Herman Klein: The Bel Canto (1924)
Herman Klein, a student of Manuel García in the art of bel canto, has often appeared on these pages..
Back in 2012, I wrote about "The Bel Canto: with particular reference to the singing of Mozart, (1923)” as well as an article he wrote a year later in 1924 that appeared in The Musical Times entitled "The Bel Canto.” Taken together, they offer the student of singing a great deal of information. Both essays can now be found on the download page.
I very much enjoy Klein's writing, both for his clarity of expression, and information that is as relevant today as it was when he sat down to write. In this case, he withholds nothing while demystifying the art of Bel Canto. Uniquely suited to write about singing as a student of Manuel García, Klein's words shine a light on studio and performance practice, stretching back to the time of Nicola Porpora.
One word to the wise: Klein uses the word vibrato differently than we do today. From the remarks, he makes below and in Herman Klein and the Gramophone, I feel confident that he did not mean the natural oscillation of the voice which is pleasing when it occurs from 6 to 8 times per second, but rather, what we would call tremolo.
The Bel Canto by Herman Klein, The Musical Times, April 1, 1924
What is Bel Canto? The literal meaning of the term, as most are aware, is 'The art of Practice of Beautiful Singing.' It is not exactly a term in common use, but singers generally surmise that it is intended to refer to an ideal kind of vocal art associated with the old Italian school, and not encountered so readily as cabbages and turnips and the other vegetables that ordinarily adorn a musical greengrocer's shop. Curiously enough, it never occurred to me to use this term as a title for the lecture which I gave at Wigmore Hall a year ago. Hoping to appeal to a wider public, I simply called it 'How to sing Mozart,' to interest a few of the people who are supposed to worship the very name of Mozart. Alas, it didn't crowd the hall! But after the notices had appeared, there was a different tale to tell: everyone wanted me to repeat the lecture. I declined to do so, because I knew that if I did, the singers who ought to have come to take a cheap lesson might again stop away, while the professional 'dead-heads' would surely be disappointed if they did not receive free tickets. So I resolved, after reading those notices, to publish my lecture in book-form as an 'essay,' much amplified and improved: and then it was that the term Bel Canto first crossed my mind. If, I thought, the music of Mozart suggests and requires only beautiful singing, that must be the right name for the little book: and it's 'particular reference to the singing of Mozart' can serve for the sub-title. The result so far has proved that no mistake was made.
Find the rest of Klein’s article on the download page.
To learn Klein’s method of singing, contact the Shigo Voice Studio for voice lessons in New York City and online singing lessons in the art of bel canto.
