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George Crumb, Vox
Balanae (opening)
The technique of singing and playing the flute simultaneously
was pioneered by jazz musicians and developed by composers seeking not
only new sounds for the instrument, but ways to utilize the flute as
a polyphonic instrument. It is produced by forming a normal flute embouchure
and literally singing through it. Several possibilities exist for singing
and playing simultaneously: singing pitches different from flute notes;
singing pitches in unison with fingered notes; or singing in octaves
with the sounding flute pitches. The latter two are most effective because
the resonance of the tube is enhanced by the frequency of the vibrating
vocal cords.
The example is one of the most famous in contemporary
music: the opening of George Crumb's Vox Balanae.
Although Crumb specifies the passage to be sung an octave below the written
flute line, it may be performed in unison to accommodate female performers.
The excerpt also features the technique of covering the embouchure hole
completely and singing through the flute while fingering specific pitches
(notated in the top line). |
