Pier Francesco Tosi

“ An Audience that applauds what is blameable, cannot justify your Faults by their Ignorance; it is your Part to set them right, and, laying aside your ill-grounded Practice, you should own, that the Liberties you take are against Reason, and an insult upon all those instrumental Performers that are waiting for you, who are upon a Level with you, and ought to be subservient only to the Time. ”

“ Till a Singer pleases himself, it is certain he cannot please others. Therefore consider, if some Professors of no small Skill have not this Pleasure for want of sufficient Application, what must the Scholar do? Study,—and study again, and not be satisfied.
§ 18. I am almost of Opinion, that all Study and Endeavours to sing are infallibly vain, if not accompanied with some little Knowledge of Counterpoint. One, who knows how to compose, can account for what he [85] does, and he, who has not the same Light, works in the Dark, not knowing how to sing without committing Errors. ”

“ I can truly say, that I have never in my Life heard a Singer own the Truth, and say, I'm very well to-day: They reserve the unseasonable Confession to the next Day, when they make no Difficulty to say, In all my Days my Voice was never in better Order than it was Yesterday. ”

“ The delightful, soothing Cantabile of the other, joined with the Sweetness of a fine Voice, a perfect Intonation, Strictness of Time, and the rarest Productions of a Genius, are Qualifications as particular and uncommon, as they are difficult to be imitated. The Pathetick of the one, and the Allegro of the other, are the Qualities the most to be admired respectively in each of them. ”

“ After the Scholar has made himself perfect in the Shake and the Divisions, the Master should let him read and pronounce the Words, free from those gross and ridiculous Errors of Orthography, by which many deprive one Word of its double Consonant, and add one to another, in which it is single. ”

“ My beloved Singers, tho' the Abuses of your Cadences are of use to you, they are much more prejudicial to the Profession, and are the greatest Faults you can commit; because at the same time you know yourselves to be in the Wrong. For your own Sakes undeceive the World, and employ the rare Talent you are endowed with on Things that are worthy of you. ”

“ The World in your Time was asleep, and let it not displease you, if our merry and brisk Manner has awakened it with a Gayety so pleasing to the Heart, that it incites one to dance. I would have you likewise be lively before you die, and, abandoning your uncouth Ideas, make it appear, that old Age can be [122] pleased with the Productions of Youth; otherwise you will find, that you will be condemned by your own Words, that Ignorance hates all that is excellent. ”

“ But since we are now speaking in Confidence and with Sincerity, who can sing or compose well, without our Approbation? Let them have ever so much Merit (you know it) we do not want Means to ruin him; even a few Syllables will suffice: It is only saying, He is an Ancient.
§ 31. Tell me, I beseech you, who, without us, could have brought Musick to the Height of Happiness, with no greater Difficulty than taking from the Airs that tiresome Emulation of the first and second Violin, and of the Tenor? ”

“ Singer, who, having a good Knowledge of Time, yet does not make use of it, for want of having apply'd himself to the Study of Composition, or to accompany himself. His Mistake makes him think that, to be eminent, it suffices to sing at Sight; and does not perceive that the greatest Difficulty, and the whole Beauty of the Profession consists in what he is ignorant of; he wants that Art which teaches to anticipate the Time, knowing where to lose it again ”

“ Are there in these Times any, who are moved with Tenderness, or Sorrow?——No, (say all the Auditors) no; for, the continual singing of the Moderns in the Allegro Stile, though when in Perfection That deserves Admiration, yet touches very slightly one that hath a delicate Ear. The Taste of the Ancients was a Mixture of the Lively and the Cantabile the Variety of which could not fail giving Delight; but the Moderns are so pre-possessed with Taste in Mode, that, rather than comply with the former, they are contented to lose the greatest Part of its Beauty. ”

“ Experience shews that the Piano is not to be trusted to, since it is prejudicial though pleasing; and if any one has a Mind to lose his Voice, let him try it. On this Subject some are of Opinion, that there is an artificial Piano, that can make itself be heard as much as the Forte; but that is only Opinion, which is the Mother of all Errors. It is not Art which is the Cause that the Piano of a good Singer is heard, but the profound Silence and Attention of the Audience. ”

“ To sum up all, he will call none a Singer of Merit, but him who is correct; and who executes with a Variety of Graces of his own, which his Skill inspires him with unpremeditately; knowing, that a Professor of Eminence cannot, if he would, continually repeat an Air with the self-same Passages and Graces. He who sings premeditately, shews he has learn'd his Lesson at Home. ”

“ Having premised these Advantages, the Merit of the Singer should likewise be distinguished, by reason of the particular Difficulties that attend him: Let a Singer have a Fund of Knowledge sufficient to perform readily any of the most difficult Compositions; let him have, besides, an excellent Voice, and know how to use it artfully; he will not, for all that, deserve a Character of Distinction, if he is wanting in a prompt Variation; a Difficulty which other Arts are not liable to. ”

“ But, good God! since there are so many modern Composers, among whom are some of Genius equal, and perhaps greater than the best Ancients, for what Reason or Motive do they always exclude from their Compositions, the so-much-longed-for Adagio? Can its gentle Nature ever be guilty of a Crime? If it cannot gallop with the Airs that are always running Post, why not reserve it for those that require Repose, or at least for a compassionate one, which is to assist an unfortunate Hero, when he is to shed Tears, or die on the Stage?——No, Sir, No ”

“ If sometimes it does happen, that an indifferent Master should make an excellent Disciple, it is then incontestable, that the Gift of Nature in the Student is superior to the Sufficiency of the Instructor: and it is not to be wonder'd at, for, if from time to time, even great Masters were not outdone, most of the finest Arts would have sunk before now. ”

“ The eighth is the Trillo-Mordente, or the Shake with a Beat, which is a pleasing Grace in Singing, and is taught rather by Nature than by Art. This is produced with more Velocity than the others, and is no sooner born but dies. That Singer has a great Advantage, who from time to time mixes it in Passages or Divisions (of which I shall take Notice in the proper Chapter) . He, who understands his Profession, rarely fails of using it after the Appoggiatura; and he, who despises it, is guilty of more than Ignorance. ”

“ However, if one reflects, that Perfection in a Voice is a Gift of Nature, and in Art a painful Acquisition, it will indeed be allowed, that this latter excels in Merit, and more deserves our Praise.
§ 20. Whoever studies, let him look for what is most excellent, and let him look for it wherever it is, without troubling himself whether it be in the Stile of fifteen or twenty Years ago, or in that of these Days; for all Ages have their good and bad Productions. It is enough to find out the best, and profit by them. ”

“ A Singer, that knows the World, distinguishes between the different Manners of Commanding; he knows how to refuse without disobliging, and how to obey with a good Grace; not being ignorant, that one, who has his Interest most at Heart, sometimes finds his Account in serving without a Gratification. ”

“ If, out of a particular Indulgence to the sex, so many female Singers have the Graces set down in Writing, one that studies to become a good Singer should not follow the Example; whoever accustoms himself to have Things put in his Mouth, will have no Invention, and becomes a Slave to his Memory.
§ 26. If the Scholar should have any Defects, of the Nose, the Throat, or of the Ear, let him never sing but when the Master is by, or somebody that understands the Profession, in order to correct him, otherwise he will get an ill Habit, past all Remedy. ”

“ Whoever has a fine Shake, tho' wanting in every other Grace, always enjoys the Advantage of conducting himself without giving Distaste to the End or Cadence, where for the most part it is very essential; and who wants it, or has it imperfectly, will never be a great Singer, let his Knowledge be ever so great.
§ 4. The Shake then, being of such Consequence, let the Master, by the Means of verbal Instructions, and Examples vocal and instrumental, strive that the Scholar may attain one that is equal, distinctly mark'd, easy, and moderately quick, which are its most beautiful Qualifications. ”

“ The modern Masters run over with Negligence their Instructions in all Sorts of Recitatives, because in these Days the Study of Expression is looked upon as unnecessary, or despised as ancient: And yet they must needs see every Day, that besides the indispensable Necessity of knowing how to sing them, These even teach how to act. ”

“ Musick in almost all its Branches, there has never been one, at least that I have heard of, who has undertaken to explain in the Art of Singing, any thing more than the first Elements, known to all, concealing the most necessary Rules for Singing well. It is no Excuse to say, that the Composers intent on Composition, the Performers on Instruments intent on their Performance, should not meddle with what concerns the Singer ”

“ If there are Charms in Musick in general, all the reasonable World agrees, that the Vocal has the Pre-eminence, both from Nature and Art above the Instrumental: From Nature because without doubt it was the first; from Art, because thereby the Voice may be brought to express Sounds with greater Nicety and Exactness than Instruments.
The Charms of the human Voice, even in Speaking, are very powerful. ”

“ In the Study of Airs, as I have before said, one cannot take Pains enough; for, though certain Things of small Effect may be omitted, yet how can the Art be called perfect if the Finishing is wanted.
§ 11. In Airs accompanied only a Bass, the Application of him who studies Graces is only subject to Time, and to the Bass; but in those, that are accompanied with more Instruments, the Singer must be also attentive to their Movement, in order to avoid the Errors committed by those who are ignorant of the Contrivance of such Accompaniments. ”

“ The most necessary Study for singing Airs in Perfection, and what is more difficult than any other, is to seek for what is easy and natural, as well as of beautiful Inventions. One who has the good Fortune to unite such two rare Talents, with an agreeable putting forth of the Voice, is a very happy Singer. ”

“ Let the Master be mindful of this; for as Age advances, so the Voice declines; and, in Progress of Time, he will either sing a Contr'Alto, or pretending still, out of a foolish Vanity, to the Name of a Soprano, he will be obliged to make Application to every Composer, that the Notes may not exceed the fourth Space (viz., C) nor the Voice hold out on them. If all those, who teach the first Rudiments, knew [27] how to make use of this Rule, and to unite the feigned to the natural Voice, there would not be now so great a scarcity of Soprano's. ”

“ A Master, that is possessed of the abovementioned Qualifications, is capable of Teaching; with them he will raise a Desire to study; will correct Errors with a Reason; and by Examples incite a Taste to imitate him.
§ 52. He knows, that a Deficiency of Ornaments displeases as much as the too great Abundance of them; that a Singer makes one languid and dull with too little, and cloys one with too much ”

“ Let a sensible Student avoid this Example, and with this Example the Abuses, the Defects, and every other Thing that is mean and common, as well in the Cadences as elsewhere.
§ 17. If, the inventing particular Cadences without injuring the Time, has been one of the worthy Employments of the Ancients (so call'd) let a Student revive the Use of it; endeavouring to imitate them in their Skill of somewhat anticipating the Time; and remember, that Those, who understand the Art of Gracing, do not wait to admire the Beauty of it in a Silence of the Bass. ”

“ Though in certain Schools, Books of Church-Musick and of Madrigals lie buried in Dust, a good Master would wipe it off; for they are the most effectual Means to make a Scholar ready and sure. If Singing was not for the most part performed by Memory, as is customary in these Days, I doubt whether certain Professors could deserve the Name of Singers of the first Rank. [46]
§ 33. Let him encourage the Scholar if he improves; let him mortify him, without Beating, for Indolence; let him be more rigorous for Negligences; nor let the Scholar ever end a [65] Lesson without having profited something. ”

“ In interrupted Movements, or in long Divisions, it is not so rigorously required, when the one or the other cannot be sung in one Breath. Anciently such Cautions were not necessary, but for the Learners of the first Rudiments; now the Abuse, having taken its Rise in the modern Schools, gathers Strength, and is grown familiar with those who pretend to Eminence. The Master may correct this Fault, in teaching the Scholar to manage his Respiration, that he may always be provided with more Breath than is needful ”

“ After a long Exercise, and the Attainment of a true Intonation, of a Messa di Voce, of Shakes, of Divisions, and Recitative well expressed, if the Scholar perceives that his Master cannot teach him all the Perfection of Execution required in the more refined Art of singing the Airs, or if he cannot always be by his Side, then will he begin to be sensible of the Need he has of that Study, in which the best Singer in the World is still a Learner, and must be his own Master. ”

“ The Presumption of some Singers is not to be borne with, who expect that an whole Orchestre should stop in the midst of a well-regulated Movement, to wait for their ill-grounded Caprices, learned by Heart, carried from one Theatre to another, and perhaps stolen from some applauded female Singer, who had better Luck than Skill, and whose Errors were excused in regard to her Sex.——Softly, softly with your Criticism, says one ”

“ Let him never suffer the Scholar to hold the Musick-Paper, in Singing, before his Face, both that the Sound of the Voice may not be obstructed, and to prevent him from being bashful.
§ 28. Let him accustom the Scholar to sing often in presence of Persons of Distinction, whether from Birth, Quality, or Eminence in the Profession, that by gradually losing his Fear, he may acquire an Assurance, but not a Boldness. Assurance [62] leads to a Fortune, and in a Singer becomes a Merit. On the contrary, the Fearful is most unhappy ”

“ He will have a still greater Detestation for the Invention of Laughing in Singing, or that screaming like a Hen when she is laying her Egg. Will there not be some other little Animal worth their Imitation, in order to make the Profession more and more ridiculous?
§ 67. He will disapprove the malicious Custom of a Singer in Repute, [167] who talks and laughs on the Stage with his Companions, to induce the Publick to believe that such a Singer, who appears the first time on the Stage, does not deserve his Attention; when in reality he is afraid of, or envies, his gaining Applause. ”

“ I own, on certain Conjunctures, the Pretext is not only suitable, but even necessary; for, to speak the Truth, the indiscreet Parsimony of some, who would hear Musick for Thanks only, goes so far, that they think a Master is immediately obliged to obey them gratis, and that the Refusal is an Offence that deserves Resentment and Revenge. But if it is a Law human and divine, that every Body should live by their honest Labour, what barbarous Custom obliges [148] a Musician to serve without a Recompence? ”