Observations on the Florid Song Part 6

-- 36. If the Complaisance, which is due to the fair s.e.x, does not excuse the Abuse of copying when it proves prejudicial to the Profession, what ought one then to say of those Men, who, instead of inventing, not only copy others of their own s.e.x, but also Women. Foolish and shameful!----Supposing an Impossibility, _viz._ that a Singer has arrived at copying in such a Manner as not to be distinguished from the Original, should he attribute to himself a Merit which does not belong to him, and dress himself out in the Habits of another without being afraid of being stripp'd of them?

-- 37. He, that rightly knows how to copy in Musick, takes nothing but the Design; because that Ornament, which we admire when _natural_, immediately loses its Beauty when _artificial_.

--38. The most admired Graces of a Professor ought only to be imitated, and not copied; on Condition also, that it does not bear not even so much as a Shadow of Resemblance of the Original; otherwise, instead of a beautiful Imitation, it will become a despicable Copy.

-- 39. I cannot decide, which of the two deserves most to be despised, one who cannot imitate a good Singer without _Caricatura's_, or He that cannot imitate any well but bad ones.

-- 40. If many Singers knew, that a bad Imitation is a contagious Evil, to which one who studies is not liable, the World would not be reduc'd to the Misfortune of seeing in a _Carnaval_ but one Theatre provided with eminent Performers, without Hopes of[98] an approaching Remedy.

Let them take it for their Pains. Let the World learn to applaud Merit; and (not to use a more harsh Expression) be less complaisant to Faults.

-- 41. Whoever does not know how to steal the Time in Singing, knows not how to Compose, nor to Accompany himself, and is dest.i.tute of the best Taste and greatest Knowledge.[99]

-- 42. The stealing of Time, in the _Pathetick_, is an honourable Theft in one that sings better than others, provided he makes a Rest.i.tution with Ingenuity.

-- 43. An Exercise, no less necessary than this, is That of agreeably _putting forth_ of the Voice, without which all Application is vain.

Whosoever pretends to obtain it, must hearken more to the Dictates of the Heart, than to those of Art.

-- 44. Oh! how great a Master is the Heart! Confess it, my beloved Singers, and gratefully own, that you would not have arrived at the highest Rank of the Profession if you had not been its Scholars; own, that in a few Lessons from it, you learned the most beautiful Expressions, the most refin'd Taste, the most n.o.ble Action, and the most exquisite Graces: Own, (though it be hardly credible) that the Heart corrects the Defects of Nature, since it softens a Voice that's harsh, betters an indifferent one, and perfects a good one: Own, when the Heart sings you cannot dissemble, nor has Truth a greater Power of persuading: And, lastly, do you convince the World, (what is not in my Power to do) that from the Heart alone you have learn'd that _Je ne scai quoy_, that pleasing Charm, that so subtily pa.s.ses from Vein to Vein, and makes its way to the very Soul.

-- 45. Though the way to the Heart is long and rugged, and known but to few, a studious Application will, notwithstanding, master all Obstacles.

-- 46. The best Singer in the World continues to study, and persists in it as much to maintain his Reputation, as he did to acquire it.

-- 47. To arrive at that glorious End, every body knows that there is no other Means than Study; but That does not suffice; it is also necessary to know in what Manner, and with whose a.s.sistance, we must pursue our Studies.

-- 48.[100] There are now-a-days as many Masters as there are Professors of Musick in any Kind; every one of them teaches, I don't mean the first Rudiments only, (That would be an Affront to them;) I am now speaking of those who take upon them the part of a Legislator in the most finished part in Singing; and should we then wonder that the good Taste is near lost, and that the Profession is going to Ruin? So mischievous a Pretension prevails not only among those, who can barely be said to sing, but among the meanest instrumental Performers; who, though they never sung, nor know how to sing, pretend not only to teach, but to perfect, and find some that are weak enough to be imposed on. But, what is more, the instrumental Performers of some Ability imagine that the beautiful Graces and Flourishes, with their nimble Fingers, will have the same Effect when executed with the Voice; but it will not do[101]. I should be the first to condemn the magisterial Liberty I take, were it meant to give Offence to such Singers and instrumental Performers of Worth, who know how to sing, perform, and instruct; but my Correction aims no farther than to the Petulancy of those that have no Capacity, with these few Words, _Age quod agis_; which (for those who do not understand _Latin_) is as much as to say,-----Do You mind your _Sol-fa_; and You, your Instrument.

-- 49. If sometimes it does happen, that an indifferent Master should make an excellent Disciple, it is then incontestable, that the Gift of Nature in the Student is superior to the Sufficiency of the Instructor: and it is not to be wonder'd at, for, if from time to time, even great Masters were not outdone, most of the finest Arts would have sunk before now.

-- 50. It may seem to many, that every perfect Singer must also be a perfect Instructor, but it is not so; for his Qualifications (though ever so great) are insufficient, if he cannot communicate his Sentiments with Ease, and in a Method adapted to the Ability of the Scholar; if he has not some Notion of Composition, and a manner of instructing, which may seem rather an Entertainment than a Lesson; with the happy Talent to shew the Ability of the Singer to Advantage, and conceal his Imperfections; which are the princ.i.p.al and most necessary Instructions.

-- 51. A Master, that is possessed of the abovementioned Qualifications, is capable of Teaching; with them he will raise a Desire to study; will correct Errors with a Reason; and by Examples incite a Taste to imitate him.

-- 52. He knows, that a Deficiency of Ornaments displeases as much as the too great Abundance of them; that a Singer makes one languid and dull with too little, and cloys one with too much; but, of the two, he will dislike the former most, though it gives less Offence, the latter being easier to be amended.

-- 53. He will have no Manner of Esteem for those who have no other Graces than gradual _Divisions_[102]; and will tell you, Embellishments of this Sort are only fit for Beginners.

-- 54. He will have as little Esteem for those who think to make their Auditors faint away, with their Transition from the sharp Third to the Flat.

-- 55. He'll tell you, that a Singer is lazy, who on the Stage, from Night to Night, teaches the Audience all his Songs; who, by hearing them always without the least Variation, have no Difficulty to learn them by Heart.

-- 56. He will be affrighted at the Rashness of one that launches out, with little Practice, and less Study; lest venturing too far, he should be in great Danger of losing himself.

-- 57. He will not praise one that presumes to sing two Parts in three of an Opera, promising himself never to be tiresome, as if that divine Privilege of always pleasing were allowed him here below. Such a one does not know the first Principle of musical Politicks; but Time will teach it him. He, that sings little and well, sings very well.

-- 58. He will laugh at those who imagine to satisfy the Publick with the Magnificence of their Habits, without reflecting, that Merit and Ignorance are equally aggrandized by Pomp. The Singers, that have nothing but the outward Appearance, pay that Debt to the Eyes, which they owe to the Ears.

-- 59. He will nauseate the new-invented Stile of those who provoke the innocent Notes with coa.r.s.e Startings of the Voice. A disagreeable Defect; however, being brought from[103] beyond the _Alps_, it pa.s.ses for a _modern_ Rarity.

-- 60. He will be astonished at this bewitched Age, in which so many are paid so well for singing ill. The _Moderns_ would not be pleas'd to be put in Mind, that, twenty Years ago, indifferent Singers had but mean Parts allotted them, even in the second-rate Theatres; whereas at present, those, who are taught like Parrots, heap up Treasures beyond what the Singers of the first Degree then did.[104]

-- 61. He will condemn the Ignorance of the Men most, they being more obliged to study than the Women.

-- 62. He will not bear with one who imitates the Women, even in sacrificing the Time, in order to acquire the t.i.tle of _Modern_.

-- 63. He will marvel at that[105] Singer, who, having a good Knowledge of Time, yet does not make use of it, for want of having apply'd himself to the Study of Composition, or to accompany himself. His Mistake makes him think that, to be eminent, it suffices to sing at Sight; and does not perceive that the greatest Difficulty, and the whole Beauty of the Profession consists in what he is ignorant of; he wants that Art which teaches to antic.i.p.ate the Time, knowing where to lose it again; and, which is still more charming, to know how to lose it, in order to recover it again; which are the Advantages of such as understand Composition, and have the best Taste.

-- 64. He will be displeased at the Presumption of a Singer who gets the Words of the most wanton _Airs_ of the Theatre rendered into _Latin_, that he may sing them with Applause in the[106] Church; as if there were no Manner of Difference between the Stile of the one and the other; and, as if the Sc.r.a.ps of the Stage were fit to offer to the Deity.

-- 65. What will he not say of him who has found out the prodigious Art of Singing like a _Cricket_? Who could have ever imagin'd, before the Introduction of the _Mode_, that ten or a dozen Quavers in a Row could be trundled along one after the other, with a Sort of _Tremor_, of the Voice, which for some time past has gone under the name of _Mordente Fresco_?[107]

-- 66. He will have a still greater Detestation for the Invention of Laughing in Singing, or that screaming like a Hen when she is laying her Egg. Will there not be some other little Animal worth their Imitation, in order to make the Profession more and more ridiculous?

-- 67. He will disapprove the malicious Custom of a Singer in Repute, who talks and laughs on the Stage with his Companions, to induce the Publick to believe that such a Singer, who appears the first time on the Stage, does not deserve his Attention; when in reality he is afraid of, or envies, his gaining Applause.

-- 68. He cannot endure the Vanity of that Singer, who, full of himself from the little he has learned, is so taken with his own Performance, that he seems falling into an Extasy; pretending to impose Silence and create Wonder, as if his first Note said to the Audience, _Hear and Die_: But they, unwilling to die, chuse not to hear him, talk loud, and perhaps not much to his Advantage. At his second Air the Noise encreases, and still encreasing, he looks upon it as a manifest Injury done him; and, instead of correcting his conceited Pride by Study, he curses the deprav'd Taste of that Nation that does not esteem him, menacing never to return again; and thus the vain Wretch comforts himself.

-- 69. He will laugh at one who will not act unless he has the Choice of the Drama, and a Composer to his liking; with this additional Condition, not to sing in Company with such a Man, or without such a Woman.

-- 70. With the like Derision, he will observe some others, who with an Humility worse than Pride, go from one Box to another, gathering Praises from the most ill.u.s.trious Persons, under a Pretence of a most profound Obsequiousness, and become in every Representation more and more familiar. Humility and Modesty are most beautiful Virtues; but if they are not accompanied with a little Decorum, they have some Resemblance to Hypocrisy.

-- 71. He will have no great Opinion of one, who is not satisfied with his Part, and never learns it; of one, who never sings in an Opera without thrusting in one _Air_ which he always carries in his Pocket; of one, who bribes the Composer to give him an _Air_ that was intended for another; of one, who takes Pains about Trifles, and neglects Things of Importance; of one, who, by procuring undeserved Recommendations, makes himself and his Patron ridiculous; of one, who does not sustain his Voice, out of Aversion to the _Pathetick_; of one, who gallops to follow the _Mode_; and of all the bad Singers, who, not knowing what's good, court the _Mode_ to learn its Defects.

-- 72. To sum up all, he will call none a Singer of Merit, but him who is correct; and who executes with a Variety of Graces of his own, which his Skill inspires him with unpremeditately; knowing, that a Professor of Eminence cannot, if he would, continually repeat an _Air_ with the self-same _Pa.s.sages_ and _Graces_. He who sings premeditately, shews he has learn'd his Lesson at Home.

-- 73. After having corrected several other Abuses and Defects, to the Advantage of the Singer, he will return with stronger Reasons to persuade him to have Recourse to the fundamental Rules, which will teach him to proceed on the Ba.s.s from one Interval to another, with sure Steps, and without Danger of erring. If then the Singer should say, Sir, you trouble yourself in vain; for the bare Knowledge of the Errors is not sufficient; I have need of other Help than Words, and I know not where to find it, since it seems that there is at present such a Scarcity of good Examples in _Italy_: Then, shrugging his Shoulders, he will answer him, rather with Sighs than Words; that he must endeavour to learn of the best Singers that there are; particularly by observing two of the fair s.e.x,[108] of a Merit superior to all Praise; who with equal Force, in a different Stile, help to keep up the tottering Profession from immediately falling into Ruin. The one is inimitable for a privileg'd Gift of Singing, and for enchanting the World with a prodigious Felicity in executing, and with a singular Brilliant (I know not whether from Nature or Art) which pleases to Excess. The delightful, soothing _Cantabile_ of the other, joined with the Sweetness of a fine Voice, a perfect Intonation, Strictness of Time, and the rarest Productions of a Genius, are Qualifications as particular and uncommon, as they are difficult to be imitated. The _Pathetick_ of the one, and the _Allegro_ of the other, are the Qualities the most to be admired respectively in each of them. What a beautiful Mixture would it be, if the Excellence of these two angelick Creatures could be united in one single Person! But let us not lose Sight of the Master.

-- 74. He will also convince the Scholar, that the Artifice of a Professor is never more pleasing, than when he deceives the Audience with agreeable Surprizes; for which reason he will advise him to have Recourse to a seeming Plainness, as if he aim'd at nothing else.

-- 75. But when the Audience is in no farther Expectation, and (as I may say) grows indolent, he will direct him to rouse them that Instant with a _Grace_.

-- 76. When they are again awake, he will direct him to return to his feigned Simplicity, though it will no more be in his power to delude those that hear him, for with an impatient Curiosity they already expect a second, and so on.

-- 77. He will give him ample Instructions concerning _Graces_ of all sorts, and furnish him with Rules and profitable Doc.u.ments.

-- 78. Here should I inveigh (though I could not enough) against the Treachery of my Memory, that has not preserved, as it ought, all those peculiar Excellencies which a great Man did once communicate to me, concerning _Pa.s.sages_ and _Graces_; and to my great Sorrow, and perhaps to the Loss of others, it will not serve me to publish any more than these few poor Remains, the Impressions of which are still left, and which I am now going to mention.

CHAP. X.

_Of_ Pa.s.sages _or_ Graces.

_Pa.s.sages_ or _Graces_ being the princ.i.p.al Ornaments in Singing, and the most favourite Delight of the Judicious, it is proper that the Singer be very attentive to learn this Art.

-- 2. Therefore, let him know, that there are five princ.i.p.al Qualifications, which being united, will bring him to admirable Perfection, _viz._ _Judgment_, _Invention_, _Time_, _Art_, and _Taste_.