The Evolution of a Singing Teacher: The Life and Pedagogy of Carlo Bassini (c1815-1870)

The twentieth-century shift in vocal pedagogy towards a scientifically driven approach to voice research and practice was, in large part, led by American singing teachers such as Vennard and Appelman (Hoch, 2018). This development in the U.S. is partially founded upon immigration, which caused the dissemination of diverse European national styles of vocal teaching (Miller, 1977; Freed, 2000). Such physiological thinking about singing has its origins in the mid-to-late-nineteenth century, and modern researchers generally begin historical overviews of American vocal pedagogy texts with that of Frederick Root (1873) (Grogan, 2010). However, this ignores Root's voice teacher in New York: Carlo Bassini (c1815-1870). Bassini was a prolific writer and successful singing teacher, who in 1857 published the first major European-style singing voice pedagogy method book in the United States specifically for an American audience, followed by five further volumes over ten years, yet his impact on American voice teaching remains unexplored.

Studies of Bassini are rare (Lyle, 1995; Austin, 2010; Cox 2021). He began his career as an itinerant violinist and finished as one of the foremost singing teachers and writers in New York. Bassini's teaching career was driven by his circumstances, both political and personal. His extensive travels in Europe and the Americas gave him the opportunity to acquire a broad range of pedagogical theory. Bassini studied in Naples in the 1820s in the Italian style, yet his books show a commitment to mid-nineteenth-century physiologically based methodologies of voice training, bridging the historical and theoretical gap between the experience-based teaching of the late 1700s, and mid-nineteenth-century scientific
practices.

In my PhD (started September 2021) I will explore the impact of Bassini's life and travels on his teaching, and produce a comprehensive examination of the development of his pedagogical philosophy from his earliest published articles (1853) to his final book (1869), investigating his influence on American singing teaching. To understand how he approached this in his teaching practice, I will trial his advanced exercises in my own voice and design a test protocol for beginners to trial the early stages of his system, illuminating the historical early-stage training of singers and contributing to modern teaching practice for developing beginner voices.

Research Questions:
To what extent might Carlo Bassini be considered the founder of the American tradition of vocal pedagogy?
a) How can Carlo Bassini's life and six vocal pedagogy method books illuminate the earliest period of specifically American voice teaching as distinct from imported European methods?
b) What can an analysis of Bassini's articles (1853-1857) and books (1857-1869) tell us about the basis and development of his pedagogical philosophy and methodology?
c) To what extent can Bassini's teaching methods be found to apply in a modern teaching practice?

Timeline (by year):
1) Literature review, historical and biographical research (in progress). Practical auto-exploration of advanced exercises.
2) Creation of database of exercises organised thematically and structurally. Thematic analysis of books.
3) Pedagogical analysis. Set up case studies.
4) Reception study. Case-study.
5) Completion and submission.