18th c french and italian singing m cyr ml 1980

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Eighteenth-Century French and Italian Singing: Rameau's Writing for the Voice Author(s): Mary Cyr Source: Music & Letters, Vol. 61, No. 3/4 (Jul. - Oct., 1980), pp. 318-337Published by: Oxford University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/734573Accessed: 23-01-2016 23:27 UTC

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EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY FRENCH AND ITALIAN SINGING: RAMEAU'S WRITING

FOR THE VOICE

BY MARY CYR

The talents of Rameau, J6lyotte and Fel are worthy indeed of being joined together. In all likelihood, posterity will scarcely mention one without speaking of the other two.'

THROUGHOUT Rameau's operatic career, two singers reigned without equal on the Paris opera stage: Pierre Jelyotte and Marie Fel. Rameau fashioned nearly all of his leading roles to suit the specific characteristics of their unique voices. Studies of these and other eighteenth-century singers have concentrated on their biographies.2 With the aid of direct evidence from eighteenth- century performers, however, it is possible to recover something of the expressive style of singing Rameau heard and admired. Among vocal instruction manuals of the period, Jean-Antoine Berard's L'Art du chant holds particular importance, for Berard himself sang in several of Rameau's works. Two new sources, manuscript copies of vocal roles with annotations by singers, amplify Berard's comments and provide rare insights about ornamentation and the declamation of recitative.

The singing of some French artists was considerably indebted to the Italian style, for Italian music and performers enjoyed increasing popularity in Paris during the early eighteenth century. French audiences had ample opportunity to hear native Italian singers at the Concert Spirituel and in other concerts at the homes of wealthy patrons.3 Before thelr performances became popular in Paris, however, Italian singers had regularly participated in performances at court; indeed, their presence can be traced back to the reigns of Louis XII and Francois I. Under the last Valois kings they became more prominent, and they were commonly employed

' Louis de Cahusac, 'Chanteur', Encyclopedie, ou Dictionnaire raisonne des sciences, des arts et des me'tiers, vii (Berne & Lausanne, 1782), 254.

2Among the most important studies of eighteenth-century French singers are those by J.-G. Prod'homme: 'Marie Fel (1713-1794)', Sammelbande der internationalen Musikgesellschaft, iv (1902-3), 485-518; 'Pierre deJelyotte (1713-1797)', ibid., iii (1901-2), 686-717; 'A Pastel by LaTour: Marie Fel', The Musical Quarterly, ix (1923), 482-507. See also Martial Teneo, 'Marie Fel', in J.-P. Rameau, Oeuvres completes, xviii (Paris, 1924), lxxix-lxxxiii. A valuable biographical source including eighteenth-century archival documents is Emil Campardon, L'Acade'mie royale de musique, Paris, 1884. The most thorough study of the singers to date is Arthur Pougin, Pierre Jeyotte et les chanteurs de son temps, Paris, 1905.

3See Lowell Lindgren, 'Parisian Patronage of Performers from the Royal Academy of Musick (1719-28)', Music & Letters, lviii (1977), 4-28.

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during the early years of the reign of Louis XIV.4 Among those who gained particular fame during the early eighteenth century were the castrato Antonio Paccini5 and Hyacinthe [Giacinto?] Mazza, the two singers for whom Fran?ois Couperin wrote the florid soprano duet 'Misericordia et veritas' in the motet performed at Versailles in 1704. Both singers served the court for nearly 30 years. LaBorde praised the extraordinary 'legerete' of Paccini's voice:

Paccini was received into the King's Music at the beginning of this century. He had a charming soprano voice, of an inconceivable lightness. LaLande composed most of the recits in his motets for this musician, who was able to render them perfectly. His great talent, together with his good looks, brought him fortune in more than one way.'

The pleasure of the young Louis XV at Paccini's performance assured him a long and successful career, as the Duc de Luynes later recalled:

14 February [1745], Versailles Paccini died here two or three days ago. He was Italian and had been in the King's Music for a long time; he was well known for the beauty of his voice. He enjoyed an income of 5 or 6,000 livres for his service to the king.8

Italian singers found ardent supporters at court. Carlo Broschi, called Farinelli, later became a favourite of the queen, who sometimes invited him to perform with her.9 The Duc de Luynes, although not among the admirers of the style, found the Italian virtuosi at least intriguing:

8 February 1750 [the queen's concert] Cossoni [Cuzzoni], the famous Italian singer, was there; she admits to being 59, yet her voice is still in tune, agreeable and quite loud-and she still trills too. However, one must admit that, although being in style for Italian music, this manner of singing has nothing that pleases ... Moreover, those who heard her 25 years ago found little, if any, change in her voice.

'For detailed accounts of performers and productions by Italian troupes at the instigation of Cardinal Mazarin, see Henry Prunieres, L'Opera italien en France avant Lulli, Paris, 1913.

5Antonio Paccini (not to be confused with Andrea Pacini, called 'Il Lucchesino') appears in a chalk drawing by Watteau possibly representing a concert at the home of Pierre Crozat on 30 September 1720; see Lindgren, op. cit., p. 9.

6 Oeuvres completes, xi (Paris, 1932), 138-41. 'Jean Benjamin de LaBorde, Essai sur la musique ancienne et moderne, Paris, 1780, iii.524. 8 Norbert Dufourcq, La Musique a la cour de Louis XIV et de Louis XV d'apres les memoires de

Sourches et Luynes, 1681-1758, Paris, 1970, p. 85. For an account of Paccini singing in 1722 see Portraits intimes du dixhuitieme siecle, ed. Edmond & Jules de Goncourt, Paris, 1913, p. 17.

See the memoirs of the Duc de Luynes, 21 July 1752: 'La Reine qui est chez elle a jouer de clavecin avec Farinelli. . . .' (Dufourcq, op. cit., p. 150).

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9 June 1750 I forgot to note that two or three weeks ago an Italian singer came to Versailles who used to have a great reputation; she is named Faustine. She is actually 53 or 54. .. Musical connoisseurs say that she still has an unusual lightness of voice for her age, and that in truth she surpasses Cossoni, of whom I have already spoken; some even say she surpasses Farinelli.

13 June 1753 Last week Mme la Dauphine heard an Italian singer who seems to have a great reputation. He is attached to the King of the two Sicilies; he is named Cafarelli, and seemed to be about 35 or 40; he sings pleasingly, and has a sweet [douce] voice of a wide range. The supporters of French music have trouble becoming accustomed to the style of Italian music. I have never heard Farinelli; those who have heard him say that he is much better than Cafarelli.

18 July 1758 Mme la Dauphine knew music very well; she sang and played the harpsichord, but she knew only Italian music.'"

Farinelli was credited by Burney with the single-handed conquest of French taste in favour of the Italian style," though, despite the enthusiasm at court, not all French listeners were willing to accord immediate approval to the castrati. Gradually, however, their unusual timbre converted many listeners. As Charles DeBrosses wrote during his stay in Italy, 'Il faut etre accoutume a ces voix de castrats pour les gouter'.

With the increasing popularity of Italian performers in Paris, the best French singers as well were applauded for their ability to sing in the Italian style. This they learned from Italian performers who had settled in Paris, such as Madame Vanloo (Christine Somis). Daughter of the Italian violinist Giovanni Battista Somis, she had married the painter Carle Vanloo at Turin and had come to Paris in 1733. DeBrosses praised particularly her mastery of expression,'3 and Marmontel later recalled: 'sa voix de rossignol nous avait fait connaitre les chants de l'Italie'.'4 Among her pupils was the young Marie Fel.

With its light, agile quality, Marie Fel's voice was well suited to the florid Italian arias. Although she is not known to have visited Italy, her mastery of the Italian language and its musical inflections allowed comparisons with the finest Italian singers. Recalling a performance of the celebrated castrato two months

' Dufourcq, op. cit., pp. 137, 140-41, 157. For. the earlier French appearances by Cuzzoni to which the first passage probably refers (and for abortive plans for others), see Lindgren, op. cit., pp. 9 ff., esp. pp. 22-24; for Faustina in Paris in 1728, ibid., p. 26.

" Charles Burney, An Eighteenth-Century Musical Tour in France and Italy, ed. Percy A. Scholes, London, 1959, p. 154. Further on Farinelli-in France, see Dufourcq, op. cit., p. 56, and 'Nouvelles de la cour et de la ville', Recherches, x (1970), 105.

12 Lettresfamilieres ecrites d'Italie en 1739 et 1740, ed. R. Colomb, Paris, n.d., pp. 318-19. Ibid., p. 320.

'4Jean-Francois Marmontel, Me'moires (Oeuvres completes, Paris, 1819), i.359, 208.

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earlier, one writer mused after her performance of an Italian air in November 1736 that 'il semble qu'elle soit animee du gouit et de l'ame de Farinelli'.'5 Nearly twenty years later, it seems that her voice retained this exceptional quality. 'C'est un timbre d'argent', wrote the abbe de la Porte, 'qu'on en juge par ce seul trait: elle chant Italien et le prononce comme Mlle Faustine quand elle etait bonne."6 Melchior Grimm praised her clear articulation and wide range in a letter to the abbe Raynal, editor of the Mercure de France:

When . . . I speak of the manner in which Mlle Fel sings Italian, I didn't mean that she had made I-don't-know-what discoveries; I simply meant that foreigners* -among others my compatriot Mr. Hasse-find in her singing, in addition to a very pleasing articulation and a very attractive expression, something original which, without being exactly after the manner of our Italian voices, goes very well with the character of this music; and if the author of the Remarks asks what this original manner consists of, I should say that Mlle Fel owes it to her voice, the most distinctive and even that I know. With a voice of even purity and lightness she covers two and a half octaves; but nature who accorded her this favour does so sparingly, and ordinary voices are obliged to supplement it by art.7 *That is to say, Connoisseurs; for foreigners who proceed to speak of music according to [the styJ'p of] an air, have already decided before hearing it that a French voice, and especially the foremost French voice, will sing Italian music very badly. Since in this case only the name shocks them, we shall call it henceforth, if they prefer it, the European voice.

She sometimes performed Italian airs at the Concert Spirituel, such as Porpora's 'Senza la cara sposa'.8 At a performance of Mondonville's Carnaval du Parnasse in 1751 a 'grand air italien' was added, and sung by Mlle Fel:

... it is by Mr. Galappy [Galuppi], a famous Italian composer. This air was much liked by connoisseurs and seems to have made a very good impression on the public; it is true that Mlle Fel poured forth the lightness, ornaments and precision that she brings to everything she performs. The foreigners especially, accustomed only to this type of music, seemed astonished at her pronunciation and at the skill with which she characterized the delicate phrases of the Italian music, at the same time avoiding the excess of affectation that sometimes takes charge, even in the best Italian singers.

The perfection with which Mlle Fel renders all the runs in this sort of music, and the embellishments which she herself adds to the lines that she performs, presuppose in a French [singer] the most unyielding work, and an exact and very extensive knowledge of the subtleties and of the fundamentals of the art, as well as a very rare facility. '9 ' Dufourcq, 'Nouvelles de la cour', p. 105. 16 Pierre-Louis d'Aquin [de Chateaulyon], Siecle litte'raire de Louis XV ou Lettres sur les

hommes illustres, i (Amsterdam, 1752), 174. '7 'Lettre de M. Grimm sur les remarques au sujet de sa lettre d'Omphale', Mercure de

France, May 1752, pp. 187-90. 18 Published in Paris in 1 737 as Air Italien avec accompagnement chante' au concert des Thuilleries

[sic] et a l'opira par Mademoiselle Fel (copy in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, Vm' 635). 19Mercure de France, May 1751, p. 185.

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At the same performance of Le Carnaval du Parnasse, as Florine in the prologue, she sang an ariette with Italian text whose coloratura writing must have suited the light, even quality of her voice.

In addition to her ability to perform rapid runs, she was able to vary the timbre of her voice and perform Italian music with such expression that even ardent admirers of the French style were forced to concede:

. . . she showed precision, variety-all those delicate, lively runs that are admired in Italy and that she has forced us to admire in France. Her voice, like Proteus, changed all at once, and passed from the light to the pathetic. The most touching inflections succeeded the most rapid runs.20

Several composers were inspired to write music for her, such as the Spanish oboist 'Mr Pla', whose Italian air she performed at the Concert Spirituel in May 1752. Aecompanied by the composer, she rendered the difficult 'traits d'imitation et d'assaut entre la voix et l'instrument', and the audience found the performance 'ravissant ... rendus par l'organe le plus sonore, le plus flexible, et par un hautbois qui rassemble presque a cet organe charmant, et peut-etre unique'.2' Mondonville's concerto performed at the same concert attempted a new combination of voices and instruments, and Mlle Fel's ability to match even the difficult runs executed by a fine violinist was stunning:

Mr. Mondonville imagined that a concerto would be more agreeable (since it would be more varied) if to the different instruments that ordinarily perform it were added the different voices that correspond to these instruments. He proceeded to give a first part to violin and a second part to a voice capable of imitating all the instrumental runs.... One need doubt nothing with Mlle Fel; she has this singular type of voice, the secure performance, precision, and intelligence necessary for such a plan, and Mr. Gavini6s was the most fitting violinist to accompany her.... The connoisseurs ... affirmed the bold performance of Mlle Fel, whose flexible voice lends itself so easily to the runs that until then were- thought to be impossible for the voice.22

Rameau responded to the wave of Italianism that swept Paris during the first half of the eighteenth century. The Duc de Luynes, again showing little enthusiasm for Italian music, nevertheless recognized Rameau's novel approach:

Rameau's music in general has a great many supporters, and it must be granted that it is full of harmony. The followers of Lully find that Rameau is sometimes peculiar [singulier] and that a number of his

2u Ibid., February 1751, p. 187. 21 Ibid., May 1752, p. 180. PIa was one of the three brothers (don Manuel, don Juan and

don Jose), all oboists and composzrs. Several of their works survive in the Bibliotheque Nationale, but the aria for soprano and oboe sung by Mlle Fel is probably lost.

22Mercure de France, May 1752, pp. 182-3.

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works are in the Italian style: this is the judgement that his critics have expressed about his operas which have appeared; however, no one can fail to admit that he is one of the greatest musicians we have.23

His most thoroughly Italianate writing is found in the ariettes, which often exhibit long vocalises, a wide range and constant triplet motion. Da capo form, three-part texture and instrumental ritornellos dominated by a melody in the violins are also usual. He is known to have set an Italian text only once: the sprightly air italien 'Fra le pupille', probably performed at a revival of Les Indes galantes,24 whose florid vocal writing culminates in a written-out cadenza at the end of each section, in imitation of those improvised by Italian virtuosi.25 Another ariette gaie, from Plat'e, 'Amour, lance tes traits' ,26 first sung by Marie Fel for the celebration of the marriage of the Dauphin in 1745, amounts to an exaggeration of the Italian da capo manner, both in its long vocalises (no doubt in response to the first line of its text) and in its dimensions (an 'A' section of 92 bars and a 'B' section of only nine).

The demands of the Italian style upon the performer were many: clear articulation, flexibility in long and difficult vocalises, wide range, lightness and agility. Writers who compared French and Italian music, however, usually found the former more difficult to sing. De Rochemont emphasized the performer's role in expressing the meaning of the text and music:

The French must be such masters of their sounds that the manner in which they pass from one to the other, sustain them, augment or diminish them, may produce and determine the impression that they want to communicate.27

DeBrosses, though a partisan of Italian music, maintained a preference for the French manner of singing and, like de Rochemont, stressed its subtle dynamic nuance according to the meaning of each word:

Italian women's voices are also of a similar type to those of the castrati: light and flexible to the last degree; in a word, they have the same character as their music. Don't ask fullness [la rondeur] of them: they don't know what it is; don't speak to them about those admirable sounds of our French music: swelled, sustained, swelled again and diminished by degree, on a single note; they would no more be capable of understanding you than of performing such sounds.28

Although DeBrosses denies it, we know from Pier Francesco Tosi23 and other Italian writers that the son file or messa di voce was well

23 Dufourcq, Musique a la cour, p. 107. 24 Oeuvres completes, vii (1902), 449-58. 25 Frequently criticized by French writers for their lack of vkariety and tendency merely to

display the range of the singer; see DeBrosses, Lettres, pp. 334-5. 26 Oeuvres compltes, xii (1907), 366-75. 27 Reflexions d'un patriote sur l'operafranfois, et sur l'opira italien, Lausanne, 1754, pp. 51-52. 28 DeBrosses, Lettres, p. 319. 29 Observations on the Florid Song, trans. LJ. E.] Galliard, London, 1743, pp. 27-28.

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known for its expressive value on long notes. DeBrosses seems to suggest, however, that the degree of nuance and shading was far greater in French singing and that the music demanded it. As for the mysterious 'fullness' that Italian voices lacked, perhaps DeBrosses was referring to an even tone cultivated by Italian singers with little if any change of colour between registers; the range demanded by most French music, on the contrary, was less great and permitted changes of colour between registers combined with these delicately nuanced sounds. Though perhaps not exclusive to French music, these subtle dynamic inflections, closely bound up with the language and the sentiment expressed, were among the demands the French style of singing imposed. They were frequently misunderstood by foreigners-for instance even as late as 1789, when Charles Burney remarked at the 'vocal outrages' of Marie Fel's pupil Sophie Arnould as Telaire in a revival of Castor et Pollux. Most of these were either not notated at all or were represented merely by a sign which could be interpreted in several ways according to its expressive intent. 'It is less a question of what is written', wrote Rousseau, 'than of what is to be sung; this type of notation can only be regarded as a sort of abbreviation'.30

Rameau's comments on the expressive value of ornamentation came in response to Rousseau's sharp critique of French music in his Lettre sur la musique franfaise. Choosing the famous recitative from Act II scene 5 of Lully's Armide, 'Enfin il est en ma puissance', Rousseau attacked the declamation as ineffective and overcharged with ornaments, 'les fredons, les cadences, les ports de voix qui reviennent a chaque instant'.3' He cites in particular trills which conflict with the audience's comprehension and interrupt the flow, such as the trill on the word 'puissance': 'Voila une trille, et qui pis est, un repos absolu des le premier vers, tandis que le sens n'est acheve qu'au second'.32 He criticizes the passage phrase by phrase and finds it 'rempli de sons files, de trilles et autres ornements du chant bien plus ridicules'.33

Rameau countered Rousseau's accusations in his Observations sur notre instinct pour la musique, published the following year. He stressed the significance of harmony as the source of expression and the dramatic importance of ornamentation. The trill placed on the accented syllable of 'puissance', according to Rameau, adds brilliance and force to the line. Trills should be varied according to the emotion portrayed.34 Italian singers, he comments, usually mastered wider ranges than French, but he recommends that singers should practise roulades descending and ascending by half- and whole-tones throughout their entire range. To the practice of

30Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Lettre sur la musique franfaise, Paris, 1753, p. 23. 3' Ibid., p. 73. 32 Ibid., pp. 81-82. 33 Ibid., pp. 89-90. 34 Observations sur notre instinct pour la musique et sur son principe, Paris, 1754, p. 18.

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these roulades the singer should add the expressive 'shading' demanded by French music.35 He also warns against always placing an ornament on the final note. One must not 'precipiter volontaire- ment un battement de trille ou de port de voix sur la fin', as it loses its quality. 'Le sentiment, la volonte de finir suffit pour cet effet.'36

The care with which Rameau notated ornaments in his scores reveals his regard for their expressive value. In contrast to the large number of signs in his keyboard music, however, his operatic scores bear only three different signs (see Ex. 1), corresponding to the three types of ornament mentioned in his Code de musique pratique (1 760): (a) the trille (beginning on the upper note); (b) the port de voix battu en montant (a lower appoggiatura followed by a mordent); and (c) the coule' (an unaccented note usually filling in the space of a third descending). The duration and complexity of each ornament should be determined by the emotion portrayed and the meaning of the text; 'ce font les sources de tous les agrements du chant'.37

Ex.l

(a) *V (b) t>* c) J?

The expressive interpretation of these ornaments in differing contexts is a subject ofJean-Antoine Berard's treatise L'Art du chant (Paris, 1755), dedicated to Madame de Pompadour. In a brief career at the opera Berard had performed several minor roles in Rameau's works. His twenty examples, chosen from works by Lully, Campra, Mondonville, Rameau and others, hold particular value for their close relationship to actual performance; all from new works or recent revivals, they represent a unique surviving record of renditions by the most famous interpreters of Rameau's works. Berard divides sounds into two different classes, the first including those that are 'violents', 'entre-coupes', 'majestueux' and 'etouff6s' and the second those that are 'legers', 'tendres' and 'manieres'. He distinguishes between pronun;ciation, which varies according to the mood of the text, and articulation, which furthers the audience's comprehension of the singer's emotion. Emphasiz- ing the importance of the character of each sound, he attempts to describe the most important ornaments-twelve in all.

Among Berard's musical examples are three celebrated pieces from Rameau's works, 'Tristes apprets' from Castor et Pollux, 'Lieux funestes' from Dardanus and the ariette 'L'objet qui regne' from Les Fetes d'Hebe, originally from the cantata Le Bergerfidele.The first two pieces are classed with other laments requiring 'les sons etouff&s' (stifled or smothered sounds). 'Lieux funestes' was added to

" Code de la musique pratique, Paris, 1760, p. 18. 36 Ibid., p. 20. 37 Ibid.

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Dardanus at the opening of Act IV when Rameau made substantial revisions for the 1744 revival. Pierre Jelyotte performed the new monologue and retained the leading role which he had created five years earlier. Berard himself performed the smaller role of Arcas. Comparison of Berard's version of 'Lieux funestes' (Ex. 2) with that of the original printed edition reveals several points of interest.

Ex.2

() J ] T T T

Lieux fu - nes - tes ou tout res - pi - re la

T T ~+ T

9 r r o J S 21 i ! Z ; 5 1 1 g f 3 prr hon - te et la dou -leur du d - ses -pouar Som - bre et cru -el em -

T T v I T +

Q , a I . vr~~~~~~~~~~~~~ r W K 2 f -|I

pi - re l'hor -reur que vo-treas-pect in - spi - re est le moin-dre des

T T T I

b T.2 15 p 1 I

maux qui de - chi - rent mon coeur, I'hor - reur

quevo-t ra3-pect r |4 -g 2 V r|1 551 q ue vo-tre as-pect in - spi re est le moin - dre des maux qui d -

+

- chi - rent mon coeur

In contrast to numerous trills and appoggiaturas added by Berard in other examples, most of those in Rameau's pieces were indicated by the composer himself. Berard has added only one appoggiatura to the trills and appoggiaturas notated in the 1744 print. Yet he marks the accent (Ex. 3a) frequently, a small inflection or 'caressing' of the note above, at the termination of a long note. It frequently expresses sadness, usually on stressed syllables and on long notes

326



followed by another of the same pitch. Long notes also frequently show a swell, or son Jile (Ex. 3b), in addition to the accent. On the word 'horreur' Berard first indicates an accent and son demi-file (half-swell, Ex. 3c), then, when the text repeats with a more intense setting, Berard adds an accent and a full swell (son filet. Thus Berard's version reinforces the heightened emotional intensity suggested by the composer. Berard's port de voix feint (Ex. 3d), a lower appoggiatura followed by a mordent, corresponds to Rameau's port de voix battu en montant (Ex. Ib), while Berard's port de voix entier (Ex. 3e) represents simply a lower appoggiatura. Although in this case Rameau has marked all of the trills himself, Berard indicates how these might have been varied by the performer according to the meaning and expression of the text. He employs in 'Lieux funestes' four different signs for trills: a cadence molle (Ex. 3f ), a trill which begins slowly without appoggiatura and ends softly, for tender or sad pieces; a cadence pre'cipitee ou jete'e (Ex. 3g), a short trill; a cadence appuye'e (Ex. 3h), a trill with an appoggiatura of a half or one third the value of the note; a demi-cadence (Ex. 3i), an appoggiatura and a short, quick trill.

Ex. 3 (a)

accent 3 T

(b) ~~~~son file?

(c) son demi-file

(d) A port de voix feint

(c)

pont de voix entier

GO) + cadence molle

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(g) cadence precipit6e + (ou jettee)

(h) V4f cadence appuy6e

(i deni-cadence (oii couip de gorge)

(I)

Although most of Berard's other examples are taken from monologues or airs, he also includes an extended scene of recitative from Act V of Lully's Atys, in which Atys vents his rage and kills Sangaride despite the chorus's interjections in her favour (Ex. 4). The passage was a famous one and, as we shall see, was quoted by other writers as well. It had been many years since it was heard on the Paris stage, however; the most recent revival prior to the publication of Berard's treatise was in 1740, when Jelyotte performed the role of Atys and Marie Fel was Sangaride.38

Berard treats the passage in a similar manner to the monologues which surround it, adding appoggiaturas, trills, and a few swells on long notes or occasionally a vibrato (flatte), as on the word 'vapeur' in bar 1. As in 'Tristes apprets' the first note, here an exclamation ('Ciel!'), receives a half-swell (i.e. crescendo) and accent. This combination seems to be a favourite one for the accented opening note of a phrase or other important long notes, such as 'sang' in bar 7. Berard has chosen to add the short trill (cadence jetee), always approached from above and frequently by leap from a third above (as on 'fremis' in bar 3 and 'tremble' in bar 4). Later, in an exceptional case, he indicates the cadence molle for the emphatic line 'C'est votre seul peril qui cause ma terreur'. This example also demonstrates Berard's stress on the prolongation or 'doubling' of certain consonants for the sake of clarity of articulation.

The passage from Atys was also included in a treatise by Raparlier, Principes de musique: les agrements du chant, published some sixteen years later. Although directed more towards the amateur

38 An anonymous miniature on ivory now in the Musee de Dijon probably depicts Jelyotte 'accompanying himself on the guitar; a score of Atys stands open on the harpsichord in front of him. See the exhibition catalogue Jean-Philippe Rameau, 1683-1764, Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale, 1964, item 401.

328



Ex. 4 T T

A, Pb r_ a -,! - e im PI _ LA -4weGSg

r -~ ~~~~~~~~~~ r , c q v s s Ciel quel - le va-peur m'en-vi - ron - ne! Tous mes Sens sont trou -

T A 1 + T

-*)~~~~~j b i Y I r-S! S1

b r r r I t - bles, Je fri-mis, je fri - son -ne; Je trem-ble et tout ?i

A ~~~~~~~~~V

r r d coup une In fer - na - le ar - deuLr Vient en -tla-ner mon

T 1 V +

rle

S d r C

San-, et de-vo- rer mon coeur.

than the professional musician, Raparlier's work emphasizes many of the same principles as that of Berard. He describes in rather general terms the adaptation of tone, articulation and ornamentation to the genre of music to be performed:

The genre of motets or church music must be simple and majestic: swelled sounds, trills prepared and beaten clearly [les Sons files, les Cadences priparees et bien Battues]. The genre of French opera or the Academie Royale de Musique must be noble: appoggiaturas emphasized and sensitive [marques et sensibles], ornaments in an air clean [detaches], the words well articulated by doubling the consonants, etc... . The genre of Opera-Bouffon must be lively and light; in that case roulades, passages and tours de Gosier are the ornaments most used.39

In the section dealing with ornamentation ('agrements du chant') he provides simple explanations for fifteen ornaments: the coule, port de voix, accent, chute, cadence, pince, martellement, flatte, balancement, tour-de-gosier, passage, roulade, trait, son fle and sanglot.40 His final section, an essay on pronunciation and articulation, is perhaps of most value for its explanations of how pronunciations may vary according to context and type of piece, with rules for elisions as well as specific vowels and consonants.

As an example of the application of proper ornamentation, articulation and pronunciation, he appends Lully's recitative.

3 Principes de musique, p. 16. +? Ibid., p. 19.

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Despite numerous similarities between the versions of Berard and Raparlier, many differences are found as well. Raparlier, for example, often fails to add the short trill or appoggiatura in the middle of a line that Berard does, and he marks the accent less frequently. He indicates the cadence molle several times, but omits an ornament altogether at the point at which Berard had indicated the cadence molle. Raparlier also devised a mark to show the appropriate places to breathe, always at the end of a complete sentence or occasionally for textual reasons, as at the exclamation 'ah!'.

The application of some of the foregoing principles by singers at the Opera can be seen in two surviving roles that preserve manuscript notations dating from eighteenth-century revivals of Les Fetes d'H6be.4' That of Tirtee in the second entre'e bears annotations by a performer-perhaps the Mr. Moreau whose name appears on the first page (see Plate I). He has entered numerous marks of interpretation throughout, adding at the end 'chante supremement par Mr Gelin, 1756'. He presumably wished to preserve (and perhaps copy?) the ornaments and expression of the well-known basse-taille then at the height.of his career.

Nicolas Gelin (b. 1726) performed many roles in Rameau's works. He made his debut in 1750 and studied in the early years of his career with the fine basse-taille Chasse. After a performance by Gelin at the Concert Spirituel, a reviewer wrote in the Mercure de France, 'sa voix fut trouvee etendue, sonore, gracieuse, legere'.42 Two years later he was compared favourably with Chasse, who had performed the role of Alcee in an earlier revival of Destouches's Omphale.43 He took part in revivals of Rameau's works during the 1750s and 1760s and lived to sing the role of the High Priest in Gluck's Alceste (1 776) before his retirement in 1779. Although he is not recorded as having performed the role of Tirtee in Les Fetes d'Hebe until the 1764 and 1765 revivals, his performance in 1756, for which the manuscript annotations survive, was perhaps as a replacement for Chasse in one or more performances that year.

Some of the indications of Gelin's interpretation show an annotation characterizing his expression of a phrase (such as 'recitatif majestueux' for 'Dignes enfants d'Alcide') or a section marked 'mesure' indicating the end of a previous recitative.44 In several places the singer has added a dot to rhythms notated equally in the role, and occasionally also added an appoggiatura, although, as in Berard's examples, most of the appoggiaturas were already notated by Rameau. At the climactic point in Tirtee's opening recitative, 'Je saurai par mon art' (see Plate I), with the

' The parts are preserved in Paris, Bibliotheque de I'Opera, matiriel.

42 December 1750, p. 165. 43Mercure de France, May 1752, p. 163. 3 Rousseau (Dictionnaire de musique, Paris, 1768, p. 283) writes of mesure: 'ce mot repond a

l'Italien a Tempo ou a Batuta, et s'emploie sortant d'un Recitatif, pour marquer le lieu ouk l'on doit commencer a chanter en mesure'.

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PLATE I

....... ... 0i;:....

,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~... ..X...tx ..

flffiE'F~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~4 ;2a~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.....

g s Z # ....... ..... ....,

V~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.....

, ,,, ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.....

~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.. . . .. . .

v. .e .......

331I



addition of flute and strings at his words 'par mes accords', the performer has indicated Gelin's interpretation as 'lent et noble'. Two bars later the crotchets of 'J'appaisay' are marked 'egalles' [sic], in contrast to the following ones to which dots have been added, indicating that they had been performed as inegales.

Another vocal role, that of Sapho from the first entree of Les Fetes d'Hibe, also preserves some annotations by a singer, although the name of the performer does not appear on it (see Plate II). The role certainly dates from no later than 1765, the year of the last eighteenth-century revival of this entree. Rameau had taken an active interest in the 1764 production-only three months before his death-revising passages and making other changes.45 Some annotations on the vocal role were added in ink: 'doubled' consonants, trills and appoggiaturas, a word indicating the character of a section, a mark indicating the retaking of breath and a few other signs. Sapho's opening air, 'Bois cheris des amours', might have been classed with other laments by Berard for its tender, sighing quality. The performer has indicated the mood of the opening 'en tendre regret'. As in Berard's examples, once again little ornamentation was added beyond Rameau's own indications (none at all in this air), but the singer has notated how appoggiaturas and trills might be varied according to context. In the first bar, for example, the appoggiatura is indicated with a small minim at the beginning of the trill, which would probably be continued as a cadence appuye'e, according to Berard's instructions. Other appoggiaturas are marked with a shorter value. The unusual notation of the appoggiatura in bar 5 on 'sombres' may be an indication of a quick resolution to the consonance, on a stressed syllable. Similarly, the petite note probably marks an accented syllable since an appoggiatura would be impossible. A small vertical stroke, such as that following 'amours' in bar 2, indicates a breath mark, the same symbol used by Raparlier in his treatise. A tie has been added to the word 'ombres' (bar 7), indicating that the second syllable should be scarcely pronounced at all. Certain consonants have been written in, usually those which should receive extra stress, according to Berard's advice for 'doubling' consonants for clear diction and to further the expression. For the middle section of the piece, which turns to a more recitative-like character, the corresponding change to speech-like declamation is indicated with the words 'plus debite', and in the more vivid phrase 'au moment qu'il me donnois sa foy' the word 'saisir' probably indicates an expressive vocal or perhaps a dramatic gesture. Once again we find a long appoggiatura notated in bar 24 on the word 'rigueurs'. A final point of interest is the occasional change of

4' Among the numerous surviving parts and scores, both printed and in manuscript, representing performances of Les Fetes d'Hibe, a printed short score with many manuscript annotations probably bears many of the 1764 changes: Paris, Bibliotheque de 1'Op6ra, A. 143a.

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PLATE II

... .....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.......

a ~~~~~~~~rn1r~~~~~~~~~~~~ t4.9i6~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~? ~ ~ .....

Qd()/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/ (~~~~~~~~~~~.....

..........( , ( ~ a f f a ~

.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~J

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rhythm from even quavers to dotted execution (either way round-e.g. 'rassembloient' in bar 5, 'trop flatteur' in bar 21) or the prolongation of a long note, causing a subsequent rhythmic adjustment ('Quand vos retraites' in bar 4).

The singer's indication of 'plus debite' seems appropriate for both the character of the text in the middle section and its simpler accompaniment (continuo only). But the fairly rapid speech-like declamation that these words implied had become the subject of some controversy by the mid eighteenth century. De Rochemont blamed the performer's desire to sing continuously rather than adopt a more declamatory manner when the text demanded it:

One further thing ruins our singers, both male and female, namely their passion for elaboration and brilliance [la fureur de pousser et defaire briller leurs voix]. In particular, most of our female singers do not declaim [dibitent] at all; they only sing.'

According to Rousseau, composers were often at fault in recitative for imposing too wide a range upon a singer, making declamation difficult. 'Le meilleur recitatif', he wrote, 'est celui qui approche le plus de la parole',47 but he found little evidence of true declamation in most performances. He also criticized the sort of singer who 'suspend le recit hors de propos pour filer de beaux sons sur des syllabes qui ne signifient rien et qui ne forment aucun repos dans le

' 48 sens . Concluding his critique of the passage from Lully's Armide, he wrote: 'On n'y trouve ni mesure, ni caractere, ni melodie: si l'on veut que ce soit du recitatif, on n'y trouve ni naturel ni expression'.49

Several of Rousseau's supporters voiced similar complaints. According to Baton lejeune, 'Notre recitatif tient trop de l'air, en ce qu'il est trop chante et trop rempli d'agrements, ce qui l'empeche d'etre un vrai r6citatif '.50 He did not agree with Rousseau, however, that there ought to be more regularity of pulse in recitative. On the contrary, he stated, 'Sa mesure n'est ni egale ni sensible'.5' The excessively slow rendition that Rousseau criticizes may have been quite different from the manner in which recitative had been sung some generations earlier. According to Lecerf de la Vieville, Lully himself attempted to prevent singers from adding additional ornaments in recitative which might interfere with the speech-like declamation, saying: 'Je ne veux point de broderie, mon recitatifn'est fait que pour parler,je veux qu'il soit tout uni'.52Josse

46 IReflexions, p. 74 n. 47 Lettre sur la musique franfaise, p. 71. 48 Ibid., p. 73. 49 Ibid., pp. 89-90. 5 Examen de la lettre de M. Rousseau sur la musiquefranfaise, 2nd edn., Paris, 1754, p. 37 n. 5' Ibid. Cf. Rousseau, Lettre, p. 74. 52 Lecerf de la Vieville, Comparaison de la musique italienne et de la musique franfaise, 2nd.

edn., Brussels, 1705-6, ii.204.

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de Villeneuve also noted that recitative in the mid eighteenth century was customarily performed more slowly than it had been in Lully's day.53 Rousseau confirms the same observation:

. . . [Lully's] recitative is much less mannered [mani6rel [than recitative is now], and therefore much better than ours is: this is confirmed by the manner of performance, for the former recitative was performed by singers of that day entirely differently from the way we do it today. It was quicker [plus vif] and less dragging [traznant]; it was sung less and declaimed [declamoit] more. There are more trills and appoggiaturas in ours and it has become more languid; there is scarcely anything any more which distinguishes it from what we like to call air.54

Some years later Charles Colle recalled that Rameau had offered to revise and rewrite Lully's works (a project he never undertook, as far as is known), but he intended to leave the recitative as Lully wrote it, recommending only that 'les acteurs le chantassent moins lentement'.55 Near the end of the century, Ginguene also remarked in his article 'd6biter' for the Engyclopedie methodique that recitative in Lully's day had been declaimed 'beaucoup plus rapidement' than in Rameau's.

A few years after his Lettre sur la musique franCaise, Rousseau seems to have reversed his position, for in his article 'debiter' for the Dictionnaire de musique he criticizes the performance of recitative for its excessive haste:

Debiter: deliberately to hasten the tempo [presser le Mouvement] of singing and render it in a manner approaching the rapidity of speech.... French recitative is still disfigured by being declaimed ...56

Several writers came forward to criticize Rousseau's inconsistency. Cahusac took exception to Rousseau in his article for the Encyclopedie, stressing the necessity for declamation combined with an expressive delivery:

Opera dialogue drags if it is not declaimed [debitee]: no matter how well he sings, the singer who does not declaim at all weakens the interest and causes boredom. One should beware, however, of believing that to deliver a role rapidly, without adding nuance to it, without putting stress in it, etc., would be the same as declaiming it.... To declaim, at the opera, is thus an essential part of the singer's task, and to declaim is to render a singing role rapidly, with precision, expression, grace and variety.57

The anonymous author of Suite des lettres sur la musique observed that

3Lettre sur la michanisme de l'opira italien, Naples & Paris, 1756, p. 101. 4 Lettre sur la musique franfaise, pp. 61-62. '- Charles Colle, Journal et mimoires, ed. Honore Bonhomme, Paris, 1868, iii.121 (January

1767). 36 Dictionnaire, p. 139. 5 'Debiter', Encyclopidie, ed. Diderot & d'Alembert, Paris, 1753 (1778 edn., x.316).

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nuance and expression in declamation can only be present when the metre is not adhered to strictly:

Recitative, being only a declamation, should not be measured; for it would be ridiculous to reduce to equal beats the manifestation of thoughts that follow each other at unequal intervals.58

He cites a well-known passage from Rameau's Les Indes galantes to illustrate an exception: a recitative which ought to be measured. In Act I Emilie, at the banks of the sea, reflects upon her fate as she watches the agitation of the waves before her. The tempest, whose effect is created by the orchestra, remains the principal subject, and Emilie's thoughts serve as an accompaniment. According to the author, the piece would be called an air since it is measured, but should remain declamatory and produce the effect for the listener of recitative.59

With more specific advice to the performer for establishing some bounds to this freedom of declamation, Lecuyer advises in his Principes de l'art du chant (1769):

Although the metre should not be strict in the dialogue and in a monologue, and though it may sometimes be permitted to linger [se pavaner] on some sounds and ornaments, [the performer] is still no less obliged to stress [scander] his singing well; that is to say, to make the long and short [syllables] felt, to pay attention to the rests, and to dwell only on verbs that lack action or movement, and especially to go absolutely according to the meaning of the words.

As for measured airs and character pieces [airs mesures et de caractere], it is never permissible to alter the metre for whatever reasons there might be, except for the final cadence; and when one wants to borrow from one note to give to another, this should be done only with the greatest discretion; it would be better to follow literally the composer's false quantities than to take away the character of an air.'

Lecuyer's inclusion of the monologue (such as 'Lieux funestes' from Dardanus, discussed earlier) in the category of pieces whose metre is less strict is worth noting.

Rameau's recitative has seldom drawn praise from recent scholars,6' although in the eighteenth century even some of his most vehement critics acknowledged his superiority. Since Lully's recitative usually formed the model for comparison, it was no small accomplishment when Rameau's was judged to excel. Rousseau, however, still took a moderate stand:

His recitative is less natural but much more varied than that of Lully: admirable in a few places but bad almost everywhere else, which is perhaps as much the fault of the genre as his own; for it is often the 58 [Ozy? Fr6ron?J, Suite des lettres sur la musique, Geneva, 1754, p. 29. 59 Ibid., pp. 29-30. 60 Principes de l'art du chant, Paris, 1769, pp. 22-23. 61 See Paul-Marie Masson, L'Opira de Rameau, Paris, 1930, pp. 132-201.

336



result of having wanted to serve the declamation too much that he has made his melody strained [baroque] and his connections harsh. If he had the power to conceive true recitative, and with it convince this flock of sheep, I think he could have excelled at it.62

D'Alembert was among those who favoured Rameau's recitative over that of Lully, which he said often spanned too great a range for the voice. In his Melanges de litterature (1759) he cites as 'le modele d'un bon recitatif' the scene from the second act of Dardanus in which Iphise admits to Dardanus her love for another. D'Alembert adds directions for performing the passage:

It seems to us that an excellent singer having to recite [declamer] all this passage in the scene from Dardanus would render it precisely as it is set to music. To speak more exactly, and not to exaggerate anything (for there could be several different ways, all equally good, 6f expressing the sentiment contained in these words), I imagine that an intelligent singer declaims [debite] the text in the Italian manner, conforming to the note but adding to his declamation the inflections, finesse, nuances and gradations of loud and soft necessary to bring the expression out; and I believe I can say that one would scarcely be aware of the singing as such, but would simply have the impression of hearing a tragic scene well delivered. To go further, I should dare to predict that this piece, declaimed [debite'] by an excellent singer in the manner I propose, would give more pleasure than the same piece sung in full voice by the same singer with all possible perfection. Singing proper has contours [traits] that are more marked and, if one dares to say such a thing, more coarse than those of simple declamation; in the expression of sentiment the latter has certain delicacies of which the voice driven with more effort is not capable at all.63

Descriptions by d'Alembert and others provide a starting point for recovering a style of singing and declamation which brings Rameau's works to life. Evidence from singers who performed his music amplifies these findings, in sources as divergent as Berard's treatise and annotations on surviving vocal roles used in actual performances. No one source will solve all the mysteries, but together they illustrate corntinuous subtle changes that took place during the eighteenth century, and serve to record in some measure the manner in which Rameau's music was sung by the finest performers of his day. To leave the voice without appropriate ornaments and expression, said Michel Corrette, was to leave a crude diamond unpolished.P Now that recent research and performances have revealed many gems among Rameau's works, it remains for us to refine our knowledge of how his music should be sung.

62 'Lettre a M. Grimm' (1752), p. 24. 63 Meilanges de litterature, Amsterdam, 1759, pp. 431-2. 64Le Parfait Maitre a chanter, 2nd edn., Paris, 1763, p. 47.

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18th c french and italian singing m cyr ml 1980

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