BIRDS OP KANSAS 



" The value of the inferior singers in making up a gen- 

 eral chorus is not sufficiently appreciated. In musical com- 

 position, as in an anthem or oratorio, though there is a 

 leading part, which is usually the air, that gives character 

 to the whole, yet this leading part would often be a very in- 

 different piece of melody if performed without its accom- 

 paniments; and these alone would seem still more trifling 

 and unimportant. Yet, if the composition be the work of a 

 master, these brief strains and snatches, though apparently 

 insignificant, are intimately connected with the harmony of 

 the piece, and could not be omitted without a serious dis- 

 paragement of the grand effect. The inferior singing 

 birds, bearing a similar relation to the whole choir, are 

 indispensable as aids in giving additional effect to the note 

 of the chief singers. 



" Though the Robin is the principal musician in the 

 general anthem of morn, his notes would become tiresome 

 if heard without accompaniments. Nature has so arranged 

 the harmony of this chorus, that one part shall assist an- 

 other; and so exquisitely has she combined all the dif- 

 ferent voices, that the silence of any one cannot fail to 

 be immediately perceived. The low, mellow warble of the 

 Bluebird seems an echo to the louder voice of the Robin ; 

 and the incessant trilling or running accompaniment of 

 the Hairbird, the twittering of the Swallow, and the loud, 

 melodious piping of the Oriole, frequent and short, are 

 sounded like the different parts in a band of instruments, 

 and each performer seems to time his part as if by some 

 rule of harmony. Any discordant sound that may occur 

 in the performance never fails to disturb the equanimity of 

 the singers, and some minutes will elapse before they re- 



