ITS HIGHNESS VOICE

Highlighting the topic of the workshop

“I thought you would never sing”, – this was the confession made by my Professor, Mykola Bolotnyj, many years after those first voice emission classes of ours together. And this is indeed how he thought, being at a solid stage of working with and on my voice at that time. My difficulties were an unprecedented case in in the practice of my Professor, a great pedagogue, an experienced classical tenor, a great specialist, especially in solving those particularly difficult problems of vocal nature. He was surprised that while speaking, I exerted myself with a nice timbre, but during voice exercises, my throat hardly activated. You could hear correct intonation and a murmur instead of singing. Finally, after four months of daily exercises, which NOTABENE! took place in an atmosphere of love and total acceptance, there was a breakthrough. My throat sounded clear and full. In fact, my whole self sounded. It was a breakthrough in consciousness, the beginning of a complex, creative, conscious process of working on my voice, or myself, that continues to this day. And life continues to prove to me at every turn that impossible things really hardly exist. I want to share this fantastic discovery not only with those using their own voice professionally, but with as many people as possible, so that they can discover and root this awareness in themselves!

The voice, this most mysterious instrument, says a lot about our personality, about our inner state. Each time we bring out our own voice – either when singing or speaking – we are able to learn a lot about ourselves.

Singing is a magical ritual which gives us a sense of entirety.

The work of discovering and expanding one’s own vocal skills lasts a lifetime – along with the discovery of oneself in the process of maturing one’s own personality, at different periods of life. It is a process that fosters more than just the physical opening of the throat. It is merely an intermediary tool helping to open up the soul and the life-giving energy deposits of the human being, including such inner resources, driving us to live, the existence of which we did not even suspect.

I consider awareness of oneself as a voice and one’s own voice as oneself to be fundamentally important.

In my many years of teaching and stage practice – and these include the jazz, classical, folk, electronic and theatre stages all over Europe – the ability to improvise, in the broadest sense, has always proven itself. Improvisation – is freedom of spirit. Improvisation – is life-giving contact with oneself, with one’s own intuition. Improvisation – is a colossal mental-creative and vocal performance. Improvisation – is the ability to find a way out of almost any situation. And finally: after all, improvisation accompanies us in our daily activities.

Improvisation is a fundamentally important part of our lives, it is naturally helpful in many different creative solutions and is certainly not only associated with jazz.

During our meetings, we will explore the deep beauty that comes from being aware of ourselves as a voice – a gift; the most mysterious, beautiful and precious, intrinsic part of our personality. We will learn to use it consciously and enjoy the experience of its uniqueness. In our exercises, we will move from a state of calm mumbling through wildness and boundlessness to the conscious arrangement of phrases – that is, to the skilful management, the use of one’s own voice. There will be fun, there will be seriousness, there will be reverie and a state of deep joy – every step, every stage will be filled with love, born in an atmosphere of full acceptance.

The programme includes:

• “Energetic Kamerton” – a moment of calming and energy accumulation according to the author’s relaxation programme, with the possibility of receiving a musical mandala in the form of a recording;
• relaxing and warming up breathing exercises for the vocal apparatus (based on a set of exercises by folklorist and pedagogue Svetlana Butskaya);
• voice and movement;
• freedom of improvisation; phrasing;
• joint creation of the Song of the Heart.

Duration: from a few hours to 2-3 days