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quartets of the sixteenth century; he has translated them from the German�
Ye Httle youths and maidens neat, We want your voices high and sweet. Your study to the discant bring, The only part that you should sing.
The alto suits to nice young men Who can sing up and down again. This surely is the alto's way, So study at it night and day.
The tenor has the following verse:
In middle paths are all my arts. The holder of the other parts. They lean on me through all the song, Else all the music would go wrong.
Finally the bass states:
My station is a lower lot. He who to middle age hath got, And growleth like a bear so hoarse, Why let him sing the bass, of course.
Throughout the time of the Reformation this was the regular distri�bution of parts in choral singing; of the use of the folk-song at that time we have already spoken in these pages,* and we need only reiterate that there was no epoch when it had greater power or exerted more influence upon the highest religious forms of music. But even after the melody had been placed in the upper voice we still find many a folk-song in the chorals. The change of distri�bution of parts and the giving of the tune to the highest voice, which now changed its name from discant into soprano (from sopra�above) was made in 1586 by Lucas Osiander, who says, in introducing his new system:
'� I know well that hitherto composers have led the chorale in the tenor. If one does this, however, then the melody is not well recognized among the voices. Therefore I have given the melody to the discant, that It shall be easily known, and that every layman may sing along."
Hassler gave his adhesion to the new system and other compo�sers were not slow to follow.
(�) Sec article on " Music In the Church,'' m Tie International Monthly Tor August, 1901.
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