; .- I - GQLDENBEBG JENNY LIND A RECORD AND ANALYSIS OF THE "METHOD'' OF THE LATE MADAME JENNY LIND-GOLDSCHMIDT BY W. S. ROCKSTRO TOGETHER WITH A SELECTION OF CADENZE, SOLFEGGI, ABELLIMENTI, &c. IN ILLUSTRATION OF HER VOCAL ART EDITED BY OTTO GOLDSCHMIDT. PRICE Two SHILLINGS. LONDON & NEW YORK NOVELLO, EWER AND CO. 1894. All those portions of the following pages which have already been published are here reprinted from the work entitled JENNY LIND THE ARTIST (London, 1891 : John Murray), by kind permission of Mr. Murray. The Portrait is from an engraving by William Roll, after a daguerreotype by Kilburn, London, 1848. TO SIGNOR MANUEL GARCIA (KNIGHT OF THE ORDER OF GUSTAVUS VASA | M.D., KoNIGSBERG | ETC., ETC.) THE FOLLOWING PAGES ARE DEDICATED AS A TRIBUTE OF SINCERE ADMIRATION BY OTTO GOLDSCHMIDT AND W. S. ROCKSTRO. THE VOCAL METHOD OF MADAME JENNY LIND-GOLDSCHMIDT. THOSE who had the good fortune to hear Mdlle. Jenny Lind sing, either on the Stage or in the Concert-room, after her artistic ideal had been fully matured, and while her voice was in its fullest perfection, cannot fail to remember the beautiful Cadenze which lent so distinctive a charm to many of her songs, or the passages of brilliant fioritura with which some of her masterpieces of Italian vocalisation were embellished. The originality of these Cadenze, and other embellishments, was so striking, and their charm so potent, that, in the year 1891, the authors of the Memoir, entitled JENNY LIND THE ARTIST, thought it desirable to include a few of them in the " Musical Appendix " with which that work was supplemented, with the view of ensuring their preservation to posterity ; and it is believed that this end will be still farther secured by their publication, with the addition of a few more examples, in a separate form. It is in the hope of attaining this object that the following pages are presented to the public, in full assurance that the rising generation of vocalists cannot fail to be profited by the study of Solfeggi, and other like passages, bequeathed to the world by one of the greatest singers of the present century. In order that this desirable result may be the more certainly obtained, it is necessary that the Cadenze in question should be prefaced by a clear and categorical account of certain circum- stances connected with the timbre and compass of Mdlle. Lind's voice, and some of the more important characteristics of her method of voice-production ; including some points which, before the publication of the work above alluded to, were known only to a few of her intimate friends. Mdlle. Lind's artistic career began at a very early age ; but, unhappily, she had no opportunity of studying under an experi- enced Maestro of the highest order until she had nearly completed her twenty-first year. Her voice at that period had suffered much, both from over-exertion and the want of that 6 JENNY LIND. careful management which can only be acquired by long and diligent training under a thoroughly competent teacher. She had tried to reach her high ideal by the only means she knew of means very pernicious indeed. The result was, that the voice had been cruelly injured, the mischief being, moreover, seriously aggravated by the fatigue consequent upon a long and harassing provincial tour, undertaken in her native Sweden, in the spring of the year 1841, for the purpose of acquiring the means necessary to secure for her a long and indispensable term of rest from theatrical engagements and an opportunity for diligent private study. Alarmed at the chronic hoarseness and other marked symptoms of deterioration from which the vocal organs were suffering at this period, she determined to seek a competent teacher in Paris ; where, towards the close of August, 1841, she was received as a pupil by Signer Manuel Garcia, the most talented and successful master then living. Under this unrivalled Maestro di Canto she studied diligently, from the last week in August, 1841, until the summer of 1842 ; by which time she had learned all that it was possible for any master to teach her. The result for which she had so perseveringly laboured was now attained. Her voice, no longer suffering from the effect of the cruel fatigue, and the inordinate amount of over-exertion which had so lately endangered, not merely its well-being, but its very existence, had by this time far more than recovered its pristine vigour it had acquired a rich depth of tone, a sym- pathetic timbre, a birdlike charm in the silvery clearness of its upper register, which at once impressed the listener with the feeling that he had never before heard anything in the least degree resembling it. No human organ is perfect. It is quite possible that other voices may have possessed qualities which this did not ; for, voices of exceptional beauty are nearly always characterised by an individuality of timbre or expression which forms by no means the least potent of their attractions. The natural flexibility of the Contessa de' Rossi's* voice was pheno- menal. Mdlle. Alboni's involuntary vibrato breathed a languid tenderness of passion which could never have been attained by any amount of study. But the listener never stopped * Mdlle, Sontag, afterwards Contessa de' Rossi. JENNY LIND. 7 to analyse the qualities of Mdlle. Lind's voice, the marked individuality of which set analysis at defiance. By turns full, sympathetic, tender, sad, or brilliant, it adapted itself so perfectly to the artistic conception of the song it was inter- preting, that singer, voice, and song were one. Time had been when, from sheer lack of technical knowledge, she had been unable to give expression to her high ideal ; when her method was as yet too unformed for the utterance of her grand concep- tion of the parts of Agatha and Euryanthe, of Pamina and Donna Anna, of La Vestale and Alice, and Amina, and Norma, and Lucia ; all of which she had already sung, in Stockholm, and felt deeply, and made her hearers feel, by resistless force of sympathy alone, though every one had fallen short of the perfect artistic interpretation which can only be attained when the poetry of the mental conception is supported by an amount of technical skill equal to its demands. But this time had passed away, for ever. Her voice was now so completely under command, that its obedience to every changing phase of the singer's thoughts, to every demand of the composer's genius, was absolute and instantaneous. All the technical perfection that could be attained by unlimited perseverance, under the guidance of an enlightened teacher, she had gained since her arrival in Paris ; the rest she had always possessed, for it was part of herself. She was born an artist ; and, under Garcia's guidance, had now become a virtuosa. The scales, sung " slowly up and down, with great care," and the " awfully slow shake,"* practised under his direction, had borne abundant fruit. Followed by exercises of a more advanced character, they had resulted in producing a facility of execution which serves materially to strengthen our faith in the legendary stories told of Farinelli and " II Porporino," Signore Strada, and Cuzzoni, and Faustina, the Cavaliere NicoJini, and other marvellous vocalists of the eighteenth century, whose feats of skill have been described by admiring contemporaries in such terms of rapture, that one class of modern critics has been tempted to reject the whole story as a gross exaggeration, while another school would have us believe that the art of vocalisation, as practised in that golden age, is lost beyond all * So described by Mdlle. Lind in a letter, written at the time, to a friend in Sweden. 8 JENNY LIND. possibility of recovery. There is no logical necessity for the acceptance of either of these trenchant theories. The music written for, and sung by, those giants of a bygone age, proves that the stories told of their marvellous power are in nowise exaggerated. Handel wrote passages, in Riccardo Primo, which no singer now living could execute ; and equally trying divisions, in Ariadne, Rinaldo, and other Operas, for the Cavaliere Nicolini, Carestini, Signora Strada, and Senesmo. The Operas of Porpora and Hasse abound with similar passages for Farinelli, and " II Porporino," Faustina, and their great con- temporaries of the Italian School. No one now attempts to grapple with these monstrous tours deforce ; but Mdlle. Lind proved them to be still attainable by exceptional talent, supple- mented by equally exceptional perseverance. The assumption that the art has been lost is absurd. The method may have been neglected, and temporarily forgotten. We do not deny that. But there is not or ought not to be the possibility of such a thing as a " lost art." What has been done once can be done again. And it would be difficult, in the face of the Cadenze here given to the public, to imagine any ton r de force whether involving difficulty of intonation, or rapidity of execution, prolonged sustaining - power, or contrasts obtainable by apparently unlimited exercise of the messa di voce of which Mdlle. Lind was incapable, after the completion of her course of study. One great secret perhaps the greatest of all the key to the whole mystery connected with this perfect mastery over the technical difficulties of vocalisation lay in the fortunate circumstance that Signor Garcia was so " very particular about the breathing."* For the skilful management of the breath is everything ; and she learned to fill the lungs with such dexterity that, except with her consent, it was impossible to detect either the moment at which the breath was renewed, or the method by which the action was accomplished. We say, " except with her consent," because, on the stage, there are moments when, for dramatic effect, the act of breathing has itself a rhetorical, or, in extreme cases, even a passionate significance ; when the correct delivery of the words demands that breath should be taken, without any attempt at disguise, in accordance with the grammatical punctuation of the text ; * Extract from the letter mentioned in the previous foot-note. JENNY LIND. 9 and of this means of expression she fully appreciated the value. But where pure vocalisation was concerned, and unbroken continuity became an imperious artistic necessity, the moment at which the lungs were replenished remained as profound a secret as it did in the performances of Rubini who, fortunately for him, possessed a much greater natural capacity for abundant inspiration, and had therefore a less amount of difficulty to overcome in bringing his art to the ineffable perfection he so well succeeded in attaining. The result was the same in both cases ; but, in the one, it was materially aided by a happy physical organisation, while, in the other, it was wholly the effect of art an art which, though possible to all, is so difficult to acquire that, through want, in most cases, of the necessary perseverance, not one singer out of a hundred succeeds in attaining it, even in a moderate degree. Signer Frederic Lablache once told a friend of the writer that, when singing, on one occasion, with Rubini, in the Matrimonio Segreto, he held the great Tenor's hand in his own, during a passage in the famous duet, and, at the same time, looked him full in the face, without being able to detect the act of breathing in the least degree. This wonderful power of concealment led to the belief that Rubini could sing during the act of inspiration ! Of course, it was simply the triumph of consummate art, misunderstood only by those who were ignorant of the first principles of singing. An absurd story was even invented, to the effect that he, who never forced a note, and whose vocal registers were more perfectly equalised, more delicately blended into one than those of any other tenor that ever existed, once broke his collar-bone in the attempt to deliver a mighty Si de poitrine by aid of a violent effort of clavicular breathing ! He was just as likely to have broken his neck and fallen dead on the spot. Yet, to this day, the story is cited as an instance of the dangers of a vicious method of filling the lungs: a proof that the study of breathing is still recognised as a necessary part of the singer's education, though the tale could never have obtained credence, had not the method pursued by the two great artists of whom we are speaking been hopelessly misunderstood. With the rare powers at her command, Mdlle. Lind was able, without effort, to give expression to every phase of the artistic conception which she had formed by the exercise of innate 10 JENNY LIND. genius. Her acting had grown up with her from her infancy, and formed part of her inmost being. She had, indeed, gained experience by observation of others, and, calmly passing judgment upon her own performance, had carefully thought out the matter ; and the result was that the acting and the singing had become so closely interwoven with each other, that they naturally united in the formation of one single conception. Each part as she interpreted it to herself was a consistent whole, dramatic and musical, breathing poetry and romance from beginning to end ; yet, as true to nature as she was herself, and no longer fettered by the fatal technical weakness which had so long stood between the ideal and its perfect realisation. Mdlle. Lind's voice was a brilliant and powerful Soprano, combining the volume and sonority of the true Soprano drammatico to which class of voices it unquestionably belonged with the lightness and flexibility peculiar to the more ductile and airy Soprano sfogato, with the characteristic tenuity of which it had, however, nothing in common. Its compass extended from B below the stave, to_G on the fourth line above it in technical language, from b to g ; that is to say, a clear range of two octaves and three-quarters, as shown in the subjoined diagram : [*) (a) (/)J W w fil^.^1 ;-* b* m r *l i .' : P-J--J-* ^ ~t to) (a) The veiled notes in the middle register. (b) The brilliant head voice. (c) The FJ which forms so striking a feature in Mendelssohn's Elijah. (d) The ringing upper A, used with such thrilling effect in the opening movement of Casta diva. (e) The upper C, forming, with the above-mentioned A, the initial passage in the Tanzlied aus Dalckarlien a Scandinavian air, which Mdlle. Lind sang, with great effect, both in England and Germany. (/) The F in alt, introduced by Mozart in Non paventar. (g) The six natural notes (C, D, E, F, G, A) in the youthful voice, to be presently described. JENNY LIND. II The various registers of this extended compass were so skilfully blended into one, by the effect of art, that it was impossible for the most delicate or attentive ear to detect their points of junction. In fact, after the completion of its cultivation under the guidance of Signor Garcia, the entire voice became one homogeneous whole, so even in its calibre, that the notes were avowedly sung without a thought as to the best way of " placing " them. Certain regions, however, possessed marked aesthetic qualities, very clearly distinguishable, though they could be modified, at will, in accordance with the demands of the passages into which they were introduced. For instance, three notes of the middle register (the F, G, and A, shown at (a) in the diagram) were invested, in piano passages, with a veiled tone of ravishing beauty as in the long-drawn A, in the middle register, which forms the opening note of Casta diva. These three notes were more seriously injured than any other region of the voice, by the hard work and faulty method of production that had been forced upon Mdlle. Lind before her journey to Paris. It is well known to every experienced Maestro di Canto, that more voices are injured by the attempt to sing these three important notes in the lower instead of in the middle register, than by any other error of production whatever ; and there can be no doubt that it was this error that caused so much trouble to Mdlle. Lind, who, notwithstanding the beautiful tone by which the notes in question were afterwards characterised, assured Froken Signe Hebbe* that she believed that they " never became quite right." The FjJ was so much admired by Mendelssohn, that he constantly used it in Hear ye, Israel, and other parts of Elijah. The A above it, was brought prominently forward in a syncopated passage in the slow movement of Casta diva; and the same A, with the C above it, formed the first two notes in one of Mdlle. Lind's famous Swedish Melodies. It was remarkable that these exceptionally high notes, though brilliant beyond description, when used at their full power, could be reduced to a pianissimo as perfect as that of the veiled tones of the middle register. The pianissimo, indeed, was one of * A dramatic singer at Stockholm, who lately published an account of her intercourse with Madame Goldschmidt, in a Swedish newspaper. 12 JENNY LIND. the most beautiful features of Mdlle. Land's singing. It reached to the remotest corner of the largest theatre or concert-room in which she sang ; it was as rich and full as her mezzo-forte ; yet it was so truly piano that it fell upon the ear with the charm of a whisper, only just strong enough to be audible. The reader will be interested in hearing that Her Majesty regarded this pianissimo as one of the most beautiful characteristics of Mdlle. Lind's singing, and Chopin spoke of its " charm " as " indescribable." A wholly different effect though bearing a certain sort of analogy to this was produced in the Norwegian Echo Song by a peculiar tightening of the throat, which Madame Gold- schmidt once tried to explain to the writer, though the process was so purely subjective that she said it was almost impossible to describe it in words. The effect produced so nearly resembled that of a natural echo, reverberated from the opposite wall, that it never failed to mystify an audience before which it was presented for the first time. The notes, C, D, E, F, G, A, marked (g) in our diagram, were noticed by Mdlle. Lind, at a very early period, as the best notes of her voice. And judging, from their position in the scale, that her voice was intended by Nature to resolve itself into a Soprano of exceptional "height, she practised these notes, with the semitones between them, more diligently than any others, with the full determination to extend the process until the tone of the remaining portions of the voice became as rich, as pure, and as powerful as that of the six notes which she regarded as forming the fundamental basis of the whole. How fully she succeeded in carrying out this intention we know already ; and it is scarcely too much to say, that it was to this firm resolve, and the clear foresight which prompted it, that her ultimate success is mainly to be attributed. Mdlle. Lind's voice was not by nature a flexible one. The rich sustained tones of the soprano drammatico were far more congenial to it, than the rapid execution which usually charac- terises the lighter class of soprano voices. But this she attained also, by almost superhuman labour. Her perseverance was indefatigable. Among the Cadenze with which she was accus- tomed to embellish her favourite airs was one adapted to a movement from Beatrice di Tenda, introducing a scale passage ascending chromatically to the upper E flat, and then descending JENNY LIND. 13 in the same manner.* She once, while at the zenith of her career, told Froken Signe Hebbe that she had practised such passages all her life, but that it was only quite lately that she had succeeded in satisfying herself with them ; adding, that she never allowed herself to indulge in singing exceptionally difficult passages before the public, until she had thoroughly mastered them, but preferred simplifying them to running the risk of an imperfect rendering of the notes. Another remarkable feature in Mdlle. Lind's singing was the shake, which she delivered, at will, either with un- approachable brilliancy, or in the form of a whisper, more like the warbling of a bird than the utterance of a human voice. Though it is necessary that a perfect shake should always begin with, and lay the metrical accent continuously upon, the written note, it is notorious that most shakes fail through want of attention on the part of the singer to the upper auxiliary or unwritten note. The general tendency is to let this note gradually flatten, until, in very bad cases, the distance between the two notes is diminished from a tone to little more than a semitone. So well is this fact known, that the late Mr. Cipriani Potter once told the writer how he had been taught, in his youth, to separate the notes so widely that "a cocked hat could be thrown between them." Mdlle. Lind devised a cure for this corrupt delivery of the shake. In teaching, she began by impressing the upper note upon the ear, as the most important, at this early stage of the process, both as to strength and duration ; leaning, as it were, upon it, and slurring up to it from the lower interval. She employed for this purpose, first, the leap of a fifth, then that of a fourth, and soon, until she reached the tone, or semitone, continuing the shake exercise between the two intervals, whatever their distance, for some time, before pro- ceeding from the wider intervals to a lesser one ; always adhering to the upper note as, at this stage, the most important one; and always making beginners practise it with extreme slowness. The following exemplification of this particular exercise, written by herself, a few years ago, for the guidance of a young vocalist, and illustrating the way in which she not only practised * See page II. JENNY LIND. the shake herself, but also, in later years, taught it to others, has been found among her music : (a) (b}^ (a) ^-t5~U5r~t5~ M tr-f- (a) (b) (a) At a later period of instruction, the notes marked (a) and (b) were to be omitted, and the succession of intervals blended into one continuous exercise, thus : But it was not until after considerable advance had been made, that the exercise was allowed to be sung with any degree of quickness. When, at last, after diligent practice, the perfect shake was attained, it was sung with the rhythmic accent on the real or written note, thus : tr -tv The various effects we have here attempted to describe would have been impossible, but for that skilful management of the breath of which we had occasion to speak when treating of JENNY LIND. 15 Mdlle. Lind's studies under the guidance of Signer Garcia. Her chest had not the natural capacity of Mdlle. Alboni's or Signor Rubini's ; but she renewed her breath so rapidly, so quietly, so cleverly, that the closest observer could never detect the moment at which the lungs were replenished ; and, by the outside world, her extraordinary sustaining power was attributed to abnormal capacity of the lungs. The apparent ease with which she attained this difficult end was due to an artfully- studied combination of the processes technically termed "costal " and " clavicular breathing"; in the first of which used only after the completion of a distinct phrase of the vocal melody the lower part or " base " of the lungs, freed from the last remains of the previous breath, is refilled, to its utmost capacity, without undue precipitation, yet with sufficient rapidity to answer all practical purposes ; while in the second used for the continuation of phrases too long for delivery within the limits of a single inspiration the lungs are neither completely emptied, nor completely refilled, but replenished only, by means of a gentle inhalation, confined to that portion of the organ which lies immediately beneath the claviculce, or collar-bones. The skill with which these two widely different processes were interchanged, when circumstance demanded their alternate employment, was such as can only be acquired by long and unwearied practice, untrammelled by prejudice either for or against any special method whatever ; and it is not too much to say, that it was to the sustaining power, acquired by this careful management of the breath, that Mdlle. Lind owed her beautiful pianissimo, and that marvellous command of the messa di v oce which enabled her to swell out a crescendo to its utmost limit, and follow it, without a break, with a diminuendo which died away to an imperceptible point, so completely covering the end of the note that no ear could detect the moment at which it faded into silence. Within the last few years, an attempt has been made to connect the term, clavicular breathing, with a mode of filling the lungs, pernicious, to the last degree a process which, we need scarcely say, was never practised, either by Mdlle. Lind or Rubini, whose method of breathing seems to have been closely analogous to, if not absolutely identical with her own. True clavicular breathing is not only a perfectly legitimate process, but one quite indispensable to the accomplished vocalist. l6 JENNY LIND. It is necessary that we should speak very clearly on this point, since Mdlle. Lind's method of breathing has sometimes been quite misunderstood, and stories have been told of it, both in print and in open discussion, as absurd as those circulated with relation to Rubini. Only a few years ago, her method was publicly described, in terms so incorrect that they could only lead to the wildest misconception of the truth. And no less complete was Mdlle. Lind's command over the difficulties of articulation than over those of vocalisation pure and simple. Her delivery of the difficult we had almost said, impossible passage in the grand scena from Der Freischiitz Tauscht das Licht des Monds mich nicht !* though so clear and distinct that not a syllable lost its full meaning, was never- theless so soft and smooth that it could scarcely have been surpassed in Italian. We do not hesitate to say that she was the only great singer by whom we have heard this famous crux surmounted without a trace of harshness in the delivery of the words. On one occasion Madame Birch- Pfeiffer left her, alone, practising the word zersplittre ("to shiver to pieces"), on a high B flat, in the opening Recitative in Norma ; and, returning several hours afterwards, found her still practising the same word. And she continued to practise it, until she succeeded in pronouncing it quite perfectly on the high note, though few even of the best German vocalists attain, a better pronunciation than zerspldttre. But she never erred in the delivery of even the most difficult word in any language whatsoever. So perfect was the mastery she exercised over larynx, throat, lips, tongue, teeth, soft palate, each and all, that never a syllable was stifled at its birth, never a vowel-sound corrupted in its passage through the longest groups of mingled leap, arpeggio, or scale. It was this high quality that lent so powerful a charm to the complicated " divisions," the rapid passages of fioritura, of which Lablache, in describing them to Madame Grisi, said that " every note was a pearl." The purity of the vowel-sound, by which the pearls were strung together, secured their perfect equality of tone and timbre ; and, whether the most rapid notes were sung legato, or staccato, they either ran on velvet, or rang out sharply and clearly as the touch of a mandoline. The technique, in either case, was absolutely faultless, and its * " Does not the light of the moon deceive me ! " JENNY LIND. I"] perfection was entirely the result of hard work, indefatigable practice, unwearying study. To the end of her career, she never sang in the evening without preparing for the performance by practising for a long time, earlier in the day always a Dtezza voce, to avoid fatiguing the voice unnecessarily, but never sparing the time or trouble. And herein lay the secret of her victory over difficulties which tempt so many less courageous aspirants to despair. Undoubtedly, the " method " thus diligently cultivated was, in many points, subjective. We possess, however, a letter written by her to her friend, Fraulein von Jaeger, at Vienna, which enters into some particulars connected with our present subject of consideration, so curiously interesting, that we cannot refrain from presenting them in extenso : " Ems, June 8, 1855. "And what is my good Gusti doing? Is she working as industriously as ever at her singing ? " The chief thing that I have to say, to-day, concerns that part of Friedrich Schmitt's ' Singing School ' of which you wish for an explanation.* " I do not think you have rightly understood the point. Read the paragraph again and it will surely become clearer to you. " Naturally, he does not mean that you are to attack a note twice ; but that, before you sound the note, the larynx must be properly prepared in the position in which the forthcoming sound lies, whether high or low. The result of this is a firm attack ; and, as soon as you have sounded one note, you must spring so nimbly on all those above or below it that no rift can be detected between the sounds ; and, in this way, the completion of the phrase is accomplished without a break. For instance, the notes must so hang together that they make one whole ; and this results from binding and striking them, at one and the same time if I may so express myself though it is almost impossible * " Grosse Gesang-Schule fur Deutschland," von Friedrich Schmitt (Miinchen, 1854) ; a work of which Madame Goldschmidt thought so highly, that she permitted her testimonial to be printed in connection with it. l8 JENNY LIND. to explain this clearly in words. But I have often spoken to my Gusti about this and shown it to her. It lies in the flexibility of the larynx, and must therefore be practised. Sing your exercise, then, so that this flexibility of the throat may be quickly developed. The attack of the single notes will thus be improved ; and the string of notes will follow." Madame Goldschmidt was quite right in saying that " it is almost impossible to explain this clearly in words." No one knew better than she did that the best " Singing Schools "that ever were published are useless without the aid of a teacher ; for, until she found a teacher in Signer Garcia, she wandered daily farther and farther from the true paths, until, in the end, her voice but narrowly escaped from utter destruction. When once the truth was pointed out to her, her quick perception and unerring musical instinct enabled her to grasp it at a glance ; and, when once she began to practise upon true principles, the difficulties she had formerly experienced with regard to the method of voice-production were at an end. On one point she always insisted very strongly. She had an innate hatred of the contortions with which so many vocalists of inferior order disfigure their features when delivering the passages they wish to render most impressive. She was never satisfied with a song, unless the singer " looked pleasant." She regarded singing as a beautiful gift of Nature ; a gift for which those who possess it should feel truly thankful, and proclaim their thankfulness by the expression of their features. She had a horror of careless articulation, even in speaking. And she felt firmly persuaded that the practice of singing, on the true " method," tended to the invigoration of the body, and especially of a weak chest. She even thought that the lives of many persons with a tendency to consumption might have been prolonged, if they had learned to breathe, and sing, in the right way an opinion which is held by many medical authorities of highest reputation, and the correctness of which is undoubtedly proved by recorded facts; and she frequently expressed her con- viction that the mode of living in England, and the care taken of health, were very favourable indeed to the fuller development of the physical frame, and, therefore, to the general vigour of the vocal organs. She also had a high opinion of the standard of musical taste in England, and on one occasion, when speaking of the JENNY LIND. IQ different effect her singing produced on different audiences, she said she could distinctly feel that her listeners were not always swayed in the same manner by her power. " For instance," she said, " I always feel that music has a greater moral power over the English than over any other people, and this is why I would rather sing in Oratorio in this country than in any other." So deeply penetrated was Madame Goldschmidt with love for her Art, and faith in its ennobling influence, that, to the end of her life, she took the keenest interest in promoting its instruc tion, upon the true and well-tried principles of the pure Italian School. The following letter to the late Mr. H. C. Deacon* is one of the last she wrote upon the subject : " Wynd's Point, Colwall, Malvern, July 3151, 1885. " DEAR MR. DEACON, " It was very kind of you to let me know about the Examinations. | I am glad to hear that my sheep did not badly. If would put her mind into her work she might become a singer. " I can but do my best ; and, with my enormous experience and a life's study, I ought to be able to bring out singers. " Singing is as much moral and mental as it is mechanical. It is the combination of those qualities which alone can form the master and pupil. " I hope you and Mrs. Deacon are better, and that you will now have some rest. " Yours sincerely, " J. L. GOLDSCHMIDT." With these remarks, we present the following Cadenze, Solfeggi, and Abellimenti to our readers, together with two of Mdlle. Lind's favourite Swedish Songs. The Solfeggi (including the Study for practising the Shake, given at page 14) contain passages of great value to the aspiring vocalist. The Abellimenti exemplify some of the most formidable difficulties in the practice of florid vocalisation. The Cadenze are examples of a form of ornamentation which Madame Goldschmidt brought to a degree of perfection * Madame Goldschmidt's colleague at the Royal College of Music, where she was then directing the training of the female vocal Scholars. \ At the Royal College of Music, above-mentioned. 2O JENNY LIND. previously unknown to the generation in which she lived, and popularly supposed to have died out with the eighteenth century. Madame Goldschmidt's Cadenze were original, in the highest and best sense of the word stamped with the rare individuality of her artistic genius ; in strict keeping with the style of the music into which they were introduced ; and never so introduced without a legitimate reason.* Most of these were either written down by Mr. Goldschmidt, at her dictation, or inserted, in her own handwriting, in the copies she herself used, or in those of her pupils. Though some of the passages they contain will be thought extremely difficult, it is hoped that their careful study may be found useful, and do much towards the cultivation, in the future, of this beautiful form of ornament, the traditions of which are, it is to be feared, in danger of falling into oblivion. The purity of the musical text is vouched for, by the fact that, in every case, it is here given exactly as edited by Mr. Otto Goldschmidt, in the " Musical Appendix " to the work, entitled " JENNY LIND THE ARTIST. \ A MEMOIR OF MADAME JENNY LIND-GOLDSCHMIDT : HER EARLY ART-LIFE AND DRAMATIC CAREER." By the Rev. Canon Scott Holland and Mr. W. S. Rockstro. First published in 1891. W. S. ROCKSTRO. London, 1894. * Madame Schumann, Herr Hauser, and others, give the like testimony to Madame Goldschmidt's loyal rendering of Mozart's music. And it is evident that the three Cadenze given in the present collection were supplied by her because Mozart himself had indicated the place for their introduction. f A few examples have been added for this publication. MUSIC. TABLE OF CONTENTS. I. CADENZE. 1. Three Cadenze from Bellini's Opera Beatrice di Tenda ... 11 2. Cadenza at the Close of the Andante in Bellini's Opera / Puritani, Act II., Scene 7 ... ... ... ... iv 3. Cadenza in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, No. 15, " Perche non ho" ... ... ... ... ... ... iv 4. Cadenza contributed in 1884 to Dr. Ferdinand Miller's Collection of Autographs ... ... ... ... ... v 5. Cadenza in Pamina's Aria in Mozart's Die Zauberflote, Act II., No. 18 ... ... ... ... ... v 6. Two Cadenze in Aminta's Aria, with Violin Obbiigato, in Mozart's // Re Pastore, No. 10 ... ... ... ... ... vi 7. Close in Chopin's Mazurka in A flat, Op. 24, No. 3 (as arranged for the voice) ... ... ... ... ... ... vm 8. Cadenza in Donizetti's La Figlia del Reggimento. Finale of First Act ... ... ... ... ... ... x II. 9. Five Solfeggi ... ... ... ... ... ... x III. FULL EXTRACTS. 10. "Ah non credea" (Amina), from Bellini's Opera La Sonnambula xm 11. " Una voce poco /&," from Rossini's II Barbiere di Siviglia ... xvi IV. -SCANDINAVIAN SONGS. 12. \ Herdegossen by I. A. Berg (original version) ... ... xxi 13.' The same, as sung by Madame Goldschmidt ... ... xxn 14. Norwegian Echo Song ... ... ... ... ... xxiv II N91. Bellini's Opera BEATRICE DI TENDA N9 6 Cavatina(3 Cadenze.) Cadenze b and o were by Madame Goldsehmidt'e permission included in the late Mr. H. C. Deacon's Article on "Sing-ing-" in Grove's Diction- ary of Music. They are given here again together with Cadenza (a) in a form shewing the bars in which she introduced them at many Con- certs. Lento assai BECIT. 8 Lento. 9 Largo. 1 1 L- ^ mie fedelil Largo sostenuto. ^frrfaj - * 3 7 1 ?^ V 7 t r H i ^^__-^ iLL^U 1J nil i JjrT ^! Symphony Q I 5 ^T\ BEATRICE. =a=^ Ma la sola -nor mie 12 Ill accel. Allegro moderato. mio ros - sor! 10 /TN ^BEATRICE. Symphony Ah! la P Allegro, Coro 18 pe-nuin lor piom - bo Cadema (c) tr f^\ a tempo Stretto assai. 21 19 Ah! la pe-najnlor piom-bo Symphony Bellini's "7 PURITAN!" Act II. Scena N9 7. Andante: Elvira,"Qui In voce." Madame Goldschmidt, more particularly in later years, when singing the Andante only_ without the Allegro which follows- repeated the 17 bars at the end of this movement, substituting the second time in- stead of Bellini's bars 15 and 16 (in the voice part) the following two. Andante. las - ciate, las-ci-a- -te mi mo-rir (Chord) NP3. Donizetti's "LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR" N9 15. Cavatina (Paris.Pub- lished by Edmond Mayaud) Larghetlo \ in G. "Perche non ho" bar 33, Cadenza."** *) Introduced in Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians Vol. III. page 508, also in the Musical Union Record, 1849. N9 4. V This Cadenza was sent to Ferdinand Hiller as a contribution to the well-known collection of Autographs which he left to the town of Cologne. The inscription accompanying the? Music is as follows "Herrn Doctor Ferdinand ran Hilltr zur freundlichen Er inner ung von Jenny Lind-Goldschmidt. . London November Cadenza pp Sebn- - sucht. Mozart's "DIE ZAUBERFLOTE" Act II. NO 18. Aria. Pamina. Andante -A T~ * T \ * ==r^ Ach ich A hi lo fiihl's, es 1st ver so, piu non m'a -schwunden, e -wig Grab, den Weg in's Grab, den Weg. -van-su che lag- - narmi pe-nar, il mio pe nar, il mi - Lento. in's Grab. - o pe - nar. +) The Composer himself has placed this pause and indicated a Cadenza. VI N96. Mozart's Opera in two Acts "7L RE PASTOR K' composed in 1775 (words by Metastasio) N 10. Aria (with Violin obtligato.) The following two Cadenze were composed in thu autumn of lH-~>4 by Madame Goldschmidt in collaboration with Herr Fr. Schubert (at the time First Concertmeister of the- Royal Orchestra at Dresden.) Madame Goldschmidt accompanied by Herr Schubert and subsequent- ly by other Distinguished Violinists, sang the Aria with the addi- tion of these Cadenze, at many Public Concerts, and also at Musical Festivals in Germany; they have not hitherto been published with authority. Andantiiw. AM I NT A. pa - ce - io tro - ve - ro Violin obbligato Voice Violin *) Mozart has here indicated a Cadenza. VII f f Violin obbligato Voic-e Violin Tranquil/o. da Ice p cresc. e accel. f largemenfe Mozart has here indicated a Cadenza VIII NP7. The following Cadenza forms the ending of \\w"RECUEIL DE MAZOURKAS de F. Chopin" set to Italian words for (Soprano) Voice with Pianoforte obbligato(by Otto Goldschmidt) and sung by Madame Goldschmidt,from the year 1855, at her Concerts in Germany, Holland, and Great Britain. The Mazourkas introduced are four, viz.- Op. 50, N9 2. in A flat, Op. 30, N91. C minor, and N? 2. B minor,and lastly Op. 24, N9 3. of which Madame Goldschmidt sang the concluding strain, expanded on Chopin's own lines, as given on the next page in its entirety. This "Recueil" has not been published. Moscheles, having heard this piece, in Xovember 1857, at the Ge- wandhaus at Leipzig, entered in his Diary the strain in bar 10, go - ing up to the high C, differently, He wrote from recollection only; but in this form it has found a place not only in his Biography (Vol. II, London 1873) but also in Grove's Dictionary of Music Vol. II, page 141, and possibly elsewhere. Chopin's melody, however, had not been altered, and Madame Goldschmidt sang it as written by the Composer. Moderate con anima. (Mazurka N 3, 11= I Jjj. p Mio po -ver cor, las - cia il do - lor -man fe-del al tu - a a - mor FIT P p J> I J> fl J ^i li-vin pia-cer d'a-mor. Ri - -cerd'amor. O speranza vien ah vien dalciel, JyJ |J'J)J fi-doa-mo-re mai non pe-ri - ra, fi-doa-mo-re r mai non pe - ri - ra, no, no, no, no, no, no,_ IX a tempo eS p re5S i Y a tuo a - mor, al dolce mai non pe - n Pianof. di mi nu - en S W X N?8. Donizetti's 'LA FIGLIA DEL REGGIMENTO" Finale of first Act. 4*.!? bar from the end . /T\. N9. FIVE SOLFEGGI. I. Allegretto (lega to.) 8 do. sol paco a paca cresc. XI rail. a tempo si si_ I pp 8 4 4 sol si's rifrJiflrjiOTl (d) " - o | * *.J I JJ* '; a fi soi -T ii. kom till mig. Translation "Come to me." XII SOLFEGGI continued. Ful - dim. - mi-ne. Son' - un fioco rail. - fe - li - ce. Bellini's "LA SONNAMBULA" Aria "Ah non credea" from tho Finale of the last Act as sung by Mademoiselle' Lind on the Stage and subse- quently at her Concerts by Madame Goldschmidt. Andante cantabile. m AM IN A. espressiYa # T ' ' - yy Ah! non cre-deu mi x ' Jj J -rar - - ti Si pres - to e -stin - to, o - re, Pas - sa - sti al par d'a - Hfto - - re Cheun gior - no so - lo, cheun gior - no sol du - - ro, che un gior- no XIV so - lo ah! sol du - ro. L ;rr ( r Pas - sa-stial par d'a-mo- Cheun : gior-no, cheungior-no sol du - ro J-J ^* II pian-to.il pian-to mio re Ma rav - vi - var la - mo - - re il pian - - to ppp mi o ah no, no non piu ah non ere -de - ' F i" i n F p -a ah non ere -de- -a, Pa-sa-stial par, al par d'a - r " -mo - - re cheun gior - no sol -ro, che un gior -no sol du - ro, che un M8* . . rr7?>\ . frv -^ 7 -ro. r *i ' r The embellishments of Cadenze in this piece were sung in moderate time, not quickly. XVI \'.> 11. The following Version of Bosina's Aria "Una vore poco fa " from Rossini's Opera "IL BARBIERE DI SI VIGLIA!' is that sung by Madame Goldschmidt. The Air, having been originally written for a Contralto (in the key of E ) must be transposed to a higher key, if sang by a Soprano; and in addition to this, various passages of low range have been traditionally altered, to snit the higher voice. Madame Goldsohmidt sang the Aria in the form given below (and in the key of F) at her Concerts, and taught it to the few select pupils who came under her care. No indications of traditional changes of Tempo or marks of expres- sion- save those introduced by Madame Goldschmidt_ have been in- serted here, as they are found in every good edition of the piece. Andante. fa qui nel cor mi ri - suo - no il mio cor fe-ri-toe gia e Lin - do-ro fucheilpia- -go. - Si, Lin -do- - ro mio sa - ra, lo_ giu -do - - ro mi- - -o sa-ra, lo giu- XVII BI = ESSfc y p -ra-i, la vin - Viol. aarlanda - ce- aarlando i. II tu-tor ri-cu-se-ro, lo 1'in-gegnoaguzze- -ro, Al-la fin skc-che-te - ra, e con-ten-taio res-te ro, Si Lin - do - -ra, lo_ giu - ra-i, la vin - ce - ro, si Lin - ro mi- - o sa -ra, lo -ra-i la vin - n't. . Symphony Io _ no do - ci -le, XVIII - sa, So - no ob - be -dien-te, del - ce, a -mo - ro - - sa, Mi la-scio J> j) j) reg-ge-re, mi la-scio reg-ge-re, mi fo gui - -dar, mi fo gui - dar, Ma se mi toe- -ca-nodov'eil mio de - - bo - le, come u - na vi - - pe - - ra sa - ro, E cen-to trap- -po-le pri-ma di ce - - de-re, fa-ro gio- -car, fa- - ro gio- -car, e cen-to 1 trap -po-le pri-ma di ce - de-re, fa-ro XIX -cur fa- - ro gio - -ca-re, e cen-to_ trap-po-le pri - ma_ di ce - de-re, e cen-to le fa - - ro, fa - Io so-no do-ci-le, so-no obbediente mi lascio regge-re mi fo giu- q tempo toe - ca - no dov' il mio de - bo - le come u - na sa - ro, e cen-to trap - po - le, pri - ma di ce - de - re, fa-ro gio- XX -ca - - re, e cen-to can abandon Q I can aaanaan , trap - po - le, pri - ma di ce - de - re fa - ro gio - trap-po-le pri- - ma di ce-de-re, e cen-to trap-po - - le fa - -car, tv e cen - to trap - po - le fa - ro gio - faft -car, e cen-to trap-po-le fa- ro gio- - car, fa - ro gio - car, fa -car, fa - - ro gio - car. Symphony N'.> 12. XXI This is the Version transcribed from the (late) Courtsin^er LA. Berg's own Mss. Musicbook, now in the possession of his son, 1 -hose kind permission it is inserted here. HERDEGOSSEN. [A] o j, * Corno. m ^jer-ran i skog f^ m ^m Corno. Langt fran dig skiljd Klar for min sjal Stra-lar din bild Hor - net min kla-gantill dig nu_ /T\ Corno. for Ger-na! Ger-na for dig jag dor. J 1 /Ts f *= 4 '^'^ r XXII N913. This is the Version sung in Public by Madame Goldsohmidt both in Europe and in America, and in Private up to a late period of her life. HERDEGOSSEN. [B] THE HERDSMAN'S SONG. Composed by I. A. BERG. a Andante lento. Pi legato Fjer- ran i skog Langt fran dig Far in the woods Part - ed from ^ P=i ^ skiljd Klar for min sjal Thine i - mafe fair Stra - lar din dwells with mif' '|if- bild me _ Hor - net min kla - gan So let the horn breathe my I /7s T XXIII m rf till - dig for S - cret to thee: Ger-na, ack! ger-na for dig jag Death for my love hath no ter-ror for piu sanare dor.. me.- Hor - net min kla - - gan So let the horn breathe my till - dig for se. - rr^t tn fhn#: Ger- na, ack! gerna, ger- - na Death for my love iff 5 NORWEGIAN ECHO SONG. XXIV NQ 44. The following Norwegian Popular melody has been referred to more than once in the preceding Volume~_ and in one instance by M411 Lind herself, in a letter dated Boston November 8. 1850. (See Book IX, Ch. V.) in which she calls it the Norwegian Fjall (Fell) Song. The version given here is as nearly what she sang, as a wild original piece of National Music, subject to many variations in detail at the humour of the Singer, (who invariably accompanied it herself on the Pianoforte) can be put on paper. The unaccompanied Coda at the close, introducing an Echo, was add- ed by the Songstress, and has, it is thought, not hitherto been printed. The Norwegian words only are here inserted, but a translation of the simple sense of the words will be found at the end of the Song. Allegretto. Fed. ^.sonore r in Tempo moderato hoah, hoah, trr ho, ho! Kom ku,komkalv,komkjy-ra, Kom f P i i XXV -Jf-^f IJD- ft =f =fc =^ =fv =*= ;> j) j) ^ ^f= -P^b- r- al \ -T -le di : J^ und 1- -f- -li- a dy - -k-i i 'o ra! A sme-en kom =1 i -^ from 1 -T-^ me iwy^ =f P P -iK- 4 : w j V- ^i^ -lh parlando m ham-mer a tang, Sat-te de merkje pa stu-te-horn de ;^u^' IM CJ > B ^fi^ tj Y V m' m i r vSl-te den Skalkali bergaman! Hoah, hoah, hoah! Kom al - -QJfa , , r G^ ,- f , fflj ft j i s -+. j 1- t nj^ ^_ ^-. (J gj ff jf : S/ J- * ^ T D T u o So-lengar bak a sen nen Rkyggjenbli *a langje, XXVI nat-te kjemsnart at - te -ve, teek-je meg i fan -go. EE bJ ? f fa E? Vivo. -*-fc H?- ?=$ Krytrein u-ti kvien star eg te sao-ter-stu-li gar! suivez ^ ~. ten. p ^ ^^ ^conforza r^iBp /T\ ^ f Kritrein u-ti kvi-en star- -eg te sae - ter-stu-li gar! m t 3: P^ Allegro Tempo L Kom kjy-ra, kom kjyra mi kom kjy-ra! J I k I = 7 At this point Madame Goldschmidt turned from the Pianoforte towards the audience, facing it, and singing straight towards the length of the Room (having in view the production of the Echo) until the final notes, when she slowly turned back towards the Pianoforte, and struck the Chord of D to the same note in the voice part. (Translation.) Come hither, come hither, come hither! Hoah, hoah, hoahl Come cow, come calf and weanling brood Come all my cattle dear! And the smith come forth With hammer and tongs To put the brand on the animal For so will have it the Sheriff done. Hoah, hoah, hoah! Come all ye my poor dear! The sun is setting- behind the hills And shadows are lengthning; The night will soon close in And hold us in its lap. The pot is on the fire And to the Alp / wend my way. October,1894. Finis. University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. QL OCT06 J<97 University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 305 De Neve Drive -Parking Lot 17 Box 951388 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90095-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. Series 9482 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY A 000632816 5