Technical Aspects of Singing
Derek McGovern
This from Armando:
In music there are signs that represent both note values and silence. Silence pauses are pretty much mandatory, and obviously give the singer a chance to breathe.
However, since there are long phrases in arias and songs where it's also necessary to take extra breaths, these are inserted in strategic points.
Correct, or ideal phrasing, consists of not breaking the vocal line by taking a breath. This is easier said than done, and there are countless examples of great singers breaking the vocal line at times, although some breaks are more intrusive than others.
Since Derek mentioned the Arlesiana aria, I'll give you some examples of where the line is broken in this particular aria:
Bjorling breathes exactly in the right places, followed closely by Lanza in the 1952 version (breaks the line only between "vision" and "mi lascia") and Di Stefano, who breaks it between "sempre" and "di lei." Gigli breaks it between "poter" and "tutto scordar," "deggio" and "tanto penar," "vision" and "mi lascia."
As Derek pointed out, in the 1955 version Lanza breaks between "tutto" and "scordar" ( barely noticeable), also between "davanti" and "ho sempre di lei," and "vision" and "mi lascia." There are even a few more breaks in the Lanza 48 and 58 versions, but having said this, there is more to singing than simply keeping the vocal line. Such things as musicality, style, and taste in interpreting come into it. So although the 1952 Lanza Lamento is virtually flawless linewise, his interpretation of the aria is over-emphatic, and stylistically dubious. Both the 1948 and 1955 are superior if measured against the above criteria regardless of the extra breaths taken, which are pretty well handled, anyway.
His 1958 Lamento is another story. There are more breaks in this one and the voice is very heavy for the aria, which makes it doubly difficult to sing since it's really written for a light lyric voice. Someone with the spinto sound that Lanza had at this stage could easily have fallen flat on his face attempting to sing it with the vocal heft he possessed at the time.
But so phenomenal was the instrument that regardless of the unsuitability of the aria he succeeds in carrying it off! It may not be a perfect rendition of the Lamento, but one thing I am certain of is that anyone present at the concert would have been blown away by it!
-Armando
Joe Fagan
----- Original Message -----
From: "Armando" <cesa...@yahoo.com>
To: "Mario Lanza, tenor" <mario...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 5:26 PM
Subject: Re: Technical Aspects of Singing
>
> Hello Lou,
>
> Scooping is not a mannerism but a pitch problem, or, as you stated,
> the inability to hit the note head on.
>
> It's pretty common towards the end of a singer's career, or where
> premature deterioration of the voice occurs such as in Di Stefano's
> case.
>
> Corelli could probably have corrected the problem, but the poor man
> had so many other things to correct that he probably ran out of time!
> On the other hand, one has to admire both Corelli's and Del Monaco's
> sheer determination and hard work in order to succeed given the
> limited material they started out with.
>
> As for your second question, the answer is yes. Singing should be as
> natural as speaking but, obviously, with the addition of technique.
> The line 'Come sei bella piu bella stasera Mariu,' for example, should
> not sound like, 'Cooome say bhella pio Bhella sthasera Mariooo.'
> Anyone who sounds that way has a manufactured sound.
>
> This must not be confused with building the upper register of the
> voice which is a frequent necessity, since few singers start out with
> a 2 octave range. Caruso, for example, had a short voice (he used to
> crack regularly on A flat) and had to sweat blood in order to extend
> his range. Although he never really mastered a high C, his B and B
> flat were fantastic.
>
> Summing up, listen to how closely the singing resembles the spoken
> word. The closer it is, the more natural the voice. Among tenors, good
> examples are Gigli, Bjorling, Lanza, Di Stefano, and Carreras.
>
>
> On Nov 13, 3:18 am, Lou <louab...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Hi Armando: A million thanks for your prompt and informative reply,
>> and above all, for your willingness to share your considerable expert
>> knowledge in this forum.
>>
>> I'd like to ask, if I may, a couple of follow-up questions:
>>
>> 1. Is scooping just a mannerism, or is it an indication that a singer
>> has difficulty hitting the note head on?
>>
>> 2. Can one tell whether a singer's voice is a manufactured sound
>> without having listened to, or known about, his natural voice? (Poor
>> Corelli! Given his bleat, that unfortunate play on his name and the
>> Italian word for sheep was inevitable.)
>>
>> Lou
>>
>> On Nov 11, 11:06 pm, Armando <cesar...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>> > Lou,
>>
>> > I don't know about swooping, but scooping means attacking a note from
>> > below and sliding up to it, a Corelli specialty!
>>
>> > A manufactured sound is exactly that. The opposite of a natural
>> > voice.
>>
>> > A perfect example is Del Monaco. When he started out he had a tiny
>> > voice that, by his own admission, (in a rare candid moment!) could
>> > hardly be heard. He was offered only comprimario roles and after a
>> > disastrous performance of Don Pasquale panicked and decided to build
>> > up his voice by adopting the Melocchi method, which consisted of
>> > lowering the larynx to the maximum in order to produce a huge column
>> > of sound throughout the entire range. What this meant, of course, was
>> > that although his middle register was very solid and his trumpeting
>> > high notes could be deafening, he was very limited in what he could do
>> > in terms of light and shade, let alone mezza voce.
>>
>> > Corelli's case is rather similar, except that he did not go as far
>> > with the Melocchi method and so had a wider palette of colours while
>> > retaining a stunning top.
>> > He had quite a marked vibrato in the beginning (in Italy he was known
>> > as Pecorelli, a reference to a sheep's bleat. Pecora meaning sheep)
>> > But by working extremely hard he managed to correct the fault. He
>> > also had to work for six years before he could sing a High C.
>>
>> > On Nov 12, 4:31 pm, Lou <louab...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>> > > Creating this separate thread is indeed a good idea, Derek. Many
>> > > thanks!
>>
>> > > I have a whole slew of questions under the heading "What I've Always
>> > > Wanted to Know About Singing But Didn't Know Where or Who to Ask."
>> > > For
>> > > starters:
>> > > 1. What are meant by "scooping" and "swooping"? (I once came
>> > > across
>> > > an article which accused Mario of scooping but didn't cite
>> > > specific
>> > > instances.)
>> > > 2. What is a manufactured sound? (I recall that you and Armando
>> > > have
>> > > referred to Corelli's voice as such.)
>>
>> > > These questions may sound simple enough but I haven't been able to
>> > > find the answers in the internet or introductory books on opera that
>> > > I
>> > > consulted. Something tells me I'll have better luck here. ;-)
>>
>> > > On Nov 10, 8:09 pm, "Derek McGovern" <derek.mcgov...@gmail.com>
>> > > > lascia) and Di Stefano, who breaks it between sempre and di lei.
>> > > > Gigli breaks it between poter and tutto scordar, deggio and tanto
>> > > > penar, vision and mi lascia.
>>
>> > > > As Derek pointed out, in the 1955 version Lanza breaks between
>> > > > tutto
>> > > > and scordar ( barely noticeable), also between davanti and ho
>> > > > sempre
>> > > > di lei, and vision and mi lascia. There are even a few more breaks
>> > > > in
>> > > > the Lanza 48 and 58 versions, but having said this, there is more
>> > > > to
>> > > > singing than simply keeping the vocal line. Such things as
>> > > > musicality, style, and taste in interpreting come into it. So
>> > > > although the 1952 Lanza Lamento is virtually flawless linewise, his
>> > > > interpretation of the aria is overemphatic, and stylistically
>> > > > dubious.
>> > > > Both the 1948 and 1955 are superior if measured against the above
>> > > > criteria regardless of the extra breaths taken, which are pretty
>> > > > well
>> > > > handled, anyway.
>>
>> > > > His 1958 Lamento is another story. There are more breaks in this
>> > > > one
>> > > > and the voice is very heavy for the aria, which makes it doubly
>> > > > difficult to sing since it's really written for a light lyric
>> > > > voice.
>> > > > Someone with the spinto sound that Lanza had at this stage could
>> > > > easily have fallen flat on his face attempting to sing it with the
>> > > > vocal heft he possessed at the time.
>>
>> > > > But so phenomenal was the instrument that regardless of the
>> > > > unsuitability of the aria he succeeds in carrying it off!
>> > > > It may not be a perfect rendition of the Lamento, but one thing I
>> > > > am
>> > > > certain of is that anyone present at the concert would have been
>> > > > blown away
>> > > > by it!
>>
>> > > > -Armando- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> > - Show quoted text -
>
>
> >
Lou
other questions, but I'd like to give others a chance to ask theirs.
For all I know, they're the same as mine. :-)
Lou
> > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -
Armando
What you are hearing in the passage you mentioned from The Lord's
Prayer is a combination of what is technically known as gradation of
intensity, or the ability to augment and diminish the volume of tone.
This is also referred to as messa di voce, as well as crescendo, and
diminuendo. There can be various gradations of intensity with
different shades of colour with either clearer or sombre timbres.
What Lanza does on the word 'be' is increase the intensity and change
the colour slightly to a little clearer, and then decrease the
intensity on the word 'name.'
In fact what he opts to do on 'be' is the opposite of what's in the
score which indicates he should decrease in intensity and taper off to
a diminuendo, but when it comes to the word 'name' he follows the
score, decreases the intensity and does a diminuendo on 'name.'
Except for the start, he doesn't really follow the markings in the
score which is full of pianissimo, crescendo, and diminuendo,
nevertheless, it's very well sung.
On Nov 15, 6:53 am, "jorain...@comcast.net" <jorain...@comcast.net>
wrote:
> Re: The Lord's Prayer...> I am not sure how to describe this, but I
> have always admired how Mario, on the word "beeeeeeeee" ( following
> "hallowed in the Lord's prayer) seems to hold the same note while
> changing its timbre and tone. I don't know the technical term for
> it...but my ears love it! Is there a description of what he is doing
> here, musically, and has anyone else noted this as well?
Joe Fagan
Mario did with it. Thanks again!
Derek McGovern
having seen the score, I wasn't aware that Mario ignores most of
Malotte's markings. Of course, Joe was referring to Lanza's 1951 RCA
rendition of The Lord's Prayer. Just out of interest, is Mario more
faithful to the score on his Because You're Mine soundtrack version of
the prayer?
Armando
His closest adherence to the score is the 1948 version where he
follows nearly all the markings and even ends 'Amen' rallentando e
morendo, as indicated.
He is better, though, at the start of both of the 1951 versions. On
'Our Father' which is marked ppp and 'which art in heaven,' marked pp.
Having said this, John Charles Thomas, whom Malotte wrote the song
for, doesn't stick strictly to the score either.
Muriel
he sang even though it wasn't written that way!! Isn't that what
makes us love him so??
On Nov 14, 11:55 pm, "Joe Fagan" <jorain...@comcast.net> wrote:
> thanks Armando! ...maybe it wasn't written that way , but I sure love what
>
>
>
> From: "Armando" <cesar...@yahoo.com>
> To: "Mario Lanza, tenor" <mario...@googlegroups.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2007 11:18 PM
> Subject: Re: Technical Aspects of Singing
>
>
> read more >>- Hide quoted text -
Jana
Though my question can certainly be easily answered by anybody here:
In a tenor's score, there is a G-clef with a sign next to it,
resembling two lines with cranked ends. What does it mean?
Armando
I have no idea what you mean by 'two lines with cranked ends'
The G- clef, or Treble clef, usually has either sharps or flats next
to it which determine the key signature.
Can you perhaps draw the lines in question and paste them in one of
the files, or else send me an e-mail with an attachment and I'll see
if I can work out what you mean.
Ciao for now.
>
> > > > thanks Armando! ...maybe it wasn't written that way , but I sure love what
> > > > Mario did with it. Thanks again!
>
> > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > From: "Armando" <cesar...@yahoo.com>
> > > > To: "Mario Lanza, tenor" <mario...@googlegroups.com>
> > > > Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2007 11:18 PM
> > > > Subject: Re: Technical Aspects of Singing
>
>
> read more >>
JanHodges
|
Hi Jana,
I think you are referring to the tenor or C clef.[Not to be confused with the clef for tenor voice which is the G clef]
Here is what the music dictionary gives.
The others are of course
| |||
|
|
Jana
I've uploaded a small part of the score for Otello, the "gia-na" from
"quella vil cortigiana, che e la sposa d'Otello". The sign I'm asking
about is between the clef and the sharps, partly going across the
clef. I'm sorry, Jan, I cannot make head or tail of the dictionary
entry. Hope the picture will help.
Regards
Jana
Armando
is known as a harmonic interval, meaning when two notes sound
simultaneously.
If you look at the Otello score you will see that the orchestral
accompaniment, directly under Gia-na, has a succession of notes one on
top of the other.
It's terribly involved trying to explain this in detail, but if you go
into Google, Search, and type in harmonic interval, you should be
able to find a more detailed explanation.
Ciao.
> > 1KZobrazitStáhnout
Jana
what melodic interval is. However, I don't know what difference this
sign makes. Does it mean that the note at which the top right end of
the sign is pointing at will be sung at the line at which the left end
of the sign is pointing at? Therefore perhaps a C here? Or exactly
between the two ends on the right? Or am I totally lost, as usually?
I'm sorry, but I really have nowhere else to ask. I don't come from a
musical family, my only musical education is several years of playing
flute, I'm happy to know what four sharps mean. I do hope you are not
mad at me...
Regards
Jana
Armando
do with the singing as, obviously, a singer cannot produce two
different sounds simultaneously.
The score markings, in the vocal score (I don't have the full
orchestral one) refer to the instruments in the orchestra.
As an example, string players can produce audible harmonics by lightly
touching the string at certain points.
A string vibrates not only in its entirety but also in segments such
as halves, thirds, fourths, fifths, and so on.
For instance, a light touch halfway along a string's length produces a
second harmonic, which is an octave higher than the fundamental
tone.
I hope this is clear, if not, Jan or anyone else is welcome to add
their own explanations.
Best wishes to you and all our members for a great 2008.
Armando
>
> > - Zobrazit citovaný text -
Derek McGovern
Could someone give me an example of Mario covering a note when singing
and should an opera singer always cover and sing in the
mask? Thanks again for your wonderful forum.and to everyone who
contributes.
Norma
Tony replied:
As far as "covering" or turning a note over, this is very different
than singing in the mask. Much of what a singer does physically is
intangible. That is, it is impossible to actually see what the singer
is doing with his/her vocal folds and larynx. You can watch a pianist
or a violinist play and virtually see their technique. With the
singer it's quite different, all the magic occurs out of sight. It
can be quite confusing though, for both the singer and the listener,
when you hear terminology like: don't sing too forward, sing in the
mask but don't let it become nasal, don't swallow the tone, sing into
the head, lean into the tone, turn the tone over and of course, cover
the tone.
Much of this is the same thing. For the purpose of our conversation
we'll talk about the tenor voice because Mario Lanza was a tenor, as
we all know, and being a tenor myself, it is the vocal range I am most
familiar with. Now it is totally wrong to say that all tenor voices
are the same mechanically. They aren't. Mario for instance had a
rather high lying voice so his passaggio or break in his registers
(chest register and head register) was fairly high - around F (at the
top of the staff) F#, G and even G#. My voice is a bit lower so my
passaggio, depending on the vowel, starts (sometimes) at E, F and F#.
By G I have to pretty much be mixed (chest and head) because to sing a
high G wide open isn't too comfortable for me.
All of this prattle is leading up to an answer to your question. What
does it mean to cover? It means that the voice in a sense has to
shift gears and the singer does this by blending the two registers. If
you listen to Mario sing something that moves up the scale somewhat
gradually and if you listen carefully you will hear a point at which
the brightness or quality of his voice might seem to take on a
different sound or color. It's not that it will stop being bright but
it will have a bit more roundness to it and the vowels might sound a
little bit modified and come sounding like they have some "oh" in
them. Listen to the way he sings the end of "Serenade" from THE
STUDENT PRINCE (the 1954 recording not the 1959) and listen how the
sound of his voice rounds out as it gets higher as he approaches the
high note at the end. Two other good examples (IMO) are "Lamento di
Federico" (from SERENADE) and the song "When You're In Love."
Norma, I hope this was of at least some help. If anything pops into
my head I'll jot it down and send it along.
Ciao,
Tony
Derek McGovern
Lou
Armando
Scooping is not a mannerism but a pitch problem, or, as you stated, the inability to hit the note head on. It's pretty common towards the end of a singer's career, or where premature deterioration of the voice occurs such as in Di Stefano's case. Corelli could probably have corrected the problem, but the poor man had so many other things to correct that he probably ran out of time!
On the other hand, one has to admire both Corelli's and Del Monaco's sheer determination and hard work in order to succeed given the limited material they started out with.