A guide to singing a popular and well-known 17th century Italian art song Sebben Crudele.
Step 1
Vocalise before you start - a simple and fast way is to hum first through your nose the scales or arpeggios. Make sure that your are singing in the right position. Generally, your nose should vibrate. Sing from above your cheekbones and not below. Vocalising warms up your voice, meaning that you are more likely to hit higher and lower notes. It also means that you would not tire easily.
Step 2
Sing carefully. Learn the notes first by humming the tune. One you have it stuck in your head, you can proceed on to learning the words.
Step 3
Practice your Italian . If Italian is not your first language, you would probably have trouble pronouncing the words. The text and very approximate sounds of the words are shown below:
Sebben crudele
Sehb ben cru deh eh le
Mi failan guir
Mee figh lahn wee-er
Sempre fedele
Sehm preh feh deh leh
Ti voglio amar
Tee vo lee-oh ah mar
Con la lunghezza
Cohn lah loon geh-tzah
Del mio ser vir
Dell mee-yo sehr-veer
La tua fierezza
Lah too-ah fee reh-tzah
La tua fie rez za
Lah too-ah fee reh-tzah
Sapro stancar
Sah pro stan car
Step 4
Read and practice the text over and over again. Talk it through to get a feel of where you should breathe while singing.
Step 5
Put the notes and text together and sing!
Tips
- When saying Sebben, remember that there is a double b, so it is 'seb-ben', not 'se-ben'.
- Remember the dynamics. A general rule is that as the pitch increases, the dynamics increases slightly too. However, always use this rule with discretion.
- This song contains many two note phrases, where the first note should be emphasized upon, while the following note should be lightly touched upon. Hold the first note before singing the second.
- Persevere.
- Know the translation and put the emotion into the song. It is a very sad song and your tone should reflect it. An approximate translation is:
Sebben crudele (although cruel one)
Mi fai languir (you me-make languish)
Sempre fedele (always faithful)
Ti voglio amor (you I want to love)
Con la lughezza (with the depth)
Del mio servir (of my servitude)
La tua fierezza ([the] your pride)
Sapro stancar (I will wear down)
Tips
- The song is sung by a shepherd to a shepherdess who has scorned him. He is promising to be faithful to her, and to win her love.
Warnings
- Always seek professional advice when in doubt
