ONS IN MUSIC. 



103 



fellow, (fn-ut blockhead, etc.; tcolpire in mturmo, pronounced 



k<>!-iV-nii inrmal.rr-mo, to chisel in marble; con, poca fatica, 



i , ,-kuli fah-Uw-kah, with little fatigue. This w 



iy tin- tiiii-t (.roimiN-iation, booaUHO it in tho girnim of 



irfi>, us in the classical tongues, particularly 



m Hui't.-n lint transition, <" passing over, from QUO word 



to iiuotli.T, an. I iit'ti-u from one eyllablo to the other, by changes 



'!-on:inH. / 



:.. /; /, naiiii'd in tho alphabet erre (pronounced or-ra). R, 



\\hrn it is I'ollow.-il liy a i-oiisoniint, must bo vibrated with u 



than in Knglish ; and it is on tho other hand 



, vowel ; as, carta, pronounced kahrr-ta, paper, 



and soft in oara, pronounced kah-rah, di-ar. 



I,M! in tlir alphabet cssc (pronounced s-sai). This 

 consonant ha- considerable variations, and is one of tho most 

 ilitHcult to i throughout correctly, for even in Italy 



there are variations. 



A strictly correct and irreproachable pronunciation of this 

 consonant can only bo acquired by closely marking its utterance 

 in all its shades by Italians who speak purely. Speaking 

 generally, there arc two leading sounds. One is a sharp, hissing 

 s iiinil, as in the English words sing, sieve; the other is a much 

 milder sound, as in tho English words cheese, ease, please, etc. 

 The following general rules will be sufficient for the guidance 

 of the learner at present : the different exceptions to them will 

 be stated more fully hereafter : 



First, the sharp sound of this consonant may be said to bo 

 the ruling sound, because it is heard in tho greater number of 

 syllables and words. I shall invariably mark it by the single 

 letter s; and wherever this is used, the reader will remember 

 that it represents tho sharp, hissing sound of the letter, thus 

 avoiding multiplicity of signs, which would be caused by using 

 ss. It has always the sharp, hissing sound in the beginning of 

 a word before a vowel ; as, for example, sale, pronounced sah- 

 lai, salt ; sole, S(5-lai, the sun ; sempre, sem-prai, always ; subito, 

 Koo-boo-to, suddenly. It has also the sharp, hissing sound 

 before the consonants c, f, p, q, and t ; as, for example, in 

 S.-K'/CO, skahl-tro, shrewd; sforzo, sf6r-tzo, compulsion; crespo, 

 Kr.ii-spo, crisp; pasqua, pah-skwah, Easter; pasto, pah-sto, a 

 meal. It has also tho sharp and hissing sound after the con- 

 sonants I, ?i, and r, and I may say a pre-eminently hard and 

 hissing sound in this case; as, for example, falso, fahl-so, 

 false; carso, kdrr-so, course; arso, ahrr-so, burnt; forsc, fdrr- 

 *ai, perhaps ; pianse, peeahn'-sai, he wept ; vinse, vin-sai, he 

 vanquished. In Rome, the sharpness of the s after I, n, and r 

 is generally so very audible, that it almost amounts to the 

 utterance of a ts, as if the examples just given were written 

 with the hard e pronounced with the English sound in the 

 word Switzcr ; which, however, with all respect for the Eternal 

 City and the " bocca Romano," I must pronounce to be a pro- 

 vincialism. 



Secondly, the milder sound of tho s occurs generally when 

 it is placed between two vowels. As the nearest possible ap- 

 proach to it, I shall follow the practice of Mr. Walker in his 

 English pronouncing dictionary, and mark it with a z : for 

 example, avviso, ahv-vee-zo, opinion; guisa, gwee-za, guise 

 manner; tesoro, tai-zo-ro, treasure; usura, oo-zd-rah, usury 

 sposa, sp6-za, bride ; accusa, ahk-kdo-zah, accusation ; miseria 

 mee-zS-reeah, misery ; misura, mee-zdo-rah, measure ; and main 

 other words, which might be cited as examples. 



This rule is subject to several exceptions, tho most importan 

 of which I must state here. 



Many Italian adjectives end in oso and osa, and whenever 

 before these terminations there is a vowel, the terminational s 

 has the sharp, hissing sound; as, for example, glorioso, pro- 

 nounced glo-reed-so, glorious ; virtuoso, virr-tood-so, virtuous 

 tortuoso, torr-tood-so, tortuous. 



There are many compound words in Italian having tho par 

 tides dis and mis, and before consonants the final s of those 

 particles must have the sharp, hissing sound ; as, for example 

 <ii.--i")sizione, pronounced dis-po-zoo-tsoed-nai, disposition; dis 

 i'ii, dis-mee-zdo-rah, excess (the reader will note in thi 

 two foregoing words, that tho s of the particle dis has th 

 hissing sound, while tho next s, placed between two vowels 

 follows the general rule, and has the mild sound) ; dispiacenza, 

 dis-peeah-tchen-tsah, displeasure; discreditare, dis-krai-dee- 

 tah-rai, to discredit. 



In the greatest part of compound words, where * begins the 

 yllul.lc, it has the sharp, hissing sound ; as, for example, pro- 

 ./iiiv, pro-Hai-gweo-rai, continue; riaolvere, ree-sol-vui-rai, to 

 lissolvo ; prettumcre, prai-soo-inai-rai, to presume ; ritunjere, 

 roo-sdrr-jai-rai, to rise again; tratuttantiato, trah-soo-staho- 

 oeea-to, transubstantiated. 



There are other exceptions which I shall take occasion to 

 mint, out us examples occur. 



Further, s has tho mild sound when it immediately precedes 

 the consonants b, d, g, I, m, n, r, v; as, for example, tbarra, 

 pronounced zbahrr-rah, bar, barrier; disdire^ dis-dee-rai, to 

 retract ; tguardo, zgwahrr-do, look ; slontanwre, zlon-tah-nah-rai, 

 o remove ; smania, zmah-neeah, madness ; snervare, znorr-vuh- 

 rai, to unnerve ; sradicare, zrah-doe-kah-rai, to eradicate ; tvvlto, 

 zvel-to, lively, clover, nimble, easy. I have stated that tho 

 >articles dis and mis before consonants have tho sharp, hinsing 

 lound. There is no deviation from this rule, and these particles 

 retain the sharp, hissing sound even before the last-mentioned 

 consonants: for example, disbandire, pronounced dis-bahn- 

 dee-rai, to banish ; disdire, dis-dee-rai, to retract ; disgomijrare, 

 dis-gom-brah-rai, to empty ; disleale, dis-laiah-lai, disloyal ; 

 dismettere, dis-met-tai-rai, to dislocate an arm, to dismiss (an 

 affair) ; disneroare, dis-nerr-vah-rai, to unnerve; disradicare, 

 dis-rah-dee-kah-rai, to eradicate ; disvenire, dis-vai-nee-rai, to 

 swoon ; misgradito, mis-grah-dee-to, disagreeable ; misleale, mi- 

 .aiah-lai, disloyal ; misvenire, mis-vai-nee-rai, to swoon. 



When ss is between two vowels, it does not follow the rule 

 of the single s, but must be sounded with a sharp, hissing 

 sound; as, for example, fosso, pronounced f6s-so, a ditch, a 

 canal ; rosso, roVso, red ; posso, pds-so, I can. 



LESSONS IN MUSIC. XV. 



PROCESS TO BE ADOPTED IN STUDYING THE EXERCISES 

 IN THESE LESSONS. 



WHILE our pupils are continuing the study of FAH and LAE in 

 connection with the following exercises, we shall touch on a 

 few incidental topics of information that our pupils should 

 carefully note for their guidance in studying and practising our 

 exercises. 



1. It will contribute to the confidence of our pupils, and to 

 their hopes of some day singing at sight, to remember that 

 every tune, with the exception of " minor " tunes to bo men- 

 tioned hereafter, and some few others, begins on DOH, ME, or 

 SOH ; so that having taken the key-note from your tuning- 

 fork, and struck the chord, you are sure to be in possession of 

 the right note to begin with. You will also find that the accom- 

 panying " parts" of a tune (adapted to lower voices) commence 

 always on some note of this " common chord." 



2. For tho sake of the thorough workers, those who are so 

 diligently following the course in which we are guiding them, it 

 will be well to remind our pupils of the process through which 

 they must pass in connection with each exercise, and of the 

 reasons for each step of that process. Every exercise should 

 first be 



a. LEARNT BY PATTERN from the MODULATOR. This will 

 cultivate the ear and voice generally. It will teach the par- 

 ticular tune along with a pictorial representation of its intervals, 

 and will accustom the mind more and more to that beautiful 

 language of interval, which, by giving a distinct and uniform 

 syllabic name to each interval of the scale, enables us, by the 

 ever renewed association of tho syllable with the sound, to sing 

 with increasing ease and confidence. The " second part " 

 should be learnt in the same manner as though it were a 

 separate exercise before it is sung with tho " air." The exer- 

 cise should next be 



b. SOL-FAED from tho book. This will give scope for a more 

 accurate observance of measure, as indicated by tho accent 

 marks, and allow tho " parts " of a tune to be sung together. 

 It also strengthens tho association between the syllables and 

 their proper intervals. But lest the syllables of a tune should 

 come to be sung by mere "rote" tho pupil having no mental 

 picture of their relative position on the modulator it TviU be 

 found advisable to require each exercise to be 



c. POINTED on the MODULATOR from memory. This will 

 complete the knowledge of the tune, and greatly increase its 

 teaching power. Every pupil should do this in his private 



