Music Trade Review

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January 5th, 1882.
THE MUSICAL CRITIC AND TRADE REVIEW.
153
The Yale College Glee Club is preparing a
a voice already diseased. There are certain affec-
comic opera, to be presented about the middle of
tions of the throat which, if they exist in a pupil
April for the benefit of the Yale Navy. The
under tuition, render it impossible for the master
libretto was written by D. H. Buell, of the Junior SOME EFFECTS OF BAD TEACHING ON THE to train the voice. The most common of these
Class, the author of "Medea," which was given
affections are:
VOCAL ORGANS.
last year' by the Sophomores. The music is the
1. Elongation of the uvula.
work of Prof. T. G. Shepard, organist of Trinity AN INTERESTING PAPER, BY AVHITFIELD WARD,
2. Enlargement of the tonsils.
Church. There has been one rehearsal; the music
3. Inflammation of the voice-box.
A. M., M. D., PHYSICIAN TO THE METROPOLI-
found favor with the chorus, and the work of
4. Nasal catarrh.
TAN THROAT HOSPITAL.
preparation will now go on vigorously. The Glee
When the uvula, or palate, as it is popularly
Club and other members of the college will take
called, is too long, in order to sound a note prop-
STRAIN
AND
RELAXATION
OF
VOCAL
CHORDS—CHKOXIC
the male parts; the others will be taken by local
erly, the vocal muscles—the bodies which solely
LARYNGITIS—PARALYSIS OF VOCAL CORDS —
singers of note. Miss Ingersoll, daughter of ex-
preside over the action of the vocal chords—are
INJURY
TO
MUSCLES
OF
THE
CHEST.
Gov. Ingersoll, an amateur actress of some note,
exerted a great deal more than they should be;
has been induced to assist, and Miss Phelps, Miss I j U Y methods of singing affect the vocal hence, too much effort is brought to bear on tho
Gaffney, and other New Haven young ladies will J_ organs, directly and indirectly; directly, by vocal cords, and, as a direct result, these bodies are
take leading parts. The opera is entitled "The producing
a diseased condition of the parts, stretched, and eventually strained. This fact is a
Penikese Summer School of Gastronomy." The and indirectly,
causing improper action in the self-evident one to the many singers who have had
scene is not local, but the libretto abounds in several different by
organs
that make up the human this operation poformed properly, for, whilst prior
local hits, and is of especial interest to a college musical instrument. For
upwards of ten years to the amputation of the uvula, every act of vocal-
audience. The plot is as follows: Upon the I have been brought in direct
communication ization was labored, requiring an extra effort in
Island of Penikese is a summer school of gas- with pupils from nearly every singing
teacher of the neighborhood of tho larynx, that singing
tronomy, kept by Dr. McBosh, whose hobby is any note in this and neighboring cities, and
I have which was performed subsequent to the operation
©at-meal. Miss Teacaddy is a teacher, and the thereby been enabled to make many valuable
was, comparatively speaking, effortless. I shall
Misses Milicent Melange and Annette Trent are observations regarding many of the so called not stop here to go into this subject, but will re-
young ladies of the school. A vessel touches at peculiar methods.
fer the reader to my paper on "The Action of the
the island during the summer session. Among As a result of my experimentation, I can con- Soft Palate and Uvula."*
the crew are Bigelow Bonanza, a student of Yale,
The effect of an enlarged pair of tonsils on the
state " that there are but a handful vocal
and Lee Ward, a young cadet. They fall in love scientiously
cords of singers is even more apparent than
of
masters
whose
teachings
are
not
followed
by
with the two young ladies mentioned. The Yale some one or another of the many throat difficul- that of an elongated uvula How can it be other-
student, while making love to one, finds that the ties with which the singers of the present day are wise, since in some cases these bodies almost com-
lady of his choice is in love with the cadet, while afflicted."
pletely fill up the back of the mouth, thus stand-
the latter discovers that he is in the same predica- This statement may seem exaggerated to many ing directly in the way of the outcoming tones.
ment. The island is upset, the quiet of the school non-observer; but if these individuals were com- Occupying the above position, these tumefied
is disturbed, and Dr. McBosh is at his wits' ends. a pelled,
must be forced apart, to a greater or less
day after day, month after month, and glands
At this point, Miss Teacaddy "gets in her great act," year after
degree, in order that the tone-waves may have an
year,
to
look
into
the
throats
of
singers,
the lovers are disguised, and the young ladies, de- many of them utterly ruined by bad teaching, exit from the body. It is the force expended in
ceived thereby, are won by their lovers. The plot
making a passage which strains the cords,
would have ample opportunity of changing thus
is completed by the marriage of Miss Teacaddy to they
since it requires for its performance the aid of the
their
opinions.
Generally
speaking,
with
the
ex-
the Doctor. The opera will probably be given at ceptions above noted, my estimation of the singing stronger and more powerful muscles of the neck.
Carl's Opera Hoiise. If it is as successful as teachers of our city is but poor indeed; and why? Of the
(
"Medea," a repetition in New York may follow.
HUNDREDS OF CASES
Simply because there is no standard by which the
professional master can be rated, since every per- in which I have performed the two operations
son, whether he or she is competent or not, is above alluded to, namely, the amputation of the
ABROAD.
Mr. Sullivan, the composer, has gone to Egypt suffered to attach professor to the name and start uvula and the extraction of the tonsils, I have yet
to see a single case in which other than benefit re-
for the winter for the benefit of his health, and out into a more or less successful career
will there complete the music for a new comic Begging tolerance for this slight digression, let sulted, notwithstanding all statements made to'the
opera which is to be produced simultaneously in us look, from a medical standpoint, into this sub- contrary by many teachers.
ject, and tabulate the principal affections likely to The manner in which that bane of the singer's
England and America.
be induced by improper tutelage of the voice. existence, nasal catarrh, produces a strain of the
A chimney on a private theatre in Matzleindorf Arranged in the order of their frequence we vocal chords, is somewhat similar to that of an en-
recently caught fire, and, owing to the stupidity have:
larged pair of tonsils, namely, by offering an obsta-
of the officials and the police, there came near 1. Strain of the vocal cords.
cle to the free exit of the tone-waves. Catarrh of
being a terrible loss of life.
the nose is a disease characterized by two prin-
2. Relaxation of the vocal cords.
cip'al symptoms: First, an accumulation of thick
Hentschel's opera, "Die schone Melusine," has 3. Chronic laryngitis.
and tenacious mucus in the nasal passages, and,
4. Paralysis of vocal cords.
been performed in Konigsberg.
second, a swelling of the membrane lining these
5. Injury to muscles of chest.
The Joachim Quartette recently gave a success-
tubes. Either one of these two manifestations
STRAIN OP VOCAL CORDS. •
ful concert at the Leipsic Gewandhaus.
will bring about the condition of the vocal bodies
This is the most frequent result of pernicious above alluded to, by stopping up the passages
Donizetti's "Duca d'Alba" will be given during singing. It can be developed gradually or pro-
and preventing to a greater or less degree the
the carnival season at the Teatro Apollo, Rome.
duced suddenly by some ill-timed act of vocaliza- passage of air through them. As we all know, the
tion.
When
a
bad
teacher
takes
in
hand
a
suscep-
It is proposed to perform Gounod's "Tribut de
nose is a prominent adjunct to vocalization, the
Zamora" this winter at the Teatro Reggio, Turin. tible pupil, he endeavors by every manner of potency of its canals being absolutely necessary to
means to develop the voice as rapidly as possible,
An International Exhibition of Musical Instru- hoping thereby to acquire renown among the per- singing, more especially the higher notes of the
register, as in their rendition the tone-wares go
ments will be held at Berlin in 1883.
sonal acquaintances of the singer, and thus in- entirely through the nasal organs. Now suppose
At a concert given by Sarasate, the Spanish vio- crease his revenue in the shape of new victims. the nose to be partially stopped by catarrh, or
linist was compelled to add five pieces to those He endeavors at each lesson ,to make hia pupil other causes. In order to force the tones through
set down in the programme, so that the concert sing higher and higher; his idea of progress being it, an extra effort is necessary, which, as in the
entirely gauged by the distance reached on the cases already cited, is the destroying agent on the
lasted an hour longer than was expected.
scale. Now the delicate little organs, the vocal voice.
A five-act opera, "Attala," by Fr. Schauer and A. cords, will not stand much of this kind of non-
Varadi, has been produced at the National Thea- sense; hence they rebel, and a species of conges- When the vocal cords are the seat of inflammatory-
tre, Pesth. At the last Philharmonic concert, in tion is excited which produces hoarseness on the action, every act of vocalization enhances the diffi-
the same city, Johannes Brahms played his new part of the singer. Now if, when this hoarseness culty, it being a fundamental principle of medi-
pinaforte concerto and conducted his "Akade- is produced, the teacher had a grain of common cine'"that in order that inflamed parts shall heal,
they must remain quiescent." As a swelling of the
inische Ouverture."
sense and would take the back track, not much diseased tissues is always a concomitant of inflam-
damage
would
be
inflicted
to
the
vocal
bodies;
"Tannhauser" and "Lohengrin" are, it is said, at
mation , the vocal cords are, therefore, when thus
the request of the Emperor of Russia, to be per- but I am sorry to say that the reverse is generally affected, considerably thickened, a condition
the
case,—the
pupil
is
made
to
persevere
and
the
formed in German in St. Petersburg next spring.
directly antagonistic to proper singing. In severe
cords are strained sometimes beyond the possi- cases, where the inflammation is greatly marked,
Verdi has finished his new opera, "Othello."
bility of repair. There is a golden rule, which, such hoarseness exists that it is impossible to per-
Wagner has given to Angelo Neumann the exclu- if always observed by the vocalist, would preclude form vocalatory acts, but in mild cases, especially
the possibility of injury being done to the vocal where the disease has been gradually developed
sive right of performance of "Parsifal."
cords, namely: " That all acts of vocalization which
The compositions of Carl Heyman are creating are productive of or fallowed by hoarseness, be it ever and is of a chronic nature, the hoarseness is not
marked except during exercise of the organs, or
a sensation among the pianists of Germany.
so slight, are improper, and certain to injure the vocal directly afterwards.
bands
if
persevered
in."
Anton Rubinstein will direct his new symphony
In the first instance, that is, when the hoarse-
(No. 51) at the Leipsic Gewandhau.s Concert on There is another thing which often results in ness is marked, improper singing cannot injure
January 12.
strain of the vocal chords, namely: The misunder- the parts, simply because the aftiioted person is
standing of the "voice" of the pupil,—that is to say, unable to sing; but in the mild form of laryngeal-
Mr. Maurice Strakosch has engaged Herr Si-hott, the endeavor to develop a soprano where only a
above referred to,vocalization is pro-
the renowned tenor heroico, for the weapon of 1882- mezzo-soprano exists, or the training 'of a tenor inflammation,
ductive of strain, because, the cords being thick-
83 for the sum of #37,500.
which should be treated as a baritone, etc.. etc. ened, a greater amount of forcJe is requisite to pro-
duce the vocal sounds. That many teachers suffer
The piano score of Wagner 1 * ^Parsifal" has been Just here comes in the wonderful agency of the
LARYNGOSCOPE,
their pupils to exercise their voices when their
arranged by Joseph RubinBtein, under the im-
mediate supervision of Wagner himself,
by means of which the peculiar differences in throats are thus inflamed, is a well-known fact, and
throats can be acourately mapped out and the range one that is illustrated to mo many times in the
Mme. Wilt has been singing with great suooess of a given voice be almost invarjablv ascertained- course of a week, How the teacher contrives ta
iu Norwegian cities. Her appearance at Christiania Another prime oause for the affection under
made a profound impression,
consideration is the; endeavoring of teachers to train f- Sea VOICE-TRAINING.