Abstract
This chapter will focus on ornamentation in Classical and Bel Canto arias. I will first give a short overview of ornamentation in Italian arias from the seventeenth and early eighteenth century, including a basic discussion of the use of small graces, trills, turns, appoggiaturas and grace notes. I will also look at the development of the cadenza and improvised variations in da capo arias. I will provide references from treatises of the period and musical examples to show students the origins of the Italian florid style. I will then spend the major part of the chapter exploring how these approaches changed and developed in the later eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and how students can apply the tools learned in the earlier Baroque style to Classical and Bel Canto repertoire. I will again provide references and instructions from period treatises, as well as musical examples. I will try to show students how to identify and choose stylistically appropriate gestures for different composers and periods, including Mozart, Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti. I will also talk about choosing an appropriate approach to vibrato and articulation for this repertoire.
Using my experience in the studio with my Princeton undergraduate students, I will share how I help them layer the stylistic and performance practice decisions onto their developing technical mastery. I usually want a student to feel comfortable and confident with basic vocal technique first, before delving into more subtle issues of style and ornamentation. Yet in some cases, finding an appropriate approach to style can help to solve technical issues. It is always fascinating to me how the two areas complement each other.
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Notes
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You can hear a recording of both versions on Songs of Love and War: Italian Dramatic Songs of the 17th and 18th centuries, with Julianne Baird, soprano, Colin Tilney, harpsichord, and Myron Lutzke, cello; Dorian 90104, 1990.
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Elliott, M. (2014). Style and Ornamentation in Classical and Bel Canto Arias. In: Harrison, S., O'Bryan, J. (eds) Teaching Singing in the 21st Century. Landscapes: the Arts, Aesthetics, and Education, vol 14. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8851-9_15
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