J. S. Bach, Volume 2 Format: Book

Caruso and Tetrazzini On the Art of Singing (Dover Books On Music: Voice)

Two of opera's greatest names offer encouragement and useful advice to aspiring singers in this classic guide. Tenor Enrico Caruso and coloratura soprano Luisa Tetrazzini employ nontechnical terms to provide an informal vocalist's anatomy, with instructions for the proper training, care, and disposition of the tongue, lungs, diaphragm, mouth, and the voice itself.
Tetrazzini deals with the foundations of singing in breath control; tone emission and attack; and, sending aspiring performers to the mirror, facial expression and dress. Caruso remarks on tone production; such faults as the "white voice" and "goat voice"; the necessity of good diction; the role of diet; and the part superstition plays in certain singers' performances. These consummate artists show great charm and presence as writers, and this little book is a great pleasure to read.

Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952. While still a young man he demonstrated extraordinary abilities in a wide range of pursuits, including science, theology, and music. In 1908 he published his magisterial study of the life and works of Johann Sebastian Bach. He studied medicine from 1905 to 1913 at the University of Strasbourg, then founded a hospital in French Equatorial Africa, where he spent most of the remainder of his life. Schweitzer used his Nobel Prize stipend to expand the hospital and to build a leper colony. His bookThe Quest of the Historical Jesus is also available from Johns Hopkins.