PREFACE. In the following attamnt to "paint" the Contioles and NOTE. In Ps. xxiv. 5, civ. 17, and cxi. 5, a vertical line has been misplaced; in Ps. xviii. 51, xxxvi. 7, and lxxxvii. 7, a capital letter has been inserted by mistake, and in Ps. vii. 18, ix. 7, xxv. 6, 8, xxii. 25, 1. 4, 6, and cxxiv. 1, a capital has been accidentally omitted. In Ps. xl. 13, the dim in the margin belongs properly to verse 14. In the note on Ps. cxiii. 8, the word Hagar should either be left out, or coupled by the conjunction and to the name which follows it. The Reader is earnestly requested not to shrink from a careful study of the Preface; and especially to bear in mind, on his first glance at the pointing itself, that the system here adopted presupposes a method of chanting very considerably slower and more distinct than the method usually employed. reader would cause his emphasis to fall; and, wherever a stress is laid in reading, common sense requires that a musical accent should also be given when the words are sung. In chanting the Psalms, this accent can be obtained only in one way the emphatic syllable must be placed in the accented part-i.e., the beginning of the Bar; and we shall have as many emphatic positions as the Chant has Bars. * *The theory of Syncopation, by which another kind of accent is obtained, belongs to a different order of composition, and does not concern our present inquiry. It is important to notice this, because many persons are in the habit of speaking as if the laws of musical accent were arbitrary, and might be suspended at pleasure, PREFACE. In the following attempt to "paint" the Cantialosa and NOTE. In Ps. xxiv. 5, civ. 17, and cxi. 5, a vertical line has been misplaced; in Ps. xviii. 51, xxxvi. 7, and lxxxvii. 7, a capital letter has been inserted by mistake, and in Ps. vii. 18, ix. 7, xxv. 6, 8, xxii. 25, 1. 4, 6, and cxxiv. 1, a capital has been accidentally omitted. In Ps. xl. 13, the dim in the margin belongs properly to verse 14. In the note on Ps. cxiii. 8, the word Hagar should either be left out, or coupled by the conjunction and to the name which follows it. The Reader is earnestly requested not to shrink from a careful study of the Preface; and especially to bear in mind, on his first glance at the pointing itself, that the system here adopted presupposes a method of chanting very considerably slower and more distinct than the method usually employed. reader would cause his emphasis to fall; and, wherever a stress is laid in reading, common sense requires that a musical accent should also be given when the words are sung. In chanting the Psalms, this accent can be obtained only in one way the emphatic syllable must be placed in the accented part-i.e., the beginning of the Bar; and we shall have as many emphatic positions as the Chant has Bars. * *The theory of Syncopation, by which another kind of accent is obtained, belongs to a different order of composition, and does not concern our present inquiry. It is important to notice this, because many persons are in the habit of speaking as if the laws of musical accent were arbitrary, and might be suspended at pleasure, PREFACE. In the following attempt to "point" the Canticles and Psalms, I have proposed to myself two very simple ends: first, to avoid every kind of false accent; and, secondly, to obtain an easy and natural flow of words. Unless the first object be kept in view, the meaning of the Psalms themselves must perpetually be obscured; while the second is necessary to satisfy the requirements of good taste and the dictates of musical feeling. It is in the combination of these two principles-the principle of correct accent on the one hand and of good taste on the other-that the perfection of a system of pointing will naturally be found. Much has been said and written about the exceeding difficulty of the task which I have taken in hand. I venture to think that the difficulties are considerably lessened by a regard to the two principles suggested above. In the great majority of verses, the required emphasis would appear to decide the question of pointing at once. It can seldom be a matter of opinion whereabouts, in any short sentence, an intelligent reader would cause his emphasis to fall; and, wherever a stress is laid in reading, common sense requires that a musical accent should also be given when the words are sung. chanting the Psalms, this accent can be obtained only in one way the emphatic syllable must be placed in the accented part-i.e., the beginning-of the Bar; and we shall have as many emphatic positions as the Chant has Bars. * In *The theory of Syncopation, by which another kind of accent is obtained, belongs to a different order of composition, and does not concern our present inquiry. It is important to notice this, because many persons are in the habit of speaking as if the laws of musical accent were arbitrary, and might be suspended at pleasure, |