Vocal Authority
Singing Style and Ideology
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Cambridge University Press
Published:2nd Nov '06
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
A fascinating history of singing styles from the ancient world to the present.
Why do singers sing in the way they do? Why, for example, is western classical singing so different from pop singing? These questions are addressed by John Potter in this fascinating exploration of the history of singing styles.Why do singers sing in the way they do? Why, for example, is western classical singing so different from pop singing? How is it that Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé could sing together? These are the kinds of questions which John Potter, a singer with the Hilliard Ensemble and Red Byrd, and himself the master of many styles, poses in this fascinating book, which is effectively a history of singing style. He finds the reasons to be primarily ideological rather than specifically musical. His book identifies particular historical 'moments of change' in singing technique and style, and relates these to a three-stage theory of style based on the relationship of singing to text. There is a substantial section on meaning in singing, and a discussion of how the transmission of meaning is enabled or inhibited by different varieties of style or technique.
'… immensely stimulating … This book should encourage us, and also make us take more seriously the need for a very different type of voice.' Early Music Review
'The book brings enlightenment of some kind on each page …' Musical Times
ISBN: 9780521027434
Dimensions: 228mm x 152mm x 16mm
Weight: 366g
236 pages