upper notes of the natural voice, tenor; and the lower notes of the natural voice, bass. (See Diag. 2.) The divisions of the voice, as given by Italian authors, and adopted by many musicians of other countries, are as follows: "There are three departments in the human voice, viz., the high, the middle, and the low. These departments are in the female, as well as in the male voice. Soprano, mezzo soprano, and contralto, are female voices. Tenore, baritono, and basso, are male voices."* The reader will observe that the falsetto voice is not included in the above division. To a bass, a baritone, and a contralto voice naturally good, or made so by cultivation, Dr. Rush applies the term orotund. KEYS OF THE SPEAKING VOICE. (Diag. 3). A G F E D Vociferation. Very spirited declama- (Three millions of people, [tion. The speaking voice, in good elocution, seldom rises higher than a fifth above the lowest note of its compass. Supposing the lowest note which can be made with a full intonation to be F, the above scheme will show the relative pitch of keys, adapted to the expression of different kinds of sentiments. * Introduction to the Art and Science of Music, by Phil. Trajetta We not unfrequently meet with individuals who always speak in the highest key of the natural voice, and we occasionally meet with some who even speak in the falsetto. A high pitch in speech is unpleasant to a cultivated ear; and though it may answer in the business transactions of life, it is totally inadequate to the correct expression of sentiments of respect, veneration, dignity, and sublimity. CHAPTER I. INFLECTIONS. INFLECTONS, in the science of elocution, are notes of speech-notes that, in regard to pitch, undergo a continual change during the time of their pronunciation. Writers on elocution describe six different notes of speech, namely, the rising inflection, the falling inflection, the acuto-grave circumflex inflection, the gravo-acute circumflex inflection, the acuto-gravo-acute circumflex inflection, and the gravo-acuto grave circumflex inflection. In the rising inflection, the movement of the voice is from grave to acute; in the falling inflection, from acute to grave; in the acuto-grave circumflex, from grave to acute, thence back to grave; in the gravo-acute circumflex, from acute to grave, thence back to acute; in the acuto-gravo-acute circumflex, from grave to acute, thence back to grave, and thence again to acute; in the gravoacuto-grave circumflex, from acute to grave, thence back to acute, and thence again to grave. In that part of this work which consists of Exercises in Reading and Declamation, these notes of speech are represented by the acute, grave, and circumflex accents, thus: Rising inflection ('). Acuto-grave circumflex (^). In reading and speaking, each syllable has some one of these inflections; but for practical purposes it is necessary to mark those only which are emphatic. The various movements of the voice, in song and speech, may be explained in the following manner: When the bow is drawn across an open string of the violin, or any of its species, a sound is produced of a uniform pitch from beginning to end. This sound is a pure note of music, and, so far as pitch is concerned, is identical with a note of song. When the bow is drawn across the same string, while the centre of the string is pressed down with the finger, a sound is produced similar to that of the open string, but an octave higher. The intermediate notes of the diatonic scale may be produced by pressing down the string at the proper places, and drawing the bow across it. When a string of the violin is pressed down by the finger, and, at the same time, the finger is made to slide upon it towards the bridge of the instrument during the drawing of the bow, a sound is produced which gradually increases in acuteness from beginning to end. When the finger is made to slide in the opposite direction during the drawing of the bow, a sound is produced which gradually increases in gravity during its prolongation. When the finger is made to slide towards the bridge, and thence back again, during the drawing of the bow, a simple circumflex note is produced. When the finger is made to slide towards the bridge, thence back again, and thence again towards the bridge, during the drawing of the bow, a compound circumflex note is produced. Other varieties of the slide might be given, but these are sufficient to answer the purpose of explanation. "The slide is a grace of much simplicity and beauty, evidently drawn from nature. It expresses the most tender and affectionate emotions: we hear it in those little gusts of passion which mothers use in caressing their infants; it is one of the most endearing tones in the language of nature. "The portamento, or carriage of the voice, as the Italians term it, is an easy mode of sliding from one tone to another. Hence second-rate singers find it a convenient method of encountering those notes which lie at remote and awkward distances. In some voices it is so fixed, by habit, that two bars cannot be sung without it. When so used it utterly destroys every pretence to good singing, by interposing an effect of the most sickening kind; when used with discretion, it adds much to the force of expression; and in Madame Caradori it was a grace both tender and agreeable. "The violinist Paganini, the present wonder of the world, plays an entire cantabile* upon one string, sliding through all Cantabile, a term applied to movements intended to be per the intervals with a single finger-the effect of which is so plaintive and desolate, as to move his audience to tears. Velluti, the first singing-master of the age, uses this grace with incomparable beauty; in his voice it imparts a tenderness not to be described."* The sliding notes above described are analagous to drawling notes of speech. Speech, to be natural, requires each syllable to be uttered with a certain degree of force. This force is always in proportion to the length of the syllable. A syllable is drawled when it is pronounced with inadequate force, in other words, with force less than that which constitutes the minimum degree of natural speech. The extent of the concrete intervals of the notes of speech is various under various circumstances. A rising inflection may be carried through the whole compass of the voice. But in the most energetic interrogation, the voice seldom rises higher than an octave; though sometimes it extends to a tenth, or a twelfth. The smallest concrete interval does not, perhaps, exceed a quarter tone. The concrete intervals of rising inflections are greater than those of their corresponding falling inflections. This may be illustrated by pronouncing the letter a interrogatively and affirmatively, several times, with increasing energy, making the intervals of each succeeding pair greater than those of the preceding, as shown by the following diagram : RISING AND FALLING INFLECTIONS, THROUGH VARIOUS INTERVALS OF PITCH. (Diag. 4.) a? a. a ? a. a? a. a? a. a? a. a? a. In the above diagram, each falling inflection commences in a lower degree of pitch than that in which its formed in a graceful, elegant, and melodious style.—Busby's Dictionary of Music. * Gardiner's Music of Nature, p. 164-5. corresponding rising inflection terminates. Should a falling inflection be made to extend through the same interval as its corresponding rising inflection, it would be a drawling note, and not a pure note of speech. Falling inflections may be uttered with greater force than rising inflections. This is shown in Diag. 4, by the relative widths of the notes. Rising inflections are far more numerous than falling inflections: the former constitute the main body of oral language, while the latter are employed for the purposes of emphasis, and in the formation of cadences. Rising inflections are often emphatic; but their emphasis is weaker than that of falling inflections. * The circumflexes are used for the purposes of emphasis. The acuto-grave circumflex, when carried through a wide interval, is employed for the expression of irony and scorn. When the circumflexes are properly introduced, they are very expressive. These movements of the voice, however, are seldom required; when improperly employed, they affect the ear of a good reader as unpleasantly as the too frequent use of the portamento does that of a good musician. Writers on Elocution have given numerous rules for the regulation of inflections, but most of these rules are better calculated to make bad readers than good ones. Those founded on the construction of sentences might perhaps do credit to a mechanic, but they certainly do none to an elocutionist. The subject is of such a nature that it would be diffi cult, if not impossible, to give rules for the regulation of all the inflections of the voice in reading and speaking; and, as any rule on this part of elocution must necessarily be limited in its application, I have thought proper to dispense with them altogether. This work, however, does not leave the reader without a guide: in the practical part of it numerous examples are given, which, I * "The circumflexes, acuto-grave, are characteristic of the Irish tone; and the circumflexes, gravo-acute, are characteristic of the Scottish tone."-Steele's Prosodia Rationalis. |