Part 3 (2/2)

It is the clas.h.i.+ng of the Musical and Verbal phrasings that often makes translations of lyric works unsatisfactory. The two phrases are independent, not welded together. So far from being ”Music wedded to immortal Verse,” these instances resemble those _menages_ wherein each unit leads a separate existence. When this is the case, the singer must decide as to whether the musical phrase, or the poetic phrase, demands the greater prominence.

The following Phrasing and Colouring would be good and effective if the pa.s.sage were played on an instrument:

[Music]

But if sung thus, as it sometimes is by careless artists who pay little attention to the verbal significance of what they are singing, it would sound absurd, because the poetic phrasing is entirely ignored. The correct way of performing the pa.s.sage (from the aria ”Voi che sapete,” in Act II of Mozart's _Nozze di Figaro_) is the following:

[Music: Donne, vedete, s'io l'ho nel cor.]

In the next extract (from Act IV in _Un Ballo in Maschera_, by Verdi), it will be noticed how oblivious the composer was of the claims of verbal phrasing. The whole _scena_ is admirably written for the voice, and contains many graceful pa.s.sages of great melodic charm. But although the music may claim to represent the character of the situation as a whole, it is disfigured by the complete disregard of the sense of certain groups of words:

[Music: Come se fosse l'ultima ora del nostro amor, come se fosse l'ultima, l'ultima ora, ora del nostro amor, del nostro amor? Oh, qual presagio m'a.s.sale, come se fosse l'ultima ora del nostro amor, se fosse l'ultima del nostro amor]

The words ”_come se fosse l'ultima ora del nostro amor_,” const.i.tute one phrase. It would be extremely difficult, impossible even, for many, to sing the pa.s.sage in one breath. But the first musical phrase ends after the word ”_ultima_;” to separate it from the next word, ”_ora_” (second and third bars), thus: ”last--hour,” is impracticable.

It would be out of the question to destroy the musical phrase by breathing after the word ”_ora_,” in the third bar. If the text is phrased when spoken as it is when sung, the incongruity is at once apparent. The published score gives a pause [fermata symbol] after the word ”_ora_:” ”_ultima ora_ [fermata symbol] _del nostro amor_.” This phrasing is good and effective, especially if the artist changes at once to the sombre quality after the pause, and finishes the phrase _piano_ and _rallentando_. One very often hears it, however, given with a pause for breathing after the high _a_; the unfortunate singer having prolonged the tone until, in order to continue, he is compelled to take in more air. The result is the absurd phrasing given below:

[Music: l'ultima ora del nostro amor]

In the final cadenza, the composer has cut out the word ”ora”

altogether. The whole air is of interest to the musical student, as it shows clearly the little value attached by Verdi, at that period of his career, to the exigencies of the verbal or poetic phrase. This neglect of the verbal punctuation is in marked contrast to the care he bestowed on it in his later works, witness _Aida_, _Otello_, and particularly _Falstaff_.

Here I may say that it is sometimes necessary to alter the words on account of the impossibility of performing certain pa.s.sages as written. In the earlier published scores of _Samson et Dalila_ (Saint-Saens), the following pa.s.sage in Act II, ”Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix,” as the composer wrote it, occurs as one phrase:

[Music: Ah! reponds a ma tendresse!]

This being impracticable of execution in one phrase, and there being no opportunity of retaking breath until the close of the pa.s.sage, it was altered in the later editions, and now stands thus:

[Music: Ah! reponds, reponds a ma tendresse!]

This device of repet.i.tion, applied either to a word or to part of a phrase, is perfectly justifiable in cases where the artist, for physical reasons, is unable to sing the phrase in one breath. I give an excerpt from Weber's _Der Freischutz_ (Grand Air, Act II):

[Music: Oh lovely night!]

This may be sung:

[Music: Oh lovely, lovely night!]

The concluding bars of the waltz-song in Act I of Gounod's _Romeo et Juliette_, are often phrased as indicated in the brackets, in order to give the singer a chance to take breath, which is done after the _c_ natural:

[Music: Ah! (comme un tresor.) comme un tresor.]

As discrepancies between the musical and verbal phrases, such as those I have instanced, abound in certain of the old operas which still keep the stage and form a part of the permanent repertoire of every lyric theatre, the artists singing them are compelled to choose between sacrificing the words or the music. The former alternative is generally preferable, the musical phrase in many such cases being of the greater relative importance. Another way is, to meet the difficulty boldly by supplying another text which mates itself more happily with the musical phrase. Personally, I adopt the latter alternative without hesitation, when preparing artists to sing these works.

Some minor effects utilized in Style in singing may be briefly alluded to: _Portamento_; variations of _Tempo_.

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