In his rooms were to be seen imitations of the larynx—­in pasteboard—­of various sizes.  His pupils, it seems to me, could profit but little by these far from pleasing sights.  At the utmost it increased their confidence in the man who desired an intimate acquaintance with everything relating to the art which he taught.  It is to teachers particularly that the introduction of this auxiliary into the study of the vocal mechanism may have been of some value.  I have lately learned that several singing teachers use these artificial larynxes.  Can priority be claimed for Delsarte?  I can only affirm that he refers to them in a treatise signed by himself, and dated in the year 1831.

I shall not enter into the details of this contingent side of the method; the statement of the facts is enough to lead all those who are interested, to devote thought and study to the matter.  I prefer to dwell upon the things which Delsarte carried with him into the grave, having written them only on the memories of certain adepts destined to disappear soon after him.

On Respiration.

Delsarte established his theory of diaphragmatic breathing in accordance with his anatomical knowledge.  It consists in restoring the breath, without effort, from the commencing lift of the diaphragm to the production of the tone.  He opposed it to the costal breathing, which brings the lungs suddenly into action by movements of the chest and shoulders, and causes extreme fatigue.  “The chest,” he says, “should be a passive agent; the larynx and mouth, aiding the diaphragm, alone have a right to act in breathing; the action of the larynx consists of a depression, that of the mouth should produce the canalization (concavity) of the tongue and the elevation of the veil of the palate.”

To this first idea is attached what the master taught in regard to the distinction between vital breath and artificial breath.  It is certain that one may sing with the natural respiration; but it is rapidly exhausted if not augmented by additional inhalation; for it results in dryness and breathlessness, which cause suffering alike to singer and listener.  The artificial breath, on the contrary, preserves the ease and freshness of the voice.

On the Position of the Tone.

The placing of the tone was one of Delsarte’s great anxieties.  According to his theory, the attack should be produced by explosion.  He rejected that stress which induces the squeezing out of the tone after it is produced.  The way to avoid it is to prepare rapidly and in anticipation of the emission of the note.

These ideas demand oral elucidation; but it is enough to declare them, for teachers and singers to recognize their meaning.

On the Preparation of the Initial Consonant.