In 1811 Girolamo Crescentini, one of the last important castrati, emphasised the importance of vowel colouring for the sake of musical expression in Raccolta di esercizi. Later in 1847 Manuel Garcia Jr. gave a detailed description of the expressive use of open and closed vowels (timbre clair, timbre sombre) in the second volume of his Traité complet de l´art du chant. And in 1887 Mathilde Marchesi referred to the use of vowel modification in her Traité du chant théoretique et pratique. Through the entire 19th century it is evident that vowel colouring (chiaroscuro) is an important part of musical expression in the operatic repertoire.
Historical recordings show that this practice still existed in the first quarter of the 20th century. Prof. Meier will discuss the use of chiaroscuro and its close connection to vocal registration (head voice, falsettone, chest voice). These insights will be implemented into practical work with doctoral singers on the ARC Discovery Project The shock of the old: Rediscovering the sounds of bel canto 1700-1900.
Venue: Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Recital Hall West. Doors: 6:30pm
Christoph Ulrich Meier studied Lied accompaniment with Norman Shelter and conducting at the Musikhochschule Würzburg. In 1993, he became assistant to Daniel Barenboim at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin. He has been a fixture at the Bayreuth Festival since 1992, initially serving as assistant and study director, and since 2008, as Musical Supervisor.
Meier's career has seen him collaborate with many of the world's foremost conductors, including Zubin Mehta, Claudio Abbado, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Pierre Boulez, and Valery Gergiev. Since 2000, he has enjoyed a close artistic partnership with Christian Thielemann. His conducting engagements have taken him to the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Oper Frankfurt, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Bayreuth Festival and the Rotterdam Philharmonic, as well as to the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, with whom he recorded two albums featuring mezzo-soprano Mihoko Fujimura. In 2021, he recorded an album with violinist Johannes Fleischmann.
In 2020, Meier shifted his focus to uncovering unknown Viennese music, founding the ensemble Wiener Cammerstyl to bring these works to life. From 2001 to 2010, he was Professor at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold, and since 2010, he has been Professor of Musical Interpretation at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, where he also serves as Musical Director of the Musikdramatische Darstellung program.
The Alfred Hook Lecture Series is made possible through a generous bequest from Doreen Robson.
