Portamento

The term originated from the Italian expression portamento della voce ('carriage of the voice'), denoting from the beginning of the 17th century its use in vocal performances[1] and emulation by members of the violin family and certain wind instruments,[2] and is sometimes used interchangeably with anticipation.

This is explained simply by Nicola Vaccai in his Practical Method of Italian Singing, originally published 1832,[4] whose opinion in the matter holds some authority.

He adds, "In phrases requiring much grace and expression, it produces a very good effect: the abuse of it, however, is to be carefully avoided, as it leads to mannerism and monotony.

There was, therefore, a difference of opinion between these two very distinguished singing masters of the 19th century as to the meaning of portamento, and its relation to the legato and the musical slur.

Although portamento (in the sense of slurring) continued to be widely used in popular music, it was disapproved of for operatic singing by many critics in the 1920s and 1930s as a sign of either poor technique, or of bad taste, a mark of cheap sentimentalism or showiness.