19^th Century Vocal Pedagogy Quotes

 

Lamperti: The Art of Singing

“The breath should be held steady in the passage from one note to the other, and the notes should be produced clearly and with a Shock of the Glottis. By this means the pupil will acquire the power of attacking the exact note without sliding up to it, a fault which a beginner is very likely to confound with singing Leqato.”

 

               I was looking for evidence and description in each of these treaties of what these master teachers taught, especially when it comes to coup de la glotte.  In                    this quote, Lamperti clearly is talking about a closure of the glottis before phonation in order to achieve clarity of tone and ease when singing legato phrases.

 

Hints On Singing: Manuel Garcia

“What the faults of breathing? A. The greatest are that the breathing should be scanty, hurried, noisy, or drawn in by raising the shoulders. When the air is inhaled gradually and not by jerks, it docs not rebound, and is retained by the lungs without fatigue. Q. How are these faults to be remedied 1 A The first three by breathing slowly and deeply, and by opening wide the glottis.* The noisy aspirations are caused by a semi-opened glottis. Q. How can you obtain the sensation of the glottic action ? A. By coughing almost imperceptibly. The glottis then closes and opens ; through these actions we feel it distinctly.”

 

              I found this exercise of a “light cough” in feeling the glottis close and open interesting because my teacher taught this.  It wasn’t even a cough, instead it was                 a gentle act of taking a breath and then holding it in order to feel the sub-glottic pressure and column of air that would form. I think it’s neat that this came                   from Garcia.

 

Caruso and Tetrazzini on the Art of Singing: Enrico Caruso and Luisa Tetrazzini

“Take just a little bit of air at a time and feel as if you were filling the very bottom of your lungs and also the back of your lungs.  When you have the sensation of being full up to the neck retain the air for a few seconds and then very slowly send it out in little puffs again.  This is a splendid exercise, but I want to warn you not to practice any breathing exercise to such an extent that you make your heart beat fast or feel like strangling.”

 

               This is an exercise that was also taught by my teacher and I have found it successful in helping students notice how the air is being taken in and how their                    body reacts to the inhale.  I have also had to warm students about doing this too much or over filling quickly, because light headedness and dizziness can be                  the result.  I don’t like fainting in my studio!

 

Caruso and Tetrazzini on the Art of Singing: Enrico Caruso and Luisa Tetrazzini

 “One should never try to change the tessitura, or natural character of the voice. A voice will become higher just when it should by the development due to rational work and never by forcing it. Nothing is easier than to force a voice upward or downward, but to cause it to "recede," as it were, in either direction, is another matter.  A baritone who tries to increase his upper range by main strength will surely in time lose his best lower notes, and a light tenor who attempts to force out notes lower than his range will never be able to sing legitimate tenor rôles, and after two or three years may not be able to sing at all. (p.21)”

 

               I found Tetrazzini’s discussion here quite interesting in light of our class discussion in repertoire for the singing teacher the other day.  I think I agree with her                whole heartedly as this applies to Classical singing.  I do not think this would be the same if we were discussing musical theater music though, because the                    way in which the sound is created is different due to amplification.  

 

OBSERVATIONS ON THE Florid Song; OR, SENTIMENTS ON THE Ancient and Modern Singers: Written in Italian By Pier. Francesco Tosi

"But above all, let him hear with a disinterested Ear, whether the Person desirous to learn hath a Voice, and a Disposition; that he may not be obliged to give a strict Account to God, of the Parent's Money ill spent, and the Injury done to the Child, by the irreparable Loss of Time,[15] which might have been more profitably employed in some other Profession. I do not speak at random. The ancient Masters made a Distinction between the Rich, that learn'd Musick as an Accomplishment, and the Poor, who studied it for a Livelihood. The first they instructed out of Interest, and the latter out of Charity, if they discovered a singular Talent. Very few modern Masters refuse Scholars; and, provided they are paid, little do they care if their greediness ruins the Profession."

 

"Let him be moderately severe, making himself fear'd, but not hated. I know, it is not easy to find the Mean between Severity and Mildness, but I know also, that both Extremes are bad: Too great Severity creates Stubbornness, and too great Mildness Contempt."

 

"Let the Master attend with great Care to the Voice of the Scholar, which, whether it be di Petto, or di Testa, should always come forth neat and clear, without passing thro' the Nose, or being choaked in the Throat; which are two the most horrible Defects in a Singer, and past all Remedy if once grown into a Habit^[11]."

 

"A diligent Master, knowing that a Soprano, without the Falsetto, is constrained to sing within the narrow Compass of a few Notes, ought not only to endeavour to help him to it, but also to leave no Means untried, so to unite the feigned and the natural Voice, that they may not be distinguished; for if they do not perfectly unite, the Voice will be of divers^[12] Registers, and must consequently lose its Beauty. The Extent of[24] the full natural Voice terminates generally upon the fourth Space, which is C; or on the fifth Line, which is D; and there the feigned Voice becomes of Use, as well in going up to the high Notes, as returning to the natural Voice; the Difficulty consists in uniting them. Let the Master therefore consider of what Moment the Correction of this Defect is, which ruins the Scholar if he overlooks it. Among the Women, one hears sometimes a Sopranoentirely di Petto, but among the Male Sex it would be a great Rarity, should they preserve it after having past the age of Puberty. Whoever would be curious to discover the feigned Voice of one who has the Art to disguise it, let him take Notice, that the Artist sounds the Vowel i, or e, with more Strength and less Fatigue than the Vowel a, on the high Notes."

 

"A diligent Master, knowing that a Soprano, without the Falsetto, is constrained to sing within the narrow Compass of a few Notes, ought not only to endeavour to help him to it, but also to leave no Means untried, so to unite the feigned and the natural Voice, that they may not be distinguished; for if they do not perfectly unite, the Voice will be of divers^[12] Registers, and must consequently lose its Beauty. The Extent of[24] the full natural Voice terminates generally upon the fourth Space, which is C; or on the fifth Line, which is D; and there the feigned Voice becomes of Use, as well in going up to the high Notes, as returning to the natural Voice; the Difficulty consists in uniting them. Let the Master therefore consider of what Moment the Correction of this Defect is, which ruins the Scholar if he overlooks it. Among the Women, one hears sometimes a Sopranoentirely di Petto, but among the Male Sex it would be a great Rarity, should they preserve it after having past the age of Puberty. Whoever would be curious to discover the feigned Voice of one who has the Art to disguise it, let him take Notice, that the Artist sounds the Vowel i, or e, with more Strength and less Fatigue than the Vowel a, on the high Notes."

 

Practical Reflections On The Figurative Art of Singing: Mancini

"In testing the voice of a prospective pupil, the teacher should be very careful to see that his epiglottis is free and not stiffened by the hardening of the thyroid glands, commonly called goitre. He should also note that the action of the little muscles of the larynx are not impeded by the somissilar glands or from the hardening of the amigdales. The teacher must give strict attention to the following facts : That there is no physical disorder in the uvula or arch of the palate; that the tongue is flexible, and that the lips close symmetrically; that the chin is not extended too far forward so as to mar the symmetry of the mouth ; that the teeth are free from irregularity, and that the nose is not too flat nor too long." (P55)

 

"Every learned master follows his own judgment; molding his ideas by the ability and intelligence of his pupils." (p26)

 

First Lessons in Singing: James Stark

“Bel canto is not simply a refinement and extension of normal vocal usage; rather, it is a unique kind of vocalism based on physiological and acoustical properties that are cultivated especially for opera and concert singing, and that are usually quite unfamiliar and counter-intuitive to the novice. I believe it is important to introduce the student to the two central concepts in bel canto, namely, chiaroscuro and appoggio, at the outset of vocal training.”      

       

                I liked this definition of Bel Canto by Stark.  I think his way of articulating bel canto is helping me to start putting my own definition together. 

 

First Lessons in Singing: James Stark

“One means of approaching appoggio is by using “the call,” which is a kind of controlled yell. For our purposes, I would like to make a distinction between a “holler” and the call. A holler can be described as a vocally undisciplined shout such as one produces while cheering at football or hockey games. Here the vocal folds vibrate in violent and abrasive ways and produce a harsh voice quality that can lead to unwanted hoarseness, or worse. The call, on the other hand, is produced with both glottal and  respiratory controls that result in an even, non-abrasive vibratory pattern and a clear voice quality, and requires a vocal posture not unlike the one already described for chiaroscuro. There should be an elevation of the subglottal breath pressure, created by the contraction of the expiratory muscles, and controlled by the antagonistic inspiratory muscles, especially the diaphragm, as well as by firm glottal resistance to the breath. When properly executed this results in a “yelly” voice quality that is an important indicator of appoggio.”

 

               This was another exercise my voice teacher used, however I didn’t understand why it worked as an exercise until reading this description by Stark.