5/14/2021 0 Comments Prayer in PerformanceThe Two Components of Performance There are two components to a really astounding solo performance: excellent technique, and profound embodiment of the music. When musicians play composed music, they have a choice to either play the message written before them, or become its messenger. The former is difficult enough, but the latter is simply exhausting. Musicians practice and practice a piece to technical perfection, but when it comes time to perform, the goal becomes offering the piece to their audience; this is a giving of the self. A really talented performer is like a method actor in that sense. He has stepped out of whatever emotions, feelings, personalities he had before in order to embody someone/something else’s. Just as with method acting, performing immersively in this way can deeply affect the musician, positively or negatively. Actors should choose wisely which roles they let in and play, and I believe musicians should do the same with repertoire. If we proclaim to have a telos - a spiritual/moral purpose and faith - this should be protected when participating in the arts. While studying abroad in Brussels I took private modern music lessons on the violin. For my lessons I played the most (post)modern solo I ever have, Elégie by Eric Tanguy - a piece based on the 12-tone method. It’s a very dark, captivating, difficult piece. After tackling it technically, I turned towards the performance of the piece, which turned out to be even more taxing than the technique. It felt spiritually draining, even. But the best performers are willing to be spiritually drained - to empty themselves to give way to a different voice. By doing so, authenticity comes through and it creates a different experience for both performer and audience. As I said before, I think performers should exercise discernment and maintain a telos when choosing repertoire for this reason. In a Liturgical context. . . This is an example of the unique opportunity presented in Liturgical arts. When performing non-Liturgical music, you are faced with the duality of having to ‘put on’ another’s voice or persona. But when singing Liturgically, there is no separation of the music’s message and the message of one’s heart. In fact, we strive to fully embody the message of the words we sing in church; they become our words. This is because Liturgical singing is not performance, it’s prayer. The glimpses of beauty found in performing other kinds of music fall away in comparison with the fullness to be found in offering up musical prayer to God in Liturgical worship. Just as the practices of Holy Week are not theatrics, neither is Liturgical singing. It is real, true worship. It stands apart from other musical expressions. For Orthodox Musicians Technical practice in advance of performance is especially important for Orthodox choirs, precisely because we want our music to be prayerful. We practice and become prepared so that we can then fully embody the words we are singing and make it a spiritual offering to God. Distracted thoughts, talking, or even laughing in the choir during a service should never become habitual. We have to remember that Liturgy means “work of the people” - we do not merely sing the Liturgy, we participate in it! In summary, Orthodox choirs should strive technically in practice, and spiritually in performance. If they do this, the singers and their entire church will be blessed. To demonstrate, a brief story about a chanter I know of: At a Greek parish I used to attend, a certain reader always used to read rather than chant the Post-Communion Prayers. Being accustomed to the chanting of the OCA tradition, I found this a little off-putting at first, and even distracting since I thought he had a funny voice. But after a while, I learned to love hearing him read the prayers. I even started reading them myself. He read with inflection and joy - you could hear his thanksgiving! One day I looked up to see that he wasn’t even reading from the book - rather, looking at the icon of the Theotokos, smiling as he prayed the words. He was practically glowing. I’d never heard someone give thanks so wholeheartedly before. I’ve heard it said that a prayerful chanter brings people to prayer. It’s true, and the same goes for choirs.
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