Some time ago, I wrote regarding my journey tracing the pedagogical lineage of Tito Schipa, Alceste Gerunda, and Saverio Mercadante, with special emphasis on the first two. Well, I found what I was seeking quite by accident tonight! There is a lot here, so I am only quoting the relevant parts. Please excuse the errors, but this is from ocr text (the "full text" link). I cleaned it up as much as possible. This is not an ai translation. For those who love Schipa, it is worth reading his full interview, as he tells an interesting anecdote and also talks about the first "songs" he was allowed to sing.
https://archive.org/details/EtudeJuly1927
"That I am able to sing such a very great number of engagements, year after year, in opera and in concert, without any breakdown, I attribute very largely to the exhaustive drill of my maestro, Gerunda. When I first went to him, like all boys, I was wasting my voice by shouting. He taught me in the simplest and most natural manner possible, how to place my voice. Then he commenced a series of drills which lasted six and one-half years. Six and one-half years, with nothing but exercises!" He would not permit me under any circumstances to sing a song."
"... every day at every concert and every opera, I realize the enormous benefit that came from this exhaustive training from vocalises and vocal exercises. Sometimes, when my general physical condition is not good, I find that my early training keeps my vocal organs in such shape that I am able to go on with the concert.
“He gave me numerous exercises of his own. He gave me exercises and vocalises of Concone and Garcia. He gave me numerous scales, but he was most persistent upon a beautiful sustained tone, or, as they say in Italian, nota tenuta. In addition to this, I was obliged to practice with the very greatest perseverance, sustained notes, singing them crescendo and diminuendo. Gerunda would make me do this with agonizing care. That is, I would start, for instance, upon C upon the third space of the treble clef, the note becoming gradually fuller and fuller for three and one-half measures and then diminishing in value for another three and one-half measures, until it finally faded away. The importance of the crescendo and diminuendo controlled at the will of the singer is so enormous that I am amazed that more attention is not paid to it regularly. After all, through diminuendo and crescendo, one has one of the most significant elements in expression. How rarely does one hear a good crescendo and a good diminuendo on a sustained tone."
I am going to start by working on individual notes, then progress to scales, then arpegios, and then exercises. Someone actually sent me Garcia's exercises, which do exactly what Schipa was talking about in the interview! Originally, I was avoiding him, since i heard he added science into training, though he didn't dramatically change things. However, if Alceste Gerunda himself used his exercises with his students, I am not going to question that! Plus, this is exactly what Schipa was describing in the interview! It's also for the tenor range, so I feel truly comfortable singing it. Anyway, I was sent the first, but I am including the next two, before "advanced" is added to the titles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_O2kQz4TIA&list=PL-pA3D_qO_cADzuMne5tJyUv_s5wvTutS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzubQvwao60
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZOnhGlp4GI
When can I begin using Schipa's? He taught quite differently, apparently not mentioning single notes, breath, etc. How will I know once I am ready to progress to the next phase? Since I am studying harmony from Prout and must do this by ear (I am blind and cannot read braille music), can I incorporate things such as learning the names of the notes (including changes in different keys and directions of scales) as I do my vocal exercises?
The Reddit links for the above discussions can be found here.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ClassicalSinger/comments/1m4iper/schipas_training_and_update_on_personal_singing/
https://www.reddit.com/r/opera/comments/1m3bi3i/update_on_singing_journey_and_research_on_schipa/
#AlcesteGerunda #BelCanto #exercises #Gerunda #opera #Schipa #singing #TitoSchipa #VocalPedagogy
Georgiana Brummell