n
the orchestra. The voice may then be said to form the accompaniment,
exchanging musical for literary interest. It becomes subordinate to
the orchestra, as though it were an extra part, subsequently added as
an after-thought. But it is evident that great care must be taken with
orchestral writing in such cases. The scoring must not be so heavy or
complicated as to drown the voice and prevent the words from being
heard, thereby breaking the thread of the text, and leaving the
musical imagery unexplained. Certain moments may require great volume
of orchestral tone, so great that a voice of even phenomenal power is
incapable of being heard. Even if the singer is audible, such unequal
struggles between voice and orchestra are most inartistic, and the
composer should reserve his orchestral outbursts for the intervals
during which the voice is silent, distributing the singer's phrases
and pauses in a free and natural manner, according to the sense of the
words. If a prolonged _forte_ passage occurs in the orchestra it may
be used concurrently with action on the stage. All artificial
reduction of tone contrary to the true feeling of a passage, the sole
object being to allow the voice to come through, should be strictly
avoided, as it deprives orchestral writing of its distinctive
brilliance. It must also be remembered that too great a disparity in
volume of tone between purely orchestral passages and those which
accompany the voice create an inartistic comparison. Therefore, when
the orchestra is strengthened by the use of wood-wind in three's or
four's, and brass in large numbers, the division of tone and colour
must be manipulated skillfully and with the greatest care.

In previous sections I have frequently stated that the structure of
the orchestra is closely related to the music itself. The scoring of a
vocal work proves this relationship in a striking manner, and, indeed,
it may be stipulated that _only that which is well written can be well
orchestrated_.

Transparence of accompaniment. Harmony.

The group of strings is the most transparent medium and the one least
likely to overpower the voice. Then come the wood-wind and the brass,
the latter in the following order: horns, trombones, trumpets. A
combination of strings, _pizz._, and the harp forms a setting
eminently favourable for the voice. As a general rule a singer is more
easily overpowered by long sustained notes than by short detached
ones. Strings double