the beams of the fun, that are more ardent in the action of converging than of diverging. In our own times we have known the fimpleft melody fung to the most simple words, "God fave great George our King”-in which the whole audience could join with loyalty and affection, roufe and transport them more than the moft refined harmony. No voice exempt, no voice but well could join MILTON's Parad. Loft, III. 370. Harmony, doubtlefs, is more diverfified, affords more expreffion and delight to learned ears than unisons and octaves; which yet introduced occafionally would certainly furprize even them, like a stroke of the fublime, "Let there be light"but might tire with continuance; and herein the moderns have the advantage over the ancients. As in preserving a unity of tone consists the excellency of a fingle voice and inftrument, fo in the agreement of many voices and inftruments confifts the pleasure of concert. concert. Correfpondency of tone and expreffing words together, perfection in tune, and exactness of time, produce that confonancy in mufick, which fills the ear with sweetness, and expands the foul with delight, either in a fingle air or in parts; as on the contrary nothing is more disgusting than when this confonancy is broken by difproportionate founds in voices and inftruments, even though they be exact in time and tune. What gall is to the taste, and distortion to the eye, that is divers tones to the ear in a fingle voice or inftrument, or in many voices and inftruments, louder than each other, going before, dropping in, or holding out after each other, the leaft in the world. I would introduce the term confonancy as a distinction to that of confonance. Confonance I leave to its usual fignification, the accord of two founds; and by confonancy I mean the agreement of many founds with one another, among themfelves, and in parts, after a manner, which fhall enter the ear as one found. The falle taste of not keeping a voice and inftrument to its natural tone or compass. The modern practice, or rather vicious trick, of running one voice or instrument into another, the bafs into a contralto, the foprano into a flagellet, the violin into a flute, and the violincello into a violin, as being unnatural, is certainly fo far improper, even could the divifions and paffages be executed clean, with exactness and unity; but as this is not done for the moft part, even by thofe, who have the character of being the beft performers, nor scarcely poffible to be done in very swift movements, the practice is exceedingly offenfive to a chaste and discerning ear, and therefore should be fparingly used by the ablest practitioners, and ought to meet with difapprobation from the audience, when attempted by novices, who aim to run and fly, or ever they have learnt to walk. Each voice and inftrument hath its own extent, bounds, and excellencies, fufficient for cultivation and pleasure, without invading or engroffing the property of another. The reed inftruments, fuch as the hautboy and baffoon, are nearest perhaps in found found to the human voice, and require as great and like care, attention, study and practice, to bring out the tones united beautifully in the piano, forte and fwell. The lower tones of the hautboy feem to be the worst, somewhat resembling the croaking of a frog, duck, or hoarfe rough voice, and require the most care to be formed, or not to be used, if incapable of being well shaped. Falfe Ufe of the Chromatic and Enharmonic Modes. I would here, with due fubmiffion, reprobate two other tricks or abuses of modern compofers and practitioners, when they aim at introducing very often the chromatic and enharmonic modes crudely and by force, only to fhew their skill, without discovering any propriety and view of impaffioning words, the melody or harmony, especially in clofes or cadencies. The common Chords in Mufick. If we would know the Creator, admire his wisdom and power, and love him for his goodness, we must search deeply into D 3 his his works, the divers forms and qualities of beings, numberlefs and infinite, from matter perhaps homogeneous. Among forms and qualities occur founds in language and mufick, their various changes and combinations. Of mufical founds the fundamental is a unit, and the firft fimple concord in ascending is a third, next the fifth, inclufively comprehending two thirds, and lastly the eighth, made up of three thirds, called the common chords; again descending from the unit or first found exclufive, you have a third below, commonly called the fourth of the key, or tetrachord, fuppofed to be the most perfect chord. It is a curious and pleafing experiment, that of ftriking a fingle note on the harpfichord in the bafs, or on the violincello, the ear held close to the inftrument perceives the undulation to pafs off evidently and diftinctly in the common chords of third, fifth and eighth: This distinction or plurality and unity runs through all nature. Thus far you have a fhort and plain view of mufick, its mere elements and |