Davids Psalms sung in our English Meeter differ much from Cathedrall singing, which is so abominable, in which is sung almost every...

‘I know of no musician today who has any idea what it means to sing on the book. It was an improvised and simultaneous melody [chant]...

The summary below is from Jean-Paul Montagnier, “Le Chant Sur Le Livre Au XVIIIe Siècle: Les Traités de Louis-Joseph Marchand et Henry...

‘... France, where musical taste has always been somewhat backwards, has never abandoned the mania for improvising on plainchant. The...

‘Singing exercises that last too long and involve too much effort make the voice screeching, cause the voice to go out of tune, and are...

Ԥ 5. Every Air has (at least) three Cadences, that are all three final. Generally speaking, the Study of the Singers of the present...

‘The loudness or softness, especially on long and serious notes, must be observed even by those who sing the supporting voices [not the...

I become nauseated when I recall some singers I have heard, whether solo or accompanied by others, improvising on a choirbook, not caring...

‘Suitable voices for the middle, or counter part are rather difficult to find; but let no-one, for that reason, attempt it with a feigned...

‘Note on this occasion that temperament is not the same on all instruments, it is inevitable, when many sorts of instruments play a piece...

‘Firstly, a singer must have a voice by nature, in which three requirements and three flaws are to be noted. The requirements are these:...

‘In the pinnace were three Virgins, which with their Cornets played Scottish Gigs, made three parts in one. There was also in the saide...

‘To Marcus Pabius Quintilianus You would think but slightly, my dear Fabius, of all these [the accomplishments of the citharists], if,...

‘The Cathedral bell is striking two, and in the passage boys scud to and fro shouting “Practice!" and racing to their places in the...

‘Whether descant may be commendable in the divine service, and of certain things which ought to be eschewed in song. Like as it is...

‘The harmonic flower [flos harmonicus] is, however, an ornament of the voice or sound, and a very fast and storm-like vibration. Some...

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...

‘On the difference between the syllables/voices [stimmen]. From the above mentioned six syllables two are called b molles, ut and fa,...

Of the Several Graces Used in Music: The first and most principle grace, necessary to be learned, is the trill or shake; that is, to move...

‘All these things require aptitude, agility, and time, without which nothing can be achieved, and the singer, in using or adopting them...