1st Edition
Choral Conducting and the Construction of Meaning Gesture, Voice, Identity
By Liz Garnett
Copyright 2009
242 Pages
by
Routledge
242 Pages
by
Routledge
242 Pages
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
It is a truism in teaching choral conducting that the director should look like s/he wishes the choir to sound. The conductor's physical demeanour has a direct effect on how the choir sings, at a level that is largely unconscious and involuntary. It is also a matter of simple observation that different choral traditions exhibit not only different styles of vocal production and delivery, but also... Read more
Contents: Introduction: choral conducting in context; Part I How to Study Conducting: Model, Method, Metalanguage: How do people think about conducting?; From ethnography to peer research; How to write about conducting. Part II Choral Singing and Enculturation: Defining choral culture: what counts as choral?; Creating choral culture: the dos and don'ts; Maintaining choral culture: policing the boundaries. Part III Conducting Gesture and Musical Thought: Different styles, different gestures; Different styles, common ground; Metaphoric gesture and embodied musical meaning; Spontaneous gesture and the ensemble. Part IV The Conductor-Choir Bond: Monkey see, monkey do; Making use of the conductor-choir bond; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.
Biography
Dr Liz Garnett is a musicologist and choral clinician whose research and praxis both explore the theme of music and its social meanings. She has held academic posts at Colchester Institute and Birmingham Conservatoire, and is in demand internationally as a performance coach and arranger. Her first book, The British Barbershopper: A Study in Socio-Musical Values, is also published by Ashgate.
β... valuable for those interested in delving deeper into the study of conducting and the social and cultural issues that lead people to join the musical ensembles they do.β Classical Music βIn this very well researched book, the relationship between conductor and choir is examined [...] from the perspective of gesture, meaning and across a variety of cultures.β Singing
