What are they THINKING?
Why Ragazzi directors choose the music they do
We seek to teach many things through our music, but the most important thing is to teach the love of music, even music that might require repeated exposure to understand and appreciate.
A question that emerged from Ragazzi's satisfaction survey concerned choice of repertoire. Parents are curious why we choose what we choose. To address this, I will explain my process for repertoire choices, which, I believe reflects the process used by Ragazzi directors.
In school, we learn about the great writers of the world. Every child at some point in his career learns about Shakespeare, but we no longer teach the great musicians of the world. We hear that music is good training, but most of us don't pursue it as an intellectual challenge. One path to great music - music that will stimulate us and move us - is to find great texts from great literature, verse and scripture. So, the first decision we make is to choose music that introduces the boys to outstanding texts that reflect the rich heritage of Western music.
Next, we begin to think about our groups and what their needs are. We think about educational goals: what vocal technique (breathing, vowel formation) will this piece address? What level of challenge does this group need, how difficult should the music be? What is the variety of human emotions that are being explored in the various pieces? What musical literacy challenges are in the music (difficult intervals, harmonies, rhythms)? What variety is offered to entertain the audience?
Ragazzi is dedicated to educating our young boys in the great choral works of our society. However, we expand our focus from Western culture to include world music, popular songs and even jazz. (Note that the vocal technique learned from Ragazzi's classical training prepares singers to sing popular music, but it doesn't work the other way around.)
Sometimes a concert program's repertoire is designed around a single song. We have designed programs around collaborations with other arts organizations, such as last year's bell choir. One year we brought in a Native American composer who went on school visits with us to draw audiences for a concert where we used puppets! We celebrated our 15th anniversary with a video installation at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. We once programmed around a literary reference, bringing in a reader for Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas in Wales. While we have traditionally done a Christmas theme in December, we have explored traditions of other groups at other times of the year. In June 2009, for example, we performed a concert of Jewish music based on poetry of children imprisoned in Terezin by the Nazis, as well as Jewish sacred music.
If you ask the boys what their favorite music is, you might be surprised. Last week a boy commented to me, "I don't know… I just prefer to sing in foreign languages." Or, "Please, can we sing the Janequin Chant des Oiseaux," (a French Renaissance chanson). If you think they like "upbeat" music best, what about the requests I hear for Brahms's lullaby-like O Schöne Nacht?
As I hear rumors of more school music programs giving in to the Glee aesthetic, I am so glad that Ragazzi still values the great music of the world in all its wonderful variety.
Joyce Keil
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