[This essay is written with tongue firmly planted in cheek in the voice of a choral conductor, although the writer is merely a member of the tenor section. The essay was inspired by rehearsal technique of our Marquette Choral Society Director, Dr. Floyd Slotterback. The writer freely acknowledges that all of the insights contained herein were manifest in our conductor's rehearsal methodology. By getting into his mind, the essay seemed to just write itself.]
A choral conductor's job is a challenging one, especially that of a conductor of an ensemble of amateur singers. Beginning with a group having a broad range of musicianship, vocal technique, and natural talent, he or she works over the weeks or months of a rehearsal cycle to transform the group at performance time into a musical instrument capable of producing a sublime experience for their audience and themselves.
To achieve this daunting objective, the conductor must give careful attention to rehearsal technique. The pacing of the rehearsals is crucial to bringing the chorus to the pinnacle of bliss at just the right moment. Get there too early and the concert is an anticlimactic letdown. Get there too late and the concert produces only frustrating, flawed unfulfillment.
As we all know, rehearsal technique is a fine art. We cannot learn it once and for all in conducting class, but must be ever searching for new devices to transform the chaotic rabble before us into a celestial choir. We must listen as others tell what works for them, test methods, and fashion our own toolkit of devices which can move the ensemble forward under our fine-tuned control.
Thus, it is in the spirit of the fraternity of our craft that I offer to my conducting colleagues this humble treatise on a technique that I have found to be quite useful. I call it chorus interruptus.
The role of tension and release in music at the level of composition and performance is well understood. The composer builds tension into the music by means of dissonance, for example, and, when the moment is ripe, relieves the tension with a consonant climax. Tension and release can be created rhythmically as well, and in the case of choral music, by careful selection and arrangement of the text. The skilled composer builds these elements into the music and it is our task as interpreters to bring it out in performance.
I have discovered that the principle of interplay between tension and release has a key role as well in the rehearsal cycle. A conductor can use the principle in moving a chorus toward readiness for a performance at the right moment.
The key is to build slowly the tension over the weeks of rehearsal and to avoid moments of premature release. One wants to keep the creative tension going over an extended learning period and allow the climactic, rhapsodic release to come only in the performance.
This is fine in theory, and nothing new, but how does one achieve this difficult goal? There is no single key, but I have found that one very helpful technique is the strict avoidance of rehearsing climactic cadences.
Let me illustrate the concept with an example from the work our chorus is currently preparing, G. F. Handel's Messiah. I find it to be very helpful when rehearsing, for example, the final chorus, No. 53, "Worthy is the Lamb That Was Slain," to avoid at all costs singing the final three adagio measures, the climactic, tension-releasing final "Amen, Amen." We work very hard, as one must with an amateur chorus, on the challenging allegro moderato "Amen" fugue beginning at measure 72. We break it into segments, analyze the phrasing, study the interplay between the voices--rehearsal techniques well known to us all.
We put the fugue together little by little. Generally I work from back to front, drilling the chorus on a few measures at a time, gradually lengthening the segments that we rehearse. When the time is ripe, and after much hard work, we allow ourselves the satisfaction of rehearsing the whole passage. But NEVER including the final cadence! It is imperative that one stop at measure 156, the whole measure fermata rest. Do not sing the final three measure cadence. (I am still experimenting to see whether or not it works better to conduct and hold the rest before giving the cutoff.)
This is chorus interruptus. It is a technique that helps extend the creative tension over the many tedious weeks of rehearsal--a great challenge as we all know. One must not let the chorus climax too early. By avoiding the sublime moments of release in the early phases of the rehearsal cycle, we can sustain the energy level and bring it to fruition at just the right moment.
The practice of chorus interruptus is by no means easy. First, the conductor must come to grips with his or her own need for release. It requires strong self-discipline to suppress the urge to conduct and sing the cadences. One must develop an iron will, keeping one's focus on the increased pleasure of the performance if one foregoes immediate gratification. I call this saving yourself for the concert.
Another challenge in practicing chorus interruptus is dealing with the often palpable frustration that it produces in the singers. Tenors it seems are especially subject to frustration when cut off prior to the climax. Depending on your working relationship with your singers, you can expect to take considerable guff from the tenor section when they are not allowed to release their tension.*
You must be prepared for this frustration among the singers and be resolved to hold your ground. Do not give in to their pleadings to sing through to those final measures. The frustration that they are expressing is healthy. It is a creative force that will result in a better concert performance.
Maintain your resolve. Forewarned is forearmed. Rehearsal is foreplay. The ultimate pleasure comes in the performance.
I have discovered one final nuance which seems to enhance the effectiveness of chorus interruptus. When cutting the chorus off at the pre-climatic moment, I find that it helps to move the baton toward the chest. This gesture of withdrawal communicates subliminally that we are withholding our release until the right time. The gesture will not be consciously noticed by the singers, (except for a few of those frustrated tenors), but it will work on their collective subconscious to keep the tension alive.
The choral literature offers many wonderful opportunities to practice the gentle art of chorus interruptus. Now that you are aware of the principle, I am sure that your conducting instincts will lead you to the right moment to cut short nearly every section of every work that you will ever rehearse.
It is my hope that you will find this rehearsal technique to be as useful for you as it has been for me.
Footnote:
* Be on the alert because during breaks, some of the more immature tenors may resort to singing the cadences on their own. Although these passages are clearly less satisfying without the involvement of the other voices, some of these guys find a need for this form of release. Such self-pleasuring is to be discouraged. It was once commonly believed, and still is by some, that self-cadencing can stunt musical development and cause permanent disfiguring flaws in the vocal complexion, but I am aware of no solid scientific evidence for this. Nevertheless the practice should be discouraged. I find it helpful to have a well organized hospitality committee which always makes healthy and appealing snacks available during the breaks. This gently and without embarrassment to them or to you diverts the attention of the tenors to a more wholesome activity.
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