Author: Caitlin Hodge

As a linguistics major, one of my favourite aspects of the InterDaf language classes were the phonetics classes.

I think it was really cool that they taught the language with particular attention to the pronunciation and the production of german sounds that we don’t have in English. In particular, I enjoyed learning about the certain environments in which “ch” is pronounced /ç/ and when it is pronounced /x/.

Another interesting observation that I was able to make about the German language were the similarities to French.

For example, when answering yes to a negative question, you would reply “doch” , whereas for a positive question you would reply “ja” and I was able to compare french “si” and “oui”. Further, the tenses in German have similar purposes as the tenses in French. It also helped me to decipher when to use think and know “wissen” vs. “können” as it is the same in French with “croire” and “savoir”.

Additionally, I was really delighted to learn that in general, many of the irregular verbs that change the vowel when forming the past tense are shared amongst German  and English.  I was really happy to have been able to cross apply my knowledge of historical linguistics here as these verbs such as “ Iswim” which becomes “I swam” in English and is “ich schwimme” and “ich schwamm” in German are a class of verbs called strong verbs- which English Inherited from Proto-Germanic!

I thoroughly enjoyed all of the concerts that we were lucky enough to attend during the Princeton in Leipzig course, but I have to say that the Bach Cantata concert was truly my favourite!

In particular, my favourite of the three cantatas was . and I thoroughly enjoyed the counter-tenor arias and recitatives. The tone of the tenor arias was incredibly beautiful and I really enjoyed the intent behind the phrasing. Indeed having the English translations open on my phone during the concert really allowed me to have deeper appreciation for the phrasing and the ways in which the words were stressed or highlighted within their melodic contexts.

I also really loved having learnt about the cantatas and I think having the session with Professor Heller beforehand enhanced my listening experience, not only because I clearly recognised particular parts of the cantatas and had more familiarity with the piece, but also because I had a deeper understanding of how Bach composed the cantatas and how the piece fits within the wider timeline and context of Bach’s works.

Another aspect that made the concert a particular stand-out for me was having learnt two of the chorales prior to seeing the concert. I really enjoyed learning the chorales with the other Princeton in Leipzig students because I felt like having had the opportunity to make music together through singing, brought those of us who went to learn the chorales closer.

Thinking back on all of the many things that we did as a group in Leipzig, the final concert continues to stand out to me. Not only because the quality of music and musicianship was really beautiful, but also because it felt really special to be able to perform for each other.

Indeed at Princeton, my friends (who aren’t already in Glee) will see me perform if I can convince them to attend a Glee concert, but this final concert felt very different to that in a really good way. I assume that part of the reason this concert felt different was because we were performing a lot of solo and small group repertoire and so it feels much more vulnerable than a large ensemble, but at the same time it feels substantially more intimate. As such, I have to say that I was infinitely more nervous for this performance than any of the other performances I have been a part of at Princeton… however I think that Professor Heller, Professor Rankin, and Dr Ochs had created an environment for the whole Princeton in Leipzig group where the nervousness was once of anticipation and excitement! I think having Professor Heller, Professor Rankin, and Dr Ochs also performing in the concert really helped to solidify the safe and judgement-free performance environment that made the concert so special! I also thought that having many of the other InterDaf students and some of the staff attend was also really sweet!

I also really enjoyed having the ensembles with everyone at the start and end of the Concert! I think it felt very special that despite our different levels of musical experience, we were all able to come together and perform something as a group!

One of the most salient takeaways that I have from the Princeton in Leipzig course was the ability to work with the faculty on improving my solo performance pieces.

For both my solo songs, Schilflied by Mendelssohn and Leibst du um shönheit by Clara Schumann, I feel like I was able to improve the emotion and clarity in my singing by using my new understanding of the German language. As I started to learn more in my German classes and expand my vocabulary, I started to understand more of the words in my pieces, without having to rely solely on the translations. However, more than this, I also started to realise when the structure seemed unfamiliar and I was really grateful to have Professor Rankin explain the ways in which the German sentence structure can be manipulated for poetic effect. I think this really informed the way in which I approached the phrasing and emotive intent of the pieces as I continued to practice them and I started to enjoy the pieces even more.

Further, one particularly salient application of German language study transferring into my singing was when Professor Rankin pointed out that in certain words such as “Immer” and “Sonne” the doubled consonant is actually a geminate consonant and that placing emphasis on it would make my delivery more accurate. I also learnt that when one word ends with a vowel such as “du” and the following word starts with a vowel as in “um” in “Liebst du um Schönheit” that German speakers would insert a glottal stop between the two /u/ vowel sounds. I remember the first time I tried to sing through Liebst du um Schönheit whilst focusing on implementing this change and I was really shocked at how much it improved the phrasing and the overall tone of the line.

I also think that having had both Professor Heller and Dr Ochs listen to my singing in German and offer their insights and feedback into the ways in which I could improve my language pronunciation in order to increase clarity and support was really helpful. For example, being reminded to lengthen the vowel and place it on the beat was a really helpful tip that helped me to better control my breath for long phrases – especially in Shilflied.

I also think in a more general sense, having had the opportunity to be practicing and vocalising in Leipzig was particularly special to me because I haven’t sung any solo music in a long time due to vocal injury, however I felt incredibly supported and encouraged to do a solo music performance for the concert in Leipzig, but also to take singing lessons at Princeton to keep working on my voice.

So in all, I can say that having had the opportunity to work on my voice and on German Lieder in Leipzig was not only transformative regarding the way in which I will approach German Lieder going forward, but also regarding the way in which I approach singing in general!

One particular notion that has stuck with me since the visit to the Bach Archive was learning about the opportunities afforded to the choristers who sang in the Thomanerchor.

I was particularly surprised that the choristers in the first choir received sizable compensation for their work, because the attitudes surrounding paying musicians what they are worth in the modern era is highly contentious. This is to say that musicians are often paid in ‘exposure’ or are paid disproportionately to the time and dedication it takes to master their instrument or voice craft. Further, this point was particularly salient to me as I grew up singing in children’s choirs where my parents paid for me to be in the choir and receive musical instruction and training. As such, the fact that the choristers were paid handsomely enough to be able to afford university tuition upon completion of high school was incredibly surprising as it indeed serves as a means for upward social mobility through music. And whilst this does exist to some extent in the 21st century where becoming a successful musician may indeed enable upward social mobility, the age at which this happens is not usually under 18 and would not fund further education. Further, the process by which this monetary musical success is ascertained is certainly not institutionalized as it was in Bach’s day.

I also think that whilst monetary compensation was only offered to those in the first choir, the other boys were receiving free musical training, which was evidently quite comprehensive if it was training the choristers to be able to sing complex pieces composed by Bach with a rather short turnaround of a single day of rehearsals/practices. I also have personal opinions about the value of being able to sing and understand music and how it just generally enriches your life and I can imagine this must be true if you are living in a society in which art and music is incredibly important.

However, I think that the larger and more salient takeaway that I garnered from learning about this was the importance that music held in Leipzig and broader German society at the time. Indeed music is still important in Germany given the long term monetary grants avaliable to support conservation of the arts and of the strong German tradition in the arts.