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ORTHOMETRY. |
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Who has not witnessed the almost electrical effect of The Marseillaise, Rule Britannia, and the Wearing of the Green upon gatherings of the different nationalities !
Song-writing, that to the uninitiated may seem an easy literary effort, is, indeed, one of the most difficult forms of metrical composition to accomÂplish satisfactorily. Some of our most eminent poets have failed in it entirely, and others have wisely refrained from attempting it. Milton, Pope, and Wordsworth may be cited as proofs of this assertion.
A song should embody some common human sentiment, which should meander through its verses and bind them together like a silken cord. The metre should be carefully selected, and smoothed into regularity, with a view to its musical setting; and if it be written to an air already composed, much ingenuity and taste are required in arranging the accents to the beats, the open vowel sounds to the long notes. As it is intended for singing rather than recitation, it should be built up of words having as many open vowels and as few guttural and hissing consonants as possible. The utterance of musical sounds requires an open mouth, so that however beautiful the thought and dress of a line of poetry may be, if the sounds of its words keep the mouth closed, it is unsuitable to vocalisation. An instance of this may be taken from Shelley, whose exquisite taste in sensuous poetry is unrivalled : |
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