks to the level of talent and ability at which one is entitled to step into the role of creative and/or interpretive performer of a classical Art. It is a level where prodigious skill meets prescience. It is comprised of engaged intuition, tireless pursuit of skill and interpretive knowledge, and of the kind of humility that transcends self at all levels. It is born of skill that is developed to the point of astonishment, and the ability to use that skill with grace and absolute confidence in order to create something magical. It is called artistry.



Artistry is not a thing it is a way of thinking. It takes time and exposure to the very highest levels of artistic achievement in order to develop that level of thinking about one's own work. You cannot work at it in the way one accomplishes vocal exercises or linguistic expertise. The truth about your artistry lies inside you. You don't create it you find it. And your path to that discovery can be pointed out in some concrete terms. That is my mission. (Glenda Maurice)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 31, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483622385

Glenda Maurice

As a singer, Glenda Maurice, mezzo-soprano, gained particular prominence in the field of art song recital, as well as performances with many international conductors, orchestras and musicians on prominent artistic world stages. Her commitment to the art song recital led her into collaboration with some of the most prominent American composers of our era, often premiering songs and cycles written for her. Her discography highlights her passion for art song along with orchestral works and world premiere recordings. Her students achieved national recognition as winners of opera and art song competitions. Many also populate college faculties across this country.

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Copyright © 2013 by Glenda Maurice.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2013906373

ISBN:   Hardcover   978-1-4836-2237-8

             Softcover     978-1-4836-2236-1

             Ebook          978-1-4836-2238-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

Cover photo, This Little Light of Mine, by Lorelee Wederstrom,

www.ImagesinKairos.com

Rev. date: 04/05/2013

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

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CONTENTS

FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE

Defining your purpose

The greatness of art is not to find what is common, but what is unique.

Isaac Bashevis Singer

CHAPTER TWO

Patience is an active pursuit

It seems likely that many of the young who don’t wait for others to call them artists, but simply announce that they are, don’t have the patience to make art.

Pauline Kael

CHAPTER THREE

There are no short-cuts to the truth

One begins by knowing, then one learns.

Gerard Souzay

CHAPTER FOUR

Becoming a successful teacher

If I don’t have wisdom, I can teach you only ignorance.

Leo Buscaglia

CHAPTER FIVE

Prepare, prepare, prepare

Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.

Alexander Graham Bell

CHAPTER SIX

A Study in Preparation

No man ever reached to excellence in any one art or profession without having passed through the slow and painful process of study and preparation.

Horace

Mon bonheur renait sous ton aile,

My happiness is reborn under your wing,

O nuit plus belle que les beaux jours.

O night more lovely than the lovely days.

Ah! lève-toi! Ah! lève-toi!

Oh, arise! Oh, arise!

Pour faire encore

Perhaps to revive once more

Briller l’aurore de mes amours?

The shining dawn of my love?

CHAPTER SEVEN

Teach them to love the task

It is the supreme art of a teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.

Albert Einstein

CHAPTER EIGHT

Be careful, or you will fall off the edge

The greatest obstacle to discovering the shape of the earth, the oceans and the continents was not ignorance, but the illusion of knowledge.

Daniel J. Boorstin

CHAPTER NINE

Let’s see… what shall I sing today?

Hitching a hackney pony to the Budweiser beer wagon won’t make him a Clydesdale.

Pamela Biddle

or…

Assigning a Wagnerian aria to your student will not turn her into a Wagnerian Soprano!

CHAPTER TEN

Learning too much about the text is impossible

When Diction Becomes Language; When Language Becomes Poetry; When Poetry Becomes Music…

Glenda Maurice

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Okay, here goes

Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.

D. H. Lawrence

AFTERWORD

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

PROFESSIONAL CREDITS

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to Ruth Palmer, who accompanied me on my journey to beauty and truth; who supported my ideas as they struggled for birthing, and then gently forced me to think them through until they coalesced and became usable. Ruth, you walked onto countless stages with me, coaxed from me my highest understanding and ability with your astonishingly musical playing, and enabled me to become the best singer I could be. How can I ever thank you for that?

FOREWORD

July 8, 2010; July 30, 2012; August 10, 2012

There is a level of talent and ability at which one is entitled to step into the role of creative and/or interpretive performer of a classical Art. It is a level where prodigious skill meets prescience. It is a level that unlocks the door to great artistic endeavor, permits admittance to the truly talented, and gives us permission to create before a discerning audience. It is comprised of engaged intuition, tireless pursuit of skill and interpretive knowledge, and of the kind of humility that transcends self at all levels. It can be guided, but it is in fact a selective gift.

It is born of skill that is developed to the point of astonishment, and the ability to use that skill with grace and absolute confidence. Beyond that point one begins to use not just the mind, but also the heart and the soul in order to create something magical. That tool for a musician is the pre-ordained ability to look at a page and hear what the composer meant by the signs on the page. It is called artistry, and it seems less highly prized in the current classical vocal world than it was in generations past. However, it remains the only path to connecting successfully with the inherent genius of an art. If the Classical Arts are to survive, science must be re-evaluated in order to find its rightful place in the world of mystery that we call art.

Success with vocal music begins with the words we are given to work with in the text of the piece. They must be utterly comprehended by the performer before he or she can even think of performing.

When we stand up in front of an audience, a congregation, a business group, a class, or any public gathering, it is assumed that we have something important—and in the case of singers—something beautiful to say. It may be information, it may be affirmation, it may be protest—but if we are to advocate effectively for that important message, we must learn and obey the tenets of communication.

Words articulate a message. Since we utter aloud (sing) the words that convey those messages, we become messengers of the specific, and that sets us apart from all other musicians. These words can be both an obstacle and an asset. But they make us unique if we learn how to understand and use them to their ultimate value.

It has become socially acceptable to mumble and mispronounce words, and to mangle the sacred laws of grammar in everyday conversations. International advertising seems not to care about it, and national newscasters speak colloquially all the time. Grammar has become a precious commodity in our schools—a commodity that is always in jeopardy from School Boards. But if we take the stage with an idea, a truth, a passion or a mission, we cannot afford to leave our audience unaffected by our message. Learning proper pronunciation of the words and finding a love of and a reverence for the construction of an idea and for the sound of a word’s propriety is the first tenet.

Words are symbols for their own meaning. They are efficient tools for getting the point across. Babies grunt, howl and cry their way to getting what they want because they do not have the words which would cut to the chase. They must wait until we who are in charge figure out what they want. That delay in understanding is the absolute taboo for a public communicator. We must communicate the heart of what we mean directly if we are to be effective.

Words are the first tool we learn to use, but words alone never assure understanding. They need