The angry Solent dares to what mysterious goal?”
would seem tame enough were it not for the wonderful rising of the notes, which accompany them; and the famous outburst:
“She to Southampton steers!”
is equally dependent upon the crash of music and the combined voices of the whole choir. It is difficult for us, who have heard it rendered in the Albert Hall, to appreciate what the words would be without this adventitious aid. Even the lovely single line,
“Lift up your head, Southampton, dry your honourable tears,”
would be less without the delicate soprano floating above its syllables.
I will admit that the passage on the body-guard of National Scouts is very fine, but then, precisely in proportion as it is effective quâ literature, it fails to impress when accompanied by music, though the author of the score was wise enough to set it to a somewhat monotonous recitative. If the student will read the lines slowly to himself, first with, and then without, the notes, he will see what I mean.
“And who more fit than they
Whose better judgment led them to betray
An aged leader and a failing cause