Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-12-07
SINGING.
From the New Y..k Times !


ing the reason OF IL. or explaining the m INNER.
| We Spe. tx for a deliberate purpose-the commu-
nicttton OF cur thoughts; we laugh or weep In
voluntarily; bit way should we sing, Mothers
Sing 10 their children, and mothers must nave
sung inStnctively to c.lildren before they asked
or even eraved it: the happy maiden sings at
her work; men sing at theirs. Adam Bede sang
at his bench, and Daniel Deronda sang as he
rowed laZily on the Thames. This is one OF the
every day mysteries of life. Why Sh0Illd certain
moods OF mind prompt men ana wonlen-a large
proportion of them. at leaSt--t0 utter sounds
entirely different from those with which they
express their thoughts and feelings to each
other? What connection is there between these
moods Of mind and the passage of air through
the larynx to produce pleasant sound, and the
development and meditation of that sound into
airs or tunes? How did this come about! We
are apt to assume that everything connected
with what we call mans natural functions was
always as 1t is now; but among his SlOwly-de-
veloped powers it is more than probable that we
must place that of singing, which now seems so
natural to those who do sing.
From the earliest recorded times, indeed, man
has sung; but, setting aside the consideration
of the question through what centuries and
cycles of progress his vocal, with his other
powers. may have passed before the historic
period, the inquiry still remains: What was the
singing of the earliest recorded times? We do
not know, nor shall we ever know; but we may
singing of modern days-say OF the last 800
years. 1t is with that only that we moderns
concern ourselves unless we are historical In
quirers), for the very germs of our modern style
OF singing are hardly TO be discovered If we go
back five centuries. Gradually, in Italy singing
became an art. What we mean by singing
the higher kind, is really an Italian art, which
has been diffused over the civilized world; and
the Italian school of singing is still the only
great SchO0l-we may almost say the only
SchOol-fOr all others, in so far as they differ
from that school, are inferior. The first dis
tinctive characteristic of the Italian school of
OF uttering single note. Italians generally
for singing in this way has become a second
nature to the whole people, use their voices in
quite different way from the generality of
other people. They naturally utter their notes
with purity and freedom rarely heard from
untaught persons of other races. This deliv
cellence as singers. Indeed. it may almost be
said to constitute that excele nee; for not only
Is there no great singing without it, but the
execution, united with this free vocal utter
ance. There are singers who have voices of re-
markable power, range and feXibiity, who
or from bad and ineradicable habit, they cannot
attain this pure and free delivery OF the voice.
Their tone is gutteral, it is nasal, or it is
rough, or it is unsteady, or something else: it
may be merely constrained: in any case the
fault is more Or less destructive. There may be
great singing without great power, without re-
markabe fieNibility. without the ability to exc
cute a foulade or tri1l, but there can be no
singing really great without this free, pure de-
livery OF the voice. 4 singer who can go through
l he whole range OF his voice. from low to high,
swelling out the tone and diminishing il with
the vowel sound of broad Il (ah,l preserving that
sound purely, and uniting with 1t perfect into
nation through creScendo and diminuendO, has
conquer ed much more than half the difficulties
OF the art OF vocaliZation. All the rest with one
eXcel ton, are mere climbs and outward -four
iSheS.''
The other great point in vocalization is pnraS-
ing. which is the art Of musical elOcution. 1t
directs cont lnuity, infection, and pause. For
music has classes and periods continuity which
can be broken only with the certain destruction
of beauty, and climaXeS which must be ap-
preached with due graduation, and with the
power Of sustaining them. The harmony, real
or supposed, which underies all melody, deter
mines, in great measure, this phrasng and
although it Is not necessary for singer to be
theoretical musician, such an appreciation Of
harmonic periods as will insure their inviOla-
bility is absolutely necessary. To the unin-
structed in singing it might seem of very little
consequence when and how q singer breathed.
so long as breath enough was taken; but the
taking breath in such a way as TO break mu-
sical phrase produces an effect which would
shock any person of good taste in music. how
ever ignorant OF the method Of vOcaIiZattOn.
suppose Hamlet TO speak his soliloquy thus.
breathing thus: g. TO be or not Lbreathl to be,
that is the [breath question: the effect in this
case would be similar to that which is produced
by breaking musical phrase or period.
THESE are the essentials, without which there
what Is called method, which, however, in
cludes other matters OF Importance, although
l me. Then comes the question OF style
the temperament OF the singer; for as in litera-
ture so In singing SIC style eest rhon,me." There
Is grand style in singing which corresponds
simple, free large; and largeneSS in style i'm
plies nobility and indifference to little arts ex-
cept as mere fringe and ornament. Singers in
| the grand style are generally capable OF 1ori-
tur1 and trill and rOulade in their highest perec-
| ton; thus were Jenny Lind, Aboni, Tietjens:
but they do rot make them the objects OF their
highest endeavor, or the chief attraction OF their
| performances To do 50 would be like bidding
| guests TO dinner of sauces. The highest
attainment attainment OF the art of singing is the eX-
passage with perfect intonation. correct
phrasing, delicacy and feeling, and with
infections significant OF emotion. There is an
| Stradella, known as his .'Aria di ChfeSa,'' an
| air OF wonderful beauty, immortal beauty OF
| the exalted kind, and full of the profoundest
| feeling This air is so simple that any person
who can sing at all can, so to speak, sing 1t. 1t
, not only has no ornament of any kind, but the
| addition to it OF any ornament by. a singer
! would be barbarous, destructive; and yet the
ability to sing this air properly is the very high
| est attainment OF the vocal art. We hardly
know tenor in the world whom we could eX-
pect to sing it perfectly: and yet we should like
| to hear Signor Campanini's version of it. Our
! present, and we believe now successful, ope-
ratio season. with its great variety of vocalists,
all OF more or less merit, furnishes us the coca
| sion OF our remarks, and will furnish our read
| erS Illustrations OF them to which we may refer
| hereafter.
| The DUEL between Gambetta and Fourtou
seems TO have been Wretched bit OF comedy
| The cOmbatantS were so far apart that mas
| much as the weather was fOggy they could
scarcely have seen each other and there are
grounds for the suspicion that the result OF the
aHalr or honor was pre-arranged One OF the
| Paris correspondents says that the conditions OF
| the duel remind him of the Vaudeville bur-
| lesque, in which there is an encounter with
| saberS at ten PAGES distance The real danger
| lie says. ''Wotld have been for the seconds had
| they been imprudent enough not 10 be under
shelter TCr at thirty-fiye PAGES the deviation of
| balls presents the greatest risk When the at
| 1alr was happily over the four seconds Shook
| hands and the ducliStS raised their hats TO each
! other. The cause OF war was Gambetta'S ey-
! clanatiOn: - That Is lie, Monsieur This out
| burst has recently been anticipated in sub
| stance by members OF the British Cabinet
| 10 say nothing of certain stage whisper i'm
| Tie House OF Lords, Claiborne Hardy in a reDly
| To Mr.. Trevelyan and Lord Salisbury answering
| Lord Derby. have gone very close to giving the
| lie to their antagonists. lie Temps comments
| upon the duel with extraordinary good sense
| Tor Paris journal Ii thinks the time has
! cone for serious men TO interfere in putting an
| end 10 this dangerous and Illogical manner of
| settling political disputes. 1t refers to the eE-
ample OF other countries, where men are as
brave as they are in France, where dueIlino has
! Deen virtually abolished, but appeals rather to
! ne serious Judgment OF Frenchmen, in order to
| stamp out practice which has already done
huch halm III dem0raKtng the national char
| acter.
| THE DERIVATION OF Observation-Disclosures
/ which rf Ln,. n Il