Page:Choirmaster's Manual.djvu/44

32 The same thing may be said of verse 3. In verse 4 the word "savèd" should not be divided evenly, but the three-quarter measure given to the accented syllable:   This is an invariable rule for two syllables.

It is NOT advisable to mind stops in the ordinary way. A slight stress on words, as in reading, suffices to give point. * = breath-sign; and although minding of stops is often advocated, on no account must one be noticed after the accented note, or the "two-beat rhythm" will be destroyed.

Hymns. In hymn-singing a different view of phrasing comes to light. So many hymns without any stops at the ends of lines almost compel a stop, by reason of the cadence in the music, but in these cases no stop must be made. Hundreds of examples can be adduced, but one, hymn No. 82, "Weary of earth," must suffice:

Most choirs pause at "stand," thinking only of the musical effect and ignoring the words. This hymn demands a breathing-place in the middle of lines, too, and it will be an interesting experiment for any choirmaster to carefully read over the words of this hymn, mentally marking the proper breathing-places, and then get the choir to sing it, and note the unanimous faults in this direction.

The time of hymn-tunes should be slightly altered, if the verse demands a different treatment, and stops in many cases must be marked to give pointed expression to the words; e.g., in "The Church's one foundation," No. 491:

V. 1. Last two lines ''rall. e dim.''

V. 2, line 4. Mind commas, and accent "one Lórd, one Faíth, one Bírth."