Research Modules

Recording emulation builds the aesthetic prism through which vocalists will undertake practical experimentation with evidence in documentary sources. This is the best means to extrapolate earlier bel canto styles. We will design and deliver various modules in online workshops, and some face-to face sessions (whenever possible) during Years 1–3. Given the vast array of bel canto repertory and sources of information in the period 1700–1900, these modules will focus particularly on varying styles of theatrical and chamber recitative; arias in operas, oratorios, and secular cantatas; and lieder/song, moving backwards sequentially from the late-19th to the early 18th centuries. Each module will be run over eight 2-hour sessions (approximately 10 modules) and will be led by individual team members who have developed particular techniques. For example, PI Toft helps singers develop and acquire knowledge through practical experiments focusing on particular techniques and interpretive skills one at a time (such as pausing, messa di voce, portamento and ornamentation). In tandem, singers gain skills in reading the texts of recitatives and arias as spoken dramatic readings. This builds foundations for them to become orators of song (they gain a better understanding of phrasing; they build awareness of where messa di voce and portamento are naturally applied in speaking, and transfer this into singing). Subsequently, taking a broader approach, singers apply these techniques in delivery of the stories in recitatives and arias, with emotionally-persuasive results. The exemplar recordings resulting from these modules will serve as further models for emulation as the vocal community extrapolate backwards in time.

Each module will encapsulate two pathways to knowledge building:

Cyclical Work

Vocalists’ practical experimentation with documentary sources “influences reconsideration of sources and theories, and in turn further practical experimentation” (S. Potter, 2014, 10). The practical knowledge gained and exchanged will inform the interpretation of a wide range of works. In this way “individual styles and techniques” can be practised in the context of other works to influence further thought and research. CIs Peres Da Costa and McMahon and PIs Brown and Toft will guide the cyclical research process (see Figure 3 below) to “allow the constant re-evaluation of each aspect in the context of the other” (S. Potter, 2014, 10). It will expand flexibility, open- mindedness, and adaptability of vocalists. It will provide a framework on which to calculate, with collective expert opinion, how singing sounded in the pre-recording era, for which the only evidence comes from written sources.

Collaborative Work

A further, vital dimension of understanding and knowledge creation will take place in each module through collaborative active experimentation (guided and monitored by CI Mitchell). In emulating recordings, vocal practitioners will have honed their listening acuity for unfamiliar vocal qualities and styles. Subsequently, they will think critically about and discuss the vocal techniques that bel canto pedagogues in the pre- recorded era prescribed to achieve qualities and styles, and will take particular note of the language in contemporary reviews and accounts to describe the resulting sounds (Mitchell, 2014). From this informed standpoint, each singer will undertake practical experiments to realise envisaged vocal qualities, working closely with the team’s experts and vocal community to reflect upon their best interpretations of sound both as singers and as listeners. This strategy, in whichsingers’ participation is active, encourages interpretative autonomy, critical reflection and in-depth discussion (Mitchell, 2018). This applied research group-work method—which enables the mapping and translating of bel canto sound descriptors to sound qualities—is a proven means to build professional community-driven results and ensure systematic, iterative peer review. CI Mitchell will track the vocal communities’ experiences through observation, recordings, interviews, group discussions and journaling, charting their knowledge creation. She will code this data using the qualitative data analysis software Nvivo to discover singer-focussed strategies, and to identify new bel canto concepts, which will be built into the taxonomy (Aim 2).This will highlight the most efficacious and effective strategies for realising new vocal qualities (Aim 3).