ABSTRACT
Gestures can mean more than defined words: they have connotations. A person's anger can be verbalized, but shown much more strongly through gesture - a banging or shaking of the fist. Gesture is integral to dance and, in many cultures, movement and gesture have specified meaning. Accompanied recitatives in baroque opera and oratorio are examples of situations in which, because there may be some flexibility in the solo singer's tempo, the unambiguous indication of the first beat in each particular bar and punctuating chords at the cadences are vital. Too many conductors plod through a four-beat pattern, accommodating no difference in the style, magnitude, or shape of gesture, whether they are conducting an intimate motet or a boisterous march. This is often the case with conductors of children's groups or amateur ensembles. Preparation for and release of the choral sound is very much embodied in the conductor's gesture.
