Page:Shakespeare and Music.djvu/38

24 century. Here four voices sing the real music in canon to these words—

while all the time two other voices of lower pitch sing a monotonous refrain, 'Sing cuccu nu. Sing cuccu,' which they repeat ad infinitum till the four who sing the Round are tired. This refrain is called Pes (or 'foot'), and this is the kind of thing which Lucrece means by 'burden.' The word 'hum' may be considered technical, see the Introduction, where 'buzzing bass' is referred to. The tune, 'Light o' love' [see ../Appendix/], as we know from Much Ado $3⁄4, 41$, used to go without a burden, and was considered a 'light' tune on that account, see Two Gent. $1⁄2, 80$.

'Descant,' in l. 1134, wants explaining. To 'descant' meant to sing or play an extempore second 'part' to a written melody. The point was that it should be extempore; if written down