Giulio Caccini (ca. 1550-1618)

'Bel Canto’ is the most used and abused term where singers and styles of music are being discussed. Bel Canto had its birth when the Florentine Camerata (circa 1600) met to discuss the establishment of a school of singing. A leading member Giulio Caccini (of Amarilli fame) said, “Let’s have Bel Canto”.

The Camerata undertook to set up a school of singing. They used as their model the many gifted singers available, as the basis of their investigation into how they sang and what they instinctively felt. This work firmly established the Old Italian School which over a period of 300 years delivered some of the greatest singers the world has ever known.

The schooling was uniform at the many Schola Cantorum. Set up throughout Italy, the land of song… the five principals schools being at Naples, Rome, Florence, Bologna and Venice.

The uniformity of teaching is based on Nature’s Laws (both acoustical and physiological), and Nature’s Laws cannot be diminished by time, or manipulated by circumstances.

Bel Canto - The Essence of Vocal Art is a book dedicated to the dying art of Bel Canto (beautiful singing) voice production. Maestro Vernon Mackie, author of “Bel Canto - The Essense of Vocal Art” is one of the last true exponents of the Old Italian School of Singing known as Bel Canto.

Vernon studied privately with E.H. Caesari at his home and studio, the world renowned teacher of Bel Canto (and author of 'The Voice of the Mind'), where he met and heard so many of Caesari's devotees and admirers. During his time of study with Caesari, co-pupils were Richard Bonynge (the architect of his wife Joan Sutherland's career), Govoni Feroni (Santa Cecilia), Raisbeck, David Hughes and Hauxwell.

Among the greatest singers of the 20th Century to publically acclaim & endorse E.H. Caesari as the last & only exponent of the Old Italian School.

Bel Canto Today is listed as a technical book by
The United States Copyright Office © TX6-072-380