American composer Lee Hoiby passed away in late March. Since I had previously posted a great quote by him and am a fan of his vocal works, his obituary in the New York Times caught my eye. In the article, he is described as “…a composer of operas and songs that balance unabashed lyricism and careful craftsmanship.” Indeed!
Coincidentally, at about the same time the obituary was published, I was thanked (thanked!) by a singer for paying attention to words and writing music that allows the singer to best express art in a natural way. I was puzzled by this, and the singer explained that not every composer seems to be working with the voice.
So this quote of Hoiby really struck me:
“Singers, you can’t fool them,” he said. “When they hear a song, they can tell right away if it’s going to make them sound good. And mine do.”
One can appreciate the confidence with which such a statement is made! But it is also worth considering the merit behind this idea. Instrumentalists, especially in an ensemble, can simply play the notes in front of them and trust that there is some internal logic in whatever the composer has written. (That’s not always true, by the way.)
But there is so much more at stake for a singer. Singers are much more sensitive to the natural rise and fall of language and the inherent drama in the music. They have to “get it” if they are to stand in front of an audience and successfully offer a musical experience. When any of this fails, the singer is not likely to sound good, however polished the performance.
I would suggest that Hoiby should have taken the quote a step further: Audiences can easily be fooled, but are less likely to be fooled by a song.
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