Not having a definite succession of chords, they mixed their harmonies up in unrelated masses, and the voice parts, built upon those harmonies, were consequently shapeless. There being no definitely shaped tunes, there could not be any strong musical contrasts. To-day a composer expresses grief through a slow movement, such as a largo or an adagio, and usually in a minor key, while a change to joy is indicated by a transition to a major key, a lively movement, and an incisive rhythm. But in Peri's "Eurydice," where everything is in recitative, such strong contrast is impossible. When Orpheus bewails the loss of Eurydice he does it in recitative which is somewhat broken and spasmodic in its phrasing; when he pours out his joy at her recovery, he does it in recitative which flows more smoothly and approaches more nearly what we call melody. But that is as far as Peri advanced, and it is as far as he could advance in the then state of monophonic composition. A good singer can make Peri's recitative sound fairly expressive. Caccini's setting of Rinuccini's poem is similar in general style to that of Peri. But as skill in writing homophonic music developed among instrumental composers, the opera writers began to see how they could adapt to their needs some of the new material, and the development of operatic writing in the direction of definite forms was remarkably rapid,--so rapid, indeed, that it led dramatic music out of its province, as we shall see. It should be noted, before proceeding further, that Peri called his "Eurydice" a _Tragedia per Musica_. The other titles of the lyric drama in its inception were _Drama per Musica_, _Melodrama_, and _Tragicomedia_. It was about 1650 that the title _Opera per Musica_ was first used, and this was soon afterward abbreviated to Opera. The new style of music, the recitative, was called _Stile rappresentativo_ or _Stile parlante_. Chapter XIX Italian Opera to Handel's Time Work of Monteverde--His development of recitative and orchestration--Cavalli and his attempts at melodic form--Alessandro Scarlatti--Recitative _stromentato_ and _aria da capo_--Tune for tune's sake--Reign of the singer--Operatic law in the eighteenth century--The Opera Buffa.