"On Time" with Manuel Garcia
2010; Routledge; Volume: 67; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2769-4046
Autores Tópico(s)Diverse Musicological Studies
Resumoprov*e*nance (prov'e-nans) n. Place of origin, source. [LAT. Provenire, to originate.] SEVERAL ARTICLES HAVE APPEARED in this column on the work of Manuel Garcia, eminent teacher from the past. His Complete Treatise on the Art of Singing in two volumes is still a valuable resource, even though it is difficult to obtain at the present time. The first volume of the Complete Treatise was originally published in 1841 during the that Garcia was teaching at the Paris Conservatory. It was a progressive vocal method that included descriptions of the vocal instrument and how it worked-most of the ideas therein are still valid today. The Complete Treatise contained the pedagogic thought of the day, but included several new concepts that reflected a change in the common practice of the time: the importance of the low larynx, Garcia's definition of vocal timbres, his famous definition of a vocal register, and the controversial coup de la glotte (all of which have been discussed in this column). His method included many exercises designed to train the musician (interval studies, scale work, and how to interpret the musical score correctly) and to build the voice (register building, register unification, messa di voce, velocity, etc.). Volume two was originally published in 1847 and is much less known to the modern reader. It taught the interpretation of song (and arias) and offered practical applications of the techniques learned in the first volume. It was full of examples from the operatic literature performed at the time-much of which is still in the active repertory today. It is an invaluable resource for understanding performance practice of the period. One of the subjects addressed by Garcia in volume two is the appropriate management of time. In the introduction to the topic titled On Time, he offered this quote: Il tempo e l'anima della musica.1 Garcia goes on to say that time gives regularity, firmness, and ensemble to music, while irregularities add interest and variety to its execution.2 It is to the concept of intentional irregularities that the following extended excerpt is given. The source of the text is from Garcia's New Treatise on the Art of Singing, published in the United States by Oliver Ditson. It is undated but probably appeared in the 1870s or 1880s. Music examples are taken from an undated but early publication, Traite complet de L'art du Chant, with parallel French and German texts published by B. Schott in Leipzig.3 TEMPO RUBATO. By tempo rubato is meant the momentary increase of value, which is given to one or several sounds, to the detriment of the rest, while the total length of the bar remains unaltered. This distribution of notes into long and short, breaks the monotony of regular movements, and gives greater vehemence to bursts of passion [Example 1]. To make tempo rubato perceptible in singing, the accents and of an accompaniment should be strictly maintained; upon this monotonous ground, all alterations introduced by a singer will stand out in relief, and change the character of certain phrases. Accelerando and rallentando movements require the voice and accompaniment to proceed in concert; whereas, tempo rubato allows liberty to the voice only. A serious error is therefore committed, when a singer, in order to give spirit to the final cadences of a piece, uses a ritardando at the last bar but one, instead of the tempo rubato; as while aiming at spirit and enthusiasm, he only becomes awkward and dull. This prolongation is usually conceded to appoggiaturas, to notes placed on long syllables, and those which are naturally salient in the harmony. In all such cases, the lost must be regained by accelerating other notes. This is a good method for giving colour and variety to melodies [Example 2].4 Two artists of a very different class-Garcia [the author's father] and Pagannini-excelled in the use of the tempo rubato. While the was regularly maintained by an orchestra, they would abandon themselves to their inspiration, till the instant a chord changed, or else to the very end of the phrase. …
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