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Cacophony!

Reimagining Historical Voices

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    Tim Braithwaite

    L’Abbé de Condillac on the Melody of Declamation and Recitative (1788)

    ‘Although our declamation cannot be notated, it seems to me that one might be able to preserve it in some way. It would be sufficient if...

    Tim Braithwaite

    Pietro Reggio on the Fundamentals of Singing

    ‘Many great lovers of Singing are discouraged from Learning for want of a good Voice; which by experience I know they ought not to be,...

    Tim Braithwaite

    To Mr. Henry Lawes, who had then newly set a Song of mine in the Year, 1635.

    Verse makes Heroick Vertue live, But you can life to Verses give: As when in open aire we blow The breath (though strain'd) sounds flat...

    Tim Braithwaite

    Jean-Baptiste Faure on the Voix Sombrée and Raising the Head for High Notes (1886)

    [pp. 44-45] 'No historical method mentions this type of voice [the voix sombrée] ; it is only since Gilbert Duprez's debut that we have...

    Tim Braithwaite

    Florido Tomeoni on the Dangers of the French Way of Singing (1799)

    ‘… The unearthly efforts required by the French method wear out their [the singers’] voices even before they can appear on stage, and the...

    Tim Braithwaite

    Wolfgang Printz on the Behaviour of Choirs (1678)

    ‘The Praefectus (director of the choir) should also take special care that none of the singers shout excessively. Not only does it sound...

    Tim Braithwaite

    Metastasio's Views on Modern Singers Compared to the Singers of Antiquity (Vienna, April 25, 1770)

    ‘The theatres of the ancients were vast squares, ours are vessels of small dimensions. Hence, in order to be heard in them by the...

    Tim Braithwaite

    Charles Butler Complaining about the ‘Stentorian Vociferations’ of Choir Singers (1636)

    ‘First therefore let the whole choir endeavour to control their voices, so that the words may be clearly heard and understood by the...

    Tim Braithwaite

    A Satirical Conversation on the Obstruction of the ‘Free Course of the Voice’ (1774)

    ‘We discoursed upon the subject of Dr. Burney’s travels, of which he was a professed admirer; and mentioned with great approbation that...

    Tim Braithwaite

    An Anecdote Involving Handel and a 'Scoundrel' who Could not Sing at First Sight (1741/1784)

    ‘When Handel went through Chester, in his way to Ireland, this year 1741, I was at the Public-School in the city, and very well remember...

    Tim Braithwaite

    Descartes on the Performance of Metrically Important Beats (1618)

    'Few have understood, how this Measure can be exhibited to the ears without a percussion, or stroke, in Musick, very diminute and of many...

    Tim Braithwaite

    Sabbatini on Developing the Falsetto (1789)

    ‘Ten notes are said to be natural to every voice, because ordinarily all singers come to produce them with a voice that is said to be of...

    Tim Braithwaite

    Robert Gjerdingen on the Role of Solfeggi in Baroque Vocal Pedagogy

    ‘Although manuscript collections of solfeggi were centerpieces in the training of musicians in the days of Bach and Mozart, today the...

    Tim Braithwaite

    Georg Falck on the use of Extemporised Florid Ornaments and Trills in an Ensemble Setting (1688)

    ‘Although they are set only in the system of the cantus, these examples of accentus and variation of intervals can be used in the other...

    Tim Braithwaite

    G. Batista Doni on the 'Plasma' of the Ancients in Modern Practice (1763)

    'The Strascino [slide] (which is the continued plasma of the Ancients, and which is done by raising or lowering continuously the voice,...

    Tim Braithwaite

    Vincenzo Manfredini on the use of Ornaments in Recitative (1797)

    ‘A great defect into which some of the best modern singers have fallen is that of having introduced florid ornaments into recitative,...

    Tim Braithwaite

    Clive Brown on ‘The Yawning Chasm between Contemporary Practice and Historical Evidence’ (2010):

    ‘The reasons why professional musicians have failed to apply our very extensive and ever-increasing knowledge of Classical- and...

    Tim Braithwaite

    Pierre-Louis Pollio on the ‘Charivary’ of Improvising (‘Chant sur le Livre’) in Many Parts (1771)

    ‘As for singing on the book in many parts made impromptu, my sentiment is that it is almost impossible to do well… I maintain that it is...

    Tim Braithwaite

    Pietro Reggio on Teaching the Trillo (1677)

    ‘Now let us proceed to teach a man to Trillo, and what he must do, for to come to do it well. The first Trial is as follows. Let any...

    Tim Braithwaite

    Bovicelli on the Graceful Placement of Certain Syllables (1594):

    ‘As for the disposition of the words under the notes, it is necessary to take great care to set them so well, that not only no barbarism...

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