Carol Ann Weaver's song cycle, Paraguay Primeval, was fascinating to me as a composition student because she and her vocalist broke a lot of rules I have learned in my music classes here. Take, for example, Rebecca Campbell's vocal style. It contradicted techniques I've learned here-- she moved a lot, and kind of rocked back and forth as she sang; when a word ended in "s," she would draw it out, and choir directors here would be scandalized if we did that during rehearsal; the last major rule-breaking I noticed was how Ms. Campbell made no attempt to disguise her different voices and registers, where a classically trained singer would be a bit more concerned with blending her voice and hiding her breaks. Obviously, I realize Ms. Weaver's songs were not intended to be classical works; it was just startling to me at first because I was not used to a genre that broke all the rules I've learned.
However, despite this rule-breaking, I still found Paraguay Primeval to be somewhat enjoyable. Although some of the pieces were a bit out there for me, I enjoyed the jazzier side of Carol Ann Weaver's compositions, and I thought Ms. Campbell's voice was well suited for jazz. I also liked the concept of Paraguay Primeval, and how it was created, specifically how Ms. Weaver collected texts, some of which were prose, and turned them into songs.
Paraguay Primeval was an interesting experience, and it exposed me to a genre of music I am not exposed to often in the wonderful (but classically oriented) music department here at Goshen.
I also thought it was interesting the way Weaver collected the stories. I was really interested in the narrative she created through the song cycle, even though I didn't necessarily enjoy the music itself.
ReplyDeleteI liked the jazzier songs too. I also liked some of the later songs because they seemed to get a bit more melodic, like the last song Chaco Spring.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to me what you say about her unorthodox singing methods. I didn't notice these, because I was never formally trained at singing, although her style of singing did seem to be different from other classical singers.
Jake, given your essay and perspective on pop music last year, it's fun to read this blog post. Sounds like you've been a good student of classical form, even as you've questioned it. Clearly this performance with its rule-breaking challenged you, but it's also exhilarating to note what a classically-trained composer (Weaver) does when she starts crossing genres and conventions. Maybe you'll be one of those path-breakers, too. I wish you could have been at the lunch, because Weaver and Campbell directly addressed the contrast of Campbell's singing with the classical style, and also discussed the challenges of being taken seriously as a classical composer when you start breaking the rules. Interestingly, 90-year-old Mary Oyer, who was at the performance--trained as a classical performer--loved it.
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