Sentence:  ... we have no doubt whatever that the recitation of verse on the stage was of an artificial and semi-musical character. It was undoubtedly much more "sustained" and <WSD>intonated</WSD> with a slow and measured stateliness, which, whilst harmonizing it with the other circumstances of solemnity in Greek tragedy, would bring it nearer to music. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To intone or recite (words), "especially" emphatically or in a chanting manner.