Period Vocal Style

There is really no need when singing early music to describe someone as a Soprano, mezzo, alto, bass, baritone, or tenor.  It is true that some of these words were in usage at the close of period, however, even until the time of Mozart there was no differentiation between women’s voices.

 

More important when thinking about singing early music is tonal quality.  The tone should not be brassy (harsh), neither should it be airy or too lush (think Wagner).  The voice should not use much vibrato.  We should absolutely avoid scooping and sliding.

 

Advice given from 16^th century writers:

1.        Sing with your mouth as wide open as you would when you are speaking.  Do not open it wide or close the teeth.

2.       Place the singing tone in the front of the mouth.  Avoid singing from the back of the throat or through the nose.

3.       Use a moderate tone.  Do not force the voice.

4.     Sing with a steady tone that does not change drastically in pitch, volume, or intensity.

5.       Rapid notes should receive clear articulation.  Passages with text should receive clean articulation with the tongue, and untexed passages should be articulated clearly in the throat.

6.      Avoid excessive body motion while singing.

7.      For melismatic, untexed passages, place the tip of the tongue at the root of the lower teeth.

8.      Wait four to five hours after eating before doing vocal exercises so that the windpipe will be clean and agile.

9.      Select a practice area with a good echo so that you can judge the quality of what you have just sung.

10.   Lighten the voice as it rises and become more sonorous in the lower range.

11.     Do not add ‘h’ sounds to vowels on melismas.

12.    Vowels must be pronounced clearly.

13.     Do not sing with vibrato (specifically to choral singers)

The body has three resonators:  Mouth, Nose, and Chest.

 

Nose:  NGGGGGG

Mouth: NAAAAH

Chest:  AAAAHH

 

 

 

 

Bogin, Meg.  1980.  The Women Troubadours.  New York:  Norton.  This is a neat book but it does have an “agenda”

 

Boyd, Morrison Comegys.  1962:  Elizabethan Music and Musical Criticism.  Philadelphia:  University of Pennsylvania Press.  This book is rather difficult to read but the information within is essential to understanding ‘why’ Elizabethan music is Elizabethan music.

 

Brown, Howard Mayer.  1976:  Embellishing Sixteenth-Century Music.  London:  Oxford Press.  The examples in this book are a really wonderful way to a) spice up 16th century music. B) create new music with 16th century motifs.

 

Hoppin, Richard.  1978:  Anthology of Medieval Music.  New York:  Norton. This is a wonderful anthology of early music which (after about 1200) spends a significant amount of time on secular music.

 

Kite-Powell, Jeffery T.  1989:  A Practical Guide to Historical Performance:  The Renaissance.  New York:  Early Music America.  This was the trial run for the 1994 publication and is typewritten and comb-bound. 

 

Kite-Powell, Jeffery T.  1994:  A Performer’s Guide to Renaissance Music.  New York:  Schirmer Books.  This book contains several new essays, including several new ones on vocal techniques.

 

McGee, Timothy J.  1985:  Medieval and Renaissance Music:  A Performer’s Guide.  Hants, England:  Scolar Press.  This book is full of wonderful information such as a timeline which details what instruments were used when and how often they were used.

 

McGee, Timothy J.  1996:  Singing Early Music:  The Pronunciation of European Languages in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance.  Bloomington, Indiana:  Indiana University Press.  This book is by far the best resource I have seen for the early singer.  A CD is available with readings of all the early music texts given in IPA in the book.