Practical Method of Italian Singing

ANYONE who wishes to sing really well should begin by learning how to sing in Italian, not only because the Italian school of vocalisation is acknowledged to be superior to all others, but also on account of the language itself, where the pure and sonorous tone of its many vowel sounds will assist the singer in acquiring a fine voice-production and a clear and distinct enunciation in any language he may have to sing, no matter what may be his nationality.

Experience has shown us that not only in France and England, but also in Germany, and even in Italy, many who are studying as amateurs rebel at the thought of the weary time their professors require them to devote to “Solfeggio.” Here they first urge that very trivial plea that, as they have no ambition beyond just singing to please a few friends in the restricted area of their own drawing-rooms, they need not dwell upon all those subtleties of the vocal art which they are ready enough to admit are indispensable for those desirous of commanding a larger and more critical audience from the public stage of the opera or the concert-room. It is to show the absurdity of such an argument, and to win over these faint-hearted ones to the true cause by more gentle means, and as it were, in spite of themselves, that I present this “Method” of mine to the public. They will find it new in design, very practical, very brief— yet very effective—and, as physicians say, "very pleasant to take.” The pupil will attain the same goal, and may even beat the record, but he will find the course far less lengthy and laborious, with spaces of contrasted sun and shade to beguile the tedium of the race.

As at first all must find a fresh difficulty in having, as they sing, to pronounce words in a language which is not habitual to them—a difficulty which is not altogether obviated by any amount of study in Solfeggio and Vocalising exercises on- the same model,—I have tried to make matters easier by this plan of mine, where I adopt, even on the simple notes of the diatonic scale, words selected from the fine poetry of Metastasio instead of just the mere names of notes or syllables conveying neither meaning nor interest By these means I trust I have rendered the pupil’s task so far less wearisome and thankless that he may even find pleasure in contracting the habit of clear articulation as he sings and, without experiencing any aversion, be led to the study of an indispensable form of exercise. I am of the opinion that not merely amateurs, but also those who think of entering the profession, will find my "Method” useful, for in each individual exercise I have sought to make the music illustrative of a different style of composition and of a distinct emotion, so that the pupil will learn more readily how to interpret later on the spirit of the various composers.

The vocal part of the exercises has been kept within such a restricted compass, not for the greater ease of the greater number of voices, but because of the conviction that at the very beginning it is more advantageous not to strain the vocal organs, and to keep to the medium register exclusively. This is amply sufficient to demonstrate the requisite rules, and, besides, Should it be thought expedient, it is always easy to transpose the lesson into a key higher or lower, as the individual capability of the singer may necessitate.