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Concerning Singing
This is doubtless the first article in the whole art of music, the axis around which everything turns, whatever is called melody, modulation, and harmony. All instruments are only imitations of singing: the song sits as a king on the throne, and, all around, all instruments bow down as vassals before it.
The Human Voice
is altogether natural, instinctive sound, and all remaining voices of the world are only more distant echoes of this divine natural voice. The human throat is the best, purest, most splendid instrument in creation. A natural, beautifully singing peasant girl makes more of an impression than the world's best violinist. Consequently, exceedingly much depends on recognizing the singing genius and giving it proper training. Whoever can sing purely without instruction, whoever matches every given pitch equally well, whoever knows how to give the melody or accompaniment without instruction, whoever has his own ornaments taken from his individual character, and, the main thing is, whoever has a clear, far-reaching voice-he is a singing genius.
The great Porpora1 used to say: "To one perfect singer belong a hundred qualities. Ninety-nine I count upon the voice alone, and the hundredth I call theory." An extremely profound and striking observation! Whoever has an excellent voice needs only to learn to read notes [and] needs only to listen to choice music; thus, he is everything he wants to be; yes, even without music and mimicry of foreign taste, he will enchant all society. A singing genius must therefore be treated with extreme delicacy, and only a genuine musical mind can give instruction to the same. An uninteresting schoolmaster spoils the magnificent element, wipes away instinctive sounds, and howls his own bad sounds before the student. Of a singing master is required, consequently, the greatest musical qualities. he must be able to invent, feel deeply, compose correctly, and instruct with much wisdom.
Solfèges, or exercises of singing, give the voice the proper development and make, at the same time, the scales which stood in dark clouds appear as golden rungs. The arrangement of this solfège is therefore of extreme importance and deserves to be reduced to basic precepts. Here are its unchangeable precepts:
1. The singer first should study his scales most closely and...