‘It should be noted that the [ancient] tonoi were not sung as we do [ours], that is, the bass [singer] intones re or ut or some other...

‘When I learned descant [1] from my master Bold he, seeing me so inclined and willing to learn, always had me in his company, and because...

I become nauseated when I recall some singers I have heard, whether solo or accompanied by others, improvising on a choirbook, not caring...

‘In the pinnace were three Virgins, which with their Cornets played Scottish Gigs, made three parts in one. There was also in the saide...

‘Thus I say, that these voices are born from the matter of the tube [throat]; and by tube [throat] I mean all the parts mentioned above,...

‘...you would be compelled to be an imitator of the proficient and expert singer, and [this] would entail an instrumental performance...

This kind [the motet] of all others which are made on a ditty [text], requireth most art, and moveth and causeth most strange effects in...

‘On the difference between the syllables/voices [stimmen]. From the above mentioned six syllables two are called b molles, ut and fa,...

‘All these things require aptitude, agility, and time, without which nothing can be achieved, and the singer, in using or adopting them...

Since we’ve already seen Zenobi’s comments on the requirements for a soprano (https://www.cacophonyhistoricalsinging.com/post/luigi-zenob...

‘Sometimes there sung sixeteene or twenty men together, having their master or moderator to keepe them in order ; and when they sung...

‘Moreover, such diminutions should be used in [works for] more than four voices, because diminution always causes the loss of numerous...

‘In setting these vowels, composers are advised that some, such as a, o, and u, are amenable to runs in the low registers and support the...

‘Not content even with these things, we have brought into the churches some kind of laboursome and theatrical music...

‘Another fault which is more obvious than the others is singing high notes with an unstintingly full and powerful voice...

There remains the soprano, which is truly the ornament of all other parts, just as the bass is the foundation. The soprano...