Complete Encyclopaedia of Music/A/Air
Air, or ARIA. (I.) A tune ; a short song or piece of music adapted to words ; the peculiar modulation of notes which gives music its character. Haydn says, "Let your air be good ; for it is the life, the spirit, and the essence of a composition." An air, generally speaking, is any melody, the passages of which are so constructed as to lie within the province of vocal expression, or which, when sung or played, forms that connected chain of sounds which we call a tune. But the strict import of air is confined to vocal music ; and the word signifies a composition written for a single voice, and applied to poetry. Simple airs are easily learned, and may be per-formed with or without instrumental accompaniments. It is related as a curiosity, that a gentleman of Philadelphia, recently returned from Europe, brought with him a canary bird, the gift of a friend, which distinctly sings two airs - the Hunter's Chorus in Der Freischütz, and a waltz of Beethoven's. This wonderful little cantatrice was instructed by a blind flute player ; and one of its other accomplishments is said to be beating time with its foot while singing. Instances of birds being taught a few bans of a very simple melody are not uncommon ; but cultivation to the point which this canary has reached must be exceedingly rare. The mocking bird would doubtless be a more apt pupil than any other. Its natural ear is certainly quickest, and its vocal power most versatile. The secret of teaching a bird to sing an air consists in playing the first notes over and over again upon some instrument agreeable to, the bird, taking care to suit the pitch exactly to the learner's capacity. When these notes are successfully imitated, the lesson proceeds with a few following, and so on to the end. A vast amount of patience is required for this.
The chief excellence of that measured strain of music called air resides in the beauty of its melody, the symmetry of which lays hold of our affections in a peculiar way. When addressed to the gentler passions, its tender expressions are more intelligible than words, of which few are necessary to assist its meaning ; and the less it is encumbered with them, the more powerful is its charm. Melody demands the expression of its own thoughts, before it attempts to express the idea of the poet - a means exclusively its own, and which acts upon us in a pleasurable way. Its power of calling up ideas of the past, upon which the mind loves to dwell, is often a source of great delight : with music of this kind the singer seldom fails to please ; he trusts to the charm of the melody rather than the force of the words, recollecting that we must first please the ear before we can touch the heart. It is an observation of Madame de Stael, that when the powers of melody are but feebly felt, we expect that it should faithfully conform to every variation of the words ; but when the whole soul is affected by it, every thing, except the music itself, is unreasonable, and distracts the attention, provided there be no opposition between the words and music. We give ourselves up to that which should always predominate over the rest ; for the delightful revery into which it throws us annihilates all thoughts which may be expressed by words. We give ourselves up to the general affections of' the soul. Metastasio reduced his language in versification to so limited a number of words, phrases, and cadences, that they seem always the same ; and his poetry often produces the effect of a musical instrument, which conveys no idea, but delights you with its melody.