1891.] Dr. Felix Semon on the Culture of the Singing Voice. 317 



WEEKLY EVENING MEETING, 

 Friday, March 13, 1891. 



Sir James Crichton Browne, M.D. LL.D. F„R.S. Treasurer and 

 Vice-President, in the Chair. 



Felix Semon, M.D. F.R.C.P. 



The Culture of the Singing Voice, 



The subject selected for to-night's discourse is so large that within 

 the limited time at my disposal it will be obviously impossible to do 

 justice to it in all its branches. Under these circumstances two ways 

 are open : either to cast a hurried glance over the whole subject, or 

 rather to select a few points of special interest from amongst the 

 multitude of questions with which it is beset, and to dwell on these 

 at somewhat greater length. The latter course appears to me the 

 preferable one, and I shall follow it, but before entering upon the 

 subject itself I am anxious to touch upon the reasons which have 

 induced me to select this particular sulgect, and to define my own 

 position with regard to it. 



If it be true, as no doubt generally speaking it is, that occupation 

 with science and art is an ennobling thing, an imperfect study of the 

 physiology of the singing voice constitutes a sorry exception to that 

 rule. Whilst in previous times the culture of the singing voice was 

 conducted upon purely empirical but good rules, such as had gra- 

 dually and logically developed themselves from the accumulated 

 experience of many schools of singing, ever since the discoveries of 

 modern physiology have been popularised, and especially since the 

 laryngoscope has been introduced and believed to elucidate all ques- 

 tions connected with the production and cultivation of the singing 

 voice, a very bitter war has been raging, in which practically every- 

 body's hand has been against his neighbour. Dogmatic rules, irre- 

 spective of actual facts, have been laid down as to the hygiene of the 

 vocal organs, the question of registers has been and is at the present 

 time as hotly discussed as ever, and untenable theories have been 

 raised with regard to the capability of the laryngoscope to decide the 

 most intricate and difficult questions concerned in the production of 

 the singing voice. 



Now, I have always taken, since I have occupied myself with 

 these questions, the one view that nothing could be more detrimental 

 to the true interests of the noble art of singing than to be led astray 

 by well-meaning but over-enthusiastic adapters of incomplete physio- 

 logical facts into a wrong groove under the impression that the rules 



Vol. XIII. (No. 85.) y 



