any thing unaccompanied with mufical inftruments. But however this Italian method of acting in Recitativo might appear at first hearing, I cannot but think it much more juft than that which prevailed in our English Opera before this innovation: The tranfition from an air to recitative mufick being more natural, than the paffing from a fong to plain and ordinary speaking, which was the common method in Purcell's operas. The only fault I find in our prefent practice is the making ufe of the Italian Recitativo with Englife words. То go to the bottom of this matter I muft obferve that the tone, or (as the French call it) the accent of every nation in their ordinary fpeech is altogether different from that of every other people; as we may see even in the Welfb and Scotch, who border fo near upon us. By the tone or accent, I do not mean the pronunciation of each particular word, but the found of the whole fentence. Thus it is very common for an English Gentleman, when he hears a French tragedy, to complain that the actors all of them speak in a tone; and therefore he very wifely prefers his own countrymen, not confidering that a foreigner complains of the fame tone in an English actor. For this reafon, the recitative mufick, in every language, should be as different as the tone or ac cent of each language; for otherwife, what may properly exprefs a paffion in one language, will not do it in another. Every one who has been long in Italy knows very well, that the cadences in the Recitativo bear a remote affinity to the tone of their voices in ordinary converfation; or, to speak more properly, are only the accents of their language made more musical and tuneful, Thus the notes of interrogation, or admiration, in the Italian mufick (if one may fo call them) which refemble their accents in difcourfe on fuch 1 occafions are not unlike the ordinary tones of an English voice when we are angry; infomuch that I have often feen our audiences extremely mistaken as to what has been doing upon the ftage, and expecting to fee the hero knock down his meffenger, when he has been asking him a question; or fancying that he quarrels with his friend when he only bids him good-morrow. For this reafon the Italian artifts cannot agree with our English muficians, in admiring Purcell's compofitions, and thinking his tunes fo wonderfully adapted to his words; becaufe both nations do not always exprefs the fame paffions by the fame founds. I am therefore humbly of opinion, that an Englib compofer fhould not follow the Italian recitative too fervilely, but make ufe of many gentle deviations from it, in compliance with his own native language. He may copy out of it all the lulling foftnefs and dying falls (as Shakespear calls them) but should still remember that he ought to accommodate himself to an English audience; and by humouring the tone of our voices in ordinary converfation, have the fame regard to the accent of his own language; as thofe perfons had to theirs whom he profeffes to imitate. It is observed that several of the finging birds of our own country learn to fweeten their voices, and mellow the harfhness of their natural notes, by practising under thofe that come from warmer climates. In the fame manner, I would allow the Italian opera to lend our English mufick as much as may grace and foften it, but never intirely to annihilate and deftroy it. Let the infufion be as ftrong as you please, but still let the fubject-matter of it be English. A compofer should fit his mufick to the genius of the people, and confider that the delicacy of hearing, and taste of harmony, has been formed upon thofe founds which every country abounds with : In short, that musick is of a relative nature, and what is harmony to one ear, may be diffonance to another. The fame obfervations which I have made upon the recitative part of mufick, may be applied to all our fongs and airs in general. Signior Baptift Lully acted like a man of fenfe in this particular. He found the French mufick extremely defective, and very often barbarous. However, knowing the genius of the people, the humour of their language, and the prejudiced ears he had to deal with, he did not pretend to extirpate the French mufick and plant the Italian in its ftead, but only to cultivate and civilize it with innumerable graces and modulations which he borrowed from the Italian. By this means the French mufick is now perfect in its kind; and when you fay it is not fo good as the Italian, you only mean that it does not please you fo well; for there is scarce a Frenchman who would not wonder to hear you give the Italian fuch a preference. The mufick of the French is indeed very properly adapted to their pronunciation and accent, as their whole opera wonderfully favours the genius of fuch a gay airy people. The chorus in which that opera abounds gives the parterre frequent opportunities of joining in concert with the ftage. This inclination of the audience to fing along with the actors, fo prevails with them, that I have fometimes known the performer on the stage do no more in a celebrated fong than the clerk of a parish-church, who ferves only to raife the pfalm, and is afterwards drowned in the mufick of the congregation. Every actor that comes on the ftage is a beau. The Queens and Heroines are fo painted, that they appear as ruddy and cherry-cheeked as milkmaids. The fhepherds are all embroidered, and acquit themselves in a ball better than our English dancingmafters. I have feen a couple of rivers appear in red ftockings; and L 3 pheus, pheus, instead of having his head covered with fedge and bull-rushes, making love in a fair full-bottomed periwig, and a plume of feathers; but with a voice fo full of fhakes and quavers, that I fhould have thought the murmurs of a country brook the much more agreeable mufic. A remember the last opera I faw in that merry nation was the rape of Proferpine, were Pluto, to make the more tempting figure, puts himself in a French equipage, and brings Afcalaphus along with him as his Valet de Chambre. This is what we call folly and impertinence; but what the French look upon as gay and polite. Mu I fhall add no more to what I have here offered, than that musick, architecture, and painting, as well as poetry, and oratory, are to deduce their laws and rules from the general fense and taste of mankind, and not from the principles of thofe arts themselves; or, in other words, the tafte is not to conform to the art, but the art to the taste. fick is not defigned to please only chromatic ears, but all that are capable of diftinguishing harsh from difagreeable notes, A man of an ordinary ear is a judge whether a paflion is expreffed in proper founds, and whether the melody of those founds be more or lefs pleafing. No 30. WEDNESDAY, Si, Mimnermus uti cenfet, fine amore jocifque C HOR. Ep. vi. 1. 1. ver. 65. If nothing, as Mimnermus ftrives to prove, Can e'er be pleafant without wanton love, Then live in wanton love, thy fports purfue. CREECH. ONE common calamity makes men extremely affect each other, though they differ in every other other particular. The paffion of love is the most general concern among men; and I am glad to hear by my last advices from Oxford, that there are a set of fighers in that university, who have erected themselves into a fociety in honour of that tender paffion. Thefe gentlemen are of that fort of Inamoratos, who are not fo very much loft to common fense, but that they understand the folly they are guilty of; and for that reafon feparate themfelves from all other company, because they will enjoy the pleasure of talking incoherently, without being ridiculous to any but each other. When a man comes into the club, he is not obliged to make any introduction to his difcourfe; but at once, as he is feating himself in his chair, fpeaks in the thread of his own thoughts, She gave me a very obliging glance, fhe never looked fo well in her ⚫ life as this evening;' or the like reflection, without regard to any other member of the fociety; for in this affembly they do not meet to talk to each other, but every man claims the full liberty of talking to himself. Inftead of fnuff-boxes and canes, which are ufual helps to difcourfe with other young fellows, these have each fome piece of ribbon, a broken fan, or an old girdle, which they play with while they talk of the fair perfon remembered by each refpective token. According to the reprefentation of the matter from my letters, the company appear like fo many players rehearsing behind the fcenes; one is fighing and lamenting his destiny in the moft befeeching terms, another declaring he will break his chain, and another in dumb fhow ftriving to express his paffion by his gefture. It is very ordinary in the affembly, for one of a fudden to rife and make a difcourfe concerning his paffion in general, and defcribe the temper of his mind in fuch a manner, as that the whole company fhall join in the defcription, and feel the force of it. In this cafe, if any man has declared the violence of |