alysonimagines's review
4.0
Ever since I can remember, I’ve always loved singing. One of my favorite things to do as a kid (besides bury my nose in a book) was to sing along with musicals, pop songs, whatever got stuck in my head. It never mattered to me whether I had an audience. Usually I didn’t. The sheer joy of the experience was what mattered most.
Imperfect Harmony: Finding Happiness Singing with Others is one of the most pleasant surprises I’ve stumbled upon in a while, because it’s all about the joy of singing—something I never thought I’d get to read in a book. Author Stacy Horn follows an unusual structure for her memoir, alternating between chapters centered around her experience singing a particular piece with the New York-based Choral Society of Grace Church (which, at the time of publication, she has sung with for nearly thirty years) and chapters that act as historical sidebars, introducing little-known (at least to me) events in choral history. Like icing on a cake, sprinkled throughout the book are more interesting tidbits about choral history (the tenor line was the first voice part to appear in choral groups; the soprano line, which I sing, was the last), music science trivia (I’m just going to say “brain worms” to make you curious), and statistics about the effects of singing on singers (the effects are enormously positive—I can add my own anecdotal evidence to Horn’s research). In short, this book is a love fest for singers, especially amateur singers.
What particularly touched me is the reverence with which the author, a self-described agnostic, discusses the religious choral works that she has performed. “Even though God is not the answer for me,” Horn says, “the music written in His name is. It both eases whatever pain I am suffering from and heightens all my joys. While it sometimes feels as if religion only separates people, the music brings us together.”
As an amateur choral singer myself, I squeezed so much pleasure out of reading this book—not only is it entertainingly informative, but also Horn’s many praises of singing made my heart leap again and again with a resonant “Yes!” (I could have said, “made my heart sing,” but, you know…) The author emphasizes that while jobs, boyfriends, and pets come and go, while loved ones pass away, while excitements turn to disappointments, singing is the one constant in her life. “Life is hard, battles of all kinds continue to rage around us, and disappointments accumulate,” says Horn. “But singing is the one thing in my life that never fails to take me to where disenchantment is almost nonexistent and feeling good is pretty much guaranteed.” Amen!
Imperfect Harmony: Finding Happiness Singing with Others is one of the most pleasant surprises I’ve stumbled upon in a while, because it’s all about the joy of singing—something I never thought I’d get to read in a book. Author Stacy Horn follows an unusual structure for her memoir, alternating between chapters centered around her experience singing a particular piece with the New York-based Choral Society of Grace Church (which, at the time of publication, she has sung with for nearly thirty years) and chapters that act as historical sidebars, introducing little-known (at least to me) events in choral history. Like icing on a cake, sprinkled throughout the book are more interesting tidbits about choral history (the tenor line was the first voice part to appear in choral groups; the soprano line, which I sing, was the last), music science trivia (I’m just going to say “brain worms” to make you curious), and statistics about the effects of singing on singers (the effects are enormously positive—I can add my own anecdotal evidence to Horn’s research). In short, this book is a love fest for singers, especially amateur singers.
What particularly touched me is the reverence with which the author, a self-described agnostic, discusses the religious choral works that she has performed. “Even though God is not the answer for me,” Horn says, “the music written in His name is. It both eases whatever pain I am suffering from and heightens all my joys. While it sometimes feels as if religion only separates people, the music brings us together.”
As an amateur choral singer myself, I squeezed so much pleasure out of reading this book—not only is it entertainingly informative, but also Horn’s many praises of singing made my heart leap again and again with a resonant “Yes!” (I could have said, “made my heart sing,” but, you know…) The author emphasizes that while jobs, boyfriends, and pets come and go, while loved ones pass away, while excitements turn to disappointments, singing is the one constant in her life. “Life is hard, battles of all kinds continue to rage around us, and disappointments accumulate,” says Horn. “But singing is the one thing in my life that never fails to take me to where disenchantment is almost nonexistent and feeling good is pretty much guaranteed.” Amen!
drmarti's review
3.0
This is a hybrid book: half a memoir about singing in a choral society and half a history of choral music. I enjoyed the history part more. The memoir dragged a bit for me since I have sung in similar choirs most of my life and found this part of the narrative to tread on already well-worn ground. This is not a criticism of Horn's writing, which is good; I just felt I was not quite the right audience for the book.
lsneal's review
2.0
The things I liked most about the book - the history of choral singing and certain choral works - were nicely done. My choir's book group got a chance to talk with the author, and it turned out that the thing I liked least about the book - the repetitive relationship musings - were required to be put in by the publisher who wanted to pad out the "human interest" aspect. The publisher should have trusted the author to tell the story she was already telling.
elwoodicious's review
3.0
Interesting, if a meandering work, that touches on the emotional ties the author developed to the art of choral singing as well as the back stories to the pieces they sang.
satyridae's review
3.0
I picked this up (free at ALA Midwinter) because one of my dearest friends is a singer in a choir, and my son also sang when he was in high school. I enjoyed parts of this very much. I loved Horn's descriptions of what it is like to sing, how the feelings one has when creating music are different from (and probably superior to) the feelings one gets when listening to music. I really enjoyed her discussions of various pieces of music, and the music history in general. I didn't like the memoir parts nearly so well. 2.5
wcs53's review
5.0
I requested, and received, a review copy of Imperfect Harmony, but I didn't really know what to expect. I used to belong to a local community choir and it was something I mostly enjoyed, so I thought a book of someone sharing stories and anecdotes of choir experiences would be something fairly interesting to read. Although the book contained some of this, it really was a whole lot more and, in fact, turned out to be one of my most enjoyable reads so far this year.
Stacy Horn has written a book well worth reading. What really came through in her writing is her passion for music. I really enjoy music as well, so I found this book a pleasure to read. The book centres around her singing experiences in the Choral Society of Grace Church in New York, but around these she shares the history of many of her favourite choral pieces, along with some moments of the history of choirs, choral societies, and music in general. Intertwined among all of this we are given glimpses into her personal life and how she came to be involved in this particular amateur choir.
I really enjoyed reading much of the historical stuff that she shared. It was interesting to read how at one time it was not considered respectable for women to be members of a choir or choral society. It was also very interesting to read about the history of some of the pieces the choir sings as well as the background of some of the composers. I was inspired to check out some of the pieces she mentioned that I'm not familiar with and have added some of these to my own music collection. One piece, in particular, is O Magnum Mysterium by Morten Lauridsen, a composer, I have to admit, who was previously unknown to me.
Horn shares how music can be a great benefit to one's life, especially in difficult times, sharing some of her own moments where this has been the case. I found myself being able to identify with some of her experiences as well.
I think that one of the best things about this book is that it can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of how musical they may or my not be. I gave it 5 stars because it really was an enjoyable read and also because I learned so much in reading it. If you have even the faintest passing interest in music, I'd recommend putting this book on your reading list.
Stacy Horn has written a book well worth reading. What really came through in her writing is her passion for music. I really enjoy music as well, so I found this book a pleasure to read. The book centres around her singing experiences in the Choral Society of Grace Church in New York, but around these she shares the history of many of her favourite choral pieces, along with some moments of the history of choirs, choral societies, and music in general. Intertwined among all of this we are given glimpses into her personal life and how she came to be involved in this particular amateur choir.
I really enjoyed reading much of the historical stuff that she shared. It was interesting to read how at one time it was not considered respectable for women to be members of a choir or choral society. It was also very interesting to read about the history of some of the pieces the choir sings as well as the background of some of the composers. I was inspired to check out some of the pieces she mentioned that I'm not familiar with and have added some of these to my own music collection. One piece, in particular, is O Magnum Mysterium by Morten Lauridsen, a composer, I have to admit, who was previously unknown to me.
Horn shares how music can be a great benefit to one's life, especially in difficult times, sharing some of her own moments where this has been the case. I found myself being able to identify with some of her experiences as well.
I think that one of the best things about this book is that it can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of how musical they may or my not be. I gave it 5 stars because it really was an enjoyable read and also because I learned so much in reading it. If you have even the faintest passing interest in music, I'd recommend putting this book on your reading list.
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