Defining the Contralto Voice Through the Repertoire of Ralph Vaughan
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DEFINING THE CONTRALTO VOICE THROUGH THE REPERTOIRE OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Sarah M. Daniels, B.M., M.M. Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS May 2014 APPROVED: Jeffrey Snider, Major Professor Stephen F. Austin, Committee Member Paula Homer, Committee Member Stephen F. Austin, Chair of the Division of Vocal Studies Benjamin Brand, Director of Graduate Studies in the College of Music James C. Scott, Dean of the College of Music Mark Wardell, Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Daniels, Sarah M. Defining the Contralto Voice through the Repertoire of Ralph Vaughan Williams. Doctor of Musical Arts (Performance), May 2014, 41 pp., 32 musical examples, bibliography, 62 titles. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the recognition of the contralto voice type had reached its apex in England. Throughout the remainder of the century, the number and popularity of recorded contraltos has decreased alongside the rise of the mezzo-soprano voice type. Due to the contralto’s decline and the lack of repertoire composed specifically for the voice, the definition of “contralto” remains somewhat ambiguous. The large contralto repertoire of English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams displays a unique sensitivity to the contralto, particularly with regards to vocal range, flexibility, tessitura, and sustainability. These works thus suggest a new perspective for the voice type. The scope of Vaughan Williams’s oeuvre examined includes each of his operatic roles for contralto and choral works featuring the contralto. Also examined will be the compositional techniques implemented within these pieces which demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of the contralto voice. A workable definition of the voice type for the pedagogue and performer is included. Copyright 2014 by Sarah M. Daniels ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my committee members Dr. Stephen F. Austin and Ms. Paula Homer for serving on my DMA committee. I greatly appreciate their assistance with this topic, as well as the professional and musical guidance each has given me during my doctoral studies. I offer gratitude to Dr. Richard Sparks, who helped me during the initial phase of this project and encouraged me to explore the contralto voice and for his assistance in the performance of Magnificat for contralto solo and women’s chorus by Ralph Vaughan Williams. I would like to give special thanks to my major professor, Dr. Jeffrey Snider. Thank you for your invaluable support and encouragement during my time at UNT and especially throughout this dissertation. Your guidance has helped me become a better musician, singer, and teacher. To my parents, Tom and Sharon Daniels, and my sister, Laura Stansberry, thank you for your constant love and support. Thanks also to E. Justin Simone for your continued love and assistance throughout this dissertation. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iii Chapters 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1 2. DEFINING THE CONTRALTO VOICE ...............................................................6 3. ENGLISH CONTRALTO REPERTOIRE ............................................................11 4. THE ISSUES: TESSITURA, FLEXIBILITY, SUSTAINABILITY, AND EXPLOITATION OF THE LOWER RANGE......................................................14 5. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................35 APPENDIX: THE CONTRALTO ROLES OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS.....................36 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..........................................................................................................................38 iv CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION For centuries, composers have written music for all voice types. However, there is more musical literature composed for certain voice types (e.g. sopranos, baritones, and tenors) than for others.1 A number of writers who recount the history and literature of the different voice types have forged a narrative that accurately portrays the contralto as a voice type that has been largely neglected by composers of the Western art tradition. For example, author and music critic Pitts Sanborn discusses the plight of the contralto: “The causes of the disease have always been the same, the narrowness of the contralto repertory and the fact that a soprano is notoriously more ‘worthy’ in the treasurer’s book.”2 The contralto voice type flourished in England from the end of the nineteenth century through the first half of the twentieth century. Journalist Percy Scholes discusses the rise of the contralto in The Mirror of Music and lists seventy-seven contraltos as members of the Huddersfield Choral Society in 1902, outnumbering male altos (19), tenors (72), and basses (71).3 Scholes also states that sixteen well-known British contraltos thrived from 1892-1936, most notably Clara Butt and Kathleen Ferrier.4 However, several authors claim that the classification of the contralto voice and the identification of singers as such have rapidly declined since the turn of the twentieth century. J.B. Steane writes about the vanishing contralto in his book Voices, Singers and Critics: “One searches for the really deep voices and they seem to be an almost extinct species.”5 1 Berton Coffin, The Singer’s Repertoire (New Brunswick, NJ: The Scarecrow Press, 1956). 2 Pitts Sanborn, “The Doom of the Contralto,” The Scrap Book, Vol. 4 part I, (1907), 799. 3 Percy A. Scholes, The Mirror of Music (London: Oxford University Press, 1947) 57-58. 4 Scholes, 278-279. 5 J.B. Steane, Voices, Singers, and Critics (Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press, 1992), 47. Opera critic Rupert Christiansen takes up the matter of voice teachers favoring the development of singers into mezzo-sopranos over 1 Two challenges that the “species” face are a decreased number of women who classify themselves as contraltos and a limited repertoire for the voice type (largely due to works being misidentified for mezzo-soprano). Operatic repertoire for the contralto voice is limited within the Western art tradition. The few operatic roles that exist for contraltos are mostly supporting roles6. Most of the operas that feature a leading contralto, including Aida (1871) by Giuseppe Verdi and Carmen (1875) by Georges Bizet, feature what was sometimes referred to as a “mezzo-contralto.” A mezzo- contralto is “a role that could be sung by either a mezzo-soprano or a contralto and the term is also used for a voice that is not as high as a mezzo-soprano and not as deep as a contralto.”7 The lead contralto roles in both Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera (1858) and Meyerbeer’s Le Prohète (1849) are examples of mezzo-contralto roles and require the “contralto” to sing above the staff and sustain a high tessitura.8 Therefore, mezzo-sopranos are more apt to be cast in these mezzo- contralto roles, significantly decreasing the contralto repertoire. Contraltos assuredly have a limited repertoire from which to select, however the English tradition provides a substantial oeuvre composed for the voice type. A broad range of composers that represent the history of English music written for contralto include Henry Purcell, George Frederick Handel, Arthur Sullivan, Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Charles Villiers Stanford, Edward Elgar, and Benjamin Britten. Regardless of these contributions to the contralto repertory, they feature two prominent challenges: (a.) requiring demanding melismatic passages and (b.) sustaining a high tessitura. contraltos in “Where have all the contraltos gone?” (2010). Eric Myers also recognizes the “category” of the contralto as being “at the moment … on the verge of extinction” in “Sweet and Low” (1996). 6 Representative examples include Arnalta from L’incoronazione di Poppea and Shepard from L’orfeo by Monteverdi, Gherardino from Gianni Schicchi by Puccini, Ragonde from Il comte Ory by Rossini, Annina from Der Rosenkavalier by Strauss, Ninetta from I vespri Siciliani by Verdi. 7 Richard Boldrey, Guide to Operatic Roles and Arias (Dallas, TX: Pst. Inc., 1994), 26. 8 Phyllis Brenner, “The Emergence of the English Contralto,” (PhD Diss., Columbia University Teachers College, 1989), 153. 2 The current trend of countertenors singing contralto repertoire, especially within the oratorio genre, presents the contralto with an additional problem. For example, currently the contralto solos in G. F. Handel’s Messiah are frequently performed by countertenors instead of contraltos even though in the first performance of Messiah both voice types were utilized.9 Having to “share” oratorio/opera roles with countertenors further limits the contralto’s repertoire. Moreover, the majority of contralto repertoire is composed for a flexible voice that can execute technically demanding coloratura passages.10 The size and makeup of those voices that are best classified as “contralto,” e.g. Clara Butt and Kathleen Ferrier,11 tend to lack such technical agility. Singer and voice teacher Sabilla Novella stated that “Contralto (and bass voices) are usually the most unmanageable, in which the transition from one register to another is abrupt, and its position uncertain.”12 In other words, difficult transitions between the low, middle and high registers make it challenging for most contraltos to move their voices with ease. This is not necessarily true of all contraltos, but generally speaking, these voices