Other special accents, such as fz, ffz, fp must be taken in proportion to the loudness or softness of the passage in which they occur.
Phrasing. As a general rule, breath should never be taken during a phrase. The first note of a phrase takes an accent, and the last note is usually a trifle shorter than written; e.g.,
![\relative f'' { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \partial 4 \autoBeamOff f4\( | b,8 cis16[ dis] e8 f g[ dis e]\) f\( dis4. dis8 e4\) \bar "|" }
\addlyrics { Touch their im -- mor -- tal harps with gold -- en wire.}](http://upload.wikimedia.org/score/2/x/2xtsicxhp0tgot6oqyd2bb9r4j85owe/2xtsicxh.png)
Sung:
![\relative f'' { \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \partial 4 \autoBeamOff f4\( | b,8 cis16[ dis] e8 f g[ dis e16]\) r\breathe f8\( dis4. dis8 e4\) \bar "|" }
\addlyrics { Touch their im -- mor -- tal harps with gold -- en wire.}](http://upload.wikimedia.org/score/d/n/dnelmcowmg7x3phrex47d4ljj8mraeo/dnelmcow.png)
Never allow the breath to be taken before accent in long passages; take it after the strong accent.
Make either one or two phrases in such a case; to sing as follows would spoil the effect of such a phrase:
The successful choirmaster will keep an eye on all the phrase-marks, which often occur differently in different parts; the observance of the preliminary accents, if not overdone, makes for crisp and bright entries of fugue-subjects and "imitative" passages, examples of which can be seen in most modern services.
