Gestures and choral music

Abstract

This paper analyzes two diverging positions that we find in current coral assemblies: the socalled dynamic performance and the traditionalperformance. The point of convergence between both types of interpretation is precisely the musical gesture, which we will attempt to define from both postures. While gestures are involuntary processes where it is difficult trying to establish a primary intuitiveness or purpose –not to mention an intuition–, the issue of body movement linked to musical expression is a matter that must be treated in detail. The problem being addressed here is, then: is musical gesture constituted by a dynamic performance where extra musical aspects should take priority over musical ones, and, moreover, are not included in the score? Or, is musical gesture an established imagining determined in the score, a sum of speed, dynamics, rhythm, pitch and timbre?