
Shulamit Hoffmann © 2016
Given that expression is often considered the most important aspect of
performance but goes largely unexamined by practitioners, this study seeks to understand
what constitutes choral expression in live performance. A qualitative, phenomenological
research strategy was adopted to investigate the lived experience of choral conductors
and amateur choristers. Data were collected from individual interviews of nine
conductors, nine focus groups of 57 choristers, and observations of rehearsals and
performances of eight choirs.
The study finds that choral performance is meaningful to performers for reasons
that are not only musical. Thus, expression is not conceptualized as only musical.
Expression, externally perceptible and internally meaningful, is regarded as being for
audience and for performer, artifact-derived and performer-created. There are perceived
relationships between self-expression and artistic expression and between self-expression
and group expression. Rehearsal and performance processes and intra-ensemble
synergies—musical and social—influence an ensemble’s expressivity. Expression both
heightens and is heightened by the communal aspect of choral singing that amateur
choristers find meaningful. Even as amateurs sing in choirs for their own fulfillment, they
consider it their obligation to move their audience. Performers experience expression as
communication, a “contagion,” and a circular transfer of energy between performer and
audience.
Most choral performers seek expressive content in musical and textual modalities
inherent in a musical work, but reifying a work does not necessarily engender
performance expression. To that end, some choirs also utilize visual presentation.
Choristers who consider acting as authentic portrayal of feeling use acting methods to
embody persona, the character of the music. “Bodification” is seen to enhance
performance expression. This aligns with research that finds an integration of acoustic
and optic percepts in the communication of emotions. Although the hierarchical large-
ensemble authority model and didactic learning prevail in amateur choirs, chorister self-
learning, such as from video feedback, is more effective for cultivating presentation than
conductor instruction.
The study concludes that live choral performance expression is not solely auditory.
Visual presentation, as an expressive performance modality, complements musical and
textual expression. Performance goals of choirs that focus on music, text, and
presentation engender chorister self-learning, performer satisfaction, and expressive
performances.
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