“Everything was done in the most florid style, viz., grace notes, cadenzas, 'shakes' (single, double, and triple), while time was...

‘What the German manner of singing was like in times past may still be perceived today from the singers in choirs...

'In such other florid ornaments which well-practiced singers use when singing solo, one has a lot of license and freedom, so that the...

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

‘A certain soprano who was very skilled and excellent at singing in falsetto (but was not a castrato) once sang arias rising to an e’’’ ...

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