A clever actor or orator can, if he possess a high
degree of intelligence and a fairly artistic temperament, so modulate his
voice as to convey to his audience the passions and emotions while feeling
none of them himself; so many great singers who are possessed of a good
musical ear, a good memory, and natural intelligence, although lacking in
supreme artistic temperament and conspicuous musical ability, are
nevertheless able to interpret by intonation and articulation the passions
and emotions which the composer has expressed in his music and the poet or
dramatist in his words. The intelligent artist possessed of the musical
ear, the sense of rhythm, and a well-formed vocal organ accomplishes this
by the conscious control and management of his breathing muscles and the
muscles of articulation, which by education and imitation he has brought
under complete control of the will. With him visual symbols of musical
notes are associated with the visual symbols of words in the mind, and the
visual symbols whether of the words or of the musical notes will serve to
revive in memory the sound of the one or the other, or of both. But he
produces that sound by alteration of tension in co-ordinated groups of
muscles necessary for vocalisation, viz.
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