PracticalReflectionsontheFigurativeArtofSinging 10003844

REFLEC T IONS ON THE FIGURAT IVE
A R T O F S ING ING
BY
GIAM BATTI STA MANC INI

Singing M aster at the Imperial Court of Vienna
Translat ed by
P I ETR O BUZZ I
Founder a nd Director of the Verdi School of Singing ,

Los A ngeles
RI C HAR D G BA DGER .
T H E GO RH A M P R ESS
BO ST O N
REFLE CT IONS ON THE FIGURAT IVE
A R T O F S ING ING
GIAM BATTI STA MANC INI

Singing M aster at the Imperial Court f
o Vienna
Translat ed by
P I ETR O BUZZ I
Founder a nd Director f
o t he Verdi School f
o Singing ,
Los A ngeles
RI C HAR D G BA DGER .
T H E GO R H A M P R ESS
BO S T O N
GIAMBATT IST A MANCINI ,
sni ging mast er at t he Imperia l Court of Vienna ,

st udied t h e ar t of singin g under Ant onio Bem ac ch i
of Bo logna and Leonardo Leo of Naples .
Born in Asc oli Piceno (Ita ly) in t he yea r MDCC

XVI and died in Vienna in t h e year MDCCC .
Third edit io n reviewed c orrecte d and aug ment ed

,
by t he a ut ho r was published in Milan (It a ly) in t he

year MDCCLXXVII by Giuseppe Galeaz z i Print er
, ,
o f t h e Roy a l House
.
This wo rk h as been t ranslate d int o t he French

la ng uage by t wo different writ ers ; one edit ion was
published in t h e year MDCCLXXVI under t h e
“ ”
t it le L art d u c ha nt fi gure a nd anot her edit io n was
’
print ed a lso in Paris in t he year MDC C LXXXXVI

under t h e t it le o f
Reflexions prat iques sur le chant fig ure

‘
.
TO HER ROYAL HIGHNESS
Th e serene Mary Eliz abet h Arc hduc hess of Aust ria ,

Princess of Hungary Bo heme, et c
, . et c .
Amo ng t he many gift s and virt ues whic h so

lumino usly adorn t he hea rt o f your Royal Highness ,
t h e art o f music o cc upies no lit t le part o f y o ur

t ho ught s a nd t ime . It is fo r t his rea so n t ha t I
dedica t e t hese t ho ught s t o y o u whic h are a co llec t io n
,
fo rmed fro m experience a nd medit at io ns and whic h,
I c onsider t o ha ve been of mo st use in my professio n

This boo k h as been published wit h t he a ut ho rit y
o f your g reat na me T o no grea t er h o no r a nd glo ry
c o uld I aspire . Ho wever in reviewing my work I
, ,
found reaso ns for modificat io n and enlargement I .
t r ust , Serene Princess, t ha t y o u will b e indulgent
Permit m e gain t o present and dedic a t e t o

a y o u
t his public hum ble t ribut e of respec t , grat it ude a nd
venerat ion
.
.
TO COMMANDER ALESSANDRO BONCI .
My love and devot ion t o art , led me t o devot e fiv e

years of t horough search t hro ughout t he libraries of
Europe before I found t his prec ious manusc ript
, .
I have spent t he great er part of t he last t wo years in

t ransla t ing it int o t h e English la nguage assiste d,
by my most devot ed pupil Miss Lucy La Cost a

,
-
I feel t hat t his is one of t he most import a nt works

ever writ t en c oncern ing t h e a rt o f singin g . It c omes
t o prove t o us t h a t t he art o f t he grea t It a lia n mast ers
h as no t disa ppeared fo r t his boo k wa s writ t en by t he
,
Dea n of t hese grea t mast ers when t h e go lden era of

,
song was in it s full gl o ry in It a ly .
There is a t endenc y t oday a mong t he English

spea king people and even t o some ext ent in o ur
,
beloved It a ly , t o t each vo ice cult ure by sc ient ific

and mec hanica l met ho ds a nd as a result o ur old
,
t ra dit ions ha ve been nea rly dest royed I have

unbounded fa it h t ha t t h e publica t ion of t hi s c lassic
will b e of vast impo rt ance in rest oring t h e old and

only correct met hod of t he a rt of t raining voices, and
singin g .
To y o u t he only living expo nent o f t h e art t hat
,
made It aly famous during t h e XVI and XVII

cent uries I dedicat e t his endea v or f o r t hree reasons :
,
First y o u and yo ur sublime a rt c o mplet ely c orro

,
borat e t he rules and precept s set fo rt h in t his boo k .
Sec ondly for t he int erest y o u a re sho wing t h e

,
English spea king people in helping t hem so lve t he

“
pro blem of c o mbining t h e art o f Bel Ca nt o wit h ”
t heir lang ua ge .
Thirdly under t he pat ro na ge of so excellent a

,
m usc ia l a ut h o rit y as y o u I m a y ha ve t he assura nce

,
t hat my feeble eff ort s will meet wit h indulgence .
P mr no Bo z z r,
Lyric Tenor-Director f
o the Verdi School f
o Sing ing ,
Los A ng eles, Ca lif ornia .
Signor P ietro Buz z i, Singing Mactor and Director
Mr Dm n PROFESSOR ha ve j ust finished read

-I
ing your splendid t ransla t ion of Gia mbat t ist a

Ma ncini s Osserv az ioni prat iche sul cant o fig urat o
’ ’
a nd must co ngra t ulat e yo u upon your succ ess Th e

odd st yle of t he anc ient writ ers is diffic ult t o t ransla te
int o modern English Wh ile y ou ha ve made a
.
lit era l t ranslat ion, y ou ha ve a lso made it very pla in

and easy t o underst a nd .
Undoubte dly , t his book will prove a grea t enlight

enment t o t h e whole musica l p ro fessio n a nd mo re
part icularly t o t his young and wonderful nat ion in

whic h at t he present t ime t here is suc h a widespread
movement in fa vor of t he libera l art s especia lly of
,
music and song .
This work appears at a propit ious moment , as no t

one o f t he ma ny new met hods h as proved as goo d o r
suc cessful as t he old It a lia n met hod . If t h e modern

sc ient ific disc overies would blend t h emselves wit h
t he o ld It alia n met hod using t he la t t er as a founds

,
t ion, t hen t h e art of song would aga in b e ra ised t o it s

I gly rec ommend your work t o t he English
st ro n
speaking peop le, a s it will show t hem how t o broad en
t h e vowels wit hout sac rific ing t he c onsona nt s a nd ,
a l so how t o co nt rol t h e sylla bles at t h e fro nt of t h e

“ ”
m o ut h wit ho ut t ight en ing t he Faneis a n ac t t hat
,
invariably mars t he purit y of t one Even in o ur .
It alian Lang ua ge whic h is so liquid and p ure t h e

, ,
vowels are o ften emphasiz ed in order t o insure t he

t o ne a t it s right plac e a nd pit c h t hus m a king it
,
ro und a nd so norous t hro ugho ut in so ft a s well a s in

,
loud passa ges .
Wishing y o u t h e success t o whic h your earnest

endea vo r ent it les y o u, I ac cept your kind dedica t io n
and endorse t h e book most hea rt ily .
ALESSANDR O Bo ner .
PREFACE
CC ID ENT ALLY , no w and t hen ut ilit y

has g iven life t o t he art s , which ha ve
t heir usefulness . These art s have been

ruined and b uried by t he succ ession o f c ent uries .
Some of t hem ha ve no t gro wn beyond a mediocrit y ,

in whic h st a t e t hey were bo rn ; espec ially t his is t rue
of t hose in China Many of t hem have been at
.
different t imes mo re o r less c ult ivat ed , according t o

t heir ut ilit y and t h e degre e o f int erest t a ken in t hem
by nat io ns a nd individuals On t he ot her hand many
o t her ar t s ha ve gra dually been bro ught t o perfect io n .
The la rger pa rt o f t h e art s, however t ha t have h ad

,
t heir birt h in a fa vo red and benefic ia l c limate , ha ve

h ad wit h ha rdly a ny except ion t heir prosperous life
fro m Africa t o Euro pe, fro m Egy pt t o Greec e and ,
were bro ught from At hens t o Rome But t he nort h

.
ern people s desire f or pilla ge and devast a t ion broke

’
and dest ro yed t h e Roman dominions, and la id t he
burying in t heir barbarism t he art s, t heir fo unders

and supporte rs They annihilated t he st ores of
.
11
12 PREFACE
product s of t h e t a lent s and indust ries of o ur great
When t he liberal art s were reca lled t o a new life,

a fte r suc h a disast rous epoc h and cent ur ies of oblivion
it was st ill necessa ry t o rec over and assemble t h e few

fra gment s left int act from t he rasca lit y of man,and t o
imit a t e t hese remains .
Thro ugh t he imit at io n of perfec t models o ne can ,
ac quire grea t knowledge a nd c ult ure (Al t ho ugh as

.
Ma rmo nt el says in his art icle Crit ique, o ne m ay

”
misc onst rue t h e word imit a t ion by ca rrying it t o such

a n ext reme t ha t o ne bec omes a sla ve t o models, a nd
t hus dest ro ys his own crea t ive a bilit y ) Thus a .
paint er in his examina t ions gives his pupils so me wo rk

of Ra phael t o copy .
But no t every art h as perfec t models fo r t h e st u

dent s t o c opy and observ e Sing ing is one o f t ho se
.
a rt s whic h lives mo re by t h e t ransmissio n o f it s
precept s t han by exa mples or illust rat ion .
Prec ept and t heory ought t o ha ve been in all

t imes a nd ages t h e element and inspira t io n o f every
sc ience and every art But as m an c omes from t he
hands of na t ure a bsolut ely ignorant it is o nly
t hr o ugh int uit io n o bservat io n and experienc e t ha t
,
h e is a ble t o ded uce and solve t hem We c onc lude

.
t hen t ha t experienc e is t he wisest te ac her of a ll t he

arts . In music it is espec ia lly t rue ; and t hose who
are t h e most experienced and p ract iced in it must ,
beyo nd a do ubt , possess t he most knowled ge I do .

PREFA CE 13
not flat te r myself t o such a point , b ut I only wish fo r

t he benefit of t he whole professio n t o g ive t hese ,
sugg est ions and visions of wisdo m whic h I ha ve
acquired in my ma ny years devo t ed t o t his art .
I published in Vienna in l 774 some of my t hought s

,
and reflect io ns upon voca l music , fo r t h e benefit no t
only of t h e teac hers, b ut a lso fo r t hose who st udy .
My effort s ha ve been accept ed indulgent ly , not o nly

in It aly a nd Germany ,b ut a lso in France,where t hey
have been t ransla t ed int o t hat la nguage in t h e past
year 1 776 by Mr De Fo ug iers and a lit t le la t er in
.
—
,
t h e mo nt h of Ma rc h t hey were ment ioned in t h e

“ ”
book Lit erary St ory by t he Re v Abbot Ro z ier .
,
page 261 But a s I found I h ad o mit t ed so me

.
t hings whic h I deem useful , I st art ed a gain o ut of ,
pure past ime , t o writ e t hem o ut and t o t hese I ha ve

a dded ma ny o t her reflec t ions .
The request s of friends, and t h e a ut horit y o f

professors, ha ve urged me t o reproduce t he a bove
ment ioned reflect ions and ma ke t hem more perfect
and also enr ic h t hem as I h a ve done I could verif y
.
t his st a t ement by publishing t h e gracious let t ers

rec eived fro m Fat her Maest ro Ma rt ini , Giova nni
Hafl e , alias Sa fl one, Gaet ano Lat illa , Nic olo Picc ini ,
’
Giovanni Amadeo Naumann, and ot her famo us

professors of o ur art If t hese let ters were not so
.
‘
full of undeserv ed c ompliment s and praise, I would

publish t hem , b ut modest y f orbids .
Infl uenced by such aut horit ies and t he desire t o

c ont ribut e t o t he good of t he p rofession, I ha ve no t
M PREFA CE
hesita t ed t o put
to f m , refine
re o r and
will look wit h a kind eye upon t his work , which I

have done for t he a dvant a ge of st udent s ; and I also
t rust t ha t t h e yout hs will profit by t his work of
mine, t ha t t hey will discover in it , inst ruct ion and
foo d ,and t hat t hey will raise t heir a mbit ions t hro ugh
,
t h e no bilit y of t he art a nd find inspirat ion t o fix t heir

ste ps well in t he pa t h o f perfec t ion and ho nor .
T HE A RT O F SING ING
CHAPTER I
T HE EX C ELLEN C E A ND STERLING Wo nrn '

or MUSIC
MONG all t he re medies which huma nit y

h a s invent ed t o fo rt ify it self a ga in st
indo lence a nd idleness and a mong all t he
,
objec t s t hat ho ld our imag inat ion and

sent iment s t here is no doubt b ut t h at music is t h e
,
most joc und and perfec t It is capable of ma king

.
us fo rget t h e p a ins o f life t hus relieving us

, It .
ma kes us c onsc ious o f delica t e feelings and it provokes

in us mo re exquisit e sent iment s disc losing t o us a
,
bet t er exist ence by giving us pleasure and rec reat ion .
It is c ommo nly believed t ha t music t a kes it s deri

“ ” “
va t io n from Musa defined as : Art of combining
”
sounds in a way pleasing t o t h e ear Music is
.
c onsidered t he most c h arming and beaut iful of a ll
t he libera l a rt s
. And if y o u invest igat e t he princ iples
o f it s c ombinat ions, t he cause a nd effec t s whic h it
awakens in us y o u will read ily see t ha t it can b e

,
ca lled a sc ience, a s well as an art . Th e va lue a nd

exc ellence of an a rt ca n reaso nably b e det ermined by
t hree t hings -
it s birt h , t h e number of people wh o
learned it and t h e advant a ges derived .
l7
18 THE ART OF SINGING
most despot ic of a ll and t he one which has t h e grea t

est power over t h e huma n heart , and is a lso t ha t
branch of music which fo llows most c lo sely it s
t he world I will no t presume t o t race t he fa mous

.
invent or, bec ause it would b e boldness and idle

since so many learned m en ha ve writ t en abo ut it ,
espec iall y t h e imm o rt a l Fat h er Mast er Gia m b et
t ist a Ma rt ini , co nv ent ia l mino r , st ill living in B o lo g

na . He is a c lear minded man , a nd a lig ht a nd
exa mple of o ur pro fessio n . Indeed as an hist orian ,
and in c onsidera t io n of his wo rks, h e rig ht ly deserves
t o b e ca lled t h e hono r of his cent ury a nd of h is order .
Le t it b e a s we rea d in t h e Old Test a ment , t hat in

t he first da ys of t h e wo rld Juba l was t h e fi rst in vent
,
o r while Diodoro assert s t ha t t he E g ypt ia ns resur

,
rec t ed it a ft er t h e Deluv ia n period , a nd Polibio
a flirm s t ha t t he Arca dians were t h e invent ors while
Plinio at t ribut es it t o Anfio ne, Dionisio and o t hers

g iv e t h e credit t o t h e G rec ians . To m e t hi s p ro o f is
enough t hat music is t he most anc ient art

, . And I
c ould sa y wit h Luc rez io wit h all suret y , t ha t t his a rt
was born wit h t he fir st m en ; t hat from t h e sweet ,
na t ural c oncert s of t h e birds t hey learned t o modulat e

,
t heir o wn voic es . Fo r , wh o is t here in t he world

who does not know mo re o r less how t o sing " There
is song wherever t here is speec h Even t h e sa vages
who live in t he fo rest s like wild beasts ha ve t heir,
own songs . Some of t hem have been published by

T HE ART OF SINGIN G 19
Ro usseau in t he last t a ble of his Musica l Dict ionary .
It is t he c ust om of t he sa vages t o t ell t heir bra very

and ac t s of war , t o t he c ong ress of t heir t ribes, by
sing ing t hem in order t o a dd t o t hem more honor and
dignit y. This art t hen, cla ims and flat ters itself
wit h t he vale of ant iquit y , t he honor of being pop ular
quent ly c ult ivat ed by all orders o f persons T h e .
sacred and secular hist o ries st and and spea k wit h
luminous exa mples t o prove t he verac it y of my st a t e
invo lved deeply in t he st udy of milit a ry life, polit ics ,
philosophy and t heolog y,were at t ract ed by t he ana vi

t y a nd sweet ness of song and st ole ma ny hours from
,
t heir gra ve occ upat ions t o st udy t his art " They
c o nquered it , not as a profession b ut for fanc y a nd
t he lyre as well as wit h t he t og a and sword ,and t hus

,
honored a rt a lso Da vid sung his songs wit h t he harp ;

.
Jeremiah sung his Mot te t t o s wit h t he z y t h er ;

‘ ”
“ ”
Sa int Cec ilia sung her medit a t io ns Soliloqui o n t he
o rga n ; t he Holy Arc h Bisho p Sa int Ambrogio , pro
t ect or of Milan, applied himself t o t his art t o suc h a

degree t hat he composed t he hymns of grace, sac red
t o t he Lord , in order t o keep t h e re lig ious fervor t o a
high st a ndard among t he people of h is Diocese .
This singing t ook t h e na me of Amb rogian chant

20 T HE ART OF SINGING
and t he yle t oo k t he na me of Greg orian chant ,

st
‘
Cant o -Gregoriano Guido Ar et ino , t he venera ble
’
monk , invent ed t h e so c alled Cant o Fermo and

-
‘ ’
“ ”
in some places Ca nt o Fig ura t o , (of whic h we are
no w t a lking) , adding rea l va lue t o t h e syst em whid l
he lef t us .
Gre ece and Ro me ha ve given ma ny t est imonia ls

in fa vo r a nd honor o f Music .Take t he Empero rs ,
A lexander t h e Great Tit o Andria no a nd Marc o

, ,
Aurelio were t hey no t a ll very dist inguished in t his

,
a rt a nd al so h er grea t prot ec t o rs" Homer assure s us
t hat Chit one t aught music t o Ac hille, a nd Homer

himself used t o sing his o wn poems, ac companying
himself wit h t h e lyre and z y t her C imone and .
Epaminonda , great generals, enjoyed in t h e sa me

degre e t h e direc t ing o f a c hoir and t h e leading of a n
army .
Appio C la udio, when ret urning from t heir vict ories ,
c ould no t a pprec ia t e t h e va lue of t heir t riumphs
unless t hey were a cc ompa nied by music .
Not only t he anc ient hero es cult iv at ed music , b ut

a lso t he g rea t legisla t ors and philosophers did no t
c onsider t hemselves c omplet e unless t hey h ad a
kno wledge of music .
Solone, a Grecian philosopher, wished t o st udy

music when he was an o ld ma n Socrat es,t he honor
.
of t he Grec ia n Lyceu ms c onsidered t h e knowled ge o f

,
music indispensa ble t o b e perfect as a philosopher ,
and a t t h e age of sixt y years, he h ad t h e rules of

THE ART OF SIN GIN G 21
music dict ate d t o him If we were t o believe what

“
.
Laerz io says : Pit t ag o ra placed t he st udy o f music

before many ot her st udies and gave it t h e sa me at t en
t io n as Geomet ry and Arit hmet ic , and indeed wit h ,
suc h good resu lt s t hat Svida and Boez io sa y t ha t
fro m t he acc ident a l sound o f t hree ha mmers in a

bla c ksmit h s sho p h e discovered t he first and t he
’
,
proport ion of t h e princ ipal consonanc e of t h e int er

vals o f music .
In o ne word all t h e anc ient writ ers st a t e a nd assure

,
us (Luc ia ni s gymn a st ic plut a r dc musique) t ha t

’
,
music in t hat t ime was considered a necessary a rt by

a ll peopl e of c ommo n sense and kno wledge a nd t h e ,
belief was carried t o such an exte nt t hat people wh o

h ad no knowledge o f music were c onsidered illit erat e ,
as we c onsider m en t oday wh o ca nno t rea d o r writ e
We can prove t h is st at ement by referring y o u t o t h e

speec h of t he cr own of t h e Ro ya l Aca demy of Music
o f Mant ua ,published t here in t hose rec ords
Music is such an art t hat Plat o Arist o t le Cicerone

, , ,
and Sa int August in overwhelm it wit h pra ise One

ca lls it
“ ”
hea venly disc ipline a not her celest ‘ '
“
,
a no t her pleasure, and ano t her calls it relief of ‘
huma n miseries ”
We do not find suc h a number o f
.
superla t ive pra ises fo r any o t her art Sa int Aug us

.
t in wh o h as wr it t en many bo oks, spea ks profusely

,
o f music and in fac t in h is Boo k IV Ch ap IV o f t h e

“
, .
”
T rinit y he shows us t hat every man from na t ura l
inst inct feels t he suavit y o f music and t h e po wer of
musical harmony That even t he uncult ured m an
.
22 THE All OF SINGING
Igive all t hese asser t ions, in order t o sa t isfy t hose

wh o st ill doubt t h e po wer o f music And in fact .
if more at te nt io n was paid t o everyt hing t h at is

writ t en t oday a bout t he efl ec t which music produc es,
t here would no t b e t h e nee d t o influence people o f
every c ondit ion t o c ult iva t e it .
Music by it s hidden divine power grasps t h e ,
human heart , st irs it wraps it a bout it self and modi

,
fies it at will No w it dist urbs, t hen c heers it ; now

.
fil ls it wit h love o r fright and t hen moves it t o mir th

or t ea rs and all t hro ugh t h e sec re t work o f harmo ny
,
a nd espec ially by virt ue o f song Take,for exam m e . ,

”
t h e furors of Sa ulle which were ca lmed by Da vid s
‘ ’
harp Ta ke t h e inf a mies o f Alexander pro vo ked

.
wit h Frigia s Cant ilena Were t hey not ca lmed by

’
.
Timo t eo wit h his Lidia " And t oday , are not o ur

o wn mood s of mela nch o ly dispelled by music a nd
song " Music h as a lso been used t o relieve illness
This is proven by t h e rec ords of t he Academy of

o f Sc ience of Pa ris in t he years MDCCVII MDCC
—
VIII Ot her simila r st a te ment s are reporte d by

.
Med icae XX Lipsiae apud maur Georg Weidman

. . .
MDCCXXII m 1 2 t o pa ge 464 where a medica l

“
disc ourse De Musica will b e found Macrob io
”
.
Lib . 2 in suan sc r ip C
. . 3 sa ys, t hat music lo
cures a s
24 THE ART OF SIN GING
rece ive fo r t heir deed b ut t heir hea rt s were so deeply

,
t o uc hed t ha t c o nversio n re vea led t hose t rea sures of

wo rt h which can b e found in t h e hardest m a n They .
repente d f o r ha vin g ent ered int o t h e plo t t o c a rry
o ut suc h a n inh uma n design , a nd t o uc hed by remo rse
f o r ha ving pla nned t o dest ro y t h e life o f such a rare

a rt ifi cer t hey dec ided t o respec t him a nd keep him a s
,
sa c red . T o t h a t end t hey wa it ed f o r him a nd t o ld

him t heir reaso n for being t here and in o rder t hat h e
,
might pro t ec t himself fro m persec ut io n and vengea nce

t o ld him t ha t h e h a d a g rea t enemy .
A s a la st exa mple I will t ell y o u wha t music did f o r

t h e c ruel m a n Am ura t t e IV ( 1 ).
( Ext r ac t o f t h e
hist o ry of t he Ot t o man Empire by Prince Ca nt emir ,

published in Pa ris in 1 743 Vol 4 in 12t h t o Boo k
, .
, ,
3 "ingdo m o f A m ura t t e t o t h e let t er " )

, , When .
h e t oo k t h e c it y o f B a gda d h e o rdered t ha t wit ho ut

except io n every c it iz en wa s t o b e killed A mo ng t h e.
unfo r t una t es wa s Sob ac c uli-

,a valia nt Persian
music ia n He begged so hard fo r h is life t hat he was
.
a llo wed t o a ppea r befo re A m ur at t e before being

“
killed and t o who m h e spoke t hus : I d o not feel sorry
t o lo se my life b ut I reg ret t ha t wit h my deat h such
,
a n exce llent a rt a s m usic sha ll a lso d ie By living I .
ho ped t o bring it t o perfec t ion Let m e live o nly

.
long eno ugh t o perfec t t his div ine art and if I succeed ,
in reac hing t he go a l t o whic h I a sp ire I sha ll d ie ,
happier t han if I po ssessed your empire Sohae .
c uli was permit t ed t o give a n exhibit i on o f h is kno w

“
ledge He t oo k ih h is hands a Schesch ada r (a
.
”
THE ART OF SINGING 25
kind of harp ) and a ccompanying himself h e sa ng t h e

,
“ ” “
Co nquest o f Bagda d and t he Triumph o f Am urat
”
t e wit h suc h swee t ness and feeling t ha t t h e Prince
,
felt so enrapt ured he no t only st o pped t he but c hery

at o nce, b ut ret urned libert y t o t h ose peo ple .
I ha ve not hing mo re t o say except t o encoura ge

,
t h e yo ung st udent s and lo vers o f t his a rt t o a pply

t hemselves wit h e arnest ness a nd goo d will in o rder
,
t ha t t hey m a y so me da y bec o me a n ho no r t o t hem

,
selves t o t heir c ount ry and t o t heir art "

,
CHAPTER II
T HE DIV ERS E SCHOO LS, FAMOUS MEN A ND DIS

TIN G UIS HED WO M EN WHO HAV E FLO U RISHED
,
IN THE A RT O F SINGING IN THE PA ST
C ENT URY AND ARE STILL FLO UR

,
ISHING T O DA Y
-
LT HOUGH t h e l fundament a l
r u es and
princ iples of music are well kno wn and

are everywhere Ob served a nd fo llo wed ,
t he va ried wa ys o f a pplying t hem in

inst rument a l as well as in voc a l music render t he
,
exec ut io n d ifferent. T h e a mo unt o f pleasure t o b e

derived depends upon t he exec ut ion As t he pur
, .
pose o f t his wo rk is t o deal wit h voca l music o r t h e ,
a rt o f singing I will d isc lose t h e different met ho d s

,
a nd syste ms follo wed .
The syste ms which ha ve c ha rac t eriz ed t h e diverse

sc hoo ls of t his bea ut iful art are varied Many .
met hods ha ve been a nd are st ill used in any one o f

t hese pa rt ic ula r sc hools Every learned mast er
.
fo llows h is own judg ment ; molding h is idea s by t h e

abilit y and int elligence of his pupils In spit e o f t his
.
fact , many men and women of great wo rt h and

26
T HE ART OF SINGING 27
virt uo sit y , ha ve co me from all t hese schools and sy s

t ems, befo re t h e public .
T he success o f a singer depends most ly upon t he

sc ience of his t ea c her and h is met hod o f direc t ing
h im and a lso upo n his a bilit y t o underst and t h e

,
na t ure o f his pupil I do no t inte nd t o speak o f t h e

.
sc hoo ls o f ot her na t ions b ut only o f t ha t of It a ly b e

, ,
ca use I kno w it In prac t ic ing I ha ve h ad t h e

.
o pport unit y t o m a ke t h e O bserva t io ns and reflec t ions
c ont a ined in t his sma ll t rea t ise T he most cele

.
b ra t ed schoo ls which ha ve flo urished for so lo ng a

t ime in It a ly and were st ill in exist ence a t t h e end o f
t h e last cent ury were t hose o f t he Fedi
“ ”"
in Rome
, ,
o f Fra ncesc o An t o nio Pist och i in B o lo gna , of Giu
seppe Ferdinando B riv io in Mila n , o f Fra ncesc o Peli
in Modena of Francesc o Re di in Florence of Giu

, ,
seppe Ama do ri in Rome of Nic olo Po rpora , Leo na r

,
schoo l tha t a t t he end of t he la st century (XDC ) was t he mo st

fam ous of Ita ly Angelino Bo nt empi of Perug ia sa ys tha t those
.
valiant singers used t o ta ke their pupils very o ften fo r a stro ll

where there was t he fa mo us echo in t he Valley of St Paul There
. .
they exercised their pupils t o sing in a lo ud vo ic e T he ech o

v y defec t of t he vo ice of t he one sing ing thus t he student s
e er ,
co nvinced by suc h evidence o f their fa ul ts could co rrec t them m o re

,
P i l b t d organ and cemba lo pla yer ; wi th Archangelo

asqu no , a c e e ra e
Ca relli a com poser o f no te and a vio lin pla yer While co mm uni
, .
ca ting t he bea ut ies o f their a rts wi th themselves they were o f

,
g rea t st im ulus t o t he illustrio us student s co ming out from their

d o Leo , Francesco Feo a nd Donenico Egiz io in

,
Naples Many singers were sent from t hese sc hoo ls

wh o were ma de fa mo us no t o nly by t heir professio n
b ut by t he number o f new singers t hey ma de in
success ion t he beaut ies of t h e art in t heir own varied

st yles . They t ransmit t ed also t he easiest and most
nat ur a l met hod o f perfo rming t hese bea ut ies To
proceed in order , I sha ll ment io n all t hose men and
wo men o ne by o ne wh o ha ve been t h e bright light s
, ,
o f o ur a rt a t t h e end of t h e last cent ury . Th e Chev .
Ba ldassarre Ferri born in Perugia , possessed a most

,
bea ut iful, flexible sweet and harmonious vo ice and

,
h a d t he widest ra nge o ne ever heard . He was a

uniq ue and prodig io us sin ger and was a t a ll t imes
c o vered wit h request s by every mona rc h o f Euro pe ,
wh o wished t o do him ho no rs of every kind . Af t er

h is dea t h every poet o f It a ly wrot e hymns t o c o m
,
memorat e h is memo ry His c ont emporaries wro t e

.
t hat words c ould no t express t h e bea ut y o f h is vo ice ,
a nd his gra c eful m anner o f singing . He h ad t o a

high degree a ll t he necessa ry sc hoolin g in every st yle
o f singing .He wa s j oy ful fierce grave and t ender
, , ,
a ll at will . He enrapt ured t h e hea rt s wit h h is pat hos

a nd was a ble (in o ne bre a t h ) t o go up a nd do wn t wo
oc t a ves t rilling c o nt inually a nd ma rking every deg ree
( t o d a y t his is c a lled c h r o m a t i c sca le) wi t h suc h per
f ec t io n a nd wit h o ut a cc o mpa niment so t ha t if,
suddenly t h e orc he s t ra were t o st rike a ch o rd o n t he
t o ne h e was singing whet her B fla t o r B sharp o ne

,
- -
,
wo uld hear in t hat inst ant a cho rd so perfec t t hat it

c ould no t b ut ca use c omment "
Ano t her singer wh o flourished at t he beg inning of

t his c ent ury was Gio va nni Pait a t he splendo r o f ,
Liguria , born in Genoa Very few people co uld .
c o mpa re wit h him in singing and ac t ing Fra ncesc a .
Bo sc hi of Bolo gna was a celebrit y o f suc h int elligence

t ha t in Venice sh e was ba pt iz ed t h e Musica l So lo
‘
m on .
T wo her celebra t ed singers were Siface and Chev

ot
Mat t eucc i , wh o were considered sin gula r f or t heir

evenness o f vo ic e a nd int erpret a t io n Ma t t eucc i .
a ft er ha ving sa t isfa c t o rily served a t t h e c ourt o f
Spa in ret urned when an o ld m an t o his ho me in

,
Naples where he was st ill living in 1 73 0 Out of .
pure devo t ion t his great man sang in c hurc h every

,
Sa t urday Alt ho ugh he was eight y years o f ag e h e

.
,
was st ill a ble t o sin g in a ny st yle a nd pre served a

vo ice o f such c larit y and purit y t ha t if he was no t ,
seen o ne wo uld t hink h im a sing er in t h e flo wer o f

,
h is yo ut h This sa me g if t o f preserv ing t h e vo ice

.
at a very adva nc ed a ge wa s given a lso t o G aet a no
Orsini who died cov ered wit h ho no rs at t he Imperia l

,
Francesc o Ant o nio Pist occ a e end of t he past “

hi t t h
c ent ury felt ca lled by t he Lo rd t o t h e ret ired life
o f t he Fat her s o f t he Ora t o rio in Fo r li Aft er so me .
‘
H w admitted
e as mp t th a co l b t d d my f t h
o ser o e ce e ra e a ca e o e
Fil m ni
ar o f B l g n in t h y
cs o o o 1 690
a, nd w
e P in f t h
ea r , a as r ce o e
aca demy in t he yea rs 1708-17 10 .

t ime he t ook up h is residence in Bologna his nat ive

, ,
t o wn a nd t here o pened a sc hool of singing He .
assist ed every p upil wit h suc h a b nega t io n and lo ve
and t a ug ht suc h doc t rine t ha t it will b e exp edient t o
st op f o r a moment and c o nsider a few o f his p upils
in o rder t hat y ou may deduc t h is sc ienc e and kno wl

edge . One of h is most fa mous pupils was Ant o nio
,
Bem ac c h i of Bologna (a nd my t eac her ) He a s h e

.
,
c onf essed himself wa s not gift ed wi t h a very go o d

,
voice He was persuaded by h is friends a nd dec ided

.
,
t o t rust himself a bso lut ely under t h e direc t io n of

Pist occhi who not o nly greet ed him very kindly b ut
, ,
a t o nc e ma pped o ut f o r him h is line of st udy whic h ,
wo uld eliminat e his defec t s and place him as soo n

as possible in c ondit io n t o benefi t him self by t h e
a dva nt age whic h ma y b e ho ped fo r as a fru it o f
c onst a nt a pplic a t io n in t he exerc ising o f music .
Bem acc h i undert ook h is diffic ult t ask bra vely ,
willing t o st udy t h e necessa ry lengt h of t ime as t h e

rules of h is t eac her required He never missed h is
daily lessons in o rder t o a va il himself of his t eac her s
,
’
a dvic e During t h e t ime o f h is st udy h e no t only

.
,
refused t o sing in a ny o f t h e c hurc hes a nd t hea t res ,
b ut even re fused t o si ng fo r h is mo st int imate friends .
He c o nt inued living in t his way unt il h is t ea c her

,
ga ve him permissio n t o d o ot herwise a nd a t t ha t

,
t ime h e st a rt led t h e wo rld wit h his a rt .My pen is

t oo a rid t o pret end t o t ell y o u a ll t he ho no rs received
by t his ma n It is eno ugh f or me t o say t ha t h e wa s
.
,
universa lly admire d in It a ly , Germ a ny , Engla nd a nd

t he benefit of young and wort h y st udent s Among .
his pupils, Carlo Carla ni of Bolog na (no w dead) is
i
s ng s at oya l cha pel a t Na ples Also Tommaso
t he r .
Guarduc ci, an acc omplished cha mber singer of t he

Grand Duke of Tusca ny , and t he celebrat ed and
universally known An t o nio Ra lf These four pro .
fesso rs who wo n reno wn as singers in t heir own varied

a nd a ppropria te st yles, also lived suc h honora ble
lives t hat t he whole profession can not help b ut t a ke
Ant onio Pasi of Bolo gna also a pupil of Pist oc chi

, ,
made a glorious na me f or himself by h is mast erly

sing ing He sang wit h suc h rare t aste d ue t o h is art
.
of perfect port a ment o and unfolding of t he voice He .
i nt roduced a mixt ure of granit e composed of grac e

f ul gruppet t is,t urns lig ht passages,t hrills mordente s
, ,
and te mpo rub at o ,wh ic h h e rendered so perfec t ly and
in t heir proper plac e t ha t he formed a st yle pec uliar

,
Mirelli,of t he sa me c it y and school,sa ng c ont ralt o in

a sust a ined st yle
“
wit h a noble port a ment o di
,
voce Yet h is voic e did not lac k sufi c ient a gilit y

.
of granite qualit y nor did it lac k t he t hrill and morden

‘
The terms througho ut this b ook t o disting uish
used the
m emb ellishment s and styles o f sing ing wh ich are t he
sp ecial at t ainment s o f each art ist . b eing so rec eiv ed in ev ery
school o f music as such and ha v ing a det ermined sig nificance,
t e, whic h alt oget her , ena bled

perform in any
him t o
st yle . His musica l
a c c ent was one of h is best
prerogat ives and as he was a man of high c ult ure,h is
,
singing was a lmost perfec t so t hat h e right ly d e

,
served t he t it le o f an erudit e si nger Anot her singer

.
of Bologna was Annibale Pio Fa bri ,alias Balino who ,
wa s a lso a pupil o f Pist oc c hi He was one o f t h e

.
most excellent t eno rs o f h is t ime a nd was ad mired in

all t h e first t hea t res of It a ly a nd wa s wa rmly wel
,
co med by v ar io us princes espec ia lly by S , C M . . .
Empero r Charles VI wh o ho no red him by offering

.
,
himself t o b e godfa t her fo r o ne of h is daught ers He .
was a lso an h o norary member c ompo ser of t h e ,
Philharmonic Aca demy in l 7 1 9 and Prince of t h e

Aca demy duri g t h e yea rs 1 725 29 43 47 and 5 0
n - - —
.
Lat er he went t o fill t he posit io n of singer at t he Roya l

Cha pel of Lisbon where he died o n August 20 o f t h e
,
year of 1 760 Ba rt o lino di Faenz a a not her pupil o f

.
,
Pist oc c hi a nd c o mpanio n o f Bem a cc h i made a repu ,
t at io n f o r himself by h is va ried and perfec t st yle .
Yo u see t hese fi v e pro fesso rs rec eived t heir inst ruo

,
t io ns fro m t h e o ne t eac her y et eac h h ad an a bso lut e

,
ly different st yle o ne whic h c o rresponded t o eac h

—
one s disposit ion a nd nat ura l g ift s This exa mple is

’
sufi cient t o sho w us t hat a good experienced t eac her
ca nnot h a ve o nly o ne way o f inst ruc t ing h is pupils .
It pro ves t hat t o b e suc cessfu l in making perfec t

singers a t eac her must kno w every wa y in which t o
,
handle his pupils in o rder t o t ra in each individual

,
voice ; for he must kno w t h e right remedy for eac h

voice T he t eacher t ha t possesses t his t a lent will

.
a lwa ys b e admired and re vered by t h e t rue expert s
of art Singers must always pay at t ent io n not t o

.
wh at t hey see a nd hear ; for inst ea d of improving
v
e er , I do not mean t o exc lude im it a t ion, bec ause by
im it at ing t he perfect in music , using sane judgment
and modifica t ions suit a ble t o one s o wn pa rt ic ul ar
’
t a lent , o ne perfec t s himself To imit a t e what t he

.
Senesino Gio vanni C arest ini dist inguished

a nd
t hemselves by t heir o riginalit y in singin g a nd good

ac t ing C areSt ini wa s bo rn in Mount Fila t ra na nea r
.
Ma rca of Anco na He went t o Mila n when t welv e

.
years o f age, where he won t he prot ect io n of t he

no ble fa mily C usa ni Out of gra t it ude t o t hem he
.
sang under t h e na me of C usa nino Alt ho ugh h is

.
voic e was nat urally bea ut if ul h e st udied diligent ly

un t il he c ould render a ny st yle perfect ly He was .
very young when he beca me fa mous He h ad a .
clea r mind and delic a t e and refined j udg ment in a ll
t hat h e did .Yet he was so modest t ha t he was never

sat isfied and ha ppy over his work It once happened
.
t hat a n int ima t e friend was wit h h im when he was

pract ic ing and showed so much ent husiasm ov er h is
“
work , t hat Carest ini sa id t o him : My friend I ,
cannot reac h t he point of sat isf ying myself ; a nd so it

THE ART OF SINGIN G 35
seems t o m e t ha t
I cannot please ot hers He con
.
t inued prac t ic ing his songs and embellishment s unt il

h e rea lly foun d t he grea t est pleasure In t hem himself .
This IS t he reason his singing was a lways dist ing uish

ed , dec ided and sublime Besides being a perfect
.
singer h e ac quired t he a rt of ac t ing and mastered it

,
so well t ha t wit h h is splendid personali t y he ma de
himself fit t ed t o represent t he grea t est and noblest

pa rt s of t he Operat ic ro les .
At t he sa me t ime t ha t men were winning admira

t io n a ll o ver Europe women of equal va lue c om
,
menc ed t o a ppea r an d follo wed t h e sa me glorious

wa y . One of t hese who wit hout do ubt dist inguished
,
herself mo re t han o t hers was Vit t oria Tesi Tra mon

t ini bo rn In Florence , where she received her fi rst
,
rules a nd p recept s o f art from t he ha nds of t he grea t
c ha pel mast er , Franc esc o Redi She t hen went t o

.
Bo lo gna t o c ont inue her st udy under t he direct ion of

t h e re nowned Franc esc o Ca mpeggi , assist ing at t he
sa me t ime a t t he Bem acc h i Sc hool In spite of t h e
.
fac t t hat she wa s a grea t mast er of singing yet ,
fo llo win g her inc linat ion and enc ouraged by her first
successes st ar te d t o perfec t herself in ac t ing
, and ,
added in t his wa y ano t her a rt She was endo wed wit h

.
a ll t hese ra re pre roga t ives whic h are se ldo m c o mbined
and whic h were a ll in her , a bea ut iful a ppea rance,
acc ompa nied by a very graceful bea ring a c lea r

,
pronunc ia t ion and t he int uit ion t o give t o t he wo rds

,
t heir t rue mean ing .It was t hus exped ient fo r h er t o

lea rn t o adapt herself t o c learly dist inguish eac h
36 T HE ART OF SING ING
c harac t er t hro ugh ac t ion, bearing , ma ke-up and

self possession She had suc h perfec t int ona t ion t hat
.
t here was never a quiver in t he most crit ica l and

drama t ic passages All were in her, singula r g ift s,
“
.
”
and t hus rendered h er mast er of her art This .
woman received many honors In 1 769 , t he "ing

“
.
of Denmark ga ve her t h e c ross of t he Order of

Consta ncy a nd Fa it hf ulness In a word we can say
.
t ha t in h er t ime sh e was one of t h e most import ant

support s of t h e It a lia n t hea t re This is o ne of t he
.
ma ny exa mples of t he value t hat it is t o ha ve a

knowledge of one s own a bilit y a nd st rengt h a nd t o b e
’
a ble t o ma ke an exa minat ion of t he na t ura l dispo si
t ion wh ic h eac h of us possess in order t hat o ne ca n b e

successful in his st udy a nd in a c orrespo nding way of
living It is t rue t ha t Vit t oria Test i T ra m o nt ini

.
wit h only her voice and art of singing (a lt hough per

feet ) c ould ha ve never reac hed t h e celebrat ed renown
t ha t sh e did , wit ho ut her remarka ble a t t a inment s as
a n ac t ress a nd in dec la m a t ion ; c o vered wit h honors,
sh e d ied in Vienn a in t h e yea r 1 7 75 Following Tesi , .
ca me Fa ust ina B o rdoni wife of t h e celebrat ed co m

“
,
poser Giovanni Hafle alias Sa fl o ne She was born .
Gi vanni H fi w nt t o N pl in t h year 1722 t o

‘
o a e e a es ntinu e co e
of t he b t d Alessandro Scarla tti It is not necessary fo r me

cele ra e .
t o expla in here wha t impro vem ents he made beca use a ltho ug h ,
still very yo ung he di sting uished him self a nd wo n a dm ira ti on a ll
o ver Euro pe . This artist after ha ving written ma ny very success

f ul o peras f o r t he lead ing and diverse thea tres of Italy ac cepte d .
a n hono ra ble positio n a t t h e Ro ya l and Electora l Ho use o f Saxony

in Venice where she learned t he art of singing under

t h e direc t io n of Mic hela ngelo Gas perini from Lucca
(This mast er was not only perfec t in his art b ut he
beca me very effic ient in c ount erpoint under t h e
valia nt and learned Ant onio Lot t i He wro t e so me .
t heat rica l works o f very fine na t ure as well as some ,
well developed c hurc h c omposit ions) Our Fa ust .
ina Bordoni, well ed uca t ed by her t eac her formed ,
suc h a ra re st yle of c lea r a gilit y , whic h sh e used wit h
where fo r ma ny years he wro te many bea utiful churc h composi

,
tions and operas for tha t thea tre where t he public always asked
,
for t he very best and finished in music It is t he g rea t wish of our

.
best pro fesso rs tha t this g rea t man sho uld consent t o ha ve publish
ed if no t a ll o f them at least pa rt o f h is mo st acc la imed wo rks,
, , ,
so tha t t hey ma y serve as a mo del and stim ulan t t o t he yo ung
g enera tio n of student s He was so exc eeding ly mo dest tha t he

.
never co nsented t o suc h requests and t o this da y o ur wishes ha ve
remained unsa tisfied . Al though he ac cep ted t he ro yal posi tio n

in Saxo ny y et he never fa iled t o come very o ften t o I ta ly where
, ,
h e wro te many o peras and was alwa ys well rec eived and honored
, .
This grea t reputa tion bro ug ht him t o Paris under t h e g overnment

,
o f Louis XV . "ing o f t he Frenc h and also t o Berlin by t h e

, ,
reig ning Fred erik 11 "ing of Prussia where h e met wit h t he

, .
same success and universa l admira tion Fro m t h e Im peria l

.
Co urt he also received distinc t io ns and fa vo rs and of la te t h e

, .
most ma gna nimo us Empress Maria Teresa ha s ta ken advanta ge

,
of this celebra te d mast er in t h e most lumrno us oc casions of t he
vario us weddings of th e Imperial family The artist ic life o f this

.
g rea t man has been rat her short b ut yet we disc ern tha t a t any
,
time and at any place his worth has been fully understood and
.
a pprecia ted ; and no w h e lea ds a very quiet life in Venic e He has

“
.
muc h g lo ry and is ca lled by th e g rea t pro fesso rs The Father of ,

”
Music .
great case t hat it bro ught her high honors at t h e

,
very beg inning of her c areer Her st yle and a gilit y

.
were very superior beca use t hey vibrat ed t o t he

r ight degree . Sh e sust a ined passa ges of t hree a nd
six not es in such a new a nd also diffic ult way a nd ,
guided t hem wit h t he right propo rt io n wit hout lan

g u i s h in g in ascend ing a s w ell as de s ce n di ng , g ivi ng
a lso t ho se sha des of c o lo r ing whic h a re so nece ssary
in t h e blending of a ny embellishment T h e perfec t

.
a nd ha ppy rendit ion o f suc h a gilit y is somet hin g so
a bove t h e o rdinary t ha t it est ablishes t h e c ha ra c t er

,
o f grea t p ro fessor fo r t hose wh o mast er it Our .
Fa ust ina possessed a ll t hese gift s hence no o ne was ,
ever a ble t o surpass o r imit at e h er Besides t hese

.
gift s, sh e h ad a quic k a nd read y t rill and mordente ,
a nd al so perfec t int ona t i o n Sh e wa s a mast er in t h e

.
unfo lding a nd sust a in in g o f t h e vo ice a nd t h e fine ,
a rt of ho ldin g a nd re t a king of t h e brea t h , a ll t hese
g if t s w er e a sublim e q ua lit y in h er a c q uir,ed t hr o ugh

a ssid uous st udy wit h whic h sh e c ult iva t ed a ll t h e
na t ura l disp o sit ions Thus she was enabled t o

.
perform everyt hing wit h ease a nd t hat perfec t ion

req uire d by t h e rules of a rt From t his it is eas ily
.
seen t hat sh e q uic kly wo n grea t renown in t h e t heat
res o i It a ly .In fa c t sh e was ent husiast ica lly

,
received everywhere . Before marrying she went t o

Lo ndon where people grew so enchant ed by her
,
ext ra ordinar y a bilit y t ha t sh e h a d t o st a y ma ny
years When sh e ret urned t o It aly sh e married t h e

.
,
illust rious ma st er, Giovanni Hafl e, and accept ed t he

’
invent ive mind She had a c orrect idea o f t hings

.
and h er c hoic e of embellishment s was somet hing new .
Sh e lef t aside t h e usua l and c ommon, and ma de her

singing rare and wonderful . She was fa mous t hro ugh
o ut Eur ope and a ll were st riving t o ha ve her in t h eir
t hea t res
. T h e English people knowin g her merit s ,
dema nded her in London four c onsecut ive seaso ns .
T he first t ime she went t here she married Piet ro

Sandoni from Bo log na , a celebrat ed c hapel mast er
and a grea t professor of gra vicemba l o and orga n
This grea t man beca me est a blished in Lo ndo n and

h ad a reput at ion running pa ra llel wit h t ha t o f t h e
g re a t Fre d eric H a nd el
. A s a p roo f of t hi s o n many
oc casions,t h e people of Lo ndo n wished t o hea r t hem
bo t h o n sepa rat e o rgans a t t he sa me serv ice o ne —
“ ”
pla yed t h e pro post e and t he ot her t he rispost e“ .
”
Besides t he a bo ve ment io ned art ists o t her music ians

,
a nd women sin gers wh o f o r t heir art a nd t he ir way of
using t heir vo ices, deserve t o b e ment io ned a l so ,
in t h e musica l hist o ry of It aly are : Gae t a no

,
Ma jora no singer of t h e Ro yal Chapel of Naples

, ,
a lias C a fl arelli bo rn in Ba ri , It a ly , When very

,
yo ung he went t o Naples a nd applied himself t o t h e

a rt of singing wit h suc h assidui t y t h at h e very soon
beca me prominent a mong t hose pro fessors In t h e .
progress of t im e he sang in Londo n Vienna and final

,
ly in Lisbo n . He made great success as a singer and

also as a lea rned m a n I will not st op t o ment ion all
his a bilit ies beca use he is st ill liv ing and t here are t oo
many people all t hrough Europe who know him .
T HE ART OF SING ING 41
Carlo Scalz i from Genoa succeeded in t his profession

and won hig h pra ise . In succession t h e following
ga ve good acc ount of t hemselves : Gioacchino Co nt i ,
alias Giz z iello , Nea po lit a n ; Agost ino Fo nt a na from
Turin, pupil of Ant onio Pasi ; Nicc olo Reg ginelli

.
Nea po lita n ; Angelo Mario Mont icelli ; Giuseppe
last t hree were from Milan ; and fina lly t wo good

t enors, Greg orio Ba bb i of Cesena a nd Angelo
Am orevoli of Venice, who were in t he service of t he
Roya l Cour t of Sax ony .Among t he lady singers of
t ha t t ime (a bo ut t he yea r 1 740) who a dorned o ur pro
fessio n was Anna Peruz z i from Bolog na She h ad a
.
c lea r a nd sonoro us voice, and wit h t h e help o f art
bec a me perfect in many st yles She sang in many

.
t hea t res in It a ly ,and t hen went t o Ma d rid where sh e

st a yed ma ny years, oc c upying a po sit io n of high
est eem . Teresa De Reiit her, born in Vienna , was a

renowned c ha mber sing er of t h e Imperia l C o urt and
beca me celebrat ed fo r her many st yles She mas

t ered a g ilit y , sust a ined sing ing a lso ha d expression
,
and vivac it y and was a n int elligent ac t ress Cate rina

.
Visc ont i, called t h e lit t le Visc ount ess was born in

‘ ’
Mila n She st udied wit h Ferdina ndo Brivio and

.
beca me an ext raordinary singer being endowed wit h

,
a full , ro und voice , whic h t h rough art was made

ligh t ,sweet and ric h in t he rig ht proport ion Anot h .
er who ac hieved fame wa s Gio va nna Ast rua of Turin ,
who was also a pupil of Ferdina ndo Brivio Sh e .
sang fo r a long t ime a t t h e Roya l Co ur t o f Berlin .

Re g ina Mingot t i ,born a t Naples of German parent s,

went very young t o t h e Court o f Sa xony and t here
t he Prince ordered t h e fa m o us Nic olo Porpora , who
was t hen one of t h e sala ried ones at t h e Court t o ,
t ea c h h er t o sing Cate rina Ga brielli of Rome aft er

.
having st udied in Naples sa ng in It a ly St Pete rs

, , .
burg and London wit h grea t success Ot hers who .
ac hieved success in m usic a nd whose names will p a ss
do wn in hist ory are : D o menic o Anib ali bo rn in

, ,
Macera t a in t h e serv ice of t h e elec te d C o urt o f

,
Sa xony Giovanni Ma nz uo li born in Flo rence

.
, ,
celebra t ed c h a mber singer of t h e G ra nd D uke of
Tusca ny Fillippo Elisi born in Fosso mbro ne

, , .
An t onio Hubert alia s Po rp o rino bo rn in Naples

, , ,
dedicat ed h is services t o t he Royal Co urt of Berlin ,
Giuseppe Sant a relli bo rn in Fo rli beca me sing er of

, ,
t he po nt ifi ca l c ha pel in Rome , Chev Gae t a no G ua .
da gni bo rn in Lodi Phila rmo nic Aca demic ia n now

, , ,
living a t Pa dua was a member of t he c hoir o f t he

,
c ha pel o f St Ant o ny
. Ferdinando Ma z z a nt i born
.
,
in Tusca ny .Giuseppe Aprile bo rn in Na ples a nd

,
sing er a t t h at Royal Ch a pel Pasquale Po t enz a

.
,
Neapo lit a n Singer a t t he Chapel of St Ma rc o . .
Giuseppe Millic o Neapo lit an Ca rlo C o nc io lini in

, ,
t h e service o f t h e Ro ya l Co urt o f Bea Venanz io

Ra uz z ini bo rn in Rome
, Ferd ina ndo T enducc i
.
,
born in Tusca ny Gia mba t t ist a Va squez born in

.
,
Do maso o n t he La ke o f Co mo in t he service o f t h e
,
Ro ya l C o urt o f Lisbo n Ant o nio Got i born in

.
,
Tusc any in t he service o f t he Grand Duke of T us

,
THE ART OF SIN GING 43
ca n y . Giuseppe C ic og nani, born in Cesena . Gas
of t he Ro ya l
Chapel of Na ples Salvat ore Confort i
.
,
born in Ascoli (my birt h place ) singer at t he Royal

,
-
,
Chapel of Naples Giovann i Rub inelli, born at

.
Bresc ia ,and ot hers Amo ng women I give t h e na mes

.
of : Rosa T art ag lini, wife of t h e good t enor Tibaldi

from Bologna , who died in t h e yea r 1 775 Lucrez ia .
Ag uiari, born in Ferra ra ; Ma t t ei Anna De Amic is ,
born in Naples ; Eliz abet t a T ey b er born in Vienna , ,
and Ant o nia Gire lli Aguilla r .
It ma y puz z le my rea ders t hat m spit e of t he fa c t

t ha t we st ill ha ve so ma ny great art ist s flourishing
a ll over t he world , t he id ea h as t aken root no t only m
It aly b ut a broad t ha t o ur voca l art is in dec adence

, ,
a nd t h a t we lac k wort hy sc hools and go od singers
I must deny suc h a n o pinio n c oncerning o ur schools,

b ut unfo rt una t ely it is t rue as t o singers ; fo r we ha ve
t o experience t he occasio n o f a present da y singer
rising wit h ho nor t o t a ke t h e pla ce o f t hose who are
st ill o ur glory T he fac t remains however, t ha t we

.
st ill ha ve yout h endowed wit h a ll t he t a lent s a nd
qua lifica t ions necessary t o make excellent singers .
In my o pinion t he wrong lies in t he vile g reed fo r

,
mo ney t ha t seems t o ha ve t a ken possessio n of t hose

singers whose only appare nt a im is t o rush t heir pupils
f o wa rd in t heir musical career in order t ha t t hey

6a by t heir a va ric io usness) m a y p ro fit by t ho se
c ont rac t s t hey ha ve st ipulat ed wit h t he ir pupils .
They neglect t o apply t he go od rules of t he art and

prec ept s t ra nsmit t ed t o t hem ; and present t o t he

t he
public unt rained voices and undeveloped int elligences
which only b a r t he st udent from further advance
ment t hrough t he secret s and delicac y of t he art ,
and lea d him o n t o a wrong c onceit . How
i
art st s under suc h unfort unat e disorder " Wh a t
ho pe can remain when we see a pupil lit erally

sold by t h e teac her t o t h e mana ge r t h e te ac her s
’
,
o nly int erest being t he enorm o us percent a ge t o b e
pa id him for an inc omplet e and unfi nished c o urse of

inst ruct io n ; c oncerning himself more as t o t h e quant
it y of h is pupils t han t o t he qua lit y o f t hem " Is it
possible for one t o beco me a singer by giving only a
hast y glance at t he general rules of t his art whic h
;
c an b e ac quired o nly by long a pplic a t ion and c lose
observat ion " Thus t hro ugh t he lac k of rigid prao

t ice t he best t a lent s and t h e best vo ices are lost t o
,
t he pro fession . Besides all t hese deplo rable result s

whic h a re ea sily disc erned by everyone who knows t h e
profession are t hese t hat t h e young st udent once
, .
a bandoned t o himself at a t o o early ag e,and a ssoc ia t
ing wit h persons who are not in lo ve wit h mo ral

living , mjures his hea lt h and ruins forever c hest a nd
voice And what is t he worst he loses sig ht of t h e
.
rules of good morals Anot her g reat disadvant age

result s from t h e fact , t h a t in t his present day , t here
a re m a ny presu ming t o teac h t h e a rt of singing who
in t rut h never lea rned t h e rules " They do no t kno w

in any degree how t o guide a st udent or t o te ac h him
perfect int ona t ion a nd rhyt hm " They believe it

suffi c ient t o merely b e a ble t o pla y t h e violin or t he
cemba lo t o b e c o mpet ent t o t ra in a voice . So by
dilligent , skilful and pat ient t eac her can aff ord ,
t hey find persons who are at t ract ed by t he idea of
ec o nomy and t r ust t heir voices t o suc h te ac hers "
These t eac hers t hink t hey ha ve done all t hat is

expecte d when t heir pupils are ca pa ble of performing
so me passa ges, alt hough imperfect ly , and give some
shr illing t ones whic h are an o fi ense t o t h e sense of
hearing This is t he inst ruc t io n given t oda y by

.
many who ca ll t hemselves teac hers and suc h is t heir

knowledge "
It is a pro fanat ion of t h e art t hat a b ad violin o r
piano pla yer, sh o uld ha ve t he presumpt io n of ca lling
himself a voca l t eac her wit ho ut kn owing t he prime
element s They make t heir pupils yell wit h all t h e
.
st reng th of t heir lun gs They spo il bea ut iful voic es,

.
beca use t hey do no t kno w how t o sho w t hem how t o

produce and unf o ld t h c m We hear unevenness of
.
regist ers singin g o ut of pit c h , voic es in t h e t hroa t

,
an d af o nic ia beca use t hese t eac hers prete nd t hat

,
t hey ought t o perfo rm wit h t heir voices j ust as t hey
ment s . How will it b e possible fo r suc h t eachers t o

crea t e new goo d singers" Would it not b e highly
,
desirable t hat t his kind of schools b e abolished

from t h e professio n and t hose only a dmit t ed t o
teac h who know and wish t o put int o prac t ice t he
t rue met hod of inst ruc t io n in a fa t herly way and fo r

,
t he t rue love o f t h eir a rt " T h e o nly sc hoo ls where

t hese deplora ble defec t s ha ve no t y et ent ered a nd
from whic h splendid specimens of a bilit y st ill co me ,
whic h hono r our bea ut iful art are t he c onserv a t o ries

,
of Venice and Na ples .
T he co nserva t ories a t Venic e are fo ur a nd a ll of

t hem a re t oo well kn o wn t o b e in need o f ela b o ra t io n
here Those o f Na ples a re t hree First t h e o ne
. .
,
o f Sa nt a Ma ria di Lo ret o ; sec o nd t h e o ne o f St , .
Ono frio ; and t hir d t ha t o f Piet a dei Turchini

, ,
founded in t he year of 1 583 a nd reo pened 1 592 In .
t he first of t hese sc hoo l s we c o unt a s a fi rst t eac her ,
Sig Sa verio Valent e In t h e sec o nd sc hoo l a re t he

. .
t eac hers : Sig Ca rlo Lo t um ac i a nd Giac o mo Insa ng

.
nine a lia s Mo no po li
, In t h e t hird sc h oo l Sig
.
, .
Lo renz o Fa go a lias Ta ra nt ino ; Sig Pa squa le Ca faro

, .
,
Mast er o f t h e Ro ya l Cha pel and under h is direc t io n

,
Sig Nico la Sa le is t ea c hin g In t hese c o nserva t ories

. . .
t he yout h is g iven free inst ruc t io n no t o nly in music ,

b ut a lso in relig ion a nd goo d mo ra ls These est a b .
lish m ent s whic h a re so useful t o t h e c o unt ry a nd a re a

re lief t o t h e Homes h a ve g iven t h e grea t er part o f
,
t hose celeb ra t ed professo rs o f wh o m It a ly c a n b e

p ro u d a n d o f wh o m I sh a ll spea k in Ch a per XIV .
In t h e a rt of singing t hey rea c hed t h e high degree

of perfec t io n Their merit s have bee n widely kn o wn
.
in It a ly during ma ny epoc hs Out o f regard fo r t he

.
b a t advant a ge o f yo ung peo ple a nyo ne wh o h a s no t

,
ab ilit y enough t o succeed in sec ula r life is g u id d o

e t
48 THE ART OF SIN GIN G
sin ging , t he succ ess of t he pupil depends o

up n t h e
of t he highest st a ndard , yet his pupils may a t ta in a

degree of dist inct ion and beco me great art ist s beca use
in t heir vocat ion t hey ha ve t he privilege of st udying
t h e works of t he grea t mast ers of past genera t ions .
Thus by reading hist ories t rea t ises and lect ures,

,
wit h acc urat e illust ra t ions, t he st udent ca n a t one fo r

t ha t which h e has no t been a ble t o assimila t e from
Vinci,Domenichino, Guido Re ni ,and ot her mast ers

In sculpt ure, we ha ve t he noble Grecian models, a s
Apolline d i Belvedere, Niobe, Gla dia t ore, Ant inoo ,
Laocoont e, et c In arc hit ec t ure, all t he schoo ls are
.
represente d ,t he Grec ia n , Rom an ,Got hic , Byz ant ine ,
It a lian, et c Their bea ut iful t emples, pala c es,

.
ca t hedrals, museums a nd a mphit heat res, alt hough
emc te d many c ent uries a g o , st ill st a nd ma jest ic a lly
before us Fina lly,1n t he art of musica l c omposit ion

.
Vinci, Perg olese, Sa fi one Jomelli, and many ot her
t he glorious ascent t o fa me t hro ugh perfect models .
Th e prec ept s t o b e derived from close observat ion

and st udy of all t ha t has been acc omplished in t he
arts a b ove ment ioned ,ar e marvelously st imula t ing t o
t he st udent , and wit h such models as a g uide, a nd

ai ed d by indust ry and perseverance, he ca n ac quire

perfect ion in h is wo rk But no t every a rt has perfec t
.
mo dels for t he st udent t o observe and co py Sing .
ing , is one of t hose a rt s whic h lives more t h ro ugh t he

t ransmission of t h e prec ept s t han from exa mple or
illust ra t ion We ha ve not and ca nnot have monu
.
ments of perfect voices a s a singer canno t live fo r

,
generat ions, nor will t he met hod of sing ing and

t eac hing by whic h he perfec te d h is art True we ha ve
.
voca l music writ t en by fa mous mast ers and rendered

perfec t ly by our g reat singers ; b ut in suc h an inst ance
we g et only t he c oncept ion of a simple melody whic h
shows j ust enough musica l phrasing t o a llow t h e
t a lent ed int erpret er full libert y t o embellish as h e

desires and c onceives Therefore, if t h e st udent
.
wishes t o t a ke it a s a model he h as it only in embryo ,
a nd cannot from t ha t ha ve any co ncept ion of t he
met hod whic h wa s used t o render it wit h brilliancy

a nd skill . Let us t a ke fo r exa mple, t h e renowned
t enor Farinello , a nd let us h a ve on paper t h e varia
,
t io ns which h e int roduced in his m usic t o bea ut ify

it. Undoubt edly we will disc over his int elligence
and his a rt , b ut we will b e una ble t o arrive a t t h e
prec ise met hods by whic h he has given us suc h a

perfect and surprising rendit ion, beca use t hese can
b e expla ined only by hea ring t hem in t h e living voice .
Now if a st udent left t o himself,ac quires a harmf ul

ha bit in his met hod of sing ing how can he realiz e t hat
t h e ha bit is a wrong o ne ,a nd h o w is h e t o know whet h
er o r no t suc h a ha bit or iginat es from t he nat ura l
50 ART OF SINGING
a nd t hose unless point ed o ut to

him " How muc h more evident is t he necessit y t hat
t he t eac her b e t horough ly profic ient in h is art , and
t ha t h e b e watc hf ul a nd observan t , a nd era dica t e
t hese defects " He must b e perfec t ly skilled and
experienced in order t o c rea t e new a rt ist s and so t o
t ransmit t o t h e next genera t ion t h e sec ret s of t ha t

art whic h h as been h is gl o ry and renown .
CHAPTER IH
Mo m OBLIGATIO N o r Pu m a T o ws a n T a m
C HILDREN AND T HE c nsm r PREC A U
TIO NS TO BE TA"EN B EFO RE D EDICA
TING THEM To T HE AM o r
SINGING
HE pt ion of music a l t aste which is

co rru
t oo efi eminat e h as made suc h hea dwa y

,
t ha t t h e t endenc y is t o te ach vo ice c ult ure

t o develo p st reng t h o nly and t o exte nd t he
,
voice t o t h e highest t ones of t he head regist er o f t he

human t hroa t There remains lit t le hope j ust at
.
present fo r t h e eliminat io n o f such an undesirable and

harmful syste m of t eac hing t he art of singing t o t hose
men who a re willing t o devot e t heir t a lent s t ha t t hey
m a y give enj o yment t o o t hers In t he first plac e it ,
is great ly t o b e desired t hat t h e number o f such st u

dent s were not so great ; and t hat t h e majorit y of
parent s were mo re inspired by devot ion t o art by ,
mo rals, and Christ ianit y ; and befo re assigning a boy

o r a girl t o t h e lif e o f a t hea t rica l or c hurc h sing er ,
t ha t t hey would gra nt t h e quest ion serious and due

considerat ion . As t h e subject is o ne of great im por
51
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
EDA "UHN LOEB MUSIC LIB
CAMBRIDGE 3 8 , MASS .
t ance, I will endea vor to disc uss it mly and wit h

ca l
all t he earnest ness d ue it dealing

, wit h plain fac t s
It is my opinion t h at t h e quest ion of our childrens

’
lif e work is of great consequence and much care should

b e exerc ised t o a void exposing a c hild t o t h e unhap
p in ess o f fa ilure B efo
. r e as si g ni ng t he m t o t h e art of
singing , it is t h e pa rent s st ern d ut y t o assure t hem
’
se lves by unquest ioned te st s whet her or not na t ure

h as endowed t he prospect ive st udent wit h a ll t h e
nec essa ry qua lifi ca t ions Above all children sho uld
.
,
not b e a llo wed t o c ommence t raining at t oo t ender
a n a ge ,bec a use of t h e va gue and in defi ni t e t endenc ies
t hey m ay develo p T he voca l o rgans are inc o nsis

t ent unt il t h e a g e o i pubert y is reac hed
, If at t hat
.
t ime developments pro ve t h at t h e st udent h as no t t h e

making o f a successful singer he will b e a loss t o him
self a nd t o his c ount ry a nd what is more pat het ic
t ha n a m an wit hout a profession " We must init iate

t o t his art t hen only t ho se t o who m nat ure h as given
,
a good voice b ac ked by a nat ura l music a l int elli gence ,
bot h qualit ies being absolut ely necessary t o insure

su cess I t is not a n ea sy t a sk t o presc ribe rules fo r
c .
suc h a mat te r a s in rea lit y e ac h individua l case must

,
b e passed upo n by a n inte lligent and experienc ed
Let k way from t he parent s t he belief t hat

us t a e a
beca use t hey hear t heir c hildren sing some lit t le song
in a g rac eful ma nner t hey are c ompete nt t o j udge
, .
They must seek t he advice of a professor of rec ogniz ed

a bilit y and honest y ; one c ompete nt t o j udge as t o

whet her t he prospect ive pupil is free from t hose
def ect s t hat become obst acles t oo great t o surmount .
Aside from t hose first few impressio ns given by t he

prospect ive pupil under t est , t here are many more
o b serva t ions necessa ry , of so delica t e and d ifi c ult a
na t ure t ha t only a professor ca n make t hem . The

mult it ude believe t ha t o ne who has an eb v at ed ch est
a nd a well developed t horax , and ca n ma ke lo t s of
noise, h as t h e essent ia ls t o beco me a good singer .
T h e st reng t h of t h e voice depends,it is t rue,upo n t h e

quant it y o f air , and t h e veloc it y wit h which it is
c ompressed from t h e lung s ; t hus t he wider t h e ch est
“ ”
t h e la rger t h e aspra ar t eria and t he la rynx .All
t hese qualit ies co mbined , create gre at er st reng t h of
vo ice, whic h is produced from t he air burst ing fort h
from t he ca vit y of t he t horax In t he o pinion of
.
physiologists , t h e lungs a re t h e inst rument s whic h

a id in speaking and in singing wit h more o r less force,
acc ording t o t h e degree o f exp ansion of t he lungs
a nd c hest and t heir a bilit y t o expel t h e inha led a ir .
But t hen it is a lso t heir o pinion t h at t h e lungs a re no t

t h e rea l organs which form t h e voice in t h e t hroa t .
The voice forms it self in t h e m ont h by t h e flux c rea t ed

by t h e a ir in p assing t hrough t h e voc al organs in t h e
ac t of inspira t ion and exp irat ion Th e a ir from t he
.
lungs act s upon t h e lary nx in singing , just a s it ac t s

upon t h e hea d of a flut e t ha t is leaned t o t h e lip s f o r
pla ying Th e lungs are not t he act ua l organs of t h e
. /
v oice ; t hey merely furnish t h e mat eria l, t h e air ; t h e

rea l organs of t he voic e a re : la rynx , glot t is uvula ,,
t o ngue pa lat ine a rc h hard pa la t e and lips

, , . These
o rga ns are t he mea ns by whic h t h e voice is given it s
diverse modulat ions so t hat t he bet t er organiz ed

,
t hey a re t he m o re perfec t st rong and c lear t h e vo ice

,
will b e Th e vo ic e, so t o speak suspends it self in

. ,
descending fro m t he highest t o t he lo west t ones and ,
runs diverse m o d ula t ions ac c o rding t o t h e v aried
manner in whic h t he air is c ompressed by t he la rynx

In speaking t hese o rgans a re quiet a t int erva l s b ut
, ,
when used fo r singing t hey a re in a st at e o f c ont inua l

a c t i o n a nd exc it ement ; t h e musc les o f t h e larynx
c a rry t h e gre a t est b urden , as t hese a re t he orga ns
whic h direc t t he vo ice These musc les c ont ract

.
st ro ngly in t h e higher t o nes a nd rela x in t h e lo wer
o nes . A splendid ill ust ra t io n is sho wn in t h e singing

o f t h e bi rd s T h e sweet so ngst ers of t he fea t hered
.
c la ss ha ve a narro w epiglo t t is, b ut t ho se a nima ls
whic h make ha rsh dist urbing no ises ha ve very broa d

, ,
o nes .
I l de by say ing t hat it is not enough fo r

c o nc u
o ne t o h a ve merely a n elevat ed c hest a nd a ca p a c it y
f o r big no ise t o bec o me a successful singer One .
must ha ve a ha rmo nio us proport ion o f a ll t he voc a l

o rgans a nd if a ny o f t hese o rga ns a re im perfec t
, by ,
na t ure o r by disease t h e voice will likewise b e im mr

,
feet Th e mo re perfec t t he organs of t h e voice t he

.
,
mo re cert aint y t he aspira nt can ha ve o f bec oming a

successful sing er if guided by a n experienced t eac her
, .
In te st ing t h e voice of a pro spect ive pupil , t h e

A singer possessing a no ble,sweet and

pleasing fac e will b e well received by t h e public ,
t ho ugh he may ha ve a small degree of t a lent ; while,
on t he y , an exp ressive face wit h ho mely o r
c o nt rar
harsh feat ures will not b e t o lerat ed unless t he person

is unexcelled in t he art of singing .
CHAPTER IV
CO NCERNING THE VorcE m G ENERAL T HE C HEST

—
REGISTER AND T HE H EAD REG IsrER O R

'
ca nno t begin t his cha pte r o n t he voice bet t er,

t han by quot in g t h e word s of t he illust rious
Gio Giac co m o Rousseau in h is no t ed musica l
.
dict ionary : The voice is t he accumulat ion o r

‘
c ompound of a ll t he so und s which a ma n c an ut t er

,
wit h his voc al o rgans As t here a re not t wo

physiognomies alike so t here are hardly t wo voices
,
resemblin g eac h ot her .
Na t ure in her generosit y of giving a way her gif t s,

never put s t hem , sa ve in rare exc ept io ns, all in o ne
person ; so it seldom happens t hat we find one person

gift ed wit h all t hose ha rmonious condit io ns of voc a l
or ga ns t h at fo rm a perfec t voice T he t rut h is t ha t
.
,
we find some t imes vo ices whic h are very st rong and

whose sound is vigorous,bright and liquid ; ot hers are
flexible and sweet ; t hen some voices have very wide
range and are exceed ingly sonorous, while ot hers
ha ve small range, b ut are admired beca use of t he

purit y of t one, its evenness and c olor On t he ot her
.
57
hand we find harsh and hea vy voic es; ot hers are

,
light a nd flexible, and some alt hough t he t ones

,
bea ut if ul t hey are very oddly dist ribute d Never

, .
t h eless we do find voices which ha ve t h e sa me qualit y

t hro ughout t heir who le range .
I sha ll t a lk more exte nsively of t h e fault y voices in

my sevent h ch apt er In order t o not wander t oo
.
of t h e voices, on t heir c harac t erist ics (j udging from

t heir ext ension) no r o n t h e rules o r lim it a t ions in
whic h every voice o ught t o b e kept ,whet her soprano,
t enor o r b ass I shall t a lk o nly of t he voice in general ,
.
as it is co nsidered by ar t ists in t heir prac t ica l use .
T he voice o rdinarily divides it self int o t wo registe rs,

o ne ca lled c hest regist er a nd t h e ot her hea d reg ist er ,
o r fa lset t o . I said o rdina rily because somet imes one

,
h as been fo und (b ut t his is a rare case) t o possess t he

,
singul a r gif t t o sing a ll in t h e c hest regist er

. I do no t
spea k of t his gif t , b ut only of t h e voice in general,
whic h is divided int o t wo re gist ers Every st udent ,

.
whet her he is soprano , c ont ralt o , bass o r t eno r, can

easily kno w t h e diff erenc e bet ween t hese reg iste rs .
He needs only t o sing t he sc a le t o t est t his If it is a

.
sop ra no st art from

, so o n t h e sec ond line o f t h e
st a ff and reac h t h e fo llo win g

“re
”
o n t h e fourt h line
and he will not ice t ha t t hese fi v e t ones a re so norous ,
because t hey come from t he c hest ; while if

o ut eff o rt ,
“ ”
he sing s up t o mi when t he organs are no t suit a ble,
he will sing t his t one wit h muc h efl or t ,feeling fat igue
in t h e t hro a t , onsequent ly t h e t one is feeble

and c .
In case t ha t a p upil h as no t muc h c hest st rengt h , h e

“ ”
will b e a ble t o draw t he vo ice only t o do and he will
have difi cult y t o reac h re “ ”
. No w, if t here b e any
pupil , la c king chest enduranc e he will no t find it t oo
“
,
”
ha rd t o reach si in t h e chest regist er, b ut he will
find it very hard t o reac h do
“ ”
Now t his ma jor
.
o r mino r fac ilit y so sensible in t hese cases, is very

,
no t icea ble t o any o ne who pa ys c lose at t ent ion t o it ,
an d it lea ds t o t h e deduc t ion o f knowing wit h sec ur it y
t h e chang e of t he voice when o ne h as reac hed t h e end

o f t h e first regist er, a nd is ent ering t he sec ond ;
Experienc e t eac hes what I ha ve a bove st ated It .
will convince anyone who wil l t a ke t he t rouble of

at te nt ively observing , t hat t h e c hest voice is no t in
everybo dy eq ually st ro ng . T he rea son is,t hat as o ne

h as mo re o r less st rong orga ns of t h e c hest , so he will
have mo re o r less st rengt h in t h e chest regist er .
The great art of t h e singer c onsist s in acquiring t he

a bili t y t o render imperc ept ible t o t h e c ar t he passing
,
fro m t h e one regist er t o t he ot her In ot her words

. ,
t o unit e t h e t wo so as t o ha ve perfect qualit y of voice

,
t hrougho ut t h e whole ra nge, ea c h t one being o n a

level w it h your best a nd purest t o ne This is a rt and
.
it is no t easy t o reac h t he goa l It t akes st udy , work

.
and indust ry t o c orrec t t h e defec t s o rigi nat ed from t h e
mo re or less st rong c o nst it ut io n o f t h e voc al organs

and it requires a bilit y a nd suc h a careful use of t h e
vo ic e t o render it equally sonorous and agreea ble,

t ha t few d
st u ents succee d Many t ea chers
do not
know t h e prac t ica l rules,o r else t h y do not know how
t o a pply t hem . It is of no use or reason f or one t o
reproac h Nat ure, saying she has no t given o ne a
voice of even registe r In such a case, t h e singer

.
sh o uld accuse himself , o r ma ke a co mpla int a ga inst
t hose t eac hers who did no t know how t o guide him

t he righ t way . Since t his t opic is so importa nt , I
t hought it nec essary t o dwell upon it in pa rt ic ula r, as
I will fa rt her o n,and show h ow t o c o rrect t he defec t s
of singers o rigina t ed from t he a bove ment ione d
so urc es. There is o nly one way t o correct t hem ,
( a nd h a pp ily , I ha ve p roof s of t his from perso n s o f
rec ogniz ed a bilit y) and t ha t is t o follow t h e nat ura l
inst inc t , b ut never t o fo rc e Nat ure I do not deny

.
t ha t somet imes a fault c onsidered from t he st and

po int of art ,cred it s t he singer wit h more abilit y t han
if t he fault were eliminat ed ; t his seems t o b e a para
d ox : A veiled voice is a n impo ssibilit y in a large ha ll
o r a t hea t re ,unless it ha s a caressing qualit y It can
.
t hen g rasp t he hea rt of t he a udience , because o f t his

and t ha t admira ble qua lit y o f vo ice which is never
ro ugh o r uneven .
All t ha t I ha ve sa id c o nc erning t h e defec t s of a

veiled voice, refers o nly t o sopranos and c ont ra lt os
b ut never t o a te no r o r a bass, bec a use t hese t wo
voices being t he fo undat io n and support o f ha rmony
must t herefore b e ro bust and sono rous Suc h .
voices cannot develo p t he t ones t ha t a veiled

voice ca n render agreeable .
CHAPTER V
IN rO NA rION
' '
HAT I have id so far will ha ve

sa
been sufi cient ly convincing t o show
musica l or vocal ca reer, many

t hings are t o b e considered and t hese t hings ca n b e
resolved only aft er c a reful and c lose observa t ion I
ha ve purposely dwelled upon t he condit ions necessary
fo r a good vo ice ,in order t o give a rule fo r disc overing
it , a nd t o b e able t o j udg e wha t such a v o ice is t o b e
c o me. St at ing , as I ha ve, t hat only t hose sho uld b e
admit te d t o t h e art of singing who ha ve good vo ices ,
I do no t admit t hat every o ne who h as a good

voice can become a good singer Alt hough t h e voic e
.
is t h e first element , t here are ma ny defect s which can

keep t he st udent from suc ceeding There is not hing
.
worse t han t o hear o ne singing out of pit c h , a nd a

t hroa t y o r nasa l vo ice is t o b e preferred t o sing ing
o ut of t une . Since int onat io n is a cardina l point
in harmo ny , a nd since t here is perfect c hord o f
c o nsona nces if o ne is det a c hed from its t rue po int ,
,
t h e perfect ion o f t h e har mony is h mediate ly de
61
st royed Besides, t he vo ic e is t he impo rt ant part of

.
vocal music and if t his is o ut o f pit c h it spo ils t h e

, ,
harmony of t he inst rument s even if t hese are per

fec t ly t uned All t he o t her defec t s ca n b e c orrec te d
.
if not complete ly at least t o a po int , o f being not ice

,
a ble t o t hose only who are fa m ilia r wit h t h e art o f
singing Sing ing out of pit c h canno t b e o verc ome no r

.
disguised Even an inexperienced perso n can not ice

.
it , if he h as a normal ear Grad ual says upon t his

‘
“
.
t op ic : One d ay I assist ed a t a lit t le info rma l

,
musical ,where only t wo o r t hree perso ns were present .
A young la dy wit h very lit t le musica l kno wledge ,
and no ea r a t a ll sang a wh o le sc ene o f an o pera o ff

,
t h e pit ch Sh e wa s nea rly o ne ha lf t o ne sharp t h e

.
whole t ime and never not ic ed it Her fat her who se .

,
car was no t a ny bet t er b ut wh o c o nsidered himself a

,
very good c rit ic never ceased t o sho w a kind o f

,
ec st at ic admirat io n durin g t h e who le t ime t ha t t h e
daught er was ho wling T he o nly t hing need ed here

. ,
was a syphon t o c omplet e ha rmo ny a s sug . ,
geste d lat er by Mr N N ”
. . .
Young singers ha ve a t endenc y t o sha rpen t heir

voices and t he old o nes t o flat t en The disso na nce .
is na t ura l a nd ac c ident a l T h e na t ura l is a defec t

.
of Nat ure who h a s no t endowed cert a in yo ut hs wit h

,
a sensit ive ea r f o r ha rmo ny ; hence t hey a re no t a ble
t o dist inguish bet ween c o nso na nc e a nd disso na nce

of t o nes In suc h c ases c o rrec t io n is impo ssible
. , ,
E y u l b n g ut in m u i qu
‘
ssa s r e oA P i p P ult 17 82
o s e . . a r s, ar ra , ,
in 12 , pa g e 8 .
t eac her svo ice, or of t he pia no , o r bot h , bef ore feel

’
ing perfec t ly sure of t he pit c h of t h e t one h e is t o

at t ac k Now, if a st udent sing s o ut of pit ch t oday
.
and sing s in pi tc h t omorrow a nd rec ogniz es h is mis
t ake, t hen, t here is no doubt b ut t ha t t he dissonance
cause of t he erro r a nd in s howing him h ow t o co rrect

t he st udent s singing o ut of
’
it . Anot her c ause for
ment s, t akes t he b ad habit of at t ac king t h e t one b y
So it happens t hat disc ords are very not iceable

“
.
”
Sig Manfredini, in his book Rego le Armo niche,
.
p ub lish ed in Venice in t he year 1 775 , pa g e 11 , dis
c usses my proposit ion and st at es t hat t he mut e o n t he
ed professor, b ut I had hoped t hat his rema rks would

b c direct ed t o b eg inners as mine are It is a fact
.
known t o ev ery musician, t hat t o ac company a
are required Also , t he accompaniment sho uld b e

.
kept as light as possible However, it is quite a

.
THE AR T OF SINGING 65
young d
st u ent t ha t I am p king,
s ea in t h e first
T he inst rument s used wit h a mute are no t loud

enough , and I appea l t o t h e experience of hundreds
of t ea c hers,who were o ft en unable t o sust ain and
support t h e int ona t ion in t heir p upils even wit h t he ,
help of t h e st rongest c embalo b ut h ad t o use t he

,
st reng t h of t heir o wn vo c es as well I a m of t h e

i “
o pinion t ha t if t h e c embalo ha d fo rt issimo pedals ’
like t h e organs t hey would b e brought t o t he aid

,
also , so t hat all mea ns po ssible wo uld b e used t o help
t h e pupil in h is int ona t io n If Sig Manfredini were

. .
as experienc ed in t ea c hing t o sing as h e must b e in
pla ying t h e c embalo and in t h e art of c ompo sit io n (as

sh own by t h e good t hings c ont a ined in h is works) ,
h e undo ubt edly would ha ve refrained from c rit ic is

ing my idea . In spit e of what h e says I ha ve ques ,
t io ned all t he g rea t professo rs and t hey all ag ree t ha t ,
what I ha ve st at ed c oncerning int onat io n is a grea t

t rut h. I adm it t hat it is wrong t o t each wit h t h e
cemb alo o ut o f t une b ut t hi s will b e a fault found
,
o nl y wit h t hose t ea c hers wh o d o not keep t heir in
st rum ent s in ord er Sig Manf redini may b e right

. .
also , in saying t h at a quic ker met hod of insuring
a st udent l n int onat ion, is t o t eac h him t h e rig ht
dist ance bet ween g raded t o nes as well as by ,
int ervals We do no t doubt t his, b ut t he dim

.
c ult y lies in t h e c hoosing o f t h e way t o teach all
t hese t hings whic h wo uld render t h e st udent sure

o f int onat ion . This met hod ad vocat ed b y Sig .
Manf redini has never been used by any o t her pro

feasor, so surely it ca nnot b e prac t ica l On t h e .
cont ra ry , unt il a st udent is sure of int onat io n, h e
must no t b e allowed t o sing alo ne ; inst ead , he must

b e aided in every possible way by st riking t h e t one
,
fo r h im many t im es and very loud , o n t he cemb alo

, ,
and wit h t h e aid of his t ea c her s voice a t t h e sa me

’
h e t hinks t hat young st udent can fix and insure his

a
int ona t ion wit h t h e help only of t h e voic e o f a bass

acc o mpaniment It seems impossible t hat suc h a
.
d ist inguished pro fesso r as h e fail s t o rea li z e h o w

,
lo ng it t a kes a musician t o c omplet ely ma st er int ou

a t io n, and b e a b le t o sing a lone At t his st age
.
he m ay b e ca lled a professo r and I spoke o nly t o

,
st udent s in my book I must add t hat in h is per

.
,
sp ica c io us sagac it y , h e fa iled t o remember t hat if
t h e t ea cher due t o o ld ag e loss o f vo ice o r fa ult y

, , ,
hea ring do es no t give t he perfec t pit c h a st udent

, ,
wo uld b e muc h emba rrassed t o absorb t he fruit s o f

good tea ching It is a very diff erent t hing t o sing
.
t h e t ones as t hey are writ t e n, o r as t hey sound o n t h e

ce mba lo grac eful a nd wit h exp ression
, It is kno wn
.
t o everyone t hat t h e help o f t h e voice is indispen

,
We c onc lude, t hen, t hat t he t ea c her

voic e is o f ’
s
great help t o t he st udent who is no t sure of int onat io n

and wh o wit h t h e aid o f t h e ac c ompani ment o nly
wo uld never b e sure o f his t o ne Abo ve all let us

.
remember t o inst ruct t h e pupil well from t h e beg in

Ding funda ment al part s of t he art , and t hen

in t he
t eac h him t h e many kinds of embellish ment s ; ot her
wise t h e pupil will beco me o ne of t hose sing ers who
,
is c apable of performing only wha t his t ea cher has

t aught him .
One way fo und t o b e very prac t ical t o insure
d
un erst an d t h e exac t dist ance bet ween one t one and
anot her in grad ed sc a les as well as in int erv a ls .Th e
experienced t eac her knows perfec t ly well whic h way
is t h e easiest and most nat ural t o insure int ona t ion .
This demands t ime and persist ent eff ort Aft er .
t h e st udent h as been t est ed as t o h is abilit y in int o

nat ion , and aft er hav ing found him t o h ave a go od
ca r t hen in o rder t o insure him h e must b e kep t Sol

, , ,
Fa ing o n g rad ed t ones ; first on t h e asc end ing and

-
t hen o n t he d escending sc a les . All t his wo rk must b e

exec ut ed wit h sc rupulous at t ent ion , seeing t hat every
t one is perfec t ly in pit c h . Then, a solfeg gio must

fo llow wit h notes fo rming t he norma l int ervals .
Aft er t hese ob st ac les a re overc ome, t he t eacher must

enf o rce t h e fo llowin g rule : If t h e st udent sin gs sopra
no t h e t eac her must help him t o g ain t h e high t one

, s
lit t le by lit t le (as t h e ag e permit s) fo r an ext ensive

,
head regist er is essent ial fo r a soprano voice .
Experience and o bservat ion have t aug ht t he

Grecians t hat t h e human voice nat urally exte nds
t hr ough a range o f t wo oc t aves o r fift een dia t onic
FIGURE I
and by forc ing Nat ure t h ey bring out from t he

,
huma n t hroa t even a larger number of t ones Thus

t oda y , t he t endenc y is t o j ud ge a sing er s merit s by
’
t h e range of his voice . In my o pinio n, however, t he

wort h o f a vo ice will a lways depend upon it s evenness
o f q ua lit y t hro ugho ut t h e who le regist er a nd perfec t
int onat io n The st rengt h o f t he medium and chest

t ones must also b e equivalent t o t hose o f t h e hea d , in
ord er t o form an even regist er Th e medium and
.
low t ones are nat ura lly more homo geneous, sono ro us
while t he hea d t o nes are mo re diffic ult t o perfect

because t hey are more shrill T he t rut h o f t his can
.
b e observ ed fro m t he fact t hat professors of count er

point when writ ing for st udent s t he int erv a ls of t he
fourt h , t he fift h fa lse, t he sevent h maj or , minor and
diminished , writ e t hem ascending , rat her t han de
scending . T he rea so n is t hat it is ea sier and mo re
,
na t ura l t o a t t ac k t he low t ones t ha n t h e high , beca use

t hey ca n b e t a ken wit h less effo rt . Grea t c are must b e
t aken by t h e st udent t o at t a c k t he high t ones wit h
t h e required sweet ness and pro port io n in o rder t ha t
,
h e c an comma nd h is ent ire range t o perfec t io n . One

finds many ob st ac les in guiding a st udent t o perfect
int onat ion and it dea l to some t o o v er

cost s a great
co me t hem This is t he plac e where one must pay
.
g reat at tent io n T h e sin

.
g er , be ing a cc o mpanied by
o ne he hould follo w in order to keep on t he rig ht

s
pit ch Everyone knows t hat t he organ and cembalo

.
are fixed inst rument s and ha ve,outside of t h e oc t a ves,
t emperate int erv als I mean t o say,t hat t he int erv als
.
a re very muc h diminished o r aug ment ed belo w o r
abo ve t h e prec ise pit c h Th e st ringed inst rument s

.
,
violin, c ello and bass vio la are in part fixed and in

,
part mo vable They are fixed in t hat t he st ring s

.
a re t uned in fift hs o r fo urt hs ; and t hey beco me mo v
ab le when t ouc h ed by t h e fingers,t hat mark t h e t ones
which are t o b e drawn by t h e how The wind .
inst rument s are permanent ly fixed , b ut t hrough t h e

effec t s of t he wind blo wn wit h mo re o r less st reng t h
t heir t ones are o ft en alt ered Ho wever t h e skillful,
player t hro ugh perfec t breat h c ont rol minimiz es

t hese defect s t o a point so as t o bec ome sc arc ely
Fro m his we derive t hat since t he singer is

all t ,
nat urally inc lined t o t h e exac t a nd prec ise int ervals,

he always feels in doubt as t o whic h inst rument
amo ng all t hose diff erent t emperament s, t o follow .
T o b e sure, t he singer will have t o follow t he

pit ch of t he organ or cembal o fo r alt houg h t hey a re
,
t emperat e and in t hemselves imperfec t , yet d ue t o

t heir const ruct ion a nd t he diflicult y of bring ing t heir
t o nes in t he pit c h wit h ot her inst rument s t hey are ,
kept as a base and st a nda rd fo r all ot her inst rument s

as well as fo r t he voice In t he absence of t he organ
.
o r cemba lo t h e sing er will t hen t ake t he pit ch of t ha t

,
inst rument which has always serv ed as a st andard

pit c h, t he v io lin This is t he reason why it is ca lled
.
It is t o b e hoped t ha t t he first vio linist s are en

do wed wit h a perfec t ear, and t hat t hey will use all
possible ca re and prec isio n in t uning t heir inst rument s .
Thus t hey will avoid t h e almost unavo idable t em

,
p e ra m ent so t
, h a t t h e sin ger ca n rely u po n t h em w i t h
suret y It will b e t o every st udent s best ad vant a ge
’
.
t o rea d t h e book Opinioni ant ic he e moderne,

‘
”
o ssinno osserv a z ioni 3 0 e ll ca nt o fig urat o by Pier ,
Francesc o Tosi (Page 12) He gives an expla nat io n

c oncerning t h e semi t ones ma jor and mino r and t he
-
“
, ,
quant it y of int erv als or of commas of whic h suc h ’
semi t ones are formed

- He st a t es as an exa mple,
.
t hat if a soprano is t o sin g Do diesis (C sharp ) in t he

- -
sa me wa y as Re b e molle (D fla t ) t hat a keen ea r

- -
c a n disc over t h at h e is o ut o f pit c h bec ause t h e fo r

,
mer raises a lit t le We must t hen b e alert in order

.
I‘
In t he rarepposition (for very immo ba b ly sing ers will
su
surrender t o sing with an o rc hestra where there is no t t h e organ o r
g ra vicembalo ) it will become necessary tha t t he instr um ents b e

“
tuned by means of t h e dia pason The reason is tha t t he pro
”
.
fessors of vio lin are convinced tha t their instruments will reso und
,
better when tuned hig her Accordingly they follow this principle
.
in tuning their instrument from whic h it result s tha t t he sing er

canno t stand i t .
pa id more at t ent ion t o t h e lec t ure t han t o int ona

t io n
. Impat ient ly , h e would raise h is hands from
t he gra vic embalo and spea king d irect ly t o t he pupils
“
would say : Have t his t one t uned at t he right pit c h
”
and c all it devil if y ou wish t o " He was so
‘ ’
co nvinced t hat it was necessa ry t o ca ll t heir

at t ent io n t o t he essent ials rat her t han t o t h e
accesso ries, t hat he t hought of an easier way
fo r his pupils and abando ned t h e anc ient , or mo re
d ifi c ult lec t ure He invent ed a new way whic h
.
was as good in it s funda menta l point s as t he

o t her and was also ea sier and less st ringent fo r
beginners In short it sac rificed no ne o f t he t hings
.
whic h art req uires, and it mad e inst ruct io n easier and
bro ught speedier result s It wo uld b e a goo d t hing
.
if o t her t eachers wo uld imit at e Sig Grec o in always .
improving t his musica l lec t ure wit h new and easier

met hods in o rder t o b e mo re helpful t o t he st udent
, .
When t h e t eac her sees t hat t h e st udent is sure o f

int o nat io n in t he st riking o f t he first not e a nd is able
, ,
al so t o c lea rly read so lfeggio he m ust immediat ely ,
st art him in voca liz at io n Ot herwise t h e habit o f

.
cont inually c a lling t h e t o nes m ay endanger t h e correc t
posit io n o f t he mo ut h While voc aliz at io n makes

.
him sure in int o nat io n it also makes t h e vo ice agile

,
and flexible a nd accust oms it to ca ll a nd render t h e
words dist inc t ly .
In t h e yea r 1 76 1 H affe alias Sa ffo ne, c ame t o

“
, ,
”
Vienna t o write h is o pera Alc ide al Biv io , One .
day I was c hat t ing wit h t his c o mposer abo ut t h e

,
THE ART OF SIN GIN G 78
o ne t o me whic h
knew t o b e very good and one
he
t hat h e h ad seen used successfully by t h e C ano nico
Doddi of Co rt ona I asked him t o give me a demon
.
st rat ion of such met hod and Sig Safi o ne wrot e t o

.
his Cort ona friend and proc ured me a c opy wit h t his
wit h a single lect ure .
EXAMPLE
T he first vyllab les o r monosyllables de

se en s
‘
sc rib ed o n t h e sev en whit e keys of t h e gra vi c emba lo ,
are fo r t he diato nic o r na t ural sc ale Now if one

.
,
wishes t o perform a sc ale fo r t he soprano o r co nt ralt o

voice, one must st art from Do (C ) belo w t h e st a ff and
repeat t his oc ta ve by oc ta ve a cc ording t o t h e q ualit y
,
"
l
th
l he
‘
au thior ofw s thod of
ne me Sol-Fa -in g is t he no ble
C hev Marquis Fulvio C hig o Zondolari o f Siena
. , wh o p ublished t he
74 THE ART OF SING IN G
and ra n e g of t he voice which is singing Fo r a t enor o r

.
a bass vo ice h e must st art t h e sca le o n Do ( C ) an

,
oc t a ve lower t han t he one used fo r female vo ices and ,
t here t oo exte nd t he oc t a ves up an d down ac co rding

,
t o t h e ran ge o f ea ch voice Wit h t hese t o nes any

.
of t h e so c a lled scales wit h na t ural inte rv als ca n b e

-
formed as o ne finds o n t h e whit e keys of t h e cemba

,
lo from seven t o seven t ones in t h e asc ending o r

, ,
desc ending progressio n as fo llowed by t h e French

l u
ec t re ,in t U Re
. t - -lll i-Fa Sol La Si
- - - repea t in g in
t hi s way in ascending as well as descending unt il ,
t hey rea c h t ha t t one which ma rks t h e limit o f eac h

vo ice soprano alt o te no r and bass Wit h t hese
, , ,
t welve mo nosylla bles it is possible t o So l-fa musica l

,
c omposit io ns f o r t h e vo ic e as well as f o r pl aying wit h

,
sharp s a nd fla t s writ t en in key o r ac c ident a ls p ro ,
v id ed t hat t hey are writ te n ac c ording to t h e rules o f
harmo ny T h e import ant t hing is t his : That inv ari

.
a bly upon t hat det ermin ed key of t h e cemb a lo wh et h
er it b e na t ura l c hroma t ic o r inh a rm o nic (if t h e la t t er

,
is used ) t here is always t he sa me monosyllable writ

t en t hat h as been assig ned to it This is t o help t h e
.
Arcadi a , o ver t he more y wa y of learning ho w t o sing with a

ea s
so lfeg g io o f twelve mo nosylla bles Venice by Ca rlo Pec o ra 1 746

"
. , , .
in 4 This disting uished Chev and fa mo us music ian ha ving made

.
a musi ca l co llec tion o f t h e best m usic writers o f h is time be ,
devo ted himself t o discover a new and easier method and he ,
decided t o publish it under t he na me of an Arca dian being t oo,
m o dest t o allo w his o wn na me t o b e made kno wn No w tha t he

.
has been dead for so me yea rs i t is righ t t o make him knownt o t he

public .
d
st u ent to memoriz e t h e exa ct pit ch of t h e sound o f
t h a t key . By t his, it is made pla in t hat t he first
t hing fo r t h e st udent t o d o is t o learn t o know t h e
keyboard of t h e c embalo and t he t ones c orresponding
t o his voice . Fo r inst ance, t h e t eac her informs him
t ha t t h e sa me half t one used t o eXpress t he sha rp of
Do ( C ) is t he same used t o eXpress t h e flat of Re (D )
and in bot h c ases, t h e sh arp an d fl a t must b e c a lled
“Pa ” and so o n fo r t he ot her semit ones Aft er t h e
.
st udent h as learned t o m ast er t h e fi rst na t ural sca le ,
h e m ay t hen pass t o t h e exerc ise o f t h e int erva ls o f

t hirds fourt hs, et c , fo llo wing t hem wi t h t h e sca les
, .
fo rmed o f t o nes and semit o nes All t hese exerc ises

.
must b e a pplied acc ording t o t h e wi sdom of t h e t eac h

er a nd t o t h e music a l a c co mplishment s o n t h e pa rt o f
,
t h e st udent . There is no st ric t nec essit y fo r using t h e

sa me exerc ises f o r o ne m ay mo dify t h ese a t will
, .
This met hod will help t he st udent in ma st ering t he

easy as well as t h e diffic ult exerc ises . T o ma ke t his
met hod pla iner and t o rat ify t he given rea son fo r t h e
invaria ble use of t his way o f So l Fa ing I will ad d ,
- -
,
t ha t if t o t he not es Fa ( F) and Do ( C ) a flat shall b e

given o r if t o t he t ones Mi (E ) and Si (B ) ,it ha ppens
,
t o ha ve a double sharp , t hen t hi s not e must b e rea d

wit h t h e monosyllable whic h c o rresponds t o t he key
and whic h h as been given t o it whic h must express
,
fl a t o r double fla t o r do uble sharp . Fo r inst ance,

when t h e double sharp is on Fa (F) in passing fro m
t h e Fa diesis (F sh arp ) t o form t h e Fa-doppio diesis
- - ,
( double sharp) on t he Sol ( G ) , t he na me of t ha t

F -
t one sh all b e So l G
( ) , bec a use t his is t he na me given
t o t hat key t ha t c orresponds t o t ha t no t e and so for
opinio n t hi
, s new way of Sol-Fa ing is very
- easy a nd
is also a very c lever invent io n For aft er a st udent

.
has o nc e learned t h e na t ural oct ave, h e has t hen o nly

t o st udy t he ot her fiv e monosyllables used for t he
sha rps and flat s This will b e easy beca use t he
.
blac k keys of t h e cembalo will make it pla in fo r him

t o mast er t h em In Germany t hey follow t h e same
.
way of Sol a ing , using sylla bles of t heir o wn

-F -
lang uag e I have t ried t his innovat ion myself and

.
fo und it very good and easy , and fo r t his reason have

given it a c lear explanat ion here for t he benefit of
t h e youn g st udent I do no t presume t hat t his is
.
t he best way b ut I will lea ve it t o b e dec ide d by t he

,
experts . Th e essent ia l point t o never lose sight of

in t his met hod as in all t he ot her met hods o f So l Fa -
ing , is fo r t he t eac her t o b e a rigid observer t ha t every

t one is perfec t ly pit ched at t h e right key Sig
“
. .
”
Manfredini a ut hor of Reg ole Armoniche, (pre
,
c em ing t his
met hod on pages fiv e and six of his bo ok
and ind ulges himself in a crit icism upon t h e a bove
ment ioned way of reading music What foundat io n .
or reasons he h ad fo r g iv ing suc h st at ement s will b e
shown In t alking of t he nat ura l to nes h e gives t his

“
.
”
sent ence : Oc t a vus itaque so nus similis est primo .
This princ iple is well kno wn t o every pro fesso r and

t o all beg inners He goes further on and says: The
.
“
THE ART OF SINGIN G 77
ot h er fi v e t o nes t ha t o n t he cembalo are placed b e

t ween t ho se o i t h e oc t ave do no t ent er int o t he q ualit y
o f t h e t o ne ; t hey don t ev en oc cupy a diverse plac e
’
o n t h e li nes o r spac es, and a simple sign o f sharp o r
fla t is eno ugh t o make t hem kno wn . So t hey do no t

need a diff erent na me, a nd if it were necessa ry , o ne
woul d not b e enough for ea ch key ; b ut t wo would b e

necessa ry , o ne fo t h e Do diesis ( C sharp) and o ne
r - -
f o r Re b e mo lle (D flat )
- - - These t wo t ones are
t ot a ll y diff erent , alt h ough t hey are no t suc h o n
t h e cembalo . Furt hermo re, if t h e semito nes are t o
b e c a lled wit h t h e names of Pa Bo T u, et c , how
- - .
shall we ca ll t h e Si diesis ( B sharp ) and Mi-di esis

- -
(E sharp ) t hat in ha rmo ny are so unds no

-
less import a nt . He pret ends fo r inst a nce : Th e

Mi-diesis we shall c all Fa , beca use it is a Fa on t he
cemb alo . But here is where t h e m ist a ke occur s It .
is t rue t h Mi diesis bec omes a Fa on t he cemb alo ,

e -
because such an inst rument h as no ot her key t o

exp ress t ,i b ut it s a lso t ru t a
i e h t Mi d iesis is not
-
quite t he same as Fa ; a nd in fac t where we have Mi

diesis, we cannot ha ve Fa and vic e versa Th e same .
happens also on t he t ones whic h are no t nat ural a nd

esp ecially is t his t rue in t h e case o f Fa doppio diesis
- -
(F double sharp ) ; it must not b e c alled Sol, as

—
Manc ini says on page sixt y of h is boo k, b ut

as it is a t rue Fa in harmony and occupies
t hat place o n t h e st a ff , it must sim fl y b e ca lled
Fa , and it is only t hrough expressing it t ha t it
sh all b e raised ha lf o r a t one, as it sha ll b e ma rked b y
t he accident . It would t hen m

see t o me t hat t he
78 THE ART OF SINGIN G
a bove ment ioned lec t ure is no t at all nec essary no r

good While t he famo us Guido Aret ino invente d
.
t h e six sylla bles Ut Re M i Fa So l and La t he sylla

- - - -
,
b le Ut was a very unfa vo ra ble vo wel t o sing And.
t h e sa me is t rue o f Pa an d T u whic h are no t suit ed

,
”
fo r fo rming goo d t o nes .
So far, t h e t h ings t h e a ut ho r c it ed as fa ult s are

unwo rt hy o f ment io n, beca use t hey are t oo well
kno wn t o b e exposed as a no velt y o r somet hing new .
If h e h ad wished t o b e t h e c reat or o f somet hin g new ,
he co uld ha ve invent ed a new cembalo o r organ o r ,
some o t h er inst rument no t defec t ive Since he h as

.
no t done so , h e migh t ha ve left t hose inst rument s in
peace and co nt ent ment which t ho ugh not perfect

, ,
y e t s erve a s a b ase a n d rule f o r t h e t r a i ni ng of m a n y

voices and t he t uning o f many o t her inst rument s .
T o o blite rat e t h e c rit ic ism o f t h e a bo ve ment ioned

a ut ho r and t o disc lo se it s inco nsist enc y c o ncerning
, ,
t h e sharps and fla t s let us reflec t a lit t le upon

“
,
what h e says He st at es t hat t hese ha ve no plac e o n

.
t h e lines o r spaces o f t h e st a ff and c onseq uent ly do no t

”
ent er int o t h e q ua lit y o f a t one .Had h e kept in
m ind t h e precept s o f art h e wo ul d never ha ve mad e
,
suc h a posit ive st a t ement He c o uld ha ve remember

.
ed t hat t h e music a l keys,when assoc ia t ed wit h sha rps
and flat s,are c a lled t ranspo sed keys He co ul d ha ve

.
reflec t ed t h at t h e dist rib ut io n o f sh a rps and flat s in
t he musica l keys are no t a rbit rary b ut nec essary .
Ot herwise t he t wo semit o nes o f t he o ct a ves would b e

subj ec t t o m eet o ut o f t h e presc ribed int ervals T he .
order of flat s and sharps is well known t o every

80 T HE ART OF SINGIN G
T he sa me
is t rue of fl ats Take fo r exa mple t he
.
key of Re b e mo lle (D-flat ) , Fig 8 , t hird ma jor,

- .
which requires fiv e flat s .
If t hen, t hese separat e signs to

est a blish a ma jor o r mino r key what reaso n is t here
,
t o j ust if y t h eir exc lusio n " Let us c ont inue . To

demonst rat e t he inf allibilit y and accurac y o f t his
new kind of lec t ure (and t o p ro ve wit h exa mples t hat
,
we do no t prefer t o na me t h e keys in t his lec t ure,a nd

as a consequenc e t o help t h e int onat ion o f ea c h t one
where it fa lls) I sh all present as first examm e t he

,
key o f Ut -diesis (C -sharp) whic h y o u may observe at
Fl a m 4
To show y ou also, t hat t h e sam e key serves for

Re b e molle (D fla t ) y o u ha ve o nly t o look at Fig
- - .
5 , and y o u will see t h at it does no t difl er from Fig 4 . .
FIGURE 5
h as been said c o nc erning t h e

bet ween D la sol re diesis, (D sharp) and E a fa
- - - - - -l -
( E -fl a t
) fo r t his reason I expressly warned t h e rea der
in t h e c losing of t he c hapt er o f my first edit ion, (which
was so muc h c rit ic ised by Sig Manfredini ) by sa ying
“
.
T h e wh o le t hing depends upon t h e t eac hers being

st ric t o bservers t hat every no t e should b e at it s
right pit e Wh o does no t kno w t hat t he h ps

s ar
i
are nsens ibly more moderat e " In fac t ,a lt hough t h e
Ut diesis (C sharp) and t h e Re b e molle (D-fl at ) a re
- - -
t h e sa me t one o n t h e c emb alo t hey a re very diff erent

“
,
”
a rit hmet ica lly as c an b e seen o n t h e
, Monoc ordo .
I must also add t hat t his a rit hmet ica l divisio n so

no ticeable in t heory , is very lit t le not iced in prac t ice .
T i so ue t hat if t h e t eac her hea rs t he Do diesis

h s is t r -
( harp ) t a ken in pit c h and lat er hears th e Re b e

C —
s -
molle ( ) t aken o ut of pit c h , he has no ot her

D fla t
-
way of fixin g t h e int onat io n of his pupil , t ha n t o

suggest it o n t h e cemba lo wi t h t h e vo ic e o r with t h e
key alone if t h e inst rument is perfect ly t uned Since

.
t hings are t his way , t h e t one c orrespo nds exact ly t o

t h e lect ure and t his t rut hful co rrespo nd enc e is what
at Fig 6, h e will see ho w t he Si-diesis (B-sharp ) ca n

.
,
b e ca lled , following t hese rules If h e wishes t o

.
examine t h e key of Ut minore ( C -minor)

- Fig 7 .
,
he wi ll see t hat t his t one c orresponds t o t h e same key

as in Fig 6 . .
FIGURE 6
Fo r M es s ( sharp)
di
i-i E- a lt hough it is no t t he
From "
sa me t one as Fa (F) y et it c annot spoil t he int onat ion

belo nging t o it and it will b e o f help t o t h e st udent
,
t o ca ll it Fa , falls upon t hat key ,

Figure 8 .
The me princ iple is t o b e observed c onc ern ing

sa
t h e Fa d oppio diesis (F d o uble sharp ) and by looki n g

- -
a t Fig 9 . .
itwill b e seen t ha t t his t one falls on t he key of Sol

G
( ) , and a lt hough t his is proved , y et Sig Ma nfre
.
dini wishes it ca lled Fa Fo llowing o ur rules whic h

.
are founded upon t h e kind of inst rument s we possess
and also upon co nst ant ob m v at ion, we must of

necessit y
ll it Sol , sinc e a diff erent na me c annot
ca
produce dissonanc e as it happens in voca liz at ion .
T he st ud ent t herefo re ca n pit c h Fa d oppio diesis,

-
he defend h is posit ion by saying In fac t o n

c an ,
t hose t ones where Mi d iesis (E sharp ) is, we cannot

- —
h a ve Fa (F) ,and where Fa (F) is ,NIi diesis (E sharp )

- -
ca nno t b e, and t h e sa me is t rue o f t he ot her t ones,
et c . This declarat ion gives st ill c learer evidence of

t h e virt ue of our lect ure Fo r h e who kno ws wh a t
.
ac c ident als may occ ur o n t h e t ones of B Fa ( B ) a nd

-
,
F fa ut (F) et c , kno ws a lso t ha t a Mi diesis (E

- - .
-
sharp ) ca nnot b e in t he sa me c ho rd From t his it

.
follo ws, t hat on t h e a bo ve ment ioned t ones t h e Fa

F
( ) ac
, c omp an ied by it s respec t ive c on so nance s ,
sha ll b e t o t h e eyes and ea rs o f every o ne a c l ea r and
nat ura l Fa (F) When singing a c hromat ic sca le,

.
we will ca ll t h e Mi diesis ( E sharp ) Fa (F) also

-
~ By .
so do ing we will see t ha t we bind it wit h it s usua l and

,
ac c ust omed acc ompaniment and c onsequent ly t h e
lec t ure I suggest will produce a perfect int o nat io n .
I will never c rit ic iz e t he pro fession for having changed

t h e syllable Ut , e st a blished by Guido Aret ino a nd ,
replac ing it by Do a lt hough O is t h e o ne of t h e fiv e

,
vowels whic h is no t goo d fo r singi ng nor fo r t he ,
voice proved by t h e experience of t he who le pro

,
fessio n Alt hough t his lec t ur e seems t o b e a new

.
t hing j udging by t h e addit io n of fiv e new syll ables,

,
whic h fall upon t h e blac k keys of t he cembalo y et ‘
,
Let b
us remem er t a t t h e s h ylla b le Ut was no t
put into use again It was invent ed b y Aret ino

it . .
Co mparing t he ot her fiv e t o nes which fall upon t he

blac k keys, I may say t hat t he syllable
It is t o b e t h at t his sy t em h as not met

reg ret t ed
wit h Sig . Ma nfredini s approva l Nevert heless, it

’
.
is wort h much p raise and t h e g rea t singing maste rs

who are in c harge o f direct ing t heir pupils in t he art
of singing will find t hat inst ead of c rit ic ism , muc h
praise is due t o t h e profound and judic ious Chev .
Do ddi of Cort ona It is generally known t ha t no t

.
every vowel is equa lly g ood t o pronounc e sweet ly
in sin ging .Here it is demanded of t he t eacher t o

know how t o exerc ise h is pupils in t ha t way he find s
ea siest t o guide t hem t oward what is bea ut if ul and
perfect in t he art of singing I c lose t his chapte r ,

.
which is perhaps in part a lit t le t oo deep for t h e musi

c a l int ellig ence o f t h e a verage st udent , for whom I
ha ve planned t his endea vor .
I furt her st ate , t hat it is not an abso lute necessit y

86 T HE ART OF SING ING
to follow st ric t ly one lect ure rat her t han

Every teac her t hinks his met hod t h e best , and it is
wit h t his idea t ha t I give mine also, because it is
support ed by long experience and by t h e excellent
result s achieved by ot her famous mast ers . It is not

t o b e hoped t ha t we will h a ve t h e sa me st yle of
,
musica l lect ure as was est a blished in MCCCL " Th e

sha pes of t h e not es, whic h exist , are a pproved so
hea rtily by every European nat ion "
t a ke suc h a hin g if h e does not find himself possessed

t
of a nat ura l g ift in t his direc t ion and t he knowledge
nec essary t o imp art t h e inst ruc t io n . Aside fro m
all t h e ot her req uisit es of whic h it is no t nec essa ry t o
spea k no w h e must h a ve t h e t a lent t o kno w t h e

,
defec t s of t he pupil , which wo uld keep him fro m

reac hing t h e goal M: t h e sa me t ime he must know
.
,
h o w t o c orrec t and eliminat e t hese o bst a cles T his

t alent c a n never b e ac quired , exc ept aft er ha ving
,
follo wed t he prac t ic e of t h e g rea t singing maste rs a nd

t heir princ iples, and t o ha ve h ad t h e experience him
self ; t hus supplem ent ing his o wn knowledge, it
enables him t o discern wit h mo re suret y and c leam ess
t h e way t o guide t h e beg inner t o suc cess In every

.
ca se, where t he t eacher has pract ic ed t h e art of

sing in g , t here is no do ub t a bo ut his being c ompet ent
t o t eac h o t hers .However, it is not eno ugh t o know

t he art of sin ging merely t o t h e point of bei ng a ble
t o sing so me so ngs wit h t ast e mingled wit h some
,
embellish ment o r graceful mo dulat ions t o ma ke

,
oneself believe t ha t o ne can t eac h ot hers wit h success

It is al so necessa ry t o b e acc ust o m ed t o kno w h o w t o
produc e t he voice agreeably t o open t he mo ut h t o
, ,
perfo rm t h e abo ve ment io ned pa ssa ges a nd t o em

,
bellish t hem wit h t ha t prec ision t ha t art t ea ches .
Wit ho ut t his kno wledge t he t eac her will onl y

,
occ asionally b e a ble t o know t h e diverse ways and
mea ns nec essa ry t o b e used wit h t he difl erent pupils ;

how t o guid e eac h o f t hem t o o pen t heir mout h easily
and wit h t h e right proport io n, and ho w t o c o nduct
T HE AR T or SINGING 89
t hem t o t h e o
c rrec tx ion of t h e abo ve ment ion
e ecut
ed p assages and embellishm ent s .Abo ve all t he

requisit es t o b e fo und in a t eac her t he o ne t ha t
,
should b e c onsidered as indispensa ble is t h e art of

,
put t ing his inst ruct ion c lea rly before his pupils in a ,
way so as no t t o t ire t hem as so oft en happens, a nd

,
in t his a rt nat ure has been libera l wit h o nly a few,

,
and t hese few ha ve been a ble t o a t t a in it , o nly aft er
long st udy pat ience and t ime It would certa inly

, .
b e fort unat e for a st udent t o fa ll int o t he hands of

suc h a t ea c her, who is loving , pa t ient and endur ing ,
and wh o underst ands t he st udent s nat ure and h is

’
abilit y.
As I ha ve a bo ve st a t ed it is very im port ant fo r

,
him who wishes t o sing t o kno w how t o o pen t h e

mont h ; because upon t he o pening of t he mo ut h
depends t he c lea m ess of t he voice I shall dwell o n
.
t his t opic and t a lk of t h e defec t s most c ommo nly

found ; fo r by knowing defec t s o ne can deduce t he
,
way t o c o rrec t t hem T h e fi rst fa ult c omes when o ne

draws o ut t he vo ic e wit hout paying any at t ent io n
,
t o t h e mout h , and t hus Opens it badly Therefore

.
t he voice does no t c o me o ut c lear so no ro us and

,
At first t hought , it wo uld seem t hat t his fault is

very easily c orrec t ed b ut alt ho ugh t his is t he mo st
,
c ommo n fault ,it is no t ea sy t o remedy T he first .
t hing t hat a t ea ch er says t o a pupil whet her in low

, ,
“
in high o r in medium voic e is Open yo ur mo ut h "
”
And he t hen t h inks h e h as fulfilled his dut y But .

90 THE AR T OF SINGING
he has no t , in my Opinion It is necessary t o expla in,

.
in a pleasant manner, t o t h e inexperienc ed and rust ic

yout h , what is precisely t h e right posit ion of t he
mout h , relat ive t o h is physiognomy The t ea cher
must never t ire in explaining, no mat t er how many
t imes h e may find it necessa ry t o repea t , fo r t his is
t h e princ iple point , -“Principii Obst a .
’
It is nec essary fo r a pupil t o know from t h e beg in

ning how t o Open t h e mout h c orrec t ly and t o open it
by t h e rules of art , and no t merely t o his fancy Be .
it kno wn, t hat t h e rules fo r t h e opening of t h e mout h

c anno t b e general , no r can t hey b e ma de universally
t h e sa me fo r every individua l .Fo r everyone kno ws

t ha t ea c h individua l does not open his mout h in t h e
same way Some ha v e wide O penings, so me narrow
.
and ot hers medium . Add t o t his t h e irregula rit y

of t h e t eet h So me have long t eeth , o t hers ha ve
.
broad ones, and ot hers have small t eet h All t hese .
and ot her diff erenc es co nc erning t h e organs of t h e
voice, compel t he t eac h er t o Observe dilig ent ly in

wha t siz e of t he opening of t h e mo ut h t he voice
c omes o ut c learest , purest and fullest Thus he
.
det ermines t he siz e o f t he opening for t he c orrec t

posit ion of t he mout h Experienc e t eac h es t hat a
.
mout h t oo widely open, o r t oo c lose besides loo king

,
badly from t he aest het ic point , renders t he voice

ro ugh and unpleasant I am Of t h e O pinion t hat t o
.
know well ho w t o shape it , ca n reasonably b e Inspt as

o ne o f t he essent ials most importa nt t o a singer .
Wit hout t his kno wledge, alt hough he may possess all
t he ot her abilit ies of t h e pro fession, he will never b e

a ble t o please and will oft en render him self ridic ulous
,
and disgust ing .T he fa lse posit ions o f t h e mo ut h are

many I shall not e here t h e o nes most c ommonly
.
found a nd sh all aft erwards give t he rule whic h in

, ,
my opinion, is t he most cert a in t o modify t hem It .
h as been observed t hat many pupils hearing t he ,
t ea c her say, Open your mo ut h open it so widely

,
t hat it looks like t h e door t o a lit t le ov en . But if

suc h pupils have t h e misfort un e t o fa ll int o t h e hands
of an inexperienc ed t eac her who does not know how

,
t o c orrect t hem t hey will never b e a ble t o rea liz e

,
t hat fro m suc h an exa ggera t ed opening of t h e mout h

t h e voice will b e t hro a t y , an d t hat t h e
“fauces ”
being under such st ra in, will in c onsequence, lose

t ha t flexib ilit y whic h is so necessary t o give t h e voice
t hat c leam ess and fac ilit y in dra wing it If t his
posit ion of t h e mout h remains uncorrect ed , t h e poo r
fello w will sing b ut always wit h a suffo c at ed , c rude
,
and hea vy q ualit y On t h e co nt rary , we find t hose

.
wh o do no t open t heir mout hs eno ugh and give it a

,
round fo rm , and b ring forward t h eir t ongue almost
o n t heir lips
. This monst rous posit ion produces t hree
gra ve defect s : First , t h e voice ac quires, as we would
c all it , a mourning and dead qua lit y ; sec ond , from
t his, it m a kes one sing t h ro ugh t h e nose, and t hird ,

o ne cannot enun c iat e c lea rly . T he reasons are : In
t h e first ca se, t h e t o ngue is no t in it s nat ural posit ion
and t he voice does no t c ome o ut c lear , so noro us, b e
ca use it st rikes aga inst t h e pal at e, and is t hrown

bac k in t h e t hro at , and lies t here suff oc at ed In t he.
sec ond case,t h e reason is t he same o ne, fo r t he t o ngue
lying o ut o f it s nat ural posit io n, co mpresses t he air ,
so t h a t t h e vo ice fi nding no na t ural opening , seeks it s
esc a pe t hr oug h t h e no se t hus ca using it t o so und

,
nasal . In t h e t hird case, p rono unc ing t h e wo rd s

wit h a t hic kened to ngue t h e enunc ia t io n will no t b e
,
c lea r
, b ut will so und mumbling a nd blubbering .
There are many who sing wit h t h e te et h c lose and

t ight ; t his sing ing wit h c lose teet h , is t he grea te st o f
all defec ts This po sit io n is a t raito r t o t he vo ic e
.
,
beca use it does not allo w t h e to ne t o co me out , nor

c a n o ne a rt ic ulat e o r enunc iate t h e words No w if
defect s of t his kind are allo wed t o grow uncorrec t ed ,
t hey bec ome incura ble Experienc e pro ves t hat t h e

.
o penin g o f t h e mout h is what direc t s and regul at es
t h e voice In fac t t h e resounding qualit y o f t he

.
,
vo ic e always depends upon t h e sha ping o f t he po si

t io n o f t h e mo ut h when t here is t h e nat ural st reng t h
,
of t he chest and a harmonious dispo sit io n o f t he vocal

organs Therefo re it will b e useless for a t ea cher to
“
.
,
c o rrec t t h e p upil by mere ly sa ying Yo u o pen your

“ “
,
”
mout h to o muc h o r T oo lit t le o r Yo u sing wit h
, ,
your t eet h c losed T h e general prec ept s a re usuall y

.
o f lit t le va lue j ust as t h e prac t ica l a pp lica t io ns are

,
good In giv ing t h e prec ise rules t o a st udent , let

.
t h e t eac her no t o nly t ell him and explain t o him b ut ,
let him illust rat e h is mea ning by making himself an

exa mple by as suming t h e diff erent posit ions o f t h e
,
mout h t h e wro ng as well as t he right posit ion, in

,
or der t ha t t h e d
st u ent m ay see and als o hea r t he
c o rresponding to ne which co mes fro m each co rre
sponding po sition T h e st udent will th en b e able t o
kno w and ch oose whic h is t he co rrec t o ne and why ,
t hro ugh bo t h seeing and hearing l e t t h e experi .
enc ed t eac her follow t hi s met hod and h e will soon b e
c o nvinc ed how muc h more pref era ble are prac t ica l
demo nst rat io ns t o general rules As fo r myself I .
alwa ys ac t ed wi t h my pupils l ike a danc ing mast er .
I used t o c all my pupils o ne by o ne in fro nt o f me ,
and aft er ha ving pl aced t hem in t h e right po sit ion

“
,
I was t elling t hem Boy, look , ra ise yo ur hea d. . .
. don t lean it on t he c hest no

’
no t in t h e
. .
bac k eit her t here t ha t s right St raight and

’
“
. .
, .
nat ura l In t ha t posit ion yo ur voc al organs rema in

.
relaxed a nd flexible ; bec ause if y o u lean your hea d
forward on t o your c hest yo ur side musc les of t h e

nec k are t ense and t hey are a lso t ense if y ou lea n
,
”
yo ur hea d back If t h e pupils opened t heir mout hs
.
i nc orrec t ly I wo uld sho w t hem how t o do it right

,
a nd by many pract ic a l demo nst ra t ions I h a ve fina l ,
ly fixed a general rule whic h I will give here This .
is : every pupil must sha pe his mout h fo r singing just ,
as h e sha pes it when h e smiles T he upper teet h .
show a lit t le, and a re slight ly sep arat ed fro m t h e
lo wer o nes Wit h many proofs and st ill more examples

.
and muc h pa t ienc e I always Obt a i ned t h e desired

,
resul t o f disc o v eri ng t h e nec essa ry execut io n of suc h
a rule .Besides it is very easy and in c onformit y ,
wit h t h e met hods of t h e best sc hools Let t he .

t eac h ers follow t his met hod wit h t heir pupils and I
dare t o promise t hem t he mo st sat isfac to ry result s .
In giving t hem t hese p rac t ic al demonst rations t hey ,
c an emphasi z e st ill mo re t h e t rut hs o f t hese rules by
ma king t heir pupils pro no unc e t h e fiv e It a lia n vowels

A HA E A I E O OH U OO
- - -
,
-
, Wit h t h e above
, ,
- .
indicat ed posit io n of t h e mout h t hey will see t hat ,
t his posit ion is no t c hanged in goin g fro m o ne vowel

t o t h e ot her exc ept in pro no unc ing O and U
,
*
In .
pronounc ing t h e 0 , it c a uses o nly an almo st invisible

c h ang e inside of t h e mo ut h while in t h e vowel U , ,
o ne must prot rude t h e lips gent ly and in a rounded
mould wit ho ut dist urbing t he nat ural po sit ion o f t he

,
mout h and to avo id all grimaces We must no t .
t hink fro m t his t ha t t h e mo ut h must b e dep rived of

,
th e needed mo vement so c o nvenient and nec essa ry ,

not o nl y t o enunc ia t e c lea rly b ut a lso t o c l arify t h e ,
voic e to t h e po int t hat a rt t eac hes Here is t he .
Sig M nf edini does n t

‘
. a r l th ug h unju tly to il cease, a o s o assa
m e wh n ver h think h h
, e e e h n Ev n n t h v w l
s e as a c a ce . e o e o e s
he a tt k m ju t if I did n t kn w t h difli ult y f p

ac s e s as o o e c o ro
“
n un ing t h v w l
o c I in inging Th t I g e wi th him
e o e
”
s . a a re
wh nev t h ing ig n
e er e sth ul f rt
er A t t h
o res nd e r es o a . r eac es, a
t h e peri n
e x f m ny y
e ce o h t ug ht m pl inly t h t in
a ea rs as a e a , a
f w ding t h m uth t m u h nd a hing i t t mu h in

or ar e o oo c a rc oo c
pronounc ing “
t h e vo wel I i i
ives a dull lifeless so und
”
in s ng ng , g ,
and no t ag reea ble a t a ll ; whil e on t h e co ntrary by keeping t h e ,
mo ut h in t h e shape o f a c o m posed smile we ha ve as a resul t ,
g rac efu lness a n d sw ee t ness whi c h a re so n ecessa ry t o pro no unc e
t he I
“ ”
Under th ese c ondi tions i t g ives delig ht t o t h e hear
. ,
er. Upo n this point t h e sing ers a nd pro fesso rs o f o ur art will
t ell yo u if I a m rig h t o r no t .
96 THE AR T OF SINGIN G
must keep it as a t rut h , t hat t his prac t ic e no t only

is insuflic ient to c orrect t h e voice, b ut is harmf ul, fo r
“ ”
t he reason t hat t h e fauc es, as I demonst rat ed in
Chapt er III , are a part of t he organs of voice T he .
voice ca nnot come out nat ural and spont aneous, if it

finds t h e fauces in a forc ed posit ion, which impedes
nat ural act ion . Therefore t h e st udent must t ake
t h e t rouble t o acc ust om his c hest t o give t h e voice
“ ”
wit h nat uralness,and t o use t he fauces very light ly .
If t he harmony of t hese t wo part s,t he mout h and t he

“ ”
fauces is perfec t , t hen t he voice will b e c lear and
t he voice will b e defect ive, and c onsequent ly t he

singing spoiled .
No w, if t h e fault y posit ion of t he mout h ,as I said ,

mars t he bea ut y and expression Of t he voice how ,
muc h more will it spoil t he amiable feat ures of t h e

singer "feat ures whic h are exposed at t hat moment
t o a p ublic whic h is t here rea dy t o praise o r t o censure

him My dear young st udent s, you will know when
.
y o u h a ve rea c hed t h e ag e of m at urit y , and a re
st epping from o ne t hea t re t o anot her, to how many
vic issit udes one of o ur profession is exposed T he .
reflec t ions t h at t o d ay seem lit t l e

, will t hen prove
large and y ou must know t hem Your t eacher must
.
t herefore ha ve int uit io n p at ience

, and lot s of
it,. and indust ry In c orrec t ing y o u when y ou se

.
quir e harmf ul habit s . I have no doubt t hat any

t eac her, when a st udent fails t o open t he mout h o r
“
,
draw t he voice o ut c lear, will at once t ell h im , That

is no t t h e posit ion Of t he mout h t hat I t aught y ou .
That port ion of t he voic e is nasal I am sure t hat

suc h a light and superfic ia l c o rrec t ion is no t enough
t o ma ke a st udent see h is error no r t o make him ,
c omprehend h o w h e fa il s in it T h e easiest way and

.
,
t h e o ne by whic h I ha ve h ad good result s is t o give ,
t h e st udent t h e evidenc e o f h is erro r a nd t o t his end , ,
he must fait hfully repro duc e himself t h e defec t of

t h e st udent . He will t hen kno w plainly t h e erro r
Of singing in t h e nose o r in t h e t hro at o r wit h c rude
, ,
voice and draggin g Hearing t h e t ea c her reprod uc

.
ing his o wn fault s and seeing him ma king an exac t

,
c a ric at ure Of himself enlight ens him , He will t hen

remark c onfess and c o ndemn t ho se errors whic h h e
, ,
would never ha ve remarked confessed no r c o n ,
demned in himself In order t o no t ha ve y o u believe

.
t ha t t hi s idea Of imita t ing t h e pupil s fault is mine o r

’
,
of t he t ea chers o f o ur d ay I must ca ll your at t ent ion

,
t o t h e rule prac t ic ed in Ro me by t h e c elebrat ed

mast ers Fedi ment io ned in my sec ond c ha pt er T h e
, .
st udent does no t o nly c orrec t t h e defec t s Of t h e vo ic e
t hrough t h e t eac her s expo sit ion b ut a l so a ll t he

’
,
ot her defect s Defect s of t his sec ond kind a re

.
,
b ad posit io n of t h e mout h, wrinkling of t h e fo rehead,

t wist ing of t he eyes co nt ort ions o f t h e nec k a nd Of
,
t he who le bo dy and t hing s o f t his kin d

, T O co rrec t .
t hese defec ts I wo uld have my st udent st a nd in

,
front o f me and sing his lesson by heart Suc h a .
posit ion affo rded t wo good result s, o ne fo r me and

o ne fo r t h e pupil Fo r me it was easier t o Observ e
.
98 THE ART OF SIN GIN G
because his mind was not occupied in reading his

not es, for he had t hem by heart Th e pract ice of
.
singing by hea rt is used only in daily lessons, int end
ed fo r t h e lea rn g of
in
“ l- - ”
So Fa ing and voca liz at ion .
Fo r t he rest of t h e st udying,t h e reg ular met hod should

b e used ,in order t hat t h e pupil will become ac quaint
ed wit h every kind of music If t he pupil will sing
.
we can hope t ha t he will b e able t o do much more in

ev ery ot her lesson Thus ha ving t he go od ha bit
.
formed ,h e will sing correc t ly even when not observ ed

by his t eacher I c lose t his art ic le,by recommendin g
.
t o t h e t ea cher, as well as t o t h e pupils, t h e virt ue of

pat ience whic h crowns t h e work Of t he t eac her s
.
’
pat ience I have no doubt b ut I do doubt t he pat ience

,
of t he st udent , who t hinks t hese det ails a superflo us

and unnewssary work They usually overlook t hem
.
,
and we Oft en observe t ha t t h e y oung st udent is
t ea c her St udents , do no t b e so sensit ive to t he

.
rebukes of your t eac hers, for t hese rebukes originat e
from t h e love and desire t o see in you t h e improve

ment corresponding t o t he at t ent ion wit h which t hey
teach y ou Do not become conceit ed Beca use y o u
. .
believe yourself t o have indust ry , act ivit y and

percept ion, t hat ena bles y ou t o correct your own
t o b e pointe d o ut wit h fing “

er Albo Lo ill
p o .
1 00 THE ART OF SIN GING
This fact est a blished, it c onsequent ly fo llows t hat

ea c h fault in t h e vo ice requires a diff erent remedy t o ,
b e applied acc ordin g t o t h e o rigin of t h e fault How

.
ever, t his c hapt er is no t writ t en f o r t h e p urpose o f
enumerat ing t h e st eps in t h e g raduat ion O f every
fa ult y voice In order t hat yo u may underst and

.
c learly and t h at y o u m ay profit by t his discussion ,
(wit hout it s being t oo lengt hy) I c hoose t hree t ypes

O f voices most c ommonl y foun d , and suggest fo r
eac h o ne t h e co rrespo nding remedy .
To one Nat ure ha s given a robust raw vo ice,

, ,
harsh and shrill ; t o anot her a limit ed and wea k vo ice ;

and t o anot her a voice whic h t hough ric h and o f wide
range is y et wea k and t hin in every p ro po r t io n

, .
Th e last t wo t ypes are usua lly ca lled wea k voic es .
A raw, robust and shrieky voice only needs t o b e

p u r ifie d a nd m a d e s weet If y o u s ay t o a p upil wi t h
“
.
”
suc h a voice give all t h e voice, y ou will make it
inl po ssib le to correct h is fa ult s . On t h e c o nt rary ,
such a met hod wo uld o nl y serve t o ma gnify and
inc rease t hat irregular and raw flexibilit y Th e pro .
p er rem edy lies in c omp ellin g t h e st ude n t t o hold t h e
voice back in proport ion t o his age and st rengt h and ,
at t he same t ime produce sm oot h eff ect s as muc h a s
is t o b e expec t ed fro m voca l music T o t his end

.
c o nst a nt at t ent ion is requi red in order t o dra w t h e
voice wit hout a t race Of shriekiness expec ially in t h e

,
higher t ones, and lat er t o Obt ain equalit y and even

t hese rules, bec ause it is only by exerc ising self

possession and c oncent rat io n in unf o lding and exp and
ing t h e vo ic e very slowly ,t hat o ne can succeed in elim
inat ing it s roughness and c rudit y When t h e st u
dent t hrough t his effo rt arrives at a happy and sure
, ,
exec ut ion , h e c an ho pe t o ent er t h e fi eld of m ore
diffic ult achievement

“
.
T he o t her t ype Of vo ic e limit ed in ra nge a nd

,
rat her wea k , a lt hough c lassed as b eing very fa ult y ,
c a n b e c o rrec t ed by devo t ing suflic ient st udy t o it .
This voic e is certa inly at a disadvant age sinc e it ,
ca n b e used onl y in small places ; t hi s fa c t is in it self
a great drawb ac k , beca use we Oft en find ourselves
c o mpell ed t o sing in a large place t oda y and in a ,
sma ll o ne t o morrow
- However in spit e of t his
.
,
disadvant age, such a voic e most c ert a inly sho uld no t

b e ab andoned . Experience h as t aught us t hat wit h
pro per st udy we c an supply t hose element s whic h
will render suc h a voic e round and st rong T h e .
majorit y o f t ea chers t hink t hey c an co rrec t t his

fault by inst ruc t ing t h e pupil in his daily lessons t o
sing wit h f ull st reng t h of vo ic e, ho ping t hereby t h a t
h e will gain in vo lum e a nd st rengt h and inv igorat e ,
t h e wea k regist er Ho wever t his rul e appears t o

.
,
me t o b e very do ubt ful and da ngerous bec ause a

pupil of t welve t hirt een o r fourteen years c annot
, ,
have sufi c ient st reng th o f c hest t o support suc h an

irregular effort I am rat her inc lined t o believe t his
.
met hod is mo re successful when applied in c ases

where st udent s have alread y ac quired full develop
1 02 THE ART OF SINGING
ment and st reng th of chest , b ut who have been illy

directed in t heir first years of t raining In fac t , it is
.
very different wit h yout hs of t ender age, as it is

da ngerous t o use violent means on ac count of t heir
ag e and st rengt h . Guided by very long experience
and pract ice in t h e means t o b e appli ed in t hese cases
I disc overed one whic h I will suggest here It will .
prove t o b e of great help t o a pupil who h as a weak

and limit ed vo ice whet her it b e so prano or c ont r alt o
, .
He must exerc ise wit h a so lfeggio wit h sust a ined

not es in his da ily st udy . T h e result will b e furt her
assured if suc h so lfeggio is kept wit hin t h e limit whic h
t h e voice permi t s a t t ha t t ime . It must b e suggest ed

t o t ho se who a re c onfro nt ed by t hese c ondit ions t o ,
inc rea se t he volume o f t heir vo ices ea c h d ay lit t le

by lit t le direc t ing t hem t hus, wit h t h e aid of a rt and
,
c o nt inuous exerc ise unt il t hey bec o me vigoro us and

,
sono rous When t his first st ep h as been ac c omplished

.
t h e solf eggio must b e a ug mented wit h high t ones .
As t hese high t ones belong t o t he hea d regist er, I

sha ll t ell in my next c h apt er how t o blend t hem .
This st udy c an never produce good result s unless t he

voic e is equa liz ed and blended in t h e whole range .
If t his exercise is well direc t ed st eadfast ly a nd

,
fait hf t used in t he first years, his ga in in st rengt h

of chest and his advanc ing mat urit y will enable him
t o bet t er co mprehend t h e j udic io us suggest io ns o f t h e
t eac her, and h e can prac t ically b e assured o f success
in ga ining t hat quant it y Of voice whic h at first
appea red alm ost im po ssible .
t h e t rut h of what I say There ca me t o my school a

.
young st udent who ha d been given up by t wo dis

t ing uish ed professors Eac h dec lared t hat t h e pupil
.
did not have a good c hest nor a good vo ice and , ,
co nseq uent ly h e was inc a pa ble o f pro g ressing in t h e
art . I examined h im very pat ient ly Fro m cert ain .
sig ns t hat experience t eac hes, I di sc overed so me very
good sympt oms and I c onc eived in my hea rt goo d

,
hope I undert oo k t h e d iflic ult t ask o f t rain ing him

.
wit ho ut fear o f his lac k Of st rengt h (he was of t h e

t ender a g e O f t hirt een ) Fo r a lengt h o f t ime I never
.
fo rced h is vo ic e b ut onl y t rained him t o a perfec t

,
int onat ion and union o f regist ers and g ra duat io n o f

,
t h e vo ice . Fo llowing t his met hod f o r a cert ain lengt h

O f t ime and by his g ro wt h in yea rs and st rengt h h e
, ,
improved c ont inua lly t o such a point t hat his voic e

bec ame florid ro bust and ric h in it s ra nge and he wa s
,
c a p able o f going wit ho ut any eff o rt t o t h e high Re
D
( ) a n d c o nseq uent ly t o a v a il h im self O f t h e h o no r O f
singin g wit h suc cess in all t h e noble t hea t res I ha v e
.
improved many ot her pupils t hrough t h e sa me syst em .
If all h a d been t rained wit h t he sa me met hod I used

fo r t h e abo ve ment ioned p upil t h e same goo d result s
,
c ould h a ve b een Ob t a ined .
It is c learly evident t ha t t he rule co mm only used ,
t o tea c h t he p upil t o sing in full vo ice c anno t b e ,
effec t ively applied in every c ase On t h e c ont rary

. ,
it is very ha rmf ul and undesirable in c ases where t h e

vo ice of t h e pupil is no t st eady and well placed In .
t h e fo llowing inst anc e it is pl ainly ap p arent t hat in

T HE ART OF SINGING 1 05
t he art of pro duc ing t h e vo ice wit h moderat ion and

graduat ing each sust ained t o ne wit h t ha t light ness
of breat h so necessary t o pla ce such a t one, h e will
no t b e able t o perceive h is fault Singing inst ead
.
,
wit h moderat ion and g reat ca re and under t he direc t

,
t ion and observat ion of a goo d t ea c her it will b e far

,
easier t o det ec t even t h e sma llest fs l t s of t o ne

a
produc tio n and consequent ly easy t o c orrect t hem
, .
This met hod , so essent ia l in pla cing t he voice must ,
not only b e kept in mind b ut it must b e prac t iced

,
when t he pupil is al rea dy co nfi dent of himself in

singin g t h e scales and int erva ls and in t his way se
,
c ust o m himself very ea rly t o graduat e and give t h e
vo ice wit h all t h e rules t hat art requires .
There is t h e syst em which I declare is t h e only way

t o plac e t h e voice and t hat is t o exerc ise it wit h sus
t a ined t ones (whole no t es) rendered wit h repose and
t a ken o ne by one wit h due graduat ion Th e rein
.
fo rcement of t he voice must follow in pm portio n

to t h e ag e and st rengt h of t he pupil ; and t his
advancement must b e d irec t ed by t h e teac her who
must not allow h imself t o b e influenced by a d esire

t o reac h t he final st ep t o o soo n b ut must go slowly
, ,
lit t le by lit t le, wit h t he right degree I c anno t .
emphasiz e t oo st rongly my former remark t h at a
st ead f ast adherenc e t o t h e prac t ice o f well exec ut ing
and fo llowing t h e t ea c her in t h e p at h t hat h e c ousi
ders best for his pupil is t h e only way t o make t he

,
Th e defec ts t hat are na t ural and t hose t hat result

from a wro ng supervision ca n b e remedied only by a
long series of act ions t h e obj ec t of which is t o c orrec t
t h e nat ural b ad ha bit s of t h e voc al organs and t hose
Hav ing so far spoken of t h e abuse in forc ing t h e

voice, I desire before closing t his c hapt er, t o advise
y o u young st udent s, t o avoid a mist a ke whic h even
t he best singers have c o mmit t ed . It oft en happens
t hat when opport unit y present s it self t o sing in a
crowded c hurc h or in a la rge t hea t re, t h e singer
dec eives him self as t o t h e expanding power of h is

o wn voice ; h e finds singing in a c ro wded pla c e vast ly
diff erent from singing in t h e same pla ce when it was

empt y and when h e c o uld c onsequent ly hea r his voice
bet t er and t hus mist akes t he ca use This is due t o

, .
t he fact t hat t h e air is made hea vy by t he b reat hing

of many people and t hat kind of murmur always
,
produced where t here is a crowd ; and in such

c ases h e at t empt s t o force t he voic e, expect ing
bet t er result s Th is error c ont ribut es t o mar t he

.
bea ut y of t he voice and exhaust s t he chest Expe .
ricuce t eac hes us t hat inst ead of forc ing t h e voice in
suc h inst a nces it is far bet t er t o ext end and unfold
it easily and to reinf orce it lit t le by lit t le and wit hout

appa rent eff ort . This art is inferiorly c omprehended,
ot herwise many singers would sa ve t heir voices unt il
a more advanced ag e t he a g e of singers no t far from
,
o ur present t ime Thus when a singer h as t ried his

.
,
voice and has in many occa sions found it sufi c ient

CHA PTER VIII
OF THE B LENDING OF THE REGISTERS, PORTAMENTO

AND APP OG GIA TURA
FTER t he t eac her t hro ugh t he above

,
ment ioned met hod h as fixed t h e voice

,
of t h e pupil who h ad a weak and unreli

a ble v o ic e h e ought t o st a rt him in t h e
,
Port a ment o di voc e . This is o ne Of t h e most

impo rt ant part s of t h e voc al art He sho uld t eac h
.
him t h is part very well and t ho roughl y I sha ll.
furt her o n t ell what I mea n by porta ment o di voc e .
I wish o nly t o st a t e t hat suc h a port a ment o c annot

b e ac quired unl ess t h e st udent h as first blended t h e
regist ers O f t h e vo ic e whic h a re in every o ne more o r
less separat ed .
I have previo usly explained and demonst rat ed ,
when I t al ked abo ut t he manner Of kno wing by o ne s ’
self whic h is t h e last not e given wit h t h e suppo rt o f
t h e c hest a nd Of t h e first no t e t hat sounds leaning

,
t o t h e head . Nat ure is no t t h e sam e in every perso n,

so it h a ppens t hat t h e separ at ion Of t h e t wo regist ers
is in some more a nd in so me less no t ic ea ble ; in so me

,
rare c a ses we happen to fi nd in o ne perso n t h e g if t
O f sin g ing t hrougho ut t h e who le range Of his voice
in t h e c hest regist er.

THE ART OF SINGING 1 09
T he blending of t he regist ers must b e effec t ed by

t h e st ric t applic a t io n of t h e p rec ept s of st udy and a rt .
All t h e helps o f art will nevert heless prove useless if ,
before anyt hing else t h e voice is not c lassified t o t h e

proper key Unfort unat ely now and t hen inex
, ,
p e r ien ce d t ea c h ers h a ve r uin ed good voi ces of wo rt hy

st udent s, and a good soprano voic e has been b adly
t orm ente d by makin g it sing in t h e c o nt ralt o regist er

,
and vic e versa Art consist s in one s abilit y t o know

’
.
what Nat ure int ended o ne t o b e When onc e t he

.
gift s of na t ure are kno wn cult ivat in g t hem easily

,
makes m an perfect j ust as,when t he farmer t hro ugh

—
experience h as disc o vered t h e various seed s whic h
are more o r less sui t a ble t o t h e diverse kinds of so il .
T he t eac hers must b e ca reful not t o bet ray t heir

pupils and t he pupils t o not pay more at t ent io n t o t he
t eac her t h an t o Nat ure . If t his point is overlooked ,
all t h e help s Of t h e precept s of art will b e c o mplet ely
vo id Take,fo r inst ance a st udent who h as a st rong

.
,
c hest vo ic e and head t o nes o ut o f p ropo rt ion, wea k

,
and feeble . In suc h a voice t h e b reak o f t wo regis

t ers c o mes f om C s
r - o l-f a ut ( C ) of t h e soprano a nd
-
goes t o D a so re (D ) on t he fourt h spac e In suc h

- l - l- .
c ases t h e hea d voi c e is in need O f help , bec ause it is
sepa rat ed fro m t h e c hest and t h e way t o c o rrect it

,
is t o ha ve t h e pupil at onc e undert a ke and fix in h is

mind in his daily st udy t o keep t h e c hest t o nes bac k
,
as muc h as h e c an , a nd t o fo rce t h e voi c e lit t le by
lit t le against t he head j ust t here where it seems t o

b e most unfriendly t o him ,and t hus fix it and develop
1 10 THE AR T OF SINGING
it wit h t he sa me st reng t h t hat t he c hest t ones have

alrea dy nat ura lly develo ped .
Here is where t h e st udent and t he t eac her bot h

must b e very muc h in earnest T h e st udent s part
.
’
is t o keep t hat port io n Of t h e voice under c ont rol

t hat is in it self ro bust an d spright ly and t o render ,
t h e ot her port ion st ro ng t hat is by na t ure wea k On .
t h e part O f t h e tea c her it means t his : Aft er h e h as

kept t he st udent fo r so me t ime in t his work and h e
sees t hat t h e pupil st a rt s t o a t t a c k t h e head t o nes
wit h more st rengt h and flexibilit y t hen h e must ,
let him sing t h e c hest t ones wit h t h e usual st rengt h ,
8 0 as t o fi nd o ut t o wha t deg ree t h e difficu lt y ha s
been overc ome It m ay b e t h e c ase t hat t h e blend

.
ing Of t h e t wo regist ers h as no t as y et reac hed a n ideal

in evenness nevert heless I b eg t h e t ea c her and st u
, ,
dent to not lose fa it h bec ause I am sure in t he end

,
suc cess will c rown t h e eff o rt t h at it h a s diminished

,
t he pain and eff ort in t a kin g t h e not es o f so unf riend

ly a regist er ; t his is a good sign and by co nt inuing
suc h pract ice t h e difi c ult y will in t ime b e c omplet e
ly mast ered and a ll t h e ot her t ones o f t h e voice will

,
b e benefit ed g reat ly by t his exerc ise This sa me rul e

.
must b e applied also in t he reverse Of t h e case when

‘
a st udent h as wea k c hest to nes and a st rong head
regist er, wit h t he differenc e t hat in t his c ase t h e

hea d t ones must b e kept bac k unt il bo t h regist ers
are fo und t o b e even .Arrived a t t his point t h e ,
st udent will b e glad fo r t h e a chieved su c c ess of ha ving
t h e t wo reg ist ers blended and wit h pat ience and

,
not know how to writ e t hem , t hen let him ha ve t hem

writ t en by an expert in t he art , bec ause t his is a
point upon whic h t he fut ure Of t he st udent depends
T o make t his rule easy fo r t hose who se c hest s a re no t
so st ro ng and fo r t hose who ca nnot ho ld t he b rea t h
so long , t he solfeggio sh ould b e writ t en of o nly t wo
not e s in eac h measure, and t hey must b e t wo

“Mini
”
me giving t o it a slow movement , so t hat t he vo ic e
may ha ve t ime to expand ; t he st udent must not t a ke
brea t h bet ween t he first and second not e If t he.
st udent ca n sust a in t hese t wo notes wit ho ut to o
muc h eff o rt , he may b e permit te d t o sust a in t hree

no t es , b ut no mo re, so as to a void wea kening his
c hest . I c onc lude t ha t even if a st udent were found
,
wit h a very st rong chest , he must nevertheless b e

t reat ed wit h t he sa me prec a ut ion, and in order to
favo r t he furt her development of t he c hest ,h e may b e
a llowed to sust a in t h e notes l onger only when mat ure
ag e h as st rengt hened his o rgans Of t h e vo ic e . The

rea so n t he st udent is fo rbidden to t a ke brea t h when
t h e voic e go es high direct ly o r by int erva ls and is

permit t ed t o t a ke it In descending,isb eca use alt hough
it is no t always t he c a se y et genera lly t he voice is
,
laz y in ascending Besides t his system is mo re

.
,
a ppro pria t e t o blend t h e voic e Prac t ic e under t he

.
st ric t precept s o f art will c learly demo nst rat e t ha t a
st udent should p ress t he first not e a lit t le, and
t hrough anot her p recept he ough t to pass, wit hout

,
t a king b rea t h t o t he sec ond t one wit h t he sa me

,
c ont rol and wit h mod ulat ion . In order to obt a in

a perfect c ont ro l he will keep h is breat h wit h such an

ec ono my , a nd will acc ust o m t h e bellows of t he vo ice
in t his way t o support it to gra d uat e it and t a ke it

, , ,
back at will He will t hen find himself mast er in

.
at t a c king a t o ne, and will b e a ble t o a ba ndo n it , t o
t ake it up aga in, and also t o t ake his breat h wit ho ut

t h e slight est possible effort I admit t hat t his
.
exerc ise will p rove very p ai nful and fat iguin g a t t h e
beg inning, b ut t his sam e eff ort will enable him t o

sing wit h easiness and delight in any st yle of music .
In t his way h e will acq uire st rengt h Of t he chest a nd

ease in passing from o ne t o ne t o anot her He will
.
succ eed in fastening t he voic e .This will enable him

t o rea lly sing to t he heart of his audience .
Once t hat t he st udent h as reached t he degree Of

sust a ining a nd p assing t h e above ment ioned t o nes
wit ho ut t a king breat h h e shall t hen c ont inue t his

,
kind o x c ise, i ging o a ing wit h a gilit y a ll

f e er s n s l-f -
t he t ime an usi g t h
d n e t wo vow le s A -AH a dn E -EH .
Wit h t his exercise h e will learn t o color as he wishes

any kind of melody wit h t ha t t rue expressio n which is
needed so muc h in any kin d of songs .Wit h t his

sa m e exerc ise t he indust rio us st udent will ac q uire
t h e a rt of graduat ing and sust a ining t he voice and h e

will find at t he end surprising ease in t he perfect ion
“
of t he Messa di Voce . He will also b e ena bled t o
t ake his breat h light ly and wit hout int errupt ion .
Th e t eacher must ad d t o t his exerc ise t h e musica l

ac cent and
“ ”
Appoggiat ura o f whic h I shall spea k
more ext ensively in anot her cha pt er I will only
.
say here, t hat t h e appoggiat ura is not hing else b ut

o ne o r more susta ined notes It divides itself int o
“
.
simple and do uble o r Gruppet to The simple is

.
when only t he t o ne is sust a ined (Fig .
FIGURE 10
If t his t o ne is sust a ined in a descending sca le, it is

c a lled a n Ab o ve a ppoggiat ura and must b e formed of
a who le to ne ; if it is sust ained in a n ascending scale
it is ca lled an appoggia t ura fro m below and must b e

formed by o nly ha lf a t o ne T he double appoggia
“
.
”
t ura , g ruppet t o, is formed wit h more t han o ne t o ne
and t his also t a kes plac e in ascending as well as in
descending and c onsequent ly it is exec ut ed in t wo

,
ways, as shown in Fig ure 1 1 .
FIGUR E 1 1
Bo t h must t erminat e wit h t he t rue not e o r funda

ment al Th e value O f t he appo ggia t ura simple,
must c orrespond to o ne half value o f t he to ne t hat
c onceives it . In c a se t hat t he no t e is Of an uneven
value, t he appo g iat ura shall t hen b e o f t wo t hirds
-
'
.
CHAPTER IX
M EBSA DI VO C E
ATURE h a s in i ways dist ribut ed
c ert a n
h er gift s Upo n ma n, in a c o arse unc ult i ,

.
v at ed a nd imperfec t manner .
X T h e geni us t ha t c rea t es t h e f eeli ng

, t h a t
ex a mi nes t h e t a st e t h at j udges and t h e reflec t ion
,
t hat co rrec t s a nd perfec t s ea c h ha ve wit h t he deli

,
c a c y of a rt and t h e exerc ising Of t h e h um an fac ult ies

,
refined t h e gift s Of Na t ure near t o perf ec t ion and

,
made t hem c apable of delight ing t he human int ellec t

and heart .
In t he vague and mult iform spec imens of anima ls ,
we a dmire t h e diverse gift s of Nat ure dist ribut ed ,
wit h great part ialit y and ec o nomy T he facult y o f .
ut t ering sounds h a s been c omplet ely denied t o t h e

,
dwellers O f t he wat ers and given wit h genero us

,
hand t o t hose Of t he air, whic h is t h e princ ipal

element in whi c h every so und is form ed , and wit h
‘
"
Ih re i no d ubt t h t mu i
e s o a p i lly t h v l h uld
s c , es ec a e oca , s o
reac h perfection and g randeur in a measure as t he accoust ic can b e

impro ved and new discoveries ma de plain in t he human b eing ,
exa c tl y as t he o ptic s and perspec tives ha ve helped so muc h in
painting We still ignore t he po ssibility of t he inarticula t e sounds

.
of anima ls being made a rt icula te o r if many small animals can

,
116
o ut which all Nat ure would b e dumb Man could .
no t cert ainly expec t , t ha t t he bea ut ies and t reasures
of Nat ure would all b e unit ed in him What ascend

.
enc y h as h e, c omp ared wit h ot her anima ls t o ma ke,
him t hink himself more worthy face to fac e wit h

Nat ure " He would b e pret ending to o much , to
t hink h e c ould sing like birds, even t hough t he art i
c ulat e s unds Of man are already very pleasing and
o
delight ful Nevertheless, following his o wn nat ural
.
impulses, and c ult ivat ing his o wn gift s t hrough ,
observat ion and st udy, he has been able t o excel t he

most valiant and perfect models t hat Nat ure at
fi rst hand , h as given us t o hear in singing T he .
graces and bea ut ies t hat t he art of sing ing use t o

enra pt ure th e hum an hea rt are : Port ament o di voce ,
Appo ggiat ura Messa di voce, Trillo , and Mordent e,

,
I have spoken in my preceding chapt er Of t h e port a

ment o and appo ggiat ura I will gradually t a lk of t he
.
ot hers, st a rt ing wit h t he Messa di voce Messa .
di voce is t hat art in whic h t he singer g ives t o any

,
sust a ined not e it s graduat ion, st a rt ing it wit h a lmost
a t hrea d Of voice a nd t hen reinfo rc ing it p roport ion
at ely t o t h e g reat est power in whic h it ca n b e devel
oped and t hen t a kes it bac k wit h t he same gradua

,
produce any sounds at all When some genius inv entor will have
.
t a ug ht us t o a rm o ur c ar, no t only these thing s will perhaps b e
just a th
s h
rougt he m a g nifying g la ss we kno w of t h e existence o f
many lives whic h are very small and almost invisib le and which
,
t ion t hat h as been d in go ing from soft

use to loud .
FIGUR E 12
This messa di voc e is ordinarily used at t h e begin

“ ”
ning o f an Aria C ant ab ile o r o n a crowned not e,and
is also used t o p repa re fo r a ca denz a However, a

.
real t rue art ist uses it o n a ny sust a ined o r c rowned
t one whic h h e finds int erspersed in any c omposit ion

“
.
”
T h e Messa di voc e enric hes t h e singing bec a use ,
it makes it mo re ag reeable t o t he car If t h is is

.
perfec t ly execut ed by unit ing t he t rill t o it it makes

, ,
t h e c adenz a and t he singer perfec t Fo r when h e h as

.
made himself c apable of sust a ining and graduat ing

t h e agilit y Of h is voice wit ho ut effort o r defec t s h e ,
no t only knows t h e sec ret o f t h e art b ut h e po ssesses

,
t h e a rt itself . Indeed it is t o b e deplored t ha t

,
mo dern singers, knowing what va luable result s are

O bt a ined from t hese rules are no t only c areless a bout
,
t hem , b ut are forg et t ing t hem as a useless t hing .
However, in o rder t o b e able t o say t hey are fo llow

”
ers of t hese rules some st a rt t h e
, Messa di voce
b ut t hey are prompt ly deceived when t hey not ice
t hat t he a udience is not p aying any at te nt ion and ,
t hat it gives signs Of disapproval , in list ening to a

forced voice wit hout art and grad uat ion (t he t wo
,
THE ART OF SINGING
no t presume to b e able t o exec ut e t he messa di voce,

before h e h as ac quired t h e art t o hold reinf orce, ,
and t a ke t h e brea t h bac k , bec ause, upo n t his depends
whet her he is able t o give t he st art , and to graduat e

t he voice pm po rt io nat ely in v al ue a nd t o ret ire it
,
wit hout apparent eff ort . I t hen will say t hat if ,
t he st udent wishes to c onceive t h e messa di voc e

wit hout defect s it will b e necessary fo r him t o no t
,
push his breat h vio lent ly b ut t o st art it very quiet ly

, .
Furt hermore he must eco no miz e t h e breat h by

, ,
produc ing it in small deg rees so t hat in t his way

, ,
h e will b e a ble t o grad uat e t h e first t one wit h mo re

sec urit y by t aki ng it in lo w voice , and inc reasing
,
it t o his full st reng th Of lo udness From t here

.
,
st a rt to ret i re it wit h t h e sa me degree in whi c h h e
develo ped it In t his way he will find it easy t o

.
,
sust ain t he t one from t h e beginning t o t h e end , and
will a void t hat inconvenience whic h usua lly happens

t o singers o f finding t hemselves exha ust ed at t h e
,
end of t h e to ne .Wh en o ne st a rt s a t o ne wit h so

muc h impet us of breat h t h e voice goes sharp at t h e
,
beginning of t he t one and flat t ens at t he end of it

, ,
produc ing t he most disag reeable effec t upon t h e

liste ner There is no doubt b ut t hat at t he beginning
.
,
t h e st udent will find very great diflic ult y in t he

a sc ending and descending o f t h e voic e in t h e int er
vals t hat a re no t reg ular b ut t his difficult y will b e

,
b e b ut
sweet er oft er qua lit y Then gradually rein

and s .
fo rce t he t one, by opening t h e mout h as wide as t h e

rules of art p resc ri b e I wish t o warn t h e st udent t o
“
.
”
undert ake t he st udy of Messa di voce wit h t h e
great est care, ot herwise h e will run t he risk Of t iring
his c hest This st udy sho uld b e prac t iced da ily ,
.
and m any int erva ls of rest should b e a llo wed in t h e
prac t ice I have been t a lking rat her t oo lo ng upo n

.
t his t o pic But , dea r st udent s I a m so fo nd o f t his

.
,
subj ec t t hat I c ould t a lk of it a ll t h e t ime and never

,
t ire I c lose by put t ing before y o u a fa mo us exa mfl e

. .
I wish to c it e t he case Of t he valiant and no ble

heart ed Chev Do n C arlo Brosch i alias Farinello
.
, ,
who besides po ssessing all t he graces and embellish

,
ment s Of t he art Of sing ing po ssessed t he messa di

,
voce to perfect ion ; which in t h e opinion of most of t he

c rit ic s was what ma de him fa mous and im m o rt au
This Sig nor Farinello who can b e called t he glory of

,
his c ent ury, was bo rn in t h e t hen kingdo m o f Naples .
Fro m an ea rly ag e h e found himself endowed wit h all

,
t h e gif ts o f nat ure His ea rly st udy was direc t ed

.
by t hat famous mast er, Nicolo Porpora, under

whom h e made suc h pro g ress t hat h is reput at ion
quic kly spread all over Europe His voic e was .
c onsidered perfec t , bea ut iful and sono rous in it s
q ualit y and unparalleled in range It was perfect .

,
from t he lowest not e t o t h e highest A like voic e was

.
never given us t o hear He was also gif t ed wit h a

.
very keen and invent ive mind whic h,developed and ,
educat ed in a pro per way , ena bled him t o exer

cise suc h originalit y and feat s of his o wn in singing,
Th e perfect art of holding t he brea t h and ret aking

,
it wit h such c leanness, so as t o not allow any o ne t o

know when h e was breat hing , st art ed and ended wit h
him .Th e perfect int o na t ion, t he unfo lding , t he
ment o, t he perfect union of regist ers, t he sparkling

ag ilit y , and perfec t t rill were all in h im in t h e same
degree of perfect ion In every st yle of singing h e

.
,
was perfec t , and t o such a deg ree as t o make himself

inimit able He was invit ed and ho nored by all th e
.
c our t s o f Europe . This c rown of success came t o

him in h is early yout h b ut nevert heless, t his great
,
sing ing m ast er never st o pped st udying and h e applied

-
himself so much , t hat he almost disc overed a new

met ho d of singing and adopt ed a bet t er one He did
, .
all t his, when h e was in t h e midst of a bla z e of g lory ,
rich in fort une est im at io n and honors

, . Now, if a
ma n o f so much wort h never st opped his st udying ,
no r t h e perfec t ing o f h is art , what should we do , wh o
have not received from Nat ure o ne half of t hese

gifts and endowment s"
It is prec isely in t he years of yout h t ha t t he t eac her

pondering upon t he abilit y and progress o f his pupil s
ca n c omp rehend t h e goo d o r b ad dispo sit ion t h at
will or not insure t he success of every pupil It is .
t hen t hat h e will disc o ver whet her o r no t , a st udent

is t o bec ome a grea t art ist and a genius o f abilit y ,
endowed wit h t h e gift of expression, o r void of any
gift of voic e to t he ext ent of being c al led a music ia n

of t o ne and wo rds,all given t o expressio n and gest ures .
T o t hose who t a ke t hem int o c onsiderat ion, t hese

signs are more visible in t he c ourse of a st udent s
’
st udy , t han at any ot her t ime . In fac t ,t hose t eac h

ers (whose reput a t io n is c lot hed in doubt because
“
,
”
of t he name of anc ient ) were grea t o bservers and
disc o verers of t hese sympt o ms and never permit t ed
t heir pupils t o wander in t heir first yea rs of st udy no r
t o lose t hemselves in t h e pat h of t h e diverse orna
ment s and embellishm ent s of art Inst ea d , t hose
.
st udent s pa ssed yea rs pat ient ly , in perfect ing t h e
and gra duat ing it

.
However, t h e t rill , which is an ornament o f our art

of singing , was given by t he old mast ers at t he very
beginning of voc al inst ruct ion Even t hough t he
.
pupil was c omplet ely deprived of any nat ural diapo

sit io n t o it t hose t eac h ers compelled t hem t o st udy
,
it , in t heir first yo ut h. No t because t hey exp ec t ed

t hem t o perform and ma st er it b efore any ot her
emb ellishm ent , b ut j ust t o st art t hem int o t h e proc

t ice of t he ion, t hat is t o c onceive, develop and

ac t
mast er it These st udent s were st a rted , very early

.
indeed in t he perfect ion o f t h e a rt , alt hough it t o o k

,
many years t o reac h t heir idea l To d ay , t his essen

.
—
t ial syst em is complet ely reversed Th e modern .
t ea c her is t oo anxious t o ha rvest glory and money ,

and in c onsequence, exp o ses his pupils i mm at urely ,
and m akes t hem sing t hose diffic ult ari as and so ngs
of Caffa relli Eg iz iello and Ferdinando Maz z ant i,who

,
were all grea t singing mast ers (and t hey were no t ed

j ust ly fo r t heir great a rt fo r t hey acq uired it by
,
assiduit y and a long well direc t ed period of st udy ,
under t h e guidance of m en of p rofound kn owledge ,
judg ment and ingenuit y gained by a life s devot ion

,
’
t o art ) What , t hen, a re t h e result s of t his newly

invent ed met hod " I will t ell y o u It produces t he .
ruin of beaut iful voic es, whic h if t hey h ad been

,
mast ered by t he rules of a rt would each one b e good

and plea sing in it s o wn p art ic ula r st yle However, .
being loa ded wit h a weight fo r which t hey are no t

t ra ined t o endure, t hey will sing b ut wit h poor voice ,
poor exec ut ion and lacking t ha t st rengt h which c an

b e ac quired only by t im e a nd pract ice In such .
cases, we hear t hese remarks by t h e p ublic : This

voice is no t good ; it has no agilit y o r st reng th and yet
h e wishes t o sing light music
“ This ot her singer
“
.
h as no t rill neit her a good ch est

, This o ne might
.
b e endurable, b ut goodness he sings t hrough h is

,
”
no se " Yet t hese t ea c hers, so long as t hey m a k e
good money ,care lit t le fo r all t he rest Consequent .

ly , t he s s of
succe modern st udent s ca nnot b e
t he
any bet t er b ecause raised a nd t a ught wit ho ut t hose
,
prime element s of t h e a rt and wit hout g raded met hod

,
t hey ca n b ut perform t h e gra c es a nd embellishment s

imperfec t ly and in a po o r c o unt erfeit ed way Among
, .
t h e embellishment s is t h e b a d t rill ment ioned by

,
Sig Manf redini, in his book Yet a t o ne t ime a ll

. .
t hese embellishment s were t h e admirat io n, glory

and celest ia l enjoyment of all a udiences a nd t hey ,
a dded splendo r t o o ur si nging However in t h e .

,
mout h o f t h e modern art ist s t hese grac es bec o me ,
t iresome a nd o ne list ens t o t hem wit h mo re pit y

t ha n pleasure We must not t hink t hat it is a n easy
.
t a sk t o c o rrec t a vo ice whic h wa s no t direc t ed well

,
in it s first yea rs I t rust t hat t h e mo dern t eac her e n

.
,
light ened by t h e sad c o nsequenc es o f many examples

will in t h e fut ure fo r t h e sake o f t h e vo ices int ruste d
,
t o him imit a t e t h e exa mples o f t h e o ld sc hoo ls

, I .
have followed t hem explic it ly and fo und t hem c o rrec t .
In t h e t imes p a st it was believed t h a t if t h e t rill

,
wa s no t given by Na t ure it c o ul d no t b e ac quired

,
by art I do no t deny t his b ut m ay I b e permit t ed

.
,
t o say t hat o ur a nc ient ma st ers did no t a llow vo ices

wit h na t ural a gilit y t o sing imperfec t ly as we o bserve ,
t oday . Mo reo ver it h as been seen in many c ases

t ha t a p upil (even in t h e fa ce o f t h e m o st rigid
obst a c les m et wit h earnest wo rk) aided by t h e indus
t ry, ingenuit y and indefat ig able pat ience o f h is
t eac her suc c eeded in develo ping a nd m ast ering t h e
,
THE ART OF SINGING
will so und lang uid and lac king This opinion is so

“
.
prevalent , t hat t he sing er calls t he t rill his c omodi

”
no because he ca n use it in many ways so t o suit
”
ca nto " (Oh t rill "Support , life and pride of t h e art
of so ng "
) I repeat t his passage of t he first edit ion of
cr it icises me in his book Most certainly I do no t

.
pret end to ref orm Nat ure where she has no t been
liberal in giving her g ift s, b ut it seems t o me of great
moment and advanta ge t o follow ev ery nat ural
t endenc y , alt hough it b e sma ll . And I would ca ll
myself guilty , if I had pro ved careless in no t incul
ca t ing t his id ea fro m whic h a rt derives so muc h hono r
and pro fit , as experience h as t a ught me . For wit

nesses, I refer y o u t o t h e experience o f ot her profes
so rs o f t h e art , a nd I also appeal t o t h e c ommon sense
of t h e general public .
To su ppose t hat t he t rill is t he most import ant part

in voca l music is t o grant it an undeserved hono r
, .
T h e sing ing wit h port a ment o , t he plac ing well of

t h e voice, t h e purifying and spinning it and t h e,
a b ilit y t o so ft en and reduce it at t h e ri ght plac e and
t ime, t hese are t he rea l beaut ies o f t he art ; a nd t h e

t rill is only an embellishm ent which sounds well in a
cad enz a when it is na t ural . However, we can do
I heard singing whic h t ouc hed t he heart , and y et it

”
was wit hout t he t rill " What c an we t hink aft er
.
such a mist aken judgment " I will o nly say , t hat

o ne must live t o hear such t hings .But I never
hea rd anyo ne say before t hat t he t rill was not t he
most import ant embellishment and t hat it is o nly
t o ad d t o t h e art inst ea d of being a lmost t h e foun
,
dat ion " An abso lut e o pinion of t his kind , as given

by Sig Manfredini must b e given by a co ngress of
.
,
professo rs o f t he art of sing ing and no t merely by o ne

partic ul a r person Had h e read my book mo re
.
c arefully , h e woul d ha ve ob served t hat I dwelled
perhaps t oo long upo n t he point s for direct in g t he

wa y t o plac e t he vo ice, and how t o ac q uire t h e port a
ment o t he art o f st art ing, spinning purifying and
, ,
smoot h ing t h e voice Do we no t all kno w t hat a ll

.
t hese t hing s a re nec essa ry fo r a vo ice t o b e perfec t

in sin ging " W as it t hen necessa ry fo r Sig Manfre
.
dini t o c o me bac k and say befo re and aft er t hat

sent ence :
“ Ho w many t imes ha ve I heard singing
t hat mo ved t h e hea rt wit hout perfo rming t h e t rill "
,
He could have said t hat t his st yle of sin ging is

a d mira bly sui t ed fo r t hose pla ces where sinners
meet fo r eight days t o list en t o t h e spirit ual exerc ises

And above all, it wo ul d make an ext ra ordinary
“
eff ec t a ft er a sermo n upon t h e Universal Judgment "
’
Cert a inly a poor vo ice in t hat case would b e c apable

,
of causing t ea rs t o flow from t he eyes o f t hose peni

t ent s a nd would inspire sorrow in t hose hea rt s
,
alrea dy exc it ed and inc lined t o medit a t ion and pat hos.
13 0 T HE ART OF SINGING
Had he id t hus he would ha ve sa id well In my

sa , .
opinion, such a voice was never found goo d fo r t h e

t heat re, beca use t he st a ge req uires all t h e embellish
ment s In c oncl usion, a singer must possess such a
“
.
”
number of t hin gs, an a rt ist ic variet y , t h at when
he goes t o t ake a lea ding pa rt , h e may b e able t o
succeed in any st yle and ch arac t er h e m ay b e c a lled
upon t o represent . So it is no t t he fear of harm done

t o me in t he face of t h e profession, by Sig Ma nfre
.
dini s c rit ic ism , t hat I have t ried t o j ust if y myself

’
c oncerning t h e t rill , b ut rat her bec a use I h a ve

reasona bly fea red t ha t his dec la rat ion would ha ve
an influence upon ma ny inexperienc ed pro fessors
who might o verlook t he c ult ivat ion and development

of t he t rill in t hose voices which show suffic ient
agilit y t o j ust ify it s undert aking . To see t he t rill
neglecte d t oday , in spit e of c lea r ev idence t ha t it is
indispensa ble, c an b ut c ause us t o ma rvel " Why is
t h e t rill neg lec t ed " Pa rdo n m e t eachers o f sing
,
ing " Fo rgive me fo r writ ing t his t rut h " It is no t

t h e fault of t he st udent s . I kno w t hat ordinarily ,
when singers do not possess t h e t rill t hey say t ha t
,
Nat ure h as been part ial and did not give t hem t h e
t rill . In my Opinion t hey a re wrong beca use by
,
following even a slight t endenc y t o it wit h pat ient

,
st udy and suffi c ient t ime one ca n ac q uire t h e t rill

, .
This is t h e import ant point upon which t eac her

and st udent m ust help eac h o t her . Generally when,
t h e t ea c her does not find in t h e p upil at o nce a

nat ural disposit ion t o t h e t rill, and c hest st rengt h
13 2 T HE ART OF SIN GING
g if t ed wi t h t h e t rill.So , I sh a ll h a ve t o st a nd by t h e
rules dict a t ed by Pier Francesc o Tosi

- . This very
lea rned man says t ha t if a t ea cher is t o perfo rm his
dut y , h e must avail himself of voca l, inst rument al
and spec ul at ive exa mples in o rder t h at he m ay a id
t h e st udent t o ac quire t h e t rill , wit h suc h qualit ies :

Ev Ham m d G
en- ere Easy and at a moderat ely
- ranit e—
quic k t empo These are t h e most prominent quali

.
t ies whic h are a dmired by every c omposer and

,
Th e p recept s of art t each us t hat t h e t rill is formed

by a real t one wit h t he help of a fal se o ne in t h e
,
majo r T he t rill must always st art o n t h e false t one

.
and end o n t h e rea l t one T he fal se t o ne must b e

.
o ne t o ne higher t han t h e real , and o ne must t hink it
st ill higher , and b ot h must b e eq ua lly vib rat ed .
When t h e t rill o cc urs in t h e minor key t he st udent

“
,
will see t hat it falls upon t h e keys o f t h e g rav ic em

”
balo t wo not es dist ant and o nly o f o ne half t one
, .
Alt ho ugh in realit y t here is b ut o ne t rill t h e mul t i

,
plied fi gures used have ca used it t o b e divided int o

eight kinds . This is exac t ly t h e way it is spec ifi ed by
Pier Francesco Tosi in his book on page 24
-
, , He
no t o nly dist ing uishes every kind of t rill wit h t hose
,
pract ica l reasons whic h o ne t reasures fro m art it self ,

and whic h are undoubt edly t h e endo wment o f t h e
most valia nt singing mast ers b ut fo r g reat er c la rit y

,
he gives eac h diff erent kind it s appropriat e na me .
He t a lks about t hese eight kinds o f t rill wit h suc h

acc ura c y t hat I c oul d no t b ut repeat t he sa me t hing ,
ha d I wished t o t a lk of all t hese kinds Ho wever I

.
,
will no t let t h e st udent s depend ent irely upon T osi s

’
st at ement s. I , t oo , wish t o give my opinion co n

cerning t he t h ree most difficul t kinds of t rill and ,
what must b e t heir exact rendit ion Of t hese t hree

“
.
”
kinds, t he first is t h e Rising Trill ( Figure
FIGURE 14
so c alled , beca use it st art s upo n a lo w t one and ends

o n a high o ne Th e seco nd is c alled t he Descending
‘
.
Trill (Figure 15 ) beca use it st art s o n a high t o ne
FIGURE 15
d
and en s o n a lower one Of t hese t wo kinds, bot h
.
must ha ve equally prec ise a nd dist inct graduat io n .
This po int is one of t h e most difi c ult of t h e art ,

bec ause in going up as well as c o ming down it is ,
nec essary t o h a ve perfec t int onat io n Besides all

.
t his t h e singer must h a ve already ac quired t h e a rt

,
of sust aining, graduat ing and mana ging t h e breat h ,
beca use in going in eit her direct ion, he must no t

only no t int errupt t he sca le by t a king brea t h b ut he ,
must also pass from one t rill t o t he ot her wit h suc h

pure and sure propo rt ion t hat t he vo ice will not
,
show any ot her c ha nge t ha n t h e passing giving a nd

. ,
t a king b ac k of t h e vo ice in go ing from o ne t rill t o

,
t h e ot her These t wo sc al es of t rill s,when well pla ced

.
and performed acc ording t o t h e t rue rules of a rt , will
cert a inl y b ring great p rai se and ho no r t o t h e perfo r
m er . Ho wever it will demand a lo ng t ime a nd an

,
eno rmo us a mo unt o f wo rk befo re o ne will b e able t o

,
reduce his voice t o p as t e like qua lit y a nd t o a happy

-
a nd sure management .
T h e t hird kind is c al led Redoubled . This t rill

when performed in it s j ust pro port io n wit h t h e art
,
o f sust ain ing it wit h t h e b rea t h ; and when o ne c a n
give it t hat reinfo rc ing and diminishin g o f t h e voic e

t hat is necessa ry t o g ive t o it in it s t rue form and
,
a ppearanc e, it ca n b e used by it self a lone o n a ny
sust a ined t o ne o r a t some c onvenient st o p wi t hout ,
t h e aid of any ot her p assages o r st op t ha t woul d t end

t o p repa re it . It will b e it s o wn simplic it y t ha t will ,
deserve appla use and praise We shall illust rat e

.
t his : Let us suppose t h e t one C -Sol -Fa -Ut ( C ) in t h e

t hird spac e . T h e t rill must b e st a rt ed wit h Messa
di Voce o n t he Do and it must b e guided t o t he t rue
,
graduat ion whic h a rt presc ribes T he vo ice must

t hen b e ret ired t o t h e t rue point and t hen st a rt t h e
t rill o n t h e t one assig ned ( Figure
13 6 T HE ART OF SING ING
because undoubt edly, he will not b e able t o mast er it

“
.
”
Th e Mordent e orig inat es fro m t h e t rill Th e .
former differs fro m t he lat t er ,in t hat t he t rill is com

posed of a t rue and real t one, which is vibrat ed
eq ually wit h anot her not e a t one higher, a feigned
t one . T he Mordent e is c omposed of a rea l t one

hit t ing a false one a half t one lo wer This half t o ne .
must b e ha mmered more slowly and wit h less fo rce

and value t ha n t h e o t her t one However t h e t rill
.
,
and Mo rdent e al ways end t h e sa me way i e on the , . .
rea l t o ne Th e lat t er ha s t h e adv ant a ge in t h at t h e

.
a rt ist c a n use it in a ny st yle of singing T h e only .
t hin g it requires is t ha t it b e used in it s right place

,
and in it s j ust pro po rt io n He who is fo rt unat e

.
eno ugh t o po ssess t he t rill ca n also ac quire t h e Mo r

,
dent e And I assure him t hat in spit e of t he fact

.
t hat t h e Mordent e sho uld b e sho rt er and fast er t han

t h e t rill y et he will ac q uire it , if h e will exerc ise o ft en
,
wit h a so lfegg io o f a gilit y , in t he places where h e

finds t h e no t es leng t hened (Figure 18 ) He will t hen
mast er t his pleasing embellishm ent whic h will give
as muc h delight as t h e t rill when o ne is do ne as ,
well as t he o t he o fl essly and wi t hout defec t s .
FIGUR E 18
I shall no w t alk of t he defect s and perfec t io ns of

t he Trill and Mordent e Amo ng t h e defect iv e t rills,

“ “
.
” ”
are t h e goat y and t he horse t rill T h e fo rmer .
is so c alled beca use it sounds like t h e blea t ing of a

goat , and t he lat t er, like t h e neighing o f a horse .
These errors are c ommit t ed by t h e ca pric ious a nd

indolent st udent s who rebel against t heir te ac her s ’
advice Co nsequent ly t hey lea ve t he o nly infallible

. ,
rule t ha t of h a mmering t h e t rill , ho ldi ng t h e b reat h

“
,
”
a nd at t h e sa me t ime keeping t h e fauces free and
By t his rule, o ne E uces the t rill t o it s
'
relaxed .
due pro po rt io n Everyo ne will now know h o w t h e

“ “
.
” ”
names g oa t y and horse t rills o rig inat ed and why ,
t hey are so ca lled I mean t o say t hat when a singer

“
.
”
of t he fauces b ut only of t h e
t o t he po int and
sha pe t hat h e t akes when h e laughs it nat ura lly ,
follo ws t hat he bleat s like a goat o r neighs like a

ho rse These are no t t h e o nly defect s of t he t rill
. .
There are many o t hers Some have not t h e above

.
ment ioned defect s y et t hey form t h e t rill in a way

,
whic h is very unpleasant t o t h e ear Some sust a in

.
t h e t rill slo wly and la nguidly ; ot hers c lose a nd

t ight en it from t h e very beg inning a nd ch ange t h e
mo vement no w in t h e m iddle and t hen at t he end .
Some abando n t h e t rill as soon as t hey st art it a nd ,
o t hers kno w no t how o r when t o st op This o rna

ment o f t he art o f singing requires not o nly exac t
exec ut ion b ut al so perfec t measure whic h t h e singer
, ,
must give t o it in any place he wishes t o int roduc e it .
When o ne deviat es from t he nat ural rules of art , t he

t rillbec omes t iresome Abo ve all t he singer must

.
,
beware of prac t icing by himself o r in soft voice No t .
only in t he t rill b ut in any ot her embellishment

, ,
‘
many singers find it very easy t o sing t hem soft ly,

b ut when t hey have t o perfo rm t hem in a large plac e,
t hey ca nnot , o r else t hey render t hem im perfec t ly
and t a ke away all t h e necessary and nat ura l grac e .
Invaria bly all t he c ase t hat one shows in perfo rming

t hese in soft voice will b e reversed in an alarming
,
degree of diffic ult y when perfo rming t hem in loud

,
and unf olded voice Aft er t h e t eac her ha s j udic io us

.
ly explained t o t h e st udent whic h way t o sha pe t h e

t rill h e must b e sat i sfied a t t h e beginning t o ha ve
, ,
him sing it languidly and slowly in proport ion t o t h e

,
a g e and st rengt h o f t he p upil Then wh ile h e is

.
pro gressing in st reng th and kno wledge he will also ,
b e able t o perform t he t rill wit h inc reased vigo r a nd

st rengt h .
I rec o m mend diligenc e, love and a rt t o t he pro

fessors in order t hat t hey m ay never humiliat e no r
,
disc ourage t heir pupils I pra ise t he at t ent io n

.
given by t hose st udent s, who knowing t hat t hey

have a b ad t rill will no t o nly list en t o t he advice o f
,
t heir t eac hers b ut will g o t o hear t h e great est singers

,
a nd t ry t o imit at e and st udy t hem No " No one

.
shoul d feel asha med o r humilia t ed in imit a t ing a nd
learning from g reat m en in every art .
When a pupil po ssesses in so me way t he qualit y of

a perfec t t rill , h e must b e c a reful t o use it wisely a nd
j udic io usly It will bring b ad result s when wrongly

.
140 THE ART OF SINGIN G
t ones, flexible b ut deprived of t he t rill ,

sufi c ient ly
will execut e all of t h e cadenz a very well , except t he

Ascending Trill ( Figure 1 9 )
FIGURE 1 9
Such a singer will b e able t o prove h is st rengt h and

a rt , and wil l b e a bl e t o sust a in t h e whit e no t es ( t h e
half and whole) well Suc h a v oic e wil l a lso b e able

.
t o so ar perfect ly from t h e low t o t h e high t o nes wit h ,
exp ression and exac t ness . Nevert heless,t he ca denz a

will result lif eless and im perfect beca use t he a scend
,
ing t rill is wha t cha ra ct eriz es and gives it s t rue

dignit y and prest ige as shown in Figure 19 .
Re memb er t hen t hat t h e value of st udying depends

,
upo n it s being regula t ed wit h bot h rea son a nd
c ommon sense . Bo t h t hese virt ues give us an even

balance I praise t h e art ist , who when h e finds t h e
.
,
place where bot h words and music require t h e t rill ,

g iv es t h e t rill and no t t h e A ppoggi at ura. W h en t h e
lat t er is required , he g ives it and not t he t rill In .
varia bly, t he eff ec t will b e bet t er .
All t hing s being considered , I will c lose wit h o ne

word ) ( St rengt h lies in perfec t bala nce of

.
edge, and in one s a va iling one s self of t hose grac es

’ ’
and embellish ment s of t h e art , whic h are subst ant ia l
ly t h e bea ut y of t h e art and t he format ion of a

CHAPTER XI
CADENZAS
HE fact t hat I have spo ken of Messa
di Voce, Trillo and Mo rdent e, does no t
exc lude my t a lki ng o n C a denz as .
Befo re ent ering fully upo n t his t opic I ,
must t ell y o u t hat amo ng singers t here are t wo very

well defin ed opinions co nc erning t hem T he first.
is t ha t a C adenz a must b e prep ared fi rst wit h M essa

,
di Voce and t hat whic h fo llo ws must b e a rec apit u

,
lat io n of t h e song in whic h t h e diff erent p assages o f

,
t h e melody are ent wined . All of t hem must b e well

dist ribut ed , even and sust a ined in one breat h , and
a dded t o t hem must b e t h e c ust om a ry t rill .
T h e ot her o pinion is t ha t a Ca denz a is a c omplet e

and arbit rary t hing t o a singer so muc h so as t o
,
enable him t o m ake use o f all t h e vario us passa ges
and t ric ks in whic h h e c an m ake a co mplet e displa y
of t h e agilit y of h is voice and of his part ic ular abilit y

, .
There is no do ubt b ut t hat t h e first o pinion is t h e

,
c orrec t o ne and c o herent wit h goo d j udgment

, A .
c adenz a is o nly an epilo gue t o t h e song. T h e seco nd

opinion m ay b e more suit able t o t h e singer who by a ,
display of t ones given in quic k succ ession st a rt les ,

'
1 4s
t ionand t he c hag rin t hat h e would feel if he were not

able t o perform t h e t rill perfect ly and rea ch t h e fina l
not e . This same j udgment must help him t o c hoose
sent iment of his song, and no t t o deceive himself by

ending a song in
“ ”
a git at o , t ha t is supposed t o end in
t enderness o r passion If t his princ iple were no t

.
follo wed it would b e cert ain t hat cadenz as would b e

guided mo re by fancy t hen by commo n sense .
Singers have a wrong idea, when t hey t hink t hey

g a in mo re credi t by m a k ing a lo n g ca d enz a It .
should not b e o ut of p roport ion, ot h erwise t h e singer
by underta king t oo much, will make it boreso me .
An int elligent art ist will no t pass t h e limit , and when

h e has t o perform a c adenz a , wit h a wind or st ringed
inst rum ent , h e will never exceed t h e convenient
measure Good unit ed wit h brevit y brings univer
.
sal rec ognit ion t o an a rt ist If o ne is t o sing a ca den

.
z a , wit hout an acc ompanim ent from beginning t o
end , t hen t h e voice must b e p ure a nd c lea r of all
defect s Int onat ion, which is t h e principa l showing

.
,
must b e kept in t h e cent er of t h e t one even as t h e ,
graduat ion of expressio n a nd st rengt h By t his .
means t h e voice is given wit h t h at sp arkling b right

ness from t h e beginning t o t h e end Above a ll,
.
emphasiz e o r mark t h e last syllable o f t he last

word t o prevent t he c adenz a from ending in a
,
What I have so far e xplained , is un doubt edly of

T HE AR T OF SINGING 145
great immrt a nce in giving perfect execut ion t o a

c a denz a. I will leave t he det a ils t o t h e j udg ment of
t h e performer,wh o must c hoo se t h e lea ding mo vement
“ ”
fro m t h e rit ornello o f t h e so ng and by h is o wn
invent io n, develo p o n it all t h e required virt uosit y
t hat fo rms a well ba lanc ed c adenz a . He can t hen
b e sure of sc o ring success and pra ise .
By co nst ant eff o rt , t h e st udio us yout h can easily

c ome int o possessio n o f a ll suc h advant ages . Is it
easy o r ha rd t o c onquer t h e a bove ment io ned gif t s "
We must c ert a inly co nf ess t hat it is very hard ; and

h e wh o wishes t o succeed must avo id no ne of t h e
hardships, nor o mit paying c lose at t ent io n t o th e well
lea rned prec ept s given h im by h is t eac her and fo llow
,
c losely th e exa mpl es of t h e best professors .
When a st udent h as succ eeded in fixing and sus

t a ining his vo ice h e m ay st art o n a c adenz a , b ut it
,
should b e a short o ne, in relat ion t o his ag e and
st rengt h , and t hen i ncrease t h e number of not es a nd
it s diffi c ult y in t h e sa me deg ree as he develop s

st rengt h . Co nt inue in t his way unt il t h e ca denz a
reac hes perfec t ion A c adenz a is a necessit y at t he
.
end of any well writ t en song Even if t h e song is a

.
masterpiece, it will b e languishing and unfi nished

wit hout one .
It is t h e cust om in some schoo ls t o use a different

met hod , by not perm it t ing st udent s t o perfo rm
c adenz as unt il th ey ha ve reac hed a cert a in ag e ,
fea ring t o harm t heir c hest s This ret ards t hem ,and
.
has great disa dvant ages In every art , one should

.
ly
ea r m one s self t o o vercome difi cult ies
acc ust o
’
.
If all t his ca n b e done under t he guidance o f an

experienced and co nsc ient io us t eac her, t h en t h e
st udent must obey blindly every det a il of his rules

.
1 48 THE AR T OF SINGIN G
pupil s opinion and t h e t eac her s met hod a re wrong

’ ’
.
T h e pupil is mist a ken when he t hinks t hat only a gilit y

c an bring succ ess t o a singer, and t h e t eac her is
wrong in his belief t hat a person ha ving a hea vy and

raw voice, ca n c hange it wi t h st udy and m ake it
agile and past e like

- . Agilit y c an no t b e perfec t nu
less it is nat ural, and when not perfect , inst ea d o f
giving delight t o an a udience it leaves o ne indiff erent
, .
In conc lusion h e who does no t possess ag ilit y should

, ,
no t wast e his t ime in t rying t o ac q uire it An .
experienc ed teac her will direc t suc h a pupil in a not her
pat h, and t eac h him a different st yle of singing .
There are ma ny ways t o guide a st udent and make

h im a succ essful a rt ist . However, if t h e t ea c her
sees some inc linat io n t owa rds ag ilit y h e m ust st a rt
,
t h e pupil in it a t t h e right t ime and t a ke him only

as far as h is a bilit y j ust ifi es, and a t t h e sa me t ime ,
st a rt t o develop in him t h e st yle t ha t is a lrea dy
forming However t his pa rt of t he t ra ining should

.
,
no t b e undert a ken unt il t h e regist ers of t h e vo ic e
point would ca use muc h harm t o t he vo ice because ,
t h e a gilit y woul d undo ubt edly b e uneven where t h e

regi st ers cha nge, a nd t hus b e defec t ive in st rengt h
a nd clea m ess, a nd a lso o ut o f proport ion .
Every wise and diligent t eac her knows t hat any

voic e which h as a nat ural tendenc y t owards ag ilit y ,
whet her t h e voice is small o r large can b e t rained

,
in a st yle suit a ble t o it self as Nat ure suggeste d

, T he.
problem for t h e t eac her t o solve is t o know what

style is suit able fo r each voice, and t o cult ivat e it

acc ordingly. A t eac her must know all t h e way s and
means necessary t o loosen and polish a voice whic h
is j ust form ing and ta king shape .
I sh o uld not st op so soon if I were t o explain here

all th e passages and runs whic h ar t suggest s. Ho w
ever, I wish t o sa y t ha t a mong t hem o ne finds easy ,
diffic ult and dangero us ones It is t he t eacher s

.
’
dut y t o kno w whic h t o choose fo r eac h pupil Thus
FIGURE 20
FI GURE 21
by st udy and indust ry t h e pupil will b e enabled t o

,
maste r his o wn st yle Some voices are found

.
,
whic h sho w an inclina t ion t o make a run of a sca le

of int ervals of t hirds (Figure 20) b ut are laz y in
descending,and vic e versa (Figure .
If a t eac her co mpels such voices t o mast er a st yle

unsuit a ble t o t hem , I a m of t h e opinion t ha t by so
doing , t hese vo ices would suffer co nsiderably If .
an inexperienced t eac her t hinks h e co ul d m ake suc h
a voic e mast e r t hese t ec hnica lit ies t hrough long st udy
h e woul d deceive himself, fo r th e st udent fo rc ed int o

suc h irregul ar wo rk would fin d himself wit hout
breat h suppo rt and perhaps b e co mpelled t o g ive up
h is st udy . This sho ws h o w essent ial it is fo r t he
t eac her t o know t h e nat ure of eac h pupil in o rder
,
t hat h e m ay b e enabled t o direc t ea c h vo ice in it s

nat ural pat h .
A voice whic h is laz y in performing an ascending

sc a le must no t b e a b ando ned no r neglec t ed a nd t h e
, ,
sa m e a t t ent io n shoul d b e pa id t o o ne t hat is t imid

.
in a descending sc a le . When such difficult ies have

been o verc ome, t hrough well directe d st udy t hen
-
,
t h e t eac her must c ha nge t h e so lfeg gios by ad ding t o

t hem difi c ult p assa ges, relat ive t o his progress a nd ,
t hus h e will b e able t o est ablish any voice and make

it firm and solid and y et free If t h e t ea c her knows
.
how t o develop voices whic h show case in execut ing

runs of th ree o r six not es h e will find t hem apt and
,
flexible, and capable of performing in any st yles .
When suc h a voice is perfec ted , it will b e able t o sing

FIGURE 24
Among t h e mult iplex passages and runs which art

suggests , I ad mi re t his kind most ,beca use it is suit a ble
a nd blends perfec t ly wit h a viv ac io us melo dy as well
as wit h o ne o f slo w mo vement As an exa mple of

.
t h e diverse wa ys in whic h it can b e used we see it,
used as a n orna ment t o a c ro wned no t e

“ Ferm at a ”
,
exec ut ed simply a nd st ra ight ; and if o ne wi shes t o
a do rn t h e sa me no t e st ill mo re o ne ca n add t h e
,
sust a ined and fixed t rill upo n t h e no t e whic h end s
t h e oct a ve
.
( Fig ure 2 5
FIGURE 25
Moreover, when t h e Vo lat ina t hough

imple is s ,
used wit h t h e right propo rt ion it will serve t o blend

,
and give ac t io n and vivac it y t o t h e melo dy whic h
fo llo ws It gives brillia nc y when used in ca denz as

.
whic h end in t empo espec ia lly in t h e redoubled run

,
“Volat ina Raddo ppia t a ” T h e import ant t hing is
.
t o kno w how t o redouble a nd grad uat e t h e run so

t ha t it ends in pro po rt ion wit h t h e movement We .
will now exa mine whic h one must b e prac t iced in

THE AR T OF SINGING 15 3
order t hat it will resul tperfec t ly, in any place where

o ne may wish t o use it There is no doubt b ut t hat
“
.
”
t h e run Volat ina has muc h coherence wit h t he
“Messa di Voce ” In fact if one wishes t o respec t
.
,
t h e rules in performing it , he must produce t h e b rea t h

by degrees in order t ha t he ma y expand t h e voice ,
when sust aining t he first not e whic h prepares it , and

t hus no t use t h e voice wit h violence .T h e t one
must b e held even and t h e breat h kept light while
“
performing t h e run Th is is called Run prepa red
“
.
wit h messa di voce We ha ve also t he Single ”
“
.
or Redo ubled Run t ha t is used and mingled wit h

ot her passa ges in st raight movement However .
,
in t his one must pay st ric t at t ent io n t h at it is always

performed dist inct ly , c learly and well grad ua t ed
This run must never b e int err upt ed b ut c arried
,
t hro ugh t o t h e fi nal t one in o ne breat h It is a

“
.
”
general o pinion,t hat in order th at t h e rim Volat ina
m ay b e perfec t , it must b e grani t e and performed
wit h all possible veloc it y I am o f t h e sa me opinio n
.
,
pro vided t hat t he execut io n is fault less " Alt hough

t h e rules in t his part of t h e art are very pla in a nd
ra t ified by th e most experienc ed singing mast ers ,
some due t o t heir no t knowi ng how t o suppo rt t h e

,
first t one wit h t h e st reng t h o f t h e c hest , and kno wing

st ill less a bout t h e art o f gradua t in g t h e b reat h t a ke
,
t h e first no t e wit h unusua l violenc e a nd as t hey a re

inc apable o f sust a ining and co nt ro lling it , t hey t hink
“ ”
by c losing t he fauces (t h e lo wer part of t h e t hroat )
t hat t hey succeed in c o nt ro lling t he b rea t h and voice .
Th e voice pla ced in such a forced posit ion can a ppear

only heav y , bec ause it is choked and c lo sed in t he
th ro a t and smot hered in t h e pal at e Thus a c lea r
.
run is c hanged int o a b ad slur of voice, whic h disgust s
t h e hearers and evokes pit y inst ea d of delight In .
c onc lusion, a run and a ll kinds of a g ilit y must b e
support ed by a rob ust c hest , assist ed by t he g ra dua

“ ”
t ion of brea t h , and a light fauces, in order t h at
ea ch not e ca n b e di st inc t , alt hough execut ed wit h
t h e g reatest veloc it y .
Every st udent must remember t hat t his st udy

req uires a cert a in lengt h of t ime and indefa t igable
will t o maste r it This t ime and t his eff ort will no t

.
b e employed in va in bec a use t hey will serve t o form

,
a n ec lect ic st yle of singing whic h will b e dist inc t a nd
sublime I am sure t hat a vo ice endowed wit h

.
perfec t int ona t ion and a moderat e t endency t o

a gilit y ca n wit h a ppropri at e st udy maste r t h e above
,
ment io ned run (Figure 26)

.
FIGURE 26
ca pa c it y
in h is pupil, he must no t delay in st art ing him in a
156 THE ART OF SIN G ING
voice and great assiduit y and persevera nce t o mast er

,
it. Before undert aking t his st yle, o ne must ha ve

gained perfec t breat h c ont rol in o rder t hat o ne m ay
,
break t h e t one and ret a ke it wit ho ut effo rt T he .
int o nt at io n must b e perfec t so t hat every ha mmered

,
not e will b e dist inct and perfec t ly pit c hed These

.
t ones must b e marked light ly and reinf o rc ed o nly

where t he melody ( Cant a bile) requires it , o t herwise
“
,
”
if t hey exceed t he rules of art , t he Cant abile
would resemble t he cac kling o f a hen when she,
sho ws t h e joy o f ha vin g laid a n eg g. It is beca use

t his st yle is so diffic ult t h at it is going out o f use .
T h e last fa mo us singers who used t o perform t his

kind of a g ilit y were Faust ina Haffe a nd Agost ino
,
Font ana pupils of Ant onio Pasi, and t h e Visc ont ina
,
of Milan We ha ve heard no o ne since perfo rm t his

.
embellishment .
Ano t her st yle is t he Arpegg iat o ( Figure 28 )
FIGURE 28
so c a lled bec ause suc h a c o mbinat ion of t o nes, o ne

c ho rd fo llowing a not her, is oft en performed o n
t h e ha rp , a nd t hus t h e na me
“
Arpegg i at o Even
, .
t hough a t eac her m ay disco ver some na t ura l t endenc y

in a pupil fo r t his h e must not st art h im in t his
,
d iflic ult work unt il t h e pupil h as ac quired t he gift

,
of a perfec t ly c lear voice purged o f all defec t s and a

“
,
dec idedly flexible fauces in o rder t ha t t he arpeg

,
gios c a n b e performed wit h t h e required veloc it y .
A vo ice wit h t his gift must prac t ice daily a so lfegg io

mingled wit h bars of such arpegg ios In t his way ,
.
h e will b e able t o poise t h e voic e firmly o n t h e c hest

a nd in t h e hea d al so , a nd wit h suc h exerc ises o ne
ca n pro d uce a perfec t ly uni t ed and even vo ice .In

t h e beg inning o f t his st udy t he t ea c her must no t o nly
b e c a reful in c hoosing t h e solfegg io, b ut he must a lso
b e very pa rt ic ul ar t hat t h e st udent a t t ac ks each no t e
a t it s right pit c h , and t h e exerc ise must b e sung
slo wly in o rder t hat t h e c hest will no t b e o verta xed
T h e t eac her knows when t h e pupil is ready t o

t ake it at t h e required speed . Th e st udent c an
a dva nce only st ep by ste p .When he c an at t ac k
t h e first no t e and blend t h e follo wing t hree g i v ing a
,
perfec t crescendo and diminuendo t hen he is singing

“
,
”
t his Cant ilena perfect ly and ac cording t o t h e
mo vement of t he melody T o do t his o ne must not
.
break t h e melody by t aking breat h for it can b e

,
rendered perfec t ly o nly by t h e insuring of t h e b rea t h
This work sho uld b e undert aken slo wly so t hat t h e

,
st udent will b e able t o sta nd t h e effo rt it co st s t h e
c hest a nd fa uc es . When t his embellishment is per

fec t ed , t h e pupil will b e a ble t o g ive t h e public
a st yle so perfec t t ha t it will win univ ersal admi ra
t io n a nd renown .
Anot her embellishment is c al led Cant ar di

b
s alz o (Figure 29 ) (by lea ps) Whet her sung in
.
ma jo r o r minor key , it is al ways fo und diffic ult t o
mast er A st udent sho uld b e exa m ined t o see whet her

.
he is fit t ed fo r t his kind of a gilit y o r no t Th e .
req uisit es are a robust c hest , agile voice ha ving low ,
deep t ones as well as high ones If a st udent h as

“
.
no t t hese qua lit ies,h e must no t a t t empt t his C an .
”
t ar di sbalz o req uires part ic ula r st udy , ent i rely
diff erent fro m any ot her Th e int onat ion may b e

.
perfect in t h e ot her st yles, b ut it must b e st udied

a g ain in order t o ac c ust om t h e voice t o lea p from t he
,
lo w t one t o t h e high and vice versa wit h perfec t ,
int ona t ion Some one might t hink t his an easy

.
t ask, b ut h e is mist a ken Besides t he ac t o f lea ping

.
wit h perfect int ona t ion , it is necessa ry t o ha ve well

balanc ed c ont rol of t he voice in ascending as well as
in descending Nat urally,t h e low t one must vibra t e
.
and b e sust ained wit h st rengt h acco rding t o t h e
requirement s, and t he high not e at t a c ked softly ,
keeping always a c orresponding pro port ion bet ween

t he t ones This exec ut ion must b e blended wit h a
“
.
”
Porta ment o di voce .If t hese t wo notes do no t
blend ,t here will b e a break heard whic h is permit t ed ,
only t o t hose who sing bass, o r basso co mico (c ome

dian) who wit h t hese brea ks and caricat ures win
laught er a nd applause A singer of st yle m ay b e
.
permit t ed t o brea k o r det a ch t ones if he kno ws ,
exa c t ly where t o i nt roduce t hem ; fo r inst a nc e a t t he
end of a musical ph rase t hus revi v ing t h e phr ase

,
and giving it an eff ec t In t his st yle a lso t h e most

.
,
160 T HE ART OF SINGIN G
If t his st yle c alled sbalz o (t o lea p) is sung wit ho ut

a ppoggiat ura vib rat a , t hen t h e lea p loses all it s
na t ural bea ut y a nd val ue . Anyone who prac t ices
t his embellishment , will admit t he soundness o f my
st a t ement . We kno w t hat it h as been and is st ill
t h e c ust om fo r some singers t o st op in a ca nt a bile In
“
,
some places of t he song upon some c hest t ones not a

“
,
” ”
g r a v e, t he n p ass t o a high t one w it h appog gia t ura ,
b ut it is also t rue, t hat t he effec t will no t b e so
marked , beca use t he speed of t he lea p is ret a rded .
We furt her observe t hat in t h e same st yle of can ‘
t a b ile when o ne is c ompelled t o t a ke a c hest t one and

pass on t o t he sec ond t one a sevent h, o r an oct ave
“ ”
dist ant , wit hout t h e appogg iat ura , and t a ke t his
seco nd t one wit h blended voice and wit hout ta king
breat h,one ca n produce an art ist ic effec t (Figure 3 0 )
FIGURE 3 0
Anyway t his lat t er st yle ca nnot b e c al led sing in g by

leaps, b ut only legat o singing, which is also very
good when perfect ly execut ed .
THE ART OF SIN GIN G 16 1
I must no t omit t elling y o u of a defec t I have

no t ic ed in many singers, who have t h e ha bit of sing
ing t he low t ones wit h lips almost c losed and t hen

Open t hem a b normally o n t h e high t o nes . T he result
is, t ha t t he t wo are of diff erent c har ac t er and co lor,
ea c h result ing b adly bec a use no t st art ed right A .
singer must avoid fo rming a fa ult which has a b ad
effec t upon t h e audience .
Great at t ent io n must b e paid in st udying t his

st yle, t hat t h e young pupil s c h est is no t o vert a xed
’
.
Alt hough t h e solfeggio is of vivac ious movement , it

must b e st a rted at slo w pace The best way is t o
.
voca liz e wit h prec ision and repose, in order t hat

eac h t one b e perfec t ly pit c hed and pure This well
.
grad ed st udy should b e regulat ed by t h e ag e and

st rengt h of t he pupil . Only aft er h e h as ac quired
st rengt h and robust ness must h e b e allowed t o sing
,
t his exerc ise wit h inc reased veloc it y . Thus he will

finally b e able t o unf old and loosen his voice, and
perform t h e exerc ise in its required quic k t empo .
T here are t hose who are endowed wit h a voice so

a gile, t ha t t hey ca n suc c eed in any st yle wit hout
st udy ; however , if t his ex t rao rdinary g ift is direc t ed
by t h e rules o f art , it is not only wort hy of praise b ut

of t he highest admirat ion It of ten happens t ha t
.
,
t hese persons fall in love wit h t heir nat ura l g ift and ,
do no t aspire t o sing in any ot her st yle exc ept in ,
t hat of agilit y . T hey do no t c onsider t ha t when t hey

have grown old and ha ve lost t heir c hest st rengt h,
t hey will have no st yle left since t hey did not st udy
t hese t hing s when he finds a voice wit h suc h

and
abilit y ,h e must no t ov erlook t he fac t t h at t he st udent
shoul d st udy all t h e general rules whic h are c onsidered
a foundat io n fo r every voice By so do ing , t he

.
st udent will b e able t o sing in ot her st yles, when t h e
Many t hink in sing ing a g ro up of t hree o r fo ur no t es ,
t ha t t he first and last o nly need t o b e sounded , a nd

t hey merely slide over t he ot hers This c anno t b e
“
.
”
ca lled a g il it y b ut is rat her a
, cant ilena , (ch ant ing )
ru esl of art . On t h e ot her hand ,t here are t hose wh o
of voice and render t h e passa ges wit hout dist inc t ion
and deprive t hemselves o f t ha t grac efulness whic h is
t h e result of t h e g iving fo rt h and t h e t a king bac k of

t h e voice .Consequent ly inst ea d of performing runs
,
and passages, t heir rendit io n resembles t h e gobble
of t he t urkey Besides t hese defect s, ot hers perfo rm

.
a movement of t he t ongue, t hinking t hey help t h e
execut ion Such means are st out ly forbidden

.
,
beca use a c ont inued movement of t he t o ngue,impedes

t he fixing of t he required vowel , and brings int o ac
“ ”
t ion a nuance of shades of ot her vowels whic h
necessarily render t he passage imperfec t and makes
Ino l ion, every st udent must know t hat t he

c nc us
beaut y of every passage co nsist s in t he perfect int o

nat ion of eac h t o ne Therefore, he must have t h e
.
d
st u ent , however, t o pract ice o n t hese vowels, as
necessit y somet imes obliges o ne t o perform a passage
upon t hem, espec ially upon But since th ese

cases are rare, t h e st udent will do well t o pract ice
“
most ly wit h A and E ”
.
As I ha ve said many t imes t h e skillful t eac her

,
must direc t and guide each st udent in his o wn way ,
so t ha t eac h c an perfec t h imself in t his very diffic ult
st yle . He wh o is gift ed wit h t he t rill must not b e

,
t imid in ming lin g it wit h a run on some spec ial n ot e ,
f o r t his will brigh t en a nd bea ut if y t he p assage In

“
.
”
t h e sa me way ma ke use of t h e Mordent e, whic h is
,
a useful embell ishm ent and gives t h e m elo dy more

“ ”
vibrat ing po wer In a sic iliana st yle it is j ust as
.
,
well t o perform t he slur a nd dragging, if used in t he ,
right plac e and wit h t h e right p roport ion .One of

t h e great est merit s fo r a singer, is t o sust ain t h e voice
at t h e sa me deg ree . To do t his o ne must b e at t en
,
t ive t ha t h e keeps t he right proport ion, whic h means

well regulat ed high t ones g iven wit h sweet ness and
fac ilit y devoid of any harshness t hat wo uld Off end
,
t he c a r . A p upil so guided c ann ot help b ut reac h

,
t h at ho ped fo r perfec t ion "

Thus far, I ha ve been t a lking abo ut t he rules o f
a rt. In t h e follo wing c hapt ers I shall disc uss t h e
educat io n t hat a st udent must h a ve before h e is
allowed t o int ro duce h is a rt t o t h e public .
In c losing t his art ic le, it st rikes me t hat I would

prove my sincere affect ion for st udious yo ut h if I ,
give t hem t h e advice g iven t o me by a valiant and

loving t eac her a so uveni r o f t he lo ve and affect io n

,
’
of t h e way he t aught me t o sing and whic h I shall

never fo rget while I live ever allow yourself t o b e
t imid ; never b e laz y ; never permit yourself t o b e

st a ge fright ened when singing in p ublic One must .
have spirit dash and life, ot herwise everyt hing will

,
”
result t a me and lifeless .
I kno w it is nat ural for a beginner t o b e t imid , b ut

t h e t ea cher sho uld t ake ca re t h at when a p upil is
a ble t o sing by himself t o allow him t o sing once in
,
a while in public First let him sing before a few

. ,
friends, t hen lit tl e by lit t le, have h im sing befo re a

mo re exac t ing a udience .
Remember t hat when I say t ha t a st udent must

ha ve spirit , I do not mean by any means t hat h e
ought t o b e forward and show te merit y inst ea d o f
respect Modest y in a good singer, unit ed wit h all
'
t h e ot h er g ift s o f nat ure, art and knowledge, enable

him t o e a rn a serious c onsiderat ion from t h e public .
Never forget t o keep self possession while y o u are

-
singing . Never allow yo urself t o wander, o r t o b e

c areless . Since ma n is not always in t h e same mood ,
b ut will somet imes feel j o yful and vivac ious, and
ot her t imes sad and lonely h e must b e able t o over
,
c ome t h e mood in whic h h e find s himself when t h e ,
moment comes for him t o sing in public He must .
make an effort t o cheer himself, and make himself

pleasing by virt ue if not by nat ure Ca reless sing
, .
ing is lang uid a nd unint erest ing Oft en we hea r an

.
audienc e wi shing t hat suc h a singer would end h is

o g soo n On t he o t her hand , when singing is

s n .
vivacio us and jocund,it gi v es pleasure t o t he audience

and suc h an at mosphere makes bot h t h e singer and
th e audience ha ppy and c heerful Then we hea r t h e

“
.
c ry Bis, b is, (over again) a nd c lapping of hands .
An at mo sphere o f joy reflect s more upon t he hea rt

of t h e singer t han upon t h e a udience . It makes
his rendit io n easier bec ause h e h as gat hered wi t hin
,
h imself all his t hought s . When his mind is in a

ha ppy mood h e feels like sing ing and ta kes suc h
, ,
a n int erest in wh at h e is doing , t ha t his mind runs
alwa ys in advance of t h e fo llowing phrase , and it is
j ust t ha t excellent prevision whic h prepares him fo r

t h e exec ut ion, and ma kes his rendit ion easier and
more graceful and appeals t o t he ea r and heart of h is
must know grammar, hist ory and t he It alian
T he merit value of a word do not a lways lie

and
in it s nat ure o r int rinsic value, b ut oft en in t he way

of saying it Perfect pronunc iat ion is ac quired by
.
st udying gramma r We must spea k as we writ e

. .
Even as a rea der is mislea d by writ ing t hat is not

punct uat ed co rrec t ly so a speaker will b e m isunder
,
st ood ii h e is no t careful in h is use of t h e diff erent
shad es of vo ic e, pa uses a nd ac c ent uat ions o f c rescen

,
do In gra mmar we learn t o rea d writ e and speak

.
, .
If y o u list en t o an ac t or yo u will hea r ma ny ways of

poising t h e vo ice, variet ies o f shades, a nd many hid
den powers whic h h e b rings in t o play t o express h is
feeling Now h e ra ises h is voic e no w lo wers it ;
. ,
no w h e q uic kens h is speec h no w ma kes it severe

, ,
t hen sweet .It all depends upon t h e kind of fee ling

he wi shes t o awaken in his audienc e Aft er a ll t h e
.
,
rules a re only t heo ret ica l and o ne m ust prac t ic e by
rea ding goo d Ita lian books and by l ist eni ng t o g o od
act ors and o rat ors A very benefi c ia l ha bit fo r o ne

.
t o fo rm is t o da ily read a po rt io n of a boo k in o ne s

’
room , in a loud voice o t y i p f bl By t hi

—
p e r s re era e s .
exerc ise o ne form s t h e habit o f m aking all t hose
necessary c ha nges and shades of v o ice besides o ne ,
learns t o rec it e well in public .
Aft er st udying g rammar o ne sho uld t ake up t h e

st udy of hist ory bo t h sa c red and sec ul a r and c lassic
, ,
no vels . Yo u will o b serve t ha t singers do not spend

t heir d ay s in idleness, b ut inst ead t hey do muc h
read n i g They read t he origin o i nat ions, t he

.
c hanges and revolut ions of Empires of wars and t heir ,
t races and peace and so o n

, Thus t hey ac quire
.
mat ure j udg ment A singer is necessarily a t ra veler

. .
It is enough fo r him t o know t h e predominant virt ue

and passion of eac h nat ion and it s manner o f dress
,
and way of spea king To illust rat e : Suppose Julius

.
C aesa r was t o b e pla yed on t he st age Take for .
examm e t h e scene where h e was bet rayed a nd

,
assa iled by t he senat ors Wo uld it no t b e

.
ridic ulous if t h e ac t or did no t kno w h o w t o show t h e
partic ula r grea t ness of soul and hea rt of suc h a hero "
If inst ea d of appearing wit h serene brow and fea r
lessness o f heart when he is at t ac ked, h e should pla y
,
t h e pa rt wit h meekness co wardic e o r fea r " Would

,
it no t b e equally ridic ulous if ac t ors represent ing

Mercurio and Nept une sho uld ha ve t he first assume
,
t h e a c t ions and manners of an old man, a nd t h e

second b e represent ed as spirit ed a nd vivac ious "
Would it not b e laughable if in t h e sacred drama

represent ing t h e sac rifice o f Ab raha m , t he ac t or
should represent t h e pa rt of t ha t most obedient
pat riarc h wit h t rembling feeling " Suppose t hat in

t he resig nat ion o f Isaac t h e part were played wit h
,
resi st ance a nd te ars" Yet such versions would

happen if t h e act ors were not familiar wit h hist ory .
It no w remains fo r m e t o say a f ew words about t h e

Lat in and It a lian languages I will no t discuss t he
.
Lat in first because every professor knows h o w neces

,
sary it is in every kind o f c hurc h singing, t o dist in

g ui h well t he long and short vowels ; sec o ndly b e

s ,
ca use t hese c h apt ers only refer t o t hea t rica l singing .
In spea king of Ita lian, it c annot b e denied by any

nat io n t hat it is t h e most h armo nious so ft est and ,
sweet est of t h e la ngua ges Fo r t his reason, it c an b e

.
ad apt ed t o any kind of music In proof of t his st a te .
ment ,read t he let t er of M Rousseau on t h e Ii ea ch .

i -
music , and y et he is a h ench aut hor When .
speaking of It alian,h e means a very c lea r and perfec t

“
It a lia n as t hey say , Lingua t osca na in bocca sienese
con graz ia pist o iese ( F lo i l g g i
’
re nt n e a n u a e n a
Sienese s mout h wit h t h e gra cefulness of Pist o ia n

’
people ) All t he ot her dialect s alt hough It a lian

.
, ,
are no t suite d fo r t h e t heat re bec ause t hey lac k ,
ac cent and c onsequent ly h a ve no t t hat melodi c

,
sweet ness which is c h ara c t erist i c of t h e pure It a lia n

, .
T h e dialect s are no t so ad a pt a ble t o music , beca use

of t heir bro ken vowels; o ne vowel will ofte n have more
t han o ne sound This is t h e reaso n why t he Frenc h
.
language is no t so suit a ble for singing *

It does no t .
permit o f a plain port a ment o or a clea r and pure

“messa di voce ” It is t rue t h at no t all who choose
.
t h e art of singing c an co me from Tuscany However,

, .
any o ne c a n lea rn t o sing who belongs t o t h e st a t es

“ ”
whic h form t h e Bella It a lia , as Bo log na Mo dena , ,
Milan, Venice and t h e dist inguished Neapolit ans,

many of whom learn t o speak It alian bet te r t han t h e
Florent ine people who seldom divest t hemselves
,
‘
M n ini d n t m nti n t h Eng li h l ng u g whi h i till
a c oes o e o e s a a e, c s s
harder t o sing , due t o t he sha ding and vanishing of t h e vo wels .

T HE ART OF SIN GING
a nd hard work in order t o perfec t t heir pronunc ia

t ion a t hing I value very high ly as it renders a ny
—
,
kind of so ng graceful and perfect.

RECITATIV E AND Ac rnm '
a nd hist ory a re mast ered (t he learning

of t hese is so nec essary fo r recit a t ion) ,
t hen t h e st udent must bravely undert a ke

t h e st udy O f ac t ing . I do not know why t his beaut i
ful art is so neglec t ed t o day nor why it has fallen
-
,
from t hat high st andard of perfect ion it h ad fort y

years ag o A large number of our singers t hink it
.
suffi c ient t o b e able t o sing t heir part perfect ly and

,
do no t realiz e t hat rec it a t ive c an no t b e suc cessful

unless ac c ompanied by a c o rrespondin g c orrec t ac t ion .
Ma ny ot hers do realiz e t h e nec essit y of good ac t ing ,
b ut excuse t h emselves by sayin g t hat t h e fault lies

wit h t h e modern c omposers who writ e recit at ives
in such a way t hat t hey int errupt and conf use t h e
t rue sense of t he dia logue by t h e c onst ant c hange of
movement s in t h e bass acc ompaniment " So t h ey ,
sigh in envy of t h ose ha ppy sin ging ac t ors who have

,
h ad t he good fort une t o int erpret t he operas writ t en

by Allessandro Sca rlat t i Bono nc ino , Domenico
,
Sarro Gasperini Francesc o Manc ini Frederico

, , ,
H andel, Francesc o D urant e and ot her famous men

,
To c onvince t hese singers of t heir mist ake, it will b e

17 3
eno ug h fo r me t o ment ion t he works of c elebrit ies like
F0 0 a nd Lo o k at t hese operas a nd t ell

Perg o lese .
me if y o u find t hose int errupt ions ca used by t h e

development of t he bass in t heir rec it at ives " Take
int o c onsiderat ion t hose writ t en by t hose profound
masters suc h as Giovanni Haff e,Baldassa rre Galuppi
(alias Buranello) Nicolo Jo m mella Gaet ano Lat illa , ,
Pasquale C afaro D a vide Perez Genna ro Manna

, , ,
Tommaso T rajet t a Nic olo Picc inni Ant onio Sac

, ,
c h ini , Reic ha r t Giovanni C rist iano B ac h Ant o nio

, , ,
Ma z z oni from Bo logna Piet ro Guglielmo Amadea

, ,
Nauman Misliweo z ek Pasq uale An fossi Gio vanni

, ,
Pajesiello , C arlo Monz a Toz z i, Bo rro ni Bert o ni

, , ,
Gia mbat t ist a Borghi , To mmaso Giordano Floriano ,
Gasmann who died lat ely who b esides h is impo rt ant

, ,
services rendered t o t h e c ourt of C ea sar ,left us many
operas and good pupils; among t hem is Ant o nio

Salieri , who is a virt uoso c hamber singer at t h e
Imperial Cour t Let us review t he o peras of
.
Giuseppe Bonno, succ esso r of Gosmann t o t h e

‘
T he ble Madame Marianna Martinez of Vienna speaks of
no ,
Giuseppe Bonno wi th t he m ost superla tive praise This inco m .
parable lady endowed with superior genius for music received t he

, ,
elements a nd tra ining fro m Sig Bo nno . Her pro g ress was so
.
rapid tha t it a wakened t h e a dm ira tio n o f a ll t he di sting ui shed pro
fessors of m usic Her c om positions were in g rea t dema nd in

.
Na ples Bo logna and in m a ny o f t he fam ous Italian c ities I heard

, .
her myself when sh e wa s still in h er t eens sing and pla y her own
, ,
c omposit ions on t he c embalo wi th such surprising mast ery and
expression that sh e inspired Abbo t Metastasio t o wri te many o f

,
c omposers for t h e dec line o f t he recit at ive " It is

t h e modern art ist s wh o spoil and ruin t h e rec it a t ives ,
because t hey do no t wish t o t a ke t he t rouble t o lea rn

t he rules of perfec t dec la m at ion I ha ve no desire
.
t o ment ion here t heir defect s in recit a t ive beca use ,
Pier Francesco Tosi ment ions t hem so plainly in h is

-
t rea t ies o n page 43 I shall o nly repea t wha t h e

sa ys : We hear numero us a nd unbea rable defec t s
‘
in t h e rec it a t ives, whic h a re unno t ic ed by t hose who

c ommi t t hem There are t hose who sing t h e
rec it at ive of t h e t hea t re , like t hat of t he c hurc h o r
c ha mber Their chant ing C ant ilena is depressing

‘ ’
. .
Ot hers,who t ry t o b e int erest ing,exaggerat e Ot hers .
rec it e t hem t o t hemselves Some mumble wh ile

.
,
ot hers push t he last syllable Some do no t sound .
t hem a t all, whil e ot hers sing t hem c arelessly and

'
a bsent mindedly Ot hers do no t underst a nd it

.
,
and ot hers who d o , do no t m a ke it c omprehensible .
So me implore in it ot hers sing it wit h disda in

, .
Some sing it wit h c losed t eet h ,and ot hers wit h aifeo

t a t io n .Some do not pro no unce well a nd ot hers ,
sq ueez e it Some laugh it and anot her c ries it So me

. .
spea k it , while o t hers whist le it Some yell it and

.
”
ot hers scream it Ot hers sing it o ut of pit ch "
.
Besides t hese errors, whic h t ake o ne away from

t h e nat ural int erpret a t io n a great er o ne is c ommit t ed
,
—
t hat of not st udying rec it a t ives c orrec t ly To t ell.
t h e t rut h , I rea lly c annot underst a nd why singers

of bot h sexes hat e so muc h t h e st udy of t his part of
t he t heat rica l art " They well know by t heir o wn
and o t hers experience t hat a rec it a t ive well ren

’
,
dered brings praise succ ess a nd pro fit able engage

,
ment s Be wit ness t o t his : Nico la Grimaldi alias

.
,
Cavalier Nicc olino po ssessed t h e a rt of rec it at ive

,
a nd ac t ing t o suc h perfec t ion t ha t al t hough h e was
very poo r in o t her t a lent s a nd did no t have a beaut i

ful voice h e bec a me very singular
, T h e sa me is t rue
.
o f M ada me Merighi Why did Ma ria Bent i Bur

.
g a rell
, i a lias La R o m a ni na b ec,om e so fa mo us "
Bec ause she was a very c orrec t ac t ress She was so .
perfect in h er c o medy t hat she inspired t he sublime

“ ”
Met ast a sio t o writ e Didone fo r her Co rt o na .
,
Bar one Ballerini Pait a Tesi and Mo nt ic elli became

, ,
illust rious bec ause of t heir go od ac t ing ; and many

ot hers t he na mes o f whom would make t his c hapt er
,
t oo lo ng .
One must c o nfess t hat a well delivered rec it a t ive

acc ompanied by c orrec t ac t i o n, g ives as muc h pleas
ure and delight as a c a nt abile We have a c lear

.
proof of t his when we read what Tart ini says about

“ Rec it a t ivo Semplice
”
. During t h e fourt eent h
yea r of t h e past cent ury a dra ma was g iven in Anc o
m a , in wh ic h t here was a line Of rec it a t ive in t he
beg inning of Ac t III whic h h ad no ot her ac co m pani
,
ment t ha n t h e sim fl e bass This ha rmonio usly

.
developed rec it at ive was so powerful t hat it s eff ec t

was no t only not iceable o n t h e fac es Of us of t h e
pro fession, b ut upon t h e whole audience as well .
This rec it at ive was no t designed t o cause t ears ,
for I well remember t ha t t h e words were of hat red

and sarc as m, b ut of suc h rig idit y as t o move t h e

hea rt " T he dram a was g iven t hirt een t imes and
a lways wit h t h e sa me eff ec t Th is eff ec t wa s
.
emphasiz ed by t h e silenc e and expec t anc y of

t he audience , who were prep aring t hemselves t o
”
enj oy it Ano t h er g reat proof was evinced fo r
.
many years by Gaet ano Casa li a lias Cavadent i , .
He was in Venice at t h e hea d of a st o c k co m

,
pany, and as t h e succ ess Of t h e c omedy was no t

enough t o enable him t o c over his expenses, b e
c onceived t h e idea of g iving Met ast a sio s grea t

’
dramas He dist ribute d t h e ro les and t a ught t hem

.
t o h is ac t o rs, a nd t hen wait ed fo r a n opport unit y t o

pro duce t hem It happened, t h at t h e o pera Arta
.
“
”
t a ken fro m Met ast asio s dra ma was g iven
’
serse , ,
unsuc c essfully a t t h e t hea t re of Saint Giang riso s
t o mo Casali a nnounced t hat o n t h e follo wing even

“
.
”
ing his co mpany wo uld present t h e same Art aserse
as a dra ma An immense c rowd at t ended t h e perfor
.
manc e more o ut of curio sit y t ha n fo r any ot her

,
reaso n b ut t h e publi c was o verco me a nd wo n

, Those .
a ct o rs so perfec t ly c h ara ct eriz ed by words and ac t ion
t h e perso na ges represent ed t h a t t hey wo n universa l

,
praise and were compelled t o repro duce t he play ma ny

,
t imes .Casali was so enc ouraged by t his success t hat

h e c ont inued giving t hese dra mas fo r many yea rs ,
and a ll were a suc cess, p rinc ip ally because of t h e
ac t ing Th e pro fit a nd glo ry were so g rea t t hat

.
C asali wrot e a let t er o f t hanks t o Met ast asio who ,
co nt ribut ed so muc h t o his welfa re a nd fort une .

na t ura l , beca use of t he simplic it y in which t hey a re

co mposed They a re no t only sit uat ed in t he na t ur
.
a l c hord of eac h voice b ut t h ey are ma rked a nd divid

,
ed in suc h a way as t o perfect ly imit a t e a na t ura l
speec h . Thus o ne c an dist inguish eac h period and

,
can follo w t h e int erroga t ives dec l arat iv e point s a nd

,
all t h e parts of speec h All t hese shad es are expressed

“
.
”
wit h t hat kind of Ca nt ilena wh ic h varies acc o rding
t o t h e different infl ect io ns of t h e voice and t h e diver
,
sit y o f t one and t h e feelings t o b e expressed

, .
Th e ot her st yle of rec it a t ive is c a lled Inst ru

ment a t o (
’
wi t h orc he st r at io n ) , beca u se it re q ui res
an o rc hest ral ac c ompaniment T h e ac co m pa ni

.
ment fills in t ho se bars in whic h t h e singer

h as o nl y ac t ion and t h e music follows him t o
give brillianc y and life t o all t hat h e says
and does It is also c ust o mary f or t h e voice
.
an d orc hest ra t o perfo rm in perfec t t ime, in

order t o no t int errupt t h e feeling and expression .
This st yle of rec it at ive was invent ed t o emphasiz e

so me impo rt ant scene t hat ends in a mo od of deep
feeling as agit at io n fury t enderness o r pat ho s

, , , .
When such rec it at ives are well writ t en and render

ed t hey a re always well rec eived a nd a re oft en t he
,
support a nd success of t h e who le O pera . T he

”
‘
Cant ilena st yle (chant ing) of bot h t hese rec it a
t iv es alt hough sung always in perfect pit c h , must b e
,
loo sened a nd nat ura l as a dec la mat io n o r a rec it a t ion

It would b e very improper fo r a singer t o render it in
“Messa di Voce” st yle or t o use “ ”
Port ament o in it
, .
Inst ead , he should say it plainly and nat urally and

dist inguish it s diff erent moods only by slight inflec
t ion of t he voice,by giving and t a king bac k t h e accent
o r by making t h e voice sweet er as any c ult ured m an
does when he speaks o r reads It is fit t ing fo r me t o

.
say here , t h at t h e meri t s of t h e rec it a t ive c onsist in
knowing how t o well place t he Appoggiat ura “

,
or wh at we ma y bet t er c all t h e music al accent .
This prec ious acc ent whic h is of most import ance

in a rec it at ive c onsi st s in t a king a not e higher t han
it is writ t en , and t his is singularly pract ic ed in t ho se
occ asions in whic h some syllables o f t he same word
are fo und upon not es of t h e same kind a s bet t er
sh o wn in Fig ure 3 1
FIGU RE 3 1
I will explain wha t t h ese t wo ac c ent s are : One is

”
“ ”
t o ret a in t h e voic e as in Oh Lord " and t h e ot her
, ,
is loose a c c o rding t o t h e idea it expresses

, Now
.
it is lang uid a nd t hen bright

, Now it is serious a nd
.
t hen sust a ined . T h e t eac her and pupil must kno w

all t hese diff erent ac c ent s and how t o ad apt t hem
I advise t h e pupil t o undert a ke t his st udy early a nd

do it when he h as t h e c hance t o b e under t h e super
vision of a good t eac her, who c an show him how t o
dec laim t hem right fro m t h e beginning I know t hat
.
at o ne t ime it was t h e
opinion of t he professors t h a t
t h e c hamber rec it at ive was sa id diff erent ly t h a n t ha t
of t h e t heat re A diff erence was also est a blishe d
.
bet ween parlor a nd churc h rec ita t ive Alt houg h .
I ha ve been t hinking m uc h about it , I ha ve no t been

able t o d isc ov er any reason fo r a difi erent int erpre
Rec ita t ives whet her sac red o r sec ular, must b e
rendered in t h e sa me way , t h at is, wit h c lea r voice
and nat urally .Full value must b e given t o every

word and each point and comma dist inguished well
in o rder t o c onvey t h e exac t sense and poet ry t o t h e
public If t here is t o b e any diff erence, it will b e
.
relat ive t o t h e a mount of voice used, in p roport ion
t o t h e siz e o f t h e place where o ne is singing Al .
t ho ugh rec it a t ive sho uld b e sa id wit h modulat ions,

point s and c ommas, it will always b e languid unless
it is support ed by co nvenient ac t io n Ac t ion gives
.
life, st reng th and value t o speec h It c learly expres

.
es t h e c harac t er represent ed , a nd it is ac t ion t ha t
makes a t rue ac t o r T ullio sa id t ha t all t h e beaut ies

“
.
and g rea t ness o f an ac t or , lie in ac ti on Act io,

.
act io, act io

To say t hat ac t ion is a gift of Nat ure is a mist a ke .
It is l earned t hr ough st udy and a rt . I admit t ha t

o ne ma y receive by N at ure a st ronger inc linat ion t o
become a n ac t o r t han anot her, b ut an inc linat ion

fo r an art does no t mean t h at one knows t h e art .
It is necessary t o st udy and polish it It is oft en

.
said ( and it is a t rut h ) t h at ac t ing must b e na t ura l

1 84 T HE AR T OF SINGING
It is very essent ia l t o b e able t o how any emot io n

s
and mood at will wit h t h e face

“
,t h e work o f t h e
”
mask . One must ha ve ease in c ha nging fro m a .
sweet expression t o a harsh o ne, from t enderness t o
madness, from affect ion t o disdain, et c Th is is .
t h e most bea ut iful part Of t h e art t h at a n ac t or

c an possess . T h e import ant t hing is, t h a t t hese
c hanges of exp ression m ust succ eed each ot her wi t h
nat uralness and at t h e exa c t moment It would b e

.
unp ardona ble if an ac t o r was given t h e part t o
list en t o a st ory of misfort une o r joy and h e shoul d

rem ain indifferent t hroughout t h e st ory , a nd wa i t
unt il t h e end and t hen suddenly show sorrow o r
joy " Such signs of expression must b e manifest ed

lit t le by lit t le, st a rt ing from t he moment t hat t h e
fact s begin t o appear c learly t o h im and advanc ing
a s t h e pa in o r joy develops in t h e st o r y It is .
nec essary fo r t h e ac t o r s mind t o b e c o ncent rat ed

’
when he speaks as well as when h e list ens If h e .
is absent minded when t a lking , h e not only forget s

t h e ac t ion b ut t h e melo dy as well
, Suc h a mist ake
.
no t onl y o fi end s t h e ea r o f his p ublic , b ut p ut s his

c o mp anio n, wh o m a y b e fo llowing him , o ff t h e pit c h .
If an ac t or does no t look at t h e o ne who is t alking t o

him , h e c anno t exec ut e t h e c o unt erac t ion no r give
,
relief t o t h e emo t io ns a w akened by t h e Speec h t o
whic h h e is list ening In spit e of t his fa ct , we see

.
ac t ors who , inst ea d o f t hinki ng about wh at t h ey are
saying or t o wha t t hey are list eni ng , allow t hem

,
selves t o look around o n t h e st a ge or to t h e boxes

and t a lk t o friends " All such t hings are st rict ly

ag a inst dut y a nd h armful t o t h e perform a nc e .
T o ac t perfect ly, o ne must know o ne s words and

’
music by heart If h e t hinks h e c an sing t rust ing

.
,
himself merely t o t h e leader o f t h e orc hest ra and t o

t h e promp t er, it will b e impossible fo r him t o
a c c omp any t hem wit h c orrec t ac t io n, fo r h e will b e
unabl e t o grasp words music a nd ac t ion a t onc e

, .
Furt hermore o ne m ust see t hat t h e ac t ion is suit ed

,
t o t h e words sa id , a nd in o rder t o b e able t o repre

sent t h e pa rt ic ular c h arac t er , h e must know t h e
exac t meaning of eac h word ot herwise h e will
,
c ommit erro rs whic h will cause c ha grin, This

sc ienc e is t ruly more diffic ul t t h an o ne might believe ,
b ut nevert heless we h ave posit ive general rules .
These general rules are dic ta t ed by t he t ea c hers

T h e det a ils are learned t h ro ugh prac t ice and by
observing good act ors and by c onsult ing expert s
,
in Spec ial cases Suc h expert s c an b e found in

.
every c it y of c ult ure and suc h c it ies are m any ,
es pec ially in o ur I t a ly , where we have knight s ,
gent lemen lit erary men, and pleb ians, who as a m a

,
t eurs rec it e dr ama s, a nd are g ood a c t o rs a nd are will

,
ing t o help t hpse who ask ; suc h as t h e Marquis T eo d o li

o f Ro me , t h e Marq ui s of Liveri , a nd Giuseppe
Sant oro (la wyer) of Naples, and many o t hers who
help ma ke t h e st udent perfec t and o ur Met ast asio
,
no w in Vienna Ho w excellent his art is, is shown

.
by Signora Teresa Rent er and Angelo Maria Mont i

celli wh o bec a me perfect by fo llowing h is inst ruc t ion .
In onclusion if an ac t or is defic ient in h is ac t in g ,

c ,
he alone is g uilt y He c annot hide under t h e

excuse t h at h e h as no oppo rt unit y t o ac quire it
.
t ha tof t h e ca la sc ione Some may obj ect t o

t hese solfeggios o n t h e plea t h at
“
They are o ut o f
”
fashion They sing different ly t o-d ay
. Suc h .
cann ot hanged These so lfegg ios are very

be c .
useful t o t h e profession, no t only bec a use t h ey a re

writ t en by d ist inguished pro fesso rs b ut also beca use
,
t hey were writ t en during t h e perio d when t h e princ iple

o f singing was founded o n p rec ision and grea t respec t
fo r t h e rules of art T o pro ve t h e t rut h of t his it is

.
,
enough t o say t ha t by t hese so lfeggio s t h e aid o f

,
a rt , and t h e wisdom a nd ingenuit y of grea t mast ers ,
t hose valiant men and wo men were brought o ut ,
whom I ment io ned in Chapt er II of t his bo o k .
I was a pupil of Leo nardo Leo for t wo yea rs and ,
was t hen at t h e t ender ag e of fo urt een years This .
great m an wrot e a new solfeggio fo r eac h pupil every

t hird d ay , b ut h e was very careful in writ ing o ne
suit able t o t h e ag e and t a lent o f each Among
.
t hese st udent s t here were some who were older t ha n

,
I and co nseq uent ly more advanced and wit h st ro ng

,
er c hest s Therefore, t h e mast er wrot e more dif

.
fic ul t so lfeggio s fo r t hem t han for m e .I was very

anx ious t o h a ve t h e sa me exerc ises as t h e adva nced
st udent s, and o ne day when h e present ed a new

,
so lfeggio t o m e, I sa w t ha t it was no t very diff erent
from t h e ot hers I h ad h ad so I dared t o say : I

,
“
t hink I c an sing t h e exerc ises t hat t h e ot her st udent s
”
sing even t hough t hey are older t ha n I
, Th e .
goo d mast er, who h ad already siz ed up my abilit y

THE AR T OF SINGING 1 89
and st ren gt h an d wishing t o give me a go od lesson

,
”
in c onc eit , grant ed me my desire I st art ed o n my
.
new so lfeggio very ea rnest ly and in t h e b eginning all

,
was c o ming ra t her easy b ut fina lly it happened

,
t o m e a s t o a c hild wh o undert akes a run wit hout

,
first figuring upo n t h e st rengt h of h is legs a nd t hen

falls exha ust ed upon t h e floo r I did no t ha ve
.
st rengt h no r suffic ient a rt t o grad uat e sust a in a nd ,
direc t my voic e and I h ad t o give up t h e exerc ise

,
“
.
Then t h e mast er smilingly sa id t o m e I admire ,
a nd pra ise yo ur desire b ut I c annot enc oura ge y o u

,
t o do t his way bec a use it wo uld dist urb t h e goo d

,
o rder o f yo ur t ra ining and t h at wo ul d ha rm y o u .
So c ont inue in your gr ade d met ho d and st udy

, ,
pa t ient ly and in a sho rt t ime y o u will rea c h yo ur

”
co mpanio ns a nd ga in t h e sa me glo ry This bea ut i
.
ful exa mple is goo d fo r t ea c hers as well as st udent s .
Compo sers might also learn it , so t hat t hey will

writ e so lfeggio s well graded and in propo rt io n t o
t h e a g e and st rengt h o f t heir pupil s Pupil s should
.
b e c a reful and selec t t hose whic h t h ey c an perfo rm

wit h ease a nd t hus eac h vo ice will b e direc ted in
,
it s O wn way . When a t ree is yo ung, it is easy t o

c urb a nd any han d c a n c urb it ; b ut when it h as
mat ured it will brea k if o ne at t empt s t o bend it So .
wit h t h e vo ice If t eac hers do not succeed in )

.
a c complishing t h e perfec t io n o f t his p art of voca l

<
inst ruc t io n when t heir st udent s are young t hey ,
c annot b e sure o f do ing it l at er bec a use N at ure is

,
no t so p liable, and t h e st udent s minds less willing

’
t o obey .
190 THE ART OF SING ING
Wh en t h e st udent has mast ered t h e Cadenz a , t hen

he must b e st a rted t o lea rn recit ative He must
.
no t only learn t o divide t h e syllables beneat h eac h

not e, b ut h e m ust a lso lea rn t o insure int ona t ion so ,
as t o c omplete ly mast er t h e loosened and melodi c
way of sing ing in t h e dec la mat ory st yle of t he

rec it at iv e I do no t advise t eachers t o avail t hem
.
selves o f t heat rica l rec it a t ives unless t hey are

t hose wri t t en by a mast er hand . Fo r t his reason
o ne must ha ve in h is c ollec t ion, t hose of t he
“ cant a of Al essandro Sca rlat t i, Chev D Ast org a
.
’
Nic olo Porpora,etc etc Twelve of t h e lat t er ha ve

. .
been print ed whic h are rea lly wort hy of so grea t

a mast er . It has been sa id in my prec eding c ha pt er ,
t ha t t h e rec it a t ive h as it s o wn st yle of c a nt ilena

whic h does no t a dmit o f any c hange bec a use it
cannot and ought no t t o pass t h e limit s of it s nat u
ral dec la m a t ions . T h e above ment io ned t ea c hers

ha ve writ te n t he rec it a t ive splendidly and sc ien
t ifi ca lly
. Even t ho ugh t h e st udent is yo ung h e can
,
mast er t his kind of dec la mat ion and appear o n t h e

st a ge
. T he st udy ing of m adrigals is mo re t h an a
necessit y fo r young st udent s bec a use t h ese i nsure
,
int ona t ion, and ac cust om t h e chest t o st and t h e

work and t hey also refin t e c ar in well mast ered
e h -
The st udy of duet s is no t only good fo r int onat ion

b ut it serves t o maste r expression and fin ally t eac hes
o ne t o so gra duat e t h e voi ce t hat it will blend per v
192 T HE ART OF SIN GING
kept perfect ly t oget her unt il h e reach ed perfec t io n .
An inc ident separate d t hem Giz z iello was c all ed t o

.
Vienna b y order of t he Im perial Court, b ut t h is did

no t keep him fro m st udying t o perf ec t t h e rules
rece ived Lat er h e went t o England fo r a few years

. ,
where h e perfect ed h is st yle and ma de himself a

rare sing er Alt ho ugh h e h ad great reput a tion as a
.
sing er he was no t sat isfied wit h h im self and upo n h is

,
ret urn t o It a ly he st opped so me t im e in Bolog na t o

,
st udy wit h Bem acc h i This exam ple should

.
a ppea l t o ma ny c o nceit ed ones Giuseppe Appia ni .

,
al ias Appianino went also t o Bo logna t o st udy wit h

,
when bot h were rec o g niz ed amo ng t h e number of t he

best singers of Europe .
I wo uld no t wish any ligh t headed st udent t o

-
t h ink t ha t he c ould aba ndon t h e supervisio n o f h is

t ea cher no r t ha t h e was endowed wit h t h e t a lent
,
of t hese t wo pro fesso rs Let him beware o f suc h a

.
mist a ke T h e gift s o f Giz z iello and Appiani were

.
no t only rare b ut t h ey possessed many bea ut iful

,
virt ues o ut side of singing whic h gave t hem dist ino

,
t ion even among professo rs o f reno wn .
Young st udent s : I fea r t hat y o u do no t possess

t ha t st im ul at ing sp arkle t ha t desire and det ermina
,
t io n t o unit e t o yo ur t al ent s giv en y o u by yo ur

C reat o r mo dest y h umilit y and general beha vio r
, ,
whic h so bec o mes a rea l art ist .
I observe t hat wo men o wing t o t heir sex aba n

, ,
THE ART OF SIN GING 1 93
d o n st udy when young and deem it wort hless, b e

c a use t hey receive pra ise fo r t heir t a lent Thus . ,
few reac h a high st andard in a rt O ther yout hs

.
suff er fro m simil a r m ist a kes, b ec a use t heir t ea c hers
expo se t hem t oo soo n in t h e t hea t re and t h e praise

,
received deceives b o t h st udent a nd t eac her Would .
t ha t t h e st udent c oul d b ut rea liz e t hat t h e appla use

was given h im mo re as an enc oura gement fo r furt her
st udy t h an fo r h is p resent abilit y and wo ul d t ha t
,
t h e t eac her looked mo re deeply int o his welfa re so ,
h e would no t expose t h e pupil t o t h e public unt il

h e is perfec t " What perfec t ion c an b e expec t ed
fro m a yout h of sixt een o r sevent een years" He
m ay sho w go od qua lit y o f vo ice a nd a n art ist ic
dispo sit io n b ut t h e rest remains t o b e worked
,
out t h ro ugh effo rt and st udy How many promis

.
ing yout h s ha v e been st randed like ships near t o a

harbo r and inst ead of get t ing int o port landed o n a ,
sandy b ank " Such disorders result when a yout h

ab ando ns st udy t hinking h e is all suffic ient b ec a use
,
h e h as a nat ural pleasing vo ic e a g ra ceful port a

, ,
m ent o winning ways a nd a plea sing a ppeara nc e

, .
If suc h a o ne and o t hers would go bac k t o t heir

t eac hers when t heir engag ement s end a nd t ake up
, ,
t heir st udy a ga in t hey might t hen ho pe t o rea c h

,
perfec t io n in art " Ala s t h e dominat ing c o nc eit

,
in o ur p rofessio n is like t h e germ of co nsump t io n

whic h blinds o ne so we see t hings different ly from
,
wha t t hey are .
Earnest ness in st udy good will t rue a nd sincere

, ,
love for hardships and christ ianit y are t he necessary
honored t hroughout t h e wo rld .
V ienna , Aust ria ,

May 8d , 1777 .

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REFLEC T IONS ON THE FIGURAT IVE

GIAM BATTI STA MANC INI

Founder a nd Director of the Verdi School of Singing ,

GIAM BATTI STA MANC INI

sni ging mast er at t he Imperia l Court of Vienna ,

of Bo logna and Leonardo Leo of Naples .

Born in Asc oli Piceno (Ita ly) in t he yea r MDCC

Third edit io n reviewed c orrecte d and aug ment ed

by t he a ut ho r was published in Milan (It a ly) in t he

This wo rk h as been t ranslate d int o t he French

print ed a lso in Paris in t he year MDC C LXXXXVI

Reﬂexions prat iques sur le chant ﬁg ure

Th e serene Mary Eliz abet h Arc hduc hess of Aust ria ,

Amo ng t he many gift s and virt ues whic h so

t h e art o f music o cc upies no lit t le part o f y o ur

fo rmed fro m experience a nd medit at io ns and whic h,

I c onsider t o ha ve been of mo st use in my professio n

found reaso ns for modiﬁcat io n and enlargement I .

t r ust , Serene Princess, t ha t y o u will b e indulgent

Permit m e gain t o present and dedic a t e t o

t his public hum ble t ribut e of respec t , grat it ude a nd

My love and devot ion t o art , led me t o devot e ﬁv e

I have spent t he great er part of t he last t wo years in

by my most devot ed pupil Miss Lucy La Cost a

I feel t hat t his is one of t he most import a nt works

Dea n of t hese grea t mast ers when t h e go lden era of

song was in it s full gl o ry in It a ly .

There is a t endenc y t oday a mong t he English

beloved It a ly , t o t each vo ice cult ure by sc ient iﬁc

t ra dit ions ha ve been nea rly dest royed I have

will b e of vast impo rt ance in rest oring t h e old and

made It aly famous during t h e XVI and XVII

First y o u and yo ur sublime a rt c o mplet ely c orro

borat e t he rules and precept s set fo rt h in t his boo k .

Sec ondly for t he int erest y o u a re sho wing t h e

English spea king people in helping t hem so lve t he

Thirdly under t he pat ro na ge of so excellent a

m usc ia l a ut h o rit y as y o u I m a y ha ve t he assura nce

t hat my feeble eff ort s will meet wit h indulgence .

Mr Dm n PROFESSOR ha ve j ust ﬁnished read

ing your splendid t ransla t ion of Gia mbat t ist a

a nd must co ngra t ulat e yo u upon your succ ess Th e

lit era l t ranslat ion, y ou ha ve a lso made it very pla in

Undoubte dly , t his book will prove a grea t enlight

part icularly t o t his young and wonderful nat ion in

music and song .

This work appears at a propit ious moment , as no t

suc cessful as t he old It a lia n met hod . If t h e modern

t he o ld It alia n met hod using t he la t t er as a founds

t ion, t hen t h e art of song would aga in b e ra ised t o it s

speaking peop le, a s it will show t hem how t o broad en

t h e vowels wit hout sac riﬁc ing t he c onsona nt s a nd ,

a l so how t o co nt rol t h e sylla bles at t h e fro nt of t h e

invariably mars t he purit y of t one Even in o ur .

It alian Lang ua ge whic h is so liquid and p ure t h e

vowels are o ften emphasiz ed in order t o insure t he

ro und a nd so norous t hro ugho ut in so ft a s well a s in

loud passa ges .

Wishing y o u t h e success t o whic h your earnest