Hiller's Treatise on Vocal Performance and Ornamentation was published in Germany in 1780 and is an important manual on vocal technique and performance in the eighteenth century. Hiller was a masterful educator and was active not only as a teacher but as a critic, composer, conductor and music director. Thus, his observations served not only to raise the standards of singing in Germany, based on the Italian model, but to present complicated material, particularly ornamentation, in a manner that his peers, the middle class, could emulate. This present edition, translated with an introduction and extensive commentary by musicologist Suzanne J. Beicken, makes Hiller's treatise available for the first time in English. With its emphasis on practical aspects of ornamentation, declamation and style it will be valuable to instrumentalists as well as singers and is a significant contribution to the understanding of performance practice in the eighteenth-century.

An English translation of an important manual on vocal technique and performance in the eighteenth-century.

About the Author
Suzanne J. Beicken is Lecturer in Historical Musicology at the University of Maryland and is also a performer, concert manager and music administrator. She is founder of the award-winning Maryland Boys Choir.

Reviews
'In Suzanne Beicken's excellent translation Hiller comes across as eminently readable, with a dry sense of humour, and palpably eager to get his ideas across to a broad readership that includes not only the professional but also the keen amateur.' The Singer
'This is fascinating and useful reading.' Early Music



Book Information
ISBN 9780521358705
Author Johann Adam Hiller
Format Paperback
Page Count 212
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 343g
Dimensions(mm) 244mm * 169mm * 12mm