Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

And in that land where voyaging
The pilgrim Mayflower came to rest,
Among the chosen, counselling,
Once, when bewilderment possessed
A people, none there was might draw
To fold the wandering thoughts of men,
And make as one the names again
Of liberty and law.

And then, from fifty fameless years
In quiet Illinois was sent

A word that still the Atlantic hears,
And Lincoln was the lord of his event.
-John Drinkwater.

GOD'S WILL FOR AMERICA

To what new fates, my country, far
And unforeseen of friend or foe,
Beneath what unexpected star,
Compelled to what unchosen end?

Across the sea that knows no beach,
The admiral of nations guides

Thy blind, obedient keel to reach

The harbor where thy future rides.

The guns that spoke at Lexington
Knew not that God was planning then
The trumpet word of Jefferson
To bugle forth the rights of men.

To them that wept and cursed Bull Run,
What was it but despair and shame?
Who saw behind the cloud and sun?

Who knew that God was in the flame?

Had defeat upon defeat,

Disaster on disaster come,

The slave's emancipated feet

Had never marched behind the drum.

There is a hand that bends our deeds
To mightier issues than we planned,
Each sin that triumphs, each that bleeds,
My country, serves its dark command.

I do not know beneath what sky
Nor on what seas shall be thy fate;

I only know it shall be high,

I only know it shall be great.

-Richard Hovey.

CHAPTER VI
FORCE

So far most of the attention has been centered upon the pure quality of the tone. We now come to the question of Force, another property. The development of force requires nothing new in the line of technique. We simply center the attention upon making the tone powerful, with the assurance that the purity can now take care of itself.

Force is the variation of strength or weakness of the voice, depending upon the degree of vibration of the vocal cords and their intensity. It varies in degree from the gentlest to the vehement; hence graded exercises in its development will do for the voice all that physical training will do for the body, giving to it two conditions of strength,— vigor and pliancy.

Shouting or mere noise is not what is meant by force; the tone should always be smooth and musical, not harsh and disagreeable. The degrees vary with time, pitch, emotion and inflection. Strong passions require loud force; weaker passions need less. There are two kinds of loud voices: the vocally loud, which are vulgar, and the dynamically loud, which are powerful.

Feeling regulates force, but force is changed me

chanically by the amount of breath poured over the vocal cords and by the degree of tension of the cords. True force includes the idea of moral power, and is manifest in a certain stateliness and majesty of tone, rather than through any exhibition of voice or manner. It is the result of a uniform intensity of the whole being and of such repose as suggests reserve power, which is really true power. The comparison between mere noise and true force reminds one of Emerson's saying: "What you are speaks so loud I can't hear what you say."

The most natural force is that used by the cultivated voice in conversational utterances. In relation to loud and soft it approaches a medium, and is called medium force. Unemotional thoughts express themselves through medium force, also simple narration and description. Quiet pathos, tenderness, and restrained feeling of any kind are expressed by subdued force; while rejoicing, anger, scorn, defiance and unrestrained passions are expressed by full force.

Exercises for Acquiring and Measuring Force

1. Say some word like go or forward, first with subdued, then with medium, and then with full force. Notice that the changes are much the same as those made in working through the different degrees of radiation: subdued force corresponding to the first degree, medium to the second, and full force to the fifth degree. Remember that all the attention may now be directed toward making the tone weak or powerful. Practice over and over

again the words that have been suggested, till you become familiar with the changes in the loudness of the voice.

2. For subdued force, expressing gentleness, little breath is needed, and there is a relaxed condition in all the muscles. Repeat to yourself or to some one at your elbow: "I know a garden fair to see, where haunting memories there be of treasures lost and joys of ours, forgotten, lost among the flowers."

Try to be distinct even when the voice is very faint. One can make his tones carry a long distance under such circumstances by making use of the arts and tricks of articulation.

THE DAY IS DONE

The day is done, and the darkness.
Falls from the wings of Night,
As a feather is wafted downward
From an eagle in his flight.

I see the lights of the village

Gleam through the rain and the mist,
And a feeling of sadness comes o'er me
That my soul cannot resist.

A feeling of sadness and longing,
That is not akin to pain,

And resembles sorrow only

As the mist resembles the rain.

Come, read to me some poem,
Some simple and heartfelt lay,
That shall soothe this restless feeling,
And banish the thoughts of day.

« ZurückWeiter »