Botume's "Modern Singing Methods" just released in Bel Canto Masters Series!

John Franklin Botume's groundbreaking book Modern Singing Methods: Their Use and Abuse was released today for publication on our Bel Canto Masters store on Lulu.com. Listing on Amazon.com should follow in about a month's time.

J.F. Botume was perhaps the first published vocal pedagogue to bridge the substantial gap between the “old Italian” and “modern” schools of voice training. Examining the strengths and weaknesses of the various modern “methods” of singing, Botume shows how scientifically-backed understanding and techniques can be integrated with the traditional bel canto method to prepare professional singers for today’s unique vocal challenges. In this groundbreaking work, Botume also reveals the core principles upon which the “old Italian school” method rested and how their reintroduction today could revitalize modern singing.

“Probably the best summary of the old Italian method offered by any modern teacher is contained in a little booklet by J. Frank Botume, entitled Modern Singing Methods. […] This sums up beautifully the external aspects of the old Italian method, and of modern methods as well.” (David Taylor, Psychology of Singing)

New Discussion Forum for Bel Canto Masters Study Series

The Pitch Perfect Publishing Company has recently launched a new forum including the Bel Canto Masters Study Series.

The "Bel Canto Masters Study Series" section contains materials and discussion directly pertaining to the series and the books in it.

There are also "Voice Lessons for Teens and Adults" and "Voice Lessons for Children" sections for all discussions pertaining to those subjects.

Please feel free to browse around, ask any questions, and/or give any advice you may have!

Tosi and Lamperti Texts Approved for Distribution on Amazon.com!

Update: The books are now up on Amazon! The Technics of Bel Canto; Observations on the Florid Song.

Bel Canto Masters Study Series is pleased two announce that their first two publications, Giovanni Battista Lamperti's The Technics of Bel Canto (Die Technik des Bel Canto) and Pier Francesco Tosi's Observations on the Florid Song (Opinioni de’ cantori antichi, e moderni o sieno osservazioni sopra il canto figurato) have both been approved for distribution on Amazon.com and elsewhere! It takes several weeks for the books to begin to show up on the websites, but in the mean time you can always order them at our online store at http://stores.lulu.com/belcantomasters.

Stand by for our next release coming soon, John Franklin Bottume's Modern Singing Methods, Their Use and Abuse, first published in 1885.

Tosi's "Observations on the Florid Song" released today in the Bel Canto Master's Series

Pier Francesco Tosi's Observations on the Florid Song, the first full-length vocal treatise ever published was released today for publication and is now available to order at our store on lulu.com. Stand by for distribution at Amazon.com!

As the first full-length treatise ever to be published on singing, Pier Francesco Tosi’s Opinioni revealed to the world the secret method that accounted for the unworldly vocal abilities of the famous castrati. Living in a Europe alight with the virtuosic Baroque operas of Handel, Scarlatti and Porpora, Tosi revealed that it was extensive training in the “old Italian school” of singing that cultivated the beautiful tone and expression of their voices, as well as the infamous mezza di voce, trills and runs. What’s more, Tosi revealed that the method worked equally well for any voice type, male or female, provided that its principles and techniques were adhered to with exactness and consistency.

Written by one of the most famous singers and voice teachers of the early 18th century, Tosi’s Opinioni has remained an indispensable text on the bel canto singing method, as well as Baroque stylistic techniques.

Bel Canto Masters Study Series Releases Lamperti's "The Technic of Bel Canto"

G. B. Lamperti's one and only treatise The Technic of Bel Canto was released today for publication and is now available to order at our store on lulu.com. Stand by for distribution at Amazon.com!

As the last of the great master-teachers of the “old Italian school” of singing, Giovanni Battista Lamperti taught his students virtuosic vocal techniques handed down from the great castrati of the 17th century: exquisitely rich chiaro-scuro tone, seamless flowing legato phrasing, undetectable passaggi register transitions and the delicately poised appoggio breath technique that allowed the astonishingly rapid coloratura typical of baroque music.

In the only treatise he ever wrote, Lamperti the younger shares with all students, teachers and enthusiasts of singing, the techniques and skills that made his students that greatest singers of their time: the arcane secrets of bel canto.

Bel Canto Masters Study Series Preparing for Publication of First Installment

The Bel Canto Masters Study Series is preparing to publish their first installment, Giovanni Batistta Lamperti's rare treatise The Technics of Bel Canto first published in 1905 as Die Technik des Bel Canto.

This treatise is unique in the fact that it comes very late in the pedagogical tradition of bel canto and represents a more modern view of the practice adapting to meet the demands of Wagnerian and Verdian music while still staying true to the "old Italian school."

The Technics of Bel Canto is edited and annotated by Gregory Blankenbehler, author of Singing Lessons for Little Singers. The Bel Canto Masters Study Series is a project of Pitch Perfect Publishing.