1 The Vocal Pedagogy Workshop The Vocal Pedagogy Workshop - 2007 - 2007 The Vocal Pedagogy The Vocal Pedagogy Workshop Workshop Stephen F. Austin, Stephen F. Austin, M.M., Ph.D. M.M., Ph.D. Associate Professor of Voice Associate Professor of Voice College of Music College of Music University of North Texas University of North Texas
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Carlo Bassini (1812-1870)Carlo Bassini (1812-1870)Bassini’s Art of SingingBassini’s Art of Singing, 1856, 1856
“…for, if a singer should present himself at the opera in Paris and fail to give the renowned chest C in the “Huguenots” or “William Tell,” though singing never so well otherwise he would gain but few admirers and be quite certain of producing but little effect.”
Henry Chorley, Henry Chorley, Music and Manners in France and Music and Manners in France and GermanyGermany, 1844., 1844.
• The French vocal style was characterized by liberal use of falsetto in the high voice:
“Many of them, too, were afflicted with that diseased tendency towards a falsetto, which, in our own country, has run the inordinate length of pushing innocent, portly, middle-aged gentlemen into warbling (more oddly to the eye than agreeably to the ear) the sublimest songs of Handel’s “Messiah”.
Henry Chorley, Henry Chorley, Music and Manners in France and Music and Manners in France and GermanyGermany, 1844., 1844.
“Possibly in his less gloomy moments, he (Nourrit) believed that his day was not yet over; that he had still energy to recompose himself anew; that he would, in short, have a chest voice in place of his own nasal and brilliant falsetto di testa and learn that honeyed and long-drawn cantabile which his countrymen were beginning to praise as an indispensable treasure.”
Manuel Garcia II (1805-1906)Manuel Garcia II (1805-1906)
• “When the larynx produces a tone, the pharynx takes possession of it as soon as it is emitted and modifies it. Mémoire sur la voix humaine, 1840
– Sombre timbre• Gives the voice roundness• Penetration• Modifies the falsetto into the ‘head’ register• The ‘operatic quality’ some earlier theater styles
• June, 1840 – Diday and Pétrequin reported to the Académie des Sciences on the subject of timbre and laryngeal position as related to Duprez’s do di petto.– Voix sombrée ou couverte (dark and covered)
• November, 1840 – Garcia presented his theories to the academy– Garcia claimed to have been teaching the
lowered laryngeal posture and ‘covered tone’ since 1832.
Julius Stockhausen (1826-1906). Julius Stockhausen (1826-1906). GesangsmethodeGesangsmethode, 1884., 1884.
“The dangerous tendency of the larynx to rise to the position it takes in speaking must be carefully avoided.”
“…it is only with a fixed position of the larynx, and with the right use of the two chief qualities of sound, that a beautiful, well-molded whole can be produced.”
Enrico Delle Sedie (1822-1907). Enrico Delle Sedie (1822-1907). Esthetics of the Esthetics of the Art of SingingArt of Singing, 1885., 1885.
• Italian born baritone• Sang Germont, Renato, Figaro at Covent
Garden, La Scala• Taught at Paris Conservatory 1867-71
“The soft palate rises in a direction opposite to that of the larynx, following the same regular order of gradations; viz: it rises with the height of sound, whilst the larynx, for giving to the voice a homogenous and easy tone should descend in the same order.”
Enrico Delle Sedie (1822-1907). Enrico Delle Sedie (1822-1907). Esthetics of the Esthetics of the Art of SingingArt of Singing, 1885., 1885.
“Having noticed the defects which result from the ascending of the larynx with respect to the high sounds, it is useless to insist any longer on this subject.”
“Therefore, the ascension of the larynx in high notes cannot be favorable for this emission of the vocal sound. I will not extend myself too much on a subject so often disputed, but will limit myself to expose the practical use of my theory.”
Enrico Delle Sedie (1822-1907). Enrico Delle Sedie (1822-1907). Esthetics of the Esthetics of the Art of SingingArt of Singing, 1885., 1885.
“When the larynx is so raised we may emit high sounds, but thin and shrill. It is true, that we are disposed to raise the larynx when we want to emit high sounds, but if we would closely observe the timbre, we would recognize that they are thin, contracted and shrill.”
Charles Amable Bataille (1822-1872). Charles Amable Bataille (1822-1872). Nouvelles Nouvelles
recherches sur la phonationrecherches sur la phonation, 1861., 1861.
• French basso profundo• Student of Garcia II• Taught at the Paris Conservatory • Conducted extensive research on phonation
using the laryngeal mirror
“Moderate lowering of the larynx has the certain result of giving the voice suppleness and power, thereby encouraging the enlargement of its natural limits.”
Charles Amable Bataille (1822-1872). Charles Amable Bataille (1822-1872). Nouvelles Nouvelles
recherches sur la phonationrecherches sur la phonation, 1861., 1861.
“This procedure, familiar to the great Italian school, has been given the term somber voice, and it has been associated with vocal emission. Duprez ‘naturalized’ this term in France during his operatic debuts, but the expression had already been in use in Italy for some time.”
Edmund Myers (1846-1934). Edmund Myers (1846-1934). The Renaissance of The Renaissance of Vocal ArtVocal Art, , 1902.1902.
• Teacher, author of several books on singing
“For artistic tone, the soft palate must be high, the larynx must be low, and the throat and mouth allowed to form, not made or compelled. . . The larynx must be low in adjustment for the production of beautiful tone, but it must never be locally adjusted.”
G. B. Lamperti (1830-1910)G. B. Lamperti (1830-1910)
‘Although you may acquire a wide range of voice, you cannot modulate the sounds until the resonance of your tones becomes round and rich, chiaroscuro.’
‘When a tone ‘opens’ the ‘focus’ of vibration does not change.’
‘Return to ‘closed’ quality is impossible if the tone becomes too ‘white’.’
Oren Brown (1909-2004). Oren Brown (1909-2004). Discover Your VoiceDiscover Your Voice, , 1996.1996.
• Well-known teacher, author and pioneer in voice therapy
• Julliard School 1972-1991“It is impossible to develop the
operatic or classical tone if the larynx is raised. A low larynx position can be induced by the feeling of a beginning yawn – no pulling down! The position can also be gained with the sensation of a raised soft palate.”
William Vennard (1909-1971). William Vennard (1909-1971). Singing: The Singing: The Mechanism and the TechniqueMechanism and the Technique, 1967., 1967.
• Well-known voice teacher, researcher• Famous collaborators include Janwillen van den
Berg – Voice production: the Vibrating larynx
“When the larynx is moderately low, the intrinsic musculature is free from extrinsic tensions. The ‘yawn-sigh’ tends to lower the voice box; indeed the yawn is the most usable of the reflex methods of lowering it.”
Ida Franca, Ida Franca, Manual of Bel CantoManual of Bel Canto, 1956., 1956.
• Soprano and teacher in New York
“To lead the vocal student toward the maximum development of his or her talent, one should start with the study of the voce chiusa (shut voice) as soon as possible, and take the utmost care that the beginner does not shut the mouth and hum.”
Richard Miller, Richard Miller, The Structure of SingingThe Structure of Singing, 1986, 1986 Chiaroscuro!Chiaroscuro!
There can be little doubt that in desirable “closed voice” (voce chiusa), a timbre that should prevail throughout the singing voice regardless of range, as opposed to “open voice” (voce aperta), there is a stabilized laryngeal position – relatively low – and a somewhat widened pharynx. These conditions together with proper vowel modification (aggiustamento) produce the so-called “covered sound” of the upper range.