A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Bouche fermée

by William H. Cummings

BOUCHE FERMÉE, A—i.e. with shut mouth—vocalisation without words, with the teeth closed and the lips nearly so; a trick occasionally adopted by composers. Examples may be found amongst the German part-songs, and also in Gounod's works. There have been singing masters who recommended the practice to their pupils, under an idea that it strengthened the breathing power without distressing the vocal organs. Beethoven never wrote anything à bouche fermée, but he alludes to the practice in a droll letter (Sept. 23, 1824) to Hauschka, conferring on him the 'Intendanz' of all 'Sing-und-Brumm-Vereine.'

[ W. H. C. ]