Audio Resouces Exploring the Influence of Francois Delsarte, and his Brother Camile Desarte, on F. Matthias Alexander and the Alexander Technique

François Delsarte (1811 - 1871) was a French teacher at the Royal College of Music who, after loosing his voice, invented a gestural training based on scientific laws, rules and principles. This formed the base of a system comprising a reeducation of breathing and voice production and an education of whole body gestures in order to express emotions and feelings on stage. François Delsarte transmitted his conscious system of Postural Re-education to his own younger brother, Camille Delsarte (1818-1877), who became Teacher of Singing and movement at the National Opera in Paris before emigrating to Hobart, Tasmania (1851). He taught for 25 years in both Tasmania and Australia: he was the most renowned teacher of ‘Gestural Training’, voice production and music of the English colonies. Like his brother, Camille taught in groups and never committed his knowledge in print.

Francois Delsarte and F. Matthias Alexander - Part 1
Jeando Masoero, an Alexander Technique teacher in Montpelier, France talks with Robert Rickover about the historical connections between the two men.Jeondo's email: profjeando@gmail.com Robert's website: AlexanderTechniqueNebraska.com More information about the Alexander Technique: AlexanderTechnique.com You can learn how to support this and other Alexander Technique websites at AlexTechExpress.com/support Listen

Francois Delsarte and F. Matthias Alexander - Part 2
Jeando Masoero, an Alexander Technique teacher in Montpelier, France talks with Robert Rickover about the strong influence Delsarte's work had on Alexander and the Alexander Technique, including what Alexander included from Delsarte, and what he left out. Jeondo's email: profjeando@gmail.com Robert's website: AlexanderTechniqueNebraska.com More information about the Alexander Technique: AlexanderTechnique.com You can learn how to support this and other Alexander Technique websites at AlexTechExpress.com/support Listen

Francois Delsarte and F. Matthias Alexander - Part 3
Jeando Masoero, an Alexander Technique teacher in Montpelier, France talks with Robert Rickover about these three questions: Was F. Matthias Alexander the first teacher of the Alexander Technique? Or the best promoter of the Delsarte Method? Or both? Jeondo's email: profjeando@gmail.com Robert's website: AlexanderTechniqueNebraska.com More information about the Alexander Technique: AlexanderTechnique.com You can learn how to support this and other Alexander Technique websites at AlexTechExpress.com/support Listen

Francois Delsarte and F. Matthias Alexander - Part 4
Jeando Masoero, an Alexander Technique teacher in Montpelier, France talks with Robert Rickover about Delsarte's voice problem, and how he solved it, and how Alexander used some of those discoveries to solve his own voice problem. Jeondo's email: profjeando@gmail.com Robert's website: AlexanderTechniqueNebraska.com More information about the Alexander Technique: AlexanderTechnique.com You can learn how to support this and other Alexander Technique websites at AlexTechExpress.com/support Listen

Francois Delsarte and F. Matthias Alexander - Part 5
Jeando Masoero, an Alexander Technique teacher in Montpelier, France talks with Robert Rickover about Delsarte's directions and how they compare with those developed by Alexander as well as Delsartes's implicit use of non-doing and Alexander's concept of inhibition. Jeondo's email: profjeando@gmail.com Robert's website: AlexanderTechniqueNebraska.com More information about the Alexander Technique: AlexanderTechnique.com You can learn how to support this and other Alexander Technique websites at AlexTechExpress.com/support Listen

Francois Delsarte and F. Matthias Alexander - Part 6
Jeando Masoero, an Alexander Technique teacher in Montpelier, France talks with Robert Rickover about Alexander's early use of the word "position" and his use of mirrors to help him solve his voice problem - and how these were both strongly influenced by Delsarte's ideas. Jeondo's email: profjeando@gmail.com Robert's website: AlexanderTechniqueNebraska.com More information about the Alexander Technique: AlexanderTechnique.com You can learn how to support this and other Alexander Technique websites at AlexTechExpress.com/support Listen

Francois Delsarte and F. Matthias Alexander - Part 7
Jeando Masoero, an Alexander Technique teacher in Montpelier, France first talks with Robert Rickover about the goldmine of information relating to Alexander's Delsarte-inspired use of the mirror that can be found in Alexander's books. They then discuss some important implications for today's students and teachers of the Alexander Technique that can be drawn from an understanding of how Alexander taught for the first few decades of his teaching career. Inclued are some implications relating to Skype teaching. Jeondo's email: profjeando@gmail.com Robert's website: AlexanderTechniqueNebraska.com More information about the Alexander Technique: AlexanderTechnique.com You can learn how to support this and other Alexander Technique websites at AlexTechExpress.com/support Listen

Francois Delsarte and F. Matthias Alexander - Part 8
Jeando Masoero, an Alexander Technique teacher in Montpelier, France first talks with Robert Rickover about Alexander's concept of "inhibition" during his first decades of teaching - which was based on Delsarte's work - and a little about how inhibition is thought of today by most Alexander teachers. Jeondo's email: profjeando@gmail.com Robert's website: AlexanderTechniqueNebraska.com More information about the Alexander Technique: AlexanderTechnique.com You can learn how to support this and other Alexander Technique websites at AlexTechExpress.com/support Listen

Francois Delsarte and F. Matthias Alexander - Part 9
Jeando Masoero, an Alexander Technique teacher in Montpelier, France talks briefly with Robert Rickover about the history of Delsarte's methods, directions and hands-on work in Alexander's first decades of teaching and the implications of that history for Skype Alexander Technique teaching today. Robert then describes how he uses Skype. Jeondo's email: profjeando@gmail.com Robert's website: AlexanderTechniqueNebraska.com More information about the Alexander Technique: AlexanderTechnique.com You can learn how to support this and other Alexander Technique websites at AlexTechExpress.com/support Listen

Francois Delsarte and F. Matthias Alexander - Part 10
Jeando Masoero, an Alexander Technique teacher in Montpelier, France talks with Robert Rickover briefly about the history of Delsarte's methods, directions and hands-on work in Alexander's first decades of teaching and the implications of that history for Skype Alexander Technique teaching today. Jeando then describes how he uses Skype. Jeondo's email: profjeando@gmail.com Robert's website: AlexanderTechniqueNebraska.com More information about the Alexander Technique: AlexanderTechnique.com You can learn how to support this and other Alexander Technique websites at AlexTechExpress.com/support Listen

Francois Delsarte and F. Matthias Alexander - Part 11
Jeando Masoero, an Alexander Technique teacher in Montpelier, France talks with Robert Rickover about the history of Delsarte's own teaching and that of those who followed him, especially F. Matthias Alexander, who was almost certainly indirectly influenced by Delsarte's younger brother, Camille who lived and taught in Tasmania for many years. Jeondo's email: profjeando@gmail.com Robert's website: AlexanderTechniqueNebraska.com More information about the Alexander Technique: AlexanderTechnique.com You can learn how to support this and other Alexander Technique websites at AlexTechExpress.com/support Listen

Francois Delsarte and F. Matthias Alexander - Part 12
Jeando Masoero, an Alexander Technique teacher in Montpelier, France talks with Robert Rickover about Delsarte's hidden and undiscoved - and somewhat spiritual - ideas. These ideas are potentially of great interest to Alexander Technique teachers today. Jeondo's email: profjeando@gmail.com Robert's website: AlexanderTechniqueNebraska.com More information about the Alexander Technique: AlexanderTechnique.com You can learn how to support this and other Alexander Technique websites at AlexTechExpress.com/support Listen

Return to Audio Resources for Alexander Technique Teachers and Students