Having stated the general principle upon which this Psalter is arranged as regards the adaptation of the words and music to each other, it is now requisite to explain a particular feature in the system of pointing, which has been rendered necessary by a certain peculiarity in several of the Tones.

It will be observed that, in the 2nd, 4th, 5th and 8th Tones, there is an accent placed over the last note but one in the Mediation, and also a corresponding accent over a certain syllable in each verse of the Psalms and Canticles which are to be sung to these Tones.

The reason and intention of this accent is now to be explained.

In chanting the Latin Psalter to any of these Tones, it is usual, when the last word of the Mediation is a monosyllable, to rise upon that word to the last note but one in the Mediation, and not to descend to the following note, but to omit it and to go straight to the second half of the verse. But if the last word be a word of more than one syllable, then it is usual to rise upon the penultimate or antepenultimate, and to descend upon the remaining syllable or syllables of the Mediation.

Now the most rational method, as it seems, of adapting this rule to the genius of the English language, is to make the last syllable of the Mediation rise to the penultimate note, whenever that syllable is an emphatic one, no matter whether it be a monosyllabic word or not; and if the last syllable

be not an emphatic one, to sing the last emphatic syllable in the Mediation, whichever it may be, to the rising note; and then to sing to the following note all the syllables (if there be any), which come after it. This emphatic syllable we have invariably marked, in each verse, with an accent, whether it be the last syllable or otherwise, and have also marked the corresponding note in the music at the head of the Psalm. So that if the accented syllable be not the last,2 i. e., if there be any syllable or syllables after it, of course these are to be sung to the note following the accented note in the music. If there be no syllable after the accented syllable, then it is obvious that the note following the accented one must be omitted, as there is nothing left to be sung to it.

We will illustrate this by an example, taken from the first part of the Te Deum, as sung to Tone 2. Tone 2.

In order to make the use of this Psalter as easy as possible, we subjoin a brief explanation of all the signs employed in it,-both those which have been already referred to, and the others which have not come within the scope of the preceding observations.

1.

The Stave used in this Psalter, is the

common stave of five lines, which is

generally employed for writing music in the present day; and the Chants are always written in the Treble Clef, as being most usual, and, therefore, most easily understood by the majority of people.*

2.

The Notes used, are of a different shape from those used

in the ordinary measured music, because they do not involve the idea of time, which is involved in the several kinds of note employed in common music. The duration of the notes, indeed, is regulated simply by the length of time which is required, for distinctly enunciating the syllables that are to be sung to them.

The long note is used for the Recitation-note. The square one is the ordinary note of the Mediation and Cadence. The diamond-shaped one is a very short one, having perhaps something of the nature of a passing note.

3. . The zigzag bar at the end of the long note, and the corresponding mark in each half of every verse, between the Roman and Italic characters, are

* It will be seen that over the Stave of Music at the head of each Psalm, are placed certain references to the numbers of the Topes, and to the different arrangements of them as given in the Book of Harmonies, published separately, for the use of Organists and Choirs, where this Psalter is used.

intended to signify that the long note, or Recitingnote, in each case, is to be used as far as that mark, and that the words and syllables which follow it (being in Italics) are to be sung to the notes following the zigzag bar in the Music.

4. . The accent, introduced into the music printed at the head of certain Psalms, and the corresponding accent, placed over some one syllable in every verse of such Psalm, signify that the accented syllable is to be sung to the accented note, and that if there be no syllable or syllables after the accented one, the note following the accented note is, in such cases (but in no other), to be omitted.

This is fully explained in the remarks made above, on the system of pointing used in this Psalter.

5. I. I

The single bar, in the music, corresponds to the colon in the

The

middle of every verse, and the double bar to the period, or other stop, at the end of each verse. notes between the zigzag bars and these bars, severally, are of course to be distributed, (according to rules given elsewhere), among the syllables which occur in the corresponding parts of the verse, and which are printed always in Italics.

6.

When a thick line of this kind is placed over two or more syllables, connecting them together, it means that they are to be sung to one note.

7. placed over a single syllable, or a monosyllabic word, it signifies that the same number of notes as there are marks, are to be sung to that syllable. The difference in the shape of the marks over the syllable, will be found to correspond to the difference in the shape and quality of the notes, as written in the music at the head of the Psalm.

When marks of this kind are

8. { When there are marks following the zigzag bar in any verse, and they have only dots under them, it signifies that there are not syllables enough in the Mediation or Cadence to correspond to the number of notes, and therefore that the word or syllable before the zigzag bar is to be carried on into the Mediation or Cadence, and to be sung to as many notes more, besides the Recitation-note, as there are dots with marks over them.

N.B. There is a hyphen placed between all the several syllables of every word, in the Mediation or Cadence, when those syllables are to be sung each to a separate note. When, however, any two syllables belonging to the same word are connected together, by having a line placed over them, the hyphen is then omitted. There is, of course, no hyphen between distinct words, as they have already a natural division. By comparing the number of notes in the Mediation and Cadence, with these divisions of the words and syllables, allowing two or more notes for every syllable that has two or more marks placed over it, you will find that they exactly correspond, and therefore you will see, at once, note is to be sung to each particular syllable. This expla

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