The disposition of Bellini was primarily toward what could be musically expressed by the human voice, and all who heard his compositions were convinced that the world had received a rich new gift. Rossini was now great in fame and influence, and the brilliant vocalists of the time were revelling in his florid airs. Bellini, realizing that even the theatre demanded melody more than anything else, and feeling sure that a source of it was waking up within him, was either astute or ingenious enough not to attempt to follow the example of Rossini. He gave his melodies no less extension, but he first simplified them, and then broadened and fortified them in some situations, while in others he softened and sweetened them. He could not command pathos, profound grief, terror, menace, or tragic grandeur. Sentiment, not emotion, was his chief characteristic; but in "Norma" he rose to dignity and maintained calmness, while in "I Puritani" he became noble and strenuous. In "Il Pirata" and in "I Capuletti ed i Montecchi" there were not infrequently boldness and vigor, as the excerpts which are still heard occasionally show. In "Beatrice di Tenda" his weakest airs are found, and in "La Sonnambula" his suavity, tenderness, and appealing purity are most felt. He had a sufficient perception of character to distinguish his personages in song, and he appreciated the capacity of each voice for which he wrote, so that his music is singable by vocalists of moderate ability, and yet is advantageous for consummate artists. The best of executants will find scope in "La Sonnambula," while the dramatically strong can have full range in "Norma" and "I Puritani." Yet his melodies sometimes are almost mawkishly sweet, and his recitatives are generally fragmentary and inexpressive, while it is only in the last two or three operas, and in "I Puritani" especially, that the vocal harmony has much variety or ingenuity. Oddly enough, while studied for human voices, many of his best melodies flow as easily and effectively from instruments, especially those of wood or brass, and the effect of the best of them depends mostly upon the enthusiasm, the emphasis, or the _bel canto_ of the singers. [Illustration] The instrumental portions of his operas betray in every page his ignorance, his weakness, and his indifference. His overtures are generally such only in name, a superficial arrangement of two or three principal themes, and his accompaniments rarely are more than bald and formal supports to the voice. The same general manner pervades them; the upper strings play broken arpeggios while the lower ones give a sustained harmony, to which the wind instruments contribute some color of tone, but which they seldom diversify with figure or comment of their own. It is to be observed that the score of "I Puritani," written under the influence of music in Paris, is richer and more expressive than any which preceded it, and gave the promise which was never to be fulfilled.