V.X Joy
"His sight’s a heaven of happiness
And, if he stays, no, no, I can't retire"
Walter Charleton
"Article 50,
The Motions of the Soul and spirits in Joy.
In Joy therefore, which is a delightful commotion of the Sensitive Soul as it were triumphing in her fruition of good or pleasure ;
(...)
that in this most agreeable passion, both the pulse is always made equal and more frequent, tho’ not so intense and strong as in Love ; and a certain grateful heat is felt, not only through the Lungs and all the breast, but through all outward parts of the body ; from the diffusion of the blood in full streams into them, which is discerning even by the florid purple color wherewith they are suddenly tinged, and by the inflation or plumpness of all the muscles of the face, which thereby rendered more serene, sweet and cheerful. Easie therefore it is to infer, that as this passion is most congruous to the nature of the Corporeal Soul, so are the corporeal motions that accompany and characterize it, most profitable to health ; provided they be moderate."1
"Article 51,
Laughter.
Among the Signs of this delightful passion, some have given the upper hand to that distortion of the countenance, accompanied with a loud, but inarticulate voice, which we call Laughter : but this being neither proper to, nor inseparable from Joy, cannot therefore belong to it essentially. That it is frequently a concomitant of Mirth and Hilarity, is not to be disputed : but Mirth is the lowest degree of Joy, a light and superficial emotion of the Sensitive Soul and Spirits, a kind of short tickling of the Imagination, usually expressed by Laughter, whereas Joy is serious, profound and grave, according to that memorable Sentence of Seneca (epist. 23) res severa est verum gaudium [true happiness is a serious thing]"2
Aaron Hill:
"How an Actor is to express Joy.
DEFINITION.
Joy is Pride, possessed of Triumph.
It is a warm and conscious expansion of the heart, indulging, sense of present pleasure, and comparing it with past affliction : it cannot, therefore, be expressed without vivacity, in look, air and accent.
(…) When he believes himself possessed of the idea of joy, that would not fail to warm a strong conception, let him not imagine the impression rightly hit, ‘till he has examin’d both his face and air, in a long, upright, looking glass ; for there, only, will he meet with a sincere and undeceivable teft of his having strongly enough, or too flaky, adapted his fancy to the purpose before him.
IF, for example, his brow, in the glass, appears bow-bent, or cloudy, his neck bowing, and relaxed, his breast not thrown gracefully back, and elate ; if he sees his arm swing languid, or hang motionless, his back-bone reposed, or unstraiten’d, and the joints of his hip, knee, and ankle, not strong-brac’d, by swelling out the finews to their full extent — All, or any of these spiritless signs, in the glass, may convince him, that he has too faintly conceived the impression : and, at once, to prove it, to his own full satisfaction, let him, at that time, endeavor to speak out, with a voice as high raised as he pleases, he will find, that, in that languid state of muscles, he can never bring it to sound joy (…) But, if on the contrary, he has hit the conception, exactly, he will have the pleasure, in that case, to observe in the glass, that his forehead appears open, and rais’d, his eye smiling, and sparkling, his neck will be stretch’d, and erect, without stiffness, as if it would add new height to his stature ; his breath will be inflated, and majestically backen’d ; his back-bone erect, and all the joints of his arm, wrist, fingers, hip, knee, and ankle, will be high-strung, and brac’d boldly. And now, if he attempts to speak joy, all the spirit of the passion will ascend in his accents, and the very tone of his voice will seem to out-rapture the meaning.
As to the reason of all this, it is as clear as the consequence. For there are nature’s own marks, and impressions, on the body, in cases where the passion is produced by involuntary emotions — And when natural impressions are imitated, exactly, by art, the effect of such art must seem natural."3
Charles Le Brun
"Joy
If (...) Joy fills the soul (...) the forehead is calm, the eyebrow motionless and arched, the moderately open and smiling, the pupil bright and shining, the nostrils slightly open, the corners of the mouth a little raised, the complexion bright, and the lips and cheeks ruddy.
Laughter
And if Joy is followed by Laughter, this movement is expressed in the eyebrows arched over the eyes but with the inner ends lowered, the eyes almost shut, the mouth open and showing the teeth; the corners of the mouth will be drawn back and raised so that there are folds in the cheeks, which will appear swollen and almost hiding the eyes; the face will be red, the nostrils open, and the eyes may appear damp and weeping tears which, being very different from those of Sorrow, change nothing in the face, (...)"4
Vandenhoff
"CHEERFULNESS.
Cheerfulness-which is the direct contrast of the last passion-speaks in a high pitch, briskly and "trippingly on the tongue." The expression is of the same order, but less active or passionate than
JOY ;
whose tone is richer and fuller, and utterance still more lively and animated. Under the influence of joy, the words bound and gush from the lips, and the delivery becomes excited and enthusiastic.
The distinction between these two affections of the mind, is, that Cheerfulness is a state or enduring condition of the mind, and therefore has a certain repose of expression ; while Joy is an active emotion or passion, temporarily exciting and agitating the mind, and accordingly its expression is of a higher character, and must be more powerfully delineated.
Joy usually subsidies into the more happy tranquillity of cheerfulness ; unless it be dashed by grief, in which was it sometimes changes into the darkest despair."5
A SHORT REFLECTION ON EMBODYING JOY/CHEERFULNESS
As with the other positive passions, I found it easy to channel Joy. Through that process, I learned that this emotion can manifest a number of ways. In parts of the performance, I searched for a profound feeling, a calmer expression, as with Love. This was especially because the natural manifestations of joy might work against the singing. For instance: Even though smiling works well when reciting, I doesn't when singing melismas. And as my chosen text and music allowed for a development of the passion, I didn't exclude the tickling of the soul, as described by Charleton, the cheerfulness, which naturally allowed for laughter.
Footnotes:
1: Charleton 1701, pp. 141-2
2: ibid, p. 144
3: Hill 1753, pp. 357-62
4: LeBrun 1698, translated in: Montagu 1994, p. 137
5: Vandenhoff 1846, pp. 202-3