The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-29
R~ECIVATIVB AND STYLE.
A BRANCH OF VOCAL ART NOT
MASTERED.


A few hints about style and interpreta-
ton may not DO amiss In approaching the
conclusion Of the discussion Of che art Of
singing, which has been going on in these
ooE-uns. The term style Is used alto
getherus loosely. 1t ought TO be accepted
as signjfying appropriateness. The man.
ner OF singing Mozart Ia not the manner
OF singing Puccini, nor will the manner
suitable for Donizetti be found appropriate
to the lyric dramas Of Wagner.
Manner Is not matter. The method of
the singer is his matter, inc that is Away
the same. There is only one right way to
sing, in 90 far as the technics Of the voice
are meant, and that way IL right for Scar
latti, for Handel, for Mozart, for Beethoven
and for Wagner. TIL manner Is altogether
another thing.
In this department Of style tradition plays
q leading part, but the warning before given
as to the trustworthiness OF tradition APP
plies here also. In the course Of time the
manner Of singing, as handed down from
teacher to pupil, becomes imperoeptibly
remodelled. Teachers do not always live a
hundred years, after the fashion of Manuel
Garcia, and even II they did it may be
doubted whether their earliest conceptions
would not unconsciously be changed by the
progress OF three-quarters Of a century.
Garcia to-day may firmly believe that he can
reconstruct the manner Of singing Mozart
which his father brought to America in 1925,
but there Is room for doubt about it.
The study of style may best be pursued
by careful examination OF the music to be
sung, coupled with thorough and intelligent
reading of such contemporaneous writer's
as may be ~obtainable. II one reads the
comments Of the contemporaries Of the
famous singers Of the eighteenth century
he will not be in the dark as 10 the salient
traits Of their style.
They were invariably praised for the
purity n equality of their tone, their
breath power, their MESA di roce, their
~portamento, their smooth and beautiful
execution Of runs and other ford passages
and for their trills. We also find that they
were not without pathos, but it was the
pathos Of pure tone n finished phrasing,
not that Of dramatic defamation.
We read similar comments on the singers
Of the seventeenth century, about whom
the singers Of to-day know absolutely
nothing. Yet these were the vocalists
who laid the foundations Of that Italian
skill which made the singing schools of
100 a landmark in the history Of musical
art.
From 100 to the present time the records
OF singing are writ in large letters. There
is no difficulty In learning how Farinelli,
Caffareli, Cuzzoni, Faustina and their
contemporaries sang. Neither is it trouble
some to learn all about the name of Mali
bran, Grisi, Mario. Rubin. Tamburini,
Ronconi, Lablache and the others of that
generation.
As for the music Of the older COMPOSERS,
that is heard In plenty. OF course we do
not hear performances OF the entire operas,
but we are frequently treated to r~ecitatives
and arias In the concert room. Further
moro. the operas Of Mozart preserve for
us the parlanoe redtative Of the Italian
opera buffa In it's best form. and they also
present to us the grand reoitative of the
opera seria, for in Donna Annals discovery
Of the identity Of her fathers assassin we
have a dramatic defamation Of the highest
italian style.
With some Of the Handelian oratorios, too,
we ave the old eighteenth century style
preserved. The recitative preceding WAIT
Her, Angels in "Jephtha" is written In the
grand style OF the opera seria Of the period.
~ wiz DCdi comparison III ohy ACSito
live in such a work as Lullis "Armide' or
Rameau's 4Hyppolte ct Article"
In the delivery of ~recitatives there Ia
abundant opportunity for every singer of
opera or ~oratorio to display a knowledge
of style. Nevertheless in no department
of singing is greater ignorance Of style
disclosed. A little retrospect OF the field
may serve to revive some latent memories.
m -..-.z - Ill -oostotsxya n,,,k ~ ,e,,-lN
in the stilo p~arlante or representative Of
the Florentine reformers who sought to re-
suscitate the Greek drama and to substitute
IL for the ~polyphonic choral drama which
at that time did inefficient service as festal
entertainment. This original recitative was
practically a literary, not a musical prod
net. 1t was a form of information, not
remotely associated with the ecclesiastic
chant which suggested its outline and its
style to the youthful enthusiasts who in
troduced it.
Peri, who was associated with Caccini
In the composition Of the music Of the
first lyric drama, who invariably gets all
the glory, wrote a preface to "Euridice. n
In it he endeavored to explain his ideas
about the proper way to write dramatic
music.
he lelQ tnat Jne movements Oh INC NOlCo
through musical intervals should initiate
those Of the voice in speech. For calm or
reflective passages the recitative should be
fluent and smooth and should use only a
small range of one, Fol- moro agitated
sentiments the intervals should be wider,
the range greater and the movement more
rapid.
This fundamental thought was easily
expanded and ramifed, 30 that the details
Of r~ecitative soon became moro elastic
than they were in the hands OF the first
writers; but the fundamental principle
remained the same The speech vas the
dominant factor. Musical accent, as such,
did not exist in this recitative. The accent
and the emphasis were those OF the text.
, There was no rhythm except thai Of the
words. There was no musical phrasing.
The textual phrase alone was observed.
Now let every student OF the art OF sing
ting note that In 800 years there has been
less change In recitativo secco, the original
species Of lyric speech. than in any other
form Of music. What it was in the day
Of Monteverde, whose 'orfeo' was pro-
duced In 1905, II essentially is now. In
those days r~ecitAtive secco was accom-