The Grain of the Voice
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| "In the 1950s, [[Gérard Souzay]]'s style of [[singing]] became the object of some unexpected criticism when it was cited by [[Roland Barthes]] in one of his essays in ''[[Mythologies (book) |Mythologies]]'', "[[L'art vocal bourgeois]]". Referring to a recording of [[Fauré]] songs, Barthes complained that Souzay invested particular words with superfluous emotion by means of an exaggerated phonetic dramatisation, and that by imposing his own "signs" of emotion he stifled the meaning of the words and music. Not everyone has agreed with Barthes's description of the style, let alone with the force of his argument, but these are strictures which would attach to many other singers besides Souzay and go to the heart of how vocal performance should be approached. (Indeed, some years later, Barthes made similar criticisms against the singing of [[Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau]]. ("[[Le grain de la voix]]" in ''[[L'obvie et l'obtus]]'', (Paris, Seuil, 1982), p.239)." --Sholem Stein | "In the 1950s, [[Gérard Souzay]]'s style of [[singing]] became the object of some unexpected criticism when it was cited by [[Roland Barthes]] in one of his essays in ''[[Mythologies (book) |Mythologies]]'', "[[L'art vocal bourgeois]]". Referring to a recording of [[Fauré]] songs, Barthes complained that Souzay invested particular words with superfluous emotion by means of an exaggerated phonetic dramatisation, and that by imposing his own "signs" of emotion he stifled the meaning of the words and music. Not everyone has agreed with Barthes's description of the style, let alone with the force of his argument, but these are strictures which would attach to many other singers besides Souzay and go to the heart of how vocal performance should be approached. (Indeed, some years later, Barthes made similar criticisms against the singing of [[Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau]]. ("[[Le grain de la voix]]" in ''[[L'obvie et l'obtus]]'', (Paris, Seuil, 1982), p.239)." --Sholem Stein | ||
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| - | "If one looks at the normal practice of [[music criticism]] (or, which is often the same thing, of conversations “on” music), it can readily be seen that a work (or its performance) is only ever translated into the poorest of linguistic categories: the adjective. Music, by natural bent, is that which at once receives an adjective." | + | "If one looks at the normal practice of [[music criticism]] (or, which is often the same thing, of conversations “on” music), it can readily be seen that a work (or its performance) is only ever translated into the poorest of linguistic categories: the adjective. Music, by natural bent, is that which at once receives an adjective."--"[[The Grain of the Voice]]" (1982) by Roland Barthes |
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"In the 1950s, Gérard Souzay's style of singing became the object of some unexpected criticism when it was cited by Roland Barthes in one of his essays in Mythologies, "L'art vocal bourgeois". Referring to a recording of Fauré songs, Barthes complained that Souzay invested particular words with superfluous emotion by means of an exaggerated phonetic dramatisation, and that by imposing his own "signs" of emotion he stifled the meaning of the words and music. Not everyone has agreed with Barthes's description of the style, let alone with the force of his argument, but these are strictures which would attach to many other singers besides Souzay and go to the heart of how vocal performance should be approached. (Indeed, some years later, Barthes made similar criticisms against the singing of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. ("Le grain de la voix" in L'obvie et l'obtus, (Paris, Seuil, 1982), p.239)." --Sholem Stein "If one looks at the normal practice of music criticism (or, which is often the same thing, of conversations “on” music), it can readily be seen that a work (or its performance) is only ever translated into the poorest of linguistic categories: the adjective. Music, by natural bent, is that which at once receives an adjective."--"The Grain of the Voice" (1982) by Roland Barthes |
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"Le grain de la voix" (Paris: Seuil, 1981) is the title of an essay and book by Roland Barthes. The essay was published in L'obvie et l'obtus, (Paris, Seuil, 1982), p.239).
Excerpt:
- « … le grain, c'est le corps dans la voix qui chante, dans la main qui écrit, dans le membre qui exécute... »), dans lequel Barthes était à la recherche de ce qui constitue l'essence granuleuse d'une voix ; Graindelavoix expérimente avec ce que l'on fait du « grain » : la réflexion autant physique que spirituelle de la voix.
See also
Roland Barthes, ‘The grain of the voice’, in Image Music Text, essays selected and translated
