of mere dialogue, is absolutely painful; there is a sudden sinking from the ideal to the real, which shocks the sense, and at once destroys the fabric of the imagination.  Rousseau says of the lyric drama, that “the melodies must be separated by speech, but speech must be modified by music; the ideas should vary, but the language should remain the same.  This language once adopted, if changed in the course of a piece, would be like speaking half in French and half in German.  There is too great a dissimilarity between conversation and music, to pass at once from one to the other; it shocks both the ear and probability.  Two characters in dialogue ought either to speak or sing; they cannot do alternately one and the other.  Now, recitative is the means of union between melody and speech by whose aid, that which is merely dialogue becomes recital or narrative in the drama, and may be rendered without disturbing the course of melody.”  Recitative is peculiarly adapted to the expression of strong and violent emotion.  The language of the passions is short, vivid, broken, and impetuous; the most abrupt transitions and modulations which are observed in nature, may be noted down in recitative.  Writing recitative is but committing to paper the accent and intonation, in short, the reading of the language to be delivered by the performer; and the composer may almost be considered as a master of elocution, writing down that reading of a passage which he thinks may best express the passion or the sentiment of the words.  The effect of this reading or intonation is often aided and increased by the sound of instruments, sometimes, expressing the harmonies of the passages or transitions noted for the voice, at other times, perhaps, performing a graceful independent melody or harmony, in which case it is said to be “accompanied:”  It may be easily conceived, how powerful an instrument of dramatic effect, this species of composition may become in the hands of a skillful composer.  We have already given two examples of its power, one, of recitative in its simplest form, the other, of accompanied recitative.[1] It would seem scarcely credible that so powerful an agent of the lyric drama should be utterly neglected, among a people who undoubtedly claim to be considered a musical nation, and whose composers certainly esteem themselves among those to whom musical fame might be justly awarded.  But such is nevertheless the fact, and we are not aware of any modern composer of the English school who has fully availed himself of its powers and capabilities.  It has been said of Artaxerxes, that the attempt then made to apply recitative to the English language is unsuccessful; but it may be asked, whether the long continued popularity of this work may not, in some degree at least, be owing to the absence of the incongruous mixture of speech and song.  However this may be, it is at least a singular coincidence, that the single opera of our language, in which dialogue does