Review of Malawey, Victoria, A Blaze of Light in Every Word: Analyzing the Popular Singing Voice (Oxford University Press, 2020)

• Published in: Music Theory Online Vol. 27; no. 2
• Main Author: Duguay, Michèle
• Format: Journal Article Book Review
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago Society for Music Theory 01-06-2021
• Subjects: Cohen, Leonard (1934-2016); Emotions; Musical performances; Musicians & conductors; Perceptions; Physiology; Popular music; Singers; Timberlake, Justin; Vibrato
• ISSN: 1067-3040; 1067-3040
• DOI: 10.30535/mto.27.2.12

What parameters of the voice—timbre, pitch, rhythm, lyrical content—should one analyze? [...]how can an analyst successfully account for each voice’s individuality, while relying on a theoretical framework that is general enough to enable comparisons and abstractions? [2] In order to address these questions, A Blaze of Light in Every Word proposes a conceptual model for analyzing the popular singing voice. [4] While Malawey’s object of study is the sonic materiality of the voice—the tangible, physiological, and acoustic aspects of a sung vocal performance—the book opens with an overview of philosophically oriented branches of voice studies. The chapter on “quality” examines timbre insofar as it imparts “the feelings, emotions, and meanings that listeners ascribe to the recordings and performances they consume” (94). Since Malawey studies recorded performances, her analyses also consider the ways in which voices are technologically processed before reaching a listener. McKinnon’s untrained voice, perceived as amateurish because of its imprecise intonation, allows her performance to be perceived as an unfiltered and authentic display of emotion that contrasts with her usual comic appearances on the television show.