They advocate approaching hymn melodies through their role as vehicles for text declamation, and give illustrative examples using the trochaic septenarius.
What follows, then, is not so much an analysis as a structural close reading, a diachronic unfolding of the poetic and musical declamation.
The largely syllabic declamation, the slow-moving harmonic rhythm and the lulling bass line project a maternal calm even as they evoke the 'sleep of death'.
Opera, when observed from this perspective, can be described as a hybrid art form, the combination of music, dramatic declamation, physical interpretation and scenographic presentation.
The syllabic declamation ensured that the text would be understood by most of the congregation.
There are arguments in favour of both readings, but either version results in the same commentary on the work's declamation.
As can be deduced from this voice, the composition is characterised by a careful text underlay and a syllabic declamation.
The distinction between rhythmic foreground and middleground is useful in diagnoses of musical declamation within the context of modal rhythm.
