Sprechgesang

{{lang|de|Sprechgesang}}

Sprechgesang is more closely aligned with the long-used musical techniques of recitative or parlando than is Sprechstimme. Where the term is employed in this way, it is usually in the context of the late Romantic German operas or "music dramas" that were composed by Richard Wagner and others in the 19th century. Thus, Sprechgesang is often merely a German alternative to 'recitative'.

{{lang|de|Sprechstimme}}

The earliest compositional use of the technique was in the first version of Engelbert Humperdinck's 1897 melodrama Königskinder (in the 1910 version it was replaced by conventional singing), where it may have been intended to imitate a style already in use by singers of lieder and popular song, but it is more closely associated with the composers of the Second Viennese School. Arnold Schoenberg asks for the technique in a number of pieces: the part of the Speaker in Gurre-Lieder (1911) is written in his notation for Sprechstimme, but it was Pierrot lunaire (1912) where he used it throughout and left a note attempting to explain the technique. Alban Berg adopted the technique and asked for it in parts of his operas Wozzeck and Lulu.

History

In the foreword to Pierrot lunaire (1912), Schoenberg explains how his Sprechstimme should be achieved. He explains that the indicated rhythms should be adhered to, but that whereas in ordinary singing a constant pitch is maintained through a note, here the singer "immediately abandons it by falling or rising. The goal is certainly not at all a realistic, natural speech. On the contrary, the difference between ordinary speech and speech that collaborates in a musical form must be made plain. But it should not call singing to mind, either."

For the first performances of Pierrot lunaire, Schoenberg was able to work directly with the vocalist and obtain exactly the result he desired, but later performances were problematic. Schoenberg had written many subsequent letters attempting to clarify, but he was unable to leave a definitive explanation and there has been much disagreement as to what was actually intended. Pierre Boulez wrote, "the question arises whether it is actually possible to speak according to a notation devised for singing. This was the real problem at the root of all the controversies. Schoenberg's own remarks on the subject are not in fact clear."

Schoenberg later used a notation without a traditional clef in the Ode to Napoleon Bonaparte (1942), A Survivor from Warsaw (1947) and his unfinished opera Moses und Aron, which eliminated any reference to a specific pitch, but retained the relative slides and articulations.

Notation

In Schoenberg's musical notation, Sprechstimme is usually indicated by small crosses through the stems of the notes, or with the notehead itself being a small cross.

Schoenberg's later notation (first used in his Ode to Napoleon Bonaparte, 1942) replaced the 5-line staff with a single line having no clef. The note stems no longer bear the 'x', as it is now clear that no specific pitch is intended, and instead relative pitches are specified by placing the notes above or below the single line (sometimes on ledger lines).

Berg notates several degrees of Sprechstimme, e. g. in Wozzeck, using single-line staff for rhythmic speaking, five-line staves with 'x' through the note stem, and a single stroke through the stem for close-to-singing Sprechstimme.

In modern usage, it is most common to indicate Sprechstimme by using an 'x' in place of a conventional notehead.

Use in pop and rock music

Sprechgesang-style talk-singing has appeared in contemporary pop, rock, punk, and alternative music since the 1960s. The Sprechgesang vocal style is also prominent in the Windmill scene, with several groups featuring a vocalist that uses the talk-sing method.

;The following pop and rock artists have been described as featuring Sprechgesang or talk-sing vocals in their music

• The B-52s
• Black Country, New Road
• Black Midi
• Cake
• Nick Cave
• Cheekface
• Do Nothing
• Dry Cleaning
• Bob Dylan
• Billie Eilish
• The Fall
• Fontaines D.C.
• French Vanilla
• The Hold Steady
• Kraftwerk
• Life Without Buildings
• Lou Reed
• Jonathan Richman
• Olivia Rodrigo
• Self Esteem
• Shame
• Sleaford Mods
• Slint
• Sonic Youth
• Sprain
• Squid
• They Might Be Giants
• Wet Leg
• Yard Act

References

References

1. Wood, Ralph W.. (December 1946). "Concerning 'Sprechgesang'". [[Tempo (journal).
2. {{harvnb. Wood. 1946: "'Sprechgesang' means a 'parlando' manner of singing, and indeed is translated in standard dictionaries as 'recitative,' whereas 'sprechstimme' in itself simply means 'speaking voice'".
3. [[Paul Griffiths (writer). Griffiths, Paul]], "Sprechgesang", ''[[The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]'', 2nd edition, edited by [[Stanley Sadie]] and [[John Tyrrell (musicologist). John Tyrrell]] (London: Macmillan, 2001).
4. [[Arnold Schoenberg. Schoenberg, Arnold]]. ''Verklärte Nacht and Pierrot Lunaire.'' Dover Publications. New York, 1994. {{ISBN. 0-486-27885-9 (p. 54)
5. [[Pierre Boulez. Boulez, Pierre]]. ''Orientations''. Faber and Faber. London, 1986. {{ISBN. 0-571-14347-4 (From the essay "Speaking, Playing, Singing", written 1963, pp. 330–335)
6. [[Gardner Read. Read, Gardner]]. ''Musical Notation''. Taplinger Publishing, New York, 1979. {{ISBN. 0-8008-5453-5 (p. 288)
7. Schonfeld, Zach. (13 October 2021). "The Eternal Cool of Talk Singing".
8. (31 October 2019). "All talk: why 2019's best bands speak instead of sing".
9. (23 April 2012). "Sound Machine". [[Condé Nast]].
10. (4 December 2009). "Who Knew That Robots Were Funky?". [[The New York Times]].
11. Petridis, Alexis. (2023-09-08). "Olivia Rodrigo: Guts review – dramatic dispatches from the dark side of youth". The Guardian.
12. (26 January 2022). "Landfill Sprechgesang? Yard Act's The Overload Reviewed".
13. (August 23, 2023). "Sprain Discuss Their Sophomore Album "The Lamb as Effigy" {{!}} Post-Trash Feature".
14. (5 April 2022). "Album Of The Week: Wet Leg 'Wet Leg'".