Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-16

This is, in effect, whs
singing teachers have sal
to pupils since time i'm
memorial. Yet between this Sug
geStion and its complete fulfill
ment. lies the entire technica
gamut. of vocalization. AS man
famous poets have written fror
time to time, the aim of all art
to appear natural However, it i
the essence of natural beauty an,
not natural gaucherie that is thi
aim. It is the same thing as tn
seeking of a crystal to sugges
the clarity of water, but the crys
tai is sought to suggest that clar
ity without any of the ugly aliel
objects that may be found il
most water.
A washington singer, Roya
Mc1lveen, has just issued a littl.
booklet in which he sets forth hi.
own particular theories about the
art OF singing. He says in the
f1rSt paragraph:
why are there so few 'natu.
raj singers these days? Is it MOI
because voice teachers have SC
many pet theories of their owr
that they lose sight of the fact
that singing is a perfectly natu.
raj act and not something me-
chanical, to be produced by hold
ing the diaphragm so. pouting the
mouth such and such a way, OIL
placing the tone on the tip of the
tongue, or some other such fool
ish idea?"
Later he suggests: 1.-THE acme
OF perfection in the technique OF
vocal art is to be able to sinc
mentally and forget about the
physical control, of which there
should be none. Singing is psy-
chological!" The writer then
takes UP the points of relaxation
mental control of song text and
later of the music, the open
throat and other subjects familiar
to. all students of singing, dis
cuSSed from Mr.. McIlveen'S point
Of view.
The difficulty with any one the
ory or set OF opinions is that, al
though it may appeal completely
to one student of voice and prove
that singers practical inspiration
it may be totally alien to the psy-
Geological makeup of another
weuld-be singer. Each individual
must wander around mentally in
search Of his or her own particu-
lar experience in bringing about
that state Of mind when the light
dawnS full blown on these stand
ardiZed facts for singing correctly.
He or she must feel the right
ness Of his, own production en-
tirely aside from the suggestions
of the finest teacher in the world.
Once that Is accomplished, the
student has a chance to become a
real singer, and in time will give
his audience the benefit Of his
own convictions by actual per-
Torrance that seems perfectly
natural.
There could hardly be a better
example of this than Rosa Pom
selle, who had a beautiful voice
from birth, but who did not learn
the art OF becoming a real singer
until even after she had had her
f1rSt appearances on the stage of
the Metropolitan Opera House.
*k*
THERE is a charming young
singer who appeared here in
recital last week who is in a most
interesting stage of developing
into an artist. Emma Otero has
a beautiful coloratura voice. She
also, obviously, has the real
yearning to sing. Hers is not an
academic, analyzing way Of pre-
senting songs. She seems to put
her thought, merged with emo
tional power, into her interpreta-
ton of each song, achieving the
effect of spontaneity and joyous
ness. At the same time, to a stu
dent of the art of singing her
fitting Of her head downward so
as to throw her high notes cor
rectly into the proper place for
best head resonance, her relaxed
jaw and other little significant
gestures show her to be acquiring
the art consciously.
~ -
TT seems to the writer of this col
L umn that Marcella Sembrich
mentioned the one absolutely nee
essary requirement for the devel-
opment Of real singer. She said,
in short photographed sketch
written recently for the magazine
of the Curtis Institute OF. Music:
Il began at once to study the
piano under Epstein, violin under
Helmesberger and voice with Ro-
kitansky. When the year was
over, it was clear to me which
path I most longed to pursue, for
I keenly realized that with my
voice I could express more elo-
quently my reverence for the art
that filled my soul. Few realize
how much hardship, discipline
and self-denial I had undergone
struggling with poverty that
hampered me throughout my
years Of study; but, in spite of all
obstacles, I never knew discour-
agement, always having felt an
inner conviction Of attaining my
goal"
THIS is particularly interest
ing period in which to live
from many points Of view. II
seems unusually interesting from
the point of view of singers-past
present and future. Quite a clus-
ter of the most brilliant stars
known to song history have re-
Gently cascaded down the path OF
human existence and passed or
into the unknown again. There
are many connoisseurs who have
set up loud walls and lamenta-
tions because they believe that
the golden age of singers is past