Tim BraithwaiteCharles de Bériot on ‘the Vibrating Sound’ in Singing and Violin Playing (1858)We understand by [the term] vibrating sounds a certain undulation or trembling of held notes which indicate the emotion of the spirit...
Tim BraithwaiteDomenico Corri (1810) on the First Lesson and how to Sing Major/Minor Semitones‘Progressive rules for daily practice proportioned to the age and ability of Pupils: The intention of this Exercise is to acquire the art...
Tim BraithwaiteM. Garcia on the Decline of Singing Immediately Before the Golden Age of Commercial Recording (1894)‘At the present day the acquirement of flexibility is not in great esteem, and were it not, perhaps, for the venerable Handel, declamator...
Tim BraithwaiteJohn Curwen Describes a Rehearsal of the Boys at St. Pauls, London in 1891‘The Cathedral bell is striking two, and in the passage boys scud to and fro shouting “Practice!" and racing to their places in the schoo...
Tim BraithwaiteLeopold von Sonnleithner Remembering in 1857 Johann Vogl’s Singing and Influence on Franz Schubert‘Without a doubt, [Johann] Michael Vogl stands foremost among those who recognised and promoted Schubert’s genius early on. As far as mus...
Tim BraithwaiteThe London Gregorian Choral Association Remembering Church Music in the Early Nineteenth Century‘Many of us can remember (indeed in some few places it still exists) the old village choir, assisted by the double bass, bassoon, wheezy...
Tim BraithwaiteA Story ‘From the Lips of the Maestro’ on Early Nineteenth-Century Ornamentation‘Among the old musicians it used to be customary to write a mere outline or suggestion of the voice part. Particularly was this the case...
Tim BraithwaiteHector Berlioz on the Haute-Contre (1843)‘The old masters of the French school, who never employed the head voice, wrote a part in their operas which they called haute-contre...
Tim BraithwaiteA nineteenth-century description of English choral performance, as recalled by lay clerk J.V. Cox“Everything was done in the most florid style, viz., grace notes, cadenzas, 'shakes' (single, double, and triple), while time was...
Tim BraithwaiteJean-Antoine Berard on Larynx Height (1741)‘Observation teaches us that the Larynx rises in its entirety with the high pitches, and that it descends with the low pitches...
Tim BraithwaiteBrahms' Advice to Sir George Henschel'Brahms arrived yesterday. I am glad my hoarseness is gradually disappearing, for the thought of singing, at the concert day after ...