The use of the voice in five selected works for band

Abstract

This document is a study of five selected works for wind band, each requiring vocalization by the wind band members. The primary focus will be on improving the performance of the vocal passages by addressing proper vocal pedagogy and techniques for each work. A significant amount of the modern wind band repertoire calls for use of the human voice as a pitched or non-pitched instrument. In some wind band works the ensemble members sing in unison, while in others they sing separate vocal parts. A number of pieces require speech vocalization without any specific pitch requirement. Some use text while others require only vowels or syllables. The intent of this study is to give conductors tools and information to aid them in their teaching of vocalization in rehearsals and in performances of these five pieces: ...and the mountains rising nowhere by Joseph Schwantner; Apotheosis of this Earth by Karel Husa; The Soaring Hawk by Timothy Mahr; In the Spring at the Time When Kings Go Off to War, by David Holsinger; Cloudburst by Eric Whitacre.