Faith Puleston

I can’t believe that yet another week has passed! Remember that song title? The tune just went through my head.

Today the entry will be relatively short and maybe even focussed. My mind is on other things. This evening I have a big concert with my barbershop chorus. Apart from my own concentration – I work entirely from memory – I have to make sure that the chorus concentration remains focussed. Then the voices will be focussed and we’ll enjoy ourselves.

The decades on the theatre stand me in good stead on these occasions. The good thing about singing opera is that the music just goes on without you if you get left behind – which one strives to avoid, of course. Now I am conducting a vocal orchestra. I have to make sure the music doesn’t stop. I see my job of chorus directing as a form of animation – sometimes reanimation – if I don’t flag, they won’t.

Shakespeare wrote that “all the world’s a stage” and of course, “the bard” was right. We are all actors, playing our part in the big show. Sometimes we are extras, sometimes main protagonists.

In the art world it is sometimes difficult to determine who the main protagonists are. Are they the agents who decide that something – however imbecile – is “in”? Is it the artist who has a knack of selling himself or herself or the good fortune to be represented by an influencial gallery? Or is it the actual artwork? Things have changed. 200 years ago the only way a lover could remind himself of the object of his affections was to carry a hand-painted or etched miniature around with him. Now, the choices are endless. Can you imagine how Degas would have leaped with joy at the sight of a digital camera and colour printer? Van Gogh would have been on his iphone constantly to his brother. Andy Warhol would have made a feast of movie clipping…... Almost every online publication carries clips of all kinds now. Art sites allow uploads of movies. The sound barrier has gone. Music is literally there for the millions. all music could be said to be house-music! The written word is also there for the taking (gutenberg is a good example of this).

What a world. George Orwell didn’t get the time frame right, but a lot of his other predictions have come true or are set to (as have those of Nostradamus and even the Old Testament, of course).

How can an artist cope with all this? “Normal” people may be able to escape into normal pursuits and daily grind, but can a “sensitive” do this? Is intuition only confined to the artistic functions, or is it part of the entire makeup of an artist? And anyway, what is an artist? Sure not just someone who paints pictures, take photos, or writes something.

I believe that artistry is a higher function connected with pride and spirituality. It can be channelled in many ways. Creativity is what lifts man above other species (although some creatures do actually use their imagination to survive – e.g. flying squirrels).

Tonight, my function as chorus director will be to instill pride and spirituality into my singers. The human voice is the most elusive of all the media. The singing voice is a mixture of mind and muscle. Let’s hope all the minds and muscles are in place this evening – including mine.

I’ll continue the saga of art workshop catastrophes next week. (see last week’s journal entry)