Very frequently the metrical accent does not coincide with the syllabic accent: the musical accent will fall on an unaccented syllable, or vice versa. Particularly is this the case when the composer is not perfectly familiar with the rules that govern the prosody of the language to which he is setting music. In the operas of Meyerbeer many passages occur in which it is necessary to readjust the syllables to the notes on account of their misplaced accent. Here is an illustration from Hoël’s Grand Air in Le Pardon de Ploërmel (Meyerbeer), Act II. (Note that the tonic accent in French falls always on the last pronounced syllable.)
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The error is easily remedied:
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In the contralto aria “He shall feed His flock,” in Handel’s Messiah, the unaccented word “shall” falls on the most strongly accented note of the bar. If performed thus, it would give a most aggressive character to the passage, implying that some one had previously denied the assertion. This would be entirely at variance with the consolatory and peaceful message that is contained in the text and shadowed forth in the music.
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Instances of faulty syllabic accent abound in Handel’s works, both his English oratorios and his Italian operas. Many examples could be quoted. Here is a phrase from the beautiful air for mezzo-soprano sung by Ruggiero in the opera of Alcina.