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Reimagining Historical Voices
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Giovanni Bardi Discussing Good and Bad Singing in a Letter to Giulio Caccini (c.1578)
I become nauseated when I recall some singers I have heard, whether solo or accompanied by others, improvising on a choirbook, not caring...

Tim Braithwaite


Isaac Nathan’s Annotations on a Handel Aria and the Swelling and Dying of the Voice
‘The preceding examples receive their colouring from the discrimination of the singer; but a still nicer task remains for him to execute,...

Tim Braithwaite


Giovanni 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,...

Tim Braithwaite


Leopold 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...

Tim Braithwaite


Sylvestro 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...

Tim Braithwaite


Thomas Robinson (1603) on ‘Passionate Play’
‘Now you shall have a general rule to grace it, as with passionate play, and relishing it: and note that the longer the time is of a...

Tim Braithwaite


John Arnold on Collective, Florid Psalm Singing (1761)
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...

Tim Braithwaite


The 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 Braithwaite


Luigi 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 Braithwaite


Johann Quantz on ‘Allzuhäufigen Trillerns’
§6 ‘Some persons believe that they will appear learned if they crowd an Adagio with many graces, and twist them around in such fashion...

Tim Braithwaite


Adriano Banchieri on Cacophonous (!) Counterpoint
‘In Rome...while singing [extempore] counterpoint, in the mind (alla mente) above the bass, nobody does that which his partner sings, but...

Tim Braithwaite


Nicola 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 Braithwaite


Johannes Tinctoris on 'Counterpoint' and 'Res Facta' (1477)
‘Moreover, simple as much as diminished counterpoint is made in two ways, that is, either in writing or mentally. Counterpoint...

Tim Braithwaite
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