Diction

I have extracted some text from Peter Dawson's "Fifty Years of Song."

Just to let you know his authority to speak on the subject:

He was the best selling recording artist of all time. He recorded 3,600 labels. His recordings were marketed and became famous throughout the old British Empire but he was relatively unknown in America, never having had the time to visit here. He was too busy because he sang almost every night of his life in recital halls, music halls, clubs, stage, live broadcasts etc.,etc., or was on tour around the British Empire. His book is available from the regular Amazon, Alibris type book sellers - second hand from $5 to $10. Considering he recorded, toured and sang on the same platforms as Tibbett, Tauber, Chaliapin, Clara Butt, Nellie Melba, John Mc Cormack etc., his book contains many pearls of wisdom and experience. It is also a remarkable insight and history of the classical recording industry which he dominated and the composers of the time which he launched by singing their songs written for him. His recordings were immensely popular because he "delivered" a song with the clearest of diction. He also launched many popular songs of the day and literally put them on the map. His "Little Grey Home in the West", "Floral Dance" "Kerry Dance" etc. were so popular (he was the first to launch them and to make them famous) that no self respecting artist could afford to exclude them from the recital platform. Even Gigli had to alway include "Mahi Leetle Gray Houm in thee Ouest" in his public recitals because the crowd demanded it. He also composed many famous songs that sold in the millions. His best known composition in America was his "V for Victory" which was played and sung throughout the factories and by all the troops and which Sophie Tucker brought back when she shared the same platform with Peter Dawson at the London Palladium. In all cases his love of poems inspired his song compositions. He sang in English, German, Russian, Spanish and Italian as if he was a native speaker. His lieder was impeccable and painted total scenes. You have two of his English numbers on the Diction Disk I recently distributed. If you have not yet received this disk, ask for it on Monday. He helped many musicians, singers and composers to become famous and literally discovered Gerald Moore the famous accompanist when he was a newly arrived pianist from Canada. Dawson took him everywhere and it was through Dawon's recitals that everyone came to know Gerald Moore.

I had read his book some fifty years ago and started rereading it about two weeks ago. What a treasure it is.

I have highlighted the parts I want to draw to your attention.

  1. He placed great emphasis on singing the right program to the right audience. We would never dream of having a Japanese song sung in traditional costume unless the audience also saw and heard that same singer sing something else that they knew. For instance in our first concert at the Herbert Axelrod Theater, Yuko sang the Habanera, A boy like that and 3 Japanese songs. She bowled everyone over. A short narration ensured that the audience understood the Habanera and the Japanese songs. A wonderful contrast from a wonderful artiste. Yuko is now a full time principal mezzo in the Japanese National Opera. Dawson believed the audience must understand the words. Whereas he advocated singing all opera in English for English speaking audiences, I say, it is impractical in many instances but, realizing that audience will not read program notes, I give a 10 second narration which paints the scene and by doing so, we have converted many people to become opera lovers. However, for American audiences, I believe operas like Die Fledermaus and Der Freischutz lose their impact if sung in the original language whereas they are tremendous fun when sung in English. By the same token, I believe, Billy Budd loses all impact if it is sung in English before a French audience. It would be almost like saying "il pleut les chats et les chiens" (It's raining cats and dogs,) the French would look at you as if you had lost your marbles. We are singing a concert for an American audience. They don't even know they like opera because, in their minds, they have never been exposed to opera. If they know that the duet from the movie, Shawshank Redemption is a delightful piece of fun from Marriage of Figaro and one explains the actual scene to them, they like it. They just don't know they have been exposed to opera through TV commercials and film. Now, one can't go down to Seabrook Performing Arts Center in New Jersey and sing a Russian, Korean or Greek song which that audience has never heard before, and will have no hope of understanding, and expect to obtain a great reception. But one can take that Russian song and sing it in Russian at a concert hall in Brighton and get a tremendous reception. Shiree got a wonderful reception and also gigs from her Israeli Songs at the Herbert Axelrod Theatre which is located in the Jewish Cultural Center, but she would sing to deaf ears, no matter how well she sang, to a concert hall in Centerville, Iowa. But she could wow the Iowa audience with any American number whether it be Broadway, Stephen Foster, Copeland or Romberg, etc. In short, you need repertoire and any man who can record 3,600 labels is certainly not short of repertoire. Learn, learn, learn as much as you can, if you want to have a really successful and very well paid career.
  2. He emphasised that a singer must get inside his song. His voice must become subconscious—almost automatic —and his whole attention must be focused upon the story of the song.
  3. He memorized the words first. He would say them over and over, and only when he had the right feel for the words, would he start to learn the music - and this from a man who was known to sight-read anything that you could throw at him.
  4. He emphasised that good singing is fifty per cent facial expression. In acting and in singing, the face is the mirror of the soul. If nothing is going on in the head, the face will be a blank. If the singer's focus is on technique, his face will look unnatural. The eyes will be out of contact with the world around him. I see it only too often when any singer focuses on technique. The face is that of a blind man - eyes open but seeing nothing, registering nothing from the outside world, oblivious of his audience or the soul of the song.
  5. He stressed that performance is the greatest factor in perfecting the art of delivering the song and bemoaned the fact that the young singer of today does not have that same opportunity to perform frequently. Well, that's the purposes of our concerts, to get you to perform. I would love you to perform every week but I could only arrange that if you had sufficient repertoire. So learn as much as you can, have repertoire ready at all times and I'll increase the number of concerts and concert venues.

As I read this text on diction, I could hear Chloe, Tom and myself speaking. I realized then, that in the passages of text from the singers who wrote, such as Gobbi, Tibbett, Dawson, Chaliapin, Gigli, you can obtain enormous guidance. With your mentors at Pacific Opera, you have, at least, a combined 14 decades of experience and wisdom to draw on. Therefore, learn the art of listening. No matter how well you think you move and perform, you cannot actually see or hear yourself, so use your mentors as if they are your video camera. You might not always agree with your mentors, but listen. When you are on the defensive, you cannot be listening. Chloe is senior to all of us and she has much wisdom to impart. Listen and take notice. None of your mentors are doing this for themselves. they are doing it for you. So listen, absorb and employ.

See you all at 6:30pm on Monday.