As where heaven its dews shall shed And the rocks shall raise their head Of his deeds to tell! The Ode to the Passions, by William Collins, an Eng lish poet of the last century, gives a variety of illustrations in vocal expression. First is the introduction, requiring pure quality, median stress, medium pitch, moderate speed, and a degree of force higher than moderate. Let special care be given to inflections and emphases: I. When Music, heavenly maid! was young, From the supporting myrtles round, Each, for Madness ruled the hour, Would prove his own expressive power. II. Fear requires for its expression very impure quality, almost a whisper, radical stress, and intense force. The impurity of the tones, however, will not allow of much loudness, in the usual sense of that word: First FEAR, his hand its skill to try, E'en at the sound himself had made. III. Anger requires the most abrupt radical stress, with im pure quality, rapid utterance, high pitch, short pauses, and the loudest force: Next ANGER rushed; his eyes on fire, In one rude clash he struck the lyre, IV. Despair requires very low pitch, slow speed, long pauses, quality less impure than in fear: With woeful measures wan DESPAIR— A solemn, strange, and mingled air; V. In hope the pitch becomes high, the quality perfectly pure and clear, the speed rapid, the pauses short, and the voice dances along the lines. Remember the principles in reference to inflections and emphasis: 1 But thou, O HOPE! with eyes so fair, She called on ECHO still through all the song; A soft, responsive voice was heard at every close; VI. Revenge employs the abrupt vanishing stress, a somewhat impure quality, strongly marked emphases and inflections, with intense force, and rapid utterance. Pity demands soft tones with high pitch: And longer had she sung; but, with a frown, He threw his blood-stained sword in thunder down, The war-denouncing trumpet took, And blew a blast so loud and dread, Were ne'er prophetic sounds so full of woe; And ever and anon he beat The doubling drum with furious heat; And, though sometimes, each dreary pause between, Her soul-subduing voice applied, Yet still he kept his wild, unaltered mien, While each strained ball of sight seemed bursting from his head. VII. Love is expressed in soft tones, high pitch, pure quality, smooth median stress; hate, by an abrupt vanishing stress, impure quality, intense force: Thy numbers, JEALOUSY, to nought were fixed; Sad proof of thy distressful state; Of differing themes the veering song was mixed, And now it courted LovE, now raving called on HATE. VIII. The next stanza requires soft tones, smooth median stress, vowel sounds prolonged, pure quality : With eyes upraised, as one inspired, In notes by distance made more sweet, And, dashing soft from rocks around, Bubbling runnels joined the sound; Through glades and glooms the mingled measure stole : Or o'er some haunted stream with fond delay, Round a holy calm diffusing, Love of peace and lonely musing, In hollow murmurs died away. IX. Cheerfulness is characterized by an expression not unlike that used in hope, except that the speed seems a little more rapid: But, oh! how altered was its sprightlier tone, When CHEERFULNESS, a nymph of healthiest hue, Her buskins gemmed with morning dew, Blew an inspiring air, that dale and thicket rung,- Peeping from forth their alleys green; Brown EXERCISE rejoiced to hear, And SPORT leaped up, and seized his beechen spear. X. Joy requires the intensifying of the characteristics of cheerfulness. Also a lengthening of the emphatic vowels : Last came Joy's ecstatic trial: He, with viny crown advancing, First to the lively pipe his hand addressed; To some unwearied minstrel dancing: As if he would the charming air repay, XI. Repeat here the directions for the first stanza, and apply them to the eleventh and twelfth stanzas: O MUSIC! sphere-descended maid, |