Observations on the Florid Song is the celebrated treatise of Pier Francesco Tosi, a castrato singer and teacher, first published in Italian in 1723 and long known in English translation. It is one of the foundational documents of the Italian bel canto tradition, recording the art of singing as practised in the Baroque age.
Tosi discusses the training of the voice, the use of ornament and the cadenza, recitative, and the qualities that distinguish a true artist from a mere performer. Written with strong opinions about the singers of his day, the book offers a rare window into eighteenth-century vocal practice and remains an essential source for students of historical singing and the bel canto school.