“About three months ago,” Fritzsche tells this newspaper, “a group of researchers proposed to me to write a book about the Choir, and during the work they told me ‘you were the first to do this, the other’, for example ‘it was the first to give solidarity concerts to obtain food, which was not usual 35 years ago. And this retrospective look is moving me quite a bit. One of the most relevant photos of our Choir, which toured the world, was that of the first Blumberg march, where we carried those little candles that later became a common practice”.
Fritzsche points out that the Choir “has been self-sufficient for a long time, it began as part of Kennedy University, where I was a student and professor, and it transcended so much that today it is a brand. We never accept sponsors, neither official nor private, because we prefer to maintain independence, beyond supporting everything related to justice, solidarity and peace. We have a cooperator, with whom we continue”.
Regarding the challenges of this digital age, the musician comments; “We are experiencing difficult times with the pandemic, when some even began to say that singing was like murdering people. At that time we were about 400 people, we started with Zoom, but we discovered that there is no device that allows two people to sing at the same time. IF he sang only one, it worked, but when he sang two, an impressive ball was made. The Zoom is prepared for monologues: one speaks and the others listen. We are in contact with the University of Quilmes, where they are developing software that will allow three or four people to sing remotely and simultaneously, but it is still under development. It was so that during that time of pandemic the Choir was reduced to 50 people from the 400 it had. Now, at this stage, many have joined again and we are about 150. The face-to-face is irreplaceable”. And he adds: “But the good thing was that I ended up putting together a virtual choir, with voices from all over the world, from Canada, from Israel, from Spain. We work with video clips, each one records their part, sends it, and then we edit it. And when everything is ready we upload it to the networks”.
Changes
This was not the only change in this new century. “Before you had to go to a recording studio,” says Fritzsche, “but now, with the smart phones most people have, they send us their parts. The fidelity that technology gives us today was unthinkable before. We did not invent that. Great artists who had pioneering technology, and little time, used to do it, like Luciano Pavarotti. He recorded duets, or participations in larger formations, with artists he never crossed paths with. Let’s not even talk about the recordings where deceased people intervene, father and daughter for example”.
Fritzsche alludes to Nat King Cole’s famous recording with his daughter Nathalie in the 1990s, but that’s not the only thing the technology enables. “Unfortunately, big-budget movies don’t use live choirs anymore,” he says, “it’s all sound produced by machines, and the biggest choirs in the world today are artificial. What is called ‘tuning’ a voice is also being used more and more: the machines are in charge of accommodating the voice of an artist who is recording to the perfect register, that is why some are surprised when they later hear it really live.”
“For next year”, he concludes, “around April or May, we will go to Corrientes Street to show the new material that we are preparing with absolute passion and vocation. Because one of the things that not all people know is that, among our members, there are those who don’t know music, they don’t know how to read a score, but they have a good voice and tuning, and so welcome. In addition, we always go where they need us: if any institution of public benefit, schools, whatever, needs a show to collect medicines, supplies or food, let us know and we will be there.”
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
