Essentials in Conducting | Page 2

their playing or singing, to the end that a musically effective ensemble
performance may result.
This is accomplished by means of certain conventional movements of a
slender stick called a baton (usually held in the right hand), as well as
through such changes of facial expression, bodily posture, et cetera, as
will convey to the singers or players the conductor's wishes concerning

the rendition of the music.
Conducting in this sense involves the responsibility of having the music
performed at the correct tempo, with appropriate dynamic effects, with
precise attacks and releases, and in a fitting spirit. This in turn implies
that many details have been worked out in rehearsal, these including
such items as making certain that all performers sing or play the correct
tones in the correct rhythm; insisting upon accurate pronunciation and
skilful enunciation of the words in vocal music; indicating logical and
musical phrasing; correcting mistakes in breathing or bowing; and, in
general, stimulating orchestra or chorus to produce a tasteful rendition
of the music as well as an absolutely perfect ensemble with all parts in
correct proportion and perfect balance.
In order to have his directing at the public performance function
properly, it thus becomes the conductor's task to plan and to administer
the rehearsals in such a way that the performers may become
thoroughly familiar with the music, both in technique and in spirit. In
other words, the conductor must play the part of musical manager as
well as that of artistic inspirer, and if he does not perform his task in
such fashion as to be looked up to by the members of his chorus or
orchestra as the real leader, and if he himself does not feel confident of
being able to do his work better than any one else upon the ground, he
cannot possibly be successful in any very high degree. A conductor
must first of all be a strong leader, and failing in this, no amount of
musical ability or anything else will enable him to conduct well. We
shall have more to say upon this point in a later chapter.
[Sidenote: SUMMARY OF THE HISTORY OF CONDUCTING]
Conducting of one kind or another has undoubtedly been practised for
many centuries, but directing by gestures of the hand has not been
traced farther back than the fourteenth century, at which time Heinrich
von Meissen, a Minnesinger, is represented in an old manuscript
directing a group of musicians with stick in hand. In the fifteenth
century the leader of the Sistine Choir at Rome directed the singers
with a roll of paper (called a "sol-fa"), held in his hand. By the latter
part of the seventeenth century it had become customary for the

conductor to sit at the harpsichord or organ, filling in the harmonies
from a "figured bass," and giving any needed signals with one hand or
the head as best he could. Conducting during this period signified
merely keeping the performers together; that is, the chief function of
the conductor was that of "time beater." With the advent of the
conductor in the rôle of interpreter, such directing became obsolete, and
from the early nineteenth century, and particularly as the result of the
impetus given the art by the conducting of Mendelssohn, Berlioz, Liszt,
and Wagner, the conductor has become an exceedingly important
functionary, in these modern days even ranking with the prima donna
in operatic performances! It is now the conductor's aim not merely to
see that a composition is played correctly and with good ensemble;
more than that, the leader of today gives his own version or reading of
the composition just as the pianist or violinist does. Instead of being a
mere "time beater" he has become an interpreter, and (except in the
case of the organist-director of a choir) he attempts to do nothing
except so to manipulate his musical forces as to secure an effective
performance.
[Sidenote: THE PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS OF CONDUCTING]
The conductor works largely through the instrumentality of instinctive
imitation; that is, his methods are founded upon the fact that human
beings have an innate tendency to copy the actions of others, often
without being conscious that they are doing so. Thus, if one person
yawns or coughs, a second person observing him has an instinctive
tendency to do likewise. One member of a group is radiant with
happiness, and very soon the others catch the infection and are smiling
also; a singer at a public performance strains to get a high tone, and
instinctively our faces pucker up and our throat muscles become tense,
in sympathetic but entirely unconscious imitation. In very much the
same way in conducting, the leader sets the tempo,--and is imitated by
the musicians under him; he feels a certain emotional thrill in response
to the composer's message,--and