680 MUSIC 



imperceptible respiration. It should be so imperceptible that the audi- 

 ence is unaware of the breath being taken. 



The old Masters knew nothing of anatomy, yet Science only proves 

 how right they were in their ideas of breathing. In accordance with 

 the accepted axiom " Summa ars celare artem" (the highest art lies 

 in its concealment), they insisted that the goal of the singer should 

 be "imperceptible and inaudible breathing." The celebrated singing 

 master, Lamperti, was never tired of insisting that the points of the 

 shoulders must be free, and that the breathing of a singer should re- 

 semble that of a swimmer. 



The great tenor, Eubini, was once closely watched for several min- 

 utes by the equally celebrated bass, Lablache, and although the latter 

 was holding Eubini's hand while singing a duet, he declared that he 

 was unable to observe when or how he breathed, so noiseless and imper- 

 ceptible was his method of respiration. An oft-repeated anecdote of 

 Rubini, however, describes that, later in his career, being desirous of 

 bringing out the high B flat he used so much force as to break his 

 collar-bone ! First, I do not believe this story, but, if it were true, 

 either the artist's collar-bone had become very brittle, or else he was 

 not singing with that schooled respiration described on the occasion 

 of his duet with Lablache. 



A friend of mine tells me that his father knew Lablache intimately, 

 and that this artist one day for fun sang a long note from piano to 

 forte and back to piano, then drank a glass of wine, and, without 

 having breathed, finished by singing a chromatic scale in trills up the 

 octave all in the same breath, and finally blew out a candle with his 

 mouth open ! 



There were giants in those days ! 



A word on voice-production. When we sing, the delicate edges of 

 the vocal chords are brought together so that the pressure of trie 

 breath sets them into vibration, and prolonged sound is the result. 

 The muscles connected with the vocal chords enable us to tune them 

 to the notes of the scale, and melody ensues. 



Whilst many earnest scientists have endeavored to determine the 

 exact action of the most delicate muscles in the larynx, nothing of 

 so simple a character has yet been discovered as to make the study 

 of singing any easier. 



We shall learn more by observing what happens to the muscles 

 which form the floor of the mouth. They assist in holding the larynx 

 in its proper position, and become tenser as we ascend the scale in 

 the different registers. The muscles, however, connected with the 

 different movements of the tongue lie just above these; indeed, they 

 also help to form the floor of the mouth. 



The least rigidity of the floor of the mouth involves the muscles 

 of the tongue, and the tone as well as the pronunciation is distorted 



