The wonders of the modern age! Here is a recitation of poem 52 by
Catullus:
http://latinum.mypodcast.com/2007/07/Cantator_reads_Catullus_51_and_some_helpful_pointers_for_reciting_Latin_Verse-22041.html
I don't fully agree with this style of recitation. Catullus is a poet
seriously smitten by the luv bug for Lesbia, but the delivery
communicates nothing of his passionate and confused helplessness,
particularly for these lines:
lingua sed torpet, tenuis sub artus
flamma demanat, sonitu suopte
tintinant aures, gemina teguntur
lumine nocte.
The linked audio gives these lines a very studied regard for the meter
but totally ignores stress, which surely in these lines is very
im****tant for expressing the poet's feelings. The art of Latin
recitation is the art of patting your head with the right hand, while
rubbing your tummy with the left hand, because it's not easy keeping
two different tasks going at the same time - which is my peculiar
metaphorical way of saying, it's im****tant to observe the metrical
lengths while also speaking expressively. That combination of tasks is
what makes the thing musical. This recitation doesn't quite manage it
- it's all beat and no melody. That's my personal opinion. However, I
have to admit, my own delivery seems to me to be inadequate as I often
begin rubbing both my head and my tummy, or patting both of them, if
you know what I mean. Maybe it was the same for the ancients and
recitation of classical verse was always a real skill that took years
to develop, as well as some natural talent, like that of an opera star.
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