Garcia the Centenarian and His Times: Being a Memoir of Manuel Garcia's Life and Labours for the Advancement of Music and ScienceMackinlay, M. (Malcolm) Sterling
History
Garcia the Centenarian and His Times: Being a Memoir of Manuel Garcia's Life and Labours for the Advancement of Music and Science
Accordingly, in this year he set down the result of his studies in the
classical paper which he submitted to the Académie des Sciences de
France under the title, "Mémoire sur la voix humaine," to which was
added the rather odd-sounding subtitle, "Description des produits du
phonateur humain." In it he embodied the various discoveries which he
had made relating to the larynx.
Among the principal points to which he drew attention were the
following:--
(1) The head voice does not necessarily begin where the chest voice
ends, and a certain number of notes can be produced in either
register.
(2) The chest voice and the head voice are produced by a special
and spontaneous modification of the vocal organs, and the
exhaustion of the air contained in the chest is more rapid in the
proportion of four to three in the production of a head than a
chest note.
(3) The voice can produce the same sounds in two different
timbres--the clear or open, and the sombre or closed.
The memoir on the human voice was duly reported on by Majendie, Savart,
and Dutrochet at a public meeting which was held on April 12, 1841, the
result being that this resolution was passed: "The thanks of the Academy
are due to Professor Garcia for the skilful use which he has made of his
opportunities as a teacher of singing to arrive at a satisfactory
physical theory of the human voice." The circumstance gave occasion for
a somewhat acrimonious discussion concerning certain points of priority
as between Garcia and MM. Diday and Pétrequin, two French scientists.
This was followed up by the publication of the 'Method of Teaching
Singing,' in which Garcia cleared up the confusion which had hitherto
existed between "timbre" and "register."
He defined the expression "register" as being a series of consecutive
homogeneous sounds produced by one mechanism, differing essentially from
another series of sounds equally homogeneous produced by another
mechanism, whatever modifications of "timbre" and of strength they may
offer. "Each of the registers," he added, "has its own extent and
sonority, which varies according to the sex of the individual and the
nature of the organ."
At this time he stated that there were two registers; but in later
years, with the invention of the laryngoscope and the examination of the
vocal cords which resulted from it, he altered the original division
from two to three--chest, medium, and head-voice,--and this is accepted
by all as scientifically correct according to the definition of
"register" laid down by him.
The year which found Manuel Garcia presenting his paper to the Académie
des Sciences saw his sister Pauline married to Monsieur Viardot, by whom
she had been engaged for her first season at the Paris Opera House.
Almost immediately after the wedding her husband resigned his position,
so as to accompany her on her tours through Italy, Spain, Germany,
Russia, and England.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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