The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-25

itself, and it came to be one Of the most
admired features of artistic singing. II is
used not u little in our time, but it Is greatly
abused.
Portamento means the sliding Of the
voice through the infnitesinal gradations
Of tone lying between a note and the Gu
suing one. This languorous progress OF
the voice is capable of much expression
when judioiously employed, but whom it
becomes u habit it is deplorable, because
then 1t leads to scooping.
II ruins correct attack and IL actively
hostile to accurate information. Once let
a singer fall into the scooping habit n
he will no more attack the tone which he
intends to sing. He will strike into the
scale somewhere below the tone n then
slide uI \to it like a bad cello player feeling
along the hngerboard for the position.
The secret Of q pure and elegant exeou-
ton of the portamento lies In the preserva-
ton Of the pose of the first tone. The
singer must aim to avoid a mental con-
ception which will lead him to anticipate
the second tone. He must pose his voice
for the initial note, and think that pose all
tho time while his voice Is gliding through
the intervals between it and the second
note. The emphasis In the mind must
lie on the first note. Otherwise a scoop
and not a portamento will be the result.
No special form Of vocaliseg lie required
for the requirement Of q good portamento.
1t will develop naturally II the student
keeps his mind upon it when he finds 1t
advantageous for the production Of a good
effect. The main thing to be borne In mind
is that it is a device to be used sparingly.
1t cannot be introduced artistically very
often. When it Is really needed it makes
for beauty, but 1t should never be intro"
duced merely for its own sake.
Those who heard the famous singers OF
the eighteenth century were unanimous In
their praise of the manner In which these
artists used the MESA di voce and the
portamento. We read that such great
singers as Farinelli, Caffarelli, Faustina
and Cuzzoni produced the most beautiful
effects by means Of these two devices Of
song. But 1t Is indisputable that their
MESA di voce was employed much moro
literally than their portamento.
They knew we'll how to contrast with the
~portamento the clean glide without touch
ing intermediate intervals from one tone to
another, called by the Italians @di slancio,'
The student in practising portamento
should frequently introduce this contrast
in order that he may not lose hold Of the
perfect purity Of his legato. An over use
Of portamento is ruinous to a clean legato.
On the other hand the liberal employ
ment of the MESA di voce will tmpart to
the voice a beautiful file xibility. Let 1t %
understood that ~fleXibility refers solely
to the dynamics Of tone, while agility Is
the term signifying the power to produce
tones in rapid succession. A singer who is
entirely without agility can possess a per-
feet command of the MESA di VOC n by
means of it and other devices OF expression
give eloquenoe to every air.
The topics which have thus far been dis
cussed in these papers are connected with
the production and WALKING of tone.
They are the primaries Of what Is called
tone production, but they are far from
being all that is essential to the accom-
~plishment of good singing. We have yet
to consider the treatment Of text. Singing
is after all nothing but empty sound unless
the words are clearly understood by the
auditor.
1t was dissatisfaction aroused by the
im~possibility of understanding the text in
the old fashioned oontrapuntal compost
tons that led to the introduction of modern
solo song. Caccini sets this forth very
clearly in the preface to his @Nuove Mu.
siche." Counterpart was distasteful to
him entirely because it made text unintel-
ligible.
We shall, therefore, come presently to @
discussion Of the treatment OF vowel sounds
and the articulation of the consonants.
But before We pass on to these topics let lis
once more insist on the importance Of the
elements of singing which have thus far been
considered. The foundation Of all lies in
the requirement Of a perfect breath con-
troll, the emission of steady, we'll sustained
tone by the pressure of a we'll sustained air
column on the vocal cords, and the ana ge-
ment of the breath so that the pressure can
be varied at will so as to impart ~1exibility
to the tone.
1t is absolutely essential that the student
Of singing should master these things before
he undertakes to solve the problems of
pronunciation. 1t would be well, also, IL
he we're to acquire q certain amount of
agility of voice before proceeding to the
art of enunoiation. but his is not abso.
lutely essential. The practice of exercises
designed to impart agility to the voice
may proceed simultaneously with that
Of others intended to give freedom in the
pronunciation Of words.
The writer Of these papers has received
many letters asking for information on
certain points in the art Of singing. 1t is
impossible to answer all these letters In
this place, and, furthermore, 1t is unneces-
sary. Several of the points have already
been discussed and this writer has said all
he has to say in regard to them.
Others will be discussed in their turn.
This series of articles was not planned
with the purpose Of providing a complete
method of singing, but rather to provide q
simple newspaper summary Of general
principles. w. j. HENDERSON,.
Where the Duma VIII Meet.
From the London Daily Neps.
The Taurlde Palace, where the Duma will
LID io Citing VIVA hlilt In l1Ra and Maa