The Tragi-Comedy of English Singing - food for thought..from Anna Sims.."The English Breather"..(with a sting in the tail)..

...it cannot be denied that in certain directions we have made great progress in England during the last twenty years. The standard of instrumental playing is one hundred per cent, higher , and we have a group of composers who are rapidly bringing us into line with International standards of achievement. But there is one branch of executive musical art in which there is to be discerned, not only no advance of any kind, but a distinct movement of retrogression. I refer to singing, which is at the moment in nothing less than a desperate condition of decline, and the responsibility of blame may be fairly divided between the singers themselves and those to whom it has been entrusted the task of their education. Let it first be made clear that nothing can be urged aganst the quality of English voices or the musical intelligence of the average young English singer, as compared with the corresponding type abroad. We have a large number of first rate voices and an enormous number of singing students, and yet in these islands, a judicious selection would hardly suffice to complete the necessary personnel of a single good opera company. The question that at once arises in one's mind is, why is it that all these young people of voice and talent, who in their thousands pass through our schools of music, arrive practically nowhere ? We know that when they embark upon their course of study they are often sound and promising in every respect, vocally and mentally. Yet we see these same again some years afterwards, and in nearly every case we have difficutly in detecting signs of the slightest development, indeed, some are even less competent and capable of assimilation than in the earlier days. What can possibly have happened in the meantime to have produced this unhappy state of seeming paralysis? Undoubtedly the main cause is to be found in the deplorable system of training most of them have received either in the great schools of music or from private teachers. There can be no question that almost the greatest drawback in the musical life of this country is the scarcity of good singing masters, and the appalling overgrowth of bungling incompetence that dares to imagine that without the smallest qualifications it can mould and handle the most delicately sensitive and beautiful of instruments in the weorld. Not only are the professors themselves dangerously inadequate, but what is of equal malevolence is the point of view prevailing in the music schools toward the whole question of singers and singing. For years the unfortunate vocal student has been regarded as something rather less than a human being, at any rate as a creature of unusually inferior intelligence. Upon their entering an institution, the authorities, convinced of their comparative lowliness in the animal kingdom...at once set about remedying the students defects by giving them what they call a good general music education. It does not matter a rap whether the unfortunate victim has any special desires on the subject, or shows any aptitude or not for playing the double bassoon or writing fugues in thirty six parts. True to their peculiar theory that singers should be musicians first and singers afterwards, they whittle away the precious time of the student in providing them with a superficial knowledge of half a dozen subjects, and a really useful acquaintance with none of them. It would be difficult to find a single vocalist of merit in the whole of this country who could be brought to deny that the time given up to the study of singing at one of our great musical institutions was not, from beginning to end, an utter waste of time and money...! ..O.K., O.K.... before you start lambasting me (Simsannabim) with a defensive tirade at my audacity in publishing such a scathing report on the subject of English voice training, let me explain that this article appeared in The London Daily Chronicle of March 15th. ..1915 !! ..from the pen of one ..Thomas Beecham...later Knighted for his services to music...yes, Dear Old Tommy Beecham. I love listening to recordings of his concerts, etc., and hearing his 'dry, throaty' voice singin' along ...Unfortunately, from the reports of many talented young singers, I receive messages that indicate the current situation is not dissimilar to that of 1915....can you believe it...?? For instance, the latest 'craze hitting the fan' ..(or throat ? ) is ..'tilting the larynx'..which is totally irrelevent to acquiring the skills for the development of "The ART of Singing"...after all..'singing' is simply ' talking on a musical note'...simple as that and mostly dependant on good natural breathing . I'm often asked "What makes you think you're right about breathing..?." I DON'T think I'm right.." Yes you DO" ..."No I don't - I KNOW I'm ' right or it wouldn't still be working for me " ...any questions ...?? Please k..p b.......g..

Congratulations to "The King's Speech" and Lionel Logue..from "The Breathing Lady" - Simsannabim !!!

Weeell - here's a thing...!!! For years - 37 exactly - I've striven to help others with respiratory, speech and vocal difficulties, with a breathing routine 'invented' after an almost fatal fire accident, from which I miraculously recovered out of a sheer survival 'inner drive' - who can define it ..? Prior to that I'd been a successful professional singer (among diverse interests and occupations which manifested in my crazy, un-educated life..ha ha haaaa..) So it was with interest that I attended a performance of the brilliant, faultless, and incredibly moving British film "The King's Speech", with a cast of charismatic actors headed by the engaging Colin Firth as King George Sixth of Great Britain, Helena Bonham Carter as his charming wife, Queen Elisabeth, and Geoffrey Rush, the doggedly determined Australian Speech Therapist, Lionel Logue, who eventually helped The King overcome his stammer....they have all been honoured already Internationally for their magnificent playing of these roles...we now await their reception at the forthcoming American Oscars Ceremony....Good Luck to you all, and everyone concerned in this outstanding creation... my curiosity was aroused by the publicity clips shown on t.v., especially with the aspects of 'engaging the diaphragm', which - until then - I hadn't realise was NOT a priority with the average 'Singing Teacher' ...a very famous Diva Friend recently quipped " Oooh Anna - we all know you want to 'teach the whole world to breathe', but let's face it -what good is it doing.? " I gave her no answer, but thought "..mmm...wait and see/hear..." Fortunately for me I was lucky enough to meet the illustrious German Soprano Elisabeth Grummer, whilst attending her Master Classes with a Friend, in Lucerne, and sessions at her home in Berlin in the 1970's...her 'doggy panting' exercise is one of the most beneficial to all, but particularly good for voice users and ... stammerers. The main crux of Lionel's experience was that he was considered 'a bit of a crank - to say the least ! As most of my Friends and Associates will concur, my reputation runs on similar lines..they don't call me 'Anna theMad One' for nothing ..! This I take as a charming, affectionate compliment, and it certainly breaks down any barriers for those who are wary of Officialdom and 'Elevated Experts'...The methods Lionel employed to 'liberate' our Dear King George the Sixth from his stuttering stammer were totally un-orthodox, and I believe came from an innate 'instinctive gift'. In my un-complicated mind - it is classed as -MAGIC...make of magic what you will...Many 'singing teachers' have 'blocked' me with singers who had vocal problems, and would have benefitted most from knowing how to breathe correctly..Dame Joan Sutherland , in the 1970's, when I met her at a competition in Austria, bewailed the fact that I was not taken seriously...A little later, another Antipodean, Janice Chapman, the "Holoistic (!! pardon- ??) Singing Teacher", attended a Breathing Workshop I gave in London. Miss Chapman was there to 'vet' me, for The British Voice Association who had invited me to demonstrate my simple breathing routine, in conjunction with the distinguished Swedish soprano Elisabeth Soderstrom at their International conference. Miss Chapman was puzzled as to why I suggested and demonstrated certain movements - "Woi arr ya doin' thett?" - "Try it and you may find out ..hmm?" She stayed for half the session, and reported back to Gunnar Rugheimer, BVA Secretary (who had heard some young singers at The Vadstena Festival, Sweden, using my routine earlier that year, and liked what he'd heard.) .. that basically, "it would be an insult to the intelligence of all attending the conference, for me to explain the principals of breathing so simplistically "....so I know how Lionel must have felt.... Due to this wonderful film, there is now an un-anticipated interest in in the "Simsannabim" Breathing Routine. ...so, come one and all, and be 'enlightened' as my most stalwart, mega talented Swedish contralto 'breather' Anna Larsson, puts it... !!..maybe I've been right all along..my 'regular breathers' certainly prove that 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating' ..or in my case ' the proof of the method in in the hearing'..with warmest, loving greetings to all those who have had faith in this " little old English Auntie, who loves gossip and licorice ice cream (!), and who speaks perfect Queen's English! " ...quote from the Blogg of the aforementioned Anna Larsson ..see her at her homepage anna larsson.nu - up poles, singing magnificently with a cute 5 foot long, real, LIVE albino python climbing her right arm as Kundry (oooh!) and another magnificent 'breather ' - Rosalind Plowright, O.B.E - 'Rosalind Plowright Classical Singing Lesson and mini Masterclass' ...nightie night..and please ..k..p b.......g...

Marvellous Malin's (Hartelius) "Leila" in Zurich....7/10/10

Hello from Berko...I was privileged to be in Zurich recently, to "breathe" Malin into her amazing portrayal of "Leila" in "Les Pecheurs de Perle", Bizet's Oriental adventure...The setting was a full stage merchant ship's interior on four levels, with subtle, silent scene changes... oddly, the sung text did not match the action...no 'dancing on the hot sands' in this in this concept..hmmm...much activity on all levels- nimble legs a neccesity here..phew ! Happily Malin is perfectly physically fit, her petite stature belying incredible strength ..and hidden vitality..Woow..and to top it all...she sang the role with a rare brilliance, ringing and 'pinging' effortlessly - floating over the orchestra...fantastic...congratulations Malin !!! Your ovation at curtain call "brought the house down" !!! Here's to your forthcoming 'Donna Elvira' in Mozart's "Don Giovanni"....It's very quiet by comparison back here in Berko, and I'm enjoying my little house and newly 'manicured' garden, thanks to the gargantuan clear up by lovely Sharlene (Nair) - a talent to be nurtured in Music Theatre at the moment.. (who knows what will develop for her ?) ..and her very fit Dad Nick..they went thro' the weeds, etc., like a tornado !!! Natasha Sutton-Williams , another highly talented Music Theatre Breather worth following, had already helped me organise storage space in the shed for garden furniture and tools, etc., so I feel much happier now that I can see the soil again !..Oh yes, the fig trees which were decimated by the ultra cold spell last January, incredibly sprang up again, and supplied me with a succulent crop of fruits for several weeks in the late summer - the miracles of nature.. This evening the lovely Lisa Larsson, Swedish soprano , mega breather, is in Holland enchanting her audience in an inspiring Mozartian concert..toi toi toi...k..p b.......g....