ETHN 100

Maira Clancy
April 17, 2009
Listening Journal #9
Response to Missionary Music: “Shorten’ Bread”

As Turino writes in his track list, this recording is clearly a prime example of presentational music. There is a vast distinction between female and male voices, where the girls mostly sing the very high parts and then men sing the lower parts. Of course there are probably exceptions to this for this particular recording, but when it is listened to there is an obvious divide in gender. The soprano parts and the baritone parts work around each other and work off of each other, but they are clearly different and very meticulously organized. The harmonies are so “in tune” with each other (for Western ears, at least) that it would be seemingly impossible for those harmonies to occur naturally, without practice or thought, which makes it a presentational performance. People in the audience, watching this choir, are probably not explicitly encouraged to jump in and sing along, because they wouldn’t know the words, melody, or rhythm. It would most likely detract from the quality of this recording. Also, in order to be singing with this choir, one would have to attend this missionary school, which not everyone did or could do. And also, you’d have to know how to speak English (or at least sing in English) in order to participate, which takes a lot of practice and education, and so not everyone could join in. This piece is meant to be enjoyed by an audience, presented through very skilled and talented students who’ve studied the music of the piece and have trained themselves to sing it in a particular arrangement.

At 1:02 seconds, higher voices sustain notes to make chords and create a background layer for the lower voices to sing over. At 1:42 seconds, the arrangement utilizes the dynamics of volume to layer higher, quieter voices. Then, everything is disrupted by the other choir members (the lower voices) all at once, which intentionally created tension in the song. The singers have to be very aware of how loud they are singing, as well as how loud others are singing, in order for dynamics to take full effect on the audience. At the end of the piece, near 2:15 seconds, a more full and elaborate harmony is voiced to resolve the piece, which was almost like a grand finale – a beautifully sung chord that’s more rich and complex than the others. This leaves the listeners with a lasting impression that they have practiced this song many times and really know how to sing in an American style choir.