Solo vs Chorus? Voice Presentation and Balance
Last "Hello Council” Live Talk in 2022
"Hello Council" is the series of live talk and pedagogical online workshops organized by INTERKULTUR China with the support of INTERKULTUR and the World Choir Council. The 11th "Hello Council" went live on December 9 featuring guest speakers Mr. Bengt Ollén, a famous Swedish conductor, Mr. Zhang Demei, President of the Hainan Chorus Association of China and Mr. Wang Haochen, a young conductor from the North of China. This live talk focused on the topic of "Excellent Soloists: Voice Presentation and Balance". Nearly 200 Chinese viewers participated in the live broadcast, and more than 10,000 people watched the review video.
As a collective art, chorus is favored by music lovers, including many excellent solo singers, for its unified and integrated sound effect and team spirit, empathy and cooperation. "Solo pursues individuality, while chorus pursues unity. Is an excellent soloist suitable for singing in a choir?" Mr. Bengt Ollén gave us a positive answer: "As a conductor, we need to train chorus singers to use a ‘full’ voice, and guide them to pursue harmonious sound effects."
"Balance is one of the aesthetic standards of choral art. What is more important besides the sound effect is the balance of aesthetic consciousness. The solo singer and the chorus voice are unified as a whole, and should be reasonably matched in terms of the character of the work to achieve a balanced sound effect." Mr. Zhang Demi said.
"Is the vibrato a friend of choral singing? Should vowel modification in choral singing follow the same principles as in solo singing? (…)" was another issue that was being discussed. In the interactive section, Wang Haochen, a Chinese young conductor, raised vivid statements to the guests, further expanding the discussion of the topic and pushing the show to a climax.
At the end of teh talk, Ms. Iris Huting,Project Director INTERKULTUR China, introduced the 5th European Choir Games & Grand Prix of Nations Norrköping 2023 to the audience. Mr. Fred Sjöberg, Senior Artistic Director INTERKULTUR from Sweden said: "Let the choral music give us more confidence and courage, and look forward to the choirs from all over the world, especially China, reuniting with us in Norrköping, Sweden!"
This live talk was the last one of the 2022 "Hello Council" talks. Li Qixuan, the project manager, said: "Next year we will continue to serve chorus fans with a new perspective and more interesting topics, and launch a series of Chinese version shows. Look forward to it and we wish you a Happy New Year!"