With Passionate Voice

This book offers modern singers essential tools to master Renaissance music through a historically-informed approach, emphasizing expressive performance.

In With Passionate Voice, Robert Toft provides a comprehensive guide for modern singers looking to master the art of 're-creative singing' within the context of Renaissance music. This work offers a historically-informed perspective that is crucial for understanding how musicians of the 16th century approached the performance of music. Toft explores the compositions of notable figures such as Marchetto Cara and John Dowland, examining the late Renaissance's unique blend of rhetoric, modal theory, and performance traditions.

The author emphasizes that Renaissance singers viewed scores as blueprints rather than strict instructions. This flexibility allowed performers to infuse their personal interpretations into the music, often through ornamentation and other modifications. Toft highlights how this approach to music-making has evolved over time, with contemporary performers often adhering closely to notated scores, sometimes at the expense of expressive delivery. However, recent trends show a resurgence of interest in a more liberated interpretation of music, and With Passionate Voice equips singers with the necessary tools to embrace this practice.

Focusing on the rich musical heritage of England and Italy, Toft reconstructs stylistic elements of sung delivery based on period treatises. By remaining true to the principles articulated during the Renaissance, he revitalizes this essential art form. With Passionate Voice serves as an invaluable resource for vocalists, educators, and coaches dedicated to early music repertoire.