The Seattle Harmonic Voices' Shimmering World

On the eve of Thanksgiving, the Seattle Harmonic Voices, led by their director, Stephen Fandrich, gave a concert of overtone singing in the atmospheric chapel at the Good Shepherd Center. Fandrich is an accomplished pianist, gamelan player, and composer, but he has dedicated an enormous amount of creative energy to the development of this particular ensemble and the unique vocal quality that they present.

For those not familiar, overtone singing is a remarkable technique whereby singers manipulate the shape of their mouths and constrict their vocal chords so as to sing two tones at once; a fundamental, i.e., the normal singing tone, and a harmonic isolated from the overtone series, which hovers and shimmers magically. This vocal style has its origins in various cultures around the world, most notably in Tuva, Mongolia, and Tibet, traditions which have influenced Fandrich's creation of a new artistic synthesis.

Most of the pieces in the concert explored one aspect of overtone signing or another, études for either the development of the technique, such as the contrapuntal Solo Rising and the harmonic hocket game, or sharpening ears to become attuned to the intervallic relationships in the overtone series, as in the first work of the evening, Alignment.

Fandrich provided an insightful setting for sharing his craft and by the end of the concert was surrounded by curious members of the audience who were eager to learn more about this sublime music. Fortunately for them and others seeking to expand their knowledge of overtone singing, Fandrich is in the process of completing a book on his particular technique, which incorporates a notational system that he developed.

Sadly, the next concert has not yet been scheduled, but we were promised that we will have the opportunity to enter this crystalline sound-world again some time in the spring.

Photo of the Seattle Harmonic Voices' concert courtesy of Flickr user Invisible Hour.