Charles Émile Blanchard

“ Inasmuch as no other kind of music so closely resembles the human voice, we can fancy ourselves communing with the thoughts and feelings of the human soul. We naturally compare the organ to man's vocal apparatus. The organ has a bellows, we have lungs; in the organ is a "sound-board" the trachea performs the same function; the vibrating tongue of the organ has its counterpart in our vocal cords; and the pharynx and the mouth answer to the resonating cavities of the organ. Yet the natural instrument is immensely superior to the artificial one. ”

“ The different types of voice are characterized no less by their timbre than by their range. Voices present so many varieties, they are so personal, that thorough classification is almost impossible. Endless shades of difference are produced by the degree of intensity of the harmonics: if the intensity is great, the voice is brilliant, mordant; if feeble, the voice is soft, sombre. In the larynx itself, and in the trachea, there occurs a resonance, the effects of which have not yet been determined. ”

“ If he wants company, he announces his presence in a strong voice; if he wants to be fed, or to have a door opened, his voice is soft and gentle; here is the accent of entreaty. If there is any delay, the tone grows higher, showing impatience. ”

“ Though expert in all the movements of the larynx and the mouth, the singer cannot, even with a superb voice, produce brilliant effects, save by the aid of mind. From mind alone come expression, taste, style, and these qualities are all personal. Sensibility, whether real or feigned, is always an element of success. The artist is advised never to give way to the passions which he expresses, for mental commotion is quickly succeeded by extreme fatigue; he may attain a perfect imitation of passions, meanwhile preserving a tranquil mind. ”

“ When several individuals are together, they appear sometimes to engage in interminable conversations. On the alert for every voice-sound, and even for every noise, parrots imitate these with wonderful ease; thus they readily imitate the articulate speech of man, a phenomenon as yet unexplained. The movements of the tongue, no doubt, play an important part in the articulation of these sounds, but the nature of the resonances leads us to suspect a special activity of the superior larynx. ”

“ A voice that is clear, pure, limpid, conveys the impression of frankness; one that is hesitating, drawling, betokens dissimulation; a harsh, grating voice indicates an evil disposition; while a voice that is sweet, harmonious, affects us as though it were the breathing of a gentle soul. These impressions made by the voice are usually correct, and rightly enough influence the relations of man to man, still we must not trust them too implicitly. ”

“ They walk with such a mingling of pride and gracefulness that one cannot avoid admiring and loving them, so that their good looks often save their lives. Not a feather lies uneven on their whole body, such pains do they take to smooth and arrange their plumage with their bills. ”

“ The plan of action of the whole vocal apparatus being under investigation, in the absence of the means of direct observation, recourse has been had to endless stratagems, in order to have a glimpse of the play of the organs and to explain the mechanism of voice-production. It has been a struggle with incredible difficulties, in which the human mind, though it has not won a complete victory, has nevertheless acquitted itself with honor. ”

“ The destruction of the great animals, effected by men within a few centuries, leads us to anticipate a serious impoverishment of Nature in a more or less remote future. The extinction of a multitude of species has taken place with deplorable rapidity in the Mascarene Islands; it is going on in many other parts of the globe. Singularly, wherever European civilization penetrates, devastation begins, and sooner or later is completed. The most industrious nations are the greatest ravagers. A few thousand years more, and the whole earth will present a uniform and wretched appearance. ”

“ The young ones are usually very indifferent singers, and it is only those individuals which possess special gifts that give to the vocal art its highest expression. Among all the pretty feathered denizens of our woods, the males alone possess a fine voice; they utter their song in order to win mates who cannot compete in vocal talent. They are mute for a great part of the year, but, when the mating season approaches, their nervous action is quickened, and the blood is determined to the organs of voice. ”

“ After man, birds hold the most prominent place among animate things in the concert of Nature; they enliven field, forest, and garden, with an infinity of chirrupings, leading one's thoughts to dwell on the pleasure of living. The structure and mechanism of the vocal apparatus of birds have been studied by many naturalists. George Cuvier discovered the precise point where the voice is formed. Birds have two larynges, one at the top of the trachea, and the other at the bottom. It is the latter alone which produces the sounds: the former acts only as a resonator. ”

“ Destruction is a natural law; but this destruction is restrained within certain limits: notwithstanding the perils that incessantly threaten the existence of all creatures, every thing works actively to secure the maintenance of races. That instinct of preservation which goads individuals to fly from danger and seek the satisfaction of their material wants, allows many to escape accidents. If the causes of violent death vary within the widest range among animal species, they are always proportioned to the causes that protect against it. ”

“ Having ascertained all the functions of the vocal apparatus, and accounted for the origin of the sounds of speech and singing, we may well be proud of the advance made by science, yet we cannot but be chagrined to think that it is not in our power to determine to what peculiarities of organic conformation the different kinds of voice are to be attributed. ”

“ The birds of New Zealand, extinct at an epoch doubtless very near our own, and yet known to us only by relics, have been called the Dinornis; the species of largest size has received the name of gigantic dinornis. The English explorers, finding the bones of dinornis in the beds or on the banks of rivers, often mixed with the bones of animals yet living in the country, or with those of man even, sometimes in cavities full of ashes and charcoal, where food had been prepared, were convinced that these relics came from individuals whose destruction was recent. ”

“ Only some great species have become extinct, and man alone is the author of that extinction, so much to be regretted. It has been supposed that species, like individuals, were doomed to perish. It might be difficult to form any other conclusion, were we to consider the relics of those beings that have lived in the different geological periods; but if we examine the world as it exists we are forced to reject that belief, except on the supposition that new disturbances will hereafter occur on our globe. ”

“ Dogs express their wants more frequently by movements of the body, by the play of the physiognomy, and by touching with the muzzle than by the voice. They appear to communicate admirably with one another when organizing an expedition; they inform one another of the presence of objects that gratify their appetite. ”

“ Being implicated in some of the more energetic movements of the tongue, it rises or falls, but to no purpose. The larynx of the singer, while fixed in its position, multiplies its performance; the suppleness of all its parts is a matter of prime importance. The vibrations of the vocal lips and the resonance of the vestibule determine the timbre of the glottic sounds; the configuration of the pharynx and of the buccal cavity, by modifying the sounds formed in the glottis, produces the timbre of the voice. ”

“ Besides species belonging to groups represented in other parts of the world, as parrots, sparrows, pigeons, ducks, there were living some species which excited the astonishment of the navigators by their really extraordinary appearance. There were the dronte, or dodo, and the hermit-bird, which have furnished modern authors the theme for numberless writings. Naturalists long cherished the hope of finding again, at some point of the globe, those strange creatures which had no near relationship with any other living being ”

“ Most small birds have their call, their chirp of joy or of fright, their battle-cries: all these voice-explosions, containing as they do both vowel and consonant sounds, show how easy and natural articulation is to these animals. The species which possess the power of singing have a very complex vocal apparatus. ”

“ In the Mascarene Islands, in New Zealand, a special fauna, entirely different from that of the countries nearest them, proves that these islands have remained isolated since the appearance of the animals that inhabit or did till lately inhabit them. The presence of birds unable to fly, or to defend themselves effectually in countries where no dangerous enemies are to be feared, is the indication of a regular assignment of organism to determinate locations, for one who does not believe in indefinite transformations perceptible only to the imagination. ”

“ The elk, the stag, the chamois, and the wild-goat, still belong to the European fauna; but, unless measures are taken to check the destruction of these mammals, very few centuries will pass before their complete extermination.
Every one who visits a museum of natural history experiences surprise at sight of the moose, a kind of enormous deer. ”

“ But, as every one must now be aware, voice is produced always in the glottis. Hence it were well, as M. Mandl advises, to abandon the use of terms which had their origin in a misapprehension, and to use instead of them the terms lower and upper register.
Singing requires far more precise arrangements of the vocal organs than does speaking. At the moment of producing the sound the glottic orifice should be absolutely shut; the voice-emission will be good provided the vocal lips go apart to the proper extent with a kind of suddenness. ”

“ A language might consist only of vowels, says Max Müller, and indeed this is very nearly the case with some of the Polynesian dialects.
Most languages possess aspirates of more or less harshness. In French they are very few and weak, but in German they are frequent and strong, while in Arabic they are specially forcible. Aspiration requires the action of the glottis; the orifice is reduced for an instant, and the air, arrested by this obstacle, in issuing through the narrow slit, produces a sound of something brushing against the vocal cords. ”

“ The mechanism of voice deserves to be studied by all. As regards man, we now have very accurate knowledge of the manner in which speech and singing are produced. Means having been found of viewing the play of the different parts of the larynx, physicians intent upon the advancement of the art of healing, physiologists spurred on by the desire of explaining phenomena, singers eager to penetrate the secret of the highest achievements in their art, have all devoted themselves to patient researches. ”

“ The vocal apparatus is perfected by the addition of the cavities which produce resonance, viz., the pharynx, the mouth, and the nasal fossæ. The pharyngeal cavity, into which open the œsophagus and the larynx, is continuous with the buccal cavity, a hollow box admirably adapted for articulation. Its shape and size are extremely variable. The cheeks constitute walls which can be compressed or dilated with the slightest effort; the lips, which bound the anterior opening, are perfectly mobile; the tongue can be moved in every direction ”

“ The timbre is sharp, harsh, sweet, or harmonious; this is determined by the conformation of the resonant cavities. Whatever quality of voice we happen to have naturally, is to be preserved, though it may be improved by constant attention to the ear, by steady observation, finally by training. Speech does not flow from its source with the same ease in all cases: here the mind is master, and mental qualities differ from one another to a far greater extent than physical aptitudes. Some persons express themselves without difficulty or hesitation—their thinking faculty acts as a continuous force ”

“ It is now proved that man was already in existence during the epoch in which elephants clothed with a thick fleece, the rhinoceros, the cave bear and hyena, lived in our countries, and the reindeer was scattered over the land in abundance. Thousands of bones, collected side by side with wrought articles, have given incontestable proofs of this; but the disappearance of elephants and that of several other species must be attributed chiefly to natural causes, and with those we have no concern at present, even when speaking of a partial destruction. ”

“ Amplitude is always the result of the force of the primary shock. The pitch of a sound is determined by the number of vibrations occurring in the space of one second: when the vibrations are few, the sound is grave; when very numerous, it is sharp. In a word, the shorter the duration of each vibration, the higher the pitch of the sound. Timbre means quality of voice. We distinguish voices by their timbre; we hear some one speaking, and recognize who it is without seeing him ”