Martin Fondse is definitely one of the most interesting actors in writing for voices in the jazz scene right now. He often uses multiple vocalists in his projects (I, for example, have sung in a big band project with his music in Lucerne where we were 9 vocalists!).
Fondse also uses the voice in a new and fresh way, writing lyrics for them, but also often using them instrumentally. He also knows how to make use of the uniqueness that comes with the human voice, and uses these different timbres and colors to his advantage.
In the project that I had the joy to be part of, we sang songs in a "robotic" language, we sang songs together with Siri (Apple's virtual AI assistant), and took part in many freely improvised parts of the concert as well.
For the examples that I found audio recordings of, I will provide them here. Martin Fondse often plays his pieces with different instrumentations and a different amount of vocalists, so these audio files might not always perfectly align with the provided score, but should give a feel of the music and the use of the voices.
In his piece “Absolution” he utilises the voice in different ways. In the intro to the piece, the voice is used as one section without words, singing the chord voicings together with the ensemble. Added to this 3-part voice section comes a kind of "solo"-line on top, before the piece goes onto featuring the 4 voices with lyrics.
For this piece, I could not find a version with a vocal intro as we performed it in Lucerne, but a similar version with three vocalists can be found here.
The voices also sing lyrics in this piece.
There is mostly one lead voice, accompanied by the other voices, sometimes instrumentally, sometimes also with lyrics. In the second picture, the voices are used in a bell-figure with lyrics, which gives the words a deeper meaning, as repetition is a key tool of intensifying the meaning of a lyric.
The voices also sing lyrics in 2 to 4 part harmony sometimes.
Part 3 starts at this point in the video.
Part 5 starts at this point in the video.
In Fondse’s piece “Welcome to Colonia!”, we once again can find multiple creative uses for the voice.
On the right, the voices are used as the only long notes as backings in a solo context, where the syllables used for those long notes form the word “Co-lo-ni-a”.
To this piece I could not find a public recording or video.
Another interesting element of Martin Fondse’s music is that he often utilises non-percussive instruments as a percussive element. With freely chosen notes or percussive sounds, he makes the whole ensemble play rhythms. On the right is an example of one of these moments, where the voices are also included in this rhythmical tutti-moment.
In his newest program, which Fondse premiered as a composition assignment for Bimhuis this year, he uses 6 voices with a smaller ensemble. Almost every vocalist plays another instrument as well, making it a larger ensemble when listening. But I found that added to the many ways Fondse writes music for vocalists, there are some new interesting ways, for example in the pieces “No Pressure” and “Adamas Ace”.
In the intro to “No Pressure”, the voices build a bell, forming a chord together.
I find the use of the human voice in a bell structure extremely interesting and rewarding,
and I often use it in my own music. The voice can form many different note-attacks that go from extremely soft and/or airy to more sharp, loud and short.
In the later chapter in my handbook, I will talk abit more in detail about this use of the voice specifically.
