The Short

532 VIBRATO
by this great fault. The evil is the more dangerous from the fact that it is increased by the natural emotion which
takes possession of the performer when he appears in public. In artistic execution there is true emotion only when
the artist gives himself up to it: but when he cannot direct it it always exceeds the limit of truth. Whether he be
singer or violinist, with the artist who is governed by this desire to produce an effect, vibrato is nothing but a
convulsive movement which destroys strict intonation, and thus becomes a ridiculous exaggeration. We must, then,
employ vibrato only when the dramatic action compels it: but the artist should not become fond of having this
dangerous quality, which he must only use with the greatest moderation. 1004
Much the same picture emerges from a survey of other instrumental and vocal treatises, dictionary articles, and so on
in the nineteenth century. A number of woodwind methods, particularly those for the flute, contain sections on various
kinds of vibrato obtained by means of the fingers or the emission of the breath, and a few singing methods deal with
the matter in some detail, but many continued to regard it as of little or no importance, and in all those that did address
vibrato in any detail it was treated as an ornament to be introduced for special effect.
It is interesting to compare Bériot's comments with those of his brother-in-law, the singer Manuel Garcia. 1005 In his
influential treatise, García included discussion of the tremolo under the heading ‘Emotion of the voice’, observing:
The tremolo is employed to depict sentiments, which, in real life, are of a poignant character,—such as anguish at
seeing the imminent danger of any one dear to us; or tears extorted by certain acts of anger, revenge, &c. Under
these circumstances, even, its use should be adopted with great taste, and in moderation; for its expression or
duration, if exaggerated, becomes fatiguing and ungraceful. Except in these especial cases just mentioned, care must
be taken not in any degree to diminish the firmness of the voice; as a frequent use of the tremolo tends to make it
prematurely tremulous. An artist who has contracted this intolerable habit, becomes thereby incapable of phrasing
any kind of sustained song whatsoever. Many fine voices have been thus lost to the art. 1006
The vibrato that García considered here is surely to be equated with the ‘natural’ quivering of the human voice
described by Mozart in his often quoted letter of 1778 and the type of left-hand vibrato described by Bériot, Spohr,
Baillot, and others; and, in view of the terminology discussed by Franklin Taylor, the use of the word tremolo indicates
that an undulation of pitch was envisaged in this instance. That there were other techniques in singing which would
have been classed rather as vibrato than tremolo is evident from other passages in García's treatise, and that these also
had parallels in instrumental music is substantiated from many sources. All these types of vibrato were clearly
considered not as elements of tone production, but as expressive ornaments, the overuse of
1004 P. 242 .
1005 Bériot was briefly married to García's sister, the celebrated soprano Marie Malibran (1808–36), just before her death.
1006 New Treatise, 66.