The Lost Art of Singing
In Pasticcio, Wagner launches a spirited defense of the human voice as the most noble of instruments, lamenting its degradation by modern compositional and performance practices. He criticizes the contemporary obsession with instrumental mimicry, which reduces the voice to a mere tool for florid displays devoid of expression or dramatic necessity. The Italian tradition of sostenuto singing—characterized by clear tone production and expressive nuance—is held up as a model, in contrast to the German tendency to favor theatricality or technical bravura at the expense of vocal beauty and clarity.
Training, Taste, and the Decline of Solo Singing
While chorus singing thrives in German-speaking lands, Wagner decries the scarcity of truly cultivated soloists. He calls for comprehensive training in vocal technique, diction, declamation, and expression—qualities once commonplace among singers but now increasingly rare. In his view, modern performers often lack both discipline and taste, succumbing to theatrical exaggeration or self-indulgence. Moreover, Wagner warns against the German singer’s willingness to accept any role regardless of vocal suitability, a habit that damages both voice and interpretation.
Voice and Composition: An Artistic Rift
Wagner turns his critique toward composers, accusing them of failing to understand or respect the voice's unique nature. Unlike instruments, the voice cannot be forced into unnatural phrases without sacrificing beauty and expressiveness. He insists that composers study the vocal medium as carefully as they study orchestral instruments, citing Mozart as an ideal model. By contrast, he faults J.S. Bach’s vocal writing as overly instrumental, subordinating text and feeling to contrapuntal display.
Against Sectarianism in Vocal Aesthetics
Rejecting both barren simplicity and empty virtuosity, Wagner argues for a broad, humanistic ideal of vocal ornamentation. The goal of song is the genuine communication of feeling, whether through a simple melodic line or ornate embellishments—so long as they arise from dramatic or emotional necessity. Artistic expression, he declares, should be pluralistic and free, not confined by doctrinaire schools that confuse purity with sterility.
Reuniting Poetry and Song
In its final turn, the essay expands into a cultural critique. Wagner sees modern composers estranged from the people, having lost touch with the vital "Idea" at the heart of human drama. He demands a return to poesy—the soul of opera—and a rejection of the mechanical, number-driven structures that dominate the stage. Opera, he insists, must once again be animated by passion, not formula. If composers can blend Gluck’s dramatic insight with Mozart’s melodic and orchestral genius, Wagner believes, a new art will emerge to heal the fractured unity of music and speech.