Text declamation refers to the manner in which a composer sets words to music. Aesthetically, declamation is conceived of as "accurate" (approximating the natural rhythms and patterns of human speech) or not, which informs perceptions about emotional power as expressed through the relationship between words and music.
Late Renaissance composers in particular were concerned with matching text up with music in such a way that the latter could be said to express the former. Madrigalists used a declamation technique known as word painting (text painting or tone painting) to make musical notes illustrate word meanings, trying literally to paint visual images with sonic materials. Thomas Weelkes' madrigal "As Vesta was from Latmos hill descending" uses word painting throughout to declaim textual meaning:
mm 1-9: "Latmos hill" - "hill" is always set with the highest note in the phrase<br /> mm 8-9: "descending" - uses descending scales and leaps<br /> mm 12-22: "ascending" - uses ascending scales<br /> mm 36-46: "running down amain" - uses quickly descending scales in imitative polyphony<br /> mm 48-49: "two by two" - two voices sing<br /> mm 50-51: "three by three" - three voices sing<br /> mm 51-52: "together" - all six voices sing<br /> mm 56-57: "all alone" - top voice sings alone<br /> mm 84-100: "Long live fair Oriana" - low voice begins with longa, continues with long, sustained notes