Changing Vocal Style and Technique in Britain during the Long Nineteenth Century Sarah Potter Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Ph. D. The University of Leeds School of Music May 2014 The candidate confirms that the work submitted is her own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. The right of Sarah Potter to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. © 2014 The University of Leeds and Sarah Potter. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Facilities and staff at the University of Leeds have been fundamental to the completion of this project, particularly those within the School of Music and at the Brotherton Library. I have received considerable support from Sue Wheater, Dave Barraclough, and Paul Fawcett in the arrangement and facilitation of recording sessions in the Clothworkers’ Centenary Concert Hall at the School of Music. There are numerous other members of the department who have offered assistance and advice at one time or another; I am grateful to each and every one, however incidental they might have thought these exchanges at the time. Jude Brereton and Helena Daffern (York Centre for Singing Science, University of York) have generously shared their knowledge throughout the preparation of this thesis, and I am extremely grateful for the numerous hours of fruitful discussion and support they have freely volunteered. The expertise of Kerry-Anne Kubisa in recording, engineering and mastering the recorded element of this project has been invaluable to the completion of this research, as have the discussion and friendship that the process has nurtured. The valued contribution of Dan Gordon to the Record Portfolio has likewise been instrumental to the success of the project as a whole. I am indebted to Professor Clive Brown and Dr Bryan White for the support and encouragement they have provided throughout this process. Particular thanks are due to both Professor Brown and Dr David Milsom, without whose initial encouragement this project would never have been devised. This research was made possible by the award of a research scholarship from the Stanley and Audrey Burton Trust; support has also been received from the Yorkshire Ladies’ Council of Education. Thanks are due to countless family members, and many friends (some of whom I would not have met but for this research project); their patience and understanding throughout this project will not be forgotten. To my parents, in particular, I am thankful for early musical encounters and lifelong encouragement to succeed. I am especially grateful to my eldest sister, Anne, for receiving and answering frustrated phone calls and text messages in times of stress. The greatest of thanks is due to my husband, Matthew, who has endured this research for better and for worse, and listened to far more early recordings than he ever desired to. [i] [ii] ABSTRACT This thesis presents an overview of solo singing styles and techniques prevalent in Britain during the long nineteenth century, drawing upon evidence from didactic writing, correspondence, critical review, biography, voice science research, and early acoustic recordings in order to analyse changing approaches to voice production and musical expression. The discussion of vocal style is underpinned by discussion of a changing approach to larynx height, and concepts of chiaroscuro , bel canto, and expression are reconsidered in the light of technical discussion. The origins of the continuous larynx- lowering now expected of the modern operatic singer are recognised in early nineteenth- century voice science literature, but notable trends in selective larynx-lowering are identified from the mid nineteenth century onwards. This confirms the ideal of continuous larynx-lowering as a twentieth-century development, and has significant repercussions for current approaches to historically-informed performance and the singing of ‘early music’. The changing use of vibrato effects, portamento and messa di voce , and the application of expressive devices more generally throughout this period are considered within the context of nineteenth-century approaches to voice production. This thesis is accompanied by a four-CD portfolio of recordings that demonstrates experimentation with nineteenth-century styles and voice production techniques, the emulation of early recorded vocal performances, and the realisation of nineteenth-century repertoire using historically-appropriate approaches to style and technique. Repertoire includes didactic material, operatic arias (including those by ‘bel canto’ composers), repertoire annotated by renowned pedagogue Manuel Garcia II, and works sung by celebrated nineteenth-century performers and early recording artists. Also included is experimentation with audio filtering that seeks to emulate the limited frequency capture of early acoustic recording apparatus with a view to further understanding the evidence of nineteenth-century voices on record. [iii] [iv] CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i ABSTRACT iii RECORDED PORTFOLIO TRACK LISTING ix INDEX OF ILLUSTRATIVE MATERIAL xi NOTES xii CHAPTER ONE : Reviving the Art of Singing: Project Outline 1 1.1. Introduction 1 1.2. Sources 5 1.2.1. Printed 6 1.2.2. Recorded 7 1.2.3. Scientific 9 1.3. Research Methodology 10 1.3.1. Recorded Portfolio 11 1.4. Thesis Arrangement 12 CHAPTER TWO : The Rise and Fall of the Larynx: Trends in Voice Production 15 2.1. Neutral Larynx Usage 16 2.2. Transitional Approaches to Larynx Height 28 2.3. Searching for the Singer’s Formant 40 2.3.1. Effect upon Volume 45 2.4. Breath Control 52 2.4.1. How to Breathe 52 2.4.2. Constriction and Restriction 57 2.4.3. Where to Breathe 59 2.4.4. Breathing as Articulation 63 2.5. The Concept of Bel Canto 64 [v] CHAPTER THREE : Defects, Deviation, and ‘Good Singing’: The Discussion and Use of Vibrato Effects 67 3.1. Semantics 68 3.2. Pitch Variation: ‘Tremolo’ 73 3.3. Intensity Variation: ‘Vibrato’ 76 3.4. Vibrato as an Expressive Ornament 81 3.5. Physiological Considerations 85 3.6. Non-Vibrato Approach 88 CHAPTER FOUR : ‘The Soul of Music’: Messa di voce and Portamento 95 4.1. Messa di voce 95 4.1.1. Neutral Larynx Height 96 4.1.2. Low Larynx Height 97 4.1.3. Vibrato and the Messa di voce 98 4.1.4. Notes on Usage 99 4.2. Portamento 102 4.2.1. Definition and Notation 102 4.2.2. Range and Speed 103 4.2.3. Location of Portamenti 106 4.2.4. Nature of Movement 107 4.2.5. Types of Portamento 113 4.2.5. Relationship to Legato 117 4.2.7. Emotional Significance 121 4.2.8. Notes on Usage 124 CHAPTER FIVE : Sense and Sensibility: Further Requirements for 129 Affective Nineteenth-Century Singing 5.1. Expression 129 5.1.1. Ornamentation 131 5.1.2 Tempo Variation 133 5.1.3. Dynamic Variation 135 5.1.4. Gesture in Vocal Performance 137 [vi] CHAPTER SIX : Performing the Art of Singing: Recorded Portfolio Critical Commentary 141 6.1. Larynx Height Experimentation: CD 1 141 6.1.1. Aims and Objectives 141 6.1.2 Research Conclusions 142 6.2. Emulations of Early Recordings: CD 2 146 6.2.1. Aims and Objectives 146 6.2.2. Performances Emulated 146 6.2.3 Research Conclusions 148 6.3. Frequency Experiments: CD 3 149 6.3.1. Aims and Objectives 149 6.3.2. Research Conclusions 152 6.4. Misrepresented Repertoire: CD 4 155 6.4.1. Aims and Objectives 155 6.4.2. Research Conclusions 155 6.5. Annotated Repertoire: CD 4 157 6.5.1. Aims and Objectives 157 6.5.2. Research Conclusions 157 6.6. Additional Tracks: CD 4 159 CONCLUSION A New Bel Canto: Towards Historically-Informed Vocal Performances 161 BIBLIOGRAPHY 169 [vii] APPENDIX A: Musical Texts: Editions and Transcriptions 183 1. Editions 183 2. Early Recording Transcriptions 185 2.1. Editorial Method 186 2.2. Transcriptions 188 Adelina Patti: Bishop Home, sweet home (1905) 189 Nellie Melba: Bishop Home, sweet home (1905) 192 Amelita Galli-Curci: Bishop Home, sweet home (1917) 195 Adelina Patti: Mozart Voi, che sapete (1905) 199 Nellie Melba: Mozart Voi, che sapete (1907) 203 Nellie Melba: Mozart Voi, che sapete (1910) 207 Blanche Marchesi: Chaminade L’été (1906) 211 Emma Albani: Chaminade L’été (1914) 219 Adelina Patti: Mozart Batti, batti (1904) 224 Marcella Sembrich: Mozart Batti, batti (1904) 232 Suzanne Adams: Gounod Jewel Song (1902/3) 239 Marcella Sembrich: Gounod Jewel Song (1906) 244 Nellie Melba: Gounod Jewel Song (1910) 251 3. Other Repertoire: 259 Rossini Una voce poco fa from Il barbiere di Siviglia 260 Madame Catalani: Cease your funning from Beggar’s Opera 267 Cimarosa Aria from Sacrifizio d’Abraham (annotated by Garcia) 269 Crescentini Aria inserted into Romeo e Giulietta by Zingarelli (annotated by Garcia) 276 Morlacchi Aria from Teobaldo ed Isolina (annotated by Garcia) 281 APPENDIX B: Recorded Portfolio: Production 285 [viii] RECORDED PORTFOLIO TRACK LISTING CD 1 : Larynx Height Experimentation 1 Vaccai Metodo Pratico Ex. VIII The Appoggiatura ; Neutral 1:35 2 Vaccai Metodo Pratico Ex. XII Roulades (Runs ); Neutral 0:55 3 Vaccai Metodo Pratico Ex. XIII Portamento Primo; Neutral 2:53 4 Vaccai Metodo Pratico Ex. XIII Portamento Altro Modo; Neutral 0:45 5 Vaccai Metodo Pratico Ex. XV Recapitulation ; Neutral 2:49 6 Vaccai Metodo Pratico Ex. VIII; The Appoggiatura ; Transitional 1:40 7 Vaccai Metodo Pratico Ex. XII; Roulades (Runs ); Transitional 0:55 8 Vaccai Metodo Pratico Ex. XIII Portamento Primo, Transitional 3:23 9 Vaccai Metodo Pratico Ex. XIII Portamento Altro Modo; Transitional 0:55 10 Vaccai Metodo Pratico Ex.