Style in Singing

Name: Style in Singing
Author: W. E. Haslam

by W. E. Haslam

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Language: en2,241 downloads on Project Gutenberg

Subjects

Singing Voice culture

In: Music·Music·How To ...

Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #21400.

About this book

Style in Singing is a systematic treatise on vocal pedagogy written by W. E. Haslam and published in Paris in 1911. The work opens with a declaration that, just as instrumental music has been examined by “acknowledged and competent authorities,” vocal art likewise demands a set of governing principles. Haslam frames his purpose as an “addition to vocal literature,” promising a later volume on lyric declamation that will apply the same concepts to the German, French, Italian, and other national schools. The first chapters outline four foundational elements, pose, technique, style, and repertoire, while the opening pages already stress the importance of correct voice emission, the dangers of mis‑classification, and the need for a skilled teacher. The text proceeds in a logical, almost clinical manner, dissecting topics such as colour, accent, intensity, phrasing, and the proper handling of the vocal compass.

The voice of the author is that of an early‑20th‑century vocal scholar, earnest and didactic, employing a formal, sometimes polemical tone that reflects the period’s confidence in scientific approaches to art. Readers who appreciate detailed, historically grounded discussions of singing technique, voice teachers, conservatory students, and singers interested in the theoretical underpinnings of style, will find Haslam’s blend of anatomical insight and aesthetic philosophy engaging. Those seeking a practical guide rather than a scholarly exposition may prefer more contemporary manuals, but anyone curious about the era’s systematic view of vocal training will benefit from this thorough, well‑structured work.

The opening · free to read

In listening to a Patti, a Kubelik, a Paderewski, the reflective hearer is struck by the absolute sureness with which such artists arouse certain sensations in their auditors. Moreover, subsequent hearings will reveal the fact that this sensation is aroused always in the same place, and in the same manner. The beauty of the voice may be temporarily affected in the case of a singer, or an instrument of less aesthetic tone-quality be used by the instrumentalist, but the result is always the same.

What is the reason of this? Why do great artists always make the same effect and produce the same impression on their public? Why, for instance, did the late Mme. Tietjens, when singing the following passage in Handel's Messiah, always begin with very little voice of a dulled quality, and gradually brighten its character as well as augment its volume until she reached the high _G_-[sharp] which is the culmination, not only of the musical phrase, but also of the tremendous announcement to which it is allied?

[Music: For now is Christ risen, for now is Christ risen.]

This last tone was delivered with the full force and brilliance of her magnificent voice, and was prolonged until the thrill produced in the listener became almost painful in its intensity. Again I ask, why did this world-famous singer perform this passage always in the same way? Unreflecting people may reply vaguely that it was because the artist "sang with expression." But what constitutes "expression" in singing? No great artist--no matter what the vehicle or medium through which his art finds manifestation--does anything at random. "The wind bloweth where it listeth" only in appearance; in reality, it is governed by immutable law. Similarly, the outward form of an art is only apparently dictated by caprice and freedom from rule. The effective presentation of every art is based on well-defined and accepted principles. And it is with the earnest desire to throw light on this most important phase of vocal art, that I present the principles of "Style in Singing."

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