s the word-text that
decides the style of both melody and rhythm in the voice part.
Fig. 61 shows an example of _dry recitative_, taken from "The
Messiah."

[Illustration: ALTO VOICE. Be-hold! a vir-gin shall con-ceive,
and bear a son, and shall call his name Em-man-u-el; God with
us.]

171. _Aria_ is likewise a style of vocal solo found in operas, etc., but
its predominating characteristic is diametrically opposed to that of the
recitative. In the _aria_ the word-text is usually entirely subordinate
to the melody, and the latter is often very ornate, containing trills,
runs, etc.

The rendition of this ornate style of music is often referred to as
"coloratura singing," but it should be noted that not all _arias_ are
coloratura in style.

The familiar solos from The Messiah--"Rejoice Greatly," and
"The trumpet shall sound" are good examples of the aria style.

172. A _lied_ (Ger. = song) is a vocal solo in which the text, the
melody, and the accompaniment contribute more or less equally to the
effect of the whole.

Strictly speaking the word _lied_ means "a poem to be sung,"
and this meaning will explain at once the difference between
the _lied_ on the one hand, and the Italian recitative and
aria on the other, for in the _lied_ the text is of great
importance, but the music is also interesting, while in the
recitative the text was important but the music very slight,
and in the aria the text was usually inconsequential while the
music held the center of interest.

The most pronounced characteristic of the _lied_ is the fact that it
usually portrays a single mood, sentiment, or picture, thus differing
from the ballad, which is narrative in style. It will be noted that this
"single mood, or sentiment, or picture" was originally conceived by the
poet who wrote the word-text, and that the composer in writing music to
this text has first tried to get at the thought of the poet, and has
then attempted to compose music which would intensify and make more
vivid that thought. This intensification of the poet's thought comes as
often through the rhythm, harmony, and dynamics of the accompaniment as
through the expressiveness of the voice part.

The style of song-writing in which each verse is sung to the
same tune is called the "strophe form," while that in which
each verse has a different melody is often referred to as the