Saturday, January 27, 2007

Music Appreciation in School

Music Memory played an enormous part in my lifetime appreciation forclassical music. I was a finalist at my school in the music memorycontest. And although I went down to ignominious defeat at the symphonyfinals, I will never forget the music that I learned... and the melodiesor tunes of those pieces - Unfinished Symphony, Hungarian Dance #5, etc,etc. And this program required nothing of the teachers other than tokeep us still with our heads down during the music. (Others may havegotten a similar association from watching the older cartoons which werepeppered with classical music old chestnuts and became a subliminalassociation for later in life!)Now when I look back I see what that experience gave to me when I becamean independent woman in my 20s - RESONANCE! When I heard those "tunes"from the Music Memory program, it gave me a link to a comfortable place.Did I have a sophisticated understanding of the music at that time?Surely not. But I had an affection, which became love, and has developedinto a much more knowledgeable understanding and thirst for classicaland modern music.Would that our school children today could get just that resonanceto carry into their adult years!! Lets bring back the Music MemoryProgram!! The possibilities are boggling with today's youth!

Bel Canto Style

As a musical style, it seems to me that Verdi may have been the major instigator of verisimo. It amounted to a rather gradual shift in operatic approaches with respect to dramatic content. However, the term "bel canto" remained applicable in terms of vocal technique as I basically described it in my initial posting on the subject. This is what made it possible to expand vocal capabilities to accomodate this "new" operatic style. With respect to terminology, I am simply trying to establish the difference between basic vocal technique and musical style as I understand them.

Bel Canto Style

Is the Bel Canto style of singing unique to the Italian languageand if so, why? If it is not unique, can one give examples of the Bel Cantostyle in other languages such as French or Spanish?