> Your reference to a sigh after good sex is what I would call
>a moan.
Depends on how good it was, surely. But let's not dwell on the past....
>Sighing as a basis of singing tends to encourage too much
>breath in the tone.
That's true, and it's true of whispering as well, but if the voice is
trapped in the throat the breathiness can be useful. I've cured squeezed
high notes by having the singer practice them breathily for a while. Once
the singer realises that they don't need to squeeze the throat to punch out
a high note the right balance normally establishes itself.
>I would like to ask for clarification of your intention in your
>example of Jussi Bjoerling. To my knowledge Richard Miller never
>studied with Mr. Bjoerling and obviously Bjoerling never studied with
>Miller, so to use one person as an example of someone elses concepts
>that have never even been in contact is not appropriate. Anyone can
>come up with a concept and then claim that is what a great singer was
>doing.
Actually, I think I'm right about this, but I'm not near my books at the
moment and so can't get at the reference. My point was, if I have remembered
correctly, that Bjoerling himself recommended a physical set-up similar to
Miller's apoggio concept. If the concept does derive ultimately from
Lamperti, this would make sense - Lamperti school teachers were very active
in the US and Scandinavia (via the younger Lamperti's 30-odd year residence
in Dresden). I don't I implied any master-pupil relationship, merely that
they espouse similar concepts. For this reason, the example is valid.
>It would be better to use one of Miller's students to
>illustrate his teachings.
Indeed it would, but I don't know of any who sing as well as Jussi
Bjoerling.
>As for Mr. Bjoerling, he was taught the old
>Italian technique of singing by his father, David,
Do be careful about this. What old Italian technique do you mean? Delle
Sedie? Busti? Nava? Porpora (as preserved by Corri and Nathan)? There are so
many to choose from, and they don't all agree. And we all know that the only
person who understands the old Italian technique is my teacher.
David Bjoerling left a very intesting monograph on his technique - it looks
most like Lamperti to me.
I find all this loose talk about the Old Italian Technique or Bel Canto
unhelpful.
>who was also an
>accomplished tenor who studied at the Metropolitan Opera School
>during the time of Caruso
Was there one during the time of Caruso?
> and also in Vienna. It was rumored that he
>had a lesson with Caruso himself.
If this is true, and it is related of (or more normally by) many singers, I
suspect he decided to keep doing it his way.
>Jussi also studied with Joseph
>Hislop
But may not have learned much. Hislop was rumoured to be a poor teacher with
a good voice but a poor technique and hence a short career - see Birgit
Nilsson's comment in the Hines book. He taught at the local academy, so if
you went to music school to learn singing, you got Hislop. Things improved
drastically under Carl-Martin Oehmann. Hislop taught one of my teachers in
London in the late 1950s and liked to claim that he gave Bjoerling his high
notes. I think this unlikely myself - his father's method was very sound.
> who was a part of the lineage decended from Lamperti and
>Garcia.
I think this is true of Lamperti, but not of Garcia.
> I do not mean to be harsh, but it is best to be thoughtful
>when making examples. It is very possible that the self-consciousness
>you see in the Firestone videos stems from the fact that he was
>singing on live national television at the biginning of TV's
>existance.
I think it's more likely to be the booze. Many years ago, when dinosaurs
roamed the earth, I did an Alfio and got talking to a Swedish gentleman of a
certain age in the bar after the show. His remebered Bjoerling from his
childhood, and said that the most striking thing about Bjoerling was what he
could do while under the influence. His party trick was arm wrestling. He go
to a drinking hole, tank up and take bets on arm wrestling. People would
take his bet because, although he was well built, he was manifestly
plastered. According to my acquaintance, he was never known to lose.
Actually, I think the example is rather telling. All the others on the
Firestone videos are given a bit of production, told to act a little.
Bjoerling, uniquely, stands and delivers. And as he stands and delivers you
can see a great singer using something very like the Miller apoggio. He sets
up the position, and sings through it. Very illustrative. More illustrative
perhaps than Miller's pupils, who would probably feel required to act.
Anyway, I think you've misunderstood me. My point that this position for
singing suited Bjoerling well - he got very good results from its use - but
that it may not suit others as well.
> That is what I think was the cause, not his way of
>supporting the voice.
>Another effective exercise is panting, making sure that
>the only mvement is lower than the ribs. The chest should not move
>and there should be very little to no air movement.
Many have used this, with good results. I find it a little rough myself, and
I suspect Isabelle's student would as well, given Isabelle's description.
> Laurie Kubiak
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