Kormästaren och körledaren. Några likheter och olikheter mellan olika typer av körer och körledare

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the work of the chorus master and the choral conductor, with a main focus on the chorus master in an opera house. I show how they prepare for the first meeting with the singers, and give examples of similarities and differences between the two roles in both preparation and the rehearsals that follows. One part of the study is an auscultation at Göteborgsoperan in the fall of 2017. I followed their work with Norma, an opera by V Bellini, and got the possibility to study how different conductors and chorus masters work with a professional choir. In the second part of the paper I describe how I used the tools and methods observed at the opera in my own work with the madrigal Sestina by C Monteverdi, sung by Göteborgs Motettkör. Here I also examine one essential aspect of the work of the chorus master: singing in Italian.