ABOUT OVERTONE SINGING WORKSHOPS AT BOHEMIA CANTAT

The festival Bohemia Cantat has already had three overtone singing workshops (2004-Jan Staněk, 2005 - Jan Staněk and Wolfgang Saus and 2006-Stefen Schreyer and Wolfgang Saus). We have got to beautiful experiments with choir sound enriched by overtones. We have even studied several pieces and used the techniques of overtone singing in them.

PRESENT SITUATION IN CHOIR OVERTONE SINGING

Overtone singing is usually practiced by people practicing also yoga or meditation, whose primary interest is not music. Choirmasters and experienced choir singers usually do not believe in exercising overtone singing in choirs and therefore are not willing to invest energy in learning it.

The best world overtone choirs are usually interested in a special kind of meditation music and thus unintentionally promote the opinion that choirs are either overtone ones or normal ones.

There are only few compositions using also overtone singing.

After some experimenting with choir sound I am convinced that many classical choir compositions, or folk song arrangements, can be enriched by even faintly sounding overtones. I believe that overtone techniques can give a new dimension to choir sound and that they are very well applicable in choir singing. I believe that searching this field is sensible and worth our energy.

I HAVE THE FOLLOWING VISION

I wish a regular overtone workshop at our festival became a European meeting point of choirmasters and singers who - as I do - seek the beauty of overtone harmony in choir. Who are not interested only in joint singing in meditation, but want to use the overtone singing technique in music. Who are sufficiently attracted by the choir sound phenomenon itself.

I believe such meetings - especially at the festival of "normal" choir music - can enrich both groups of singers - overtone singers as well as choir singers. Choir singers may realize that overtone singing offers beautiful sound especially in choir. Overtone singers may, on the other hand, discover the beauty of singing in choir and may begin to learn notes and attend choir rehearsals. I believe we will inspire composers to write songs with an overtone part.

Our workshops will always aim at improving overtone singing techniques, but will not always repeat overtone singing course for beginners.

I would like to make it possible for overtone singing soloists and choirs to give a short performance at the Saturday overtone music concert.

I wish the festival Bohemia Cantat became - thanks to the overtone workshop - a site of discussions about creating beautiful choir sound.

I am looking forward to meeting you.
Jan Staněk, March 2009