Duane Cottrell, editor Developing Bass Sections through Extended Techniques and Auxiliary Registers by Everett Wade Editor’s note: The following article will works of past centuries. In just the this discrepancy. Frederick Swan- be greatly enhanced by hearing the corre- last few decades, composers have son, former director of the Moline sponding performance examples, referenced written choral works with unusually Boys Choir, made the following ob- throughout the text and listed in the sidebar low bass parts.3 Despite this recent servation: on page 63. Those viewing the electronic attention, remarkably few authors version of this issue (available at www. have written about how the lowest Next to Warsaw, Chicago acda.org/choraljournal) can click on the registers of the male voice might has the largest concentration link and be taken directly to the URL. be cultivated so as to access such of Poles in the world. There tones. Most choir directors would are communities where Yu- American choirs have recently conclude that unless they are so for- goslavian, Czechoslovakian, shown an interest in the depths of tunate as to happen upon the deep- and Russian immigrants set- the bass voice. In the past few years, est of basses, such works are best tled, and these communities two Grammy Awards for Best Cho- left alone. It is my contention that still claim many descendants ral Performance have been con- such challenging repertoire would of those Slavic pioneers. We ferred upon American recordings of be in reach for many ensembles if do not fi nd men from these Russian works that include some of the choral community were ready to communities displaying these the lowest notes in vocal literature. encourage bass voices and explore deep contrabass voices.4 The 2016 recipient was the Phoenix the use of extended techniques and Chorale and the Kansas City Cho- auxiliary registers. Swanson’s insight suggests that rale’s recording of Rachmaninov’s cultural attitudes and not genetics All-Night Vigil, which requires the are to blame for the rarity of strong basses to descend to B!1.1 Conspi- Encouraging Bass Voices basses in Western choirs. Swanson rare’s recording of sacred Russian The fi rst step in strengthening found ample evidence to confi rm music, which received the award in the bass sections of American choirs this suggestion: basses were often 2015, features Chesnokov’s sacred is simply to value and encour- discouraged from developing the concerto for octavist soloist, which age singers with low voices. While low tones of their voices, especially drops even lower than Rachmanin- strong basses seem more common during adolescence. Western vocal ov’s work—to G1.2 Such low bass, in Eastern Europe, there is no data pedagogy tends to focus on extend- however, is not confi ned to Russian to suggest that genetics account for ing the range upward. Swanson also CHORAL JOURNAL September 2019 Volume 60 Number 2 55 noted that generally composers “do musical and could not sing.6 Fryers and Other Rejects,” Swanson not write solos exploiting the deep- In contrast, the religious cho- describes the process of discovering est tones of the vocal register,” likely ral literature of Eastern Europe many adolescent basses capable of “because singers would not choose inspires a tradition of developing producing tones in the contra oc- to sing them if such songs were writ- and encouraging low basses, as the tave. ten; nor would the public be likely Orthodox Church does not permit In summary, the fi rst step in to applaud them with the same en- the organ in worship. As one Yugo- strengthening the bass sections of thusiasm as if they were producing slavian bass explained to Swanson, American choirs would be to trans- tones of high pitch and intensity.”5 “In the Eastern Orthodox Church form our attitudes about unusually It is, then, no wonder that teachers we do not have instruments, neither low voices. Once the demand and and vocal coaches focus heavily on organ nor orchestra to accompany appreciation for such singers in- developing the higher tones of the our choirs. If we want the rich deep creases, it is likely we will see an up- voice, and applaud those who excel tones of the bass viols or 16’ organ take in the supply. It would seem that in this. Swanson further observed pipes, we have to use our singers. So the recent interest in Russian reper- that because basses had more diffi - we look for men who can produce toire indicates this appreciation for culty singing higher, they often be- them, and we develop and train low choral basses is already on the came convinced that they were un- them.”7 In his article “Growlers, rise. Indeed, many online discussion groups and YouTube channels indi- cate the increasing popularity of low basses in choral music. For example, “Our tour was wonderful — well-managed and a YouTube video titled “The Power well-balanced. There are a million details to of the Russian Oktavist,” which fea- arrange with a trip like ours, and Witte attended to them with professionalism and punctuality! tures a compilation of astoundingly If I take a choir to Europe again, I will defi nitely low choral basses, has garnered over use Witte Travel & Tours!” one million views.8 While it might Ryan Smit Director of Choral Activities, Dordt University seem that low choral basses are a niche interest, these sorts of online trends indicate that the general pub- lic has an appreciation for such voic- es. Auxiliary Registers and Extended Techniques When a choir lacks enough strong basses to perform a demanding A Leader work convincingly, it may be helpful In Concert Tours to explore extended techniques and GO BEYOND. GO WITTE. SINCE alternate registers. Unfortunately, 1975! Western literature of vocal pedago- gy has not devoted much energy to exploring the lower regions of the 800 GO WITTE human voice. To complicate mat- www.wittept.com ters further, the terminology used to describe lower vocal registers is of- 56 CHORAL JOURNAL September 2019 Volume 60 Number 2 ten fraught with confl ation and con- Vocal Fry absent, it lacks the resonance of fusion. Only recently have voice sci- The fi rst of these registers is vocal chest voice. ence and vocal pedagogy provided a fry, an auxiliary register at the ex- Vocal fry is a useful choral tool clearer understanding of the various treme lower end of the voice.9 The if used judiciously.11 As James Stark vocal phenomena only vaguely de- singer relaxes his vocal folds until has noted, it “is often heard in Rus- scribed in the literature of the past they fl ap loosely, producing a rat- sian choral music.”12 Though most century. While many pedagogical tling, creaky sound. Vocal scientists texts describe fry as a powerless, texts have dismissed such registers as have observed that this register is creaking register, if it is tuned well unusable or dangerous, these recent often characterized by a long closed and supplemented by other voices, discoveries encourage a reassess- phase and a low glottal airfl ow.10 In it can be quite eff ective in produc- ment of such views. In correspond- other words, the vocal folds are so ing low notes. Because of its low ing with choral directors and choris- relaxed that they vibrate irregularly, volume, however, vocal fry is gen- ters around the world, I have found in pulses. Because the airfl ow is low, erally only useful when the choir is several techniques and registers that vocal fry generally has less volume singing softly, for example, the fi nal may prove useful in expanding the than the chest register. The register descent to B!1 in the fi fth movement lower range of a choir. produces a low fundamental, but of Rachmaninoff ’s All-Night Vigil. because the upper harmonics are Indeed, many Russian recordings of ACDA Children’s Choir Conductors’ Retreat January 18 – 19, 2020 Atlanta, GA Join us for a two-day ACDA Event tailored exclusively for those who conduct children’s choirs in the community, in schools and in places of worship. Contemporary accommodations at the Renaissance Atlanta Midtown, Georgia. Registration and information will be available at acda.org in the fall. For information contact: Cheryl Dupont, National Chair for Children & Community Youth: [email protected] Emmy Burch, Local Chair at [email protected] CHORAL JOURNAL September 2019 Volume 60 Number 2 57 Rachmaninov’s masterpiece feature tavists Yuri Wichniakov and Vladi- little value in the strohbass register one or two octavists capable of de- mir Miller (see Performance Link 1). for solo singing, Miller’s technique scending to the lowest notes without While these two basses are likely of depressing the larynx is useful for strain. A good example is a perfor- the only two in the choir capable of those who can authoritatively per- mance of the Vigil by the Choir of using chest voice to produce the B!1 form a work with the exception of a the Academy of Choral Art with oc- required in the fi nal descent (found few notes on the lower edge of their after 18 minutes 50 second mark in range. Miller confesses that though the clip), the discerning listener will he has “repeatedly campaigned notice that the weaker basses do not against holding the larynx in a de- cease singing, but rather shift into an pressed position,” an occasional use auxiliary register such as vocal fry. of strohbass is not detrimental to the voice and may open up repertoire to the performer that would not Strohbass otherwise be accessible.17 Although Most contemporary works that Miller’s defi nition of strohbass dif- mention strohbass equate it with the fers from that of previous writers, terms “pulse register” and “vocal it provides a useful description of fry.” Indeed, it seems that in West- an extended technique that may be ern vocal literature, “strohbass” has occasionally used to reach low notes often been used as a catch-all term on the edge of a singer’s range.