Part 7

Sec. 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.

Sec. 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.

Sec. 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_.

Sec. 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.

Sec. 77. He will give him ample Instructions concerning _Graces_ of all sorts, and furnish him with Rules and profitable Documents.

Sec. 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.

CHAP. X.

_Of_ Passages _or_ Graces.

_Passages_ or _Graces_ being the principal Ornaments in Singing, and the most favourite Delight of the Judicious, it is proper that the Singer be very attentive to learn this Art.

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

Sec. 3. There are likewise five subaltern Embellishments _viz._ the _Appoggiatura_, the _Shake_, the _putting forth of the Voice_, the _Gliding_, and _Dragging_.

_The principal Qualifications teach,_

Sec. 4. That the _Passages_ and _Graces_ cannot be form'd but from a profound _Judgment_.

Sec. 5. That they are produced by a singular and beautiful _Invention_, remote from all that is vulgar and common.

Sec. 6. That, being govern'd by the rigorous, but necessary, Precepts of _Time_, they never transgress its regulated Measure, without losing their own Merit.

Sec. 7. That, being guided by the most refined _Art_ on the Bass, they may There (and no where else) find their Center; there to sport with Delight, and unexpectedly to charm.

Sec. 8. That, it is owing to an exquisite _Taste_, that they are executed with that sweet _putting forth_ of the Voice, which is so enchanting.

_From the accessory Qualities is learned,_

Sec. 9. That the _Graces_ or _Passages_ be easy in appearance, thereby to give universal Delight.

Sec. 10. That in effect They be difficult that thereby the Art of the Inventor be the more admired.

Sec. 11. That They be performed with an equal regard to the Expression of the Words, and the Beauty of the Art.

Sec. 12. That They be _gliding_ or _dragging_ in the _Pathetick_, for They have a better Effect than those that are mark'd.

Sec. 13. That They do not appear studied, in order to be the more regarded.

Sec. 14. That They be softened with the _Piano_ in the _Pathetick_, which will make them more affecting.

Sec. 15. That in the _Allegro_ They be sometimes accompanied with the _Forte_ and the _Piano_, so as to make a sort of _Chiaro Scuro_.

Sec. 16. That They be confin'd to a _Group_ of a few Notes, which are more pleasing than those which are too numerous.

Sec. 17. That in a slow _Time_, there may be a greater Number of them (if the Bass allows it) with an Obligation upon the Singer to keep to the Point propos'd, that his Capacity be made more conspicuous.

Sec. 18. That They be properly introduc'd, for in a wrong Place They disgust.

Sec. 19. That They come not too close together, in order to keep them distinct.

Sec. 20. That They should proceed rather from the Heart than from the Voice, in order to make their way to the Heart more easily.

Sec. 21. That They be not made on the second or fourth Vowel, when closely pronounc'd, and much less on the third and fifth.

Sec. 22. That They be not copied, if you would not have them appear defective.

Sec. 23. That They be stol'n on the _Time_, to captivate the Soul.

Sec. 24. That They never be repeated in the same place, particularly in _Pathetick Airs_, for there they are the most taken Notice of by the Judicious.

Sec. 25. And, above all, let them be improv'd; by no means let them lose in the Repetition.

Sec. 26. Many Professors are of Opinion, that in _Graces_ there is no room for the marked _Divisions_, unless mix'd with some of the aforesaid Embellishments or some other agreable Accidents.

Sec. 27. But it is now time that we speak of the _Dragging_, that, if the _Pathetick_ should once return again into the World, a Singer might be able to understand it. The Explanation would be easier understood by Notes of Musick than by Words, if the Printer was not under great Difficulty to print a few Notes; notwithstanding which, I'll endeavour, the best I can, to make myself understood.

Sec. 28. When on an even and regular Movement of a Bass, which proceeds slowly, a Singer begins with a high Note, dragging it gently down to a low one, with the _Forte_ and _Piano_, almost gradually, with Inequality of Motion, that is to say, stopping a little more on some Notes in the Middle, than on those that begin or end the _Strascino_ or _Dragg_.[109] Every good musician takes it for granted, that in the Art of Singing there is no Invention superior, or Execution more apt to touch the Heart than this, provided however it be done with Judgment, and with putting forth of the Voice in a just _Time_ on the Bass. Whosoever has most Notes at Command, has the greater Advantage; because this pleasing Ornament is so much the more to be admired, by how much the greater the Fall is. Perform'd by an excellent _Soprano_, that makes use of it but seldom, it becomes a Prodigy; but as much as it pleases descending, no less would it displease ascending.

Sec. 29. Mind this, O my beloved Singers! For it is to You only, who are inclined to study, that I have addressed myself. This was the Doctrine of the School of those Professors, whom, by way of Reproach, some mistaken Persons call _Ancients_. Observe carefully its Rules, examine strictly its Precepts, and, if not blinded by Prejudice, you will see that this School ought to sing in Tune, to put forth the Voice, to make the Words understood, to express, to use proper Gesture, to perform in _Time_, to vary on its Movement, to compose, and to study the _Pathetick_, in which alone Taste and Judgment triumph. Confront this School with yours, and if its Precepts should not be sufficient to instruct you, learn what's wanting from the _Modern_.

Sec. 30. But if these my Exhortations, proceeding from my Zeal, have no Weight with you, as the Advice of Inferiors is seldom regarded, allow at least, that whoever has the Faculty of Thinking, may once in sixty Years think right. And if you think, that I have been too partial to the Times past, then would I persuade you, (if you have not a shaking Hand) to weigh in a just Ballance your most renowned Singers; who you take to be _Moderns_ (but are not so, except in their _Cadences_;) and having undeceived yourselves, you will perceive in them, that instead of Affectations, Abuses, and Errors, They sing according to those powerful Lessons that give Delight to the Soul, and whose Perfections have made Impressions on me, and which I shall always remember with the greatest Pleasure. Do but consult them, as I have done, and they will truly and freely tell you, That They sell their Jewels where they are understood; That the Singers of Eminence are not of the _Mode_, and that at present there are many bad Singers.

Sec. 31. True it is, that there are some, tho' few, very good Singers, who, when the Vehemence of their youthful fire is abated, will by their Examples do Justice to their delightful Profession, in keeping up the Splendor of it, and will leave to Posterity a lasting and glorious Fame of their Performances. I point them out to you, that, if you find yourselves in an Error, you may not want the Means to correct it, nor an Oracle to apply to whenever you have occasion. From whence I have good Grounds to hope, that the true Taste in Singing will last to the End of the World.

Sec. 32. Whoever comprehends what has been demonstrated to him, in these and many other Observations, will need no farther Incitement to study. Stirred up by his own Desire, he will fly to his beloved Instrument, from which, by continued Application, he will find he has no Reason to sit down satisfied with what he has learn'd before. He will make new Discoveries, inventing new Graces, from whence after comparing them well together, he will chuse the best, and will make use of them as long as he thinks them so; but, going on in refining, he will find others more deserving his Esteem. To conclude, from these he will proceed on to an almost infinite Number of _Graces_, by the means whereof his Mind will be so opened, that the most hidden Treasures of the Art, and most remote from his Imagination, will voluntarily present themselves; so that, unless Pride blinds him, or Study becomes tiresome to him, or his Memory fails him, he will increase his Store of Embellishments in a Stile which will be entirely his own: The principal Aim of one that strives to gain the highest Applause.

Sec. 33. Finally, O ye young Singers, hearken to me for your Profit and Advantage. The Abuses, the Defects, and the Errors divulged by me in these Observations, (which in Justice ought not to be charg'd on the _Modern_ Stile) were once almost all Faults I myself was guilty of; and in the Flower of my Youth, when I thought myself to be a great Man, it was not easy for me to discover them. But, in a more mature Age, the slow Undeceit comes too late. I know I have sung ill, and would I have not writ worse! but since I have suffered by my Ignorance, let it at least serve for a Warning to amend those who wish to sing well. He that studies, let him imitate the ingenious Bee, that sucks its Honey from the most grateful Flowers. From those called _Ancients_, and those supposed _Moderns_, (as I have said) much may be learn'd; it is enough to find out the Flower, and know how to distill, and draw the Essence from it.

Sec. 34. The most cordial, and not less profitable Advice, I can give you, is the following:

Sec. 35. Remember what has been wisely observed, that Mediocrity of Merit can but for a short time eclipse the true Sublime, which, how old soever it grows, can never die.

Sec. 36. Abhor the Example of those who hate Correction; for like Lightning to those who walk in the Dark, tho' it frightens them, it gives them Light.

Sec. 37. Learn from the Errors of others: O great Lesson! it costs little, and instructs much. Of every one something is to be learned, and the most Ignorant is sometimes the greatest Master.

_FINIS_.

PLATES

Pl. I

Chap. 1.st

Pl. II

Chap. 2d.

Pl. III

Pl. IV

Chap. 3d.

Chap 4th

Chap. 5th

Chap 8th

FOOTNOTES:

[1] When Arts and Sciences were retrieving from the Barbarism in which they were buried, Musick chiefly took its Rise in _Flanders_, and the Composers of Musick of that Nation were dispersed all over _Europe_, to the Improvement of others. In _Italy_ there arose from that School, among several others, _P. Alis. Palestrina_, a Genius so extraordinary, that he is looked upon as the _Raphael_ among the Musicians. He lived in Pope _Leo_ the Tenth's Time; and no Musick, that we know of, is performed at the Pope's Chapel, to this Day, but of his Composition, except the famous _Miserere_ of _Allegri_, who liv'd a little time after _Palestrina_.

[2] Our Author seems to be a little too partial in Favour of the Singer, all momentary Productions being the same; though it must be allowed, that by reason of the Expression of the Words, any Error in Singing will be more capital, than if the same were committed on an Instrument.

[3] The Author directs this for the Instruction of a _Soprano_, or a treble Voice, because Youth possesses that Voice mostly, and that is the Age when they should begin to study Musick. It may not be amiss to mention, that the _Soprano_ is most apt to perform the Things required by your Author, and that every different Scale of Voice has something peculiarly relative to its Kind as its own Property; for a _Soprano_ has generally most Volubility, and becomes it best; and also equally the Pathetick. The _Contr'Alto_ more of the Pathetick than the Volubility; the _Tenor_ less of the Pathetick, but more of the Volubility than the _Contr'Alto_, though not so much as the _Soprano_. The _Bass_, in general more pompous than any, but should not be so boisterous as now too often practised.

[4] By this section, and mostly throughout the Work, one sees, the Author calculated this Treatise chiefly for the Advantage of Professors of Musick; but, notwithstanding, it appears in several Places, that his Intention is, that all Lovers of Musick should also be the better for it.

[5] _The Explanation of_ Sic vos non vobis, _&c._, _for the Satisfaction of those who do not perfectly remember it_.

_Virgil_ having composed a Distich, containing the Praise of _Augustus_, and a Compliment on his good Fortune, fix'd it on the Palace Gate, without any Name subscrib'd. _Augustus_, making strict Enquiry after the Author, and _Virgil's_ Modesty not suffering him to own the Verses, one _Bathillus_, a Poet of a mean Reputation, owned himself the Author, and received Honour and Reward from the Emperor. _Virgil_, somewhat scandalized at this Accident, fixed an Hemistich in these Words (_Sic vos non vobis_) four times repeated under the other, where he had placed the former Verses. The Emperor was as diligent to have these Hemistichs filled up, but no-body appearing to do it, at length _Virgil_ supplied them thus:

_Hos ego Versiculos feci, tulit alter Honores; Sic vos non vobis nidificatis aves. Sic vos non vobis vellera fertis oves. Sic vos non vobis mellificatis apes. Sic vos non vobis fertis aratra boves._

i.e. These Verses I made, but another has taken the Applause of them.

_So ye Birds build not your Nests For yourselves. So ye Sheep bear not your Wool For yourselves. So ye Bees make not your Honey For yourselves. So ye Oxen submit to the Plow Not for yourselves_.

Upon this Discovery, _Bathillus_ became the Ridicule of _Rome_, and _Virgil_ acquired a double Reputation.

The Distich, which _Bathillus_ claim'd for his, was this:

_Nocte plut tota, redeunt spectacula mane, Divisum Imperium cum Jove Caesar habet._

i.e. It rain'd all Night; in the Morning the publick Shews return: _Jove_ and _Caesar_ divide the Rule of the World. The Compliment is, that _Caesar_ designing to exhibit Sports to the People, though the preceding Night was rainy and unpromising, yet such Weather returned with the Morning, as did not disappoint the Solemnity.

[6] _Alla Capella_, Church-Musick where the Flats and Sharps are not mark'd.

[7] Seven Cliffs necessary to be known. Pl. I. Numb. 1. By the Help of these Cliffs any Line or Space may be what Note you please. Pl. I. Numb. 2.

[8] It is necessary to understand the _Sol-Fa_-ing, and its Rules, which shew where the two Semitones lie in each Octave, Pl. I. Numb. 3. Where Flats or Sharps are marked at the Cliff, the Rule is, if one Flat, That is _Fa_; if more Flats, the last. If one Sharp, That is _Mi_; if more Sharps, the last.

[9] His meaning is, that the _French_ are not in the right.

[10] See Sec. 2, and the following, in Chap. III. where the Difficulty of the _Semitone Major_ and _Minor_ are cleared.

[11] _Voce di Petto_ is a full Voice, which comes from the Breast by Strength, and is the most sonorous and expressive. _Voce di Testa_ comes more from the Throat, than from the Breast, and is capable of more Volubility. _Falsetto_ is a feigned Voice, which is entirely formed in the Throat, has more Volubility than any, but of no Substance.

[12] _Register_; a Term taken from the different Stops of an Organ.

[13] The Pitch of _Lombardy_ or _Venice_, is something more than half a Tone higher than at _Rome_.

[14] A _Messa di Voce_ is the holding out and swelling a Note. Vide Pl. I. Numb. 4. This being a Term of Art, it is necessary to use it, as well as _Piano_ for soft, and _Forte_ for loud. _N.B._ Our Author recommends here to use any Grace sparingly, which he does in several other Places, and with Reason; for the finest Grace too often repeated grows tiresome.

[15] See for _Appoggiatura_ in the next Chapter.

[16] This Chapter contains some Enquiries into Matters of Curiosity, and demands a little Attention. The Reader therefore is desired to postpone it to the last.

[17] _Appoggiatura_ is a Word to which the _English_ Language has not an Equivalent; it is a Note added by the Singer, for the arriving more gracefully to the following Note, either in rising or falling, as is shewn by the Examples in Notes of Musick, Pl. II. Numb. 2. The _French_ express it by two different Terms, _Port de Voix_ and _Appuyer_; as the _English_ do by a _Prepare_ and a _Lead_. The Word _Appoggiatura_ is derived from _Appoggiare_ to lean on. In this Sense, you lean on the first to arrive at the Note intended, rising or falling; and you dwell longer on the Preparation, than the Note for which the Preparation is made, and according to the Value of the Note. The same in a Preparation to a Shake, or a Beat from the Note below. No _Appoggiatura_ can be made at the Beginning of a Piece; there must be a Note preceding, from whence it leads.

[18] Here begins the Examination of the _Semitones Major and Minor_, which he promised in Sec. 15. Ch. 1. It may be of Satisfaction to the Studious, to set this Matter at once in a true Light; by which our Author's Doubts will be cleared, and his Reasoning the easier understood. A _Semitone Major_ changes Name, Line, and Space: _A Semitone_ Minor changes neither. Pl. II. Numb. 1. To a _Semitone Major_ one can go with a Rise or _a_ Fall distinctly; to a _Semitone Minor_ one cannot _N.B._ From a _Tone Minor_ the _Appoggiatura_ is better and easier than from a _Tone Major_.

[19] These are all _Tones Major_ and _Minor_, and _Semitones Major_. Pl. II. Numb. 2.

[20] Because they are _Semitones Major_. Pl. II. Numb. 3.

[21] Because they are _Semitones Major_. Pl. II. Numb. 4.

[22] Because they are all _Semitones Minor_, which may be known by the abovementioned Rule, of their not changing Name, Line, nor Space. Pl. II. Numb. 5. and which makes it manifest, that a _Semitone Minor_ cannot bear an _Appoggiatura_.

[23] For the same Reason, these being _Semitones Minor_. Pl. II. Numb. 6.

[24] Because one is a _Semitone Major_, and the other a _Semitone Minor_. Pl. III. Numb. 7.

[25] Because they are _Semitones Minor_. Pl. III, Numb. 8.

[26] The _Tone_, or _Mood_, you are in, will determine which is a _Tone Major_ or _Minor_; for if you change the _Mood_ or _Tone_, that which was the _Tone Major_ may become the _Tone Minor_, and so _Vice Versa_: Therefore these two Examples from _C_ to _D_, and from _F_ to _G_, do not hold true.

[27] His Perplexity comes from a wrong Notion, in not distinguishing those two _Semitones_.

[28] All Intervals, rising with an _Appoggiatura_, arise to the Note with a sort of _Beat_, more or less: and the same, descending, arrive to the Note with a sort of _Shake_, more or less. Pl. III. Numb. 9, 10. One cannot agreeably ascend or descend the Interval of a third _Major_ or _Minor_, Pl. III. Numb 11. But gradually very well. Pl. III. Numb. 12. Examples of false or deceitful Intervals. Pl. III. Numb. 13.

[29] So in all Cases where the Interval is deceitful. Pl. III. Numb. 14. With a _Messa di Voce_. Pl. III. Numb. 15. See for _Messa di Voce_, Chap. I. Sec. 29, and its Note.

[30] In all the modern _Italian_ Compositions the _Appoggiatura's_ are mark'd, supposing the Singers to be ignorant where to place them. The _French_ use them for their Lessons on the _Harpsichord_, &c., but seldom for the Voice.

[31] See for the several Examples of the _Shakes_, Pl. IV.

[32] The first _Shake_ of a _Tone_, Pl. IV. Numb. 1.

[33] See for the Meaning of superior and inferior _Cadences_, Chap. VIII. Sec. 1. Pl. V. Numb. 3. _N.B._ Prom the inferior or lower Cadences, the first, or full, _Tone Shake_, is not always excluded; for in a sharp Key it is always a _Tone_, and in a flat Key a _Semitone_, Pl. IV. Numb. 3.