Soprano

“ And all at once, as if hoping to lighten their labours—lovers of music as these people are—a shrill, musical, woman’s voice arose, starting a familiar chorus, which was taken up directly by the young, to rise and fall and swell along the valley, the sweet soprano tones supported by the roaring waters’ heavy bass. ”

“ Ladies constantly sat on the stairs at the Opera, unable to penetrate further into the house. Her voice, which then at its very best showed some signs of early wear, was a soprano of bright, thrilling, and remarkably sympathetic quality, from D to D, with another note or two occasionally available above the high D. The upper part of her register was rich and brilliant, and superior both in strength and purity to the lower. ”

“ Joy faltered, following her to the piano.
“No matter! You have saved yourself already, in saying ‘tried to do,’ instead of—‘done’!” She modulated into the pastoral symphony, still talking: “This is so cruel! Nearly eighty pages while the soprano sits like a rock! Many have no voice left when their time comes!” ”

“ Antonio, who is a powerful young fellow, with bronzed cheeks and a perfect tempest of coal-black hair in flakes upon his forehead, has a most extraordinary soprano—sound as a bell, strong as a trumpet, well-trained, and true to the least shade in intonation. ”

“ The kettle-drums, marking the cadences, rolled at exact intervals. The director beat time furiously, as though dragging up the notes and chords with the end of his baton, while the horns and cornets blared, the bass viols growled, and the flageolets and piccolos lost themselves in an amazing complication of liquid gurgles and modulated roulades.
On the stage every one was singing. The soprano in the centre, vocalised in her highest register, bringing out the notes with vigorous twists of her entire body, and tossing them off into the air with sharp flirts of her head. ”

“ In the fourth (“See, it is written in the Book of the Righteous”) , a short soprano solo, the melody is a tender lament for the dead. The fifth (“He in Tears that soweth”) is a soprano solo with chorus of first and second sopranos and altos. In this number lamentation gives way to hope and gladness, leading up to the last three numbers,—the [204] six-part chorus (“Mighty is our God”) , full of effective sustained harmony, and the soprano solos and choruses of praise and hallelujah which resume the triumphant style of the opening chorus with increased power and enthusiasm. ”

“ Most of the great prime donne of our times have been compelled, in soprano parts, to compensate by their genius and science for the want of compass in their voices—as, for example, in the case of Pasta, whose natural voice was a rugged mezzo-soprano; and of Malibran, who was a real contralto. In Madame Sontag, the public found a real soprano, "to the manner born," enabling her to perform with certainty of tone, and with exquisite ease, purity, and delicacy, the most intricate passages and original embellishments, whether in full tone or mezzo voce. ”

“ They never interrupt a scene or even a musical phrase with misplaced applause because the soprano has executed a flamboyant cadenza or the tenor has reached a higher note than usual. Their appreciation is slow but hearty and always worthily disposed. The French are given to exaggerating an emotion and to applauding an eccentricity. ”

“ His voice, a beautiful soprano, had an indescribable limpidity, combined with the greatest agility and facility, a perfect intonation, a brilliant shake, and inexhaustible length of breath. Although he seems to have surpassed all the evirati in brilliance and endurance, he was quite as remarkable for pathos as for those qualities. ”

“ Lamentable as it would be to hear a shrill feminine squeak delivering from the desk the majestic periods of Job and Isaiah, it would be doubly deplorable to listen to a thin and only too distinctly audible soprano enouncing alternately from the pulpit platitudes, ineptitudes, and blunders, such as memory recalls only too keenly to many of us as among the severest trials of the domestic circle. ”

“ A soprano is Mrs. P——, wife of the Queen's Secretary, General P——, the granddaughter of Earl Grey, and just like him in the face—and so on. These people of 'high' birth are certainly reforming themselves a little. ”

“ The artist who, seemingly taught by nature, spontaneously [Pg 118] employs the correct registers and sings the most difficult music with ease and accuracy, always has been an unusually gifted person—a vocal phenomenon, in fact.
The preceding chapter gave only the main divisions for male and female voices—alto and soprano for female and baritone and tenor for male. There are subdivisions of these. Contralto is a subdivision of alto, mezzo-soprano of soprano; and soprano itself may be dramatic or florid. Baritone is a division of bass; and tenor is either dramatic or lyric. ”

“ One of the young girls possesses a very pure soprano, the other an equally excellent contralto voice; and, singly or together, their execution is marked by a refinement, culture, and attractiveness that deserve first-class audiences and first-class appreciation. ”

“ I would show them how easy it is to compose a masterpiece if you only know the secrets of the trade, and I would notably convince them that, if they would follow some very simple directions of mine, they could then and there write an Italian opera.
Singing-masters, it is well known, never agree as to the best way of cultivating a voice entrusted to their care. One will work a mezzo-soprano downwards to a contralto, the other upwards to a high soprano. With me the wiseacres never could settle which of my voices I ought to have developed—my bass voice, my tenor, or my soprano. ”

“ Her repertory is extensive Her voice is a pure soprano, of remarkable volume and sweetness, and of great compass. She has sung in the principal music centers of Europe, and she is ranked among the foremost sopranos of the time. ”

“ It is quite certain that in the production of the highest tones of a tenor or soprano several muscles coöperate, and one, especially, seems to be of great importance in the formation of such tones, most of all, perhaps, in high sopranos. ”

“ Nowhere is this practice more prevalent than in grand opera. Above, for instance, you will observe a portrait of Signor Enrico Scottinelli, buttering with fair words the bewitching soprano. Nothing could exceed the sweetness of his remarks to her, during the opera. You know the remarks we mean: “Your eyes are radiant arrows in my soul. Your lips are torments to my heart. Look at me, and an eagle lifts my feet; kiss me, and pansies blossom in my breast.” It’s all very operatic and charming, but, back of the scenes—oh my!—what a difference!—“You call yourself an artist! ”

“ The musical task of combining three soprano voices into a connected whole, while preserving their individuality, calls for great peculiarity of treatment, entailing further a special turning to account of the orchestral forces at command, at the same time that no special forms of expression are made to serve as typical of the fairy element of the piece. ”

“ The tenor and bass Narrators in duet tell of the sorrow of the Disciples, which prepares the way for a lovely trio for first and second soprano and alto ("The Lord he has risen again") . The next number is one of the most effective in the whole work,--a [104] soprano obligato solo, accompanied by the full strength of chorus and orchestra, to the words:
"From thy love as a Father,
O Lord, teach us to gather
That life will conquer death. ”

“ She repeated her triumphs in Paris, in the Opera Comique and the Italian Opera, a concert tour and an operatic tour in the United States, in a tour in Portugal, in a tour in Spain, and in a remarkably successful season in Italy. She has a soprano voice of great range, flexibility, purity and sweetness. She is an intensely dramatic singer, and her repertory includes all the standard operas. ”

“ But this is not too much time to give, if one wishes to be thoroughly prepared to sing all styles of music. In former days, when singers realized the necessity of being prepared in this way, there existed I might say—one voice; for the soprano voice was trained to sing both florid and dramatic music. But in these days sopranos are divided into High, Lyric, Coloratura and Dramatic; singers choose which of these lines seems to suit best their voice and temperament.
COLORATURA AND DRAMATIC
"It is of advantage to the singer to be trained in both these arts. ”

“ The scene now changes from a desolate to a happy home as the Master bids the workmen seek their pleasure while the bell is cooling. A soprano solo takes up a cheery strain (“Wends the weary Wanderer”) , picturing the harvest home, the dance of the youthful reapers, and the joys of evening by the fireside, followed by a tribute to patriotism, sung by tenor and bass, the pleasant scene closing with an exultant full chorus (“Thousand active Hands combining”) . ”

“ She has spontaneity and conviction, simplicity and sincerity, and in particular refreshing and unconscious naïveté. Her personality is attractive, winsome, and thoroughly feminine, and her style is vivacious, sparkling, and refined. Her voice is a high soprano of considerable power, and might easily of itself have won her a place on the operatic stage. As a matter of fact, however, her greatest successes have been in parts where singing was something of a secondary consideration. ”

“ In the smaller opera {93} houses of Italy, a soprano, if thus trained, can sing Lucia one night and Norma the next; Traviata one night and Trovatore the next.
"Modern Italian opera calls for the dramatic soprano. She must be an actress just as well as a singer. She must be able to express in both voice and gesture intense passion and emotion. It is the period of storm and stress. Coloratura voices have not so much opportunity at the present time, unless they are quite out of the ordinary. And yet, for me, a singer who has mastery of the beautiful art of bel canto, is a great joy. ”

“ His light tenor sounded a little shaky, but still it went very well with the resonant ring of her pure soprano. It was a pleasure to her to sing together like that, when Paul was in voice, and would listen to advice. ”

“ The mere fact of having high tones does not necessarily make one a soprano, neither is a voice always to be classified as alto by reason of not being able to sing high. It is quality that decides what a voice is. Soprano is a quality. Alto is a quality. The terms tenor, baritone, bass, refer to a quality rather than a compass. These qualities are determined primarily by the construction of the organ. ”

“ From the age of four years she has sung in various church and charity concerts, and, knowing that she possessed a natural and exceptional soprano voice, she determined in her early years to cultivate that gift and make it her means of livelihood, whether it did or did not win her a reputation in the operatic world. ”

“ Her success was so great that for the rest of her life she made England her home, and soon gained as brilliant a reputation in concert and oratorio work as she had already won upon the stage. Her voice was a dramatic soprano of magnificent quality, and her powers as an actress were supreme. ”

“ The tenor then has an aria followed by a comic trio, which in reality is a duet, as the soprano is personating two singers with different voices. A duet and finale close the opera, the music of which is of just the class to be popular, while the action is so sustained in its humor as to make the bright little opera a favorite wherever heard. ”

“ In a well-trained chorus having the brilliant quality of the soprano voices, altos chosen from the medium voices, with a sufficient power in the bass, the more elaborate school-choruses can be attempted in parts. ”

“ They will compose more for the Voice than the Instruments: The part for the Voice will no more have the Mortification to resign its Place to the Violins: The Soprano's and Contr'Alto's will no more sing the Airs in the Manner of the Bass, in Spight of a thousand Octaves: And, finally, their Airs will be more affecting, and less alike; more studied, and less painful to the Singer ”

“ As to the choir proper, there must of course be the soprano—not always elocutionist, as was the soprano in this church of Spring Valley—but always well-clad, most frequently with long and glossy curls of chestnut and the most modish hat of any in the church. Most tenors are bank clerks or cashiers. It is the function of the tenor in any such choir to escort the soprano to her home. The contralto is for the most part married, beginning to show embonpoint. She is brunette, with wide and pleasant mouth; is able to make excellent currant jelly, of which she gives her neighbors generously. ”

“ It must not be understood that there is but one soprano quality, one alto quality, etc. The voice is so individual that it cannot be thus limited. There are many soprano qualities between the coloratura and the dramatic, and the same is true of alto, tenor, baritone and bass.
When the voice is rightly produced, its natural quality will invariably appear, and there it must be allowed to remain. An attempt to change it always means disaster. ”

“ Many of his canti firmi are placed in the soprano instead of in the tenor voice. Strict attention is shown to syllabic declamation, and to a simple, singable arrangement of the voice parts, which is frequently based upon a succession of pure triads. The harmony is gentle and serene, and the devices for obtaining contrasts and tone color are conspicuous by their absence; while the whole is imbued with sincerity, devotion, and a great sense of beauty. ”