Style in Singing Part 3

INTENSITY

In musical terminology every gradation of volume in sound, from the faintest to the loudest, enters into the category of Intensity. One of the accepted rules of the _arte del bel canto_ was, that every sustained tone should be coloured by some graduation of intensity.

Thus the ability to augment and diminish the volume of tone was so highly esteemed--indeed, so essential--that singers spent much time in acquiring the _messa di voce_, that is, the steadily graduated emission of tone from the softest degree to the loudest and again to the softest: _p_ [crescendo symbol] _f_ [decrescendo symbol] _p_. This exercise invariably formed a part of each day's study, and was practised on several vowels throughout the scale, except the extreme tones, save in rare instances. It was, in fact, indispensable that the singer should be able to colour every tone in three forms of graduated intensity: Soft to loud _p_ [crescendo symbol] _f_; loud to soft _f_ [decrescendo symbol] _p_; and soft to loud and soft again _p_ [crescendo symbol] _f_ [decrescendo symbol] _p_.

This command of intensity, therefore, is invaluable. But it is even more effective when the artist has the power to combine the various gradations of Intensity with different shades of Colour; in other words, when he can sing a tone _crescendo_ and _diminuendo_ in the clear and sombre timbres.

The pa.s.sage, already cited, from Alceste's great air in Gluck's opera _Alceste_, furnishes an admirable ill.u.s.tration of the dramatic emotion created by a sudden contrast of Intensity as well as Colour. In the invocation "Ye ministers that dwell in night!" the clear timbre is used with gradually increasing volume until at the phrase (sung _adagio_) "Ministers of death!" the timbre changes abruptly to a sombre quality with sinister effect, which effect is augmented by being sung _pp_.

[Music: Gluck (Alceste: Act I)

Divinites du Styx!

Divinites du Styx!

Ministres de la mort!]

A still more striking example of the impressive effect produced by sudden contrasts of intensity is offered in the magnificent air "Total Eclipse," from _Samson_ (Handel). In it, a judicious use of tone-colour, accent, and variations of tempo, all combine to elucidate in the highest possible degree the idea of both composer and poet:

[Music: Sun, moon and stars, sun, moon and stars are _dark_ to me.]

The words "Sun, moon and stars" should be given strongly accentuated, and the tempo gradually accelerated. The repet.i.tion of the phrase should be sung with still greater intensity; then, at the pa.s.sage "are dark to me," the colour of the voice changes to one of very sombre quality, and the original tempo is resumed. The first consonant in the word "dark" should receive a slight stress.

The _crescendo_ has always been a favourite device of composers, particularly of those who write for the lyric theatre. It was an effect held in high esteem by Rossini, who introduced it constantly in his operas--witness his overtures and ensembles. All are familiar with the wonderful _crescendo_ which precedes the appearance of the Knight of the Swan, in _Lohengrin_, where the sonorities are augmented by gradual additions of voices and instruments until the culminating point is reached. An instance more poignant still is found in the great "Liebestod" in _Tristan und Isolde_.

Although Herold, the French composer, observed that in working up to a climax one should begin a long way off, a singer must be careful not to reach his maximum of vocal sonority before the musical climax is attained. The tenor Duprez created a sensation that is historic, in the long _crescendo_ pa.s.sage in the fourth act of _Guillaume Tell_, by gradually increasing the volume of sound, as the phrase developed in power and grandeur, until the end, which he delivered with all the wealth of his exceptionally resonant voice.

Before closing this chapter on Intensity, I should advise singers whose voices possess great natural volume or power not to abuse this valuable quality by employing it too frequently. The ear of a listener tires sooner of extreme sonority than of any other effect. Talma, the great actor, wrought many reforms on the French dramatic stage, not only in costume--prior to his time Greek or Roman dress only was worn in tragedy--but also in the manner of delivering tragic verse. Against the custom, then prevalent, of always hurling forth long tirades at full voice, he inveighed in these terms: "Of all monotonous things, _uproar_ is the most intolerable" (_de toutes les monotonies, celle de la force est la plus insupportable_). An artistic singer will use his most powerful tones, as a painter employs his most vivid colours, sparingly.

PHRASING

Phrasing is simply musical punctuation. In singing, it may be separated, like accent, into two divisions: Musical and Poetic, or Verbal, phrasing. If the following pa.s.sage were performed by an instrument, it would not require any particular grouping or phrasing:

[Music]

But when sung, it would fail in effect if not performed with a very slight pause after the word "n.o.bis," thus:

[Music: Ave Maria

Luzzi

Ora pro n.o.bis, Maria.]

As another ill.u.s.tration of the excellent effect of correct phrasing may be cited the song _Psyche_, by Paladilhe. Its effect is heightened if the musical phrasing be judiciously combined with a change in Colour and Intensity:

[Music: Quand il les flatte, j'en murmure!]

(Should be sung):

[Music: Quand il les flatte, j'en murmure!]

It is the clashing of the Musical and Verbal phrasings that often makes translations of lyric works unsatisfactory. The two phrases are independent, not welded together. So far from being "Music wedded to immortal Verse," these instances resemble those _menages_ wherein each unit leads a separate existence. When this is the case, the singer must decide as to whether the musical phrase, or the poetic phrase, demands the greater prominence.

The following Phrasing and Colouring would be good and effective if the pa.s.sage were played on an instrument:

[Music]

But if sung thus, as it sometimes is by careless artists who pay little attention to the verbal significance of what they are singing, it would sound absurd, because the poetic phrasing is entirely ignored. The correct way of performing the pa.s.sage (from the aria "Voi che sapete," in Act II of Mozart's _Nozze di Figaro_) is the following:

[Music: Donne, vedete, s'io l'ho nel cor.]

In the next extract (from Act IV in _Un Ballo in Maschera_, by Verdi), it will be noticed how oblivious the composer was of the claims of verbal phrasing. The whole _scena_ is admirably written for the voice, and contains many graceful pa.s.sages of great melodic charm. But although the music may claim to represent the character of the situation as a whole, it is disfigured by the complete disregard of the sense of certain groups of words:

[Music: Come se fosse l'ultima ora del nostro amor, come se fosse l'ultima, l'ultima ora, ora del nostro amor, del nostro amor? Oh, qual presagio m'a.s.sale, come se fosse l'ultima ora del nostro amor, se fosse l'ultima del nostro amor]

The words "_come se fosse l'ultima ora del nostro amor_," const.i.tute one phrase. It would be extremely difficult, impossible even, for many, to sing the pa.s.sage in one breath. But the first musical phrase ends after the word "_ultima_;" to separate it from the next word, "_ora_" (second and third bars), thus: "last--hour," is impracticable.

It would be out of the question to destroy the musical phrase by breathing after the word "_ora_," in the third bar. If the text is phrased when spoken as it is when sung, the incongruity is at once apparent. The published score gives a pause [fermata symbol] after the word "_ora_:" "_ultima ora_ [fermata symbol] _del nostro amor_." This phrasing is good and effective, especially if the artist changes at once to the sombre quality after the pause, and finishes the phrase _piano_ and _rallentando_. One very often hears it, however, given with a pause for breathing after the high _a_; the unfortunate singer having prolonged the tone until, in order to continue, he is compelled to take in more air. The result is the absurd phrasing given below:

[Music: l'ultima ora del nostro amor]

In the final cadenza, the composer has cut out the word "ora"

altogether. The whole air is of interest to the musical student, as it shows clearly the little value attached by Verdi, at that period of his career, to the exigencies of the verbal or poetic phrase. This neglect of the verbal punctuation is in marked contrast to the care he bestowed on it in his later works, witness _Aida_, _Otello_, and particularly _Falstaff_.

Here I may say that it is sometimes necessary to alter the words on account of the impossibility of performing certain pa.s.sages as written. In the earlier published scores of _Samson et Dalila_ (Saint-Saens), the following pa.s.sage in Act II, "Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix," as the composer wrote it, occurs as one phrase:

[Music: Ah! reponds a ma tendresse!]

This being impracticable of execution in one phrase, and there being no opportunity of retaking breath until the close of the pa.s.sage, it was altered in the later editions, and now stands thus:

[Music: Ah! reponds, reponds a ma tendresse!]

This device of repet.i.tion, applied either to a word or to part of a phrase, is perfectly justifiable in cases where the artist, for physical reasons, is unable to sing the phrase in one breath. I give an excerpt from Weber's _Der Freischutz_ (Grand Air, Act II):

[Music: Oh lovely night!]

This may be sung:

[Music: Oh lovely, lovely night!]

The concluding bars of the waltz-song in Act I of Gounod's _Romeo et Juliette_, are often phrased as indicated in the brackets, in order to give the singer a chance to take breath, which is done after the _c_ natural:

[Music: Ah! (comme un tresor.) comme un tresor.]

As discrepancies between the musical and verbal phrases, such as those I have instanced, abound in certain of the old operas which still keep the stage and form a part of the permanent repertoire of every lyric theatre, the artists singing them are compelled to choose between sacrificing the words or the music. The former alternative is generally preferable, the musical phrase in many such cases being of the greater relative importance. Another way is, to meet the difficulty boldly by supplying another text which mates itself more happily with the musical phrase. Personally, I adopt the latter alternative without hesitation, when preparing artists to sing these works.

Some minor effects utilized in Style in singing may be briefly alluded to: _Portamento_; variations of _Tempo_.