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be guilty sometimes of not really getting inside the mu- maturing singers and that it serves to save time in re-
sic and knowing it to a deep enough level. But that’s the hearsal. If he hears a problem in the rehearsal followed
same certainly in the orchestral world. British orches- by a chorister raising his hand, he may discern that he
tras are renowned for their ability to read very, very can move on without stopping to correct it, depending
quickly. If you go to other countries, you sometimes on the experience of the singer.
find that the speed at which people learn and assimi-
late is not so quick. That doesn’t mean to say that you
don’t get an excellent result at the end; you just arrive Category 3: Conducting
at it a different way. So, I would say from our point of
view, what we’re hoping to do in a choir like King’s or
a cathedral choir is to teach the members skills of mu- How do you approach conducting gesture? What
sicianship so that they can read quickly and efficiently. techniques do you employ in your own conduct-
Of course, that can sometimes be done at the expense ing or teaching conducting students that estab-
of voice and sound. It’s important to make sure that’s lish one “showing” the music?
not the end of all of it.
One of the things I most often try to stop myself
doing (and certainly try to stop my students doing) is
Summary of mouthing the words to the choir. I think it’s not helpful
Rehearsal Technique Responses particularly in polyphonic music, where all the voices
In the Choir of King’s College, young children are are singing different words at different times. It doesn’t
singing in the same choir with developed male voices. help the basses if you’re mouthing the words to the so-
This can cause issues related to the pacing of rehearsal pranos. The other thing I think we all tend to do, and
and managing varying attention spans. Cleobury dem- should do less, is replicating with the left hand what the
onstrates a talent for understanding the disposition of right hand is doing. Very often you see this double act.
his singers in musical ability and their general mood Sometimes I use it in church where visibility in choir
from day to day. His ability to sympathize with his sing- stalls is difficult, but if you’re standing in front of a
ers, including how best to learn music together and group that’s arranged in front of you, then my basic
keep their attention, enables him to refrain from form- principle is to try to indicate as much as I can with my
ing rigid rules of rehearsal process. right hand.
The King’s College Choir, although a chapel choir Obviously, that’s the hand that’s involved with giv-
of developing musicians, functions much like a profes- ing the beat and setting the pulse and all those sorts of
sional choir, rehearsing and performing great choral things, but there are different or varying ways in which
repertoire almost entirely throughout the year. And like that can be done. You can affect the way a choir starts a
most every other professional choir, they have devel- piece by the way you give the preparatory beat and all
oped traditions in rehearsal that reflect on their work- those things. Then, if the left hand is used more spar-
manship as musicians. In addition to the responses ingly, when it does enter the fray, it’s more effective. If
above, Cleobury also mentioned during our interview you’re doing that all the time with two hands, there’s
that over the years, the choir has created a system of nothing left for you to do.
self-correction where the choristers raise their hand Of course, gestures themselves are going to vary in
during rehearsal to acknowledge a mistake they made. size according to the group. If you’re conducting three
Apparently, this tradition started decades prior to Cleo- hundred people singing the “Hallelujah” chorus, you’re
bury’s residency with choristers staying after rehearsal going to be making more expansive gestures than if
to apologize for making a mistake. Cleobury paints this you’re conducting the King’s College Choir singing an
tradition in a positive light, explaining that this culture Amen in evensong. Those of us who do a lot of work in
attempts to “create faculties of self-criticism” within the liturgical setting are to some degree constrained by

CHORAL JOURNAL November/December 2024 Volume 65 Number 4 21