Someone, maybe your teacher or a director, tells you that you have a perfect voice for early music. But where do you begin? The world of early music can often seem daunting, challenging, and even inaccessible.
There are a myriad of things to think about as a beginner in early music. What music do you purchase to get started? How do you use recordings to your advantage? What time periods does early music include and what are the differences in styles? How do you become informed through books, festivals, and performances? And perhaps most importantly, how do you find auditions and land jobs?
This brief overview of early music will help you better understand the basic repertoire and give you some tips on educating yourself, as well as a little guidance in networking and finding employment in this unique field.
Building Your Library
Collections—like Hal Leonard’s The Oratorio Anthology, with volumes differentiated by voice type—are an excellent starting place. They are useful for getting a feel for the repertoire, and they provide an overview of the often performed pieces. Many of these collections, however, contain errors not found in scholarly editions and are sometimes markedly different from versions used by professional ensembles and opera companies. Soprano Ellen Hargis, a specialist in seventeenth- and eighteenth- century music, recommends the Oxford University Press and Bärenreiter editions because they are “dependable and clear.”
Even as a beginner in early music, begin to build your library with scholarly editions of the most in-demand works, including Handel’s Messiah and Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day and Bach’s St. John Passion, St. Matthew Passion, and Mass in B Minor, to name a few. The aforementioned publishers print opera scores as well as oratorio. While often more expensive than other editions, they are the most reliable versions available in modern notation.
When looking at editions, terms like “facsimile” or “urtext” in the description will help you know exactly what you are buying. A facsimile is a reprint of how the music originally appeared, and an urtext edition is a modern notation version intended to be as close to the original as possible. When the music has an editor, it is an “interpretive” edition, which means it includes the editor’s opinion on how to perform the piece.
Listen Up
“We are very lucky to be able to hear a great variety of excellent and informed musicians who perform early music and to have access to their sense of performance and research via recording,” says Drew Minter, well known countertenor and founding member of the famed Newberry Consort. “The earlier we go in the music, the more we are talking about an oral tradition, so hearing the music is very important, whether live or recorded.”
Numerous ensembles and opera companies have released excellent recordings of a large body of early music, including obscure and unfamiliar music. These recordings can be a valuable resource for those new to early music. Beginners should be aware, however, that there is a great deal of room for interpretation in this music. Unlike later music, what is on the page is the starting point rather than the end result. You may listen to a recording while following along in your score and hear something completely different than what is written. For this reason, singers shouldn’t blindly copy the ornaments from a recording, however good they may be.
“Listen as if you were listening to covered versions of someone’s songs,” advises Scott Metcalfe, music director of the renowned Blue Heron Renaissance Choir. He adds that singers should be careful with older recordings as many may not be accurate by today’s standards and ideals. As scholars continue to bring more details to light on how early music was performed in its day, performance practices change and evolve.
Defining Early Music
“I had a busy career first as a baroque opera and oratorio singer before I discovered medieval music,” says Minter. “It was really through my work with the Newberry Consort that I developed an acquaintance with medieval music.” Some singers choose to devote their career to one specific historical era—but many singers, like Minter, perform and record a wide variety of repertoire.
The term “early music” encompasses a huge time frame, and the eras included in early music frequently overwhelm singers. Different historical eras have different performing expectations—a Bach cantata is going to have a different vocal style than a medieval motet. Early music also varies regionally—a French baroque opera and an Italian baroque opera will differ significantly. Choral repertoire will have different performing expectations than solo repertoire. You may want to consider detailed study in a good music history class focusing on the Medieval, Renaissance, or Baroque period.
Historians argue about the dates of these eras, and often disagree by over 100 years! With that in mind, here is a very basic outline of these periods:
Medieval (c.500-1350): Covers everything from Gregorian chant to troubadour songs.
Renaissance (1350-1600): Includes a lot of choral repertoire where composers focused on creating intricate tapestries of music.
Baroque (1600-1750): Feels more familiar to modern singers because of early opera and oratorio. Requires a lot of creativity for ornamentation and embellishments.
Join the Crowd
If you grimaced at the earlier suggestion to take a music history class, be forewarned: early music is not for those adverse to research. Even those at the top still “have to be thinking and searching and reading,” says Hargis. But how do you learn enough of the style to get to the point where you can experiment freely and still feel confident that you are being historically accurate in your performance?
One way is to perform in ensembles. Unlike most of the opera world, performing in ensembles, choirs, and opera choruses for early music does not work against your solo career. You will not be labeled only as an ensemble singer. In fact, ensemble singing is good practice, a great opportunity to learn and work with those more knowledgeable, and an occasion for networking. Even in ensemble singing, “having soloist chops and expression is exactly what makes early music work,” says Metcalfe.
“Being a good ensemble singer is in your favor, even for principals,” agrees Hargis. She especially recommends looking for work in the coryphée, a term from French opera and ballet, which denotes the second rank of roles. These smaller roles, often with names like “Nymph,” also supplement the chorus. From singing in the coryphée, you can learn style by listening to and working with professionals, learn different types of staging in a hands-on environment, and eventually work up to main roles.
Singers can find some professional groups and ensembles in North America. They typically hire people who have years of experience and training, usually through an early music degree program. There are, however, numerous amateur groups where you can gain experience and develop your skills.
Festivals
No matter how many recordings you listen to, or how much reading you do, there is no substitute for working with the professionals in the field. Attending an early music festival, either as a participating student or as an audience member, is a great way to do just that.
In addition, nearly all early music festivals share one important common thread: they foster the sharing of ideas and create an environment where musicians can talk about and work through performance issues and problems. This kind of atmosphere makes experimenting with new things, such as ornamentation, easier. These programs can also help you determine if pursuing an early music degree is right for you.
Boston Early Music is the best known of the festivals, and every other year it offers a fully staged, historically accurate baroque opera. Early Music Vancouver has programs specific to baroque singing, including voice lessons, masterclasses, coachings, and even dance and gesture classes. Amherst Early Music has a Baroque Opera Project, as well as weekend workshops throughout the year. These are just a few of the many festivals and programs available. You can find even more at
www.newolde.com, a site that promotes these programs and festivals both abroad and in the United States.
Auditioning
Once you have some of the education necessary for a career in early music, how do you find a job? As mentioned previously, seeking out professional and semi-professional ensembles helps you make contacts with people working in the field. Auditions for small vocal ensembles are often posted, but word of mouth is still a great way to hear about some of these groups. Check with any professors you know who teach Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque classes about ensembles they might recommend.
Ensembles and opera companies specializing in early music most often do not have a structured audition process. Rather, it takes more work to find work. Start by finding out what companies are putting on performances. Instead of waiting for an audition to be posted, call and ask to be included on the list for auditions. When a conductor will be in town for a performance, ask if you can audition while he or she is there. Music of the Baroque in Chicago, for example, waits until there is an accumulation of interest in auditions and then holds auditions.
Subscribe to as many early music companies’ e-newsletters as possible (most have them). This is a good way to find out who will be conducting and performing upcoming concerts. Conductors and performers sometimes give masterclasses before these performances. You could also inquire about setting up a private coaching with a visiting conductor or performer.
Finding opportunities to sing, much like the actual music itself, takes time and research. Team up with Google in searching for jobs. For example, if you search on “early music Chicago”, you can find links to regular visiting groups and newsletters. This is an excellent way to find coaches as well as audition opportunities.
There are a variety of resources available to guide you through the world of early music. Perhaps most importantly, early music musicians enthusiastically and genuinely love the field and are happy to share information. They are especially willing to help young singers and those new to the repertoire.
