That comingled seating: singing with the choir
Remember that bipartisan “date night” seating for the SOTU address? I hear it cut down on the applause, although that surely wasn’t the intent. It seems that some people became confused as to what were the applause lines. Being in a partisan pack and seeing everyone else around them clap and rise ordinarily cues them to the fact that the moment has arrived. Minus that clear sort of signal, the response was more tepid.
It occurs to me that it’s a bit like a choral group, where if members of each section—altos, sopranos, tenors, basses—are clumped with others of their ilk, it helps the weaker members keep to their parts. Sometimes the members are spread out and separated for balance, but that requires more attention and focus.
Since I know next to nothing about choral groups, I thought I’d look it up to make sure I’m correct about that. I discovered that yes, indeed, this is a burning question among choral directors—to group or not to group:?
And then there’s the whole issue of whether or not a choir stands with all the sopranos grouped together, all the altos grouped together somewhere else, etc. The alternative (usually in more advanced choirs, and always depending on the piece of music) is having the sections all mixed up…usually in quartets (one soprano, one alto, one tenor, one bass). The challenge here is that, as you’ve noted, in order to sing next to a different voice part (or three!), you really need to be a strong independent musician — be able to hold your own, even when you’re not hearing someone else sing your part. But that’s really a different situation.
Choir positioning is a tricky thing, and very few directors are able to get it set up just to their liking on the first try (that is, if they care at all…many directors place the singers with the simple instruction “basses in the back, tenors in the front, sopranos on the left, altos on the right…tall singers in the back and short in the front” which may work, if the choir is 80+). So, directors tend to move singers around during the rehearsal process…and I’ve seen more than a few singers get very upset about being moved.
I’ve never really considered the finer points of choir directing, but I’m certain that the intrigue and brouhaha of positioning can get quite intense. Maybe not as intense as in Congress, but intense enough.
Has a lot to do with conducting and directing. Can’t bring the ‘cello section or the baritones in on cue if they’re (ahem) integrated.
I had heard that the applause for the last SOTU was the least in anyone’s memory.
Oh the joy that fills my soul
when liberal’s lameness show!
Are you suggesting there were unintended consequences to something politicians did? Lol
And your word comingled had me doing double takes. I’m thinking coming led? That may even be the first time i’ve ever seen the word in print i’m embarrased to say. But i googled it and it does have two M’s. Which only makes it look weirder. 🙂
SteveH,
Dictionary.com shows both spellings, and lists “comingle” as “. . .the better (because the word is not from Latin), but less-used, Eng. form of commingle.”
Since I know next to nothing about choral groups, I thought I’d look it up to make sure I’m correct about that.
This sentence indicates one reason why, after intending to leave a single comment in passing, I’ve lingered here as long as I have. Many a blogger would have presented the results of a google search as though it’s something he/she knew all along.
There are blogs which I used to visit with respect and even deference–until the resident sages turned their attention to matters I knew about in depth. In contrast, I appreciate how Neo–usually! 😉 –keeps her ego in perspective (better than I would in her situation) despite perching well out on the bell curve.
In my limited experience as an amateur singer, yes, choirs with stronger singers can break them up into quartets. Some directors think it makes for a better overall sound. I was one of those singers who needed to follow someone stronger, at least at first. Theoretically after weeks of rehearsal each singer knew his/her part, but it always helped to have someone you could reliably cue in on. I’ve even known some directors to “salt” their amateur choirs with more experienced singers when the chips were down.
By the way, does anyone know who Steve Cohen sat with?
It’s interesting the way the SOTU experiment turned out. I suspect the intent was exactly the opposite based on the notion that Republicans would be drawn to their feet each time a liberal applause-point was reached. To do otherwise would capture on camera the incivility of scattered curmudgeons clinging bitterly to their seats. Like every human endeavor, it turns out there’s more than one possible outcome. And usually the weak-minded follow the strong, as in this case.
I sang in a mixed choir once in high school, it was a state-level choir that we had to audition for etc. So we were all good enough singers to handle the mixed voices.
However, they sorted us by part and then by height, so the 4 shortest sopranos, altos, tenors, and bases all sat together, all the way up to the 4 tallest of each (only by then they were out of sopranos). I am fairly tall for a girl so I was in the back of the alto line – and got stuck between 2 guys who were both over 6’5″. I was lost back there, I don’t think I got any sunlight at all.
SOTU reminds me of when Stalin addressed large gatherings. At applause lines everyone would rise and clap, but NO ONE wanted to be the first to stop and sit. It got so bad they installed a light that Stalin controlled that signaled when to sit, before people began to faint.
I think the main reason there was little applause during the SOTU is that Obama said nothing new and was boring as hell.
Don’t get me started about how to arrange instruments in an orchestra or a wind band. Talk about your long-winded discussions.
Split violins vs.violins on left/cellos on right, etc., etc… Furtwangler did it this way, Toscanini did it that way, yada, yada…
certainly choir sectioning would be a more compelling subject for me (bass, jr high and HS).. thanks for the hark back!
I’ve sung in choruses in both ‘sectional’ and ‘shotgun’ configuration. The short version is this, as I understand it: shotgun is better for the audience, if the director and the singers can handle it. Singers grouped by section are easier to direct, and make it easier for the weaker singers to ‘lean’.
(One memorable director would say to us: “This is my melody hand; this is my harmony hand. Melody singers, follow this hand; harmony singers, follow this hand.” He didn’t point to a section for cues, because he couldn’t; we were scattered all over. But we knew which hand to watch, and he never got confused.)
I didn’t watch SOTU this year. (My main point of interest was to see what the Supremes did, and I saw hardly any commentary on that.) I was disturbed, though (off-topic warning) at just how many people in line of succession to the Presidency were there. President, Vice-President, Speaker of the House, Secretary of State, and so on. (The Senate President Pro Tem, fourth in line, was elsewhere; at least that.)
DiB
I sang in two of my university coral groups, the men’s glee club, and a coed group. Both stood in mixed octets. Singing in a mixed group is more difficult for the singers but makes a much nicer sound for the audience.
Our directors would direct “voices”. I’ve never actually tried to describe this before, but we always knew which among us was the target of a particular direction. Entrances and exits were pretty obvious, but our director could vary the volume and character (poor adjective) of different the different voices as well.
Decades later I’m sure that I could not respond correctly, but at the time it was automatic.