Approaching Italian gorgie through Karnatik brigha: an essai on intercultural vocal transmission

Global mobility in singers, cross-cultural influences in prevailing singing practices and repertoire, and the emergence of the intercultural vocalist have meant that contemporary singer training could be shaped by modes of understanding and knowledge-sharing that emerge from differing perspectives, including non-Western ones. Such intercultural perspectives are fast emerging in performer training (Behrens Citation2016). Thomaidis (Citation2013) has demonstrated a case of holistic body-led training in opera singers, integrating elements from cross-cultural practices in the Grotowski lineage. Recently, McAllister-Viel (Citation2018) discussed the ways in which mainstream Anglo-American vocal training for actors could be influenced by traditional Korean vocal art, p’ansori. Notwithstanding such a trend, approaches to training and performance that are predicated on vocal traditions other than mainstream Western Music remain rare in the arena of Classical voice, particularly Early Music.