deed, force may be considered the light and shade of elocution.

"Mr. Alison observes, that loud sounds are connected with ideas of power and danger; and that many objects in nature, which have such qualities, are distinguished by such sounds. On the contrary, soft sounds are connected with ideas of gentleness and delicacy. The contrasts produced by the different degrees of force with which sounds are uttered, form the most prominent effects of musical expression. The rushing of the fortissimo brings with it dread and alarm; but in the pianissimo, the chiaroscuro of the art, we feel the opposite sensation. The indistinctness of sounds apparently removes them to a distance-like the faint touches in painting, they seem to retire from us. Upon this principle, the ventriloquist deceives the ear, by directing the attention to a point from which the voice may be supposed to proceed; and effects the deception by reducing it to the exact degree of softness that it would seem to possess had it really proceeded from the spot."

CRESCENDO AND DIMINUENDO.

"What is more alarming than the gradual increase of a mighty sound, when it pours upon the ear from a distance; - whether it proceeds from the roar of a multitude, or the raging of a storm, the auditory sense is overwhelmed, and the mind is filled with imaginary danger! When the increasing force accumulates to excessive loudness, the vibrations become too great for the soul to bear. There is also a sublimity in the gradual decrease of sounds.

"It is equally sublime to listen to sounds when they retire from us. Handel has aimed at this poetic effect in the ' Messiah,' when he pictures the ascent of the heavenly host, giving an idea of their distance and flight.

"There is no accomplishment in the art of singing more fascinat ing than the swelling and dying away of the voice; when used with taste and judgment, it never fails to delight us. The performance of the Miserere,' in the Sixtine Chapel, in Rome, so often described by travellers, owes its shadowy effect to this approaching and retiring of the sounds. Farinelli moved his audience to a state of ecstasy by the manner in which he commenced his famous song 'Son qual nave,' the first note of which was taken with such deli cacy, swelled by minute degrees to such an amazing volume, and afterwards diminished in the same manner to a mere point, that it was applauded for five minutes.' Beethoven is the only composer who has introduced this effect into choral music: we find it applied at the termination of some of the choruses in his posthumous Mass; -here the voices alone pour upon the ear with an effect like the swelling and dying away of the storm.

• CHIAROSCURO (Italian), the light of a shade of a picture.

FORZANDO.

"Explosive force forms a strong feature in the character of modern music; we never find it expressed in any author before the time of Haydn. It may be described as a forcible expression of sound which is no sooner uttered than it drops into the utmost degree of softness. It has its origin in the ebullition of our passions. We hear it in the expressions of joy, rage, despair, &c. Indeed it is natural to persons under any violent emotion. It properly belongs to the sublime, although it may be so burlesqued as to assume a ridiculous character. Like all other forcible expressions, its meaning will depend upon the situation and manner in which it is used."

SECTION IV.

TIME.

IME is the measure of sounds in regard to their duration.

Time, in song, and instrumental music, is divided into equal measures by rhythmical pulsation-in other words, by a periodical return of similar accents. In graphic music, these measures are rendered conspicuous to the. eye by vertical bars, as in the following line of poetry: Hail to the chief who in | triumph ad- | vances. |

In speech there is also a return of similar accents, but they do not always occur at regular intervals of

It is rhythmical pulsation which enables a band of musicians to perform in concert. It is this also which enables a company of soldiers to march synchronously, and which governs the movements of the feet in dancing.

time. Hence the rhythm of speech, like its melody, is more or less irregular.

The time of note, or syllable, is called quantity. The time of a rest is also called quantity; because rests, as well as notes, are a constituent of rhythm Hence the characters used for the expression of quantity, are either of sound or silence. The former are called notes; the latter, rests. These characters, and their relative lengths, are as follows:

Hence, a semibreve is equal to two minims; equal to four crotchets; equal to eight quavers, &c.

A dot following a note, or rest, increases its length one-half-in other words, increases its length in the ratio of 2 to 3. Thus, a dotted semibreve () is equal to a semibreve and a minim (), or to three minims (); a dotted minim (P), to a minim and a crotchet (P), or to three crotchets (PPP); and

so on.

There are two general modes of time— common and riple. In common time each measure is divisible by 2; in triple time each measure is divisible by 3.

There are several varieties of each of these modes of time. When a piece is in common time, and each measure contains two quavers, or their equivalent, the

figures are prefixed to the words, or the music; when each measure contains two crotchets, the figures are prefixed; and when each measure contains four crotchets, a capital C, or the figures are prefixed. When a piece is in triple time, and each measure contains three quavers, the figures are prefixed to the words, or the music; when each measure contains three crotchets, the figures are prefixed; and when each measure contains six quavers, the figures are prefixed to the words, or the music. The upper figure, in each of these cases, shows how many notes of a certain description there are in each measure; and the lower figure, how many of these notes are equal in value to a semibreve.

MOVEMENT is the velocity with which a sentence is read or sung, or a strain of instrumental music is played. The rate of movement should be such as the senti

ment demands. Solemn discourse requires a slow movement; simple narrative, a medium rate of utterance; animated description, as well as all language expressive of any sudden passion, as joy, anger, &c., a movement more or less rapid, according to the intensity of emotion. In the science of music, various terms have been employed to denote the rate of movement, the principal of which are the following:

ADAGIO,.. very slow; the slowest time.

Largo,

.....

slow time.

Larghetto,... slow, but not so slow as largo.
ANDANTE,.... medium time.

Andantino, a little quicker than andante.

Allegretto,... rather quick, but not so quick as allegro.
ALLEGRO,.. quick time.

Presto,.....

very quick.

Prestissimo.. as quick as possible.

Adagio, andante and allegro, are the three chief divisions of time; the other terms mark the intermediate degrees.

In addition to the foregoing terms, which mark the movement, there are others, which indicate the style of performance. Some of these are as follows:

Affetuoso,.. affectionate a soft and delicate style of performance.
Brillante,.. shining, sparkling-a gay, showy style.
Furioso,... fierce, mad-a vehement style.
Spiritóso,.. spirited a spirited style.

Sometimes these terms are used in connexion with those which express the rate of movement, thus:— Allegro con spirito, quick with spirit — in a quick and spirited

manner.

The rate of movement is not definitely marked by the terms Adagio, Largo, Larghetto, &c.; it may, how ever, be designated with precision by means of the

METRONOME OF MAELZEL.

This instrument has a graduated pendulum, to which is attached a sliding weight. The higher this weight