Mathilde Marchesi: a Study of Her Life and Work In
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MATHILDE MARCHESI: A STUDY OF HER LIFE AND WORK IN VOCAL PEDAGOGY, INCLUDING HISTORICAL AND MODERN IMPLICATIONS by Joanna Craik A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Florida August 2011 MATHILDE MARCHESI: A STUDY OF HER LIFE AND WORK IN VOCAL PEDAGOGY, INCLUDING HISTORICAL AND MODERN IMPLICATIONS by Joanna Craik This thesis was prepared under the direction ofthe candidate's thesis advisor, Prof. Susan Dorchin, Instructor of Music, and has been approved by the members of her supervisory committee. It was submitted to the facwty ofthe Dorothy F. Schmidt College ofArts and Letters and was accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master ofArts. SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: ~ .JO~l.{ll· .-'Susan Dorchin, M.A. The· dvisor Rebecca Lautar, M.M. Interim Chair and Professor, Department ofMusic ~~ Heather Coltman, D.M.A. Interim Dean and Professor, Dorothy F. Schmidt College ofArts and Letters ~~ r~,-- ~tr II, '?PII B~i\Rson, Phn: Date Dean, Graduate College 11 ABSTRACT Author: Joanna Craik Title: Mathilde Marchesi: A Study of Her Life and Work in Vocal Pedagogy, Including Historical and Modern Implications Institution: Florida Atlantic University Thesis Advisor: Prof. Susan Dorchin Degree: Master of Arts Year: 2011 Mathilde Marchesi played a significant role in vocal education during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Marchesi taught many of the prominent female vocalists of her time and published a wealth of material based on the bel canto style and her own vocal methods. The research presented includes an examination of musical influences in early years, and provides information related to Marchesi’s studies with Manuel Garcia II who played an important role in Mathilde’s training and future devotion to the bel canto style. Section II defines the Marchesi method, with analysis of her techniques and methodology. Information on three of her most well known students – Nellie Melba, Emma Eames, and her own daughter, Blanche Marchesi, is presented in Section III along with narrative offering insight into Marchesi’s personality and character. The thesis concludes with discussion of the viability and applicability of Marchesi’s vocal pedagogy one hundred years after her death. iii DEDICATION To my mother, Nancy Bay (1939-2009) MATHILDE MARCHESI: A STUDY OF HER LIFE AND WORK IN VOCAL PEDAGOGY, INCLUDING HISTORICAL AND MODERN IMPLICATIONS LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 1 SECTION I: MATHILDE MARCHESI ........................................................................... 4 Early Years (1821-1846) .................................................................................. 4 Manuel Garcia II (1805-1906) ....................................................................... 10 The Bel Canto Style ....................................................................................... 22 Later Years (1847-1913) ................................................................................ 25 SECTION II: MARCHESI METHOD ........................................................................... 35 Collected Narratives ....................................................................................... 49 SECTION III: SELECT STUDENTS OF MATHILDE MARCHESI ........................... 50 Nellie Melba (1861-1931) .............................................................................. 50 Emma Eames (1865-1952) ............................................................................. 61 Blanche Marchesi (1863-1940) ...................................................................... 71 SECTION IV: CURRENT APPLICABILITY ............................................................... 84 Maria Callas (1923-1977) .............................................................................. 86 Joan Sutherland (1926-2010) ......................................................................... 89 Renee Fleming (1959- ) ............................................................................... 91 iv CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 93 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 97 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Fräulein Mathilde Graumann in her Girlhood ................................................... 4 Figure 2. Manuel Garcia II.............................................................................................. 10 Figure 3. Garcia’s Excerpts from Famous Operas Serve as Examples for Students .................................................................................... 13 Figure 4. One of Garcia’s Lists of Pieces for Practice .................................................... 14 Figure 5. Garcia’s Excerpts to be Studied for Optimum Breath Usage .......................... 17 Figure 6. Mathilde Marchesi, Later Years ...................................................................... 25 Figure 7. Classroom of the École Marchesi .................................................................... 35 Figure 8. Exercises From Opus I for Beginning Students Section 1 .............................. 38 Figure 9. Exercises From Opus I for Beginning Students Section 2 .............................. 38 Figure 10. Exercises From Opus I for Beginning Students Section 3 ............................ 39 Figure 11. Example of a Marchesi Vocalizzi .................................................................. 40 Figure 12. Example of an Étude Composed by Mathilde Marchesi ............................... 41 Figure 13. Exercises for Blending Registers as Noted by Marchesi ............................... 47 Figure 14. Mathilde Marchesi and Nellie Melba ............................................................ 50 Figure 15. Emma Eames ................................................................................................. 61 Figure 16. Blanche Marchesi .......................................................................................... 71 Figure 17. Marchesi’s Narrative Instruction with Musical Notation .............................. 94 vi Figure 18. Exercise for Messa di Voce as Noted by Marchesi ....................................... 94 Figure 19. This Excerpt Illustrates Marchesi’s Method for Teaching Trills .................. 95 vii INTRODUCTION Mathilde Marchesi was born Mathilde Graumann, in Frankfort-on-the-Main, Germany, on March 24, 1821. She moved to Vienna at age twenty-two to sing and study voice. She later moved to Paris where she studied under Manuel Garcia II, inventor of the laryngoscope, who played an important role in Mathilde’s vocal education and her future devotion to the bel canto style of singing. Marchesi was a performer, but is remembered not for her singing, but for her teaching of singers. Ms. Marchesi taught voice in Vienna and Cologne and by 1881established her own music school in Paris, where she taught many of the popular female singers of her time including Nellie Melba, Emma Eames, and her own daughter, Blanche Marchesi, who would also become a highly respected voice teacher. Mathilde Marchesi played a significant role in vocal education throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and published a wealth of material based on the bel canto style and her own personal vocal methods. Her book, Marchesi and music: passages from the life of a famous singing teacher (1898), offers personal insight into her childhood and early musical influences. Although this text is the only source of information on Mathilde’s early years, the fact that it is autobiographical allows for an accurate discussion of this period of her life. The Garcia family created their own legacy in music history, with Manuel II remembered as one of many Garcia performers and pedagogues. In-depth analysis of Manuel Garcia II’s methods allows for comparison between his ideology and the teaching 1 style eventually espoused by Ms. Marchesi at her music school in Paris. Books by Manuel Garcia II are discussed, including A Complete Treatise on the Art of Singing (Part I – 1841 and Part II – 1847) and Hints on Singing (1877). Part I of A Complete Treatise examines Garcia’s techniques for developing the voice, while Part II delves into specific ways to apply the principles outlined in Part I. Hints on Singing is a summary of Garcia’s methodology and leads to discussion on Garcia’s altered view of the middle register, versus that of Ms. Marchesi. In section II, readers will gain insight into Ms. Marchesi’s methods of teaching including thorough analysis of her books, Bel Canto: A Theoretical and Practical Vocal Method (1881) which includes Elementary and Progressive Exercises for the Development of the Voice and Development of the Exercises in the Form of Vocalises, and Ten Singing Lessons (1901). The influence of Ms. Marchesi on her students is examined in detail in Section III. Correspondence between Mathilde and three of her students, including her own daughter, Blanche, offers insight into Ms. Marchesi’s personality and demeanor, leading to conclusions regarding her success as their teacher. Nellie Melba’s Melodies and Memories