Part 1 (1/2)

Style in Singing.

by W. E. Haslam.

INTRODUCTION

In listening to a Patti, a Kubelik, a Paderewski, the reflective hearer is struck by the absolute sureness with which such artists arouse certain sensations in their auditors. Moreover, subsequent hearings will reveal the fact that this sensation is aroused always in the same place, and in the same manner. The beauty of the voice may be temporarily affected in the case of a singer, or an instrument of less aesthetic tone-quality be used by the instrumentalist, but the result is always the same.

What is the reason of this? Why do great artists always make the same effect and produce the same impression on their public? Why, for instance, did the late Mme. Tietjens, when singing the following pa.s.sage in Handel's _Messiah_, always begin with very little voice of a dulled quality, and gradually brighten its character as well as augment its volume until she reached the high _G_-[sharp] which is the culmination, not only of the musical phrase, but also of the tremendous announcement to which it is allied?

[Music: For now is Christ risen, for now is Christ risen.]

This last tone was delivered with the full force and brilliance of her magnificent voice, and was prolonged until the thrill produced in the listener became almost painful in its intensity. Again I ask, why did this world-famous singer perform this pa.s.sage _always_ in the same way? Unreflecting people may reply vaguely that it was because the artist ”sang with expression.” But what const.i.tutes ”expression” in singing? No great artist--no matter what the vehicle or medium through which his art finds manifestation--does anything at random. ”The wind bloweth where it listeth” only in appearance; in reality, it is governed by immutable law. Similarly, the outward form of an art is only apparently dictated by caprice and freedom from rule. The effective presentation of every art is based on well-defined and accepted principles. And it is with the earnest desire to throw light on this most important phase of vocal art, that I present the principles of ”Style in Singing.”

CHAPTER I

ELEMENTS OF VOCAL TRAINING

If the practical education of the singer be a.n.a.lyzed, it will be found to comprise four fundamental elements:

(1) POSE: or Emission of voice;

(2) TECHNIQUE: or the discipline of the voice considered as a musical instrument;

(3) STYLE: or the application of the laws of artistic taste to the interpretation of vocal music;

(4) RePERTOIRE: or the choice, in the literature of vocal music, of works most suited to the voice, temperament and individuality of the particular singer.

I have cla.s.sed these four elements in their relative order. They are, however, of equal importance. Until the Pose and Technique of a voice are satisfactory, attempts to acquire Style are premature. On the other hand, without Style, a well-placed voice and an adequate amount of Technique are incomplete; and until the singer's education has been rounded off with a Repertoire adapted to his individual capabilities, he is of little practical use for professional purposes.

EMISSION OF VOICE

Great natural gifts of temperament and originality may, and sometimes do, mask defects of emission, particularly in the case of artists following the operatic career. But the artistic life and success of such a singer is short. Violated Nature rebels, and avenges herself for all infractions of law. A voice that is badly produced or emitted speedily becomes worn, and is easily fatigued. By an additional exertion of physical force, the singer usually attempts to conceal its loss of sonority and carrying-power. The consequences are disastrous for the entire instrument. The medium--to which is a.s.signed the greater portion of every singer's work--becomes ”breathy” and hollow, the lower tones guttural, the higher tones shrill, and the voice, throughout its entire compa.s.s, harsh and unmanageable.

In view of its supreme importance, it is scarcely necessary to dwell upon the self-evident fact that this foundation--Emission, or Placing of the voice--should be well laid under the guidance of a skilled and experienced singing-teacher. Nothing but disappointment can ensue if a task of such consequence be confided, as is too frequently the case, to one of the numerous charlatans who, as Oscar Commettant said, ”_are not able to achieve possibilities, so they promise miracles_.” The proper Cla.s.sification, and subsequent Placing, of a voice require the greatest tact and discernment. True, there are voices so well-defined in character as to occasion no possible error in their proper Cla.s.sification at the beginning of their studies. But this is not the case with a number of others, particularly those known as voices of _mezzo-carattere_ (_demi-caractere_). It requires a physician of great skill and experience to diagnose an obscure malady; but when once a correct diagnosis is made, many doctors of less eminence might successfully treat the malady, seeing that the recognized pharmacopoeia contains no secret remedies.

Let the student of singing beware of the numerous impostors who claim to have a ”Method,” a sort of bed of Procrustes, which the victim, whether long or short, is made to fit. A ”method” must be adapted to the subject, not the subject made to fit the method. The object of all teaching is the same, viz., to impart knowledge; but the means of arriving at that end are multiple, and the manner of communicating instruction is very often personal. To imagine that the same mode of procedure, or ”method,” is applicable to all voices, is as unreasonable as to expect that the same medicament will apply to all maladies. In imparting a correct emission of voice, science has not infrequently to efface the results of a previous defective use, inherent or acquired, of the vocal organ. Hence, although the object to be attained is in every case the same, the _modus operandi_ will vary infinitely. Nor should these most important branches of Cla.s.sification and Production be entrusted--as is often the case--to a.s.sistants, usually accompanists, lacking the necessary training for a work requiring great experience and ripe judgment. To a competent a.s.sistant may very properly be confided the preparation of Technique, as applied to a mechanical instrument: All violins, for instance, are practically the same. But voices differ as do faces.

The present mania for dragging voices up, and out of their legitimate _tessitura_, has become a very grave evil, the consequences of which, in many instances, have been most disastrous. Tolerable baritones have been transformed into very mediocre tenors, capable mezzo-soprani into very indifferent dramatic soprani, and so on. That this process may have answered in a few isolated cases, where the vocal organs were of such exceptional strength and resistance as to bear the strain, is by no means a guarantee that the same results may be obtained in every instance, and with less favoured subjects. The average compa.s.s in male voices is about two octaves minus one or two tones. I mean, of course, tones that are really available when the singer is on the stage and accompanied by an orchestra. Now, a baritone who strives to transform his voice into a tenor, simply loses the two lowest tones of his compa.s.s, possibly of good quality and resonance, and gains a minor or major third above the high G (sol) of a very poor, strained character.

The compa.s.s of the voice remains exactly the same. He has merely exchanged several excellent tones below for some very poor ones above.

I repeat, one who aspires to be a lyric artist requires the best possible teacher to guide his first steps; he may consult an inferior or incompetent professor, when so firmly established in the right path that he cannot possibly be led astray.

It is a common belief that singing-teachers of reputation do not care to occupy themselves with voice-production, or are unable to teach it.

This is a serious error. A competent professor of singing is as capable of imparting the principles of this most important branch, as of directing the more aesthetic studies of Style and Repertoire. All the really great and ill.u.s.trious singing-masters of the past preferred to ”form” the voices of their pupils. To continue and finish a predecessor's work, or to erect a handsome and solid structure on defective foundations, is always a difficult task; sometimes an impossible one.