Book Review- Debra Greschner
Journal of Singing (January 2015)
Mitton, Ewan Harbrecht, Authentic Bel Canto. www.authenticbelcanto.com |
The vocal longevity of Ewan Harbrecht Mitton is impressive. The soprano began performing before she was a teenager and concertized into her sixties. Her career includes an impressive number of appearances with major orchestras and opera companies, and more than fifty years of teaching. Mitton attributes her success to vocal techniques she learned from Mario and Ruth Miller Chamlee, students of tenor Giovanni Sbriglia, who in turn was a student of Manuel Garcia. In Authentic Bel Canto, Mitton shares this vocal methodology.
The first book of the three volumes, entitled An Instructional Review, offers background and explanation of the technique. Mitton begins with an overview of the lineage of bel canto. She traces it back to 15th century masters Johannes Ockeghem and Josquin de Prez, who instructed singers in sacred music, and to Giulio Caccini and Jacopo Peri, who were members of the influential Florentine Camerata of the early Baroque. In the late Baroque, Niccolo Porpora taught Francesco Lamperti and Giovanni Ansoni; the latter was the teacher of Manuel Garcia, who in turn taught his son, Manuel Garcia II. Mitton includes Jean de Reszke, who studied with Sbriglia, and his pupil Maggie Teyte.
This first book contains an explanation of the essential elements of singing, spanning breath to interpretation. The terms chiaroscuro, portamento, and messa di voce are discussed, and there are chapters devoted to breath, onset, register identification and blending, voice classification, pronunciation and diction, agility, and ornamentation. In an appendix, Mitton summarizes her participation in William Vennard’s research at the University of Southern California; she also reproduces Ruth Miller Chamlee’s 1964 lecture to members of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS).
The second book in the set is comprised of vocalises and instructions in their use. In the introduction, Mitton offers guidance in posture and breathing, and gives specific tutelage in the performance of the exercises. Nearly half of the volume consists of notated exercises: those used by Porpora/Sbriglia for beginning voice; Marchesi’s exercises for advanced voice; vocalizes to correct specific problems; and those intended to develop coloratura. The author also proffers the exercises of Jean de Reszke that she learned from his student, Maggie Teyte, when Mitton studied with her in London.
The third book of the set is directed to students. The prefatory information contains directives about vowels, consonants, and pronunciation of the four languages (English, Italian, German, and French) commonly used by singers. Under the heading “General Information and Helps,” Mitton offers advice on subjects ranging from posture to the changing male voice. The student manual contains only the Porpora/Sbriglia and Marchesi vocalizes. All of the exercises are contained on the five CDs that are packaged with the books.
The volumes are well written and well researched. The manuals not only explain Mitton’s teaching method; they are treatises on the history of bel canto, expositions of the elements of singing, and guidebooks to the many facets of performance. The CDs are a valuable component. Although the author’s illumination of each exercise appears within the text, a single reference for the content of the tracks is sorely missed.
Throughout the volumes, Mitton exhibits a continuing fascination with the voice and singing. For instance, she attended classes in belt technique and devised a “pseudobelt” method, compatible with bel canto, for singers who were required to sing in this style. She teaches the singer to maintain “…a proper head tone and open throat but introduce a forward, even quite nasal, vowel placement.” Mitton is a faithful adherent to the bel canto technique, but it is obvious she is a life-long learner. She acknowledges insights gained from others, such as classmate Marilyn Horne and colleague Jerome Hines.
Mitton represents the amalgam of traditional pedagogue and voice scientist. In the first volume, she cites this observation made in 1912 by tenor Alessandro Bonci: “If the modern scientific discoveries would blend themselves with the old Italian Method, using the latter as a foundation, then the Art of Song would again be raised to its former high standard.” For Mitton this is more than an interesting passage. It is the philosophy upon which her singing and teaching is based. She was trained in the traditional bel canto style yet participated in William Vennard’s groundbreaking voice research using the laryngeal electromyography machine. The book references historical pedagogic writings, such as those by Tosi and Porpora, side by side with contemporary treatises by Richard Miller and Robert Sataloff. Mitton moves with ease between bel canto terminology and scientific nomenclature, from voce di testa and formants. Current pedagogues have access to more research, both historic and scientific, about the voice than ever before. Mitton is a fine example of a teacher who has studied, understood, and incorporated that research into her method of instruction. Both the content and the presentation of this set are commendable.
The first book of the three volumes, entitled An Instructional Review, offers background and explanation of the technique. Mitton begins with an overview of the lineage of bel canto. She traces it back to 15th century masters Johannes Ockeghem and Josquin de Prez, who instructed singers in sacred music, and to Giulio Caccini and Jacopo Peri, who were members of the influential Florentine Camerata of the early Baroque. In the late Baroque, Niccolo Porpora taught Francesco Lamperti and Giovanni Ansoni; the latter was the teacher of Manuel Garcia, who in turn taught his son, Manuel Garcia II. Mitton includes Jean de Reszke, who studied with Sbriglia, and his pupil Maggie Teyte.
This first book contains an explanation of the essential elements of singing, spanning breath to interpretation. The terms chiaroscuro, portamento, and messa di voce are discussed, and there are chapters devoted to breath, onset, register identification and blending, voice classification, pronunciation and diction, agility, and ornamentation. In an appendix, Mitton summarizes her participation in William Vennard’s research at the University of Southern California; she also reproduces Ruth Miller Chamlee’s 1964 lecture to members of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS).
The second book in the set is comprised of vocalises and instructions in their use. In the introduction, Mitton offers guidance in posture and breathing, and gives specific tutelage in the performance of the exercises. Nearly half of the volume consists of notated exercises: those used by Porpora/Sbriglia for beginning voice; Marchesi’s exercises for advanced voice; vocalizes to correct specific problems; and those intended to develop coloratura. The author also proffers the exercises of Jean de Reszke that she learned from his student, Maggie Teyte, when Mitton studied with her in London.
The third book of the set is directed to students. The prefatory information contains directives about vowels, consonants, and pronunciation of the four languages (English, Italian, German, and French) commonly used by singers. Under the heading “General Information and Helps,” Mitton offers advice on subjects ranging from posture to the changing male voice. The student manual contains only the Porpora/Sbriglia and Marchesi vocalizes. All of the exercises are contained on the five CDs that are packaged with the books.
The volumes are well written and well researched. The manuals not only explain Mitton’s teaching method; they are treatises on the history of bel canto, expositions of the elements of singing, and guidebooks to the many facets of performance. The CDs are a valuable component. Although the author’s illumination of each exercise appears within the text, a single reference for the content of the tracks is sorely missed.
Throughout the volumes, Mitton exhibits a continuing fascination with the voice and singing. For instance, she attended classes in belt technique and devised a “pseudobelt” method, compatible with bel canto, for singers who were required to sing in this style. She teaches the singer to maintain “…a proper head tone and open throat but introduce a forward, even quite nasal, vowel placement.” Mitton is a faithful adherent to the bel canto technique, but it is obvious she is a life-long learner. She acknowledges insights gained from others, such as classmate Marilyn Horne and colleague Jerome Hines.
Mitton represents the amalgam of traditional pedagogue and voice scientist. In the first volume, she cites this observation made in 1912 by tenor Alessandro Bonci: “If the modern scientific discoveries would blend themselves with the old Italian Method, using the latter as a foundation, then the Art of Song would again be raised to its former high standard.” For Mitton this is more than an interesting passage. It is the philosophy upon which her singing and teaching is based. She was trained in the traditional bel canto style yet participated in William Vennard’s groundbreaking voice research using the laryngeal electromyography machine. The book references historical pedagogic writings, such as those by Tosi and Porpora, side by side with contemporary treatises by Richard Miller and Robert Sataloff. Mitton moves with ease between bel canto terminology and scientific nomenclature, from voce di testa and formants. Current pedagogues have access to more research, both historic and scientific, about the voice than ever before. Mitton is a fine example of a teacher who has studied, understood, and incorporated that research into her method of instruction. Both the content and the presentation of this set are commendable.