A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Voice
VOICE i.e. Singing voice (Voce; Singstimme; La Voix). Sound produced by the passage of air through the glottis, or chink formed by the apposition, without contact, of the vocal cords, bands, or ligaments, the air impelled by the lungs causing them to vibrate. The precise amount of approximation of the vocal cords is only to be secured after considerable patient practice, as much mental as physical, as indeed all true practice must be; in other words, patient study. With too close a chink the tone will be harsh and thin; if too wide, it will be flaccid and woolly. With a well-arranged glottis all the other parts of the voice-organs must be so placed as to favour the utmost amount of reverberation. The respiration has a great deal to do, immediately, with this important part of voice-production, as the bones and tissue of a well-inflated chest vibrate in sympathy with the vocal cords; and the various resonance chambers, the pharynx, aoft palate, hard palate, cheeks and lips, head, even the nasal passages (closed, however, by the internal muscles, except during the formation of nasal consonants), all lending their aid and forming a series of complicated sounding-boards. Birds, and nearly all animals, with the exception perhaps of fish, have their voice-registers, not all so musical as the human voice, but subject to the same laws. When a bull bellows, the 'break,' or change from chest-voice to falsetto, is distinctly heard. In the neighing of a horse the change is usually from falsetto to chest. In the crowing of a cock the two registers are plainly perceivable, as also in the barking of dogs. With close attention even the notes in the musical scale which are touched can be recognised, whilst among birds there are some whose notes are quite distinct. Of course to produce a note the voice must remain stationary long enough for the ear to appreciate its place in the scale. [See Singing.] To find a hard and fast line where voice ceases and noise (howling or shrieking, grunting or growling) begins, is scarcely necessary. The distinction will be more or less clear according to the sensitiveness of the ear and mind. But almost every one will have a sufficiently clear idea, without technicalities, of the difference between the one and the other.
The known extent of the human singing voice—that is, of all the different classes of voice put together—is very great.
It is usual to divide the voice into six classes—three female, Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, and Contralto; and three male, Tenor, Baritone, and Bass. [See the articles under these heads.] There are, however, distinctly two classes of Mezzo-Soprano, the one tending to soprano, and singing moderately high soprano music at times, and the other decidedly tending to contralto both in quality and compass, and able to sing moderate contralto music very creditably. It would be but reasonable to call the latter Mezzo-Contralto.
There is also considerable difference between Tenore leggiero andTenore robusto, but this exists less in actual character and compass than in volume and force. There are various characters of tenor voice besides those named. [See Tenor.] The French term, Basse-taille, or low-tenor, applied to baritone is not correct, as the baritone is undoubtedly a high bass.
In the interests of the voice the apparent decline of the Italian Opera is much to be deplored. The modern instrumentalist, and unfortunately in many cases the modern composer, avows his contempt for singing. But as surely as singing—that is, the Italian School of singing—is allowed to die out, its decease will react upon instrumental music. Instrumental music gets its legato and the more subtle parts of its art of phrasing from the singer; while the singer owes his precision and more musicianly qualities to the instrumentalist. The two branches help one another, and while the vocalist acknowledges his obligation to the instrumentalist it is rank ingratitude on the part of the instrumentalist not to be equally candid. If persisted in, his ingratitude will be suicidal. The conductor of an opera or a choral class is too often unaware of the danger of an arduous rehearsal of two, three, or four hours' duration to so delicate an instrument as the human throat. By such an amount of practice the voice becomes utterly fatigued. If the muscles of the larynx are strong, the fatigue shows itself in hoarseness, or a difficulty in making the voice speak readily, the delicate white membrane which lines the vocal cords becoming slightly abraded. Then the voice must be forced to make it sound. If this membrane is capable of supporting a good deal of 'leathering,' then the muscles will first show the fatigue, and the voice will not be able to keep in tune. If both muscles and membrane are strong, the chest will feel the fatigue, even the ribs getting tired, and headache will set in. If these local signs of distress are absent, general fatigue of the whole physique will come on. Every organism has its alloted amount of energy, and no more. If the abrasion of the white membrane is frequently renewed, cicatrisation will be the consequence, and then good-bye to all sweetness. We may get loudness, much more than we want—that is, if extinction of the voice has not taken place—but no management, no control; and we shall have a tone that nobody wishes to hear a second time. This statement is not in the least degree overdrawn.
The difficult question of the mode of forming the different registers is occupying investigators, and will continue to occupy them for some time to come. For the essential differences between the speaking and singing voice, as also for details of registers and other important matters, see Singing, Alto, Mezzo-Soprano, Soprano, Counter-Tenor, Tenor, Barytone, Bass Voice, and Voce di Petto.