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Overview
Mathilde Marchesi (1821–1913) was probably the most renowned singing teacher of the late nineteenth century. Herself the pupil of the great Manuel Garcia the Second and the associate of the unsurpassable divas of the middle nineteenth century, she also linked the traditional bel canto teaching method to the beginning of the twentieth century. Early in her career her work was praised enthusiastically by Rossini, who was for a time officially in charge of voice training in France; and toward the end of her career she prepared such superstars as Melba, Calvé, Eames, Aida, and others.
This volume embodies Madame Marchesi's "vocal alphabet," or basic instructions and exercises that formed the voices of her great pupils. An introductory text discusses breathing, attack, registers, and similar matters, while the remainder of the book contains many exercises that teach voice management and projections.
Marchesi's book is today even more important than when it first appeared, for it offers the basis for a construction of the bel canto training system. At the time the book appeared, the bel canto system had gone out of fashion in favor of more modern schools that seemed to offer more rapid maturation, voice volume, and dramatics. Today, a more realistic reevaluation has revealed that the bel canto system gave the singer much longer performing life, a more pleasing voice, and far greater musical ability. As Philip Miller states in his introduction, "a solidity, a sure technical mastery, an even scale with no register break . . . strong, even and secure trills, their coloratura masterly." In addition, the resurgence of interest in early-nineteenth-century opera renders a work like Marchesi's indispensable to the modern singer.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780486172866 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Dover Publications |
| Publication date: | 04/07/2014 |
| Series: | Dover Books On Music: Voice |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 128 |
| File size: | 41 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
Read an Excerpt
Bel Canto: A Theoretical & Practical Vocal Method
By Mathilde Marchesi
Dover Publications, Inc.
Copyright © 1970 Dover Publications, Inc.All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-486-17286-6
CHAPTER 1
THE MARCHESI VOCAL METHOD.
FIRST PART.
ELEMENTARY AND PROGRESSIVE EXERCISES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE VOICE.
EMISSION OF THE VOICE.
Open the mouth naturally, keep it quite still, and draw in breath slowly; then attack the sounds neatly on the broad Italian vowel A (ah), by a resolute articulation or stroke of the glottis (coup de glotte) avoiding all jerkiness as well as effort.
SCALES.
The voice in its natural state is as a rule rough, uneven, heavy, and of limited compass. Having secured accuracy of intonation in the attack of each sound (by the stroke of the glottis) the next task should be the development of volume, power, and compass of the voice, and the blending of the registers. The pupil should not at first attempt to sing the complete scale, but begin by practising exercises of two three and four notes, etc., otherwise there is a risk of never succeeding in any kind of passage.
All scales should be transposed throughout the compass of the voice a semitone at a time up and down, care being taken not to over-exert the extreme limits of the voice ; they should be sung with perfect equality of length and power as well as with correct intonation of the half tones. When the descending scale is out of tune it is because the semitones are too wide.
All scales and exercises should be sung with full voice but without forcing. By practising with half voice (mezza voce) the tension of the glottis will never develop, neither will the sound attain the requisite power. The pupil is advised not to practise more than a quarter of an hour at a time. It is left to the teacher to extend this period when the pupil is sufficiently advanced
N.B.—All scales and exercises to be transposed into the keys best adapted to each voice.
EXERCISES FOR BLENDING THE REGISTERS.
CHROMATIC THIRD.
To be transposed into other keys.
All scales should be sung slowly at first, taking breath after each bar, so that the voice may be well developed and equalized. The proper method of breathing is to stop after the first note of any bar, take breath during its remaining beats, and then start with the note just quitted, at the beginning of a fresh bar (see example below.)
When the pupil is more advanced the speed may be increased and two or more bars taken in one breath.
The scales from Nos. 60 to 67 are especially intended for light Soprani; they should not be attempted until the voice has attained a certain degree of flexibility.
EXERCISES ON TWO NOTES.
The exercises on two, three, four, six, and eight notes, are useful for blending the registers, increasing flexibility, and for accuracy of intonation. Like the scales, they must be sung slowly at first, breathing at intervals, and transposing them a semitone at a time, higher or lower, to suit the voice. As in the scales the speed may be increased and the frequent breathing omitted when the pupil is sufficiently advanced.
CHROMATIC SCALE.
At first the notes of the chromatic scale should be played on the piano, while the pupil sings the scale, to ensure perfect intonation. These scales, like the preceding ones, should be transposed by semitones, and at first practised very slowly.
MINOR SCALES.
These scales are to be transposed in the same way as the others.
EXERCISES FOR FLEXIBILITY.
These exercises should be sung in one breath and should not be attempted until the pupil is capable of so singing them. They are to be transposed like all the other exercises.
VARIED SCALES.
When the scales can be sung quickly with ease, they should be practised in various ways; with accents, dotted notes, staccato, slurred (legato), slurred and staccato, staccato and slurred (flûtées), mezzo staccato, syncopated, crescendo and diminuendo, forte and piano. This exercise is especially adapted for light voices. Staccato notes are produced by attacking the note rapidly and crisply (by the coup de glotte); they should not be practised too long at a time, as the constant repetition of the coup de glotte tires the voice.
The mezzo staccato (notes flûties) is a prolonged staccato.
The accented scales are excellent for promoting flexibility.
REPEATED NOTES.
In these exercises the repeated note should be slightly aspirated (ha, ha) in order to make it quite clear; but this aspiration should be carefully avoided in the scales and other exercises.
TRIPLETS.
In practising the triplet, the pupil should accent the middle note in order to avoid inequality; the general tendency is to make the first a dotted note.
ARPEGGI.
Arpeggi should be sung quite evenly, avoiding, above all, any increase of power in the higher notes.
The pupil should pass with precision from one note to another, not by detaching them, but by lightly joining them.
MESSA DI VOCE (Swelled Sounds).
The messa di voce should not be practised until the voice has acquired a certain degree of suppleness and flexibility, and should never be attempted by beginners.
APPOGGIATURA.
The appoggiatura is the easiest of all vocal ornaments. It is, as its Italian name implies, a note on which the voice leans, before passing on to the real note of the chord. The appoggiatura is generally a note foreign to the harmony; it may be above or below the note of the chord and its duration is very variable.
In duple time it takes half the value of the note it precedes, and in triple time it takes two thirds of the value of the principal note. Its duration generally depends upon the character of the phrase.
The appoggiatura may be at any interval from a semitone upwards.
ACCIACCATURA (crushed note).
The acciaccatura is a rapid little note which precedes by a tone or a semitone a second note which is longer.
MORDENTE.
The mordente consists of a group of two or three notes preceding the melodic note. This group should be executed rapidly, although at first it should be practised slowly, so as to make each note distinct.
THE TURN.
The turn (gruppetto) is a group of two, three, or four notes, which do not form part of the melody. It consists of a combination of the upper and lower appoggiatura, with the principal note.
THE SHAKE (Trill).
The shake is a regular oscillation of the larynx. It is a rapid alternation of two notes a tone or a semitone (a major or minor second) apart. The only way to acquire a good shake is by practising in strict time with the same number of notes to each beat. At first it should be practised slowly, but as the voice gains suppleness the speed may be increased in proportion. To avoid fatigue, female voices should commence practising the shake in the medium, register.
These exercises, like the others, should be transposed chromatically.
EXERCISE
to facilitate the practice of the shake for voices which are lacking in suppleness.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Bel Canto: A Theoretical & Practical Vocal Method by Mathilde Marchesi. Copyright © 1970 Dover Publications, Inc.. Excerpted by permission of Dover Publications, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Contents
FIRST PART. Elementary and Progressive Exercises for the Development of the Voice.,Emission of the Voice,
Chromatic Slur,
Diatonic Slur,
Portamento,
Scales,
Exercises for blending the Registers,
Exercises on two notes,
Exercises on three notes,
Exercises on four notes,
Exercises on six notes,
Exercises on eight notes,
Chromatic Scale,
Minor Scales,
Exercises for Flexibility,
Varied Scales,
Repeated Notes,
Triplets,
Arpeggi,
Messa di Voce (Swelled Sounds),
Appoggiatura—Acciaccatura (Crushed Note)—Mordente,
The Turn,
The Shake (Trill),
Shakes by Thirds,
SECOND PART. Development of the Exercises in the Form of Vocalises.,
Attack,
Portamento,
Sostenuto,
Diatonic Scale,
Dotted Diatonic Scale,
Minor Scale,
Major and Minor Scales alternating,
Chromatic Scale,
Repeated Notes,
Triplets,
Arpeggi,
Appoggiatura and Acciaccatura (Grace Notes),
Mordente and Turns,
Syncopation,
Long Intervals,
Staccato, Mezzo Staccato, and Accented Notes,
Shakes,