Kate:
I am most interested in what particular form of Bel Canto you are
studying. Is your concern primarily with performance practices
during the Bel Canto period or is it with Bel Canto vocal production
methods, or both, etc. etc.? Where is the course being given and who
is teaching it? What 19th century manuals are you referring to.
After reading the many opinions on this list and in many books, it is
very clear that there is no consensus about the tone quality of a
singer from this period. Many techniques are purported to be "true"
Bel Canto techniques yet many of these so called "true" techniques
are at odds with each other and some are even diametrically opposed
to each other.
It is also possible to interpret the manuals written at this time in
completely opposite ways. It must be kept in mind that each of these
writers was addressing a profession that knew how these singers were
trained and shared a similar artistic value system. None of that
value system exists today even in opera. There may be "true" Bel
Canto singers today but we have almost no way of knowing if a
particular artist meets this criteria or not. We can only say that
some singers are able to perform the music of this period quite well
and artistically but we do not know if they are doing it as it was
expected to be done during that time period.
A 21st century reader must a knowledge similar to that of the readers
during the Bel Canto Period and I do not believe this is very likely,
perhaps impossible. And, most important, a modern reader cannot have
in the mind/ear the sound of the singers of that day which is most
necessary to any valid understanding of the 19th century manuals on
singing.
This does not, in any way, preclude the value of studying this period
in all its glory, nor does it even suggest that we should not attempt
to perform this music. But it is a real mistake if we assume that
our study is a "true" or most correct assessment of that style of
singing or of that technique of learning to sing.
Lloyd W. Hanson, DMA
Professor of Voice, Pedagogy
School of Performing Arts
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ 86011
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