French and Italian Sing Styles

How the French Viewed the Differences between French and Italian Singing Styles of the18th CenturyAuthor(s): Elizabeth HehrSource: International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Jun.,1985), pp. 73-85Published by: Croatian Musicological SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/836463 .Accessed: 31/05/2011 13:48

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E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73-85 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73-85 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73-85 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73-85 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73-85 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73-85

HOW THE FRENCH VIEWED THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FRENCH AND ITALIAN SINGING STYLES OF THE 18TH CENTURY

ELIZABETH HEHR UDC: 781.7:7.034.7(=40/-50) Izvorni znanstveni clanak Original Scientific Pa,per

9 rue Villedo, 75001 PARIS, France Prispjelo: 8. prosinca 1984. Received: December 8, 1984 Prihvadeno: 7. sije/nja 1985. Accepted: January 7, 1985

With the professed influence of Italian musicians and composers in France, French theorists, musicians and informed amateurs felt compelled to defend their point of view concerning what they considered the proper, if not the more interesting, style of singing. Definitely the fmost contro- versial trends of the eighteenth century were found in France and in Italy. Though numerous turn-abouts in what was considered correct or fashion- able did take place during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the culminating flamboyant vs. refined styles of performance existed for the better part of this latter century.

Much has been written about the 'Guerre des Bouffons'. Yet it is fascinating to read in the basic treatises on singing, music appreciation or even in the introductions to song books to what extent the French found it necessary to explain their preference for a more subtly embellished style. In general, most of these disputes center around ornamentation, whether written or free. Harpsichordists today have a definite advantage over most instrumentalists, and especially singers, because modern editions often include tables of the composers' own ornaments. Nevertheless, much has been explained about French vocal ornamentation on a surprisingly specific level. One only has to look in Jean Antoine Berard's L'Art du chant, dedicated to Mme de Pompadour, to find a description of the actual physi- cal movements of the vocal anatomy used to produce his published list of ornaments.1 As for the actual execution of the preferred embellishments, there is no lack of suggestions, even of specifically how many notes should be used; for example, in L'Ecuyer's Principes de l'art du chant:


























i Jean Antoine BERARD, L'Art du chant, Paris, 1755, pp. 112-135. i Jean Antoine BERARD, L'Art du chant, Paris, 1755, pp. 112-135. i Jean Antoine BERARD, L'Art du chant, Paris, 1755, pp. 112-135. i Jean Antoine BERARD, L'Art du chant, Paris, 1755, pp. 112-135. i Jean Antoine BERARD, L'Art du chant, Paris, 1755, pp. 112-135. i Jean Antoine BERARD, L'Art du chant, Paris, 1755, pp. 112-135.

73 73 73 73 73 73

74 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73-85 74 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73-85 74 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73-85 74 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73-85 74 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73-85 74 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73-85

>La cadence parfaite a trois parties, sgavoir, sa preparation, son batte- ment & sa terminalson: sa preparation doit toujours se faire avec un martellement, ... quand la Note qui la precede est inf6rieure d'un ou plusieurs degres.

Jr' r 1F-- - FIK I r' martellement

On ne la place qu'a la fin d'une phrase. Remarquez que toutes les fois qu'il reste deux syllabes apres une cadence parfaite, il faut doubler la premiere de ces deux syllabes.<<2 >The perfect trill has three parts, that is, its preparation, its trilling and its ending. Its preparation must always start with a 'martellement' [pince], . .. when the preceding note is lower by one or more steps. It is only used at the end of a phrase. Note that every time that there follow two syllables after a perfect trill, it is necessary to double the first of these two syllables.<

In M. David's Methode nouvelle the idea of a very precise interpretation of the ornament is indicated by the author, although a fair amount of liberty is left up to the performer.

>>La Cadence prepar6e Iprend son appui du ton, ou du demi ton audessus du celle qu'on veut cadenoer, & sa preparation doit durer la moitie de la valeur de la Note cadencee, & marteller ensuite sur l'autre moitie de sa valeur, de mmee que si l'on vouloit exprimer plusieurs croches d'un degre a l'au,tre, du meme coup de gosier & sur le declin de la Cadence, de me&me que si l'on vouloit exprimer des doubles, & des triples croches, terminant la Cadence, ou les battements par un repos, ou soutien du ton de la Note cadencee.?3 *The prepared trill takes its support from the whole or the half step above the note to be trilled. Its preparation must take half the value of the note to be trilled and then trilled for the other half of its value, using several eighth notes from one degree to another, or a turn at the end of the trill, or even if one would like to use sixteenth and thirty- second notes, ending the trill or the beats by a rest or holding the note to be trilled.< Yet despite this surprising exactness, French vocal composers were in

no way consistent about whether or not their ornaments were included in their music; some expected the singer to have the necessary 'bon gout' to know where they would be appropriate. Not were they precise about how many varieties of these specific embellishments existed. Writers, like Be-

2 ,L'CUYER, Principes de l'art du chant, Paris, 1769, pp. 11-12. 3 Frangois DAVIID, Methode nouvelle ou Principes generaux pour apprendre fa-

cilement la musique, e 'at art echanter, Lyon, 1737, p. 133.









































E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73--85 7 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73--85 7 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73--85 7 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73--85 7 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73--85 7 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73--85 7

rard, even expressed amazement at this indeterminate number of 'agre'- mens' as stated in his aforementioned book: >*II est surprenant qu'on ne soit point avise jusqu'ici ide de'terminer le nombre des agre'mens, & d'en expliquer la nature.-<4 (>*It is surprising that up until now, one has not found it advisable to determine the -exact number of ornaments and their meanings..,x) For indeed, not only were there differ-ences in the r-ealization of a given -orn-ament, but also in its name.5 Monteclair, in his Principes complains that naturally this becomes most confusing for the student who although he learns from one mast-er, may be unable to interpret another. He then adds:

>>La musique e'tant la me'me pour les Voix comme pour les instrumens, on devroit s-e s-ervir des memes noms., et convenir unanimemt. des figu- res les plus propres 'a repre'senter les agre6mens du, chant..*.6 >>.As music is the same for voices as for instruments, one should use the same names for them and unanimously agree upon the proper signs to represent ornam*ents.-(<

He then proce-eds to list eighteen 'agre'mens' while Be'rard lists twelve; L'Ecuyer, six;7 L'Affillard, fourteen;8 and so on.

Most agreed, however, that these ornaments were only extra flourishes which shojuld not be added to the detriment of either the music or the text. Le Cerf in his Comparaison criticised the overabundant use of embellishments as inexcusable.9 Likewise, the reknowned author of the Encyclope6- die., Denis Diderot, voiced his opinion specifically in connection to opera singers under the heading 'Chant', by s-aying:

>>*Presque jamais les sons ne sont donne' ni avec Ila justesse, ni avec I'aisance, ni avec les iagre'mens dont uls sont susceptibles. On voit par- tout 1'effort; & toutes les fois que 1'effort se montre, l'agr6ment disp-a- roit.-<40 >*Almost never are notes in tune, nor produced with ease, nor with the ornaments suited to, them. Everywhere an effort 'is apparent; and every-time effort is'shown, pleasure disappears.-<<

Naturally, many olf the same remarks heard today also existed in the eighteenth century, such as that of bad p-ronunciation or the accompanist's

4 J. A. BPDRARD, op. cit., p. 112. ' L'TCUYER, Ordinaire cde L'Acad6mie Royale de Musique, views it more a-s a

problem of identical signs used for different interpretations (op. cit., p. 11). 6 Michel Pignolet de MONTECLAIR, Principes de musique, Paris, '1738, p. 78. 7L'UCUYER, op. cit., pp. 10~-18. 8 Michel L'AFFTTLLARD, Principes tr~s-faciles pour bien apprendre la musique,

Paris, 1717, pp. 2,5-.27. 9 Jean-Laurent LE CERF DE LA VIEVILLE SIEUR D)E FRESNEUSE, Compa-

raison de la musique italienne et de la musique frangoise, Bruxelles, 1706, tome IV, p. 127: '>Les ornamens ne sont point de l'essence ides Pie'ces, le -su-perflu devient ais&' ment incommode, & d'abord qu'il est incommode, il est inexcusable.x (>'Ornaments are not the essence of music. The isuperfluous easily becomes awkward; and as soon as it is awkward, it is inexcusable.()

10 Denis DIDEROT, Encyclop6die, ou Dictionnaire raisonne' des sciences, des arts et des m6tiers, par une societ6 de gens de lettres, Paris, 1761-1765, P. '145.
























































75 75 75 75 75 75


domination of the singer. Nevertheless, as L'Ecuyer reasons for most of these incomprehensible performances: '>cela vient encore plus de ce que l'on donne trop aux agrements & de ce que l'on sacrifie le sens a des Sons"<l (>>that mostly comes from making too much out of the ornaments and thereby sacrificing the meaning for sounds?).

Yet there is still another underlying thought which is very evident when composers or writers speak 'of the French style of singing and that is one of a desired sense of nobility12 or subtleness even to the point of restraint (mostly referred to as 'bon gofit', which for them was so necessary for a correct interpretation of their music). Monteclair expresses this quality in the following way:

>>La musique Latine perfectionne la Science, et la Musique Frangoise perfectione le gout. I1 ne suffit pas pour bien chanter le Frangois, de savoir bien la musique, ni d'avoir de la voix, il faut encore avoir du gouit, de l'ame, de la flexibilite dans la voix, et du discernement pour donner aux paroles l'expression qu'elles demandent, suivant les diffe- rents caracteres.<l3 >Latin music perfects science and French music perfects 'gout'. It does not suffice in order to sing French well, to know the music well, nor to have a good voice. It is still necessary to have 'gout', soul, vocal flexibility and insight in order to give the words their necessary expression according to their different meanings.<

Eighteen years earlier, Blainville, like so many others, explained his feelings about this essential point by first taking a poke at the contrasting Italian style when he wrote: >l'imagination sembleroit suffire pour composer de la Musique Italienne: mais pour en composer de la Frangoise, il faut y joindre un gout exquiss.14 (>imagination would seem to suffice in order to compose Italian music; but in order to compose French, it is necessary to add to that an exquisite 'gout'?). Sieur Lambert was highly praised by Bourdelot and Bonnet in their Histoire when it was said that he [Lambert] well-illustrated the French manner of singing, even to the point of perfect- ing the art

t1 L']CUYER, op. cit., p. 7. 12 RAPARLIER, Principes de musique, des agr6ments du chant et un essai sur

la prononciation, I'articulation et la prosodie de la langue frangaise, Lille, 1772, p. 16: -Le Genre de l'Opera Francois ou de 1'Academie Royale de Musique doit etre noble, les Port-de-voix marques & isensibles, les Agr6ments du Chant detaches, les Paroles bien articulees en doublant les consonnes, & c.< !(>>The style of the 'Opera Francois' or of the Royal Academy of Music must be noble, the 'Port-de-voix' accented and sensitive, the vocal ornamentation detached, and the text well articulated by doubling the consonances, etc.<<) Raparlier is not the only author who also classifies the different idioms in individual sets of acceptable flourishes. He goes on to say: >>Le genre de l'Op6ra-Bouffon, doit etre vif & lger, dans lequel les Roulades, Passages, tours de Gosiers, sont les Agrements les plus usites.- (-The style of the 'Opera-Bouffon' must be lively and light, in which runs, passage notes and turns are the most common ornaments.c)

13 M. P. de MONTECLAIR, op. cit., p. 77. 14 Charles Henri de BLAINVILLE, L'Esprit de I'art musical ou Reflexions sur

la musique et ses differentes parties, Geneva, 1754, pp. 3-4.










































>soit pour la finesse & la delicatesse des ports de voix, des passages, des diminutions, des tremblemens, des tenues, des mouvemens et de tous les ornaments du chant qui peuvent flater le plus agreablement l'oreille, avec une m6thode admirable, & audessus de tout ce que les regles ordinaires de la Musique avoiet pu trouver jusqu'a ce tems-la en France.l15 >be it for the subtlety and delicacy of the 'port de voix', the passage

notes, the diminutions, the trills, the held notes, the 'movements' and all the vocal ornaments which can flatter the ear in the most agreable way, by an admirable method and furthering all the ordinary rules of music which had been found until that time in France<. As for the final ornamented version, a great deal of the responsibility

for portraying these expected qualifications seemed to lie with the composer. Le Cerf even feared that listeners would reject a composer if he abandoned this usual reservedness, lor if he used an overabundance of flourishes and thereby >si le soin de chatouiller leurs oreilles, le d6tourne d'aller a leur coeur.1<6 (>if the need to tickle their ears diverts it from going to their heart<<). Again, like Raparlier, he continues his argument by attesting that: >Dans la Musique des Opera, le badinage est fade & grotesque: dans celle d'Eglise, il l'est bien davantage, & il est outre cela impie et odieux.Al7 (>>In opera music, playfulness is pointless and grotesque. In that of the church, it is even more so, and furthermore it is impious and odious.<<) Just as so many others preferred, he would rather hear a less ornamented version, as long as it did not make the performance dry. In some cases, restraint, though, can be almost translated into more of a kind of tolerance, than an actual obligation tio add ornaments, and there- fore only added in order to make it more interesting for the singer.I8 This tendency for restraint also can be found in the Dictionnaire by the much disputed Jean Jacques Rousseau, under the heading

>- BRODERIES, DOUBLE, FLEURIS... La vocale Francoise est fort retenue sur les BRODERIES; . .. le Chant Frangois ayant pris un ton plus trainant & plus lamentable encore depuis quelques annees, ne les comporte plus. Les Italiens s'y donnent carriere: C'est chez eux a qui en fera davantage; 6mulation qui mene toujours a en faire trop.019 >-- EMBELLISHMENTS, DOUBLES, FLOURISHES... French vocal [music] is very reserved about EMBELLISHMENTS; ... French song,

15 Pierre BOURDELOT and Pierre BONNET, Histoire de la musique et des ses effets, depuis son origine jusqu'd present: & en quoi consiste sa beautY, Tome I, Amsterdam, 1715, p. 226.

16 J.-L. LE CERF, op. cit., p. 64. 17 Ibid. 18 Ibid., pp. 61-62: >Mais de meme qu'on lui pardonnera de s'y amuser & d'y

couler un petit ornament, pourvu que cela n'aille pas au badinage; on lui pardonnera, & plus aisement encore, de les negliger, pourvu que cela n'aille pas a la secheresse.<< (>But even if he will be forgiven for having fun and adding a little ornament [here and there] as long as it does not develop into further playfulness, still he will be pardonned more readily for neglecting them, as long as that does not become dry.<) 19 Jean-Jacques RIOUStSEAU, Dictionnaire de musique, Paris, 1768, pp. 59-60.




































77 77 77 77 77 77

78 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1,73-85 78 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1,73-85 78 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1,73-85 78 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1,73-85 78 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1,73-85 78 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGING STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1,73-85

which has become more dragging and more woeful for several years now, does not allow them anymore. The Italians make a carrer out of them. It is there [Italy] that one uses many more; a competition which always leads to doing more than necessary.<

Nevertheless, this restraint could be carried too far at times, as suggests Raguenet in his Parallele when he accuses the French music of a certain monotony.20 As shall be explained later, in this respect Italian performances could never be boring in comparison.

The Italian extrovert vocal displays so admonished by the French were not completely rejected, as suggests Blainville. Yet his pride in French musicianship did, however, take a rather haughty view of the differences when he wrote:

>Notre genre est simple, naif, ferme & vigoureux; le genre Italien a des beautes d'expression, des finesses d'agrement que nous pouvons acquerir, voila les fleurs; c'est a nous de les cueillir, sans perdre de vue que nous sommes Frangois.-<21 >,Our style is simple, naive, strong and vigorous. The Italian style has expressive beauties, subtleties of ornamentation [all of] which we can acquire. These are the flowers. It is up to us to pick them without losing sight of the fact that we are French.<

To him, the 'grand art du chant' was not to show off the voice, but instead to make it worthy of what was being sung.

>Le grand art du chant ne consiste pas tant a faire briller la voix, qu'a donner aux sons une ame, des inflexions, un caractere convenable au sujet. Car ne chanter que pour la voix, c'est ne parler qu'a l'ouie; mais nuancer le son de la voix du foible au fort, y repandre un caractere triste ou gai, sombre ou vehement, ajouter les inflexions, les agremens convenables aux diverses expressions, augmenter ces beautes par l'ensemble du geste; de fagon que l'auditeur regoive l'impression du sujet, a ne le prendre que pour ce qu'il doit etre. Voila, je crois, le vrai art du chant.<22 .The fine art of singing does not consist so much in making the voice sparkle as in giving the sounds a soul, inflections, a character suiting the subject. Because to sing for the sake of the voice is like only talking for the hearing; but to make vocal nuances from weak to strong, to exhibit a sad or gay character, gloomy or vehement, to add inflections, the right ornaments for various expressions, [and thereby] to increase these beauties by the whole gesture, in a way that the

20 L'Abbe Francois RAGUENET, Parallele des italiens et des frangois en ce qui regarde la musique et les opera, Paris, 1702, pp. 60--61: En France... ce sont toi- jours les memes accords, les memes chutes, nulle variete, nulle surprise, on y prevoit tout.c (>In France... there are always the same chords, the same descents, no variety, no surprise; everything is foreseen.<)

21 Ch. H. de BLAILNVILLE, op. cit., p. 19. 22 Ibid., p. 118.










































listener only gets the right impression of the subject and takes it only for what it should be; there I believe, is the true art of singing.*<

In essence, that was the ultimate perfection towards which to strive. Perhaps the most amusing tendency found in many French accounts

is a strange kind of love/hate attitude for both the Italian as well as their own styles. Again Raguenet provides a good insight into this:

>>Les Musiciens Francois se croiroient perdus s'ils faisoient la moindre chose contres les regles, ils flatent, chatoiiillent, respectent l'oreille, & tremblent encore dans la crainte de ne pas reussir apres avoir fait les choses dans toute la regularite possible; les Italiens plus hardis changent brusquement de ton & de mode; font des cadences doublees de 7 & de 8 mesures sur des tons que nous ne croirions pas capables de porter le moindre tremblement; ils font des Tenues d'une longeur si prodigieuse, que ceux qui n'y sont pas accouitumez ne sauroient s'em- pecher d'estre d'abord indignez de cette hardiesse que dans la suite on croit ne pouvoir jamais assez admirer; ils font des passages d'une etendiie qui confond tous ceux qui les entendent pour la premiere fois.,<23 ,>French musicians believe themselves lost if they do the slightest thing contrary to the rules. They caress, tickle, respect the ear and still [they] tremble with fear that they will not succeed even after having done things as correctly as possible. The Italians, more bold, suddenly change the note and the mode and make double and re- doubled trills of 7 and 8 measures upon notes which we would not even believe suitable for the slightest trill. They hold notes of such a prodigious length that those who are not accustomed to them, first of all cannot help being offended by such boldness which sub- sequently they cannot seem to praise enough. They make such lengthy melismas that those hearing them for the first time become confused.<:

Both this kind of vocal fireworks and dissonances innate to the Italian music prove to be the prime targets upon numerous occasions for French writers.24 Even instrumentalists join in on the attack as can be exemplified

23 F. RAGUENET, op. cit., pp. 32-33. 24 Ibid., pp. 39-40: ?Qu'on donne une de ces dissonances a chanter a un Frangois, il n'aura jamais la force de la soutenir avec la fermete dont il faut qu'elle soit soutenue, afin qu'elle

reiississe; son oreille accoutumee aux consonances les plus douces & les plus natu- relies est choqu6e de son irregularite, il tremble en la chantant, il chancelle; au lieu que les Italiens dont l'oreille est rompuie de jeunesse a ces dissonances, & y a tte accoutumee par la force de l'habitude, sont fermes sur le ton le plus irregulier, que sur la plus belle corde du monde, & chantent tout avec une hardiesse & une assurance qui les fait toujours reiissir.< I(fIf one gives one of these dissonances to a Frenchman to sing, he will never have the force to sustain it firmly which [is what] it needs to make it successful. His ear being accustomed to the sweetest and the most natural consonances is shocked by the irregularity. He trembles when singing it; he wavers. Whereas, the Italians whose ears are experienced since childhood with these dissonances and were ttherefore used to them by force of habit, are as firm on the most irregular note as on the world's loveliest chord and sing them all with a boldness and assurance which makes them always succeed.o)




































79 79 79 79 79 79


by Hubert Le Blanc in his Defense de la basse de viole when he speaks of the up and down motion of a bow producing notes

>>unis & lies, sans qu'on appergoive leur succession, prodruit des roulades de sons multiplies a l'infitni, qui n'en paroissent qu'une continuite tels qu'en formoient les gosiers de COSSINI & du FAUSTINA<.25 >united and connected, without being able to perceive their succession,

producing runs of infinite multiple sounds which only appear as continuations like those formed by the throats of Cossini and Faustina<.

Later, he compares this effect to a continuous succession of dots.26 Though the French do at times manage to restrain the harshness of their opinion, they can also become fairly snide, as on a surprisingly basic, psychological level, just as Blainville did when he wrote:

>Pour les Italiens, abandonnes naturellement aux desordres de l'imagination, ils semblent nes avec un penchant a la n6gligence; ils ne vi- sent qu'a l'effet; & je crois cette audace plus propres aux grands choses, que cet esprit de raison toujours en garde contre lui-meme. Autant la raison doit suivre de pres nos jugemens; autant un beau delire ne se sent anime que par l'yvresse & par la folie. Aussi en fait de pein- ture & de musique les Italiens ont un feu, un enthousiasme qu'il nous sera toujours difficile d'egaler.*<27 >>For the Italians who naturally abandoned themselves to the disorder of the imagination, they seem born with an inclination towards negligence. They see nothing but the effect. I believe that this audacity [is] more appropriate for grand achievements than that character for reasoning always protecting itself from anything rash. Just as reason must follow closely our judgments, so too a fine frenzy is animated only by ecstacy and folly. Both in painting and in music, the Italians have a fire, an enthusiasm which will always be difficult for us to equal.<

To speculate that there existed such a fundamental psychological reason for these two distinct styles is certainly a fascinating hypothesis, though it perhaps could be investigated in less unflattering terms. Further on he does give Italian singers due credit for their >art infini dans leur chant, des nuances subtiles, vives & delicates- (>infinite art in their singing, the subtle nuances, lively and delicate<<) though he also adds that Mme Fel and M. Jelyotte can imitate these qualities if they so wish to do. Still, he continues his reproach by saying

25 Hubert LiE BLANC, Defense de la basse de viole contre les entreprises du violon et les pretentions du violoncel, Amsterdam, 1740, p. 23.

26 Ibid., p. 51: >Les Voix de Faustina & Cossini 6toient precisement dans le meme cas de ne pouvoir former qu'une succession de Sons, sans Groupe, comparee a la ligne qui est une continuation de points.- (-The voices of Faustina and Cossini were precise- ly in the same position of not being able to form but a succession of sounds, without phrasing [them intelligently] as [can be] compared to a line which is only a continuation of dots.<)

27 Ch. H. de BLAINVILLE, op. cit., pp. 39-40.















































>il leur manque, aux Italiens, un air de noblesse & de verite, ou plutot on d6mele a la longue un ton pantomime dans le caractere de la Mu- sique, & la f.agon de la chanter, qui degrade dans l'esprit d'un Connois- seur toutes ces beautes*,.28 ?the Italians lack a noble and honest air or [it is] rather that one finds in the course of time a feeling of [mere] pantomine in the character of the music and in the way of singing which degrades all these beauties for the appreciation of the true connoisseur<.

Needless to say, Blainville is not alone in his views. Le Cerf further complains about Italian singers making grimaces throughout their vocal displays and thereby eliminating three important qualities: >?Nous ne les croirons ni expressifs, ni simples, ni modestes.*<29 (>We do not believe that they are expressive, simple, or modest.<)

Again this idea of a kind of unnaturalness in Italian music comes into view. A fixed aversion for those profuse additions, nevertheless, can border on admiration. Le Cerf tends to expound several times upon this subject.

>Leur amour pour les chants extraordinaires, la torture qu'il faut se donner pour dechifrer leurs efroyables transpositions, la profusion importune de leurs ornemens, la coutume qu'ils ont de parcourir en cinq ou six mesures, deux ou trois octaves de bas en haut & de haut en bas, & de changer a tout moment de mouvement & de mode & c. sont des marques tres certains que la Musique de leurs Motets n'est point naturelle.<30 >Their love of extraordinary melodies, the torture one must give to sightread their horrible transpositions, the troublesome profusion of their ornaments, the habit which they have to run two or three octaves from bottom to top and from top to bottom in [only] five or six measures, and to change continuously movement and mode, etc, are the definite marks that the music of their motets is not at all natural.<

Further on, he cannot help but cite a rather amusing example about Buononcini's excessive capabilities.

>Buononcini a touijours mis a bon comte sur l'O du mot SCOCCA, une roulade de 30 notes a peu pres; on la chante quatre fois, ce sont 120 notes pour cet O seul; & il n'est pas commun non plus que la mort soit d6crochee & reguie de cette gayete.<31 >Buononcini always put a run of about 30 notes on the O of the word SCOCCA. It is sung four times, which makes 120 notes for this O alone. It is not common either that death be released and received with such gaiety.<

He then accuses 'ce Heros de l'Italie' of displaying such richness in ornamentation as to convince him [Le Cerf] of Buononcini's complete

28 Ibid., p. 121. 29 J.-L. LE CERF, op. cit., p. 148. 30 Ibid., p. 113. 31 Ibid., p. 221.









































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ignorance of the virtue of simplicity.32 In an almost parental reprimanding fashion, Le Cerf talking in terms of opera contends that the Italians are always playing around with additional ornaments because 1) they are incapable of stopping themselves and 2) they lack the necessary serious- ness:

*Come le gouit et le talent des Italiens est de touijours jouer, de toujours badiner; & que ce sont des Musiciens enyvres de leurs sgavans agr6mens; & incapables d',arreter leur saillies & leur exces: tous les endroits serieux, & qui demandent de la gravite, de la sagesse, sont hors de leur portee; ils ne scavent ce que c'est. Ainsi les sacrifices, les invocations, les sermens, & c. sont des morceaux d'une beaute aussi peu connue chez eux, qu'elles l'est parfaitement ches nous.?33 >Since the 'gouit' and the talent of the Italians is always to play and jest; and that they are musicians intoxicated by their clever ornaments and incapable of stopping their outbursts and excesses, all the serious places which call for gravity, wisdom are out of their reach. They do not know what it is. Likewise sacrifices, invocations, sermons, etc. are pieces of a beauty so little known to them as they are perfectly known to us.< The Abbe Raguenet also tends to agree that there seems to be a basic

difference in the nature of Frenchmen and Italians for he reasons that: >Comme les Italiens sont beaucoup plus vif que les Frangois, ils sont bien plus sensibles qu'eux aux passions, & les expriment aussi bien plus vive- ment dans toutes leurs productions.< (>Since the Italians are much more lively than the French, they [Italians] are more sensitive to the passions and likewise express them more energetically in all their performances.<) His reflexions continue with:

>tout y est si vif, si aigu, si pergant, si impetueux et si remuant, que l'imagination, les sens, l'ame, & le corps meme en sont entrainez d'un commun transport; on ne peut se defendre de suivre la rapidite de ces mouvemens<.34 >>everything there is so alive, so sharp, so piercing, so impetuous and so agitated that the imagination, the senses, the soul and even the body itself are carried away together. No one can defend himself against the speed of these movements<.

To him, there seems to be a unique ability for Italians to express a combination of tenderness along with that of vivaciousness.

32 Ibid., pp. 221-222: >Pour plus d'exactitude, j'ai emprunte depuis le Livre de Mr. l'Abbe R, quelques Cantates de Buononcini, que j'ai examinees. Ce Heros de l'Italie r6pand les richesses des ornamens de sa Musique avec une telle profusion, que la simplicite ne sgauroit etre une vertu de sa connoissance.o (>For greater accuracy, I borrowed from Mr. l'Abbe R.'s book, some of Buononcini's cantata!s, which I examined. This hero of Italy so richly scatters the ornaments in his music with such profusion that he clearly could not know what the virtue of simplicity is.()

33 Ibid., tome ,11, p. 106. 34 F. RAGUENET, op. cit., pp. 42-43.





































>,Ainsi, soit que les Airs soient d'un caratere vif ou d'un caratere ten- dre, soient qu'ils soient impetueux ou lanquissans, les Italians l'em- portent egalement sur les Frangois: mais ils font, par desus cela, une chose que ny les musiciens Francois, ny ceux de toutes les autres Na- tions ne sauroient & n'ont jamais sgu faire; car ils unissent quelques fois d'une maniere surprenant, la tendresse avec la vivacite.?35 >Thus, whether the airs have a lively or tender character, or whether

they are impetuous or languid, the Italians are superior in all to the French; but beyond that, they do one thing which neither the French musicians nor those of any other nation know how or ever knew how to do, because they sometimes unite tenderness with vivaciousness in a surprising way.<

Likewise, it was to their credit that the Italians apparently did not lack an exuberant nature in one is to believe Raguenet when he spoke of Italian opera:

>et qu'ils durent des cinq & six heures, on ne s'y ennuye cependant jamais; au lieu qu'apres quelques representations des n6tres qui durent la moitie moins, il y a tres-peu de personnes qui n'en soient ras- sasi6es & qui ne s'y ennuyentA.36 >,and although they last five and six hours, nevertheless one is never bored, whereas after some of our performances which last half as long, there are few people who are not both saturated and bored<.

Furthermore, the whole problem of ornamentation was not restricted simply to the 'gout' of either the performer, composer nor even these two styles. Another aspect of this whole problem stems from a still more basic level, that of language. The general fluency or convenience of both languages for singing purposes had often been discussed. The overall complaint is one of the unadaptability of the French language by reason of the mute syllables and, to a lesser degree, diphthongs. Again, Raguenet attests to this ineradicable condition.

>La langue Italienne a un grand avantage sur la langue Frangoise pour etre chantee... la beaute des passages & des cadences en paroit davantage; au lieu que les Frangois les font indifferement sur toutes les voyelles, sur les plus sourdes comme sur les plus sonores; ils les font meme souvent sur les diphtongues, comme dans les mots de CHAINE, de GLOIRE, & c.*37 >The Italian language has a great advantage over the French [lan-

guage] when sung. ... [In Italian] the beauty of the passage notes and of the trills becomes more apparent. By contrast, the French make them [i. e. flourishes] indiscriminately on all vowels; on the most silent as on the most sonorous. Often, they even make them on diphthongs like those in the words 'Chaine' [chain] and 'Gloire' [Glory], etc.<

35 Ibid., p. 48. 36 Ibid., pp. 123-124. 37 Ibid., pp. 23-24, 26.









































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84 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGtNG STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73-85 84 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGtNG STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73-85 84 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGtNG STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73-85 84 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGtNG STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73-85 84 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGtNG STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73-85 84 E. HEHR, FRENCH VIEW OF 18TH-CENT. SINGtNG STYLES, IRASM 16 (1985), 1, 73-85

Yet Le Cerf de la Vieville, despite his acknowledgment of this vexing aspect, does not concur that language was a valid excuse for the problem of ornamentation, but rather that the obvious linguistic advantages found in the Italian language only hid the inappropriateness of uncurbed ornamentation:

?Je ne nierai point que les Italiens n'ayent plus de facilite que nous a faire des passages & des cadences sur la plupart de leurs voyelles, et je vous avouverai encore de bonne foi que je conviens avec Mr. l'Abbe R. que nos diphtongues, COMME DANS LES MOTS GLOIRE, CHAI- NE & C. font un son confus, assez peu propres aux passages & aux cadences: mais je repons que tous ces roulemens, tous ces passages. etant des agremens peu naturels & dont il ne faut user qu'avec so- briete, c'est un fort petit desavantage pour notre Langue que de n'y etre pas si propre que l'Italienne, a qui cet avantage-la a ete & est encore bien funeste.,<38 >I will not deny at all that the Italians do not have greater ease than we do in making runs and trills on most of their vowels, and I likewise will admit in all sincerity that I agree with Mr. l'Abbe R. that our diphthongs, as in the words 'Gloire', 'Chaine', etc., cause a confusing sound, hardly fitting for runs and trills; but I reply that all these flourishes, all these runs, are hardly natural ornaments and should not be used except in moderation; it is a very slight disadvantage for our language to be less well suited for this than Italian, in which this advantage has been and continues to be truly fatal.< Despite the reluctance of most French writers to forgive their Italian

rivals for a more flamboyant, free-style ornamentation, they nonetheless find it hard to deny the success of this unhindered inventiveness. Though the following example derives its origin from a visit to Italy, Raguenet acknowledges the spontaneous approval that the Italian musicians received there when he wrote:

>on ne peut souvent se contenir jusqu'au bout, on interrompt le Musi- cien par les cris & par des applaudissemens infinis; la Musique Ita- lienne produit, tous les jours, ces effets; il n'y a personne de ceux qui ont voyage en Italie qui n'en ait ete mille fois temoin; on n'a jamais rien de semblable en aucun autre pais;<a39 >it often is not possible to control oneself until the end, the musician is interrupted by shouts and unending applause. Every day, Italian music produces these effects. There is no one who has travelled in Italy who has not witnessed this a thousand times. There is nothing like it in any other country.< Finally, Blainville, again like others, sums up his thoughts by making

a distinct difference between two totally opposite kinds of music and not just two different ways of performing it.


























38 J.-L. LE CERF, op. cit., tome II, pp. 22-23. 39 F. RAGUENET, op. cit., p. 59. 38 J.-L. LE CERF, op. cit., tome II, pp. 22-23. 39 F. RAGUENET, op. cit., p. 59. 38 J.-L. LE CERF, op. cit., tome II, pp. 22-23. 39 F. RAGUENET, op. cit., p. 59. 38 J.-L. LE CERF, op. cit., tome II, pp. 22-23. 39 F. RAGUENET, op. cit., p. 59. 38 J.-L. LE CERF, op. cit., tome II, pp. 22-23. 39 F. RAGUENET, op. cit., p. 59. 38 J.-L. LE CERF, op. cit., tome II, pp. 22-23. 39 F. RAGUENET, op. cit., p. 59.


>,L'un vaut mieux pour les exagerations fortes & les grandes passions, les grands images, quand ii faut, pour ainsi dire, etonner l'auditeur. L'autre suave, & tranquille, par une abondance egale est meilleur, si l'on peut dire, a repandre une douce & agreable rosee dans les esprits. Enfin, pour dire en un mot, ce sent 2 rivals qui subsisteront toujours par la raison m.me de leur opposition.,40 >,The one [Italian] is better for strong exaggerations, great passions, grand images, when it is necessary, so to speak, to surprise the listener. The other [French], suave and calm, in equal abundance is better, if one is permitted to say, to diffuse a sweet and pleasant dew in the soul. In other words, they are two rivals which always will exist for the very reason of their contrast.< Not to read at least a few of the eighteenth-century texts is an un-

fortunate lack for any modern performer of this repertory. They give specific information, but even more important, they provide an insight into national distinctions, the limits of a performer's liberties, and the contemporary view of the roles of imagination and 'le bon gouit' so typical of the Italian vs. French singing styles of the eighteenth century.

Sazetak

KAKO SU FRANCUZI SHVACALI RAZLIKE IZMEDU FRANCUSKOG I TALIJANSKOG STILA PJEVANJA U 18. STOLJECU

>Guerre des Bouffons- u Francuskoj u 18. stoljedu bila je cesto predmet istrazi- vanja. No ta se rasprava u mnogo manjoj mjeri ispitivala kao dokaz o razlikama izmedu francuskog i talijanskog stila pjevanja. Francuski stil je priznavao sklonost spram nacina koji je predstavljao izvjesnu prirodnost i otmjenost, sto je bilo izravno suprotno talijanskom nagnudu spram ekstravagantnih razmetanja i iznenadenja. Fran- cuski su pisci tretirali ornamentaciju za pjevace sa stajalista i vokalne tehnike i pri- kladne primjene. Oni su takoder postavljali pitanja o jezidkim varijantama, pa dak i psiholo?kim razlikama. Premda djelomice nisu mogli izbjeci zaintrigiranost talijanskom sklonodcu prema rascvjetalosti, Francuzi su ipak nalazili da je nemoguce uklju- 5iti taj stil u njihovu ideju -dobrog ukusa<.



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40 Ch. H. de BLAINVILLE, op. cit., p. 47. 40 Ch. H. de BLAINVILLE, op. cit., p. 47. 40 Ch. H. de BLAINVILLE, op. cit., p. 47. 40 Ch. H. de BLAINVILLE, op. cit., p. 47. 40 Ch. H. de BLAINVILLE, op. cit., p. 47. 40 Ch. H. de BLAINVILLE, op. cit., p. 47.

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French and Italian Sing Styles

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