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f^R

l^

DAVID EARL McDANlEL

Gift to

San Jose Pubuc Library

D'SCA

ROEO

»i

UA.THItDK UAKCHBei AND MELLIG MELBA

' o u i; "> i

TEN SINGING

LESSONS V V

h

MATHILDE M^RCHESI

"MABCHKSI AND UUSIC"

PREFACE BY MADAME MELBA

1

INTRODUCTION BY W. J. HENDERSOIL,

7'/...';
M 5 1

1

c \

SAr.-j;--%3755'

NEW YORK AND LONDON

HARPER * BROTHERS

PUBLISHERS MDCCCCI

DlSCARDEt

n

>• •

I • •

• m

••••

•• •

• •

• • • •

• •

• •

.••.

•••

• •

• • •

Copyright, 1901, by Harper & Brothers.

ylU rights reserved.
June, 1901.

CONTENTS

PAOI

Preface iii

Introduction vii

First Lesson 3

Second Lesson 23

Third Lesson 43

Fourth Lesson 59

Fifth Lesson 79

Sixth Lesson 95

Seventh Lesson 117

Eighth Lesson 139

Ninth Lesson 161

Tenth Lesson 179

An Appreciation of Madame Mathilde
Marchesi by Nellie Melha

WHEN I consented to employ my
unpractised pen in writing a
preface to this book, it was in
my mind that a few words on the sub-
ject of its distinguished authoress by
one who had had the privilege of her
guidance and friendship, and who owes
her so much love and gratitude as I do,
would be of more interest than any dry
comment upon the subject matter which
speaks so clearly for itself in these all
too limited pages.

It is not too much to say that Madame
Marchesi occupies a unique position in
the world of music. She is something
more than a great teacher of singing —
she is at once the great enthusiast and
philosopher of her art.

• • •

m

Gifted as she is with a personality at
once commanding and lovable; having
an intimate acquaintance with most of
the languages of Europe and their lit-
eratures; enjoying as she does the re-
spect and friendship of all the great
masters in her art; with a mind satu-
rated with the knowledge of music, and
an evergreen heart full of its joys, it is
not a matter of wonder that Madame
Marchesi has for fifty years been re-
markable for the confidence and devo-
tion she has won from all who come
under her influence ; whilst in those who,
in addition to the priceless privilege of
her tuition have enjoyed her intimate
friendship, she has never failed to in-
spire an almost passionate love and
reverence, by her ever ready sympa-
thies, her unfailing cheerfulness, and
the numberless qualities that have gone
to make her life beautiful in devotion
and self-abnegation as an Instructress,
a Wife, a Mother and a Friend.

One of the most conspicuous traits of

iv

Madame as a teacher is her rigid hon-
esty. Take her a voice which has no
potentialities of successful training, and
no considerations of personal gain will
restrain her from kindly, but relent-
lessly sending you away. Or even if
you have the voice, but have no enthu-
siasm and intelligence to back it up,
your cong6 is equally certain. She
logically demands of her pupils an en-
thusiasm and intelligent energy in re-
sponse to her own. Given these con-
ditions and there is no trouble too great,
no care and patience too incessant for her
to devote to the pupil's interests. And
this care and patience are, in Madame's
case, absolutely personal. It might be
forgiven in a woman whose life has
been one of endless toil in one great
arena for over fifty years, if she relied
to some extent upon assistants. But
with Madame it would seem to be an
axiom that what is worth doing is worth
doing yourself; and to this day she is
at her piano from nine o'clock in the

V

morning till six in the evening, alert,
energetic and sympathetic, and ever
eager for another of those conspicuous
successes which have in so remarkable
a manner punctuated her unexampled
career as a teacher.

When in the fulness of time — and we
who know her indefatigable courage are
assured that the time will be as full as
nature will admit — this Mistress of her
art and really noble woman elects to re-
tire from the position she has so long
adorned, and to seek rest from the la-
bors of her long and illustrious life, she
will do more than lay down her burden
of toil. She will lay down a Sceptre.

INTRODUCTION

SIXTY years ago Fetis followed an
account of the long apprentice-
ship of the celebrated singer Caf-
farelli to the eminent master Porpora
with these words: "This mode of in-
struction is no longer pursued. A pupil
who places himself under the care of a
master only goes to him to learn such
an air or such a duet; the pencil of the
master traces some features, some orna-
ments; the unfledged singer catches
what he can, and immediately ranks
himself with the first artists; so that we
have no more Caffarellis. There is not
now in Europe a single school in which
six years are given to teaching the me-
chanical part of singing/' If this was
true in Fetis's time, it is much more so

vu

now, when young singers, gifted with
strong voices, take a few lessons in rep-
ertoire, rush upon the stage, are Uberal-
ly applauded by a public delighted with
the fresh and beautiful quality of a new
organ, and in a. few short years become
merely vocal shadows of what they were
in the beginning, and can get neither
applause nor profitable engagements.
Yet no teacher of skill and experience
asks pupils in these days to spend six
years on the mechanics of singing.
Something less than that will serve, but
not so much less as the hasty aspirant
may wish. There is no royal road to
success in the art of singing, and the
words of Mme. Marchesi, one of the most
distinguished teachers of our time, re-
corded in the following pages, ought to
have weight with all would-be singers.

Mme. Marchesi herself states with
pride that she studied four years under
the eminent master Manuel Garcia, pu-
pil of his famous father, a master
of vocal art never excelled. Mme. Mar-

vm

chesi's teacher was also the teacher of
Jenny Lind, and was a scientific student
of the production of tone by the human
throat. The application of the laryn-
goscope to the study of tone production
and throat diseases was made practica-
ble by Garcia's experiments with it and
his intelligent record of them. Mme.
Marchesi did not find four years too long
for the pursuit of her studies with this
master, who would have found a short
road to the art of singing if there had
been one. That the author of the fol-
lowing pages mastered the principles of
the art under her venerated master is
thoroughly demonstrated by the ex-
cellence of her most prominent pupils.
I speak now of their superiority in the
technics of singing, not of their gifts as
operatic impersonators. Mme. Marchesi
has been especially successful with ex-
ponents of the art of pure bel canto,
the style of singing which calls for the
nicest adjustment and balance of the
vocal means. That such singers as

IX

lima di Murska, Gabrielle Krauss, Etelka
Gerster, Emma Eames, Emma Calv6,
and Nellie Melba were her pupils is suf-
ficient evidence of her skill in carrying
on the work of her master, who still is
living at nearly ninety years of age, in
London.

What she has to say of singing, there-
fore, should have uncommon value,
though it may take only the form of a
few hints, such as can be put into a book
on the divine art. The world is sadly
overcrowded with so-called teachers of
singing who, to speak the simple truth,
are no more than quacks. The way to
sing to-day is the way that Porpora
taught CaflFarelli. It is the way in which
all the wonderful male sopranists of his
time sang. It is the way in which their
successors, the astonishingly fine singers
of the latter half of the eighteenth and
the first half of the nineteenth century
sang, for Agujari and Mara and Mrs. Bill-
ington and Grisi and Persiani and their
contemporaries were all exponents of the

old Italian manner of singing, upon
which Mme. Marchesi founds her faith
and her practice. There is no other
right method of singing, for this one is
built on nature. Here the casual ob-
server will naturally ask why, if to sing
rightly is to sing naturally, it is neces-
sary to give so much study to the mastery
of the technics. The answer is stereo-
typed but true, that few of us use our
organs of tone and enunciation in our
daily conversation according to the
laws of nature, and when we attempt to
sing we wander still further from the
path ; for in singing we are called upon
to employ a much wider range of tone
than we use in ordinary speech, and we
are forced to enunciate words through-
out this range. Added to that is the
essential requirement of making the tone
beautiful instead of permitting it to be-
come a shout or a scream.

It is very much easier to sing than it
is to shout or scream, if you only know
how. Yet most persons find it easier to

xi

scream than to sing. Of course they
soon tire; their voices become hoarse;
and in the course of time the strained
and outraged vocal chords refuse to emit
more than a few sounds, and so singing
in the screaming style comes to an end,
and with it the career of the performer.
But if left to himself the singer will almost
invariably shout or scream, and so he
must learn in art, as in religion, to become
as a little child. He must go back to
nature and feed himself at her fount.
But without a wise guide he will never
find himself near to nature's heart.
Where is he to find that guide? I have
said that the world is full of charlatans.
There are teachers who tell their pupils
to sing from their feet, and others who
tell them to get their tones out of the
backs of their heads. Some advocate
singing entirely from the stomach, and
others even ask their pupils to sing from
the pelvis. And most of these are at the
same time requiring from their students
such vicious methods of tone formation

Xll

that inflamed vocal chords and ach-
ing throat muscles tell the pupils that
somewhere in the region of the larjnix
the sounds are really made. When the
pupils have learned to cease torturing
their throats and to employ the great pro-
pelling powers which nature has placed
in their diaphragmatic region, to strike
the tense and delicate vocal chords with a
steady, firm column of air, which can be
increased or diminished in power at the
will of the singer till the softest ptanissi-
mo swells into a fortissimo and dies away
again, they discover that the throat no
longer aches, that it does not even make
its presence felt, and that singing, from
being a labor and a pain, has grown to be
a recreation and a joy. But it is only
under the ministrations of teachers who
know the laws of the true bel canto that
pupils can learn to sing this way. And
when it is learned it meets the demands
of any music ever written.

I am quite aware that the cry of him
who bemoans the departure of former

• • •

xiu

days, because he thinks they were better
than ours, is invariably discredited, es-
pecially by those who are too young to
have known those earlier times. I am
aware, too, that the demands of enlight-
ened opera-goers in this dawn of the
twentieth century are more severe than
they were fifty years ago ; for to-day the
occupant of a stall, sold at a guinea,
asks not only an abundant voice and a
mastery of the musical phrase, but also
dramatic temperament and exceptional
gifts of interpretation. With these he
expects to find the woman singer at least
passably good-looking, graceful in bear-
ing, well gowned, and generally attrac-
tive. The fat, ill -dressed, phlegmatic
prima donna of the early sixties, who
had a good voice and a pure trill, is no
longer tolerated.

But, owing to the popular delusions in
regard to what is called " Wagner sing-
ing " (which is not singing, but scream-
ing and shouting), too many opera-goers
have learned to admire a new sort of

xiv

prima donna, a person who has a robust
voice and an exceedingly robustious
style, who rushes energetically from
one side of the stage to the other, who
pants and puflfs from the violence of her
exertions, but who projects passionate
temperament into the atmosphere much
as a fire-engine squirts water from a hose.
This sort of prima donna is tjrpical in
Germany, where she is worshipped with
an adoration quite blind to the fact that
she knows no more about the laws of
singing than a bull -finch does of the
rules of mathematics. Performers of this
kind get much applause wherever they
go, for if one but makes noise enough
with his voice, he can for a brief while
strut upon the stage and command the
bravos of the ignorant in any city in the
world. The influence and example of
these screaming dramatic singers works
incalculable harm to the cause of good
singing. Their influence vitiates public
taste ; their example turns young singers
aside from the true path.

XV

The downfall of this false goddess is
certain when she attempts to set herself
up for adoration in the temple of pin-e
song. As long as she has the factitious
aids of action and scenery and the in-
terest of a dramatic story to sustain her,
she can maintain her place in the public
esteem till her outrageous treatment of
her voice robs it of its last vestige of mu-
sical quality, and she can produce only
sounds intolerable to sensitive ears. But
let her in the heyday of her career essay
a recital of songs, and she is undone,
for the one thing she cannot do is to
stand still and simply sing. She has
never learned how to do that. Well, in-
deed, does the author of this volume de-
clare that to be a concert singer requires
greater finish of vocal art than to succeed
on the operatic stage. The song recital
is the highest test of ability in singing.
There one must display not only tem-
perament and dramatic intelligence, but
voice of the finest timbre, tones of the
purest and roundest quality, perfect

XVI

attack, perfect management of the breath,
and, in short, a technic upon which no
demand either of majestic breadth or
deUcate refinement can be made without
the certainty of a complete and satis-
factory response.

The greatest singers I have ever
heard could all stand still and sing. The
nobility of a perfect repose was theirs.
They had no need to conceal the poverty
of their art by physical activity or the
pictorial simulation of an emotion which
never colored their music. Among these
very pupils of Mme. Marchesi, who has
not admired the pure singing of the best
exponents of her instruction? Who that
heard them will ever forget the beauti-
ful cantilena and the pearly fiorituri of
Etelka Gerster ; the rippling staccati £ind
dazzling leaps of lima di Murska? Who
will not remember the exquisite finish of
the singing of Emma Nevada, though the
voice was but the twitter of a bird? And
in the present day we have the oppor-
tunity of hearing two of Mme. Marche-

xvii

si's pupils, who, singing parts of wholly
diflFerent character, display in the highest
light the polish of a vocal art founded
on the truth. I refer, of course, to Mmes.
Calv6 and Melba. The latter is a colora-
ture singer whose work is almost flaw-
less. Certainly no one has ever sung
the " mad scene " in " Lucia " with greater
brilliancy than she does, and her delivery
of the crescendo trill at the close of the
cadenza with the flute is an example of
tone placing and breath management
which, I feel confident, was not excelled
in the golden age of Italian art. Yet
above her skill in ornament stand her
faultless attack and tone -formation, the
foimdations of all singing.

As for Mme. Calv6, too much is written
about her Carmen. I prefer to think
of her as Santuzza and Oph61ie — ^the
latter in Ambroise Thomas's ''Hamlet."
In Santuzza it is her acting that is usual-
ly praised, and that is too frequently de-
scribed as an imitation of Mme. Duse's.
But those who so describe it forget that

xviii

the necessary observance of the require-
ments of breathing, and attention to the
rests and entrances as set down in the
music of an operatic r61e, make it impos-
sible to compose its performance on the
same lines as that of a theatrical im-
personation. Fully two -thirds of the
dramatic effect of Mme. Calv6's Santuzza
are wrought by her delivery of the music.
The rest is accessory — highly pictorial
accessory, if you will, but, after all, only
annotative of the subject matter. In
her Oph6lie Mme. Calv6 reached her
triumph in the "mad scene,'' which
had been so generally treated as an
exhibition of mere agility that its dra-
matic possibilities were unknown to most
opera-goers. Mme. Calv6, by overcom-
ing with consummate skill the technical
difficulties of the scene, by the produc-
tion of a tone perfectly suited to the sen-
timent, by a treatment of the phrasing
which made every measure instinct with
meaning, showed that the scene was one
of the great opportunities of a dramatic

xix

singer's career. It is true that Mme.
Calv6 is a great actress; but we are in
danger of forgetting that she does most
of her acting with her voice, and that
she is first, last, and all the time what
Mme. Marchesi made her — a singer.

In spite of these examples of modem
skill in pure singing, I repeat that the
present is prone to neglect the cultivation
of the fundamentals of the art of song,
upon which so much stress was laid in
the earlier and better days of singing.
Mme. Marchesi believes that Wagner is
largely responsible for this. I venture
to disagree with her so far as to think
that it is rather the uncultivated Wagne-
rian shouter and screamer who wins the
applause of the superficial, and so dis-
courages the student. There is only one
method of singing, and that method is
right for Brahms as well as for Bellini,
for Wagner as well as for Gounod.
Those who say that Wagner's music
ought to be sung with some other method
are only endeavoring to apologize for

XX

their own inability to sing it the right
way. No; the real root of the evil is
haste. It is the demand for immediate
results — a characteristic of our times in
many things other than the study of
singing. But while one need not now —
thanks to Garcia, Mme Marchesi, and
their kind — ^study six years on technic
alone, one should still be content to labor
and to wait, to serve patiently at the feet
of a divine mistress who will repay with
favors more glorious than gold or pre-
cious stones.

W. J. Henderson.

THE FIRST
LESSON

THE FIRST LESSON

Paris, August 20, 1900.

AFTER long - continued solicitation
/-A directed to me from all parts of
"^ "^ the world to set down in writing
my views of the art of song in general,
and of its decline, I have finally conclud-
ed to address myself to the task. Seated
in my bright and cheery studio, far from
the tumult of the town, with an outlook
upon a lovely garden, musical with the
song of birds, I take pen in hand to re-
call some of my myriad experiences as a
professor of singing, turning, as to an
audience, to the students — often, unhap-
pily, to the ill-coimselled students — of
to-day, as also to those pupils of the past
that have already entered upon the prac-
tice of their profession.

3

5^

It is not sufficient to proclaim, "I will
be a singer/' An attractive appearance,
the gifts of the musician, quickness of
conception, and the power of representa-
tion, together with requisites of relatively
minor importance; a good ear, a sound
and rich voice of extended compass, added
to an ardent desire to become an artist
— such is the essential equipment of those
that would travel the fair, if thorny, road
which stretches out before them. From
the very inception of one's studies, van-
ity, false ambition, and greed must be set
aside; and divine art only must inspire
the pupil with zeal, compel industry, and
illumine the distant goal. If good results
are attained, distinction, honors, and sub-
stantial reward will not be lacking. If
the tentative young singer comes of ar-
tistic stock, her future, provided the con-
ditions already referred to are fulfilled,
may be regarded as assured. From her
earliest childhood she lives in a musical
atmosphere; from morning until night
music and art are the themes of conver-

4

sation ; she listens to the master works of
the past and present ; her circumstances
are totally unlike those of the ordinary
young girl in private life; her taste is
ever undergoing a process of refine-
ment, her ear acquiring practice, her
ambition gathering stimulus. As she
moves about her home, merrily dancing
and warbling, no stiff and grim governess,
no severe anti-artistic parent censures
or forbids as useless or improper her
harmless diversions. In most ordinary
households, as in aristocratic families,
the natural expression of feeling is re-
pressed ; form, icy form must be respected.
From its infancy, the child must not
laugh too loudly, must not give itself
up to grief or to joy ; it must, so to say,
grow used to the fetters of convention-
alism. A child that has imdergone
this experience, be it said at once, will
seldom make its mark in the world of
art. Yet, training of this sort finds fa-
vor not only in England, but in Amer-
ica, where, as all are aware, business

5

interests, which are guarded with feverish
anxiety, are held the main objects of
Ufe, and art plays a secondary part.
It is true that, within the last few years,
a considerable change has been noted,
particularly since America has drawn
to her shores the leading artists of the
age, and sent her students to gather
their artistic education in Europe. But
the impress of early parental surround-
ings and of their artistically inexpe-
rienced native land abides ; the free ex-
pression of the students' feelings, which
is indispensable to lyric declamation, is
become impossible. An icy coating, so
to say, has formed about the youthful
heart; to thaw it, not merely years of
study, but the contact and influence of
lively and happy men and women, all
aglow with the spirit of art, is needed.
The anti-artistic repression of feeling
to which I refer is much more widely
diffused in England than in America.

How now shall the education of a
child be conducted which, from infancy,

6

has revealed the possession of an acute
ear, a vivacious temperament, and
valuable gifts — a sweet voice and one
true of pitch ; of a child who, from mom
to eve, sings with faultless intonation
the melodies it overhears; and prefers
sitting at the piano and fingering the
scales to busying itself with dolls?
With due consideration for the bodily
health of this gifted little creature, its
parents, after it has learned the alphabet
and is between seven and eight years of
age, may give it piano-instruction, with-
out, however, constraining it to too
constant practice. I blame parents who,
through pride over their children's ac-
complishments, summon them from play
to sing an air for the entertainment of
an aunt or cousin, or to play for them
the piano piece they have just mastered.
How often has such a proceeding — I
speak from experience — embittered chil-
dren towards their studies? Now — ^al-
ways with regard for their physique —
solfeggio (do, re, mi) can be commenced,

7

but with the greatest caution; only a
compass of ten tones (from C to E)
should be allowed.

When the young girl reaches her
twelfth year, and the change to woman-
hood claims all her physical strength,
to preserve her voice for the future, all
singing must be strictly prohibited.
Woe to those that disregard this in-
junction! Let me relate a little case in
point. The once-celebrated songstress,
Krauss-Wranitzka, had two daughters,
whom I knew well. They accompanied
their mother on all her travels, and the
songstress, proud of their lovely voices,
of their bearing — they attracted special
attention through their duets — allowed
them to take part in several concerts,
and even to sing at several courts. When
I became acquainted with the two "'in-
fant prodigies,'' as they termed them,
both were hoarse and almost voiceless.
They occasionally endeavored to sing,
but their attempts were simply distress-
ing to the listener. Still more distress-

8

ing were the reproaches they addressed
to their mother on every possible occa-
sion. The great singer had no idea of
voice-formation, no physiological knowl-
edge, and because of this, had ruined the
future of her darlings. All three are no
more; at rest, in the enjoyment of the
peace that was denied them here below.

Now that the young girl's lips are
temporarily sealed, her general educa-
tion must be commenced. Literature,
declamation, history, harmony, the his-
tory of music, the French, German, and
Italian languages — all these branches
of learning must be thoroughly studied.
There is no more mistaken notion than
that implying that an attractive ap-
pearance and a beautiful voice are
sufficient equipment for an artist. A
substantial education facilitates mar-
vellously the study of the art of song;
unluckily, this most necessary thing is
neglected by most young persons un-
dertaking the study of singing.

Some of my readers may not conceal a

9

sarcastic smile when I suggest that,
in addition to the advice given in the
foregoing lines, I urge mothers not to
fail to enlighten their daughters as to
the secrets of life. The happiness of a
whole family depends upon the attain-
ments of a good housewife ; these, more-
over, are the real vocation of woman.
How great a debt of gratitude do I owe
my darling mother, who, notwithstand-
ing my ntmierous studies, bore with no
neglect in this direction! I often fretted
and complained when summoned from
the perusal of an interesting book, or
interrupted in a fascinating pursuit, to
look into some detail of the household,
and yet, of what rare worth, even in
my artistic life, was that careful home
education I

The sotmdness, strength, and en-
durance of the voice being determined,
and leaving nothing to be wished for,
the study of singing may, when the
student is eighteen or nineteen years
old, be begun — prudently, of course.

10

It is a mistake to think that a brief
course of study is requisite, or that the
student may commence with unim-
portant instruction before resorting to
teachers of recognized ability. The voice
is a physical instrument, subject to the
influences of the weather, the disposition,
and the bodily condition, and it cannot
be handled like a violin or any stringed
instrument; hence, from the very outset
of one's studies, a teacher of the fore-
most rank, understanding perfectly the
formation of the voice, is indispensable.
The whole future of a singer depends
upon this most important choice. If
vocal cords could be bought in the shops,
and replaced, when worn out, with new
ones, singing would be easy; but the
small, tender strips, once damaged by
screaming, over-taxation, or improper
use, are gone forever.

And what of the time that people
nowadays measiu'e oflF as with a yard-
stick in planning a course of study?
"That is the question.'' Are not six,

II

seven, or eight years granted to the in-
strumentalist before he emerges as a
j&nished artist? Yet I have known
pupils that after a few months' study,
and learning ten or twelve airs, have left
my school to appear in public as accom-
plished songstresses. Is not this as
painful for the pupil as for the deceived
teacher? Parents, if you would insure
your children a secure and honorable
art-career, leave them at least the neces-
sary, the indispensable time needed to
acquire their art. There are so many
other ways in which, if desired, one can
earn one's bread. There are, indeed,
instances in which singers gifted with
extraordinary voices, histrionic ability,
and personal appearance, but without
musical education, have had brilliant
careers; these, however, have been ex-
ceptions, not models for imitation. When
parents send their daughters to study
in distant lands, they must provide them
with the means for the uninterrupted
prosecution of their task. Failure to

12

do so has added to my recollections not a
few sad instances, and many a gifted,
hard-working pupil, j&red with love of
her art, has been roused from her dream,
to j&nd her fondest hopes blasted through
the greed of her family for immediate
gain. Many tears, shed over cases of
this kind, have I dried. Some of these
gifted, diligent, and enthusiastic young
persons have abandoned their art, some
to accept unpleasant situations, others
to contract distasteful marriages. Two,
I remember, took the veil. One of the
latter often writes to me under the signa-
ture of Ste. Marie.

Then, too, when pupils have too brief
a time to devote to study and must, in
addition to studying singing, receive
instruction in other branches of learn-
ing — in other words, when their work
is doubled — illness often sets in and
the voice pays the penalty. An in-
stance of this sort that caused me much
sorrow recurs to me as I write. A charm-
ing yotmg American girl, endowed with

13

a lovely voice, came to Paris with her
mother, a lady of miamiable, even for-
bidding expression of coimtenance, to
study under my direction. She made
quick progress, but her mother in-
sisting upon her practising three to four
hours daily, I objected, and this gave
the poor child continual annoyance.
After a few months she grew paler and
paler. I inquired into the matter, and
ascertained that the mother and daughter
dwelt in a cold and unhealthy apart-
ment; that they had no domestic ser-
vants; and that my pupil had to go to
market every morning, clean the rooms,
and prepare the meals. This was too
much for the unhappy girl; she was
taken down with typhus fever and lay
in bed for months. I sent daily to the
poor invalid warm food, for the mother,
her sole attendant, could not do the cook-
ing. At length I was able to visit her,
and as I came into the room a flood of
tears rolled down her cheeks. The
physicians prescribed a change of air,

14

a stay in Italy. The mother and daugh-
ter passed a twelvemonth in Florence,
and then returned to America, but it was
long before my pupil could resume her
studies. She is now a singing-teacher.
In many cases my American pupils
are summoned home after a few weeks'
sojourn, parents having fancied that
life in Paris is very inexpensive, and
discovering their mistake. Other pupils
have returned to me three or four times,
but in consequence of the interruption
in their studies, their talent has never
come to maturity. I could cite many
more sad experiences such as those I
have rehearsed, but will go no further;
those narrated will sufiSce to show that
parents should not send their children to
foreign parts without due reflection.
To all the young women that have come
to me I have expressed my views on these
points with perfect frankness and given
the best advice. Many of them have
accepted the latter; many have disre-
garded it, and sought counsel elsewhere.

15

When intonation is uncertain, the
voice small as to compass, or worn or
displaced through other methods; when
the outward appearance is displeasing
and the disposition gloomy or reserved —
I unhesitatingly advise the pupil against
the choice of an operatic career. To
become an operatic singer one should
possess, besides an attractive person-
ality, a strong voice, resonant in all its
registers; the conceptive power of a
born artist, an iron memory, and un-
questionable talent for the stage; and
the concert singer must study voice-
placing, conception, interpretation, dec-
lamation, foreign tongues, etc., thor-
oughly and diligently. It will scarcely
be believed when I assert that the con-
cert singer must master the art of song
more completely than should the operatic
songstress ; that the work must be more
j&nished, even, than that of her haughty
sister. The operatic songstress is aided
by the stage-setting, the scenery, the
orchestra, the chorus, and by her brother

i6

and sister singers; all these hold the
attention of the public, and cause it
often to overlook small defects, while
the concert singer stands alone in his
or her solitude, and reveals the slightest
shortcomings. It is only through ab-
solute completeness of performance that
the concert singer wins the favor of the
public and rises to the highest position
attainable.

But now to turn to the subject of teach-
ers. The question is one of vital moment,
for the profession is overcrowded. Every
student, every musician, every instru-
mentalist, every worn-out vocalist, con-
siders himself or herself j&tted to give
lessons in the art of song. To do so
worthily, years of study, an accurate
knowledge of all the divisions of the
human voice, acquaintance with the
diflferent schools of composition, musical
talent, familiarity with foreign lan-
guages, a love for one's work, and an
inexhaustible stock of patience are among
the leading requisites of the instructor.
B 17

453755

If the intending pupil seeks instruction,
look to the teacher that has accomplished
something, who, r^ardless of criticism,
addresses himself conscientiously to the
work in hand, and whose pupils disclose
a mastery of the complete art of song.

My studies with my revered teacher,
Manuel Garcia, extended over a period
of four years. I never regretted the
outlay of time, for when I appeared in
public I was suitably equipped; I felt
it, and faced the future without shyness
or apprehension. In addition to his
splendid teaching, I had the advantage
of exemplars of art that helped my de-
velopment most powerfully. I bought a
seat in a box at the Italian Opera, and
thrice a week gazed upon the stars that
shone in the lyric firmament. They
bore the names of Grisi, Tadolini, Frez-
zolini, Persiani, Alboni; of Mario, La-
blache, Tamburini, and Ronconi. In the
French Opera House were Mme. Stolz,
the tenor Duprez, and others. In the
days we Uve in, now that the music

i8

of the period, claiming more strength
than art, has doomed the bel canto to
neglect, the list of models is sadly shrunk-
en, whence the greater need for the
singing-teacher to study and possess
his art, that the student may be guided
in the proper path.

In my next I shall explain to my fair
yotmg readers how the teaching and
coimsel of an established teacher should
be followed, and how their studies should
be carried on to reach the desired end.

THE SECOND
LESSON

THE SECOND LESSON

Paris, August 27, 1900.

I HAVE just returned from a visit
to the beautiful and extraordi-
narily interesting Exhibition. How
gladly would I spend an hour in con-
verse with my friendly readers, in rela-
tion to all the wonders beheld with my
own eyes, or scan with them some of
the ntimerous descriptions thereof; but
I am reminded of my chief duty, and, in
this second letter, must once more con-
cern myself wholly with art, song, and
study.

I must once again ask attention to
one most important point: no young
American or Australian girl should be
sent to Europe before she has made a
thorough study of music and foreign

23

languages, nor should she undertake
the trip unprovided with a companion.
Not a few of my pupils, from the very
outset of their education, have suffered
so acutely from homesickness as to have
to interrupt their studies. Should cir-
cumstances require that the girl travel
alone to foreign parts, care should be
taken to j&nd for her a family home, or
a good, well-conducted "pension," in
order that the inexperienced maiden
may not be compelled to go to a hotel —
as it often happens — and remain there,
under pressure of the urgent entreaties
of the proprietor. Opinions, customs,
and manners are, all over Europe and
especially in France, very unlike those
obtaining in distant countries. Bitter
deceptions and unpleasant incidents
would often be avoided if the future
dwelling-place of the young traveller
were selected previous to her departure
from home. It is also desirable to see
to it that among the numerous "pen-
sions" that abound in Paris, for ex-

24

ample, the young residents find houses
in which the table is good, and wherein
those that study singing may occupy
sunny, airy rooms. In small, ill-ven-
tilated bed-chambers, where the pupil
prosecutes her studies seated at a piano
placed against the wall, the develop-
ment of the voice is all but impossible,
and the chance of injury to the lungs
great. I have known young girls that
changed from "pension'' to "pension,"
I cannot say how many times, before
they felt settled or at home; and others
that have grown so discouraged as to
discontinue their studies and return to
their native climes. Speaking of cus-
toms, let me here observe that it is not
considered proper, in Paris, to attend
the theatres or concerts, or make coun-
try trips with male escorts. This must
only be done with members of one's
family ; in France, much blame attaches
to this practice, which in foreign parts
is considered quite natural. Through
disregard of these conventionalities tri-

25

mmm^

fling incidents occasionally arise^ entail-
ing melancholy consequences. I recall,
among my least pleasant experiences,
two cases of this sort that caused me
much annoyance. One of my pupils,
an American giri, of a musical disposi-
tion and gifted with a beautiful voice,
was afl&anced to one of her countrymen.
The pair were seen together everywhere.
To my inquiry as to whether her mother
approved of the match, my pupil replied
that she had not given herself any con-
cern on this head, and that she was old
enough to choose for herself. I held
it my duty to acquaint the mother with
the situation and ask her counsel as to
a course of action. The letter that
came in answer was filled with thanks
for my motherly solicitude, and advised
me that the writer would shortly come
to Paris. She came, but in spite of her
warnings and entreaties, the daughter
insisted upon marrying. The day of
the wedding was set, and the invitations
were sent forth ; on the evening previous,

26

however, the mother wrote me that
because of reports tinfavorable to the
groom the ceremony would not take
place, and further, that she and her
daughter were to sail for home at once.
I never again had tidings from that
sadly deceived young creature. The
second instance referred to was perhaps
still more painful. One of my best
pupils, also an American, engaged her-
self to a Russian. I questioned her
as to whether she knew aught of her
future husband's family, and she an-
swered that she had the fullest con-
fidence in the man, and that his family
would soon visit Paris to make her ac-
quaintance. A few weeks later she re-
ceived letters from Russia advising her
that her intended was married, and the
father of several children. The deception
threw the young girl into a fit of despair,
and, falling ill, she suspended her studies.
She now teaches singing in a small town
in the United States, and, looking back,
deplores, I doubt not, her credulity.

27

But let us turn from these distressing
stories of the disappointments of youth-
ful, inexperienced, credulous, and ob-
stinate maidens, and resimie our con-
versation anent the art of song and the
means of acquiring a knowledge thereof.
In the past, this noble art was practised
by experienced teachers, who made it
the study of years before imparting it;
who were sure of their groimd, and pro-
duced admirable pupils of both sexes.
The names of the celebrated singers of
Italy and Germany, who long ago served
as bright exemplars for students, are
proof of what I advance. The nimiber
of teachers and students was far smaller
than it is at present; the results were
far more brilliant. Nowadays, every-
body teaches singing, without having
prosecuted the studies essential to a
teacher. I speak now only of teachers
for women's voices, as I have confined
myself exclusively to this branch of art,
and hold the education of the female
voice to be the most difficult. A thorough

28

comprehension of the different sorts of
voices and of the three registers as be-
stowed by nature, is absolutely indis-
pensable. It is not sufficient to read
books on physiology^ it is not enough
to be of a musical disposition, or to enjoy
a widespread reputation as a singer or
songstress, to become a good teacher
of singing. One should have made a
deep study of the female voice before
one imdertakes, as is too frequently
the case nowadays, the difficult work
in question, which, performed by un-
qualified persons, sacrifices numberless
voices. Then, too, the teacher must pos-
sess the patience to develop slowly and
with infinite prudence hard and unyield-
ing voices, and to avoid, at the same time,
whatever may be anti-natural. To quickly
attain celebrity and attract a large array
of pupils, young and rising teachers often
proclaim that they have made discoveries
facilitating the study of song, and espe-
cially helping the development of the
voice, its strength, compass, and quality.

29

I invite notice to but a few of these
false teachings, which my long expe-
rience rejects, and against which I warn
my readers.

I. Some of the new prophets say, there
are not three registers in the female
voice. To this I answer: There are;
but a clear understanding of their exist-
ence must be had, and the greatest
caution exercised in equalizing them,
for the overstepping of their boundaries
is fraught with infinite peril for the
voice. The connection of the registers
often offers extreme difficulty; in some
cases, particularly when the voice is
naturally hard, unyielding, and power-
ful, months of study are necessary before
the tones are made even and the passage
from one register to another becomes
imperceptible. Contralto and mezzo-
soprano voices are in this regard more
difficult of management than soprano
voices. I have had, and still have,
pupils that vocalize for months before
singing airs and songs. This is a

30

task as trying to the patience of the
teacher as to that of the pupil, but its
successful outcome — i.e., the perfect
fashioning of the voice — effaces all the
depressing recollections of past toil.
Where are nowadays the sonorous voices,
easily responding throughout their com-
pass to every demand? Almost all
songstresses sing, especially on the
higher tones, with the greatest effort;
have often so-called veritable "holes''
in their voices, or certain tones which, on
attack, are either veiled or quite toneless.
Through fit management and limitation
of the registers, all this can be avoided.
Hence it is wrong when ignorant teach-
ers aver that the use of the chest tones
prevents the development of the higher
tones, it being understood, however,
that a bleating sound, produced by un-
due pressure on the larynx, be shimned.
The three registers must be even in
respect to quality and strength. I would
also caution the pupil against a too
violent attack (called "coup de glotte")

31

which many teachers counsel, and which
wearies the vocal cords.

2. Concerning breathing. When young
women call upon me to try their voices,
I often notice, on the attack of tones, an
unpleasant nasal sound. "You have a
cold, my dear young lady," I remark;
"it might be better to postpone your
hearing for a day or two.'' "Oh no,''
comes the answer; "my teacher let me
breathe through my nose, assuring me
that by so doing my palate does not
become so dry; but he forbade me this
breathing when singing airs." Is not
this sheer nonsense? Why make rules
to learn anything that must afterwards
remain unused and forbidden? There
are three ways of breathing, of which
only one is natural, and, therefore, to
be recommended. This is "diaphrag-
matic breathing," the breathing involv-
ing the upper or the lower ribs ; " clavic-
ular and lateral breathing" are to be
unconditionally rejected. The latter are
often resorted to by young women who

32

cannot breathe in the right way because
of too tight lacing.

3. The bearing of the songstress. It
must be unconstrained and free from
artificiality; the head must not incline
to the shoulder, thus producing upon the
public an impression as though the
songstress were imploring its mercy.
The swaying of the body to and fro,
while studying (as many teachers ad-
vise), is to be avoided, and • equally so
a crushed posture of the head, which
interferes with the free and natural
rising and falling motion of the larynx.
And there are teachers that seek to
prevent this motion by pressure of their
fingers 1 Alas for such ignorance! I
have seen its victims suffering from
cramp of the larynx and ultimately
losing their voices.

4. Length of practice-hours. There
are teachers that proclaim that, to be-
come a singer, one must practise from
two to three hours daily. This is not
the case. A beginner must not practise,

c 33

at the very outset, more than half an
hour daily. I have had pupils that at
first were so easily fatigued that they
sang twice or thrice, ten minutes each
time, in the class-room; later on studied
their operas, and afterwards came forth,
with fresh voices and abundant endur-
ance, on the stage or in the concert-
room. I shall revert hereafter to meth-
ods of study in general.

5. Concerning the opening of the glot-
tis, when attacking the tone. This new
discovery, this fantasy of an over-
wrought brain, must be steadfastly op-
posed. For the completion of the tone,
the closing of the glottis, on the two
edges of which, as it is known, the vocal
cords lie, is indispensable. The ef-
ficiency of the vocal cords must be in-
creased by their being drawn together,
provided always that in the attack
of a tone a hard impulse (known as the
"coup de glotte/' as mentioned above)
be sedulously avoided. In countries
where speech is free and imconstrained

34

the voices are strong and resonant;
in others, where speaking aloud, from
childhood on, is discountenanced — as
in the case of English folk — the vocal
cords become, in time, inefi&cient; a sort
of relaxation sets in, and voices and
dramatic singers are seldom produced.

6. On the position of the mouth, too,
my views differ from those of some
contemporaneous teachers. It must be
natural and absolutely unartificial. No
change must take place in passing from
one register to another ; no forced, grin-
ning smile worn during study; this is
but a mask applied to the face, and
leads to the formation of the shallow,
open tone that the French term a "voix
blanche/' and makes sustained singing
almost impossible. In vocalizing, as
also in exercises, in florid style the pupil
must never change the position of her
mouth, as this produces a change in
the vowels. It happens, unfortunately,
but too frequently that songstresses,
through incorrect tone formation and a

35

wrong attack of the higher tones, dis-
tort their mouths in order to produce
by force the complete tone; this bad
habit, this dangerous effort, would be
prevented from the very beginning by
good schooling. Song is dependent upon
internal, not upon external mechanism.
And now I must address to my young
readers, and especially those of Amer-
ican birth, a question. I discern al-
ready a frown upon their faces, and
fear that my inquiry may offend them.
Why, oh why, do almost all of them
speak through their noses? Among
men this is less noticeable, but among
grown women and young girls it is all
but general, and most unpleasant to
foreign ears. When a young girl comes
to me to have her voice tried, and, before
she opens her mouth, I am lost in ad-
miration of her flowing tresses, her
pearly teeth, her rosy complexion, and
her stately bearing, how suddenly I
am called down from heaven to earth
when I hear her say, in a clear nasal

36

tone: "Are you Madame Marches!?''
Could not this sHght defect be averted?
Could not mothers, teachers, friends,
governesses, correct this widely dif-
fused and wretched habit? I know
that young girls in America are educated
to be self-reliant, and that mothers'
counsels often encounter opposition ; but
if they were aware how seriously this
twang impairs the impression they seek
to make and do make, and how it in-
fluences and impedes the development
of the voice, they would surely apply
all their energy, their strength, and their
often imused will-power to repress it.
I am the more puzzled over its existence
because so many Italians, Germans,
etc., have migrated to America, whose
free and open voices should lead, by
imitation, to the very reverse. Take
courage, then, ye yoimg rosebuds, and
all will be changed as at touch of a
conjurer's wand. Personally, if this
were achieved I should often be freed
from a most difficult task, for the habit

37

I deprecate increases vastly the toil of
producing noble and beautiful tone.

Another point must be dwelt upon,
which concerns the health in general,
and the freshness of the voice in par-
ticular. The food question. How many
young girls overlook this important
chapter! How many that attend my
morning classes must I assist with wine
and bouillon to prevent faintness! My
earnest entreaties in behalf of good
food are often met with the assurance
that in the morning pupils have no
appetite. Against this evil condition
of things I fight hard, for, as is well
known, singing consumes the bodily
strength. In the very first lesson I
give my new girls I discourse on the
subject of food. In so doing I fear I
may fall under the displeasure of my
young American friends in particular,
but, notwithstanding, I must give advice
on this momentous theme. Above all,
the greatest regularity should be observed
in the hours set for meals, so that the

38

digestion may not be disturbed; and all
dishes should be avoided that, by ex-
perience, are proven hard of digestion.
Then, habits indulged in one's own
country, such as drinking glass upon
glass of iced water, eating fresh bread,
and nibbling at sweets all day long,
must be overcome. The student of
singing must make great sacrifices for
the preservation of the voice; the singer
is usually the slave of his or her in-
strument.' Bicycling, rowing, dancing,
long walks, reading late at night, sing-
ing too soon after meals, exposure to
excessive heat or cold, too frequent
theatre parties or social gatherings —
all must be abandoned. Alas! I fear
my yoimg readers, with 'knitted brows,
will cry out, "No, from a teacher whose
views are so severe, who demands such
great sacrifices, we shall seek no coun-
sel!''

Yet be comforted, my dear children;
this teacher seeks nothing but her pupils'
good; has devoted her whole life to the

39

instruction of youth; and harbors but
one wish : to educate great songstresses,
and prepare for them an honorable and
brilliant future.

THE THIRD
LESSON

•i

THE TfflRD LESSON

Paris, September lo, 1900.

RECEIVED to-day a very peculiar
letter from a young German girl. Its
contents, translated, are as follows :

Dear Madame Marchesi,— I heard yesterday
Madame Melba. Her singing is heavenly, and
her voice no less so. I have had no rest since. I
wish to study with her teacher, but people tell me
that she is terribly severe. I beg you will say to
me candidly if this is the case, and whether, without
fear of being tormented, I can complete my studies
under your direction. I am, unfortunately, very
sensitive, and would escape wearying you with my
tears or, perhaps, being shown the door. I have
studied singing these four years, and during that
time have thrice changed my teacher. Each of
them had another method. My voice is a high so-
prano, unfortunately somewhat tremulous in the
mediiun; I hope, through your great experience,
and encouraged by the brilliant results your school
has produced, that you will be able to repair the
organ ; I have, indeed, unbounded confidence in your
ability to do so. Anticipating a favorable answer,
believe me, etc., etc. BERTHA M .

43

This is not the first, and will not be
the last, time that young women with
shattered voices apply to me for counsel.
Their number increases daily. They
wander for years in foreign lands, and
then, sad and discouraged, return to
their homes. Only yesterday came one
of these ill-advised young songstresses
— ^an American — to inquire of me whether
her voice was well trained. Her voice,
although of pleasant quality and great
compass, was so weak, so uneven, so
thin in the medium, that often there
was no tone. She had been made to
attack the tone with closed mouth
(humming it) and with open glottis,
and to sing the scales in the same fashion.
I should like to learn the object the
teacher had in view when he advocated
this nonsensical method. It is easily
discerned that its outcome is wholly
negative. When arias and songs are
simg with open mouth, why should
the voice be cultivated with the mouth
closed? Other teachers find vocaliza-

.44

tion unnecessary, and undertake to
train the voice by articulation of dif-
ferent words. This too is simply absurd.
Equally so is the method of persons that
cultivate one tone after the other, so
that finally the worried and tortured
tone is made sickly and toneless. Touch-
ing this, may be related an anecdote of
my first year's sojourn in Vienna (1870).
A singing-teacher, Schmidt by name,
asked the director of the conservatory
leave to acquaint us — ^the professors —
with a new singing method. On the
day set by Director Hellmesberger all
were assembled in the large music-hall
of the conservatory. On the platform
a small and seemingly nervous man
had marshalled an array of his male
pupils. These yelled out single and
unmelodious tones until they grew crim-
son and purple in the face, and forced
production made the shriekers voiceless.
A dead silence then prevailed. No
one dared speak a word. At last my
patience left me, and I arose and said:

45

''I cannot understand the object you
have in view. Professor; through the
production of single tones, their con-
nection and blending is made much
more difficult. May I ask each of your
pupils to sing a scale?" ''I see that no
one here will understand my method/'
screamed the now furious charlatan.
"Come, children/' he continued, address-
ing his dazed victims; ''false methods
have here struck root. Ere long people
shall hear of me and of my discovery/'

Personally, I never learned that Pro-
fessor Schmidt's prediction came true,
and of him or the results of his methods
I heard no more.

As to my extreme severity, this is
indeed a new discovery, and sheer non-
sense as well. It has been said that
during class-hours my poor pupils shed
floods of tears, that on the slightest
provocation music-books fly in the air,
and that, in respect of study, my de-
mands are excessive. It has also been
stated that I did not personally impart

46

instruction, but left it to assistants,
and only now and then kept an eye on
the work. My art is an altar upon
which I lay daily burnt-offerings; I
have devoted to it my whole life, and,
in my teaching, forget the world and
all its joys and sorrows. I have no
assistant teachers, only, as do all sing-
ing-teachers, accompanists for the opera
and concert classes. The class for the
development of the voice is conducted
by me, alone and unaided. I ask of
my pupils, many of whom come to me
from afar, and whose families often
make great sacrifices for their educa-
ton, the same enthusiasm for art that
fills my bosom, and the same earnest-
ness that I bring to their education.
Many, unhappily too many, leave much
to be desired in this respect; they are
often careless, negUgent, and lacking in
conscientiousness, and tax my patience
sadly. Those, however, that understand
me, that blindly follow my advice and
faithfully perform their tasks, are sure

47

to have universal recognition and a fair
future. Nellie Melba, who was a fre-
quent witness of the tests to which my
patience is subjected, wrote under one
of her photographs: ''To Madame
Marchesi, whom I love and always
think of as 'La Sainte Mathilde/ for
if there is a saint, it is she. Nellie
Melba, 1894."

Young and inexperienced girls and
their relatives fancy that study of the
art of song is easy. Used to former
teachers, either indifferent or neglectful,
they are astonished at the difficulties
encountered in the cultivation of the
voice, or when they have to commence
studying with me from the very be-
ginning, some are quite disheartened.
To become a good singer not only cour-
age, self-sacrifice, energy, health, and
patience are needed, but one must also
be musical, so that when one faces a
stern, watchful, often quite unsympa-
thetic public, one does not lose self-
possession. In former days the dif-

48

r

ficulties of music were more easily over-
come; Italian music with its fluent
melodies was more readily compre-
hended and learned; but now that
Wagner and his followers wield the
sceptre, and swear death to melody and
to the musical phrase, one must, es-
pecially in so far as the opera is con-
cerned, possess a thorough musical
education.

Here I will furnish a Uttle interesting
information regarding some of my pupils.
When Nellie Melba began studying
with me she already played excellently
on the piano, the organ, and the violin,
and sang at sight. Hence she made
rapid progress as a singer, and rose
far above all the yoimg women that
studied in the same class. She was
extraordinarily diligent; further, no un-
skilled teacher had impaired the charm
of her lovely voice. In a very short
time she acquired both French and
Italian.

Gabrielle Krauss, the celebrated dra-
D 49

matic songstress that studied with me
at the Vienna Conservatory, also left, in
respect to musical acquirements, nothing
to be wished for. She owes the f eUcitous
start in her career to a fortunate chance,
having been called upon, when still a
student, and without previous rehearsal,
to assmne the part of the maiden in
Schmnann's ''Paradise and the Peri,'"
as a substitute for a songstress who was
suddenly taken ill. Her success was
so marked that on the next day she was
engaged for the Imperial Opera House,
in Vienna. Gabrielle Krauss completed
her brilliant career at the Grand Opera
House in Paris, where she was under
engagement for twelve successive years.
My little French coloratur songstress,
Jane Horwitz, is indebted for her first
engagement at the Paris Op6ra-Comique
to a daring venture. Having completed
her studies, she waited longingly for
an engagement, when one morning she
was summoned to replace on the same
evening, and without rehearsal, an in-

50

disposed songstress, in the title r61e of
''Lakm6." She was bold enough to
accept the offer, sang, and was engaged
permanently on the following day. I
might narrate many similar instances
of courage on the part of such of my
pupils as Emma Nevada, Etelka Gerster,
Frances Seville, Emma Calv6, and others,
but am convinced that the story of the
career of the most renowned is sujfficiently
familiar to the public of both worlds.

Speaking of my most prominent pupils,
I think I may now say a few words to
my dear readers concerning my daughter
Blanche. Have I their consent? Yes,
and will therefore begin my brief storj'^.
Blanche is a genuine artist's child.
From infancy she heard the best music
and attended the lessons of all my best
pupils. Nature endowed her richly.
When of tender age she wrote poetry —
a small volume of her poems was pub-
lished years ago — played upon the piano
and violin, and sang small songs with
feeling and graceful expression. For

51

some years, on account of her hasty
growth, she was compelled to give up
singing. When we transferred our
home from Vienna to Paris, however,
she devoted herself wholly to her art,
and sang continually in private dwell-
ings and at the musical matinees that
took place in our house. All the
musicians in Paris— Rubinstein, Am-
broise Thomas, D6libes, Gounod, and
others — took a lively interest in her
extraordinary individuality. During a
severe illness, which prostrated me soon
after my arrival in Paris from Vienna,
and endured six weeks, Blanche gave,
alone, imaided, and to my complete
satisfaction, the lessons I should have
given. She understands, more thorough-
ly than do any of my teaching pupils,
the cultivation of the female voice.
My daughter's marriage turned her,
for some years, from an artistic career,
but of late, following the irresistible
impulse of her heart, she has given her-
self up wholly to art. Her great success

52

as a singer is the joy and pride of my
life.

Of those of my pupils that devote
themselves to teaching I exact that they
impart instructions even gratuitously,
so that they may gather experience,
and in difficult cases seek my advice.
Twice or thrice a month I am thus made
acquainted with their way of teaching,
and when the results are quite satis-
factory I award them certificates, which
in after-life they cannot but find useful.
Unfortunately the instances in which
I can do this are not numerous. The
teachers of the future too often suspend
their studies or imagine themselves,
too often, accomplished educators. My
revered master, who still lives, the
celebrated Manuel Garcia, had more
pupils, in the days when I studied with
him, than he could instruct. Being
greatly deUghted with my progress, he
intrusted me with beginners, whom I
taught most carefully, seeking in dif-
ficult cases the master's counsel. This

53

proved most helpful in after-days. As
Garcia was once unable to work for
months, through the consequence of a
riding accident, he handed over to me
all his young pupils.

I have been greatly astonished, again
and again, in late years, at the mistakes
committed by modern teachers in the
classification of the voices — a mezzo-
soprano being trained as a soprano,
and so on. Many instances of this
sort have been brought to my notice.
Such dulness of ear and apprehension
is incomprehensible; to the hopeless
victims the blunders are fraught with
danger, for they bring irretrievable ruin
to the voice. Does not this explain,
aside from many other defects in teach-
ing, the scarcity of great singers that
actually prevails? I have known song-
stresses who, through a whole operatic
performance, worried over a B or A
that they had to take in the third or
fourth act and of which they were not
sure. How can a good, an exceptional

54

pianist hope to reveal his fullest talent
when several keys remain speechless
under his touch? It is an indisputable
fact that the songstresses that accept
the screaming method must gradually
lose the brilliancy as well as the compass
of their voices.

It would afford me infinite artistic
satisfaction, and be of great advantage
to pupils, if their parents could decide,
instead of leaving their children to stray
for years from teacher to teacher, to
intrust them to me from the outset of
their work. "A rolling stone gathers
no moss.'" How many tears, how much
useless toil, might be spared theml In
song, the formation of the voice is the
first requisite, as it is the f oimdation of an
artist's after-work and of the future of
every singer; neglect of this means loss
of all. Silly people have said of me,
"She is a finishing professor.'' How
absurd! If this were so, how could I
give the last touch, when the voice is
finished already?

55

THE FOURTH
LESSON

A i

THE FOURTH LESSON

Paris, September 25, 1900.

IN my last letter I think I spoke of a
new singing method that a teacher
in Italy is endeavoring to bring
into popularity. I refer to the " umbrella
method/' I happened upon a news-
paper article describing this highly in-
telligent ( ?) invention. I append a trans-
lation, in the belief that it may afford
my readers some amusement at least.
The article is entitled, "The Umbrella
Method in the Teaching of Singing/' is
printed in the musical paper The Art of
Song, and is written by Madame Lankow-
Pietsch, as a chapter of her experiences
in New York. It thus depicts the new
"American singing-method'':
"In their anxiety to secure scholars,

59

teachers, male and female, vie with each
other in seeking out practical methods
of initiation into the mysteries of the
art of song. One method bids the pupil
throw his tones first into his head and
then draw them back, to increase their
resonance, down into the stomach. An-
other system, to insure good breathing,
recommends the pupil to run up^stairs
and then throw himself — or herself —
full length on a sofa. A glass filled
with water is then brought, and placed
upon the stomachal region, and the
pupil is told to slowly draw in and ex-
pel the breath, without ruffling the
surface of the fluid. Again, they tell
of a female teacher that gives breathing
lessons as well as singing lessons.
For the former the pupil stands in the
centre of the room, and blows at a feather
five or six paces distant, until the feather
moves. This is supposed to strengthen
the limg-play of the vocalist of the future.
The most interesting experience of the
writer, however, was gathered with a

60

young lady who wished to continue her
studies under her guidance. Being ask-
ed as to the method that had until then
been adhered to, the intending student
said, ' The umbrella method. '

" Madame Lankow - Pietsch hiunbly
confessed a need of information, never
having as yet heard of this method.
She was thereupon furnished with the
following account of its features and
application :

"The teacher stands in one comer of
the room and the pupil in another.
The tone that is to be sung is struck.
Then the teacher begins to slowly open
an umbrella, which proceeding indicates
to the pupil that the power of the tone is
to be increased. When the umbrella
is expanded to its fullest dimensions
the tone must be strongest. Gradually
the teacher closes the umbrella, which
means that the volume of the pupil's
tone must be reduced. In practice, at
home, the pupil must manage the um-
brella himself or herself. Madame Lan-

6i

kow-Pietsch admitted that she was un-
able to impart instruction in accordance
with this method, and the intending
pupil departed from her presence with
an air of profound contempt."

While in Germany the "lunbrella
method "" and kindred systems may
not floiuish, there are others that are
not so mirth - provoking, but just as
nonsensical and still more damaging
to the voice. While I am, and have
ever been, a sworn foe to the harmful
characteristics of modem teaching, it
is most pleasant for me to discover that
there are many contemporaries that share
my views. Of late years, especially,
have the vagaries of teaching been the
more marked. But still more astound-
ing, still more incomprehensible to me,
is the credulity of the masses in respect
of the tuition of song. The right sys-
tem of teaching cannot be imparted to
everybody, nor can it easily be set down
in writing, for with a physical instru-
ment there are countless rules and ex-

62

ceptions; when one listens, however,
to the pupils of any school, one can
readily determine, when one is not
stone-deaf, whether the school is a good
one, a bad one, or one likely to do dam-
age. Thence my advice to all parents
to guide themselves in the choice of a
teacher by a hearing of the teacher's
pupils.

In contrast to the absurd discoveries
I have mentioned, one often hears of
practical and useful methods against
wrong practices, the which ignorant
people unfairly criticise and even con-
demn. I will cite a case in point.

My revered teacher, Manuel Garcia,
opposed, as I have long done, the attack
of tone with the open glottis, which
results in an outpouring of breath, with-
out bringing the vocal cords into action.
Unfortunately, this new system has
found swift acceptance. Strange aberra-
tion 1 Garcia, in order to make clear
to some of his pupils, who were rather
slow of comprehension, the closing, or,

63

rather, the drawing together of the
glottis, was wont to make them strike
the desired tone, holding a lighted can-
dle before them. When the light was
extinguished by the attack, this proved
that the glottis was open; when closed,
the light burned steadily. When in
singing the tongue rose and made the
issuance of the tone difi&cult or imper-
fect, Garcia, to maintain the tongue in
a horizontal position, would depress
it with some smooth article — with a
paper-cutter, for example. To bring forth
a beautiful, resonant tone the tongue
must be quite flat, so that a throaty
tone is avoided, and the tonsils are not
pressed together.

Many individual defects and short-
comings exist among singers that might
be overcome by the instruction of a
conscientious and expert teacher. The
little experiment with the candle has
never yet injured any one, nor has the
depression of the tongue; the latter,
however, must only be resorted to in

64

i

special cases, for, if frequently attempted,
it might tire the organ. I must also
note another defect, and one demanding
close attention: sometimes a pupil can-
not or will not open her mouth. Many
teachers endeavor to overcome this by
inserting a small piece of wood between
the teeth. I cannot altogether discoun-
tenance this method, but very seldom
have recourse to it, preferring to depend
upon my spoken coimsel, of which
my pupils finally weary, and show their
pearly treasures. Let the teacher insist
upon it that the lower jaw be depressed,
and the mouth will open.

Inquiry is often made of me, verbally
and in writing, as to the division of the
classes of my school. I will now answer
the questions in this regard. Before
doing so, however, I must revert once
more to my studies with Garcia, ex-
plaining why I attach so much impor-
tance to instruction in classes. Class-
instruction was, in those days, only im-
parted in conservatories; all teachers
E 65

in Paris gave individual instruction.
The most celebrated teachers in my
time were Garcia, Bordogni, and Ban-
derali, the first being the most sought
after, because more experienced in the
cultivation of the voice than were his
contemporaries. Garcia's private pupils,
male and female, never had opportu-
nities to sing duets or concerted nima-
bers, nor was it the practice then, as it
now prevails, to bring pupils out. Hence
they trembled Uke aspen leaves when
asked to sing for any one.

After I had studied several r6les,
such as Rosina, in "II BarbierCj" La
Cenerentola, Orsino, in "Lucrezia Bor*
gia," and so on, I commenced learning
Arsace, in "Sennramide.'' For a long
while I sought some compassionate
soul that would sing with me the two
beautiful duets between Semiramis and
Arsace. At length I became acquainted
with a pupil of Garcia, Madame Leblond^
who knew the r6le of Semiramis. I
wrote her, it appears, so touching an

66

appeal that it moved her to pity, and
she studied with me the two duets.
From that day I determined, if ever I
gave lessons, not only to avoid individ-
ual instruction, but to oppose it with all
my might. I now very seldom give
individual lessons, and then only when
the education of a singer demands spe-
cial care. I long since ceased imparting
instruction to amateurs, save when they
bind themselves to work like profes-
sionals.

But now to the subject of classes in
my school. I have four in all, two of
which may be described as preliminary
classes. First in order comes the class
for the " training " of the voice, in which
I am the sole accompanist. The second
is a preparatory class ; from this students
may pass into the opera or concert
class. In the first named, the students'
general musical education is particu-
larly seen to, for, alas I most pupils have
in this respect been sadly negligent, and
must start again from the very begin-

67

ning. A knowledge of the intervals,
singing at sight, beating time, etc.,
must be mastered; the beating of time
generally comes hardest, and, to avoid
its practice, students resort to a dozen
expedients. To-day they regard it as
beneath their dignity; to-morrow pro-
claim it injurious to the voice; on the
morning following declare that it wearies
their arms; but the task must be per-
formed, and, later on, the little rebels
will thank me for my determination.

As for the time required for the train-
ing of the voice, that is a personal matter.
When the voice is unspoiled or only
marred by slight defects, progress is
rapid ; if the yoxmg voice has been forced,
the work must be slow ; where the organ
is wearied or made hoarse by wrong
methods, the hapless student must wait
a long while ere the real course of in-
struction is entered upon. When the
attack of tone, the art of breathing,
the connection and equalizing of the
registers, with a clear vocalization on

68

the vowel A are attained, then, and
only then, do I say to the young persons
that await patiently — and mostly im-
patiently — their deliverance: "Children,
to-morrow will be a holiday; to-morrow
you shall begin to sing on words. Bring
forth pencil and paper, and take down,
each of you, the name of the piece you
are to sing.'" I myself rejoice, as do my
pupils, for I see that they have great
confidence in me, and in very rare in-
stances only are arrayed in opposition.
As I regard the Italian tongue, because
of its vowels, as best fitted to the pro-
gressive education of the voice, and to
the requirements of recitative, and of
the art of interpretation, style, and pro-
nunciation, I usually commence with
the old Italian masters, such as Caris-
simi, Scarlatti, Lotti, Pergolesi, Mar-
cello, Jomelli, Paesiello, and, later on,
of course, Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti,
without omitting Mozart.

In the preparatory class, some of my
vocalizzi may still be sung if necessary ;

69

never in the opera and concert classes.
In the first -named class an Austrian
pianist, Fraulein Strachwitz, has ac-
companied for the last fourteen years.
In the concert class, M. Ponsat, a skilled
pianist, is accompanist; there are fre-
quent changes, however, not a few in-
stances occurring in which accompa-
nists leave me to set up for themselves,
as singing - teachers, trading upon the
experience gathered in my school. As
these gentlemen never attend my voice-
training class, which, laying the founda-
tion of my own method, is under my
absolute personal guidance, their knowl-
edge must necessarily be most imperfect.
In the operatic class, M. Mangin, con-
ductor at the Paris Grand Opera House,
has accompanied for the last seventeen
years. Besides the Italian masters, the
German and French masters are studied
in the preparatory class, and sung with
the original text, as I require of my
pupils a knowledge of three languages.
I insist upon this, for most compositions

70

lose greatly through unskilled or care-
less translations of the words, this oc-
curring most frequently, and with most
baneful results, in the compositions
of Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann,
Brahms, etc.

I require also in the preparatory class
that the pupils learn their arias and
songs by heart, for the greater improve-
ment of the memory. As to the accom-
paniment, I never permit that the melody
be played to help the pupil ; this vicious
practice prevails particidarly in Italy,
and is very prejudicial to the pupil, who,
deprived of a familiar accompanist, of-
ten goes astray. While making prog-
ress in this class, the young pupil may,
while prosecuting her studies, attend
the concert or operatic class. This is
of special value to the pupil, and a priv-
ilege never accorded in conservatories.'
It is the fruit of my experience in the
Vienna Conservatory, where I sympa-
thized keenly with the pupils debarred
from the enjoyment of a similar ad-

71

TEN SINGING LESSONS

vantage. My concert class is over-
crowded with pupils, for few young
women nowadays seek to equip them-
selves for the opera. The physical re-'
quirements of Wagner's music, and of
the great master's imitators, have un-
questionably led to this condition of
things.

In the concert class the pupils sing
German lieder, French and Italian ro-
mances, arias from classic and modem
operas, oratorios of Handel, Mendelssohn,
etc., and duets by all the great com-
posers, but preferably those composed
by Rubinstein, Mozart, Mendelssohn,
and Goimod. Strange to say, I have
to compel the pupils to study duets;
they believe, and candidly admit, that
studying them is sheer loss of time.
In the "'concours de chant," in the
Royal Conservatory at Brussels, which,
being a member of the jury, I attend
every year, in early July, duets are
sung at the express desire of her Majesty
the Queen — ^an admirable musician and

72

excellent harpist — who awards for the
two best performances prizes in the
shape of small articles of jewelry. And
pray, my young pupils, if you do not
learn to sing duets in school, where
will you learn? Youth may have its
caprices, but once in the whirl of life,
you will remember your teacher and
you will concede that she was in the
right.

And now for the operatic class. I
admit to it those pupils that already
understand how to sing, and have a
thorough mastery of the mechanism of
the voice and a knowledge of the lan-
guages. Here repertoire only is stud-
ied, and singers are made ready for
foreign lands. Many Russians now
singing at the Imperial Opera House
in St. Petersburg graduated from my
operatic class. The operas of Mozart,
Gluck, Beethoven, Meyerbeer, Weber,
Ambroise Thomas, Rossini, Verdi, Doni-
zetti, Gounod, D6libes, Massenet, Saint-
Saens, etc., and the yoimger composers,

73

Humperdinck, Mascagni, Puccini, are
taught, with all the works of the current
repertoire. As for Wagner, I incline to
have my pupils study Elsa, in " Lohen-
grin," Eva, in "Die Meistersinger,"
Elizabeth, in ''Tannhauser,'' and Senta,
in ''Der Fliegende Hollander," as these
r61es are the least trying for young
throats.

Concerning the new pronunciation
of the Wagnerian text, I have a hard
struggle with the singers that come to
me, for further cidtivation of the voice,
from Germany. They are taught to
pronounce the initial vowels of the
words — ^as they put it, to make the
pronunciation more distinct — with a
strong attack of tone. This is not only
very fatiguing for the vocal cords, but
it sounds like blows from a hammer.
The words and sounds to be connected
are thereby sundered, and the tone
issues harsh and vulgar. Great Ger-
man singers and songstresses in the
past knew nothing, fortunately, of this

74

method, and delighted the heart and
the mind of the listeners with their
song. Why now reject all that was once
held, the world over, artistic, beautiful,
and good? Nowadays, the bel canto
is ridden over rough shod; Rossini
wrote me, years ago, comparing the
then prevalent style to the ''storming
of a barricade/' Subjoined are a few
lines which, sung in the Wagnerian
style, woidd sound very harsh. The
words contain twenty -five initial vow-
els, which woidd mean, alasl twenty-
five blows with a hammer. The new
method further prescribes the em-
phasized pronunciation of H in the
words sefcen, stefeen, gefcen, etc.; how
improper, how erroneous, when in the
middle of the words the glottis must
remain open, to the great injury of the
singer 1

The specimen text mentioned above,
declaimed with the latter-day emphasis,
may be set down, accent and all, as
follows :

75

^s /, Of An Evening, sat beneath ^n Ancient

Oak
^nd mused Over A distant past, ^n O'erpow-

ering Anguish
Overcame me And I wept At thought Of Absent

friends.
Of Evanescent joys. Of Advancing Age.

The reconciliation of the bel canto
with pronunciation of this sort will cer-
tainly not be effected in my time 1

THE FIFTH
LESSON

THE FIFTH LESSON

I SHALL to-day continue the con-
versation begun in my fourth
letter concerning Wagner, with
whom I became acquainted during my
first sojourn in Vienna, but shall first
narrate an incident that occurred in the
Austrian capital, and caused no little ex-
citement.

It happened in 1856, in connection
with the celebration of thle one-hun-
dredth anniversary of the birth of Mozart
(January 27, 1756), on which occasion
Franz Liszt was summoned to Vienna
to conduct two concerts given in honor
of the day. The story will give but a
faint idea of the tribulations that Liszt,
the object of the envy of all his fellow-

79

artists, was subjected to. People forgot
completely that the much - tormented
pianist, although a Hungarian by birth,
was none the less an Austrian subject,
and therefore possessed of the same
right to conduct as a Viennese Kapell-
meister. January 27th is a date that
will never pass out of my memory.
At eleven o'clock in the morning Liszt's
visit was announced, and although
I was abed, suffering from a fever, he
besought me to sing at two o'clock on
the same afternoon the music assigned
to Donna Elvira, in the finale of ""Don
Giovanni," Frau Csillag, the Imperial
Court singer, having been obliged to
withdraw owing to the death, on the
evening previous, of her father. Liszt
sent me word by my husband that be-
tween eight and eleven o'clock that
morning he had waited upon every
operatic singer in Vienna, and entreated
each one to help him out. Every one
refused, declining exposure to the sharp
criticism of the Vienna press. I alon6,

80

he said, could come to his aid. I decided
that it was impossible to abandon a
true friend in distress. Ill though I
was, I sprang from my bed, made a
hasty toilet, went hurriedly through
the part with Liszt, who returned at
noon, and at the appointed hour stood
beside Madame Theresa Titiens {Donna
Anna), Herr Staudigl {Don Giovanni),
and Herr Ander {Don Ottavio), all of
whom had sung their rdles coimtless
times in the Vienna Opera House, on
the platform of the large music-hall of
the imperial Hofburg. I was literally
on hot coals, and to this day marvel at
the audacity of the venture. It turned
out well, however, and I have never
regretted it, though I should not care to
commend my example for imitation.
A day or two afterwards I was again
prostrated by fever, and it was a long
while before I was able to resume my
active occupations.

It was towards this period that Wag-
ner passed a few weeks In Vienna, and
F 8i

honored me with a visit. We conversed
for a long time on music, and especially
upon singing ; Wagner's views, however,
differed so widely from mine that we
never came to an agreement. Wagner
had no conception of the human voice;
in particular, of the delicate, I may say
fragile, female voice. He said to me
frankly that song in general was sub-
ordinate to his orchestra, and that in his
compositions he attached to it but little
importance. I sought to enlighten him
by some explanations as to the danger
of this principle, but his opinions were
so positive that I turned the conversa-
tion in another direction. In music, as
in politics, Wagner was a revolutionist ;
whether this has furthered the cause of
music, time must show. When I read
and study the scores of Gluck, Mozart,
Weber, Beethoven, Haydn, etc., I am
gladdened, uplifted, so to put it; when
I study Wagner — I speak now from the
vocal stand-point only — depression comes
over me. Wagner's works are grand,

82

overwhelming, but more symphonic than
vocal. As for his poetry, it is realistic
and sensual rather than aesthetic; in
his language we find words that no
dictionary contains, and that his pen
has coined. While Haydn, Mozart, Bee-
thoven, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Schu-
mann, Brahms, etc., are depicted as
simple, amiable men, Wagner was con-
sidered unapproachable, severe, and
proud. On the other hand, intimates
of the composer, the Standhartner fam-
ily, with whom Wagner dwelt for some
weeks in Vienna, have assured me that
the composer was the very opposite.
They represented him in the family
circle as a most unaffected and good-
natured individual. When men in the
olden times dared approach the gods,
why should the gods, nowadays, be in-
accessible to men? I mean by gods all
mortals that, through physical and mor-
al gifts, as composers, poets, sculptors,
painters, or as great artists in general
have been favored by God and nature.

83

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J J J J t

J ■> J J J

It seems to me that in this enmneration
the singer must not be forgotten. What,
then, is the singer's position in the art
world in respect of the trait I have just
hinted at? As far as male singers are
concerned, I can offer no opinion, as I
have never instructed any of the sterner
sex, and have no precise knowledge
of the beginnings of their career. In
respect to my own sex, though, an ex-
perience of forty-six years has fashioned
an opinion that has sunk into the very
depths of my being, and this I shall now
disclose. I must set down that the
singer, even when no star, being habit-
ually raised by her family and friends,
male and female, to the seventh heaven,
is often spoiled, even before making her
first appearance in public. A sort of
self - exaltation, frequently unconquera-
ble, but always to be regretted, gener-
ally possesses her.

But I will not continue in this vein,
and will revert to my educational theme.
When pupils begin their studies with

84

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WW- ^ w ^ w-- : : - .. . w w . ^ '

— ^'^ w.^ ..^: .^^.^\w^ r ::^-^^.

me, they are usually simple, amiable,
and confiding, pliable and abounding
in good qualities. As soon as their
talent reveals itself and society claims
them, they toss their heads and com-
mence with caprices and petty jealousies,
grow over-sensitive, and the tear-ducts
become active. The teacher's troubles
commence when the singer's pretension
awakes. The teacher feigns to see and
hear nothing, but feels and knows that
a sort of revolution is preparing — that
a pronunciamiento, so to say, is making
ready. To restore the balance of these
young artists and keep them at peace
until they leave the school is no small
matter, and a man's will is requisite,
at certain times, to prevent insurrection
and preserve order. Far more pleasant
is it to speak of the less numerous pupils
that are better equipped, vocally, musi-
cally, and artistically, than the majority ;
that outstrip them, and look to their
future with confidence. All my cele-
brated pupils belong to this class, have

85

brought me satisfaction during their
hours of study, and remain to this day
faithful and grateful; to these fortune
has been invariably kind.

Referring anew to my voice-training
class, I must not neglect to emphasize
the fact that I conduct it alone, unaided,
accompanying myself, without the as-
sistance of an accompanist. I desire
that my method of instruction, the
training of the different kinds of voices,
the correction of natural defects, the
restoration to health of diseased organs,
shall pass as a legacy to my pupils.
Time is needed to become possessed of
a method, and on this account I am in-
consolable when my pupils cut short
their term of study. It may interest
these young persons to know that this
year I have made young girls sing
exercises and vocalizzi for six or eight
months before singing on words, and
also that there are in my school singers
that were on the stage from six to eight
years, and left the boards to learn the

86

a b c of song. Does not this imply a
sad waste of time?

When I studied with Garcia vocalizzi
were never given, while at Signor Bor-
dogni's, my master's colleague, the most
difl&cult exercises of the sort, often far
beyond the powers of a b^inner, were
studied. It was there that I conceived
the idea of composing vocalizzi, each
of which shoidd contain an exercise,
on the scale, on arpeggios, the mordente,
the trill, etc., and all in melodic form.
These were intended to whet the desire
to carry further the study of exercises.
I believe my idea to have been correct,
for to proceed directly from the scale
to the singing of an air impressed me,
while I was but a student myself, as a
too great step. In my voice -training
class the vocalizzi enumerated below
are studied, according as the sort of
voice and the capabilities of my pupils
suggest :

Opus 2, 24 vocalizzi for soprano or
mezzo-soprano.

87

Opus 3, 24 vocalizzi for soprano.

Opus 5, 24 vocalizzi for mezzo-soprano
or contralto.

Opus 6, 24 vocalizzi for mezzo-soprano
or contralto.

Opus 7, 12 studies of style for mezzo-
soprano or contralto.

Opus 32, 30 vocalizzi for mezzo-so-
prano.

Opus 33, 14 vocalizzi for two voices,
mezzo-soprano and contralto.

Opus 10, 24 vocalizzi for deep contralto.

Opus 4, 12 studies of style for soprano.

Opus II, 12 studies of style for mezzo-
soprano.

Opus 8, 18 vocalizzi for two voices,
for soprano and contralto.

Opus 22, 8 vocalizzi for three voices,
soprano, mezzo-soprano, and contralto.

Op. 8, 14, 16, 18, 26 — studies of agility
for soprano with Italian words; theme
and variations.

Op. 24 and 25—2 Offertories and 2
Ave Marias, with Latin words.

Opus 9, study of agility for mezzo-

88

soprano; theme and variations, with
Italian words.

I will now give the first singing lesson,
and speak as though a new pupil were
before me:

"You are frightened, my dear young
lady! Don't be alarmed; you will get
on very well. Stand upon the platform,

please, and settle firmly on both feet;
do not hang your head, but keep it up
naturally. Hold up your head, I say.
You stoop too much; put your arms
behind your back, so that the chest may
be free. Now, take breath. No, not
sol That was but a half-breath. You
must take a deep breath, and not expel
the breath too rapidly. No, that will
not do. I will coimt. While taking
breath I shall count ten; while holding
it, five; while slowly expelling it, ten.
Good, very good ! Now open your
mouth. Why that grinning smile?
That gives the voix blanche — the white
voice, the tone striking the soft palate.
Open your mouth naturally; the lower

89

jaw must be depressed, as the upper
jaw is motionless. Good. Now at-
tack the tone by drawing together the
vocal cords; take care that when you
attack it no air comes forth; do not
strike the tone so hard. That is an exag-
gerated coup de glotte, and sounds harsh.
Strike the tone once again. That is
right. Now let us study the passage
from one register to another. Try to
sing the last tone of the chest register
as softly as possible, so that the tran-
sition to the middle register be imper-
ceptible, and do likewise in respect to
the transition from the middle to the
head register. It is not to be expected
in the beginning that the registers be
connected and made even, but attention
must be directed to that end, which
must eventually be attained through
practice. Sing for me first two, then
three, then four, then five tones. Good I
That will be sufficient for to-day. Dur-
ing the first month do not practise at
home, so that I may keep watch of your

90

breathing, your attack, and your pasr-
sage from register to register; it is im-
possible that, in a single lesson, you
should comprehend the method, and
through misdirected study you might
undo all I have taught you. Remain
here, however, and follow the instruc-
tion imparted to other pupils; you will
thereby learn much, and what is strange
to-day will become familiar, by listening,
to-morrow. The first hour's instruction
is ended. You see, my dear young lady,
it was not so very terrible. Now then,
cheer up and do not catch cold. Au
revoir, until day after to-morrow!''

When pupils come to me in September,
at the beginning of the school year, I
give each of them daily a quarter of an
hour's instruction; later on, already, in
October, the rush of pupils is so great
that I cannot accord them this advan-
tage. And as I am now dealing with
beginners, let me repeat a word of ad-
vice proffered in an earlier letter, in a
general way: if you wish to preserve

91

your voice, renounce bicycling, auto-
mobile rides, dancing, rowing — in brief,
all exhausting physical exercises. Be-
tween these diversions and an acquisi-
tion of the art of song you must make a
speedy and decisive choice.

THE SIXTH
LESSON

THE SIXTH LESSON

BEFORE giving my amiable read-
ers their next singing lesson
by letter, so to say, and chat-
ting with them concerning my school
and the art of song, I pm-pose referring
briefly to the musical conditions prevail-
ing in the city of Paris.

When I retm-ned from Vienna, nine-
teen years ago, to the city on the banks
of the Seine that I so long yearned to
revisit, I observed, in addition to many
excellent novelties and inventions, that
great progress had been made in music.
Then people cared not at all, practically,
for Wagner's works, which have since
(from the first performance of "Lohen-
grin'' at the Grand Opera House, on

95

September i6, 1891) taken root, despite
all obstacles, and are now a permanent
part of the repertoire. But the admirable
concerts of the Conservatoire, as also
those conducted by Colonne and La-
moureux, afforded the music -loving
public capital opportunities to hear and
acclaim the achievements of native and
foreign composers. Goimod, Ambroise
Thomas, Meyerbeer, Massenet, Saint-
Saens, even Rossini, wielded the sceptre
at the Grand Opera House. In those
days no one thought of dethroning
melody or of proclaiming it useless,
tiresome, and obsolete. The shapeless,
or rather, melodyless, musical phrase,
everlastingly drawn out, was not the
great desideratum. As out of a hun-
dred men, however, but a few, perhaps,
are of the same mind, each one's taste
inclining in a different direction, it
strikes me as proper that the old re-
pertoire should be united to the new,
and that nowadays works of both schools
should alternate in peace and harmony.

96

This view of the case does not keep
the partisans, musicians and dilettanti,
of the new school from handling the
"old fogies/' as they call them, rather
roughly. But that the public, as a body,
still welcomes melody, is proved by the
fact that whenever "Faust," "Rom6o
et Juliette," "Samson and Delilah,"
"The Prophet," "Aida," and "The
Huguenots'' are simg, the house is
invariably "sold out." It is even thus
at the Opfira-Comique when "Mignon,"
Carmen," "Werther," "Lakm6,"
Manon," etc., are on the bills. Nor
must I forget to mention in this connec-
tion the young French composer Char-
pentier, who has just now achieved a
triumph, at the Op6ra - Comique, with
his "Louise," and the young Italian
composers of the period, Mascagni, Leon-
cavello, Puccini, and Giordano, whose
operas, "Cavalleria Rusticana," "I
Pagliacci," "La Bohfeme," and" Andr6
Chenier," have already started on their
triimiphal march through the world.
G 97

it

tt

Germany can be proud of its talented
composer, Engelbert Humperdinck,
whose lovely and melodious ''Hansel
und Gretel " has already been represent-
ed in two hundred theatres with over-
whelming success.

As I exalt melody, I presume that I
shall be reproached with being blind
to progress, and with "old -fogy ism";
the reproach, withal, is unmerited. I
love and honor Wagner's noble in-
strumental music; I bow to his genius
and marvel at the great works he has
brought forth; song, the bel canto, how-
ever, he has not only neglected, but has
dealt it a heavy blow by setting singers
and their throats too gigantic tasks.
I pity the vocalists when I note, in lis-
tening, that the singers have to strug-
gle against physical difficulties that the
music and a too noisy orchestra impose
upon them ; I pity those, especially, that
fall in the fray and must abandon a
career made impossible for them.

My fondness for melody is inborn;

98

I love whatever is melodious, simple,
immeretricious, poetic, beautifid, and
natural, and will not bow to an idol that
I know not or cry up, imconditionally,
music that appeals to the senses rather
than to the heart. Unhappily, all things,
yes, even music, are subject to implac-
able fashion, while the spirit of the age,
with its advances and its recessions,
its inventions, and its improvements,
impresses itself upon mankind. There
are, imquestionably, forms that have
their great advantages, but, because
of this, what has been admired and
revered in the past by the whole world
must not be condemned or dragged in
the dust. Are not all nations possessed
of their modes, of their melodies? Are
not popular melodies handed down from
generation to generation, the pride of
the masses? Is anything more beauti-
ful, more touching, than the folk-songs of
Germany, Russia, Sweden, Norway, etc. ?
Let us then honor, even to the " crack of
doom,'' melody : may it endure forever I

99

Music in Paris society has tindergone
a great change. While formeriy on the
programmes of soirees, musicales, and
charitable concerts professional names
only appeared^ fashionable women now
figure and, so to speak, crowd out the
artists. Coimtesses, baronesses, and the
bearers of less resoimding titles are
beheld, who have studied singing cor-
rectly, are gifted with beautiful voices,
and lack neither feeling nor powers of
expression; these have completely dis-
placed professional performers. This is
less frequently the case in respect to
instrimiental work — never, in truth; but
in regard to singing, the situation is
just as I describe it. A few days ago
I attended a matinfie musicale given by
M. Di6mer, one of the leading pianists
of France, and here I applauded the
singing of a countess, who appeared with
the renowned violinist, Sarasate. Whose
fault is this? Possibly the youthful
artists of the day, who do not take their
art seriously, are to blame. Hence,

100

once more, dear pupils, and all that
study singing, let me urge you to de-
vote to your work the time needed to
achieve worthy results, and thus eclipse
and outstrip the dilettanti that out of
ambition, to kill time, out of caprice or
even through real love of art, stand
ready to crush youthful talent and
bury it out of sight. The little revolu-
tion I refer to only broke out a few years
ago. Up and at the enemy, children,
and the palm shall be yours !

And now, dear readers, I ask your
attention to the present singing lesson.
Let me say before proceeding, that in
my last I omitted to note the fact that,
while my method for the cultivation
of the voice is the same for all sorts of
voices, yet, on account of physical con-
ditions, some modifications are unavoid-
able.

"How many beginners are there to-
day in this class? A deep contralto,
two high sopranos, one dramatic soprano,
and two mezzo-sopranos. Attend close-

lOI

ly to the instruction imparted, not merely
heeding that addressed to yourselves
and intended to directly advance your
studies, but to all, in order that, should
circumstances compel you to teach, you
may thoroughly understand the first
instruction, the foimdation of singing,
as well as the rules of declamation, pro-
nimciation, etc. In the last lesson I
had so many explanations to ofifer that
it was impossible to have more than
one pupil sing; I hope, however, that
you have imprinted in your memory
what I told you concerning the singer's
bearing, breathing, opening of the mouth,
and so on. I will first proceed with
my small but well-nourished little con-
tralto that sang in the first lesson. Stand
upon the platform, yoimg lady, please,
and begin. What I You wish to sing
standing near me, at the piano? You
say you did so with your former teacher?
This I cannot permit. If you stand
behind me I cannot see if you open your
mouth properly, if you make grimaces, if

102

you raise your eyebrows (as, unhappily,
many do) until these touch the skull;
in a word, I cannot watch your bearing.
Quick, climb upon the platform and lose
no time; there are five more yoting
ladies here that must each have a good
lesson. Now, do not cry! I do not
like tears. There, that will do : you are
courageous, I see: a real Spartan.''

With deep contraltos I begin the at-
tack with a B flat (si b6mol), and thence
go upward to E natural (mi naturel)
in the medium register. In the initial
studies, I avoid, with all pupils, using
the voice to its furthermost limits, to
prevent fatigue.

I must not forget to observe that deep
contraltos hardly ever possess head-
tones; attain, exceptionally, to G in
the mediimi register, and hence are only
fitted to sing oratorios or to appear in
the concert-room. The range of the
chest-tones often changes, too, according
to the physical conditions. I have taught
contraltos that had only six to eight

103

chest-tones. The registers must not be
overstepped through undue forcing.

" Now it is your turn, my dear. Bring
forth a lovely tone. Good, but why
will you carry the chest-voice upward?
Nature has endowed you with a fine
rich and strong medium register, why
not use it? Why force it? If you pro-
ceed to G natural (sol) with chest-tones,
the passage to the medium register will
sound very ill; so make the change of
register on the scale on E natural (mi),
and only take F natural (fa) as a chest-
tone, when the tone is to be used with a
dramatic significance, and, demanding
strength, cannot be avoided. Good, very
good! You have imderstood me, and
the passage from the chest register to
the medium register is scarcely percep-
tible; the main thing is that the last
tone of each register, on account of the
passage, be not forced. Formerly you
must have bleated. Yes, contralto and
mezzo-soprano voices require very care-
ful cultivation, and great knowledge

104

and experience on the part of the teacher.
We have to-day reached the scale of
twelve tones, and in our next lesson I
shall give you new exercises. As con-
tralto voices are less flexible than so-
prano voices, they tire more easily, and
hence one must be more prudent in
respect to vocalizzi.

"Now comes your turn, my pretty
blond soprano. Your companion's name
is Marie; what is yours, pray? Bertha.
Now then, blond Bertha, ascend the
platform. What, do you too shrink
from the ordeal? No harm befell your
predecessor, so, quick, do not waste
precious time. I am aware that my
amiable American pupils prefer private
instruction, and this I sometimes im-
part, but quite exceptionally, as already
noted. One learns less when one stands
ever in presence of one's self. Your
high soprano voices are easier to devel-
op than the unwieldier contraltos and
mezzo-sopranos, but you have a less
extended chest register. In many coim-

105

tries the wrong, emphatically wrong,
opinion prevails that the cultivation
of the chest-tones not only damages
the development of the high tones, but
entails their complete loss. A voice
without chest-tones is like a violin
without a G string. So now, my blond
Bertha, bravely bring out your chest-
tones as far as D or E flat (re or mi
b6mol), and then proceed to the medium.
Believe me, no injury will be done your
voice. In the scale you can change
before this, if necessary. What are
you about now? Why do you try to
go on C (do) from the medium to the
head-voice? You say you learned to
do so? This is sheer nonsense! The
medium voice from F natural (fa) to
F (fa) on the fifth line is the foundation
of the female voice. We speak in medium
tones. How can one sing an andante,
a cantilena, when one proceeds to the
head-voice on C (do)? What? If I
understand you rightly you say that, on
certain occasions, you have used the

io6

medium tones? This, too, is all wrong.
The registers must be completely cul-
tivated and united before one sings on
words. Good, very good I You have
understood me perfectly. You see that
the use of the medium presents no dif-
ficulties; the passage to the head-tones,
too, is excellent. How now? You wish
to sing higher and still higher? This
you must not do. You must not con-
tinually fret the limits of the voice.
Prudence is the mother of wisdom.
Do not forget it! When I hear the
twittering on the highest tones, that
people like, perhaps, in your native
country, but that they admire less in
Europe, I am always reminded of a
remark of Rossini's, who was wont to
call the high tones not head-tones but
skull-tones. We have simg to-day, my
dear Bertha, several scales; in the next
lesson you shall have other exercises.

"Now for the second soprano. Your
name, my dear young lady. Rose.
Your cheeks are rosy, I observe, and

107

your voice is of roseate delicacy. To
work: attack the tone. Capital! you
have turned to advantage all that has
been told you and your class-mates.
Good, excellent I You see, children, that
with attention you can learn much and
quickly in classes. Success to class-
instruction, say I! One word more,
my deair Rose: do not study at home.
You are not yet thoroughly versed in
my method and might lose what you
have acquired to-day. A little patience,
I beg. I fancy you are anxious to pro-
gress a trifle fast. Bear in mind the Ital-
ian proverb : ' Chi va piano va sano, chi
va sano va lontano. ' And again : when
you are in company and people ask you
to sing a romance or a song, say simply
that Madame Marchesi, stern, cross
Madame Marchesi (as some people call
me), forbids my singing until I am more
advanced in my studies; she describes
a pupil's first venture as the unsealing
of her lips, the teacher acting as the
Pope does when a cardinal is chosen.

io8

People are often very severe in their
judgment and expect, even of beginners,
perfection. So, let this be understood.
You are to sing when / permit and when
you are sure of your grotind. You
frown, I observe. Just follow my advice,
as all my good pupils have done, and
you will recognize, later on, that my
severity is wisdom and be grateful
accordingly. But time flies, and I still
have a dramatic soprano and two mezzo-
sopranos to listen to.

"Your Christian name, please, young
lady? Valentine. Capital! for the r6le
of Valentine in 'Les Huguenots," like
others, such as Fidelio, etc., will surely
fall to your lot. Commence, please,
and attack the tone. No, no, you attack
it with the open glottis. No, this will
not do. Don't worry! Remember my
observations in the last lesson. Try
again — so. Very well, very well indeed !
The passage from the chest to the medium
register is excellently managed, but
for mercy's sake, why does your voice

109

shake? Every tone is a trill : you must
have been taught to carry up the medium
tones. What a shame! It is ruin to
the voice and the reason why, nowadays,
most voices are tremulous. Your studies
must be carried forward with the greatest
prudence until the vicious tremolo is
overcome. Let us now try and attack
F sharp (fa difese) with the head-voice.
Excellent I That is excellent ! The tone
has resonance and power. Your three
former teachers would have spared you
the tremolo had they understood the
cultivation of the head-voice, but with
the right guidance and time all will be
well. You must sing very little, that your
rich and beautiful voice, with its great
compass, may speedily recover.

"I have neglected somewhat my two
mezzo-sopranos, but will give them
a brief lesson, nevertheless, and next
time make good the deficiency and re-
ward them for their patience. Your
names, my dear young ladies. What!
two Louisas! I shall have to call you

no

Louisa I and Louisa 2, respectively.
Suppose I rechristen the younger of
you? No? well then, keep in mind
your numbers. Louisa i, you purpose
studying for the concert-room? Let me
hear your voice. Good! the resonance
is excellent, but the compass insuf-
ficient ; you are not fitted for the operatic
stage, but need not complain, for concert
singers nowadays rival operatic singers
in point of success, and have less exer-
tion to make and fewer annoyances to
submit to. Remember, however, that
a knowledge of languages is absolutely
indispensable, for songs by Mozart,
Taubert, Weber, Schubert, Schimiann,
Brahms, etc., must be simg with the
original text, many of the translations
being imserviceable. Why, you speak
German and French too ! All the better :
you will get on capitally. Now sing
me some scales. In the next lesson,
Louisa I shall sing first. Now, my
dear Louisa 2, quick, to work! Bravo!
The attack of tone, the connection of

III

registers, and the agility are well reg-
ulated; the voice is not tremulous,
but resonant and of good compass.
Who taught you?'' "My mother, who
was a pupil of Manuel Garcia's/'
"What! my former teacher? Now I
understand why your voice is trained
better than the voices of my other pupils.
Your progress will be speedy. Have
you studied any operas? No? Well, I
trust that in a very short time you will
be able to begin studying repertoire and
become a good Fides, a good Amneris,
and so on.

'' Good - morning, dear pupils, but a
word before you go. You asked me at
the beginning of the lesson for a pro-
gramme of my Massenet Celebration.
Here is one, the only copy left me. It
was a delightful, a memorable event.
The programme included thirty-two com-
positions of Massenet's which the com-
poser accompanied himself. Massenet
lavished praise upon the pupils' per-
formances, and the pupils were justly

112

proud and thankful to the indulgent
and amiable master, to whom their
teacher, too, is and ever will remain
deeply grateful. He presented a photo-
graph of himself, with his signature,
to each of the pupils."

Before I close this letter let me set
down in haste that I heard to-day Sousa's
splendid band at the opening of the
American pavilion, and that the delight-
ed throng shouted again and again:
" Hurrah for Sousa ! Hurrah for Amer-
ica!"
H

THE SEVENTH
LESSON

THE SEVENTH LESSON

Paris, November i, 1900.

YESTERDAY I received a sin-
gular visit. I found myself
in presence of a father and
his daughter, the latter a pretty girl,
tall, with chestnut hair, dimples in her
cheeks, and pleasant blue eyes that
looked about wonderingly at the new
surroundings. " These people, ' ' thought
I, "come from some provincial town,
for dwellers in large cities have different
ways," and I must add that, as she en-
tered the room, the young girl immediate-
ly occupied the best seat on the sofa,
so that I, the mistress of the house, had
to content myself with an ordinary chair.
" Pray, acquaint me, " said I to the father,
"with the object of your visit. Is your

117

daughter musical? Has she, perhaps,
a voice requiring cultivation?" "Yes,"
answered the gray -haired stranger.
''My wife and I love music beyond every-
thing, and singing especially; as we
dwell in a small town, near San Francis-
co, we have unfortunately very few oppor-
tunities of hearing music; and as our
daughter, though she sings continually
in-doors, out-of-doors, in her room, and
in the garden, is only just now of an
age to commence studying, we pur-
chased, at a large outlay, an orchestrion,
which at meal-times plays beautiful
music, and also two trained birds that
sing delightfully. We have, besides, a
parrot, but only to make us laugh,
for he screams, and is, moreover, par-
ticularly intelligent. This winter Em-
ma Nevada, after a brilliant career in
Europe, came for the first time to San
Francisco, her native city, to give con-
certs. I heard her, was delighted, as was
every one else, and since then my daugh-
ter has given me no rest ; she insists upon

ii8

studying and with Emma Nevada's
teacher. This will explain, dear madam,
our coming to Paris. My wife, who is
also here, but is prevented from calling
by indisposition, sends her compliments
and wishes to know, as I do, whether
you will accept my daughter as a pupil.
I am a man of means; there is nothing
to take me back to America, so we can
remain here until our daughter's studies
are completed." After listening to this
somewhat lengthy speech I went with
the daughter to the piano to try her
voice. " She has a mezzo-soprano of un-
common compass," said I to the father;
" the low tones are particularly beautiful,
and the medium tones, too, are resonant
and easily produced; moreover, your
daughter is musical, for, without having
studied, she sings at sight. Hence I
see no obstacles to her education, and
will the more readily undertake the task
as no teacher has meddled with her
voice." From the very first words that
I addressed to the man, the kindly ex-

119

pression of his face changed; he finally
remarked: "My dear madam, I have
heard Emma Nevada, who is possessed
of a high soprano voice and sings like
a bird. I do not care for a low voice in
a woman, and wotdd rather listen to a
barytone or a bass; miless my daughter
can sing as high as Nevada, and as
Melba, whom I heard last year in New
York, I decline to have her taught sing-
ing." While the father spoke I heard a
suppressed sob coming from the daugh-
ter's direction. Thereupon the father
turned suddenly towards her and said,
"Your tears are of no avail; you know
my will.'' As the poor girl's weeping
appeared, withal, to make some im-
pression, the father looked towards me
and said: "My dear madam, I have
heard a great deal of you, and have the
utmost confidence in your skill. Is it
possible for you — with time, be it under-
stood; I am wealthy and can wait and
let my daughter study with you until
you declare her an accomplished singer

120

— is it possible for you to give her a high
soprano voice?'' "No/' I answered,
"it is not possible." I had scarcely
finished when the father and daughter,
the girl still sobbing, reached the door.
"To what extent am I indebted to you
for your trouble?" inquired the father,
"You only owe me a friendly recollec-
tion," was my reply; "do not forget,
however, that I have told you the truth ;
one does not hear it every day."

I have had many, very many, odd
experiences in my professional life;
among parents especially have I found
strange ideas of art, and especially of
singing, but never imtil yesterday was
I asked to change a mezzo-soprano
voice into a high soprano. Hapless
art of song! what else has the future
in store for thee?

Now, my dear young friends, let us
have a few hours of diligent study;
some weeks have gone by since we
commenced work, your progress is ap-
parent, and I am convinced that a strong

121

bond of friendship already unites us.
In my last lesson I should have laid
particular stress upon one or two points
hinted at before. When you study at
home see to it that your piano be not
placed against the wall; if it is its tone
will not diffuse itself, and the voice
will not develop; it will even be wearied
thereby. Let the room you occupy
in your "pension" be airy and have a
southern exposure. In spring and au-
tumn rooms with a northern exposure
are wholly unsuitable for singers, and
almost dangerous. Further, your rooms
should be uncarpeted, for carpets, when
not kept very clean, contain microbes.
I now address myself particularly to
pupils dwelling in boarding-houses.
You must not study too soon after meals,
and not at all after dinner in the evening.
When one has worked all day, chatted,
gone out, etc., the larynx, in the evening,
is weary. After meals you must either
read, write letters, or converse with
friends, but you must not sing. Only

122

go out, of evenings, for a useful pur-
pose; do not sleep with open windows,
as you are accustomed to do in America ;
here the changes of temperature are so
great that one dare not rim the risk of
taking a cold. Students and singers
must avoid everything injurious to the
voice or likely to weary it. Talking
in railway carriages and while driving
or walking is very bad for the voice. On
railways the noise is usually so loud
that one can scarcely escape shouting,
and similar conditions prevail when
driving. While walking in winter one
inhales cold air, and in summer hot air
besides dust; all this is most unfavorable
for the tender vocal cords. I observe
that the six of you, my young friends,
knit your brows, and consider me al-
together too rigid, too exacting, but you
are in the wrong. I give you nothing
but good advice, which will have far
different results for those that heed it
than will be attained by those that cast
it to the wind. You will all six object

123

that nothing is so hard for young girls
as to hold their tongues, but does not the
Gospel say : *' But let your communica-
tion be: Yea, yea; Nay, nay; for what-
soever is more than these, cometh of
evil "? and has not the tongue in general
(Heaven forbid that I should say "the
female tongue") worked already ill
enough? Also let me proclaim once
more : good-bye to the bicycle and to the
automobile. You all agree to this?
Very well ; I am content.

But now for the lesson. Let us begin.
I quite forgot to tell you, when we last
met, that, in accordance with a long-
established usage in my school, whoever
is first in attendance sings first; thus
no one is given preference, zeal and
punctuality are encouraged, and the
young ladies that worship Morpheus,
or, in other words, are inclined to over-
sleep, are kept from doing so on lesson
days. Valentine came first to-day, so
Valentine shall begin. Ah I if that
vicious tremolo were but overcome;

124

but do not despair; with time this widely
prevailing evil with which so many
singers are afflicted will vanish. You
have just gone two tones beyond the
chest-register; this you must avoid;
moreover, when you go up the tone must
be darkened, while it must be made
clearer when you descend, else it will
not carry. I advise you, in scales, to
sing mi naturel (E natural) with the
medium tones, that the passage may
be easier. Purchase my Method, as
all of you must do, and bring it with
you next time, that I may mark the
scales you are to practise at home, for
you understand me and can already
begin practising by yourselves. Let
all attend to what I now say. I permit
my pupils, except beginners that have
not yet sung and must therefore com-
mence with but a few minutes, to sing
one hour, divided into practice-periods
of fifteen minutes each, daily. Practise
with the full volume of tone, without
forcing or screaming. Many teachers

125

encourage two to three hours' daily
practice, but this is improper, dangerous
even, I may say, for the voice. They
say, too, that to escape wearying the
organ one should practise with half-
voice (mezza-voce), but this also is wrong.
Through this process air passes through
the vocal cords, they grow slack, and the
development of resonance is prevented.
I am speaking now of the studies of
beginners, and not in relation to ac-
complished singers who, when they are
to appear in public in the evening, can
go over parts of their roles with half-
voice without fear of injuring the organ.
Understand me well, dear children;
the voice must be slowly developed, so
that the vocal cords gradually acquire
elasticity and endurance; the passage
from register to register, at the outset of
one's studies, can only be mastered, too,
through slow practice. Many teachers
allow the scales to be sung, from the
beginning, very fast; this develops the
voice in no direction whatever and con-

126

ceals its flaws. Now we shall see,
Valentine, whether you have understood
my instructions and hints; and take
special pains in studying to do away
with the tremolo.

Louise 11. — ^but no, I will not call you
so, for the name makes your classmates
smile. To distinguish you from Louise
L, I shall call you Louison. Does the
name suit you? Very well. Now,
Louison, sing me some diatonic scales
that your mother has taught you, and
also other exercises, chromatic and minor
scales, for example, arpeggios, thirds,
grupetti, etc. Good I Excellent I Every-
thing is clear and clean. Now for the
trill. No, that is a wrong trill, a mere
tremor on a single note; your mother,
who studied with Garcia, never taught
you that. What? You would not prac-
tise it? Why, pray? Try it, now; you
see you are able to trill and only need
study; one never learns too much.
We shall soon begin with the airs in your
r61es. You see, children, what advan-

127

tages Louison has derived from Garcia's
method.

Whose turn is it now? Little Rosa's.
To work, to work; attack the tone.
But why do you not open your mouth?
You open it when you eat. What?
You say you cannot? Why can your
classmates? If I did not recall a very
unpleasant experience that befell me
while at the Vienna Conservatory I
should do as they did then and as many
teachers still do in troublesome cases
— ^place a small piece of wood between
your teeth; but since the incident I will
relate I have abandoned the practice.
I had striven in vain with a pupil that
kept her teeth tightly pressed together.
One day she would open her mouth, the
next keep it closed; I finally had re-
course to the piece of wood. At first
the expedient was successful, but one
day she forgot that the wood was in
her mouth, half swallowed it, and choked.
She turned deadly pale, her eyes rolled
wildly, and when the wood was removed

128

she fell into a dead faint Since then
— ^my blood runs cold when I recall the
dramatic scene — I have forsworn the
use of the else-harmless bit of wood, and
talk until I grow hoarse, and my poor
little victims open their mouths in proper
fashion. Heavens! what a hard task
it is for a poor singing teacher to get
her pupils into the right path, to break
them of habits acquired through bad
teaching, and to combat energetically
their caprices I But no philosophizing,
no dismal shaking of the head, no dis-
couragement, and to business ! My little
anecdote, dear Rosa, will serve you as a
lesson, and teach you to open your
mouth without adventitious aid. Bravo !
bravo! now sing the scales. You open
your mouth now, but it does not keep
quiet, so that you bring forth several
vowels in your scales. This is not right ;
all the tones must be sung on the same
vowel. I think that I have already
observed that for study I prefer the vowel
"A" to all others, as it brings most ef-
I 129

fectively to light all defects, and I must
not forget to remark that the do ditee
(C sharp) in the medium, in women's
voices must be directed, as much as
possible, towards the hard palate, else it
easily takes on a nasal tinge. Many un-
skilful teachers allege even that this tone
commences a second medium register.
This is not so. You would sing the
scales excellently, Rosa, if you did not
sing them so fast; you do everything
by steam. The passage from register to
register is now regulated, but you hurry
too much, and hence your scales are
often not clear — ^somewhat muddled,
so to put it. For coloratura singers, who
of course require feeling, style, and
declamatory power, as all others do, a
clear rippling execution of florid music
is essential, hence they must study
slowly and conscientiously, and later
on they will sing their runs and adorn-
ments in airs from "II Barbiere,'' "Sem-
iramide,'' "Lucia," etc., rapidly. Al-
though there is no little opposition

130

nowadays to coloratura singers, and
their music is called sugary, dross,
jugglery, and so on, no theatre can be
without a coloratura, for the operatic
repertoire makes one indispensable.
Strange to say, runs, trills, neck-break-
ing leaps, staccati, and sky-scraping
notes are, to this day, more heartily
applauded than is the song that appeals
to the heart. , I, personally, would give
all these vocal fireworks for eloquent
declamation and tones that sway the
emotions.

Whose turn is it now? My contralto's,
Marie's. What? You are dissatisfied
with your contralto voice, and would
study for a coloratura? Why, you are
not "built for" that. Rossini was en-
thusiastic over the contralto voice, and
his repertoire abounds in fine r61es for
his favorite singers. Arsace in " Semira-
mide," the principal part in "I'ltaliana
in Algieri," require coloraturas, but
these works are no longer included in
the modem repertoire. For your lovely

131

contralto voice there are numberless
French airs, also songs and romances,
the ancient Italian classics, and, besides,
beautiful German lieder and airs by
Bach, Mozart, Handel, and so on. Do
not distress yourself over your lack of
compass; were I an enchantress I would
give your voice such a compass as that
of the celebrated songstress. Marietta
Alboni, but, unhappily, I am but a poor
mortal, and you a deep contralto. You
have learned your scales very well, and
as, unlike pupils endowed with lighter
voices, you have not many exercises to
study, you may at once purchase the
vocalizzi. Unluckily I have written but
few for deep voices, as these are not
numerous.

Who else has to sing to-day? You,
Louise, who, like Marie, are preparing
for the concert - room. Begin. What
now? You ask me to hear Bertha first?
And wherefore? What? Bertha, you
say, is dying of hunger, and cannot hold
out much longer. If so, before listening

132

to my last two pupils I would best de-
liver a brief discourse on the food ques-
tion. Tell me, all of you, each after the
other, what you have eaten for break-
fast. I take it for granted that every
morning at nine o'clock, before coming
to the class, you have partaken of a
good meal. What? One of you has
only had a cup of chocolate, another
a cup of tea and a slice of bread, a third
some broth and a piece of bread, still
another but a cup of milk ! Such a
thing is unheard of ! A singer must
nourish himself or herself quite different-
ly from the remainder of mankind. Lis-
ten to me. Singing consumes, hence
singers must accustom themselves to feed-
ing. Before pupils come in the morning to
the class they must have eggs with bread
and butter, a chop, a beefsteak, ham and
eggs, or something of the sort — in other
words, they must be well nourished, else
no lesson. I am conscious that my
young American friends give the pref-
erence to cakes, bonbons, and sweets

133

generally, but all these must be forsworn
by those that are ambitious to become
singers. You smile? No, this is no
laughing matter; one must give up
much if one would compete with the
nightingale. Now, my poor hungry
Bertha, in order to punish you — ^and
keep you from starvation — ^I shall give
you to-day but a short lesson. I advise
all six of you to henceforward bestow
great attention on the food question.
Poor Bertha, your voice is as hungry
as is its possessor. Otherwise your
scales are well connected; you have a
tendency, however, to proceed too quickly
to the head tones. Let me see whether
you are equipped for the trill. Yes,
you are, only remember that, at first,
you must practise it slowly and in strict
time; also that, in practising the trill,
after the fundamental note is given,
emphasis must be laid upon the upper
tone, so that the trill be kept in perfect
tune. Now be off, dear Bertha; hasten
homeward and sit down to a good lunch-

134

eon. To-day poor Louise comes last.
I will wager that, from to-day on, she
will always be first, for to be always last
will scarcely suit her. You have un-
derstood the lesson capitally, Louise,
and I see that you are devoted to your art.
A concert singer must, as far as possible,
strive to attain perfection, for to stand
alone on a platform and give a represen-
tation through the unaided medium of
one's talent is no light task. The least
defect of the concert singer is noticed
and criticised by the public, but with
courage, industry, steadiness of purpose,
and confidence in my teaching, all will
be well.

THE EIGHTH
LESSON

*

THE EIGHTH LESSON

IT is the loveliest morning imagin-
able. Would that I could wander
through woods and fields! But I
must first have my usual chat with my
readers, and take rest later on, if I am
to lay before them an accurate account
of my experiences.

The programme of my pupils' recital
yesterday bore the names of twenty
pupils, among whom were two young
married ladies; two, however, were ill
on the day previous, so only eighteen
sang. An " audition, ' ' or public hearing,
is a source of great excitement and re-
sponsibility for the teacher; he or she is
dependent upon the mental and physical
condition, and upon the skill, of the

139

more or less nervous debutantes, who,
at the end of the school-year, are sum-
moned, in presence of hundreds of lis-
teners, to give an account of their powers
and attainments. These annual events
occur in the Salle Erard.

The weather was almost unbearable,
and I left my house in low spirits, fear-
ing that the temperature might put
several of my pupils hors de combat.
Happily, on my arrival, I beheld eighteen
young women, like good and valiant
soldiers, assembled to greet me in the
artistes' foyer, and my depressed spirits
rose again. Let me set down at once
that the success of the "audition"
quite exceeded my expectations, and that
the public received with the greatest
enthusiasm the pupils intended for the
concert-room, and distinguished partic-
ularly the students of the Opera Class
by clamorous and repeated recalls.

The arrangements incidental to an
"audition'' are not easily perfected;
in the framing of the programme one

140

encounters numberless obstacles. No
one will be first on the list, and no one
last. So this time, to avoid reproachful
looks and tears, I had recourse to the
alphabet, as they do in the Paris Con-
servatoire. But in this, too, I found un-
foreseen and serious difficulties. Singers
have no end of whims and caprices, and
I saw hot tears streaming from many
eyes, hands extended in entreaty, and
fierce glances aimed as if to transfix
me; my courage failed me, and I gave
up the alphabet.

Just then, quite unexpectedly, a young
Englishwoman, Miss Katherine Glad-
hill, stepped up to me and said : " Dear
madam, I am ready to sing the first
number.'' I gratefully pressed her soft,
white hand, but her artistic self-sacrifice
was more handsomely rewarded later
on, for in Massenet's ''Ave Maria"
("Meditation de Thais"), beautifully
accompanied upon the violin by M.
Toussaint, of the orchestra of the Paris
Grand Op6ra, the young Englishwoman's

141

lovely mezzo-soprano voice evoked hearty
and long-continued plaudits. This in-
cident recalls to me another that hap-
pened some years ago in connection with
a pupils' "audition." One of my Amer-
ican pupils came to me, just before the
eventful day, with a programme in her
hands. It was Miss Z n, an excel-
lent contralto. She had been assigned
the fifth number. "The place is not
suited to my talent/' said she to me, in
an aggressive tone of voice. " I am en-
titled to something better. Please make
me number eight or number ten."

"This is impossible," I answered.
" Wherever you are placed, your genuine
talent will assert itself — ^for a real artist
any place is first place — and, furthermore,
I cannot, to humor your caprice, have six or
eight hundred programmes printed anew. ' '

"Then I will not sing," was the curt
reply. On the next day she made an-
other attempt and met with the same
answer. At nine o'clock on the morning
of the "audition" she appeared again,

142

and asked if now a better place could
be allotted her. I was steadfast. She
did not sing, and I saw the obstinate
girl no more. Years afterwards, how-
ever, I received from her a most amiable
letter, in which she reproached herself
for her childish behavior, and gave me
the information that she had married
and become a teacher in America.

But one more example of youthful
inexperience and incredible ingratitude.
Two years ago there came to me, from
Melbourne, a young girl named Regina

N . She was recommended to me

most warmly by several prominent per-
sons. Her voice was a deep contralto,
badly trained, and the musical edu-
cation of the girl had been completely
neglected. I undertook the culture of
her voice — ^no easy task, let me observe,
for all contraltos require special handling.
But I overcame all difficulties; the sing-
er's voice is now beautiful, and her art,
if not complete, at least close upon com-
pletion. The time came to choose a

143

composition for the annual ''audition/'
I selected the air from "Samson et
Dalila/' which she sang excellently;
she, however, insisted upon taking an
air of Gluck's which lay too high for
her. A few days before the " audition "

I was handed a letter from Miss N ,

in which she taxed me with injustice,
and announced that she would never
again set foot in my house. I was
astounded, and can even now find no
words in which to express my indigna-
tion at her ingratitude. youth, how
strange are thy views, thy ideas, thy
plans! Enough of this, however — my
duty I shall always strive to fulfil;
would that all students did likewise I

I lack both space and time to refer to
each individual performance of the pupils
of the Concert and Opera classes, but I
will set down the name and nationality of
each singer, and the titles of the airs and
songs interpreted, as they stood upon
the programme of the " audition. " This
was as follows :

144

CONCERT CLASS

Ave Maria (' M6ditation de Thais ") Massenet

Miss Katherine Gladhill (London), and M. Toussaint,

Violinist of the Grand Op^ra

(a) * Von ewiger Liebe " Brahms

(b) • Vittoria ! vittoria I" Carissimi

Mile. Anna Thomsen (Denmark)

(a) • Pur diccsti " Lotti

(b) 'Mattinata" Tosti

Miss Amy Castles (Melbourne)

(a) Air des * Noces de Figaro " Mozart

(b) Air de * Don Juan " Mozart

Miss Z6Ue Rolker (New York)

Le R6ve de J6sus

(des Contes Mystiques). . ., Mme. Viardot

Mile. Pauline Baltscheffsky (Helsingfors)

R6cit. et Air d' • Ads et Galatde " Handel

Mme. Suzanne Pertat (Paris)

(a) El^gie Massenet

(b) Air de * Terse " Handel

Miss Florence Gau (Grahamstown, South Africa),

and M. Courrace, Violoncellist of the Grand
Op^ra

Air de * Marie Magdeleine " Massenet

MUe. Ida Christon (The Hague, Holland)

Air, • Le Barbier de Seville * Rossini

Mile. Marie Fowlin (St. Petersburg)

K 145

TEN SINGING LESSONS

(a) Air d' * H^rodiade " Massenet

(b) • NM Paien ' Massenet

Miss Lou Ormsby (Central City, Nebraska)

Air de * Don Pasquale " Donizetti

Mme. Tryphosa Batcheller (Boston)

Air de 'Titus* Mozart

Miss Clara Adams (Chicago), and M. Lefebure,
Clarinettist of the Grand Optra

OPERA CLASS

Air, * Les Dragons de Villars * Maillard

Mile. Margaret Kaftal (Warsaw)

Duo de * Rom£o et Juliette " Gounod

MUe. Glacia Calla (Boston), and M. Laffitte, of the

Grand Op6ra

(a) Air * Le Cid * Massenet

(b) Air • Samson et Dalila "... .Saint-Safens
Mile. Elsie Mamy (Breslau)

Duet, • Alda * Verdi

Miss Augusta Doria (Boston), and M. Laffitte

Waltz and Madrigal, * Rom6o et Juliette ". .Gounod
Miss Elizabeth Parkinson (Kansas City), and M.

Laffitte

Air, • Le Freischutz " Weber

Mile. Marie Romaneck (Stuttgart)

Duo, 'Le Roi d'Ys " Lalo

Misses Parkinson and Doria

At the Piano : M. Mangin, Conductor at the Grand
Op^a, and M. Fr6d6ric Ponsot

146

At the close of the concert, the beauti-
ful and silvery high voice of Miss Parkin-
son, blending with the noble and sonor-
ous mezzo-soprano tones of Miss Doria
in the duet from " Le Roi d'Ys/' literally
enchanted the audience. But all the
pupils, both in the Concert and in the
Opera Class, distinguished themselves
through their fine voices and admirable
execution. Miss Doria is already en-
gaged for three years at the Royal
Opera House in Brussels, and made
her d6but there early in September as
Amneris in " Aida.''

Massenet, who, as I have already
noted, takes great interest in my sing-
ing-school and in my pupils, was out of
town on the day of the "audition.'' To
my great joy, I received from him in
the evening of the day, a letter reading

as follows :

• In the country.

* My thoughts are, at this minute, with you and
your dear pupils. 2.30 P.M. t 1

* Massenet."

Was it not most amiable, dear readers,

147

for Massenet, on the very day, and at
the very hour of my "audition/' to re-
member my school and my pupils? I
was deeply moved by this great thought-
fulness, and although I at once thanked
him by telegraph, I thank him again,
through the medium of these lines, for
his kindly, his priceless interest.

Another surprise was in reserve for
me on that day. Herr Nicolas Mans-
kopf, a great lover of music and pro-
prietor of the Historico-Musical Museum
in Frankfort, reached Paris eariy on
the morning of that day, to attend the
" audition. '* My young friend, although
a very wealthy and busy man of busi-
ness, established years ago this most in-
teresting museum, which contains real
treasures. Besides numberless other in-
valuable articles, it includes autographs
of J. S. Bach, Beethoven, Haydn, Schu-
bert, Carl Maria von Weber, Robert Schu-
mann, Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner,
Hector Berlioz, LuUy, Gr6try, Doni-
zetti, Spohr, Rossini, Cherubini, etc. A

148

few weeks back he enriched his collec-
tion with Mendelssohn's piano — a. Broad-
wood — upon which the composer played
during his sojourn in Frankfort. The
piano rests upon four legs; it was for-
merly the property of Mendelssohn-Bar-
tholdy's son-in-law. It was on this in-
strument that the great composer ac-
companied me himself when I studied
with him his songs and duets. What
memories it recalls ! If I visit my native
city this year I shall make haste to see
the piano once more.

But I fear I have given too much
time to-day to gossip, and must now
turn to work. Whose turn is it to begin?
What? Did you all come at the same
time? This is hard to believe. How-
ever, to business! Louison, take the
floor. You have practised well, dear
Louison. The trill is already better;
only keep on bravely. In the operas
that you will sing later on the trill is
often unavoidable; but do not practise
it with other exercises. The trill ex-

149

ercise in itself, through the rising and
falling of the larynx, is tiring, and
hence one must be prudent in its study.
Strange to say, even Wagner has not
disdained to use the trill in some of his
works. As you have already somewhat
outdone your classmates, thanks to your
mother's admirable instruction, I shall
from to-day permit you to sing some of
my vocalises with words. Take my
"Theme and Variations," Opus 9, for
mezzo-soprano; the Italian words by
Salvatore Marchesi. I shall thus be
able to occupy myself simultaneously
with your pronunciation. All my pu-
pils must be able to use, before singing
in other tongues, the Italian language.
French, because of its nasal, and Ger-
man, because of its palatal tones, are
hurtful to voice culture ; Italian aids it.

Now for my contralto. Let me hear,
Marie, if you have been industrious at
home. Excellent ! The connection of
the registers is greatly improved, and
the lower tones are no longer so dull, so

150

palatal as they lately sounded. Do
not bewail the character of your voice!
A lovely, resonant contralto is often-
times preferable to a soprano. When
well trained, it goes more directly to
the heart than does a high, pyrotechnic
soprano. Have you practised my vocal-
ises? Let me hear them. Capital!
You have understood my instructions
most thoroughly. Now you must pur-
chase a small air, ""In questa tomba
oscura,'' by Beethoven. Look through
it from the musician's stand-point only,
learn the Italian words and bring me
a translation thereof, and I will then
analyze the aria with you, and insert
the breathing marks so that you may
practise at home. You will do so,
will you not? Your eyes sparkle with
delight, I observe, for to-day you have
been given your first aria.

Now comes Valentine's turn. I am
already in dread of that awful tremolo.
Why, it shows signs of disappearing!
But a little while will elapse ere you

151

are quite freed of it. Whoever sings,
or has sung, the high notes in medium
tones, is bound erelong to bleat like a
goat. Sad but true! I cannot, how-
ever, let you sing straightway with
words. For a while you must continue
your vocalises. But do not be dis-
heartened; with study and patience
all will be well. Mezzo-sopranos must
never sing as many exercises as do the
possessors of higher voices; their voices
are naturally stiff er and tire more easily.
No, my office is no easy one, I assure
you. So many spoiled voices seek my
help; why do not young girls, as I often
say to them, come to me at an earlier
day? Year in, year out, I keep on
preaching from the same text, and all in
vain. The young people of the period,
too, are of a nervous disposition, and one
has to contend with ill-suppressed sighs
and tears. No, no, the teacher's lot is
a hard one! With the best will in the
world, dear Valentine, I cannot yet let
you sing on words. Next time, you

152

must again sing your vocalises, and not
tremble at all.

Now for my blond and hungry Bertha.
Have you had a good breakfast? Yes;
well, then, I am happy! To-day, you
must have a good lesson, for the last
one was much shortened through your
famished condition. Good, but to-day,
despite your well-filled inner woman,
you proceed too soon to the head-voice.
One must be very cautious in handling
pupils with this tendency, in respect of
the development of the medium, for the
larynx, used to proceeding to certain
high tones, is constrained, through the
attack of medium tones, to remain lower
down. All 'this is easy to detect, easy
to perform in practice, but difficult to
explain in writing.

One cannot foretell how long a term
is required for the completion of the
training of a voice. I have had pupils
that were compelled to vocalize for
months before the registers were in order.
So, Bertha, you would already sing

153

vocalises? Unfortunately, I cannot per-
mit it. As your voice is pliable, how-
ever, you will not have long to wait
before some are given you. Shake
hands, and be consoled!

Now for rosy Rosa, who always tries
to sing in the quickest tempo imaginable.
Why! I am dumfounded! You have
quieted down. Excellent! You sing
your exercises in moderate time, and the
scales and runs are like pearls. Were I
the owner of a gold-mine, I should re-
ward you with a pearl necklace, but your
usually closed lips have parted, and
show that you are already possessed of a
wealth of pearls. Jesting aside, your
performance proves that you have prac-
tised capitally. You tell me that the
ascending scale comes hard to you?
A word of advice thereupon: when you
practise, mark the first tone of a group
of four tones, then the second of the
second group, the third of the third,
the fourth of the fourth, and so on,
thus:

154

THE EIGHTH LESSON

You will see that, with time, this
difficulty too will be smoothed over.
The above exercise is also very useful
to secure pure intonation. Later on,
when you happen upon difficult passages
in your airs, practise these slowly, and
also one or two tones lower, until you

155

are certain that the intonation is true.
You will thus avoid wearying your voice.
While I was studying with Garcia in
Paris, the Italian school — ^and especially
the florid style — was in high favor, and
we had to practise our scales and runs
with a metronome. It was a genuine
steeple-chase, and heavens! how weari-
some! Rubini — whom, unfortunately, I
never heard — was the model that all ten-
ors fashioned themselves upon. Those
were the days of interminable trills,
neck-breaking cadenzas, staccati, etc.
All this was most distasteful to me,
and so effeminate! Now, it is difficult
for a singer, male or female, to sing a
simple scale. For the grand air in
"Fidelio"and that in "Der Freischutz"
some measure of facility is requisite,
indispensable in truth, but the main
object of song, nowadays, is not, as it
was then, colorature. Here, dear Rosa,
is the title of a theme, with easy varia-
tions. Opus i8, for soprano — ^likewise
of my composition. Translate the Italian

156

words at home, go through the work
musically, and bring it for your next
lesson, when I shall give you further in-
structions.

Now for Louise, who, coming last,
appears somewhat weary. But, dear
child, some one must always come last!
You enjoyed, furthermore, the advan-
tage of noting the lessons of your five
classmates, and if you have listened
attentively, you must have learned a
great deal. I promise you, however,
to commence with you next time — that
is to say, if you have energy enough to
come early. Let your watchwords be:
" Courage — ^Perseverance — ^Work V* You
are to-day a trifle hoarse, so that you
can sing but few exercises. Bring your
vocalises with you next time; if you are
still ailing, I will employ the time in
making out your concert programme.
As I mentioned to you in a former lesson,
you must, if you desire to be a first-rate
concert-singer, sing your airs, songs,
romances, etc., with the original text.

157

First and foremost, give thorough study
to French, for this tongue, with its
different vowels, presents great difficul-
ties to foreigners. I think you would
do well to buy the various collections of
the most important German and French
songs and romances, as also those of
the old Italian works. They cost no
more in that form than if you purchased
them by single numbers. And, children,
beware of catching cold and of the
treacherous influenzal Only visit the
Exhibition during your holidays; when
I see all the Negroes, Indians, Chinese,
Tonkinese, Persians, and Egyptians
there assembled, I cannot help thinking
— dare I confess it? — of the menacing
microbe. When clouds gather and a
storm is imminent I am overjoyed, for
after a good thunder-shower one inhales,
for a few minutes at least, pure air and
fewer microbes.

THE NIWTH
LESSON

•

i I

I m

THE NINTH LESSON

YES, dear pupils, it is really very
unpleasant weather, but never
mind I listen to a teacher's coun-
sels, and, above all, give these counsels
due consideration; when I am seated
at the piano to impart instruction, I
am so full of my art that I am wholly
unconscious of weather, of the annoy-
ances and pleasures that await me,
and of all the sorrows and joys that
make up my lot. I advise you all to
be somewhat more energetic: this is
essential for whoever would figure in
public life. All sensitiveness, all ner-
vousness must be suppressed as far as
possible. I shall here cite a few instances
to prove that whoever would face an
audience must be cool, clear-headed,
L i6i

and eqtiipped against all unpleasant
events. One of my former pupUs was
easily impressed: a fly on the wall^ a
loud word startled her out of her self-
possession. Before she commenced her
studies imder my direction she was
engaged to marry. Family circum-
stances led to the breaking off of the
match. Jeanne — ^that was the young
girl's name — ^took the matter quietly,
thanks to my arguments, and left me
an accomplished concert-singer. Hav-
ing returned to her native city, she gave
a concert. In the first part of the per-
formance her beautiful voice and ex-
pressive delivery won her great success.
Just before the close of the entertain-
ment, however, she discovered among
the auditors her former intended. She
at once lost her self-control, burst into
tears, was imable to sing, and the lis-
teners left the hall in silent disappoint-
ment.

And yet another instance. One of
my best pupils, who afterwards became

162

a celebrated opera-singer and was the
pride and support of her aged sick father,
was obliged by the terms of her contract
to sing twice or thrice a week in the
opera-house. With a bleeding heart
she left, each time, the bedside of her
suffering parent. One evening the part-
ing was particularly sad; gloomy ap-
prehensions filled her mind, but duty
required her presence at the opera-house,
the more imperatively because the singer
that took her place on special occasions
was ailing. As Anna — this was the
pupil's name — ^was returning homeward,
her father breathed his last. Her grief
was indescribable, but she could not
long indulge it, and but a few days after
her father's funeral she had to resume
her duties.

I narrate these stories, my dear chil-
dren, so that you do not imagine that
all is roseate in a singer's life. The
road of travel is a hard one, the path
beset with thorns ; one must have cour-
age and great self-denial to devote one's

163

self to public life. The public is not al-
ways easily won, and woe to the artist
that in some way or other has forfeit-
ed its favor. As for the critics, their
existence, too, must not be overlooked,
and whoever is in pubKc life should
disclose infinite tact. Be on your guard,
especially, against so-called friends and
ignorant dilettanti, who proclaim you
" stars. "" Let the pubUc and the critics
formulate their own judgment, and when
you achieve anything excellent, any-
thing extraordinary, when you are wed-
ded to art out of love for it and not merely
as a means of earning your bread, when
you have shown yourselves in its service
its high-priestesses, then will press and
public promptly acknowledge your worth.
But I have chatted sufficiently for
to-day; you have recovered from the
depressing effects of the weather, and
we can resume our studies. We shall
begin with Louise, who during the last
lesson was so hoarse that she could
sing but little. Nothing is more hurt-

164

f ul to the voice than hot weather. Shtin
cold drinks and keep protected against
the chill air of evening and night. Above
all, avoid everything that may cause
an interruption in your instruction and
studies. Attack a tone, Louise. Good!
your hoarseness has quite disappeared,
but do not endeavor to sing higher than
A natural (la naturel). A mezzo-so-
prano must be very cautious in the use
of the higher tones. I think I have told
you already that at the outset of one's
studies one must not go to the limit
of the voice, whether above or below;
with time, all voices gain compass.
Now for a few scales, an arpeggio, a
gruppetto, and lastly the trill. You
have studied well. Next the vocalises.
Capital! You are a most conscientious
student. As the holidays approach I
will arrange your concert repertoire.
Purchase the collections of songs of
Mendelssohn, Weber, Franz, Mozart,
Lassen, Rubinstein, Schumann, and
Brahms; the spiritual songs of Bee-

165

thoven, and also the sets of French ro-
mances written by Gounod, Delibes,
Faure, Godard, Chaminade, Weckerhn,
etc., likewise the old Italian songs. Airs
you shall learn later on. In these col-
lections I will select the numbers to
which your voice is best suited, and
which you can interpret in the concert-
room. During the holidays, you may —
without singing too much — make your-
self familiar with the poetry, time, and
intonation; when your lessons are re-
sumed, study will come easier. As for
time, I advise you, when this presents
occasional difficulties, to mark it in
figures and, beating time meanwhile,
to speak the words. You will thus
master the rhythm and the lines. Even
when one is ailing one can study a little.
Try also, during your vacation, to make
progress in the languages ; the pronuncia-
tion of German is difficult for foreigners,
and so is that of French ; but with study
all obstacles may be finally overcome.
One important thing is to sing the text

i66

and not, as often happens, to lay most
stress upon the beauty of a few high
tones. The main object of a perform-
ance is the adequate commimication of
the poetry through right declamation.
Oratorios you are not likely to sing, as
these are composed almost exclusively
for sopranos and contraltos. The con-
tralto music in the oratorios is not only
wearying but literally dangerous for
mezzo-soprano voices, even when their
lower tones are strong, resonant, and
supple.

How would it be if to-day you sang
in alphabetical order? It would thus
be Louison's turn. Louison's progress
is really marvellous, but then each of
you has not had the same advantages
in regard to early training. You have
studied the theme with words capitally,
my child. Have 5^ou already sung airs
with your mother? Yes? Then bring
me next time the aria ''Ah, mon filsl''
As you are studying for French opera,

you must of course master the repertoire

167

with the French text; nevertheless, cer-
tain rdles, such as Amneris in *' Alda.,"
for example, and others, must also
be learned in Italian. A singer who
would have a brilliant career must, as
I have often observed, sing her rdles
in the language in which they are orig-
inally written. In Russia and Spain, in
England and America, there are always
Italian companies. So to work, and let
there be no hesitation: whoever says
" a " must also say '*h": whoever wishes
to appear in opera must study whatever
is essential to that end. I have often
told you that an operatic singer has
a hard road to travel. When a student
has learned to sing her r61es and knows
them by heart, she must busy herself
with acting. She must enter into the
spirit of the parts, must represent per-
sonalities whose traits are often in dis-
tinct opposition to her own character;
in fine, must identify herself with the
r61es.
And now for blond Bertha. How

i68

goes it with your head-voice? Quite
well, it seems to me; the registers are
almost regulated, and you appear to
have taken your work quite seriously.
Strange to say, colorature songstresses
take their studies more lightly than
do dramatic singers. Their scales and
runs fairly run away with them. You
are fond of staccatos and trills, you say.
Both adornments must seldom be em-
ployed, and only when managed to
perfection. The practice of staccati is
very wearisome and must be under-
taken very carefully, for on the attack
of each tone a slight coup de glotte must
be given; as for the trill, this vocal
ornament is only beautiful when ab-
solutely faultless. One may be an ad-
mirable songstress and yet have no
trill ; in this case, however, certain rdles,
such as Lucia, for example, cannot be
undertaken. The trill, as I have al-
ready mentioned, must be absolutely
perfect; the young girls of the period
lack time to acquire its mastery. It is

169

a historical fact that the renowned
singer, Mme. Pasta, studied the trill
for nine — ^yes, for nine years, before es-
saying it in public. An imperfect trill
I would rather hear from a goat than
from a young girl. I am quite pleased
with your scales, for they no longer lack
definition, as they formerly did. Buy
for yourself my vocalises. Opus 2. Each
of these vocalises contains an element-
ary practice-piece such as a scale, an ar-
peggio, gruppetti, etc., in a melodic form.
I do not give you just yet a theme with
variations, lest you transform the varia-
tions into a flight of rockets. Purchase,
however, a small aria, as, for example,
" Vedrai, carino,'' from " Don Giovanni'' ;
translate the Italian words, make your-
self familiar with the pronunciation and
rhythm, and in the next lesson I will
go over it with you. When one has to
contend against vocal difficulties, when
the attack of some tones is uncertain
and the singer frets on that account,
she can never sing artistically and

170

never fitly express her emotions. I
knew a celebrated dramatic songstress,
Teresa T — s, who, when she sang
Valentine in ''Les Huguenots/' thought
continually of the high C (do) that she
had to give and hold in the duet with
Marcel in Act IIL Her anxiety became
so intense that she drank champagne
before Act IIL commenced, to avoid
losing her self-possession. At this min-
ute there are studying with me, as you
are aware, four opera-singers that have
abundant talent, but have had to leave
the opera-house for^a while, to devote
themselves wholly to the culture and
repair of their voices ; would it not have
been better to look to this before setting
out on their career?

Now for my inconsolable contralto,
Mile. Marie, who is so acutely envious
of her soprano classmates. To-day she
appears to be in better spirits, probably
because I have given her her first air
to study. The connection of the registers
shows improvement, but I would have

171

you make the deeper tones clearer and,
on the contrary, the chest-tones border-
ing on the medium darker, so that the
tone color on the first notes of the medium
register and the last notes of the chest
register may be more homogeneous
and suited to blending. The passage
from register to register should never
be detected. You sing your vocalises
excellently. Let me hear the aria. As
you have not foxmd "'In questa tomba
oscura," sing me Handel's "'0 mio cor.'"
Show me the written translation of the
text. Good! Begin. But you do not
sing in time. Did you not number
the whole air and, beating the time,
speak the words, as I told you to do in
your last lesson? I am not talking now
of declamation or of emotional expres-
sion — these will come hereafter — just
at present I demand nothing but time,
correct intonation, and good pronunci-
ation; in respect to the last, all your
consonants are too soft, especially those
that, like r, 1, n, d, t, must be produced

172

with the aid of the tip of the tongue.
In Italian the double consonants must
be sharply pronounced ; so, too, monosyl-
lables such as mio, tuo, suo, io, dio, zio,
reo, etc.; in these the first vowels must
always be emphasized. The consonant
at the beginning of a word must always
be sharply pronounced. In singing you
must neither, when pauses occur, cut
short nor drag out the tone; I mark
with red crayon wherever pauses are
made, so that you do not draw out the
tone. There are many things to be
guarded against in singing, but instru-
mentalists usually keep to the rhythm
more * closely than singers and song-
stresses think it necessary to do. As
you may observe, my dear yoimg lady,
there are, in the art of song, so many
technical points to watch that at first,
in order not to confuse the student, of
forte, piano, style, sentiment, tempo
rubato, crescendo, diminuendo, ritar-
dando, etc., nothing should be said.
First technique, afterwards aesthetics.

173

Do not forget all my teachings of to-
day, and let me add thereto this injunc-
tion: in the declamation of Handel's
aria, the end must always be broadly
delivered. Bring with you next time
Gluck's air.

Now for Rosa. It is extraordinary
how this young girl who, at first, sang
everything in the quickest tempo imag-
inable is, of a sudden, become calm
and contemplative. I am really quite
delighted at the change. One must nev-
er grow weary of preaching: it finally
bears good fruit The duty of the teach-
er that takes his profession to heart
is never to weary, never to slumber,
never to lose patience. If the teacher
grows discouraged, the pupil's self-pos-
session forsakes him; if he or she be-
comes easy-going and indifferent, the
pupil loses courage; if rough and un-
mannerly, the pupil's love for the teacher
vanishes, and with it his or her essential
esteem. That a strong dose of self-
denial is indispensable to the teacher's

174

office, no one, I am sure, will deny.
To-day, my dear Rosa, you have really
given me pleasure, the more so as I
fancied that, in the future, you would
prove somewhat troublesome. But I
will not lavish too much praise on you :
every day is not Sunday. You sang
to-day the theme with variations very
neatly, and your pronunciation of the
Italian was correct. Get the theme and
variations next time by heart, and bring
me the air from Rossini's *' Semiramide,''
so that I may show you how it should
be studied.

We shall now hear Valentine. No,
no, the tremolo is not so easy to do away
with as one imagines. When one has
siuig violently for years on the high-
er tones the organ wearies and tremu-
lousness is unavoidable. It is an ugly
defect and must be overcome. You
must practise but little, for your voice
requires above all things rest ; my advice
is, inasmuch as the vacation period is
at hand, that you refrain from singing

175

a note until the next school -year be-
gins. I think a complete two months' rest
will be most beneficial to your damaged
voice. It is so beautifully resonant an
organ that you can readily afford the
sacrifice I suggest. You consent? I
am delighted! And now listen: a few
weeks ago a very pretty girl came to
me for advice. Her voice was very tired,
greatly overworked, and far more trem-
ulous than is yours, my dear Valentine.
As I spoke to her clearly on the subject
she began to weep bitterly. To her in-
quiry as to whether I could not recom-
mend to her a good physician, I simply
answered: "I know an excellent one:
Doctor Rest. Here is his address. No.
88 Rue Jouffroy." She understood the
pleasantry, dried her tears, promised
not to sing a bar before the opening
of the school -term, and will then, on
September ist, commence her studies
under my guidance.

•_ *— ^-j

THE TENTH
LESSON

M

THE TENTH LESSON

MY DEAR PUPILS,— As I see
many a drooping head and
many a pallid cheek, as your
enthusiasm, too, is waning, I have in-
vited you all to a five-o'clock tea.

On this occasion I can once more
give you good advice and, as you have
always wished me to do, rehearse some
of my experiences. So sit down com-
fortably about the tea-table, and lend me
your ears.

The lasting, the only joy rewarding
my earnest artistic endeavor is your at-
tachment, your love, your confidence.
Your progress, too, as also the conscious-
ness that through n^iy instruction you
have laid the foundation of an artistic

179

life, is my sole reward, my single durable
delight. May a grateful dolce far niente
greet you from the first hour of your
holiday spell! Mental effort, especially
for those that are not used to it from
childhood, exhausts body and soul,
and as you have never studied more
earnestly, more steadfastly, than under
my direction, may fresh air, balmy
meadows, and shady woods bring you
as many benefits as did beating time,
thumbing grammars, and writing trans-
lations. One wish I have to express:
that you persuade your parents not
to shorten your term of study. The
study of singing exacts much more
time than does that of an instrument.
Unfortunately, the great majority of
people will not understand this, and
believe that, equipped with good liuigs,
an attractive appearance, and a sound
voice, a singer has little or nothing to
learn. It is real grief for a teacher when
a gifted, ambitious pupil is called away
before her studies are completed.

i8o

When you write home, urge your
friends and acquaintances not to quit
their families until they are certain to
be able to pursue their studies, what-
ever these may be, to the end. Medi-
ocrity is a chain that one drags, like
a galley-slave in fetters, through life.
But, changing the theme, I will now
speak to you of the artistic delights
that this week brought me. I attended
a performance of Gluck's ''Iphigenia
in Tauris'' at the Op6ra Comique.
The music of this opera is grand, im-
pressive, simple, and goes straight to
the heart. The voices are not oppressed
by too mighty orchestration or wearied
by excessive exertion. One can see
that Gluck took into consideration the
possibilities of the human voice. Al-
though Mme. Caron, who represented
Iphigenia, possesses now but little voice,
she charmed the audience through her
noble song and expressive declamation,
and through her classical representation
as a whole. There was no striving

i8i

after effect, and nothing was overdone.
Her talent is doubly great, in that it
gathers no aid from her voice. I also
had opportunities, in two successive
concerts at the Chdtelet Theatre, of
hearing the orchestra of the Vienna
Philharmonic Society and the chorus
of the Viennese Mannergesang-Verein.
These were indeed sources of artistic
satisfaction, that made my heart leap.
The orchestra, under the genial direc-
tion of Herr Mahler, conductor, and
also director of the Imperial Opera House
in Vienna, did admirable work. Its
shading, its precision, its rhythm, were
marvellous to note. Every performer
is an artist. I wept with joy like a
child, but kept down my tears on the
day following, when I had to struggle
again with intonation, time division,
expression, and so on. Then, indeed,
did I come down from heaven to earth.
I beseech you, my dear children, beat
time, and if the Creator had given you
ten hands, I should bid you beat time

182

with all, even if you were in danger of
hurting them. Nothing is more^ dis-
tressing to the listener than micertain
intonation or a lack of rhythm. What
shall I say of the Vienna chorus, of
my third day's enjoyment? Once again
was my artistic sense delighted. One
must have heard this body of singers
to imderstand my enthusiasm. Con-
ductor Kremser is entitled to the warm-
est praise for the admirable expression
and the management of the voices of
these singers. There was neither doubt-
ful intonation nor uncertain attack in
their performance: all was artistic, ab-
solutely perfect. Vienna and its artists
will live for aye in the memories of the
Parisians. Ah! children, be more in-
dustrious, be more earnest, than you
have been imtil now, and strive to com-
pass the same perfection.

When we next meet I shall tell you of the
Concours de Chant — the singing-exami-
nation — of the Brussels Conservatory,
which takes place in the first week of July.

183

I hear much that is good in Brussels,
and what pleases me especially is that
all the pupils are educated musicians,
which imfortunately is not the case
with all the students that come to me
from abroad. Can a blind man be a
skilled painter, a deaf person a skilled
musician? But we have chatted suf-
ficiently, my young friends: let us say
"au revoir" and part with a friendly
grasp of the hand. What? you would
tarry a Uttle longer, and hear from my
Ups tales of the great artists that I once
knew intimately, and that are now de-
parted, and also the story of the public
celebration of the fiftieth anniversary
of the inception of my art life? This
will make you miss your visit to the
Exhibition. You insist! well, be it so.
I will delve into my memories, so that
I do not forget some of my former friends
and that I may summon them up in
chronological order. How many rec-
ollections cluster about these names,
how many artistic joys were given me

184

by those great men, that now occupy
the foremost places in the history of
art, and how kindly, how encouraging,
how helpful were all to me, both at the
outset and during the brightest years
of my career !

Let me begin with Otto Nicolal, who,
when I was a young girl and but a mere
dilettante, gave instruction in singing
in Vienna. I had before this had lessons,
in Frankfort, from several tiresome old
spinsters, but all of them — I think there
were two or three — drove me, through
their ignorance, to such despair, that
my good mother, yielding to my en-
treaties, suspended my studies. Nicolai
had become acquainted with my aunt.
Baroness von Ertmann, through her
talent as a pianist and a pupil of Bee-
thoven, and she selected him to teach me.

After the first hour's instruction I
discovered that the great musician knew
nothing of the female voice. On several
tones my attack was uncertain, and
this discouraged me. My teacher would

185

■«■

gladly have helped me, but the knowl-
edge was wanting. One day he lost pa-
tience, and, striking his forehead with
his hand, exclaimed: ''My dear young
lady, as a true artist, I must confess
that I understand nothing, absolutely
nothing, of voice -culture. I will make
you study songs, airs, and operas: in-
struct you in regard to intonation, pro-
nunciation, and declamation, but of the
training of the voice, I repeat, I know
nothing." His frankness pleased me.
In spite of his admission I kept on my
studies with Nicolai imtil I left the city,
learned all the Mozart airs to which
my voice was suited, as also most of
Beethoven's and Schubert's songs, and
then returned home, much disappointed.
Later on, in Frankfort, I was present-
ed to Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. Having
sung for him several Lieder, he at once
showed a lively interest in me. He
knew that my family was opposed to
my artistic projects, and thereupon took
me under his protection. It was Men-

i86

delssohn that had me — ^an insignificant
little dilettante! — sing in the Rhenish
Concert at Dusseldorf. He taught me
personally an air from Mozart's "Titus/'
"Deh! per questo istante solo/' as also
the contralto part in Handel's " Joshua/'
and several of his songs, and made the
performance a test as to whether I should
continue my studies or not I achieved
a brilliant success in Dusseldorf, and
thus it came about — thanks to my pro-
tector and friend — that your actual
teacher grew into an artist. Mendels-
sohn's wife was very beautiful; she
had lovely, expressive eyes ; people called
her "Saint Cecilia/' Cecilia being her
Christian name. I never knew any
one more sparing of words; she rarely
opened her lips. I shall not forget
Mendelssohn's superb piano - playing.
His delightful songs have, unhappily,
fallen somewhat into neglect; I, how-
ever, go over the most beautiful with
students preparing for the concert-room.
I cannot narrate to you all that lives

187

in my memory concerning Mendelssohn,
for time presses and you would not care
to sit down to dinner at midnight. I
knew Meyerbeer, but saw him less
frequently than I did Mendelssohn. I
met him a few days after my wedding
in Berlin, and during the few weeks of
my sojourn in that city he was always
most attentive and amiable. Meyer-
beer has been depicted as stem, cold,
and rough, but he never impressed me
as such, and always overwhelmed me
with kindness.

He made me study several of his arias.
Meyerbeer's mother, too, received me with
open arms, and entertained me at a grand
dinner. Afterwards we sang, my hus-
band and I, accompanied by Meyerbeer,
several of his duets.

I also enjoyed the friendship of Rossini.
My acquaintance with this great and
genial artist is one of the brightest
memories of my life. I first met him in
Florence, and, later, saw him frequently
in Paris. Let me refer to a few of his

i88

peculiarities. Nothing could have in-
duced him to venture on a railway train.
No locomotive for him! He always
travelled in carriages. He had a number
of wigs, and changed from one to another
every day. He only liked deep voices:
the high tones he called " the hair voice."
He was very fond of good cooking, and
often prepared his favorite dishes him-
self on a chafing-dish. He often said
to me: "I do not care for a great rep-
utation, but I do care for a good dish of
macaroni!" Of Wagner he remarked:
"What is good is old; what is new is
not good." In his last years, Rossini
took more interest in the piano than in
singing, and drew about him a large
circle of young pianists. The shadow
on Rossini's life was his wife, who was
not conspicuous for amiability. I ded-
icated to the great master my Opus 6,
the vocalises for mezzo-soprano, and
received from him a charming letter,
written in 1863, in which he expresses
his gratitude for the dedication in most

189

flattering terms, complaining already
of the decline of the art of song. All
the artists I have referred to, my dear
pupils, were simple and modest, so was
L6o Delibes, the composer of "Lakm6"
and several other works. He visited
us often, took interest in my pupils,
and personally went over with them
his airs, songs, and duets. In one of
my soirfies, Emma Nevada and my
daughter Blanche sang, accompanied
by Delibes, the duet from "Lakm6."
Delibes was strong and had a fine com-
plexion. Who would have thought him
destined to be taken from the world and
his friends by an untimely death? My
fellow-countryman and friend, Ferdinand
Hiller, was for three years my director
at the Cologne Conservatory. Besides
being a great musician and renowned
composer, Hiller was a thorough man
of the world, an accomplished writer,
and a charming conversationalist. His
reception days gathered in his salon
in Cologne a swarm of distinguished

190

artists, and there it was I heard Joachim,
Clara Schumann, and others. Withal,
children, you cannot imagine the ennui
I endured in Cologne. The city, now
so cheerful, was then girdled, as it were,
by a high wall. Everything was sad
and tiresome, the residents no less so.
In Killer's abode only was life and maital
activity. Almost every Sunday morn-
ing we called upon the master, whose
studio overlooked the Rhine. He would
then play for us Beethoven and Mozart,
as also his own newest compositions,
and tell us of his visits to Beethoven
in Vienna, and to Goethe at Weimar.
Ah! but all this lies in the far, far dis-
tant past ! Hiller regretted my departure
from Cologne, but I could no longer
have borne a life immured within four
walls. Poor Hiller had a sad end: for
months before his death he could not
leave his arm-chair, day or night; yet
the once so lively artist remained to the
last calm and dignified.
Of Gounod I can only tell you that he

191

was a near neighbor of ours; that we
saw him often; that he took much in-
terest in my school; that he was very
fond of hearing Blanche, whom he bade
visit him every Thursday morning to
sing his compositions; that he himself
sang to perfection, and, finally, that
he designated Emma Eames, whom I
presented to him, and whose singing
pleased him, to make her d6but as Juliette
in "Rom6o et Juliette/^ Gounod was
most amiable and affable to all that
came in contact with him. His death
made a great void in the Parisian musi-
cal world, and was mourned by all the
master's friends. You know as well as
I that whenever "Faust" and "Rom6o
et Juliette" are on the bills, the Opera
House is crowded. One anecdote more:
Gounod possessed (it is still to be seen
in his house) a large and beautiful
organ, that stood in his studio, and
upon which he often played for us:
he frequently accompanied Blanche on
this instrument. After the master's

192

death they found in a portfoUo the
manuscript of his last composition, en-
titled "Repentance." It is a song, in
form of a prayer, beseeching God's
forgiveness for his sins. Like Mozart,
whose music he set above all other
works, Gounod passed away as he was
putting the last touches on his "Re-
quiem."

Liszt, whom I met repeatedly in after-
days, and saw every hour during my
week's sojourn in Weimar, in 1850, was,
in regard to personal intercourse, a
most interesting and, at the same time,
most unaffected man; as from early
youth, however, the public, and woman-
kind especially, made a god. of him, he
was less simple-mannered in company.
He earned millions with his concerts,
but was so liberal, especially towards
students, that the gold streamed out
of his pockets as swiftly as it streamed
into them. A little while before his
death I saw him in Paris. Who would
have recognized in the old, feeble, ailing
N 193

1

TEN SINGING LESSONS

man the brilliant artist of the past?
Liszt is interred at Baireuth, where his
daughter, Cosima Wagner, has erected
a mausoleum.

You are all familiar with the operas
of Ambroise Thomas, whose " Mignon "
and "Hamlet" will long remain part
of the repertory. For fourteen or fifteen
years, Ambroise Thomas was a true
friend to me. He was somewhat stem
and reserved by nature, but a noble
character, in whom his friends could
place absolute faith. Ambroise Thomas
was for many years director of the Paris
Conservatory. He died at the age of
eighty-two or eighty-three.

How unlike the French composer was
Anton Rubinstein! He was all life, all
artistic purpose, all strength, courage,
and decision. One must have seen this
Titan at the piano to understand his
nature. But he too was, in life, a simple,
modest man, free from all affectation.
To hear Rubinstein play was a rare
delight, and for thirty years he was to

194

me a true friend. He often sought to
engage me for the St. Petersburg Con-
servatory, but I withstood his entrea-
ties, dreading for my family and myself
the severe climate of Russia. The last
days of the celebrated artist were most
gloomy, for he lost his sight; his death,
which occurred but a few years ago,
was unexpected, almost sudden. Some
years ago, both Liszt and Rubinstein
were present at a musical soir6e at my
house, at which Saint-Saens played a
fantasia on "Faust" by Liszt, while
Calv6 sang an air from Gounod's set-
ting of Goethe's poem, and Emma Ne-
vada the air from Gounod's "Mireille."
Rubinstein bore a strange and striking
resemblance to Beethoven.

But a short time has gone by since
Brahms was taken from his friends
and the musical world, in Vienna.
The great composer was, like Ambroise
Thomas, somewhat reserved in manner,
but also a noble character. I met him
often, and with pleasure, during my last

195

stay in the Austrian capital. His com-
positions are renowned the world over,
his songs entrancingly beautiful. You
shall study them later on. The last
few days of Brahms's life were years
of suffering.

What shall I tell you of my Jubilee
celebration? December 12, 1899, was
the brightest day of my life, for I then
saw by the imiversal expression of
sympathy that the sincerity of my en-
deavor and work had full recognition.
I received, as I think I have already
mentioned to you, upward of four hun-
dred letters and telegrams. The address
which the American ambassador. Gen-
eral Porter, presented to me crowned
an occasion that will never be forgotten.

I have, in the musical world of Paris,
two dear and respected friends — ^Massenet
and Saint-Saens. The former most ami-
ably offered to take part in my Jubilee
celebration, and personally accompany
several of his compositions — among
others a scene from "Werther" — but

196

(I

i

I

circumstances compelled him, just then,
to absent himself from Paris. Saint-
Saens, however, with great kindness
and affability, honored the concert with
his co-operation and accompanied his
composition for voice and for violoncello.
Thanks and lasting gratitude to the
great master !

One word before closing. Should you,
in your holiday wanderings, encounter
some young Americans who intend to
study in Europe, kindly tell them that
I am not too severe, as a mischievous
legend will have it, but that I am con-
scientious. I would not have parents
spend their money uselessly, or children
waste their best years in fruitless en-
deavor. My ambition, my aim, is that
each of my pupils shall leave my school
a good opera - singer, a good concert-
singer, or a good teacher. I will have
no mediocrity; in our days mediocrity
is worse than useless. Tell your friends
not to come to me unless they have
two full years to work; tell them to

197

come to me good musicians, to acquire a
knowledge of German and French, and,
above all, to lay in a store of patience.
Do not sing much during your vacation ;
improve yourselves by reading good
books, and do not fail to go over the
text of your songs again and again, and
penetrate yourselves with their mean-
ing. A singer with a moderately good
voice, who has mastered the significance
of his words, will always have the ad-
vantage over the possessor of a much
finer instrument to whom they are a
sealed message. Gounod was wont to
say of a singer of the latter type, " What
a beautiful organ-pipe!"

And now, dear pupils, good-bye —
au revoirl You leave me rather pale
and weary ; come back rosy and strong.
May the coming years ripen your youth ;
and give you strength and courage.
God bless you, one and all !

THE END

V

By M. E, W, SHERWOOD

AN EPISTLE TO POSTERITY. Being Rambling
Recollections of Man^ Years of My Life. With a
Photogravure Portrait. Crown 8vo, Cloth, Orna-
mental, Uncut Edges and Gilt Top, |2 50.

The book may be opened at any page and the eye will be greeted
by the name of some figure of national reputati(m, and most likely
a bit of lively incident or an anecdote that throws light upon his
or her character. It is the note-book of one whose fortune it was
to be thrown into the company of the makers of history, and who
cherished with appreciation the most of what she observed and
heard when in that company. — Philadelphia Bulletin,

The whole book is a aelight. — Boston Advertiser.

Mrs. Sherwood has had an interesting life, and she has made an
especially interesting narrative of its incidents. — iVl Y. Press.

A book that is as delightful and entertaining as a bright and
travelled friend. . . . The most delightful book of its kind pub-
lished in years. — Cincinnati Commereial'Tribune.

MANNERS AND SOCIAL USAGES in America. A

Book of Etiquette. 16mo, Cloth, |1 25.

Mrs. Sherwood's admirable little volume differs from ordinary
works on the subject of etiquette chiefly in the two facts that it
is founded on its author's personal familiarity with the usages of
really good society, and that it is inspired by good sense and a
helpiuf spirit. There is nothing of pretence in it, nothing of that
weak worship of conventionality which gives the stamp of vulgari-
ty to the greater part of what is written on this subject.— iV!^ T,
Commercial Advertiser,

A TRANSPLANTED ROSE. A Story of New York

Society. 16rao, Paper, 50 cents.

Might well be dedicated to society at large and its aspirants. . . .
There is a great deal about social forms in New York which will
make the book ioteresting to the feminine mind, details about
sending cards, introducing people, etc. — Boston Advertiser,

HARPER & BROTHERS, Publishers

NEW YORK AKD LONDON

By^lny of the above works will he sent by mail, postage prepaid,
to any part of the United States, Canada, or Mexico, on receipt of the
price.

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1983