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Show MADE RULES FOR COMPOSERS Frederick the Great, Talented Musician Musi-cian Himself, Laid Down Imperative Im-perative Orders. Frederick the Great was the most distinguished musical amateur of his age, and his position gave him the power to regulate the style of composition com-position employed by the musicians of his period. For instance, he made the following rules to be followed by operatic ope-ratic composers: "All the principal singers must have big arias and different differ-ent In character, as an adagio aria, which must be very cantabile to show off to good advantage the voice and delivery of the singer; in da capo the artist can then display her art in embellishing variations; then there must be an allegro aria with brilliant passages, a gallant aria, a duet for the first male singer and the prima donna. In these pieces the big forms of measure meas-ure must be used so as to give pathos to the tragedy; the smaller forms of time, such as two-four and three-eight, are for the secondary roles, aid for these a tempa minuetto can be written. writ-ten. There must be the necessary changes of time, but minor keys must be avoided in the theater, beeause they are too mournful." |