rolling or not rolling "r's" in French singing......

[vincent et pierre]

I am a french canadian baritone and i sing a great dealof grench art songs
(from Gounod to Honegger).
Even if we do not roll our R's speaking, it is pretty unnatural not to while
singing. Take for example variety singers of the biginning of this century.
They needed to roll because of projection purpose.
Many singers tried lately to break this rule and it sounded for this less
french and natural.

thank you

Vincent Ranallo

http://www.geocities.com/vienna/strasse/8324

[Klytemnest]

I am also a baritone (from California) and I sing opera. I am proficient in
French, if not fluent. During my studies in college I was first taught that
one should not use the uvular (French) R in singing; that the Italian R is to
be used. Later I was told that the French R is always flipped, never rolled.
Denise Masse, the Met coach, agrees with this idea. She even taught us at
Merola to practice saying "pe-rend garde a toi", rather than "prrrrend" - so
that we would not be tempted to roll the R. I also worked with a coach who
told me that in France singers are usuing the uvular R more and more! I
remember singing a recital in 1992. I sang a few songs by Faure and Duparc.
After the recital a man came up to me and told me that I should stick to
Italian arias, since I had the most awful accent in French - that my Rs were so
Italian! I never forgot that. Obviously this man was not aware of the fact
that in classical music the uvular R is not used. But still, that comment
bothered me. So, I made the decision to use the uvular R in my singing. This
way I actually feel like I am singing in French, that I am not just a singer
who has memorized a few lines phonetically. I feel that the rest of my French
pronunciation improves significantly - the language flows better. When I sang
for Regine Crespin she stopped me in mid-aria and said "Are you French?" So,
something is working. That being said Madame Crespin, bless her mean little
heart, is very much opposed to the uvular R is singing. She feels it is not
good for vocalism. Nico Castel calls it "vocally unhygenic." I have never
felt that uvular Rs interfere with my vocalism. If I did I would be the first
to advocate their replacement with Italian Rs. But if you think about it, a
uvular R is nothing more than a voiced German "ch" sound, which is perfectly
legitimate. So, I am all for the uvular R.

[Mark D. Lew]

In article <19990723190905...@ng-cq1.aol.com>,
klyte...@aol.com (Klytemnest) wrote:

> < interesting story snipped > ... So, I am all for the uvular R.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. It's encouraging to know that I'm not
alone. Coaches and the rest of the operatic establishment are nearly
uniform in preferring the flipped "r", and frequent listeners of classical
music, both Francophone and otherwise, hear it so consistently that the
other sounds boorish to them. Nevertheless, like you I am just as
interested in reaching the Francophone in your audience who is less
educated in the tradition of classical music.

As a practical matter, I think it makes sense for a singer to cultivate the
ability to sing in either style. In a staged production there's something
to be said for uniformity of accent, and how to address the "r" is one of
the things the musical director will have to deal with. There are good
reasons why one might ask for the flipped "r", and the professional thing
to do will be to the direction even if it might not have been your own
choice artistically.

In an art song recital, on the other hand, you're your own musical
director, so you can choose your diction however you see fit.

mdl

[Klytemnest]

Thank you for your well-written reply. I agree with everything you have to
say. I have a question that you might be able to answer. I heard recently
that the uvular R did not come into the French language until after the French
Revolution. Is that true? If it is then I am in big trouble: I am currently
preparing Tesee's monologue from Rameau's Hippolyte et Aricie (1733) for a
concert at the Carmel Bach Festival, and I made a point of making all of my Rs
uvular. No one seems to mind (yet), but if the above is true, then I should
change all of my Rs to flipped. Or should I? What do you think? I always
thought that the uvular R in the French language was a result of the Germanic
influence (since the Franks who invaded Gaul in the AD400s were a German
tribe). So, I assumed that that's when the uvular R arrived in the French
language. Hm... Please let me know what you think. Thanks.

[Rich Levao]

The uvular R may sound wrong to those are accustomed to hearing singers trained
primarily in the Italian tradition sing these roles. However Alagna, whatever
his limitations, sings the uvular R quite beautifully, and perhaps it may
become more acceptable.