CHAP. IX.
Observations for a Singer.[90]
ehold the Singer now appearing in Publick, from the Effects of his Application to the Study of the foregoing Lessons. But to what Purpose does he appear? Whoever, in the great Theatre of the World, does not distinguish himself, makes but a very insignificant Figure.
§ 2. From the cold Indifference perceived in many Singers, one would believe that the Science of Musick implored their Favour, to be received by them as their most humble Servant.
§ 3. If too many did not persuade themselves that they had studied sufficiently, there would not be such a Scarcity of the Best, nor such a Swarm of the Worst. These, because they can sing by Heart three or four Kyrie's[91], think they are arrived at the Non plus ultra; but if you give them a Cantata to sing, that is even easy, and fairly written, they, instead of complying as they ought, will tell you with an impudent Face, that Persons of their Degree are not obliged to sing in the vulgar Tongue at Sight. And who can forbear laughing? For a Musician knowing that the Words, let them be either Latin or Italian, do not change the Form of the Notes, must immediately conclude, that this pert Answer of the great Man proceeds from his not being able to sing at Sight, or from his not knowing how to read; and he judges right.
§ 4. There are an infinite Number[92] of others, who wish and sigh for the Moment that eases them from the painful Fatigue of their first Studies, hoping to have a Chance to make one in the Crowd of the second Rate; and stumbling by good Luck on something that gives them Bread, they immediately make a Legg to Musick and its Study, not caring whether the World knows they are, or are not among the Living. These do not consider that Mediocrity in a Singer means Ignorance.
§ 5. There are also several who study nothing but the Defects, and are endow'd with a marvelous Aptness to learn them all, having so happy a Memory as never to forget them. Their Genius is so inclined to the Bad, that if by Gift of Nature they had the best of Voices, they would be discontented if they could not find some Means to make it the worst.
§ 6. One of a better Spirit will endeavour to keep better Company. He will be sensible of the Necessity of farther Discoveries, of farther Instructions, and even of another Master, of whom, besides the Art of Singing, he would be glad to learn how to behave himself with good Breeding. This, added to the Merit acquired by his Singing, may give him Hopes of the Favour of Princes, and of an universal Esteem.
§ 7. If he aims at the Character of a young Man of Wit and Judgment, let him not be vulgar or too bold.
§ 8. Let him shun low and disreputable Company, but, above all, such as abandon themselves to scandalous Liberties.
§ 9. That Professor ought not to be frequented, though excellent in this Art, whose behaviour is vulgar and discreditable, and who cares not, provided he makes his Fortune, whether it be at the Expence of his Reputation.
§ 10. The best School is the Nobility, from whom every thing that is genteel is to be learned; but when a Musician finds that his Company is not proper, let him retire without repining, and his Modesty will be to his Commendation.
§ 11. If he should not meet with a Gratification from the Great, let him never complain; for it is better to get but little, than to lose a great deal, and that is not seldom the Case. The best he can do, is to be assiduous in serving them, that at least he may hope for the Pleasure of seeing them for once grateful, or be convinced for ever of their being ungrateful.
§ 12. My long and repeated Travels have given me an Opportunity of being acquainted with most of the Courts of Europe, and Examples, more than my Words, should persuade every able Singer to see them also; but without yielding up his Liberty to their Allurements: For Chains, though of Gold, are still Chains; and they are not all of that precious Metal: Besides, the several Inconveniencies of Disgrace, Mortifications, Uncertainty; and, above all, the Hindrance of Study.
§ 13.[93] The golden Age of Musick would be already at an End, if the Swans did not make their Nests on some Theatres in Italy, or on the royal Banks of the Thames. O dear London!—--On the other Streams, they sing no more as they used to do their sweet Notes at their expiring; but rather sadly lament the Expiration of those august and adorable Princes, by whom they were tenderly belov'd and esteemed. This is the usual Vicissitude of Things in this World; and we daily see, that whatever is sublunary must of Necessity decline. Let us leave the Tears to the Heart, and return to the Singer.
§ 14. A discreet Person will never use such affected Expressions as, I cannot sing To-day;—I've got a deadly Cold; and, in making his Excuse, falls a Coughing. I can truly say, that I have never in my Life heard a Singer own the Truth, and say, I'm very well to-day: They reserve the unseasonable Confession to the next Day, when they make no Difficulty to say, In all my Days my Voice was never in better Order than it was Yesterday. I own, on certain Conjunctures, the Pretext is not only suitable, but even necessary; for, to speak the Truth, the indiscreet Parsimony of some, who would hear Musick for Thanks only, goes so far, that they think a Master is immediately obliged to obey them gratis, and that the Refusal is an Offence that deserves Resentment and Revenge. But if it is a Law human and divine, that every Body should live by their honest Labour, what barbarous Custom obliges a Musician to serve without a Recompence? A cursed Over-bearing; O sordid Avarice!
§ 15. A Singer, that knows the World, distinguishes between the different Manners of Commanding; he knows how to refuse without disobliging, and how to obey with a good Grace; not being ignorant, that one, who has his Interest most at Heart, sometimes finds his Account in serving without a Gratification.
§ 16. One who sings with a Desire of gaining Honour and Credit, cannot sing ill, and in time will sing better; and one, who thinks on nothing but Gain, is in the ready way to remain ignorant.
§ 17. Who would ever think (if Experience did not shew it) that a Virtue of the highest Estimation should prejudice a Singer? And yet, whilst Presumption and Arrogance triumph (I'm shock'd to think on't) amiable Humility, the more the Singer has of it, the more it depresses him.
§ 18. At first Sight, Arrogance has the Appearance of Ability; but, upon a nearer View, I can discover Ignorance in Masquerade.
§ 19. This Arrogance serves them sometimes, as a politick Artifice to hide their own Failings: For Example, certain Singers would not be unconcern'd, under the Shame of not being able to sing a few Barrs at Sight, if with Shrugs, scornful Glances, and malicious shaking of their Heads, they did not give the Auditors to understand that those gross Errors are owing to him that accompanies, or to the Orchestre.
§ 20. To humble such Arrogance, may it never meet with that Incense which it expects.
§ 21. Who could sing better than the Arogant, if they were not ashamed to study?
§ 22. It is a Folly in a Singer to grow vain at the first Applauses, without reflecting whether they are given by Chance, or out of Flattery; and if he thinks he deserves them, there is an End of him.
§ 23. He should regulate his Voice according to the Place where he sings; for it would be the greatest Absurdity, not to make a Difference between a small Cabinet and a vast Theatre.[94]
§ 24. He is still more to be blam'd, who, when singing in two, three, or four Parts, does so raise his Voice as to drown his Companions; for if it is not Ignorance, it is something worse.
§ 25. All Compositions for more than one Voice ought to be sung strictly as they are written; nor do they require any other Art but a noble Simplicity. I remember to have heard once a famous Duetto torn into Atoms by two renown'd Singers, in Emulation; the one proposing, and the other by Turns answering, that at last it[95] ended in a Contest, who could produce the most Extravagancies.
§ 26. The Correction of Friends, that have Knowledge, instructs very much; but still greater Advantage may be gain'd from the ill-natur'd Criticks; for, the more intent they are to discover Defects, the greater Benefit may be receiv'd from them without any Obligation.
§ 27. It is certain, that the Errors corrected by our Enemies are better cur'd, than those corrected by ourselves; for we are apt to indulge our Faults, nor can we so easily perceive them.
§ 28. He that sings with Applause in one Place only, let him not have too good an Opinion of himself; let him often change Climates, and then he will judge better of his Talent.
§ 29. To please universally, Reason will tell you, that you must always sing well; but if Reason does not inform you, Interest will persuade you to conform to the Taste of that Nation (provided it be not too deprav'd) which pays you.
§ 30. If he that sings well provokes Envy, by singing better he will get the Victory over it.
§ 31. I do not know if a perfect Singer can at the same time be a perfect Actor; for the Mind being at once divided by two different Operations, he will probably incline more to one than the other; It being, however, much more difficult to sing well than to act well, the Merit of the first is beyond the second. What a Felicity would it be, to possess both in a perfect Degree![96]
§ 32. Having said, a Singer should not copy, I repeat it now with this Reason; that to copy is the part of a Scholar, that of a Master is to invent.
§ 33. Let it be remembered by the Singer, that copying comes from Laziness, and that none copy ill but out of Ignorance.
§ 34. Where Knowledge with Study makes one a good Singer, Ignorance with one single Copy makes a thousand bad ones; however, among these there are none that will acknowledge her for a Teacher.
§ 35. If many of the female Singers (for whom I have due Respect) would be pleased to consider, that by copying a good one, they are become very bad ones, they would not appear so ridiculous on the Stage for their Affectation in presuming to sing the Airs of the Person they copy, with the same Graces. In this great Error, (if it does not proceed from their Masters) they seem to be governed by Instinct, like the inferior Creatures, rather than by Reason; for That would shew them, that we may arrive at Applause by different ways, and past Examples, as well as one at this present make us sensible, that two Women would not be equally eminent if the one copy'd the other.[97]
§ 36. If the Complaisance, which is due to the fair Sex, 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 Sex, 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 destitute 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 Restitution 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 noble 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 sçai quoy, that pleasing Charm, that so subtily passes 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 Assistance, 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 principal 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 coarse Startings of the Voice. A disagreeable Defect; however, being brought from[103] beyond the Alps, it passes 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 Title 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 anticipate 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 Scraps 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 illustrious 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 Passages 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 Bass 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 Sex,[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 Documents.
§ 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 Passages 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.
