I will be dedicating several upcoming blogs to the wisdom of Giambattista Mancini’s book Practical Reflections on the Art of Singing, (Riflessioni Pratiche Sopra il Canto Figurato, published in 1774.
This book, along with Pierfrancesco Tosi’s Opinoni de’ cantori antichi e moderni, are the two cornerstones of our understanding of the singing of the Italian Baroque era.
Mancini was born in Ascoli in 1716, and died in Vienna in 1800. He studied with Leonardo Leo, Antonio Bernacchi, and Padre Martini. Maria Theresa of Austria (and the mother of Marie Antoinette) called him to Vienna, where he became the singing master to the Imperial Court. Evidently, such a prestigious honor was proof of his talents and skills as a teacher of voice. The publication of his book Riflessioni Pratiche show us as a modern audience the astuteness of Maria Theresa’s choice in selecting him.
Charles Burney the author of The Present State of Music in France and Italy: or The Journal of a Tour through those Countries, undertaken to collect Materials for A General History of Music (1773), met Mancini in Vienna and remarked how excited about the prospect of a book on singing written by such an illustrious teacher.
There have been several versions of this text. Here is a breakdown of the history of its publication:
| Edition | Year |
| Original Edition Italian, *prepared under Mancini’s guidance, Vienna, Austria | 1774 |
| French Version, L’Art du Chant Figuré, Translated (per Mancini) by M. Defaugiers Paris, France | 1776 |
| Third Version, Italian *prepared under Mancini’s guidance, Milan, Italy | 1777 |
| New French Edition, Réflexions Pratiques sur le Chant Figuré | 1796 |
| New Italian Edition, Metodo Per Ben Insegnare D’Apprendere L’Arte del Cantare, Ossiano Osservazioni Pratiche su Questa Nobile e Difficile Arte *includes a letter from Mancini to a “Conte N.N.” | 1807 |
| First English Translation, Practical Reflections on the Figurative Art of Singing Translated by Pietro Buzzi Boston, Massachusetts | 1912 |
| Second English Translation, Practical Reflections on the Figurative Art of Singing Translated by Edward Foreman Minneapolis, Minnesota | 1967, 1996 (reprinted) |
What comes through in Mancini’s (and Tosi’s) works are indeed practical reflections and observations on singing. Those that believe that they contain some ‘secrets’ to the lost art of Italian bel canto will be sadly disappointed. What does come through are very fascinating pedagogical views on the art of singing and the teaching of singing. I hope to show in this blog series how the pedagogical ideas of the late Italian Baroque can still communicate to our modern age a philosophy and worldview of what singing is, and demonstrate a through-line of thinking that has endured to the present day.
If nothing else, the text demonstrates the truest secret of these great singers of the Italian Baroque era: daily study with a teacher, and a dedication to mastery over a long and arduous training period that respected nature (i.e., the human body and mind) at all times.
Those that would commit to learning to sing in this way would most assuredly be guaranteed success.
Thank you so much for this article. We really need literature of “Bel Canto” masters to combat the confusion in vocal pedagogy today. It shows us the roots of classical singing and avoids fake info. Speaking about roots: The “messa di voce” was orinally an ornament that was used to express passion according to Giulio Caccini [Treatise Le nuove Musiche 1601/2]. He called it “il crescere e scemare della voce”. Indicated for use on sustained notes (Aaalto Giove, Selve Amiche, Caaasta Diva etc). After “messa di voce” the term “Filare la Voce” and plain “Filato” occur in later treatises, when the expressive element of the ornament got somewhat lost. It also became used to shape phrases, or proper declamation (subtle crescendo to and subtle decrescendo from the stressed syllable of any latin or italian word). With the denial of this mythical expressive exercise in vocal pedagogy we also partially lost the expressive element of syllable stress in aria singing (Some important vocal teachers have said messa di voce doesnt exist..!). Thanks for your website. The interface is very user-friendly.
Thank YOU for your wonderful comment! I love sharing this information for its sheer simplicity. Wish we had more messa di voce in the singing of today. We hear it a lot more in the recordings of the early 20th century, but it was always an exercise that required much patience. Thanks for taking the time to comment!