Among the subjects that are to claim the attention of vocalists during the year of 1901-2, the following have been selected because of their practical value to the profession. So much has been said and written on respiration, tone-placing, and technical topics that are kindred, that one rarely hears or reads anything new or of distinct value; in short, it is the threshing of old straw.
After such men as Shakespeare, Mackenzie, Guttmann, and Kofler have placed the results of their study and research in accessible form before the world, it is hardly to be supposed that the ordinary contributor of vocal material will have anything of real value to give to the profession. The difficulty lies in the fact that men not addicted to or trained thoroughly in the use of the pen fail to realize the full breadth or scope of the vocal horizon, and limit their teaching to the narrow groove of their own experience. The more and better one reads, the less he is tempted to write. To read well one must read authorities. To learn who are the authorities is not a difficult thing. After reading them he will usually find there is little necessity for his saying anything further on the subject. While we include technical topics in our list, they will appear only from the master-hand, and will therefore be of value to the earnest reader. We are already in communication with some of the best writers on the various specialties, and can assure our readers of choice additions to vocal literature in the forthcoming volume of The Etude.
A series of studies governing technical features in vocal work.
The comparative value of European and American study.
A series of articles on expression as a high form of technic.
The phrase treated in all its bearings.
A remarkable change in the ideas of vocal teachers in the last ten years.
The past, present, and future in accompaniment writing.
The value of a close acquaintance with the French repertory.
The best modern German writers as compared with Schubert, Schumann, Franz, and Brahms.
What of the bel canto? Can it be acquired without the use of its natural vehicle, the Italian language?
The value of the oratorio as an aid to the formation of a correct taste in singing.
How the oratorio and operatic forms differ from all other vocal writing in the demands upon the singer. (Orchestra.)
What is meant by strict form in vocal music and its value to the teacher as preparatory to the study of oratorio music.
The recitative: How it should be approached and rendered.
The importance of carefully grading work for the pupil in the higher forms of singing.
The climax from the stand-point of the composer,
of the accompanist, and of the singer.
