which songs, dances, and pretty scenery contribute to the
amusement of the audience. The music is lively, but usually as
trivial as the plot.

The term _music drama_ was used by Wagner in referring to his
own _operas_, and is also sometimes applied to other modern
_operas_ in which the dramatic element is supposed to
predominate over the musical.

169. A _libretto_ (lit.--little book) is the word-text of an opera,
oratorio, cantata, or some other similar work.

170. _Recitative_ is a style of vocal solo common to operas, oratorios,
and cantatas, especially those written some time ago. Its main
characteristic is that the word-text is of paramount importance, both
rhythm and tone-progression being governed by rhetorical rather than by
musical considerations.

_Recitative_ undoubtedly originated in the intoning of the
priest in the ritualistic service of the Church, but when
applied to the opera it became an important means of securing
dramatic effects, especially in situations in which the action
of the play moved along rapidly. _Recitative_ is thus seen to
be a species of musical declamation.

In the early examples of _recitative_ there was scarcely any
accompaniment, often only one instrument (like the cello)
being employed to play a sort of obbligato melody: when full
chords were played they were not written out in the score, but
were merely indicated in a more or less general way by certain
signs and figures. (See "thorough-bass," p. 85, Sec. 200.)

But about the middle of the seventeenth century a slightly
different style of _recitative_ was invented, and in this type
the orchestra was employed much more freely in the
accompaniment, especially in the parts between the phrases of
the text, but to some extent also to support the voice while
singing. This new style was called _recitativo stromento_
(_i.e._, accompanied recitative), while the original type was
called _recitativo secco_ (_i.e._, dry recitative).

During the last century the style of _recitative_ has been
still further developed by Gluck and Wagner, both of whom used
the orchestra as an independent entity, with interesting
melodies, harmonies and rhythms all its own, while the vocal
part is a sort of obbligato to this accompaniment. But even in
this latest phase of _recitative_, it i