CHAPTER XVIII

THE VOICE IN ITS RELATIONSHIP TO MUSIC; THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SPEAKING VOICE IN VOICE CULTURE

The essence of the speaking voice, from the physiological standpoint, and its importance as related to the mechanism of voice production either in talking or in singing, has been largely treated at the beginning of this book, especially in the chapters dealing with the principles about the relationship of the speaking and singing voice, and the determination of its pitch and of its dimensions, like quality, volume, etc. (See Chapters XIII and XIV.)

But the importance of the rôle played by the speaking voice, from the _psychological standpoint_, either in dramatic art or as psychological basis for the singing voice, although not an integral part of our program, as previously explained, is a matter of such concern that it is unavoidable to enter for a moment into the field of psychology.

When the primitive man tried to give vent to his first emotion of joy, fear, or astonishment—most probably an indefinite, bewildered sensation—he cried out a sound which constituted the first phonetic expression that vibrated in the air and gave rise to speech. It was a psychological influence which inspired it, and, no doubt, the gigantic impression which struck him—the sight of the sun, perhaps—was the first incentive for compelling him to express his feeling by ejaculating that sound. This constituted the primitive form of language spoken from which speech took origin, having as its inspiration and incitement a psychological sensation striving for expression. Thus it came about that the human voice has been ruled and controlled entirely, from its very beginning, by psychology.

“Le mot, qu’on le sache,” said Victor Hugo, “est un être vivant ... le mot est le verbe, and le verbe est Dieu.” “The word, it must be known, is a living being ... the word is the verb, and the verb is God.” Such an important mission has Victor Hugo seen in the word that he compared it to God!

Aside from his poetic emphasis, certainly Victor Hugo was right. There is no medium for expressing human sentiments or feelings so high, so strong, and so effective as to bear comparison with the human voice. Its power of impressiveness is incommensurable, not only in relation to the significance of the words spoken, but at times even independent of them, when it lies wholly and intrinsically in the timbre and inflection of the voice itself. Its sound is the first to strike our ears, and to arouse our interest, which is attracted principally by its color and quality, independent of the contents of the words. That explains why certain great artists—Tommaso Salvini, for instance, or Sarah Bernhardt, or Eleonora Duse, and even the celebrated _diseuse_ Yvette Guilbert—conquered the world, often performing for audiences who were not even familiar with their languages, but were deeply affected by the accent, the clarity, the beauty, the pathos, and musical color of the timbre of their voices.

This very characteristic of the human voice exercises a power on us even in ordinary life, to the extent that we sometimes feel repulsion or attraction for a person only because of his voice; sometimes even on account of the sound of his name. Alexander and Napoleon perhaps would not appeal to our imaginations as they do if, instead of their names, they had been called Prosdocimus and Zoroastrus.

Thus it seems obvious that voices having a melodious inflection and beautiful timbre impress us immediately and afford us immense pleasure, regardless of the contents of their speech.

As for the significance of the word, of which the human voice is the supreme medium, its power of effectiveness is far more inestimable than that of the simple sound, which, in spite of its beauty, can never approximate the same effectiveness on human beings as can words.

The infant expresses his first needs and sensations by indefinite, instinctive sounds, which possess little power of impressiveness; but the voice of a baby pronouncing for the first time “ma-ma,” or “pa-pa” is a stirring emotion and triumphal feeling well known to all parents.

The effect which a word of sympathy can exert on a distressed soul cannot be equaled by any other psychological or material means. By a word, an entire existence or a destiny can be changed; but, that word, which possesses so much power, does not retain its value unless the manner in which it is delivered carries its full message. Therefore its striking power of convincing and impressing depends principally on _how_ it is said, which discloses the great importance of the euphonic enunciation of the speaking voice, not only by itself, but _even more_ in connection with the _singing voice_.

Hence the relation of the voice and the music, as it takes place in singing, makes even more conspicuous the necessity of an intimate relationship between the speaking and singing voice, and the standing of the former toward the latter as a fundamental basis for singing.

This relationship is discussed here purely from the _psychological_ standpoint, and refers principally to the power of effect of the words in music.

Indeed, music without words has no specific means for expressing love, hate, fear, joy, enthusiasm, admiration, contempt, and all the shadows of human psychology which can be represented and portrayed so profoundly, so exquisitely and so accurately by words alone.

Their great help in making music more effective is made evident by certain celebrated phrases in operas, and even by entire operas. There is no doubt that in the instantaneous and striking success of “Cavalleria Rusticana”—the little masterpiece that conquered the entire world in a few months—a vital part was played by the impressive story of Verga, so beautifully and effectively arranged in libretto form by Targioni-Tozzetti. The imprecation of Santuzza: “A te la mala Pasqua,” and the finale: “Hanno ammazzato a compare Turiddu,” both of which are spoken, constitute two of the most striking and impressive points of the opera, which no doubt swayed the audience to such spontaneous enthusiasm that Cavalleria was marked by immediate and triumphant success unequaled by that of any other opera.

Thus it becomes evident that the words molded into the music can create the most intense and artistic musical expressions, and the coöperation of the meaning of the words with the music is the ideal ground for the growth of the most intense and complete form of art—the singing music. This brings about the logical deduction that, since singing music is strictly dependent on the coöperation of the voice, we must take precautions that this element, of such essential importance, be performed in its highest and most perfect form.

This condition mainly depends on the correct formation of the speaking voice, as the speaking voice in reality lies at the root of the physiological and psychological structure of the singing voice. At its origin, perhaps, the characteristics of the singing voice were first suggested by the speaking voice, which was so beautifully produced as to strike the ears of the listeners with a musical sensation never previously felt, its melodious quality and intonation affecting their emotions in an astonishing manner, and conquering their primitive souls.

The speaking voice, therefore, is the foundation on which the singing voice was built up; and this imposes upon us the necessity of cultivating first the speaking voice as the essential basis for beautiful and correct singing.