Sorrow, Comfort, & Joy 
Healing Powers in World Music - page 3

Expressing Sorrow

This is the same tune as "ring around the rosy," and many other children’s songs (in solfeg: sol sol mi la sol mi), but I also noticed the similarity to the Ecuadorian Quichuan woman’s lament (Titon - Cassette 3). In the recording, she sings the (relative) pitches D-C-A (la sol mi) which are the three important pitches from the vacacion played by the harpist earlier in the ceremony (Schechter, pg.472). She always started on the D, but the predominant pitches were the C and the A, which she oscillated between for the remainder of each phrase. The C was used in an almost recitative manner, and was held out for various lengths of time before descending to A and rocking between C and A. This melodic movement is similar to the that of the Rumanian woman’s lament heard on a recording of Rumanian folk music (Alexandru). The major difference is that instead of the (relative pitch) D, a D# was sung as the top pitch, and each phrase began with the C, moved up to D#, and then returned to and remained on C before oscillating between C and A for the remainder of the phrase. This pattern includes not just one, but two descending minor thirds – from D# to C, and then C to A. I noticed similar patterns during some portions of North Indian vocal music both in a concert (Shafqat Ali Khan), and in a recording of Kyhal music (Chatterjee). The effect of singing several syllables, or even just sustaining a note, and then dropping about a minor third had a very mournful sound, and I felt some kind of empathic "twang" internally, that I cannot explain. 

This use of the descending minor third might be also tied to human physiology since, as was previously stated, there is a downward contour within each breath group. It is possible that the minor third represents a particular minimal amount of relaxation of the vocal folds and decrease in air pressure, and that an upward move to the fourth or augmented fourth would be the result of extra exertion, such as in the initiation of a cry. But I could find no data on these specific details to support that supposition. There is, however, a fair amount of scientific literature on the physiological aspects of the expression of sorrow, sadness, and lament.

In Voice Science, Klaus Scherer reports on a study of actors using "Stanislavski-like induction techniques, trying to at least partially produce the emotion to be portrayed," that downward-directed Fo (fundamental frequency) contours were found for both anger and sadness (Scherer, pg. 241).

From the field of Linguistics: "The universal shape of the cry associates it with the rise and fall of subglottal pressure on the one hand and of the nervous tension on the other... Rise and rise-fall are the basic patterns wired into the child’s own nervous system and vocal apparatus" (Bollinger, pg. 12).

In a paper titled, "Emotion and Expression: Temporal Data on Voice Quality in Russian Lament," voice scientists, Mazo, Erickson, and Harvey reported on several aspects of lament. They report that "village women say repeatedly that lamenting makes them ‘feel better’ and brings a feeling of relief" (Mazo, et al, pg. 173). They state that laments are found not only in Russia, but also in other parts of the world (as we have already found in Ecuador and Rumania). 

It appears that what cuts across regional borders is determined not by formal structural features of melody and text, but by what we call intoning – that is, the total process of producing the sound utterances and the general sonic procedures by which a performance is conducted. In addition to regular singing, intoning in laments incorporates sobs, excited exclamations, speech interruptions, sighs, and voiced breathing (both inhalations and exhalatory gasps (Mazo, et al, pg. 173).

In Russian lament, the melodic contour descends to a final tone at which time "the vocal fry [pulse mode of vibration] invariably occurs at the end of the last vowel of the verbal line... more frequently when emotional tension intensifies" (Mazo, et al, pg. 178). That these similarities are found in different parts of the world is further support that human physiology underlies not only the expression of the emotion, but also the use of such expression for healing. "One can speculate that in the process of lamenting, as a result of emotional elevation, certain biological changes accompanying the cathartic outburst of emotion that make a lamenter ‘feel better’ after having lamented" (Mazo, et al, pg. 184).

One characteristic of the lament is a "sobbing" effect. In the Ecuadorian lament, "she sob-sings in short phrases that ultimately descend to the lowest pitch" (Schechter, pg. 473). In the Rumanian lament, "she breaks down and sobs regularly" (Slobin 1984, pg. 180). 

Sobbing might also be experienced by the listener. Gurdjieff recalls an experience: "I... remember how all of us, sitting in some corner of the monastery [in Turkestan], had almost sobbed, listening to the monotonous music performed by the brethren during one of their ceremonies" (Gurdjieff).

In Rumania, the group lament follows similar melodic contours, but is done in a call and response form, and is more formally structured (the solo lament being improvised.) In Bosnia, there is a form of singing similar to the Rumanian group lament. The form is called ganga, and can be done either by a group of men or women. In Bosnian women’s ganga, "a respected leader sets the tone, literally, and the fellow singers, usually two, chip in an accompanying pattern called "cutting," "chopping," or "sobbing" that is vocally and emotionally powerful" (Slobin 1996, pg. 218-219). The patterns of melody follow the same intonational curve as the lament (Titon, cassette 2). The ganga is not always a lament: "When ganga is sung right, it has a powerful effect on its performers and listeners: ‘Good performances can move them to tears and "shudders," but with a sense of happiness; and they arouse feelings of love and sexual passion among younger people, as well as strong feelings of regional identity among both young and old alike’" (Slobin 1996, pp. 219, 221).

Although there are other themes (such as warnings to young girls about male advances), some of the song text of Bosnian women’s ganga succinctly expresses sorrow: 

I will sing out of spite for my sorrow So it won’t conquer me when it tortures me. Oh god, what would happen if there were no singing? What would my heart do with all its burden (Slobin 1996, pg. 222)?

In Indian music, emotions are expressed not only in the specific notes, but also in the ornaments, or gamaka. One way to express sadness is to use the gamaka called Gadgadita (which means sobbing). This is a succession of grace notes known as ‘struck’ notes, or Ahatas. This "succession of Ahatas makes a sort of sobbing trill... often used in Indian music" (Danielou, pg. 83).

It is not just in traditional world music that lamenting exists. For example, Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa "emphasized pathos in 16th century counterpoint by translating mournful sighs into music. Exclamations, chromaticism, repeated suspensions, and pauses are combined to give the intended effect of acute anguish" (Ostwald). 

There is a commonality of intonation patterns and other vocalizations that suggests that the expression of sorrow or grief might not only be a result of the physiological effects of such emotions, but might also be expressed in order to find relief from these physiological effects. As the Russian women claim to "feel better," so do Jewish women who return year after year to the graveside: "In Jewish tradition, as well as for some Hungarian peasants, it was possible traditionally for a woman to ease her emotional burdens by addressing a long improvised song in lament style to a departed relative, often singing directly at grave-side, for years after the relative’s death" (Slobin 1984, pg. 182). Next Page

© Copyright 1997 Verlene Schermer
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