Vocalist.org archive


From:  "Kate/Constance" <fairfax@t...>
Date:  Sat Apr 8, 2000  4:41 am
Subject:  RE: [vocalist-temporary] Bel Canto technique...


Lloyd W. Hanson wrote:
> I am most interested in what particular form of Bel Canto you are
> studying. Is your concern primarily with performance practices
> during the Bel Canto period or is it with Bel Canto vocal production
> methods, or both, etc. etc.? Where is the course being given and who
> is teaching it? What 19th century manuals are you referring to.
Aha. :)
I'm taking a 400/500 level class on performance practice taught by Dr. David
Kidger (kidger@o...) at Oakland University. (That's not in Oakland
County, CA, it's in Rochester. Not Rochester, New York, but Rochester,
Michigan!) David is a musicologist whose area of emphasis is early music.
We've done one project in this class so far and I did it on the performance
practice of 16c English Lute Ayres...I'd be happy to share info with people
when I get it back if anyone's interested.
Basically, the goal I have made for myself for this new project is to find
and understand "period" sources for the Bel Canto technique which was used
by the singers of Donizetti's arias (and of course, of his contemporaries'
arias). I'm interested in gaining an understanding of the roots of Bel
Canto, however, I don't think a lot of historical study is necessary because
there's a lot of change between the baroque sound and the mid-19c sound.
I also want to understand the embellishments that would have been used in
these mid-19c Italian operas...cadenzas and appogiaturas, etc.... my goal
would be to assimilate all this information into my head. :)

There are several manuals, of which I've found:
Marchesi, Mathilde, 1821-1913.,
Bel canto, a theoretical & practical vocal method

Classic Bel Canto Technique
Laure-Cinthie Damoreau (19c)

How to Sing,
Lilli Lehmann 1914

> After reading the many opinions on this list and in many books, it is
> very clear that there is no consensus about the tone quality of a
> singer from this period. Many techniques are purported to be "true"
> Bel Canto techniques yet many of these so called "true" techniques
> are at odds with each other and some are even diametrically opposed
> to each other.
Again, I'm not out to define Bel Canto...I'm out to understand what people
thought Bel Canto sounded like and by what manner people thought this kind
of sound could be obtained. I plan on listening to very early recordings
and comparing them with later ones to see if I can pick out the subtle
nuances in the earlier recordings that may not have been "passed on" from
singer to singer. (which is how I'm learning Bel Canto presently)

> It is also possible to interpret the manuals written at this time in
> completely opposite ways. It must be kept in mind that each of these
> writers was addressing a profession that knew how these singers were
> trained and shared a similar artistic value system. None of that
> value system exists today even in opera. There may be "true" Bel
> Canto singers today but we have almost no way of knowing if a
> particular artist meets this criteria or not. We can only say that
> some singers are able to perform the music of this period quite well
> and artistically but we do not know if they are doing it as it was
> expected to be done during that time period.
> A 21st century reader must a knowledge similar to that of the readers
> during the Bel Canto Period and I do not believe this is very likely,
> perhaps impossible. And, most important, a modern reader cannot have
> in the mind/ear the sound of the singers of that day which is most
> necessary to any valid understanding of the 19th century manuals on
> singing.
> This does not, in any way, preclude the value of studying this period
> in all its glory, nor does it even suggest that we should not attempt
> to perform this music. But it is a real mistake if we assume that
> our study is a "true" or most correct assessment of that style of
> singing or of that technique of learning to sing.
Of course, this is a common arguement given to people who are researching
performance practice. Nevertheless, we keep doing it. :) If we
didn't...I'd be singing early music and Verdi with the same voice...yuck.

I think the more one studies the literature and music of an era, the more
one can understand the people and social structure of the era. Can anyone
say definitively what Vaudeville singers sounded like? Not really...how
about Enrico Caruso? We've got recordings of him...but what did he REALLY
sound like in a hall...is there anyone left who's heard him live?
....hmm...we keep pumping out tenors for those operas, though, don't we????
I think there needs to be a suspension of one's perception of reality for
just a bit when one's approaching a new piece....if you want to be faithful
to the music, you need to know what was going on...not just musically, but
socially and politically. Think of all the Verdi arias and choruses that
are REALLY commentary on the opression the Italians were subjected to at the
time...just another example of the additional emphasis a singer must put on
a specific phrase.

Thanks for the inquiry!

Kate Penney


emusic.com