both composer and poet:

[Music: Sun, moon and stars, sun, moon and stars are _dark_ to me.]

The words "Sun, moon and stars" should be given strongly accentuated,
and the tempo gradually accelerated. The repetition of the phrase
should be sung with still greater intensity; then, at the passage "are
dark to me," the colour of the voice changes to one of very sombre
quality, and the original tempo is resumed. The first consonant in the
word "dark" should receive a slight stress.

The _crescendo_ has always been a favourite device of composers,
particularly of those who write for the lyric theatre. It was an
effect held in high esteem by Rossini, who introduced it constantly in
his operas--witness his overtures and ensembles. All are familiar with
the wonderful _crescendo_ which precedes the appearance of the Knight
of the Swan, in _Lohengrin_, where the sonorities are augmented by
gradual additions of voices and instruments until the culminating
point is reached. An instance more poignant still is found in the
great "Liebestod" in _Tristan und Isolde_.

Although Herold, the French composer, observed that in working up to a
climax one should begin a long way off, a singer must be careful not
to reach his maximum of vocal sonority before the musical climax is
attained. The tenor Duprez created a sensation that is historic, in
the long _crescendo_ passage in the fourth act of _Guillaume Tell_, by
gradually increasing the volume of sound, as the phrase developed in
power and grandeur, until the end, which he delivered with all the
wealth of his exceptionally resonant voice.

Before closing this chapter on Intensity, I should advise singers
whose voices possess great natural volume or power not to abuse this
valuable quality by employing it too frequently. The ear of a listener
tires sooner of extreme sonority than of any other effect. Talma, the
great actor, wrought many reforms on the French dramatic stage, not
only in costume--prior to his time Greek or Roman dress only was worn
in tragedy--but also in the manner of delivering tragic verse. Against
the custom, then prevalent, of always hurling forth long tirades at
full voice, he inveighed in these terms: "Of all monotonous things,
_uproar_ is the most intolerable" (_de toutes les monotonies, celle de
la force est la plus insupportable_). An artistic singer will use his
most powerful tones, as a painter employs his most vivid colours,
sparingly.

* *