Children, Animals, and High Cs

I'm not sure who said "Don't get on stage with children and animals because they'll steal the show." Maybe it was W.C. Fields.

He forgot to add "high sopranos". I don't think this is true in the real world of grand opera (yes, the soprano is usually the star, but it's not a given that the person with the highest voice always "wins"). But it's definitely the case in an avocational choir.

I mean why else would someone like me, a mezzo with "only" a solid high A (and that only when used sparingly and at close to full volume) usually end up in the soprano section in these scenarios?

Our choir sings a lot of Bach (which sometimes has a very high soprano part - I've sung both soprano and alto in SATB arrangements and second soprano when the choice is there - but which is not designed for "showing off" by one person) but we also sing a lot of African-American spirituals arranged for classically-trained voices.

(As an aside, I read in a recent edition of Opera News that spirituals are now considered "classical music" - as they should be.)

This hadn't really been borne in on me before, but the spiritual is a great venue for a high soprano of any ethnic background to show off. Most of these arrangements have some kind of solo line, or at least a descant. In the past, when our choir sang this sort of music, that line would be eliminated (the only time the choir director ever reprimanded me was for singing a high A at the end of one of those pieces so loud - so he said - that it drowned everyone else out). But now we have someone who can sing it.

So no matter how well everyone else sings, well - there's what I said about children and animals.

As there are twice as many women in the choir as men, and as, despite the traditional SATB format for choral music, the women's voices really do seem to fall into three groups, the choir director has started finding pieces with three women's parts, which is fine with me, as I'm on the middle part, which can often at least go up to an F, so I can get into my head voice. That's how this particular spiritual is arranged.

I spent this snowy afternoon (after working a large number of billable hours editing manuscripts) pounding away on my part, then pounding away on the top part and singing my part, and then singing my part with the recording. Did quite well. Knock on wood. Despite not knowing anything about music theory and not being a natural harmonizer, if I learn my part cold and can sing it with the recording (a test of whether the top part distracts me), I'm good to go.

As I was winding up the piece I felt wryly amused. If he lets all the second sopranos sing "the top line that's not the descant", this seconda donna will have a chance to yell her lungs out on a high F while the prima donna yells her lungs out on a high A. Anyone for a musical catfight? Now wait - the subject of this piece is God. But it sounds like a catfight to me, anyhow.

ETA: Apparently only the young coloratura will be singing the descant so as a second soprano I'm stuck on the middle part, which doesn't go above a D. Boooooooring. I mean I don't mind singing something in a limited range (eg, alto parts in Bach cantatas) if they have a lovely line, but doing this I might as well be singing rock music. So it's to be suffered through. If I want to focus on some choral music at home I'll look at the Haydn, where there is a nice alto part with a few Es in it and a nice melody.

P.S. The music for cantatas 74 and 83 just arrived. These are for "alto" and don't have much of a range but they sure have some fireworks. Must learn asap.