Scuola Del Canto Libero
Singing Lessons with Markéta Malcová
About the Canto Libero approach
The Canto Libero approach emphasizes natural singing and effortless projection of the voice. The teacher uses physical touch to prevent unnecessary muscle tension, which is often incorrectly used by singers to create volume or to add unnatural tembre to their voices. Great emphasis is put on relaxation and the psyche of the students. This creates a positive musical-therapeutic effect, as well as developing the vocal technique. This occurs after some intensive work, which varies in time length for each individual student.
History of Canto Libero
Marketa has been teaching singing for over 30 years. Her approach originated with Professor Lajos Szamosi in Hungary and was later developed by his colleague, Professor Theresia Blum in Prague.
Marketa learned the Canto Libero approach to singing from Lajos Szamosi’s assistant, Theresia Blum (*1909-2008). After the Second World War, Mrs. Blum and her husband, Dr. Laci Moshe Blum, decided to leave Budapest for Prague. Laci became a renowned synagogue cantor, while Theresia taught a vocal technique to both soloists and members of prestigious professional choirs such as the Prague Philharmonic Choir, the Czech Madrigalists, and the Prague Chamber Choir.
Lajos Szamosi’s story:
Before World War II, Lajos was a professional singer and a cantor in the Budapest Synagogue. One day he sang at a service with a severe vocal indisposition and almost lost his voice. Instead of his normal full voice, he could only use what was remaining of his voice that day. As he described it himself, ‘a lightheaded falsetto tone, a fake, the only thing that worked...’
After the ceremony, people came to him and congratulated him on his amazing singing, but he thought they were making fun of him. He went straight home and felt very embarrassed. However, when his Mother (the only person to whom he trusted) arrived home, she repeated exactly what other people had said. His exceptional singing touched her profoundly; it was extraordinary, beautiful, and went straight to the heart!
That was the beginning of Szamosi’s radical new way of teaching singing…
He seriously began to consider what he had done differently this time. He was unable to use the usual power of his voice, so he therefore abandoned all tensions, all tone-creating, and let the voice flow freely, just on its own. He began to think more deeply about the formation and creation of a tone than what he had learned at the Conservatory. How the tone is actually created; what muscles are required and what muscles are involuntarily involved, in the subconscious pursuit of the colour and strength. He approached doctors, specialising in vocal chords, and consulted with them. They showed him some of their exercises, which they used to relieve pressure in chronic vocal problems, and he began to apply those exercises to himself and his students. He could see the results immediately. The voice relaxed naturally, carrying better and further, even though it was a smaller effort. The range of singers often extended by almost an octave and after hours of exercises, he and his students did not feel fatigued...
As an excellent pianist, Theresia Blum, became Szamosi's daily assistant soon after she met him, as his vocal student. After every class, they had a lively discussion about each student. Eight years later, World War II came. Dr. Laci Blum was sent to a concentration camp, while 29-year-old Theresia, hid in the countryside under a foreign name. During the war, Laci was let home once for a few days. During that time, they got married. After the war, they decided to leave Budapest and start a new life in Prague.
About Markéta
Markéta is a graduate of the Conservatoire of Music in Prague. She continued studying under the renowned Hungarian Prof. Theresia Blum for more than a decade and has since been passing on her unique vocal approach to her students. She started teaching singing in Týnská škola (the Academy of Early Music in Prague) and then at the Teachers Training Academy in Sv. Jan pod Skalou. She has performed extensively as a soloist, and as a member of various Early Music chamber ensembles. As a member of the Prague Chamber Choir, Marketa has performed in many concerts and operas throughout Europe, including the Rossini Opera Festivals in Pesaro and Wildbad, or Wexford Festival Opera.
Markéta formed the chamber ensemble Kyčera in 2005, which performed concerts of Moravian traditional songs throughout Co. Wexford. In 2015, she co-founded the Wexford Chamber Choir which has performed a variety of Classical choral concerts in Co. Wexford over the years. Since 2013, Markéta has been the Artistic Director of the Early Music & Baroque Opera course in the Czech Republic. In 2017, she performed in a concert alongside the British chamber choir Tallis Scholars at the National Concert Hall in Dublin. In 2019, Marketa organized the first Irish concert to take part in the international Early Music Day Festival. This took place in Wexford town and showcased many of Markéta’s students, as well as international and Irish artists.
Since 2002, Markéta has resided in Co. Wexford, Ireland, where she began teaching in the Wexford School of Music. Following this, she started her own private singing school, Scuola Del Canto Libero, where she has since been teaching vocal students of all ages. She regularly showcases her students in concerts and workshops throughout the year to develop and enhance their vocal performance. Markéta now lives in Enniscorthy, Ireland.