Charles Burney

The Present State of Music in France and Italy (2nd, corrected edition)

London: T. Becket and Co., 1773

Naples

admirable portamento; I never heard any
one sing with more ease, or in a manner
so totally free from affectation. The rest
of the vocal performers were all above
mediocrity; a tenor with both voice and
judgment sufficient to engage attention,
a very fine contralto; a young man with
a soprano voice, whose singing was full
of feeling and expression; and a second
woman, whose performance was far from
despicable. Such singers as these were
necessary for the music, which is in a dif-
ficult stile; more full of instrumental
effects than vocal. Sometimes it may be
thought rather laboured, but it is admir-
able in the tout ensemble; masterly in modu-
lation, and in melody full of new passages*.
This was the first rehearsal, and the in-
struments were rough and unsteady, not
being as yet certain of the exact time or
expression of the movements; but, as far
as I was then able to judge, the compo-