The element of insecurity must not be allowed to enter. If it does, the listener feels that the singer is not sure of himself, that he cannot do what he set out to do: therefore he is a failure.
Another demand is that the singer shall be intelligent. A poem does not lose its meaning or its strength by being associated with music, and to this end the singer must deliver the text with the same understanding and appreciation of its meaning as would a public reader.
Now from the above we infer certain principles. The demand for continuity means that the singer must have a pure _legato_. That is, he must be able to connect words smoothly, to pass from one word to another without interrupting the tone, that the tone may be continuous throughout each phrase.
The feeling of security lies in what is known as _sostenuto_, the ability to sustain the tone throughout the phrase with no sense of diminishing power. It means in short the organ time.
From the demand for design in each word and phrase comes _contrast_. This may be made in the power of the tone by means of cres. dim. sfz. It may be made in the tempo by means of the retard, accelerando, the hold, etc. It may also be made in the quality of the tone by using the various shades from bright to somber.
The basis of phrasing then, may be found in legato, sostenuto and contrast. All of the other things involved in interpretation cannot make a good performance if these fundamental principles be lacking. A more complete outline of interpretation follows:
{ Pitches READING { Note Lengths { Rhythm
{ Vowels { Enunciation { Consonants DICTION { Pronunciation { Accent { Emphasis
{ Even Scale VOICE { Quality { Freedom { Breath Control
{ Attack TECHNIC { Flexibility { Execution
{ Legato PHRASING { Sostenuto { Power { Contrast { Tempo { Color { Proportion
{ Emotional Concept MOOD { Facial Expression { Stage Presence
Most of the things mentioned in this outline of interpretation have been discussed elsewhere, but the subject of diction requires further explanation.
The mechanism of speech might be discussed at any length, but to reduce it to its simplest form it consists of the sound producing instrument,--the vocal cords, the organs of enunciation--lips, tongue, teeth and soft palate, and the channel leading to the outer air. When the vocal cords are producing pitch and the channel is free the result is a vowel. If an obstruction is thrown into the channel the result is a consonant. Vowels and consonants, then, constitute the elements of speech. The vowels are the emotional elements and the consonants are the intellectual elements. By means of vowel sounds alone emotions may be awakened, but when definite ideas are expressed, words which are a combination of vowels and consonants must be used. It is nothing short of amazing that with this simple mechanism, by using the various combinations of open and obstructed channel in connection with pitch, the entire English language or any other language for that matter can be produced.