Choral blend: sound or sensation? : an interpretative phenomenological analysis of proto-professional singers’ perceptions of ensemble singing

Abstract

‘Choral blend’ is ill defined in the literature surrounding ensemble singing. The phenomenon is variously described as a noun, the aesthetic product of a choir singing; and as a verb, the technique of singing associated with ensembles. With such wildly varying definitions, the use of this term in rehearsals has become a topic of contention between singing teachers and ensemble directors. This thesis takes a singer-centric approach to investigate the phenomenon of ensemble singing, with a particular focus on ‘choral blend’.

Twelve proto-professional training singers with experience of expert ensemble singing were recorded both individually and collectively during a rehearsal led by the researcher. These two auditory perspectives were given as an interview stimulus for participants. Interview data was then analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. The use of close microphone techniques in ensemble settings, and their use as auditory interview stimuli, are novel methodological techniques in IPA. Key findings reveal the significance of familiarity in the building up of auditory images, and expectancies as a way to describe the individual modifications needed in an ensemble. These two concepts are drawn together through the Embodied Music Cognition paradigm, and blend as a dynamic and ever-changing concept is advocated.

Community of Practice frameworks are proposed as a useful tool for describing the ensemble experience of participants. These communities of practice are created afresh with each group in every session they meet. Some elements of the joint repertoire that spans across experiences are discussed. With these communities of practice being created by singers, the role of the conductor and the agency of choral sound is also interrogated.

The sensation of an individual singing well in a choral group is attributed to their being in a flow state. A discussion of how participants achieve flow in peak ensemble experience, and the prerequisites for this state, form a major finding of this thesis. The conflation of blend technique with flow state is interrogated.

While individual flow state is equated with blend the verb, the aesthetic object of the choir is equated to blend the noun. This sensation of group flow can lead to an emergent choral instrument being cocreated by singers during performance. This new choral instrument, greater than the sum of the parts of the individual singers goes some way to explaining the physical sensation of being ‘within the choir’. The word blend is used in many different contexts, and participants had an embodied knowledge of that concept. This thesis argues that use of the word blend can be unhelpful in attempting to form a particular aesthetic, and that acknowledging the agency of singers over the creation of the choral sound is more likely to result in a peak ensemble experience for all stakeholders.