The Choral Contrarians

Eric sits down to chat with one of Ireland's preeminent composers and musicians: Michael McGlynn.  They speak about the early days of Anúna, what the group has grown into, and its global influence over the course of its illustrious 33 year history.   They also spend some time speaking about how "Sean-nós" singing has directly, and indirectly, effected the model Anuna and Michael's own choral philosophy.   What exactly is "Sean-nós"?  Does integrating this concept into a choral paradigm challenge certain established norms believed by a good many choral conductors?  Is there something beautiful and powerful that Anúna is tapping into that would be worth to dwell on and pursue?

Pieces by Michael McGlynn (sung by Anúna) included:
"Salve Rex Gloriae"
"Amhran na Gaoithe"
"Quis Quis"
"The Rising of the Sun"

www.michaelmcglynn.com
www.anuna.ie

Richard and Eric dig into listener emails to answer some questions and comments.
The short-form topics and questions covered are 1) CPDL (Choral Public Domain Library) and attribution, 2) publishing houses and their domination of reading sessions, 3) DMA (Doctor of Musical Arts) recipients and their perceived preparedness in certain choral styles/eras, and 4) the choral world's general relationship with composers who are considered luminary or celebrity.

Thanks for the emails, questions, encouragements, and comments.  Please keep them coming!

Richard and Eric discuss the moment and some psychological ramifications that have developed over the recent months, both individually and collectively within the choral arena.  They land on a word not often used, but perhaps necessary for the times: "trudge."

Do you constantly feel like an imposter, just waiting to be found out to be the fraud that you think you are?  For their first episode of Season 3, Richard and Eric take a peek at the real-life phenomenon known as "imposter syndrome," as well as the five types of ways this is seen to manifest in individuals.  During the covid-19 season, this particular psychological pattern may be more prevalent than ever. For those that struggle with this periodically, or habitually, they land on something to dwell on that may assist.

They also welcome a very important new sponsor: The "Louis XV Cravat Facemask".

Abrams, A. (2018, June 20). Yes, Impostor Syndrome Is Real. Here’s How to Deal With It. Time. https://time.com/5312483/how-to-deal-with-impostor-syndrome/

Langford, J., & Clance, P. R. (1993). The imposter phenomenon: Recent research findings regarding dynamics, personality and family patterns and their implications for treatment. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 30(3), 495–501. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-3204.30.3.495

Richard and Eric take a dive into the concept of profession scalability articulated by essayist and scholar Nassim Taleb.  After defining terms, they ask whether the current conductor/music-teacher profession model is changing rapidly into something very different.  How has the 2020 pandemic (and the internet/technology intersection) perhaps shaped the future of the profession? Could we be in store for something unrecognizable, sooner than later?  They finally realize they are (most certainly) dwarves.

Taleb, N. N. (2014). Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder (Incerto) (Reprint ed.). Random House Trade Paperbacks.

Taleb, N. N. (2010). The Black Swan: Second Edition: The Impact of the Highly Improbable: With a new section: “On Robustness and Fragility” (Incerto) (2nd ed.). Random House Trade Paperbacks.

Richard and Eric essentially live out the Dunning-Kruger effect by talking about the Dunning-Kruger effect.  They introduce the concept and land on an important question: To what degree do we recognize incompetence — not just in others, but in ourselves?  Does it matter?  This troubling phenomenon is seemingly (and unfortunately) a ubiquitous feature of the human psyche.

Kruger, J., & Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(6), 1121–1134. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.77.6.1121

Dunning, D., Johnson, K., Ehrlinger, J., & Kruger, J. (2003). Why People Fail to Recognize Their Own Incompetence. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 12(3), 83–87. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.01235

https://www.verywellmind.com/an-overview-of-the-dunning-kruger-effect-4160740

Richard and Eric dive into the deep end of the pool in seeing how T.S. Eliot's "Tradition and the Individual Talent" may intersect with music.  This surprisingly short essay (which is hailed as perhaps the best essay of the 20th Century) shows off Eliot's rare genius of getting to the bottom of things as eloquently and powerfully as possible.  Beyond poetry, there is indeed quite a bit that is relevant to a number of other artist endeavors, including various aspects of music and music-making.  This is an incredibly thought-provoking essay to think through for the discerning conductor, composer, or performer, especially amid our current conception of 'voice,' and our increasing obsession with relevance, self, and self-expression.

Essay may be read here:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/69400/tradition-and-the-individual-talent

Dettmar, K. (2019). A Hundred Years of T.S. Eliot's "Tradition and the Individual Talent".  The New Yorker.  https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/a-hundred-years-of-t-s-eliots-tradition-and-the-individual-talent

Composer and Conductor, Timothy Tharaldson, joins Eric to speak about his unique, recent visit to the Arvo Pärt Centre in Laulasmaa, Estonia.  They celebrate not only his experience, but Pärt as a composer and human being.

Arvo Pärt Centre:
https://www.arvopart.ee/en/

Timothy Tharaldson:
https://timothytharaldson.com/

Richard and Eric look into a fascinating phenomenon: Collective Memory Decay.  Owing much to the work of the Cesar A. Hidalgo and the Collective Learning group at the MIT Media Lab, this concept looks generally (and specifically) into the interaction between culture and memory.  Can we learn something from the way pieces of information are shared and retained by large number of people.  This study resulted in a truly fun and compelling data set entitled the "Pantheon Project: Historical Popularity Index" the guys excitedly explore.  What can we learn about composers and musicians when they are seen side-by-side, regardless of genre or era?

https://www.kaggle.com/mit/pantheon-project
http://nautil.us/issue/68/context/how-well-forget-john-lennon

Eric is joined by friend of the cast Dr. Jeremiah Cawley to discuss what in the world musicians (students, teachers, and professionals) can do to continue growing during the silence of isolation.  Many musicians are thrust into awkward living situations where traditional practice regimens are not feasible or even possible.  What types of things can we do or practice instead to make a "musical deposit" towards the future when collaboration may begin again in earnest.  Are there are things that could be done, whether in isolation or normal times?

Some resources mentioned in podcast:
- Edlund, L. (1963). MODUS NOVUS Larobok I Fritonal Melodilasning Lehrbuch in Freitonaler Melodielesung, Studies in Reading Atonal Melodies. AB Nordiska Musikforlaget/Edition Wilhelm Hansen Stockholm.
- Hall, A. C. (2005). Studying rhythm. New Jersey: Pearson Education.
- Hindemith, P. (n.d.). Elementary training for musicians. London: Schott & Co. Ltd .
- Rogers, N., & Ottman, R. W. (2019). Music for sight singing. New York: Pearson.