Music from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century is a central part of the singer's repertoire today, but until now no book has addressed the principles which governed song performance at the time this music was written. Robert Toft describes these principles in detail and places them in a broad cultural perspective. He shows that singing in the period was closely allied with speaking, drawing on many of the same performance techniques, including emphasis, accent, tone of voice, pauses, and gestures. He also shows how modern singers can use this historical background to move and delight modern audiences.