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Musical Courier 1892-08-03: Vol 25 Iss 649, 1892
65 lines. Read by computer on 23 September 2026. Printed page 13. See the scan on archive.org.
1cini is there to my remembrance one word about registers. How can traditions flow from such a source? If there do exist valuable traditions, how comes it that no two teachers of the old Italian school employ the same means? Close questioning of pupils of nearly every teacher of prominence in the world has failed to discover any agreement, but it has unearthed some extraordinary notions.
3Teachers of the present day should realize that they have a new field to explore. All the muscles connecting the Adam's apple, or larynx, with other parts are voluntary. Every child naturally has some control over many of them. Who cannot gulp the throat up or yawn it down or move the tongue, the jaw and even the cheeks and palate in various ways? The muscles concerned in these natural acts are vocal muscles. For the full, luscious tone of artistic singing nearly all of them must act with power, and right here is found one of the greatest mistakes of modern teaching, that of advised relaxation. Some of these muscles, especially those of the tongue and palate, form the surface which is to be thrown into synchronous vibration by the chordal vibrations, and, of course, this surface must be tense; other muscles, though not affording surface, must indirectly aid those that do.
5No teacher could experiment long without learning the second great error that the throat must be open, or, rather, that the pupil must try to hold it open. Nearly all the vocal muscles are constrictive; their curves bend outward and must straighten inward upon contraction. The well opened mouth will always afford a sufficient channel for tone.
7By this is not meant that any combination of efforts will improve. Disproportionate downward or upward efforts will lower or raise the larynx, and thus remove it from the only position in which it can rest against the cervical part of the spine, and from this contact the tone gains its resonance, its hardness, as distinct from its soft fullness. Thickening the tongue's tip compels the muscles at the base of the tongue to remain comparatively relaxed and the tone suffers. In short there is but one combination of vocal effort which produces artistic tone, the only tone upon which artistic style can be formed. Every teacher has it in his power to search for this combination, and, having found it, to make the way plain and easy for his pupils.
9Will it do any harm for me to say that I am sure I have discovered it, and so long ago that I have had lots of time to find easy ways for others to apply it? I have presented my readers with two facts; let me add a third: That the diaphragm when aided by the (in singing always aiding) abdominal muscles is expiratory; consequently, either an outward or inward movement of the abdomen must be only the second best way.
1136 West Twenty-sixth street, New York city.
13Bach's "Passion Music."
15IN reading with great interest Mr. W. Lauder's articles in THE MUSICAL COURIER about the Cincinnati festival, and in particular the sketch about the origin of choral societies and performances of choral works, they bring back to my memory a very remarkable performance of Bach's "St. Matthew Passion" in Hamburg (Germany) in 1858 or 1859; I do not remember the date exactly. The work was sung at the Church of St. Michel (I consider any performance of Bach's "Passion" in a concert hall a mistake), a beautiful old church with a magnificent organ.
17A large scaffolding was built around the organ loft to seat the chorus, which consisted of the members of the Bach Society of Hamburg—a society which exclusively sang Bach's works. The bey choir was grouped around the organ—much higher than the chorus—making their voices in the choral of the first double chorus sound like angel voices from heaven. The director was H. Grädener, a thorough scholarly musician and highly magnetic conductor. The part of the "Evangelist" was sung by a tenor with a voice of most remarkable quality, pureness of intonation and thorough musical understanding, Schneider; the "Jesus," Stockhausen in his full prime. The alto was Miss Weiss (later Mrs. Joachim). The violin solo was played by Joachim, who came from Hanover to play in the orchestra, the other bass parts by Adolf Schultz, a magnificent bass voice, and at the organ presided a very young man, whose name has since become somewhat known in the musical world, Johannes Brahms.
19I do not intend to go into any lengthy description of the different numbers of this greatest of oratorios; it would be impossible to describe the impression of Stockhausen's voice in the "Eli, Eli, lama sabachtham," and who would describe the beauty of Miss Weiss' voice? It was simply divine, and together with Joachim's violin the great alto aria was something never to be forgotten. I have heard and sung the Passion many and many a time, have heard great artists sing and play it, but never anything near it to compare with that performance; every voice so well adapted to its part, the musical difficulties entirely overcome, the organ under the master hands of young Brahms, in perfect tune (for a wonder!) with the orchestra, the chorals sung with the true religious feeling Bach meant for them, no sensational shading, but simple and grand. When shall we ever have such a hearing of this masterwork again?
21There was another fine performance of the same work some time later under the direction of Ludwig Deppe, whom I knew personally as a great director and fine violin player, and with whom and his brother (cellist) I had the pleasure of playing trios. To my greatest astonishment I read now about a Deppe piano method! Oh, horror! il n'y a pas de résistance contre la force majeure! M. ROHRHARD, Steinway Hall.
23Maurel on Singing.
25AT the invitation of Mr. Maurel, Sir George Grove, Dr. Mackenzie, and many other leading members of the musical and literary world assembled recently on the stage of the Lyceum Theatre, London, to hear the results of the celebrated operatic artist's recent researches on the "Application of Science to the Arts of Speech and Song."
27Mr. Maurel commenced his discourse by referring to his lecture delivered in the same place in 1890, which he said was merely intended as a résumé of discoveries up to that time, and as a preliminary to demonstrations which he intended to give later on. Some of these were given at his recent lecture at Milan, which, somewhat amplified, had just been published at Paris. Before passing to further demonstrations, it was necessary to explain his motives. They were quite disinterested and simply made in the interests of vocal art. The system he was about to advance was not a mere theory, but was founded upon long practical and scientific observation. He was not laboring under the delusion, as some critics wrongly inferred, that he could make every singer attain perfection in every direction; he was perfectly aware that nature had assigned certain limits to each individual, but within those limits he guaranteed that his system would ensure the highest results attainable.
29The Milan lecture did not exhaust the subject, neither would his discourse on this occasion. Time would only permit of his speaking on two principal points, viz., the production of vocal sound and the grave errors of the modern methods of teaching singing; errors made apparent by comparison with the laws of physiology. The first of these two points he would divide into "modulation" and "signification." By "modulation" he meant the vocal progression from one note to another in an agreeable or disagreeable manner. By "signification" he meant the intellectual value of any combination of sounds by which words were formed. From these two points it was possible to classify every vocal sound under the four following heads, viz.: 1. Good tone and intellectual value. 2. Tone alone. 3. Intellectual value alone. 4. No tone and no intellectual value, i.e., a scream or cry.
31He would now pass on to the two chief errors of modern systems. In his Milan lecture he had referred to three qualities of vocal sound, viz., tone quality, pitch and intensity. The difficulty of the singer was to satisfy these three requirements simultaneously. Every difficulty which could possibly arise from such causes could, however, be solved by his system, within the natural capabilities of each vocalist. It was impossible to go into all the details in a short lecture, but he would expose the two greatest fallacies of modern teaching. One of these was the coup de glotte and the other the method of vocalization of exercises. The coup de glotte was against physiology. The only advantages which the advocates of this system advanced for still bolstering up their unscientific and irrational method were obtainable just as well without the coup de glotte.
33One fundamental error permeated all the systems of vocal exercises, viz., the vocalization at all pitches without modification of the vowel sound used. Physiologically each step of the scale corresponded with a specific position of the vocal organs, and this position determined the vowel sound; therefore if we altered the pitch we must vary whatever vowel sound was used, or we sinned against physiological laws. By variation of a vowel sound he meant the delicate and infinite gradations of pronunciation of which each vowel was capable.
35If it were asked how it was that vocalists managed to satisfy the three requirements alluded to, with the bad systems of teaching they had undergone, the answer was that experience had taught them to abandon the errors of the schools and to follow their natural instincts. He might, from this afternoon's discourse, be accused of merely overthrowing all other systems without offering anything in their place, but his system would be clearly explained in his forthcoming work on the subject.—London "Musical News."
37Monument of Ponchielli.—The city council of Cremona has decided to erect a Ponchielli monument on the Corso Victor Emanuel, in that town.
39Sounds Like Ibsen.—An English contemporary translates Wagner's "Die Götterdämmerung" as "The duck of the gods."
41About Joseffy.
43TEN years ago when Joseffy, the Hungarian pianist, came to this country, musicians whose word is that of those who have authority declared that with the exception of Rubinstein he was the greatest pianist that ever visited America. Seemingly he had a great future. His earning capacity was enormous. No other pianist, excepting Paderewski and Rubinstein, and possibly Gottschalk, ever made as much money as Joseffy did; but he went into a shadow somewhat, and the musicians wondered why that was. The fact was the little fellow was a great gambler, and the fascinations of the faro table were greater temptations for him than the piano offered. Mrs. Thurber employed him as a professor in the Conservatory of Music, and he was paid a salary of $10,000 to give lessons once a week in the conservatory. Aside from that connection Joseffy was lost sight of.
45Three or four years ago he met a Hungarian girl of humble birth, with whom he became infatuated. He married her and she seems to have developed into the perfect helpmeet. She is a shrewd business woman, having exactly those qualities which Joseffy lacked; moreover, she is an admirer of her husband's genius and has urged him not to waste it. They have two children, and the little boy, born about two years ago, gives promise of becoming a musical prodigy.
47Joseffy has abandoned all the dissipating tendencies which he submitted to a few years ago, and for the past year has practiced steadily every day over nine hours at the piano. He has also done something in the way of composition. Those who have heard him play say that as a result of this work he is giving not only the best evidence of his genius, but perhaps the best evidence of any musical genius that the American people have had in a generation. They say he plays better than Paderewski, and has none of that wonderful pianist's affectations and mannerisms. Joseffy will go on a concert tour this fall, and if the predictions of those who know something of those things he has accomplished in his patient drudgery for the last year and a half are verified, he is likely to create as much of a musical sensation as Paderewski himself did.—Boston "Times."
49The Life of an Artist.
51ANY artistic life, whether it be that of poet, or painter, or musician, romancer or essayist, receives its power, its sustenance, or what may, perhaps, be designated as the other side of life—the side of silence. Its renewal can only be in hours of withdrawal from the light of the public square or the din of the market place. The whisper of the gods comes not there.
53But than this nothing is more difficult—one might well say impossible. The world is too much with us. This is the age—it is a characteristic of the fin du siècle—in which the enthusiasm is for humanity; and active philanthropy or active participation in social life and the achievement of the artist are two incompatible things. The artistic life absolutely requires certain safeguards thrown about it which will not blend with ordinary social currents. The artist must be silent if he would hear the whisper of the gods.
55Whether or not the life for art is worth the living is another question. "On the whole," says Dr. Holmes, "I do not know so easy a way of shirking all the civic and social and domestic duties as to settle it in one's mind that one is a poet. I have therefore taken great pains to advise other persons laboring under the impression that they were gifted beings, destined to soar in the atmosphere of song above the vulgar realities of earth, not to neglect any homely duty under the influence of that impression. The number of these persons is so great that if they were suffered to indulge their prejudices against everyday duties and labors it would be a serious loss to the productive industry of the country."
57The artist, however, though he is born must beside be made, and while the productive industries may occasionally lose, and art not gain by a defection to its ranks, there are on the other hand a not inconsiderable number
59There is no one instrument, unless indeed it be a large pipe organ, capable of the variety of effects that are obtainable on the Aeolian. Unlike the pipe organ, however, the Aeolian is adapted to all classes of music; Overtures and Symphonies can be rendered on it with all the softness and delicacy of the flute and violin, and the power and variety of the combined orchestra
61A waltz is played by the Aeolian with the sweetness of the violin and 'cello and all the snap and brilliancy of the piano.
63THE AEOLIAN CO.,
6418 West 23d Street
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