Manners of rhotic articulation in French lyric singing
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36505/ExLing-2018/09/0016/000349Keywords:
French phonetics, singing, uvular rhotics, consonant clusters, vowelAbstract
This study deals with the analysis of the uvular /r/ articulation in singing. Traditionally, operatic singers have avoided this sound because of its disruptive effect on vowel production. However, some modern French lyric singers pronounce this consonant in Art songs as well as in opera. The aim of this study was to examine the specific manners of rhotic articulation in singing. Commercial recordings of Gabriel Fauré's Art songs performed by two French singers (a countertenor and a soprano) were analyzed. The results of the study show that both a uvular approximant and a uvular trill were produced, frequently co-occurring with an epenthetic vowel.
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