Changing vocal style and technique in Britain during the long nineteenth century

Abstract

This thesis presents an overview of solo singing styles and techniques prevalent in Britain \nduring the long nineteenth century, drawing upon evidence from didactic writing, \ncorrespondence, critical review, biography, voice science research, and early acoustic \nrecordings in order to analyse changing approaches to voice production and musical \nexpression. The discussion of vocal style is underpinned by discussion of a changing \napproach to larynx height, and concepts of chiaroscuro, bel canto, and expression are \nreconsidered in the light of technical discussion. The origins of the continuous larynxlowering \nnow expected of the modern operatic singer are recognised in early nineteenthcentury \nvoice science literature, but notable trends in selective larynx-lowering are \nidentified from the mid nineteenth century onwards. This confirms the ideal of continuous \nlarynx-lowering as a twentieth-century development, and has significant repercussions for \ncurrent approaches to historically-informed performance and the singing of ‘early music’. \nThe changing use of vibrato effects, portamento and messa di voce, and the application of \nexpressive devices more generally throughout this period are considered within the context \nof nineteenth-century approaches to voice production. \nThis thesis is accompanied by a four-CD portfolio of recordings that demonstrates \nexperimentation with nineteenth-century styles and voice production techniques, the \nemulation of early recorded vocal performances, and the realisation of nineteenth-century \nrepertoire using historically-appropriate approaches to style and technique. Repertoire \nincludes didactic material, operatic arias (including those by ‘bel canto’ composers), \nrepertoire annotated by renowned pedagogue Manuel Garcia II, and works sung by \ncelebrated nineteenth-century performers and early recording artists. Also included is \nexperimentation with audio filtering that seeks to emulate the limited frequency capture of \nearly acoustic recording apparatus with a view to further understanding the evidence of \nnineteenth-century voices on record.

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