ORATORIO Defined: A large scale, dramatic, musical composition for orchestra, chorus, and soloists, with a text portraying a biblical or sacred theme, presented without sets, scenery, or costumes. Often includes a narrator (historicus), soloists portray specific characters, recitative not delivered rapidly - importance of text. Chorus plays large role in the drama. The Development of Oratorio in the simplest way explained... The term Oratorio comes from the word "Oratory" whi

Just for the record: I did not draw that ^ ... but I do find it amusing, lol. DOWN TO BUSINESS: Sostenuto: Sustaining tones. It is important that the student begin their tone with a clean and neat beginning ( no air before the tone is produced, and neither a harsh attack, but a happy coordinated beginning in the middle of each extreme). This vocal articulation builds the Thryoarytenoid muscle which is the chest voice. Exercise should be done in chest voice so the voice can s

American song is as eclectic as the cultures that make up the USA. Its song style defies description. Ned Rorem is considered to be the foremost American song composer and the man who helped make american art song a great genre. Although American composers are interested in producing vocal works, they are still googly eyed over the genre of Opera. That's your briefing on the matter. Now to some composers and a list of a few of their songs. Amy Beach (1867 - 1944) Beach is the

Carol Kimball states in her book Song: A guide to art song style and literature, "British song has a history of peaks and valleys. Music flourished during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, languished in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and regained its strengthen and quality in the twentieth century." Also, Lutes were important with Early song in Britain for composers like Dowland, Johnson, Purcell... etc. GREAT! That about sums it up for now. Let u

With the development of opera happening in the1600's, Song could hardly compete. Early Italian song is ​​frequently used for beginning vocal study. Here is a handy tool I found on the internet: Handy Tool Early Song: These will be quick since I am most familiar with this period in music. Caccini - Amarilli mia bella - Udite, amanti Monteverdi - Lamento d'Arianna - Con che soavita, labbra odorate Strozzi - Lagrime mie - Non pavento io non di te Pergolesi - Se tu m'ami, se sosp

The history leading up to mélodie? Descending from the troubadour traditions, and the romance, Mélodie is said to begin with Berlioz and end with Poulenc. 130 years. Where did this trend come from? Schubert published his lieder in France and it became very popular and spread throughout the country which was one of the main causes of the rise of mélodie. Another factor was the poets who were writing in a new style which resulted in new ways to set the new style of poetry to mu

The Singers Formant cluster is mostly regarded among men. It is the clustering of F3, F4, and F5. SFC occurs when: (1) there is firm glottal closer (a bright ring in the voice), (2) a low and stable laryngeal posture, (3) the aryepiglottic sphincter is narrowed, (4) and the pharynx is open. These four things must occur in order to create a convergent resonator which ensure the timbral depth of a low F1. The acoustical space of the throat creates a lower threshold of breath pr

Carl Emil Seashore (1866-1949) Using phono-photographic recordings of musical performances and speech and psychophysic measurements on the perception of the vibrato, Carl E. Seashores' research on Vibrato at the Univerisity of Iowa is the most extensive research that has ever been done since the 1920's/30's. DEFINE Vibrato: a periodic pulsation involving PITCH, INTENSITY, and TIMBRE. The best singers average a semi-tone in width and an oscillation between 6-7 cycles per secon

Observation of Florid Song - 1723 Italian, 1743 English PIER FRANCESCO TOSI - Most important treatise of the 18th Century because if was the first FULL treatise on singing. - Tosi was a castrato who addressed his treatise to the soprano voice - uses the terms "Voce di Petto" (Chest voice) and "Voce di Testa" (head voice) - Tosi addresses registration as a concept, but never elaborated on it in his treatise. Practical Reflections on the Figurative Art of Singing 1774 GIAMBATTI

CHIAROSCURO: Bright and Dark. The result of laryngeal source and the resonating system interacting in such a way as to present a spectrum of harmonics perceived by the listener as a resonant BALANCED VOCAL QUALITY. #openthroat The first time the term CHIAROSCURO appears is in 1774 in Mancini's treatise "Practical Reflections of the Figurative Art of Singing". Prior to this, other authors eluded to this tone quality but never used a specific term. In 1592, Zacconi writes of