Quote

About:

John Ireland

Downland Suite – Elegy, 3^rd movement

“Caress each note. Each note is precious. Treat every single note with tender loving care.”

 - Dr Tan

(A non-exact quote) 

String Ensemble Music

Dr Tan Wee Hsin is the conductor of Hwa Chong String Ensemble, the string ensemble of Hwa Chong JC.

Dr Tan has clearly explained his belief that string ensembles can do without a conductor, and expressed his admiration for string ensembles that perform without one. 

He recounts the time he was a judge on the panel for SYF and he disagreed with the other judges about their negative opinions of an ensemble’s performance concerning their lack of a conductor. Perhaps to them, as conductors themselves, an important skill that string ensembles must possess is the ability to respond to a conductor’s conducting. 

The conductor shapes the music and the ensemble should be sensitive enough to his shaping. A good ensemble player adjusts his playing appropriately and quickly to allow the conductor to bring out the sound he desires at that very point in time. An ensemble performance cannot be completely defined and rehearsed to the point that the emotion and style of the players is automated – the magic must be created in the moment. The conductor is the magician, and a good ensemble lets the conductor work his magic. As that ensemble performed without a conductor, their ability as an ensemble in this aspect could not be assessed. That must have upset the panel of judges.

But Dr Tan disagreed. He felt that the fact that the ensemble managed to pull off a performance without the lead of a conductor, meant that this ensemble had captured the very essence of ensemble playing. What does “ensemble” mean? It means that all the individual members meld together to function as a single whole. The focus is not on the members as many individuals, but on their capability to become one through their music. The members of a section must play together – they should be united and coordinated in sound, as though the players from the front desk all to the way to the last desk are really just one player. The sections must play together – each section does not function on its own but plays its designated role in the making of the music, like a character in a story. Sometimes, it gets to stand out, but must depend on the cooperation of other sections in creating a suitable backdrop for them to shine. Other times, it lets other sections gain the spotlight by toning down and adjusting their sound to that section to provide good support. Sometimes, a section has a challenging part to play, and another section may help to lead that section in, flow beneath it, or guide it with a steady beat. At other times, all sections might be playing very specialized parts in an intricate passage, and a careful coordination between all sections is required in order to avoid mess and confusion. 

At all times, each section has to pull its weight and understand its relevance to the music at different points. At all times, the sections must be in agreement about how the music at each point in time should sound like. The music is not all about themselves, but all about how they fit in with the other sections, because ensemble music is all about the ensemble. 

No, it really isn’t easy to accomplish ensemble music when such intense teamwork is required. That’s why a conductor is important – if the members of the ensemble don’t have this special connection with each other that allows them to play together, then the conductor must make the ensemble play together by becoming that connection. If the members of the ensemble can’t be united by understanding each other, they can still achieve unity by following the command of one conductor. When following the conductor’s opinion, the ensemble will naturally be in agreement about how the music should sound like. If all follow the conductor dutifully, then the magic should almost be guaranteed.

But what happens when an ensemble plays successfully without a conductor?

Without a magician who guides the components of the ensemble together to create magic, the ensemble becomes the magic, themselves. They depend on each other and they listen to each other intently, because they desperately need each other. They understand the relevance of their section to the music, and also the relevance of other sections. A connection so challenging to establish is maintained through the dedication of each member to working with the entire ensemble to create magic in the moment. This intimate connection in itself is magic. The magic of the music they produce is more fragile than that of the music produced by an ensemble with a conductor, but also more authentic and more precious. The ensemble is truly one and truly alive. It breathes not according to the instructions of the conductor, but breathes because all the members together decide it.

Indeed, an ensemble that can hold together without a conductor is worthy of praise.

That being said, an ensemble can and should still be alive and breathing even with a conductor. The members of a skilled ensemble already possess a connection with each other, but the conductor causes the connection to be established with confidence, brings out the beauty of the music clearly by precisely defining it in every moment, and fixes the music with his lead should anyone mess up. An ensemble gains a connection within itself by first having a relationship with the conductor. The conductor is important, and I will always prefer to be in an ensemble with a conductor because of the security he provides, but I believe that a string ensemble without a conductor is an accurate definition of the meaning of an ensemble. Such ensembles are deserving of respect.

It’s kind of funny, when a conductor who makes a living by conducting an ensemble tells it that it doesn’t really need him at all, and consistently teaches them how to make music without him. Maybe Dr Tan’s kind of like a good doctor, whose heart is not about his paycheck but about the health of his patients. Dr Tan’s heart is all about the music. He’s all about getting the hearts of the members of the ensemble invested in the process of music-making. He’s a great conductor and I feel blessed to be playing in an ensemble under his baton.