Zwischenfach: Paradox or Paradigm?

<p>Singers within the operatic world are expected to conform to the strict limits and dictates of the Fachsystem. Casting directors and opera companies prefer to be informed of which particular ‘Fach-box’ you tick when auditioning and it is becoming increasingly important for career advancement and name recognition to remain within that box. Yet what happens when your voice does not operate strictly within the predetermined requirements of a particular box? Or if the vocal category you supposedly assume is already ambiguous and contentious? Jennifer Allen’s DMA thesis, An Analysis and Discussion of Zwischenfach Voices, provides invaluable critical insight surrounding this enigmatic concept of voice categorisation. Allen argues that despite advances within vocal pedagogy, there remains a ‘gray area’ within the discussion. This elusiveness, to which Allen refers, pertains directly to the Zwischenfach voice type. Translated literally from German, the word Zwischen means ‘between’ and ‘Fach’ refers specifically to vocal specialisation as a way of categorising singers according to the weight, range and colour of their voices. Thus, in its most basic form, a Zwischenfach voice denotes a voice that lies between the vocal categories of soprano and mezzo-soprano. However, whilst Dr Rudolf Kloiber’s Handbuch der Oper (a staple for the operatic world) provides a definitive guide to vocal categorisation and continues to influence casting throughout Germany and Europe, the corresponding American Boldrey Guide acknowledges Zwischenfach as a voice that cannot be classified precisely in one particular Fach or another. This lack of uniform approach highlights not only the potential flexibility of this voice, but also the paradoxical nature of attempting to define a voice that defies standard classification. Indeed, as a young singer currently singing high mezzo-soprano repertoire, I have found the Zwischenfach labelling to be a paradox, for the upper extension of my voice also enables me potentially to sing some soprano roles. Therefore, is it conceivable to postulate that this term is a misnomer and merely highlights the issues associated with being constrained within the Fachsystem? In order to come to terms with these issues, then, my analysis of Zwischenfach labelling requires a separation of voice categorisation and the Fachsystem and an ongoing critique of these systems throughout my exegesis. In an attempt to determine its practicalities, the limits that it can impose, and how its boundaries have not always functioned so neatly, my critique focuses on elements such as convenience, marketability and professional development and life. An exploration of the relevance of aspects such as range, tessitura, passaggi, timbre, agility, physical characteristics, pitch of the speaking voice, and scientific tests is also necessary. Once a definition of Zwischenfach is established, I consider the “in between” nature of this vocal category as I investigate roles that develop out of this into the realm of the heavier, more dramatic voice. Finally, I explore the implications of switching between Fächer and divulge how I incorporate the contradictions within this category with the successful management of the label. The piecing together of existing scholarship surrounding this field of research and the practical application to my own expanding repertoire is invaluable in facilitating the expansion of my knowledge in regard to my own progression through Zwischenfach repertoire and roles.</p>

Zwischenfach: Paradox or Paradigm?

<p>Singers within the operatic world are expected to conform to the strict limits and dictates of the Fachsystem. Casting directors and opera companies prefer to be informed of which particular ‘Fach-box’ you tick when auditioning and it is becoming increasingly important for career advancement and name recognition to remain within that box. Yet what happens when your voice does not operate strictly within the predetermined requirements of a particular box? Or if the vocal category you supposedly assume is already ambiguous and contentious? Jennifer Allen’s DMA thesis, An Analysis and Discussion of Zwischenfach Voices, provides invaluable critical insight surrounding this enigmatic concept of voice categorisation. Allen argues that despite advances within vocal pedagogy, there remains a ‘gray area’ within the discussion. This elusiveness, to which Allen refers, pertains directly to the Zwischenfach voice type. Translated literally from German, the word Zwischen means ‘between’ and ‘Fach’ refers specifically to vocal specialisation as a way of categorising singers according to the weight, range and colour of their voices. Thus, in its most basic form, a Zwischenfach voice denotes a voice that lies between the vocal categories of soprano and mezzo-soprano. However, whilst Dr Rudolf Kloiber’s Handbuch der Oper (a staple for the operatic world) provides a definitive guide to vocal categorisation and continues to influence casting throughout Germany and Europe, the corresponding American Boldrey Guide acknowledges Zwischenfach as a voice that cannot be classified precisely in one particular Fach or another. This lack of uniform approach highlights not only the potential flexibility of this voice, but also the paradoxical nature of attempting to define a voice that defies standard classification. Indeed, as a young singer currently singing high mezzo-soprano repertoire, I have found the Zwischenfach labelling to be a paradox, for the upper extension of my voice also enables me potentially to sing some soprano roles. Therefore, is it conceivable to postulate that this term is a misnomer and merely highlights the issues associated with being constrained within the Fachsystem? In order to come to terms with these issues, then, my analysis of Zwischenfach labelling requires a separation of voice categorisation and the Fachsystem and an ongoing critique of these systems throughout my exegesis. In an attempt to determine its practicalities, the limits that it can impose, and how its boundaries have not always functioned so neatly, my critique focuses on elements such as convenience, marketability and professional development and life. An exploration of the relevance of aspects such as range, tessitura, passaggi, timbre, agility, physical characteristics, pitch of the speaking voice, and scientific tests is also necessary. Once a definition of Zwischenfach is established, I consider the “in between” nature of this vocal category as I investigate roles that develop out of this into the realm of the heavier, more dramatic voice. Finally, I explore the implications of switching between Fächer and divulge how I incorporate the contradictions within this category with the successful management of the label. The piecing together of existing scholarship surrounding this field of research and the practical application to my own expanding repertoire is invaluable in facilitating the expansion of my knowledge in regard to my own progression through Zwischenfach repertoire and roles.</p>

Classification of Women's Voices Using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) Method

Everyone has a different kind of voice. Based on gender, voice type is divided into six parts, namely soprano, mezzo soprano, and alto for women; and tenor, baritone, and bass in men. Each type of sound has a different range and with different frequencies. This study classified the type of voice in women using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) method by recording the voices of each user which would then be processed using the FFT method to obtain the appropriate sound range. This research got results with an accuracy of up to 80%.The results obtained from this study are quite appropriate and it is proven that the FFT method can be used in digital signal processing.

Interpretasi dan Bentuk Penyajian Lagu Habanera Dalam Opera Carmen Karya George Bizet Oleh Heny Janawati

Habanera, one of the most famous songs in Opera Carmen, tells the love life of Carmen as the main role. Interestingly, the song Habanera was sung by an Indonesian mezzo-soprano singer from Bali, Heny Janawati, who has perform the Opera Carmen while singing in Europe and Indonesia with different interpretations and performance of song Habanera. The purpose of this study was to analyze the interpretation and performance form of the Habanera Opera Carmen song when it was performed in Jakarta in 2016 in order to become a knowledge. This research process used qualitative methods. The data in this study were obtained through observation, interviews, and documentations. Data analysis techniques used data reduction, data presentation, and data inference. As for the data validity test used triangulation. The results of this study indicate that Heny Janawati has characteristics to interpret this song through out the structure, tempo, dynamics, and intonation of this song. That she present in Opera Carmen are more modern from it's europe counterpart, which in Europe its characteristics, number of accompaniments, dimensions of the setting, lighting and wardrobe are more traditional.

6. Teaching Strategies Employed to Approach a Postmodern Opus. Recital I (For Cathy) by Luciano Berio

The difficulties encountered by any history of music teacher when tackling postmodern repertoire is a well-known fact. Doubts are only natural. For instance, of the innumerable creators belonging to different cultures, which would be the relevant composers? Furthermore, when finally choosing one representative, on which of his/her works should one focus? And after one particular piece of selected, what is the best way to teach the scientific arguments required for its perception? When the chosen opus fails to distinguish itself through the direct expressiveness of its language, what should one do? What are the works of music considered to be exquisite in terms of technique and expression, with an actual impact on the teaching field? This approach is all the more tedious as the specialized teacher is faced with the lack of any immediate feedback about the importance of some music, as the biggest impediment is the music score itself, which becomes gradually accessible, after numerous auditions and explanatory comments. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to achieve the teaching approach of an opus with direct expressiveness composed during the last decades of the last century: Recital I for Cathy by Luciano Berio. An innovative mezzo soprano and 17 instruments score, which promotes the subtleties existing either in the relationship between themes, dramaturgy and language, or in the correspondence between text and sonority. These are some of the aspects that we intend to tackle in order to help our students understand the postmodern phenomenon by means of Berio’s inclusive and synthetic vision. In order to ground our scientific approach, we rely on the well-known quotation technique used by the creator, which, by recalling apparently disparate music, facilitates the process of didactic demonstration. The actual quotation or allusion to different sonorities constitutes a challenge in discovering the general and particular meanings of sound dramaturgy, but especially the deep meanings of the emotional reception of the opus.

Leo Zeitlin and the Flourishing of Jewish Art Music in Early 1920s Vilna

This chapter looks into the activity of the composer Leo Zeitlin in Vilna in the 1920s. It explores Zeitlin's musical life and whirlwind of activity in Vilna between his arrival in January 1922 and his departure for New York in May 1923. It also details how Zeitlin hired musicians and organized, rehearsed, and conducted at least ten symphony concerts in Vilna, Warsaw, and łódz. The chapter mentions bass baritone Moshe Rudinow and his wife, mezzo soprano Ruth Leviash and violinist and concertmaster of the Warsaw Philharmonic Mischa Fiber, who were often featured in Zeitlin's concerts. It highlights Zeitlin's involvement in the performances of Tchaikovsky's “Eugene Onegin” in Yiddish, which was produced in Vilna by Aron Yitzchak Grodzenski in December 1922.

Reflection, Representation, Religion: André Caplet’s Le Miroir de Jésus

André Caplet’s Le Miroir de Jésus (1923), a song cycle scored for mezzo soprano soloist, women’s choir, string quartet, and two harps, has a lush sound world and dramatic vocal declamation, and it was immediately recognized as a masterpiece by the Parisian musical press. The work’s religious topic—mysteries of the rosary—has long been taken as the unambiguous sign that the piece and its composer were unapologetically Catholic, like the author of the poems, the convert Henri Ghéon. In the context of a secular French nation, unambiguous Catholicism can easily signal reactionary politics. Moreover, since it does not project images of anarchy, flappers, or committed nonchalance toward morality, when interpreted vis-à-vis the narrative of French musical aesthetics in the 1920s, the work’s status changed from masterpiece to footnote. Yet, though the work’s early reception by Catholic writers cemented its classification as a sacred work, Caplet’s own goals were less clear. Through a comparative musical analysis of characteristics that Le Miroir shares with Caplet’s secular works whose themes come from classicism or mystery, I demonstrate his agnostic aesthetic. Through an investigation of archival sources relating to Caplet’s smaller contemporaneous projects, including a 1923 setting of a poem by Baudelaire, his contribution to La Revue musicale’s 1924 Le Tombeau de Ronsard, and his response to a 1924 survey about “new music,” Caplet’s interest in classicism emerges as a salient context for understanding his largest postwar composition. Additionally Caplet’s real-time documentation of his creative process and goals in detailed correspondence with his wife, Geneviève, contributes further evidence of Caplet’s pragmatism. Rather than moralistic and reactionary, Le Miroir can be understood in the context of postwar artists attempting to render spirituality less institutional and more personal.

MULTIDIMENSIONALITY OF GENRE SYNTHESIS IN CONTEMPORARY MUSICAL ART

The purpose of the article is to reveal the peculiarities of the phenomenon of polygranism (genre synthesis) and its varieties in contemporary musical art. The methods of the study are based on a combination of historical and theoretical approaches of scientific knowledge. The historical method allows us to trace the origin, flourishing, complication and improvement of the phenomenon of genre synthesis in musical art, first of all, during the postmodern day (the last third of the twentieth century – the beginning of the XXI century). Dialectic, comparative, empirical (observation and generalization) methods of research, and contributes for a deep understanding of the various approaches of modern composers to the combination of signs of different genres in one musical also work are used. The scientific novelty of the research consis in generalizing the views of scientists on the problem of genre synthesis and its projection into contemporary works of Ukrainian music, especially, the concert genre as one of the leading composers (among others – Rhapsody Concerto for Viola and Mezzo Soprano Natalia Boyeva). Conclusions. The musical genre as a cultural phenomenon characterizing the classification of musical creativity by genera and species has historical origin and certain conditions of existence; it reveals to the composer the broad style of cultural potential, makes choosing and expanding her spiritual resource, develop and embody new stylistic ways of understanding the musical form. In the genre plane, we can note the constant interaction of traditional and new genres, the emergence of new in accordance to a new imagery, especially at the present stage. The technique of representing musical material and aesthetic demands of the new world stylistics, which gave rise to the emergence thinking both have a permanent impact on the development of the genre palette.

Braxton, Anthony (1945--)

Anthony Braxton, born 4 June 1945 in Chicago, Illinois, is an avant-garde jazz multi-instrumentalist and composer who performs and records primarily on saxophones. An active musician since the 1960s, Braxton was an early member of the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians)—a Chicago-founded cooperative of African American avant-garde jazz musicians and composers. Braxton is a Professor of Music at Wesleyan University in Middleton, Connecticut, where he has taught since 1990. He was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1994 and was named a 2014 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 2013. His compositions have been performed by large-scale orchestras at Lincoln Centre in New York City, as well as other renowned venues that have often been reserved for classical music. Braxton’s notable early albums include Three Compositions of New Jazz (1968), released on the Chicago-based Delmark record label that released the first albums of many AACM members in the mid—to late 1960s. Braxton’s double album For Alto, a solo recording, was released in 1970. Braxton has performed on many saxophones throughout his career, most notably the alto saxophone, but later soprano, sopranino, C-melody, F mezzo-soprano, baritone, bass, and contrabass saxophones. He has also performed on flute, the E-flat, B-flat, and contrabass clarinets, and the piano.