Alone Together Frank Havrøy

349 Pages·2015·4.12 MB·English

F Frank Havrøy
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In this dissertation, Frank Havrøy examines the different aspects of singing A Alone Together
in a vocal ensemble. Through the last decades, there has grown a larger lo
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understanding of the special skills needed for singing in such ensembles.
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T Vocal ensemble practice seen through the lens
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Literature and research on singing have been neglecting the practice of g
vocal ensemble singing, and have mostly been focused on solo or choir et of Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart
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singing. Havrøy adds to this literature with his case study of the German
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ensemble Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart. r
The members of the ensemble describe their own practice, pointing out how
they inhabit special skills regarding musical communication, intonation and
the special vocal technique features needed for being a successful vocal
ensemble singer. Through this, they also pinpoint the hidden hierarchy in
classical singing circles, where the solo and opera singer has more
credibility and authority than choir singers.
While education of classical singers is normally mostly focused on training
solo singers, the recommendation of Havrøy’s study is to enrich this
education with these revealed ensemble skills.
Norges musikkhøgskole
Slemdalsveien 11
PB 5190, Majorstua
NMH-publikasjoner
NO-0302 OSLO ISSN 0333-3760
nmh.no ISBN 978-82-7853-203-4 2015:3
Frank Havrøy
Alone Together
Vocal ensemble practice seen through the lens
of Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart
Dissertation for the PhD degree
Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo 2015
NMH-publikasjoner 2015:3
NMH-publikasjoner 2015:3
© Norges musikkhøgskole og Frank Havrøy
ISSN 0333-3760
ISBN 978-82-7853-203-4
Norges musikkhøgskole
Postboks 5190 Majorstua
0302 OSLO
Tel.: [phone]
E-post: [email protected]
nmh.no
Trykk: 07 Media, Oslo, 2015
Acknowledgements
rom time to time I have published a little text under the heading
‘PhD-life pleasures’ on Facebook; I have now some 70 updates under
that heading. I remember at one point publishing a photo of two boxes of
pFills, one for headaches and one for heartburn, believing them to be the
most suitable pills for a long PhD writing process. The feedback from my
friends was mostly concerned that the ‘Ibux’ pills could actually trigger
the processes that made me need the pills against heartburn, one of many
surprises I have come across during these six years. Another surprise is how
many people I need to thank after all these years, people who have stood by
me through this process.
First of all, without any doubt, there is one person who has been with me
all this time, even a long way into his retirement. He deserves the credit for
making this project come alive, and for believing in it, even when I didn’t.
I have come into his room disillusioned many times, but left an hour later
with a light heart. I am forever thankful for his analytical skills, his empathy,
his ability to see the long lines in my project, and for his patience. This
person is of course my supervisor, Elef Nesheim.
Secondly, I have to thank the singers and staff of Neue Vocalsolisten
Stuttgart. I am forever thankful for the way they have let me into their lives,
allowing me to invade their rehearsal space, their concerts, their meals, their
hotel rooms, and for letting me sing with them. Thanks to all of you.
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Frank Havrøy: Alone Together
At the Norwegian Academy of Music I have the best colleagues in the
world. Thanks to Peter for taking the risk of having me on board your team
with you. Thanks to all my PhD colleagues, for all the good conversations
and all the good times we have spent together. Thanks to Tanja, Astrid,
Christina, Olaf, Erlend, Marie, Aslaug, Solveig, Guro, John, Jon Helge, Magnus
and all the rest of you. Thanks also to Svein, Mona, Barbro, Folke, Kristin,
Kirsten, Randi, and Ståle in the voice department for your knowledge and
your cheering. Thanks to the library for your professionalism, your great
knowledge and your ability to help me out on every weird article I tried to
find in the darkest depths of Academia. And also, thanks to all I have been
working closely with the last year: Øivind, Otto, Kjetil, Birgitte, Solveig and
all you others at the administration. Thanks also to Colin and Laura for
proofreading, and Tore Simonsen for help with layout and design.
Thanks to all the people I have worked with during these years. You have
provided me with useful insight into other parts of my working life. Thanks
to Marius, Live, Eirik, Aja, Gunnar, Nils Christian, Berit, Janna, Pål Are,
HP, all ‘Ylajali’s’ and all you wonderful people in the ‘Istialia’ and ‘Ringen’
projects. And then, of course, a huge thank to Tone, Ingrid, Ebba, PK, and
Trond from Nordic Voices. You still amaze me with your knowledge and your
musicianship. Nordic Voices is the main reason why this thesis came to life
in the first place.
And then, thanks to my fantastic family for being there for and with me.
Thanks to my father and my mother, to my sister and her two kids, to my
uncle Tor and my aunt Synnøve, and to Jorunn and Bjørn. Thanks to my
closest friends for all the good conversations and cheering. Thanks to
Magnus, Richard, Ivan, Øystein, Ivar, and Knut, my brave musketeers.
And then, at last, but definitely not least, thanks to you, Anita, for your
patience, and for your support through these years. Also thanks to my kids,
Johanne and August. Together with your mother, you all show me, each day,
which things in life really do matter.
Without all these people around me, this thesis would not have seen
daylight. I am very happy that there will be no more updates in the ‘PhD–life
pleasures’ series, but I can say now, after almost seven years of writing, that
it has been worth it. It just didn’t feel like it all the time…
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Abstract
Alone Together – Vocal Ensemble Practice
Seen Through The Lens Of Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart
he study examines different aspects of vocal ensemble practice, and
explores the ways in which this practice differs from other classical
vocal practices, like solo singing and choir singing. Vocal ensemble practice
iTs described through the eyes and words of the members of the German
ensemble, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart.
The empirical data upon which this thesis draws consists of a case study
of the ensemble, including observations, semi-structured interviews,
and participating observations. In addition to this case study of Neue
Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, additional studies have been conducted for
comparative purposes, including a study with interviews with Rogers Covey-
Crump (singer in The Hilliard Ensemble) and John Potter (former singer in
The Hilliard Ensemble).
Communities of practice
The theoretical framework of the study is focused on a range of theories
array of activities
of practice, including Wenger’s theories on and
Shatzki’s theories of practices as an . In exploring various
activities (or fields) within the practice, each is treated individually, with
its own theoretical background, but always within the broader framework
provided by the different theories of practice.
The findings of the study suggest that vocal ensemble practice demands
singers with special skills within the fields of intonation, communication,
and ensemble vocal technique. The study shows how the ensembles studied,
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Frank Havrøy: Alone Together
particularly Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, deal with challenges within
these fields. Other findings of the study relate to the organization of the
ensembles’ work and to some of the social processes involved, for example
the types of conflict which can arise and the ways in which the ensembles
work to resolve these.
The study shows how ensemble singers, including those of Neue
Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, have worked hard to gain credibility as singers in an
environment which attributes higher status to solo and operatic singing, and
how they balance between working as soloists on one side and ensemble
singers on the other. The unspoken hierarchy among singers and those
who employ them, in which an opera soloist has higher prestige than, say,
a chorister, means that the vocal ensemble singer has to balance between
these two. More significantly, these entrenched attitudes to ensemble
singing impact on the education of singers, who are encouraged to work
towards operatic careers that can only be achieved by a very few, rather
than for choral and ensemble singing, which provides a greater number of
professional and opportunities for trained singers.
This thesis concludes with recommendations for the development of
educational practice based on the findings of the study, suggesting that
singers of all kinds would benefit greatly from learning the particular skills
required for ensemble singing, which are embedded in the distinctive
practice it has evolved.
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Contents
Acknowledgements
iii
Abstract
v
1 Introduction
1.1 1
1.2
Background 1
1.2.1
Explanations of terms used in this study 2
1.2.2
The term ‘vocal ensemble’ 2
1.3
The genre focus of this study 5
2 TThhee f oscturus coft uthries sotuf dtyh aisn dth reesseiasr c h questions 5
and knowledge status
2.1 9
2.2
The structure of this thesis 9
2.2.1
Knowledge status 10
2.2.2
Research and literature on vocal ensembles 11
2.2.3
Vocal ensemble in vocal technique literature 12
2.2.4
Vocal ensembles in the literature on choral singing 13
2.3
Historical sources on vocal ensembles 14
3 CTohnecolurseiotnicsa l framework 15
3.1 17
3.2
How much can we actually tell? 17
Knowledge management
3.3
on an organizational level 24
The question about practice 26
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Frank Havrøy: Alone Together
3.4
3.5
A vocal ensemble as a community of practice 29
3.6
Identity in practice 32
4 CMoentchluosido ns 35
4.1 39
4.2
My role as researcher and author 40
4.3
Case study design 42
4.3.1
Research interviews 45
4.3.2
Interviews, round 1, NVS June 2009 47
4.3.3
Interviews, round 2, NVS May 2010 and Sept. 2010 49
4.4
Interviews, England Dec. 2011 50
4.4.1
Observations 51
4.4.2 Sternklang
Observation NVS and I Fagiolini 52
4.5
The project 54
4.6
Document analysis 56
4.7
Other methods involved in this study 58
4.8
Ethical challenges 59
4.9
Validity, reliability, and generalization 61
5 CTohnec lvuosicoansl e nsemble in music history 63
5.1 65
5.1.1
Vocal ensemble practice in music history 67
5.1.2
Before 1650, from vocal ensembles to choirs? 68
1650–1800 and the reduced significance
5.1.3
of vocal ensemble practice 75
The nineteenth century.
5.1.4
The disappearance of a practice? 77
5.1.5
1900–1945 80
The early music movement, modernism,
5.2
and the new vocal ensemble era 83
5.3
Different singing styles 87
5.4
So why the big gap? 88
6 NCoenucleu sViooncsa lsolisten Stuttgart 92
6.1 95
6.2
The beginning of NVS and its organization 96
The ensemble, its members,
and the turn towards a one-voice-per-part
vocal ensemble 100
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Contents
6.2.1
6.2.2
The members 101
6.2.3
The turn towards a one-voice-per-part vocal ensemble 103
6.3
NVS and its place in German musical life 105
6.3.1
For the love of it 107
6.3.2
The official presentation of NVS 108
Together towards a common goal?
6.3.3
The singers look at themselves 110
6.4
For the love of it 112
6.5
NVS’ counterpart – The Hilliard Ensemble 113
7 CSoonlcoluisstio onrs chorister 115
or something in between –
the voice as an ensemble instrument
7.1 119
7.1.1
NVS – classical singers 121
7.2
Classical Singing 122
7.2.1
Soloist or chorister 127
7.2.2
The voice in ‘solo’ mode versus ‘choir’ mode 133
7.2.3
The role of vibrato in the different singing modes 141
Sometimes a soloist, sometimes a chorister.
7.3
The vocal ensemble balancing act. 149
Extended vocal techniques (EVT),
7.3.1
the outer layer of the NVS singing 152
7.4
A model of the NVS singing 157
8 CInotnoclnuasitoionsn 157
8.1 161
8.2
Pitch production and its challenges 162
8.3
Tuning and temperament 163
8.4
Singers and intonation choices 166
8.4.1
The horizontal and vertical aspect of intonation 169
8.5
Balancing the horizontal and the vertical aspect of intonation 170
8.6
Constructed tonalities 173
How intonation work influences
8.6.1
ensemble performance 178
8.6.2
Communication and intonation 178
8.7
Voice technique 179
Conclusions 180
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