At the age of nine I sang in Bach's St John Passion with the "Kiedricher Chorbuben", the boys' choir of my hometown. I will never forget the enthusiasm of all the boys and the intensity of our singing in the concluding lines of the final chorale, "Herr Jesus Christ, erhöre mich, erhöre mich/Ich will dich preisen ewiglich" (Lord, grant me this and I will glorify you throughout eternity). Somehow we all seemed to have been bound up with Bach's great work. Is it possible for children to completely fathom all aspects of those compositions? Given the challenge posed by Bach's arias even to experienced adult singers, let us doubt that. But then again, what does "understanding" mean? In the German language we distinguish between "verstehen" (to understand) and "begreifen" (to grasp). I believe that although a child may not be able to analyse a composition and gain access to it through its intellect or understanding, it may yet be able to "grasp" the intentions of a composition in its entirety through experience rather than analysis. This is something that I call the "gnostic" side of singing. In gnosticism the individual's very personal experiences, the "knowing", means more than the "believing" of acquired teachings. Ideally, a singer should, through his preparation and work, be able to create this experience for the listener.
We all know that the complete truth in Bach's music cannot be traced back to instrumentation, tunings or the instruments being used, that it transcends such tools, requiring communication with the soul of the listener. Yes, I am talking about the soul here, not a musicological subject, but nevertheless the motor that drives Bach's compositions. The religious context constantly refers to the human soul, a soul that needs redemption from otherwise being lost and without guidance. For me this is always the starting point of any consideration of how to sing any Bach aria; I believe that a truly "authentic" interpretation must never ignore the reason why this music exists in the first place. Sometimes I am amazed how musicologists spend so much time researching and debating all the technical aspects of Bach's music (temperament, instruments, instrumentation...), presenting the results of this research in the light of authenticity within a practical context (the selling of tickets, the concert hall, drinks in the intermission and so forth) that has very little to do with the truly authentic root of the music.
Text and Context or, Does it help a singer to be a religious person?
Do you need to be a religious person to sing Bach's church music in a truly convincing manner? It is a question that frequently arises. Bach's music is rooted in the idea of "Gotteslob", praising God through music and educating the souls of the Christian community assembled in church. As a singer I need to be aware of the role I assume when singing any recitative or aria. The actual text, the message of a specific aria and its context must be the basis of any interpretation. Who am I when I sing this recitative or aria and to whom am I singing it? Knowledge of the religious background and belief can be as much help as it can be an obstacle. I heard a colleague who deeply moved the entire audience with his singing of an aria, being convinced that there was religious conviction in his singing. Asking him about it later, he told me that he was not a religious person, but accepts the truth of the music during the time in which he sings it. In another instance a singer known to be very religious had something like an epiphany on stage. It was witnessed by an audience that was more alienated than moved; they saw what was happening, but could not participate. To communicate successfully as a singer I constantly ask myself what is my function in singing this particular aria, what role must I fulfil? It's an act of finding the right balance. The fact that I sing an aria in the Matthew Passion doesn't mean that I composed it, and being aware of my role within the context of what is happening in a performance is essential. Like all musicians, I have to attempt to give of my best, to be well prepared, to rise to the challenge of the moment, feeling neither insignificant as a link in the chain of composition, ensemble, and performance, nor feeling and acting as if the entire performance rests on my shoulders.
Feeling the incredible power and conviction of Bach's music, one could be tempted to feel unworthy of singing it. I had my share of problems with Herr Bach when I prepared the recording of the solo cantatas and recorded them; at one point I was almost in tears wanting to quit, thinking, "I am not good enough for this Bach." Fortunately, Philipe Herreweghe and his wife, the cellist Ageet Zwijstra, sensed my troubles and helped me through this with their support and meaningful music making.
Technical difficulties
To me the solo cantatas for alto (especially BWV 170 and 35) are some of the most challenging pieces written for the alto voice. At many moments Bach's approach seems to be almost instrumental. There is little space to rest and breathe; Bach doesn't compromise his music in order to make it easier for the singer. One feels that he sends out the message: "Don't spoil this one; you'd better be good enough." There are greatly varying levels of technical difficulty as well as levels of responsibility that a singer has to accept in Bach's vocal music. As a student it is not always easy to have an objective view on one's capacity and I consider it essential to have consultation with the teacher on the choice of repertoire. I was lucky to have a singing teacher (Richard Levitt) who was always very clear about whether or not he considered me to be ready for a particular Bach piece or not. I never sang the St Matthew Passion as a student, because he told me it was too challenging for an immature singer. I honoured his advice without exception and never thought he was keeping me from making my "big break", or that I somehow knew better. I can only wish for every student a teacher who gives good advice and for every teacher a student who follows that advice.
I believe it to be very important to have considerable time to study Bach's music. It is always a safe bet to have it almost memorised and then to revisit it again and again over a certain period. I have found, especially in recitatives, that I constantly discover new details, gain new insights and ideas for an interpretation. In order to get to a point where I feel that I have a convincing way of communicating an aria to an audience, I need to stay with it for a while. Even though we constantly change and adapt our perceptions, hasty preparation, even an intense one, will never be as convincing as one that has matured over time. Listening to an older recording, we might feel that we would do it differently today, but at the time it was a well-informed, matured interpretation. Conversely, one may feel more time should have been devoted to this piece back then.
If I know how to speak it...
The typical singers reflex action is to open a score and immediately start singing. I believe one looses an important chance to understand the meaning of an aria in doing so. Once we have heard ourselves singing a particular aria we somehow etch this memory into our mind. Later, after gathering new ideas, it will be difficult to deviate from this imprint. It's also somehow tempting to hear a "correct" sight-singing and get too complacent about the result. Recitatives in particular gain immeasurably from being read out loud many times. There are so many different, individual ways of dramatizing a recitative that I need to find out which one will be the one I consider to be my choice. As I've already made clear, the idea of text and context is extremely important to me. What happened in this work before? What am I saying? It is this that makes the singing of Bach arias taken out of context, in a recital or audition, so difficult. "Es ist vollbracht" (It is accomplished) is the central moment of the St John Passion. The prophecy is fulfilled. Jesus has died and saved us all. The whole story develops to the point where it reaches these words and having followed the story until this aria, understanding its text and context makes it much easier to communicate the message when the moment arrives. It is almost impossible to draw the same kind of conviction out of nowhere in an audition, for example.
As singers we constantly send out energy, sound-waves on the simplest level and the "meaning" of words on a mental level, hoping that the listener receives the message.
This energy must be focussed in the right direction. A somehow "bittersweet" facial expression for "Können Tränen" or "Blute nur" (St Matthew Passion) might appear to cover a wide range of emotions, but the focus of energy needs to be clear and can change within an aria. A recitative like "Die Welt das SŸndenhaus..." (BWV 170) has many different directions of mental energy. The beginning is like an opening statement, describing a terrible situation. "Die Welt, das Sündenhaus, bricht nur in Hšllenlieder aus ... Racha, Racha sagen." I think about this as an appeal to the assembly: "Listen to me! This is important!" and my energy goes out to that crowd. Then the recitative turns from rhetoric to contemplation. The words say "Gerechter Gott, wie weit ist doch der Mensch von Dir entfernet...". They are no longer directed at the assembly, since I am addressing God himself. I call such moments "switches" and just as there is timing in a drama or comedy that enhances the depth of communication, I have to work with the same tools here. Leaving a longer pause at the point of the "switch" makes the change of direction clearer. (Unfortunately the singer's perception of what is a "longer pause" is not always that of the listener, so I am on the safe side if I keep the silence a bit longer than I feel I should). It can help to give a "codeword" to each coherent section during the preparation. "Appeal", "regret", "accusation" and "reflection" are somehow quicker to grasp and translate into singing than their underlying, sometimes complex background.
Connecting all the elements of a state of mind
In the simplest terms one could say that there are three basic steps to the communication of vocal music. (1) Contemplation on the different possibilities for a well-prepared interpretation. (2) Choice of the appropriate vocal tools on a technical and rhetorical level that will communicate this interpretation. 3. Hope that the listener will understand what is meant! If the interpretation of an aria is compared to a projection screen for the audience, mediocre preparation combined with "beautiful singing" leaves plenty of space for the listener to project anything he wants to hear onto the "screen". A well-prepared and executed interpretation leaves the listener much less opportunity to project his own ideas. As a singer I make a statement about how I think the composer meant this aria or recitative to be received. The listeners can choose to accept or reject my opinion, but most of them will be able to receive something that one could call "conviction".
My approach on how to sing Bach sounds almost like a method and I would prefer not to use this word. Does the listener in row 7, seat 35 really understand why I make this long pause in bar 9 and continue piano in order to show that I am dwelling on the dramatic illustration that has just happened?
For years I have tried to find a term that describes the state of mind of a singer that enables him or her to "speak" to an audience. I call that state of mind "connected." The rather dry and analytical approach of remembering all the many different, essential elements when singing an aria needs to culminate in a "connection" or amalgamation of those elements. I can't always recall all the single elements of my preparation when singing, but this preparation and revisiting a piece over and over again connects these elements to achieve a level that can't be analysed. Like a child, the listener can "grasp" what it's all about without the "knowing" that would be the result of receiving and understanding all the single elements individually. Ideally, he, too, gets "connected." There is no guarantee that a well-prepared interpretation will ultimately move the audience (bear in mind the third step). But the chances of successful communication grow greater with every extra minute invested into contemplation of what my task is - how best to serve the music.
Goldberg Early Music Portal - June 2005