This book establishes the principles of interpretation that singers active in England during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries - both foreign and English - applied to recitatives, arias, and songs. It is the first single guide to historical performance of one of today's most popular repertoires.
CONTENTS
Introduction
1 Styles of Singing
2 Discovering the Proper Manner of Delivery
3 The Power of Sound
The tones of the passions
Registers
Vibrato
4 Phrasing
The expressive pause: punctuation, rests, and breathing
Staccato
5 Loud and Soft Singing
Messa di voce
Accent and emphasis
6 Tempo and its Breaches
7 Execution
Graces: greater elegance and deeper intensity
Appoggiatura
Acciaccatura
Mordent
Turn
Shake
Divisions
Cadenza
8 An Expressive Countenance: The Actor of the Passions
9 Heart to Heart: The Dramatic Display of Passion
The Promethean fire of eloquent expression
The language of the soul
Notes
Bibliography
Index