PART I THE SONG-LYRIC "And this shall be for music when no one else is near, R. L. STEVENSON MUCH of what has already been said in the General Introduction is specially applicable to the subject dealt with in this section—the Song. In particular the affinity of music for words which we noted as characteristic of all lyrical poetry is most strongly marked in the case of this, the most popular of all lyrical forms in English. Indeed, so close is the connection between the two elements that the same word, Song, is applied both to a particular species of poetical composition and to a purely musical form, the melody or air; while in its more general acceptation the term implies a union of these two ideas, the most effective song being the product of music and words acting in concert. For all practical purposes a song may be defined as a short poem adapted for singing and sometimes actually set to music, or a metrical composition musical in itself, though neither fitted nor specially designed for singing otherwise than "in the heart"-alternatives corresponding to the two classes already referred to as Vocal and Literary SongLyrics. It may seem almost a paradox to speak of a song as "adapted for singing," but so many lyrics unsuitable for this purpose have been entitled songs that the distinction is both a real and a necessary one. In arranging the examples in this section no attempt has been made to separate the two classes, but as this will constitute an excellent exercise in classification, sufficient guidance will, it is hoped, be given in this introduction to render the task not too difficult for the pupil. From what has been said, it would appear that the best kind of vocal song is that in which music and words are most successfully blended and unified. It has often happened, as in the cases of Sidney, Milton, Dibdin, Moore, and, to judge from his frequent references to music, Shakespeare himself, that a song-poet has also been a musician; and to this happy combination of talents we undoubtedly owe many of our finest songs. Both Herrick and Waller, even if they were not musical themselves (and there is no reason to suppose that this was the case), collaborated with Henry Lawes, the famous melodist celebrated by Waller in one of his poems, and their songs produced in this manner are eminently singable and dainty. Again, especially in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, many fine old melodies which were in danger of disappearing because of their rude and inferior words had these replaced by others more worthy of them, and have thus been not only preserved but also enhanced in value. Burns and Moore, for example, fitted many of their songs to tunes already in existence, the one to "Scottish Airs" and the other to "Irish Melodies," and it is now well known that Lady Anne Lindsay wrote Auld Robin Gray, and Lady Nairn many of her songs, to replace words too coarse to be in accordance with the requirements of modern taste. It is a literary and musical curiosity that Lady Nairn's sentimental Land o' the Leal composed in this fashion was set to the same melody as Burns' martial Scots, Wha Hae. Thought of in conjunction with the fact that, since a vocal song is designed for singing, the musician-presumably in the best position to know what is most suitable for this purpose -has a right to dictate to the song-poet, the above examples may incline us to the opinion that, of the two parts of a song, words and melody, the latter is the more important, a view that seems to gain support when we remember songs like our own National Anthem, which have very indifferent words and yet have survived by reason of good tunes. It would not, however, be impossible, though perhaps more difficult, to adduce examples of songs which owe their force and popularity more to their words than to the quality of their melodies. The truth is that the important part played by association in the popularising of a song can seldom be properly assessed, and so long as this is unknown it is impossible to say whether any particular song owes more to its words or to its melody. We have only to remember songs like Home, Sweet Home or Lochaber No More to judge of the added force given to a song by its associations. It will have been gathered that a song-writer composing poems to be sung has, other things being equal, a more difficult task to perform than one who is unrestricted by the exigencies of vocalisation, and a summary of the limitations imposed upon him will incidentally furnish the means of distinguishing between the two classes of songs. 1. In the first place he is much restricted in his choice of words, the best songs being those in singing which the mouth is well opened. In pronouncing vowel-sounds like ee in seen, ay in pain, i in pin, the teeth are brought close together, the lips stretched over them, and the opening of the mouth takes the form of a narrow slit: this makes vocalisation very difficult. So that words intended to be sung should be composed so far as possible of open vowel-sounds like a in father, aw in fall, oh in slow, o in not. Close vowels cannot, of course, be wholly avoided, but an examination of songs like Where the bee sucks (No. 11) and The Last Rose of Summer (No. 61) will show how largely open sounds predominate. A similar rule holds good in the case of consonant-sounds like ƒ, v, p, q, w, s, z, which practically close the mouth and which should be avoided as far as possible. When they are used they should be followed immediately by an open vowel, as in fond, divine, soul, so that the contracted organs may be at once released. The liquids 1, m, n and r, are favourites with songwriters, because of their smoothness and soft flowing quality. In regard to the first of these one remembers Leigh Hunt's remark on the lines in Christabel, "Her gentle limbs did she undress, that "the very smoothness and gentleness of the limbs is in the series of l's." This suggests another rule universally observed in the best vocal songs, viz. that all hissing, harsh, or guttural sounds which detract from the tonic beauty of a song must be avoided. 2. Again, in a song written for music there are restrictions with regard to metre. In a "literary" song-lyric there is a reasonable license in this matter, but if a song is to be sung, the fall of the accents must be perfectly regular, the metre firm and smooth, and, if the words be written in conjunction with the melody, the open vowels and the long notes should fall together. Many of the songs of Burns, Moore, and Dibdin owe their success to the careful observance of these principles, and an analysis of the metres and vocabulary of their songs, on the lines indicated, will well repay the student. 3. The song-poet is also limited in several ways as regards the subject-matter of a song designed for singing. For instance, if the poem be written in stanzas there ought to be a general correspondence and similarity of sentiment in the different stanzas, for without this there may be a discordance between words and music, since the same melody has often to serve as the musical expression of each stanza in the song. To show how familiar Shakespeare was with this restriction, the two stanzas of his song, "Blow, blow, thou winter wind," are printed here side by side : I "Blow, blow, thou winter wind Thou art not so unkind As man's ingratitude; Thy tooth is not so keen Although thy breath be rude. Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho!" etc. 2 "Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky As friend remember'd not. The parallel development of a similar sentiment in the two stanzas will readily be perceived and it is clear that a melody composed to fit the first stanza will also be for the most part in perfect accord with the second. Again, although a vocal song should always embody some adequate and worthy sentiment or thought, this should be slight, direct, and at once apparent. It is because Shelley's lyrics, so delicate and intricate in their imagery, so subtle and elusive in their thought, do not comply with this condition, that they are with very few exceptions, quite unfitted to be sung. The more complex ideas and the finer, subtler shades of feeling, which can be expressed easily and fully in poetry written to be read, cannot be admitted into poetry which is to be sung, for the conditions under which poetry is thus read and heard respectively are obviously very different. A reader has the poem in print before him; he may, if he choose, read it a dozen times and ponder it as deeply and as long as he pleases, until eventually he possesses all that it has to give. But this is not so with the listener, who merely hears the quickly uttered words as they are being sung, and, at a time when half of his attention is directed towards the music, has his only chance of grasping their significance. Necessarily, therefore, the subjectmatter of verse written for the voice is limited in its scope to broad and direct lines of thought and to simple emotions. This, with the other restrictions noted above, will serve as a means of identifying the vocal song-lyric as distinct from the "literary" variety. SONG-LYRICS 1. Somer is ycomen in Somer is ycomen in, Loud sing, cuckoo ; Groweth seed and blometh mead And springeth the wood new. Ewe bleateth after lamb, Loweth after calf coo; Bullock sterteth, Buck verteth; Merrily sing, cuckoo, Well singès thou, cuckoo, ANONYMOUS |