Tim BraithwaiteA Description of ‘The Honorable Entertainement Gieuen to the Queenes Maiestie’ in 1591‘In the pinnace were three Virgins, which with their Cornets played Scottish Gigs, made three parts in one. There was also in the saide p...
Tim BraithwaiteGiovanni Camillo Maffei on Those who ‘Sing the Bass, the Tenor, and any Other Part with Great Ease.’‘Thus I say, that these voices are born from the matter of the tube [throat]; and by tube [throat] I mean all the parts mentioned above, w...
Tim BraithwaiteSylvestro Ganassi on Imitating the ‘Galanteria’ of Singers Through a Trembling of the Fingers (1535)‘...you would be compelled to be an imitator of the proficient and expert singer, and [this] would entail an instrumental performance com...
Tim BraithwaiteWith Chains of Gold? Thomas Morley describing the soundworld of English liturgical singing (1597)This kind [the motet] of all others which are made on a ditty [text], requireth most art, and moveth and causeth most strange effects in ...
Tim BraithwaiteMartin Agricola on ‘One of the First Things’ to Teach Choristers (1533)‘On the difference between the syllables/voices [stimmen]. From the above mentioned six syllables two are called b molles, ut and fa, bec...
Tim BraithwaiteThe Performance of Passaggi in Irregular Rhythms According to Lodovico Zacconi (1596)‘All these things require aptitude, agility, and time, without which nothing can be achieved, and the singer, in using or adopting them [...
Tim BraithwaiteLuigi Zenobi on the Role of the Inner Voices in Polyphonic Singing (c.1600)Since we’ve already seen Zenobi’s comments on the requirements for a soprano (https://www.cacophonyhistoricalsinging.com/post/luigi-zenob...
Tim BraithwaiteThomas Coryat on Choral Performance Practice and a ‘supernaturall voice’ in Venice (1611)‘Sometimes there sung sixeteene or twenty men together, having their master or moderator to keepe them in order ; and when they sung...
Tim BraithwaiteNicola Vicentino on Ensemble Ornamentation (1555)‘Moreover, such diminutions should be used in [works for] more than four voices, because diminution always causes the loss of numerous...
Tim BraithwaiteNicola Vicentino on Vowel Alteration (1555)‘In setting these vowels, composers are advised that some, such as a, o, and u, are amenable to runs in the low registers and support the...
Tim BraithwaiteDesiderius Erasmus on Church Singing (1516)‘Not content even with these things, we have brought into the churches some kind of laboursome and theatrical music...
Tim BraithwaiteConrad Von Zabern's Thoughts on Singing High Notes‘Another fault which is more obvious than the others is singing high notes with an unstintingly full and powerful voice...
Tim BraithwaiteLuigi Zenobi’s Instructions for the Perfect Soprano (c.1600)There remains the soprano, which is truly the ornament of all other parts, just as the bass is the foundation. The soprano...