A review by alysonimagines
Imperfect Harmony: Singing Through Life's Sharps and Flats, by Stacy Horn
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!