At first glance, it might seem that Bloch’s article, “The Pathological Voice of Gilbert Louis-Deprez,” focuses primarily on the French opera singer of the 1830s and 40s. While the author does talk about Duprez for several pages (to dispel common myths about the singer), the title of the article is misleading. Bloch concentrates his attention on the scientific research about Duprez’s “High C” tenor vocal technique by Paul Diday and Joseph Pétrequin: the ‘Mémoire sur un nouvelle espèce de voix chantée’[1] from 1840 (pp. 11). More importantly the author explores the numerous flaws in Diday and Pétrequin’s article, (such as the fact that the two based their claims about the “dark” and “light” voice on their experience at the Opera) as well as other attempts at vocal research from the previous century. Of course, Bloch also includes a brief discussion of Manuel Garcia II: specifically, his negative reactions to Diday and Pétrequin’s “Memoir.” The author indicates that the two also disagreed with Garcia’s theories because (to them) his ideas were not grounded in science. (pp. 29
Lauri Stras, by contrast focuses more on the the social aspects of vocal damage in “The Organ of the Soul: Voice Damage and Affect.” Rather than going into intricate detail about the voice, she discusses how the human voice is perceived as something precious. The destruction of a person’s voice usually evokes sympathy from others. Stras refers to several singers of various genres to prove this point (Maria Callas, Bing Crosby, and Judy Garland among others). In some cases, as with Black American Blues singers, a damaged voice is often perceived as being stereotypically “authentic”: particularly when white singers appropriate it (pp. 179-180). Straus also refers to her own experience as a singer. In an anecdote about her transition from classical to jazz, she explains the rather grueling process of intentionally damaging her voice temporarily in order to achieve the sound that she needed for the jazz standards (pp. 174-175).
Aida Mbowa, on the other hand, does not concentrate on the dangers of the damaged voice. Rather, she discusses the relationship between screaming and social consciousness in “Abbey Lincoln’s Screaming Singing and the Sonic Liberatory Potential” Granted, this is not the first article covered in this course about screaming (Recall the section on John Lennon’s Primal Scream Therapy sessions in Jacob Smith’s article “Rough Mix.”). However, Mbowa examines screaming singing within the context of the Civil Rights movements of the 1950s and 60s. She focuses specifically on the jazz singer Abbey Lincoln and her collaboration with bebop drummer and composer Max Roach on the album, We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite (1959). Conceived in anticipation of the one-hundredth anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1963 (pp. 135-136), the album serves as an intense commentary on the racial injustices that still plagued the southern United States at that time. Mbowa mainly discusses the third track of the record (“Tryptich: Prayer/Protest/Piece”) in order to explore the aspects of Fred Moten’s “bone-deep listening” concept: listening to a particular piece of music with extreme emotional focus (pp. 136). The author especially notes the power of Abbey’s Lincoln’s utilization of vocal vocalizing and screams on this track (particularly on the brief, but disturbing, “Protest” section), According to the Mbowa, Lincoln’s vocal techniques on the album (coupled with Roach’s heavy drumming patterns) recall the horrendous history of slavery in the United and force listeners to reflect and acknowledge it. “Tryptich” became even more effective with the incorporation of visual elements when this piece was later broadcast live on German television (The author indicates that both Lincoln and Roached performed as prison inmates in order to emphasize the intensity of the music (pp. 146-147).
Aside from Abbey Lincoln, the jazz singer Nina Simone (1933-2003) also addressed racial inequality in her music. According to Ruth Feldstein in “‘I Don’t Trust You Anymore:’ Nina Simone, Culture, and Black Activism in the 1960s,’ Simone began writing protest music in response to the 1963 black church bombing in Montgomery, Alabama (Out of her anger came the song “Mississippi Goddam” [pp. 1349]). Feldstein argues that Nina Simone’s involvement in raising social awareness through her music signaled a drastic change from her previously neutral stance on Civil Rights. Although she did not employ the same vocal approaches of Abbey Lincoln, Simone’s songs from the 1960s still capture that same sense of bitter irony (with a hint of dark humor): as in the rural folk song parody “Go Limp,” recorded live in 1964 (pp. 1364-1365).
[1] In English, this roughly translates to “Memoir on a New Species of the Singing Voice.”