FAMILY Turdide. 
In structure it closely resembles that tempestuous and 
wild movement that opens the finale of Beethoven’s 
Moonlight Sonata: 
Constructively the Hermits music resembles thisbut the bird 
reverses the order of dynamics. 
(O'S: PEA aT a a ee] 
But Beethoven emphasizes the tonic at the close of the 
run; the Hermit does so in the beginning; both bits of 
music progress in presto time, and both rush onward to 
a high climax. The Thrush moreover is a transcenden- 
talist, he climbs higher than his voice will carry, and 
like many another aspiring songster, makes a ludicrous 
failure of the highest notes. After one or two bad 
breaks, which apparently threaten the woodland sym- 
phony with the ignominy of disaster, the Hermit—who 
sings the prima donna’s part in the score—seems to say 
to himself, after a short pause, ‘‘See here, my fine fel- 
low, this will never do, that portamento was out of 
place, and the high note sounded like the whetting of a 
scythe! Try a lower key and silence that ‘Swainson’ 
over yonder mouthing his zigzag notes as though he 
were trying to make them creep upstairs! Shucks! 
Show him how to soar!” And the bird is at it again 
entirely oblivious of the fact that he steadily climbs in 
keys until he goes to pieces again somewhere around G 
sharp, whole octaves higher than the limit of the piano! 
Such is the character of the singer and hissong. But 
what a consummate tone artist heis! Not content with 
a single key, he deliberately chooses several in major and 
minor relationship, and elaborates these with perfectly 
charming arpeggios and wonderful ventriloquous triads, 
executed with all the technical skill of a master singer. 
And what a wealth of melody there is in his varied themes! 
Note the suggestive motives of the following record : 
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