MUSIC. Any succession of sounds, however much they may vary in regard to duration, or however much they may partake of various modes or keys, pro vided that succession be agreeable, and excites, in a well tuned ear, certain agree able sensations, is called music. Hence, it is obvious that all persons are not com petent judges; for we often find individu als who have not only a natural defect in what we call the taste of music, but who cannot even sing three notes together without offending the ears of those who are happily blessed with that perfect for mation of their organs, which disposes to the duly receiving, and of correctly ex pressing, the most undeviating pureness of melody. • Although we certainly may meliorate our taste, and indeed improve the ear, by constantly attending to correct sounds, and by making a rule never to allow the smallest trespass on the part of our voices, ttc.: yet it may be generally said, that the passion, and the capability for music, must be innate. We could quote many instances of mere infants, even before they could speak, being perfectly competent to judge of what is commonly called " Music in or out of tune." All animals, however furious, appear delighted with music, which affects them differently, according to their several dispositions. Birds are even fascinated by the upper notes of $ fine voice, and at all times we find such as have agreeable notes of their own, pe culiarly attentive to every pleasing suc cession of sounds.
The most indispensable points in music are tune and time. The former relates to that perfect intonation of every sound which gives its proper degree of shy.)). nese, or otherwise proportioned to its situation, and to its relation to those sounds which precede, or which follow. The latter is the art, or rather the talent, of bestowing the proper extent of each note's duration, according to the situation in which it is placed, and according to its relative value, as ascertained by that regu lar appreciation ascribed to it in the bar, according to established laws on which the time table is founded, as will be shewn in its proper place. It may be necessary, however, to state, that one exception is made from this, otherwise immutable, rule ; namely, in vocal music, where the singer indulges in the prolongation of a note at pleasure ; but such is only to be tolerated when a shake, a cadence, &c. allow the digression, without trespassing on the execution of the accompaniments, or violating that chaste adherence to the character of the piece, which should ever regulate the singer. This, however, is a point from which many of our first per formers, both vocal and instrumental, de viate in a most unwarrantable manner: often destroying the best effects of com position, by an indulgence in the most mare and inappropriate flourishes.
In speaking of tune we are necessarily to proceed by comparison ; thus we call those shrill sounds which pierce the ear, acute or high ; to this class appertain the natural tones of infantine voices, while the intonations of manhood vibrate with less shrillness upon the ear, and appertain to that class we term grave or low sounds.
This will be more clearly understood when we state, that singers are divided into various classes, which accord with the supposed division of the voices of mankind into six different species, viz. the bass, which is the lowest of all ; the basi tono, or tenor-bass ; the tenor and coun ter-tenor, which are the two middle spe cies, of which the generality of men's voices partake ; the mezzo soprano, which is the pitch of women's voices in general and the soprano, i. e. the treble or upper most, which in some women reaches to a great height, and in our cathedral service, &c. is usually allotted to young boys. The voices of women.and of children are, with very few exceptions (and those exceptions always appear unnatural, and are displeasing to the ear) a whole octave above the voices of men. The voices of girls do not suffer by puberty, at least not as to the acuteness of their sounds, though they often lose their clearness, and a por. tion of the extent upwards ; but that arises from an injury done to the organs, often by overstraining while young, or by a want of practice, &c. whence the facility of inflexion, or of modulation, are essen tially impaired. But with males the case is very different; for, so soon as they ar rive at puberty a rapid change takes place, whereby the whole compass of the voice is sunk an octave, or eight notes. Thus a boy, who, at the age of ten or twelve, should be able to sing a piece of music in alt, that is, in high notes, when arrived at the age of sixteen or seventeen, in singing the same passages, would in reality be singing exactly an octave lower. The change is not regular as to any particular year ; it varies greatly ; some lose their voices even at twelve years old; these are, for the most part, of that class which never were above a counter-tenor, and sink into a basitono, or to a full bass. The few who are able to preserve their high pitch until seventeen, or perhaps eighteen years, rarely fall lower than the counter-tenor, and ordinarily become so pranos.. These, however, are rare. In estimating we are not to judge from the high notes occasionally pro duced, and which are the effect of much study and practice. The style is called the falsetto, and is an artificial voice, the junction of which to the natural intona tion, so as to be perfectly smooth, is ex tremely difficult, and very rarely is found perfect, in even our best singers. Castra tion is supposed to produce this fictitious voice ; but it is supposed that not one victim in a thousand of that description is rewarded by its attainment. Nature, in deed, seems to be very whimsical in this particular ; for some castrati receive not the smallest benefit ; they having, after all, deep-toned voices. This, it is true, does not often occur : the generality ac quire, or rather perpetuate, a kind of mezzo, or middle Intonation, more offen sive than gratifying to the hearer.