-G; it will be
unendurable. Whence we may deduce the fact that to sing false is to sing
above or below a note in the inverse direction to its attraction.

Delsarte, in his definition, speaks only of the semitone, and we
ourselves give examples of that sort of attraction only; but it does not
follow that the other intervals are not equally subject to the same law.
Their attraction may not be shown by the same effects.

The master added, in speaking of trueness in singing: "The triad is the
breathing-place of the tonality; the notes composing it should be
absolutely true. They are the singer's invariable and necessary law.
They characterize repose. Their office is that of attraction, and they
can only be attracted mutually, with the exception of the tonic, which
is the centre of attraction not only for various notes, but for the
phrase and the entire composition."

Delsarte was very severe in regard to those who sang false; but to sing
true was not, to his thinking, a good quality. He said, on this point,
that no one would compliment an architect because he had built a house
in accordance with geometrical rules. Whence he concluded that trueness
is the least of good qualities, and the lack of it the greatest of
vices, and he added in regard to style: "The most important quality is
expression, and a lack of expression is the least of vices."

Let us add that the application of passional trueness depends upon a
thousand conditions of rhythm and harmony, to analyze which would lead
us much too far. The artist must make use of it according to his
aptitudes and his tendencies, for he must preserve his individuality. He
must learn by observation and the study of his own faculties to apply
theoretical rules founded upon natural laws.

Practical trueness, while it allows us to depart from legitimate
trueness, has strong analogies with the _tempo rubato_. The _tempo
rubato_, which Delsarte employed in a remarkable and striking way in
dramatic passages, actually permits the musician, in certain cases and
in the desired proportion, to change the value of the notes while
respecting the principle of time, which is invariable. But the
application of these rules is subject to the emotional intensity; it is,
therefore, impossible to determine theoretically and absolutely its
various bearings.

Delsarte.

[From the _Atlantic Monthly_ for May, 1871, by permission of Houghton,
Mifflin & Co.]

By Francis A. Durivage.

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