Abstract: In the modern performance of ancient music, one of the central tasks of singers is the desire to decorate the melody independently. Taking into account the lack of knowledge and skills of Baroque improvisation among domestic performers, the decorations used often represent, in fact, only a technical element that needs to be dealt with. In this case, the ornaments have no artistic value, they sound faded, not corresponding to the main purpose – to emphasize the affect and enhance its expressiveness.
The proposed article is aimed at solving topical problems in the field of Baroque performance related to vocal ornamentation and the transmission of the affect of the composition.
The author of the article provides historical data on the characteristics of melisms and their focus on the expression of certain affects, which determines the scientific novelty of the study. The research methodology is based on a historical approach. Methods of analysis and synthesis are also of particular importance, thanks to which, when studying disparate data, it was possible to recreate the history of ornamental art in connection with the opera traditions of the first half of the XVIII century. The author's position is that any kind of ornamentation in ancient arias should be used in the melodic line in order to emphasize and enhance the affect of the composition being performed. When performing compositions of the time in question, it is important for a singer to understand the importance of decorating a melody as one of the main means of expression and, accordingly, be guided by the choice of jewelry. The author draws conclusions about the relationship and mutual influence of ornamentation and affect in the Baroque music.
The material of the article and the conclusions will be useful to singers performing ancient music for its stylistically correct interpretation.

Abstract: The name of Vittoria Archilei has entered the history of vocal art as the first opera prima donna in a new style of singing for the turn of the XVI-XVII centuries. During her lifetime, the singer enjoyed great popularity. Outstanding composers G. Caccini, J. Peri, S. D'India, E. de’ Cavalieri, etc. they admired her skill, noting the extraordinary tenderness of the sound of her voice, combined with its bright virtuosity. Archilei performance was significantly different from other singers, her contemporaries. It is not by chance that J. Peri calls the prima donna the Euterpe of his time.
The article presents a creative portrait of Vittoria Archilei, the first brilliant interpreter of monodic music, an outstanding singer who created a new method of singing women.
The methodological basis of the work is the principle of historicism. The cultural and historical research method was used. The biographical reconstruction was made on the basis of source studies with reviews of the singer's contemporaries, letters, music-critical articles. In Russian musicology, this article is the first special publication dedicated to the creative path of Vittoria Archilei. This material will be useful for musicians, singers performing old music, for its stylistically correct interpretation, as well as in training courses on the history of vocal performance at vocal departments of music colleges and faculties of universities.

Abstract: The article is devoted to the actual problem of historically grounded performance of Baroque vocal music by academic vocalists. Listening activity, the demand for ancient music in Russia raises issues for performers that need to be resolved within the framework of historical performance practice. To fulfill all the conditions, it becomes important to receive an appropriate specialized education. In Russia, little attention is paid to the professional training of academic vocalists in the field of historical singing or baroque singing, whereas in Italy and Germany independent faculties of ancient music are intensively working, including, along with instrumentalists, the training of singers. The author reveals the features of the content and organization of the educational process in universities in Germany and Russia. The purpose of this article is to identify possible ways to form a solo academic singer of historical specialization. The methodological basis of the work consists of historical, analytical methods that reveal the topic from various angles. Using the example of a number of educational institutions that train specialists in the field of historical singing, such as the University of the Arts Bremen, the University of Music and Theatre “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” Leipzig, the Cologne University of Music and the Nuremberg University of Music, the article presents a comparative analysis of curricula, examines the studied disciplines within various modules. The conclusion is made about the prospects of using the experience of foreign countries in the training of specialists in the field of baroque singing.

Abstract: The name of N. A. Porpora has entered the history of music, first of all, as a brilliant Neapolitan composer. At the same time, he was one of the greatest vocal teachers of his time, who brought up a galaxy of famous singers. School Porpora was significantly different from the others. According to contemporaries, his students sang in a different way, and the pedagogical method was unheard of at that time. The proposed article is devoted to topical issues of the vocal school of the outstanding singing teacher of the XVIII century N. A. Porpora. The article is based on general scientific and special musicological approaches aimed at studying the phenomenon under consideration. The methodological basis is the principle of historicism. Cultural-historical and comparative methods of analysis were used. With the help of the cultural-historical method, the dynamics in the formation of singing schools in the Baroque era is traced. The comparative method makes it possible to detect and describe the features of the vocal method of the great teacher Porpora, as well as to identify its difference from other pedagogical attitudes that existed in that historical period. For the first time, an attempt was made to reconstruct the pedagogical method of the great Porpora. The analysis of his unique system of famous exercises, according to which the maestro taught his talented pupil Caffarelli for six years, who later became a singer of world importance.