When the artist sings
I once overheard an orchestral conductor talking about a colleague. He said the person’s soul “sings”.
My overall experience of work with the conductor was very uptight. My musical skills were not developed through following the traditional classical music route, so I stuck out like a sore thumb in a high profile recording session. Something about his turn of phrase in describing a fellow musician resonated with me however.
If a person’s soul sings, then he or she will find a way to make a personal imprint on expressive work, whether as a creative or interpretative artist.
In discussions about technique with singers, on many occasions the talent of a great artist is dismissed, because he or she wasn’t naturally endowed with sonorous pipes that fit notions of an ideal.
But the reason the great artist is renowned is usually because she has found a way to bend and shape the form into accommodating the qualities she can offer.
First published on www.juwonogungbe.com on January 4th 2020
