Sight-Readings: Notes on "A cappella" Performance Practice

Author(s): Donald Greig

Source: Early Music, Vol. 23, No. 1, Flute Issue (Feb., 1995), pp. 124-127+129-132+135-136+139+141
-148
Published by: Oxford University Press
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Sight-readings:notes on a cappella
performancepractice
Donald Greig is a freelance singer
and has lecturedin semiologyand
film studies. His e-mail address is
dgreig@sv.span.com.
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Performingmatters
Donald Greig
Inhis lucid andxxi
perceptiveessay,'The Englisha cappellaRenaissance'
outlines a
(Early music, (1993), pp.452-71), Christopher Page
broad consensus of critics, performersand musicologistswho sustain
the well tended tradition of English a cappellaperformanceof early
music. He goes so far as to suggest that the performersof this group
constitutea 'class',the characteristicsof which arethat they areEnglish,
often Oxbridge (certainly well educated), good sight-readers,quick
learnersand possessed of vocal abilitieswhich lend themselvesto the
performanceof medievaland Renaissancerepertory.Although I would
not claim to fulfil all the conditions of Page'staxonomy, I do regularly
performwith severalof the groups included in the discographyin the
appendixto his essay.
Page's essay confronts a particularconjunction of critic, performer
and musicologist.I intend here to supplementhis argumentsby draw-
ing on my experienceas a performerand on the specificmusicaleduca-
tion he sketches.This articleis also an expressionof my desire to find
answersto questions continuallyraisedduringthe performingprocess.
Pageproposeswhathe tentativelycallsthe 'Englishdiscovery'theory:
ItbeginsfromthepremissthatEnglish singersperforming a cappella
arecurrently
ableto giveexceptional performances of medievaland Renaissance polyphony
fromEngland andtheFranco-Flemish areabecausetheabilityof thebestEnglish
singersto achievea purityandprecisioninstilledby the discipline of repeated a
cappella singingin the choralinstitutionsis singularlyappropriateto the trans-
parency andintricatecounterpointof themusic.Fromthatpremissweproceedto
thetheorythat,in certainrespects,andespecially in matters to accuracy
relating of
tuning and ensemble,these performances represent a particularly
convincing pos-
tulateabouttheperforming of theoriginalsingers.(p.454)
priorities
The model which Pagesets up is a sort of unconscious of the English
early-musicworld, a set of drives and desires which are rarelyovertly
expressedbut which underlie and motivate a particularaspect of the
performanceof earlymusic. Concerningthe thesis that a 'good' perfor-
mance of a particularform of music providesus with importantclues as
to its originalperformance,I contend that any similaritiesare mostly a
happy coincidence, and that the particularskills of the British early-
music singer can prevent a full appreciationof the demands of the
EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1995 125
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124 EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1995

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 1 Thechoirgalleryof theSistineChapel(photo@NipponTelevisionNetworkCorporation)

music and inhibit forms of expressionyet to be ex-
plored. I suggesttoo that modern a cappellaperfor-
mance may tell us more about currentculturalcon-
ditions than about the originalperformance.This is
not to say that I dispute the validityof the a cappella
argument, that I line up on the side of those who
support the idea of the a cappellaheresy;'rather,I
have a fundamentaldistrust of the performer'sin-
stinct (clouded by subjectivenotions of musical sat-
isfaction and pleasure) which might tell me that a
piece 'works' in one way and not in another. Per-
formers do, though, have their own perspective;
their arguments, as long as they take into account
this dangerous and often misleading instinct, may
well have an increasingpartto play in the debate.
I hope to offera correctiveto one of the dominant
myths of the Englisha cappellarenaissance,a myth
which Page is at pains to refute but which, through
the act of elucidation,reconstructsitself.It is that the
choral institutions of England (the cathedralchoirs
and Oxbridgecolleges) are somehow responsiblefor
the a cappellarenaissance.Page demonstratesthat
'an influential forum of scholars, critics and per-
formersin Englandhas felt a pervasivedesire to di-
rect a good deal of medievaland Renaissancemusic
... towards the best voices to emerge from the
chapels attached to the Oxbridge colleges' (p.468).
An elitist stancecannot be attributedto Page,but the
approachfailsto providean account of other educa-
tions and trainings which, to my mind, have an
equal and corrective value to the (often narrow)
cathedral/collegeapproach.
The history of the a cappellarenaissance,which
Page'sessayhas inititated,will need a full account of
the membershipof this 'class'and the variouseduca-
tions which have contributedto it. A limited account
might well be seen retrospectivelyas paralleledby
the dominance of all-male groups over the move-
ment, and for the virtual exclusion of women from
its critical history. It is refreshing to follow the

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 nl t I-_- 1 4

2 TheTallisScholarsperformfromthechoirgalleryof theSistinechapel,9 April1994

(photo@NipponTelevisionNetworkCorporation)

success of the all-women group Anonymous 4, just some extent, political. Women do not enjoy full ac-
as it is not surprisingto see the somewhatphobic re- cess to choir schools (where girls remain the excep-
action of some sections of the Britishmusic press to tion), the cathedral institutions or the five main
that success." Oxbridge choirs.' The situation has, admittedly,
changedsomewhatover the last 20 years.Within the
t is well known that English a cappellachoirs are Oxbridge system there now exist several choral
excellent sight-readers:the reason generallycited scholarshipsfor women, and there has been a grad-
is their trainingin the choralinstitutions of Britain.3 ual correlativedecline in the all-men choir (as op-
Thereis little doubt that the rapidturnoverof reper- posed to the all-malechoir of boys and men). There
tory in these institutions is a major contributor to are, though, still no women lay clerks,where the re-
the development of what has become a prerequisite striction cannot be on voice rangealone, since other
skill for the professional singer of early music in vocal groups accept female altos. This limitation on
Britaintoday. That is not to say that such skills can the education of women is not based on ability but
be learnt only in these institutions: British early- on a combination of tradition, taste and, probably,
music groups also contain a number of people who prejudice.Thereis no feeling in the groups in which
have received their musical training outside the I work that the women are in any way inferior to the
Oxbridgeand cathedralsystems. Of these, many of men in sight-readingability,musicalideas, interpre-
whom received their education at music college or tation or knowledge. Indeed, one of the great plea-
non-Oxbridge universities,4the great majority are sures that such groups afford is their collective
women. The reasons for this are cultural and, to natureand the assumptionof equalityof singers.

EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1995 127

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 It would be disingenuousto discount the training
in the cathedral and Oxbridge systems, just as it
would be misleadingto suggestthat it is this training
ground alone which is responsiblefor the high stan-
dards of the a cappellarenaissance.What is clear is
that all the singers involved have had some experi-
ence of ensemblesinging, and that is a major re-
source. However, we must not limit our search for
the trainingof the early-musica cappellaperformer
to education alone, but must also view the experi-
ence gained while singing within these groups as
part of the learning process. Groups have achieved
their positions through a process of evolution that
includes the ongoing development of the skills of
their singers. Group styles were not laid down in
stone when the group first performed but have
developed over a period;much of that development
is due to an increasingfamiliaritywith the repertory
and the particulardemands it makes upon singers.
Many groups have devoted themselves to a par-
ticular musical period6and have maintained a cer-
tain continuity of personnel. In this concentrated
world of rehearsals,concert-giving and recording,
the sight-readingskills of each singer have been re-
fined to a level whereit is not just a transmissionthat
can be given at sight but an interpretation.7What is
at work here is not some mysticalsynchronicitybut
the development of a series of sub-codes of expres-
sion, a developmentof a sense of the use officta, and
an appreciationof the likely movement of lines, not
only intervallically,but also in their interactionwith
other lines and their potential for shaping. In short,
singers who perform much music from the Renais-
sance (or who concentrate on any other period of
music, for that matter) are likely to develop an ear
for that music, or what has been usefully termed a
'learnedinstinct'.
It is easy to characterizethe short rehearsaltime
and large discographiesof English groups as evid-
ence of a cursoryknowledgeand appreciationof the
music, but this saturationin a varietyof music from
a single period is a vital component in the develop-
ment of the singer'sassimilationof its conventions.
The high turnover of repertory, characteristicof
both cathedralinstitutions and of the early-musica
cappellagroups in Britain,leads directly to a more
complete appreciationof styles and idioms of spe-
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cific periods. The experienceof a member of one of
the busier English groups might well be paralleled
with that of, say, a singerin the SistineChapelin the
16thcentury.8
I am not suggestingthat limited rehearsalis by any
means ideal. It is a circumstancethrust upon these
groups for primarilyeconomic reasons. The ques-
tion must be asked,though, whether it is as a direct
resultof the abilityof Englishgroupsto workquickly
that subsidy is not forthcoming or whether an eco-
nomic determinism operates to produce this par-
ticularresponse. Groups cannot ask for large subsi-
dies when the time allotted to any project is figured
in hours rather than weeks. Specialist early-music
singerstend to work on a session basis;that is, they
are paid for each rehearsal,concert and recording
session, and receive no salary,pension, or share in
any royalties. The reasons are legion, and include
labour relations in Britain, freelance tax status,
unionization of performersand the individual his-
tory of each group.9Many of the calls for new ways
of working may prove incompatiblewith this eco-
nomic reality,in which there is a strong pressureto
performmore concertson fewerrehearsals.
Certainly the current situation among British
early-musica cappellagroupshas producedwonder-
ful resultsand a community of singers familiarand
comfortable with the demands and rewards of
singing early music. The question remains, though,
as to what are the effects of the reliance on sight-
reading in the performanceof this repertory.The
most obvious problem is that the repertorycovered
by these different groups is historically and geo-
graphicallyvast: ranging from 11ooto 16oo00, spread
acrossseveralnations, splitbetweensacredand secu-
lar,writtenfor a varietyof acousticsand occasions,it
is, from any perspective,stunninglyheterogeneous.
And, as an obvious correlative,the original singers
who performedthis music could not shareanything
like the unities sharedby the currentgroupof British
early-musicsingers.Yet the success of the monopo-
lization of this repertorythrough a cappellaperfor-
mance leads us to a homogenization of a period of
music (and, of course,of the valorizationof the term
'earlymusic'), a homogeneitymade possible only by
the success of a particularcontemporarymode of
performance.
EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1995 129
 here is an adagethat a good sight-readermakesa majordifferencesbetweenperformancesfrom origi-
badmemorizerof music,andviceversa.Thisop- nal notation and performancesfrom modern tran-
position between memory and is
reading initially at- scriptions."Froma linguisticpoint of view there is a
tractive.What it means is that the sight-readerwill primary level of arbitrarinessof the musical sign
alwaysbe reliant on the score, but that the memo- such that all readingof music is context-dependent.
rizer can throw it away after a couple of run- It is only our usageof these signs,their fixitythrough
throughs (having presumablylearnt the music by convention, that leads us to consider (to use Mar-
rote). But it is a dangerousopposition as well, for it garetBent'sexample)an F#dotted minim as possess-
denies the role of memory in sight-reading.Letus be ing a fixed signified.We arethereforetalkingabout a
clearthat no one sight-readsa piece in concert,bar- secondary level of arbitrariness,of context-depen-
ring extraordinarycircumstancessuch as a singer dency (and here we begin to talk about the more ob-
falling ill at the last minute and parts having to be vious graphical differences between original and
redistributed.Sight-reading,then, takes place in the modern notation), which means that even in mod-
rehearsalspaceand can reallyonly be said to happen ern notation there is a relativitywhich Bent does not
on the very first run-through.This may be of a very stress.
high level of accuracy,but as soon as the piece is The early-musicperformer,particularlythe per-
sung a second time we are already dealing with a former of music from before 1400, often quicklyre-
level of accretion of memory: this second run- covers this (seeming) context-dependencyof origi-
through is differentfrom and more assuredthan the nal notation through working with extreme
first. Memory is at work here, though the primary transpositions(e.g. down a 4th, down a major 6th,
aim is not towardsperformancefrom memory, as is etc.). Similarly,the more one gets to know a piece (in
admittedby the use of scoresin concert.A greatdeal rehearsal),the more one understandsthe relativity
of the rehearsaltime is spent in discussion of ficta, of note-valuesand often removeseditorialbeaming.
possiblespeeds,time changes,whetherto vocalizeor Indeed,the more one rehearsesa piece the more one
not, balance, dynamics, meaning of text-in short, comprehends its textual nuances. Which is, ulti-
interpretation.The modern score is thus something mately, to say that it is in the increase of rehearsal
of an aide-memoireto the sight-reader,the reposi- time that the development of the skills of the early-
tory of interpretativemarksand the site of the notes music singermight best be served.
to be sung."' We must not, then, look at the level of the signs
The musical education of the early-musicsinger themselvesfor any hints as to the differencesof per-
is gearedtowards modern transcription,and sight- formanceof the 'original'early-musicsingerand his
reading training is based exclusively on modern contemporarycounterpart.It is valid, however, to
notation. It is no surprise,then, that we find an al- discussbroaderdifferencesin the organizationof the
most universalpreferencefor transcriptionsover the scores. Modern transcriptionsdo not maintain the
reproductionof the originalnotation. Thereis, how- traditionof the separationof the individualpartson
ever, no reason why singersshould not learn earlier the page, but use a system of verticalalignmentthat
systems of notation and learn them very quickly. maintainsthe real space/timeof the parts.Whatever
(Indeed, I have witnessedseveralalmost miraculous the historical reasons for the development of this
conversions to some systems of original notation.) system, it is its maintenancewhich concernsus here.
For notation is simply a codification, a representa- Its continued use also marksthe centralityof sight-
tion in graphicalform of acousticintent. Thereis no readingto the performanceof earlymusic, bringing
reason why a crotchet should be representedby a with it the benefits of instant location for the singer
blackblob with a tail affixed,as opposed to, say, the within a harmonic world and an immediate tran-
image of a club on a playingcard. Musical notation scription (visualrepresentation)of that world. Con-
is a coherent, self-contained system in which the sider,for example,two singerswho have 16barsrest:
signs employed are inevitably arbitrary."I remain a singerworkingfrom a partbookwould be involved
suspiciousof argumentswhich suggestthat there are in a complex systemof cross-referencingto establish

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the note on which to enter;a singer using a modern
score, however, follows with ease the unfolding
counterpoint and can see, in advance,the harmony
which his or her note will realize.
The originalsingerwas not as helpless as this sce-
nario suggests,nor, for that matter,is the contempo-
rary singer as hidebound by the text. The former
would have been able to hear the other parts and
have relied upon them as a reference system. The
modern performer also has this system at his/her
disposal, but has no need to rely on it. It is not sim-
ply a question of bad habits, but of the tendency, or
degree,to which these contrastingperformerswould
have been relianton the respectiverealmsof written
representationand acoustic memory.
I suggest that singers brought up on partbooks
and choirbookswould have a farmore acousticrela-
tionship with the music than their modern counter-
parts, in that their appreciationand understanding
of harmonyand counterpointwas primarilyan aural
one ratherthan the visuallyaided one of the modern
sight-reader.This approach would have been sup-
ported within a culture in which the everyday
notation of informationwould, by comparisonwith
the 20th century, have been severelylimited. Much
information which today we jot down on a pad of
paper, enter into the Filofax or note on the Dicta-
phone would have had to be committed to memory.
Studies have shown the major role that memory
played in medievalculture;13 the developmentof the
ability to fix acoustic memory would have been a
major tool for the singer.
Togetherwith this relianceon memory as the site
of the musical text, improvisation and elaboration
were required skills of the singer. It has been sug-
gested that such skills were already central to the
music collected in the Winchester Troper,14and as
late as the 16th century there was a tradition of im-
provisedpolyphony in the Sistine Chapel.15 This is a
broad sweep, from the iith to the 16th centuries--
perhaps too broad to make for a convincing argu-
ment-and it supports an even broader assertion
about musical performance. What seems clear,
though, is that, by contrastwith the logocentric20th
century,the status of the written note or the written
musical text was not affordedthe same primacyby
the originalperformersof earlymusic.'6
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The correlativeto this is the differenteducations
that these two sets of performerswould have en-
joyed. Their respective methods of learning the
chant repertorywill serve as an illustration.Aside
from the fortunatefew who learn a fair proportion
of the plainchantrepertoryas choirboys (and I use
the genderedterm knowingly),17most singers come
to plainchantas a new notationalsystemto be learnt.
For the original early-music performer, the chant
repertorywould have been learnt by rote across a
ten-year period. (Although with the gradual influ-
ence of the Guidonian hexachordsystem the learn-
ing time was ultimatelyreducedto two years.)18This
differencein musicaleducationrevealssomethingof
the dialecticat work in the figuringof graphicrepre-
sentationand memorialsystems.We can see Guido's
hexachordsystem as a midway point between com-
plete reliance on acoustic memory and logocentric
reliance on graphic representation.A full study of
this might well include theories of linguistics and
cognition, of the neurologicalprocesses of learning
and memory,which would throw light on the sites of
the brain used in the activitiesof improvisationand
reading.19
The suggestion implicit here is that there is a
world of differencebetween the original performer
and his/her contemporary counterpart. This con-
tention does not seem surprising,yet it is an argu-
ment which slipsby in ChristopherPage'sarticleand
which must be addressed,20 for any differencesin the
process of realization of the same piece of music by
the respective performers begins to tell us much
about differencesin the performersthemselves.
his discussionof sight-reading
alertsus to the
role of vision in performance.Music, an acoustic
medium, is never performed and rarely received
'blind' (afterall, one pays to 'see' a group perform),
and an account of performancepractice is incom-
plete without an account of the role of looking
within the performancespace.
In a cappella performance we are dealing with
at least two looks and sometimes three-the look
of the audience, the look of the performerand the
look of the conductor. There are variations of this
simple model (performerto audience, audience to
EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1995 131
performer, performer to conductor, performer to
performeretc.) and there is a history of the organ-
ization of the look and looking in performance.In
this section I shallconsiderthe differentfunctionsof
the look that might be deduced from a comparison
betweenoriginalperformersof earlymusic and their
contemporarycounterpartsand the implicationsof
those differencesfor aspectsof ensemble. I shall use
as a model for this discussiona hypothetical(sacred)
performance of a Palestrina Mass in the Sistine
Chapelin the 16th century and a real (secular)per-
formanceof music by Palestrinain a concert by the
TallisScholarsin the same venue.2'
In the earlierperformancethe singersaregrouped
aroundthe music desk in front of a singlecopy of the
music. The immediate focus of the singer's look is
the music itself, though one can only surmise as to
the direction of the singer's individual look. The
choir is placed in a gallery situated some six feet
above the ground and effectivelyhidden from view
by a wooden screenwhich surroundsthe singersat a
height of some five to six feet. The choir desk itself is
above eye-level;thus the look of the singeris already
awayfrom the listeners,inclined towardsthe ceiling
of the chapel. There are, therefore,severalphysical
constraintson any visual contact with the congrega-
tion. The congregationwould have had the experi-
ence of hearing a sourceless sound, concomitant
with the general theory that the choir would have
been actingas representativesof Everything
about this performing space is angels.-
geared towards the
invisibility of 4he choir, towards a carefullymain-
tained balance between their actual presence and a
suggestion of their absence.23This organization of
the performancespace has several advantages,not
least of which is that it leavesthe singersfree to look
at each other and thereby encouragescommunica-
tion.24For music so reliantupon ensemblethis is of
obvious benefit.
The contrastwith the modern performancespace
is informative.A group faces the audience and ac-
knowledges their applause with, appropriately,
nothing other than the look. Once the music begins,
however,there is a shift towardsa hesitant acknow-
ledgement of the audience, though the look of the
singersis directedmainly to the music. Christopher
Page notes the direction of the look in a publicity
132 EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1995
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shot for the Tallis Scholars, commenting that the
'eyes down' approachpromotes an image of 'the es-
sentially literate and punctilious nature of trained
musicianship in Britain' (P.459). This is certainly
true, but what is also at work here (aside from the
fact that performancewhich relies on sight-reading
will always,of necessity,producesingerswho haveto
look at their copies) is an ambivalencein the look of
the performer.To use another opposition, that be-
tween the orchestralplayerand the vocal soloist, the
former never acknowledgesthe audiencewhile per-
forming and the latter is in a state of constant ad-
dressto the audience.The early-musicperformerof
sacred music is caught somewherebetween the two
as a transmitterof music and expressionbut also as
readerand contemplatorof sacredtext (and the ad-
jective can applyto both words and music).
This differenceof the organizationof the look is
not simply cosmetic;rather,it is one of context, the
former being a sacredcontext and the lattersecular,
though in both casesthe music sung is the same. The
issue of the look also pertains to the way that the
music was performedor, more accurately,to the or-
ganizationof the performance.Thatis to say, singers
groupedarounda singlesource have much scope for
visual cues, clues and directions,whereasin a mod-
ern concert the look between performersis reduced
to a single relaythrough the conductor to the audi-
ence.
Good ensemble singing is always a compromise
between the individual expression of single lines
balancedwith the need for synchronizationof those
lines. There is no such thing as a metronomic per-
formance of this music, just as there is no one tun-
ing system in operationat any one time. These may
be the aims of many early-musicgroups, but there
is, nevertheless,a recognition of the limitations of
strict tempos and an accommodation of flexibility.
Singers achieve this mainly through listening to
other parts, but also through the (anachronistic)
presence of the conductor. For a group hidden
awayfrom view there is not only the acoustic aid to
ensemble singing but also the visual aid of nods, of
body movement, of conducting (by any singer) and
even of touching This might seem a small
(tactus).-5
advantage, but think, for a moment, of the lack of
physical movement that singing entails. The singer
of classical music is encouraged to be still at all
times ('look over the heads of the audience to the
back'), to avoid the expressionof the voice through
the body ('keep your head still') and to reduce the
physical effort of singing in favour of a position of
repose ('don't raise your shoulders when you
breathe'). This is a matter of degree; yet contrast
any performerof pop music with any singer of clas-
sical repertory and the distinction is clear. Com-
pare, too, the movements of singers and those of
any instrumentalist. The latter, by virtue of the
physical manipulation of the instrument, is imme-
diately giving a series of visual indicationsabout the
attack of any note, be it through fingering,bowing
or striking. With singers, the most obvious clue is
the shape of the mouth as it forms the consonants
and vowels. But if the mouth is visible only to the
audience and not to fellow singers then the visual
cues must be provided by a third party, which in
most cases is the conductor. Clearly there is a
delimitation of a whole set of sub-codes of expres-
sion and timing caused by performanceby the con-
temporarysinger of early music in a cappellaform,
a delimitation which, we can assume, was not pre-
sent in many earliercontexts.26
There is a general rule that the more performers
there are, the greater the need for the conductor.
This is simply because the only physicalclue that is
left for the performerswho look out at the audience
rather than among themselves-breathing-is re-
duced in direct proportion to the increasein num-
bers. This is at least one of the reasons why the
smaller early-musica cappellagroups perform with
no conductor (Gothic Voices, Hilliard Ensemble,
Orlando Consort) and why largergroups rely upon
(and are often promoted through) a conductor
(Peter Phillips-the Tallis Scholars;Harry Christo-
phers-The Sixteen;AndrewParrott-the Taverner
Consort).
For the singersin the SistineChapel,hidden from
view, there would be little need for a conductor. It
seems that pieces would have been startedby the se-
nior singer of the relevant part and that tempos
would have been conveyed by visual or physical
cues. The role of the maestrodi cappella,who would
himself havebeen a singer,seems to havebeen basic-
ally administrative.27It is unlikely that any indi-
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vidual would stand in front of the choir desk and
conduct. (In no illustrationsof singersat choir desks
is anyone shown doing this; in the Sistine Chapelit
would have been physically impossible.)28 Thus
there would be no focus for the singers other than
the primaryone of the music itself.
There is furtherstudy to be done here on the role
of the conductor in early-music performance.An
historical survey might well show that the develop-
ment of the conductor is matched by a general
movement towardsthe aggrandizementof the indi-
vidual over the group (well supportedby the rise of
humanism), which culminates in the 20th century's
seeming inabilityto comprehendthe notion of col-
lective activity.This is sustainedby marketingstrate-
gies which focus on an individual-the conductor.
The responsibility of the singer has become dis-
placedand refoundin the role of the conductor.The
realityof singinga cappellamusic is not so much that
of an individualdeterminingthe shapeof individual
lines (musicaldirection)but of the collectiveactivity
of the varioussingers.
I have not drawn a distinction between these two
modes of deliveryof Renaissancemusic to illustrate
some loss of authenticitywhich we face by virtue of
performingsuch music in concert. To return mod-
ern-day performanceof medieval and Renaissance
music to its original sacredcontext is obviously im-
possible. However,we may have much to learnfrom
performing this music in the original venues with
due attention to the organizationof the performers
within that space. If the originalacousticscan be re-
created then performing music in the venues for
which it was intended may tell us much about, for
example,the limits of tempos.29
Similarly,the use of choirbooksand the organiza-
tion of performersaround one score may well pro-
mote a more acoustic relationshipwith the music
and aid ensemble.Unquestionably,the currenttext-
based approachcannot be seen as without affect;a
certain pressure has alreadybeen exerted by musi-
cologists upon performers to develop the kind of
skills with which their original counterpartswould
have been familiar.3o However, it is primarily the
acousticrelationshipwith the music in which I place
my own performing faith, and not necessarily in
learningits originalcodification.31
EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1995 135
 In either event, an approachwhich foregrounds performanceis much the same as that achieved in
the apparatusof ensemble offers a subversionof the rehearsaland that the presenceof the audiencecan-
conventional codes of the concert hall and reveals not in anyway influencethe true transmissionof the
the gap between the original performance of this scholarlywork.
music and the cosmetic niceties of the modern con- Other groups' publicity photos often use a par-
cert hall. Here we begin to addresssome of the cul- ticular architecturalspace to connote this image of
tural constraintsof the reception of this music and scholarlinessand providethe reassuranceof histori-
begin to draw attention to cultural determinants cal research.A recurringmotif is an arch, against
which may, ultimately,be both responsiblefor this which the performersare often set.33 The primary
efflorescenceand, at the same time, placelimitations connotation is of sacredness,for the (usuallyGothic)
on a cappellaperformance.It is in this context that I archesare often part of the exteriorof a church. But
shall next consider the critical perception of a cap- there is a secondarylevel of meaning in the sugges-
pella performance. tion of collegiatelife, of life in the quad.
This image of performeras scholarbrings certain
have alreadytouched upon representationsof the assurances:that the performanceis well researched;
performerof earlymusic. A seriesof complemen- that the performeris true to the music ratherthan to
tarydiscourses--pressreleases,codes of concertper- his/her muse; that the performer is subservientto
formance,publicityphotos, culturalcodes-accrete the music. In short, it is implicit that authenticityis
around the figureof the singer an image which may respectedeven if does not achieveprimacy.(Thatso
be some way from the realitywhich any one singer many publicityphotos are taken in informaldress is
feels. The primaryimage in this constellationis that an admission that the performers are individuals
of the 'scholar',of the studentwho has graduatedto and that their individualityis not completely sub-
become a learnedperson. Some performersdid in- sumed within the scholarlyenterprise.)The inclu-
deed begin their careersas choral scholars,and the sion of old buildings is a literal and metaphorical
epithet is also valid for some who are editors and background,an admissionthat the past is at work in
scholarsin their own right.The TallisScholarsis the the presentand an invocationof a historicitylacking
clearestexample of the appropriationof the term: I in countriessuch as the USA and Japan,where such
do not know why the name was chosen, but, given groups enjoy particularsuccess.
that the group originallyconsisted of severalchoral The arch functions also as metaphor.It forms an
scholarsand dedicateditselfto Renaissancemusic, it entrance: we are accorded admission by the per-
is not difficultto see its attractions.Yet today a spe- formers, who are the guardians of the portal and
cific knowledgeof Tallisor his contemporariesis not guarantorsthat the account of the past to be found
a prerequisitefor membership,nor is prior experi- beyond is a truthfulone. The image is both an invi-
ence as a choralscholar.The connection is still made tation and a contract:as such, the look of the per-
in much publicity material, though, and the link formersis directto camera.
with furthereducation is one found in other early- The archis not so much a door as a window offer-
music groups.-) ing a view of the past and the world of early music.
But the image of the scholar is not promoted sim- The performanceis transparent,uninterruptedby
ply through the written word. As ChristopherPage surplusnoise and undisturbedby excessesof expres-
noted of the publicityshot of the TallisScholars,the sion or opinion. This helps explain the sobriety of
visual discourses involved in the promotion of the these photographs,34where the performersare in-
group also play on the image of scholarlinessin the volved in the serious business of revealing funda-
'eyes down' approach.The lack of engagementwith mental truths about the music. This is paralleledin
the camera is an assuranceof the performer'sen- the dress codes: in many groups the standardseems
gagementwith the music, of a concentrationwhich to be tails (a convention borrowed from the 19th-
must not be disturbedby such petty concerns as the century orchestra) or, in the cathedralchoirs, the
presenceof an audience.The implication is that the full cassock.3 Both photographic codes and dress

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codes work to efface individual expression and to Roland Barthes'sessay 'The grain of the voice'.36
therebyconnote an imageof a collectiveeffortwhose The essay, inspiredby Barthes'spersonal searchfor
primary aim is true to an academic project. Both an explanationof his own predilectionfor the voice
photographsand dressare assurancesof a noise-free of Panzera over that of Fischer-Dieskau,is an at-
signal, of an accuratetransmissionof data shorn of tempt to render music criticism more scientific, to
individualexpressionand conflict of ideas. In short, rescue it from 'the poorest of linguistic categories:
the photographsare a coded guaranteeof authentic- the adjective'.37 The argumentis dense and challeng-
ity. This guaranteeis now, more than ever,a market- ing: some understandingof the semiotic and post-
ing ploy exploited by recording companies rather structuralistprojectwill assistthe reader.38 The focus
than by groups themselves;authenticity,as an acad- becomes the elaborationof a theoreticalabstraction
emic argument,no longer holds centre stage. which Barthesterms the 'grainof the voice'. This is
So far, then, I have discussed the training of the located at the point where one can perceivethe body
personnel, the working methods of the groups, the of the performerin the action of performance,the
discourse of the look within the modern perfor- moment of utterance glimpsed behind or through
mance space,and the marketingof those groups.But what is heard.'The "grain"is the body in the voice as
the sum of all these parts still does not explain the it sings, the hand as it writes, the limb as it per-
groups'extraordinarysuccessboth in concertand as forms.'39Whatis being establishedhere is a kind of
recording artists. Christopher Page has noted the image of the performerwhich the listener him/her-
nostalgic tug of English a cappellaperformanceof self perceivesand, perhaps,constructs;'the image of
early music, its ability to 'turn the memories and the body (the figure)given me'.4oThe relationshipto
dreams of a social class into sound'. But nagging the performer is more than simply acoustic and
questions still remain, as so often when one is at- more than visual: it is a relationshipwhich is also
tempting to trace the rhythmsof popularity--ques- real at the psychic level. In this context Barthescan
tions of pleasure.We must therefore addressthe a talk of an erotic relationshipto the performer(and
cappellarenaissanceas a cultural production of the this does not mean a sexualone):
20th century. If I perceivethe 'grain'in a pieceof musicandaccordthis
'grain'a theoreticalvalue(theemergence of the textin the
performance has an appeal which goes work),I inevitably setup a newschemeof evaluation which
Acappella
beyondthe dictatesof musicologicalresearch. willcertainly beindividual-Iamdetermined to listento my
relationwiththebodyof themanorwomansingingorplay-
Something ultimatelyelusive and evasiveis at work. andthatrelationis erotic-butin noway'subjective'
I do not propose to write a history of a cappellaper- ing ...41
formance,but we might note a few historicalpoint- Barthes'sessay has a double value. On the one
ers.A cappellaliterallymeans 'as in the chapel':from hand it establishesthat the relationshipto the voice
this we might deduce that there is something about is always more than acoustic, that what is also in-
the voice which inclines towards the realm of the volved is a relationshipwith the perceivedbody of
sacred.And-to takeonly one of the sites of this per- the performer.In this respectit alertsus to a psychic
formance, the Sistine Chapel-there is something realitythat is at play in the appreciationof all mu-
about the Christianmyth that alerts us to the close sical groups.On the other hand, it points us towards
association of the problematic of sexual difference a reconsiderationof the metaphors in the critical
with the voice itself, a problematic which finds its discoursesthat define these groups. For he demon-
most 'vocal'expressionin the troublingfigureof the strates that between the actuality of performance
castrato.I shall offer a few observationson the par- and the criticaldiscoursewhich purportsto describe
ticularconjunctionof the voice, the body, and sexual that realitylies a gapwhich speaksfor the presenceof
differenceand, in so doing, outline something of the the Unconscious. Hence, throughan examinationof
contributionthat psychoanalysismight have to offer the most frequentlyused metaphorswe can begin to
to this debate. locate something of the intrinsic and specific plea-
The opposition between body and voice is central sure of the a cappellatext.

EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1995 139

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 o characterizethe specific sound of English a
cappellaperformancePage employs the Middle
Englishword clanness:
clannessis the qualityof somethingthat is pure (likea pearl)
or of fine and preciseworkmanship(like an elaborategob-
let). Clannesscan characterizethe vessels used in the
Eucharistor the goblets which serve men and women of
exalteddignityin theirbanquets;it blursthe edgesof earthly
things with a nimbus of heaven,in other words,and yet it
can makewhatis celestialseem clearerto humansense. ... I
believe many Englishsingersof the a cappellarenaissance
have captured this quality. (pp.466/468)
Page'saccount of reviewsin (mainly) Frenchand
Spanishjournalsand newspaperssupportshis read-
ing and confirms that, for many, the perception of
British a cappellaperformanceis, above all, 'clean'
and 'clear'.In reviewsof the TallisScholarsthe most
common adjectivesused to describe the sound in-
clude 'pure','blend', 'clear'and 'vibrato-free'or 'vi-
brato-less'.42It is evident, particularlyin the neolo-
gistic tendencies of the last two words and in Page's
own recourseto MiddleEnglish,that the strugglefor
appropriateterms for description of this mode of
performance marks a series of assumptions about
singing. Singing is often 'impure', works towards
distinction and difference, is 'unclear', and, cru-
cially, employs vibrato. It is not my concern here to
question the various reportsor contest the observa-
tion that singers sing without vibrato (though, for
the record, it is a question of degree).43What con-
cernsme is the sense that the perceptionof a cappella
performance always tends towards a denial of the
physical presence of the singers themselves, a sense
that there is a perceptionof the voice as the markof
the denial of the body itself, that the 'grain of the
voice' is denied or repressed in a cappellaperfor-
mance. Further,we move to a broaderoutline of the
perceptionof corporealityat work in these observa-
tions and the implicationsthat this has for the issue
of sexual differencewithin the earlymusic a cappella
renaissance.
Let us analyse these adjectivesmore closely. 'Vi-
brato-free' is a term that marks the denial of the
body in the voice, a denial of the production of
sound or of the inflection of sound by the body (the
chest, lungs-the volume of the body); the voice is
(impossibly!)not producedat all, but emanates,as it
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were, from the space above the vocal chords, from
the throat or head alone. 'Clear'-as synonymssuch
as 'unblemished','transparent'and 'cleansed' sug-
gest-is concerned with images of non-materiality,
or of materialitypurgedto a degreethat negatesthe
terrestrialand corporeal.'Blend'(a word much used
by practitionerswithin the a cappellatradition) is
concernedwith reduction,of diminution of many to
one, with a disavowalof the production of sound by
many to the implicit originationof sound from one,
non-identifiable source: unanimity here confirms
anonymity.'Pure'connotes images of innocence, of
virginity,of the non-corporealproductionof sound.
The figure around which all these adjectivesco-
here and the metaphorthey promote and sustain is
that of the angel. The angel is the sacredfigure in a
secular society, the representative of heaven on
earth. The angel is also often portrayedas the mu-
sical expressionof the word of God. In the same way,
singersof sacredmusic fulfilthis function, and there
is often a conflationbetweenthe metaphoricrole as-
signed to singerswith the connotationsthat the par-
ticularvocal deliverysuggests.There is nothing new
about this conflation:through a nice historic irony,
the same deliberate confusion is found in Bede's
anecdotalaccount of Gregorythe Great'spun made
betweenAngles (the English)and angels.44
Clearly, critical accounts of a cappella perfor-
mances do not bother to separatethe connotations
of sacrednessfrom the actualityof the performance,
but that is not to say that the performancesdo not
also playon this expectation.It is interestingthat an-
other aspect of angels also finds its way into the re-
ception of a cappellaperformance-their asexuality.
For angels do not possess gender, do not bear the
marks of sexual difference, marks which must be
borne on the body. We begin to see that the very
negation of sexual difference, which I suggest is
characteristicof reviewsof a cappellagroups,is also a
negation of the materialityof the performer.45
We must first,though, returnto the particularor-
ganization of sexual difference within the Catholic
church.Thoughthe followingdiscussionis necessar-
ily limited to the performanceof sacred a cappella
music my conclusions still have resonance for any
form of a cappellamusic. I am struckby the lack of a
cappellagroups of mixed genderwithin the world of
EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1995 141
popularmusic, as if the foregroundingof sexualdif- bolic order. The Symbolicis the realm of the law in
ference (so obviously the domain of pop music) all its forms-juridical, paternal, linguistic, eco-
alreadyanswersthe questionsposed by the voice.46 nomic, scientific,religious.It is a pre-existentorder,
a defined realm into which every human subject
is a fundamentally patriarchalinsti- must enter and find or be given its place.This order-
Catholicism
tution. The terms of its organizationare a clear ing, so clearlyexpressedin the overdeterminationof
indication of the empowerment of men over the all-maleperformanceof sacredmusic in the 16th
women;the heightenedevaluationof the motherfig- century, has alreadybeen subvertedby the modern
ure of Marytestifiesto its relianceon the male Oedi- secularizationof its music. It may well be seen that
pal dramaas psychicsupportto its statusas myth.47 the reala cappellarenaissancehas been the introduc-
The exclusion of women from employment as tion of female voices into this realm, and that this
musicianswithin the church alertsus to a hierarchy new vocal productmay well be a text which has only
which is evidence of an idealizationof an all-male become possible in a post-modern culture.
environment. The need for an extension of vocal What, then, of the secular context in which this
rangewas achievedby the most drasticexpressionof music is performedtoday?More importantly,what
the law-the exercise of castration. There are, of of the psychicimplicationsof the introductionof the
course, examples of women as composers and per- figure of woman into the performance?I have al-
formers even within this sacred environment,48but readypointed to what I considerto be a denialof the
the suspicion remains that the hierarchydemands materialityof the performers,amountingalmostto a
the complete segregationof the sexes,that sexualdif- denial of sexualdifferenceitself. The problematicof
ference in this context representsa form of corrup- sexualdifferencein psychoanalysisis centredaround
tion. If this is true, then we are confrontinghead-on the Oedipus, around the moment when the child
what Lacanianpsychoanalysis49 has termedthe Sym- first begins to realize that sexual difference exists.
This realizationinitiates the painful and confusing
process of (re-)identificationand realignmentalong
DOLMETSCH the axis of sexualdifference(representedby the par-
ents), which leadsto the organizationof his/her sex-
SUMMER SCHOOL uality. This moment, in the fictional account of the
at child's development,marksthe movement from the
THE ROYAL NAVAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS Imaginaryrealm to the Symbolicorder. The Imagi-
HASLEMERE, SURREY naryis crystallizedby the stagedescribedas the Mir-
ror Phase-Lacan's account of the child'srealization
14th-20th AUGUST 1995 of him/herself as a unified body/image-and refers
Courses for recorder and early keyboard to the child's comprehension of him/herself as a
plus optional classes for chamber orchestra, complete body. There is no sexual differencein the
choir, chamber music, music in education, Imaginary:the realm is characterizedby a primary
recorder orchestra, conducting, identification with the mother, a period of oneness
composition and arrangement,
and plenitude with her. The Symbolic order rup-
tures this primarynarcissismand marks the neces-
cori spezzati and viols
sarydevelopmentof the child to a speakingsubject.
Details from the Secretary,Heartsease, Guy Rosolatohas tracedthis particularwell worn
GrayswoodRoad, Haslemere,Surrey, path in terms of the child's aural development and
GU272BS,England has theorizedthe particularplay between the Imagi-
tel:01428-643235(officehours) naryand the Symbolicin terms of the voice.5"In the
tel:01428-651473(outsideofficehours) realmof the Imaginary,the mother'svoice (identifi-
fax:01428-654920(24 hoursperday)
able by the child as earlyas ten weeks) is warm, all-
enveloping, reassuringmaternalsignifier.The cries

142 EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1995

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of the child, answeredby the mother, are responsible rary soprano, a drama played out across this trou-
for the creationof an 'acousticmirror',an extension bled line of sexualdifferentiation.I contend that the
in auditoryterms of the MirrorPhase and responsi- denial of gender which the male castratoor prepu-
ble for grantingto the child the sense of a coherent bescent boy represents is found, displaced, in the
ego upon which all future identifications can be image of woman in the early-music scene. Sexual
built.5'The voice plays a centralrole in the develop- difference, which (within a patriarchalsociety at
ment and articulationof the child'ssense of space in least) is representedby the image of woman, is ef-
the exchange of the cries of demand issued by the faced by and replacedwith a form of sexual neutral-
child and the answering maternal voice. In Roso- ity. This neutralitycan be located in a series of dis-
lato's scenario,the cries of the child also initiate the courses which concern the representations of a
presence of the mother, whose voice effects a 'uni- cappella singers, most notably those of critical re-
son' which becomes, for the child, the mark of plea- views and publicity;it finds its clearestexpressionin
sure. The mother's voice becomes the primary the varied employment of images of unity, non-
model for all futureauditorypleasure.The voice also difference and non-corporeality. Significantly,
playsits partin the moment of accessionto the Sym- women's voices in modern early-musicperformance
bolic, for this moment, crystallizedby the presence are often describedas being like boy's voices (this is
of the father as initiator of the Oedipal struggle, is often offered as a compliment), yet it is quite clear
achieved through the action of the father'svoice as that they are the voices of adults. It may be true that
voice of interdiction,the voice of the law. they employ less vibrato than equivalent voices in
Rosolatosees at playin the voice an oscillationbe- opera, but this is also true of male singers,who are
tween the two realms. He suggeststhat this oscilla- never spoken of in these same genderedterms. It is
tion is found not only in vocal music but in all as if the introduction of sexual difference into this
music, for it is this originaldrama,playedacrossthe realm of all-maleperformanceproducesa defensive
parentalvoices and the bodies that they represent, responsewithin accounts of that same performance
which providesthe model for harmonyitself. that representsan attempt to return that difference
The harmonic and polyphonic display can be seen as a suc- to neutrality,to in-difference.
cession of tensions and resolutions, of unisons and disso-
a coda I shall add a few commentson the
nances of tiered parts which interact to form chords and ulti-
mately to resolve into the simplest unity. It is therefore the
A
historicalrise of the CD as a condensation of
complete dramatization of the separation and reunion of the foregoingdiscussion.The two historiesof the ef-
bodies which underlies harmony itself.52
florescenceof Englisha cappellagroups and the as-
This representsa particularlyfortuitous conjunc- cendanceof the CD as therecordingformatgo virtu-
tion for the study of the a cappellatext, and it is easy ally hand in hand. The CD will be seen within a
to hear the echo of the Oedipus. This approachsug- history of industrial design as the quintessential
gests that the presenceof female voices in a cappella product of the 198os-clean, shiny, a beautifulobject
performanceprovides the final term of an Oedipal in itself which createsa perfect,pure sound. It is the
triangle such that the religious connotations of the ultimate fetish object which allows the listener the
originaltext are displacedand relocatedin the secu- ideal state of disavowal of the body of the per-
lar context.53(Barthes'scomments on the Oedipusas former.55The particularideology of sound of the 8os
central to all narrativeprefigurethis observationof was one of purity and cleanliness,of static-free,in-
the universalityof certain textual pleasuresthrough terference-reduced,pristinebrilliance.It is precisely
recourse to this central issue within psychoanaly- this ideology which the English a cappellagroups
sis.)54The inclusion of women in a cappellaperfor- represent.It remains to be seen whether this sound
mance of sacred music marks a surprisinglyradical and the ideology that sustains it can be maintained
textual strategywhen viewed from this perspective. in the face of demands for a new performanceprac-
This drama is also replayed in the (historical) tice or whether the current recording/performance
movement from the male castratoto the contempo- practicewill in turn make its own demands.

EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1995 143

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 I wish to thank the followingpeoplefor
A. ERIC MOULDER theirgeneroushelp and invaluablesug-
RENAISSANCEWOODWIND gestions, observationsand comments:
TessaBonner, Sally Dunkley, Paula Hig-
INSTRUMENTS
gins, Daniel Leech-Wilkinson,Christo-
The workshop pher Page and David Pascoe.
produces a full range of 1 For a brief but excellent account of
high quality the history of the a cappelladebate see
9. instruments including C. Page, 'The English a cappella
heresy', Companion to medieval and
CURTALS (DULCIANS) Renaissancemusic, ed. T. Knighton and
CRUMHORNS D. Fallows (London, 1992), pp.23-9.
SHAWMS
The article is of added interest in that
RAUSCHPFEIFEN many of the ideas prefigure Page's later
CORNAMUSE AND essay.
MANY OTHERS
2 If an admission that all male groups
constitute the norm against which all
COMPLETE
comers must be judged then look no
OVERHAULAND
further than Anthony Pryer'sreview of
REPAIRSERVICE
On YoolisNight: medieval carolsand
Further details from: mnotets by Anonymous 4 in Musical
175 BUXTON RD, times, cxxxv (June 1994). He writes
'The four anons are all women (is this
LEEK
a political statement?) ...' I have yet to
STAFFORDSHIRE
see an all-male group be accused of
ST13 6NF
making a political statement through
Tel: 0538 385323 their existence: the comment alerts us
to a particularlydesperate state of
affairs.
3 '... many insular musicians ... pos-
sess a remarkableability to produce an
Nicholas Keeni,
accurate performance virtually at sight,
BA Cantab, BPhil, ARCM
a skill acquired by many singers during
years of preparing services under pres-
CLASSICAL sure in cathedrals and Oxbridge
HARPSICHORDS chapels' (Page, 'The English a cappella
renaissance', p.464-5). The point is
made elsewhere by Howard Mayer
Clavichords,Spinets, Brown and quoted by Page in a foot-
Virginals,Fortepiano,
Pedalboardinstruments note '... the training the various choral
foundations provide explains more
Individuallyproduced kits.
Catalogue4 x 1st class stamps. than anything else the extraordinary
't I r0 t high standards of ensemble singing in
t_ Britain today, since many collegiate
choral scholars and boy singers go on
to take up professional singing careers.'
(P-471,n.8) and in 'Pedantry or libera-
CLASSICAL
tion', Authenticityand early music, ed.
ORGANS
2 to 4 manual & pedal N. Kenyon (Oxford, 1988), p.41.
VATnot charged 4 An informal poll of singers in The
Visitorsby appointment Sixteen and the Tallis Scholars revealed
LAMEL TOWERS that, of the total number of 'core'
singers, half were Oxbridge and half
81 HULL RD, YORK YO1 3JS were redbrick/music college.
Tel:01904-411873
5 These five are generally recognized as
King's College, Cambridge, St John's
144 EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1995
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Cambridge, Christ Church, Oxford,
Magdalen, Oxford, and New College,
Oxford.
6 There are many exceptions to this
rule, but the dominant image is of
many of these groups as early-music
specialists. The Hilliard Ensemble, The
Sixteen and the Taverner Consort all
regularly perform modern repertory.
7 1 use an opposition suggested by
Daniel Leech-Wilkinson in his contri-
bution to 'The limits of authenticity: a
discussion', Early music, xii (1984),
pp.13-16.
8 The list of music cited in J. Lionnet,
'Performance practice in the Papal
Chapel in the 17th century', Early music
xv (1987), pp.4-15, is not dissimilar to
the amount of music performed by the
Tallis Scholars in a calendar year.
9 Some may be surprised to learn that,
with very few exceptions, specialist
early-music singers cannot survive on
early music alone. (And it still comes
to many singers as a surprise that it is a
surprise.) All work as singers in other
fields-as teachers, choral conductors,
performers of much later music, 'ses-
sion singers'-which perpetuates a sys-
tem wherein time spent must be
rewardedby payment. In a world
where you are only as good as your last
concert and where you can be dropped
from any group there is bound to be an
underlying current of standardization
and repetition of successful formulae
achievable by short-cuts, a situation
which is further complicated by the
imperatives of the recording industry.
io '... the musical sign, which is a
graphic element, is neither music, nor
its reflection, but a solely mnemonic
device' (Siohan, 'La musique comme
signe', Colloquesur le signe et les sys-
tmnesde signes, Royaumont, 12-15 April
1962, EPHE 6th section, 9, typescript
summary, p.22, cited in J.-J.Nattiez,
Music and discourse(Princeton, NJ,
1990), p.71).
11 I am borrowing here from the struc-
tural linguistics of Ferdinand de Saus-
sure, the founder of semiology, who
proposed the idea of the arbitrary
nature of sign in language, where there
is no relationship between the sign and
its referent other than that found in the
interdependence of the terms used. See
F. de Saussure Coursein general linguis-
tics (London, 1974) as well as the
accounts of Saussure's work in R.
Barthes, Elementsof semiology (Lon-
don, 1976) and J. Culler, Saussure
(London, 1976). For a full discussion of
the problems of the Saussurian concept
of the sign with regard to a semiology
of music see Nattiez, Music and dis-
course,pp.3-37.
12 See M. Bent 'Editing early music:
the dilemma of translation', Early
music, xxii (1994), pp.373-92, for fur-
ther comments on the problems of
'translating' original manuscripts into
modern notation.
13 See M. Carruthers, The book of
memory (Cambridge, 199o), and L.
Treitler, 'Homer and Gregory:the
transmission of epic poetry and plain-
chant', Musical quarterly,lx (1974),
PP-333-72.
14 See S. Rankin, 'Winchester poly-
phony: the early theory and practice of
organum', Music in the medieval Eng-
lish liturgy:Plainsong and Medieval
Music Societycentennial essays,ed. S.
Rankin and D. Hiley (London, 1993):
'In performance, a thinking (and lis-
tening) musician must have been faced
by situations which stimulated more
than one appropriate response, and
had to make decisions in favour of one
"procedure"instead of another, or
between a "rule of behaviour" and a
musical response naturally suggested
by a unique melodic contour.' (p.96);
'these written-down organa themselves
provide evidence of a continuing ad
hoc practice at Winchester' (p.99).
15 See Lionnet, 'Performance practice
in the Papal Chapel in the 17th cen-
tury': 'For solemn feasts, the whole
Mass setting was sung, and the singers
improvisedthe counterpoint on the
chant of the Offertory and a number of
antiphons, particularly the one preced-
ing the Magnificat at Vespers. The
papal singerswere veryproud of their
skill in improvisation,a common prac-
tice in Rome throughoutthis period.'
(PP.4-5) (my emphasis).
16 The closest equivalents today to the
original performers are jazz musicians,
for whom the musical text, or 'chart', is
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only a sketch to be completed during
performance, not during rehearsal. It
seems to me that it is the acoustic rela- robert
tionship to the music that we must try
to recover; calls for performance from deeganr
original performing materials might
well be misplaced. This is not to say
harpszchords
Instruments
EarlyKeyboard
that the project is not worth while, for
it will inevitably aid the particular andRestorations.
acoustic relationship between perform- VAT.notcharged
ers for which I argue. This argument is
made, in passing, by Margaret Bent: Colourbrochure
freeuponrequest.
'There has been a deep reluctance to
assume that the near-absence of early
scores might mean that its first creators
and performers managed quite well
without them, and hence that we had
better do so too if we are to master
their musical language and the essen-
tials of their musical thinking
processes.' Bent, 'Editing early music',
P-373.
17 Few Catholic choral institutions
employ girls as choristers (Brompton
Toinage arlehouse,
Oratory is the exception which proves St.Georges
Quay,
the rule), though there are some which Lancaster,LI IRB.
use women in the choir.
tl. (0524)60186
18 '[Guido's] new learning method
reduces the time for learning the chant
repertory to two years (previously ten
were required). A boy can learn a new
chant in three days.' (D. Hiley, Western
plainchant: a handbook (Oxford, 1993), Syarw anal'Y'4
p.467.)
19 Leo Treitler has suggested certain
directions for work in the field of Covers
memory as related to improvisation
('Homer and Gregory', PP.344-7). It
would also be interesting to apply the
kind of historical approach found in High quality canvas covers
Michel Foucault's work to the various and bags, padded and lined,
musicological discourses from the 12th made to measure for
century to the present day to see
whether it is possible to talk of musical Harpsichords, other
?pistemeswith regard to musical per- keyboard instruments and
formance and cognition. See M. Fou-
cault, The orderof things (London, Harps.
1970), and M. Foucault, Madness and
civilisation (New York, 1965). For a
clear definition of epist~me see an inter- Prop:DORIS BURRIDGE,
view with Raymond Bellour in Les 40 CHURCH HILL,
livres des Autres, 10/18 (Paris, 1978),
HOXNE, Near EYE,
pp.11-25.
SUFFOLKIP21 5AT.
20 In his outline of Page's 'discovery
Tel: 01379 668 484
theory', quoted in full above, it is the
final term of his argument which con-
ceals this particular point: 'we proceed
EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1995 145
to the theory that, in certain respects,
and especially in matters relating to
accuracy of tuning and ensemble, these
performances represent a particularly
convincing postulate about the per-
forming priorities of the original
singers.' Page, 'The English a cappella
renaissance', p.454.
21 The performance took place in the
Sistine Chapel on 9 April 1994 as a
celebration concert for the completion
of the restoration of Michelangelo's
frescoes. The concert, sponsored by
Nippon Television Network Corpora-
tion in collaboration with RAI, was
broadcast live in Italy and one week
later in Japan.The real benefit of this
event was that afforded to the singers
of singing from the original choir
gallery.
22 'The main restriction placed on the
musical performance of the papal
singers was that they should sing with-
out any instruments. The pope repre-
sented Christ on earth and thus the
cappellawas regarded as the angelic
choir around God's throne. Since there
are no biblical references to the
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146 EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
employment of instruments by the
angels ...' Lionnet, 'Performance prac-
tice in the Papal Chapel in the 17th cen-
tury', p.5.
23 Even today there is an almost uni-
versal set of rules for the performance
of sacred music in the cathedrals of
Britain. These are drummed into chil-
dren in the cathedral institutions and
may be summarized as follows: look at
the conductor; if there is no conductor
then look straight ahead; do not look at
the congregation (or, when television
cameras are present, do not look at the
camera).
24 When in the Sistine Chapel we were
fortunate enough to be allowed into
the choir gallery to perform the verse
sections of the Miserereby Allegri. The
four singers could not be seen from the
main body of the chapel and could
thus look at each other for signs and
gestures to aid ensemble singing.
25 I am indebted to Andrew Parrott
for this point and for the accompany-
ing reference. See J. S. van Waesberghe
'Singen und Dirigieren der Mehrstim-
migen Musik in Mittelalter', Melanges
offertsa Rene Crozet,ii, ed. P. Gallais
and Y.-J. Riou (Poitiers, 1966),
pp.1,345-54.Waesberghe offers an
analysis of several sources from the
12th to the 15thcenturies, including
several sculptures and drawings. 'The
physical/psychological accord of the
singing groups is quite obvious in [the
miniatures from] both periods. In the
first period [c.12th-14thcenturies] pic-
tures show that the singers looked each
other in the eye during performance;
furthermore, the written and pictorial
evidence demonstrates that the "direc-
tor" or precentor, who often sang as
well, guided and corrected the collec-
tive singing with gestures, with pres-
sure of the hand [Handdruch] or by
whispering into the singer's ear ... In
the second period [c.15thcentury]
"looking into each other's eyes" disap-
pears, but the physical/psychological
rapport is maintained ... often a singer
would beat time on another singer's
shoulder with his hand or fingers, or
would put his arm around the neck of
another singer ...' (p.1,349) Many
thanks to Julian Podger for help with
the article and for the translation.
1995
26 See, for example, J. Dyer 'A thir-
teenth-century choirmaster: the Scien-
tia ars musicae of Elias Salomon',
Musical quarterly,lxvi (198o),
pp.83-111.Dyer describes some of the
methods by which singers would have
communicated during performance,
including the very public means of
whispering musical directions into the
ear of another singer. The rectorwould
have been the main controlling force,
but it is not just his beat which dictates
ensemble: 'the rectoris indispensable to
Salomon's idea for a successful perfor-
mance, for the others must follow the
articulation and observe the pausae just
as he indicates them with his right
hand. Moreover,allfour singersmust
have visual contact with each other.'
(P-97) (my emphasis).
27 See Lionnet, 'Performance practice
in the Papal Chapel in the 17th cen-
tury', and R. Sherr, 'Performance prac-
tice in the Papal Chapel in the 16th
century', Early music, xv (1987),
pp.452-62. Dyer and Waesberghe pre-
sent evidence that the same system was
in operation much earlier:'In an ideal
situation, according to Salomon, the
rectorought to be one of the four per-
formers.' (Dyer, 'A thirteenth-century
choirmaster', p.101.)
28 The choir desk is mounted on the
balustrade of the balcony, some 16 feet
above the floor of the chapel.
29 The performance in the Sistine
Chapel told us little about this issue, as
the original carpet and tapestries are no
longer present. This led to a very
'swimmy' acoustic; though, when
singing from the gallery, the clarity of
voices was markedly improved. The
Tallis Scholars have also performed
music from the Eton Choirbook in
Eton College Chapel. We could not
understand how such intricate music
could have been written for such a
building until it was revealed that the
original wooden roof had been
replaced by a stone one, resulting in
the present bathroom acoustic. Any re-
creation of original performance spaces
might well be a costly enterprise!
3o 'We may reasonably hope that the
next generation of early-music singers
will advance on the present in not
needing full instructions on the opera-
tion of ficta ... Scholars and perform-
ers need to learn the language(s). This
means learning to read fluently directly
from, and in the first instance to sing
from, original notation in facsimile.'
(Bent, 'Editing early music', pp.382,
391.) '... it will be a significant achieve-
ment when the finest professional
groups regularly give their concerts at
their favoured pitch and in their
favoured voicing from a full size repro-
duction choirbook on a great lectern in
the midst of their singers.' (B. Turner,
'The editor: diplomat or dictator?',
Companion to medieval and Renais-
sance music, p.254.) 'Modern perfor-
mance practice of pre-16oo music
could benefit substantially from the
restoration of solmization as a living
practice.' (R. Wegman, 'Musicaficta',
Companion to medieval and Renais-
sance music, p.274.)
31 Attempts to become familiar with
original notation are currently being
undertaken by the various singers of
the Clerks' Group, who are to work on
Ockeghem's Missa Prolationem from
original manuscripts and will record
the results for ASV in 1995.Other work
is also taking place in developing the
more acoustic relationship with music
and performance through working
with jazz ensembles. The Hilliard
Ensemble have been working with Jan
Garbarek,a noted jazz saxophonist,
and continue to perform a series of
concerts over the coming year. The
Orlando Consort begin a collaboration
with The Perfect Houseplants in 1995
with the intention of developing a
working knowledge of modes, particu-
larly through its application in plain-
song, and, at the same time, with the
aim of learning improvisation tech-
niques. This project has only been
made possible through funding from
the Arts Council of Great Britain. We
may have to wait a long time for these
practices to become a standard part of
the education of early-music singers.
32 The Sixteen makes explicit refer-
ence to its Oxbridge credentials. Until
quite recently publicity for the Tallis
Scholars did the same.
33 The Hilliard Ensemble, Gothic
Voices, the Tallis Scholars, the Orlando
Consort and the Gabrieli Consort have
all used publicity photos with this par-
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
ticular architectural backdrop. 42 I take as my source a collection of
reviews of concerts given by the Tallis
34 See Page's analysis of the pho- Scholars in America over the past seven
tographs of instrumental groups with years, though I am convinced that this
their altogether more 'wacky'
sample is valid for Europe as well.
approach. The clearest and most bril-
liant example to my mind is that of 43 It is actually impossible to sing
Charles Daniels on his ten-speed bike without vibrato and, I would suggest, it
in a publicity photo for the Gabrieli is often a question of the speed rather
Consort. than the degree of vibrato that is being
noted.
35 'Subtle clues to the changing status
of early music ... will inevitably reflect 44 I am indebted to Christopher Page
for furnishing me with the exact details
itself in the choice of concert dress as
of this reference.
early music performers exchange their
down-home, artsy, or Bohemian garb
for tuxedos and evening gowns.' (P. 45 It is also interesting that the word
clannesswhich Page uses is defined by
Higgins, 'From the ivory tower to the him using exactly the same
marketplace:early music, musicology, sacred/secular opposition we have seen
and the mass media', Currentmusicol-
repeated in reviews of the Tallis Schol-
ogy,no.53(1993).) ars in America.
36 R. Barthes, 'The grain of the voice', 46 I am grateful to Rex Brough, some-
Image, music, text, selected and trans. S. thing of an expert in the vagaries of
Heath (London, 1977), originally pub-
lished as 'Le grain de la voix', Musique popular music, for confirmation that
there are remarkablyfew mixed-gen-
en jeu, no.9 (1972).
der, a cappellapop groups.
37 Barthes, 'The grain of the voice',
47 For an audacious de(con)struction
p.179. of the Christian myth see Ernest
38 Barthes's essay alludes to the work
of Jacques Lacan in its easy appropria-
tion of the term 'Imaginary', employs
Julia Kristeva'sopposition of pheno-
and geno-text to postulate the theoreti- MarkStevenson
cal opposition of pheno-song and
geno-song and assumes an under-
standing of Kristeva'snotion of signifi-
ance. All this should be set within the
context of Barthes's own work, which
is too rich and varied to be summa-
sow
rized satisfactorily in a footnote. See
Structuralismand since, ed. J. Sturrock
(Oxford, 1979), T. Hawkes, Structural-
ism and semiotics (London, 1977), and, -~
for a specific account of Barthes's con- /
'
tribution to the field of music criticism
see B. Engh, 'Loving it: music and criti-
cism in Roland Barthes',Musicology
and difference:gender and sexuality in
music scholarship,ed. R. A. Solie
(Berkeley, CA, 1993), pp.66-79.
39 Barthes, 'The grain of the voice',
p.189. Copperfield
20 Pratt Street
40 Barthes, 'The grain of the voice', Soham, Cambs CB7 5BH
p.189.
Phone-FAX
41 Barthes, 'The grain of the voice',
0353 721000
p.188.
EARLY MUSIC FEBRUARY 1995 147
Jones's various essays on this subject,
in particular 'Psycho-analysis and the
Christian religion' and 'A psycho-ana-
lytic study of the Holy-Ghost concept',
Essaysin appliedpsychoanalysis,ii
(London, 1952), pp.198-211,358-73.
48 See J. Bowers, 'The emergence of
women composers in Italy, 1566-1700',
Women making music: the Westernart
tradition,1150-1950,ed. J. Bowers and J.
Tick (London, 1986), pp.116-67;and
A. B. Yardley."'Ful weel she soong the
service dyvyne":the cloistered musi-
cian in the Middle Ages', ibid.,
pp.15-38. Despite the strong tradition
of performance of sacred music by
both women and men, there seem to
be almost no examples of polyphony
performed by both sexes together in a
sacredcontext.
49 For a fuller account of Lacan and
the ?colefreudienne see A. Lemaire,
JacquesLacan (London, 1977),J. Rose,
Introduction to Feminine sexuality
(London, 1982), and J. Rose, 'The
imaginary', The talkingcure (London,
1981).
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50 See G. Rosolato, 'Lavoix: entre
corps et langage', Revuefran(aise de
psychanalyse,no.38 (Jan 1974),
pp.75-94. This article was first brought
to my attention by the account in M.-
A. Doane, 'The voice in the cinema',
YaleFrenchstudies, no.6o (1980),
PP-43-50.
51 See also D. Anzieu, 'L'enveloppe
sonore du soi', Nouvelle revuede psych-
analyse, no.13 (Spring, 1976).
52 Rosolato, 'La voix', p.82 (my trans-
lation).
53 For Rosolato both the sacred and
the voice are concerned with the search
for origins and the idealization of ori-
gins. He suggests that they are indissol-
ubly linked at the psychic level, which
explains the strong tradition of sacred
vocal music: 'Vocal music has always
been bound up with prayer, with reli-
gious or sacred celebration which glo-
rifies a historic or mythic past, and also
with tradition, from Vedic chant to the
Liturgyof the Mass ...' (p.89). How-
ever, Rosolato wants to extend the
notion of the sacred to include any sys-
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tems which tell of this process of ideal-
ization and which lead towards a fore-
grounding of the voice itself. (Hence,
for him, the essay is always also about
opera.) The notion of the sacred he
establishes goes some way to explain-
ing the recent popular success of sacred
music in a secular context. For Roso-
lato the sacred/secular opposition is
not at all clear-cut. Note, also, how
close we are to the nostalgia of which
Page writes: 'We can detect a nostalgic
aspect of musical pleasure, an inclina-
tion towards an origin.'(p.88)
54 'Doesn't every narrativelead back
to Oedipus? Isn't storytelling always a
way of searching for one's origin,
speaking one's conflicts with the Law,
entering into the dialectic of tenderness
and hatred?'R. Barthes, Thepleasure of
the text, trans. R. Howard (New York,
1975).
55 Note that within Freudian psycho-
analysis, fetishism describes the (male)
child's disavowal of sexual difference
itself: see S. Freud, 'Fetishism', On
sexuality (Harmondsworth, 1977),
pp.351-7.
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