THE BOOK WAS
DRENCHED
CO >; DO
8], . Ex. i (Mozart,
Symphony in G minor) shows an irregu-
lar dynamic accent which, at the same
time, is tonic and agogic also. Frequently,
the emphasis on the weak beat is en-
hanced by means of striking dissonances,
as in Ex. 2. The *tonic accent has played
a role in the discussions on Gregorian
chant and on other types of medieval
monophonic music.
(2) [F.]. In French music of the i7th
and 1 8th centuries, an ornamentation be-
longing to the class of *Nachschlage.
(3) Signs used in ancient Greek liter-
ature (probably also in Hebrew poetry,
e.g., Psalms, Book of Job) to indicate a
change of pitch of the voice in recitation:
accentus acutus ^, for a raising; a. gravis
\ for a lowering; a. circumftexus A ,
for an inflection (raising followed by low-
ering) of the voice. These signs are
considered today as the origin of the
neumes (accent neumes; see *Neumes
II) and of certain other related systems
[6]
ACCENTUATION
of notation, called *ekphonetic notation.
Cf. WoHN i, 61.
(4) The notational signs used in Jew-
ish chant [see * Jewish music II].
Accentuation. The proper placement
of accents, especially in music set to a
text. See ^Declamation; *Text and music.
Accentus, concentus. The terms are
used in liturgical music in two different
though related meanings: (a) liturgi-
cally, as referring to the chanting of the
priest (accentus) and to that of the
schold) i.e., the choir, the soloists, or both
(concentus)\ (b) stylistically, as referring
to two opposite types of plainsong, the
syllabic recitation, largely on a monotone
with slight inflections, as in the psalm
tones (accentus)) and the melismatic
type found in the alleluias, graduals, etc.
(concentus). The chant of the priest is
usually of the simpler type; that of the
schola of the more elaborate. See P.
Wagner, Einjuhrung in die Gregoria-
nischen Melodien, iii (1921), p. 4.
Acciaccato [It.]. "Crushed," i.e.,
brusquely, forcibly.
Acciaccatura [It. acciaccare, to crush],
Italian name for an ornament of harpsi-
chord music (c. 1675-1725) which calls
for the lower second of the normal note
to be simultaneously struck and immedi-
ately released. It usually occurs in con-
ACCIDENTALS
nection with chords; either written out
as an ordinary note, but to be played as
described above [Ex. i, Domenico Scar-
latti, Sonata; Ex. 2, Scherzo in Bach's
Partita no. 3] ; or indicated by a diagonal
dash, in which case arpeggio execution
is usually intended, particularly in slow
tempo. The direction of the dash indi-
cates the direction of the arpeggio [Ex.
3 ] . The French name for this ornamen-
tation was arpegement figure. For an
erroneous usage, frequent in modern
writings, of the term acciaccatura, see
under *Appoggiatura III.
Accidentals. I. General. The signs of
chromatic alteration momentarily intro-
duced for single notes or measures, as
opposed to those given in the ^signature.
The signs of chromatic alteration to-
gether with their names in English,
French, German, and Italian are given
in the following table:
E:
F:
G:
It:
E:
F:
G:
It:
*
sharp
diese
Kreuz
diesis
bb
double-flat
double bemol
Doppcl-Bc
doppio bemolle
b
flat
bemol
Be
bemolle
X
double-sharp
double diese
Doppelkreuz
doppio diesis
natural
becarre
Auflosungszeichcn
bequadro
The sharp raises the pitch one semitone,
the flat lowers it one semitone; the
double-sharp and double-flat raise and
lower two semitones respectively; the
natural cancels any of the other signs.
The use of the compound signs W, tlb,
W to cancel partly or entirely a previous
X or bb is quite frequent but unneces-
sary. The simple signs #, b, $ answer
the purpose [Ex. i]. In modern practice
a sign affects the note immediately fol-
lowing and is valid for all the notes of
the same pitch (but not in different oc-
taves) within the same measure. Recent
composers frequently add bracketed ac-
C^)
I
ir T
cidentals to those demanded by this rule,
in order to clarify complicated passages
or chords.
[7!
ACCIDENTALS
II. History. All the signs used for
chromatic alteration developed from the
same sign, namely, the letter b which
indicates the whole tone above a. The
fact that in the diatonic scale c-d-e
... no perfect fourth above f is avail-
able necessitated, as early as the loth
century, the introduction of another b,
a semitone lower than the diatonic b
[see *Hexachord]. These two b's were
distinguished by their shape, the higher
one being written in a square form and
called b durum (durus, hard, angular),
the lower in a round form and called
f b B durum
E . b B molle
sh'apes -S * Shar P
$& Double sharp
L *fc Double sharp
b molle (mollis, soft, round). It is from
these designations that the German
names Dur and Moll for major and
minor mode are derived. When in the
ensuing period the introduction of other
chromatic tones became necessary, the
sign b durum and its later modifications
\ $ were used to indicate the higher of
two semitones; the sign b molle or b, the
ACCOMPANIMENT
doubled lines, either in a straight or in
a diagonal position. The present sign is
a simplification of the latter.
In music prior to 1700 an accidental
is not valid for the entire measure, but
only for the next note and immediate
repetitions of the same note. See Ex. 3.
T
c o
Cf C
lower one. Thus, in early music, ^ f is
not F-natural (canceled), but F-sharp;
likewise, b f is not F-flat, but F (in dis-
tinction from a previous F-sharp); [see
Ex. 2, from Frescobaldi's Canzone
(1628)]. Bach continued to use the
sign b for the cancellation of a previous f#.
In Germany, during the i6th century,
the sign b durum was erroneously inter-
preted as the letter h, to which it bears
some visual resemblance. Hence, in Ger-
man terminology h denotes the B-natural,
and b the B-flat.
In the printed books of the i6th cen-
tury the sharp sign usually occurs in a
diagonal position. The double-sharp (in-
troduced in the early i8th century; cf.
Bach's Well-tempered Clavier, 1722, and
J. G. Walther's Musi\ Lexicon, 1732)
originally appeared as a sharp with
For the problem of accidentals in
music of the i3th to the i6th centuries,
see *Musica ficta. Cf. F. Niecks, "The
Flat, Sharp, and Natural" (PMA xvi).
Acclamation. A type of Byzantine
poetry and music which served as a
salutation for the emperor in the cere-
monial of the Byzantine court of the
9th and loth centuries. The acclama-
tions are practically the only type of non-
liturgical Byzantine music known to us.
Acclamations are still used today in Rus-
sia and the Balkans for welcoming high
dignitaries of the church. Those begin-
ning with the traditional phrase "Many
be the years*' were called polychronion
[cf. the examples in ReMMA, 77 and
in MQ xxiii, 207].
Lit.: AdHM i, 128; E. Wellesz, Byzan-
tinische Musi\ (1927); H. Tillyard, in
The Annual of the British School of
Athens, xviii.
Accolade [F.]. *Brace.
Accompagnato. Accompanied. See
*Recitative II (c).
Accompaniment. I. The musical
background provided by a less important
for a more important part. For instance,
in piano music, the chords or other sub-
sidiary material of the left hand, as
against the melody of the right hand.
The term also refers to the support given
to a soloist (singer, violinist) by a pianist
or an orchestra. The auxiliary role of
the accompaniment frequently leads to
an underestimation of its musical and
artistic importance, on the part of the
soloist as well as the audience. Vocalists,
especially, are inclined to demand an un-
due subordination of .their accompanists,
8]
ACCOMPANIMENT
condemning them to complete slavery in
questions of interpretation, of tempo, of
dynamics, etc. This situation is the more
dangerous, since the possession of an
outstanding voice and vocal technique is
no guarantee of musical taste and artistic
discrimination.
The modern church organist as well
as the leader of a choir is frequently con-
fronted with the problem of providing
suitable accompaniment for the singing
of the congregation or the chorus, either
improvised or written out. Following
are a number of books on this subject:
J. F. Bridge, Organ Accompaniment
(1886); D. Buck, Illustrations in Choir
Accompaniment (1877); C. Forsyth,
Choral Orchestration (1920); W. Hickin,
Pianoforte Accompaniment', A. H.
Lindo, The Art of Accompanying
(1916); Ch. W. Pearce, The Organist's
Directory to the Accompaniment of the
Church Service (1908); A. M. Richard-
son, Modern Organ Accompaniment
(1907). See also *Vamp.
II. References to instrumental accom-
paniment of songs are not infrequently
found in the Bible (harp-accompani-
ment is suggested by the remark "on
eight strings," given with Psalms 6 and
12) and in the writings of the ancient
Greeks. Pictorial reproductions and lit-
erary documents of the Middle Ages
show the use of harps, fiddles, bells,
small drums, trumpets, etc., in connec-
tion with the monophonic songs of the
troubadours and Minnesinger, and in
conjunction with dance music. Neither
in ancient nor in medieval music was
this improvised type of accompaniment
ever of a harmonic nature; it was merely
a unison- (or octave-) doubling of the
voice part, with occasional *heterophonic
elements. The same type of accompani-
ment is to be found with the Oriental
nations, especially in *China, *India,
* Arabia. While the polyphonic music
of the 9th to the i3th centuries (organa,
motets) does not admit the separation of
the polyphonic fabric into parts of
greater or lesser importance, such a sepa-
ration takes place in the French secular
compositions of th^ i4th and early i5th
ACCOMPANIMENT
centuries (ballades, virelais by G. de
Machaut and his successors, sec *Ars
Nova; chansons of Dufay and his con-
temporaries, see *Burgundian School).
It disappears again with the rise of
Flemish sacred music and of Flemish
counterpoint (Ockeghem, Obrecht),
which is essentially opposed to any dis-
tinction between principal and auxiliary
parts. The instrumental doubling of
vocal parts, such as was occasionally
practiced in this period, can scarcely be
considered an accompaniment. In the
1 6th century the renewed shift to secular
things immediately led to a revival of
accompanied melody, e.g., in the lute-
songs of the German Schlick (1512), of
the Spanish Valderrabano (1547), and of
the English Dowland (1597).
III. A new era of accompaniment
began with the period of thorough-bass
(Baroque period, 1600-1750), which
calls for a harmonic accompaniment to
be improvised upon the notes of the bass.
Moreover, the growing interest in florid
and singable melody brought about a
gradually increasing separation of the
musical substance into a predominant
melody with subordinate accompaniment
(e.g., in the aria). Whereas, throughout
the Baroque period, the written-out ac-
companiment (and, consequently, the
improvised one, too) shows many traits
of contrapuntal and harmonic interest,
it degenerated, in the second half of the
1 8th century, into a stereotyped pattern
of plain chords, arpeggios, *Alberti-bass
figures, etc. As a curiosity it may be
mentioned that, about 1760, sonatas were
frequently written for the "pianoforte
with the accompaniment of a violin or
flute" (Mondonville, 1734, see ^Editions
XXIV, 9; Schobert, see DdT 34), that is,
with the violin or flute merely duplicat-
ing the upper part of the pianoforte. In
this connection it is interesting to note
that Samuel Wesley speaks of }. S. Bach's
"Six sonatas for harpsichord with an ob-
bligato violin accompaniment."
IV. About 1780 Haydn and Mozart
evolved a new type of accompaniment
known as accompanimento obbligato,
characterized by a greater individuality
[9]
ACCORD
of the lower parts, by the occasional in-
troduction of fugal elements, by the oc-
casional shift of the melody from the
higher part into a lower part, etc. This
style is particularly evident in the
quartets written in this period. Because
of -these efforts Beethoven was able to
say of himself: "Ich bin mit einem obli-
gaten Accompaniment auf die Welt
gekommen." What Haydn and Mozart
did in the field of instrumental music,
Schubejrt achieved in the field of song,
by freeing the pianoforte accompaniment
from the slavery of mere chord-filling
and making it an independent, some-
times the most interesting, part of the
composition. Composers such as Schu-
mann, Brahms, and H. Wolf adopted
his method, whereas others (e.g., Tchai-
kovsky) rarely went beyond a chordal
accompaniment in lush harmonies of a
rather ephemeral interest. More recent
composers (Mahler, Strauss) have re-
peatedly used the whole orchestra as an
instrumental background for a solo
singer.
V. The extraordinary growth of ac-
companied melody .as it occurs in the
songs of the ipth century has had a de-
plorable effect upon the minds of musi-
cal scholars and editors engaged in the
study and publication of early mono-
phonic music, such as Greek music, ex-
otic melodies, Gregorian chant, the songs
of the trouveres, Minnesinger, etc. Nu-
merous volumes have been published in
which the melodies of the pre-Christian
era or of the Middle Ages are coupled
with cheap accompaniments in the styles
of Schumann, Brahms, or Debussy. Even
well-known scholars have not withstood
this temptation [cf., e.g., O. Fleischer,
Rcste der altgricchischen Tontytnst
(1899)]. More recent attempts to give
these accompaniments an "antique" air
[see reference under *Quartal harmony]
are only more dangerous and misleading.
For literature on the 17th-century ac-
companiment see *Thorough-bass. See
also * Additional accompaniment.
ACOUSTIC BASS
ments such as the lute for which various
systems of tuning were in use during the
i;th century [cf. WoHN ii, 91; ApNPM,
7if]. See *Scordatura.
Accordare [It.], accorder [F.]. To
tune.
Accordatura [It.]. See *Accord (2).
Accordion. A portable musical instru-
ment consisting of a rather large rec-
tangular bellows with reeds in the two
headboards. It has pushed-out and
drawn-in reeds, the former sounding by
expiration, the latter by inspiration. The
modern accordion has a piano keyboard
at the right side for the playing of mel-
ody notes, while buttons on the left side
operate bass notes and full chords. The
earliest instruments of this type were
made by Buschmann (1822), Buffet
(1827), and Damian (1829).
A similar instrument, preferred to the
accordion in England, is the concertina
invented by Wheatstone in 1829. This
is of hexagonal shape and is provided at
each side with a number of studs. It
possesses a full chromatic scale and pro-
duces the same note whether the bellows
are pressed or drawn. Artistically, this
instrument is superior to the accordion.
A good deal of solo music has been writ-
ten for it by virtuosos such as G. Regondi,
W. B. Molique, G. A. Macfarren, and
E. Solas, and it has occasionally been used
in the orchestra (Tchaikovsky, Orches-
tral Suite op. 53). The bandoneon is an
Argentine variety of the accordion with
buttons on each side, each of them for a
single tone.
Accordo [It.]. Chord.
Accuse [F.] . With emphasis.
Achromatic. *Diatonic.
Achtel, Achtelnote, Achtelpause
[G. achtel, one-eighth]. See *Notes and
rests.
Achtfuss [G.]. Eight-foot (stop) [see
*Foot (2)].
Accord [F.]. (i) Chord. (2) Man- Acoustic bass (also called resultant
ner of tuning, especially that of instru- bass). On organs, a 32-foot stop which
[10]
ACOUSTICS
is obtained as a differential tone of a 16-
foot stop and a io%-foot stop. Accord-
ing to the acoustic phenomenon of the
differential tones [see Combination
tones] the simultaneous sounding of C
(produced by the i6-foot) and of G (pro-
duced by the io%-foot) produces the
tone Ci (32-foot). The acoustic bass is
frequently used where the great expense
of the large 32-foot pipes is prohibitive.
Acoustics. The science which treats
of sounds. From the standpoint of the
musician the most important problems
of acoustics are: (i) the nature of the
musical sound; (2) ^intervals; (3) Con-
sonance and dissonance; (4) ^resonance;
(5) *architectural acoustics. Only the
first problem will be treated here; for the
others, see the respective entries..
I. Vibration. The generation of sound
is invariably bound up with the vibra-
tion of an elastic body, i.e., of a body
which, when its equilibrium is disturbed,
develops inner forces which try to restore
the equilibrium. Such a process does not
end at once, since the body upon return-
ing to its initial position still has a certain
amount of kinetic energy which causes
it to go beyond this position so that a
new contrary disturbance results. This
leads to a repetition of the whole move-
ment in the reverse direction and, in fact,
to a succession of movements back and
forth which would continue indefinitely
were it not for friction, which causes
them to diminish and finally to stop. A
tongue of steel fastened at one end may
serve as an example [Ex. i].
The movement A-B-A (or A-C-A
or B - A - C) is called "single vibration"
(half-vibration); the movement A-B-
A-C-A (or B-A-C-A-B) is
called "double vibration" or simply "vi-
bration" or "cycle" (in modern writings
usually the double vibration is used as
the unit of measurement). The distance
B-C is called "amplitude." The num-
ber of vibrations made in one second is
called "frequency." Example 2 repre-
sents a vibration of 3 cycles.
(In order to understand the relation of
this graph to the vibration it is meant to
ACCOMPANIMENT
represent, one iu*v imagine me itrvycsi
point of the tongue, A, to be made lumi-
nous and then photographed. If for this
purpose a single exposure of film is used,
a horizontal dash ( ) will appear. If,
Ex. i: Vibration of Elastic Body; O, fixed end;
A, position of equilibrium; B, position of initial
disturbance; C, reverse position. Ex. 2: Vibration
of 3 Cycles; a = amplitude; v= (double) vibration;
s = single vibration. Ex. j: Path of Vibrating
Tongue. Ex. 4: Vibration of 6 Cycles. Ex. 5: Fad-
ing Sound. Ex. 6: Vibrating String; A, B, fastened
ends of the string; C, point of plucking.
however, a quickly moving film is used,
this dash will appear drawn out into an
oscillating curve [Ex. 3] ).
If the same tongue is plucked with
different degrees of force, the ear will
notice different intensities of sound, and
the vibration curve will show different
ACOUSTICS
amplitudes, corresponding to the differ-
ent magnitudes of the initial disturbance.
This leads to the first law of acoustics:
The intensity of a sound defends upon
the amplitude of the vibration [see *Bel] .
Therefore a fading sound will show a
vibration curve of gradually diminishing
elongations [see below].
Still more important is another ele-
ment of variety, namely, that which en-
ters if sounds of different pitch are
studied. If the photographic experiment
described above is repeated with a shorter
tongue, a higher tone will be heard and
the resulting curve will show vibrations
of narrower width (provided that the
speed of the moving film remains un-
altered) [Ex. 4], This means that the
single vibration of the higher-pitched
tongue takes a shorter time than that of
the lower-pitched one. In other words,
the higher sound makes more vibrations
per second, i.e., has a greater frequency,
than the lower sound. This is the basis
of the second law of acoustics: The pitch
of a sound depends only upon the fre-
quency of the vibration. A sound is audi-
ble if its frequency is approximately be-
tween 1 6 and 20,000 cycles; the tones of
the piano vary from about 30 to 4,000,
those of the violin from about 300 to
3,000. The frequency of a middle A (a'),
i.e., of concert pitch, is 440 (or 880, if
single vibrations are counted).
In the above law, the word only is of
particular importance. It expresses the
fact, known to every musician, that the
pitch of a vibrating string is not altered
by the greater or lesser force with which
the string is plucked, or, in other words,
that the pitch does not depend upon the
amplitude. The piano player obtains a
tone of the same pitch regardless of
whether he uses a pianissimo or a fortis-
simo touch. The same principle is borne
out by the fact that a sound does not alter
its pitch when it gradually decreases in
intensity. This means that a curve rep-
resenting a fading sound [Ex. 5] will
always have the form a, not the form b.
II. Vibrating Strings. If a violin is
plucked or bowed, each single point of
the string will make an up-and-down
ACOUSTICS
vibration comparable to that made by the
lowest point of the steel tongue previ-
ously described. All these vibrations have
the same frequency, but differ in ampli-
tude. For the purpose of our explana-
tions, the vibration of the string can be
considered as being represented by that
of its point of highest vibration ampli-
tude, i.e., of the point at which the string
is plucked. If this is the middle point of
the string, the resulting phenomenon can
be roughly illustrated by Example 6.
III. Frequency, Vibrating Length, and
Pitch. The pitch produced by a vibrat-
ing string depends upon its material
(steel, copper, etc.), its diameter, its ten-
sion, and its length. For the present pur-
pose it is sufficient to consider only the
latter factor, the others being regarded as
constant. These conditions are realized
in the case of a single string whose vibrat-
ing length can be changed by stopping
(violin) or by means of a movable fret
(*monochord). The following funda-
mental law results: The frequency is
in inverse proportion to the vibrating
length. This means that if the whole
string (e.g., one yard) gives a sound of
the frequency 600, the string of the half
length (one-half yard) gives a sound of
the double frequency, 1200, while a
string of two-thirds of a yard produces
the frequency 600 X % = 900, etc.
More important from the musical point
of view is the relation between a given
vibration and the pitch of the sound it
produces. This problem was investigated
and solved by Pythagoras, who estab-
lished the law relating the pitch of a note
to the length of the string by which it
is obtained. The results have a more
general application, however, if they are
expressed in frequencies rather than in
vibrating lengths. Thus expressed, they
remain unchanged regardless of whether
the sound is produced by a pipe or by a
string, and they do not depend upon ad-
ditional factors such as the tension, thick-
ness, or material of the string. The
fundamental principle is as follows: //
the frequency of a tone is n, that of the
octave is 2n, that of the fifth, %n, and
that of the major third, %n. From these
ACOUSTICS
tones, all the others of the diatonic scale
can be derived [see intervals, Calcula-
tion of, II]. The result is as follows:
cdefgabc'
Frequency ( = i): i % % % % % 15 6 2
Frequency ( = 24): 24 27 30 32 36 40 45 48
Vibrating length: x ft ft ft ft ft 9b K
The illustration [Ex. 7] shows a num-
ber of frequencies calculated for the tone
= 360 (the correct frequency for f is
352). It must be noted that these fre-
quencies give the tones of *just intona-
tion, not of equal temperament [see
*Temperament] .
IV. Harmonics. The acoustic effect
produced by a single vibration of the
type described above is called a pure
sound; but practically no vibrating body
produces a pure sound. All the musical
instruments produce composite sounds,
8. ^
5" 6 7 6 9 iO II (2. >3
Iff 16
Frequency; Harmonics
consisting of the main sound, or funda-
mental, plus a number of additional pure
sounds, the so-called overtones, which,
however, are not heard distinctly be-
cause their intensity (amplitude) is
much less than that of the main sound.
The frequencies of the overtones are
exact multiples of the frequency of the
fundamental. In other words, an instru-
ment which produces the tone of the fre-
quency n actually produces vibrations
(pure sounds) of the frequencies n, 2/1,
3, 4/2, . . . (up to 200 and more). The
illustration [Ex. 8] shows the first 15
overtones of the tone C.^ A^morc com-
mon designation for these tones is par-
tials or harmonics. It should be noted,
ACOUSTICS
however, that these terms (if properly
used) include the fundamental, while the
term overtone (if properly used) ex-
cludes it. Thus, the first overtone is the
second harmonic, etc. Although the
terms harmonics and partials arc fre-
quently used as interchangeable, the lat-
ter has, in scientific studies, a wider
significance, since it includes also non-
harmonic overtones, such as occur in
noises, also in bells. With the exception
of the octaves (2,4,8) none of the har-
monics arc tones of equal temperament.
Those which result from the factors 3
and 5 (3,5,6,9,10,12, etc.) are tones of
*just intonation (see the above table of
frequencies) whereas the harmonics 7,
ii and 13 (indicated by black notes) can
only approximately be identified with
tones available in our system of tuning
and notation. As can easily be seen, the
7th harmonic, which is 7 = 6 %, is lower
than the B-flat of just intonation which
is *% X 4 = 6 %; this, in turn, is
slightly lower than the B-flat of equal
temperament (in *cents, the three tones
are: 972, 996, 1000, respectively). Simi-
larly, the nth harmonic, which is n =
4 %, is lower than the F-sharp of just
intonation (*%X% = 4 %) and, in
fact, nearer to the F than to the F-sharp
of equal temperament. Finally, the i3th
harmonic is 13 = 3 %, whereas the A of
just intonation is % X 8 = 4 %.
The physical cause of the harmonics
is to be found in the fact that a vibrating
body, such as a string, vibrates simul-
taneously as a whole and in sections of
one-half, one-third, one-fourth, etc., of
the entire length. The secondary vibra-
tions, however, have a much smaller am-
plitude, approximately between one-fifth
and one-fiftieth of that of the fundamen-
tal [Ex. 9].
The existence of these additional tones
in what the ear believes to be a single
sound was shown first by Helmholtz
( 1 821-94), by means f *resonators of
various sizes which reinforce one fre-
quency and eliminate all the others. The
harmonics can easily be demonstrated by
the following simple experiment on the
pianoforte: Depress the key of C with-
ACOUSTICS
out producing a sound, i.e., merely raise
the damper of the key of C; then strike
forcefully the key of Ci and release it
at once; the higher C, corresponding to
the tone of the depressed key, will
clearly be heard. The experiment can
be repeated by depressing the keys of G,
c, e, g, etc., and striking each time the
key of Ci. In every case, the tone cor-
responding to the depressed key will be
heard. The explanation of the phenome-
non is found in the fact that the har-
monics C, G, c, . . . produced by the
fundamental tone Ci generate, by way
of resonance, sympathetic vibrations in
the shorter strings corresponding to these
tones. The harmonics are the cause of
three important musical phenomena,
namely, *timbre, the *natural tones of
wind instruments, and the *harmonics
of the violin.
V. Pipes. In pipes (organ pipes, and
all wind instruments) an enclosed air
column is caused to vibrate in what is
technically termed "stationary waves."
These are characterized by a regular
alternation of places of highest density
(nodes) and highest rarefaction (anti-
nodes or loops) between which the den-
sity of the air decreases from the maxi-
mum to the minimum. At the place of
maximum density the amplitude of the
vibrating particles of air is at a mini-
mum, and vice versa. The whole phe-
nomenon can conveniently be described
by graphs similar to that used for a vi-
brating string, if the point of highest
Open and Closed Pipes
amplitude is interpreted as the loop, the
stationary point as the node. In an open
pipe, a loop develops at each end, with a
node in the middle; in a *stopped pipe,
a node develops at the closed end, a loop
at the open end. From the accompany-
ACOUSTICS
ing drawing it appears that an open
pipe generates a sound the wave length
of which is double the length of the pipe
(N'N" = 2 AB), while a stopped pipe
generates a sound the wave length of
which is four times the length of the pipe
(N'N" = 4 AB) and which, therefore,
is an octave lower than that produced by
an open pipe of the same length. An
open pipe sounding C measures approxi-
mately eight feet [see *Foot (2)].
Like a vibrating string, an air column
vibrates not only as a whole but also in
parts (y 2> Y^ %, %, etc., of its length),
thus producing harmonics. While an
open pipe produces all the harmonics
(as does a string), a stopped pipe seg-
ments so as to give out only the odd-
numbered harmonics, 1,3,5, etc - T ne rea "
son is that an even harmonic (e.g., 2)
would call for a loop (or a node) at both
ends of the pipe, while in a stopped pipe
there is always a loop at the open end, a
node at the closed end [see *Wind instru-
ments III; *Organ IX],
VI. Interference. This is the technical
term (not a very fortunate one) for the
numerous phenomena resulting from the
B
INTERFERENCE
Ex. A: Vibrations of the Same Frequency. Ex. B:
Vibrations of Different Frequencies: I, of 12 cycles;
II, of 14 cycles; III, resulting vibration showing
2( = i4-i2) maximum vibrations per second
(beats).
superposition of two or more air vibra-
tions. The general principles of the very
complex phenomenon can be grasped
from the drawing [Ex. A], showing two
original vibrations (I, II) of the same
frequency as well as the result of their
superposition (III = I -f II). More im-
14]
ACTION
portant is the interference of vibration?
of different frequencies, e.g., of 2 and 3
cycles per second, or of 12 and 14 cycles
per second [Ex. B]. The example illus-
trates the manner in which *beats are pro-
duced, in the present case 2 (14-12) per
second. For a more complicated phenom-
enon of interference, see *Combination
tones.
Related articles: Architectural acous-
tics; Beats; Bel; Cents; Combination
tones; Comma; Consonance and Disso-
nance; Intervals, Calculation of; Just in-
tonation; Pitch; Pythagorean scale; Reso-
nance; Savart; Temperament; Timbre.
Lit.: W. T. Bartholomew, Acoustics
of Music (1942; bibl.); P. C. Buck,
Acoustics for Musicians (1918); J. Broad-
house, Musical Acoustics (1926); E. G.
Richardson, The Acoustics of Orchestral
Instruments and of the Organ (1929);
}. Jeans, Science and Music (1937);
D. C. Miller, Science of Musical Sounds
(1916); J. Redfield, Music: a Science and
an Art (1928); Stevens and Davis, Hear-
ing (1938); A. H. Davis, Modern Acous-
tics (1934); N. W. McLachlan, The New
Acoustics (1936); Olson and Massa, Ap-
plied Acoustics (1934). See also under
* Architectural acoustics; *Electronic mu-
sical instruments. Additional bibliog-
raphy in D. H. Daugherty, A Bibliog-
raphy of Periodical Literature in Musi-
cology . . . (1940), pp. nyff.
Action, (i) Any kind of mechanism
used in instruments as a means of trans-
mitting the action of the fingers to the
sound-producing parts; in other words,
a sort of artificial prolongation of the
fingers (or feet). On keyboard instru-
ments, the action forms an essential, even
the characteristic, part of the instrument
[see *Pianoforte I; *Organ II]. The
term is also applied to the key-mechanism
of wood-wind instruments which en-
ables the player to control holes which
are out of reach of the hand (e.g., the
*Boehm-action of the flute). The action
of the harp is the mechanism controlled
by the player's feet upon the pedals by
which a transposition of a semitone or a
whole tone can be effected [see *Harp],
ADDITIONAL ACCOMPANIMENT
(2) In modern French usage the word
action sometimes is used for an opera,
e.g., in Vincent d'Indy's Fervaal (1897).
Act tune. See *Entr'acte.
Adagietto [It.], (i) A tempo some-
what faster than adagio. (2) A short
adagio.
Adagio [It., comfortable, easy], (i)
Slow tempo, slower than andante and
faster than largo. (2) A movement
written in slow tempo, especially the sec-
ond (slow) movement of sonatas, sym-
phonies, etc. See *Tempo marks.
Adagissimo. Extremely slow.
Adaptation. * Arrangement.
Added sixth. The sixth added to a
triad, or the entire chord thus obtained
e.g., c-e-g-a. In classical harmony,
the chord of the added sixth occurs pref-
erably on the fourth degree, i.e., with a
subdominant function (f-a-c' d' in
C major; also f-ab -c' d'). It is usu-
ally explained as the first inversion of
the seventh-chord on the second degree
(d- f-a-c'). Although according to
strict rules the chord must be resolved
into the dominant or the tonic, it is used
in more recent works [impressionism]
as a color-modification of the triad which
does not call for resolution. Jazz writers
have abundantly availed themselves of
this over-sweet effect, especially for the
final chord of a piece.
Additional accompaniment. Desig-
nation for 19th-century revisions or en-
largements of earlier orchestral scores,
especially those of the i8th century (Han-
del, Bach). With the ever-increasing
size of the 19th-century orchestra and
concert hall, men felt the need of ex-
panding the instrumentation; but with
the ever-diminishing understanding of
true Baroque style, many stylistic incon-
gruities were allowed to enter. Thus, not
only were admissible and sometimes
necessary changes made (replacement of
obsolete instruments by newer ones,
doubling of certain parts, etc.), but also
the voice leading was changed, the writ-
IS]
ADDOLCENDO
ing was "improved," new parts were
added, and in many instances the original
intention of the composer was thor-
oughly misunderstood or disregarded.
The composers whose works were most
frequently subjected to arrangement
were Handel and Bach. The Messiah of
Handel has been particularly unfortu-
nate in this regard. Mozart was among
the first to make a more modern arrange-
ment of it; subsequently various other
musicians made further arrangements of
Mozart's arrangement. Many other
works of Handel have fared similarly,
e.g., under the hands of Mendelssohn,
who later expressed regret for having
published his arrangements. Bach's can-
tatas suffered mistreatment from Robert
Franz. Wagner made arrangements of
Beethoven's Ninth, of Gluck's Ifhigenie
en Aulide, etc. Recent times have wit-
nessed a growing understanding of the
Baroque style and a consequent demand
for authentic, unarranged, performances.
See *Auffiihrungspraxis. Cf. N. Kil-
burn, "Additional Arrangements to
Handel's Adi 9 (SIM iii).
Addolcendo [It.]. Becoming dolce.
Addolorato [It.]. Sadly.
A deux [F.]. See*A due.
Adirato [It.]. Angered, infuriated.
Ad libitum [L., at will]. An indica-
tion which gives the performer the lib-
erty: (i) to vary from strict tempo (con-
trast a *battuta)\ (2) to include or omit
the part of some voice or instrument
(contrast *obbligato); (3) to include a
*cadenza according to his own inven-
tion.
A due [It.]. Direction in orchestral
parts indicating that two instruments
notated on one staff (e.g., Flute i and 2)
are to sound in unison [see *AH'uni-
sono]. However, the term is also used
in the almost opposite meaning, synony-
mous with *divisi. The same ambiguity
exists with the French term a deux.
A due cordey see *Due corde. A due
AEOLOPANTALON
iy for two hands. A due vod (con,
stromentiy etc.), for two voices (choirs,
instruments, etc.).
Aengstlich [G.]. Anxiously.
Aeolian, aeolian mode. See *Church
modes; *Modality.
Aeolian harp [Gr. Aeolos, the God of
the Winds]. An instrument comprising
a long narrow box, with six or more gut
strings stretched inside over two bridges.
The strings are tuned in unison, but
vary in thickness and, therefore, tension.
If the box is placed in a free current of
air (preferably in an open window), the
strings, according to their different ten-
sion, vibrate differently and thus pro-
duce a great variety of harmonics over
the same fundamental (cf. the "singing"
of the telephone wires). The sound
varies considerably with the changing
force of the wind and produces a highly
romantic, mysterious effect. The instru-
ment was known in ancient China and
India, and in Europe during the Middle
Ages. It enjoyed special popularity in
the Romantic period around 1800. The
intimate charm of this instrument is most
beautifully set forth in Eduard Moerike's
poem Die Aeolsharfe and in its musical
settings by Brahms and (especially)
Hugo Wolf.
Various attempts have been made to
harness this elusive sound to a keyboard,
with an artificial jet of wind provided
by footbellows (Schnell's Antmochord
or Aero-clavichord, 1789; H. Herz's
Piano tolien, 1851). Cf. SaRM, 16.
Aeoline. Old name for *mouth-har-
monica. Also an early type of Harmo-
nium (aeolodicon) .
Aeolopantalon. An instrument in-
vented in 1825 by Dlugosz, Warsaw; it
was a combination of a harmonium-like
instrument (Aeolomelodityn, with brass
tubes affixed to the reeds) and a piano-
forte, so that both instruments could be
used in alternation. Its only claim to re-
membrance lies in the fact that the young
Chopin played on it in various recitals.
16]
AEQUALSTIMMEN
Aequalstimmen [G.]. (i) The eight-
foot pipes of the organ. (2) *Equal
voices.
Aerophones. Sec *Instruments III.
Aerophor (aerophon). A device in-
vented by B. Samuels in 1912 by which
the player of a wind instrument is pro-
vided with additional air from small
bellows operated with the foot. The air
is pressed, through a tube with mouth-
piece, into the mouth of the player when-
ever his breath does not suffice, e.g., for
long-held tones or long melodies in full
legato. R. Strauss has written passages
requiring the use of the aerophon (Al-
pine Symphony and Festal Prelude).
Aesthetics of music. I. Aesthetics is
generally defined as the philosophy or
study of the beautiful. Musical aesthetics,
therefore, should be the study of the
beautiful in music, the ultimate goal of
such a study being the establishment of
criteria which would allow us to say
whether or why one particular composi-
tion is beautiful while another is not.
The main objection to such a point of
view is that beauty is by no means the
only (and probably not even the fore-
most) criterion of what may be roughly
described as "quality" or "artistic value."
At least the possibility must be admitted
that music, like other works of art, may
be "valuable" without necessarily being
"beautiful" unless the term beauty is
interpreted so broadly as to include fea-
tures which may well be much closer to
its opposite. Therefore, a definition such
as the following provides a much better
basis for the study in question: Musical
aesthetics is the study of the relationship
of music to the human senses and intel-
lect. This definition corresponds exactly
to the original meaning of the Greek
word aisthesis, i.e., feeling, sensation.
The following words by R. Schumann
(Gesammelte Schrtften uber Musi^ und
Mustier, i, 44) adequately describe die
peculiar problem of musical aesthetics
[translation by the writer]:
"In no other field ii the proof of the
fundamentals as difficult as it is in music.
AESTHETICS OF MUSIC
Science argues with mathematics and
logic; poetry possesses the decisive,
golden word; other arts have chosen
nature as their arbiter, borrowing their
forms from her. Music, however, is a
poor orphan whose father and mother
nobody can name. But, perhaps, it is pre-
cisely this mystery of her origin which
accounts for the charm of her beauty."
II. For more than 2000 years philoso-
phers have tried to solve the mystery of
music. Among them we find Pythagoras
(550 B.C.), who explains music as the ex-
pression of that universal harmony which
is also realized in arithmetic and in as-
tronomy; Plato (400 B.C.), for whom
music is the most appropriate means of
social and political education [also Con-
fucius; see *Chinese music I]; Plotinus
(d. 270), who interprets music as a mys-
tic and occult power; Boethius (d. 524),
who divides music into three fields,
musica mundana (the Pythagorean har-
mony of the universe), musica humana
(the harmony of the human soul and
body), and musica instrumental^ (music
as actual sound), a classification which
prevailed in musical theory for more
than 1000 years; }. Kepler (Harmonices
mundi libri v, 1619), who in a great
structure of thought correlates the musi-
cal tones and intervals with the move-
ments of the planets and their astrological
functions; W. Leibniz (1646-1716), who
paves the way for the psychological
method of musical aesthetics by interpret-
ing music as the "unconscious exercise in
arithmetic"; A. Schopenhauer (Die Welt
als Wille und Vorstellung, 1819), who
considers music the purest incarnation
of the "absolute will" and as the expres-
sion of human feelings (love, joy, hor-
ror) in their abstract interpretation as
metaphysical ideas; then G. T. Fechner
(180187), who insists that music is the
expression of "general mood" rather than
specific "feelings"; and finally C. Stumpf
(Tonpsychologie, 1883-90), who inaugu-
rated the scientific study of musical psy-
chology on the basis of experiments and
statistics, especially with regard to the
problem of *consonance and dissonance.
Stumpf s procedure has been the point
[171
AESTHETICS OF MUSIC
of departure for many investigations
along similar lines, especially in Amer-
ica, e.g., C. E. Seashore, The Psychology
of Music (1938); M. Schoen, The Effects
of Music (1927), and others [see *Tests] .
For a criticism of these methods, cf.
C. C. Pratt, The Meaning of Music
It will be seen that not until the ad-
vent of the ipth century did these theo-
ries of music begin to accord with the
present-day interpretation of musical
aesthetics as defined above, a statement
which should not be construed as a de-
preciation of the much broader and, in
a sense, "greater" views cosmic, po-
litical, or theological held by the phi-
losophers of antiquity and of the Middle
Ages. While in those periods music
found its proper place and justification
in the universe, in the state, or in God,
for us it has lost these transcendental
affiliations, but has instead gained a se-
cure place in everyday life.
III. With the foregoing survey of the
theories and views held by philosophers
and psychologists as a general back-
ground, we may now turn to a study of
the contributions to our problem made
by the musicians themselves. As might
be expected, these contributions aim at a
more detailed penetration into the ques-
tions of musical aesthetics and are usu-
ally concerned with the study of indi-
vidual composers or works rather than
with music in the abstract. The various
theories can be conveniently divided into
two groups, according to whether they
consider music (a) as a heteronomous
art, i.e., as the expression of extramusical
elements, or (b) as an autonomous art,
i.e., as the realization of intrinsic prin-
ciples and ideas (F. Gatz).
(a) In the former class we find the
*AffeI(tenlehre of the i8th century and
its 16th-century predecessors, the *Musica
reservata and the *Maniera. In the lyth
century, music was frequently inter-
preted as an oratorical art, by relating its
structural and stylistic elements (such as
figura, rcpetitio^ fuga, climax) to cor-
responding principles of speech [cf. A.
Schering, in KJ, 1908], In the late Ro-
AESTHETICS OF MUSIC
mantic period the interpretation of musi-
cal compositions was largely based upon
programmatic and allegorical concepts.
Music was understood as a sort of psy-
chological drama and explained in terms
such as "desperate struggle," "the knock-
ing of Fate," "threatening fortissimo,"
"gloomy minor," etc. An early exponent
of this school of thought is A. B. Marx,
in his L. van Beethoven (1875). A more
intelligent use of this approach was at-
tempted by H. Kretzschmar, the inventor
of musitylische Hermeneuti^ [see *Her-
meneutics]. He considers music not as
a substitute for the pictorial arts or for ob-
jects of nature, but rather for poetry, i.e.,
as a SprachJ{unst of lesser clarity, but of
finer shades and deeper effects, than the
ordinary language. He goes back to the
"affects" of the i8th century which, ac-
cording to him, must be based upon the
study of the musical detail (themes, in-
tervals, rhythm, etc.). He also relates the
music to the life of the composer (Bee-
thoven's "period of happiness," etc.).
The latter point was emphasized by H.
Riemann, who maintains that the writ-
ten composition as well as the actual per-
formance is nothing but a means of trans-
ferring a psychological situation (Erleb-
nis) from the fancy of the composer to
that of the listener. Kretzschmar's
method has been elaborated by Schering
[see under *Hermeneutics] . A recent
American publication, E. Sorantin, The
Problem of Musical Expression (1932),
may be mentioned as an example of
20th-century Affefyenlehre (expression of
joy, grief, longing, etc.).
(b) In strong contrast to all these con-
tributions is the more recent school of
thought, which rejects the allegorical,
emotional, programmatic, poetical foun-
dation of musical aesthetics, and explains
music as a purely musical phenomenon,
as an autochthonous and autonomous
creation which can be understood only
in its own terms. The founder of this
school was E. Hanslick who, in his Vom
musil(alisch Schonen (1854), formulated
the sentence: "Musik ist toncnd bewegte
Form" music is form moving in
sounds (the term *form, naturally, must
18]
AEVIA
be taken in its widest sense, including all
structural and stylistic elements of
music). He admits the use of designa-
tions such as "powerful," "graceful,"
"tender," "passionate," but only in order
to illustrate the musical character of the
passage, not to suggest a definite feeling
on the part of composer or listener. Still
farther in this direction went August
Halm (Von zwei Kulturen der Musi^
1913), who must be considered the most
outstanding representative of musical
aesthetics of the present day. The follow-
ing quotation from the Talmud, given
at the beginning of his book, is an ade-
quate expression of the central thought
of musical autonomy: "If you want to
understand the invisible, look carefully
at the visible." Halm, as well as his suc-
cessors, E. Kurth, H. Hermann, F. Joede,
and others, advocated the separation of
the musical work from the emotional
world of both the composer and the
listener, and the emancipation of the
musical thought from "sensuous intoxi-
cation and hallucination."
See also *AfIektenlehre; *Hermeneu-
tics; *Musica reservata; *Maniera.
Lit.: F. M. Gatz, Musi^Aestheti^ in
ihren Hauptrichtungen (1929); H. H.
Briton, Philosophy of Music (1911);
H. Riemann, Catechism of Musical Aes-
thetics (1895); R. Schaefke, Geschichte
der Musi^-aesthetif^ (1934); H. Besseler,
"Grundfragen der Musik-aesthetik"
(JMP xxxiii). For a bibliography of re-
cent psychological studies, cf. D. H.
Daugherty, A Bibliography of Periodical
Literature in Musicology . . . (1940),
pp. io8ff. Cf. also MoML y 538^
Aevia. An artificial word, consisting of
the vowels of "alleluia (u = v). It is
occasionally used as an abbreviation in
manuscripts of Gregorian chant. Sec
"Euouae.
Affabile [It.]. In a pleasing manner.
AFRICAN MUSIC
A ff anno so [It.]. Sadly.
Affektenlehre [G.; doctrine of affec-
tions] . The aesthetic theory of the *emp-
findsamer Stil (sensitive style) of the
later i8th century, formulated by J.
Quantz and Ph. Em. Bach, according
to which the chief aim of music is to
portray certain typical emotions, such as
the tender, the languid, the passionate,
etc. This theory, which is realized in the
works of Ph. Em. Bach, marks an im-
portant advance over the superficiality
of the Italian "stile galante" (*gallant
style) and, in spite of its rationalistic
nature and schematic methods, paves the
way for the free expressiveness of the
Beethoven style. See * Aesthetics III (a);
*Musica reservata.
Lit.: W. Serauky, Die musi\alische
Nachahmungsaesthetif^ im Zeitraum
1700-1850 (1929); M. Kramer, Beitra'ge
zu einer Aesthetil^ der Affectenlehre in
der Musi^ von 15501700 (Diss. Halle
1924); H. Goldschmidt, Die Musityies-
theti^ des 18. Jahrhunderts (1915); G.
Frotscher, Bach's Themen-bildung unter
dem Einfluss der Affektenlehre (1926);
R. Schaefke, "Quantz als Aesthetiker"
(AMW vi); H. Abert, in AMW v; H.
Kretzschmar, in JMP xviii, xix; F. Stege,
in ZMW x; A. Schering, in JMP xlv.
Affetti [It.]. The term appears as a
title of various publications around 1600
[Dolci Affetti (1595); S. Bonini, Affetti
spirituals in istile di Firenze or recitative
. . . (1615); B. Marini, Affetti musicali,
op. i (1617)], probably in order to em-
phasize the emotional character of the
music. It is also used in early violin
sonatas to designate a certain type of
ornamentation, either tremolo or arpeg-
gio [cf. SchGMB y no. 183; RiHM ii. 2,
120].
Affettuoso [It]. Affectionate, with
warmth.
Affrettando [It.]. Hurrying.
Affaiblissant [F.]. Weakening, di-
minuendo. A - . o *r .
African music. See "Primitive music;
*Arabian music; "Ethiopian Church
music; "Coptic Church music.
[19]
Affanato [It]. "Panting," i.e., as in
distress.
AFTERNOON OF A FAUN, THE
Afternoon of a Faun, The. Sec
Symphonic poem IV.
Agende [L. agenda, that which has to
be done]. The Protestant counterpart of
the Catholic liturgy or of the Anglican
rites, i.e., the entire ritual of the service
of the German Protestant Church. Cf.
H. Kretzschmar, Die musifylische
Agende (1894); R. v. Liliencron, Musi-
folisch-liturgische Geschichte des evange-
lischen Gottesdienstes 1525-7700 (1892).
Agevole [It.]. Lightly and easily.
Aggradevole [It.]. Agreeably.
Agilmente; conagilita [It.]. Lively,
speedily.
Agitato [It.]. Agitated, excited.
Agnus Dei. The last item (except for
the *Itc missa est) of the Ordinary of the
Mass [see *Mass A and B III]; there-
fore, the final movement in Mass com-
positions. It consists of three invocations:
"Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi:
miserere nobis. Agnus Dei, . . . mise-
rere nobis. Agnus Dei, . . . dona nobis
pacem." The musical structure of the
chant is usually A A A (sometimes with
a different beginning for the middle A),
or A B A. See *Gregorian chant IV.
Agogic. An accent is said to be agogic
if it is effected, not by dynamic stress or
by higher pitch, but by longer duration
of the note [see * Accent]. In German
writings the term Agogi^ is used to de-
note all the subtleties of performance
achieved by modification of tempo, as
distinct from Dynami^ i.e., gradations
which involve variety of intensity. Thus,
the use of rallentando and accelerando,
of tempo rubato, the dwelling on certain
notes, also rests, breathing signs, fer-
matas, etc., all fall under Agogi^. The
term was introduced by H. Riemann
(Musitylische Dynami\ und Agogi^
1884) particularly in order to describe
those deviation's from strict tempo and
rhythm which are necessary for an in-
telligible rendering of the musical phrase.
Agr6ments. The ornaments intro-
duced in French music of the i7th cen-
AIR
tury, which were finally adopted into all
European music and were generally indi-
cated by stenographic signs or as notes
in small type. The agrements are char-
acterized by a definitely stereotyped me-
lodic contour, a close relationship with a
single note of the melody to be orna-
mented, and a small melodic range. See
Ornamentation H. P. A.
Aida. Grand opera by Giuseppe Verdi
(1813-1901), libretto by A. Ghislanzoni;
commissioned by the Khedive of Egypt
for the new Opera House at Cairo and
produced there in 1871, The plot has an
ancient Egyptian background and centers
around the love of the Egyptian warrior
Radames (Tenor) for the captive Ethi-
opian princess Aida (Soprano), and the
jealousy of Amneris (Mezzo-soprano),
daughter of the king of Egypt Amonasro
(Bass). Amneris, repudiated by Rada-
mes, discovers a treacherous plot of the
two lovers designed to aid Ethiopia, and
both die.
Although reputedly making use of a
few Egyptian musical themes, the gen-
eral style of the opera is that of the Italian
grand opera. Striking features are the
brief atmospheric prelude (in place of
a conventional operatic overture) and the
use of a few *leitmotifs (e.g., Amneris'
jealousy).
Aigu [F.]. High, shrill.
Air [F.]. (i) French iSth-century term
for song in general [see under *Chan-
son]. (2) In French opera and ballet
of the I7th-i8th centuries, an instrumen-
tal or vocal piece designed to accompany
dancing, but not cast in one of the stand-
ard dance patterns such as the minuet,
gavotte, etc. Sometimes (e.g., Rameau)
it is qualified as air tcndre, air gracieux,
etc. (3) In the *suites around and
after 1700, a movement, found in the
optional group, of a melodic rather than
dance-like character in a way, a "song
without words" [cf. Bach's Partitas nos.
IV and VI], As yet, no clear connection
between these airs and those described
under (2) has been discerned, probable
as it is that such a connection existed.
[20]
AIR DE COUR
(4) See *Ayre. For air de charactere,
etc., see *Aria.
Air de cour [F., court song]. Short
strophic songs, sometimes with a refrain,
for one or more voices with lute accom-
paniment, which were cultivated in
France in the late i6th and in the iyth
century. They are in simple syllabic
style and in binary form. The texts are
chiefly love-poems in affected precieux
language, some of them in *vers me sure.
The repetition of each of the two sections
was frequently ornamented at will by the
singer. Principal composers are Pierre
Guedron (c. 1565-1625); Antoine Boe's-
set {c. 1585-1646); Jean de Cambefort
(d. 1661); Michel Lambert (1610-96).
Cf. Th. Gerold, L'Art du chant en France
au XV He siecle (1921); L. de la Lau-
rencie, ^Chansons au luth et airs de cour
au XV le siecle (1931); A. Arnheim, in
SIMx. D.J.G.
Ais, aisis [G.]. See *Pitch names.
Akademie [G.]. *Academy. See also
under * Academic.
Akkord [G.]. Chord.
Akoluthia [Gr.]. The order of the
service of the Byzantine Church, particu-
larly that of the office, thus usually not
including the Mass, which was called
leiturgeia (liturgy). Cf. E. Wellesz, By-
zantinische Musi\ (1927), p. 23.
Akzent [G.]. Accent. A\zentneumen y
accent neumes [see *Neumes II],
Alala. A type of Galician folk song
expressing passion and longing. Older
examples use syllables such as la-la or
ai-le-lo-la and are interesting because of
the preservation of plainsong-like ele-
ments. Cf. F. Pedrell, "\Cancionero mu-
sical popular espanol (1918-22), ii, 2171!.
A la mi re, alamire. See *Hexachord
III.
Alba, albe, aube [F., dawn]. In the
repertoire of the Provencal *troubadours,
a poem dealing with the departure of the
lover in the early morning. It usually is
a dialogue between the lover and a
AL FINE
guardian friend who warns him of some
approaching danger [cf. GeHM, 301;
ReMMA, 215], The German Minne-
singer counterpart of the alba is the
Tagelied (day-song) or Wdchterlicd
(guardian-song) which Wagner revived
in the second act of his Tristan (Bran-
gane's warning call). Many examples of
Tagelied, however, are of a more devo-
tional nature, serving as a sort of morn-
ing prayer [cf. F. Runge, fD/> Sanges-
weisen der Colmarer Liederhandschrtft,
p. 173]. See also *Alborada; *Aubade.
Albert! bass. Stereotyped figures of
accompaniment for the left hand of the
piano player, consisting of broken chords
[see also *Murky bass] . They are named
after Domenico Alberti (1710-40?) who
used them extensively in his harpsichord
sonatas. An early example occurs in the
fourth variation of the G minor aria in
Pachelbel's Hexachordum Apollinis of
1698 [cf. DTB 2.i; TaAM ix, 64]. They
are still frequent in the works of Haydn,
Mozart, and the early Beethoven.
Albisiphone. See *Flute I (d).
Alborada [Sp., dawn song]. A type
of Spanish (particularly, Galician) music,
played on the dulzaina (rustic oboe) and
tamboril (small drum), originally a
morning serenade [cf. G. Chase, The
Music of Spain (1941), p. 237]. Ravel's
Alborada del Gracioso (1912) derives cer-
tain features from the Spanish alborada.
See also *Alba; *Aubade.
Albumblatt [G.], album leaf. A
fancy name for short pieces of 19th-cen-
tury salon music such as might have
served as a contribution to an autograph
album.
Alcuna licenza, Con [It.]. With a
little license, specifically regarding the
tempo.
Al fine [It.]. To the end (for repeti-
tion of a piece from the beginning).
ALIQUOT STRINGS
Aliquot Brings, aliquot scaling.
*Sympathfcitic strings added by some
pianoforte* makers (Bliithner) above the
strings of the upper register in order to
produce a 'fuller sound by resonance.
Alia breve [It.]. A tempo mark (ebcndem Zfengen."
use of short running figures which arc
passed through the various voices of a
pseudo-contrapuntal fabric. Our three
examples (i. Ammerbach, 1571; 2. Pur-
cell, c. 1660; 3. J. K. F. Fischer, c. 1690)
illustrate the stylistic development of the
dance.
In the late i8th century the name al-
lemande was used in South Germany as
an equivalent for Deutscher Tanz, a
quick waltz-like dance in 3/4- or 3/8-
time. Cf. Beethoven's "A Tallcmande"
in his Bagatellen, op. 119, and his 12
Deutsche Tdnze fur Ore/tester (1795).
See *Dance music III.
Lit.: E. Mohr, Die Allemandc in der
deutschen Klaviersuitc (1932).
Allentando [It.]. Slowing.
Alliteration. A characteristic feature
of ancient Germanic poetry (e.g., Beo-
wulf, Edda), consisting of the use of
Allmahlich [G.]. Gradually.
Allonger [F.]. To slacken in speed
All'ottava [It.]. See *Ottava.
AH'unisono [It.]. In orchestral scores
this term indicates that two instruments
for which the same staff is employed
(e.g., two flutes) play in unison, i.e., the
same notes. See *A due.
Alman, almayne. Sixteenth-century
English corruption of *allemande.
Alpensinfonie, Eine (An Alpine
Symphony). See *Symphonic poem III.
Alphabet (in music). See *Pitch
names; *Letter notation; *Tablature.
Alphorn, alpine horn. A primitive
wind instrument, still used by the herds-
men in the Alps for signaling over great
distance and for simple melodies. It is
made of wooden staves bound with strips
of birch bark, is 5 to 10 feet long, and
appears in various shapes, straight or
bent. The tones produced are the har-
monics [see *Acoustics IV], somewhat
modified by the material and by the ir-
regular width of the inner tube. In par-
ticular, the fourth (nth harmonic) is
halfway between F and F-sharp (Alp-
horn-fa) [see *Ranz de vaches]. Similar
instruments are to be found in Scandi-
navia, Poland, and Rumania, and among
the South American Indians. Cf. SaRM,
7; Szandrowsky, in Jahrbuch des Schwei-
zer Alpenclubs iv; K. Nef, in DC Mu-
zie^ v.
Al solito [It.]. As usual.
Alt. (i) In English usage the term is
sometimes applied to the tones of the
octave above the treble staff (g" to f "),
which arc said to be "in alt." The tones
of the next higher octave are called "in
altissimo." (2) In German, the lower
of the two female voices, i.e., the con-
[23]
ALTERATION
tralto [see *Ako]. In connection with
instruments (Alttyarinctte, Altsaxo-
phon), the term denotes the second high-
est member of the family (alto clarinet,
alto saxophone). See the various instru-
ments. Altgeige is the viola alta [see
Violin family (d)], rarely the ordinary
viola.
Alteration, (i) See *Mensural nota-
tion. (2) The raising or lowering of
a note by means of a sharp or flat; also
called chromatic alteration. See *Acci-
dentals; *Chromaticism; *Altered chord.
Altered chord. See *Harmonic analy-
sis V.
Alternative [It.], alternativement
[F.]. In the suites of the Bach period,
an indication found with a pair of dances
(e.g., Bourree I, alternativement Bour-
ree II), calling for repetition of the
first dance after the second, thus leading
to the ternary arrangement A B A [cf.
Bach's English Suite no. 2]. This struc-
ture persists in the Minuet (Scherzo)
with Trio of the classical sonata [see
*Trio].
Altgeige [G.]. See under *Alt (2).
Althorn. See *Brass instruments III (f).
Altistin [G.]. A contralto singer.
Alto [It., high], (i) A female voice of
low range, also called contralto. See
* Voices, Range of. (2) Originally the
alto was a high male voice (hence the
name) which by use of the *falsetto
nearly reached the height of the female
voice (contralto). This type of voice,
also known as *counter-tenor, was espe-
cially cultivated in England, where the
church music of the i6th and i7th cen-
turies definitely implies its use. For the
explanation of the term, see Contra-
tenor. (3) The second-highest part of
the normal four-part chorus; L. altus.
(4) In French and Italian, the second-
highest instrument of the violin family,
i.e., the viola. (5) In connection with
clarinet, flute, saxophone, etc., the term
refers to the third- or fourth-highest
member of the family.
'AMBROSIAN CHANT
Lit.: G. E. Stubbs, The Adult
Alto or Countertenor (1908); A. H. D.
Prendergast, "The Man's Alto in Eng-
lish Music" (ZIM i); J. Hough, "The
Historical Significance of the Counter-
tenor" (PMA Ixiv).
Alto clef. See *Clefs.
Altra volta [It.]. Encore.
Altschlussel [G.]. Alto-clef.
Altus [L.]. See*Alto (3).
Alzati [It.]. "Raised," indication to
take off the mutes.
Amabile [It.]. Lovable.
Amarevole [It.] . With bitterness, sadly.
Ambitus [L., compass, range]. The
range of the melodies of Gregorian chant.
It varies from a fourth (in the psalm
tones) to an octave or ninth in the more
melismatic chants (graduals, alleluias)
[see also *Gregorian chant V (b)]. In
the theory of the church modes, the am-
bitus is the chief mark of distinction
between an authentic and a plagal mode.
See *Church modes. Cf. Krasucki,
"Ueber den Ambitus der gregorianischen
Messgesange" ( Veroffentlichungen der
Gregorianischen Academic zu Freiburg,
Schweiz, i. Heft).
Ambo. In early Christian churches a
special platform on the steps of which
the gradual was sung.
Amboss [G.]. *Anvil.
Ambrosian chant. The liturgical
chant, established by St. Ambrose, bishop
of Milan (333-397), and still in use today
in the cathedral of that city; therefore
also called Milanese chant. It is one of
the four "dialects" of Christian chant
[see *Chant], and probably is closer to
its original form than *Gregorian (Ro-
man) chant. The Ambrosian melodies
are usually more ornamented than the
corresponding Gregorian melodies [cf.
the comparative examples in HAM, no.
10; SchGMB, no. 2; BeMMR, 58; LavE
i.i, 561; O. Ursprung, Katholische Kir-
[24]
AMBROSIAN HYMNS
chenmusi^ 20; H. Gastoue, Cours du
chant gregorien y 67, 128, 149]. Vocaliza-
tions including up to 200 notes are not
rare. On the other hand, the Ambrosian
psalm tones are simpler and lack the
methodical arrangement to be found with
the Gregorian psalm tones [cf. GD v,
267]. The Ambrosian rite occasionally
differs from the Gregorian, for instance,
in the names given to the chants: in-
gressa for introitus, psalmellus for grad-
ual, transitorium for communion, etc.
The use of the term "Ambrosian modes"
for the four authentic church modes (in
distinction from the "Gregorian," i.e.,
plagal, modes) is without any historical
justification. For more details see
*Church modes II. The earliest sources
of Ambrosian chant (nth century) con-
tain chants in the plagal as well as in the
authentic modes.
Lit.: P. Wagner, Einfuhrung in die
Gregorianischen Melodien (1911-21),
vols. i and iii; G. Bas, Manuale di canto
Ambrosiano (Torino, 1929; bibl.); ^An-
tiphonale Ambrosianum [see *Editions,
XXIII, A, 5/6]; K. Ott, "Le Ingresse (II
Psalmellus) della liturgia ambrosiana"
(Rassegna Gregoriana viii).
Ambrosian hymns. The hymns of
the Roman and Ambrosian rites writ-
ten and possibly composed by St. Am-
brose.
I. Text. Formerly all the hymns (c.
120) of the Antiphonarium were ascribed
to Ambrose, under the generic name of
hymni Ambrosiani. Actually the number
of true Ambrosian hymns is much small-
er, about 20 [see Lit., Dreves]. With
four of them Ambrose's authorship is
placed beyond doubt by the testimony of
St. Augustine (De Musica)\ these are:
Aeterne rerum conditor\ Deus creator
omnium; Jam surgit hora tertia\ Veni
redemptor gentium. All the Ambrosian
hymns are written in the simple scheme
of eight stanzas; each consisting of four
lines in iambic tetrameters, e.g.:
Venf redemptor gentium
Ostendc partum virginis
Miretur 6mne sc*culum
Talis dece*t partiis deum.
AME
Regarding the early history, see *Hymn
I, II.
II. Music. About a dozen melodies of
Ambrosian hymns are preserved in
sources none of which is earlier than the
1 2th century (an exception is the melody
for the Aeterne Christi munera, given in
*Daseian notation in the *Musica en-
chiriadis, c. 850; cf. GS i, 154 and RiHM
i.2, 17). Under these circumstances the
question as to whether these melodies are
compositions of Ambrose or as has
been surmised "early Christian folk
songs," or products of a later period, re-
mains entirely open, the more so since in
a number of cases different melodies are
given for the same hymn. The melodies
are syllabic, with occasional groups of two
or three notes; the latter are usually
omitted in modern transcriptions which
try to give the melodies in what is believed
to be their "original form." No less prob-
lematic is the question as to the true
rhythm of these hymns, i.e., whether they
are to be interpreted in duple or in triple
time. The answer probably depends upon
whether they are considered as melodies
of the Ambrosian era or of the late Middle
Ages (nth, i2th centuries). According
to St. Augustine, the iambic feet of the
Ambrosian hymns were "tria temporum"
(in three beats). The accompanying ex-
ample shows a hymn (a) in its 9th-cen-
tury form and (b) in its hypothetical
original state [cf. also HAM, no. 9],
A-tr-neQiastl muncra et mar-ty- nun vie-to- K-
The term "Ambrosian hymn" [G.
Ambrosianischer Lobgesang] is errone-
ously used for the *Te Deum.
Lit.: Biraghi, Inni sinceri di S. Am-
brogio (1862); G. M. Dreves, "Aurelius
Ambrosius . . ." (Stimmen aus Maria
Laachy Ergdnzungsheft 58, 1893); G. Bas,
in Musica Divina xvii; J. Jeannin, in TG
xxvi, 115.
Ame [F., soul]. Sound post.
AMEN
Amen. A Hebrew word, meaning "so
be it," which is widely used in the Chris-
tian rites. It is usually spoken by the con-
gregation (or recited by the choir) as a
confirming answer to the lection or the
prayer of the priest [cf. AR, 35*]. Espe-
cially important is its occurrence at the
end of the minor *doxology, in the con-
nection ". . . seculorum. Amen" [see
*Evovae] and, in the Mass, at the end of
the Gloria (". . , in gloria dei patris.
Amen") as well as of the Credo (". . . et
vitam venturi saeculi. Amen"). In the
polyphonic Masses of the i7th and i8th
centuries the confirming character of the
Amen led to the writing of extensive
finales in fugal style, called Amen-fugue
or Amen-chorus, in which the word is re-
peated over and over again. This prac-
tice occurred first with Antonio Bertali
(1605-69; cf. AdHM i, 516), and contin-
ued throughout the periods of Handel
(famous Amen-chorus), Bach, Mozart,
Beethoven, etc. In Cherubim's D minor
Mass at the end of the Credo, the soprano
alone repeats the word 107 times. For
Amen-cadence see *Plagal cadence.
Amener [F.]. A 17th-century dance in
moderate triple time with phrases of six
measures (three plus three or four plus
two) as a characteristic feature. It occurs
in the suites of Heinrich Biber, J. K. F.
Fischer, Alessandro Poglietti, in the in-
strumental suites edited by ficorchcville
( 1906), etc. The derivation of the amener
from the *basse dance, given in most ref-
erence books, is very questionable. More
likely, it is one of the numerous species of
the *branlc, a branle & mener, i.e., a branle
in which one pair was leading while the
others followed. See also *Minuet.
American Guild of Organists. See
*Societies, Musical I, i.
American Indian music. Although
the collection and scientific study of tribal
songs of the American Indians did not
commence until the latter i9th century,
there arc numerous references to the music
of the Indians from the early I7th cen-
tury, shortly after the coming of English
colonists. In William Wood's account of
AMERICAN INDIAN MUSIC
his visit to Plymouth and Massachusetts
Bay (London, 1634), he wrote of the In-
dians' singing: "To hear one of these
Indian's unseene, a good care might easily
mistake their untaught voyce for the war-
bling of a well tuned instrument. Such
command have they of their voices."
Travelers and explorers occasionally re-
ported that the Indians were musical,
among them the Frenchman F. G. Sagard
in his Le grand Voyage du Pays dcs Hu-
rons (1632).
In the 1 8th century F. W. Marpurg,
the German music historian, published
Remarks on Three Songs of the Iroquois
(Berlin, 1760), and William Beresford
printed an Indian melody in his A Voy-
age around the world; but more particu-
larly to the northwest coast of America
(London, 1789). One of the early at-
tempts at adaptation of an actual Indian
melody was first published in London in
1784, and was called Al)(nomoo\ (Al^-
moono!(), "The death song of the Chero-
kee Indians, an Original Air, brought
from America by a gentleman long con-
versant with the Indian tribes, and par-
ticularly with the Nation of the Chero-
kees. The Words adapted to the Air by
a Lady." The identity of the "Gentle-
man" is unknown, but the "Lady" was
identified by Frank Kidson as Anne Hone
Hunter, who was Haydn's hostess during
his London visit. In America, James
Hewitt included All(moono^ in the score
he arranged and composed for the ballad-
opera Tammany (1794), and in 1800 Gil-
fert in New York and von Hagen in
Boston published sheet-music editions of
the song. Both American and English
editions presented the melody in thor-
oughly conventional form.
The first serious study of Indian music
by a musician was undertaken by Theo-
dore Baker, a German-American who in
1880 was a student at the University of
Leipzig. As a subject for his doctor's thesis
he chose the music of the North Ameri-
can Indians, and visited the Seneca Reser-
vation in New York State and the Indian
school at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In 1882
the thesis was published at Leipzig: Vber
die Musil( dcr Nordameri1(anischen Wil-
AMERICAN INDIAN MUSIC
den. It analyzed some sixty melodies ac-
cording to their poetry, vocalization,
scales, melodic progressions, rhythm, no-
tations, and instruments for performance.
Baker's studies were soon followed by
those of Alice C. Fletcher, who visited the
Omaha tribe, where she was assisted by
John C. Fillmore of Harvard, who pro-
vided piano accompaniments for the mel-
odies Miss Fletcher transcribed. Her find-
ings were published at intervals from
1883 to 1911 by the Peabody Museum of
American Archaeology and Ethnology
and by the Bureau of American Ethnol-
ogy in Washington.
B. J. Oilman and J. W. Fewkes were
pioneers in applying scientific methods to
analysis of Indian melodies. Gilman ac-
companied the Hemenway Southwestern
Expedition among the Zufii, Pueblo, and
Hopi Indians, and measured the interval
structure of their melodies by a mechani-
cal device. Fewkes was one of the first to
use the phonograph to record Indian sing-
ing (1890), and in 1891 Gilman published
a study based on these records of Zufii
songs. Further studies of Zuni, Pueblo,
and Hopi songs were made by Natalie C.
Burlin, while music of the Ojibways in
Minnesota and Wisconsin was taken down
and annotated by Frederick R. Burton.
The United States Government first
undertook the perpetuation of Indian
tribal melodies in 1911, by appointing
trained investigators to collect the melo-
dies with the aid of the phonograph and
place them on record, with annotations,
in the Smithsonian Institution. Reports
on the research have been issued by the
Bureau of American Ethnology. The
most prominent worker under these aus-
pices has been Frances Densmore, who
has studied the music and customs of the
Chippewas, Teton Sioux, Northern Ute,
Mandan, Hidatsa, and others.
The question as to whether the music
of the Indians is to be considered Ameri-
can folk music is open to debate. Cer-
tainly, if Western culture is considered
predominant among the inhabitants of
the nation, American Indian music is ex-
otic and far different in conception from
that which has been influenced by the
AMERICAN INDIAN MUSIC
parent nations of the white settlers and
their descendants. When Indian melodies
are reduced to the diatonic scale, and har-
monized according to Western practice,
the character of most of them is lost in the
process. It is also inaccurate to refer to
American Indian music as a unified body
of folk-material. Originally there were
more than fifty basic linguistic stocks,
each of them divided into separate tribes.
The government Office of Indian Affairs,
even at the present time when the Indians
seem to be approaching tribal extinction,
deals with three hundred and forty-two
tribes, a number which does not include
the sub-tribal divisions. Each of these
tribes had its own customs, religion, and
characteristic music.
There are, however, a number of traits
which arc common to the music of vari-
ous tribes. Music is rarely performed by
the Indians for its own sake; generally
songs belong to some tribal custom, and
are sung only for the performance of that
custom. A visitor to one of the tribes
could not persuade the Indians to sing a
hunting song for him because they were
not actually hunting at the time. There
are songs for treating the sick, war songs
designed to bring success in battle, re-
ligious ceremonial songs, game songs,
many of them for gambling, dream and
vision songs, children's songs, and love
songs for courtship. Among most of the
tribes, three classes of songs exist. First,
the old, traditional songs, which have
been handed down from generation to
generation. Second, the old ceremonial
and medicine songs which are rarely per-
formed because they belonged to men now
dead, but which can still be sung by those
who remember their owners' singing of
them. Third, there are the comparatively
modern songs, which show the influence
of civilization. The property idea regard-
ing songs is common to many tribes, and
the individual owner of a song was often
known to sell it to another member of the
tribe. It could then be sung only by the
purchaser.
Many of the Indian songs, like those of
primitive races generally, are character-
ized by a descending melodic line. The
[27]
AMERICAN INDIAN MUSIC
descent may be interrupted, but it con-
tinues to the end. According to a tabu-
lation of 820 songs by Frances Densmore,
67 per cent begin with a downward pro-
gression, and in 87 per cent the last tone
is the lowest of the entire melody. Al-
though many of the melodies cannot be
accurately represented in diatonic nota-
tion, many of them approximate the pen-
tatonic major or minor modes. Densmore
found also that 67 per cent of 340 Chip-
pewa songs end on tones which provide
the' ear with satisfactory keynotes. Rhyth-
mically, Indian music is complex and ir-
regular. The Indian is capable of per-
forming involved polyrhythms, although
Burton believed that the performers are
unaware that their songs and the accom-
panying drum beats are cast in conflicting
rhythms. See the examples under *Primi-
tive music.
The musical instruments of the various
tribes are flutes, whistles, rattles, and
drums. Although flutes are commonly
pictured as aiding in courtship, they are
as frequently used for warning against the
approach of an enemy. Whistles are part
of the medicine man's equipment for
treating the sick. Rattles are often re-
garded as sacred articles, for use in wor-
ship. Some of them are merely notched
sticks, rubbed over a second stick, while
others are receptacles holding loose ob-
jects. The drums are essential to Indian
music, some tribes cannot sing without
them. They are made in various sizes,
from hand drums to immense kegs partly
filled with water.
The effect of Indian music on the art
music of the United States has been ex-
tensive, but limited. Edward MacDowell
used Indian melodies in his Second Or-
chestral ("Indian") Suite of 1890; C. S.
Skilton in his Indian Dances and Suite
Primeval; C. W. Cadman in Thunderbird
Suite and other works; Frederick Jacobi
in his Indian Dances; C. T. Griffes in
Two Sketches for String Quartet; Victor
Herbert in the opera, Natoma; while
H. W. Loomis, Arthur Farwell, Thurlow
Lieurance, Carlos Troycr, Henry F. Gil-
bert, and others have made many settings
of tribal material. Among non-American
AMERICAN MUSIC
composers, Dvordk, with his symphony
"From the New World," and Busoni,
with his Indianisches Tagebuch, may be
mentioned.
Lit.: F. R. Burton, American Primitive
Music (1909); Natalie Curtis, The Indi-
an's BooJ^ (1907); Frances Densmore,
Chippewa Music, Nos. i and 2 (1910 and
1913), Man dan and Hidatsa Music
(1923), Northern Ute Music (1922),
Teton Sioux Music ( 1918) ; A. C. Fletcher,
Indian Story and Song from North Amer-
ica (1900); F. Densmore, "The Study of
Indian Music" (MQ i); id., in MQ xvii,
xx; F. W. Galpin, "Aztec Influence on
American Indian Instruments" (SIM iv);
M. Barbeau, "Asiatic Survivals in Indian
Songs" (MQ xx) ; J. Tiersot, "La musique
chez les peuples indigenes de I'Amerique
du nord. . . ." (SIM xi; bibl.). An ex-
tensive bibliography is found in G. Her-
zog, Research in Primitive and FolJ^
Music in the United States (1936).
J.T.H.
American music. This term is gener-
ally accepted as applying to music which
is composed or has its origin in the United
States, Similarly, an American composer
is one who is either a native of the United
States or has adopted the nation prior to
his or her mature production. For other
musical cultures of the American hemi-
sphere see * American Indian music;
*Latin American music; *Negro music;
^Canadian music.
I. ijth and i8th Centuries. The his-
tory of American music begins in the
early i7th century, with the arrival of the
first white settlers and colonists: James-
town, Virginia, in 1607, and Plymouth,
Massachusetts, in 1620. Little is known
about the musical habits of the Virginia
settlers, but a number of records exist to
show the part music played in the lives
of the New England colonists: the Pil-
grims at Plymouth and the English Puri-
tans who came to Massachusetts Bay
(Boston), starting in 1630. Until the close
of the century, musical activity was con-
fined almost exclusively to psalm-singing.
The only printed music used was con-
tained in the psalters the Puritans brought
28]
AMERICAN MUSIC
with them (Sternhold & Hopkins, Ains-
worth, Raven scroft, etc.), for the *Bay
Psalm Boo\ (Cambridge, 1640) contained
no music until a few tunes were added to
a later edition at the end of the century.
Two factors were chiefly responsible for
the small amount of music before 1700:
one of them was the lack of opportunity
in pioneer surroundings, and the other,
the Puritan attitude towards music. The
latter phase of early New England life has
been the subject of considerable contro-
versy in recent years. Percy Scholes, in
his book The Puritans and Music (1934),
claims that the Puritans in England, and
those who came to America, were not hos-
tile to music and that the tradition that
they did not tolerate musical activity in
the American colonies is fallacious. How-
ever, the available evidence shows that
while musical activity did become more
general at the beginning of the i8th cen-
tury, it was almost negligible in the iyth;
and that while there are references in con-
temporary records to a few musical instru-
ments, the Puritan colonists viewed with
suspicion and distrust secular amusements
and pleasures, which they considered un-
godly and sinful.
At the beginning of the i8th century,
psalm-singing in the churches had become
a haphazard practice. The lack of printed
tunes had forced the worshipers to sing
from memory, led by a deacon or elder.
There was so little standardization of the
few tunes in use that when several con-
gregations met together the musical re-
sults were bedlam. This condition led to
reforms as well as to controversy. Several
instruction books for singing appeared:
John Tufts's A very plain and easy intro-
duction to the whole Art of Singing Psalm
Tunes, in 1720, and Thomas Walter's
Grounds and Rules of Music Explained,
in 1721, which at first met strong opposi-
tion. Gradually the opposition was over-
come, and singing schools were estab-
lished to teach the rudiments of singing
from note. Toward the latter part of the
century there was considerable publication
of tune and instruction books. Among
the early ones were an American edition
of William Tans'ur's A Complete Melody
AMERICAN MUSIC
in Three Parts (1755); James Lyon's
Urania (1761, containing six original
works by Lyon); and Josiah Flagg's
A Collection of the Best Psalm Tunes
(1764). In 1770 appeared the first of six
books by William Billings (1746-1800),
entitled The New England Psalm Singer.
Billings is important in American music
history because he was something of a
radical. A number of his anthems, which
he called "fuguing pieces" [see *Fugue-
tune], were attempts at imitative coun-
terpoint, and while he was largely un-
tutored musically, his work had a rugged
vitality which reflected vividly the back-
ground of pioneer surroundings.
The controversies over music that
troubled the Puritan denominations did
not disturb the Anglican churches. Or-
gans were used in the Episcopal services
from an early date (the first was installed
in King's Chapel, Boston, shortly after
1713), and such men as William Selby,
who came to Boston from London about
1771 and became organist of King's
Chapel, and William Tuckey, who came
to New York from Bristol Cathedral in
1753 to become organist and choirmaster
at Trinity Church, not only devoted their
skill and energies to their church duties
but were also active as composers and pro-
moters and conductors of choral concerts.
Tuckey directed the first American per-
formance of excerpts from Handel's Mes-
siah in 1770.
Some of the settlements to the south of
New England were from their beginnings
more musically inclined. In 1694 a group
of German pietists founded a colony be-
side the Wissahickon River, near Phila-
delphia. These people had musical in-
struments, and acquired a reputation for
their singing. The Swedish Gloria Dei
church, also near Philadelphia, had an
organ as early as 1703, possibly earlier,
and its pastor, Julius Falckner, was the
author of several hymns.
The first known composer on American
soil, according to present knowledge, was
Conrad Beissel (1690-1768), a German
mystic and founder of the "Seventh Day
Dunkers." He was successively a baker,
a violinist, and a theologian, and in 1720
[29]
AMERICAN MUSIC
he was banished for holding pietistic
views. He emigrated to America and
settled first in Germantown, Pennsyl-
vania, where he founded the Dunker sect,
and in 1735 established the "Order of the
Solitary" and a communistic settlement at
Ephrata, Pennsylvania, which became
known as the Ephrata Cloister. Here the
worshipers sang hymns and chorals in 4,
5, 6, and 7 parts, and it is said that Beissel
composed over 1000 of them. Benjamin
Franklin published an Ephrata Hymn
Collection in 1730.
At Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a Mo-
ravian colony was established in 1741.
These people were intense music lovers.
They brought instruments with them, and
their orchestra, chamber music groups,
and choruses performed the best music
from Europe works by Haydn, Mozart,
etc. A number of composers among the
Moravians wrote for various chamber
music combinations. When George
Washington visited Bethlehem in 1782
he was serenaded by the trombone
choir.
Conceit life in the American colonial
cities commenced in the i8th century.
According to newspaper announcements,
the first concert of record was held in Bos-
ton in 1731; the second in Charleston,
South Carolina, in 1732; the third in New
York, 1736; and the fourth in Philadel-
phia, 1757. From these dates on, each of
these cities enjoyed an increasing number
of concerts, at which the programs were
similar in content to those abroad, par-
ticularly in London, from which city the
latest published music was sent regularly
to America [see *Concert].
Philadelphia has the credit for produc-
ing the first native-born American com-
poser of music, according to known rec-
ords, in the person of Francis Hopkinson
OyST-iTP 1 )* a signer of the Declaration
of Independence, Judge of the Admiralty
from Pennsylvania, and a talented ama-
teur musician. Hopkinson composed a
number of songs in the current English
style of Arnold, Shield, Storace, and
others. The manuscript of the first of
them, "My^Days Have Been So Won-
drous Free," bears the date 1759. Hop-
AMERICAN MUSIC
kinson's songs, and his musical activities,
were characteristic of the taste and the
customs of the period. He was one of a
group of musical amateurs who met regu-
larly in each other's homes to play to-
gether, and who joined with the profes-
sional musicians who were beginning to
emigrate from abroad in giving public
concerts.
The War of the Revolution interrupted
musical activities for a number of years,
but at its conclusion they began again,
and more intensively. In the last fifteen
years of the century the nation experi-
enced a wholesale immigration from
Europe, bringing musicians from Eng-
land, and, after the French Revolution,
from France. These men were generally
well trained, and they accordingly took
over the musical life of the new nation
and became its principal concert-artists
and teachers. The names of the few
native composers who had been active up
to this time (Hopkinson, James Lyon,
Billings, etc.) disappeared almost com-
pletely from the concert programs which
were printed in the newspapers, and were
replaced by those of the newcomers
Benjamin Carr, Alexander Reinagle,
James Hewitt, Raynor Taylor, Gottlieb
Graupner, and dozens of others. Ameri-
can music doubtless benefited from the
infiltration of better-trained musicians,
but its growth as a native expression was
arrested.
II. igth Century. By the early years of
the 1 9th century these foreigners had be-
come Americans, and gradually native-
born composers began once more to come
into prominence. The most widely known
of them was Lowell Mason (1792-1872),
a composer of hymn-tunes and a pioneer
in music education. Mason succeeded in
persuading the Boston school board to
make the study of music a regular part of
the curriculum (1836) and he established
"musical conventions" in various parts of
the country where teachers could have
training. Another native composer was
Oliver Shaw (1779-1848), who, although
blind from early manhood, was active as
a teacher and organist in Providence,
Rhode Island. He was a composer of
[30:
AMERICAN MUSIC
anthems, songs, and a number of instru-
mental pieces which were widely used.
B
