In this they are encouraged by the
teachers, who habitually neglect the less sonorous vowels and make
their pupils sing all their exercises on the easy vowel A. No wonder,
then, that the tones of an Italian singer commonly sound sweet: he
makes them up of nothing but pure sugar. Characterization, dramatic
effect, variety of emotional coloring, are all bartered away for
sensuous beauty of tone; and hence the distinctive name for Italian
singing--_bel canto_, or beautiful song--is very aptly chosen.
Now, sensuous beauty of tone is a most desirable thing in music.
Wagner's music, _e.g._, owes much of its tonic charm to his fine
instinct for sensuous orchestral coloring, and Chopin's works lose
half their characteristic beauty if played on a poor piano, or by one
who does not know how to use the pedal in such a way as to produce a
continuous stream of rich saturated sound. Hence the Italians deserve
full credit for the attention they bestow on sensuous beauty of tone,
even if their means of securing it may not always be approved. Nor
does this by any means exhaust the catalogue of Italian virtues.
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