Sec. 17. I cannot sufficiently recommend to a Student the exact keeping of Time; and if I repeat the same in more than one place, there is more than one Occasion that moves me to it; because, even among the Professors of the first Rank there are few, but what are almost insensibly deceived into an Irregularity, or hastening of Time, and often of both; which though in the Beginning is hardly perceptible, yet in the Progress of the Air becomes more and more so, and at the last the Variation, and the Error is discovered.

Sec. 18. If I do not advise a Student to imitate several of the Moderns in their Manner of singing Airs, it is from their Neglect of keeping Time, which ought to be inviolable, and not sacrificed to their beloved Passages and Divisions.

Sec. 19. The Presumption of some Singers is not to be borne with, who expect that an whole Orchestre should stop in the midst of a well-regulated Movement, to wait for their ill-grounded Caprices, learned by Heart, carried from one Theatre to another, and perhaps stolen from some applauded female Singer, who had better Luck than Skill, and whose Errors were excused in regard to her Sex.——Softly, softly with your Criticism, says one; this, if you do not know it, is called Singing after the Mode——Singing after the Mode?——I say, you are mistaken. The stopping in the Airs at every second and fourth, and on all the sevenths and sixths of the Bass, was a bad Practice of the ancient Masters, disapproved fifty Years ago by Rivani, called Ciecolino,[61] who with invincible Reasons shewed the proper Places for Embellishments, without begging Pauses. This Percept was approved by several eminent Persons, among whom was Signer Pistochi,[62] the most famous of our, and all preceding Times, who has made himself immortal, by shewing the way of introducing Graces without transgressing against Time. This Example alone, which is worth a Thousand (O my rever'd Moderns!) should be sufficient to undeceive you. But if this does not satisfy you, I will add, that Sifacio[63] with his mellifluous Voice embrac'd this Rule; that Buzzolini[64] of incomparable Judgment highly esteemed it: After them Luigino[65] with his soft and amorous Stile followed their Steps; likewise Signora Boschi[66] who, to the Glory of her Sex, has made it appear, that Women, who study, may instruct even Men of some Note. That Signora Lotti,[67] strictly keeping to the same Rules, with a penetrating Sweetness of Voice, gained the Hearts of all her Hearers. If Persons of this Rank, and others at present celebrated all over Europe, whom I forbear to name; if all these have not Authority enough to convince you, that you have no Right to alter the Time by making Pauses, consider at least, that by this Error in respect of Time, you often fall into a greater, which is, that the Voice remains unaccompanied, and deprived of Harmony; and thereby becomes flat and tiresome to the best Judges. You will perhaps say in Excuse, that few Auditors have this Discernment, and that there are Numbers of the others, who blindly applaud every thing that has an Appearance of Novelty. But whose fault is this? An Audience that applauds what is blameable, cannot justify your Faults by their Ignorance; it is your Part to set them right, and, laying aside your ill-grounded Practice, you should own, that the Liberties you take are against Reason, and an insult upon all those instrumental Performers that are waiting for you, who are upon a Level with you, and ought to be subservient only to the Time. In short, I would have you reflect, that the abovementioned Precept will always be of Advantage to you; for though under the neglecting of it, you have a Chance to gain Applause of the Ignorant only; by observing it, you will justly merit that of the Judicious, and the Applause will become universal.

Sec. 20. Besides the Errors in keeping Time, there are other Reasons, why a Student should not imitate the modern Gentlemen in singing Airs, since it plainly appears that all their Application now is to divide and subdivide in such a Manner, that it is impossible to understand either Words, Thoughts, or Modulation, or to distinguish one Air from another, they singing them all so much alike, that, in hearing of one, you hear a Thousand.——And must the Mode triumph? It was thought, not many Years since, that in an Opera, one rumbling Air, full of Divisions was sufficient for the most gurgling Singer to spend his Fire[68]; but the Singers of the present Time are not of that Mind, but rather, as if they were not satisfied with transforming them all with a horrible Metamorphosis into so many Divisions, they, like Racers, run full Speed, with redoubled Violence to their final Cadences, to make Reparation for the Time they think they have lost during the Course of the Air. In the following Chapter, on the tormented and tortured Cadences, we shall shortly see the good Taste of the Mode; in the mean while I return to the Abuses and Defects in Airs.

Sec. 21. I cannot positively tell, who that Modern Composer, or that ungrateful Singer was, that had the Heart to banish the delightful, soothing, Pathetick from Airs, as if no longer worthy of their Commands, after having done them so long and pleasing Service. Whoever he was, it is certain, he has deprived the Profession of its most valuable Excellence. Ask all the Musicians in general, what their Thoughts are of the Pathetick, they all agree in the same Opinion, (a thing that seldom happens) and answer, that the Pathetick is what is most delicious to the Ear, what most sweetly affects the Soul, and is the strongest Basis of Harmony. And must we be deprived of these Charms, without knowing the Reason why? Oh! I understand you: I ought not to ask the Masters, but the Audience, those capricious Protectors of the Mode, that cannot endure this; and herein lies my Mistake. Alas! the Mode and the Multitude flow like Torrents, which, when at their Height, having spent their Violence, quickly disappear. The Mischief is in the Spring itself; the Fault is in the Singers. They praise the Pathetick, yet sing the Allegro. He must want common Sense that does not see through them. They know the first to be the most Excellent, but they lay it aside, knowing it to be the most difficult.

Sec. 22. In former times divers Airs were heard in the Theatre in this delightful Manner, preceded and accompanied with harmonious and well-modulated Instruments, that ravished the Senses of those who comprehended the Contrivance and the Melody; and if sung by one of those five or six eminent Persons abovementioned, it was then impossible for a human Soul, not to melt into Tenderness and Tears from the violent Motion of the Affections. Oh! powerful Proof to confound the idoliz'd Mode! Are there in these Times any, who are moved with Tenderness, or Sorrow?——No, (say all the Auditors) no; for, the continual singing of the Moderns in the Allegro Stile, though when in Perfection That deserves Admiration, yet touches very slightly one that hath a delicate Ear. The Taste of the Ancients was a Mixture of the Lively and the Cantabile the Variety of which could not fail giving Delight; but the Moderns are so pre-possessed with Taste in Mode, that, rather than comply with the former, they are contented to lose the greatest Part of its Beauty. The Study of the Pathetick was the Darling of the former; and Application to the most difficult Divisions is the only Drift of the latter. Those perform'd with more Judgment; and These execute with greater Boldness. But since I have presum'd to compare the most celebrated Singers in both Stiles, pardon me if I conclude with saying, that the Moderns are arrived at the highest Degree of Perfection in singing to the Ear; and that the Ancients are inimitable in singing to the Heart.

Sec. 23. However, it ought not to be denied, but that the best Singers of these times have in some Particulars refined the preceding Taste, with some Productions worthy to be imitated; and as an evident Mark of Esteem, we must publicly own, that if they were but a little more Friends to the Pathetick and the Expressive, and a little less to the Divisions, they might boast of having brought the Art to the highest Degree of Perfection.

Sec. 24. It may also possibly be, that the extravagant Ideas in the present Compositions, have deprived the abovementioned Singers of the Opportunity of shewing their Ability in the Cantabile; in as much as the Airs at present in vogue go Whip and Spur with such violent Motions, as take away their Breath, far from giving them an Opportunity of shewing the Exquisiteness of their Taste. But, good God! since there are so many modern Composers, among whom are some of Genius equal, and perhaps greater than the best Ancients, for what Reason or Motive do they always exclude from their Compositions, the so-much-longed-for Adagio? Can its gentle Nature ever be guilty of a Crime? If it cannot gallop with the Airs that are always running Post, why not reserve it for those that require Repose, or at least for a compassionate one, which is to assist an unfortunate Hero, when he is to shed Tears, or die on the Stage?——No, Sir, No; the grand Mode demands that he be quick, and ready to burst himself in his Lamentations, and weep with Liveliness. But what can one say? The Resentment of the modern Taste is not appeased with the Sacrifice of the Pathetick and the Adagio only, two inseparable Friends, but goes so far, as to prescribe those Airs, as Confederates, that have not the Sharp third. Can any thing be more absurd? Gentlemen Composers, (I do not speak to the eminent, but with all due Respect) Musick in my Time has chang'd its Stile three times: The first which pleased on the Stage, and in the Chamber, was that of Pier. Simone[69], and of Stradella[70]; the second is of the best that now living[71]; and I leave others to judge whether they are Modern. But of your Stile, which is not quite established yet in Italy, and which has yet gained no Credit at all beyond the Alps, those that come after us will soon give their Opinion; for Modes last not long. But if the Profession is to continue, and end with the World, either you yourselves will see your Mistake, or your Successors will reform it. Wou'd you know how? By banishing the Abuses, and recalling the first, second, and third Mood[72], to relieve the fifth, sixth, and eighth, which are quite jaded. They will revive the fourth and seventh now dead to you, and buried in Churches, for the final Closes. To oblige the Taste of the Singers and the Hearers, the Allegro will now and then be mixed with the Pathetick. The Airs will not always be drowned with the Indiscretion of the Instruments, that hide the artful Delicacy of the Piano, and the soft Voices, nay, even all Voices which will not bawl: They will no longer bear being teased with Unisons[73], the Invention of Ignorance, to hide from the Vulgar the Insufficiency and Inability of many Men and Women Singers: They will recover the instrumental Harmony now lost: They will compose more for the Voice than the Instruments: The part for the Voice will no more have the Mortification to resign its Place to the Violins: The Soprano's and Contr'Alto's will no more sing the Airs in the Manner of the Bass, in Spight of a thousand Octaves: And, finally, their Airs will be more affecting, and less alike; more studied, and less painful to the Singer; and so much the more grand, as they are remote from the Vulgar. But, methinks, I hear it said, that the theatrical Licence is great, and that the Mode pleases, and that I grow too bold. And may I not reply, that the Abuse is greater, that the Invention is pernicious, and that my Opinion is not singular. Am I the only Professor who knows that the best Compositions are the Cause of singing well, and the worst very prejudicial? Have we not more than once heard that the Quality of the Compositions has been capable, with a few Songs, of establishing the Reputation of a middling Singer, and destroying That of one who had acquired one by Merit? That Musick, which is composed by one of Judgment and Taste, instructs the Scholar, perfects the Skilful, and delights the Hearer. But since we have opened the Ball, let us dance.

Sec. 25. He that first introduced Musick on the Stage, probably thought to lead her to a Triumph, and raise her to a Throne. But who would ever have imagined, that in the short Course of a few Years, she should be reduced to the fatal Circumstance of seeing her own Tragedy? Ye pompous Fabricks of the Theatres! We should look upon you with Horror, being raised from the Ruins of Harmony: You are the Origin of the Abuses, and of the Errors: From You is derived the modern Stile and the Multitude of Ballad-makers: You are the only Occasion of the Scarcity of judicious and well-grounded Professors, who justly deserve the Title of Chapel-Master[74]; since the poor Counterpoint[75] has been condemned, in this corrupted Age, to beg for a Piece of Bread in Churches, whilst the Ignorance of many exults on the Stage, the most part of the Composers have been prompted from Avarice, or Indigence, to abandon in such Manner the true Study, that one may foresee (if not succoured by those few, that still gloriously sustain its dearest Precepts) Musick, after having lost the Name of Science, and a Companion of Philosophy, will run the Risque of being reputed unworthy to enter into the sacred Temples, from the Scandal given there, by their Jiggs, Minuets, and Furlana's[76]; and, in fact, where the Taste is so deprav'd, what would make the Difference between the Church-Musick, and the Theatrical, if Money was received at the Church Doors?

Sec. 26. I know that the World honours with just Applause some, tho' few Masters, intelligent in both Stiles, to whom I direct the Students in order to their singing well; and if I confine the Masters to so small a Number, I do beg Pardon of those who should be comprehended therein; hoping easily to obtain it, because an involuntary Error does not offend, and an eminent Person knows no other Envy but virtuous Emulation. As for the Ignorant, who for the most part are not used to indulge any, but rather despise and hate every thing they do not comprehend, they will be the Persons from whom I am to expect no Quarter.

Sec. 27. To my Misfortune, I asked one of this sort, from whom he had learned the Counterpoint? he answered immediately from the Instrument, (i.e., the Harpsichord)—Very well. I asked farther, in what Tone have you composed the Introduction of your Opera?——What Tone! what Tone! (breaking in upon me abruptly) with what musty Questions are you going to disturb my Brains? One may easily perceive from what School you come. The Moderns, if you do not know it, acknowledge no other Tone but one[77]; they laugh, with Reason, at the silly Opinion of those who imagine there are two, as well as at those who maintain, that their being divided into Authentick and Plagal, they become Eight, (and more if there were need) and prudently leave it to everybody's Pleasure to compose as they like best. The World in your Time was asleep, and let it not displease you, if our merry and brisk Manner has awakened it with a Gayety so pleasing to the Heart, that it incites one to dance. I would have you likewise be lively before you die, and, abandoning your uncouth Ideas, make it appear, that old Age can be pleased with the Productions of Youth; otherwise you will find, that you will be condemned by your own Words, that Ignorance hates all that is excellent. The polite Arts have advanced continually in Refinement, and if the rest were to give me the Lie, Musick would defend me Sword in Hand; for she cannot arrive at a higher Pitch. Awake therefore, and, if you are not quite out of your Senses, hearken to me; and you will acknowledge that I speak candidly to you; and for a Proof be it known to you——

Sec. 28. That our delicious Stile has been invented to hide with the fine Name of Modern the too difficult Rules of the Counterpoint, cannot be denied.

Sec. 29. That there is an inviolable Rule amongst us, to banish for ever the Pathetick, is very true; because we will have no Melancholy.

Sec. 30. But, that we should be told by the old Bashaws, that we strive who can produce most extravagant Absurdities never heard before, and that we brag to be the Inventors of them ourselves, are the malign Reflections of those who see us exalted. Let Envy burst. You see, that the general Esteem which we have acquired, gives it for us; and if a Musician is not of our Tribe, he will find no Patron or Admirer. But since we are now speaking in Confidence and with Sincerity, who can sing or compose well, without our Approbation? Let them have ever so much Merit (you know it) we do not want Means to ruin him; even a few Syllables will suffice: It is only saying, He is an Ancient.

Sec. 31. Tell me, I beseech you, who, without us, could have brought Musick to the Height of Happiness, with no greater Difficulty than taking from the Airs that tiresome Emulation of the first and second Violin, and of the Tenor? Is there any that ever durst usurp the Glory of it? We, we are those, who by our Ingenuity have raised her to this Degree of Sublimity, in taking also from her that noisy murmuring of the fundamental Basses, in such Manner,——(mark me well, and learn) that if in an Orchestre there were an hundred Violins, we are capable of composing in such a Manner, that all and every one shall play the very Air which the Voice sings. What say you to that? Can you have the Face to find Fault with us?

Sec. 32. Our most lovely Method, that obliges none of us to the painful Study of the Rules; which does not disquiet the Mind with the Anxiety of Speculation, nor delude us with the Study of reducing them into Practice; that does not prejudice the Health; that enchants the Ear a la Mode; that finds those who love it, who prize it, and who pay for it the Weight in Gold; and dare you to criticise upon it?

Sec. 33. What shall we say of the obscure and tedious Compositions of those whom you celebrate as the Top of the Universe, tho' your Opinion goes for nothing? Don't you perceive that those old-fashioned Crabbednesses are disgustful? We should be great Fools to grow pale, and become paralytick in studying and finding out in the Scores, the Harmony, the Fugues, their Reverses, the Double Counterpoint, the Multiplication of Subjects, to contract them closer, to make Canons, and such other dry Stuff, that are no more in Mode, and (what is worse) are of little Esteem, and less Profit. What say you now to this, Master Critick? Have you comprehended me?——Yes, Sir. Well, what Answer do you make me?——None.

Sec. 34. Really, I am astonished, O beloved Singers, at the profound Lethargy in which you remain, and which is so much to your Disadvantage. 'Tis You that ought to awaken, for now is the Time, and tell the Composers of this Stamp, that your Desire is to Sing, and not to Dance.



CHAP. VIII.

Of Cadences.[78]

The Cadences, that terminate the Airs, are of two Sorts. The Composers call the one Superior, and the other Inferior. To make myself better understood by a Scholar, I mean, if a Cadence were in C natural, the Notes of the first would be La, Sol, Fa; and those of the second Fa, Mi, Fa. In Airs for a single Voice, or in Recitatives, a Singer may chuse which of these Closes or Cadences pleases him best; but if in Concert with other Voices, or accompanied with Instruments, he must not change the Superior for the Inferior, nor this with the other.[79]

Sec. 2. It would be superfluous to speak of the broken Cadences, they being become familiar even to those who are not Professors of Musick, and which serve at most but in Recitatives.[80]

Sec. 3. As for those Cadences that fall a fifth, they were never composed in the old Stile for a Soprano, in an Air for a single Voice, or with Instruments, unless the Imitation of some Words had obliged the Composer thereto. Yet these, having no other Merit, but of being the easiest of all, as well for the Composer as for the Singer, are at present the most prevailing.[81]

Sec. 4. In the Chapter on Airs, I have exhorted the Student to avoid that Torrent of Passages and Divisions, so much in the Mode, and did engage myself also, to give my weak Sentiments on the Cadences that are now current; and I am now ready: But, however, with the usual Protestation of submitting them, with all my other Opinions, to the Tribunal of the Judicious, and those of Taste, from whence there is no Appeal; that they, as sovereign Judges of the Profession, may condemn the Abuses of the modern Cadences, or the Errors of my Opinion.

Sec. 5. Every Air has (at least) three Cadences, that are all three final. Generally speaking, the Study of the Singers of the present Times consists in terminating the Cadence of the first Part with an overflowing of Passages and Divisions at Pleasure, and the Orchestre waits; in that of the second[82] the Dose is encreased, and the Orchestre grows tired; but on the last Cadence, the Throat is set a going, like a Weather-cock in a Whirlwind, and the Orchestre yawns. But why must the World be thus continually deafened with so many Divisions? I must (with your leave, Gentlemen Moderns) say in Favour of the Profession, that good Taste does not consist in a continual Velocity of the Voice, which goes thus rambling on, without a Guide, and without Foundation; but rather, in the Cantabile, in the putting forth the Voice agreeably, in Appoggiatura's, in Art, and in the true Notion of Graces, going from one Note to another with singular and unexpected Surprizes, and stealing the Time exactly on the true Motion of the Bass. These are the principal and indispensible Qualities which are most essential to the singing well, and which no musical Ear can find in your capricious Cadences. I must still add, that very anciently the Stile of the Singers was insupportable, (as I have been informed by the Master who taught me to Sol-fa) by reason of the Number of Passages and Divisions in their Cadences, that never were at an end, as they are now; and that they were always the same, just as they are now. They became at last so odious, that, as a Nusance to the Sense of Hearing, they were banished without so much as attempting their Correction. Thus will it also happen to These, at the first Example given by a Singer whose Credit is established, and who will not be seduced by a vain popular Applause. This Reformation the succeeding Professors of Eminence prescribed to themselves as a Law, which perhaps would not have been abolished, were they in a Condition to be heard; but the Opulency of some, Loss of the Voice, Age and Death of others, has deprived the Living from hearing what was truly worthy our Admiration in Singing. Now the Singers laugh at the Reformers, and their Reformation of the Passages in the Cadences; and on the contrary, having recalled them from their Banishment, and brought them on the Stage, with some little Caricatura to boot, they impose them on the Ignorant for rare Inventions, and gain themselves immense Sums; it giving them no Concern that they have been abhorr'd and detested for fifty or sixty Years, or for an hundred Ages. But who can blame them? However, if Reason should make this Demand of them, with what unjust Pretence can you usurp the Name of Moderns, if you sing in a most Ancient Stile? Perhaps, you think that these overflowings of your Throat are what procure you Riches and Praises? Undeceive yourselves, and thank the great Number of Theatres, the Scarcity of excellent Performers, and the Stupidity of your Auditors. What could they answer? I know not. But let us call them to a stricter Account.

Sec. 6. Gentlemen Moderns, can you possibly deny, but that you laugh among yourselves, when you have Recourse to your long-strung Passages in the Cadences, to go a begging for Applause from the blind Ignorant? You call this Trick by the Name of an Alms, begging for Charity as it were for those E Viva's, which, you very well know, you do not deserve from Justice. And in return you laugh at your Admirers, tho' they have not Hands, Feet, nor Voice enough to applaud you. Is this Justice? Is this Gratitude?——Oh! if they ever should find you out! My beloved Singers, tho' the Abuses of your Cadences are of use to you, they are much more prejudicial to the Profession, and are the greatest Faults you can commit; because at the same time you know yourselves to be in the Wrong. For your own Sakes undeceive the World, and employ the rare Talent you are endowed with on Things that are worthy of you. In the mean while I will return with more Courage to my Opinions.

Sec. 7. I should be very desirous to[83] know, on what Foundation certain Moderns of Reputation, and great Name, do on the superior Cadences always make the Shake on the third in Alt to the final Note; since the Shake (which ought to be resolved) cannot be so in this Case, by reason of that very third, which being the sixth of the Bass hinders it, and the Cadence remains without a Resolution. If they should go so far as to imagine, that the best Rules depended on the Mode, I should notwithstanding think, they might sometimes appeal to the Ear, to know if That was satisfied with a Shake beaten with the seventh and the sixth on a Bass which makes the Cadence; and I am sure it would answer. No. From the Rules of the Ancients we learn, that the Shake is to be prepared on the sixth of the Bass, that after it the fifth may be heard, for that is its proper Place.

Sec. 8. Some others of the same Rank make their Cadences in the Manner of the Basses, which is, in falling a fifth, with a Passage of Swift Notes descending gradually, supposing that by this Means they cover the Octaves, which, tho' disguised, will still appear.

Sec. 9. I hold it also for certain, that no Professor of the first Rank, in any Cadence whatsoever, can be allowed to make Shakes, or Divisions, on the last Syllables but one of these Words,—Confondero—Amero, &c. for they are Ornaments that do not suit on those Syllables which are short, but do well on the Antecedent.[84]

Sec. 10. Very many of the second Class end the inferior Cadences in the French Manner without a Shake[85], either for want of Ability to make one, or from its being easy to copy them, or from their Desire of finding out something that may in Appearance support the name of Modern. But in Fact they are mistaken; for the French do not leave out the Shake on the inferior Cadences, except in the Pathetick Airs; and our Italians, who are used to over-do the Mode, exclude it every where, tho' in the Allegro the Shake is absolutely necessary. I know, that a good Singer may with Reason abstain from the Shake in the Cantabile; however, it should be rarely; for if one of those Cadences be tolerable without that pleasing Grace, it is absolutely impossible not to be tired at length, with a Number one after another that die suddenly.

Sec. 11. I find that all the Moderns (let them be Friends or Foes to the Shake) in the inferior Cadences beforementioned go with an Appoggiatura to the final Note, on the penultimate Syllable of a Word; and this likewise is a Defect, it appearing to me, that on such Occasions the Appoggiatura is not pleasing but on the last Syllable, after the Manner of the Ancients, or of those who know how to sing.[86]

Sec.12. If, in the inferior Cadences, the best Singers of these Days think they are not in the wrong in making you hear the final Note before the Bass[87], they deceive themselves grossly; for it is a very great Error, hurts the Ear, and is against the Rules; and becomes doubly so, going (as they do) to the same Note with an Appoggiatura, the which either ascending or descending, if not after the Bass[88], is always very bad.

Sec. 13. And is it not worst of all, to torment the Hearers with a thousand Cadences all in the same Manner? From whence proceeds this Sterility, since every Professor knows, that the surest way of gaining Esteem in Singing is a Variety in the Repetition?

Sec. 14. If among all the Cadences in the Airs, the last allows a moderate Liberty to the Singer, to distinguish the end of them, the Abuse of it is insufferable. But it grows abomable, when the Singer persists with his tiresome Warbling, nauseating the Judicious, who suffer the more, because they know that the Composers leave generally in every final Cadence some Note, sufficient to make a discreet Embellishment; without seeking for it out of Time, without Taste, without Art, and without Judgment.[89]

Sec. 15. I am still more surprised when I reflect, that the modern Stile, after having exposed all the Cadences of the theatrical Airs to the Martyrdom of a perpetual Motion, will likewise have the Cruelty to condemn to the same Punishment not Those in the Cantata's only, but also the Cadences of their Recitatives. Do these Singers pretend, by their not distinguishing the Chamber-Musick from the immoderate Gargling of the Stage, to expect the vulgar E Viva's in the Cabinet of Princes?

Sec. 16. Let a sensible Student avoid this Example, and with this Example the Abuses, the Defects, and every other Thing that is mean and common, as well in the Cadences as elsewhere.

Sec. 17. If, the inventing particular Cadences without injuring the Time, has been one of the worthy Employments of the Ancients (so call'd) let a Student revive the Use of it; endeavouring to imitate them in their Skill of somewhat anticipating the Time; and remember, that Those, who understand the Art of Gracing, do not wait to admire the Beauty of it in a Silence of the Bass.

Sec. 18. Many and many other Errors are heard in the Cadences that were Antique, and which are now become Modern; they were ridiculous then, and are so now; therefore considering, that to change the Stile is not always to improve it, I may fairly conclude, that what is bad is to be corrected by Study, and not by the Mode.

Sec. 19. Now let us for a while leave at Rest the Opinions of the aforesaid Ancients, and the supposed Moderns, to take notice what Improvement the Scholar has made, since he is desirous of being heard. Well then, let him attend, before we part with him, to Instructions of more Weight, that he may at least deserve the Name of a good Singer, though he may not arrive at that of an eminent one.



CHAP. IX.

Observations for a Singer.[90]

Behold the Singer now appearing in Publick, from the Effects of his Application to the Study of the foregoing Lessons. But to what Purpose does he appear? Whoever, in the great Theatre of the World, does not distinguish himself, makes but a very insignificant Figure.

Sec. 2. From the cold Indifference perceived in many Singers, one would believe that the Science of Musick implored their Favour, to be received by them as their most humble Servant.

Sec. 3. If too many did not persuade themselves that they had studied sufficiently, there would not be such a Scarcity of the Best, nor such a Swarm of the Worst. These, because they can sing by Heart three or four Kyrie's[91], think they are arrived at the Non plus ultra; but if you give them a Cantata to sing, that is even easy, and fairly written, they, instead of complying as they ought, will tell you with an impudent Face, that Persons of their Degree are not obliged to sing in the vulgar Tongue at Sight. And who can forbear laughing? For a Musician knowing that the Words, let them be either Latin or Italian, do not change the Form of the Notes, must immediately conclude, that this pert Answer of the great Man proceeds from his not being able to sing at Sight, or from his not knowing how to read; and he judges right.

Sec. 4. There are an infinite Number[92] of others, who wish and sigh for the Moment that eases them from the painful Fatigue of their first Studies, hoping to have a Chance to make one in the Crowd of the second Rate; and stumbling by good Luck on something that gives them Bread, they immediately make a Legg to Musick and its Study, not caring whether the World knows they are, or are not among the Living. These do not consider that Mediocrity in a Singer means Ignorance.

Sec. 5. There are also several who study nothing but the Defects, and are endow'd with a marvelous Aptness to learn them all, having so happy a Memory as never to forget them. Their Genius is so inclined to the Bad, that if by Gift of Nature they had the best of Voices, they would be discontented if they could not find some Means to make it the worst.

Sec. 6. One of a better Spirit will endeavour to keep better Company. He will be sensible of the Necessity of farther Discoveries, of farther Instructions, and even of another Master, of whom, besides the Art of Singing, he would be glad to learn how to behave himself with good Breeding. This, added to the Merit acquired by his Singing, may give him Hopes of the Favour of Princes, and of an universal Esteem.

Sec. 7. If he aims at the Character of a young Man of Wit and Judgment, let him not be vulgar or too bold.

Sec. 8. Let him shun low and disreputable Company, but, above all, such as abandon themselves to scandalous Liberties.

Sec. 9. That Professor ought not to be frequented, though excellent in this Art, whose behaviour is vulgar and discreditable, and who cares not, provided he makes his Fortune, whether it be at the Expence of his Reputation.

Sec. 10. The best School is the Nobility, from whom every thing that is genteel is to be learned; but when a Musician finds that his Company is not proper, let him retire without repining, and his Modesty will be to his Commendation.

Sec. 11. If he should not meet with a Gratification from the Great, let him never complain; for it is better to get but little, than to lose a great deal, and that is not seldom the Case. The best he can do, is to be assiduous in serving them, that at least he may hope for the Pleasure of seeing them for once grateful, or be convinced for ever of their being ungrateful.

Sec. 12. My long and repeated Travels have given me an Opportunity of being acquainted with most of the Courts of Europe, and Examples, more than my Words, should persuade every able Singer to see them also; but without yielding up his Liberty to their Allurements: For Chains, though of Gold, are still Chains; and they are not all of that precious Metal: Besides, the several Inconveniencies of Disgrace, Mortifications, Uncertainty; and, above all, the Hindrance of Study.

Sec. 13.[93] The golden Age of Musick would be already at an End, if the Swans did not make their Nests on some Theatres in Italy, or on the royal Banks of the Thames. O dear London!——On the other Streams, they sing no more as they used to do their sweet Notes at their expiring; but rather sadly lament the Expiration of those august and adorable Princes, by whom they were tenderly belov'd and esteemed. This is the usual Vicissitude of Things in this World; and we daily see, that whatever is sublunary must of Necessity decline. Let us leave the Tears to the Heart, and return to the Singer.

Sec. 14. A discreet Person will never use such affected Expressions as, I cannot sing To-day;—I've got a deadly Cold; and, in making his Excuse, falls a Coughing. I can truly say, that I have never in my Life heard a Singer own the Truth, and say, I'm very well to-day: They reserve the unseasonable Confession to the next Day, when they make no Difficulty to say, In all my Days my Voice was never in better Order than it was Yesterday. I own, on certain Conjunctures, the Pretext is not only suitable, but even necessary; for, to speak the Truth, the indiscreet Parsimony of some, who would hear Musick for Thanks only, goes so far, that they think a Master is immediately obliged to obey them gratis, and that the Refusal is an Offence that deserves Resentment and Revenge. But if it is a Law human and divine, that every Body should live by their honest Labour, what barbarous Custom obliges a Musician to serve without a Recompence? A cursed Over-bearing; O sordid Avarice!

Sec. 15. A Singer, that knows the World, distinguishes between the different Manners of Commanding; he knows how to refuse without disobliging, and how to obey with a good Grace; not being ignorant, that one, who has his Interest most at Heart, sometimes finds his Account in serving without a Gratification.

Sec. 16. One who sings with a Desire of gaining Honour and Credit, cannot sing ill, and in time will sing better; and one, who thinks on nothing but Gain, is in the ready way to remain ignorant.

Sec. 17. Who would ever think (if Experience did not shew it) that a Virtue of the highest Estimation should prejudice a Singer? And yet, whilst Presumption and Arrogance triumph (I'm shock'd to think on't) amiable Humility, the more the Singer has of it, the more it depresses him.

Sec. 18. At first Sight, Arrogance has the Appearance of Ability; but, upon a nearer View, I can discover Ignorance in Masquerade.

Sec. 19. This Arrogance serves them sometimes, as a politick Artifice to hide their own Failings: For Example, certain Singers would not be unconcern'd, under the Shame of not being able to sing a few Barrs at Sight, if with Shrugs, scornful Glances, and malicious shaking of their Heads, they did not give the Auditors to understand that those gross Errors are owing to him that accompanies, or to the Orchestre.

Sec. 20. To humble such Arrogance, may it never meet with that Incense which it expects.

Sec. 21. Who could sing better than the Arogant, if they were not ashamed to study?

Sec. 22. It is a Folly in a Singer to grow vain at the first Applauses, without reflecting whether they are given by Chance, or out of Flattery; and if he thinks he deserves them, there is an End of him.

Sec. 23. He should regulate his Voice according to the Place where he sings; for it would be the greatest Absurdity, not to make a Difference between a small Cabinet and a vast Theatre.[94]

Sec. 24. He is still more to be blam'd, who, when singing in two, three, or four Parts, does so raise his Voice as to drown his Companions; for if it is not Ignorance, it is something worse.

Sec. 25. All Compositions for more than one Voice ought to be sung strictly as they are written; nor do they require any other Art but a noble Simplicity. I remember to have heard once a famous Duetto torn into Atoms by two renown'd Singers, in Emulation; the one proposing, and the other by Turns answering, that at last it[95] ended in a Contest, who could produce the most Extravagancies.

Sec. 26. The Correction of Friends, that have Knowledge, instructs very much; but still greater Advantage may be gain'd from the ill-natur'd Criticks; for, the more intent they are to discover Defects, the greater Benefit may be receiv'd from them without any Obligation.

Sec. 27. It is certain, that the Errors corrected by our Enemies are better cur'd, than those corrected by ourselves; for we are apt to indulge our Faults, nor can we so easily perceive them.

Sec. 28. He that sings with Applause in one Place only, let him not have too good an Opinion of himself; let him often change Climates, and then he will judge better of his Talent.

Sec. 29. To please universally, Reason will tell you, that you must always sing well; but if Reason does not inform you, Interest will persuade you to conform to the Taste of that Nation (provided it be not too deprav'd) which pays you.

Sec. 30. If he that sings well provokes Envy, by singing better he will get the Victory over it.

Sec. 31. I do not know if a perfect Singer can at the same time be a perfect Actor; for the Mind being at once divided by two different Operations, he will probably incline more to one than the other; It being, however, much more difficult to sing well than to act well, the Merit of the first is beyond the second. What a Felicity would it be, to possess both in a perfect Degree![96]

Sec. 32. Having said, a Singer should not copy, I repeat it now with this Reason; that to copy is the part of a Scholar, that of a Master is to invent.

Sec. 33. Let it be remembered by the Singer, that copying comes from Laziness, and that none copy ill but out of Ignorance.

Sec. 34. Where Knowledge with Study makes one a good Singer, Ignorance with one single Copy makes a thousand bad ones; however, among these there are none that will acknowledge her for a Teacher.

Sec. 35. If many of the female Singers (for whom I have due Respect) would be pleased to consider, that by copying a good one, they are become very bad ones, they would not appear so ridiculous on the Stage for their Affectation in presuming to sing the Airs of the Person they copy, with the same Graces. In this great Error, (if it does not proceed from their Masters) they seem to be governed by Instinct, like the inferior Creatures, rather than by Reason; for That would shew them, that we may arrive at Applause by different ways, and past Examples, as well as one at this present make us sensible, that two Women would not be equally eminent if the one copy'd the other.[97]

Sec. 36. If the Complaisance, which is due to the fair Sex, does not excuse the Abuse of copying when it proves prejudicial to the Profession, what ought one then to say of those Men, who, instead of inventing, not only copy others of their own Sex, but also Women. Foolish and shameful!——Supposing an Impossibility, viz. that a Singer has arrived at copying in such a Manner as not to be distinguished from the Original, should he attribute to himself a Merit which does not belong to him, and dress himself out in the Habits of another without being afraid of being stripp'd of them?

Sec. 37. He, that rightly knows how to copy in Musick, takes nothing but the Design; because that Ornament, which we admire when natural, immediately loses its Beauty when artificial.

Sec.38. The most admired Graces of a Professor ought only to be imitated, and not copied; on Condition also, that it does not bear not even so much as a Shadow of Resemblance of the Original; otherwise, instead of a beautiful Imitation, it will become a despicable Copy.

Sec. 39. I cannot decide, which of the two deserves most to be despised, one who cannot imitate a good Singer without Caricatura's, or He that cannot imitate any well but bad ones.

Sec. 40. If many Singers knew, that a bad Imitation is a contagious Evil, to which one who studies is not liable, the World would not be reduc'd to the Misfortune of seeing in a Carnaval but one Theatre provided with eminent Performers, without Hopes of[98] an approaching Remedy. Let them take it for their Pains. Let the World learn to applaud Merit; and (not to use a more harsh Expression) be less complaisant to Faults.

Sec. 41. Whoever does not know how to steal the Time in Singing, knows not how to Compose, nor to Accompany himself, and is destitute of the best Taste and greatest Knowledge.[99]

Sec. 42. The stealing of Time, in the Pathetick, is an honourable Theft in one that sings better than others, provided he makes a Restitution with Ingenuity.

Sec. 43. An Exercise, no less necessary than this, is That of agreeably putting forth of the Voice, without which all Application is vain. Whosoever pretends to obtain it, must hearken more to the Dictates of the Heart, than to those of Art.

Sec. 44. Oh! how great a Master is the Heart! Confess it, my beloved Singers, and gratefully own, that you would not have arrived at the highest Rank of the Profession if you had not been its Scholars; own, that in a few Lessons from it, you learned the most beautiful Expressions, the most refin'd Taste, the most noble Action, and the most exquisite Graces: Own, (though it be hardly credible) that the Heart corrects the Defects of Nature, since it softens a Voice that's harsh, betters an indifferent one, and perfects a good one: Own, when the Heart sings you cannot dissemble, nor has Truth a greater Power of persuading: And, lastly, do you convince the World, (what is not in my Power to do) that from the Heart alone you have learn'd that Je ne scai quoy, that pleasing Charm, that so subtily passes from Vein to Vein, and makes its way to the very Soul.

Sec. 45. Though the way to the Heart is long and rugged, and known but to few, a studious Application will, notwithstanding, master all Obstacles.

Sec. 46. The best Singer in the World continues to study, and persists in it as much to maintain his Reputation, as he did to acquire it.

Sec. 47. To arrive at that glorious End, every body knows that there is no other Means than Study; but That does not suffice; it is also necessary to know in what Manner, and with whose Assistance, we must pursue our Studies.

Sec. 48.[100] There are now-a-days as many Masters as there are Professors of Musick in any Kind; every one of them teaches, I don't mean the first Rudiments only, (That would be an Affront to them;) I am now speaking of those who take upon them the part of a Legislator in the most finished part in Singing; and should we then wonder that the good Taste is near lost, and that the Profession is going to Ruin? So mischievous a Pretension prevails not only among those, who can barely be said to sing, but among the meanest instrumental Performers; who, though they never sung, nor know how to sing, pretend not only to teach, but to perfect, and find some that are weak enough to be imposed on. But, what is more, the instrumental Performers of some Ability imagine that the beautiful Graces and Flourishes, with their nimble Fingers, will have the same Effect when executed with the Voice; but it will not do[101]. I should be the first to condemn the magisterial Liberty I take, were it meant to give Offence to such Singers and instrumental Performers of Worth, who know how to sing, perform, and instruct; but my Correction aims no farther than to the Petulancy of those that have no Capacity, with these few Words, Age quod agis; which (for those who do not understand Latin) is as much as to say,——-Do You mind your Sol-fa; and You, your Instrument.

Sec. 49. If sometimes it does happen, that an indifferent Master should make an excellent Disciple, it is then incontestable, that the Gift of Nature in the Student is superior to the Sufficiency of the Instructor: and it is not to be wonder'd at, for, if from time to time, even great Masters were not outdone, most of the finest Arts would have sunk before now.

Sec. 50. It may seem to many, that every perfect Singer must also be a perfect Instructor, but it is not so; for his Qualifications (though ever so great) are insufficient, if he cannot communicate his Sentiments with Ease, and in a Method adapted to the Ability of the Scholar; if he has not some Notion of Composition, and a manner of instructing, which may seem rather an Entertainment than a Lesson; with the happy Talent to shew the Ability of the Singer to Advantage, and conceal his Imperfections; which are the principal and most necessary Instructions.

Sec. 51. A Master, that is possessed of the abovementioned Qualifications, is capable of Teaching; with them he will raise a Desire to study; will correct Errors with a Reason; and by Examples incite a Taste to imitate him.

Sec. 52. He knows, that a Deficiency of Ornaments displeases as much as the too great Abundance of them; that a Singer makes one languid and dull with too little, and cloys one with too much; but, of the two, he will dislike the former most, though it gives less Offence, the latter being easier to be amended.

Sec. 53. He will have no Manner of Esteem for those who have no other Graces than gradual Divisions[102]; and will tell you, Embellishments of this Sort are only fit for Beginners.

Sec. 54. He will have as little Esteem for those who think to make their Auditors faint away, with their Transition from the sharp Third to the Flat.

Sec. 55. He'll tell you, that a Singer is lazy, who on the Stage, from Night to Night, teaches the Audience all his Songs; who, by hearing them always without the least Variation, have no Difficulty to learn them by Heart.

Sec. 56. He will be affrighted at the Rashness of one that launches out, with little Practice, and less Study; lest venturing too far, he should be in great Danger of losing himself.

Sec. 57. He will not praise one that presumes to sing two Parts in three of an Opera, promising himself never to be tiresome, as if that divine Privilege of always pleasing were allowed him here below. Such a one does not know the first Principle of musical Politicks; but Time will teach it him. He, that sings little and well, sings very well.

Sec. 58. He will laugh at those who imagine to satisfy the Publick with the Magnificence of their Habits, without reflecting, that Merit and Ignorance are equally aggrandized by Pomp. The Singers, that have nothing but the outward Appearance, pay that Debt to the Eyes, which they owe to the Ears.

Sec. 59. He will nauseate the new-invented Stile of those who provoke the innocent Notes with coarse Startings of the Voice. A disagreeable Defect; however, being brought from[103] beyond the Alps, it passes for a modern Rarity.

Sec. 60. He will be astonished at this bewitched Age, in which so many are paid so well for singing ill. The Moderns would not be pleas'd to be put in Mind, that, twenty Years ago, indifferent Singers had but mean Parts allotted them, even in the second-rate Theatres; whereas at present, those, who are taught like Parrots, heap up Treasures beyond what the Singers of the first Degree then did.[104]

Sec. 61. He will condemn the Ignorance of the Men most, they being more obliged to study than the Women.

Sec. 62. He will not bear with one who imitates the Women, even in sacrificing the Time, in order to acquire the Title of Modern.

Sec. 63. He will marvel at that[105] Singer, who, having a good Knowledge of Time, yet does not make use of it, for want of having apply'd himself to the Study of Composition, or to accompany himself. His Mistake makes him think that, to be eminent, it suffices to sing at Sight; and does not perceive that the greatest Difficulty, and the whole Beauty of the Profession consists in what he is ignorant of; he wants that Art which teaches to anticipate the Time, knowing where to lose it again; and, which is still more charming, to know how to lose it, in order to recover it again; which are the Advantages of such as understand Composition, and have the best Taste.

Sec. 64. He will be displeased at the Presumption of a Singer who gets the Words of the most wanton Airs of the Theatre rendered into Latin, that he may sing them with Applause in the[106] Church; as if there were no Manner of Difference between the Stile of the one and the other; and, as if the Scraps of the Stage were fit to offer to the Deity.

Sec. 65. What will he not say of him who has found out the prodigious Art of Singing like a Cricket? Who could have ever imagin'd, before the Introduction of the Mode, that ten or a dozen Quavers in a Row could be trundled along one after the other, with a Sort of Tremor, of the Voice, which for some time past has gone under the name of Mordente Fresco?[107]

Sec. 66. He will have a still greater Detestation for the Invention of Laughing in Singing, or that screaming like a Hen when she is laying her Egg. Will there not be some other little Animal worth their Imitation, in order to make the Profession more and more ridiculous?

Sec. 67. He will disapprove the malicious Custom of a Singer in Repute, who talks and laughs on the Stage with his Companions, to induce the Publick to believe that such a Singer, who appears the first time on the Stage, does not deserve his Attention; when in reality he is afraid of, or envies, his gaining Applause.

Sec. 68. He cannot endure the Vanity of that Singer, who, full of himself from the little he has learned, is so taken with his own Performance, that he seems falling into an Extasy; pretending to impose Silence and create Wonder, as if his first Note said to the Audience, Hear and Die: But they, unwilling to die, chuse not to hear him, talk loud, and perhaps not much to his Advantage. At his second Air the Noise encreases, and still encreasing, he looks upon it as a manifest Injury done him; and, instead of correcting his conceited Pride by Study, he curses the deprav'd Taste of that Nation that does not esteem him, menacing never to return again; and thus the vain Wretch comforts himself.

Sec. 69. He will laugh at one who will not act unless he has the Choice of the Drama, and a Composer to his liking; with this additional Condition, not to sing in Company with such a Man, or without such a Woman.

Sec. 70. With the like Derision, he will observe some others, who with an Humility worse than Pride, go from one Box to another, gathering Praises from the most illustrious Persons, under a Pretence of a most profound Obsequiousness, and become in every Representation more and more familiar. Humility and Modesty are most beautiful Virtues; but if they are not accompanied with a little Decorum, they have some Resemblance to Hypocrisy.

Sec. 71. He will have no great Opinion of one, who is not satisfied with his Part, and never learns it; of one, who never sings in an Opera without thrusting in one Air which he always carries in his Pocket; of one, who bribes the Composer to give him an Air that was intended for another; of one, who takes Pains about Trifles, and neglects Things of Importance; of one, who, by procuring undeserved Recommendations, makes himself and his Patron ridiculous; of one, who does not sustain his Voice, out of Aversion to the Pathetick; of one, who gallops to follow the Mode; and of all the bad Singers, who, not knowing what's good, court the Mode to learn its Defects.

Sec. 72. To sum up all, he will call none a Singer of Merit, but him who is correct; and who executes with a Variety of Graces of his own, which his Skill inspires him with unpremeditately; knowing, that a Professor of Eminence cannot, if he would, continually repeat an Air with the self-same Passages and Graces. He who sings premeditately, shews he has learn'd his Lesson at Home.

Sec. 73. After having corrected several other Abuses and Defects, to the Advantage of the Singer, he will return with stronger Reasons to persuade him to have Recourse to the fundamental Rules, which will teach him to proceed on the Bass from one Interval to another, with sure Steps, and without Danger of erring. If then the Singer should say, Sir, you trouble yourself in vain; for the bare Knowledge of the Errors is not sufficient; I have need of other Help than Words, and I know not where to find it, since it seems that there is at present such a Scarcity of good Examples in Italy: Then, shrugging his Shoulders, he will answer him, rather with Sighs than Words; that he must endeavour to learn of the best Singers that there are; particularly by observing two of the fair Sex,[108] of a Merit superior to all Praise; who with equal Force, in a different Stile, help to keep up the tottering Profession from immediately falling into Ruin. The one is inimitable for a privileg'd Gift of Singing, and for enchanting the World with a prodigious Felicity in executing, and with a singular Brilliant (I know not whether from Nature or Art) which pleases to Excess. The delightful, soothing Cantabile of the other, joined with the Sweetness of a fine Voice, a perfect Intonation, Strictness of Time, and the rarest Productions of a Genius, are Qualifications as particular and uncommon, as they are difficult to be imitated. The Pathetick of the one, and the Allegro of the other, are the Qualities the most to be admired respectively in each of them. What a beautiful Mixture would it be, if the Excellence of these two angelick Creatures could be united in one single Person! But let us not lose Sight of the Master.

Sec. 74. He will also convince the Scholar, that the Artifice of a Professor is never more pleasing, than when he deceives the Audience with agreeable Surprizes; for which reason he will advise him to have Recourse to a seeming Plainness, as if he aim'd at nothing else.

Sec. 75. But when the Audience is in no farther Expectation, and (as I may say) grows indolent, he will direct him to rouse them that Instant with a Grace.

Sec. 76. When they are again awake, he will direct him to return to his feigned Simplicity, though it will no more be in his power to delude those that hear him, for with an impatient Curiosity they already expect a second, and so on.

Sec. 77. He will give him ample Instructions concerning Graces of all sorts, and furnish him with Rules and profitable Documents.

Sec. 78. Here should I inveigh (though I could not enough) against the Treachery of my Memory, that has not preserved, as it ought, all those peculiar Excellencies which a great Man did once communicate to me, concerning Passages and Graces; and to my great Sorrow, and perhaps to the Loss of others, it will not serve me to publish any more than these few poor Remains, the Impressions of which are still left, and which I am now going to mention.



CHAP. X.

Of Passages or Graces.

Passages or Graces being the principal Ornaments in Singing, and the most favourite Delight of the Judicious, it is proper that the Singer be very attentive to learn this Art.

Sec. 2. Therefore, let him know, that there are five principal Qualifications, which being united, will bring him to admirable Perfection, viz. Judgment, Invention, Time, Art, and Taste.

Sec. 3. There are likewise five subaltern Embellishments viz. the Appoggiatura, the Shake, the putting forth of the Voice, the Gliding, and Dragging.

The principal Qualifications teach,

Sec. 4. That the Passages and Graces cannot be form'd but from a profound Judgment.

Sec. 5. That they are produced by a singular and beautiful Invention, remote from all that is vulgar and common.

Sec. 6. That, being govern'd by the rigorous, but necessary, Precepts of Time, they never transgress its regulated Measure, without losing their own Merit.

Sec. 7. That, being guided by the most refined Art on the Bass, they may There (and no where else) find their Center; there to sport with Delight, and unexpectedly to charm.

Sec. 8. That, it is owing to an exquisite Taste, that they are executed with that sweet putting forth of the Voice, which is so enchanting.

From the accessory Qualities is learned,

Sec. 9. That the Graces or Passages be easy in appearance, thereby to give universal Delight.

Sec. 10. That in effect They be difficult that thereby the Art of the Inventor be the more admired.

Sec. 11. That They be performed with an equal regard to the Expression of the Words, and the Beauty of the Art.

Sec. 12. That They be gliding or dragging in the Pathetick, for They have a better Effect than those that are mark'd.

Sec. 13. That They do not appear studied, in order to be the more regarded.

Sec. 14. That They be softened with the Piano in the Pathetick, which will make them more affecting.

Sec. 15. That in the Allegro They be sometimes accompanied with the Forte and the Piano, so as to make a sort of Chiaro Scuro.

Sec. 16. That They be confin'd to a Group of a few Notes, which are more pleasing than those which are too numerous.

Sec. 17. That in a slow Time, there may be a greater Number of them (if the Bass allows it) with an Obligation upon the Singer to keep to the Point propos'd, that his Capacity be made more conspicuous.

Sec. 18. That They be properly introduc'd, for in a wrong Place They disgust.

Sec. 19. That They come not too close together, in order to keep them distinct.

Sec. 20. That They should proceed rather from the Heart than from the Voice, in order to make their way to the Heart more easily.

Sec. 21. That They be not made on the second or fourth Vowel, when closely pronounc'd, and much less on the third and fifth.

Sec. 22. That They be not copied, if you would not have them appear defective.

Sec. 23. That They be stol'n on the Time, to captivate the Soul.

Sec. 24. That They never be repeated in the same place, particularly in Pathetick Airs, for there they are the most taken Notice of by the Judicious.

Sec. 25. And, above all, let them be improv'd; by no means let them lose in the Repetition.

Sec. 26. Many Professors are of Opinion, that in Graces there is no room for the marked Divisions, unless mix'd with some of the aforesaid Embellishments or some other agreable Accidents.

Sec. 27. But it is now time that we speak of the Dragging, that, if the Pathetick should once return again into the World, a Singer might be able to understand it. The Explanation would be easier understood by Notes of Musick than by Words, if the Printer was not under great Difficulty to print a few Notes; notwithstanding which, I'll endeavour, the best I can, to make myself understood.

Sec. 28. When on an even and regular Movement of a Bass, which proceeds slowly, a Singer begins with a high Note, dragging it gently down to a low one, with the Forte and Piano, almost gradually, with Inequality of Motion, that is to say, stopping a little more on some Notes in the Middle, than on those that begin or end the Strascino or Dragg.[109] Every good musician takes it for granted, that in the Art of Singing there is no Invention superior, or Execution more apt to touch the Heart than this, provided however it be done with Judgment, and with putting forth of the Voice in a just Time on the Bass. Whosoever has most Notes at Command, has the greater Advantage; because this pleasing Ornament is so much the more to be admired, by how much the greater the Fall is. Perform'd by an excellent Soprano, that makes use of it but seldom, it becomes a Prodigy; but as much as it pleases descending, no less would it displease ascending.

Sec. 29. Mind this, O my beloved Singers! For it is to You only, who are inclined to study, that I have addressed myself. This was the Doctrine of the School of those Professors, whom, by way of Reproach, some mistaken Persons call Ancients. Observe carefully its Rules, examine strictly its Precepts, and, if not blinded by Prejudice, you will see that this School ought to sing in Tune, to put forth the Voice, to make the Words understood, to express, to use proper Gesture, to perform in Time, to vary on its Movement, to compose, and to study the Pathetick, in which alone Taste and Judgment triumph. Confront this School with yours, and if its Precepts should not be sufficient to instruct you, learn what's wanting from the Modern.

Sec. 30. But if these my Exhortations, proceeding from my Zeal, have no Weight with you, as the Advice of Inferiors is seldom regarded, allow at least, that whoever has the Faculty of Thinking, may once in sixty Years think right. And if you think, that I have been too partial to the Times past, then would I persuade you, (if you have not a shaking Hand) to weigh in a just Ballance your most renowned Singers; who you take to be Moderns (but are not so, except in their Cadences;) and having undeceived yourselves, you will perceive in them, that instead of Affectations, Abuses, and Errors, They sing according to those powerful Lessons that give Delight to the Soul, and whose Perfections have made Impressions on me, and which I shall always remember with the greatest Pleasure. Do but consult them, as I have done, and they will truly and freely tell you, That They sell their Jewels where they are understood; That the Singers of Eminence are not of the Mode, and that at present there are many bad Singers.

Sec. 31. True it is, that there are some, tho' few, very good Singers, who, when the Vehemence of their youthful fire is abated, will by their Examples do Justice to their delightful Profession, in keeping up the Splendor of it, and will leave to Posterity a lasting and glorious Fame of their Performances. I point them out to you, that, if you find yourselves in an Error, you may not want the Means to correct it, nor an Oracle to apply to whenever you have occasion. From whence I have good Grounds to hope, that the true Taste in Singing will last to the End of the World.

Sec. 32. Whoever comprehends what has been demonstrated to him, in these and many other Observations, will need no farther Incitement to study. Stirred up by his own Desire, he will fly to his beloved Instrument, from which, by continued Application, he will find he has no Reason to sit down satisfied with what he has learn'd before. He will make new Discoveries, inventing new Graces, from whence after comparing them well together, he will chuse the best, and will make use of them as long as he thinks them so; but, going on in refining, he will find others more deserving his Esteem. To conclude, from these he will proceed on to an almost infinite Number of Graces, by the means whereof his Mind will be so opened, that the most hidden Treasures of the Art, and most remote from his Imagination, will voluntarily present themselves; so that, unless Pride blinds him, or Study becomes tiresome to him, or his Memory fails him, he will increase his Store of Embellishments in a Stile which will be entirely his own: The principal Aim of one that strives to gain the highest Applause.

Sec. 33. Finally, O ye young Singers, hearken to me for your Profit and Advantage. The Abuses, the Defects, and the Errors divulged by me in these Observations, (which in Justice ought not to be charg'd on the Modern Stile) were once almost all Faults I myself was guilty of; and in the Flower of my Youth, when I thought myself to be a great Man, it was not easy for me to discover them. But, in a more mature Age, the slow Undeceit comes too late. I know I have sung ill, and would I have not writ worse! but since I have suffered by my Ignorance, let it at least serve for a Warning to amend those who wish to sing well. He that studies, let him imitate the ingenious Bee, that sucks its Honey from the most grateful Flowers. From those called Ancients, and those supposed Moderns, (as I have said) much may be learn'd; it is enough to find out the Flower, and know how to distill, and draw the Essence from it.

Sec. 34. The most cordial, and not less profitable Advice, I can give you, is the following:

Sec. 35. Remember what has been wisely observed, that Mediocrity of Merit can but for a short time eclipse the true Sublime, which, how old soever it grows, can never die.

Sec. 36. Abhor the Example of those who hate Correction; for like Lightning to those who walk in the Dark, tho' it frightens them, it gives them Light.

Sec. 37. Learn from the Errors of others: O great Lesson! it costs little, and instructs much. Of every one something is to be learned, and the most Ignorant is sometimes the greatest Master.

FINIS.



PLATES

Pl. I

Chap. 1.st



Pl. II

Chap. 2d.



Pl. III



Pl. IV

Chap. 3d.



Chap 4th



Chap. 5th



Chap 8th



-ro amě-ro]

FOOTNOTES:

[1] When Arts and Sciences were retrieving from the Barbarism in which they were buried, Musick chiefly took its Rise in Flanders, and the Composers of Musick of that Nation were dispersed all over Europe, to the Improvement of others. In Italy there arose from that School, among several others, P. Alis. Palestrina, a Genius so extraordinary, that he is looked upon as the Raphael among the Musicians. He lived in Pope Leo the Tenth's Time; and no Musick, that we know of, is performed at the Pope's Chapel, to this Day, but of his Composition, except the famous Miserere of Allegri, who liv'd a little time after Palestrina.

[2] Our Author seems to be a little too partial in Favour of the Singer, all momentary Productions being the same; though it must be allowed, that by reason of the Expression of the Words, any Error in Singing will be more capital, than if the same were committed on an Instrument.

[3] The Author directs this for the Instruction of a Soprano, or a treble Voice, because Youth possesses that Voice mostly, and that is the Age when they should begin to study Musick. It may not be amiss to mention, that the Soprano is most apt to perform the Things required by your Author, and that every different Scale of Voice has something peculiarly relative to its Kind as its own Property; for a Soprano has generally most Volubility, and becomes it best; and also equally the Pathetick. The Contr'Alto more of the Pathetick than the Volubility; the Tenor less of the Pathetick, but more of the Volubility than the Contr'Alto, though not so much as the Soprano. The Bass, in general more pompous than any, but should not be so boisterous as now too often practised.

[4] By this section, and mostly throughout the Work, one sees, the Author calculated this Treatise chiefly for the Advantage of Professors of Musick; but, notwithstanding, it appears in several Places, that his Intention is, that all Lovers of Musick should also be the better for it.

[5] The Explanation of Sic vos non vobis, &c., for the Satisfaction of those who do not perfectly remember it.

Virgil having composed a Distich, containing the Praise of Augustus, and a Compliment on his good Fortune, fix'd it on the Palace Gate, without any Name subscrib'd. Augustus, making strict Enquiry after the Author, and Virgil's Modesty not suffering him to own the Verses, one Bathillus, a Poet of a mean Reputation, owned himself the Author, and received Honour and Reward from the Emperor. Virgil, somewhat scandalized at this Accident, fixed an Hemistich in these Words (Sic vos non vobis) four times repeated under the other, where he had placed the former Verses. The Emperor was as diligent to have these Hemistichs filled up, but no-body appearing to do it, at length Virgil supplied them thus:

Hos ego Versiculos feci, tulit alter Honores; Sic vos non vobis nidificatis aves. Sic vos non vobis vellera fertis oves. Sic vos non vobis mellificatis apes. Sic vos non vobis fertis aratra boves.

i.e. These Verses I made, but another has taken the Applause of them.

So ye Birds build not your Nests For yourselves. So ye Sheep bear not your Wool For yourselves. So ye Bees make not your Honey For yourselves. So ye Oxen submit to the Plow Not for yourselves.

Upon this Discovery, Bathillus became the Ridicule of Rome, and Virgil acquired a double Reputation.

The Distich, which Bathillus claim'd for his, was this:

Nocte plut tota, redeunt spectacula mane, Divisum Imperium cum Jove Caesar habet.

i.e. It rain'd all Night; in the Morning the publick Shews return: Jove and Caesar divide the Rule of the World. The Compliment is, that Caesar designing to exhibit Sports to the People, though the preceding Night was rainy and unpromising, yet such Weather returned with the Morning, as did not disappoint the Solemnity.

[6] Alla Capella, Church-Musick where the Flats and Sharps are not mark'd.

[7] Seven Cliffs necessary to be known. Pl. I. Numb. 1. By the Help of these Cliffs any Line or Space may be what Note you please. Pl. I. Numb. 2.

[8] It is necessary to understand the Sol-Fa-ing, and its Rules, which shew where the two Semitones lie in each Octave, Pl. I. Numb. 3. Where Flats or Sharps are marked at the Cliff, the Rule is, if one Flat, That is Fa; if more Flats, the last. If one Sharp, That is Mi; if more Sharps, the last.

[9] His meaning is, that the French are not in the right.

[10] See Sec. 2, and the following, in Chap. III. where the Difficulty of the Semitone Major and Minor are cleared.

[11] Voce di Petto is a full Voice, which comes from the Breast by Strength, and is the most sonorous and expressive. Voce di Testa comes more from the Throat, than from the Breast, and is capable of more Volubility. Falsetto is a feigned Voice, which is entirely formed in the Throat, has more Volubility than any, but of no Substance.

[12] Register; a Term taken from the different Stops of an Organ.

[13] The Pitch of Lombardy or Venice, is something more than half a Tone higher than at Rome.

[14] A Messa di Voce is the holding out and swelling a Note. Vide Pl. I. Numb. 4. This being a Term of Art, it is necessary to use it, as well as Piano for soft, and Forte for loud. N.B. Our Author recommends here to use any Grace sparingly, which he does in several other Places, and with Reason; for the finest Grace too often repeated grows tiresome.

[15] See for Appoggiatura in the next Chapter.

[16] This Chapter contains some Enquiries into Matters of Curiosity, and demands a little Attention. The Reader therefore is desired to postpone it to the last.

[17] Appoggiatura is a Word to which the English Language has not an Equivalent; it is a Note added by the Singer, for the arriving more gracefully to the following Note, either in rising or falling, as is shewn by the Examples in Notes of Musick, Pl. II. Numb. 2. The French express it by two different Terms, Port de Voix and Appuyer; as the English do by a Prepare and a Lead. The Word Appoggiatura is derived from Appoggiare to lean on. In this Sense, you lean on the first to arrive at the Note intended, rising or falling; and you dwell longer on the Preparation, than the Note for which the Preparation is made, and according to the Value of the Note. The same in a Preparation to a Shake, or a Beat from the Note below. No Appoggiatura can be made at the Beginning of a Piece; there must be a Note preceding, from whence it leads.

[18] Here begins the Examination of the Semitones Major and Minor, which he promised in Sec. 15. Ch. 1. It may be of Satisfaction to the Studious, to set this Matter at once in a true Light; by which our Author's Doubts will be cleared, and his Reasoning the easier understood. A Semitone Major changes Name, Line, and Space: A Semitone Minor changes neither. Pl. II. Numb. 1. To a Semitone Major one can go with a Rise or a Fall distinctly; to a Semitone Minor one cannot N.B. From a Tone Minor the Appoggiatura is better and easier than from a Tone Major.

[19] These are all Tones Major and Minor, and Semitones Major. Pl. II. Numb. 2.

[20] Because they are Semitones Major. Pl. II. Numb. 3.

[21] Because they are Semitones Major. Pl. II. Numb. 4.

[22] Because they are all Semitones Minor, which may be known by the abovementioned Rule, of their not changing Name, Line, nor Space. Pl. II. Numb. 5. and which makes it manifest, that a Semitone Minor cannot bear an Appoggiatura.

[23] For the same Reason, these being Semitones Minor. Pl. II. Numb. 6.

[24] Because one is a Semitone Major, and the other a Semitone Minor. Pl. III. Numb. 7.

[25] Because they are Semitones Minor. Pl. III, Numb. 8.

[26] The Tone, or Mood, you are in, will determine which is a Tone Major or Minor; for if you change the Mood or Tone, that which was the Tone Major may become the Tone Minor, and so Vice Versa: Therefore these two Examples from C to D, and from F to G, do not hold true.

[27] His Perplexity comes from a wrong Notion, in not distinguishing those two Semitones.

[28] All Intervals, rising with an Appoggiatura, arise to the Note with a sort of Beat, more or less: and the same, descending, arrive to the Note with a sort of Shake, more or less. Pl. III. Numb. 9, 10. One cannot agreeably ascend or descend the Interval of a third Major or Minor, Pl. III. Numb 11. But gradually very well. Pl. III. Numb. 12. Examples of false or deceitful Intervals. Pl. III. Numb. 13.

[29] So in all Cases where the Interval is deceitful. Pl. III. Numb. 14. With a Messa di Voce. Pl. III. Numb. 15. See for Messa di Voce, Chap. I. Sec. 29, and its Note.

[30] In all the modern Italian Compositions the Appoggiatura's are mark'd, supposing the Singers to be ignorant where to place them. The French use them for their Lessons on the Harpsichord, &c., but seldom for the Voice.

[31] See for the several Examples of the Shakes, Pl. IV.

[32] The first Shake of a Tone, Pl. IV. Numb. 1.

[33] See for the Meaning of superior and inferior Cadences, Chap. VIII. Sec. 1. Pl. V. Numb. 3. N.B. Prom the inferior or lower Cadences, the first, or full, Tone Shake, is not always excluded; for in a sharp Key it is always a Tone, and in a flat Key a Semitone, Pl. IV. Numb. 3.

[34] The second Shake of a Semitone Major, Pl. IV. Numb. 2.

[35] The third the short Shake. Pl. IV. Numb. 4.

[36] The fourth the rising Shake. Pl. IV. Numb. 5.

[37] The fifth the descending Shake. Pl. IV. Numb. 6.

[38] The sixth the slow Shake. Pl. IV. Numb. 7.

[39] The seventh the redoubled Shake. Pl. IV. Numb. 8.

[40] The eighth the Trillo-Mordente, or Shake with a Beat. Pl. IV. Numb. 9.

[41] Shakes are generally proper from preceding Notes descending, but not ascending, except on particular Occasions. Never too many, or too near one another; but very bad to begin with them, which is too frequently done. The using so often Beats, Shakes, and Prepares, is owing to Lessons on the Lute, Harpsichord, and other Instruments, whose Sounds discontinue, and therefore have Need of this Help.

[42] The mark'd Divisions should be something like the Staccato on the Violin, but not too much; against which a Caution will presently be given.

[43] The Gliding Notes are like several Notes in one Stroke of the Bow on the Violin.

[44] The pronouncing Eror instead of Error; or Dally instead of Daly. The not distinguishing; the double Consonants from the single, is an Error but too common at present.

[45] See for the syncopated, Ligatura, or binding Notes, Pl. IV. Numb. 10.

[46] Madrigals are Pieces in several Parts; the last in Practice were about threescore Years ago; then the Opera's began to be in Vogue, and good Musick and the Knowledge of it began to decline.

[47] Musica di Camera. Chamber, or private, Musick; where the Multitude is not courted for Applause, but only the true Judges; and consists chiefly in Cantata's, Duetto's, &c. In the Recitative of Cantata's, our Author excelled in a singular Manner for the pathetick Expression of the Words.

[48] Cortona liv'd above forty Years ago. Balarini, in Service at the Court of Vienna, much in Favour with the Emperor Joseph, who made him a Baron.

[49] See Broken Cadences, Pl. V. Numb. 1.

——Final Cadences, Pl. V. Numb. 2.

[50] Motets, or Anthems.

[51] The Proverb is, Lingua Toscana in bocca Romana.—This regards the different Dialects, in Italy; as Neapolitan, Venetian, &c. the same, in Comparison, London to York, or Somersetshire.

[52] The Church-Musick in Italy is all in Latin, except Oratorio's, which are Entertainments in their Churches. It is therefore necessary to have some Notion of the Latin Tongue.

[53] The first Caution against imitating injudiciously the Instrumental with the Voice.

[54] The Italians have a Saying, Voce di Compositore, to denote a bad or an indifferent Voice.

[55] Cantabile, the Tender, Passionate, Pathetick; more Singing than Allegro, which is Lively, Brisk, Gay, and more in the executive Way.

[56] Suppose the first Part expressed Anger, and the second relented, and was to express Pity or Compassion, he must be angry again in the Da Capo. This often happens, and is very ridiculous if not done to a real Purpose, and that the Subject and Poetry require it.

[57] It is supposed, the Scholar is arrived to the Capacity of knowing Harmony and Counterpoint.

[58] The general dividing of Airs described, to which the Author often refers.

[59] With due Deference to our Author, it may be feared, that the Affectation of Singing with Variety has conduced very much to the introducing a bad Taste.

[60] Continuation of the general dividing Airs in Sec. 4. The End of this Section is a seasonable Corrective of the Rule prescribed in the foregoing fifth Section.

[61] Rivani, called Ciecolino, must have written some Treatise on Time, which is not come to us, therefore no further Account can be given of him.

[62] Pistochi was very famous above fifty Years ago, and refined the Manner of singing in Italy, which was then a little crude. His Merit in this is acknowledged by all his Countrymen, contradicted by none. Briefly, what is recounted of him, is, that when he first appeared to the World, and a Youth, he had a very fine treble Voice, admired and encouraged universally, but by a dissolute Life lost it, and his Fortune. Being reduced to the utmost Misery, he entered into the Service of a Composer, as a Copyist, where he made use of the Opportunity of learning the Rules of Composition, and became a good Proficient. After some Years, he recovered a little Glimpse of Voice, which by Time and Practice turned into a fine Contr'Alto. Having Experience on his Side, he took Care of it, and as Encouragement came again, he took the Opportunity of travelling all Europe over, where hearing the different Manners and Tastes, he appropriated them to himself, and formed that agreeable Mixture, which he produced in Italy, where he was imitated and admired. He at last past many Years, when in an affluent Fortune, at the Court of Anspach, where he had a Stipend, and lived an agreeable easy Life; and at last retired to a Convent in Italy. It has been remark'd, that though several of his Disciples shewed the Improvement they had from him, yet others made an ill use of it, having not a little contributed to the Introduction of the modern Taste.

[63] Sifacio, famous beyond any, for the most singular Beauty of his Voice. His Manner of Singing was remarkably plain, consisting particularly in the Messa di Voce, the putting forth his Voice, and the Expression.

There is an Italian Saying, that an hundred Perfections are required in an excellent Singer, and he that hath a fine Voice has ninety-nine of them.

It is also certain, that as much as is allotted to Volubility and Tricks, so much is the Beauty of the Voice sacrificed; for the one cannot be done without Prejudice to the other.

Sifacio got that Name from his acting the Part of Syphax the first time he appeared on the Stage. He was in England when famous, and belonged to King James the Second's Chapel. After which he returned to Italy, continuing to be very much admired, but at last was waylaid, and murthered for his Indiscretion.

[64] Buzzolini, the Name known, but no Particulars of him.

[65] Litigino, in the Service of the Emperor Joseph, and a Scholar of Pistochi.

[66] Signora Boschi was over in England in Queen Anne's Time; she sung one Season in the Opera's, returned to Venice, and left her Husband behind for several Years; he sung the Bass. She was a Mistress of Musick, but her Voice was on the Decay when she came here.

[67] Santini, afterwards Signora Lotti. She was famous above forty Years ago, and appeared at several Courts in Germany, where she was sent for; then retired to Venice, where she married Signor Lotti, Chapel-Master of St. Mark.

All these Singers, though they had a Talent particular to themselves, they could, however, sing in several sorts of Stile; on the contrary, one finds few, but what attempt nothing that is out of their Way. A modern Singer of the good Stile, being asked, whether such and such Compositions would not please at present in Italy? No doubt, said he, they would, but where are the Singers that can sing them?

[68] Those tremendous Airs are called in Italian, un Aria di Bravura; which cannot perhaps be better translated into English, than a Hectoring Song.

[69] Pierre Simone Agostini lived about threescore Years ago. Several Cantata's of his Composition are extant, some of them very difficult, not from the Number of Divisions in the vocal Part, but from the Expression, and the surprising Incidents, and also the Execution of the Basses. He seems to be the first that put Basses with so much Vivacity; for Charissimi before him composed with more Simplicity, tho' he is reckoned to be one of the first, who enlivened his Musick in the Movements of his Basses. Of Pierre-Simone nothing more is known but that he loved his Bottle, and when he had run up a Bill in some favourite Place, he composed a Cantata, and sent it to a certain Cardinal, who never failed sending him a fixed Sum, with which he paid off his Score.

[70] Alessandro Stradella lived about Pier. Simone's Time, or very little after. He was a most excellent Composer, superior in all Respects to the foregoing, and endowed with distinguishing personal Qualifications. It is reported, that his favourite Instrument was the Harp, with which he sometimes accompanied his Voice, which was agreeable. To hear such a Composer play on the Harp, must have been what we can have no Notion of, by what we now hear. He ended his Life fatally, for he was murthered. The Fact is thus related. Being at Genoa, a Place where the Ladies are allowed to live with more Freedom than in any other Part of Italy, Stradella had the honour of being admitted into a noble Family, the Lady whereof was a great Lover of Musick. Her Brother, a wrong-headed Man, takes Umbrage at Stradella's frequent Visits there, and forbids him going upon his Peril, which Order Stradella obeys. The Lady's Husband not having seen Stradella at his House for some Days, reproaches him with it. Stradella, for his Excuse, tells him his Brother-in-Law's Order, which the Nobleman is angry with, and charges him to continue his Visits as formerly; he had been there scarce three or four Times, but one Evening going Home, attended by a Servant and a Lanthorn, four Ruffians rushed out, the Lady's Brother one among them, and with Stiletts or Daggers stabb'd him, and left him dead upon the Place. The people of Genoa all in a Rage fought for the Murtherer, who was forced to fly, his Quality not being able to protect him. In another Account of him, this Particularity is mentioned; that the Murderers pursued him to Rome, and on Enquiry learned, that an Oratorio of his Composition was to be performed that Evening; they went with an Intent to execute their Design, but were so moved with his Composition, that they rather chose to tell him his Danger, advised him to depart, and be upon his Guard. But, being pursued by others, he lost his Life. His Fate has been lamented by every Body, especially by those who knew his Merit, and none have thought him deserving so sad a Catastrophe.

[71] When Tosi writ this, the Composers in Vogue were Scarlatti, Bononcini, Gasparini, Mancini, &c. The last and modern Stile has pretty well spread itself all over Italy, and begins to have a great Tendency to the same beyond the Alps, as he calls it.

[72] The Moods, here spoken of, our Author has not well explained. The Foundation he goes upon are the eight Church Moods. But his Meaning and Complaint is, that commonly the Compositions are in C, or in A, with their Transpositions, and that the others are not used or known. But to particularise here what the Moods are, and how to be used, is impossible, for that Branch only would require a large Treatise by itself.

[73] The Airs, sung in Unison with the Instruments, were invented in the Venetian Opera's, to please the Barcaroles, who are their Watermen: and very often their Applause supports an Opera. The Roman School always distinguished itself, and required Compositions of Study and Care. How it is now at Rome is doubtful; but we do not hear that there are any Corelli's.

[74] Maestro di Capella, Master of the Chapel, the highest Title belonging to a Master of Musick. Even now the Singers in Italy give the Composers of Opera's the Title of Signior Maestro as a Mark of their Submission.

[75] Contrapunto, Counterpoint, or Note against Note, the first Rudiments of Composition.

[76] Furlana. A sort of Country Dance, or Cheshire-Round.

It is reported, that the Church-Musick in Italy, far from keeping that Majesty it ought, is vastly abused the other way; and some Singers have had the Impudence to have other Words put to favourite Opera Airs and sung them in Churches. This Abuse is not new, for St. Augustine complains of it; and Palestrina prevented in his Time Musick from being banished the Churches.

[77] Tono, or Mood, and sometimes means the Key. Our Author in this Section is fond of a Pun, which cannot well be translated. Tono is sometimes writ Tuono and Tuono signifies Thunder; therefore the Ignorant answers, he knows no other Tuono but that which is preceded by Lightning.

[78] Cadences; or, principal Closes in Airs.

[79] For superior and inferior Cadences, see Pl. V. Numb. 3.

[80] Broken Cadences, see Example, Chap. V. Sec. 13, and its Note.

[81] Cadences that fall a Fifth, with and without Words, Pl. V, Numb. 4 and 5.

[82] By the Final Cadences here mentioned, the first is at the End of the first Part of the Air; the Second at the End of the second Part: and the Third at the end of the first Part when repeated again, or at the Da Capo, as it is always expressed in Italian.

[83] For the resolved and unresolved Cadences, see Pl. V. Numb. 6 and 7.

[84] See for the Examples, Pl. V. Numb. 8.

[85] See Example, Pl. VI. Numb. 1.

[86] See Example, Pl. VI. Numb. 2.

N.B. An Appoggiatura cannot be made on an unaccented Syllable.

[87] See for Examples, Pl. VI. Numb. 3.

[88] See for Examples, Pl. VI. Numb. 4.

[89] Some, after a tender and passionate Air, make a lively merry Cadence; and, after a brisk Air, end it with one that is doleful.

[90] Though this Chapter regards Singers who make it their Profession, and particularly those who sing on the Stage, yet there are many excellent Precepts interspersed, that are of Use to Lovers of Musick.