A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Vocalise, To

by Harry Collins Deacon

VOCALISE, TO; VOCALISATION. To vocalise is, as its name implies, to sing upon a vowel, whether one note or a series of notes, in contradistinction to singing to separate syllables. Vocalisation is therefore one part of the operation of pronunciation, the other being articulation. Perfect vocalisation involves purity of whatever vowel-sound is at the moment being sung, and this purity of course requires that only those parts of the organs of speech be called into action that are absolutely necessary to bring about the position of the resonance chambers proper to its formation.

This sounds like a truism too obvious to require statement, but it must be remembered that it is quite possible to bring into play or convulse parts of the mechanism that are not necessary, without altering the vowel-sound, though the quality of the voice, the production, suffers, and will be tonguey, throaty, palatal, or veiled, according to the part thus unnecessarily brought into play. In such cases, if the resonance-pitch of the vowel-sound could be ascertained, it might be found to be precisely the same under these different conditions, while the tone of voice, pure in the one case, might be very bad in the other. No special organ or mechanism should present itself to the mind of the hearer. So far as to the production of a single note. In a succession of notes, whether slow or quick, the passage from note to note should take place without the smallest change either of vowel-sound or of tone-quality, and without the slightest escape of useless breath, and consequent cessation of vocal sound between the notes, or evidence of mechanical effort. The passage must in fact be a portamento or carrying of the voice, but so quickly executed that the notes shall be perfectly distinct and the portamento unrecognisable, except where in slow passages it is required for special expression. Passages of agility (fioritura, coloratura) executed in the manner above indicated give that gorgeous flood of musical sound which was one of the many gifts of the great soprano Jenny Lind.

[ H. C. D. ]