The Vannuccini School: Part V
William L. Whitney (1861-1950) was an exponent of Luigi Vannuccini, one of a handful of legendary singing masters in the second half of the 19th century, including Manuel García, Pauline-Viardot-García, Francesco Lamperti, and Antonio Sangiovanni.
Vocal giants' precepts were inculcated by their students in a manner that has little credence today. They emphasized repertoire rather than scales and exercises to develop a vocal technique to establish a grid upon which repertoire was laid.
This grid was rooted in Italian tonal values and the acquisition of "pure vowels," two words that have been supplanted by terms like "formant tuning" and "resonance strategies." While useful regarding vocal mechanics, the latter terms don't have what pure vowels do, which is an emphasis on vowel quality. This "pointing" of the student's ear is, of course, the stuff of Empiricism, passed from teacher to student in the confines of the voice studio. After all, before you can sing a pure tone, you must have a teacher who is its living embodiment. In short, you have to hear it before you can do it, knowledge of pure tone's physical conformation being only part of the equation.
William L. Whitney, a concert and oratorio singer in England, Italy, Germany, and America, taught these ideals at the New England Conservatory of Music, starting in 1888, his two most famous students being Louise Homer and Eleanor Steber. He also had studios in Florence and Paris, teaching at the Royal Normal and Wimbledon Colleges in London, England. He remained on the faculty of the Conservatory until he died in 1950, an association of sixty years duration. His memorial service was held there on January 5, 1950.
The difficult task falls upon me of trying to express, however, inadequately, our sense of irreparable loss- deep personal loss as well as the shattering loss to the Conservatory. I might dwell at length on what his going takes from us- the characteristics so indelibly fastened in our memories; his boundless energy, his indefatigable spirit and dignity- the exacting demands he made upon himself: his intolerance of sham and the mediocre, yet endless patience with and encouragement for worthy youth; his wonderful smile which reflected a world of kindness; his pungent and penetrating criticism, always softened by a whimsical and delicious humor; the wisdom and just decisions he contributed to the Faculty Council, and finally, the vast accumulation of knowledge and experience in his art which he poured so endlessly into the minds and hearts of generations of pupils, insuring the perpetuation of this great art for years to come.
To us teachers and students, he leaves then a rare model of maintaining complete and absolute integrity in his art and work - a perfect example of a career which, by his selfless desire to give out, regenerated perpetually his great spirit. Who of us, at the of a career, would not prize this reward above most, to have it said of him, as we can so justly say of our departed friend, — "He was a great artist, an inspired teacher, a devoted friend, and above all, a good man'?
Memorial to William L. Whitney, January 5, 1950.
I wish to thank Ms. Maryalice Perrin-Mohr, Archivist, The New England Conservatory of Music, for the photographs and information on William L. Whitney contained within this post. Her generosity is greatly appreciated.
Photos of William L. Whitney courtesy of the New England Conservatory. The second photo is of Whitney with his wife, Leta Fulton Whitney.
Header photograph: Luigi Vannuccini.
