Gaspare Spontini

Metodo di Canto

Spontini's Singing Method (original title: A Compendium of Exercises for the Best Way to Learn Singing and Lessons in Portamento, Embellishment and Expression) is contained an oblong shaped manuscript with 40 leaves, kept at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Written in roughly 1798-1800, the manuscript is listed as one of Gaspare Spontini's teaching compositions in major encyclopaedias and biographies. This compendium was written for the public and not his private use, as we can deduce from the notes addressed to the singer. We cannot exclude the possibility Spontini might have wished to publish it, given that it was an established practice for music teachers to publish their singing methods. Spontini's method focuses on dealing with the problems frequently met by pupils and can be summed up as follows: > eight exercises for perfect intonation and confident skipping. > eight exercises for flexibility, > thirteen exercises for voice delivery and expression, > three exercises for embellishment and cadence.