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plancher lingual
Sep 15, 2021 08:22
2 yrs ago
40 viewers *
French term

voix portée

French to English Art/Literary Music Singing
Voice carrying power / carrying power or a specific technical term?

Here's the sentence I'm translating:

Avec l’arrivée du phonographe, le style gouailleur de ces chansonniers se perpétue après la Première Guerre mondiale avec des artistes comme Fréhel, Damia, et bientôt Édith Piaf, qui retient jusque dans les années 1950 dans sa technique vocale (voix portée, nasalisation), son vocabulaire et ses thématiques des éléments d’une culture chansonnière pré-amplifiée, suggérant toujours alors un imaginaire de la chanson française comme chanson de rue : de la rue parisienne.

Initially I thought "voix portée" was equivalent to "portée de la voix" or "carry" in English but it seems it's a specific vocal technique. See the phrase below in the pdf download at this link: https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00517573

L’intuition de Casserius sur l’importance du rôle du larynx dans la physiologie vocale s’est trouvée vérifiée pour expliquer quels organes sont mis en jeu lors de l’utilisation de la voix portée, tout spécialement dans le chant lyrique.

The term "voix portée" appears in the résumé of this article and in the abstract in English is rendered as "voice carrying power". The term "laryngeal lowering" is also used in conjunction.

A search for "voice carrying power" in English wouldn't seem to confirm it as a technique as such however but rather the effect of the use of different techniques.
See:
https://deborahwaikapohe.com/2020/03/30/lucie-manen-exercise...
https://www.testden.com/public-speaking/The-Voice-Continued....


Thanks in advance for any help
Proposed translations (English)
4 -1 amplified voice
4 -1 portamento, vocal portamento
References
This might help

Discussion

Barbara Carrara Dec 1, 2021:
Jack This question was posted on 15 September 2021. You should have heard back from your client by now. How come this KudoZ is still open? What's the verdict?
Thank you.
Tony M Oct 4, 2021:
@ Asker Once again, your context seems to be talking about the style of the voice itself, rather than the vocal style being used; note the reference to 'chant lyrique' — opera singers are used to projecting their voice so they can be heard in a large opera house without amplification. These techniques are also being discussed in relation to 'before the gramophone' — which finally permitted very different voice types to be reproduced anywhere at a satisfactory volume.
Note in particular the reference to which organs are involved in this voice type, confirming in my mind the reference to the type of voice, in relation as it is with the pre-War 'style gouailleur'. Piaf was known for 'singing out', rendering a microphone largely unnecessary,other than for the purposes of recording.
Tony M Oct 3, 2021:
@ Writeaway Have you seen this question? This is a field in which you have expert knowledge, have you ever come across this term?
Barbara Carrara Oct 3, 2021:
Jack Have you heard back from your client, yet?
Just curious.
Thanks.
Jack Sims (asker) Sep 16, 2021:
Thanks for everyone's comments and contributions I am currently waiting for my client to get back to me and will post their feedback and finalize when they do. I currently feel that "projection/project" is closest but not necessarily sure that "projection" is a synonym for "voix portée" in French - this was my question to my client who is a musicologist...
Tony M Sep 15, 2021:
@ Asker Particularly in the theatre, we do refer to the 'projected voice', which I think this is referring to here — the technique used to make the voice carry, as distinct from, say, a crooner.
Lara Barnett Sep 15, 2021:
Amplified voice I think this may refer to the amplified effect, which was woven into her own particular technique (Piaf's technique), but may also refer to "supported voice".
philgoddard Sep 15, 2021:
Could it be vibrato?

Proposed translations

-1
8 hrs

amplified voice

When we say "a voice carries", we mean the distance the voice (or sound in general) can be heard from.
In my opinion, here we are talking about an amplified (higher) voice to be understood better even by those who are distant.
Peer comment(s):
disagree Tony M : I'm afraid you have put 2 and 2 together and made 6! I feel certain this is specifically referring to the innate character of the voice itself, long before it ever gets to being amplified.
17 days
Something went wrong...
-1
5 hrs

portamento, vocal portamento

The French term is being used synonymously with 'port de voix', I believe.

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Note added at 19 days (2021-10-04 09:20:23 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I realise it's likely to be too late but I remain convinced that what is meant here is Piaf's portamento, glissando technique (https://dictionary.onmusic.org/terms/2673-portamento; more in-depth definitions in/on Grove Music). (I'm not talking about the pre-1800 use of "port de voix" as an appoggiatura-like ornament.) This sustained gliding up and down from note to note ("portare la voce"; "porter la voix" [Dolmetsch]; "carriage of the voice" [Grove]; "tragend") is a distinctive feature of Piaf's vocal technique. It's true that refs are hard to come by but https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article... (headword: port de voix) is interesting. In my view, "portée de la voix" in the sense of projection or reach is a false trail.
Peer comment(s):
disagree Tony M : I'm afraid this is highly unlikely: 'portée' is really not at all related to 'portamento'; You need to interpret it in relation to the detailed context given, within which portamento really doesn't fit. Describing the TYPE of voice, not the singing style.
18 days
On the contrary, it's closely related.
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

1 hr
Reference:

This might help

Here's a link to an old Ita>Eng KudoZ about the same phrase ('voce portata' translates 'voix portée'. Or vice versa),

https://www.proz.com/kudoz/italian-to-english/cinema-film-tv...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2021-09-15 10:51:52 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

That's some additional research you've added, Jack! Chapeau!

If you haven't seen this yet, I'm adding this ref. to a study, also by Claire Pillot-Loiseau, with Jacqueline Vaissière as co-author, where 'voix portée' is translated as 'vocal carrying power' in the bilingual Abstract. So, your initial intuition might work just as well.
You'll find another mention of 'voix portée' on p. 6 of the .pdf

https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00517573/document

Looks like an interesting read.
Note from asker:
Thanks for this Barbara... might help yes!
I think I'm almost ready to go with projection, just trying to satisfy myself that it is a synonym of "voix portée" in French I found this definition of "projection" in French: http://operacritiques.free.fr/css/index.php?2009/04/16/1206-puissance-volume-projection-et-resonance It talks about minimising effort and also the "formant du chanteur" (singing formant) which is a term that also appears in the abstract of the Pillot -Loiseau chapter. Also see: https://www.voicescienceworks.org/harmonics-vs-formants.html Further down in the Pillot-Loiseau there's the para below which also talks about "projection vocale" Comment faire le lien entre ces résultats et notre pratique rééducative ? Dit très simplement : une voix 1) qui porte 2) sans effort pathogène peut posséder plus d’énergie vers 3000Hz (par rapport aux fréquences avoisinantes) et un larynx plus bas qu’une voix ne portant pas. Ce n’est pas la recherche de la puissance vocale qui est nocive, mais l’effort vocal pour y parvenir qui peut avoir des conséquences pathologiques, ce que Le Huche «et coll.» (1984) expriment ainsi : « Ce n’est pas la force mais l’effort de la voix pour la faire qui nuit à la fonction vocale », faisant écho aux propos de Fournier ci-dessus. La rééducation des dysphoniques a pour principe de diminuer l’effort et d’augmenter l’efficacité vocale, c’est à dire, en particulier, de donner au patient les outils pour obtenir une voix saine qui porte : souffle abdominal et détente, larynx bas dont les conséquences sont une voix plus audible, émission de sons sans serrage (méthode de rééducation vocale à l’aide d’une paille, Amy de la Bretèque (1997), attitude de « projection vocale », Le Huche «et coll.» (1984. Il s’agira de pas forcer sur l’intensité mais de « tricher sur le timbre » au lieu de récupérer celui-ci par l’adduction cordale (également appelée « phonation pressée », Sundberg (1995).
Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree philgoddard
1 min
Thank you, Phil
agree writeaway : Very helpful and I agree with the proposed translation. A voice projects, carries / I based my agree/suggestion on my past experience training as an opera singer...
21 mins
Much obliged, w. To be fair, all I did was some minor search, compared to Jack's! / Of course! Apologies for not remembering your operatic 'past' (don't tell me you no longer sing!).
Something went wrong...
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