1VOICEPrintsBULLETIN OF THE NEW YORK SINGING TEACHERS ASSOCIATIONMAY-JUNE 2008

IN THISIssue:Professional Development Program..................Page 1

NYSTA Officers Ballot ......................................Page 1

President’s Message.........................................Page 2

Editor’s Letter...................................................Page 3

NYSTA Calendar 2007-08.................................Page 3

Feature Article: From the Archives and Beyond:Arthur de Guichaud, Ida Caron and the Lamperti

School by Daniel James Shigo.......Pages 4-6

Adam Song Competition Winners..................Page 7

NYSTA Calendar 2008.....................................Page 7

Studio News...............................................Back Page

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2007-2008 OREN LATHROP BROWN

ProfessionalDevelopmentProgramPresented by The New York Singing Teachers Association, Inc.in co-operation with Westminster Choir College.

COMPARATIVEPEDAGOGYFriday, June 6Introduction to Comparative Pedagogywith Marvin KeenzeContemporary Commercial Music Specialist,Melissa CrossAnatomy Review with Scott McCoyAcoustics Review with Scott McCoyMusical Theater Singing with Bruce KolbVisually Impaired students from The Lighthouse forthe Blind with Charlotte Surkin

Saturday, June 7Classical Bass Voices with Peter LudwigClassical singing with Edee BersClassical female voices with Ira SiffComparative Pedagogy Discussion with MarvinKeenze

ALL COURSES:Teachers’ College, Columbia University120th Street between Broadway and AmsterdamAvenue, NYC

NYSTA OFFICERSTriennial Election BallotCast Your Vote for:NYSTA’s Slate of Nominated Candidatesor write in your own choice:

Thanks to David Sabella-Mills’ initiative and ability to access“webinar” technology, NYSTA’s Professional Development Programhas gone global. Now it is possible for anyone, anywhere to viewthe PDP courses either in “real time” as they are being presented atTeachers College OR as an “on-demand” purchase.

For information on how to purchase any course that was given thisseason or for future courses, visit the website at www.nyst.org orcontact David directly at admin@nyst.org.

PRESIDENTDavid Sabella-Millsor write-in candidate:

VICE-PRESIDENTJosephine Mongiardoor write-in candidate:

SECRETARYRebecca Sharpeor write-in candidate:

REGISTRARLisa Hoganor write-in candidate:

TREASURERBrian Gillor write-in candidate:

Cut out and mail completed ballot to:Dora Ohrenstein, 66 West 77th Street #43, New York, NY 10024

2

Dear fellow NYSTA members,

I have had the great privilege of

serving as NYSTA’s president for the last

four years. I believe I hold the record for

longest term as president. It has been an

exciting four years for the organization.

We came slowly into the twenty-first

century and have finally embraced

technology in such a way as to broaden

our influence and mission both nation-

ally and globally.

The issue of VOICEPrints which you

are reading has been the result of a

commitment to quality in both appear-

ance and substance. The dedication

required for this has been demonstrated

by both Daniel Shigo, our outgoing

editor-in-chief (who will be focusing on

publishing a manuscript on the historic

Lamperti/Garcia School) and John

Ostendorf, our gifted and generous

designer. We wish Daniel a well-earned

respite and success in his professional

endeavors and look forward to our

continuing relationship with John.

In 2006 NYSTA celebrated its hun-

dredth anniversary in grand fashion. We

took the opportunity to acknowledge

those whose hard work helped keep the

organization going and those whose

contribution to our field has made a

significant difference. This event

reflected the broad spectrum of NYSTA’s

influence. With artists such as Aprile

Millo from the world of opera and

Victoria Clark from music theater,

pedagogues such as Shirlee Emmons,

James Stark, Jeanette LoVetri, Marvin

Keenze and Scott McCoy and perfor-

mances by our David Adams Art Song

Competition winners, NYSTA high-

lighted an ongoing commitment to its

mission of furthering the art of singing

and the education of voice teachers.

It is perhaps in this latter area where

we have moved so dramatically in the

last several years. I remember sitting

around a table in Darrell Lauer’s

apartment with Oren Brown, Shirlee

Emmons, and Janet Pranschke, among

others, discussing if what we now call

The Oren Lathrop Brown Professional

Development Program was a possibility

and what its scope should be. I remem-

ber that Janet and I filled out a National

Endowment for the Arts grant applica-

tion and in three weeks of intensive

collaboration we came up with what

became the curriculum outline for the

Five Course Core Curriculum of this

program. As innovative as we believed

this to be, we had no idea of the

technological advances that would make

these courses available worldwide.

When David Sabella-Mills entered the

scene we were still operating with paper

and pencil. We had barely moved to

computers. His fascination with and

expertise in the field of technology have

been the driving force behind our

tremendous progress in this area. He has

thrust us, some unwillingly, into the present.

The availability of our courses both live and

online, is due to his belief in and energy to

employ modern technology to its fullest.

David’s partner in this has been Scott

McCoy: Scott is not only an extraordinary

teacher, but he shares David’s respect for

what technology can and cannot do. As a

team they have produced two complete

courses, Anatomy and Physiology, and

Acoustics of the Singing Voice, which can be

taken 24/7, in your pajamas if you like and

from anywhere with a high speed internet

connection. As my presumed successor, I

have every confidence that the organization

will flourish under David’s leadership.

I would like to thank my entire Board for

their tireless work in supporting me and the

work that NYSTA does. I know that I leave it

in excellent hands.

NYSTA has finally fulfilled the intention

of its founders. While we have not officially

created a National School for Singing

Teachers, we have the possibility of educat-

ing anyone anywhere anytime.

Josephine Mongiardo

MESSAGEfrom the President

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NEW YORK SINGING TEACHERS ASSOCIATIONNYSTAPRESIDENTJosephine Mongiardo

VICE PRESIDENTNancy Adams

TREASURERPeter Ludwig

RECORDING SECRETARYKatherine Hoffman

REGISTRARMaria Argyros

BOARD OF DIRECTORSCari Cole

Barbara Eubanks

Brian P. Gill

Lisa Hogan

Marjorie Kahn

Paula Liscio

Lori McCann

Dora Ohrenstein

Janet Pranschke

David Sabella-Mills

Daniel James Shigo (Editor, VOICEPrints)

Patrick Michael Wickham

Dear Reader,

With the publication of this issue of

VOICEPrints, I will have served as Editor

for five years, creating a total of twenty-

five issues. And while it has been an

honor and privilege to serve NYSTA in

this capacity, it is now time for me to

pursue my own literary aspirations.

Being the Editor of VOICEPrints has

been a wonderful, challenging endeavor,

one which I could not have done without

the excellent rapport and superior skill of

John Ostendorf, Marvin Keenze who

suggested my name to then-President

Dora Ohrenstein, each and every member

of the Board of NYSTA, and President

Josephine Mongiardo, for whom I have

great admiration and affection—working

along- side her has been a joy.

I would also like to give special thanks

to those who let themselves be cajoled into

submitting articles, which is no small feat

considering the space limitations of our

modest journal, which, I believe, fulfills a

unique role within the singing teacher/

vocal pedagogy community—the

contributions of James Stark and James

Radomski being noteworthy examples.

While I must bid you adieu, I leave you

in the able hands of Dr. Matthew Ryan

Hoch, who, as the new Editor, brings

considerable talent and learned mien to

the publication. Please make his debut as

Editor a smooth one by contacting him

regarding an article submission. E-mail:

mhoch@shorter.edu

I look forward to VOICEPrints’

continued success.

Daniel James ShigoGarciaMethod@nyc.rr.com

MATTHEW HOCH is Assistant Professorof Voice at Shorter College in Rome,

Georgia, where he teaches a full studio of

vocal performance, musical theatre, and

music education majors. He holds a BM

from Ithaca College, an MM from the

Hartt School, and a DMA from the New

England Conservatory. An active member

of NATS, Dr. Hoch is an alumnus of the

2006 NATS Intern Program and the

recipient of the 2007 NATS Vocal Peda-

gogy Award. This past summer, he earned

three levels of certification from Jeannette

LoVetri’s Somatic Voicework Training

Institute at Shenandoah University. He is

looking forward to his membership in

NYSTA and participating in the Oren

Lathrop Brown Professional Development

Program over the next year.

Daniel James Shigo

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FROM THE ARCHIVES AND BEYOND:Arthur de Guichard, Ida Caron & the Lamperti SchoolBy Daniel James Shigo

Sometimes the most amazing thingshappen...

Some weeks ago, Katherine Hoffman,NYSTA’s able archivist and secretary,received a letter from one Carey Shea ofLongmont Colorado, whose grand-mother Ida Caron (née Poisson), adramatic soprano, was a student of oneof our founding members: Arthur deGuichard. Would NYSTA be interestedin Caron’s study notebooks andphotographs, as well as photographsand information about Guichard? Ofcourse, the answer was a resoundingyes! Considering that it is rare indeed tocome across material of this type, andthe NYSTA archive, which is housed atthe Research Division at Lincoln Center,is sorely lacking in details regarding itsearliest history- especially as photo-graphs of our founder’s are concerned—Carey Shea’s “out of the blue” inquiryand subsequent gift helps in fleshing outthe early history and personagesinvolved in the founding of NYSTA.

Arthur de Guichard, along withHerman Klein, was one of the guidingforces in the early history of ourorganization, which was founded in1906. Guichard served as Secretary andKlein as Chairman of the Board (see TheNew York Singing Teachers Association: aBrief History by Dora Ohrenstein andDaniel Shigo, VOICEPrints, May/Juneissue, 2006, p. 6-7). Both men studiedwith their “masters”—as eminent voiceteachers were once called—for a periodof four years: Guichard with FrancescoLamperti, and Klein with ManuelGarcia. As a result, the two foremostvocal studios of the 19th century were

represented from the very outset ofour organization.

Early records reveal that Guichard,while a voice teacher, was also amedical doctor. Like Klein, he had athorough understanding of the anatomi-cal and physiological observationsconcerning the voice. However, neitherof them taught the student to sing froma scientific perspective. Instead, theytaught the Old Italian Method, as it wascalled then, scientific terms andmethodology not being a part of theirstudio instruction. While a completeunderstanding of their approach cannotbe addressed because of spatial consid-erations, some curious details can begleaned from the notebooks ofGuichard’s pupil Ida Caron. These,along with a close reading of texts ofboth Lamperti (elder and younger) andGarcia will give the reader an idea ofhow voice instruction was approachedby the majority of voice teachers at thebeginning of the 20th century. Whiletheir ideas may seem simple to us today,we should remember that they alsoproduced some of the greatest singers.

A reading of these original texts (seeResources) reveals that breathing playeda large part in the thinking of teachersduring the 19th century. Both Lampertiand Garcia wrote on the subject, thelatter in greater detail. Both agreed thatthe breath should be taken through thenose in the first exercises, and thenotebook of Caron reflects this continu-ation of perspective by containing twosets of instructions/prescriptions onbreathing which are presented here viathe generosity of Carey Shea.

FIRST SETI. Slow Breathing (5 times)Inhale slowly through the nose tending tofill the lungs at the base. Hold four seconds.Expire slowly though the mouth. Open themouth, giving the lips (an) ellipticalposition, the tongue being flat on the floorof the mouth, the tip touching lightly thefront lower teeth. While expiring, think ofthe letter “A.”

II. Quick Breathing (5 times)Inhale, position of the tongue and the lipsetc. Expire through the mouth as numberone quickly with Ah.

III. Inhale in raising both arms slowly.Slowly expire in lowering the same. Tentimes. Morning & Night.

SECOND SETI. Inhale while raising both arms slowlythrough (the) nostrils—very slowly,silently, without effort or interruption. Holdit 4 second(s), dropping hands. Open mouthwide and shoot out breath forcibly.

II. Inhale as before. Hold 4 seconds,bringing fingers in front of slightly partedlips. Warm fingers with the very smallestamount of breath.10 minutes night and morning.

Caron was a student of Guichard inBoston. Guichard probably relocated toBoston in the years following his tenureas Secretary of NYSTA (then calledNATS) in New York. Of course, thereader will ponder whether Caron’snotated instruction on breathing is thevery same that was imparted toGuichard by Lamperti.

Caron’s notebook of exercises givesthe observant student other clues as tothe teaching methods of the time. Onepage is noted “slow tones daily,” andhas the student start on F above middleC, singing whole tones up the octave on

Manuel Garcia Francesco Lamperti

Arthur de Guichard Ida Poisson Caron Herman Klein Martin Roeder

5

the word “swan,” reiterating theinstruction to keep the tongue flat andto “send voice forward on the lips.” Atthe upper note D, the word “lawn” isused with the instruction to drop thechin and keep the upper lip loose, allthe way up to high A.

Of course, the use of these twowords, “swan” and “lawn” would nothave been used by Lamperti himself(he thought American English to be aguttural language), but one mayrecognize that their use is set within theconfines of Italian tonal ideals, thatbeing the use of “ah” as the patternvowel for all tones and what was called“forward placement” or the vauntedfior di labbra. Was this merelyGuichard’s way of making Lamperti’stonal principles accessible to Ameri-cans?

One stave done, there are whole toneexercises which descend by half stepsfrom E natural above middle C to A—all on the vowel “ah”—the last notes (B,B flat, A) are sung softly.

A subsequent page of exercisesbegins one a B natural above middle Cwith Caron singing the word “Fi”(“Fee”). Again, it is noted that the toneshould be “at the lips.”

Another page of exercises has thestudent starting on a middle G andascending to the upper leading tone,then to the octave leap, on the word“day.” There is another page of trillexercises and, interestingly, a page ofascending and descending chromaticscales entitled “Analgesic Balm.” Nowthere’s a thought: when was the lasttime you had a student practicechromatic scales—octaves at a time?How many teachers of our day attend

to the training of the voice with suchdetail?

There are scales of every descriptionand dynamic, use of vowel and articula-tion, from marcato to legato. It’s all herefor the curious mind. Caron’s notebookeven has several long passages ofGarcia’s École de Chant copied out fromthe original French. What can oneconclude from this? One answer maybe that the teaching methods betweenLamperti and Garcia (as represented byKlein and Guichard) may not have beenin opposition as some in the decadeleading up to the foundation of ourorganization suggested.

Letters written to the Musical Courier(a weekly New York newspaper) in thedecade before the founding of NYSTA,reveal that there was something of aconflict between Lamperti exponentsand those of Manuel Garcia and hissister Pauline Viardot-Garcia, the mainpoint of contention being Garcia’s Coupde Glotte, even though Garcia himselftook pains to address the matter inhis book Hints on Singing in 1894. Inaddition, there was confusion regardingthe matter of voice placement, a termwhich has now fallen into disfavor. Aswell, students of the elder Lampertiwere in opposition to the teaching of theyounger. The elder Lamperti, it shouldbe noted, died in 1892. His son,Giovanni Battista Lamperti (1839-1910),taught in Dresden after breaking withhis father. (See VOICETalk for additionalinformation.)

One elder Lamperti pupil in NewYork, a Mme. Doria Devine (The MusicalCourier, September 1, 1897, p. 26), wrotethe following: “I learned from Lampertia different kind of voice placement fromthat which I see taught and writtenabout among us. What our voicecultivators most talk of can be placedunder two heads; First, some system ofbreathing; second, some means toreinforce tone. Thus on the one handthey speak of abdominal, diaphrag-matic, costal &c, breathing, and on theother hand of placing the voice forwardand upward, of focusing or directing thetone to the hard palate, the teeth, thebridge of the nose and the Lord knowswhere not! The essential features ofwhat Lamperti and his distinguishedpredecessors taught are so seldommentioned, at least without distortion,

and so neglected that there is some truthto speaking of a ‘lost art’ of the oldItalian School.

The one great object and foundationof their work was the placing of thevoice ‘upon the breath.’ With no breathescaping, and with breath emissionretarded and evenly maintained by amoderate tension of the diaphragm andabdominal muscles, the voice appears tothe singer poised above the breath,leaning against it, as it were, instead ofpushed out by it, and is sustained withperfect ease and comfort. This is voiceplacement upon the breath, the voiceplacement of the old Italian school, the‘placing’ on which all voice cultureshould be based.”

Another elder Lamperti pupil,Martin Roeder (1851-1895), whopublished his own method of instruc-tion based on that of Lamperti (Funda-mental Vocal Exercises: known as the ItalianMethod of Singing, Oliver Ditson Co,1892) addressed the infighting amongLamperti exponents (The MusicalCourier, Oct. 4, 1893).

“I have found but a very few offormer students of the great master whotruly knew how to impart their masters’golden rules without disfiguring themto the widest extend and mixing themwith what they called ‘their own artisticexperience,’ which of course did not andcould not amount to very much.Lamperti very seldom and mostreluctantly could be induced to givecertificates to his pupils who werepreparing for the teacher’s course unlesshe was fully convinced of their excep-tional cleverness in this special branch,and feeling almost certain that theywould follow faithfully in the steps ofthe Bernacchi School, which forms thebasis of the Lamperti method.”

Roeder goes on to assert that he wasthe only student to be given—unaskedfor—a certificate authorizing him toteach the great master’s method, which,to us now, sounds a bit self-aggrandiz-ing. Roeder also asserted that theyounger Lamperti’s teaching wasnothing like the elder’s.

To counter this statement, an “autho-rized representative” of the youngerLamperti, Radcliff Caperton (TheMusical Courier, October 25, 1893) notedthat “the difficulty between FrancescoLamperti and his son was a family affair

Arthur de Guichard’s Lamperti Pamphlet

6

of which the second marriage was thecause. That the differences betweenFrancesco Lamperti and his son wereof this character and not of a musicalnature (as the enemies of the latterwould have the public believe) is awell-known fact.”

These examples give the reader someidea of the vocal world that Guichardand Klein endeavored to unify whenour organization was founded in 1906.However, it was not to be. In his bookwritten upon his return to England in1909 (Unmusical New York, John LaneCompany, 1910, p. 117), Klein assertedthat while the broad definitions regard-ing the technical principles of singingwere agreed upon (this agreement ofprinciples was established in openmeetings and discussions), the bone ofcontention was not a matter of technicalknowledge, but the implacable opposi-tion of a minority which sought theestablishment of a school. Upon the“horns of this dilemma member aftermember of the executive board resigned,and the whole organization threatenedto tumble to pieces.”

In point of fact, the organization didnot fall into pieces and celebrated itsCentenary in 2006 with a gala honoringartists and advances made in voicescience and historical pedagogy.

If this original material taught byGuichard to Caron shows the readeranything, it is that the methods of theteaching of singing are historic andubiquitous: the concepts and ideas thatappear on this these pages are extant tothis day in studios across the city, if notthe nation and world. To some this maybe a matter of some concern, while toothers it is validation of principles thathave been handed down from teacher tostudent over many years. Whicheverway one perceives the matter, it mayvery well be that our own organizationhas brought this situation about. Andfor this, we can thank our founders,who, even though they did not achievetheir original aim of certification, at leastagreed amongst themselves as theprinciples involved: the materialpresented here simply reminds us ofwhat some of those principles were.Perhaps we need to find new ways tolisten to old words like placement,forward, on the lips and on the breath, forwe are still in the business of investiga-

tion and rediscovery. While old terminol-ogy may have fallen out of favor, theexperience of what was implied has not.We still seek the same goal, do we not?Ease and beauty of voice: Il Bel Canto. Tothat end, experimenting with Guichard’sinstructions to Caron on breathing mightbe a good place to start.

The Guichard and Caron materialpresented here will be entered into theNYSTA Archive and will be able to beviewed once it has been processed.Please contact the Research Division atThe New York Public Library at LincolnCenter for further details.

RESOURCES:A Treatise on the Art of Singing byFrancesco Lamperti, Ricordi Editions

Vocal Wisdom: Maxims of GiovanniBattista Lamperti transcribed byWilliam Earl Brown, TaplingerPublishing Company, New York,c. 1957

A Complete Treatise on the Art of Singing:Part One and Two, by Manuel Garcia II,translated by Donald V. Paschke, DaCapo Press, 1984

Hints on Singing by Manuel Garcia,Joseph Patelson Music House, NY.

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OREN LATHROP BROWN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

COMPARATIVE PedagogyDuring this course, master teachers will present teaching demonstrations after case histories ofstudents have been discussed.

Friday, June 6Introduction to Comparative Pedagogywith Marvin Keenze; Contemporary Commercial Music Specialist, Melissa CrossAnatomy Review with Scott McCoy; Acoustics Review with Scott McCoy; Musical Theater Singing with Bruce Kolb; Visually Impaired studentsfrom The Lighthouse for the Blind with Charlotte Surkin

Saturday, June 7Classical Bass Voices with Peter Ludwig; Classical singing with Edee Bers; Classical female voices with Ira Siff; Comparative PedagogyDiscussion with Marvin Keenze

ALL COURSES:Teachers’ College, Columbia University, 120th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue, NYC

NYSTACalendar 2007-08

NYSTA ‘s David Adams Art Song CompetitionWinner’s RecitalA Shared Recital on Monday, April 14th, 20088:00PM, Milbank Chapel, Teacher’s College at Columbia University, New York City.The Winners:First Place—Laura Choi StuartSecond Place—Jorell WilliamsThird Place(s)—Seung Hee Lee and Jennfer Beattie

Each of the 4 Winners presented their own Mini-Recital, after which their cash prizes were awarded to them. This wonderfulevening of song concluded with a wine and cheese reception that was provided by board member Paula Liscio. Thank you toall who helped made this competition a resounding success.

Nancy Adams

DAVID ADAMSArt Song Competition2008 WINNERS

Laura Choi Stuart Jorell Williams Jennifer Beattie Seung Hee Lee

VOICEPrintsBULLETIN OF THE NEW YORK SINGING TEACHERS ASSOCIATIONMay-June 2008

NYSTA, c/o David Sabella-Mills360 West 34th Street, Townhouse #3New York, NY 10001

www.NYST.org

NYSTA Board member, Paula Liscio,will be teaching on the faculty of theYoung Artists Program and performingin concert in the inaugural season thisJune of the Inspiration Arts Festival co-sponsored by Michigan Opera Theaterand Windsor University in Windsor,Ontario.

The Brooklyn Youth Chorus will honorPast President of NYSTA, JeannetteLoVetri, for her many years of service asSinging Voice Specialist to the organiza-tion at their Gala Event, May 7th, at 6PM. Please contact Gerald Kaplan(jerry@thevoiceworkshop.com) for furtherdetails.

Paula Liscio Jeannette LoVetri

STUDIONews

Francesco Lamperti