The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1872-03-27
For THE CENTRAL Presbyterian.
SINGING AND sINGERs-ExECUTION.


"The mechanical part of singing, eve
the most perfect, is an indispensable par
of the merit of good singer, but it is NO
all. The most successful delivery of tn
voice, the best regulated respiration, tn
purest execution of the ornaments, and
what is very rare, the most perfect intona
ton, are the means by which great singe
expresses the sentiment which animates him
But they are nothing more than means; AM
he who should persuade himself that tn
whole art of the singer is comprised in them
might sometimes give his audience degree
of tranquil pleasure, but would never caus
them to experience vivid emotion. Th'
great singer is ono who identifies himsei
with the parsonage whom he represents
with the situation in which he is placed, anC
the feelings which agitate him; who aban
dons himself to the inspiration of the mo
ment, as the composer should do in writing
the music which he performs; and who neg
lectS nothing which may contribute to the
effect, not of an isolated piece, but of 8
whole character. The union of all these
qualities constitute what's called expression
Without expression, there never was a great
singer, however perfect the mechanical part
of his singing might be; and expression
when it is real, and not merely labored act
ing, has often obtained pardon for an incor-
rect performance. The celebrated singers
of the eighteenth century were not less re-
nowned for their power of expression than
for the beauty of their mechanical perform
ance. Some things are related of them
which would appear almost fabulous at the
present day. Every body knows the story
of Farinelli, whose touching voice and ex-
preston cured the King of Spain, Philip ",
of an attack of melancholy, which threat
ened his reason. The anecdote of Raft,
who saved the life of the Princess Belmont,
put in jeopardy by violent fit of grief, by
causing her to shed torrent of tears, also
attests the vast power of expression pos.
sessed by these great singers. Senesino, a
singer of extraordinary merit, forgetting his
part, in order to embrace Farinelli, who hap
pened to sing an air with miraculous per-
fection; La Gabrielli, affected even to the
exhibition of the most lively emotion, upon
hearing Marchesi sing cantabile; and
Crescentini, causing Napoleon and all his
court to shed tears in Romeo and Juliet, are
also proofs of the power of expression which
these divinities of song possessed. {.
True expression is manifested without effort,
by the tones of the voice or instrument
The musician who has the sentiment of it,
transmits it from his soul, as by enchant-
ment, to his throat, to the ends of his fin
gers, to his bow,String, or finger board, the
quality of his voice, his breathing, his
touch, are stamped with it; for him, there
are no bad instruments, and for him, would
almost venture to say, there is no bad music,
though he may be more sensible than another
to the beauties of composition. 4. At
the risk of being accused of exaggeration,
| will even say that we have an instinct that
the great artist by the manner in
which his bow strikes the string, or his fin
ger the key. l know not what emanation
it is which then difuses itself through the
atmosphere, proclaiming the presence of
talent; but we are rarely deceived
FROM THE SAME ON CHURCH MUSIC.
"In the usages of the Catholic Church
there are only two modes of singing the
prayers, namely, the plain chant, for simple
and the solemn music. The plain
chant, as it is performed in the French
is horribly disfgured by bad exc
cution, and the use of solemn music is every
day becoming more Iare, so that an ear of
any delicacy is constantly liable to be torn
to pieces by the braying of the singers, who
neither comprehend the words which they
pronounce, nor the music which they execute.
1t is a pity that we cannot, in imitation
of the German Protestant churches, intro
duce into ours kind of simple and easy
music, which may be sung by the people
without any other accompaniment than the
soft stops of the organ. In common mu-
sic of this kind, there would be more of re,
ligious devotion, and more satisfaction to the
ear. 1t would have the further advantage
of improving the taste of the people, and of
banishing the habit of those shocking cries,
which render the popular singing OdiOus to
a delicate ear.