The inspiration for this post originated from a question that was raised in our Vocal Analysis class partway through the semester that I was curious to explore in more detail. During a discussion on gospel music and the vamp (from Braxton Shelley, “a complex of music, text and escalatory procedures [in gospel song] composed to facilitate religious experience”), one of the discussion leaders for the week posed the following question to the group: does a vamp require religion within a musical setting in order to function, or could it function within another genre (and could it even function without an audience)?
Traditionally, the vamp within gospel music relies strongly on the participation of audience members to create a communal spiritual and religious experience, allowing gospel congregants (and performers alike) “to move back and forth between the material world and the spiritual realm where musical sound grants intimacy with the divine.” Without such a dynamic relationship and active participation, it is hard to imagine a similar experience being possible in a musical setting without an audience present to engage with the performers. The underlying religious text and spiritual themes that permeate gospel music similarly add to the dynamic and powerful emotions that allow such an experience to take place.
However, I was curious as to whether other genres of music share common musical elements with gospel song and the vamp that could similarly create a sort of communal transcendental experience (either for performers or listeners or both), irrespective of the performance taking place in a religious space or setting (or with a congregation present) or using religious text or themes. To that end, I decided to explore a recording of a contemporary secular choral piece called Making Waves by Bob Chilcott in order to understand how musical elements commonly found in the vamp (repetition, increasing textural density, and free vocal expression) might, in a parallel way, create a spiritual experience for the listener and for the performers in this piece.
The song Making Waves is a choral piece written by English composer Bob Chilcott in honour of the centenary of the first trans-oceanic wireless transmissions pioneered by Guglielmo Marconi in the early 20th century., The piece is acapella and written for SSA (with divisions). The recording being considered here begins (and ends) with a short clip of Morse code just before the choir begins to sing (which sets the tone for the piece and for the theme). The first choral entry is a unison humming in the soprano 2 and alto lines, with the melody in the soprano 1 line indicating use of the Mixolydian mode (potentially an homage to the medieval church modes and an additional reference to the spiritual nature of the theme, discussed further below). This melody is eventually repeated with a more complex underlying harmony in the alto line but now with the soprano 2 line repeating the soprano 1 melody in a staggered fashion, creating the sense of an echo (again in line with the theme of the piece). This initial A section is followed by a B section (at 2:45 in the recording) that includes free-form ad lib entries from the singers (entering at seemingly random times, giving the sense of overlapping waves and echoes, again supporting the theme of the piece). In this first presentation of the B material, two sequential solo melodic lines soar above this underlying choral texture. Following this is a repeat again of the A material (at 4:13), only this time with more complex textural components and melodic lines that interplay in different ways and with a greater dynamic force. Finally, the B section returns again (at 5:45) with the same freely sung ad lib quality but this time without the soloists and with a building intensity that eventually diminishes into a return of the recording of Morse code to close off the piece.
Because the theme of this piece touches on a topic that is inherently intangible (the transmission of electromagnetic waves through the air that can’t be seen or felt), it provides a potential analogy to the spiritual sense of connection to something divine that is seen in gospel music (further supported by the use of the Mixolydian mode in the solo lines). This is reinforced by the use of repetition throughout the piece. The (Morse code)-A-B-A’-B’-(Morse code) structure allows for the gradual intensification of the thematic material over time, ebbing and flowing locally as waves do. This build-up creates a swelling within the listener, simultaneously maintaining a calm and serene character throughout the piece while moving towards a purposeful connection with something intangible and evanescent.
The repetition built into the form of the piece (as well as in the text and in the repeated musical material within each individual section) is also supported by increasing textural density. As the piece unfolds, more and more voices are added to the sound, as each of the parts splits into divisi sections and more layers are created. This ultimately shapes the piece and gives a sense of forward direction, simultaneously supporting the repeated text and musical material while also signifying the contribution of many voices to the collective expression of feeling. This is where a parallel could be drawn to elements of gospel music, wherein many voices gradually add together to create a communal sound with a complex texture. While the context is different, the communal expression of reverence towards the dark sky, moon and sea seems strikingly similar in many ways (at least on a spiritual level). And although the A sections of the piece were composed such that the choristers sing the material as written, the B sections have a freely sung structure wherein each singer is permitted to enter at a time of their choosing and to repeat their own vocal line at their own pace. This allows the singers the freedom to express themselves with minimal constraint and to add their voice to the collective sound that pays homage to an unseen but awe-inspiring phenomenon. This also creates the opportunity for shared collective experience among the performers, building off of each other in a way that supports the physical and spiritual connection to the theme, ebbing and flowing and building and diminishing on both an individual and collective level.
Together, these three components (repetition, textural intensification and free vocal expression) seem to draw many parallels to gospel song and the vamp, but also express a proclamation to something intangible in a very different way. The use of intersecting vocal lines to imitate the natural sound of waves ebbing and flowing is arguably a different approach to linking together the material and spiritual realms, through the many different meanings that waves can embody. While not expressly religious in nature, the similarities give rise to a fascinating discussion as to how music, through performance, can connect us (performers and audience members alike) to a shared collective physical and spiritual experience.