Performance Report 1: Shakespeare in Song

INTRODUCTION

The performance I attended was the UTD Chamber Singers performing Shakespeare in Song at the Jonsson Performance Hall. They sang songs either directly from Shakespearean plays or composed for them by various composers, as well as acting out certain scenes from the plays represented by the music. This paper aims to describe some of the characteristics of the performance.

MUSIC

The music was mainly “art music”, or music composed by the classically trained to be performed by others with such training (Young). It consisted of a full chamber chorus augmented by soloists, with a piano accompaniment. On some pieces the chorus led the piece by itself, others it acted as a supporting harmony for leading soloists. The large number of voices allowed for many notes and harmonies to be employed and also for strong changes in volume to emphasize important sections. Most of the music had regular rhythms and chord progressions, but a couple songs seemed to display more jazz-inspired beats and intervals. Each piece reflected the tone of the scene it corresponded to; somber scenes had slower tempos and mournful vocal melodies, while upbeat scenes featured faster tempo and generally higher pitched singing (Shakespeare in Song).

PERFORMERS

All of the performers (including the director) were dressed in period costumes. This gave the entire show the feel of a Shakespearean medley, as did the multiple roles of the performers: choral singer, actor, and soloist. Most performers performed at least two if not three of these roles at some point. The performers seemed to really enjoy the acting, and it helped accentuate the music. They also brought out the mood of the songs by their expression- smiling during happy pieces and looking wistful during the more reflective songs. Finally, the conductor was an integral performer; she served to coordinate the pianist and chorus, as well as to indicate proper times for applause to the audience (Shakespeare in Song).

AUDIENCE

The audience was generally students, along with some faculty and what appeared to be parents. Interestingly, few of the students were taking notes; it seemed most of them were there as friends of the performers or simply as interested public rather than for a class. As students, they often seemed unsure of protocol, especially when to applaud- as mentioned above this was remedied by the director. At times the audience also seemed detached and almost bored, but the acting scenes would always elicit strong positive response, as did some soloists. Finally, as one would expect of students the audience thinned notably after intermission; however, those that stayed tended to be the more engaged audience members (Shakespeare in Song).

TIME AND SPACE

The chorus was set in the center of the stage and took up most of it; this helped emphasize their point as the central instrument in the performance. The piano was off far to the side, also reflecting its subordination to the vocalists. Soloists usually sung and acted together at the front of the stage, but sometimes they would be on opposite sides to imply a dialogue and make the atmosphere more like that of a play. Also, to emphasize the moods and Shakespearean nature of the songs, there was a projector which projected the play the song came from along with a pictorial scene reflective of the musical mood onto a screen behind the performers (Shakespeare in Song).

CONCLUSION

By using varying rhythms and tones, sweeping volume modulations, period costumes, and changes in scenery the performance both reflected its base in Shakespearean play and worked to avoid getting repetitive and losing the audience. They attempted to portray the mood of the various scenes through the music and scenery, and this effort seemed to be generally appreciated and approved of by the audience.

Works Cited

Shakespeare in Song. Dir. Kathryn Evans. Perf. UT-Dallas Chamber Singers with Michael McVay. Jonsson Performance Hall, Richardson, TX. 26 Mar. 2010.

Young, MaryAnn. Understanding World Music: Art Music. UT-Dallas. Richardson, TX. 25 Mar. 2010. Class Lecture.