'pleasurable way.'* Its power of calling up ideas of the past, upon which the mind loves to dwell, is often a source of great delight with music of this kind, the singer seldom fails to please; he trusts to the charm of the the charm of the melody rather than the force of the words; recollecting, that we must first please the ear before we can touch the heart.' The preceding lines, taken from Chatterton's play of Ella, are joined to a few simple notes, and the succeeding Aria is constructed upon a subject taken from Haydn's 40th Quartet, both of which are specimens of simple melody, 130 s and the succeeding BALLAD. THE ballad has less musical pretension than the air; and as the words claim our attention quite as much as the tune, there ought to be a perfect consent be * It is an observation of Madame de Staël, that when the powers of melody are but feebly felt, we expect that it should faithfully conform to every variation of the words; but when the whole soul is affected by it, everything, except the music itself, is unseasonable, and distracts the attention, provided there be no opposition between the words and music. We give ourselves up to that which should always predominate over the rest for the delightful reverie into which it throws us, annihilates all thoughts which may be expressed by words. We give ourselves up to the general affections of the soul. Metastasio reduced his language in versification to so limited a number of words, phrases, and cadences, that they seem always the same; and his poetry often produces the effect of a musical instrument, which conveys no idea, but delights you with its melody.Quarterly Review, No. XLVIII. tween them. With ordinary listeners, this species of song is more generally felt and understood than any other. Songs have at all times afforded amusement and consolation to mankind: every passion of the human breast has been vented in song. The short poem of the Greeks, as sung to the lyre, was of this description, traces of which may be found in the melodies of every country.* It is recorded by Plutarch and others, that all the guests sang together at table, in the same strain, the praises of the divinity, a sacred canticle before meat, and afterwards 'for entertainment; each one sang in turn, holding a branch of myrtle in his hand, which passed from the last singer to the next. Every profession and trade had its song: the shepherds, the reapers, the millers, the weavers, the woolcarders, the nurses, and the lovers; and such was the love of music amongst this refined people, that their songs entered into all their exhibitions and amusements. Before music was cultivated as an art, we had, in common with other countries, our national songs; which, with the people who sang them, were driven by our conquerors into Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. As the invaders came from all parts of the Continent, our language and music became a motley collection of sounds and words, unlike that of any other peo * Scotch tunes of the highest antiquity are formed upon a scale in which the 4th and 7th are omitted, and are probably as ancient as the lyre of the Greeks, which was limited to six or seven strings. These tunes, as well as the dress of the Highlanders, were probably brought by the Roman soldiers into that country. |