Musical myths and facts

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
AT LOS ANGELES

S ANGELES. C

MUSICAL

BY

CARL ENGEL,

IN TWO VOLUMES.— VOL. II.

48505

LONDON:

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CONTENTS OF VOLUME II.

MATTHESON ON HANDEL
DIABOLIC Music

The Awful Deception ...
The Indefatigable Fiddler
The Effectual Expedient
The Old Chorale
The Haunted Mansion...
The Mode Asbein

PAGE
28

29
30
31
31
32

PAGE

33

Witches...
The Changeling ... 33

The Vendish Sorcerer 36
The Rat-Catcher of Hameln 37
The Exquisite Organ ... 39

ROYAL MUSICIANS

COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN
Music AND MEDICINE

POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS

PAGE

The Royal Music-Master 115
The Handsome Minstrel 115
The Daisy Lady ... 116
The Invisible Flute-
Player ... ... 118

The Banished Musician 119

The Walriderske ,.. 120

The Jew in the Thicket 122

The Pope's Wife ... 126

PAGE

The Two Hunchbacks 128

DRAMATIC Music OF UNCIVILIZED RACES

A SHORT SURVEY OF THE HISTORY OF Music ...

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF Music

THE MUSICAL SCALES IN USE AT THE PRESENT DAY

132
133
135

The Parson's Advice
Relics of the Goblins
The Golden Harvest
Gipsies ... ... ... 137

The Nautch-People ... 139
The Monk of Afflighem 141
The Plague in Goldberg 142
Fictions and Facts ... 145

PACK
I

28

41
56

114

179
228

MATTHESON ON HANDEL.

THE biographical notices of Handel's youth transmitted
to us are but scanty and unsatisfactory. The same might,
however, be said of most of our celebrated musicians, and
the cause of the meagreness is, as we have seen in another
place, easily explicable.* Of Handel's musical pursuits
before his arrival in Hamburg, at the age of eighteen, we
know scarcely more than that he was a pupil of Zachau, an
organist at Halle, where Handel was born ; that, as a boy,
he paid a short visit to Berlin, where his talent attracted
some attention ; and that subsequently he studied Law, at
the University of Halle. The latter fact indicates that the
choice of music as a profession was not hastily determined
in his childhood ; and this surmise accords with the stated
reluctance of his father, a medical practitioner in Halle, to
have his son brought up as a musician.

Arrived in Hamburg, in the year 1703, Handel soon
made the acquaintance of Mattheson, an intelligent and
industrious young musician, who was competent to ap-
preciate the genius of Handel, and faithfully to record the
progress of the promising youth during his sojourn in
Hamburg, which lasted about three years. Mattheson was
four years older than Handel, — a difference which, between
two lads of twenty-two and eighteen, is not without some
weight in their mutual intercourse, especially if the
elder is already enjoying a certain success, while the younger
is a new comer, intent upon gaining a footing. Mattheson's
observations about Handel, although occasionally tinged

* Vol. I., p. 94.

2 MATTHESON ON HANDEL.

with jealousy of his talented brother artist, are therefore
particularly noteworthy in the biography of the great
composer.

Johann Mattheson, born in Hamburg, in the year 1681,
was at the time of Handel's arrival tenor singer and musical
composer at the theatre of the town, and teacher of singing,
the harpsichord, and thorough-bass. When, in the year
1705, an increasing deafness compelled him to relinquish his
engagement as singer and actor in operas at the theatre, his
accomplishments, combined with commendable habits of
industry and punctuality, induced the British Ambassador
at Hamburg to engage him as tutor for his son, and
afterwards to appoint him his secretary. During an active
life of unusual duration, — he died in the year 1764, at the
age of 83, — Mattheson published a great number of treatises
on musical subjects, some of which still possess value as
books of reference. His vanity, not unfrequently exhibited
in his writings, may in some measure have been nourished
by his many flatterers among his musical contemporaries,
who evidently feared his sarcastic pen all the more because
they did not possess the literary ability to engage success-
fully in a controversy with him when they disagreed with his
opinion.

As regards the musical compositions of Mattheson, we
know from his own statement, in his autobiography, that
his operas were greatly admired by the public ; but this
favourable opinion is hardly supported by such of his
compositions as have appeared in print. A collection
of twelve Suites for the harpsichord, the manuscript of
which he sent to England, where it was published in two
volumes, in the year 1714, bears the title : — ' Pieces de
Clavecin, en deux Volumes, consistant des Ouvertures,
Preludes, Fugues, Allemandes, Courentes, Sarabandes,
Giques et Aires, compose~es par J. Mattheson, Seer. —
London, printed for J. D. Fletcher.' The work is prefaced
by an address to the musical public, written by the editor,
J. D. Fletcher, in which he says : — " Britain may now hope
to return those arts with interest, which she borrowed from
other nations ; and foreigners in time may learn of those

MATTHESON ON HANDEL. 3

whom their forefathers taught .... As the harp-
sichord is an instrument yet capable of greater improvement,
so the following pieces claim a precedence of all others of
this nature ; not only that they are composed by one of the
greatest masters of the age, in a taste altogether pleasing
and sublime ; but, as they are peculiarly adapted to that
instrument, and engraven with an exactness that cannot be
equall'd by any of their nature yet extant." Sir John
Hawkins, who probably had not seen these Suites, relates :
" Mattheson had sent over to England, in order to their
being published here, two collections of lessons for the
harpsichord, and they were accordingly engraved on copper,
and printed for Richard Meares in St. Paul's Church-yard,
and published in the year 1714. Handel was at that time
in London, and in the afternoon was used to frequent
St. Paul's Church for the sake of hearing the service, and of
playing on the organ after it was over ; from whence he and
some gentlemen of the choir would frequently adjourn to
the Queen's Arms tavern in St. Paul's Church-yard, where
was a harpsichord. It happened one afternoon, when they
were thus met together, Mr. Weely, a gentleman of the choir,
came in and informed them that Mr. Mattheson's lessons
were then to be had at Mr. Meares' shop ; upon which
Mr. Handel ordered them immediately to be sent for, and
upon their being brought, played them all over without
rising from the instrument." Still more odd appears
Hawkins' statement that Handel "approved so highly of the
compositions of Mattheson, particularly his lessons, that he
was used to play them for his private amusement."*

If Handel really could amuse himself by playing these
lessons, which are in no respect superior to the usual
productions of the mediocre musicians of his time, it pro-
bably was only from feelings of curiosity and kindness
towards a former friend. Mattheson composed a great deal,
and made at last even his own Funeral Anthem, which after
his death was performed to his honour, and which,
if report speaks correctly, sounded truly miserable ; and this

* Hawkins's ' History of Music,' Vol. V., p. 253.

4 MATTHESON ON HANDEL.

may well be believed, considering that when he composed
the music Mattheson had been deaf for nearly thirty years.
Still, though he was but a poor composer, he possessed
ample musical knowledge and practical skill to enable him
to judge the works of his superior contemporaries. His
jealous disposition, however, sometimes prevented him from
forming a just opinion. His disparaging critique of an
early work of Handel, in his * Critica Musica,' Hamburg,
1725, at a time when Handel had become a resident in
London, was evidently influenced by jealousy, and the same
is more or less observable in his other writings. Neverthe-
less, he took every opportunity to keep up a correspondence
with Handel, and to boast of his former familiarity with the
celebrated man. Mattheson, having solicited Handel's
opinion upon a certain theoretical question on which he was
in dispute with some German musicians, and having also
expressed the hope that Handel might favour him with
some biographical notices, Handel, at the conclusion of his
letter in reply, excuses himself for not complying with the
second point in question : —

" Pour ce qui est du second point, vous pouvez juger
vous meme qu'il demande beaucoup de recueillement, dont
je ne suis pas le maitre parmi les occupations pressantes,
que j'ai par devers moi. Des que j'en ferai un peu debarasse,
je repasserai les Epoques principales que j'ai eues dans le
cours de ma Profession, pour vous faire voir 1'estime et la
consideration particuliere avec laquelle j'ai 1'honneur d'etre,
Monsieur,

Votre tres humble et tres

Obeissant Serviteur,

G. F. HANDEL.
A Londres, Fevr. 24, 1719."

In the year 1740, Mattheson published his Grundlage
einer Ehrenpforte (' Foundation of a Triumphal Arch ')>
which contains a series of biographies of the celebrated
musicians of his time, — Mattheson's included. During the
preparation of this work, he addressed another request to
Handel to supply him with materials for a correct biography.

MATTHESON ON HANDEL. 5

He also dedicated twelve fugues of his own composition to
Handel, of which he sent him a copy to ensure prompt
attention. Handel's reply was again evasive : —

" A Londres ce 29 de Juillet, 1735.
Monsieur,

II y a quelque terns que j'ai recu une de vos obligeantes
lettres; mais a present je vien de recevoir votre derniere
avec votre ouvrage. Je vous en remercie, Monsieur, et je
vous assure que j'ai toute 1'estime pour votre merite, je
souhaiterois seulement que mes circonstances m'etaient plus
favorables pour vous donner des marques de mon inclination
a vous servir. L'ouvrage est digne de 1'attention des
connoisseurs, et quand a moi, je vous rends justice.

Au reste, pour rammasser quelque epoque, il m'est
impossible puisqu'une continuelle application au service de
cette cour et noblesse me detourne de toute autre affaire.

Je suis, avec une consideration tres parfaite, etc."

Handel was at this period in circumstances by no means
flourishing, his operatic enterprises having failed. Mat-
theson's request came therefore at a very inopportune time,
since it would have been only painful to Handel to occupy
his mind with recollections of events of his earlier life, and
with the record of expectations which he now found were
not to be realized.

It is singular that almost all Handel's letters to Ger-
mans which have been preserved, including those to his
brother-in-law in Halle, are written in French. Besides,
they are so extremely formal and ceremonious, even those
to his nearest relations ! This may be in great measure
accounted for by the usages of his time, and by the circum-
stance of his coming frequently into contact with persons of
a higher position in society than himself. But, however
reserved he may appear in his letters, evidences are not
wanting testifying to his kindheartedness and generosity.

When Mattheson found that it was useless to endeavour
to elicit information direct from Handel for his ' Ehrenpforte,'
he compiled a biography interspersed with recollections of

6 MATTHESON ON HANDEL.

their mutual experiences during the years of their inter-
course in Hamburg. The following extracts from Mat-
theson's gossip are translated as literally as possible :—

" In the summer of the year 1703 he came to Hamburg,
rich in abilities and good intentions. I was almost the first
acquaintance he made, and I took him to the organs and
choirs of the town, and to operas and concerts. I also
introduced him to a certain family where all were extremely
devoted to music."

In another place Mattheson records that he made Han-
del's acquaintance accidentally at the organ of the church
of St. Mary Magdalen, and that he took him at once with
him to his father's house, and paid him every possible
attention. Mattheson further relates : —

" At first he played the second violin in the orchestra of
the opera, and seemed as if he could not count above five ;
in fact, he was naturally much inclined to dry humour.
But, one day, when a harpsichord player was wanted, he
allowed himself to be persuaded to take his place, and
showed himself a man, when no one but I expected it. I
I am sure if he reads this he will laugh in his sleeve, for
outwardly he seldom laughs. Especially will he laugh if
he recollects the pigeon-dealer who once travelled post with
us to Liibeck ; likewise, the son of the pastry-cook who had
to blow the bellows while we were playing the organ in the
church of St. Mary Magdalen of this place. This was on
the thirtieth of July, 1703, after our having been out on the
water on the fifteenth."

" He composed at that time very long, long airs, and
almost endless cantatas, which, although the harmonious
treatment was perfect, nevertheless had not the requisite
fitness ; nor did they exhibit the proper taste. However,
the high school of the opera soon put him on the right
track."

" He was great upon the organ, greater than Kuhnau
in fugues and counterpoint, especially in extemporizing.
However, he knew but very little of melody before he had
to do with the operas in Hamburg. On the other hand,
Kuhnau's pieces were all exceedingly melodious, and suited

MATTHESON ON HANDEL. 7

for the voice, even those arranged for playing. In the pre-
ceding century scarcely any one thought of melody ; all
aimed merely at harmony."

"At that time he dined almost daily by invitation with
my father, and in return opened to me some particular
manoeuvres in counter point. On the other hand, in dramatic
style I have been of no little service to him ; so that one
hand washed the other."

" On the seventeenth of August, in the year 1703, we
travelled together to Lubeck, and in the carriage composed
many double-fugues, da mente non da penna. I had been
invited there by the President of the Privy Council, Magnus
von Wedderkopp, in order to choose a successor for the
excellent organist, Dieterich Buxtehude. I took Handel
there with me. We tried almost all the organs and harpsi-
chords in Lubeck ; and, with regard to our playing, we
arranged between ourselves that he should play exclusively on
the organ, and I on the harpsichord. We also heard with
due attention the above-mentioned artist in his St. Mary's
Church. But when we found that a certain marriage, for
which neither of us had the slightest inclination, was a
stipulated condition with the appointment, [the successful
candidate had to marry the daughter of Buxtehude] we
departed thence, after having received much honour, and
having enjoyed many entertainments. Johann Christian
Schieferdecker subsequently accommodated himself to the
requirements, conducted the bride home, and obtained the
fine appointment."

" In the year 1704, when I was in Holland, intending to
proceed to England, I received in Amsterdam, on the twenty-
first of March, a letter from Handel in Hamburg, so obliging
and pressing, that it at once induced me to return home.
The letter, which is dated March i8th, 1704, contains,
among others, these expressions : —

' I much desire your highly agreeable conversation, the
privation of which will soon be repaired, as the time
approaches in which it will be impossible to undertake any-
thing in the way of operas without your presence. I therefore
pray you obediently to inform me of your departure, that I

8 MATTHESON ON HANDEL.

may have the opportunity of showing my obligation by meet-
ing you with Miss Sbiilens,' etc., etc."

These extracts from Mattheson's ' Ehrenpforte ' are
quoted here because they throw light upon some occur-
rences alluded to in the remarks with which Mattheson has
interspersed his German translation of Mainwaring's
'Memoirs of the Life of the late George Frederick Handel;
to which is added a Catalogue of his works, and observations
upon them ; London, 1760.'

Mainwaring was a young clergyman, whose admiration of
Handel induced him to collect as much material for the com-
pilation of a biography as he was able to obtain. His work,
published anonymously a year after Handel's death, much
as it has been disparaged on account of its chronological
inaccuracies and its want of musical erudition, is certainly
valuable as containing the fullest account of Handel's life in
England written by a contemporary of the great musician.
Mattheson's German translation, with annotations, is entitled
Georg Friderich Handel's Lebensbeschreibung, nebst einem Ver-
zeichnisse seiner Ausilbungswerke und deren Beurtheilung ; ilber-
setzt, auch mit einigen A mnerktmgen, absonderlich ilber den ham-
bur gischen Artikel, versehenvon Legations-Rath Mattheson. Ham-
burg. Auf Kosten des Uebersetzers, 1761. (' George Frederick
Handel's Biography, with a list of his Compositions, and a
critical examination of them ; translated, and annotated with
some remarks, especially upon the part relating to Hamburg,
by Mattheson, Councillor of Legation. Hamburg. Published
at the expense of the translator, 1761.') The book is now
scarce. Victor Schoelcher, in his ' Life of Handel,' London,
1857, notices it only with the remark : " My endeavours have
hitherto been in vain to obtain a copy of this in Germany, and
it is not to be found in the British Museum." At any rate, it
is not likely to be known to many English musicians. A trans-
lation of Mattheson's annotations is therefore offered here.
As regards the Introduction with which Mattheson has
prefaced his translation, it is so diffuse, and contains so little
about Handel, that few musicians now would care to read it
entirely. It is headed by a quotation in English, from the
Tatler (No. 92) :— " Panegyricks are frequently ridiculous, let
them be addressed where they will."

MATTHESON ON HANDEL. Q

Mattheson aims more at impressing the reader with his
own merits than with those of Handel. He says, for
instance : "In describing an artist's life, it is not sufficient
to represent the man only as an artist ; the artist must
rather be considered also as a man ; for thus only can his
merits be properly understood. However, no one is able
to know or to do everything in his vocation. Thus,
in music, one performer excels on the organ-pedals,
while another surpasses him on the harpsichord. The first
may be called coarse ; the second, delicate. The first may
be only appreciated by connoisseurs ; the second, by every-
one. A company of artists — if any such exists — is like a bunch
of different keys. No one of these is to be extolled before
the other but only in so far as it opens an important lock
which encloses a treasure. One musician is not only a
player, but also a singer ; another never opens his mouth to
sing — nay, not even to laugh. The former, besides being
able to compose, to sing, to play, and to dance, acts a prin-
cipal character on the stage ; the latter, with his quantity
of musical scores, has taken care not to appear upon the
boards of the theatre. Indeed, he would have cut a funny
figure had he done so. Here, some one who occupies him-
self with music, and also with various sciences, in a superior
manner, works at the same time for kings and princes ;
there some one employs his gifts principally in the service
and for the amusement of the subjects. From this it is
clear that each in his particular line may deserve honour
and laudation ; not properly on account of his person, but
on account of his achievements. ..... No mere

Musicus practicus ecclesiastico-dramaticus, who took a high
rank as a director of the orchestra, and a still higher rank
as an organist, but who was neither a singer nor an actor,
and least of all a mathematician — has ever, before Handel,
attained to this, that without his help a special book of a
considerable size on his life has been written, and supplied
with instructive observations — still more, that his biography
has been translated into another language by a brother-
artist by no means of the common class. Competing succes-
sors do not feel hurt by these stimulating spurs !"

10 MATTHESON ON HANDEL.

In order to render the following annotations by Matthe-
son properly intelligible, the statements of Mainwaring to
which they refer are inserted with them. The latter are
copied exactly as they were originally written ; while
Mattheson's annotations are translated from the German.

Mainwaring (P. i). " George Frederick Handel was born
at Hall,* a city in the circle of Upper-Saxony, the 24th
February, i684,t by a second wife of his father, who was
an eminent surgeon and physician of the same place, and
above sixty when his son was born."

Mattheson. " The author is wrong in calling Halle a town
of Upper-Saxony. It lies in the Dukedom of Magdeburg,
which belongs to Lower-Saxony. Handel was, therefore,
no Upper-Saxon, but rather a Lower-Saxon."

Mainwaring (P. 6). " It may not be unpleasant to the
reader just now to remind him of the minute and surprising
resemblance between the early periods of Handel's life and
some which are recorded in that of the celebrated M. Pascal,
written by his sister. Nothing could equal the bias of the
one to Mathematics but the bias of the other to Music ; both
in their very childhood out-did the efforts of maturer age ;
they pursued their respective studies not only without any
assistance, but against the consent of their parents, and in
spite of all the opposition they contrived to give them."

Mattheson. " Almost the same was the case with Tycho
Brahe, and with the translator of this biography, each in
his vocation."

Mainwaring (P. 15). " Zackaw [Zachau] was proud of
a pupil who already began to attract the attention of all
persons who lived near Hall [Halle], or resorted thither
from distant quarters. And he was glad of an assistant who,
by his uncommon talents, was capable of supplying his
place whenever he had an inclination to be absent, as he
often, was, from his love of company and a cheerful glass."

Mattheson. "Could not the life of Handel have been
written without aspersing the brave tone-artist Zachau
forty years after his death on account of a glass of wine ?"

* Halle. f Should be 1685.

MATTHESON ON HANDEL. II

Main-waving (P. 15). " It may seem strange to talk of an
assistant of seven years of age, for he could not be more, if
indeed he was quite so much, when first he was committed
to the care of this person."

Mattheson. " The author appears to have not the least
scruple in committing the most palpable anachronism by
making his hero the younger the taller he grows. This
will presently appear evident."

Mainwaring (P. 16). "We have already hinted at some
striking coincidences of life and character which are found
in him and the famous Pascal. In this place we may just
observe that the latter at the age of twelve compos'd a
treatise on the propagation of sounds, and at sixteen another
upon conic sections."

Mattheson. " But it must be remembered that afterwards
he entirely gave up mathematics. See Bayle."

Mainwaring (P. 18). " It was in the year 1698 that he
went to Berlin. The opera there was in a flourishing con-
dition under the direction of the King of Prussia (grandfather
of the present), who, by the encouragement which he gave
to singers and composers, drew thither some of the most
eminent from Italy and other parts."

Mattheson. " Anno 1698 there wa*> no King in Prussia ;
the first dated from 1701. Handel has, therefore, seen no
king in Berlin. That the author is as bad a genealogist
and politician as he is a chronologist. is proved by his mis-
taking the grandfather of the present king for the father, and by
his always mentioning the then reigning Elector as the King."

Mainwaring (P. 20). " Attilio's fondness for Handel
commenced at his first coming to Berlin, and continued to
the time of his leaving it. He would often take him on his
knee, and make him play on his harpsichord for an hour
together, equally pleased and surprised with the extraordinary
proficiency of so young a person ; for at this time he could not
exceed thirteen, as may easily be seen by comparing dates."

Mattheson. "He was born anno 1684.* He arrived in

* That Handel was born on the 23rd of February, 1685, and not on
the 24th of February, 1684, is correctly stated in J. J. Walther's ' Musi-
calisches Lexicon,' Leipzig, 1732. To settle the uncertainty about the

12 MATTHESON ON HANDEL.

Berlin anno 1698. Even if the various occurrences with
Buononcini and Attilio, with the Elector and his court,
took only a few hours — nay, even if they are not taken into
account at all, there are still at least fourteen years. One
should think that he was much above seven years when
Ariosti (Attilio) took him on his lap."*

Main-waring (P. 31). " Before we advance any farther
in his history, it is necessary some account should be given
of the opera at Hamburg, as well as some character of the
composer and singers. The principal singers were Conratini
and Mathyson. The latter was secretary to Sir Cyril Wych,
who was resident for the English court, had Handel for his
music-master, and was himself a fine player on the harpsi-
chord. Mathyson was no great singer, for which reason he
sung only occasionally ; but he was a good actor, a good
composer of lessons, and a good player on the harpsichord.
He wrote and translated several treatises. One that he
wrote was on composition. He had thoughts of writing the
life of Handel many years before his death. Had he pursued
this design, he would have had advantages beyond what we
can pretend to, i.e., ampler and fresher materials ; at least,
for so much of the life as had then elapsed. All that is here
intended, is to give a plain, artless account of such par-
ticulars as we have been able to learn, and such only as we
have reason to believe authentic."

Mattheson. " This whole story, with everything subse-
quently recorded about the operas in Hamburg, is so full of

date, which appears to have arisen chiefly through Mainwaring's mis-
statement, J. J. Eschenburg consulted the Baptismal Register of the
Frauenkirche in Halle, where he found the year 1685 given. (See
' Dr. Karl Burney's Nachricht von Georg Friedrich Handel's Lebens
umstanden, und der ihm zu London im May und Juny, 1784, ange-
stellten Gedachtnissfeyer, aus den Englischen iibersetzt von J. J.
Eschenburg ; Berlin, 1785). — Forstemann (' Handel's Stammbaum,'
Leipzig, 1844), and others, have subsequently convinced themselves that
Eschenburg's date is correct. The year 1684, given on Handel's
Monument in Westminster Abbey, therefore, requires rectifying.

* Chrysander ('G. F. Handel,' Leipzig, 1858, vol. I., p. 52) surmises
that Handel was not in Berlin in 1698, but in 1696, when he was eleven
years old.

MATTHESON ON HANDEL. 13

errors that one can scarcely rectify them. The Conradin
(not Conratini) possessed almost perfect beauty, and had
withal an extraordinary splendid voice, which extended in

g-
equal power from ||== j=jj to jjj== ^. This

gave her claim to be the principal singer. Mattheson
(not Mathyson) instructed her for several years; i.e., he
sung everything to her daily until she could retain it in her
memory. At that time no gentleman was called a great
singer unless he had a soprano voice, and such a gentleman
we did not possess. An inferior teacher would certainly
have been of no use to the Conradin. It is ridiculous to
say of Mattheson that he sang only occasionally, considering
that he was fifteen years at the theatre, that he acted almost
always the principal character, exciting his audience by
means of his unaffected singing as well as by his mimic art,
which is of the utmost importance in opera, sometimes fear
and terror, sometimes tears, sometimes merriment and
delight. On the gth of June, 1703, he made Handel's
acquaintance at an organ, when Handel was ig|- years old,
and Mattheson 2 if, so that the difference in age amounted
only to two years and a half.* On the iyth of August, in
the same year, they travelled together to Liibeck, and played
in that town, as well as in Hamburg, on the organ and
harpsichord, so to say in emulation, in which Handel proved
himself the most successful on the former instrument, but
acknowledged himself obliged to yield the palm to his rival
on the latter instrument ; so that they made a compact
together never to encroach upon each other's ground. This
they have also faithfully kept during five or six years. On
the 20th of October, Mattheson brought out his fifth, or
sixth opera, called Cleopatra, on which occasion Handel
played the harpsichord under the direction of the former.
Soon afterwards, on the 7th of November in the same year,
Sir John Wich,t Knight, Royal Ambassador of Great

* This is a mis-statement. Handel, born in 1685, was 18 years old!
and Mattheson, born in 1681, was 22 years old.
| Wych ?

14 MATTHESON ON HANDEL.

Britain, engaged Mattheson as teacher and tutor for his son
Cyril Wich, nine years old ; and soon afterwards he made
him his Secretary, with a salary of three hundred Reichs-
thaler, and two hundred ditto perquisites per annum. This
gave occasion for jealous looks, especially as he now bid
farewell to the theatre. Thus, after a secure foundation had
been laid, the progress was very perceptible. True, the
young master Wich had already had a few very unimportant
lessons from Handel; they did not give satisfaction; the
tutor was therefore appealed to, and under his guidance the
young gentleman attained, in the course of time, a high
degree of perfection. He succeeded his father, after the
death of the latter, and obtained in 1729 the hereditary
dignity of a Baronet. Mattheson always remained in royal
service, was twelve or thirteen times ' Charge des Affaires,'
was employed on important missions, etc., — as has already
been circumstantially recorded in the * Ehrenpforte,' pub-
lished in 1740. At last, after the lapse of fifty years, the
highly-meritorious Baronet departed to a better world on
the i8th of August, when he had just returned from an
embassy to Russia. If the author of the present biography
had consulted Mattheson's books, especially the above-
mentioned ' Ehrenpforte,' and the ' Critica Musica,' which
are publici juris, he would not have been devoid of authentic
materials. Under those favourable conditions the though
not great yet formerly principal singer and actor composed,
notwithstanding all diplomatic and pressing dispatches in
the whole district of Lower-Saxony, not only a great number
of sacred pieces for the Church, but oratorios, operas, and
music for the harpsichord and other instruments, which
cannot be unknown in England. Besides he was occupied
as Kapellmeister of the Duke of Holstein, as Canonicus et
Cantor Cathedralis Hamburgensis, and as director of several
grand concerts ; he wrote not one, but eighty-six books, most
of which treat profoundly of the theory of music and the art
of singing. Furthermore, when the St. Michael's Church
was burnt down, he contributed some forty thousand marks
for a new organ, paid the money in advance, and intends to
do more per codicillum in different ways. His life, led in the

MATTHESON ON HANDEL. 15

fear of God, extends now to the eightieth year, in cheerful-
ness and useful works. For the sake of truth this is here
inserted."

Mainwaring (P. 32). " Conratini excelled greatly, both
as an actress and as a singer. Keysar* did the same as a
composer ; but, being a man of gaiety and expence, involved
himself in debts, which forced him to abscond. His operas
for some time continued to be performed during his absence.
On his disappearing, the person who before had played the
second harpsichord demanded the first. This occasioned a
dispute between him and Handel, the particulars of which,
partly for the sake of their singularity, and partly on account
of their importance, may deserve to be mentioned. On what
reasons Handel grounded his claim to the first harpsichord
I do not understand. He had played a violin in the
orchestra, he had a good command on this instrument, and
was known to have a better on the other. But the older
candidate t was not unfit for the office, and insisted on the
right of succession. Handel seemed to have no plea but
that of natural superiority, of which he was conscious, and
from which he would not recede. This dispute occasioned
parties in the Opera-house. On the one side it was said,
with great appearance of reason, that to set such a boy as
Handel over a person so much his senior, was both unjust
and unprecedented. On the other, it was urged with some
plausibility, that the opera was not to be ruined for
punctilios ; that it was easy to foresee, from the difficulties
Keysar was under, that a composer would soon be wanted,
but not so easy to find a person capable of succeeding him,
unless it were Handel. In short, matters, they said, were
now at that pass that the question, if fairly stated, was not
who should conduct the opera, but whether there should be
any opera at all. These arguments prevailed ; and he to
whom the first place seemed of course to be due, was
constrained to yield it to his stripling competitor. But, how
much he felt the indignity may be guessed from the nature
and degree of his resentment, more suited to the glowing

* Reiser. f Mattheson.

l6 MATTHESON ON HANDEL.

temper of an Italian, than to the phlegmatic constitution of
a German."

Mattheson. "He calls the Germans phlegmatic, and a
querelle allemande does not occur to him."

Main-waring (P. 35). "For, determined to make Handel
pay dear for his priority, he stifled his rage for the present,
only to wait an opportunity to give it full vent. As they
were coming out of the orchestra, he made a push at him
with a sword, which, being aimed full at his heart, would for
ever have removed him from the office he had usurped, but
for the friendly Score which he accidentally carried in his
bosom ; and through which to have forced it, would have
demanded all the might of Ajax himself. Had this happened
in the early ages, not a mortal but would have been persuaded
that Apollo himself had interposed to preserve him, in the
form of a music-book. From the circumstances which are
related of this affair, it has more the appearance of an
assassination than of a rencounter; if the latter, one of
Handel's years might well be wanting the courage, or the
skill, to defend himself; if the former, supposing him capable
of making a defence, he could not be prepared for it. How
many great men, in the very dawning of their glory have
been planted, like him, on the very verge of destruction ! as
if Fortune, jealous of Nature, made a show of sacrificing her
noblest productions only to remind her of that supremacy to
which she aspires. Whatever might be the merits of the
quarrel at first,"

Mattheson. " Here I must again interrupt the subtle
reasoner, in order to show him his confusion, which is even
greater and ruder than the preceding one, since that con-
tained only above a dozen falsehoods, while we have here
double the number. The cause of the quarrel was, indeed,
quite different from what is here related. It was already
mentioned long since, with all possible modesty, in the
' Ehrenpforte,' p. 94 and 193; but there was then no occasion,
as there is now, to remind the reader that a cool box on the
ear is no assassination, but rather a necessary warning to pre-
pare for defence. This settles the first statement. The
incorrectly-informed author relates a fable rather than a true

MATTHESON ON HANDEL. 17

event. Never, so long as can be remembered, have two
harpsichords been played together in the orchestra of the
opera in Hamburg at the same time ; and as there has
always been but one, a dispute about it, as narrated, could
not possibly have occurred. Now, as to this dispute is
attributed the origin of the fight, the remainder of the inven-
tion falls with it to the ground. There we have the second
blunder. Subsequently erroneous statements are so frequent
that it is scarcely possible to count them. Handel, in the
beginning, played only the second violin in the orchestra;
and he was, as may easily be conceived, not a more accom-
plished performer on that instrument than any other member
of the orchestra. There we have the third falsehood, which
is besides a boasting untruth. The fray occurred on the
5th of December, 1704. Handel, whom the biographer insists,
as much as is in his power, on making younger the older he
grows, was nearly twenty-one years of age,* tall, strong,
broad, and vigorous in body ; he was, consequently, man
enough to defend himself, and to make use of the sword
which he had hanging at his side. That is the fourth point,
and a strong one too, which a writer very sensitive of his
reputation should especially bear in mind when he, instead
of recording real facts, indulges in high-flown laudations, and
occasions the translator much unnecessary trouble."

Main-waring (P. 37). "Whatever might be the merits of
the quarrel at first, Handel seemed now to have purchased
his title to precedence by the dangers he had incurred to
support it. What he and his friends expected, soon happened.
From conducting the performance, he became composer of
the opera. Reiser, from his unhappy situation, could no
longer supply the manager, who therefore applied to Handel,
and furnished him with a drama to set. The name of it was
Almira, and this was the first opera which he made. The
success of it was so great that it ran for thirty nights without
interruption. He was at this time not much above fourteen;
before he was fifteen he made a second, entitled Florinda ;
and soon after, a third, called Nerone; which were heard
with the same applause."

* He was not quite twenty years old.

l8 MATTHESON ON HANDEL.

Mattheson. " The fifth brag, as to a certain opera having
been performed in Hamburg, with every advantage and good
result, thirty times without intermission, is surely not worth
mentioning. The sixth, however, is even still finer. Let
us just analyze it a little. ' Almira ' was performed the first
time on the 8th of January, anno 1705. Now, our chrono-
logist counts from the 24th of February, 1684, when Handel
was born, until the 8th of January, 1705, as a little more
than fourteen years, while the period really is nearly twenty-
one years.* But he is not particular about seven years. A
fine arithmetician, to be sure ! Mistake No. 7. 'Nero' was
not the third of Handel's operas, as our author erroneously
states (mistake No. 8), but the second ; and it was per-
formed for the first time on the 25th of February, in 1705.
Thus, there were only forty-eight days between the two
performances ; at the utmost, seven weeks. In the seven
weeks there were seven Sundays, seven Saturdays, fourteen
post-days, not to count the St. Mary-days and the holydays.
How is it then possible that the ' Almira ' could have been
represented thirty times without interruption ? Whoever
believes only half of what this historicus here writes,
believes too much. That was mistake No. 9. The tenth
concerns the Florindo as a man, not the Florinda as a
female. Handel's opera called ' Florindo ' was not his
second, but his third ; and it was performed in 1708, three
years after ' Nero.' Meanwhile, Reiser had not only com-
posed a new * Almira,' as well as the operas ' Octavia,'
' Lucretia,' ' Fedelta coronata,' ' Masagnello furioso,'
' Sueno,' ' Genio di Holsatia,' Carnival of Venice;' but also
Schieferdecker had brought out his ' Justin '; Griinwald, his
' Germanicum ;' and Graupner his ' Dido.' In the year
1708, Handel produced another opera, called ' Daphne,'
which was the fourth of those he wrote for Hamburg, and
which appears to be unknown to his biographer, as he omits
it entirely. Has the man not had trustworthy sources for
information ?t Howbeit, the dozen mistakes is complete,

* See the note above, page n.

f Mainwaring had probably obtained some of his information from
Handel himself; but he may have forgotten the dates, or Handel may
not have remembered them exactly.

MATTHESON ON HANDEL. IQ

and we merely remark in addition, that in 1708 Handel was
not 15 years of age, but quite 24. This error calculi may be
regarded as a master stroke. Did we not know with cer-
tainty that George Frederick Handel died anno 1759, on the
fourteenth of April, at the age of 76, * and we had to rely
upon this blundering prosaic Homer for information respect-
ing our musical Achilles, he would have remained constantly
fifteen years, perhaps even imberbis until he came to the
grave, and our barber in Hamburg, who every alternate day
attended him, during five or six years, would have gained
his money wrongfully. If an Englishman thinks that he
can entertain us with his dreams in his mixture-language,
he must be prepared for an answer from us in our heroic
language. We understand him well, and have learnt his
tongue ; if he does not understand us, he may still learn

this too Having observed Handel during his

sojourn in Hamburg, we leave the celebrated man to the
Italians and the English ; but we do not believe that the
moon is made of green cheese."

Main-waving (P. 42). " Four or five years had elapsed
from the time of his coming to Hamburg to that of his
leaving it."

Mattheson. " Should say five or six."

Mainwaring (P. 42). " Instead of being chargeable to
his mother he began to be serviceable to her before he was
well settled in his new situation. Though he had con-
tinued to send her remittances from time to time, yet, clear
of his own expenses, he had made up a purse of 200 ducats.
On the strength of this fund he resolved to set out for
Italy."

Mattheson. " Anno 1709 he was still in Hamburg, but
did nothing.t Then there occurred the opportunity of his
travelling with Herr von Binitz to Italy, free of expense ;
and in 1710 he had his ' Agrippina ' performed at Venice."

* Handel was 74 years old when he died.

f Mattheson is mistaken here. It has been satisfactorily ascertained
that Handel left Hamburg for Italy in the year 1706. (See G. F.
Handel, von F. Crysander, Leipzig, 1858, vol. I., p. 139.)

2O MATTHESON ON HANDEL.

Mainwaring (P. 44). " The very first answer of the fugue
in the overture for ' Mucius Scaevola ' [an opera by Handel]
affords an instance of this kind [viz., a musical licence].
Geminiani, the strictest observer of rule, was so charmed
with this direct transgression of it that, on hearing its effect,
he cried out Quel semitono (meaning the F-sharp) vale un
mondo !"

Mattheson. " What does that prove ? Nothing !"

Mainwaring (P. 50). "At the age of eighteen he made
[at Florence] the opera of Rodrigo, for which he was pre-
sented with 100 sequins and a service of plate."

Mattheson. " Actually an intentional miscalculation of
eight years !"

Mainwaring (P. 52). " In three weeks he finished [at
Venice] his ' Agrippina,' which was performed twenty-seven
nights successively."

Mattheson. " In the year 1709, at his departure from
Hamburg, Handel was 25 years old. He resided a year in
Florence before he went to Venice, where he had his
'Agrippina' performed at the theatre of St. Gio Crisos-
tomo, during the Carnival in 1710. Now, let him calculate
who can, and convince himself whether this makes, from
February 24th, 1684, eighteen years, as our biographer says,
or whether it amounts to twenty-six."

Mainwaring (P. 74). " It was in the winter of the year
1710 when he arrived at London."

Mattheson. " In this year he performed his 'Agrippina'
at Venice, and in 1709 he was still in Hamburg." *

Mainwaring (P. 74). " During this period scarce a mail
arrived from Holland which did not bring some fresh
accounts of victories or advantages gained by the English
hero [Maryborough] over the armies of a monarch but lately
the terror of Europe, though now the scorn of every Dutch
burgomaster."

* The following well-authenticated data may serve to correct the
" corrections " of Mattheson : — Handel was born in 1685 ; went to
Hamburg in 1703 ; thence to Italy in 1706 ; from Italy to Hanover in
1710; thence to London in 1710; back to Hanover in 1711; returned
to England in 1712, where he died in 1759.

MATTHESON ON HANDEL. 21

Mattheson. " What a Frenchman may say to this is his
own concern. In Handel's biography it is lugged in ; and
such scurrilities reveal an ignoble heart."

Main-waring (P. 88). " Our business is not to play the
panegyrist but the historian."

Mattheson. " If you know that, blessed are you if you act
upon it."

Mainwaring (P. no). " Having one day some words
with Cuzzoni on her refusing to sing Falsa imagine in
' Ottone ': 'Oh! Madame,' Handel said, 'je scais bien que
vous etes une veritable diablesse ; mais je vous ferai scavoir,
moi, que je suis Beelzebub, le chef des diables !' With this
he took her up by the waist, and swore that if she made any
more words he would fling her out of the window. It is to
be noted that this was formerly one of the methods of
executing criminals in some parts of Germany, a process
not unlike that of the Tarpeian rock, and probably derived
from it."

Mattheson. " This heroic deed was undoubtedly accom-
plished unawares. Who could face such a woman with her
claws ? The Quixotic story with its ingenious reference to
the Tarpeian rock, and to criminal processes, testify to the
author's extensive reading in law and history. Whoever
can read it without a smile is commendable, especially if he
is a German, better informed and phlegmatic."

Mainwaring (P. 115). "The little taste he [Handel] had
already had of adversity lessened that self-confidence which
success is apt to inspire. He found that it was not the
necessary consequence of great abilities, and that without
prudence the greatest may be almost annihilated in the
opinions of men."

Mattheson. " To this the British proverb applies : ' Give
a man luck and throw him into the Thames.' "

Mainwaring (P. 116). " He now removed to Covent-
garden, and entered into partnership with Rich, the master
of that house. Hasse and Porpora were the composers at
the Haymarket. When the former was invited over, it is
remarkable that the first question he asked was whether
Handel was dead. Being answered in the negative he

22 MATTHESON ON HANDEL.

refused to come, from a persuasion that where his country-
man was — for they were both Saxons by birth— no other
person of the same profession was likely to make any
figure."

Mattheson. " This agrees with a remark of mine before
made. Hasse was born in Bergedorf, a small town belong-
ing to Hamburg and Liibeck in common ; he is, therefore, a

Lower-Saxon of the highest type However, the

reason why these two Saxons did not wish to encroach
upon each other's precincts was a very different one from
that indicated by our biographer."

Mainwaring (P. 132). " Dublin has always been famous
for the gaiety and splendour of its court, the opulence and
spirit of its principal inhabitants, the valour of its military,
and the genius of its learned men. Where such things were
held in esteem he [Handel] rightly reckoned that he could
not better pave the way to his success than by setting out
with a striking instance and public act of generosity and
benevolence. The first step that he made was to perform
his Messiah for the benefit of the city-prison."

Mattheson. " On a beau etre genereux et liberal, quand
il n'en coute que des chansons, et que d'autres payent les
violons ; c'est en bon allemand : Mil der Wurst nach dem
Schinken werfen (' To throw the sausage at the ham ')."

Mainwaring (P. 135). " The Foundling Hospital [in
London] originally rested on the slender foundation of
private benefactions. At a time when this institution was
yet in its infancy ; when all men seemed to be convinced of
its utility ; when nothing was at all problematical but the
possibility of supporting it ; — Handel formed the noble
resolution to lend his assistance, and perform his Messiah
annually for its benefit. The sums raised by each per-
formance were very considerable, and certainly of great
consequence in such a crisis of affairs. But, what was of
much greater, was the magic of his name and the universal
character of his sacred drama."

Mattheson. " Notes were his magic, or his black-art."

Mainwaring (P. 137). " So that it may truly be affirmed
that one of the noblest and most extensive charities that

MATTHESON ON HANDEL. 23

ever was planned by the wisdom, or projected by the piety
of men, in some degree owes its continuance as well as
prosperity to the patronage of Handel."

Mattheson. " By this he was not out of pocket ; it rather
brought him credit, which is better than money."

Mainwaring (P. 138). " In the year 1751 a gutta serena
deprived him of his sight. This misfortune sunk him for a
time into the deepest despondency. He could not rest until
lie had undergone some operations as fruitless as they were
painful. Finding it no longer possible for him to manage
alone, he sent to Mr. Smith to desire that he should play
for him, and assist him in conducting the oratorios."

Mattheson. " He remained blind until his death, — a
period of eight years. Nothing is said here of a so-called
monumental column, and of an amazingly large property left
by Handel, although it has been a subject of much gossip."

Mainwaring (P. 141). " His incessant and intense appli-
cation to the studies of his profession, rendered constant and
large supplies of nourishment the more necessary to recruit
his exhausted spirits."

Mattheson. " J. Sirach, chap, xxxviii., v. 34; Phil., chap,
iii., v. 19."

Mainwaring (P. 142). "The design of the foregoing
sheets is only to give the reader those parts of his character
as a Man, that any way tend to open and explain his
character as an Artist."

Mattheson. " If this were done, the arts and the manners
would exhibit not unfrequently striking contrasts."

" Mainwaring (P. 143). " The author has nothing to add
but his sincere wishes that every artist who is truly deserving
in his profession, may meet with a person equally desirous
of doing justice to his memory."

Mattheson. " This wish is as kind as it is reasonable.
It proves the belief of the author that there must be other
people, unknown to him, who, on account of their arts,
deserve quite as much honour as Handel. Alas ! how much
pains has the ' Great-Thorough-Bass School ' taken to show
this, not to mention the ' Triumphal Arch.* . . . Bach,

* Two works by Mattheson.

24 MATTHESON ON HANDEL.

Fux, Graun, Graupner, Griinewald, Heinichen, Reiser, etc.,
have died without experiencing it; perhaps the same will
happen with Hasse, and with several others."

Main-waring (P. 149). "A great quantity of music, not
mentioned in the Catalogue, was made [by Handel] in Italy
and Germany. How much of it is yet in being, is not
known. Two chests-full were left at Hamburg, besides
some at Hanover, and some at Halle."

Mattheson. " We Hamburgians have hitherto heard
nothing of those two chests. In Wich's music-book of the
year 1704 are two minuets and half an air, that is all."

Main-waring (P. 164). " The generality of mankind have
not enough of delicacy to be much affected with minute
instances of beauty, but yet are so formed as to be trans-
ported with every the least mark of grandeur and sublimity."

Mattheson. " That is true."

Main-waring (P. 165). " The taste in music, both of the
Germans and Italians, is suited to the different characters
of the two nations. That of the first is rough and martial ;
and their music consists of strong effects produced, without
much delicacy, by the rattle of a number of instruments."

Mattheson. " Surely this is not phlegmatic, as before
said."

Main-waring (P. 174). " However well some of the
Italians may have succeeded in the management of the
instrumental parts in their song-music, there is one point
in which Handel stands alone, and in which he may possi-
bly never be equalled ; I mean in the instrumental parts of
his choruses and full church-music."

Mattheson. " This is true enough ; but it was all derived
from Zachau and his organ-playing. Germany is the father-
land of all powerful harmony, elaborate compositions for
the organ, fugues and chorales, used in Divine Service.
Italy has melody for her daughter, with songstresses, singers,
and very delicate solo-players on violin-instruments to touch
the heart. France produces its magnificent choruses,
instrumental pieces, dance-music, to cheer the heart ; and
to England we leave the honour of admiring and recom-
pensing these rarities."

MATTHESON ON HANDEL. 25

Mainwaring (P. 179). "But how shall we excuse for
those instances of coarseness and indelicacy which occur so
frequently in the airs of his oratorios ? For, as the melody
is a fundamental and essential part in vocal music, it
should seem that nothing can atone for the neglect of it.
The best painter would be blamed should he draw off the
attention too much from the principal figure in his piece,
however perfect, by the very high and exquisite finishing of
some inferior object ; but, much more would he deserve to
be blamed if he left that figure the least finished which all
the rules of his art required to be the most so. Now, in
music, though there may sometimes be occasion for giving
the instruments the ascendancy over the voices, yet never
should the song-parts be unmeaning or inexpressive, much
less coarse or ordinary."

Mattheson. " Golden words! All this, however, is owing
to the circumstance that Handel was neither a singer nor
an actor. During a period of five or six years, when we had
daily intercourse with each other, I never heard a singing
tone from his mouth. When Earl Granville (at that time
Lord Carteret) was here in Hamburg, and heard me sing
and also play, he said : ' Handel plays also thus, but he
does not sing thus.' In my opinion singing and acting are
of great assistance to a composer of dramatic music. Hasse
knows this well, and has cultivated both earnestly, me teste.
Reiser, likewise, sang very admirably. Both have, there-
fore, extraordinarily charming melodies."

Mainwaring (P. 202). " In his fugues and overtures,
Handel is quite original. The style of them is peculiar to
himself, and in no way like that of any master before him.
In the formation of these pieces, knowledge and invention
seem to have contended for the mastery."

Mattheson. "A certain philosopher recently made him-
self conspicuous by maintaining that the Fine Arts ought
not to be regarded as Sciences, because their systems are
sensuous. Nevertheless, the old adage always stands firm :
Nihil esse in intellects, quod non prius fuerit in sensu. Our
biographer belongs perhaps to that sect, for he scarcely uses
the word science, even when he refers to the science of music,

26 MATTHESON ON HANDEL.

as on the present occasion. He always uses only the word
knowledge or skill. Perhaps this is unintentional. Thus
much, however, is certain : musicians are in need of literary
works, and he who can only write notes, his honour and
reputation are only vox, practeraque nihil. On the second of
March, this year [1761,] we had here, in Hamburg, a sale of
a large number of scarce and valuable books on all sciences;
but the science of music was not represented by a single
work in the comprehensive catalogue. That is surely
neglect of a science ! If any one can show me that I am
mistaken, I shall be happy."

Mainwaring (P. 208). " Little, indeed, are the hopes of
ever equalling, much less of excelling, so vast a proficient in
his own way ; however, as there are so many avenues to
excellence still open, so many paths to glory still untrod, it
is hoped that the example of this illustrious foreigner will
rather prove an incentive than a discouragement to the
industry and genius of our own countrymen."

Mattheson. " Whoever intends to describe accurately the
life of Handel, can hardly do it without a reference to the
following books : ' Musica Critica,' Hamburg, 1722 ; ' The
Musical Patriot,' Hamburg, 1728 ; ' Ehrenpforte,' Hamburg,
1740."

Mattheson now quotes an extract from a letter of
Handel's, dated February 24th, 1719, which has already
been given above ;* and he remarks : " To promise, and to
fulfil a promise, are two things." He quotes once more
Handel's complimentary letter, also given above,t which
evidently afforded him great satisfaction ; and he adds :
" Even the most insignificant letters in some degree depict
the writer, in reference to the time and place in which they
were written. Horace is quite right : Coelunt non animum
mutant qui trans mare currunt."

Some writers have blamed Mattheson very much on
account of his vanity and his jealousy of Handel. Still,
it remains a debatable question whether the conceit of his
detractors does not perhaps surpass his own. It is a
common practice with inferior musical authors to assume

* Page 4. f Page 7.

MATTHESON ON HANDEL. 27

an air of superiority, and to endeavour to make themselves
important by rinding fault with others who have distinguished
themselves in the same field in which they are labouring,
and to whom they ought to be grateful.

Mattheson had not only a better scientific education
than most musicians of his time, but his literary productions
are also more readable than those of his modern com-
mentators who censure him.

DIABOLIC MUSIC.

IT is a suggestive fact that those spirits of the mountains,
rivers, and of lonely places, which delight in music and
dancing, are, according to popular tradition, generally well-
intentioned and harmless creatures. Sometimes, however,
a very evil-disposed spirit resorts to these arts for the
purpose of accomplishing some wicked design. A few stories
from different countries which illustrate the superstitious
notions on the subject will be given here. Although the
stories are still in the mouth of the people, it can hardly be
said that they are still really believed, at least not in
European countries. But there are always ignorant persons
who half believe whatever appeals forcibly to their imagi-
nation.

THE AWFUL DECEPTION.

At Arfeld, a small village in Germany, a number of
young lads and lasses were assembled one winter evening in
a warm and comfortable room, the girls spinning and singing,
as they usually do on these occasions.

One of the lads, in silly playfulness, said to the girls he
should like them to try whether they could hang him on a
single thread of their spinning. The novel idea found ready
approval. They made him stand on a chair, and bound a
thin thread around his neck, fastening it on a nail under the
ceiling.

At this moment all were greatly surprised by hearing
strains of exquisitely fine music penetrating into the house.
They directly hastened outside the door to ascertain whence
it came ; but there they neither heard nor saw anything.

DIABOLIC MUSIC. 29

On returning to the room, they found, to their great
astonishment and dismay, that the chair had been drawn
from under the lad, and that the poor fellow was hanging on
the thread and was dead.*

THE INDEFATIGABLE FIDDLER.

The following strange event happened in the parish of
Borne, two miles south of Ripen, in Denmark, and is still
known to the people in all its details.

One Sunday evening, a company of young men and girls
of the village had assembled in a farm-house, and were
indulging in all kinds of frolic and flirting. After they had
enjoyed their nonsense for some time they thought they
should like to have a little dancing. In the midst of much
noisy and useless debating how to procure a musician to
play to them, one of the youths — the wildest of the party —
cut the matter short by saying boastingly i " Now, my lads,
leave that to me ! I will bring you a musician, even if it
should be the devil himself !" With these words the wicked
youth placed his cap knowingly on one side of his head, and
marched out of the room.

He had not advanced many steps along the road when
he met with an old beggarly-looking man, who carried a
fiddle under his arm. The lad lost no, time in striking a
bargain with the man,, and triumphantly introduced him
into the house.. In a few minutes all the young folks were
wildly dancing up and down the room to the old crowder's
fascinating music ; and soon the perspiration actually
streamed down their faces. They now desired to stop for a
moment to rest themselves a little. But this they found
impossible so long as the old crowder continued playing ;
and they could not induce him to leave off, however
earnestly they implored him*. It was really an awful affair !

Soon they would have been all dead from sheer exhaus-
tion, had it not so happened, fortunately for them, that there

* ' Sagen, Gebrauche, und Marchen aus Westfahlen, gesammelt von
A. Kuhn. Leipzig* 1859.' Vol. I., p. 175.

c

30 DIABOLIC MUSIC.

resided in the lower part of the house an old deaf woman,
the housekeeper of the farmer, who accidentally becoming
aware of the desperate condition of the dancers, ran as fast
as she could to fetch the parish priest. The holy man was
already in bed, and it took some time to arouse him ; and
then he had to dress himself. But at last he was quite
prepared ; and when he arrived at the farm-house and saw
the fearful scene, he at once took out of his pocket a little
book, from which he read something in Latin or Hebrew.
Scarcely had he read a verse, when the indefatigable fiddler
let his arm sink, and drawing himself gradually up until he
stood merely on the tips of his toes, he suddenly vanished
through the ceiling, leaving no traces behind. Some people
say, however, that there was a sulphurous odour about the
house shortly after this miraculous event.

THE EFFECTUAL EXPEDIENT,

The next story, told by the Manx people, is almost
literally transcribed from Waldron's ' History and Descrip-
tion of the Isle of Man,' London, 1744.

" A fiddler having agreed with a person, who was a
stranger, for so much money, to play to some company he
should bring him to, all the twelve days of Christmas, and
having received an earnest for it, saw his new master vanish
into the earth the moment he had made the bargain.
Nothing could exceed the terror of the poor fiddler. He
found he had engaged himself in the devil's service, and
he looked on himself as already doomed ; but, having
recourse to a clergyman he received some hope. The clergy-
man desired him, as he had taken an earnest, to go when he
should be summoned ; but, whatever tunes should be called
for,to play none but psalm-tunes.

"On the day appointed the same person appeared, with
whom he went, but with what inward reluctance it is easy
to guess. He punctually obeying the minister's directions,
the company to whom he played were so angry that they all

DIABOLIC MUSIC. 31

vanished at once, leaving him at the top of a high hill, and
so bruised and hurt, though he was not sensible when or
from what hand he received the blows, that it was with the
utmost difficulty he got home."

THE OLD CHORALE.

The following is recorded from Oldenburg, North
Germany.

The sexton at Esenshammer, one day on entering the
church alone, heard the organ playing most charmingly. He
looked up and saw to his great surprise that there was no
player ; it played by itself. He lost no time in running to
the Pastor, to tell him what was going on in the church.

The Pastor quickly put on his gown and hastened with
his sexton to witness the phenomenon. Sure enough ; the
organ was playing wonderfully all kinds of profane airs ;
they both heard it distinctly. But, look where they would,
they could not see any performer.

After having recovered a little from his astonishment,
the Pastor in a solemn tone of voice called out towards the
organ : —

" If thou up there canst play everything, just play to me
our old Chorale Wer nur den lieben Gott lasst walten."

In a moment the organ was silent.

THE HAUNTED MANSION.

Diabolic musical performances have often been heard at
midnight in a certain mansion in Schleswig-Holstein. Years
ago, the young and gay daughter of the then lord of the
manor, at a family festivity and grand ball, proved herself so
insatiable in dancing, that, after having danced all the even-
ing, she flippantly exclaimed: "And if the devil himself
appeared and invited me to dance, I should not decline ! "

Scarcely had she said these words, when the door of the
ball-room flew open, and an unknown cavalier entered, went

3fc DIABOLIC MUSIC.

up to her, and led her to dance. Round and round they
whirled, unceasingly, incessantly faster and faster, until —
O, horror ! suddenly she fell down dead.

A long time has elapsed since this occurred ; but the
lady still haunts the mansion. Every year on the day when
the frightful event took place, precisely at midnight, the
mansion resounds with the most diabolic music. The lady
arises from her grave and repairs to the ball-room, where
she anxiously waits for a partner ; for, if any good Christian
should come and dance with her, she afterwards will have
rest. Hitherto no one has had the courage to stay in the
house during the awful hour. A daring young adventurer
once had nearly succeeded. In that case, the mansion
would have come into his possession, according to an old
deed found in the house. But as soon as the diabolic
music began, his courage forsook him, and he made off as
fast as he could. It terrified him so much, that even now
when he hears violins he trembles all over, and imagines the
diabolic noise is recommencing.

THE MODE ASBEIN.

A modern writer on Arabic music, as it is practised in
Algiers and Tunis, mentions among the various Modes used
at the present day a peculiarly impressive one, called Asbein,
which the Mohammedans believe to have been especially
appropriated by Satan for the purpose of tempting man.
They have a long story respecting its origin and demoniac
effects. The writer alluded to, a Frenchman, had the grati-
fication of hearing a piece or two played in this Mode by a
musician, who had the reputation of being one of the best
performers in Tunis, and who used to entertain the
frequenters of a certain coffee-house in a suburb. To this
place the Frenchman repaired, and induced the musician to
play in the Mode Asbein. To surmise from his description
of the performance, there must have been something realiy
frightful in the degree of ecstacy which the player exhibited.
But there is something funny in the Frenchman's mode of

DIABOLIC MUSIC. 33

reasoning, which deserves to be noticed, because it shows how
opinions like the above are sometimes adopted readily
enough even by professed sceptics. The Frenchman was a
sceptic, and had made up his mind before he proceeded to
examine the matter, that the impression of the Arabs respect-
ing the Mode Asbein was due entirely to their religious
enthusiasm. They are, of course, Mohammedans. Now,
after the performance, the Frenchman accidentally learnt
that the musician was a Jew. Then he no longer doubted
the demoniac power of the Mode Asbein.

WITCHES.

Respecting the music of witches, a few short remarks
may suffice. Every one knows that witches, at their meet-
ings, amuse themselves especially with music and dancing.
In Germany, the largest assemblages of these objectionable
beings take place in the night of the first of May (Walpurgis),
and the most favourite resort for their festivities is the sum-
mit of the Harz mountain, called Brocken, or Blocksberg.
The musicians sit on old stumps of trees, or on projecting
rocks, and fiddle upon skulls of horses.

Whoever desires to witness these ghastly scenes must
provide himself with the upper board of an old coffin in which
a knot has been forced out, and must peep through the hole.

THE CHANGELING.

According to an old superstition, which was widely spread
during the Middle Ages, the elves sometimes steal a hand-
some, new-born child from its cradle, and substitute an
ill-formed, ugly child of their own. The little Irish prodigy
who is the hero of an event which happened in the county of
Tipperary, was such a Changeling. The story told of
him, it will be seen, is stamped with the peculiar wildness
of fancy which generally characterizes Irish fairy-tales.

Mick Flanigan and his wife, Judy, were a poor couple,
blessed with nothing but four little boys. Three of the
children were as healthy and rosy-cheeked as any thriving

34 DIABOLIC MUSIC.

Irish boy you can meet with ; but the fourth was a little
urchin, more ugly than it is possible to imagine ; and, even
worse, he was as mischievous as he was ugly. Innumerable
were the tricks which he played upon his brothers, and even
upon his parents. Although before he was a twelve-month
old he had already grown a formidable set of teeth, and ate
like a glutton, he would nevertheless lie constantly in his
cradle near the fire, even after he had reached the age of five
years. Resting on his back, and half closing his little eyes,
he would observe everything which was going on in the
room, watching for opportunities to annoy the people.

Now, one afternoon it came to pass that Tim Carrol, the
blind bagpiper, an old friend of the family, called in and sat
down near the fire to have a bit of chat. As he had brought
his bagpipe with him, they soon asked him to treat them
with a tune. So blind Tim Carrol buckled on his bagpipe,
and began to play.

Presently the little urchin raised himself in the cradle,
moved his ugly head to and fro, and evidently manifested
excessive delight at the nasal sounds. When the affectionate
mother saw how eagerly the child stretched out both its
hands for the bagpipe, she begged old blind Tim Carrol just
to humour her little darling for a moment ; and as blind Tim
was not the man to say " No," he mildly laid the bagpipe
upon the cradle. But how great was their astonishment when
the urchin took up the instrument, and, handling it like a
practised bagpiper, played without the least effort a lively
jig, then another, even more lively, and several others, in
rapid succession.

The first thing the father did was to sell his pig and to
buy a bagpipe for his prodigy. It soon turned out that the
rogue had a peculiar tune of his own, which made people
dance however little they might feel disposed for dancing.
Even his poor mother happening to come into the room one
day with a pailfull of milk, and hearing that bewitching tune,
must needs let the pail drop, spill all the milk, and spin
round like a very top.

About the time when the boy was six years old, the
farmer of the village, by whom Mick Flanigan was employed

DIABOLIC MUSIC. 35

as day labourer, had various mischances with his cattle.
Two of his cows lost their appetite, and gave little or no
milk. A very promising calf stumbled, and broke both its
hind legs. And shortly afterwards one of his best horses
suddenly got the colic and died in no time. The people in
the village had long since settled among themselves that
there was something not right in Mick Flanigan's family ;
so it naturally occurred to the farmer that the imp with the
bagpipe must be the cause of all his misfortunes. He there-
fore thought it wise to give warning at once to Mick
Flanigan, and to advise him to look out for work elsewhere.
Fortunately, poor Mick Flanigan soon succeeded in getting
employment at a farmer's, a few miles off, who was in want
of a ploughman.

On the appointed day the new master sent a cart to fetch
the few articles of furniture which Mick Flanigan could call
his own. Having placed the cradle with the boy and his
bagpipe at the top, the whole family drove off to their new
home. When they had got about half the way, they had to
cross a river. Slowly they drove upon the rickety bridge,
little anticipating the exciting scene which now occurred.
The boy had hitherto remained very quiet in the cradle,
apparently half asleep as usual. But, just when the cart
had reached the middle of the bridge, he raised his head,
looked wistfully at the water, and then suddenly grasping
his bagpipe he jumped down into the river.

His terrified parents set up a cry of distress, and made
some efforts to save him, when, to their unspeakable
astonishment, they saw him swimming, diving and gam-
boling about in the water like a very otter. Nay, he actually
began to play on his bagpipe, shouting lustily all the while
and exhibiting other signs which clearly showed that he was
now in his right element. Soon he disappeared entirely.
Then the poor people became fully convinced that the boy
was a Changeling, and had now gone home to his own
kinsfolk.*

* ' Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland, by T.
Crofton Croker ; London, 1862,' p. 22. — Compare also ' Hans mein Igel,'
in Grimm's Kinder und Hausmarchen.

36 DIABOLIC MUSIC.

THE VENDISH SORCERER.

The Vends are a Slavonic race inhabiting some districts
in Lusatia, Germany. Although living amidst Germans,
they still preserve their own language, as well as a con-
siderable number of national songs and legends of their
own, some of which are very beautiful.

The Vendish Sorcerer, whose name was Draho, lived
in a mountain, near the town of Teichnitz, at the time
when the Christian religion was just beginning to take root
in Lusatia. He was, of course, a pagan; and every scheme
he could devise to hurt the defenceless Christians living
scattered about the neighbourhood, he did not fail remorse-
lessly to put into action. Moreover, his great power he
derived from a magic whistle, by means of which he made
certain mischievous spirits subservient to his will.

This sorcerer had a disciple, who, becoming acquainted
with the blessings of Christianity, forsook his wicked master,
and seizing a favourable opportunity when the old rogue
was taking a nap, possessed himself of the magic whistle,
and flew from the mountain into the valley to his friends
the Christians.

Now, when the people learnt that the sorcerer had
been deprived of his whistle, they knew that his power
was gone, and that they might venture to approach him
without incurring much danger. So they went up to the
top of the mountain, provided with all kinds of arms, and
soon succeeded in capturing the old pagan. Having securely
bound him, they made a large fire of wood, upon which they
placed him, and solemnly burnt him to death. Meanwhile,
the disciple, who had already received Holy Baptism,
stepped forward and threw the magic whistle into the flame,
that it might be consumed without leaving a trace.

Nevertheless, every year in the spring, on the eve of
Oculi Sunday, the old sorcerer appears on the top of the
mountain, and in the night blows a most frightful shriek
upon his magic whistle. The people who go out at mid-
night to listen for it have not long to wait before they hear

DIABOLIC MUSIC. 37

the awful sound. For, what people are bent upon hearing,
they are sure to hear, especially if it is something
objectionable.

THE RAT-CATCHER OF HAMELN.

In the year 1284, the town of Hameln, situated on the
river Weser, in Germany, became awfully infested with rats
and mice. All kinds of traps, poisons, and other means
employed to destroy the vermin proved of no avail,
and the harassed citizens were actually at their wits' end
what to do. The plague grew daily more formidable until
the people had every reason to fear that before long not only
their victuals but they themselves would all be devoured.

When the misery had reached a height positively fright-
ful, there appeared in Hameln a strange man with a queer-
shaped hat, who offered to deliver the town from the scourge
for a stipulated reward. Some say the reward he demanded
was a round sum of money ; others maintain that he wanted
to marry the burgomaster's pretty daughter. Whatever it
may have been, there is certainly no doubt that it was
readily promised him.

As soon as the bargain had been struck, the strange
man drew from his pocket a small pipe, began to play and
walked through the streets of the town. Presently, all the
rats and mice came running out of their holes and followed
him. Lustily playing he marched with his odd army out
of the town and into the river Weser, where every rat and
mouse was drowned.

Then the inhabitants of Hameln rejoiced greatly, as after
a victory over a powerful enemy. But, when the strange
man came to claim the promised reward, they withheld it
from him, and treated him with derision.

However, a few days afterwards, how sorely were they
punished for their ingratitude !

The enraged rat-catcher unexpectedly appeared, this
time dressed entirely in red. Strange to say, even his face
and hands seemed to be quite red. He took his pipe and
walked through the streets, playing as before. Presently,

48505

38 DIABOLIC MUSIC.

all the little children of Hameln came running out of the
houses and followed him. He marched with them out of
the town into the mountains, where he vanished with them
into a deep hole in a rock.

Some persons believe that the children afterwards came
to light again, very far off in Transylvania. At all events,
there are villages in that country in which the people
speak the same language as in Hameln.

The gate through which the strange man took the chil-
dren is still extant, and there are other evidences of similar
importance to be found in Hameln, which prove to the
satisfaction of certain respectable citizens that the story is
quite true in all its details.

The earliest record of the Rat-catcher of Hameln written
in English is probably the quaint one contained in ' A Res-
titution of decayed Intelligence in Antiquities by the studie
and travaile of Richard Verstegan,' Antwerp, 1605. Verste-
gan concludes his relation with the statement : " And this
great wonder hapned on the 22 day of July, in the yeare of
our Lord one thowsand three hundreth seauentie and six."
The brothers Grimm, however, than whom a better authority
could not be adduced, say that according to the old records
preserved in the town-hall of Hameln the memorable event
occurred on the 22nd of June, Anno Domini 1284, and
that there was formerly on the wall of the town-hall the
following old and oddly-spelt inscription :

Im Jahr 1284 na Christi gebort

Tho Hamel worden uthgewort

Hundert und dreiszig Kinder dasiilwest geborn

Dorch einen Piper under den Koppen verlorn.*

Which means in plain English —

In the year 1284, after the birth of Christ,

There were led out of Hameln

One hundred and thirty children, natives of that place,

By a Piper, and were lost under the mountain.

The reader will perhaps be surprised at the smallness of

* * Deutsche Sagen, herausgegeben von den Briidern Grimm ; Berlin,
1816;' vol. I., p. 330.

DIABOLIC MUSIC. 39

the number recorded of the children lost. But, Hameln is
not a large town, and was most likely even less populous
six hundred years ago than it is at the present day.

THE EXQUISITE ORGAN.

The following story is told by the villagers in the
Netherlands.

Once upon a time a countryman of the province of
Hainault went on some business matters to the village of
Flobeck, which lies not far from Krekelberg. When he was
crossing the flat and lonely tract of land, some miles south-
east of Flobeck, he heard some distant music, which came
so sweetly through the air that he thought he would just
take a few steps in the direction whence it proceeded to
ascertain its origin.

He had not gone far when he saw a beautiful palace,
from which the fascinating music evidently issued. This
astonished him greatly ; but he was not one of those faint-
hearted men who would have crossed themselves and taken
to their heels. Quite the contrary ; he at once determined
to investigate the matter a little nearer. And so he entered
the palace.

Having ascended the broad staircase leading to the prin-
cipal rooms, he opened the large door and paced from one
hall to another. All were splendidly decorated, and most
richly furnished. But, nowhere did he meet with any living
being. Soon it became evident to him that the inmates
were feasting and dancing in an interior court of the palace.
Thither he bent his steps.

To be sure, there they were ! — a large assemblage of
odd-looking people in high glee dancing to the performance
of a musician, who had on his lap an instrument in appear-
ance not unlike a barrel-organ ; for it had a long handle
which the player turned with all his energy.

Now, when these strange people saw the countryman
peeping in, they beckoned him to come forward. He availed
himself gladly of the invitation, and took his seat by the

40 DIABOLIC MUSIC.

side of the musician ; for, no music he had ever heard in
his life appeared to him comparable to that which the man
produced on the admirable instrument with the long handle.
Sometimes it was very soft and deep-toned ; — suddenly it
rose up to a high pitch, like an ^Eolian harp when a gust of
wind passes over its strings ; — now it gradually diminished
in power, and its sweetness actually moved our countryman
to tears ; — now, again, it grew suddenly so loud, as if a
whole military band was playing, only that it was much
more beautiful.

The countryman expressed his admiration in the highest
terms, adding that nothing in the world could delight him
more than to be permitted to turn the handle of the exquisite
organ for a little while. The musician showed himself
quite willing to afford him this pleasure, and placed the
instrument on his lap.

The delighted countryman turned the handle a few
times round : — No sound was forthcoming. — He turned
again, more vigorously : — The delicious music began.

" Oh ! Ever-blessed Mother Mary ! how exquisite !"
exclaimed the enraptured countryman.

Scarcely had he said the words when everything vanished,
and he found himself sitting in a fallow field, having on his
lap a large cat whose tail he had been wrenching so vehe-
mently that poor puss was still mewing from its very heart
in most ear-piercing modulations. On the spot where the
palace had stood lie saw a large dust heap, and that
was all.*

* 'NiederlandischeSagen,herausgegeben von J. W. Wolf ; Leipzig,
1 843; 'p. 464.

ROYAL MUSICIANS.

A ROYAL personage being a lover of music possesses
many advantages for attaining proficiency in this art, which
are rarely at the command of a poor musician, however
talented he may be. The young prince has from the begin-
ning the best instruction, excellent instruments, and every
possible assistance in making progress. The most distin-
guished musicians consider it an honour to play to him
whenever he is disposed to listen to them. If it affords
him pleasure to be a composer, whatever he produces,
even if it is a large orchestral work, he can directly have
performed ; and he is thus enabled to ascertain at once
whether it sounds exactly as he contemplated in composing
it, and whether the peculiar instrumental effects in certain
bars, which he had aimed at producing, really answer his
expectation. Repeated rehearsals, and revisions of the
score, with the ready assistance of the most experienced
professional musicians in his service, enable him to
improve his composition as long as he likes. And should
he be inclined to join the musicians with his instru-
ment in a performance, — to become for a little while, so to
say, one of them, — he may be sure that they will do every-
thing to help him through by covering his mistakes and
giving him, if possible, the opportunity of displaying his
skill.

What can be more delightful for an influential amateur
than to join with first-rate professional players in practising

42 ROYAL MUSICIANS.

the classical Quartets of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven !
All this, and more, is at the command of the royal musician;
and the poor striving disciple of the art may have some
excuse for envying him on this account.

However, if the poor disciple is a true artist, he will also
duly appreciate the disadvantage under which the royal
musician labours for attaining proficiency in the art. He
will see how necessary it is for the sake of progress to
know exactly the truth about one's own powers and
requirements, and that in this respect even a musical beggar
enjoys an advantage above the King, — or rather, he has it,
whether he enjoys it or not ; a candid opinion as to his
musical accomplishments is gratuitously offered him, and
it is often a just one. If his music is bad, he, instead of
being deceived with fine words of flattery, will simply be
told: "Leave off! Begone!" If it pleases, he will be
rewarded. But the royal musician gets praise, however his
music may be ; there is no distinction made between good
and bad.

No wonder, therefore, that history records but few good
royal musicians, although many are known to have occupied
themselves with music almost like professional musicians.
As an example of an estimable one may be mentioned King
David "the sweet singer of Israel," who, as a youth,
soothed the evil spirit of Saul by playing upon his kinnor;
and who later, as King, admonished his people in the
psalms : " Praise ye the Lord ! Praise him with the sound
of the trumpet ; praise him with the psaltery and harp.
Praise him with the timbrel and dance : praise him with
stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud
cymbals. Praise him upon the high-sounding cymbals."

And in his religious fervour he joined his royal band in a
procession conveying the ark. On this occasion " David
danced before the Lord with all his might." The band con-
sisted of vocal and instrumental performers. " And David
was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites
that bare the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah, the master
of the song with the singers : David also had upon him an
ephod of linen. Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the

ROYAL MUSICIANS. 43

covenant of the Lord with shouting and with sound of the
cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a
noise with psalteries and harps. And it came to pass, as
the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of
David, that Michal, the daughter of Saul, looking out at a
window, saw King David dancing and playing: and she
despised him in her heart." (II. Sam. chap, vi., I. Chron.
chap, xv.) Michal, Saul's daughter, was David's wife ;
nevertheless, after the ceremony she upbraided him : "How
glorious was the King of Israel to-day, who uncovered him-
self in the eyes of the handmaids, as one of the vain fellows
who shamelessly uncovereth himself!" If the musicians
exhibited some vanity, they might, at any rate, be more
easily excused than many of the present day ; for it was an
extraordinary honour for them to perform with a King who
was certainly a noble musician, and of whose companion-
ship they could have been proud even if he had not been a
King. Moreover, he was, as is recorded in the Bible, not
only " cunning in playing," but also " a mighty and valiant
man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a
comely person, and the Lord was with him." There are
not many royal musicians of whom thus much could be said
without flattery.

The German common saying —

Wo man singt da lass dich ruhig nieder,

Bose Menschen haben keine Lieder;

is as untenable as Shakespeare's assertion —
The man that has no music in himself,
Nor is not mov'd with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils ;

considering that the Italian banditti sing hymns to the
Virgin Mary, and that there are kind-hearted Englishmen
who cannot distinguish between the airs of ' God save the
Queen' and the 'Old Hundredth.' Anyhow, it may be doubted
whether certain distinguished royal musicians had really
music in their soul. Take, for instance, the Emperor Nero,
who lived about the middle of the first century of our era.
Some statements transmitted to us, respecting the depravity
of this cruel monarch may be unfounded, — such as that

44 ROYAL MUSICIANS.

the large conflagration of Rome, which occurred in his
reign, was the work of incendiaries secretly hired by him,
and that he amused himself with looking at the fire from the
top of a high tower, and singing to the accompaniment of
the lyre the destruction of Troy, of which he had read, and
which he desired to see represented in the spectacle before
him. Some say that he played on the bagpipe. His prin-
cipal instruments, on which he practised assiduously, were
the lyre and the harp. His voice was weak and hoarse ;
nevertheless, in contesting with the best singers of his time,
he always, of course, gained the prize. Foreign musicians
streamed to Rome to hear him, and to flatter him. About
five thousand of them were successful in so far as they
obtained appointments in his service with high salaries. He
undertook a professional tour through Greece, to perform in
public ; and as those of his audience who did not applaud
him ran the risk of losing their life, a brilliant success could
not fail to be constantly the result of his appearance as a
musician. The surest means of obtaining his favour was to
praise his voice, to be enraptured by his singing, and dis-
tressed when he took the whim that he could not sing. It
gratified him to be pressingly implored to sing. In short,
he did not appreciate music for the sake of its beauties, but
because it appeared to him a suitable means for flattering
his excessive vanity.

Such miserable royal musicians would at the present
day, fortunately, not be tolerated. But a rather harmless
vanity like that shown in the following example is still not
uncommonr and may easily be excused, as it is not incom-
patible with a good heart.

Joseph Clemens Cajetan, Elector and Archbishop of
Cologne, sent in the year 1720, the following letter to the
Jesuit Seminary in Munich. It is here translated from the
German.

" Bonn, July 28th, 1720.
Dear Privy Councillor Rauch !

It may perhaps appear presumptuous that an Ignoramus,
who knows nothing at all about music, ventures to compose.
This applies to me, as I send you herewith eleven. Motetts

ROYAL MUSICIANS. 45

and other pieces, which I have composed myself. I have
achieved this in a strange way, since I am not acquainted
with the notes ; nor have I the slightest understanding
respecting the art of music. I am, therefore, compelled,
when anything musical enters my head, to sing it to a
musical composer, and he commits it to paper. However,
I must have a good ear and good taste, because the public,
when they hear my music, always applaud it. The method
which I have prescribed to myself in composing is that
of the bees, which extract the honey from the most
beautiful flowers, and mix it together. Thus also I.
Everything I have composed I have taken from only good
masters whose works pleased me. I candidly confess my
theft, while others deny theirs, as they want to appropriate
whatever they have taken from others. No one, therefore,
dares to be vexed if he hears old airs in my compositions ;
for, as they are beautiful, their antiquity cannot detract
from their value. I have determined to present this work
to the church Sti. Michaelis Archangeli, with the P. P.
Societatis Jesu, wherein my grandparents founded a Semi-
narium Musicale ; and I desire that this memorial of
myself shall be preserved there for eternity, especially for
the reason that I have composed most of this music in the
time of my persecution. The causes which induced me to
compose the several pieces I herewith add, thus : —

No. i. Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini; — I made
when I had to suffer the greatest persecution, anno 1706.

No. 2. Ne nobis Domine ; — on account of obtained
victories.

No. 3. Tempus est ; — on leaving the two towns, Riissel
and Valencien, in gratitude for the many kindnesses which
I and my kindred received from the inhabitants of those
towns.

No. 4. Victoria ; — after the battle of Belgrade against
the Turks, in 1717.

No. 5. Per hoc vitae spatium ; — when I was debating
with myself what pursuit I should follow, whether I should
become spiritual or remain secular.

46 ROYAL MUSICIANS.

No. 6. Quare fremuerunt gentes ; — for my own con-
solation at a time when I was unjustly persecuted to the
utmost.

No. 7. Quern vidistis Pastores; — for Christmas.

No. 8. Parce Domine ! — at Lent.

No. 9. Maria Mater gratiae ; — to the honour of the ever-
blessed Mother of God.

No. 10. When my brother-in-law, the Dauphin, died,
anno 1711.

No. ii. On the death of the nephew of the Dauphin and
his consort, in 1712 ; which composition I request the
Seminary to have sung also for me after my death.

I therefore desire you herewith to deliver the com-
positions, with this letter by my own hand, in my name, to
the P. Magister Chori, and at the same time to assure him
and the whole Seminary of my clemency. I attribute all
this to Divine Grace which has enlightened me to accom-
plish thus much. I also assure you of my clemency.

JOSEPH CLEMENS."

For this present from the Elector, the Inspector of the
Seminary in Munich, the Jesuit Gregorius Schilger, thanked
him in a letter written in Latin, of which the following is a
literal translation : —

"Most Exalted and Serene Prince and Elector! Most
Gracious Lord and Master !

With most humble reverence, I kiss your gracious
hand and your most valuable gift of your musical com-
positions, which to the great joy and with feelings of grati-
tude of us all, were handed to me, with your gracious letter,
by your Serene Highness' Privy Councillor, Joannes Rauch.
For, is it not a great blessing, not only to the Gregorian
Institution of the Munich Seminary, but also to those on
whom devolves the direction and management of it, that
you so graciously remember them, and present them with
a musical treasure so precious !

We, therefore, throw ourselves at the feet of your Serene
Highness, and before the Archipiscopal Pastoral Staff, and

ROYAL MUSICIANS. 47

express as well as it is in our power our most dutiful thanks,
with every devotion and reverence, as we are in duty bound
to your sovereign clemency for ever.

This memorial of your highest favour shall be per-
manently preserved in the archives of the Elector's church
at Munich, to the everlasting glory of God, to the honour of
the Holy Virgin and of the Holy Archangel Michael, and in
memory of your gracious condescension.

Moreover, we admire the very great merit of the music
of your Serene Highness not only on account of the high
position of its composer, but also on account of its very
pleasing artistic effect, which has astonished every one,
when the music had been carefully examined by all the
Gregorian musicians we summoned to try it. We all —
not only I, who consider myself the most insignificant, but
also the Gregorian disciples — we all pray in deep humility
that the kindly blessings of Heaven may for many years
support your Serene Highness in your beneficent functions,
for the advantage of the Church, and for the consolation of
all good people, especially also for the benefit of your
dependants, of whom the Gregorian disciples delight in being
the most humble. Permit me to recommend especially
these, together with myself, your most humble servant, in
our deepest reverence, to your most gracious favour and
benevolence. We thus continually pray with bended knees,
venturing to hope with the most implicit confidence that
Heaven's blessing will result to us from the Archipiscopal
Mitre and Pastoral Staff, which we humbly reverence with
our kisses.

Your Serene Highness'

Most humble Servant,
GREGORIUS SCHILGER, Soc. Jesu,

Inspector of the St. Gregorian House.

Munich, August 7th, 1720.'*

There are some touching instances on record of royal
personages in affliction finding relief and consolation in
studying music. The last King of Hanover had the mis-
fortune of being nearly deprived of his eyesight some time

48 ROYAL MUSICIANS.

before he came to the throne. As Crown Prince he pub-
lished a pamphlet entitled ' Ideas and Reflections on the
Properties of Music,' from which a few short extracts may
find a place here, as they show how soothing a balm this
art was to him : —

" From early youth I have striven to make music my
own. It has become to me a companion and comforter
through life ; it has become more and more valuable to me
the more I learnt to comprehend and appreciate its bound-
less exuberance of ideas, its inexhaustible fulness, the more
intimately its whole poetry was interwoven with my whole

being By means of music, ideas, feelings, and

historical events, natural phenomena, pictures, scenes of
life of all sorts, are as clearly and intelligibly expressed as
by any language in words ; and we are ourselves enabled to
express ourselves in such a manner and to make ourselves

understood by others Of all the senses of man,

sight and hearing are those by which most effect is pro-
duced upon mind and heart, and which are consequently the
most powerful springs for the moral and rational feelings,
actions, and opinions of men. But Hearing appears to be
the most influential and operative of the two organs ; for
this reason, that by inharmonious discordant tones our
feelings may be so shocked, even to their deepest recesses,
and so painfully wounded as to drive us almost beside our-
selves ; which impression cannot possibly be produced in us
by a bad picture, a dreary landscape, or a very faulty

poem I have known persons whose spirits were

broken, and their hearts rent by care, grief, and affliction.
They wandered about, murmuring at their fate, absorbed in
meditation, in vain seeking hope, in vain looking for a way
to escape. But, the excess of their inward pangs needed
alleviation ; the heart discovered the means of procuring it :
the deep-drawn sighs of the oppressed bosom were involun-
tarily converted into tones of lamentation, and this
unconscious effusion was productive of relief, composure,
and courageously-calm resignation. Yes, indeed, it is above
all in the gloomy hours of affliction that Music is a soothing

ROYAL MUSICIANS. 49

comforter, a sympathizing friend to the sufferer ; it gives
expression to the gnawing anguish which rends the soul,
and which it thereby mitigates and softens : it lends a tear
to the stupefaction of grief; it drops mollifying healing
balsam into every wounded heart. Whoever has expe-
rienced this effect himself, or witnessed it in others, will
admit with me that for this fairest service rendered by the
art we cannot sufficiently thank and revere it."

How sad and suggestive are these lines, penned by a
royal musician !

Blind people delight in descriptive music depicting
scenes which painters might use as subjects for pictures.
By the help of a lively imagination, the ear to some extent
serves also the purpose of the eye. Thus may be explained
the preference given by the Crown Prince to certain com-
positions which are by no means of the highest class.
Speaking of Bellini's opera * Norma,' he remarks : " In
the Introduction there is a most ingenious representation
of a country. Commencing with low tones, it unfolds
itself in sombre harmony, and faithfully reproduces the
same impression that the darkness of the thick wood
makes upon the wanderer. Single, sliding, and abrupt
notes seem to denote lighter spots in the dark wood, and
thus the first decoration of the opera, the grove of sacrifice,
is appropriately represented. The reader will certainly be
still more struck by the appositeness of this musical picture,
when I assure him that I know a blind person who, when
he first heard this introduction, immediately guessed that it
was intended to represent a scene in a wood."

Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony is, as might be expected,
an especial favourite with him, and he gives a detailed
description of its several movements, prefaced by the
exclamation : " How clearly are the daily occurrences and
the individual scenes of rural life presented to the hearer!"

Neither is it surprising that Haydn's ' Creation,' with its
many descriptive passages, should forcibly and very
agreeably appeal to his imagination. In commenting upon
certain beauties in this oratorio, which he especially admires,
he remarks : " Above all, how strikingly has the composer

50 ROYAL MUSICIANS.

represented with all the powers of music the moment called
forth by the creative words ' Let there be light !' and there
was light. At these words the orchestra discharges itself
in a truly electric manner, so as absolutely to dazzle you.
The hearer feels perfectly the impression which the real
occurrence of this adorable miracle of Almighty power would
make upon him ; and in this delineation by tones is exhibited
to the sense of mortal man the only possible representation
of that sublime wonder in the most striking and convincing
manner."

It not unfrequently happens to a musical composer that
when a new idea occurs to him while he is extemporizing,
it appears to him at the first moment more beautiful than
he finds it to be on reconsideration. The Prince, who
enjoyed extemporizing on the pianoforte, kept in his service
a pianist, whose business it was to write down his
inventions, which he played repeatedly to the pianist to
enable him to sketch at once as faithfully as possible the
chief ideas and modulations. These sketches the pianist,
who was a talented musician, had to take home, in order
to work them out carefully according to the rules of
musical composition. Having accomplished his task, he
attended at the palace with the manuscript ; and now it
was his turn to play the new piece to his royal master. But,
however anxious he had been to preserve intact the original
ideas, he generally learnt to his concern that the music
possessed no longer those beauties which had been dictated
to him.

Royal musicians who have studied Thorough Bass are
sometimes formidable critics. At any rate, it would appear
so from some musical criticisms of Frederick II., and of his
sister the Princess Amalia. Frederick II. (Frederick the
Great) King of Prussia (born 1712, died 1786) was a com-
poser as well as a virtuoso on the flute. He regularly prac-
tised his instrument daily. In earlier life it was his habit to
play the scales every morning as soon as he had risen from
his bed ; and he often performed in the evening five con-
certos on the flute, which his royal orchestra had to accom-
pany. In composing he wrote down only the melody, and

ROYAL MUSICIANS. 51

he indicated with it in words how the bass and the other
parts should be contrived : for instance, — " Here the bass
shall be in Quavers ;" — " Here the violins shall play alone,"
etc. These directions he gave to his Kapellmeister Agricola,
who then completed the score.

The musical pursuits of Frederick II. are interesting,
but are too well known to be here circumstantially recorded.
Suffice it to mention his singular behaviour on the occasion
of the performance of Graun's ' Te Deum,' after the
termination of the Seven Years' War, in 1763. The
orchestra and singers who had assembled in the royal
palace at Charlottenburg punctually at the time at which
they had been ordered to appear, found to their surprise that
there was no audience assembling. After having waited for
about half an hour in suspense, wondering whether the per-
formance of the ' Te Deum ' was to take place, or whether
they had been summoned by inadvertence, they observed a
side door being opened at the end of the hall opposite to
them, through which the King entered quite alone, without
any attendance. He sat down on a chair in a corner, and
made a sign to them to commence. At some of the full
choruses, when all the voices united, he held his hands
before his eyes to hide his tears. Several of the musicians
who saw him became so much affected that the tears rolled
down their cheeks while they played. At the end of the
performance the King thanked them by a slight inclination
of his head, and retired through the side door through which
he had entered.

This noble royal musician was, however, so prepossessed
by the compositions of Graun, that hardly any composer,
but such as wrote in Graun's style, had a chance of
finding favour with him. Kirnberger, the celebrated
theorist, in vain endeavoured to insinuate himself with the
King by submitting to " His Majesty's approval " a new
treatise of his on Thorough Bass. The treatise was soon
returned to him with the following letter : —

" His Royal Majesty of Prussia, etc., our most gracious
Lord, cannot persuade himself that the announced work of
the Princely Chamber- musician Kirnberger, in Berlin,

52 ROYAL MUSICIANS.

contains anything new, or particularly useful for the art of
music, or for musical composition, considering that
Thorough Bass was already brought to a certain perfection
many years ago. This is, therefore, not to be withheld from
the said Kirnberger, in reply to his solicitation of the day
before yesterday.

FRIEDERICH.
Potsdam, February 25th, 1781."

The Princess Amalia, a pupil of Kirnberger, was a great
upholder of the rules of Thorough Bass, and a sharp critic.
As Gluck did not care much about many of those dry rules,
it is perhaps not surprising that the Princess Amalia did
not care much about Gluck. What she thought of him
she has expressed forcibly enough in the following extract
from a letter to Kirnberger, who had sent her the opera
' Iphigenia in Tauris :' —

" Mr. Gluck will, in my opinion, never pass for a clever
man in musical composition. He has, firstly, not the least
invention ; secondly, a bad, miserable melody ; and thirdly,
no accent, no expression, — it is all alike. He is very
different from Graun and Hasse, but very similar to . . .
The introductory piece ought to be a kind of overture ; but
the good man does not like Imitations, and he is right, for
they require labour. However, he is more fond of Trans-
position. This is not altogether objectionable ; for, if a
bar is often repeated, the hearer will all the more easily
remember it ; but Gluck appears to transpose the same
idea from want of a new one. Finally, regarded in its
entirety, the opera is very miserable. Now, this is in the
new taste which has a great many adherents. However, I
thank you for having sent it me. Through the faults of
others one learns to know one's own. Be so kind as to
procure for me the words of the whole opera; but, as
regards the musical notation, I am not yet wise enough to
find it beautiful."

If the letters of musicians to princes are often sadly
devoid of sincerity, those of princes to musicians possess
generally at least the negative merit of not containing

ROYAL MUSICIANS. 53

intentional misrepresentations, since a prince has seldom
a motive for disguising his likes and dislikes in music.
Whether the estimable Kapellmeister Schulz had com-
mitted the indiscretion of suggesting to Princess Amalia
that she was still capable of some improvement as a musical
composer is uncertain, but appears probable, to judge from
the following letter which she wrote to him after he had
sent her the manuscript of his choruses to ' Athalia,' with
the humble request for permission to dedicate them to her, —
or, as he expressed himself, " to preface the work with the
adorable name of so illustrious a connoisseur."

The reply he received from her is here translated from
the German as literally as possible.

" To the Kapellmeister Schulz in Rheimsberg.

I surmise, Mr. Schulz, that by an oversight you have
sent me, instead of your own work, the musical bungling of
a child, since I cannot discover in it the least scientific art ;
on the contrary, it is throughout faulty from beginning to
end, in the expression, sentiment, and meaning of the lan-
guage as well as in the rhythm. The motus contrarius has
been entirely neglected ; there is no proper harmony ; no
impressive melody ; the interval of the Third is often entirely
omitted ; the key is never clearly indicated, so that one has
to guess in what key the music is meant to move. There
are no canonic imitations, not the least trace of counter-
point, but plenty of consecutive fifths and octaves ! And
this is to be called music ! May heaven open the eyes of
those who possess such a high conceit of themselves, and
enlighten their understanding to make them comprehend
that they are but bunglers and fumblers. I have heard it
said that the work ought to praise the master ; now-a-day
everything is reversed and confused, the masters are the
only ones who praise themselves, even if their works are
offensive. Enough of this.

AMALIA.
Berlin, January 3ist, 1785."

54 ROYAL MUSICIANS.

The amiable and respected Kapellmeister Schulz, in
mentioning to an old friend the contents of this letter,
merely added : " All this may be true ; but why tell it me
so rudely ?" *

No doubt the most praiseworthy royal musicians are
those who make it less their object to be accomplished
players, composers, or theorists, than to discover and to
assist really talented professional musicians, and thus to
promote the advancement of the art. Prince Louis Ferdinand
of Prussia, who lost his life in the battle of Saalfeld in 1806,
at the age of 34 years, may be noticed as a remarkable
exception. He was a distinguished pianist ; a fine com-
poser,— perhaps the best of all the royal musicians whose
compositions have been published or are otherwise known ;
and a true patron of the art, — which he showed by his
cultivation of classical music as well as by his kindness to
Beethoven, Dussek, Spohr, and other eminent composers.
This is the prince of whom it is told that Beethoven, on
hearing him play, exclaimed with surprise: "Your Royal
Highness does not play like a Prince; you play like a
musician !"

As a true patron of music, who in this capacity has been
more useful to the art than if he had composed operas and
symphonies, must be mentioned Rudolph, Archduke of Aus-
tria, the pupil of Beethoven. The subjoined letter by him,
translated from the German, speaks for itself : —

" Dear Beethoven,

I shall return to Vienna as early as Tuesday, August
5th, and I shall then remain in town for several days. I
only wish that your health may permit you to come then to
town. In the afternoon, from four to seven o'clock, I am
generally at home.

My brother-in-law, Prince Anton, has written to me
already that the King of Saxony expects your beautiful
Mass.

* 'Tonkiinstler-Lexicon Berlin's, von C. Freiherrn von Ledebur;'
Berlin, 1861 ; p. 6.

ROYAL MUSICIANS. 55

Respecting D r, I have spoken with our gracious

Monarch, and likewise with Count Dietrichstein. I do not
know whether this recommendation will be of use, as there is
to be a competition for the appointment in question, in which
any one wishing to obtain it, has to prove his fitness. It
would be a gratification to me if I could be useful to that
clever man, whom I heard with pleasure playing the organ
last Monday in Baden,' — especially as I am convinced that
you would not recommend an unworthy person.

I hope you have written down your Canon, and I pray
you, in case it might be injurious to your health to come to
town, not to exert yourself too soon out of attachment
to me.

Your well-wishing

RUDOLPH. *

Vienna, July 3ist, 1823."

No doubt, there have been in olden time kings who,
as history records, possessed as much skill in music as their
best bards or minstrels. If Alfred the Great could enter
and explore the Danish camp under the disguise of a harper,
his harp-playing must have been in the genuine professional
manner of his time, otherwise it would have revealed to the
Danish lovers of music that he was not what he pretended
to be.

To become an eminent musician, one requires, besides
an extraordinary talent, much time, freedom from dis-
turbance, and perseverance, — conditions which are seldom
at the command of royal personages. The middle classes
are in this respect the most favoured, — as they are, in fact,
in all intellectual pursuits. When King Solomon says :
" Give me neither poverty nor riches," (Proverbs, Chap.
XXX. v. 8), he speaks rather as a musician, or poet. A
king requires riches as necessarily as a musician requires
talent.

* ' Biographic von Ludwig van Beethoven, verfasst von A. Schind-
ler ; ' Munster, 1845 ; p. 141.

IT is sad to think how some of our distinguished musical
composers have had to struggle with poverty, when with a
proper attention to business matters they might easily have
been men of independent means. True, to be what is called
a practical man requires a talent very different from that
required by an artist ; and an inferior artist may be, — nay,
often is a far more practical man than a superior artist.
But a superior artist is not necessarily devoid of the
qualifications which constitute a clever man of business.
To maintain that a highly gifted musical composer must
needs be deficient in common sense as regards money
transactions would be as unwarrantable as to assert that a
musician who understands how to use the art as a milch-
cow must necessarily be a bad musician. His love for
the art, and his desire to achieve something great, not
unfrequently animates the true artist to disregard, or even
to sacrifice for its sake, his property, health, and other
advantages which the practical man regards as the real
happiness of life.

Whatever the composer produces less as a labour of
love than for gain, by command, according to a plan pre-
scribed to him, and under similar circumstances, is generally
not the best he is capable of accomplishing. An artist must
be allowed to create unfettered the work with which he
feels the greatest inclination to occupy himself. But, if he
possesses no property, he may starve before his work is
finished. There are some painful instances on record of
starving musical composers, who, with their admirable
talents, might have saved themselves and others much
trouble, if only they had thought it worth their while to be
a little more practical.

COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN. 57

Composers generally receive their worst pay for their
best works. Their best works are generally those which
made them celebrated; and when they have become
celebrated, they are often well paid for insignificant or
mediocre productions.

Composers sometimes appear to be much more un-
practical than they really are. This may, for instance,
easily be the case with those who strike out a new path in
the art, or who aim at a reform, the disirableness of which
seems questionable to all but themselves. However,
occasionally it happens that an innovation, which is at first
unpopular, comes by some unexpected cause rather sud-
denly in vogue, or at least finds many advocates; and
in this case the originator of the innovation, who was
regarded as an unpractical man, may attain the reputation
of being of a remarkably practical turn of mind. When
Richard Wagner, about thirty years ago, as a poor and
obscure musician in Paris, was arranging operatic melodies
for the cornet-a-piston to save himself from starvation,
his notions about the opera of the future appeared to
those few musicians to whom he communicated them, as a
dream which to realize would be as impossible as it would
be undesirable. At the present day he has many estimable
musicians among his ardent admirers; he is honoured by
kings, leads the life of a prince, and probably there are but
few persons who would deny that he deserves to be called
a practical man.

Several of our classical composers have shown that they
could be shrewd men of business at periods when the
pressure of want, or the desire for independence, urgently
incited them to acquire property. Beethoven on one or two
occasions formed the resolution of making it his special
object to accumulate a sum of money, the possession of
which would enable him to compose without regard to
publishers and mercantile speculations. But the endeavour
to carry out this resolution seems to have been generally
of but short duration. In the year 1821, the music-seller
Tobias Haslinger, in Vienna, compiled a tariff in which
he enumerated the different kinds of compositions with the

58 COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN.

prices he was willing to pay for them, if Beethoven by
signing the tariff would bind himself to give all his new
compositions to Haslinger for publication. This tariff is so
interesting that it shall be inserted here, although Beethoven,
who at first expected from it a golden future, was soon
dissuaded by his friends from entering into any contract of
the kind.

INSTRUMENTAL Music.

Symphony for full Orchestra - - 60-80 ducats.

Overture for full Orchestra - 20-30 ,,
Concerto for Violin with Orchestral

accompaniment - 50 ,,

Octett for different instruments - - 60 ,,

Septett, ditto - 60 ,,

Sextett, ditto • 60 ,,

Quintett for 2 Violins, 2 Tenors, and

Violoncello - 50 ,,

Quartett for 2 Violins, 2 Tenors, and

Violoncello 40 „

Trio for Violin, Tenor and Violoncello - 40 ,,

FOR PIANOFORTE.

Concerto for Pianoforte with Orchestral

accompaniment - 60 ,,

Fantasia, ditto - 30 ,,

Rondo, ditto - - 30 ,,

Variations, ditto - 30 ,,
Octett for Pianoforte with accompaniment

of other instruments - 50 ,,

Septett, ditto 5° »

Quintett, ditto - - 60 „

Quartett, ditto 7° »

Trio for Pianoforte, Violin, and Violoncello 50 ,,

Duett for Pianoforte and Violin 40 „

Duett for Pianoforte and Violoncello - 40 „

Duett for Pianoforte a quatre mains - 60 „

Grand Sonata for Pianoforte alone - 40 „

Sonata for Pianoforte alone 30 „

COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN.

59

Fantasia for Pianoforte - 30 ducats.

Rondo for Pianoforte - - 15 ,,

Variations for Pianoforte with accom-
paniment - 10 - 20 ,,

Variations for Pianoforte alone - 10-20 ,,

Six Fugues for Pianoforte alone - 30-40 ,,

Pieces, such as Divertimenti, Airs,
Preludes, Potpourris, Bagatelles,
Adagios, Andantes, Toccatas, Caprices,
etc., for Pianoforte alone, each - 10-15 »

VOCAL Music.

Grand Mass - -

Smaller Mass - ....

Grand Oratorio - -

Smaller Oratorio -

Graduale ---._.

Offertorium - -

Te Deum Laudamus -
Requiem ...

Vocal pieces with Orchestral accompaniment
An Opera Seria -

Six large Songs with Pianoforte accom-
paniment ...
Six smaller Songs, ditto - -
A Ballad

130
100
300
200

20
20

50
120

2O
300

20
12
15

It must be borne in mind that these terms were offered to
Beethoven at the period of his life when he had already
published his first eight symphonies and almost all his
famous pianoforte sonatas, and other works, up to Op. 109,
and when he therefore was in the zenith of his reputation
in the eyes of the daily increasing number of lovers of music
who were able to understand his genius. In fact, he after-
wards received higher prices ; for instance, the publisher
Schott, in Mayence, paid him, in 1825, f°r t^e second Mass

* 'Biographic von Ludwigvan Beethoven, verfasst von A. Schindler;'
Miinster, 1845 ; p. 246.

60 COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN.

(D major) 1000 florins ; for the ninth Symphony, 600 florins ;
for the Quartett Op. 127, fifty ducats ; and for the Quartett
Op. 131, eighty ducats. He was still better remunerated,
on a certain occasion, by the publisher Diabelli, in Vienna,
who having composed a Waltz for the pianoforte, wished
Beethoven to write six or seven variations upon it, for which
he offered to give him eighty ducats. Well, Beethoven
sat down to compose seven variations. But, the longer he
wrote, the more new ideas occurred to him, and the seven
variations soon increased to ten, then to twenty, then to
twenty-five. When Diabelli learnt that Beethoven had
written twenty-five variations and was still continuing
to add to their number, he became rather alarmed lest the
work should grow too voluminous for practical use. How-
ever, he did not succeed in stopping the composer until
after the thirty-third variation. The entire set was published
by Diabelli in 1823, under the title ' 33 Veranderungen iiber
einen Walzer von A. Diabelli, von Ludwig van Beethoven,
Op. 120.'

What must one think of Beethoven's knowledge of money
matters when in a letter to a friend, in which he laments
his reduced circumstances, he asks for advice how he can
obtain " money for a bank-note ;" while all he has to do is to
cut off from his bond a coupon, and to have it cashed by
the nearest money-changer. * Beethoven, owing to his
unpractical habits, required much money, although he lived
but frugally. For instance, it happened that he had to pay
rent for three or four residences at a time, because he had
neglected to give warning at the old residence when he
hired a new one. Fortunately for him, some of his admirers
among men of position and wealth interested themselves
about his personal comfort. In an honourable and delicate
way they ensured him an annual income in addition to the
gains accruing to him by the sale of his works. The result
was that he actually left some money at his death. He died
(to, use an English expression) worth one thousand pounds.

* ' Biographische Notizen iiber L. van Beethoven, von Wegeler
und Ries;' Coblenz, 1838; p. 34.

COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN. 6l

If the correspondence of some of our most celebrated
composers with their publishers were made known, we
should probably find therein unvarnished statements which
would surprise us, inasmuch as they would reveal disappoint-
ments which it is now difficult to reconcile with the celebrity
of those composers. The obstacles which some of our
classical composers have encountered in getting their
works printed are very remarkable. J. S. Bach himself
engraved on copper-plates his esteemed work ' The Art of
Fugue ;' only thirty copies were struck off, as sufficient to
supply the demand ; and, after the death of the old master,
his exceedingly practical son, Emanuel, offered the plates
for sale at the value of the copper plates. * It is painful
to reflect that some composers who lived in straitened
circumstances obtained little or nothing for certain of
their works which have enriched their publishers. Franz
Schubert had to struggle for his daily bread. When
the 'Erl-King' was sung by his friend Vogl for the
first time in public, at a concert in Vienna in the year
1821, it produced sensation, while other compositions by
Schubert which were performed on the same occasion, met
with a cool reception. Schubert published the ' Erl-King '
at his own expense, with the assistance of some friends.
But, as his needy circumstances soon compelled him to sell
the copyright of this song, which was then but little known,
his gain was very small, even if compared with the profits
which some arrangers have derived from transcribing the
song for the pianoforte. Although the conditions which
he proposed to the publishers were always modest, they were
generally rejected as being exorbitant. How cautiously
the publishers treated him, may be seen from a letter which
Peters, in Leipzig, wrote to Hiittenbrenner, a friend of
Schubert. As this letter is also interesting inasmuch as it
affords a glance into the speculations of a practical man
who makes the art his business, it deserves a place here,
although it is rather long. The translation, which is from
the German, is as literal as possible : —

* ' Historisch-Kritische Beitrage zur Aufnahme der Musik, von
F. \V. Marpurg.' Vol. II., Berlin, 1756 ; p. 575.

62 COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN.

" Having been extremely busy since I received your
letter of the iSth of October, I trust you will excuse the
tardiness of my reply.

" 1 am very much obliged to you for your communication
respecting Herr Schubert. Several of his vocal compositions
are favourably known to me, and give me confidence in
your recommendation of this artist. It will be a great
pleasure to me to assist in a wider diffusion of the works of
this composer than the Vienna music-sellers are capable of
effecting. But, before I enter into any obligation, allow me
to give you a little sketch of my business arrangements.

"At the moment when I commenced my present business
I resolved to distinguish myself advantageously as a
publisher, never to print anything bad, but rather as much
as possible to print only the best. It is impracticable to
carry out this plan thoroughly ; for I cannot obtain from the
most distinguished artists alone as many manuscripts as I
require. Besides, we publishers are also often compelled
from policy to print many things which I at least would
otherwise not print. Nay, we must publish even many
slight works in order to provide for a certain public ; for, if
we confined ourselves to classical works only, we should
have a very limited sphere of business ; since, as is well
known, the connoisseurs do not constitute the majority.
Nevertheless, I have not been influenced by desire for
gain to patronize the more lucrative but trashy fashionable
trifles; I have always taken care that also the works for
the great majority of the people should never be bad.
Always keeping my favourite aim in view, I have chiefly
striven to issue superior works ; and this my endeavour will
in future become more and more apparent, since every year
increases the number of my valuable connections, which my
financial resources permit me to maintain.

" These observations lead me to mention two obstacles
which often frustrate my plan. The first is want of time,
which almost continually curbs me. In order to obtain as
many good works as possible, I must seek after connections
with good artists, and I must strengthen these connections
not only by endeavouring to satisfy the artists, but also by

COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN, 6j

proving myself a publisher always ready at their service, — a
mutual understanding which is convenient to both parties.
My connection with most of those of my authors who are
valuable to me, — as for instance, Spohr, Romberg, Hummel,
etc., — has grown into a friendly relation. I am, therefore,
doubly compelled to accept all that such friends and good
artists send me, although there is often much among it of
which I know at once that I shall gain nothing by it. These
obligations take up much of my time, not only because
those artists give me constant occupation, but also because
I require leisure for examining such works of other authors
as I receive unexpectedly, as is the case with the present
ones. Thus, the time remaining to me is seldom sufficient
to enable me to undertake the publication of more works
than I have in hand ; and I am continually prevented
forming new connections with composers from want of
time.

"The second obstacle which renders a new connection
difficult, and which proceeds from the facts above stated, is
the novelty, and the name of a young composer unknown in
my sphere of business. Very often I am reproached with
not making known the works of new composers, and that a
new composer cannot become known if the publishers do not
undertake the publication of his works. This reproach is,
however, quite undeserved as far as I am concerned ; for I
cannot do everything, and must keep to a fixed plan in
order to succeed. My plan is to obtain .the works of artists
who are already celebrated. True, I print many other
works besides ; but if I can obtain enough of those, I must
leave to other publishers the introduction to the public of new
composers. These publishers are also able to do something,
and many are glad to engage new composers, because they
fear to pay the sums demanded by older and more valuable
artists. But as soon as the new composer has obtained a
name, and his works are known as being good, then I am his
man ; and then the publication of his works accords with
my plan, which is calculated more with regard to honour
than to gain. I will then rather pay a high price for his
works than procure them in the beginning on low terms.

64 COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN.

" You see, therefore, that it is difficult for me to meet at
once your proposal respecting Herr Schubert, especially as
my time is so much taken up. However, my opinion of him
makes me reluctant to disregard altogether the wish of this
young artist. As a middle course, I would, therefore, pro-
pose that Herr Schubert should send me some of his works
which he desires to have printed, so that I may examine
them ; for, without having previously seen the manuscript,
I accept nothing from a young composer who is but little
known. If a great and well-known artist produces some-
thing bad, the blame falls upon him, because his name
is my guarantee ; but if I bring out something by a new
artist which is not liked, the blame falls upon me ; for,
who compels me to print a composition of the merit of which
I am not convinced ? Here the name of the composer is no
protection to me. Herr Schubert may be sure that in
trusting his manuscripts to me, he places them in safe
hands ; there will be no misuse made of them. In case
that I find them satisfactory, I shall retain of them as many
as I find convenient ; on the other hand, Herr Schubert
must not feel hurt if I do not like one or other piece. I
shall be quite candid, for candour is the surest way to lead
to a right understanding.

" Furthermore, I must beg him to forward to me only his
most successful works. True, he will not think of publish-
ing anything which he does not consider a successful pro-
duction. Be this as it may, a composer is always more
successful with one work than with another; and I must
have the best. I say I must have the best ; not for the
sake of gain, but for the sake of my reputation, when I
introduce a composer to my public, which is very extensive.
I have been very painstaking to make my establishment
as complete as possible, and I now experience from
many quarters the recompense that my firm enjoys in an
extraordinary degree the confidence of others. People
expect from me the publication of many good works ; and
if I bring out a new author, they soon give him their con-
fidence, believing that he must be good because I had taken
notice of him. No doubt, there have been mistakes ; but I

COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN. 65

am becoming more and more cautious, in order that I
may always ensure and strengthen my reputation, which
to acquire I have taken so much trouble. For this
reason I insist upon a new author giving me his best, in
order that I may recommend him properly from the
beginning, my recommendation being justified. Besides,
the first impression often opens the road to the whole future;
wherefore, to composers just beginning, the good advice to
proceed with the publication of their works as cautiously as
possible, cannot be too often repeated. They may venture
much, but should have only little printed until their
reputation is established.

"Spohr has hitherto brought out only 58 works ; Andreas
Romberg, 66 ; Bernhard Romberg, 38 ; while now many
other artists who are much younger have already had printed
above a hundred. Those well-known composers have written
much more, which, however, they thought advisable to
withhold from publication. If, by way of contradiction, you
point out to me the fertile, and nevertheless valuable Mozart,
Haydn, Beethoven, etc., I declare that such men are rare
masters whom we ought certainly to regard as models, but
that experience must first teach us whether the young
aspirant is similarly gifted. Moreover, many of the earlier
compositions of Mozart have never been printed.

"Now, have the kindness to confer with Herr Schubert
upon my communication to you, and decide what is
further to be done. As regards the terms, I beg you to
inform me of them, because it is disagreeable to my
feelings to make an offer for an intellectual production.
Most likely there will not be any difficulty about settling the
conditions. The perseverance with which my authors stick
to me, sufficiently shows that they do well with me ; this I
can assert of myself to my own praise. Besides, the con-
ditions of a young artist cannot be so high that they could
not easily be conceded to. I believe that, as you intimate,
of a new work by Herr Schubert, perhaps 300 copies might
be sold in Vienna alone. But then it must be printed in
Vienna. I do not think that I should sell there 100 copies,
although I am in connection with all the music-sellers of

66 COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN.

that town. You will understand this quite well, and I need
not explain the cause, but you may believe me that it is so ;
experience confirms it, and the exceptions are rare indeed.

I remain, with high esteem, etc.,

B. V. PETERS.
Leipzig, November I4th, 1822."

" Should Herr Schubert send me vocal compositions, I
should prefer songs, each with a name, like Beethoven's

* Adelaide,' or others of the kind. There are so many
songs now published that no sufficient attention is given to
them if they have no names."*

During the years 1826-28, Schubert had still trouble in
getting his compositions printed. This is evident from the
tone of the replies to his solicitations as well as from the
conditions demanded by the publishers. Probst, in Leipzig,
in a letter to Schubert, dated August 26th, 1826, remarks : —
" It was, no doubt, an honour to me, which I appreciate, to
make your acquaintance through your letter of the I2th
instant ; and thanking you heartily for your confidence in me,
I am quite willing to contribute, as far as lies in my power,
to the spread of your reputation as an artist. I must, how-
ever, candidly confess that the peculiar direction of your
intellectual productions, which often shows genius, but
which is also sometimes rather strange, is not yet sufficiently
and generally understood by our public. I, therefore, pray
you to take this kindly into consideration when you send
me manuscripts. A selection of songs, and pianoforte com-
positions for two or four hands, which are not difficult, and
which are pleasant and easily comprehensible, would appear
to me suitable for attaining your aim and my wish. When
the way has been once opened, anything will do ; but, in the
beginning one must in some measure comply with the
public taste," etc.

In another letter to Schubert, by the same publisher,
written in 1827, ne savs : " However much pleasure it

* 'Franz Schubert, von H. Kreiszle von Hellborn ;' Wien, 1865, p. 272.

COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN. 67

would give me to incorporate your name in my catalogue,
I must for the present renounce it, as I am overwhelmed
with work owing to the publication of Kalkbrenner's
OSuvres completes. I also confess that the honorarium of
eighty florins * for each manuscript seems to me rather
high terms. I keep the works at your disposal, and
remain," etc.

A year later, in 1828, he writes more encouragingly :
" I have been sincerely grieved that a difference in our
opinions, before my journey to Vienna, frustrated your
esteemed application for the publication of your com-
positions through my firm Have, therefore, the

kindness when you have completed something which is a
success, to send it here — especially songs, ballads, romances,
which, without being devoid of originality, are easily com-
prehensible ; also some pianoforte pieces for two performers,

written in the same style As regards the

honorarium, we shall readily come to an agreement, if you
will only treat with me on a moderate scale ; and you will
find me always in these matters reasonable, provided the
works are so that I can be pleased with them. The
prices of the Vienna publishers might here fairly serve
as a guide. Herr Lahne would pay you your hono-
rarium in proper time punctually. Moreover, I must beg
you to examine beforehand carefully the works which you
intend me to have, and not to show them first to the Vienna
publishers. Such business transactions must remain entirely
between ourselves. I give you my solemn word that you
shall never repent it if you favour me with your friendly
confidence, and if, by selecting only such compositions for
me in which you have been successful, you afford me the
opportunity of exerting myself for the sake of your
reputation."

Breitkopf and Hartel, the famous publishers in Leipzig,
in a letter to Schubert, dated September 7th, 1826,
cautiously suggest : " We reply with grateful thanks to
your kind intention of sending us some compositions for

68 COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN.

publication, and we assure you that it would give us much
pleasure to enter into a mutually advantageous business
relation with you. But as we are yet quite unacquainted
with the mercantile result of your compositions, and as we,
therefore, cannot meet you by offering you a fixed pecuniary
remuneration, — which the publisher can only fix and allow
after the success of the work, — we must leave it to you
whether you will make an attempt to form a connection
with us which may perhaps be durable, and whether in
order to facilitate this attempt you will be satisfied with a
certain number of copies as remuneration for the first work,
or works, which you may send us. We have no doubt that
you will agree to the proposal, since with you as well as
with us the object is less the publication of a single work,
than the introduction to a continued connection. In this
case we propose that you should send us first a few
pianoforte pieces for one performer or for two. Should
our hope of a good result be realized, so that we may be
enabled to offer you for the subsequent works a proper
remuneration in money, it will be a pleasure to us to render
thereby your connection with us agreeable to you.

We remain, with the highest esteem, etc.,

BREITKOPF AND HARTEL." *

Somewhat later, when Schubert had become a little
better known, he received more favourable replies. Schott,
in Mayence, offered to publish several of his works, and to
pay for them. In a letter dated April 28th, 1828, Schott,
however, declined to accept the trio in E-flat major, which
Schubert had mentioned in his list of finished manuscripts :
" The trio," Schott remarks, " is probably large ; and as we
have recently brought out several trios, we must postpone
to a later period the publication of compositions of this
kind to avoid disadvantages for our business ; and the delay
would be against your interest." This trio (Op. 100) was
afterwards bought by Probst, in Leipzig, for about two

* 'Franz Schubert, von H. Kreiszle von Hellborn ;' Wien, 1865;
p. 388.

COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN. 69

pounds, paid with a grumble, and with the insulting remark :
" In any case, I hope the Trio in question is not the ' Fan-
tasia ' which was performed on the 5th of February in Herr
Slawick's concert at the Karnthnerthor theatre ; for that
composition was unfavourably criticized in the Leipzig
Musical Gazette, No. XIV., page 223."

Again, in a letter from Schott, dated October 30th,
1828, and received by Schubert about three weeks before
his death, he is told among other business matters : " We
shall soon print your Quintett ; * but we must remark that
the price put on this little work is too high. The pianoforte
part takes up only six printed pages, and we surmise it to
be by an oversight that we are asked to pay sixty florins t
for it. We offer you thirty florins for it. ... The
pianoforte piece, Op. 101, certainly would not be too dear
for us ; but its unsuitableness for our sale in France is
very vexatious. Should you compose occasionally some-
thing less difficult and yet brilliant, and also in an easy
key, this you may send us, if you please, without further
communication." J

Under these circumstances it is no wonder that after the
death of Schubert there should have been some difficulty in
defraying the expenses of his burial, which amounted to
about seven pounds; while his effects, consisting of his
dress, a bed, and some old music-books, were together
valued at six pounds six shillings.

Mozart's pecuniary circumstances were scarcely more
cheerful than Schubert's, considering how highly Mozart was
appreciated by many during the last few years of his life.
Having in his youth been guided by his prudent father to be
careful in the management of his gains and expenses, he
always wished to be careful, and sometimes troubled himself
much about being practical, but evidently found it very
difficult. When the publisher Hofmeister, in Leipzig, said
to him : " Mozart, you must make concessions to the

* Op. 114. t £6.

f ' Franz Schubert, von H. Kreiszle von Hellborn ;' Wien, 1865 ;
p. 442.

70 COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN.

popular taste, or I cannot buy anything more from you for
publication!" Mozart replied : "Well, I must write what
I think good, though I should starve." Some music-sellers,
in an inexplicable way, succeeded in procuring manuscripts
of his, for which they did not pay him anything.* His
famous opera, ' Die Zauberflb'te,' he wrote with the object of
benefiting his friend, the embarrassed theatrical manager
Schikaneder ; and the statement of some writers, that
Mozart gained only fifty thalers (about £j IDS.) by this opera,
may therefore be correct. The King of Prussia offered him
an appointment as Kapellmeister in Berlin, with a salary of
3,000 thalers. Mozart solicited an audience of his master,
the Emperor Joseph II. and asked for his dismission.
"Dear Mozart, you will leave me?" said the emperor.
•" No, your Majesty!" replied Mozart, touched by the hearty
tone in which the Emperor spoke to him : " No, your
Majesty, I remain ! "

A friend, to whom Mozart soon afterwards related this
occurrence, said : " But why did you not seize this favour-
able opportunity to ask for a fixed income ?"

Mozart replied: " How could I at that moment think of
money matters ! "

He subsequently received an annual pay of 800 florins,
with the title of Kapellmeister in the service of the Emperor.
At his death, he left a debt of 3,000 florins. The copyright
of ' La Clemenza di Tito ' was offered to Breitkopf, in
Leipzig, for sixteen ducats. Breitkopf having declined
the opera, it was bought by his apprentice, A. Bohme, who
with it laid the foundation of his prosperous publishing-
house in Hamburg.

It must be admitted that among our modern composers
several very practical men could be pointed out. Some,
who are the offspring of rich bankers, may have inherited
business-like habits in a natural course ; this appears all
the more probable since they belong to a race which is
known to possess extraordinary talent for money-making.

* Biographic W. A. Mozart's, von G. N. von Nissen ; Leipzig, 1828,
p. 584.

COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN. 71

It has long been a favourite project with distinguished
musicians on the continent to visit England, to be there
extremely practical, in order to accumulate as much money
as they could in the shortest time possible, and then to retire
to the fatherland to be happy ever after. Possibly the
rumour concerning Handel's property, and his bequests,
to which also Mattheson alludes in his annotations to
the ' Memoirs of the Life of Handel,' * may have con-
tributed to entice other continental musicians to try to make
their fortune in England ; and many have shown common
sense enough in this attempt. Handel in London generally
received for the copyright of an oratorio twenty guineas.
The wealthy publisher, Walsh, gained £1500 by the pub-
lication of the opera ' Rinaldo,' a fact which elicited from
Handel the remark : " My dear sir, it is only right that we
should be upon an equal footing ; you shall compose the
next opera, and I will sell it." At any rate, so the story
goes. Handel, after having lost, by his enterprise as
manager of the Haymarket Theatre, all the money he had
gained during a residence in England of about twenty-four
years, which amounted to about £10,000, commenced
anew, exerting himself as a practical man in another and
more successful way. Handel died " worth " upwards of
twenty thousand pounds.

Music-printing in the eighteenth century was not in
the flourishing state which it has now attained. The
composers had other sources of profit besides the sale of
their manuscripts, — such as public performances, dedications
of works to wealthy patrons of the art, or by having an
appointment, with a fixed salary, in the service of a sovereign.
To judge correctly of the capacity for business of a distin-
guished musician, it is necessary to take into consideration
the usages of his time.

Haydn, on his first visit to London, in 1791, was engaged
by Salomon for ^500, for which sum he had to compose six
symphonies, and personally to direct the performance of

* See above, page 23.

72 COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN.

them at the concerts ; and to resign the copyright of those
six symphonies. Furthermore, £200 were guaranteed to
him by Salomon for a benefit concert.

That Rossini could be practical in England, is evident
from the following conversation of this composer with
F. Hiller. It is given here in translation from the German.
By way of preface to it, may be mentioned that Rossini, in
Italy, received for an opera from twenty to thirty pounds.
However, for the ' Barber of Seville ' he received about
eighty pounds.

Hiller. " Considering, Maestro, that you have grown up
among singers and actors, and that you possessed a fine
voice, it seems almost singular that you did not think of
becoming an operatic singer."

Rossini. "I had no other intention, dear sir ; but'I also
wished to learn my art more thoroughly than most of the
singers with whom I came into contact at that time had
learnt it. This was easy enough ; at an early period I already
officiated as Maestro al Cembalo ; then there came the period
when the mutation of my voice interfered with my singing ;
my attempts at composition found favourable reception ; and
thus I fell almost accidentally into the career of the com-
poser. I adhered to it, although I had from the beginning the
opportunity of observing how incomparably better the singers
are rewarded than we are."

Hiller. " Heaven knows ! Beethoven has hardly received
for all his works as much as Cruvelli obtains annually at the
Grand Opera."

Rossini. " It was not quite so bad at that time as it is
now ; but that makes no difference. When the composer
received fifty ducats, the singer received a thousand. I con-
fess that I never could help feeling vexed at this injustice,
and often have I given vent to my dissatisfaction in the
presence of the singers. You ignorant fellows, I said, you
cannot sing even so well as I can, and you gain more in one
evening than I am paid for a whole score ! But, what was
the use of talking thus. Neither do the German composers
get rich."

COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN. 73

Hiller. " Certainly not, Maestro ! But they obtain ap-
pointments which, though they are not lucrative, ensure the
most important necessities of life. No German composer
has ever gained so much by his operas that he could live
upon the proceeds. However, it appears to be now better in
this respect than it formerly was."

Rossini. " Incomparably better. The former Italian
opera composers could write Heaven knows how many
operas, and had nevertheless to struggle to make both ends
meet. I was scarcely better off until I obtained an appoint-
ment with Barbaja."*

Hiller. " Tancredi was the first of your operas which
proved a decided hit ; how much did you get for it,
Maestro ?"

Rossini. " Five hundred francs. And when I composed my
last Italian opera, ' Semiramide,' and insisted upon having
five thousand francs for it, not only the theatrical manager,
but the whole public regarded me as a sort of highwayman."

Hiller. " You have the consolation of knowing that
singers, managers, and publishers have become rich through
you."

Rossini. " A fine consolation ! Except during my stay in
England, I have never gained by my art so much that I
could lay anything by; and the money which I made in
London, I did not make as a composer, but as an
accompanist."

Hiller. " Yet it was because you were a celebrated
composer."

Rossini. " That is what my friends said, to persuade me
to take to the new occupation. It may have been a
prejudice with me, but I had a dislike to being paid for
accompanying on the pianoforte, and I have submitted to it
nowhere but in London. However, they were determined to
see my nose, and to hear my wife. I had fixed for our
co-operation at musical evenings the rather high terms of
£50. We attended at about sixty of such evenings, and the
pecuniary result was certainly worth the trouble. Moreover,

* Barbaja, the Impressario of the San Carlo Theatre at Naples.

74 COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN.

in London the musicians will do anything to make money.
I have witnessed there, queer doings."

Hitler. " There one scarcely trusts one's eyes, still less
one's ears."

Rossini. " Thus, for instance, when I accepted my first
engagement as accompanist at such a Soiree, I was told
that Puzzi, the celebrated virtuoso on the horn, and Drago-
netti, the celebrated double-bass player, would also be
present. I thought they would play solo, but this was far
from being the case, they had only been engaged to assist me
in accompanying. Have you then written parts for all these
pieces? I asked— ' Oh, dear, no!' they replied, 'but we
get well paid, and so we accompany with whatever comes
into our head.' These attempts at improvised instrumental
performances appeared to me, however, too venturesome ; I
therefore begged Dragonetti to restrict himself to twanging
occasionally some Pizzicatos, whenever I should wink my
eyes to him ; and I suggested to Puzzi to fall in with his
horn whenever a cadence occurred, which he, as a good
musician, easily accomplished. Thus we went through
it without very serious accidents, and everyone was
contented."

Hitler. " That is capital ! But the English, it appears to
me, have made great progress in regard to music. They
have at present much good music well performed and
attentively listened to ; that is, in public concerts. In the
drawing-room, music is still painfully maltreated. Many
persons without the least musical talent parade themselves
with an incredible boldness, and give instruction in things
of which they know little or nothing."

Rossini. " I knew in London a certain X., who as teacher
of the pianoforte had amassed a large property. All he
knew of music, however, was that he blew the flute a
little, and that quite miserably. Another, who was
greatly in demand as a teacher of singing, did not know
even the notes. He kept his own accompanist, whose
business it was first to hammer those pieces into his master,
and afterwards to accompany him when he taught the

COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN. 75

pieces to the pupils. This singer possessed however a nice
voice."*

For the sake of truth some business letters written by
distinguished German composers to English publishers must
be noticed here, although they redound to the honour of the
writers as little as do some of the letters of the German
publishers just cited. Not that they reveal a deficiency in
common sense as regards business transactions ; they exhibit
the writers as rather too practical. Among the letters
which the music-seller W. Forster, in London, received
from Haydn, with whom he kept up a correspondence about
the purchase of manuscripts for publication in England,
the following, which was originally written in German, is
selected as a characteristic specimen. It dates from the
year 1788, and was published by S. A. Forster, a son of the
music-seller, in his account of the correspondence which his
father had with Haydn.

" My dear Mr. Forster,

Do not be annoyed with me that on my account you
have had trouble with Mr. Longman. I will satisfy you
another time on that point. It is not my fault, but that of
the usurer Artaria. So much I promise you that so long as
I live, neither Artaria nor Longman shall receive anything
from me or through me. I am too honourable and upright
to annoy or injure you. So much, however, you will yourself
plainly understand that whoever will have six new pieces
from me must give me more than twenty guineas. I did, in
fact, some time ago conclude a contract with somebody who
pays me for every six pieces one hundred guineas and more.
Another time I will write you more ; meanwhile I am with
all respect,

Your obedient servant,

JOSEPH HAYDN."

Still less creditable to the writer are the following
extracts from letters addressed by Beethoven to the pub-
lisher, R. Birchall, of London, who had bought the copyright

* 'Aus dem Tonleben unserer Zeit, von Ferdinand Hiller; Leipzig,
1868.' Vol. II., p. 23.

76 COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN.

for Great Britain and Ireland of four works by Beethoven,
viz.: — The pianoforte arrangement of the Battle Symphony,
Op. 91 ; the pianoforte arrangement of the A major Sym-
phony, Op. 92 ; the Sonata for pianoforte and violin in G
major, Op. 96 ; and the B-flat major Trio for pianoforte,
violin, and violoncello, Op. 97. The letters were originally
written in English. They are too long for entire insertion
here. To render the extracts fully comprehensible, it is
necessary to state that Beethoven, after having received
from Birchall the sum agreed upon for those works, unex-
pectedly demanded five pounds for the copying and postage
of them ; and when Birchall had shown him so much
consideration as to satisfy him also on this point, Beethoven
wrote to him as follows : —

" Vienna, October ist, 1816.
" My dear Sir,

I have duly received the £5, and thought previously
you would not increase the number of Englishmen neglect-
ing their word and honour, as I had the misfortune of
meeting with two of this sort. In reply to the other topics
of your favour, I have no objection to write variations
according to your plan, and I hope you will not find £30
too much ; the accompaniment will be a flute, or violin, or a
violoncello ; you'll either decide it when you send me the

approbation of the price, or you'll leave it to me

Concerning the expenses of copying and packing, it is not
possible to fix them beforehand ; they are at any rate not
considerable, and you'll please to consider that you have to
deal with a man of honour, who will not charge one sixpence

more than he is charged himself With all the

new works which you will have of me, or which I offer you,
it rests with you to name the day of their publication at
your own choice. I entreat you to honour me as soon as
possible with an answer, having many orders for com-
positions, and that you may not be delayed

Your most humble Servant,

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN."

COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN. 77

These remarks of Beethoven elicited the following reply
from Mr. C. Lonsdale, the manager at R. Birchall's.

" London, Nov. 8, j8i6.

" Sir,

In answer to yours of the ist October I am desired by
Mr. Birchall to inform you he is glad to find you are now
satisfied respecting the promise of paying you £5, — in
addition to what you before received according to agreement,
— but he did not think you would have delayed sending the
receipt signed, after the receipt of the 130 ducats, merely
because you had not received the £5, which latter sum was
not included in the receipt. Till it arrives,1 Mr. Birchall
cannot at any rate enter into any fresh arrangement, as his
first care will be to secure those pieces he has already paid
for, and see how they answer his purpose as a music-seller ;
and without the receipt he cannot prevent any other music-
seller from publishing them. In regard to the airs with
variations, the price of £30, which it is supposed you mean
for each, is considerably more than he could afford to give, —
even to have any hopes of seeing them repay him ; if that
should be your lowest price, Mr. Birchall will give up his
idea of them altogether. . . . .1 am sorry to say Mr.
Birchall's health has been very bad for two or three years
back, which prevents him from attending to business ; and
as there are, I fear, but little hopes of his being much better,
he is less anxious respecting making any additions to his
catalogue than he otherwise would have been. He is much
obliged to you for the offer of the Sonata and the Trio ;
but he begs to decline it for the reasons before mentioned.
Hoping to hear soon respecting the paper sent for your
signature,

I am, Sir,

For R. Birchall, etc.,

C. LONSDALE."
F

78 COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN.

To this reasonable letter Beethoven replies (in English) :

" Vienna, Dec. I4th, 1816.
" Dear Sir,

I give you my word of honour that I have signed and
delivered the receipt to the house Fries and Co., some day
last August, who, as they say, have transmitted it to Messrs.
Coutts and Co., where you'll have the goodness to apply.
Some error might have taken place, that instead of Messrs.
C. sending it to you they have been directed to keep it till
fetched. Excuse this irregularity, but it is not my fault,
nor had I ever the idea of withholding it from the circum-
stance of the £5 not being included. Should the receipt not
come forth at Messrs. C., I am ready to sign any other, and
you shall have it directly with return of post.

If you find variations — in my style — too dear at £30, I
will abate for the sake of your friendship one third, and you
have the offer of such variations, as fixed in our former

letters, for £20 each air I anxiously hope your

health is improving. Give me leave to subscribe myself,

Dear Sir,

Your very obedient Servant,

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN." *

Beethoven being unacquainted with the English lan-
guage was obliged to employ some person to write these
letters for him. But, as he signed them, he must be held
answerable for their contents. Had he been able to read
them, he would probably have disapproved of the manner
in which his business transactions were conducted by his
interpreter.

During the later years of his life it was a favourite
idea with Beethoven to visit England for the purpose of
making money. In the year 1817 he corresponded (in
German) with F. Ries, in London, on the subject, in conse-
quence of an invitation from the Philharmonic Society.

* 'Jahrbiicher fur Musikalische Wissenschaft, herausgegeben von
F. Chrysander.' Leipzig, 1863, p. 434.

COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN. 79

The conditions under which he was willing to accept the
invitation he carefully specified as follows : —

" i. I propose to be in London at the latest during the
first half of the month of January, in 1818.

2. I promise to bring with me two new large symphonies,
which shall become the exclusive property of the Philhar-
monic Society.

3. The Philharmonic Society pledges itself to pay me
for the two symphonies three hundred guineas, and for my
travelling expenses one hundred guineas. I expect that the
journey will cost me much more than the sum which I ask,
because I shall necessarily require a travelling companion.

4. In order that I may be enabled to occupy myself at
once uninterruptedly with composing those large symphonies,
the Philharmonic Society binds itself to pay 150 guineas of
the above sum in advance, so that I may procure without
delay a travelling carriage and other travelling equipments.

5. The conditions proposed by the Philharmonic Society
as regards my non-appearance in any other public orchestra
than its own, about not conducting the orchestra, and about
suchlike matters for the advantage of the Society, I consent
to unreservedly. My feeling of honour would have dictated
them to me as a matter of course.

6. I dare to hope that the Philharmonic Society will
oblige me with its assistance in the preparation and
promotion of one benefit concert, or perhaps more. . . .

7. I must beg that the conditions, or the agreement
to the above, shall be written in the English language,
signed by three Directors of the Philharmonic Society in the
name of the Society, and forwarded to me."

Failing health prevented Beethoven from undertaking the
journey. The Philharmonic Society, believing him to be in
want, which was far from being the case, in a delicate way
presented him with £100. Indeed, Beethoven had every
reason to feel gratified by the generous attention shown to
him by those Englishmen who were able to appreciate his
merits. In the year 1817, some of his London admirers
gave him great pleasure by sending him a new grand-piano
of Broadwood's manufacture ; and in 1826, the kind-hearted

80 COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN.

Mr. J. A. Stumpff, in London, a German by birth, and a
harp-maker in by no means affluent circumstances, made
him a present of Arnold's edition of Handel's works, in
forty volumes folio, — a gift which was taken to the bedside
of the dying composer, and which soothed his last days of
suffering.

Also Haydn received from England touching marks of
veneration. Some instances of homage offered by en-
thusiastic amateurs, must have caused him amusement on
account of their singularity, if for no better reason. The
worsted-spinner W. Gardiner, of Leicester, forwarded to him
a present of six pairs of cotton stockings in which he had
worked the notation of some popular melodies by Haydn, —
such as the air " My mother bids me bind my hair;" the
theme of the Andante in the Surprise Symphony ; the tune
of the Hymn " God preserve the Emperor," etc. \V.
Gardiner was himself a musical composer, his mode of
composing being that of the Bavarian prince Joseph Clemens,
who set about it " like the bees which extract honey
from the most beautiful flowers, and mix it together." *
Thus W. Gardiner " composed" a whole oratorio, which he
made up of choruses and airs borrowed from various masters,
and more or less distorted to suit them to their new place.
Only the overture was wanting. He wrote to Beethoven to
induce him to compose one for this oratorio, and offered to
pay 100 guineas for it. Beethoven never answered the
letter, t Had he been really as greedy of gain as in his
correspondence with Birchall he appears to be, he would
probably have accepted the offer, which was rather liberal.
Nevertheless, had he accepted it, the result would very
likely have proved the manufacturer a more practical man
than the composer. Be this as it may, it is quite com-
prehensible that to Beethoven an attempt to associate him
with musical jobbery must have been especially repulsive.

Perhaps no opera composer had a better chance of
becoming a rich man than had Carl Maria von Weber.

* See above, p. 45.

t 'Music and Friends, by William Gardiner.' Vol. III., London, 1853,
P-378-

COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN. 8l

The success of 'Der Freischiitz' was immense. The
fascinating melodies of this opera were sung, played and
whistled everywhere, by musical and unmusical people. It
would be difficult to point out a civilized country in which
* Der Freischtitz' has not been performed and listened to
with rapture. Before the popularity of the opera was fully
established, Weber offered the pianoforte score to the
publisher Schlesinger, in Berlin, for sixty Frederick-d'ors
(£51). Schlesinger thought the demand exorbitant, and
offered two hundred and twenty thalers (£33), which Weber
accepted.* Nevertheless, in consequence of the many
performances of ' Der Freischiitz' in various towns on the
Continent, from which the composer derived some pecuniary
advantage, the opera proved rather lucrative to him. Still,
it was more remunerative indirectly than directly, inasmuch
as its universal success induced Charles Kemble, the manager
of the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, to engage Weber to
compose 'Oberon,' and to visit London for the purpose of
conducting the new opera. Thus Weber had an excellent
opportunity of exercising his aptitude for business. How
he acquitted himself of the task, may be gathered from
his rejecting at the outset the terms offered by Kemble, —
which were £"500, and all his expenses paid, — and proposing
his own terms, which, with the help of some one acquainted
with the English language, he had penned as follows : —

" At my arrival at London I will first of all preside at the
piano in six representations of the ' Freischiitz '; for the
first five you will give me every night a pecuniary com-
pensation of two hundred pounds, and the sixth as a benefit
for me. During this time we will prepare ' Oberon' and I
will preside at the piano also the first six representations at
the same conditions. I must be assured that all this be
settled in three months, otherwise I should claim an adequate
indemnification. The music of * Oberon ' (Partition, and
adapted by me for the Piano) is then your property for
Great Britain. The poem and the music are mine for all the
rest of Europe."

* ' Carl Maria von Weber, ein Lebensbild,' von Max C. M. vonWeber ;
Leipzig, 1864. Vol. II., p. 270.

82 COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN.

According to this proposal Weber would have realized in
the course of three months £2,400. But he soon experienced
that one may also be too practical. His shattered health
rendered the journey to England exceedingly fatiguing, and
the trouble, excitement and disappointments connected with
the rehearsals and representations of ' Oberon,' and with the
necessary preparations for his concerts, accelerated his
dissolution. He died in 1826, when he had been about three
months in London, and the proceeds of his toil during the
time amounted to about -£"1,100, or less than half the sum
which he at first demanded from Kemble.

The musical student, in perusing the master-works
in his art, has continually occasion to admire the care-
ful consideration which the composers have given to every bar
so as to produce great effects by simple means, interesting
variety in unity, thus achieving as nearly as possible a
perfect work of art. Also, their remarks upon their com-
positions show how thoughtfully they laboured, considering
and reconsidering every step they took. It is unnecessary
to illustrate this fact by quotations, as instances will
probably occur to the reader. Suffice it to notice a remark
by Mozart, which shows how cleverly he contrived to
make concessions to the popular taste, in as far as he
could accomplish this without deterioration to his com-
positions as works of art. In a letter to his father, which
he wrote from Paris, he thus describes the performance of
a new symphony, which he had been requested to compose
for the Concert Spirituel : —

" In the middle of the first Allegro is a passage of which
I knew well that it would please. All the auditors were trans-
ported by it, and there was great applause. As I knew, when
I wrote the passage, what its effect would be, I introduced it
once more towards the end of the movement. Then they
demanded a repetition of the entire Allegro. The Andante
pleased also; but especially the last Allegro. As I had
been told that it was the usual custom with the composers
here in Paris to commence the last Allegro of a symphony,
like the first, with the full orchestra, generally in unison, I
commenced mine with only the first and second violins,

COMPOSERS AND PRACTICAL MEN. 83

piano through eight bars. Then came suddenly forte. Con-
sequently, the auditors made first, as I had expected, — hush !
and then the forte surprised them so greatly, that they
applauded as a matter of course."

Is this not thoroughly practical in an artistic point of
view ?

MUSIC AND MEDICINE.

Music is capable of exercising a favourable influence
upon health, but it may also prove injurious. In order to
know how to employ it with good result in certain illnesses,
an exact acquaintance with its various effects is requisite.
First of all, it ought to be borne in mind that music may
serve as a remedy either by directly affecting the mind, or by
acting primarily upon the body. In the former case its
influence may be called psychical ; and in the latter,
physical.

Considering how much in the cure of certain illnesses
depends upon the spirits of the patient, it will easily be
understood that the affecting power of music deserves special
attention. There are illnesses in which the attainment of
a calm state of mind may be a most important condition for
the recovery of the patient, — nay, instances are conceivable
in which with this attainment the illness is already in a great
measure removed. Some persons are much more susceptible
of music than others ; but there are few in whose heart it
finds not some response, however slight. Indeed, the bene-
ficial influence of music is almost universally felt, and is
evidenced by examples, the authenticity of which is indis-
putable. No other art is so capable of easily moving man
to tears of grief, of exciting him in a moment to cheerfulness,
of inspiring him with courage, and of making him forget his
real or imaginary troubles and anxieties. Hence, with
almost every nation we find the employment of music
resorted to on occasions of sadness and mourning, at solemn
celebrations and joyful festivities, in warlike exploits, in
religious worship, — in fact, wherever a definite direction
of a certain feeling is especially requisite.

MUSIC AND MEDICINE. 8$

Also the popular stories, of which a selection is given in
the present work, testify to the universally-felt power of
music. In many of the stories miraculous effects are
ascribed to music. What stronger proof can be cited of
its intense impression upon the human heart than the
popularity of such conceptions traditionally preserved
through centuries !

But also the direct influence which the cultivation of
music may exercise upon the body is not insignificant,
considered medically. Thus, for instance, singing, if judi-
ciously practised, is conducive to health, inasmuch as it
benefits the lungs and the chest ; and the playing on certain
musical instruments is salutary, while on others it is
injurious. Moreover, in combination with dancing, music
is likely to prove in some complaints an efficacious remedy.
Of course, everything depends upon its judicious employ-
ment, if it is to serve medically. In order exactly to ascertain
its efficacy it is advisable to examine its employment as we
find it in different nations. Even the most uncivilized tribes
ought not to be ignored in this enquiry, because the dictates
of instinct are often not less suggestive than the speculations
of reason.

Nations, or tribes, in a low state of civilization, as there
are many still existing at the present day, have generally
so-called " mystery-men," or " medicine-men," -who combine
in one person the avocation of the priest, physician, and
musician, and who are also usually prophets, sorcerers,
rain-makers, shrewd advisers, — in short, men who by their
comparatively superior knowledge and skill obtain consider-
able influence over their ignorant and superstitious fellow-
men.

The most ancient nations historically known were far
more advanced in civilization than these our contemporaries.
However, we find with them traces of the original existence
of " mystery-men." With the Greeks, music, or the art
of the Muses, originally comprised, besides the tone-art,
several other arts and sciences ; from which it may be con-
jectured that the earliest Greek musicians practised also
the healing art like the mystery-men of our time. The

86 MUSIC AND MEDICINE.

ancient Egyptians, at an early period, had attained a con-
siderably higher stage of development in the cultivation of
music than many nations of the present day have achieved.
This assertion will not appear exaggerated to any musician
who has carefully examined the ancient representations of
the variously-constructed instruments which were in use
with the Egyptians, centuries before our Christian era.
Equally suggestive is a statement of Herodotus, indicating
the progress which the Egyptians had made in the healing
art, nearly 500 years before our era. He remarks (Euterpe
84) : " The art of medicine is thus divided amongst them :
each physician applies himself to one disease only, and not
more. All places abound in physicians; some physicians
are for the eyes, others for the head, others for the teeth,
others for the parts about the belly, and others for internal
disorders." Such a high degree of cultivation of an art or
science, in which each professor occupies himself especially
with a particular branch in order to achieve the utmost
possible perfection in it, is known at the present day only
among the most civilized nations.

If, therefore, we desire to obtain an accurate idea of the
primitive treatment of diseases by means of music, a
reference to the usages of some rude tribes in uncivilized
lands will be the proper step for acquiring the information.

Considering that the mystery-men alluded to are, as a
rule, mentally the most gifted and the most crafty personages
of the tribe to which they belong, and that they are
especially familiar with the views, inclinations, customs, and
weaknesses of their people, a detailed account of the social
position and doings of these extraordinary individuals in
different parts of the world might be very interesting. It
would, however, be out of place here to describe them
further than as they appear in their medical and musical
capacities.

The mystery-men of the North American Indians, or
the " medicine-men," as they are more usually called, are
acquainted with the medicinal virtues of a great many
different kinds of roots and herbs, of which they make
use in their prescriptions, and for which they are paid.

MUSIC AND MEDICINE. 87

Some of them enjoy a high reputation on account of
their skill ; and in general the medicine-man takes a
high position among the people. Only when the common
remedies of roots and herbs have proved unsuccess-
ful does he resort to " medicine " or mystery. He arrays
himself in a most grotesque dress, and provides himself with
a rattle, commonly made of a gourd, which is hollowed and
partly filled with pebbles. Thus equipped, he approaches
his dying patient to cure him by a charm. He dances about
him, singing songs of incantation, and producing a frightful
noise by shaking his rattle. Catlin records a scene of an
attempted cure of this description which he himself
witnessed, as follows : " Several hundred spectators, includ-
ing Indians and traders, were assembled round the dying
man, when it was announced that the medicine-man was
coming. We were required to form a ring, leaving a space
of some thirty or forty feet in diameter around the dying
man, in which the doctor would perform his wonderful
operations ; and a space was also opened to allow him free
room to pass through the crowd without touching any
one. .... He approached the ring with his body in
a crouching position, with a slow and tilting step. His body
and head were entirely covered with the skin of a yellow
bear, the head of which — his own head being inside of it —
served as a mask ; the huge claws of which also were
dangling on his wrists and ankles. In one hand he shook a
frightful rattle, and in the other he brandished his medicine-
spear, or magic wand ; to the rattling din and discord of all
of which he added the wild and startling jumps and yelps of
the Indian, and the horrid and appalling grunts, snarls, and
growls of the grizzly bear, in ejaculatory and gutteral
incantations to the Good and Bad Spirits, in behalf of his
patient, who was rolling and groaning in the agonies of
death, whilst he was dancing around him, jumping over
him, and pawing him about, and rolling him in every
direction. In this wise the strange operation proceeded for
half an hour to the surprise of a numerous and death-like
silent audience, until the man died ; and the medicine-man
danced off to his quarters, and packed up, tied and secured

88 MUSIC AND MEDICINE.

from the sight of the world his mystery dress and equip-
ments."* Should the exhausted patient unaccountably
recover after such a ceremony, the lucky medicine-man will
be seen for several days after the event on the top of a wig-
wam, extending his right arm, waving it to the gaping
multitude, and boasting of his skill.

With the Indian tribes in Columbia and Vancouver
Island the medicine-man, although he may become of great
importance if he is clever, is liable to be put to death if he
fails to cure his patient ; it being presumed that he
possesses the power, but not the wish, to cure. A strange
procedure of one of these fellows in trying to cure a female
who lay dangerously ill, was witnessed by an English-
man, who has given a circumstantial description of it, from
which the following extract will suffice : —

" Towards night the doctor came, bringing with him his
own and another family to assist in the ceremony. After
they had eaten supper, the centre of the lodge was cleared
and fresh sand strewed upon it. A bright fire of dry wood
was then kindled, and a brilliant light kept up by occasion-
ally throwing oil upon it. I considered this a species of
incense offered, as the same light would have been pro-
duced, if desired, by a quantity of pitch-knots which were
lying in the corner. The patient, well wrapped in blankets,
was laid on her back, with her head a little elevated, and
her hands crossed on her breast. The doctor knelt at her
feet, and commenced singing a song, the subject of which
was an address to the dead, asking them why they had
come to take his friend and mother, and begged them to go
away and leave her. The rest of the people then sung the
chorus in a low, mournful chant, keeping time by knocking

on the roof with long wands they held As the

performance proceeded, the doctor became more and more
excited, singing loudly and violently, with great gesti-
culation, and occasionally making passes with his hand

* ' Illustrations of the Manners, Customs and Condition of the
North American Indians, by G. Catlin.' London, 1848 ; Volume I.,
p. 40.

MUSIC AND MEDICINE. 89

over the face and person of the patient, similar to those
made by mesmeric manipulators." *

Likewise, in a cure effected in the case of a sick lad of
the Wallawalla Indians, Columbia river, which Mr. Drayton
witnessed, there appears to have been a kind of mesmerism
used in combination with music. This case is also note-
worthy inasmuch as it shows that the Indians have
female physicians. The lad was lying on his back in a
lodge and appeared to be in a dying state. Over him stood
an old haggard-looking squaw, who was singing in great
excitement, while about a dozen men and boys were accom-
panying her with their voices in a sort of chorus, the rhyth-
mical effect of which they increased by striking sticks
together at regular intervals. The music thus produced
sounded unearthly to the foreign bystander. The squaw
was all the time very busy about the lad, now bending over
him and making all kinds of grimaces, and now baring his
chest and pretending by her actions to be scooping out his
disease, and now again falling on her knees before him and
striving to draw out the evil spirit with both her hands.
She blew into her hands and then moved them over the
patient in a peculiar manner as if she were tossing the
noxious spirit away into the air. Then again she would
blow with her mouth on his neck downwards, making a
quick sputtering noise ; and at last she began to suck his
neck and chest in different parts. Whatever may be thought
of this operation, the boy certainly soon got better. More-
over, our informant concludes his account of the occurrence
with the statement : " One singular custom prevailing here
(with the Indians of Wallawalla) is that all the convales-
cents are directed to sing for several hours during the day."t

The Indian tribes in Guiana have mystery-men, called
Piatzas, or Piaies, who constitute a powerful priesthood.
In their incantations they use rattles, and also drums and

* ' Four Years in British Columbia and Vancouver Island, by R. C.
Mayne.' London, 1862; p. 261.

•f- ' Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition during the
years 1838-42, by Charles Wilkes.' London, 1845 > v°l- IV., p. 399.

go MUSIC AND MEDICINE.

bells. When a person suffering from a protracted illness
finds the commonly-used medicines of no avail, his refuge is
to the Piatza, to induce him to drive out the evil spirit that
must be the cause of the mischief. The Piatza carries the
patient into the nearest forest, and having fastened his
hammock to some tree across a pass, he commences the
incantations, which he accompanies with the noise of his
rattle. The rattle consists of a calabash partly filled with
small pebbles. During his incantations no one is permitted
to witness what he is doing, even the patient being enjoined
to close his eyes and to keep them shut until the end of the
ceremony. The Piatza draws a circle round the sick person
and addresses the evil spirit.*

Again, the Manchi, or medicine-man of the Peguenches
and other Indian tribes in the Argentine Provinces, is skilled
in the use of herbs. If remedies of this kind prove
ineffectual, mysterious ceremonies are resorted to. A
sheep and a colt are killed, and are placed with vessels of a
fermented liquor, called chichala, under trees close to a hut ;
the patient is carried out of the hut and laid on the sunny
side of the trees. The Manchi and the women now dance in
a circle round the trees, the animals, and the sick person.
When the dancers are exhausted the Manchi fumigates the
animals and the sick person three times, and then sucks the
diseased part of the man with such force as to draw blood.
After this, he sucks the heart of the colt and anoints the sick
person with the blood of the animal. At the conclusion of
these disgusting ceremonies, in the performance of which
the Manchi affects to be in a trance, dancing is recommenced,
and the patient is forced to join in it, supported by his
friends. A general feast, in which the people consume
the animals, concludes the ceremony, t The Manchi
generally uses a kind of drum in his incantations.

The mystery-men of the Araucanian Indians are called
Gligua, or Dugol, and some of them are distinguished by the

* 'Missionary Labours in British Guiana,'by the Rev. J. H. Bernau ;
London, 1847. p. 55.

f 'Two Thousand Miles' Ride through the Argentine Provinces,' by
William MacCann; London, 1853. Vol. I., p. in.

MUSIC AND MEDICINE. gi

epithets Gnenguenu, Genpugni, and Genpuri (i. e. " Master of
the heavens, of epidemic diseases, of worms and insects,")
and are supposed to have the power of curing every
disease, of producing rain, and of preventing the ravages of
worms and insects. The real medicine-men are called
Machi* and their method of curing is similar to that of the
Manchi of the Argentine Provinces just described. The
ceremony is, however, always performed in the night. The
hut in which the patient lies is lighted with a great number
of torches. In a corner of the. room is placed, among
branches of laurel, a large bough of cinnamon, to which is
suspended the magic drum ; and near to it is a sheep which
is to be killed for sacrifice. A number of women sing aloud
and beat upon little drums, while the Machi proceeds, with
frightful gesticulations and horrible contortions of his body,
to exorcise the evil spirit which is supposed to be the cause
of the malady.t Sometimes he will suddenly exhibit in
triumph a spider, a toad, or some other obnoxious animal,
which he pretends to have extracted from the body of the
sufferer. | A more detailed account of these impostors is
unnecessary, especially as the works are mentioned which
contain full descriptions of them.

The largest Indian tribes in Patagonia, the Moluches and
the Puelches, have male and female sorcerers. Boys who
suffer from epileptic fits, or from the St. Vitus's dance, are
selected for this office, and are brought up in it. They have
to adopt female apparel, which they continue to wear when
grown up. These men, dressed like women, are supposed
to have been destined for their profession by the demons
themselves. They, likewise, assume the power of curing
disease by means of incantations accompanied with the
noise of rattles and drums. §

* Machi is evidently identical with Manchi.

f ' The Geographical, Natural, and Civic History of Chili,' by the
Abbe Don J. Ignatius Molina; London, 1809. Vol. II., p. 105.

J 'The Araucanians,' by E. R. Smith; London, 1855 ; p. 235.
§ ' A Description of Patagonia and the adjoining parts of South
America,' by Thomas Faulkner; Hereford, 1774; p. 115.

92 MUSIC AND MEDICINE.

The close resemblance of certain practices of the medicine-
men among uncivilized nations in different parts of the globe,
is especially suggestive. Nor are the differences without
interest.

Turning to Africa, we have musical-medical practitioners
with the Negroes and Kafirs, whose art must have originated
quite independently of that of the American medicine-men.
The Negroes in Jamaica have sorcerers and physicians,
called Obeah-men, whose ceremonies are probably of African
origin, although they are in many respects similar to those
of the Indian medicine-men. The Obeah-men, being well
acquainted with the peculiar effects of the different poisonous
plants, it is said, often make bad use of their knowledge.*
When attending a sick person, the Obeah-man generally
commences his cure with a dance, and he administers a
powder, or a liquor, to his victim. t

The Negroes in Western Africa have professional
musicians or minstrels, called in Senegambia, Griots ;
singing men, or bards, called Jillikea ; Fetish priests who
drum and dance as if they themselves were possessed of evil
spirits ; Priestesses of the Serpent worship, which has its
principal temples in Whydah ; Rain-makers ; Wizards,
called Greegree-men ; and other " wise men," who are also
physicians and musicians. The Ganga, in Loango, South
Western Africa, are, according to the Abbe Proyard, priests as
well as physicians : " When they come to a patient, they ask
him where his ailment lies. They blow on the part affected :
after that, they make fomentations, and tie up his limbs in
different places with bandages. These are the preliminaries
used in all diseases. They know nothing either of phle-
botomy, or of medicine. . . . . . They know a very

salutary remedy, in their opinion, for all diseases ; but this
they only employ in favour of those who can afford the
expense. When they are called in to a rich man, they take
with them all the performers on musical instruments they

* 'Journal of a Residence among the Negroes in the West Indies,'
by M. G. Lewis ; London, 1845 ; p. 158.

•f- The word Obcah is probably identical \vithPiaie, mentioned above,
page 89.

MUSIC AND MEDICINE. 93

can find in the country. They all enter in silence ; but, at
the first signal which they give, the musical troop begin
their performance. Some are furnished with stringed
instruments, others beat on the trunks of hollow trees
covered with skin,— a sort of tabor. All of them uniting
their voices with the sound of the instruments round the
patient's bed, make a terrible uproar and din, which is often
continued for several days and nights in succession." *

The mystery-man in Benguela is called Kimbanda. He
performs his ceremonies in the forest, in the presence of the
people. Before him stands a calabash with a wide opening,
in which are figures rudely carved, of wood or bone, which
represent different kinds of wild animals. A rattle, which
he holds in his hand, consists of a hollow calabash containing
pebbles. He shakes his rattle and addresses the figures in
a recitation, interspersed with questions concerning the
ailments of his patient. An assistant, who is hidden in the
neighbourhood of the figures, answers the questions in a
hollow tone of voice, as if it came from the figures. How-
ever, for the accomplishment of the cure a sacrifice of a cow
is generally demanded by those greedy figures; or even
more, according to the means of the patient. The answers
given by the figures are generally so indistinct that no one
but the Kimbanda can understand them ; and he communi-
cates them to the people.t

The Somali, in Eastern Africa, have similar mystery-
men, called Tawuli ; and the natives of Zanzibar have the
Mganga, who professes to heal the patient by expelling the
demon by means of his singing and the shaking of his rattle.
The mystery-man of the Kafirs of Natal likewise accompanies
his recitations with a rattle. He is an extraordinarily
dangerous and objectionable personage ; for, when the
cattle fall sick, or some other mischief happens, he is apt
to declare that it has been caused by some evil-doer whom

* 'History of Loango,' by the Abb6 Proyard ; Paris, 1776. 'A
General Collection of Voyages and Travels,' by John Pinkerton ; Lon-
don, 1808; Vol. XIV, p. 572.

f ' Reisen in Sud- Africa,' von Ladislaus Magyar ; Pest, 1859 ; Vol. I.,
p. 25.

94 MUSIC AND MEDICINE.

he can find out. He sings and dances towards several
individuals in succession, and affects to examine them by his
olfactory sense. Suddenly he touches one with the gnu's
tail which he carries in his hand. He leaps over the head
of the unhappy man, and points him out as the offender.*
Also the Bechuana, in fact every Kafir tribe, has one or
more of such personages, who are physicians and musicians,
as well as priests, prophets, and rain-makers.

Considering the very low state of civilization of those
natives of Australia who have not come into contact with
the European settlers, it is especially interesting to learn
their notions on the employment of music in the cure of
disease. These aborigines are divided into numerous tribes,
who have no chief, or leader properly speaking, except the
Crodgy, or " wise man," who, besides being a quack, is also
the conductor of their ceremonies. They not unfrequently
suffer from rheumatic pains in their limbs, which they
believe to be caused by some demon. To protect them-
selves against the demons, they cany about them charms
consisting of bits of rock crystal, called " mundy-stones,"
which they value highly. They endeavour to drive away
the demons by whirling round their head an oval-shaped
board, called moor-y-umkarr, which is curiously ornamented,
and is suspended to a string. It produces an unearthly,
humming sound, sometimes soft, sometimes loud and roar-
ing, according to the force with which it is whirled. The
doctor, in curing a sick person, proceeds much in the same
manner as the medicine-man of the North American Indians.
He, however, uses no rattle ; a bunch of green reeds
held in the hand and shaken serves the same purpose.
The small-pox is so greatly feared by the natives that
they possess a special song, called nguitkurra, by the
singing of which the disease is believed to be prevented,
or checked in its progress, t A native from the vicinity

* 'The Kafirs of Natal and the Zulu Country,' by J. Shooter; Lon-
don, 1857 ; p. 173.

f 'Outlines of a Grammar, Vocabulary, and Phraseology of the
Aboriginal Language of South Australia.' By G. C. Teichelmann and
C. W. Schiirmann. Adelaide, 1840; part II.

MUSIC AND MEDICINE. 95

of Port Jackson, whose wife was complaining of a pain
in the stomach, was observed by a European traveller to
cure her in the following manner : " After blowing on his
hand, he warmed it at a fire, and then applied it to the part
affected, beginning at the same time a song which was
probably calculated for the occasion. A piece of flannel
being warmed and applied by a bystander, rendered the
warming his hand unnecessary ; but he continued his song,
always keeping his mouth very near to the part affected,
and frequently stopping to blow on it, making a noise after
blowing, in imitation of the barking of a dog. But, though
he blew several times, he only made that noise once at every
pause, and then continued his song. The woman always
made short responses whenever he ceased to blow and
bark."*

An English missionary in Tanna Island, New Hebrides,
relates that when a native of that Island is taken ill, his
friends believe that his illness is occasioned by some one
burning his nakah (i.e. " rubbish"). They have "disease-
makers " who are believed to have in their hands the power
of life and death, and who are consequently much feared.
Every kind of nakah is carefully buried or thrown into the
sea, lest the disease-maker should pick it up, wrap it in a
leaf, and burn it. When a native is taken ill, his friends
blow on a conch trumpet, which signifies a supplication to
the disease-maker to discontinue burning the rubbish. If
the sick man recovers, the disease-man receives a present
for having left off burning. The rubbish generally consists
of some refuse of food.t The New Zealanders had formerly
similar disease-makers, who were supposed to require a lock
of hairr or some nail-parings, of the person whom they
intended to afflict with disease.

Let us now turn to some tribes in cold regions of the
North, to compare their musical ceremonies in the cure
of illness with those in tropical countries.

* ' An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and
Norfolk Islands.' By John Hunter. London, 1793 ; p. 476.

f ' Nineteen Years in Polynesia.' By the Rev. G. Turner. London,
i85i.

g6 MUSIC AND MEDICINE.

The natives of Kamtschatka have persons called Shamans,
who profess to be able to communicate with the spirits by
arraying themselves in a grotesque garment, chanting,
beating a drum, dancing, and working themselves up to
a state of trance. They, on these occasions, drink an
infusion of a species of fungus, which has an intoxicating
power, and which sometimes makes them sleep afterwards
for three or four days without interruption. Its effect must
therefore be similar to that of opium. The Shamans of
the Ostiaks, and of the Samoiedes, in Siberia, suspend
to their dress metal representations of strange birds, fishes,
and quadrupeds, with bones, teeth, and other frightful-
looking things. In their incantations they shake the dress
so that the metallic appendages produce clanging and tink-
ling sounds, the effect of which is increased by the Shaman's
beating a drum, of the tambourine kind. Also the Lap-
landers, about a century ago, had such sorcerers, who used
a drum called rune-bomme, or gobodes, the parchment of
which was marked with mystic signs. The sorcerer was
called Noaaid, or Spagubbe. Besides his magic drum he had
a magic chain, about twelve inches in length, of tin and
copper, which, when shaken, produced a shrill, tinkling
noise. No journey, no business transaction was undertaken
by the Lapp without his having previously consulted the
Noaaid, who by means of a ring placed on the parchment of
his drum, predicted the success of the undertaking. When
he beat the drum, the vibration caused the ring to move to
one or other of the mysterious signs marked upon the
parchment ; and from the position of the ring, he pre-
tended to be able to divine the future. Moreover, he cured
diseases by beating his drum to incantations and wild
dancing. The Lapps believed that the defunct relations of
the sick person attempted to draw him over to them ; it,
therefore, naturally suggested itself to his friends to engage
the interference of the Noaaid, who professed to have inter-
course with the spirits of the dead. The pagan Finns had
the same notion, which is not surprising, considering that
they and the Lapps are of one race. The sorcerers of the
Finns recited songs, called lugut, when they attempted to

MUSIC AND MEDICINE. 97

exorcise the evil spirit of the patient, or to remove the witch-
craft occasioning the mischief. These superstitions the
Finnish races probably brought with them originally from
Asia, where we still meet with them at the present day. It
is remarkable that in time of remote antiquity, the priests of
certain Eastern nations used tinkling instruments for the
purpose of frightening away the demons. The ancient
Egyptians shook the Sistrum ; and the priests of the Copts
and of the Abyssinian Christians observe still this very
ancient custom. The Hebrew priests, at the time of Moses,
had little bells attached to their robes for protection against
evil influences ; at any rate, it is recorded that the sound of
Aaron's bell was to be heard " that he die not." (Exod.
chap, xxviii., v. 35.)

A curious account of the employment of music in the
cure of diseases in Chinese Tartary is given by M. Hue.
He says : " When illness attacks any one his friends run to
the nearest monastery for a Lama, whose first proceeding
upon visiting the patient is to run his fingers over the pulse
of both wrists simultaneously, as the fingers of a musician
run over the strings of an instrument. . . . After due
deliberation the Lama pronounces his opinion as to the
particular nature of the malady. According to the religious
belief of the Tartars all illness is owing to the visitation of a
Tchutgour, or demon, but the expulsion of the demon is
first a matter of medicine. The Lama physician next pro-
ceeds, as Lama apothecary, to give the specific befitting the
case. The Tartar pharmacopoeia rejecting all mineral
chemistry, the Lama remedies consist entirely of vegetables
pulverized, and either infused in water or made up into pills.
If the Lama doctor happens not to have any medicine with
him he is by no means disconcerted ; he writes the names of
the remedies upon little scraps of paper, moistens the paper
with saliva, and rolls them into pills, which the patient
tosses down with the same perfect confidence as though
they were genuine medicaments." When the invalid is a
person of property, the Lamas make extraordinary prepara-
tions for expelling the Tchutgoitr, for which the invalid has
to give them dresses and other presents. The aunt of

<)S MUSIC AND MEDICINE.

Tokoura, chief of an encampment, visited by M. Hue, was
seized one evening with an intermittent fever. " I would
invite the attendance of the Lama doctor," said Tokoura,
" but if he finds that there is a very big Tchutgour present,
the expense will ruin me." He waited for some days ; but,
as the aunt grew worse and worse, he at last sent for a
Lama. " His anticipations," M. Hue relates, "were con-
firmed. The Lama pronounced that a demon of considerable
rank was present, and that no time must be lost in expelling
him. Eight other Lamas were forthwith called in, who at
once set about the construction, in dried herbs, of a great
puppet, which they entitled The Demon of Intermittent Fevers,
and which, when completed, they placed on its legs by
means of a stick in the patient's tent. The ceremony began
at eleven o'clock at night. The Lamas ranged themselves
in a semi-circle round the upper portion of the tent, with
cymbals, conch-trumpets, bells, tambourines, and other
instruments of the noisy Tartar music. The remainder of
the circle was completed by the members of the family
squatting on the ground close to one another, the patient
kneeling, or rather crouched on her knees, opposite the
* Demon of intermittent fevers.' The Lama doctor-in-chief
had before him a large copper basin filled with millet, and
some little images made of paste. The dung-fuel (argols)
threw, amid much smoke, a fantastic and quivering light
over the strange scene. * Upon a given signal, the clerical
orchestra executed an introductory piece harsh enough to
frighten Satan himself, the lay congregation beating time
with their hands to the charivari of clanging instruments
and ear-splitting voices. The diabolic concert over, the
Grand Lama opened the Book of Exorcisms, which he
rested on his knees. As he chanted one of the forms, he
took from the basin, from time to time, a handful of millet,
which he threw east, west, north and south, according to
the Rubric. The tones of his voice, as he prayed, were
sometimes mournful and suppressed, sometimes vehemently

•'• Dried dung, which constitutes the chief, and indeed in many
places the sole fuel in Tartary, is called argols.

MUSIC AND MEDICINE. 99

loud and energetic. All of a sudden he would quit the
regular cadence of prayer, and have an outburst of
apparently indomitable rage, abusing the herb puppet with
fierce invectives and furious gestures. The exorcism
terminated, he gave a signal by stretching out his arms,
right and left, and the other Lamas struck up a tremen-
dously noisy chorus, in hurried, dashing tones ; all the
instruments were set to work, and meantime the lay congre-
gation, having started up with one accord, ran out of the
tent, one after the other, and, tearing round it like mad
people, beat it at their hardest with sticks, yelling all the
while at the pitch of their voices, in a manner to make
ordinary hair stand on end."

Then they returned to the tent, and repeated the same
scene. After they had done this three times, they covered
their faces with their hands, and the Grand Lama set fire to
the herb figure. " As soon as the flames rose, he uttered a
loud cry, which was repeated with interest by the whole
company. . . . After this strange treatment, the malady
did not return. The probability is that the Lamas, having
ascertained the precise moment at which the fever-fit would
recur, met it at the exact point of time by this tremendous
counter-excitement, and overcame it." *

The Burmese, especially those of the mountain region of
south and east Burmah, have priests and sorcerers, called
Wees and Bookhoos, who " pretend to cure diseases, to know
men's thoughts, and to converse with the spirits. Their
performances are fraught with awe and terror to a super-
stitious people. They begin with solemn and mysterious
movements ; at length every muscle is agitated, while with
frantic looks and foaming mouth they utter oracles, or speak
to a man's spirit and declare its responses." t In cases of
severe illness which have resisted the skill of native medical
art, the physician gravely tells the patient and relatives
that it is useless to have recourse any longer to medicine.

* 'Travels in Tartary, Thibet, and China, during the years 1844-46,'
by M. Hue ; Vol. I., p. 76.

f 'Travels in South-eastern Asia,' by H. Malcom Boston, 1839;
Vol. II., p. 197.

IOO MUSIC AND MEDICINE.

An evil Natch (" spirit ") is the author of the complaint, and
requires to be expelled. This is accomplished by means of
music and dancing, while the physician gives to the patient
some medicine, pointed out to him as an infallible remedy
by an accomplice in a kind of trance during the ceremony.*

That in certain complaints it may be beneficial to the
invalid to dance to the sound of music, is owing to the
exhilarating influence of the music as well as to the bodily
exercise of the dancing.

The treatment of the Tarantism, or the derangement of
the system caused by the bite of the Tarantula, a venomous
spider in Apulia, Italy, has been so often described by
medical and musical men, that a detailed account of it
is hardly required here. Suffice it to notice the opinions
entertained by some careful medical inquirers, respecting
the efficacy of music and dancing in the cure of this illness.
Nicolo Peroti, an Italian Archbishop, who lived in the
fifteenth century, is supposed to have been the first who in
his writings has drawn attention to the symptoms attributed
to the bite of the Tarantula. Achille Vergari, a physician, in
his treatise, entitled, ' Tarantismo, o malattia prodotta dalle
Tarantole velenose,' Naples, 1839, says that not all these
spiders are alike poisonous, but that some are so to a degree
that a person bitten by them is sure to die almost imme-
diately, notwithstanding all antidotes administered to him.
According to Vergari, the Tarantula is found not only in
South Italy, but also in Sardinia, the Caucasus, Persia,
Abyssinia, Madagascar, the West Indies, and in several other
hot regions. The poison consists in a fluid secreted in glands,
which, when the spider bites, is pressed into the wound,
and thus diffused throughout the body. The poison is most
virulent during the dog-days, and during the period of
breeding, especially if the spider is irritated, and if the person
bitten is particularly susceptible for the action of the poison ;
under other circumstances it causes but little injury, or none
at all. The only specific cure for the bite is believed to be
music and dancing. The animating sound of the tune

* ' Six Months in British Burmah,' by C. F. Winter ; London, 1858 ;
p. 161.

MUSIC AND MEDICINE. 101

known as the Tarantella subdues the depressing effect of
the poison ; the invalid feels invigorated by the music ; he
raises himself and begins to move his hands and feet to the
time of it ; and, be he old or young, though he may never
before in his life have danced, he is irresistibly forced to
dance until exhaustion compels him to desist. The dancing
sometimes lasts three hours without cessation, and is
repeated for three or four successive days. The most
salutary time for it is the early morning, at sunrise, when
the patient usually perspires, sighs, complains, and behaves
like an intoxicated person. Occasionally, while dancing, he
takes in his hands green branches, or ribbons of some par-
ticular colour ; or he wants to be dressed in showy garments.
The black colour he hates, and the sight of a person dressed
in black irritates him greatly. The room in which the
dancing takes place is ornamented with different bright
colours, green branches, and looking-glasses. Some insist
upon carrying weapons in their hands while dancing ; others
desire to be beaten ; or they beat themselves ; and so on.
The musical instruments formerly used in playing the
Tarantella are the violin, violoncello, guitar, flute, organ,
lute, cither, shalm, and tambourine. Some of these instru-
ments have now become obsolete ; nor are the others always
used in combination, but more frequently singly.

These statements were collected by Vergari from the
observations of the most intelligent physicians and surgeons
in Apulia, and other districts of the former kingdom of
Naples.

De Renzi, a distinguished physician of Naples, sent, in
the year 1841, to the ' Raccoglitore Medico,' published in
Fano, the following account of a Tarantism witnessed
by Doctor Samuele Costa. Giuseppe Mastria, a peasant
from a small village in the southern district of the province
Terra d'Otranto, twenty years of age, of robust bodily
constitution, while mowing grass, in June, 1840, felt a
sudden pain on his right arm, near the insertion of the
Deltoid muscle, and saw that he was bitten by a speckled
spider, the Aranea Tarantula. The wound having become
livid, enlarged and spread the pain over the arm and the

102 MUSIC AND MEDICINE.

back of the neck. He was seized with anxiety and with
pressure on the Praecordia, inclination to vomit, faintness,
cold skin, and weak pulse. After some time, the warmth
of the body increased, and the pulse became stronger. The
patient experienced great thirst, heavy breathing, restless-
ness, and the impossibility of standing on his legs. When,
however, the Tarantella was played to him, he suddenly
became convulsive, jumped out of the bed, and danced
briskly for nearly two hours. Tired and profusely per-
spiring, he consequently slept quietly and uninterruptedly.
After several repetitions of the music in the course of three
days, he entirely recovered.*

Dr. Martinus Kahler, a Swedish physician, who visited
Apulia in the year 1756, for the express purpose of investi-
gating the Tarantism thoroughly, came to the conclusion that
it is not caused by the Tarantula, but that it is a peculiar
hypochondria with hysteria, to which the inhabitants of
the island of Taranto are especially subject on account of
their mode of living, and from their food consisting principally
of green vegetables, oysters, and periwinkles. Be this as it
may, the complaint is, according to medical opinion, curable
by means of music and dancing.

Thomas Shaw, who visited the Barbary States about the
year 1730, mentions the Boola-kaz, a venomous spider in the
desert of Sahara, the bite of which is cured thus : " The
patient lies sometimes buried all over, excepting his head, in
the hot sands, or else in a pit dug and heated for the purpose,
in order, no doubt, to obtain the like copious perspiration
that is excited by dancing in those who are bitten by the
Tarantula."t

The Tigretiya of Abyssinia is in some respects similar to
the Tarantism ; it is, however, not caused by the bite, or
sting, of any animal. The Tigretiya has its name from
occurring principally in the Abyssinian district called Tigre.

* ' Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung ; ' Leipzig, 1841, No. 17.

f ' Travels and Observations relating to Barbary,' by Thomas Shaw.
' A General Collection of Voyages and Travels,' by J. Pinkerton ;
London, 1808; Vol. XV., p. 635.

MUSIC AND MEDICINE. 103

It is a kind of melancholy, the first symptoms of which
usually are a gradual wasting away of the attacked person.
Music and dancing are used as the most effective remedies
for healing the sufferer.

A strange illness of the natives of Madagascar is described
by the Missionary W. Ellis as " an intermittent disorder,
with periods of delirium, a species of hysteria readily
infectious." The sufferers perambulate in groups, singing,
dancing, and running, accompanied by their friends, who
carry bottles of water for them, as they generally complain
of thirst, — which is not surprising, considering the state of
excitement to which they work themselves up. Their
whims being encouraged by the people, must rather impede
the beneficial result which they might derive from singing
and dancing, as far as concerns the restoration to a sound
state of health. Their morbid affection of the nervous
system is, however, especially interesting if compared with
a similar derangement in European countries during the
Middle Ages, of which some account shall presently be given.

The exercise of dancing to the sound of cheerful music
is universally known to be, under certain circumstances
conducive to the preservation of health. Thus, the traveller,
H. Salt, relates that the Negro slaves in Mozambique
" assembled in the evening to dance, according to the usual
practice, for keeping them in health." * The same means
were formerly resorted to by slave-owners in America.
Likewise, during a voyage to the Arctic Sea, it has been
found useful to order the sailors occasionally to dance on
deck to the music of a barrel-organ, to keep them in health
and good spirits.

On the other hand, there are instances on record of
music and dancing having nourished morbid feelings and
extravagant notions. At all events, certain Terpsichorean
performances of religious fanatics can only be thus regarded.
The most extraordinary exhibitions of this kind among
Christian sects occurred on the Continent during the Middle
Ages, and are described in an interesting little book, by

* ' A Voyage to Abyssinia, etc.' By Henry Salt. London, 1814 ; p. 33.

104 MUSIC AND MEDICINE.

J. F. C. Hecker, entitled ' Die Tanzwuth, eine Volkskrank-
heit im Mittelalter ; nach den Quellen fur Aerzte und
gebildete Nichtarzte bearbeitet,' ( The Dancing Mania, an
epidemic in the Middle Ages ; compiled from original
sources, for medical men and intelligent non-medical men.
Berlin, 1832.) The author, a Doctor of Medicine, in Berlin,
treats especially of the St. John's Dance and the St. Vitus's
Dance, which, during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries,
were performed in Germany by perambulating fanatics who,
in some respects, resembled certain Revivalists of our days.
He carefully traces the origin of these morbid conceptions,
the extravagant practices to which they led, and their
gradual discontinuance during the seventeenth century.
The persons afflicted with this nervous malady, men and
women, wandered in troops from town to town and danced
to the sound of musical instruments in the churches and
streets. The authorities of some of the towns were of
opinion that music and dancing alone could effectively cure
this strange affection. They, therefore, hired musicians in
order to bring on the dancing-fits the more rapidly ; and
they ordered strong, healthy men, to mix with the dancers
with the object of compelling them to continue their violent
exertions until they were quite exhausted, — a condition
which was supposed to be a preliminary step to their restor-
ation to health. Of the magistrates of Basle, for instance,
it is recorded that in the sixteenth century they engaged some
strong men to dance with a girl afflicted with the dancing
mania, until she was recovered. One man substituted an-
other, and this strange cure they continued about four weeks
with scarcely any interruption, until the patient was exhausted
and unable to stand on her legs. She was then carried to
an hospital, where she completely regained her health.

The following miraculous occurrence, which is recorded
in William of Malmesbury's ' Chronicle of the Kings of
England ' as having taken place in the year 1012, illustrates
the fanaticism alluded to. The statement is by one of the
poor sufferers : —

" I, Ethelbert, a sinner, even were I desirous of conceal-
ing the divine judgment which overtook me, yet the tremor

MUSIC AND MEDICINE. lOj

of my limbs would betray me ; wherefore I shall relate
circumstantially how this happened, that all may know the
heavy punishment due to disobedience. We were on the
eve of our Lord's nativity, in a certain town of Saxony, in
which was the church of Magnus the Martyr, and a priest
named Robert had begun the first mass. I was in the
church-yard with eighteen companions, — fifteen men and
three women, — dancing and singing profane songs to such
a degree that I interrupted the priest, and our voices re-
sounded amid the sacred solemnity of the mass. Wherefore,
having commanded us to be silent and not being attended
to, he cursed us in the following words : — ' May it please
God and St. Magnus that you may remain singing in the
same manner for a whole year ! ' — His words had their
effect. The son of John the Priest seized his sister, who
was singing with us, by the arm, and immediately tore it
from the body ; but not a drop of blood flowed out. She
also remained a whole year with us dancing and singing.
The rain fell not upon us ; nor did cold, nor heat, nor
hunger, nor thirst, nor fatigue assail us : we neither wore
our clothes nor shoes, but we kept on singing as though we
had been insane. First we sunk into the ground up to our
knees ; next to our thighs. A covering was at length, by
the permission of God, built over us, to keep off the rain.
When a year had elapsed, Herbert, bishop of the city of
Cologne, released us from the tie wherewith our hands were
bound, and reconciled us before the altar of St. Magnus.
The daughter of the priest, with the other two women, died
immediately; the rest of us slept three whole days and
nights. Some died afterwards, and were famed for miracles ;
the remainder betray their punishment by the trembling of
their limbs.

" This narrative was given to us by the Lord Peregrine, the
successor of Herbert, in the year of our Lord 1013."

In our time, exhibitions of a morbid religious enthusiasm,
called forth, or promoted by music, are less common with
Christians than with Mohammedans. In the sacred dance
of the Dervishes, the music, which is soft and plaintive,
represents the music of the spheres ; while the Dervishes

106 MUSIC AND MEDICINE.

turning in a circle round their superior, who sits quietly in
the centre, represent the planetary system in its relation
to the sun. So far, the procedures of these fanatics are
intelligible enough ; but the words of their songs are so
mystic that probably the Dervishes themselves are unable to
attach a reasonable meaning to them. Still more extra-
ordinary is the behaviour of the Aissaoua, a kind of
Mohammedan fraternity in the Barbary States, who by
means of music and dancing work themselves up to a state
of ecstasy, in which they fancy themselves to be camels, — or,
at any rate, in which they convey to others the impression
that they are brutes rather than reasonable beings. As
regards Christian sects, certain sacred evolutions of the
Shakers, in the United States of North America, are not less
extravagant than those of the Dervishes in Egypt or Turkey.
Here too, music appears to have an injurious effect upon
the people, inasmuch as it excites their morbid emotions.

Turning now to our literature on the medical employment
of music, we find a number of treatises, the most important
of which shall be briefly noticed by their titles. Of such
only as are not easily attainable, some account of their
contents shall be added.

' Medica Musica : or, a Mechanical Essay on the effects
of Singing, Musick, and Dancing, on Human Bodies;
Revis'd and corrected. To which is annex'd a New Essay
on the nature and cure of the Spleen and Vapours. By
Richard Browne, Apothecary, in Oakham, in the County of
Rutland ; London, 1729.' — This is the second edition, en-
larged. The first edition was published without the name
of the author.

' Die Verbindung der Musik mit der Arzneygelahrtheit,
von Ernst Anton Nicolai.' (The Association of Music with
the Science of Medicine, by E. A. Nicolai; Halle, 1745.) —
Nicolai was Professor of Medicine at the University of Jena,
in Germany.

' Reflections on Antient and Modern Musick, with the
application to the Cure of Diseases ; to which is subjoined
an essay to solve the question wherein consisted the differ-
ence of ancient musick from that of modern time ; ?

MUSIC AND MEDICINE. 107

London, 1749. — The author, Richard Brocklesby, was a
physician in London. — A circumstantial account of the con-
tents of this treatise is given in ' Historisch-Kritische
Beytrage zur Aufnahme der Musik, von F. W. Marpurg ; '
Vol. II., Berlin, 1756 ; p. 16-37.

' Traite des Effets de la Musique sur le corps humain,
traduit du Latin et augmente des notes, par Etienne Sainte-
Marie;' Paris, 1803. — This is an annotated translation of a
dissertation written in Latin by Joseph Ludovicus Roger,
and published at Avignon in 1758.

Desbout (Luigi) : ' Ragionamento fisico-chirurgico sopra
1'effetto della Musica nelle malattie nervose ;' Livorno,
1780. — A French translation appeared in the year 1784, in
St. Petersburg, entitled : ' Sur 1'Effet de la Musique dans les
Maladies nerveuses.'

Buc'hoz (Pierre Joseph) : 'L'Art de connaitre et de
designer le pouls par les notes de la Musique, de guerir par
son moyen la melancolie, et le Tarentisme qui est une
espece de melancolie ; accompagne de 198 observations,
tirees tant de 1'histoire que des annales de la medicine qui
constatent I'efficacite de la musique, non seulement sur le
corps mais sur I'ame, dans 1'etat de sante, ainsi que dans
celui de maladie. Ouvrage curieux, utile et interessant ;
propre a inspirer le gout de cet art, qui e^t pour nous un
vrai present des cieux ; ' Paris, 1806. — A treatise with a
similar title, by F. N. Marquet, appeared at Nancy in the
year 1747.

Lichtenthal (Peter) : ' Der musikalische Arzt ; oder,
Abhandlung von dem Einflusse der Musik auf den mensch-
lichen Korper, und von ihrer Anwendung in gewissen
Krankheiten,' (The Musical Physician ; or, a Treatise on
the influence of music upon the human body, and on its
application in certain illnesses. Vienna, 1807.) — An Italian
translation of this work appeared in Milan in the year 1811.

Schneider (Peter Joseph) : ' System einer medizinischen
Musik ; ein unentbehrlich.es Handbuch fur Medizin-Beflis-
sene, Vorsteher der Irren-Heilanstalten, praktische Aerzte,
und unmusikalische Lehrer verschiedener Disciplinen,'
(A System of Medical Music ; an indispensable guide for

108 MUSIC AND MEDICINE.

Students of Medicine, Principals of Lunatic Asylums, Prac-
tical Physicians, and unmusical teachers of different
methods. Bonn, 1835.) This comprehensive work, in two
volumes, contains much information on the subject in
question, interspersed with many remarks and citations
which have little or no bearing on music considered
medically. The last seventy-two pages of the second volume
contain a sort of autobiography of the author.

To musicians, the most useful books among this class of
literature are those which give good advice concerning the
preservation of health.

F. W. Hunnius, a Doctor of Medicine in Weimar, wrote
a book entitled ' Der Arzt fur Schauspieler und Sanger'
(The Physician for Actors and Singers. Weimar, 1798,)
which, no doubt, has been useful to many. Another German
publication of the kind, in which especial attention is given
to the practice of musical instruments in so far as it affects
the health, bears the title ' Aerztlicher Rathgeber fur Musik-
treibende ' (Medical Adviser for those who cultivate Music)
by Karl Sundelin, Berlin, 1832. The author, a Doctor of
Medicine in Berlin, wrote his book with the assistance of
his brother, who was a professional musician in the orchestra
of the King of Prussia. This treatise is so noteworthy that
the following account of it will, it is hoped, be of interest to
the reflecting musician. Its table of contents is : —

" I. Of Singing. On the means of facilitating the practice
of singing. Dietary and general rules for male singers, and
for female singers. Of the different human voices.

II. Of the Clavier-Instruments, or Keyed-Instruments.
The Pianoforte. The Organ. The Harmonica with a key-
board.

III. Of the Stringed Instruments. The Violin and the
Viola (or Tenor). The Violoncello. The Double Bass. The
Guitar. The Harp.

IV. Of the Wind Instruments. Means for facilitating
the practice and dietary rules for players on wind instru-
ments. The Flageolet and the Czakan. The Flute. The
Oboe and the English Horn. The Clarionet and the Basset
Horn. The Bassoon and the Contra-Fagotto. The Horn.

MUSIC AND MEDICINE. IOQ

The Trumpet. The Trombone. The Serpent. General
dietary and medical rules for those who cultivate music. Of
the disturbances and injuries to the nervous system through
disadvantageous influences by the practice of music. Care
and treatment of particular diseased parts and structures.
Of the chest and the lungs. The especial attention and care
required by the organs of the voice. Of the diseases to
which the mouth is subjected. The Teeth. The Lips. Of
the Fingers. The Eyes and the Face. Prescriptions for
some of the medicaments alluded to in the preceding
dissertation."

The author is of opinion that the practice of music may
be in many ways injurious to bodily health. However, he
remarks, that since music is capable of expressing, emotions
which cannot be expressed by words or pictures, it relieves
the heart of anything which is oppressive and distressing,.
and thus through the mind generally acts beneficially
upon the body. He asserts that music has healed many a
sufferer whose life was embittered by the fetters of melan-
cholia, or the tortures of hypochondria. To persons suffering
from indigestion and its harassing effects, he recommends a
daily practice on some instrument which requires a rather
fatiguing exertion of the body; such as the organ, on which
hands and feet are occupied. His remarks on singing are
judicious ; but many of them would naturally suggest them-
selves to any thinking musician- No doubt, moderation in
eating and drinking is recommendable, and the singer has to
take care not to catch a cold ; but it may be useful to him to
be told by a medical man what kind of food is most con-
ducive to the preservation of his voice, and how he can best
protect himself against the injurious effects of sudden
changes from heat and cold, to which professional singers
are often exposed.

Pianoforte playing our medical adviser considers rather
hurtful to health. The exertion of the hands and arms, while
the position of the body remains nearly immovable, causes a
stronger flow of blood to the chest than is natural. The
pressure of the points of the fingers, where the nerves are
especially sensitive, is apt to be injurious- to- the nervous

H

110 MUSIC AND MEDICINE.

system. This is still more the case in practising on instru-
ments on which the strings are pressed down with the points
of the fingers, as for instance on the violin ; and also, though
in a less degree, on instruments the strings of which are
twanged with the fingers, as they are on the harp. The
practice, however, causes the skin at the finger-ends to
harden, and the touch becomes consequently less sensitive.
Decidedly hurtful to the nerves is the sensation produced
by the friction of the moistened fingers in playing the
glass-harmonica and similar instruments. Among the
wind instruments blown by being placed to the mouth,
those which require a sudden and prolonged retardation
of the breath, or a forcible compression of the air in
the lungs, are especially liable, by constant practice, to
prove injurious to health. The author has much to say
on this subject, and he particularly warns against too con-
tinuous playing on the oboe, trumpet, horn, trombone, and
serpent. As regards the clarionet, its practice, he says, is
likely to be injurious on account of the quantity of air which
it requires. The player is often compelled to take a deeper
inspiration than is natural, and constantly to pay regard to
being provided with a supply of air compressed in his lungs.
Furthermore, considering that musical performances very
frequently take place in artificial light, the eye-sight of the
musician is apt to be disadvantageously affected. In this
respect also the playing on some instruments is more in-
jurious than on others. The Double Bass player, for
instance, is compelled, from the size of his instrument, to
have the musical notation placed at a greater distance before
him than is naturally convenient for his sight, which renders
it necessary for him to exert his eyes in an extraordinary
degree. Thus much from Sundelin's ' Medical Adviser,' to
which the following remarks may be added.

The musical instruments used by our forefathers, two or
three centuries ago, were softer and more soothing in quality
of sound than our present ones ; at any rate, this was the
case with the stringed instruments, and the wind instru-
ments of the flute kind. Certain wind instruments of the
trumpet kind had a very harsh sound ; but these were

MUSIC AND MEDICINE. Ill

intended especially to be played in the open air. Of the
stringed instruments principally favoured in family circles —
such as the lute, cither, clavichord, virginal, harpsichord,
etc., — almost all possessed a less exciting quality of sound
than our present substitutes for them. The same was
the case with the music composed for the instruments ; it
did not possess the passionate modulations which charac-
terize much of our music of the present day. It was,
therefore, evidently more conducive to social comfort, and
consequently to health, than is our modern music, notwith-
standing the progress which has been made in the cultivation
of the art. Martin Luther said to an old hypochondriac
schoolmaster who complained to him of his miserable
feelings : " Take to the Clavichord !" Everyone acquainted
with the character of the clavichord will probably admit
that Luther's advice was judicious. The soft and unpre-
tending sound of the clavichord is so expressive that the
instrument may be said to respond to the sufferer as a
sympathizing friend ; while its successor, the loud and
brilliant pianoforte, is apt to convey the impression of being
cold and heartless, unless it is touched by a master-hand.
Thus also the " trembling lute," and some other antiquated
instruments appear to be remarkably suitable for consoling
and calming the anxious heart.

The glass-harmonica is evidently hurtful to the health of
the performer. We have seen that Sundelin attributes its
injurious effect to the friction of the fingers upon the bowls,
which revolve on a spindle. But it is a well -ascertained
fact that the fascinating sound of this instrument exercises
a distressing influence also upon persons who do not play it,
but who often listen to it. Likewise, certain wind instru-
ments of a so-called reedy quality of sound, as, for instance,
the harmonium, are probably injurious rather than beneficial
to the health of the players. Sounds of this nature are
generally very pleasant when heard for a short time, but
soon become harassing. They might be compared with
confectionery, a little of which may be very palatable and
innocuous, but which if made a meal of would probably
produce sickness.

113 MUSIC AND MEDICINE.

The effect of music upon animals is a subject for investi-
gation so closely connected with an inquiry into the
influence of music upon the human body, that some notice
of it must not be omitted here. The investigation requires
far more discernment than would appear at a first glance.
Many of the anecdotes recorded respecting the effect of
music upon animals are not properly authenticated ;
or rather, they are misrepresentations of facts not clearly
understood by the observers. Nor is it surprising that this
should be the case, considering how difficult it is to appre-
ciate rightly the mental capacities even of our domestic
animals, which we have constant opportunity of watching.
Nothing is more common, even with intelligent observers,
than to attribute to a dog certain motives for certain actions,
which may possibly be the real motives, but which may also
only appear to be the real ones. Acute and thoroughly
unbiassed investigators, such as was for instance Gilbert
White of Selborne, about a hundred years ago, are rare.
At all events, many of the anecdotes given in works on
Natural History, as illustrating the power of music upon
animals, have evidently been copied by one author from
another without any one of them having taken the trouble
to ascertain by careful observation whether they are well
founded. With quadrupeds it is probably generally more
the rhythmical effect of the music than the tones which
pleases them ; while birds appear to be pleased by the tones
rather than by the rhythm. All this requires more exact
investigation than it has hitherto received; and surely it
deserves the consideration of a Darwin.

In conclusion, attention may be drawn to a curious fact
which is perhaps more interesting to musical antiquarians
than to medical men. It is well known that the barbers in
England, about three centuries ago, generally had some
musical instruments in their shops for the amusement of
their customers. In Germany it is still not unusual to meet
with a musical barber. In former times the barbers were
also surgeons and physicians to some extent. It would be

MUSIC AND MEDICINE.

interesting to trace the origin of their habit of cultivating
the art of music. It is probably of high antiquity. May it
not date from a remote period in which the physicians of
European nations resorted to music and incantations like
the medicine-men of uncivilized tribes of whom an account
has been given in the beginning of this essay ?

POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL
TRADITIONS.

THE intelligent reader need hardly be reminded that an
insight into the peculiar notions respecting the beauty and
power of music current among different nations may be of
valuable assistance in the study of national music, inasmuch
as it tends to throw light upon questions which appear
obscure and inexplicable.

The following popular stories, like those which have
previously been given in this work, are told exactly as they
are heard from the mouth of the people. It is necessary
that this should be mentioned by way of introduction
to the stories, because the degree of interest which they
may possess depends almost entirely upon the faithfulness
with which they are recorded. For the same reason it
must be stated that, although additions have been carefully
avoided, it is otherwise with omissions, since it appeared
desirable to abridge several of the stories by excluding pas-
sages which do not touch upon the subject of music. Should
the reader find among the stories an old acquaintance with a
somewhat different face than is familiar to him, he will, it is
hoped, bear in mind that, just as there are varieties of a
popular tune to be found in different districts of a country,
so there are also different readings of a popular tale. Even
the degree of education attained by the narrator, his personal
character, and his peculiar views, will tend in some measure
to modify the features of a story, although nothing extraneous
may have been admitted into the incidents recorded.

POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS.

THE ROYAL MUSIC -MASTER.

The modern Greeks have a long story, said to have been
derived from Asia Minor, the substance of which is as
follows : —

A mighty king in a distant land had a son who was an
excellent flute player, but a bashful youth, and a woman-
hater. The king, considering it all-important that his
dynasty should be preserved, sends the young prince in a
ship to a foreign court, to find, if possible, among the
princesses a wife to his liking. The ship is wrecked, and all
on board are drowned except the prince, who is thrown by
the waves upon the shore of a beautiful island. Having
dried himself, he meets a poor fisherman, with whom he
changes clothes. Hiding his luxuriant hair under a bladder-
cap, he sets out to the residence of the king of the island,
into whose service he is taken by the master of the horse as
a stable-boy. His chief occupation now is to fetch water for
the horses from a spring in the garden of the palace. In the
evening, when he is alone in the garden, he plays upon his
llute so enchantingly that even the nightingales become
silent in admiration. The King's daughter hears him, comes
down into the garden, and, with the consent of her father,
makes him her music-master. When he perceives that she
really loves him, he loves her too, discloses to her that he is
a King's son, and soon makes her his queen in his own
dominions.*

THE HANDSOME MINSTREL.

The following story is told in Germany : —
A handsome minstrel plays under a window of the King's
palace upon a golden instrument. His music is so alluring
that the King, yielding to the entreaties of his daughter,

* ' Griechische und Albanische Marcher, gesammelt von J. G. v.
Hahn.' Leipzig, 1864; Vol. I., p. 273.

Il6 POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS.

invites the handsome minstrel to come up to him in his
palace. The King's daughter soon learns to play on the
instrument, and longs to possess a similar one. All the
goldsmiths of the kingdom are applied to ; but not one of
them is able to construct such an artistic work. Thereupon
the King's daughter becomes greatly dejected ; and when
the handsome minstrel learns the cause of her sadness he
tells her that if she will marry him she shall have the golden
instrument. But she rejects the offer with scorn.

Some days afterwards the handsome minstrel appears
again under the window, playing on an instrument still more
precious, and producing sounds most ravishing. The King's
daughter is enchanted beyond measure ; but the goldsmiths
of the kingdom are still less capable of constructing such a
wonderful work of art.

Then the handsome minstrel offers to give her both
instruments if she will marry him. She cannot resist, and
says, " Yes !" After the celebration of the wedding the
handsome minstrel conducts his bride to his house, deep in
the forest. The house is so small and poor, that the King's
daughter, when she sees it, is overwhelmed with pride and
remorse, and faints away. When she recovers she finds
herself lying on a magnificent bed, and the handsome
minstrel is a King.

THE DAISY LADY.

Among the Fairy Tales of the Hindus we meet with a
story entitled ' Brave Seventee Bai,' which seems to contain
the original key-note of the German ' Trusty Ferdinand.' *
Seventee Bai (i.e. " The Daisy Lady ") is the daughter of a
Rajah. Bent upon roving about in the world, she assumes
the dress and manners of a youth. Her rambles lead her
into the garden of a beautiful enchantress whose name is
Hera Bai (i.e. " The Diamond's Daughter.") This beautiful
enchantress is described as being a child of the Great Cobra,

* See above, Vol. I.,, p. 84.

POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS. 117

a serpent which plays an important part in many of the
Hindu traditions. Here are to be found some striking
coincidences between the superstitions respecting serpents
popular among the country people in Germany and in
Hindustan.

Well, Hera Bai, the beautiful enchantress, falls in love
with Seventee Bai, who successfully maintains her disguise
as a youth, but who cannot be prevailed upon to remain in the
garden, averring that an important mission must be accom-
plished before the marriage takes place. The enchantress,
finding persuasion unavailing, gives Seventee Bai a small
golden flute. " Take this flute," she says; " whenever you
wish to see me, or are in need of my aid, go into the jungle
and play upon it, and before the sound ceases I will be
there ; but do not play it in the towns, nor yet amid a
crowd." Seventee Bai puts the golden flute into the folds
of her dress and proceeds on her wanderings. Sometime
afterwards, when she is in need of assistance, she goes into
the jungle, draws out of her dress the golden flute and plays.
The beautiful enchantress appears, swinging in a silver tree,
just as she appeared in the garden.

Again, on another occasion the beautiful lady imme-
diately comes at the sound of the flute, inquiring, "Husband,
what can I do for you ?"*

In the Scandinavian Fairy Tales, collected by Asbjornsen
and Moe, we have a story entitled ' East o' the Sun and
West o' the Moon/ in which a young country lass is taken
into the cave of a shaggy White Bear, who afterwards turns
out to be a lovely prince. When the White Bear has carried
the lass to his home, which gleams with silver and gold, he
gives her a silver bell and politely tells her that whenever
she wants anything she has only to ring the bell, and her
wishes shall be at once fulfilled. t

* 'Old Deccan Days; or Hindu Fairy Legends, current in Southern
India, collected from oral tradition by M. Frere., London, 1868;
p. 25.

•)• ' Popular Tales from the Norse, translated by G. W. Dasent.'
Edinburgh, 1859 ; p. 27.

Il8 POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS.

How effectively the magic flute and magic bells have
been introduced into Mozart's opera ' II Flauto Magico ' is
well known to lovers of good music, — or, which is the same,
to admirers of Mozart.

THE INVISIBLE FLUTE-PLAYER.

A strange story is told by the peasants in Holstein of an
invisible flute-player, who is said to have haunted, about fifty
years ago, a farm-house situated near the river Elbe. Some
of the children of the farmer who owned the house are still
alive.

The mysterious affair commenced in a cabbage garden
behind the house. There the people often heard flute-play-
ing, but no one could make out whence it came. Gradually
the invisible flutist intruded into the house. More and more
frequently he came, until at last he took up his abode in the
house altogether. Sometimes he played his flute in the
sitting-room ; sometimes in one of the bedrooms ; at other
times in the cellar, or in the garret. Occasionally also he
paid a visit to a neighbouring house. The people on the
farm became quite used to him ; and when the children, or
the servant lads and lasses, were disposed to enjoy a little
dancing, they would just name a certain tune, or sing a bar
or two of it, and ask him to play it ; and directly they heard
the desired tune. When the milkmaid was occupied in the
dairy, she sometimes took an apple in her hand, for fun, and
said : " Now, my boy, play me a nice air, and thou shalt
have an apple ! " In a moment the apple vanished out of her
hand, and the music commenced.

In the course of time, however, the invisible flutist
became very intrusive, and at last he proved quite a nuis-
ance. One night he would amuse himself by breaking all
the windows in the house; another night he had his gambols
in the kitchen, turning everything topsy-turvy ; and at mid-
day, when the family had sat down to dinner, it sometimes
happened that the large dish of stew before them, from
which all were eating, was emptied in an instant by invisible

POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS.

hands. They would then jump up and run about the room,
beating the air with their spoons. When they thought they
had at last driven the fellow into a corner of the room,
suddenly they heard him spitefully playing his flute in
another corner.

In short, the annoyance became quite unbearable. There
was no peace in the house. The farmer everywhere ex-
pressed the wish that he could find somebody who had the
power to expel the invisible flute-player; he did not mind
the expense. At last there came a clever man from the
neighbouring town, who offered to settle the matter ; he only
wanted to know beforehand whether he should show and
banish the flutist in his real figure, or in the figure of a
poodle.

The farmer said : " I would rather not see him at all !
Here are ten Thalers ; all I want is to get rid of him, and to
have peace in my own house."

By means of queer rhymes, and smoke, the clever man
from town actually succeeded in driving out the troublesome
guest, and no mysterious flute-playing has been heard since
on the farm.*

THE BANISHED MUSICIAN.

At the bottom of the lake called "Das Langholter Meer,"
in the vicinity of the river Weser, south of Bremen, lives,
according to popular tradition, a skilful musician who was
banished there by a Pastor; but, the reason why he was
banished to this place, — and indeed, why he was banished
at all, — is not exactly known.

One day, in the winter, when the lake was all frozen
over, two young lads happened to be keeping sheep in the
neighbourhood ; and when they saw the smooth ice, the
tallest said to the other : " Come, let us not stand shivering
here ; let us go on the lake, and the musician shall play
to us."

* ' Sagen,Marchen und Liederder Herzogthiimer Schleswig, Holstein
und Lauenburg,' von Karl Miillenhoff ; Kiel, 1845 ; p. 336.

120 POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS.

Having said this, he went to the ice ; his companion
followed him, and they amused themselves for a while with
sliding. It then occurred to them again that there was a
musician at the bottom of the lake, and they called out in
high glee : " If thou art still there below, old fellow, just
strike up a tune, and we will dance to it."

But, how terrified they were when suddenly there arose
from the bottom of the lake music such as they never had
heard in all their life. It was the most ravishing music in
the world ! — Of course, they thought no longer of dancing,
but left the lake as quickly as they could slide.*

THE WALRIDERSKE.

According to a tradition current in Northern Germany,
especially near Holland, the Walriderske is a kind of a
witch. Assuming the figure of some rough-haired animal,
she visits the sleeper in the night, and presses herself upon
his chest so as to prevent his moving any part of his body,
scarcely permitting him to breathe. She creeps up to
the sleeper from below, gradually crawling over his whole
body. First he feels a pressure on his feet ; then on his
stomach ; and at last on his chest. Meanwhile the tortured
victim is unable to move even a finger. All he can do is to
sigh and groan in almost intolerable anguish.

The apparition sometimes resembles a poodle, sometimes
a cat, and at other times a strange-looking unknown beast
particularly repulsive. Its colour is most commonly black ;
there are, however, also brown, and even white ones. Not
unfrequently the sleeper feels the pressure without seeing
the figure. In short, this unwelcome visitor is as bad as the
worst nightmare, if not worse.

But, occasionally the Walriderske appears in the shape
of a beautiful girl, and sings more charmingly than can be
described. Indeed, from the oldest traditions still extant

* ' Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg, heraus-
gegeben von Strackerjan ;' Oldenburg, 1867 ; Vol. I., p. 190.

POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS. 121

may be gathered that the Walriderskes ought to be regarded
as superhuman beings ; for, although they occasionally
appear in human shape, and are in many ways like human
beings, they live subject to other laws, and are endued with
powers other than ours. It admits of no doubt that in the
traditions respecting them much is to be found which has
been derived from the pagan mythology of our ancestors
relating to the Walkiiren, who rode or sailed in the clouds.
The Walriderskes are frequently described as floating
through the air and singing most sweetly. In Ostfriesland,
England is the home assigned to these charming singers.
They come from far over the sea to seek their sacrifice.
Their boat is a sieve, such as the peasants in Ostfriesland
use for straining milk, and which is called Tdhmse. Their
oars are human shoulder-blades.

A peasant of Barssel once, while on a moonlight night
he was mowing his corn, towards midnight, became tired
and threw himself down under a sheaf to sleep. He had not
lain long when he heard at a distance a melodious song,
which gradually came nearer and nearer until it was above
the field where he lay. He looked up and saw sailing in the
air a Walriderske who had come over from England. She
descended, hid her Tdhmse and oars under a sheaf, and went
away in the direction towards BarsseL The peasant lost no
time in appropriating to himself the things which the Wal-
riderske had hidden. Towards morning she returned; and
when she missed her Tdhmse and oars, she began to sing so
dolefully that the peasant felt sorry for her, and gave her
back the things.

In the following night, when curiosity led him to go
again to the place where this had happened, he found there,
to his surprise, a large piece of the finest linen, evidently a
present of the Walriderske. He took it home, and had it
made into shirts. He wore the shirts without experiencing
any harm ; although his neighbours had warned him that
he exposed himself to great danger by keeping the linen.*

* ' Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg, heraus-
gegeben von Strackerjan;1 Oldenburg, 1867 ; Vol. I., p. 375.

122 POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS.

THE JEW IN THE THICKET.

Many popular tales could be noticed of instrumental
performers who possess the power of making everyone
dance. Not only men, but animals, and sometimes even
inanimate objects are compelled to wheel around. Take for
instance the following German tale, known as * The Jew
in the Thicket.'

Once upon a time there lived in a small village a poor
peasant lad whose name was Heinrich, but whom his neigh-
bours used to call Honest Heinrich, because he was as
honest as he was poor. Whether he was so poor because
he was so honest, or whatever else was the cause of his
poverty, would now be useless to speculate upon. Enough
that he found it expedient to improve his circumstances ; and
for this purpose he set out on a journey into the world, with
only a few copper coins in his pocket.

After a while, his way led him to a lonely place near
some hills. He thought he was quite alone, when unex-
pectedly a little grey man, very old-looking, accosted him
and solicited alms. " Give me whatever thou hast in cop-
pers," said the grey man, " and thou shalt have no cause
to repent thy generosity ; thou seest, I am old and infirm ;
but thou art young and robust, and wilt easily make thy
way in the world."

When Honest Heinrich heard the grey man speak thus,
it went to his heart, and he put his hand into his pocket,
took out the copper coins, — which, in fact, constituted all
the property he possessed in the world, — and gave them to
the old beggar. Then cheerfully whistling he resumed his
journey.

" Hallo ! just wait a bit, my lad ! " cried the grey man :
" I know thou art an honest fellow, and deservest a helping
hand to push thee on in the world ; so thou mayst have
three wishes, and they shall be granted to thee."

Then Honest Heinrich saw at once that he had to do
with an Onnerersk, as the little folks are called who dwell
under ground in golden halls deep in the mountains ; so,
having bethought himself for a moment, he touched his cap
and said :

POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS. 123

" Well sir, let me have a fiddle which when I play upon
it makes everyone dance. And let me have a blow-pipe with
which I am sure to hit everything I want to shoot. And my
third wish shall be, if you please, that whenever I ask a
favour of anybody, it will not be refused me."

All these wishes were readily conceded to Honest
Heinrich, and it may easily be imagined what great advan-
tages he now possessed in his endeavours to make his
fortune in the world. The third wish especially proved
invaluable to him. Neither was the fiddle to be despised ;
nay, it actually saved him from the gallows ! and how this
happened to come to pass, shall now be related.

After Honest Heinrich had proceeded on his way a mile
or two, he came beside a thicket of thorns, in the middle of
which sat a lovely little bird that sang even more beautifully
than it was beautiful to look at. And near the thicket stood
a Jew counting a bag of money, which was not exactly his
own, for he had taken it from somewhere, so to say, without
asking permission. Now, the Jew was in an awkward fix,
for he could not move from the spot where he stood, because
the lovely little bird had enchanted him with his melodious
music. He had, however, a particular reason for moving
on as quickly as possible, since it was not at all unlikely
that somebody might follow him, overtake him, and say,
"you are wanted; just come back with me to town!"
Therefore, when he saw Honest Heinrich carrying a blow-
pipe, he called out to him :

" A good piece of money I would gladly part with if
thou couldst procure for me that charming bird."

Then Honest Heinrich took his blow-pipe, aimed, and
hit the little bird : he only said " There !" and the charming
little songster fell down into the thicket. Directly the Jew
worked himself among the thorn bushes to take the bird
out ; meanwhile he made all kinds of excuses for not giving
the piece of money which he had promised.

" O ho !" said Honest Heinrich, "that matter we shall
easily settle'!" Presently he took up his fiddle to try its
effect upon the Jew. One stroke of the bow, and the Jew
began to wabble ; — another stroke, and he lifted up his

124 POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS.

right leg;— a third stroke, and the dancing began in
earnest.

" O dear me ! " cried the Jew, " leave off that confounded
fiddling ! The thorns hurt me dreadfully ! Upon my honour,
I shall be a dead man before I am safely out of the thicket !"
But, Honest Heinrich was becoming warm with trying his
newly-acquired instrument ; so he only replied : " Never
mind the thorns ; all right ! " and struck up a quicker tune.
" O torture ! " cried the perspiring dancer, " I am a ruined
man ! Here, — here is my whole bag of money, — all genuine
coins, — take it, — only cease that fiddling ! "

Honest Heinrich made what musicians call a brilliant
cadence, which caused the Jew to throw a few somersaults,
and then gave the finishing stroke, or in other words, the
concluding chord. The Jew crept out of the thicket, handed
over the bag to the fiddler, and made off as rapidly as he
could into the wide world.

Honest Heinrich, on the other hand, took the direction
towards the town with the intention of restoring the bag of
money to its rightful owner. He was soon met by a man
dressed in an unpretending kind of uniform, who, seeing the
bag, in a friendly and almost playful way, gave Honest
Heinrich a little tap on his shoulder, and said : " You are
wanted ;. you must come with me to town." Then Honest
Heinrich was taken to prison ; and when the judge asked
him about the bag of money, and he replied, " A Jew gave it
me," the judge smiled and said, " A Jew ? you will never make
me believe that !" In short, Honest Heinrich was found
guilty of robbery, and the judge sentenced him to be hanged.

There prevailed a strange taste in the town where this
occurred. Whenever an execution took place, the people
had a kind of festival. Days, nay, even weeks, before the
interesting event, the wretched culprit was considered almost
as a martyr. Whatever he said was carefully recorded,
and made publicly known. Men of rank felt honoured when
he shook hands with them ; and when the awful hour for his
execution had arrived, and he stood under the gallows, he
would address the throng of people assembled as spectators.
The women, of course, relished the exciting scene even more

POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS. 125

than the men, and cried with all their heart. Now, as
Honest Heinrich was innocent, he did not like to have any
fuss made about him ; so, when he stood under the gallows,
he only asked that he might be permitted to play a " Last
Farewell " upon his dear fiddle. The judge said he would
not deny the last request of a dying sinner. " Pray, your
worship!" cried the Jew, who had mingled with the
spectators, and who rejoiced in his heart at the turn which
the money affair had taken, " Pray, your worship, do not
allow him his fiddle ; his music will do us mischief!" But
the judge took no notice of the Jew, and said, " Play, my
lad, but make it short ; we have not much time to lose."

Then Honest Heinrich took his fiddle and played. One
stroke with the bow, and all the people began to wabble.
Another stroke, and every one lifted up his right leg. A
third stroke, and the dancing began in earnest. The judge,
the clergyman, the doctor, the hangman, the Jew, women
with their babies in their arms, ladies with their smelling-
bottles in their hands ; in short, every one present, old and
young, danced with the utmost exertion. Even the very
dogs which had followed their masters, raised themselves
upon their hind-legs and danced, profusely perspiring like
all the people.

" Hold ! stop ! hold !" cried the exhausted judge, " Thy
life is spared ; only put aside that dreadful fiddle !"

As soon as Honest Heinrich heard the judge's promise of
acquittal he ceased playing and came down the steps from
the gallows. At the foot of the steps he found the Jew lying
prostrate on his back. " Confess directly," said Honest
Heinrich, " how you came by the bag of money, or I shall
give you a little private performance, with a brilliant cadence
at the end, you know !" In a moment the alarmed Jew
stood upon his legs again, and exclaimed, " Upon my
honour, I stole it !"

Then they hanged the Jew upon the gallows. As for
Honest Heinrich, he continued his wanderings in the world,
and soon made his fortune. When he had become rich, he
went home again to his village, and courted his neighbour's
daughter, who had formerly jilted him when he was poor,

i

126 POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS.

but who loved him now dearly, not because he was rich
(she said) but on account of his former poverty. Soon they
married, and were happy ever after.

THE POPE'S WIFE.

There are several modifications current of the story
of the Jew in the Thicket just told. A similar story
which in olden time was popular in England, is given
under the heading 'A Mery Geste of the Frere and
the Boye,' in Ritson's Pieces of Ancient Popular Poetry,
London, 1791. Again, a somewhat similar story is current
in Greece. A lad has a flute given to him by some super-
human being. He goes to the market-place of the town,
where piles of crockery are exhibited for sale. As soon as
he begins to play, all the pots, jugs and basins fly about in
the air and clash against each other until they are broken to
pieces. The personage whom he compels to dance in the
thorns is a priest. *

Perhaps the most tragic incident of this kind is the sad
fate of the Pope's wife, related by the Wallachians. It need
scarcely be said that it does not concern the Pope of Rome,
who, as everyone knows, has no wife. But in Wallachia
the common village priest of the Greek Church is called
Pope, and may marry. He generally avails himself of the
permission.

As regards Bakala, whose music, as we shall presently
see, killed the Pope's wife, various tricks of his are on
record, which clearly show that he was a great fool, some-
what resembling the German Till Eulenspiegel, who had
perhaps more happy ideas than many persons who have
passed for wise.

Well, Bakala, one fine day, took it into his head to
ascend a high mountain, merely for pleasure, and for the
sake of boasting. Arrived at the top of the mountain he

* ' Griechische und Albanische Marchen, gesammelt von J. G. v.
Hahn;' Leipzig, 1864; Vol. I., p. 222, and Vol. II., p. 240.

POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS.

was fortunate enough to make the acquaintance of a well-
disposed spirit, who offered him a present from the clouds.
The articles from which Bakala was invited to select a
keepsake looked mean and shabby, like those which people
generally consign to the lumber-room. Bakala, however,
examined them carefully, and chose an old and dusty bag-
pipe ; for he imagined, as some people are apt to do, that he
was madly fond of music. Moreover, the sound of the bag-
pipe— this Bakala soon discovered — had the power of
making everyone dance.

When Bakala had come down from the mountain he
engaged himself as shepherd to a village Pope in the valley.
Every day he led the sheep into the fields, and blowing his
bagpipe he made them caper and jump into the air like
grasshoppers. And when, one morning, his master had
sneaked out before him into the fields, and had hid himself
in some bushes of sloes and dog-roses to watch his servant's
strange proceedings, Bakala made the Pope dance as well
as his flock.

The Pope was a soft-hearted sort of man. Quietness he
loved above all things in the world ; for its sake no sacrifice
appeared to him too great. As to his wife, she was of a
different disposition. To say the truth, she was just the
reverse of her husband. She had more courage in her little
finger than he had in all his limbs. His Yes was her No,
and when he called a thing white she was sure to declare
that she had long since found it to be very black indeed.
Neither would she believe in the power of Bakala's bagpipe.
When the poor Pope, after his return from the sloes and
dog-roses, showed her his tattered clothes and scratched
limbs, all the sympathy he got from her was, " Tush ! tush !
nonsense ! If I were as soft-hearted as some people are said
to be, I might perhaps pity you."

"Well, my dear," replied the cowed husband, "you
shall hear him to-night. I want to convince you "

" Convince me ?" cried the Pope's wife : " Fudge ! I to
be frightened by a bagpipe ? Let him come on !"

Then the Pope thought that it was time to withdraw for
the sake of quietness. But in the evening he took Bakala

128 POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS.

aside, and desired him just to serenade their mistress for a
little while under the window.

Before Bakala commenced playing the Pope sat down on
the ground and bound two heavy stones to his feet by way
of precaution, while his wife busied herself in the upper
story of the house. No sooner had Bakala begun his per-
formance than she danced so furiously that she made the
whole house shake. Bakala played faster and faster ; her
stamping grew louder and louder. She danced until she
had actually stamped a hole in the floor, through which
she descended into the lower story. The Pope peeped
into the room ; and when he saw what had happened he
felt sorry, and he beckoned Bakala to leave off playing.
But, alas ! he beckoned too late ! The poor lady had
danced herself to death.

Now, one might have thought the Pope would have
dismissed Bakala, telling him that his services were not any
further required. But this is just precisely what he did
not do. On the contrary, he kept Bakala in his service,
and treated him even better than before. *

THE TWO HUNCHBACKS.

The story of the two Hunchbacks is widely diffused. It
is told in Ireland as well as in Germany and Italy; moreover
it is said to be also current in Spain. There are, of course,
many varieties of it in these countries. Compare, for
instance, the Irish narrative of Lusmore, in 'Fairy Legends
and Traditions of the South of Ireland, by T. Crofton
Croker,' with the one given here, which has been obtained
from the country people in Rhenish Prussia.

On St. Matthew's day, in the year 1549, a poor hump-
backed musician was returning late at night to Aachent
from a village where he had been playing at a wedding.

* ' Wallachische Marchen,herausgegeben von A. Schott;' Stuttgart,
1845, p. 228.

f Aix-la-Chapelle.

POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS. I2Q

Being in a half drowsy state, he took but little heed of
time or place, and so he passed the Minster without
concerning himself about anything particularly, just as
the large clock in the tower boomed midnight. The sound
startled him, especially as at the same time there arose
in the air a strange whirring like the unearthly sound
of owls and bats on the wing. It now occurred to him
that this was the night of quarter-day, and he quickened
his steps to escape the terrors of the ghost's hour and
of apparitions. Nervously he turned into the Schmied-
strasse (Smith-street) as the nearest way to his home,
which was in the Jakobstrasse (James-street). But on
reaching the Fish Market, — what did he see ! All the
stalls glistened with innumerable lights, and about them
were seated a large party of richly-dressed ladies, feasting
on dainty viands served in golden and silver dishes, and
drinking sparkling wine from crystal goblets. The musician,
much frightened, endeavoured to hide himself in a corner ;
for, he had not the least doubt that he saw an assemblage
of witches. But it was too late; one of the ladies nearest
him had already observed him, and she conducted him
to the table.

"Don't be frightened!" said the lady to the musician,
who stood before her with chattering teeth and trembling
knees: "Don't be frightened; but, play us some merry
tunes, and thou shalt be paid for it."

The poor hunchback had no choice but to take up his
violin, and to amuse the strange company as long as they
pleased. Having quickly set aside the stalls with everything
upon them, the witches — among whom the poor hunchback
thought he recognised several ladies of high position from
the town — whirled round in pairs to the sound of his fiddle.
But the strangest thing was that the longer the fellow
continued to play, the finer and fuller his performance
appeared to him; so that he really thought he must be
either dreaming, or there must be a whole band of violins
and flutes placed behind him which joined in his performance.

Now the Minster clock struck a quarter to one; all the
dancers instantaneously stopped, visibly exhausted, and

130 POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS.

everything was reinstated in its former order. Hesitating,
the musician looked on, uncertain whether he ought to
stay any longer, or whether he might go; when the lady
who had engaged his services came up to him and said:
'Brave musician! thou hast done thy work to our content,
and shalt now receive thy recompense."

While saying the words she pulled off his jacket, and,
before he was aware of it, she had slipped behind him, and
at one grasp relieved him of his hump. Who so happy as
the disburthened fiddler ? In thankfulness he was just going
to throw himself on his knees before his benefactress, — when
the clock struck One, and in a moment, ladies, lights, and
dishes were gone, and the musician found himself at dark
night standing alone in the middle of the Fish Market.
Bewildered, he put his hand to his back, doubting lest the
adventure had been merely a confused dream. But, no ; it
was reality ! The hump was gone, and the happy fellow
rejoiced in feeling as upright as man can be. Moreover, his
joy was still increased when he took up his jacket, which
lay before him on the ground. Perceiving it to be un-
accountably heavy, and thrusting his hands into the pockets
to ascertain the cause, he found that both pockets were filled
with money. Doubly happy, he hastened home, and in
thankfulness he made the next morning an offering of his
fiddle to his Patron Saint, under whose image in the church
he hung it as a glorious relic to be venerated by his children
and his children's children for ever.

Now, the marvellous affair created, as may easily be
understood, an immense sensation in the town. People
went to the church to look at the fiddle ; and whenever the
lucky musician showed himself in public, a knot of curious
idlers hovered around him, anxious to get a peep at his back.
Moreover, his good fortune, as may likewise be easily under-
stood, aroused the envy of his rivals in his profession.

The most envious of these professional brothers possessed
himself a tolerably respectable hump, which annoyed him
all the more, since he was not less vain than envious.
His estimation of his personal appearance was, however,
exceeded by that of his musical accomplishments.

POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS. 131

" How surprised they will be !" said he to himself: " If
that wretched scraper could please them, I am sure I have
only to treat them with a few of my inimitable flourishes, and
I shall be a straight man and a man of property in no time !"

It was at midnight of St. Gerhard's day when the vain
virtuoso repaired to the Fish Market. The old clock of the
Minster had already boomed the last stroke announcing the
twelfth hour, when he arrived at the place. He actually
found there a large party of ladies, just as he expected, and
they invited him to play. Confidently he stepped forward,
and having bowed with a smile which he was wont to
assume whenever he appeared before the public, he threw
his fiddle-stick across the strings and extemporized a few
rapid passages up and down, to show at once his superior
skill. But, how wretchedly provoking ! Never in his life
had he produced such miserable tones; they sounded so
execrably thin and poor, as if the strings had been stretched
over a piece of solid wood instead of a violin. Enraged, he
renewed his exertions, but only to render the matter worse ;
for, now he produced a noise so horribly ear-piercing that
he thought there must be standing behind him a whole
chorus of whistling and screeching sneerers accompanying
his performance.

Highly exasperated, he tucked his violin under his arm,
and walked up to the dancing witches. Then boldly ad-
dressing one of the richly-attired ladies, in whom he believed
he recognised the wife of the burgomaster of the town, he
said : —

"Ah, Madam! I wonder what your husband, our
respected burgomaster would say if he knew of your night-
excursions on the broom-stick ! But that is your own affair.
All I care for is my due reward, if you please."

With these words he threw off his jacket and turned
round. The lady quickly uncovered a silver dish, from which
she took the hump of the former musician, and before the
vain virtuoso was aware of it, she had pressed it on his back
beside the other hump.

The clock had struck One, and the witches were already
on their broom-sticks riding through the air homewards, when

132 POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS.

the musician recovered from his shock. He slowly put his
hand to his back, hoping that perchance he might only have
had a bad dream. But no ! it was all right,— or rather all
wrong. There remained now nothing for him to do but to
take up his jacket and make the best of his way home.
But the jacket felt so unusally heavy; — could there, perhaps,
be gold in it to make up in some measure for the cruel
infliction ? Eagerly he rummaged the pockets ; but what
should he find ? A few heavy stones and rubbish.*

THE PARSON'S ADVICE.

This tale of the Manx people is almost literally copied
from ' The History and Description of the Isle of Man, by
George Waldron, London, 1744.'

" A man, one day, was led by invisible musicians for
several miles together; and not being able to resist the
harmony, followed till it conducted him to a large common,
where a great number of people were sitting round a table,
and eating and drinking in a very jovial manner. Among
them were some faces which he thought he had formerly
seen ; but he forbore taking any notice, or they to him ; till,
the little people offering him drink, one of them whose
features seemed not unknown to him, plucked him by the
coat, and forbade him, whatever he did, to taste anything he
saw before him. ' For, if you do,' added he, ' you will be
as I am, and return no more to your family.'

The poor man was much affrighted, but resolved to obey
the injunction. Accordingly, a large silver cup, rilled with
some sort of liquor, being put into his hand, he found an
opportunity to throw what it contained on the ground.
Soon after, the music ceasing, all the company disappeared,
leaving the cup in his hand ; and he returned home, though
much wearied and fatigued. He went the next day and
communicated to the minister of the parish all that had

* ' Deutsche Marchen und Sagen, gesammelt von J. W. Wolf.'
Leipzig, 1845 ; P- 472-

POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS. 133

happened, and asked his advice how he should dispose of
the cup : To which the parson replied, he could not do
better than devote it to the service of the church. And this
very cup, they say, is that which is now used for the con-
secrated wine in Kirk Merlugh."

RELICS OF THE GOBLINS.

The old tradition embodied in the preceding story
from the Isle of Man, is also current, — with various
modifications, — in the north of Germany, in Denmark, and
in Sweden. Afeelius, in his interesting account of Swedish
popular superstitions, mentions some curious notions on this
subject. The country people in Sweden still preserve an old
belief that if a person drinks of the contents of a beaker,
offered to him by the goblins inhabiting the mountains,
he loses all recollection of the past, and must become
one of them. Several cups are said to have been purloined
from these mysterious beings by persons who stealthily
avoided partaking of the proffered liquor. Some are still
shown in churches, to which they were presented by the
purloiners ; and it is asserted that these oddly-shaped
vessels were formerly used in the Communion Service.

The goblins in Sweden have their principal meetings at
midnight before Christmas, and their amusements consist
chiefly in music and dancing. They generally assemble in
those isolated spots among the mountains where are found
large stones resting on pillars, around which they delight
to dance. It is considered decidedly dangerous to encounter
them at their pastimes on Christmas Eve.

Many years ago, — some say it was so far back as in the
year 1490, — a farmer's wife in Sweden, whose name was
Cissela Ulftand, distinctly heard, on Christmas Eve, the wild
music of the goblins who had assembled not far from her
house. The farm in which the good woman lived is called
Ljungby, and the group of curiously-placed stones around

134 POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS.

which the goblins had congregated is well known to many
people; indeed, almost everyone in Sweden knows the
Magle-Stone.

Well, when Mistress Ulftand heard the music, she spoke
to one of her farm-servants, a strong and daring young
fellow, and induced him to saddle a horse and to ride in the
direction of the Magle-Stone, that he might learn some-
thing about the mysterious people, and tell her afterwards
all he had seen. The lad rather liked the adventure ; he
lost no time in mounting his horse, and was soon galloping
towards the scene of the music and rejoicing. In
approaching the Magle-Stone, he somewhat slackened his
speed ; however, he drew quite near to the dancers.

After he had been gazing a little while at the strange
party, a handsome damsel came up to him and handed him
a drinking-horn and a pipe, with the request that he would
first drink the health of the King and then blow the pipe.
The lad accepted both, the drinking-horn and the pipe ; but,
as soon as he had them in his hands, he poured out the
contents of the horn, and spurring his horse he gallopped
off over hedges and ditches straight homewards. The whole
company of goblins followed him in the wildest uproar,
threatening and imploring him to restore to them their
property ; but the fellow proved too quick for them, and
succeeded in safely reaching the farm, where he delivered
up the trophies of his daring enterprise to his mistress.
The goblins now promised all manner of good luck to the
farmer's wife and her family, if she would return to them
the two articles ; but she kept them, and they are still
preserved in Ljungby as a testimony to the truth of this
wonderful narrative.

The drinking-horn is of a metallic composition, the nature
of which has not been exactly ascertained ; its ornaments
are, however, of brass. The pipe is made of the bone of
a horse. Moreover, the possession of these relics, we are
told, has been the cause of a series of disasters to the owners
of the farm. The lad who brought them to the house died
three days after the daring enterprise, and the day following,
the horse suddenly fell down and expired. The farm-house

POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS. 135

has twice burnt down, and the descendants of the farmer's
wife have experienced all kinds of misfortunes, which to
enumerate would be not less laborious than painful. It is
only surprising that they should still keep the unlucky horn
and pipe.

THE GOLDEN HARVEST.

This is a genuine Dutch story. A long time may have
elapsed since the hero of the event recorded was gathered to
his fathers. Howbeit, his name lives, and his deeds will
perhaps be longer retained by the people in pleasant
remembrance than the deeds of some heroes who have made
more noise in the world.

An old village crowder, whose name was Kartof, and
who lived in Niederbrakel, happened once, late in the night,
to traverse a little wood on his way home from Opbrakel,
where he had been playing at a dance during the wake. He
had his pockets full of coppers, and felt altogether mighty
comfortable and jolly ; for the young folks in Opbrakel had
treated him well, and the liquor was genuine Old Hollands.
But, there is nothing complete in this world, as the saying
is, and as old Kartof was presently to experience to his
dismay, when he put his hand into his pocket for his match-
box. Had he not just filled his old clay pipe in the pleasant
expectation, amounting to a certainty, that he should indulge
in a comfortable smoke all the way home ? And did he not
feel, with a certain pride, that he deserved a good smoke
after all his exertions with the fiddlestick ? But what use
was it to rummage his pockets for the match-box ! It
certainly was not there, and must have been lost or left be-
hind somewhere.

" The deuce ! " muttered old Kartof, " If I had only a bit
of fire now to light my pipe, I should not care for anything
else in the world, I am sure ! "

Scarcely had he said these words, when he espied a light
gleaming through the bushes. He went towards it, but it
was much further off than it at first appeared to him ;

136 POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS.

indeed, he had to go more than a hundred yards into the
brush-wood before he came up to it. He now saw that it
was a large fagot burning, around which a party of men and
women, joined hand in hand, were dancing in a circle.
"How odd!" thought old Kartof; but being a man
accustomed to genteel society, he was at no loss how to
address them politely ; so, taking off his hat, he said : —

" Ladies and Gentlemen ! Excuse me. I hope I am not
intruding too much if I ask the favour of your permission to
help myself to a little fire to light my pipe."

He had not even quite finished his speech, when several
of the dancers stepped forward and handed him glowing
embers in abundance. Now, when approaching him they
perceived that he carried a violin under his arm, they
importuned him to play for them to dance, intimating that
he should be well rewarded for his services. " Why not ? "
said old Kartof : " It is only about midnight, and I can
sleep to-morrow in the day-time ; it will not be the first
time that I have gone to bed in the morning."

While talking in this way, he tuned his instrument ;
and soon he struck up his best tunes, one after the other.
But, though he played ever so much, he could never play
enough, the dancers were so insatiable ! Whenever his arm
sank down from sheer fatigue, they threw a golden ducat
into the sound-hole of his violin, which pleased him
immensely, and always animated him to renew his exertions,
especially also as they did not neglect to refresh him
occasionally with a remarkably fine-flavoured Schiedam,
from a bottle so oddly-shaped that he had never seen any-
thing like it, so funny it was. He could not help smiling
whenever he looked at the bottle.

Gradually his violin became heavier — of course, that
was from the golden ducats which the dancers continually
threw into it. But also his arm became heavier, and at
last old Kartof felt altogether too heavy, sank softly down,
and fell asleep.

How long he lay in this state no one knows, nor is ever
likely to know. But, thus much is certain, when old Kartof
awoke the day was already far advanced, and the sun

POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS. 137

shone brightly upon his face. He rubbed his eyes and
looked about, doubtful whether he was a man of property
or whether he had only dreamt of golden ducats. There
was the violin lying in the grass near his feet. He hastily
took it up; — it felt as light as usual. He shook it; — no
rattling of ducats. He held it before his face and peeped
into the sound holes; — to be sure, there was something
in it, yellow and glittering like gold. He shook it out
on the grass; — what should it be? — a score or two of decayed
yellow birch-leaves.

Disappointed, old Kartof rose to his feet to look around
whether he could not find the place where the fire
had been.

Yes, there it was! Some embers were still glimmering
in the ashes. This appeared to him more odd than any-
thing else he had experienced. But old Kartof, after all,
took the matter quietly enough. He lighted his pipe, and
taking up his violin set out on his way home, resolving
as he went never to go to that confounded place again
after twelve o'clock at midnight.*

GIPSIES.

There prevails in popular traditions much mystery res-
pecting gipsies. No wonder that this should be the case,
since these strange vagabonds are in most countries so
very different from the inhabitants in their appearance
and habits; and their occupations are often so well
calculated to appeal to the imagination of superstitious
people, that a gipsy is regarded by them almost as a
sorcerer. His better-half not unfrequently pretends to be
a soothsayer, and he is often a musician. However
different the gipsy hordes which rove about in European
countries may be from each other in some respects, they

* 'Niederlandische Sagen, herausgegeben von J. W. Wolf;'
Leipzig, 1843 ; p. 466.

138 POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS.

are all fond of music, magic, and mysterious pursuits.
Among the gipsy bands in Hungary and Transylvania
talented instrumental performers are by no means rare ;
and in Russia, the gipsy singers of Moscow enjoy a wide
reputation for their musical accomplishments. It is told,
— not as a myth but as a fact, — that when the celebrated
Italian singer Signora Catalan! heard in Moscow the most
accomplished of the gipsy singing-girls of that town, she
was so highly delighted with the performance that she took
from her shoulders a splendid Cashmere shawl which the
Pope had presented to her in admiration of her own talent,
and embracing the dear gipsy girl, she insisted on her
accepting the shawl, saying that it was intended for the
matchless cantatrice which she now found she could not
longer regard herself.

There is a wildness in the gipsy musical performances,
which admirably expresses the characteristic features of
these vagrants. Indeed theirs is just the sort of music
which people ought to make who encamp in the open air,
feed upon hedgehogs and whatever they can lay hand on,
and profess to be adepts in sorcery and prophecy.

The following event is told by the peasants in the
Netherlands as having occurred in Herzeele. A troop of
gipsies had arrived in a valley near that place. They
stretched a tight rope, on which they danced, springing
sometimes into the air so high that all who saw it were
greatly astonished. A little boy among the spectators cried :
" Oh, if I could but do that ! "—

" Nothing is easier," said an old gipsy who stood near
him : " Here is a powder ; when you have swallowed it,
you will be able to dance as well as any of us."

The boy took the powder and swallowed it. In a
moment his feet became so light that he found it impossible
to keep them on the ground. The slightest movement
which he made raised him into the air. He danced upon
the ears of the growing corn, on the tops of the trees, — yea,
even on the weather-cock of the church-tower. The people
of the village thought this suspicious, and shook their heads,
especially when they furthermore observed a disinclination

POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS. 139

in the boy to attend church. They, therefore, consulted
with the parson about the boy. The parson sent for him,
and got him all right on his legs again by means of exorcism ;
but it was a hard struggle to banish the potent effects of the
gipsy's powder.*

The gipsies were formerly supposed to be descendants of
the ancient Egyptians. The German peasants call them
Taters,f a name indicating an Asiatic origin ; and it has been
ascertained that they migrated from Western India. The
roving Nautch-people in Hindustan are similarly musical
and mysterious.

THE NAUTCH-PEOPLE.

The Nautch-people in Hindustan are not only singers
and dancers who exhibit their skill before those who care to
admire and to reward them ; but they possess also
dangerous charms.

In a popular story of the Hindus, called ' Chandra's
Vengeance ' we are told of a youth who, on hearing the
music of the Nautch-people at a great distance, is irresistibly
compelled to traverse the jungle in search of them. When,
after twelve day's anxious endeavour to reach them, he
discovers their encampment, Moulee, the daughter of the
chief Nautch-woman, approaches him singing and dancing,
and throws to him the garland of flowers which she wears
on her head. He feels spell-bound, and the Nautch-people
offer him a drink which, as soon as he has tasted it, makes
him totally forget his family and his dear home. So he
remains with the Nautch-people, and wanders with them
about the country as one of the company.

Again, in a Hindu story called ' Panch-Phul Ranee,' a
Rajah, or King, is enchanted by the Nautch-people, so that
he finds his happiness in roving with them from place to
place, and in beating the drum for the dancers. His
enchantment is accomplished in this way : He had set out

* ' Niederlandische Sagen, herausgegeben von J. W. Wolf ; 'Leipzig,
1843 ; p. 648.

f Taters is evidently synonymous with Tartars.

140 POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS.

on a journey, leaving his wife and infant son behind. One
day he happened to fall in with a gang of Nautch-people,
singing and dancing. He was a remarkably handsome man,
and the Nautch-people, on seeing him approach, said to each
other " How well he would look beating the drum for the
dancers !" The Rajah was hungry and told them that he
required some food ; whereupon one of the women offered
him a little rice, upon which her companions threw a certain
powder. He ate it, and the effect was that it made him
forget his wife, child, rank, journey, and whatever had
happened to him in all his life. He willingly remained
with the Nautch-people, and wandered about with them,
beating the drum at their performances, full eighteen years.
His son, the prince, being now grown up, could no longer
be detained from setting out in the world in search of his
beloved father. After many fruitless attempts the prince
discovered his father among the Nautch people, — a wild,
ragged-looking man whose business it was to beat the drum.
The joyful prince summoned the wisest doctors in the king-
dom to restore the Rajah to his former consciousness ; but
their exertions did not at first prove at all successful. In
vain did they assure the old drummer that he was a Rajah,
and that he ought to remember his former greatness and
splendour. The old man always answered that he remem-
bered nothing but how to beat the drum ; and, to prove his
assertion, he treated them on the spot with a tap and roll
on his tom-tom. He really believed that he had beaten it
all his life.

However, through the unabated exertions of the doctors,
a slight remembrance came gradually over him ; and
by-and-by his former mental power returned. He now
recollected that he had a wife and a son. He also recog-
nized his old friends and servants. Having reseated himself
on the throne, he governed as if nothing had ever occurred
to interrupt his reign. *

* 'Old Deccan Days; or Hindu Fairy Legends, current in Southern
India.' Collected from oral tradition, by M. Frere. London, 1868 ;
PP- 139. 273.

POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS. 14!

THE MONK OF AFFLIGHEM.

The aim of the present series of popular stories
demands that some notice should now be taken of such
musical legends as breathe a thorough Christian spirit.
Several of these are, as might be expected, very beautiful ;
but they are familiar to most readers. One or two which
are less well known may, however, find a place here.

The legend of the Monk of Afflighem bears some re-
semblance to the beautiful tradition of the Seven Sleepers.
If it fails to interest the reader, the cause must be assigned
to the simple manner in which it is told rather than to the
subject itself.

Towards the end of the eleventh century occurred in the
Abbey of Afflighem, in Dendermonde, East Flanders, a most
wonderful event, the pious Fulgentius being at that time
the Abbot of the monastery.

One day, a monk of very venerable appearance, whom no
one remembered to have seen before, knocked at the door of
the monastery, announcing himself as one of the brother-
hood. The pious Abbot Fulgentius asked him his name,
and from what country he had come. Whereupon the monk
looked at the Abbot with surprise, and said that he belonged
to the house. Being further questioned, he replied that he
had only been away for a few hours. He had been singing
the Matins, he said, in the morning of the same day in the
choir with the other brothers. When, in chanting, they
came to the verse of the ninetieth psalm, which says :
" For, a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday !"
he pondered upon it so deeply that he did not perceive when
the singers left the choir, and he remained sitting alone,
absorbed by the words. After he had been a while in this
state of reflection, he heard heavenly strains of music, and
on looking up he saw a little bird which sang with a voice
so enchantingly melodious that he arose in ecstacy. The
little bird flew to the neighbouring wood, whither he followed
it. He had been only a little while in the wood listening

K

142 POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS.

to the heavenly song of the bird ; and now, in coming back
he felt bewildered, — the appearance of the neighbourhood
was so changed he scarcely knew it again.

When the pious Abbot Fulgentius heard the monk speak
thus, he asked of him the name of the Abbot, and also the
name of the King who governed the country. And after the
monk had answered him and mentioned the names, it was
found to the astonishment of all that these were the names
of the Abbot and the King who had lived three hundred
years ago. The monk startled, lifted up his eyes, and said :
"Now indeed I see that a thousand years are but as one day
before the Lord." Whereupon he asked the pious Abbot
Fulgentius to administer to him the Holy Sacraments ; and
having devoutly received them, he expired.*

THE PLAGUE IN GOLDBERG.

The inhabitants of Goldberg, a town in Germany,
observe an old custom of inaugurating Christmas, which
is peculiar to themselves. Having attended divine service,
which commences at midnight on Christmas Eve, they
assemble at two o'clock to form a procession to the
Niederring, a hill situated close to the town. When the
procession has arrived at the top of the Niederring, old and
young unite in singing the Chorale Uns ist ein Kindlein heut
geboren ("For us this day a child is born"). As soon as this
impressive act of devotion is concluded, the town band
stationed in the tower of the old parish church performs on
brass instruments the noble Chorale A llein GottinderHoh
sei Ehr (" AH glory be to God on High"), which in the
stillness of the night is heard over the whole town, and even
in the neighbouring villages.

The origin of this annual observance dates from the time
when the town of Goldberg was visited by a deadly plague
called Dcr schwarze Tod (" The black Death"). According

* ' Niederlandische Sagen, herausgegeben von J. W. Wolf;' Leipzig,
1843. p- 230.

POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS. 143

to some accounts the awful visitation occurred in the year
I553 > at aM events this date appears to have been assigned
to it on an old slab embedded in the wall of the parish
church of Goldberg; but the inscription has become so much
obliterated in the course of time, that no one can make out
the year with certainty. Thus much, however, is declared
by all to be authentic : The plague spread throughout the
town with frightful rapidity. The people died in their houses,
in the streets, everywhere, at night, and in the day-time.
Some, while at their work, suddenly were stricken and fell
down dead. Some died while at their meals ; others while
at prayers ; others in their endeavours to escape the scourge
by hastening away from the doomed town. Indeed, it was
as if the Angel of Death had stretched out his hand over
the place, saying " Ye are all given up to me !"

The plague raged for some weeks, and then quietness
reigned in Goldberg. The few survivors had shut them-
selves up solitarily in their houses, not knowing of each
other; for, no one now ventured into the street; neither
did anyone open a window, fearing the poisonous air ; for
the corpses were lying about, and there remained none
living to bury the dead.

Such was the condition of Goldberg in the month of
December, just before Christmas. On Christmas Eve
one of the solitary survivors, deeply impressed with the
import of the holy festival, attained the blessing of a
firm trust in the wisdom of the inscrutable decrees of
Providence. He thought of the happy time of his child-
hood when his parents lighted up for him the glorious
Christmas tree; and this recalled to his mind the simple and
impressive Christmas hymn which his mother had taught
him to recite on the occasion. Strengthened by devout
contemplation, he ventured to open the window. The night
was beautiful, and the air wafted to him so pure and
delicious that he resolved to leave his prison. At the
second hour after midnight he went out of the house, and
bent his steps through the desolated streets towards the
Niederring. Arrived at the top of the hill he knelt down
and sang from the depth of his heart the Christmas hymn.

144 POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS.

His voice was heard by another solitary survivor, who
perceiving that he was not, as he had supposed, the only
person still living in Goldberg, gained courage and likewise
from his hiding place repaired to the Niederring, and
kneeling down joined the singer with sincere devotion.
Soon a third person made his appearance, slowly drawing
near like one risen from the grave. Then a fourth, a fifth,
until the number of them amounted to twenty-five; and
these were all the inhabitants of Goldberg who had escaped
the ravages of the Black Death.

Uns 1st ein Kind - lein heut ge - born,

— J C r-e*J ^t — . — £=—

Gott

*=?

m

?w^

uns!

~~

Von ein'r Jung - frau ; aus - er - korn.

Gott mit

uns!

Gott

mit

i r i

uns ! Wer will

wi - der

a J

uns!

i ' I 'nn~ I ' j" ~l U/

The Christmas Chorale sung in the refreshing mountain
air wonderfully invigorated their desponding spirits. They
arose and solemnly vowed henceforth to unite in Christian
fellowship, with reliance upon the wisdom of the divine
ordinances. The next day they buried their dead; and
when their vow became known in the neighbourhood, many
good people were drawn to Goldberg. The town soon
revived, and prospered more than ever.

The inhabitants have not forgotten the visitation which
befel their forefathers, but remember it in humiliation; and
this is a lasting blessing.*

'Deutsche Volksfeste, von F. A. Reimann;' Weimar, 1839; p. 218.

POFULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS. 145

FICTIONS AND FACTS.

Knowledge is, of course, to superstition as light is to dark-
ness ; still, some nations endowed with a lively imagination,
although they are much advanced in mental development,
cling to the superstitions of their forefathers, since the super-
stitions accord with their poetical conceptions, or are
endeared to them by associations which pleasantly engage
the imaginative faculties.

Besides, in countries where the inhabitants frequently
witness grand and awful natural phenomena, their poetical
conceptions are likely to be more or less nourished by these
impressive occurrences, however well acquainted they may
be with their natural causes.

It is therefore not surprising that many superstitious
notions, such as have been recorded in the preceding
stories, should be found in civilized nations.

Moreover, in some countries, a more careful research into
the old traditions harbouring among the uneducated classes
of the people has been made, than in other countries. It
would, therefore, be hasty, from the sources at present
accessible, to judge of the degree of mental development
attained by individual nations. The Germans are not less
rational than the English ; nevertheless, a far greater
number of Fairy Tales have been collected in Germany than
in England.

An enquiry into the musical traditions of the different
European races is likely to increase in interest the
more we turn to the mythological conceptions originally
derived from Central Asia, and dispersed throughout
Europe at a period on which history is silent, but upon
which some light has been thrown by recent philological
and ethnological researches.

A word remains to be said • on the musical myths of
modern date. We read in the biographies of our celebrated
musicians fa'cts which would almost certainly be regarded
as fictions, were they not well authenticated. On the other

i46

POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS.

hand, it would not be difficult to point out modern
myths referring to the art of music. Tempting as it might
be to cite the most remarkable examples of this kind,
and anecdotes relating to musicians in which fiction is
strangely mingled with fact, it is unnecessary to notice them
here ; for, are they not written in our works on the history
of the art and science of music ?

DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED
RACES.

THE first music of a dramatic kind originated probably
in the passion of love. Savages, unacquainted with any
other dramatic performances, not unfrequently have dances
representing courtship, and songs to which these dances are
executed. However rude the exhibitions may be, and
however inartistic the songs may appear, — which, in fact,
generally consist merely of short phrases constantly
repeated, and perhaps interspersed with some brutish
utterances, — they may nevertheless be regarded as repre-
senting the germ from which the opera has gradually
been developed. Dancing is not necessarily associated
with dramatic music ; the dances of nations in a low degree
of civilization are, however, often representations of desires
or events rather than unmeaning jumps and evolutions.

Even in the popular dances of nations in an advanced
state of civilization love is generally the most attractive
subject for exhibition by action and music. The Italian
national dances, — the Saltarello, the Monferrino, and several
others, — have an unmistakable meaning ; or, as Mac Farlane
says, " there is a story in them which at times is told in a
very broad, significant, and unsophistical way. The story
is a sort of primitive courtship, varied by the coyness or
coquetry of the female dancer, and animated by the passion
and impatience of the wooer." * The same may be said
of the Spanish Bolero and Fandango.

:;: ' Popular Customs, etc., of the South of Italy,' by Charles Mac
Farlane, London, 1846 ; p. 68.

148 DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES.

The excitement of the chase appears to be another
cause of the origin of dramatic music. The savage, in
pursuing the animals which he requires for his subsistence,
experiences successes and disappointments which are to
him highly interesting, and the recollection of which he
enjoys. He naturally feels proud of results which he
could not have achieved without agility and shrewdness,
and he delights in showing to his friends how he proceeded
in accomplishing his feat. Besides, savages have a strong
instinct for imitation, almost like monkeys. Hence their
fancy for counterfeiting the habits of certain animals which
they chase and with the peculiarities of which they are
generally well acquainted.

The aborigines of Australia have a dance in which they
imitate the movements of the Kangaroo. The women
sing, and produce a rhythmical accompaniment by beating
two pieces of wood together; while the men, who represent
the Kangaroos, produce sounds peculiar to these animals.
The North American Indians have an Eagle Dance, a
Bear Dance, and even a Dog Dance. The natives of
Kamtschatka have a dance in which they cleverly imitate,
not only the attitudes and tricks of the Bear, but also
its voice. The peasants in Finland, in the beginning of
the present century, still occasionally performed a similar
dance, or rather action. The Aleutian Islanders, who have
various pantomimic dances executed with masks frightfully
ugly, have also a favourite representation in which a sports-
man shoots a beautiful bird, and afterwards cries for grief at
having killed it ; when, suddenly, the beautiful bird revives,
changed into a beautiful woman. The sportsman, of course,
falls over head and ears in love with her, and thus all ends
well.* This story is enacted with recitations accompanied
by some musical instruments.

Next to love and the chase, it is probably war which
elicited the first attempts at dramatic music. To recall to
the memory by a lively description with gesticulations, the

* 'Voyage pittoresque autour du Monde, par M. Louis Choris;'
Paris, 1822; p. 9.

DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES. 149

valiant deeds, clever stratagems, and glorious achievements
of the warriors after the battle, must have been always
a fascinating entertainment to the victorious combatants.
The Dyaks in Borneo, who preserve the heads of their
slain enemies suspended near their hearths as ornamental
trophies, perform a war-dance in which some of the
combatants, gaily decorated, cleverly act a scene by
seizing swords and handling them in various expressive
ways. The Scalp-Dance of the North American Indians,
performed in celebration of a victory, may be described as a
kind of histrionic entertainment, which generally takes
place at night by torchlight. The singular procedure of
the Maori warriors in New Zealand in a certain dance,
of projecting all of them their tongues simultaneously at
fixed intervals, appears to be a pantomimic expression of
defiance or contempt for the enemy.

The Corroborie Dance of the natives of Australia had
perhaps also originally reference to warlike exploits, although
this does not appear at once evident to European witnesses.
Twenty or more men paint their naked dark bodies to
represent skeletons, which they accomplish by drawing white
lines across the body with pipe-clay, to correspond with
the ribs, and broader ones on the arms, legs, and the head.
Thus prepared they perform the Corroborie at night before
a fire. The spectators, placed at some distance from them,
see only the white skeletons, which vanish and re-appear
whenever the dancers turn round. The wild and ghastly
action of the skeletons is accompanied by vocal effusions
and some rhythmical noise which a number of hidden
bystanders produce by beating their shields in regular time.

Traces of dramatic music in its most primitive condition
may also be discovered in representations of occurrences and
scenes like the following :

Wilhelm Steller, in his 'Description of Kamtschatka'
(published in the German language in the year 1774), says
that the inhabitants of that country possess an astounding
talent for imitating the manners and conduct of strangers
whom they happen to see. During their long evenings one
of their chief amusements consists in acting extempore

150 DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES.

comedies, in which the habits of any foreigners with whom
they have become acquainted, are cleverly mimicked and
ridiculed.

The missionary W. Ellis remarks of the Polynesian
Islanders that "they had songs which, when recited on public
occasions, were accompanied with gestures and actions
corresponding to the events and scenes described, and which
assumed in this respect a histrionic character. In some
cases, and on public occasions, the action represented a kind
of pantomime."* Other travellers have given more detailed
accounts of these performances. During Captain Cook's
first voyage round the world, Banks and Solander, who
accompanied him, witnessed in one of the Society Islands,
in the year 1769, a comedy with music and dancing,
performed by the natives, the subject of which was the
adroitness of a thief, and his subsequent capture. At Cook's
second circumnavigation, during the years 1772-75, he was
treated by the Society Islanders with a somewhat similar
comic opera called Teto (i.e. " The Thief "). G. Forster,
who was with Cook, remarks that the dialogue, which of
course he was unable to understand, seemed to be closely
connected with their actions. One of them kneeled down,
and another beat him and plucked him by the beard. Then
two others were treated by the torturer in the same
unceremonious manner; until one of them seized a stick
and gave him a sound thrashing in return. This formed the
conclusion of the first act, and the players withdrew.
The commencement of the second act was announced by
the musicians beating their drums. There were actresses
as well as actors engaged in the performance. t A more
detailed account of the dramatic attempts of the Polynesian
Islanders is given by W. Mariner, who, during his sojourn
with the natives, had the best opportunity of becoming

* ' Polynesian Researches,' by William Ellis ; London, 1827. Vol. I.,
p. 285.

f ' A Voyage round the World, in His Britannic Majesty's Sloop
" Resolution," commanded by Captain James Cook, during the years
1772-75 ;' by George Forster : London, 1777. Vol. I., p. 398.

DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES. 151

acquainted with their customs and amusements. His obser-
vations, which refer especially to the Tonga Islanders, show
that the actors recite sentences which are answered by a chorus
of singers. There is a great variety in their movements and
groupings. Occasionally they sing slowly, and afterwards
quickly for about a quarter of an hour. Sometimes they form a
semicircle, assume a bending position, and sing in a subdued
tone of voice a soft air ; which is soon again followed by a
loud and vehement recitation.*

Grotesque dresses and adornments are, of course, an
essential attribute in these entertainments. Neither are
buffoons wanting. According to B. Seeman, the entertain-
ment called Kalau Rere, which he witnessed in the Fiji
Islands, " with its high poles, streamers, evergreens, mas-
querading, trumpet-shells, chants and other wild music, is
the nearest approach to dramatic representation the Fijians
seem to have made, and it is with them what private
theatricals are with us. They are also on other occasions
very fond of dressing themselves in fantastic, often very
ridiculous costume ; and in nearly every large assembly
there are buffoons. Court fools, in many instances hunch-
backs, are attached to the chief's establishment. "t

Also the Negroes in Senegambia and Upper Guinea have
buffoons, who delight the people with their antics and acting
in processions and public festivities. Buffoons are popular
even in Mohammedan countries, where dramatic perfor-
mances are generally considered objectionable. Morier
states that in Persia the princes, governors of provinces,
etc., as well as the King, have a band of Looties, or buffoons,
in their pay, who are looked upon as a necessary part of
Persian state. They attend at merry-makings and public
festivals, and some of them are endowed with great

* ' An Account of the Natives of the Tonga Islands, in the South
Pacific Ocean, compiled and arranged from the extensive communi-
cations of Mr. William Mariner, several years resident in those Islands,
by John Martin; 'London, 1817. Vol. II., p. 309.

| ' An Account of a Government Mission to the Fiji Islands, in the
years 1860-61 ;' by Berthold Seeman; Cambridge, 1862. P. 116.

152 DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES.

natural wit. This was, for instance, the case with a
certain buffoon named Looti Bashee. " His dress, when
he came to the ambassador, was composed of a felt hat, the
crown of which was made like ours, but with two long ears
projecting before, and two behind. Others of his troop were
dressed in the same way ; all looked grotesque, and I
conjectured that nothing could give one a better idea of
Satyrs and Bacchanalians, particularly as they were attended
by a suite of monkeys headed by a large ape, which were
educated to perform all sorts of tricks. They carried copper
drums slung under the arm, which they beat with their
fingers, making a noise like castanets; others played the
tambourine ; and when all this was put into motion, with
their voices roaring in loud chorus, the scene was unique."*

Sir Robert Ker Porter witnessed at Bagdad, in the
beginning of the present century, a kind of musical drama
performed by men and boys, the latter being dressed like
females. " This amusement," he remarks, " is the only
one of a theatrical complexion known among the people. It
is often called for by the female part of the inhabitants ; but
I am told that with the men it is now very rare, the Pasha
so setting his face against it as to forbid the avowed existence
of hirable dancing-boys in his capital. "t There is a Turkish
theatre at Pera in which Turkish plays, adapted from the
Italian, are acted by Turkish actors, and Turkish women
appear unveiled upon the stage. £ The women in the
hareem, who in their diversions are only permitted to
employ slaves of their own sex, occasionally make them
act melodramas, the subject of which is generally a love
story.

The Indians in Mexico have some characteristic dances
in which scenes are pantomimically enacted referring to
Montezuma and to the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards.

*' A Second Journey through Persia, Armenia, and Asia Minor, etc.,'
by James Morier; London, 1818. P. 104.

f 'Travels in Georgia, Persia, Armenia, etc.,' by Sir Robert Ker
Porter; London, 1822; Vol. II., p. 272.

{ ' Travels in Greece, Russia, etc.,' by Bayard Taylor; London, 1859;
p. 282.

DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES. 153

In most of the entertainments, of which examples
have just been given, the music must necessarily par-
take of a dramatic character. Generally, the tunes are
not selected at pleasure, but certain tunes belong to
certain representations. The dramatic effect of the music
depends, however, chiefly upon its execution, which
naturally changes according to the action which it accom-
panies. Thus, if the actors represent a sentimental
or heart-rending scene, their vocal effusions will naturally
be in a subdued tone, and the sympathizing musicians will
touch their instruments delicately and slowly. If, on the
other hand, the actors represent some exciting or heart-
stirring scene, they will naturally raise their voices, and the
musicians will play louder and faster as a matter of course.
In fact, when their pulse beats quicker, the rhythmical flow
of their music, however rude and inartistic it may be,
becomes more animated unpremeditatedly. Such is the
most primitive condition, or the commencement of the
development of dramatic music. Let us now examine it
in a somewhat more advanced stage of cultivation.

The Javanese, who among the islanders of the Indian
Archipelago are renowned for their skill in the dramatic art,
generally use fabulous traditions from their own history, or
Hindu legends, as subjects for their performances, which
are acted exclusively by men. A full band of musicians
generally accompanies the drama. The instruments mostly
belong to the class called Instruments of Percussion, but
several of them are constructed with plates of metal which
produce a series of sweet tones, arranged according to
the pentatonic scale. Some of the Javanese airs, which
have been collected by Europeans, are very expressive, and
it might be instructive to musical enquirers, if some
really musical European visitor in Java would faithfully
commit to notation the orchestral accompaniments of
some of the most popular Javanese dramas. Madame Ida
Pfeiffer relates that she was treated in the house of a
Rajah, at Bandong, with a kind of pantomime in three
acts, the third of which represented a combat. "The
music that accompanied the combat," she remarks, " was

154 DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES.

very noisy and discordant; but, on the defeat of the one
party, a soft plaintive melody arose at some distance off.
The whole performance was really pretty and expressive." *
Sir Stamford Raffles, and other travellers, give similar
descriptions, and have besides much to say about the clever
puppet-shows of the Javanese, in which the characters of
dramas are represented by puppets, or by their shadows.
The Siamese are fond of theatrical performances.
According to Turpin's history of Siam, published in the
year 1771, " whenever they burn the body of a minister or
great man, a theatre is erected on the side of a river, where
the actors appear habited according to their parts ; and
during three days they never quit the scene from eight in
the morning till seven at night." De La Loubere, who
visited Siam in the year 1687, says that the subjects of the
dramas are " historical, in verse, serious, and sung by
several actors who are always present, and who only sing
reciprocally. One of them sings the historian's part, and
the rest sing those of the personages which the history
makes to speak ; but they are all men that sing, and no
women." About a century ago it appears to have been the
custom to employ only men as actors, although there were
female dancers. But, at the present day there are actresses,
at any rate in the palace of the King, where Sir John
Bowring saw them perform on several occasions. In one of
these entertainments " the actors were all females, almost
all girls. A few matrons, however, took the part of warriors,
monkeys, priests; and the three manageresses, or promp-
teresses, were not only old and ugly, but seemed very
spiteful, and on several occasions scolded and slapped the
ladies who required correction. One of them had the drama
written on black sheets in white letters before her, from
which she prompted the singers of the recitative. The story
began by the appearance of a monster monkey in a forest,
which is visited by a number of ladies of rank, one of whom,
after an unsuccessful struggle, the others having managed

* 'A Lady's Second Journey round the World,' by Ida Pfeiffer;
London, 1855; Vol. I., p. 211.

DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES. 155

to escape, the monster monkey contrives to carry off. She
is redeemed by the interference of a priest, whose temple is
in the forest. Afterwards we are introduced to a sovereign
Court, where all the ceremonies are observed which are
practised in daily life, the dresses being those ordinarily

worn, and most gorgeous they are There is a

battle, and rewards to the victors, and a crowning of a king's
son in recompense for his valour, and offerings to Buddha,
and a great feast, etc." * The principal performers act, but
do not speak. The tale is told in recitative by a body of
singers, accompanied by various instruments. The band
assisting generally consists of about twenty members who
play on wind instruments of the oboe kind, gongs, large
castanets above a foot in length, and several sonorous
instruments of percussion constructed with slabs of wood,
or plates of metal, somewhat similar to those of the
Javanese before mentioned.

The Cochin-Chinese are remarkably fond of dramatic
entertainments, which are generally of an operatic character
commemorating historical events. An English gentleman
who witnessed the performance of some of these plays
remarks of the actors : " Their singing is good, when the
ear has become accustomed to it ; and the modulation of
voice of the females is really captivating. "t Sir George
Staunton was evidently surprised to find that a kind of
historical opera, which he heard in the town of Turon
(called by the natives Hansan) contained recitatives, airs,
and choruses, which were, he says, " as regular as upon the
Italian stage." He adds : " Some of the female performers
were by no means despicable singers. They all observed
time accurately, not only with their voices, but every joint
of their hands and feet was obedient to the regular move-
ment of the instruments." J The band consisted of stringed

* ' The Kingdom of Siam.' By Sir John Bowring. London, 1857 •
Vol. II., p. 325.

t 'A Voyage to Coohin-China.' By John White. London, 1824;
p. 302.

| ' An Authentic Account of an Embassy from the King of Great
Britain to the Emperor of China,' etc. By Sir George Staunton.
London, 1797 ; Vol. I., p. 344.

156 DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES.

instruments, wind instruments, and instruments of per-
cussion. Sir John Barrow describes the theatre at Turon
as " a shed of bamboo." He relates : " In the farther
division of the building a party of comedians was engaged
in the midst of an historical drama when we entered ; but,
on our being seated they broke off, and, coming forward,
made before us an obeisance of nine genuflexions and
prostrations, after which they returned to their labours,
keeping up an incessant noise and bustle during our stay.
The heat of the day, the thermometer in the shade standing
at 81 deg. in the open air, and at least 10 deg. higher in the
building, the crowds that thronged to see the strangers, the
horrible crash of the gongs, kettle-drums, trumpets, and
squalling flutes, were so stunning and oppressive that
nothing but the novelty of the scene could possibly have
detained us for a moment. The most entertaining, as well
as the least noisy part of the theatrical exhibition, was a
sort of Interlude, performed by three young women for the
amusement, it would seem, of the principal actress, who
sat as a spectator in the dress and character of some ancient
Queen, whilst an old eunuch, very whimsically dressed,
played his antic tricks like a scaramouch or buffoon in a
Harlequin entertainment. The dialogue in this part differed
entirely from the querulous and nearly monotonous recita-
tion of the Chinese, being light and comic, and occasionally
interrupted by cheerful airs which generally concluded with
a chorus. These airs, rude and unpolished as they were,
appeared to be regular compositions, and were sung in
exactly measured time. One in particular attracted our
attention, whose slow melancholy movement breathed the
kind of plaintiveness so peculiar to the native airs of the
Scotch, to which indeed it bore a close resemblance."

Probably the air was founded on the pentatonic scale,
which is common in the music of the Chinese and Javanese,
and of which traces are to be found in the Scotch popular
tunes.

"The voices of the women are shrill and warbling, but
some of their cadences were not without melody. The
instruments at each pause gave a few short flourishes, till

DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES. 157

the music gradually increased in loudness by the swelling
and deafening gong. Knowing nothing of the language,
we were of course as ignorant of the subject as the majority
of an English audience is of an Italian opera." *

A curious mode of paying the actors, which prevails
in Cochin-China, may be mentioned here. An English-
man who was present at a theatrical performance in
the town of Kangwarting, relates that the Quong, or
governor of the province, bore the expense of the enter-
tainment. The musical drama was performed in a large
shed before a great concourse of spectators. "The Quong
was there squatted on a raised platform in front of the
actors with a small drum before him, supported in a diagonal
position, on which he would strike a tap every time any part
of the performance pleased him; which also was a signal
for his purse-bearer to throw a small string of about twenty
cash to the actors. To my taste, this spoiled the effect of
the piece; for, every time the cash fell among them there
would be a silence, and the next moment a scramble for the
money; and it fell so frequently as almost to keep time with
the discordant music of the orchestra. The actors were
engaged by the day, and in this manner received their
payment, the amount of which entirely depended upon the
approbation of the Quong and the number of times he
encored them by tapping his drum. I could see that many
of them paid far more attention to the drum than they did to
their performance ; though I suppose, the amount thrown to
them is equally divided. Sometinies the string on which the
cash was tied, unluckily broke, and the money flew in all
directions; by which some of the bystanders profitecj, not
being honourable enough to hand it up to the poor actors. "t

The Burmese have dramas performed by men, and also
comedies represented by means of marionettes, ot-puppets.
In the latter entertainments the figures are cleverly managed
by persons situated beneath a stage which is hidden by a

* 'A Voyage to Cochin-China in the years 1792 and 1793,' by John
Barrow. London, 1806 ; p. 295.

f 'A Seaman's Narrative of his Adventures in Cochin-China,' by
Edward Brown. London 1861; p. 221.

L

158 DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES.

coarse curtain. The dialogues between these figures are
much relished by the common spectators. At any rate, as
they are apt to elicit uproarious mirth, they may be supposed
to be often irresistibly comic. The real dramatic per-
formances of the Burmese are acted by professional players,
generally in the open air. The principal characters of the
piece usually consist of a prince, a princess, a humble lover,
a slave, and a buffoon. The female characters are re-
presented by boys dressed in female attire. The dresses
are handsome and gorgeous. However, the best theatrical
performances take place in a building. On these occasions,
there are two musical bands, one being placed on each side
of the scene. The principal musical instruments of such
an orchestra are of the percussion kind, containing a series
of sonorous slabs of wood, or plates of metal, and some-
what resembling the Javanese instruments, but being
attuned according to a diatonic order of intervals, instead
of the pentatonic order. Also a curious contrivance, con-
sisting of a set of drums suspended in a frame, each drum
having a fixed tone, is used on these occasions. More-
over, the Burmese orchestra generally contains several
wind instruments of the oboe and trumpet kind, as well
as cymbals, large castanets of split bamboo, and other
instruments of percussion, which serve to heighten the
rhythmical effect of the music. The story of the drama is
usually taken from ancient Burmese history. Captain
Henry Yule, who has given a more detailed account of the
Burmese plays than any. previous .traveller, remarks that
when he was at Amarapoora he procured copies of some of
the pjays which he saw acted, from which it was evident to
him that, while the general plan of the drama, comprising the
more dignified and solemn part of the dialogue, was written
down at considerable length, the humorous portions were
left to the extempore wit of the actors. The following
scenes are from a drama commemorating an episode from
the life of Odeinna, King of Kauthambi, a country in India.
This drama, which was obtained by Captain Henry Yule,
is a translation from the Pali, and the whole is in Burmese
verse of four syllables.

DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES. 159

(The scene opens in the Capital of Kauthambi. The
king is seated on his throne, with his courtiers around him.)

King. — (Addresses them) " Great nobles and chiefs ! "

Nobles.—" Phra, ( Lord ) ! "

King. — "Are my subjects happy and prosperous?"

Nobles. — " Since Your Majesty's happy reign began,
religion has shone forth with splendour ; the seasons have
been propitious; the earth has been bountiful ; the rich and
the poor, men and women, have enjoyed peace and prospe-
rity, and the happy years have been to them as water to the
lotus."

(Scene closes.)

Himalaya Mountains. — Enter a Nat*

Nat. — " Now I am a Nat ! When, and in what body was
I before ? Ah ! looking with a Nat's eyes and understanding,
I perceive I was a hermit in these wilds. 'My companion,
Alakappa, is still here. I will seek my friend."

(Approaches a cave.)

Hermit. — " Who art thou that comest suddenly to my
cell in the garb and appearance of a Nat, with the nine
jewels in thy crown ?"

Nat. — " O holy Hermit, of a good lineage, who ever
livest in the forest, tell me all thou desirest, so that nought
may remain unsaid ! "

Hermit. — " O Nat, who by stupendous merit has reached
the exalted abode ! I have nothing particular to ask ; but
numerous elephants come around my cell and do great
damage. Be pleased to forbid this for the future."

Nat. — " O holy Hermit ! I will give thee a golden harp,
and by the virtue of its sounds, arrd thy songs accompanying,
elephants will come or go as thou commandest."

From this passage it is evident that the Burmese ascribe
to music a great power, and the same is also indicated in
several other remarks occurring in the drama. It is,
however, unnecessary here to give the entire drama, which

* « Nats are sprites corresponding to the Hindu Dewas whose place
they take in the Burman Buddhist system. They are supposed to have
been the objects of Burman worship in pre-Buddhistic times.

l6o DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES.

the reader will find in the interesting book above alluded
to.* Suffice it to notice the following passages from a
subsequent scene.

(The young Prince Oodeinna enters. The Hermit presents
him with the golden harp and teaches him a tune and song. The
Prince retires to a tree, ascends it, and plays. The wild elephants
of the forest come around him, and are obedient to his voice and
harp, etc. — )

Captain Yule remarks that " the comic stage-effects of
the characters addressing the orchestra is very frequent,"
and there are several indications of the kind in the present
drama. Take, for instance, the following : —

(Scene in the solitary wilds of Himalaya').

Enter an immense Bird.

BIRD (speaks). — " From the beginning of the world
there have been numerous sorts of birds : cranes, ducks,
crows, peacocks, and others. I am not of their sort. My
power would extinguish them all. My home is amidst vast
mountains and pathless forests, and ever and anon I descend
from them. I will now go to the country of Kauthambi to
seek for food. So now (to the band), as I am about to fly,
strike up a victorious melody, O leader of the orchestra ! "

The bird commences his flight, and, soaring aloft, says : —

" This is a beautiful country, and full of golden palaces,
and lovely gardens with gorgeous-coloured flowers and
shrubs. Nevertheless, I must look out for something to
eat. Thus, turning north and turning south, looking up
and looking down, I spy outside the King's palace a piece
of flesh, red, red as blood. It is mine, sure as the food in a
monk's begging-dish ; it cannot escape. I will stoop at it,
seize it, and fly away ; and now that I may easily reach the
large tree in my own mountain from this country of Kauth-
ambi, play a soft and simple air, O leader of the orchestra ! "

* 'A Narrative of a Mission, sent by the Governor-General of India
to the Court of Ava, in 1855,' by Captain Henry Yule. London, 1858 ;
p. 368.

DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES. l6l

(The bird seizes the Queen, mistaking her red mantle for
flesh, flies away with her to the mountains, and deposits
her in a tree. The bird comes as if to devour her,
when the Queen claps her hands at him, which frightens
the bird, and he flies away) .

This scene shows that the Burmese employ in their
dramas loud and soft music, according to the events repre-
sented ; and that the orchestra is conducted by a leader or
music-director. The following example, from another scene,
indicates the employment of the full orchestra fortissimo in
conformity with the action.

Forest. A Hunter.

HUNTER. — " I and my dog will now go and kill what-
ever enemy appears. With my bow and my dog I care not
what I encounter, elephants, deer, or what not ; so come
along (to his dog) brave Tiger. (To the band.) Now as I
go on a grand expedition, burst forth like thunder ! "

A detailed description of a kind of opera which was per-
formed at Singapore is given by Charles Wilkes;* but, as the
actors were transient visitors to. Singapore, who came from
the neighbourhood of Madras, their play must have been
a specimen of the popular Hindu dramas. Its title was 'The
Results of Misplaced Friendship ; ' the words were recited
in a " monotonous recitative," accompanied by a band
of instrumental performers. As regards the plot of the
piece, suffice it to say that it had a moral aim, and that
a Brahmin and a clown were the most amusing charac-
ters of the Dramatis Personse. The clown displayed
much cleverness in mimicking a European in his dress and
manners. The ' Select Specimens of the Theatre of the
Hindus,' translated from the original Sanskrit, by R. H.
Wilson, London, 1835, contain but few allusions to music;
but these are ancient dramas, and the Hindus possess, as
R. H. Wilson in his interesting Introduction points out,
different kinds of theatrical entertainments. There was in

* ' Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition, during the
years 1838-42,' by Charles Wilkes ; London, 1845 ; Vol. V. ; p. 389.

1(52 DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES.

former time no building appropriated to the public per-
formance of dramas. The Kings had in their palaces a
kind of music hall, called Sangita Said, in which were
given entertainments consisting principally of music and
dancing, and occasionally of dramatic representations.

Turning to Thibet, we meet with actors who are also
singers, dancers, and acrobats. They perform in the streets,
courtyards, and other open places of the towns, and their
entertainments are enlivened by a musical band, and by
the witticisms of their clowns. The actors generally wear
masks.*

In China, dramatic performances, enacted by itinerant
players^ take place not unfrequently in the Joss-houses, or
houses of religious ceremonies. The plays generally have
reference to some remarkable event in the lives of the
earliest Chinese Emperors, and almost always combine the
comic with the, tragic. The musical band occupies the
back part of the stage behind the actors. The expenses of
the entertainment are sometimes defrayed by private persons.
Thus, oh a certain occasion three performances were given in a
town daily, for three days in succession, in honour of " The
Mother of Heaven," a goddess who presides over the welfare
of sailors, the defrayers of the entertainment being three
merchants who had just received the returns of a lucky
venture.t Female characters are represented by boys and
eunuchs. The plot of a Chinese drama, which was per-
formed at Tien-sing before the English Ambassador, in a
temporary theatre erected opposite to his yacht, is described
by Sir G. Staunton, as follows : —

" An Emperor of China and his Empress are living in
supreme felicity, when on a sudden his subjects revolt. A
civil war ensues, battles are fought; and, at last, the arch-
rebel, who is a General of cavalry, overcomes his sovereign,
kills him with his own hand, and routes the imperial army.

* 'Travels in Tartary, Thibet, and China, during the years, 1844-46,'
by M. Hue ; Vol. II.; p. 238.

t ' Twelve Years in China,' by a British Resident, (John Scarth),
Edinburgh, 1860 ; p. 56.

DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES. 163

The captive Empress then appears upon the stage in all the
agonies of despair naturally resulting from the loss of her
husband and her dignity, as well as the apprehension of that
of her honour."

How interesting would it be to the student of National
Music to possess an exact notation of the music belonging
to this scene, and to ascertain in what manner the intense
emotions and vehement passions represented are expressed
in the Chinese musical compositions !

" Whilst she is tearing her hair, and rending the skies
with her complaints, the conqueror enters, approaches her
with respect, addresses her in a gentle tone, soothes her
sorrows with his compassion, talks of love and adoration,
and like Richard the Third with Lady Anne, in Shakespeare,
prevails in less than half-an-hour on the Chinese Princess to
dry up her tears, to forget her deceased consort, and to yield
to a consoling wooer. The piece concludes with a wedding
and a grand procession."*

The Japanese -are fond of dramatic representations, and
have special buildings for their performances. Captain
Golownin describes the theatre in Matsmai, the capital
city of the island of Yesso, as " a large and pretty high
building. At the .back is the stage, which, as with us,
has a raised floor. ^From the stage to the front wall, where
the entrance is situated, two rows of seats are placed for the
spectators. In the middle, where we have the pit, there is
a vacant space in which straw mats are laid down for the
spectators. As this space is much lower than the stage,
those in front do not intercept the view from those behind.
There is no orchestra, either because the Japanese perform
no music in their theatres, or because the musicians are
reckoned among the actors."

The place for the orchestra was probably at the back of
the stage, as in the Chinese theatre. Captain Golownin

* ' An Authentic Account of an Embassy from the King of Great
Britain to the Emperor of China, etc., taken chiefly from the papers of
His Excellency the Earl of Macartney,' by Sir George Staunton ;
London, 1797. Vol. II. ; p. 31.

164 DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES.

visited the building only in the day-time, and when the house
was empty, the permission to see a piece performed having
been refused to him by the government of the capital.

" Opposite the stage, where in our theatres are the
Emperor's box and the galleries, there are only a bare wall
and the door for the entrance. There were no ornaments in
the interior; the walls were not even painted. The dresses and
decorations are kept in a separate building. The subjects of
their plays are chiefly memorable events in Japanese history ;
but they have also other representations which are of a comic
nature, and which serve to amuse the public."* Moreover,
the Japanese have annual religious festivals in which scenic
representations take place, and which are very popular. The
dramas usually commemorate the deeds of ancient heroes or
a myth ; some have for their subject a fanciful love-story ;
and some are especially designed to enforce a certain moral
precept. According to Siebold and Fisher, many of the
Japanese plays are very instructive and moral. They are
often so constructed that not more than two actors appear on
the stage during a scene. There are no actresses, the female
characters being represented by boys. It is not unusual for
the actors to pass through the pit on their way to the stage,
in order to give the audience an opportunity to admire their
appearance and costume as closely as possible.

Such dramatic music of extra-European countries as has
been derived from Europe does not come within the scope of
our present inquiry. It happens, however, not unfrequently
that the European music is to some extent modified, by
being interspersed with national tunes of the extra-European
country into which it has been introduced, or by being
performed in a peculiar manner. Whenever this is the case,
it deserves the special attention of the student of national
music.

The Tagals, or the aborigines of the Philippine Islands,
have theatrical performances in bamboo buildings. The
characters consist principally of fairies, demons, and other

* 'Japan and the Japanese,' by Captain Golownin (of the Russian
Navy); London, 1853. Vol. II.; p. 149.

DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES. 165

supernatural creatures ; but, the musical part of these enter-
tainments is said to contain much which has been borrowed
from the Spaniards. Probably this is especially the case in
Manilla. Besides the principal theatre, in which the actors
are Spaniards, Manilla has two theatres of the natives.
In South America we find, as might be expected, Spanish
and Italian operas. In Lima the orchestra is deficient ;
Spanish dances, as the Bolero, Fandango, Don Mateo, are
often performed instead of our ballets. At the theatre in
Mexico, Spanish dances are frequently introduced between
the plays. The Teatro de Tacon in Havana, said to be
one of the finest edifices of the kind in the world, has singers
who perform Italian operas, as in Europe. The female
spectators sit in places separate from those of the men.

There can hardly be a doubt that many operatic enter-
tainments, which are now secular, had originally a sacred
character. The ancient nations performed religious dances
with pantomimic representations. Also the Chinese at the
time of Confucius thus enhanced their sacred ceremonies.
The Burmese, at the present day, sing and dance by the
coffin of a deceased priest. They are Buddhists. Funeral
dances are common with several uncivilized races. Our
Christian ancestors, during the earlier centuries of the
Middle Ages, performed sacred dances in the church. The
Christian priests of the Abyssinians still dance at certain
religious' ceremonies. In the Cathedral of Seville, boys,
from the age of twelve to seventeen, dressed in an old
Spanish costume, annually execute a ballet every evening
during the Ottaye del Corpus. Again, sacred dances with
recitations, dialogues, and hymns are performed in several
European countries during Christmastide. The Mysteries,
Miracle Plays, or musical-dramatic entertainments on
biblical subjects, so popular during the Middle Ages, have
not entirely fallen into disuse. Passion-Plays are still
occasionally performed by the peasantry in Bavaria, in the
Tyrol, and in Moravia. The "Mayings," or popular
rejoicings with music, dancing, and processions, remains of
which are still to be found in England as well as on the
Continent, had probably in pagan time also a religious

l66 DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES.

character, as they were intended to welcome the approach
of the sunny season. Turning to America, we meet in
Peru with musical entertainments which were introduced
among the Indians by the Spanish monks, who accompanied
Pizarro's army, and who dramatized scenes in the life of
Christ, and had them represented to facilitate by this
attractive means the conversion of the heathen aborigines.
These plays are no longer performed in the larger towns of
Peru, but are still kept up by the villagers of the Sierra.
Good Friday especially is celebrated by them in this manner;
and on Palm Sunday an image of the Saviour seated on an
ass is paraded through the principal streets of the town or
village.* In Brazil we find on Hallelujah Saturday (between
Good Friday and Ea.ster Sunday) the popular ceremony of
burning effigies of Judas Iscariot, the traitor, in company
with dragons, serpents and demons ; and there are besides
several other religious celebrations in which music is
employed in combination with fire-works and dramatic
representations.

Comic scenes were not excluded from the old Mysteries of
mediaeval time. On the contrary, they appear to have been
highly relished by the worshippers, and contributed much
to the popularity of the entertainments. In Paris a building
was erected, in the year 1313, principally for dramatic
performances relating to the Passion of Christ and the
Resurrection, enacted with music and dancing.1 Soon,
attempts were made to vary these entertainments by the
occasional introduction of some play founded on a myth, or
on a wonderful event recorded in secular history, or also by
the admission of profane comedies and farces. Although
music, instrumental as well as vocal, did not constitute the
chiefest point of attraction in these plays, it certainly con-
tributed much to the impressiveness of the whole, t During
the second half of the thirteenth century, Adam de la
Hale wrote dramatic plays with songs, founded on secular

* ' Travels in Peru, by J. J. von Tschudi.' London, 1847 ; p. 377.
f ' Wesen und Geschichte der Oper, von G. W. Fink.' Leipzig,
1838 ; p. 53-

DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES. 167

subjects. These plays, called Gieux (jeux), might perhaps be
called operettas, since they contained dialogues interspersed
with songs. In fact, although our opera may be said to
date from about the year 1600, secular plays in which music
and poetry were intimately associated were known long
before that time. The ancient Greeks used in their dramas
the vocal music of choruses and the instrumental accom-
paniment of flutes and other instruments, in close connection
with the poetry. The latter art was, however, the principal
one, while in our present opera tmi$ic is the principal art.
As regards the secular dances of the ancient Greeks,
it may be observed that some of them were similar to the
pantomimic exhibitions which are still relished by several
nations. The Pyrrhic dance, which was executed according
to fixed rules, to the sound of the flute, depicted a combat of
warriors. Lord Broughton, during his stay in Albania, was
struck with the resemblance between some of the dances of
the Albanians and those of the ancient Greeks. He notices
especially the Pyrrhic dance.* The war-dance of the Jajis,
a wild and hostile tribe in the mountainous districts of
Afghanistan, is probably quite as picturesque and exciting
as was the Pyrrhic dance. A European eye-witness of the
war-dance of the Jajis states that it is performed by about
twelve or fifteen men placed in a ring before a number of
spectators who are arranged in a semi-circle. " The per-
formers commenced chanting a song, flourishing their
knives overhead, and stamping on the ground to its tones ;
and then each gradually revolving, the whole body moving
round together and maintaining the circle in which they
first stood up. Whilst this was going on, two of the party
stepped into the centre of the ring and went through a
mimic fight, or a series of jumps, pirouettes, and other
movements of a like nature, which appeared to be regulated
in their rapidity by the measure of the music ; for, towards
the close of the performance the singing ceased, and the
whole party appeared twirling and twisting about in a con-
fused mass amidst the flashing of their drawn knives, their

* 'Travels in Albania, etc., by the Right Hon. Lord Broughton.'
London, 1855 ; Vol. I., p. 145.

l68 DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES.

movements being timed by the rapid roll of their drums. It
was wonderful that they did not wound each other in these
intricate and rapid evolutions with unsheathed knives. On
the conclusion of the dance the whole party set up a shrill
and prolonged yell, which reverberated over the hills, and
was caught up by those in the neighbouring heights and
thus prolonged for some minutes. Whilst all this was going
on upon the heights around our camp, several parties of
armed Jajis ranged in columns, three or four abreast, and
eight or nine deep, followed each other in succession round
and round the skirt of our camp, all the time chanting
an impressive and passionate war-song in a very peculiar
sonorous tone that seemed to be affected by the acoustic
influences of the locality, which was a deep basin enclosed
for the most part by bare and rocky eminences and hills." *

Not less characteristic, and equally descriptive, are the
sword-dances of the Anazehs, in Syria, and of the warriors
in Little Thibet, which are not unfrequently acted with too
much reality, since the performers, having worked them-
selves up to a state of frenzy, are apt to forget that they
ought only to feign fighting.

Some of the sword-dances still in use in European
countries represent scenes with poetry and music. There
is, for instance, — or, at any rate, there was still in the
eighteenth century, — an ancient sword-dance occasionally
performed in some villages of North Germany, in 'which
the principal dancer, or " The King," addresses the people
in a speech.t Here may also be noticed the "Fool Play"
still popular in some villages of Northern England, which
is described as " a pageant that consists of a number
of sword-dancers dragging a plough, with music, and
with one, sometimes two, in very strange attire ; the
Bessey, in the grotesque habit of an old woman ; and
the Fool, almost covered with skins, a hairy cap on, and
the tail of some animal hanging from his back." And the

* ' Journal of a Political Mission to Afghanistan, by H. W. Bellew.'
London, 1862 ; p. 143.

f ' Das deutsche Volk, geschildert von Eduard Duller.' Leipzig,
1847 5 P- l83-

DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES. 169

sword-dance performed in the North Riding of Yorkshire,
from St. Stephen's Day till New Year's Day. "The
dancers usually consist of six youths dressed in white
ribands, attended by a fiddler, a youth with the name of
Bessey, and also by one who personates a Doctor. They
travel from village to village. One of the six youths acts
the part of the King in a kind of farce which consists chiefly
of singing and dancing, and the Bessey interferes while
they are making a hexagon with their swords, and is killed."*
The Cavalcade, or procession on horse-back, is supposed
to have been originally connected with the Mysteries of the
Middle Ages. It is still occasionally performed in Belgium,
and its Flemish name is * Ommegang.' A number of
persons dressed in historical and fanciful costumes ride on
horse-back and drive in carriages through the principal
streets of the town in which the Cavalcade takes place, with
the object of representing scenes from sacred or profane his-
tory, or allegorical subjects. The procession is made imposing
by the splendid dresses of the principal characters, by the
gorgeous gildings of their carriages, and the display of
baldachins and flags. This show is supposed to have been
introduced into the Netherlands by the Spaniards during
their former, possession of the country. At a certain
religious festival, held in Malines in the year 1838, the entire
Litany to the Virgin Mary was represented, each Invocation
being written on a beautiful flag, carried by a beautiful and
richly-dressed young girl, who was riding on a gorgeously-
caparisoned horse led by men. The Invocations : " Queen
of the Angels ! " " Queen of the Patriarchs ! " etc., —
were depicted by groups of characters in open carriages ;
each carriage, splendidly decorated, having the Virgin Mary
seated on a high throne, while at her feet were placed
picturesquely on steps the angels, patriarchs and prophets,
all of whom were dressed in their appropriate costumes,
and provided with their requisite attributes. Again,
at a festival which was held at Brussels, in September,

* ' Observations on Popular Antiquities, by John Brand, revised by
Henry Ellis.' London, 1813 ; Vol. I., pp. 396, 401.

170 DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES.

1839, two parishes of the town arranged a grand Cavalcade,
in which a scene was represented commemorating a
political event from the history of Belgium. Many of the
riders were dressed in mediaeval costume, while some
appeared in Oriental dresses. The sons and daughters of the
most influential citizens generally undertake the represen-
tation of the principal characters in these processions.
Music is, of course, an indispensable assistance for the
solemnity of such pageants. However, as recitations are of
secondary importance in them, or are even entirely omitted,
the first attempts at dramatic music are less traceable in
these remains of mediaeval entertainments than they are in
the rude amusements of savages noticed in the beginning of
this survey.

It has probably already occurred to the reader that the
" Opera of the Future," aimed at by Wagner, will be in some
respect a return to the opera in its infancy, inasmuch as it
will be devoid of the various artistically-written forms of
composition which greatly contribute to the clearness and
impressiveness of the music, and which Mozart has de-
veloped in his operas to the highest degree of perfection.
Much might be said on this subject, were here the proper
place for it. Enough if the facts which have been noticed
convince the reflecting musician that the contemplated
innovations alluded to might as well be termed retroces-
sions. Gluck was also a reformer of dramatic music,
who aimed at truth in its noble simplicity; but, his objection
to anything artificial in the opera did not mislead him to
disregard the artistic beauties de-pendent upon form, which
ensure the impressive total effect essential to a true work
of art.

Furthermore, the examples given in the preceding pages
will probably have convinced the reader that the origin
of the opera can be traced more minutely in the first
dramatic attempts of uncivilized races of the present time,
than by a reference to the theatrical performance of the
ancient nations. At any rate, the latter research does not
render the former superfluous ; they should go hand-
in-hand.

A SHORT SURVEY OF THE HISTORY
OF MUSIC.

THE perusal of Chronological Tables illustrating the
history of music must appear to many readers a dry
occupation. Still, it enables the lover of music to obtain
in a short time a comprehensive and clear view of the
gradual development of the art from the earliest period of
its cultivation recorded in history to the present day.
Perhaps a coloured chart contrived like the "Stream of
Time," which at a glance shows the great events in universal
history, might answer the purpose even better. There is no
disconnection in the progress of an art, though certain
occurrences may appear to the superficial observer as being
entirely accidental. A musical "Stream of Time" might
exhibit in various colours the natural connection between
the several branches of the art of music, and their
modifications conspicuous in its history.

Or, this might be achieved by the representation of
a tree. As in the genealogical tree which has been
published of Johann Sebastian Bach the proper relation
of the numerous members of his family is at once brought
clearly before the eyes of the inquirer, so might the growth
and spread of the different branches of the art of music be
indicated, exhibiting distinctly their highest degree of
culture, as well as their infancy and decay.

Diagrams of this kind are, however, only suitable for
a very condensed historical survey. More detailed infor-
mation is better conveyed by means of chronological tables,
such as Carl Czerny has compiled in his ' Umriss der

A SHORT SURVEY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

ganzen Musik-Geschichte' (' A Sketch of the whole History
of Music'), published at Mayence, in the year 1851. Carl
Czerny, of Vienna, was a very industrious man, who,
although he gave pianoforte lessons during the whole day,
nevertheless found time to write above nine hundred com-
positions, not to mention his innumerable arrangements of
operas, oratorios, symphonies, and overtures. That he
could engage in such laborious research as. the preparation
of his chronological tables must have required is certainly
surprising, especially as he was a very practical man with
regard to money-making, and there is probably no musical
occupation less likely to yield pecuniary advantage than is
the compiling of chronological tables. It used to be said
of Czerny that he was in the habit of composing while
he was giving pianoforte lessons. If this is no false
rumour, it perhaps accounts for the enormous number
of his compositions, as well as for the slight merit of most
of them. But, chronological tables he may have compiled
in this way without detriment to them, since they do not
require to be written with feeling, even less with inspi-
ration, but merely with careful discernment, and with
perseverance. Be this as it may, he certainly was an
eminent pianoforte teacher, as is proved by his having
instructed Liszt, Dohler, and other distinguished pianists.
His finger-exercises, or pianoforte-studies, have outlived
his other compositions, and his chronological tables will
probably be used for reference long after his finger-exercises
have been supplanted by more modern ones.

As the object is to supply the lover of music with an
historical survey, similar to that of Czerny, but on a smaller
scale, — it may be useful to notice the plan adopted by
Czerny.

He has divided his work into two Sections. The first
Section records the ancient traditions respecting the
origin of music, and gives an account of the music of the
nations before the Christian era, of the music of our fore-
fathers during the Middle Ages, and of the rise of our
modern tone-art. This Section is arranged in eighteen
Periods, thus : —

A SHORT SURVEY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC. 173

First Period.— The primitive Music of the Greeks until
the time of the Trojan War (B.C. 2000 — 1200). Mythic
and mythic-heroic Age. Beginning of the public games
and contests.

Second Period. — From the Trojan War until Pythagoras
(B.C. 1200 — 584). Gradual development of singing associ-
ated with poetry. Invention and improvement of different
Stringed Instruments, Wind Instruments, and Instruments
of Percussion. Encouragement given to artists by the
bestowal of great honours.

Third Period.— From Pythagoras until Aristoxenus of
Tarentum (B.C. 584—340). Highest development of all
the Arts in Greece. The Art of Music founded on fixed
rules.

Fourth Period. — From Aristoxenus until the Birth of
Christ (B.C. 340 — A.D. i). New Musical System. Decay
of the Arts.

Fifth Period. —From the Birth of Christ until Hucbald
(A.D.I — goo). Gradual decay of the Ancient Music. Origin
of the Christian Church-song.

Sixth Period. — From Hucbald until Franco of Cologne
(A.D. 900 — 1200). The first attempts in Polyphonic Har-
mony. Invention of Musical Notation and Measure of
Time.

Seventh Period. — From Franco of Cologne until Dufey
(A.D. 1200 — 1380). Invention and development of Counter-
point.

Eighth Period. — From Dufay until Ockeghem, or Ocken-
heim (A.D. 1380 — 1450). The elder Netherlandish School.
Developed Regular Counterpoint. Musical Notation fixed.
Composers according to the new system of Harmony.

Ninth Period. — From Ockeghem until Josquin des Pre"s
(A.D. 1450 — 1480). The newer or second Netherlandish
School. Artificial Counterpoint. Beginning of the re-
putation of the Netherlandish masters. In Italy and
Germany executive artists on the Organ, Clavichord, and
other instruments, make their appearance.

Tenth Period. — From Josquin des Pres until Willaert
(A.D. 1480 — 1520.) Commencement of the flourishing,

II

174 A SHORT SURVEY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

state of the Netherlandish masters, and their influence
upon all European countries. Masters in Counterpoint
arise in Germany. Meritorious teachers in Italy. French
musicians attain reputation in other countries besides in
France.

Eleventh Period. — From Willaert until Palestrina (A.D.
1520 — 1560). The Netherlandish masters institute Schools
in Italy and develope the art of music with great success in
that country. The Madrigal becomes the favourite kind of
composition of the Venetian School.

Twelfth Period. — From Palestrina until Monteverde (A.D.
1560 — 1600). Commencement of the flourishing state of
the Italian musical artists. Conclusion of the great
Netherlandish epoch. Refinement of the stiff Nether-
landish style. Romish School. Church Music of a high
degree of perfection.

Thirteenth Period.- ^From Monteverde until Carissimi
(A.D. 1600 — 1640). Commencement of Operatic Music.
First attempts in the Recitative style, in the melodious
song for a single voice (Monody) and in the Concertante
style.

Fourteenth Period. — From Carissimi until Alessandro
Scarlatti (A.D. 1640 — 1680). Improvements in the Recita-
tive and in the Dramatic Melody. Origin of the Cantata
and the Oratorio. Introduction of Concertante Instruments
to the song. Neapolitan School.

Fifteenth Period. — From Alessandro Scarlatti until Leo
and Durante (A.D. 1680 — 1720). Essential improvement
in the Recitative and in Dramatic Music. Increase of the
Orchestral Instruments. Development of Instrumental
Music. Rise of great Composers in Germany.

Sixteenth Period. — From Durante until Gluck (A.D.
1720 — 1760). Flourishing state of the Neapolitan School.
Reform in Melody. The highest art in Counterpoint in
Germany. Oratorios. German Composers study in Italy,
and write Italian Operas.

Seventeenth Period. — From Gluck until Haydn and Mozart
(A.D. 1760 — 1780). Reform in the style of the Opera.
Introduction of the Ensemble pieces and the Finales.

A SHORT SURVEY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC. 175

Rise of the French Opera. Development of Instrumental
Music.

Eighteenth Period.— From Mozart until Beethoven and
Rossini (A.D. 1780 — 1820). Great improvement of the
Orchestra, and of Instrumental Music in general. Develop-
ment of the German Operatic Style. Tone-artists of the
Vienna School. Beginning of the popularity of the
Pianoforte. Beethoven brings Instrumental Music to the
highest degree of perfection. Flourishing state of the
French Opera. With Rossini commences a new and
effective epoch in Italian Operatic Music. Numerous
Virtuosos on instruments. In the Opera, amalgamation
of different styles. In the most recent time, an undecided
direction.

Thus much about the Eighteen Periods noticed in
Section I. of Czerny's work. Only the first seven periods
are fully treated in this Section; the others form the subject
of Section II., which is divided into Three Principal
Epochs, thus : —

First Principal Epoch. — From the establishment of our
Theory of Harmony until the commencement of the Opera
(A.D. 1400 — 1600). Separation of the four chief nations:
i, France (with the Netherlands); 2, Italy (with Spain and
Portugal); 3, England; 4, Germany (with Bohemia,
Hungary, Poland, Sweden, and Denmark).

Second Principal Epoch. — From the commencement of
the Opera until the development of Instrumental Music and
Chamber Music (A.D. 1600 — 1700). Division of the Art of
Music into Church Music and Operatic Music. First
appearance of some distinguished performers on instruments.

1, Italy (with Spain and Portugal); 2, France (with the
Netherlands); 3, England; 4, Germany (with Bohemia,
Hungary, Poland, Sweden, and Denmark).

Third Principal Epoch. — From the development of Instru-
mental Music until the end of the Eighteenth Century (A.D.
1700 — 1800). Division of Church Music, Operatic Music, and
Instrumental Music. i, Italy (with Spain and Portugal);

2, France (with the Netherlands) ; 3, England ; 4, Germany
(with Bohemia, Hungary, Poland, Sweden, and Denmark).

1/6 A SHORT SURVEY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

After these Divisions and Sub-divisions follows an
alphabetically - arranged Register of the names of the
musicians who are mentioned in the different Periods
and Epochs. But also here we have Divisions and
Sub-divisions, so that the Register, in fact, consists of
six Indices, each containing the musicians of a certain
epoch or a certain country, from A to Z. The author
says that the plan of the work renders this arrangement
necessary ; but, as he does not prove his assertion, students
using the work for reference will probably arrive at the
conviction that one general Index, containing all the names
in alphabetical order, would be more convenient. Another
disadvantage is that the Indices are entirely restricted to
the names of musicians, no reference being made to im-
portant events relating to the history of music. In fact,
the chief aim of the work is to notice a great many musicians.
The number of composers, theorists, and performers entered
amounts to 1713, of whom 236 belong to the ancient Greeks
and Romans, 132 to the Middle Ages, and 1345 to European
nations from A.D. 1400 to 1800. Many of these musicians
have left no mark upon the history of their art, and their
names have justly fallen into oblivion. These might better
have been omitted. Of what use, for instance, can it be
to the student to be supplied with the names of the
musicians who played before Alexander the Great on the
occasion of his marriage with Roxanen, at Samarkand, in
the year B.C. 328 ? Especially among the 1345 composers
who distinguished themselves during the four centuries
from A.D. 1400 to 1800 are many who might now as well
have been left at rest. What possible advantage can the
student derive from a record of mediocre pianoforte
composers whose productions were not held in much esteem
even during their lifetime ? On the other hand, it was
prudent in the author not to extend his list beyond the
year 1800. The distinguished musicians of the present
century are known to readers who take an interest in the
history of the art, and who are most likely to use the book.
Anyhow, it would be a delicate task to admit the names of
living musicians, some of whom may still become more

A SHORT SURVEY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC. 177

celebrated than they are, while others may show that they
really are not so clever as they at first appeared to be.
It is impossible to assign his proper place in the history
of his art to an artist before he is dead.

Czerny has had the happy thought of placing in a
column before each chronological table short memoranda
of the events in general history of the time when the com-
posers lived. Nothing can be more advisable to a professional
musician than to make himself familiar with this column
of facts bearing directly upon his art. There can hardly
be a doubt that other artists, — especially painters and
sculptors, — generally possess more historical knowledge
than musicians. Perhaps their occupation suggests to them
more forcibly the value of such information. Be this as it
may, the music of an intelligent musician is better than
that of an ignorant, narrow-minded one; even for this
reason, musicians ought to study universal history, were it
not on account of the intimate connection of the cultivation
of the arts with the progress of civilization.

Moreover, if we are exactly acquainted with the political
and social conditions of the time in which a distinguished
artist lived, we are the better able to appreciate his merits.
Unfortunately, Czerny records the musicians under the date
of their birth. Thus, many are mentioned in the century
previous to that in which they flourished. Take for instance
Handel and Sebastian Bach : both were born in the year
1685, and produced their great works during the first half of
the eighteenth century. Now, if the plan of recording the
musicians under the date of their birth had been throughout
adhered to, the student might, as a general rule, surmise
the time of their activity to have been about half a
century later. But, of several celebrities the date of whose
birth is unknown, Czerny gives some year in which they are
known to have distinguished themselves, and this deviation
from the plan leads to confusion in the chronological
arrangement. True, it is impossible to determine exactly
the year in which the musician in his lifetime exercised the
greatest influence upon his art; but, this can be done as
nearly as possible by adopting his fortieth or fiftieth year as

178 A SHORT SURVEY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

that of his best period. Those who did not attain that age
might be noticed under a date referring to the period when
they most distinguished themselves, which was generally
the case during the last few years of their life.

Again, the mention of the musicians of each country
separately has too little advantage to justify the incon-
venience thereby occasioned to the student. Cherubini,
like Bellini and Donizetti, is classed with the Italian com-
posers ; he would, however, have been more properly placed
with the German composers. Rossini, when he wrote
' Guillaume Tell,' was more German than some musicians
born in Germany. Lulli, the founder of the old French
opera is certainly more properly mentioned with the French
musicians than with the Italian. Other examples could
be pointed out which evoke the question whether such a
complicated classification really serves a scientific purpose.

In the ' Chronology of the History of Music' offered in
the following pages, in which Czerny's tables have been of
great assistance, the aim has been to avoid the defects just
noticed. It will be seen that only a brief survey of the most
important events in the history of music has been attempted.
When the student has ascertained these, he will probably
choose to refer to some treatise on the history of music
instead of a more extensive chronological table. But the
latter may afterwards be of use to him inasmuch as it will
assist him in recalling to his memory in proper order those
facts with which he has become more minutely acquainted
by reading the treatise.

As some account of the mythological traditions respecting
the origin of music has already been given in the present
work, * there is no necessity to advert to them here.

The recorded dates of the Greek music with which
the survey commences must not be taken as authentic
until we arrive at about the seventh century before the
Christian era.

* Vol. I., p. 74.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY
OF MUSIC.

B.C.

Cadmus, from

2000

Music, with other arts and sciences,

Phoenicia, and

is introduced into Greece from Western

Cecrops, from
Egypt, settle in

Asia and Egypt.

Greece.

Abraham (1900).

1750

The Jews have vocal music with

Joseph (1750).

instrumental accompaniment. (Gen.,

Moses (1550).

Chap, xxxi., v. 26, 27).

The oracle of

1500

Hyagnis, in Greece, improves the

Delphi.

flute and invents the Phrygian Mode.

Daedalus, Gre-
cian sculptor

Marsyas, a distinguished flute-player,
invents a new species of flute made of

and architect,

metal.

invents the sails

" Linus ventures upon a musical con-

of ships, &c.

test with Apollo, and is killed by him.

"Then sang Moses and the children

of Israel." (Exod. xv.)

The Argonauts,

1300

Orpheus, lyrist, singer, poet, and law-

led by Jason,
sail to Colchis.

giver, composes hymns.

Hercules.

Amphion, lyrist, singer, and composer,

Theseus.

improves the Grecian lyre.

Triptolemus in-

Musseus, lyrist, sets music to the

troduces agri-

words of the oracles.

culture into

Greece.

Castor and Pol-

About this time the Greeks instituted

lux, Grecian

most of their public games in which

heroes.

musical contests formed part.

Tyrus, on the
coast of Phce-

1250

Olympus of Mysia, a celebrated flutist.
Daphnis of Sicily. To him is ascribed

nice, founded

the invention of the chalumeau, and of

by a colony of
Sidonians.

the bucolic poetry.

i8o

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

B. C.

Adrastus cele-

1250

Thamiris, singer and player on the

brates the first
Pythian Games
in honour of

kithara, a species of lyre, is chosen by
the Scythians for their King on account

Apollo.

of his musical accomplishments.

Amazons, or

1240

Euneus, a distinguished singer and

female war-
riors, from the

kithara-player of Greece. His descen-

Caucasus, in-

dants remain during many generations

vade Greece.

the privileged kithara-players at the

public festivities in Athens.

Troy taken by

1 200

Agias, a celebrated Greek musician

the Greeks

(o \

about the time of the destruction of

1184).

Troy.

Grecian heroes:

The invention of the Dorian Mode is

Menelaus,

ascribed to Lamyras of Thracia ; the

Agamemnon,
A chill es,

invention of the Lydian Mode, to

Ulysses.

Carius ; and the invention of the Ionian

Trojan heroes:

Mode, to Pythermus.

Priam, Hector,
Paris, .flineas.

Celmis, a priest of Creta, invents (or
probably improves) several instruments

of percussion.

Codrus, the last

IIOO

Ardalus, of Troezen, invents a new

King of Athens
(1070). Aboli-

species of flute for accompanying vocal

tion of Royalty.

music.

King Saul.

The Greeks about this time possessed

Cheops, the

various kinds of stringed instruments

builder of the

and wind instruments, and the names

greatest Pyra-
mid in Egypt.

of several musicians are recorded who

improved the instruments, or intro-

duced innovations in the construction

of the popular ones.

1050

David, King of Judah, musician and

poet. Psalms.

King Solomon
(1010-975).

King David institutes in Jerusalem a
School for vocal and instrumental music

(I. Chron., Chap, xv., v. 16).

Dido builds the

IOOO

Bardus, a King of Gallia, is said to

city of Car-

have introduced music into Western

thage on the
north coast of

Europe, and to have been the first of

Africa.

the singers known as the Bards.

Development of

900

Homer, singer and poet, born pro-

the Republics
in Greece.

bably in Chios. Iliad and Odyssey.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

iSl

B. C.

Lycurgus reforms
the Republic of
Lacedasmonia,

850

Hesiodus, singer and poet, born in
Boeotia. Simmicus, inventor of an

and gives laws

instrument with thirty-five strings,

to the Spar-

called Simmikon or Simmicium. Thale-

tans.

tas, of Creta, musician and poet, com-

poses in Sparta, under Lycurgus, the

laws and war-songs for the voice.

Phcecinus, of Greece, sketches the first

musical rules.

Rome founded by

800

Olympus, of Phrygia, flutist, invents

Romulus (754).

the Enharmonic scale.

72O

Archilochus, of Paros, singer, poet,

and instrumentalist.

Important improvements in the music

of the Greeks.

7OO

Tyrtasus, of Athens, poet, singer, and

trumpeter, composes war-songs for

Sparta against Messenia.

650

^TERPANDER, of Lesbos, lyrist, flutist,

and composer. Important progress in

the music of the Greeks.

Circumnavigation
of the coast of

625

Arion, of Lesbos, kithara-player,
singer and poet, invents the Dithy-

Africa under

rambs, or hymns of Bacchus, and

Necho, King
of Egypt (615).

improves the chorus-singing. He is
recorded to have healed sick persons

by means of music. The same is also

recorded of Menias, a Greek musician,

who lived about this time.

Nebuchadnezzar,
King of Baby-

6OO

Stesichorus, of Sicily, composes
choruses with instrumental accom-

lon, carries the
Jews into cap-
tivity.

paniment, besides airs to his poems.
Alcseus, of Mytilene, singer, lyrist,

and poet.

Solon, law-giver,
in Athens.

Sappho, of Mytilene, female singer,
lyrist, and poetess. To her is ascribed
the invention of a stringed instrument

called Barbitos.

The seven sages
of Greece : —

57°

The Romans, under the King Serviu
Tullius, introduce trumpets and horns

Solon, Thales,

of metal into their army.

Periander,

C 1 eobulu s,

Pittacus, Bias,

Chilo.

i8a

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

B.C.

Cyrus conquers

550

About this time was performed in

Lydia and de-
thrones Crce-

Athens, under Thespis, the first tragedy

sus.

with choruses set to music.

Confucius, Chi-

nese philo-

sopher.

Zoroaster in

Persia.

Tarquinius Su-
per bus, the
last King of

530

PYTHAGORAS, of Samos, philosopher,
studies music in Egypt, founds in

Rome, is ex-

Greece a great School of music based

pelled.

upon mathematical principles ; invents

Rome becomes a
Republic (510).

the monochord for measuring the sound ;
ascertains the harmonious Triad, the

Cambyses con-

diatonic intervals, etc.

quers Egypt

(509).

500

Lasus, of Achaia, writes treatises on

the theory of music.

Battle of Mara-

^Eschylus, born at Athens about

thon, in which

525, singer and writer of Tragedies.

the Greeks,

commanded by

Simonides, of Ceos, born in 557, died

Miltiades, de-

468, lyrist and poet.

feat the Per-

sians (490).

Xerxes invades

Pindar, born at Thebes, in Boeotia,

Greece (487).

about the year 520, flutist, lyrist, poet,

and composer. Many hymns, odes, etc.

Battle of Salamis

Corinna, of Tanagra, in Boeotia,

in which The-
mistocles de-
feats the Per-

female singer and poetess. Several
times gains the victory in contest with

sians (480).

Pindar at the public games at Thebes.

Leonidas.

Anacreon, of Teos, lyric poet and

The mistocles

musician. To him is attributed the

banished from
Athens (471).

invention of several stringed instru-
ments.

Cimon defeats

The Greeks had about this time

the Persians

several accomplished players on the

kithara, flute, and other instruments,

who introduced new and brilliant pas-

sages and embellishments into their

performances.

Pericles, Greek

450

The highest degree of perfection of

General and

the dramatic art in Greece through

orator.

^Eschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

i83

Herodotus, his-
torian.

Phidias, sculptor.

Hi p pocra te s,
physician.

Commencement
of the Pelo-
ponnesian war
between the
Athenians and
Spartans which
lasts twenty-
seven years

Socrates

399)-
Alcibiades

(469-

Brennus, Chief of
the Gauls,
burns & sacks
Rome (39°)-

Demosthenes
(384-322).

Diogenes (350).

Alexander the
Great, son of
Philip of Mace-
donia (333).

Ptolemy I., King
of Egypt, en-
courages the
cultivation of
sciences and
arts in his king-
dom, & founds
a library in
Alexandria.

Pyrrhus, King of
Epirus, is de-
feated by the
Romans (275).

B.C.
45°

430

400

360

350

310

300

through the musical composer Damon,
the singer Agathon, etc., at Athens.

Democritus, of Abdera, philosopher,
writes seven books on music.

Lysander, of Sycion, invents a more
artistic instrumental accpmpaniment to
vocal music.

Alexandrides extends the compass of
the Greek wind instruments.

Timotheus, of Miletus, Asia Minor,
singer, kithara-player and poet, com-
poses many works, and improves the
lyre.

Plato, philosopher, in his works treats
also on music.

About this time, the first dramatic
performances with music in Rome.

Aristoteles, of Stagira, born in 384,
philosopher and musician. In his
works much about music.

^.ARISTOXENUS, of Tarentum, born in
340, philosopher and musician, founds
a new School of music which is m
opposition to the teaching of Pytha-
goras, generally accepted until that
time. He writes many treatises on
music. Division of the musicians into
Musici, or the followers of Anstoxenus,
who derive the rules of music from its
effect upon the ear,— and Canomci, or
the followers of Pythagoras, who derive
them from mathematical laws.

About this period the Greeks made
many improvements in the construct!
of their musical instruments.

1 84

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

B. C.

300

Euclides, of Alexandria, born in 323,

died 283, mathematician, writes on the

theory of music and acoustics.

The first Punic
war (264-241).
The second Punic

250

Archimedes, of Syracuse, born in
287, died 212, mathematician, is said

war (218-202).

to have invented the hydraulic organ.

Scipio defeats
Hannibal in

Ctesibius, of Alexandria, improves
the pneumatic organ and alters it into

Africa (202).

a hydraulic organ. His son Hero still

further perfects the instrument and

describes it.

The first Mace-

200

Aristeas, of Greece, a kithara-player,

donian war
(200).

writes a treatise on kithara-playing.

The first library

at Rome (167).

Corinth and Car-
thage destroyed
by the Romans

150

Polybius, of Megalopolis in Arcadia,
born about the year 204, historian,

(146). Greece

writes a treatise on the influence of

and North
Africa become

music upon civilization.

Roman provin-

ces.

Civil war in Rome

IOO

Alypius, of Alexandria, writes on

(88).
The Romans
under Julius

musical notation by means of the
letters of the Greek alphabet.

Caesar invade

Britain (55).

Julius Caesar

50

Hermogenes (Marcus Tigellius),

assassinated in
the Senate-

singer and instrumentalist of Greece,

house (44).

settles in Rome.

Cicero killed (43).

Virgilius.

Anton ius and

Cleopatra de-

feated (31).

Augustus, Roman

30

Diodorus Siculus, of Agyrium in

Emperor (30).

Sicily, historian, gives some account of

Horace.
Maecenas.

the oldest music of the Egyptians and

Greeks.

Titus Livius,

IO

Vitruvius (Pollio M.), born in Italy,

Ovidius, poet.

architect, writes en musical subjects.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

185

Hermann in Ger-
many defeats
Varus (g).

The Romans
under the Em-
peror Claudius
invade England
(40).

London founded
by the Romans
(49)-

Destruction of
Jerusalem by
Titus (70).

Herculaneum
and Pompeii
destroyed by
an eruption of
Vesuvius (79).

Tacitus.historian.

Juvenal, poet.

Martialis, poet.

Pliny the
Younger.

Trojan, Roman
Emperor (98).

Introduction of
Christianity in-
to Ireland by St.
Patrick (no).

Fingal (Ossian)in
Scotland (200)

Persecutions of
the Christians
during the third
century.

Artaxerxes, king
of Persia, con-
quers the Par-
thians,& founds
the dynasty of
the Sassanidae
(226).

60

So

200

Gradual decay of the Greek Music.

The first Christian hymns (St.
Matthew, chap. XXVI. , v. 30 ; St.
Mark, chap. XIV., v. 26; I Corinth.,
chap. XIV., v. 15; Ephes., chap. V.,
v. 19; Coloss., chap. III., v. 16; St.
James, chap. V., v. 13, etc.).

Pliny the Elder, born at Verona in
the year 27, died in 79. Several books
on music.

Nero, Roman Emperor from A.D. 54
to 68, musician, singer, flutist, lyrist.
He sings and plays in public, and is
said to have maintained 5000 musicians
in his pay.

Plutarchus, born at Chaeronea in
Boeotia, about the year 40, biographer
and philosopher. Several musical
essays.

Ptolemaeus (Claudius) born at Pelu-
sium in Egypt, about the year 70,
mathematician, geographer, astro-
nomer, and musician. In his writings
he endeavours to reconcile the musical
theories of Pythagoras and Anstoxenus.
He reduces the fifteen Modes of the
Greeks to seven.

From about the year 150 to 200,
above a dozen authors are known in
whose works some account is given of
the music of the ancients.

i86

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

A. D.

Probus, Roman

250

The Fathers of the Church who give

Emperor,
causes the vine

the first account of the sacred songs of

to be planted

the early Christians are Tertullian,

on the banks

Clemens of Alexandria, and Origen.

of the Rhine
and the Mo-

o

Their writings date from the first half

selle (276).

of the third century. The Christian

communities had already during the

first century in their religious obser-

vances, which in the beginning were

held secretly, hymns sung alternately

by a single voice and a chorus in unison.

The melodies of the hymns were pro-

bably similar to those of the Greeks.

At all events, the Modes in which they

were sung, and the notation by letters

of the alphabet, had been derived from

the Greeks.

Constantine, Em-

330

Silvester I., Pope, institutes in Rome

peror, is con-
verted to Chris-

the first school for Church-song.

tianity, and

transfers the

seat of his em-

pire from Rome

to Byzantine,

hence forth

called Constan-

tinople (330).

Division of the

35°

Damasus, Bishop of Rome, born at

Roman Empire

Madrid in the year 314, introduces in

into Eastern
and \Vestern

Church the antiphonal singing of the

(364)-

Psalms by two choirs, and regulates the

Kingdoms formed

intoning of the Mass.

by the Ostro-
goths and Visi-
^Oths*

St. Basilius (died 379) promotes
sacred song in the Eastern (Greek-

The Huns mi-

Christian) Church, and describes the

grate from

Church-music of his time.

Asia to Europe,

and come in

collision with

the Goths

(375).

Theodosius the

380

ST. AMBROSE, Bishop of Milan, from

Great, Empe-
ror of the East-
ern Empire
(379).

374 to 397, born about 333 in Gallia,
died in 398. Introduces the Ambrosian
Song of Praise (Te Deum laudamus),

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

A. D.

38o

composes several hymns, and promotes

the singing of the Psalms, in opposition

to the old Greek music.

The Visigoths, or
Goths of the

400

St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, born

West, under

354 at Tagasta, in Africa, died 430. In

Alaric, invade

his works, writes much about music,

Italy (400).

and especially recommends Psalm-

singing.

Rome is sacked

The Fathers of the Church, St. Chry-

and burnt by
Alaric (410).

sostom, Cyprian, and Hieronymus, with
others, uphold the cultivation of Church-

song, which is discouraged by many.

The Anglo-

420

Macrobius writes on music according

Saxons arrive
in Britain

to the system of Pythagoras.

(449)-

TheAnglo- Saxon

Heptarchy in

Britain (457).

500

Boethius, born 470 in Rome, died

526 ; writes several treatises on the

music of the Ancients.

Silkworms are
introduced into
Europe from

550

Cassiodorus (Magnus Aurelius) born
480, died 575; musical author.

China (550).

The Picts are

59°

GREGORY THE GREAT, Pope, 590 to

converted to
Christianity
(565).

604, collects the Christian hymns, fixes
the employment of them, improves the

The Visigoths, or
Goths of the

Singing Schools, appoints Cantores,
Precentors, etc. The Gregorian Church-

West, conquer
the greater
part of Spain

596

song used in place of the Ambrosian.
ST. AUGUSTINE, first Bishop of Can-

(580).
Foundation of the

terbury, usually called the Apostle of
the English, introduces into England

Kingdom of
MerciabyCrida

with the Christian religion, the Church-

(582).

song.
Church-music contributes much t

Mohammed,

the diffusion of Christianity in heathen

founder of a

Religion (604).
The Pope in

600

countries.
St. Isidore, Archbishop of Seville, in

Rome acknow-
ledged as the
head of the

Spain, born at Carthagena about 570,
died 636. Promotes the improvement

Church (607).

of Church-music, and writes treatises

University of

f\n miiclP.

Cambridge

Wli 1 1 1 *-* -J * *•" •

founded (631).

i88

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

A. D.

Conquests of the
Arabs in Asia,
as far as Hin-

650

Jacob (Deacon), Stephan Eddi, Putta,
Maban, and Acca (Bishop), were dis-

dustan.

tinguished church-singers in England

J erusalem is

during the period from 620 to 700.

taken by them

(637).

The Caliph Omar

burns the Alex-

andrian library

(640).

The Danes in-
vade England
(660).

660

Vitalianus, Pope, from 657 to 672,
introduces the hydraulic organ into the

Church for sounding the first tone of

the Chorale as a guide to the singers.

The Britons are

He sends two accomplished Roman

driven into
Wales (685).

singers to Gallia (France) for the pur-
pose of improving the Church-song in

that country.

Conquests of the
Arabs in North
Africa (688).

676

Johannes Damascenus, born at
Damascus. Introduces in Church

hymns, the melodies of which differ

from the old Grecian.

The Saracens in

70O

BEDA VENERABILIS, born 673, died

Spain (713).
Glass-painting &
Mosaic in Italy

735 ; an English Monk, to whom are
attributed two important treatises on

(750).

music.

Pepin, King of

Benedict, an English Abbot, intro-

the Franks
(752-768).

duces chanting in choirs.

The Danes in-

780

Alcuinus, or Albinus, an- English

vade England

(~,Sl\

Prelate, born 736, died 814 ; promotes

(7°3;-

Harun al-Rashid,

Church-music.

Caliph of Bag-

dad. Flourish-

ing state of the

sciences with

the Arabs (786).

800

Charlemagne, Emperor of Germany,

introduces the Gregorian Church-song

Division of the
Monarchy of
Charlemagne

into all his dominions, and orders a
collection to be made of the popular

(843).

secular songs.

Church organs come gradually into

use.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

189

A. D.

Alfred the Great

850

Notker, a Benedictine Monk of St.

defeats the
Danes in Eng-

Gallen, in Germany, composes sacred

land (880).

songs called Sequentias Missales, which

are introduced in the churches.

886

Friar John of St. David's, the first

Professor of Music at the University of

Oxford, appointed by Alfred the Great.

Foundation of the
University of

goo

HUCBALD, Monk of St. Amand, in

O x f o r d by

Flanders, born about 840, died 932.

Alfred the

First attempt to accompany an air

Great (900)
Foundation of
the Kingdom

with several voices in harmony. Nota-
tion, consisting of the syllables of the

of Hungary by

words placed in different positions

the Magyars

between lines. The signs used for the

(about 900).
University of
Cambridge

purpose during the three preceding
centuries were called Numae.

restored (915).

Institution of

Free-M as on s

in England

(924)-

The Russians,

950

St. Dunstan, Archbishop of Canter-

under Wladi-

bury, introduces organs into English

mir the Great,
embrace Chris-

churches.

tianity (988).

Poland becomes

1030

GUIDO OF AREZZO, a Benedictine

a Kingdom
/____\

Monk at Pomposa, born about 990 in

(IOOOJ.

William of Nor-

Arezzo, died 1050. Improves the method

mandy invades

of singing in use at his time, and the

England, 1066;.

notation of Hucbald ; designates the

The Moors in

tones by the letters of the alphabet.

Spain (1091).

He is supposed to be the inventor of

Peter the Her-

the Solmisation of the Hexachord, or

mit. The first

Crusade(iog5).

scale of six sounds, etc.

War between

I TOO

NOTATION. — During the twelfth cen-

England and
France (1113).

tury originated our musical notation,
the inventor of which is unknown. The

Frederick I.,

first attempts in Counterpoint led to

called Barba-
rossa, in Ger-
many (1152).

the employment of notes of different
value (Mensural and Figural Notes).
However, these innovations did not

The Sultan Sala-

come into general practical use until

din conquers
Egypt (1187).

about the year 1200.

N

1 90

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

A. D.

Magna Charta,

I2OO

The most popular instruments of

or the Charter
of English

r^ i

:he Middle Ages were the Psalterium,

Liberty (1215).

Harp, Rotta, Viol, Lute, Organistrum,

Regals, Recorder, Sackbut, Shalm, etc.

Distinguished

I2O7

Contest of the Minnesanger at .the

Troubadours
and M i n n e-
sanger during

Wartburg, in Saxony.
The Minnesanger, who flourished in

the twelfth and

Germany, especially during the twelfth

thirteenth cen-

and thirteenth centuries, were identical

turies : —
Guillaume IX.

with the Troubadours, or singers of

Count of

secular, amorous, and martial ditties,

Poitou ; Blon-

which they accompanied with the harp,

d e 1, with

Ixicliird Cccur

cither, guitar, or some other instrument.

de Lion ; Sor-

The original home of the Troubadours

dello of Man-

was Provence, in the South of France,

tua, Peyrols,
Bertrand de

where they originated about the begin-

Lorm, Arnold

ning of the eighth century. Subse-

of Maraviglia,

quently, at the time of the German

Heinrich von
VplrWU Wa

Minnesanger, there were also Trouba-

v ciucL.iv, w ci-
ther von der

dours in Italy, Spain and England.

Vogelweide,

Among them were many noblemen, and

K. c i ni *i r der

Aeltere, Rei-

even princes.

mar der Zwe-

ter, Ulrich von

Lichtenstein,

Heinrich von

M oru n ge n,

Wolfram von

Eschenbach,

Hartmann

von der Aue,

Gottfried von

Strassbur g,

Conrad von

Wiirzburg,

Johann Had-

laub.
The Kingdom
of Granada

I22O

FRANCO OF COLOGNE, the first
known musical author who treats cir-

founded by the
Moors in Spain
(12^8).

cumstantially on the new theory of
Harmony, and who, by expounding it

l+mywji

systematically, greatly contributes to

Foundation of

its diffusion. (Forkel, Fetis, and some

the University

other musical historians, maintain that

of Vienna
/ _„_ _\

Franco of Cologne lived during the

(I237J-

second half of the eleventh century.)

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

Cimabue, Giotto,
Italian painters
(1240).

Termination of
the Crusades
(1248).

Parliament of
Great Britain.
First assembly
of the Com-
mons as a con-
firmed repre-
sentation
(1265).

Venice and Genoa
are powerful.

Invention of Gun-
powder (1292).

Italian poets and
authors: Dante
Alighieri(i265-
i32i);Petrarca
(1304-1374);
Boccaccio
(I3I3-I375)-

Disunion in the
Church. Popes
in Avignon
(1378).

The Turks vic-
torious in Hun-
gary (1396).

Masaccio, Fie-
sole, Italian
painters (1400).

Conquest of
France by
Henry V., King
of England
(1420).

Charles VII., of
France (1422-
1461}.

A. D.

1240

I26O
1280

1300

1390

I4OO

Odington (Walter), an English monk,
writes on music in a manner similar to
hat of Franco of Cologne, in Germany.

Hieronymus von Maehren, in France,
writes on the theory of music.

ADAM DE LA HALE, of Arras, in
Prance, writes compositions in four-
part harmony, dramatic pieces, with
;ongs, etc. He lived in Provence.

./Egidius, of Zamora, a Spanish monk,
writes on the invention of musical
instruments.

Gradual diffusion of the theory of
Harmony, especially through Marchetto
di Padua, about 1310, in Italy ; — and
through Jean de Muris, about 1325, in
France.

Gerson (Johannes), a French monk,
born 1363, died 1429. Musical author.

Commencement of the period in which
appeared numerous sacred vocal com-
positions, viz : Masses, Motetts (Eng-
lish Anthems), Offertories, Hymns,
Psalms, Madrigals, etc. The Madri-
gals were in the form of the Motett,
but often had secular words. Instru-
mental music was still insignificant.

DUFAY (GUILLAUME), born about
1350 at Chimay, in Belgium, died 1432.
The first Contrapuntist, properly speak-
ing. Purer harmony than previously.
Application in the notation of the
White notes, which had been already
invented before his time. Many Church
compositions.

IQ2

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

A. D.

Jeanne d'Arc

Binchois (Egide), born in Picardy,

burnt (1430).
England loses all
her possessions

contributes to the improvement of har-
mony and of musical notation. Com-

in France, ex-

poses much vocal music.

cept Calais

(about 1440).

Invention of

Printing(i44o).

Constantinople

*-ol-f»n K\r tViP

1450

Dunstable (John), born about 1400

laKCll Uy LUC

Turks (1453).

in Scotland, died 1458. Improves the

harmony and the musical notation.

Watches invented

1470

OCKEGHEM, or OcKENHEiM (Johann),

at Niirnberg

born about 1430 in Hainault, Belgium;

(1477)-

died 1513. Founder of the newer

Inquisition in
Spain (1480).
Burgundy and

Netherlandish School, improver of har-
mony, and composer of Church music.

Provence in-

Obrecht, or Hobrecht (Jacob), born

corporated

about 1430 in Holland. Many com-

with France
(IA.SI)

ii-' j

positions for the Church.

\i*t°1)'
The Medici gov-

Bernhard, a German residing in

ern in Florence;

Venice, is said to have invented the

flourishing

organ pedal.

growth of the

arts & sciences

(1402-1537).

America discov-

1490

DEPRES (Josquin des Pre"s), born

ered by Colum-

about 1450 in France, died about 1521.

bus (1492).

Pupil of Ockeghem. Many Masses and

Macchiavelli,
historian (1469-
1527).

other compositions for the Church.
Tinctor (Jean), born about 1450 at

Ludovico Ariosto,

Nivelles, died about 1520. Founder of

poet (1474-

a School in Italy. Many Church com-

!533)-

positions.

Leonardo da

Gafforio (Franchino), born 1451 at

Vinci, painter
(1444-1519).

Tiziano Vecelli,
painter (IATJ-

Lodi, died 1522. Writer on the theory
of music, and promoter of new rules
of harmony.

\ i°/ /
1576).

Adam von Fulda, born about 1450 in

Rafael Sanzio,

Germany. Writes a treatise on the

painter (1483-

newly-established theory of music, and

1520).

composes music for the Church.

Correggio (1494-

Towards the end of the fifteenth

1534)-
Albrecht Diirer

century Chairs of Professorship for
music were instituted in different towns

(1471-1528).

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

A. D.

Newfoundland,
the first British

1490

of Italy, especially in Milan and

Colony in Ame-

Naples,

rica, discover-

ed by Cabot

(I497)-

Copernicus, as-

In the beginning of the sixteenth

tronomer(i473-

century the Netherlandish music attains

I543)-
Zwingli in Swit-
zerland (1519)-

1500

its highest reputation in Italy (at the
time of the Popes Julius II. and Leo

Gustav Wasa,

X.), m Spain, France, and German v

king of Sweden

J •

1523 '

e Petrucci (Ottaviano), of Fossombrone

Henry VIII.,King
(1509-1547).

I5O2

m Italy, invents the printing of musical
notation with movable types.

The highest de-

gree of per-

I52O

WILLAERT (HADRIAN), born about

fection of the

1490, in Flanders, died 1563. Lived

art of painting
in Italy.

in Rome and Venice. Founder of the

Venetian School. Composer of the

first Masses for six and seven different

voices, of Masses for two and three

choruses, etc.

The Netherland-

1530

Aaron (Pietro), born about 1480 in

ish School of
Painting,
founded by

Florence. Contrapuntist, writer on the
theory of music, and composer of

Johann van

Church music.

Eyk, about
1350 : — Floris

Luther (Martin), born 1483 at Eisle-

Stradan, De

ben, in Germany, died 1546. Composes

Vos,' Spranger,

Chorales, and promotes congregational

Peter & Franz

• •

Porbus Steen-

singing.

vyk, Vanbort,

Alterations in the old Church-songs

P. & J. Breug-

for the Reformed Church. Introduction

hel, Rubens

in German Churches of Chorales in the

(1577-1640).
Snyders, Mom-

German language.

per, David

Walther (Johann), born about 1490

Teniers, De
Grayer Ger-

in Saxony, died about 1555. German

hard & Daniel

Mass, many Chorales, etc.

Segers, Jor-

Senfl (Ludwig), born about 1490, at

dans, Rom-

Basle in Switzerland, died about 1560.

van Dyk(i5g8-

Masses, Motetts, Chorales, etc.

1641).

Agricola(Martin), born 1486 in Silesia,

died 1556. Many vocal compositions,

and a treatise on musical instruments.

194

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

A. D.

TheDutch School
of Painting,
founded by Lu-

1530

Luscinius (Ottomar), properly Nach-
tigall, born 1487 at Strassburg, died

cas of Leyden,

about 1540. Treatises on music and on

born 1494 : —

the musical instruments of his time.

Van Veen,
Bloemart, Poe-

Glarean (Heinrich Lorit), born 1488

lenburg, Wyn-

in Switzerland, died 1563. Many

ants.Vertange,
Hanesberge,
etc.

essays on the History and Theory of
Music.

Festa (Costanzo), born about 1490

Roman School
of Painting ;

at Rome. Many Motetts and other

pupils of Ra-

Church music. Regarded as the pre-

fael : — Giulio

cursor of Palestrina.

Romano, Penni
il Fattore, Bag-

1540

Berchem (Jacob), called Giachetto di

nacavallo, Del

Mantua, born 1499 at Antwerp, died

Vaga,Caravag-
gio, Gemigni-

about 1580. Many Masses, Motetts,

ani, Garofalo,

etc.

etc.

Gombert (Nicolas), born about 1500

Venetian School

in the Netherlands, died about 1570.

of Painting;

Many Masses, Motetts, and other sacred

pupils of

Tuition • T)f*\

and secular compositions for four, five,

1 ILKUl . LJCl

Piombo, Palma

and six different voices.

Vecchio, Lotto,

Arcadelt (Jacques), born about 1500

Bordone, Por-

in the Netherlands, died about 1570.

denone, Schia-
vone, Bassano,

Teacher in Rome. Many Masses,

Tintoretto,

Motetts, Madrigals, etc.

PoaloVeronese.

Clement (Jacques), called Clemens

Florentine School

non Papa, born about 1500 in Flanders,

of Painting;

died 1=566. Masses and other sacred

pupils of Da
Vinci : — Luini,

+J

compositions.

Salaino, Melzo,

1550

Goudimel (Claude), born 1510 in

Fra Bartolo-

Flanders, died about 1572. Many

meo.Del Sarto,
Peruzzi, Razzi,

Psalms, Motetts, and other sacred com-

Michel-Angelo.

positions, and also secular music. Much

The Order of

progress in Harmony. Founder of a

Jesuits founded

Music School in Rome.

by Ignaz Loyo-

Morales (Christoforo), born about

la (1540).

1510 at Seville in Spain, lived in Rome.

The Turks con-
quer Tripoli

Many Masses, etc.

(i55i)-

Est (Michael), born about 1510 in

Death of Rabe-

England. Many Psalms and Madrigals.

lais (1553).

Tallis (Thomas), born 1520 in Eng-

Philip II. .King of

land, died about 1585. Many sacred

Spain (1556).

compositions.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

Foundation of the
University of
Jena (1558).

Holbein, painter
(1494-1554).

Calais is lost to
England in the
reign of Mary
(1558).

Queen Elizabeth
(1558-1603).

English authors :

Spenser, poet

(1553-1598).

Francis Bacon
(1561-1626).

Shakespeare
(1564-1616).

Marlow, Green,
Beaumont ,
Fletcher, Mas-
singer : — Dra-
matic poets
and contem-
poraries of
Shakespeare.

Calvin in Geneva
(1565).

Hans Sachs,
Meistersanger
(1494-1576).

Tycho Brahe,

Astronomer
(1546-1601).

The Counts Eg-
mont & Horn
beheaded at
Brussels (1568)

1560

Lossius (Lucas), born 1508 in Ger-
many, died 1582. Many Chorales, a
treatise on music, etc.

Rore (Cyprian), called Vanrore, born
1516 at Malines, died 1565. Pupil of
Willaert, in Venice. Many sacred and
secular vocal compositions.

Waelrant (Hubert), born 1517 in the
Netherlands, died 1595. Many Church
compositions. Improvement in the
Solmisation.

LASSUS (ORLANDUS), properly Ro-
land de Latre, born 1520 at Mons, in
Hainault, died 1594. A great number
of Church compositions of every kind,
of which 1572 are known.

Kerle (Jacob), born about 1520 in
Flanders. Many Masses, etc.

Zarlino (Giuseppe), born 1519 at
Venice, died about 1590. Many Church
compositions. Great progress in Har-
mony. Several treatises on the Theory
of Music.

PALESTRINA (GIOVANNI PIERLUIGI
DI), born 1524 in Palestrina, died 1594.
Reform of the Italian Church music by
means of purer harmony. Ennobling
of the rude Netherlandish style. Many
Masses, Hymns, Motetts, Litanies,
Offertories, etc. — Palestrina's celebrated
Mass, known as Missa Papae Marcelli,
which was performed in Rome in the
year 1565, had the effect of altering the
opinion of many of the ecclesiastics
who at the Council of Trent, in 1562,
advocated the banishment of all Figural
music from the Church.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

A. D.

The first Puritans

1570

Faber(Heinrich), born 1525 at Bruns-

and Presbyteri-
ans (1571).

wick, in Germany, died 1598. Church

compositions, and a treatise on music.

Massacre of St.

Lejeune (Claude), born about 1540

Bartholomew

in the Netherlands, died about 1600.

(1572).

Masses, Psalms, etc.

Nanini (Giovanni Maria), born about

First circumnavi-
gation of the

1540 at Vallerano, in Italy, died 1607.

world, by Drake

Teacher of Counterpoint ; many Motetts

(I577)-

for eight different voices, and other

Church compositions.

North-America

1580

Morley (Thomas), born about 1540

English.
Walter Raleigh
(1584).

in England, died 1604. Madrigals and
other vocal compositions. Instruction

book on music.

Portugal is con-

quered by the

OPERA. — About the year 1580, a

Spaniards in

number of professional musicians and

1581, and re-
mainsaSpanish

amateurs associated in the house of

Province until

Giovanni Bardi, Count of Vernio, at

1640.

Florence, with the object of reviving in

the drama the musical declamation of

The Netherlands
become inde-

the ancient Greeks. To this associa-

pendent (1581).

tion belonged the composers Emilio del

Cavalieri, Giacomo Peri, Giulio Caccini,

The Gregorian

and the poet Ottavio Rinuccini. Their

Calendar intro-

exertions resulted in the production of

duced into all
the Roman

the first Lyric Opera, called ' Dafne,'

Catholic States

the poetry of which was by Rinuccini,

of Europe

and which was performed at Florence

(*5 2).

in the year 1594. Soon followed the

Elizabeth Queen

first Tragic Opera, ' Euridice,' the

of England,

poetry of which being by Rinuccini, and

causes Mary,

the music by Peri and Caccini. The

Queen of Scots,
to be beheaded

next Operas were ' 11 Satiro ' and ' La

at Fotheringay

Disperazione di Filano,' both with

Castle (1587).

music by Cavalieri. Meanwhile, Orazio

Vecchi attempted to compose a kind of

Defeat of the
Spanish Ar-
mada in the

Comic Opera, entitled ' L'Anfiparnasso,
Commedia Armonica,' which was per-

English Chan-

formed at Modena in the year 1594.

nel (1588).

The songs of these operas partook of the

character of the recitative, and they were

accompanied by a few instruments.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

197

Janson, of Mid-
dlebourg, in-
vents specta-
cles and tele-
scopes (1590).

Torquato Tasso
(1544—1595).

First Edition of
Bacon's ' Es-
says' published
(I597)-

Edict of Nantes.
Religious liber-
ty (1598).

Incorporation by
Royal Charter
of the English
East India
Company
(1600).

Lopez de Vega,
dramatic poet,
in Spain (1562-
1635).

James VI. of
Scotland, son
of Mary Stuart,
succeedsQueen
Elizabeth of
England as
Jamesl.(i6o3).

First French
Colony in
Canada (1604).

First permanent
British settle-
ment in North
America, form-
ed by "the
London Com-
pany " under
charter from
James I. (1607)

1590

1600

Gabriel! (Giovanni), born about 1550
at Venice, died 1612. Many Church
compositions.

Marenzio (Luca), born about 1550 at
Brescia, died 1594. Motetts, Madri-
gals, etc.

Bird (William), born 1546 in Eng-
land, died 1623. Masses, Graduales,
Madrigals.

Weelkes (Thomas), born about 1550
in England. Madrigals and other vocal
compositions.

Eccard (Johann), born about 1545 in
Thuringia, Germany. Pupil of Orlando
di Lasso. Many Church songs.

Gallus (Johann Peter),properlyHandl,
born about 1550 at Krain, in Austria,
died 1591. Many sacred songs.

Vittoria (Tomaso Ludovico della),
born about 1560 in Spain, died about
1608. Many Church compositions.

Dowland (John), born 1562 in Eng-
land, died 1615. Virtuoso on the lute.
Many vocal compositions.

Bull (John), born 1563 in England,
died 1622. Organist. Vocal composi-
tions and Organ pieces.

Vulpius (Melchior), born about 1560
in Germany, died 1616. Chorales and
other sacred songs.

Calvisius (Sethus), born 1556 in
Thuringia, Germany, died 1615. Many
Church compositions, and also theoreti-
cal works.

Schultz (Hieronymus), called Prae-
torius, born 1560 at Hamburg, died
1629. Motetts, etc.

From about 1600 to 1725, the cele-
brated Violin Makers of Cremona, in
Italy :— Amati, Guarneri, Stradivari,
etc.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

A. D.

Bacon publishes

1600

The most popular instruments about

his Advance-
ment of Learn-

XT x

the year 1600 were : The lute, cither,

ing (1605).

spinet, virginal, clavichord, flute-a-bec,

cornet, etc.

Guy Fawkes,

1605

Viadana (Ludovico), born 1560 in

Gun powd er
Plot (1605).

Italy, died 1625. Many Church com-

positions, and the first Church concertos

and Solo songs for the Church. Via-

Third recorded

dana is said to have invented, in the

appearance of
the comet af-

year 1605, the thorough-bass, or indi-

terwards known

cation of the Harmony by marking the

as Halley's

bass with figures ; but this invention is

Comet (1607).

O '

also ascribed to Ottavio Catalano, born

about 1595 in Sicily.

Thermometers

1610

MONTEVERDE (CLAUDIo), bom 1565

are invented
about this time

at Cremona, died 1649. Masses, Madri-

by Drebbel, of

gals, and also secular songs. The most

Alkmaer, Paulo

important steps towards the develop-

Sarpi, and
Sanctorio.

ment of the modern music by new

Cervantes, author
of Don Quixote,

licenses in the Harmony. Invention of
the Tremolo of the violins, etc.

etc. (1547-1616)

Cerone (Dominico Pietro), born 1566

English poets: —

at Bergamo, died 1620. Many theo-

Milton, Dry-

retical treatises.

den, Butler,

Prsetorius (Michael), born 1571 in

Otway, Prior,
Cowley, Den-

Thuringia, Germany, died 1621. Many

ham.

Masses, Psalms, Hymns, and a musical

The telescope is
first applied to

treatise.
Walliser (Christoph Thomas), born

astronomical

about 1571 at Strassburg, died 1648.

purposes by
Galileo at Pa-

Church compositions, and a treatise on

dua. Discove-

Harmony and on the Fugue.

ries of the satel-

1620

Frescobaldi (Gieronimo), born about

lites of Jupiter,

1580 in Italy, died 1640. Organist.

inthesun(i6io)

Many Church compositions, Madrigals,

Organ compositions, Fugues, Ricer-

cari, etc.

Tea is brought

Vieira (Antonio), born about 1580 in

from India by
the Dutch * it

Portugal, died in 1650. Many Church

is introduced

compositions for eight different voices.

into England in

Allegri (Gregorio), born about 1580 at

1666.

Rome, died 1652. Many Church com-

positions. The Miserere of the Vatican.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

A. D.

The present au-
thorized Eng-
lish version of

1620

Carissimi (Giacomo),born about 1582
at Padua, died about 1673. Many

the Bible is pub-

Masses, some of which are for twelve

lished, and is

different voices, and other Church com-

called " King
James's Bible"

positions. Improver of the Recitative.

(1611).

The first important Oratorios and Can-

Settlement of

tatas in Italy.

New York, in
North America,
by the Dutch

Kapsberger (Johann Hieronymus),
born about 1575 in Germany, died 1650.

(1614).

Lived in Italy. Church compositions,

Emigration of

and Instruction books for playing the

the Puritans to

Lute and the Guitar.

New England;

Gibbons (Orlando), born 1583 at

New Plymouth

Cambridge, died 1625. Many Church

(1620).

compositions, Anthems, Madrigals, etc.

Charles I. suc-

1627

Schiitz (Heinrich von), called Sagit-

ceeds James I.,

tarius, born 1585 in Germany, died

King of Eng-
land, after the

1672. Many Motetts, Psalms, and also

death of the

Operas. In the year 1627 the Opera

latter, in 1625.

Dafne, by Rinuccini (see above, date

Disputes be-
tween King

7 J \

1580), having been translated into Ger-

Charles I. and

man by Opitz, and composed anew by

his Parliament.

Schiitz, was performed in Dresden as

Civil war begins
in 164.2. Last

the first German Opera.

General assem-

Mazzocchi (Domenico), born about

lyof the Han-

1590 at Castellana, in Italy. Oratorios,

seatic cities of
Germany. Lii-

Madrigals for five different voices with

beck, Hamburg

instrumental accompaniments. Intro-

and Bremen

. • • . j

duced signs of expression in the nota-

continue united.

tion.

Kepler, Astrono-

1630

Mazzocchi (Virgilio), brother of the

mer(i57i-i63o).

preceding, born about 1595, died 1646.

Gustavus Adol-

Many Church compositions. The first

phus dies on
the battle-field

development of the melody in the

at Lutzen

present sense.

(1632).

Doni (Giovanni Battista), born 1593

Wallenstein as-

at Florence, died 1674. Treatises on

sassinated at

the music of the ancient Greeks and on

Eyer (1634).

that of his time.

Rubens,Vandyck,
Domenichino,
painters (1620).

Ben Jonson, dra-
matist (1620).

Jenkins (John), born 1592 in Kent,
England, died 1678. Virtuoso on the
Viola da Gamba. Many compositions
for his instrument and also vocal music.

2OO

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

A. D.

Lope de Vega,
Spanish writer
(1620).

1630

Schein (Johann Hermann), born 1586
in Germany, died 1630. Chorales,

Galileo is con-

Madrigals, Secular Songs, etc.

demned by the

Scheidt (Samuel), born 1587 at

Inquisition of
Rome as guilty
of heresy for

Halle, in Germany, died 1654. Con-
trapuntist. Many Church composi-

upholding the

tions as well as pieces for the Organ

Copernican

and Clavichord.

system, and
compelled to

Mersenne (Marie), born 1588 in

abjure it (1633).

France, died 1640. Treatises on Har-

Richelieu founds

mony, Acoustics, and Musical History.

the FrenchAca-

demy (1635.)

Death of Cardinal

1640

Lawes (Henry), born 1600 in Eng-

Richelieu(i642).

land, died 1662. Psalms and Secular

LouisXIV.(styled

songs.

Dieu-donne),

King of France

(1643—1715).

The Pendulum is

Kircher (Pater Athanasius), born

applied to
clocks by

1602 at Fulda, in Germany, died 1680.

Richard Harris

Several treatises on music.

and the young-

er Galileo

(1641).
Charles I. be-

1645

The first Italian Opera in Paris,

headed (1649).

ordered from Italy by Cardinal Mazarin.

Oliver Cromwell,

1650

Sabattini (Galeazzo), born about

Protector of
the Common-

1610 in Italy. Litanies, Madrigals, and

wealth (1653).

other vocal music.

Portugal takes

Dumont (Henri), born 1610 at Liege,

possession of
the Brazils
(1654).

Belgium, died 1684. Masses and other
Church compositions. Innovation of

Calderon de la

the employment of instrumental accom-

Barca, drama-

paniments to the Mass.

tic poet in
Spain (1601 —

1687).

Child (William), born 1608 at Bristol,
in England, died 1696. Psalms and

Dutch and Flem-

other sacred vocal music, and secular

ish Painters: —
Eykens, Sacht-
leven, Rem-

songs.
Simpson (Christopher), born about

brandt, Douw

1610 in England, died about 1670.

Swanevelt,

Instruction book on the Viola da

Wouvermann,
Berghem, Paul

Gamba, on the Theory of Music, etc.

Potter, etc.

Hammerschmiedt (Andreas), born

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

201

of
II.

Restoration
Charles
(1660).

Spain takes pos-
session of Ha-
vannah (1662).

The French, com-
manded by
Turenne, vic-
torious upon
the Rhine
(1663).

Plague in London
(1665).

Great fire of Lon-
don (1666).

Flourishing state
of France
owing to her
industry&com-
merce (1670).

The Turks in
Hungary in-
vade Poland
(1670).

Death of Moliere

De Ruyter, the
DutchAdmiral,
dies (1675).

William Penn
founds Penn-
sylvania (1681,1

Vienna is be-
sieged by the
Turks (1683).

Death of Cor-
neille (1684).

The Huguenots
expelled from
France (1685).

Peter the Great,
Czar of Russia
(from 1682 to
1725).

1650

1670

1672

1680

1611 in Bohemia, died 1675. Many
Masses and other sacred compositions.

Cesti (Marc-Antonio), born in 1620
at Florence, died 1681. Nine Operas.
Progress in the development of operatic
music.

Eccles (John), born about 1620 in
England. Several Operas, songs, etc.

Lock (Matthew), born about 1620 in
England, died 1677. Sacred music and
dramatic compositions.

Stradella (Alessandro), born 1645 at
Naples, died 1678. An Oratorio and
some Operas.

Kerl (Johann Caspar von), born about
1625 in Saxony, died about 1690. Masses
and organ compositions'.

Meibom (Marcus), born 1626 in
Schleswig, died 1711. Many Treatises
on the Music of the Ancient Greeks.

LULLI (GIOVANNI BATTISTA), born
1633 at Florence, died 1687 at Paris.
Founder of the older French operatic
music. Composed 19 Operas and 26
ballets. His first French Opera was
performed at Paris in the year 1672.

Frohberger (Johann Jacob), born 1637
at Halle, Germany, died 1695. Organist.
Many compositions for the organ and
the clavichord.

Buxtehude (Dietrich), born about
1640 in Germany, died 1707. Many
Organ compositions.

Gasparini (Michael-Angelo), born at
Lucca, in Italy, during the second half
of the seventeenth century, died in 1732.
Many Operas. Founder of a School of
Singing at Venice.

Steffani (Agostino), called Gregoria
Piva, born about 1650, at Venice, died
1730. Masses and other sacred com-
positions, Operas, vocal duets.

202

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

A. D.

William III.,

l6gO

Baj (Tomaso), born about 1650, at

Prince of
Orange, and

Bologna, died 1714. Many sacred com-

Mary(daughter

positions. A Miserere for the Vatican,

of James I.) his

which is sometimes performed instead

wife, declared
KingandQueen

of that by Allegri.

of England

Corelli (Arcangelo), born 1653 at

(1688).

Fusignano, in Italy, died 1713. Vio-

CharlesXII. King

linist. Many concertos, etc.

of Sweden from

Blow (John), born 1648 at Not-

1697 to 1718.

tingham, died 1708. Many anthems,

Alsace becomes

psalms, etc.

French (1697).

Purcell (Henry), born 1658 in Lon-

Death of Racine

don, died 1695. About 17 English

(1699).

Operas, secular songs, anthems and

Locke, philo-

other sacred compositions.

sopher, English

Krieger (Adam), born 1646 at N urn-

(1632-1704).

berg, died 1725. Operas, etc.

Charles XII.,

1700

SCARLATTI (ALESSANDRO), born 1659

King of Swe-

at Trapani, in Sicily, died 1725. Com-

den, at war
with Denmark,

posed 115 Operas, 200 Masses, several

Poland, and

Oratorios, many sacred and secular

Russia. He

cantatas, etc. Invention of the Reci-

forces the King
of Denmark to

tative with orchestral accompani-

conclude a

ment ; of a greater combination of or-

peace with him,

chestral instruments than hitherto ; of

and defeats the
Russians on the

the Da-Capo, or repetition of the

banks of the

theme; and of several other essential

Narva (1700).

innovations.

Queen Anne

Desmarets (Henri), born 1662 at

(1702).

Paris, died 1741. About 8 Operas.

Battle of Blen-

Brossard (S6bastien de), born 1660,

heim, or Hoch-

probably at Strassburg, died 1730.

stadt, gained by

fV»«» Onl^f* of

Many Masses, a Dictionary of Music.

me UUKC 01
Marlborough &

Brossard's Dictionary, which was pub-

Prince Eugene

lished in 1703, is generally regarded as

over the French

the earliest work of its kind. Tinctor,

and Bavarians
(1704).

however, already in the fifteenth cen-

tury compiled a collection of the defini-

Gibraltar taken

tions of the musical terms in use at his

by the English
(i7°7)-

time ; and Janowka published at Prague
a Musical Dictionary in Latin, two

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

203

A. D.

Union of England
and Scotland
by Treaty

I7OO

years previous to the appearance of
Brossard's work, which is in French.

(1707).

Fux (Johann Joseph), born 1660 in

Austria, died about 1732. Composed

17 Operas, 26 Masses, 3 Requiems, i

Peter the Great
defeats Charles

Stabat Mater, 10 Oratorios, above 170

XII. atPultowa

other sacred compositions; likewise,

(1709).

instrumental pieces, a work on the

theory of music (Gradus ad Parnassum),

etc.

Herculaneum dis-

I7IO

Gasparini (Francesco), born about

covered (1711)-

1665 at Lucca, died 1727. Many

Peace of Utrecht
(1713).

Operas, Cantatas, etc. Teacher in
counterpoint of Domenico Scarlatti

and Marcello.

Death oi Fenelon

fvMWl

Lotti (Antonio), born about 1665 at

\I7I5l'

Venice, died 1740. Nineteen Operas,

Defoe, author of

many church compositions and madri-

' Robinson Cru-

gals.

soe.'

Vivaldi (Antonio), born about 1670

Saunderson and

at Venice, died about 1743. Twenty-six

Brook Taylor,
English mathe-
maticians.

Operas, violin concertos, and many
other instrumental pieces.

Bononcini (Giovanni), born about

Prior, Congreve,
and Parnell,

1672 at Modena, died 1750. Composed

English Poets.

about 23 Operas. For a time rival of

Handel in London.

George, Elector
of Hanover,

Couperin (Frangois), born 1668 at

becomes King

Paris, died 1733- Organist. Many

of England, as
George I.

organ and clavecin (harpsichord) com-

(I7H)-

positions.

Reiser (Reinhard), born 1673 at

Prince Eugene
defeats the
Turks at Peter-
wardein in

Leipzig, died 1739. Many Operas, many
Oratorios and other sacred compositions,
etc. He is said to have composed 116

Austrian Slavo-

Operas, partly to German, and partly to

nia (1716).

Italian words.

Prince Eugene
defeats the

Pepusch (Johann Christoph), born
1667 at Berlin, died 1732. Cantatas

Turks at Bel-

and other sacred music.

grade (1717).

Leveridge (Richard) born 1670 in

London, died 1758. Operas and songs.

204

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

•

A. D.

Charles XII.,

1720

Caldara (Antonio), born 1678 at

King of ovve-
den, is killed at

Venice, died 1763. Sixty-seven Operas,

the Siege of

many Masses and other sacred com-

Frederickshall,

positions.

in Norway
(1718).

Astorga (Emanuale), born 1681 at

English authors :

Palermo, Sicily, died 1736. Several

Pope (1688 —

Operas, a Requiem and many other

1744) ; Swift

sacred compositions.

Young (1684 —

Geminiani (Francesco), born 1680 at

1765) ; Thom-

Lucca, died 1762. Violinist. Many

son (1700 —

17481 * Fielding

compositions for his instrument.

(1707 — 1754) ;

Scarlatti (Domenico), son of Alessan-

Johnson (1713-

dro Scarlatti, born in 1683 at Naples,

1784) ; Gold-
smith (1728 —

died about 1760. Clavicembalist. Many

1774) ; Sterne

compositions for his instrument.

(1713 — 17681 ;

Rameau (Jean Philippe), born 1683 at

Hogarth, pain-
ter (1698 —

Dijon, died 1764. Composed 36 Operas,

1764).

many motetts and other sacred vocal

Death of the

compositions, as well as pieces for the

Duke of Marl-

organ and for the clavecin (harpsichord).

borough, born
1650 (1722).

Several theoretical works. A new Sys-

Death of Peter

tem of Harmony. Progress in operatic

the Great

music.

(1725).

Mattheson (Johann), born 1681 at

George II., King
of Great Bri-

Hamburg, died 1764. Seven Operas,

tain, succeeds

24 Oratorios, several other sacred com-

his father,

positions, and a great many works on

George I., who

died ctcred 68

the theory and history of music.

(1727).

Telemann (Georg Philipp), born 1681

Fahrenheit, im-

at Magdeburg, in Germany, died 1767.

prover of the

Composed 44 Operas, many Oratorios

thermometer
(1724).

and other sacred compositions, secular

\ * / '''TV '

Reaumur, im-

instrumental pieces, etc.

prover of the

Heinichen (Johann David), born

thermometer

1683 in Saxony, died 1729. Operas,

(1731).

sacred and secular compositions. Trea-

The Jesuits are

expelled from

tise on the Theory of Music.

China (1724).

Walther( Johann Gottfried), born 1684

Isaac Newton

at Erfurt, died 1748. Organ compositions,

(1642—1727).

chorales, and a Musical Dictionary.

Swift publishes

About this time, the first Pianofortes

his ' Gulliver's

were constructed by Christofali, in Italy,

Travels' (1726).

and by Schroter, in Germany.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

205

A. D.

Pope publishes

1730

Marcello (Benedetto), born 1686 at

his ' Essay on
Man' (1729).

Venice, died 1739. Composed fifty

Thomson pub-

Psalms, several Oratorios, Masses, etc.

lishes his ' Sea-

Porpora (Nicolo), born 1687 at Naples,

sons (I73*-*)'

died 1767. Great singing teacher.

Arbuthnot and Sir
Hans Sloane,

Composed fifty Operas, many Masses,

English physi-

etc.

cians (1730).

Tartini (Giuseppe) born 1692 at Pirano,

Le Sage, author

died 1770. Violinist and composer.

of 'Gil Bias'

/ -r ~-m \

Author of a Treatise on Harmony.

(I730)'

Leo (Leonardo), born 1694 at Naples,

Jonathan Swift,

died 1756. Composed forty-eight Operas,

Dean of St.

Patrick's poet

several Oratorios, Masses, and other

and m i s c e 1-

sacred music. He wrote for his Operas

laneous writer

larger overtures than previous com-

(1730).

posers had done.

Harrison, an Eng-

Carey (Henry), born about 1690 in

lishman, con-
structs a chro-

England, died 1743. Many songs. He

nometer of

is supposed to have composed in the

great precision

year 1740 the English national air of

U735)- His
lourtn cnro-

' God save the King.'

nometer is used

HANDEL- (GEORG FRIEDRICH), pro-

at sea in 1764,

perly Handel, born 1685 at Halle, died

and he receives
a reward of
^20,000.

Frederick III.,

1759 in London. Composed fifty-one
Operas (forty-three having Italian words
and eight having German words), twenty

Elector of Bran-

English Oratorios, many cantatas,

denburg, and

motetts, anthems, a Mass, four Te

Duke of Prus-

Deums, concertos, instrumental com-

sia, in an as-
sembly of the

positions for the organ, harpsichord, etc.

states, puts a

The concertos of that period con-

crown upon his

sisted of orchestral pieces with or with-

own nead, and
upon the head

out an organ concertante ; or of violin-

of his consort,

quintetts with double-bass; or also of

and is pro-
claimed King of
Prussia, by the

pieces for the harpsichord accompanied
by a quartett of stringed instruments,

title of Fred-

etc.

erick I. (1701).

During the eighteenth century, most

Germ an poets and

of the German Opera composers of dis-

authors : —

tinction wrote chiefly to Italian words.

Elias Schlegel,
Gellert, Hage-
dorn, Rabener,
Rammler.Kleist,

Every German town in which a Sover-
eign resided had an Italian Opera.
German art of singing began to flourish

Weisse, Burger,

f\

206

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

A D.

Holty, Stoll-

173°

only about the year 1760. Even

berg, V o s s,
Gleim, Jacoby,

Mozart wrote but two Operas to Ger-

Uz, Gersten-

man words. The German composers

berg, Gotter,
Claudius, Gess-
ner.

(Handel, Gluck, Hasse, Mozart, etc.)
studied dramatic music in Italy.

Frederick William

BACH QOHANN SEBASTIAN), born

I, King of Prus-

1685 at Eisenach, in Germany, died

sia, son of

1750 at Leipzig. Composed several

Frederick I.
(1713.)

Oratorios, many Masses, a great many

VA / *O*/

motetts, cantatas, chorales, etc.; many

First attempt of

StG3.ni Nsivi"

compositions for the organ, clavichord,

gation.byjona-

clavicembalo (harpischord), and for the

than Hulls

orchestra. The first book of his Pre-

(1736).

ludes and Fugues for the clavichord,

John Wesley,

entitled ' Das Wohltemperirte Clavier,'

founder of the

dates from the year 1722, and the

sect 01 Metno-
dists (1730).

second book from the year 1740. He

GeorgeWhitfield,
founder of the

composed the Passion according to
St. Matthew, about the year 1728 ; the

sect of Calvinis-

great Mass in B minor, about 1734;

tic Methodists,

the Art of Fugue, in the year 1748.

preaches in
London in the

Stolzel (Gottfried Heinrich), born

open air (1738).

1690 in Bohemia, died 1749. Several

The Methodist

Operas, Oratorios, Masses, and Treatises

Society is fully

on the Theory and History of Music.

established

Pergolesi (Giovanni Battista), born

(174°)-

1710 at Jesi, died 1736. Composed 7

Italian Painters of

1740

Operas, a Stabat Mater, several Masses,

this period : —

offertories, etc.

Rotari, Casa-

Durante (Francesco), born 1693 at

Grassi,Appiani

Naples, died 1755. Composed Masses

Bossi, Sabatelli

and other sacred music, secular madri-

Ermini, Alva-
rez Camoccini,

gals, pieces for the clavicembalo, etc.

etc.

Durante, was with Leo, the founder

of the famous Neapolitan School.

Frederick II.,
King of Prussia
(fromi74O until

Feo (Francesco), born 1699 at
Naples. Operas, Oratorios, Masses,

1786).

Psalms. Feo is especially remarkable

First Silesian

for being regarded as the master whom

war (1740-

Gluck particularly admired and studied.

1742).

Greene (Maurice), born 1698 in Lon-

Second Silesian

don, died 1755. Many sacred compo-

war (1744-
1745)-

sitions and some English Operas.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

207

A. D.

Maria - Theresa,
Empress of
Germany,

1740

Quanz (Johann Joachim"), born 1697
at Hanover, died 1773. Flute-player,

Queen of Hun-

and teacher of Frederick II. of Prussia.

gary and Bo-

Many compositions, and an instruction

hemia (1740).

book for the Flute.

Francis I., Duke
of Lorrai ne,

Graun (Carl Heinrich), born 1701

marries Maria-

in Saxony, died 1759. Composed 30

Theresa, and is
elected Empe-

Operas, several Oratorios, Masses, can-

ror of Germany

tatas, etc.

(I745)-

Hasse (Johann Adolf), born 1699 at

During the reign

Hamburg, died 1783. Composed 52

of Frederick II.
or Frederick

Operas, n Oratorios, several Masses, a

the Great,' the

Requiem, 4 Te Deums, various other

Prussian mo-

sacred compositions, symphonies,

narchy is made
to rank among

sonatas for the clavichord, concertos,

the first powers

etc.

in Europe.

Galuppi (Baldassaro), born 1703 at

Battle of Det-

Venice, died 1785. Composed 55

tingen gained

Opeias, several Masses, motetts, and

over the

other sacred music.

French . 1743)-

Sammartini (Giovanni Battista), born

The electric

about 1700 at Milan, died 1775. Many

shock is dis-

Masses and other Church music, many

covered at Ley-
den (1745).

symphonies, quartetts, trios, and other

German poets :

instrumental compositions of every

Salis, Matthi-

kind. Sammartini wrote about 2,800

son, Pfeffel,

works, and his style is considered as

r^ind, i_*ang-
bein, Seume,

being the precursor of that of Joseph

Schubert,

Haydn.

Tiedge, etc.

From about the middle of the

Lima and Callao
are destroyed
by an earth-

eighteenth century, the sonata-form
in instrumental compositions (sonatas,

quake which
buries 18,000

symphonies, quartetts, etc.) becomes
much developed, especially through

persons in trie
ruins (1746).

Joseph Haydn.

L i n n ae u s, na-

1750

The flourishing period of the Italian

turalist (1750).

operatic music dates from about the

The Academy of
Sciences at

year 1700 to 1780. The most celebrated
writers of libretti were Apostolo Zeno

Stockholm,

and Metastasio. The most celebrated

and the Royal
Society at Got-
tingen, are

female singers: Faustina, Cuzzoni,
Mattei, Scotti, Grassi, Gabrieli, Agu-

founded (1750).

jari, Danci, Allegrante, Storace, etc.

208

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

A. D.

Samuel Johnson

1750

The most celebrated male singers :

commences the
publication of

Lovattini, Guarducci, Farinelli, Nico-

his ' Rambler '

lini, Guadagni, Millico, Pacchiarotti,

(1750).

Morelli, Marchesi, Salimbeni, Cres-

Lady W. Monta-

centim, etc.

gue, and Lord

Martini (Giovanni Battista), Padre,

Chesterfield,
miscellaneous
writers (1750).

born 1706 at Bologna, died 1784.
Many sacred compositions, History of

Music, School of Harmony, and other

New style in-

literary works on music.

troduced into
England (1752)

Perez (Davide), born 1711 at Naples,
died 1778. Composed 31 Operas.

Death of Mon-
tesquieu(i755).

Jomelli (Nicolo), born 1714 at Aversa,
died 1774. Composed 40 Operas, 4

Great earthquake

Oratorios, several Masses, Requiems,

atLisbon(i755)

etc.

Voltaire at the

Rousseau (Jean Jacques), born 1712

Court of Fred-

at Geneva, in Switzerland, died 1778.

erick of Prussia
(from 1750 until

'

Author. Some French Operas. Many
Treatises on Music. Musical Dictionary.

Invention of the melodrama ascribed

Benjamin Frank-

to him.

lin, in America,
invents the

Arne (Thomas Augustus), born 1710

lightning con-

in London, died 1778. Composed 23

ductor (1755).

Operas, 3 Oratorios, and many other

vocal pieces, etc.

Boyce (William), born 1710 in Eng-

land, died 1779. Organist. Several

dramatic compositions, an Oratorio,

Conquest of
India under

sacred songs, many organ pieces.
Bach (Friedemann), son of J. S.

Colonel, after-

Bach, born 1710 at Weimar, died

wards Lord,
Clive (1757)'

1784. Compositions for the organ,

clavichord, and harpsichord.

Death of General

Bach (Carl Philipp Emanuel), son of

Wolfe at the

J. S. Bach, born 1713 at Weimar,

Battle of Que-

died 1788. Oratorios, cantatas, sacred

bec (1759).

songs, many compositions for the clavi-

chord. Instruction Book for playing

the clavichord.

The Seven Years'

1760

Fiorillo (Ignazio), born 1715 at

War in Ger-

Naples, died 1787. Several Operas, an

many (1756-
1763).

Oratorio, a Requiem, Masses.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

209

George III., King

of Great Britain,

grandson of

George II.

(1760).

Moses Mendels-
sohn, philoso-
pher.

Winckelmann,
antiquarian.

Garrick, actor.

Joseph II., Em-
peror of Aus-
tria (1765).

Mesmer, a Ger-
man physician,
publishes his
'Theory of
Animal Mag-
netism' (1766).

Blackstone pub-
lishes his'Com-
mentaries on
the Laws o:
England' (1767;

Corsica becomes
French (1768).

Napoleon Buona-
parte born at
Ajaccio, in Cor-
sica (1769).

Death of Em-
anuel Sweden-
borg, founder
of a new reli-
gious sect
(1772).

Sheridan pub-
lishes his first
drama, ' The
Rivals ' (1775)-

Pestalozzi founds
the Reforma-
tory School at
Neuhoff, in
Switzerland

(1775)-

Adam Smith
publishes his
« Wealth of
Nations' (1776)

1760

1770

Alembert (Jean- le- Rond d'), born

1717 in Paris, died 1783. Author of a
System of Composition, and of other
theoretical works on music.

Marpurg (Friedrich Wilhelm), born

1718 in Prussia, died 1795. Organ and
clavichord compositions. Treatises
on the Theory of Music.

Mozart (Leopold), father of the great
Mozart, born 1719 at Augsburg, died
1789. Composed 4 Operas, 12 Ora-
torios, many symphonies, and other
instrumental and vocal music. Also a
Violin School.

Gerbert (Martin), Abbot, born 1720 in
Austria, died 1792. History of sacred
music.

Benda (Georg), born 1721 in Bo-
hemia, died 1795. Composed 14 Operas,
some melodramas, cantatas, and in-
strumental music.

Kirnberger (Johann Philipp), born
1721 in Thuringia, Germany, died
1783. Composed fugues and other
pieces for the clavichord and piano-
forte. Author of several works on the
theory of music.

The Pianoforte begins to supersede
the clavichord and clavicembalo (Eng-
lish harpsichord).

Piccini (Nicolo), born 1728 at Naples,
died 1800. Composed above 130 Operas,
several Oratorios, psalms, etc.

GLUCK (CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD VON),
born 1714 at Weidenwang,Germany, died
I787 Composed 21 Operas, 8 of which
are to Italian words, and 13 are to
French words. A De Profundis, a
Ballet entitled ' Don Juan,' some secular
songs, a few instrumental pieces, etc.

Sarti (Giuseppe), born 1730 at
Faenza, died 1802. Composed 44
Operas, and several sacred pieces.

2IO

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

A. D.

Necker, Minister

I770

Lolli (Antonio), born about 1730 at

of Finance in
France (1777)-

Bergamo, died 1802. Violinist. Many

compositions for his instrument.

The Sandwich

Majo (Francesco de), born 1745 at

Islands are dis-
co vere d by

Naples, died 1774. Composed 13 Operas,

Captain Cook

many Masses, Vespers, etc.

(1778).

Arteaga (Steffano), born about 1730

Death of William

at Madrid, died 1799. Author of a

Pitt, first Earl

History of the Italian Opera.

of Chatham

Philidor (Frangois Andre), born 1727

(1778)-

at Dreux, died 1795. Composed 22

Captain Cook is

Operas, of which n are to Italian words,

killed by the na-

and ii to French words. Philidor is

tives of Owyhee

fl77o).

also celebrated as a chess-player.

V*/ /y/'

Monsigny (Pierre Alexandre), born

]'. Priestley,

1729 at St. Omer, died 1817. Composed

chemical philo-
sopher (i733~

17 Operas, ballets, etc.

1804).

Gossec (Frangois Joseph), born 1733

Hunter, surgeon

at Hainault, died 1829. Composed 28

(1728-1793).

Operas, and many sacred compositions.

Sir ^V Tones

Hawkins (John), born 1720 in Eng-

orientalist

land, died 1791. Author of a History

(1746-1794).

of Music.

Horace Walpole
(1717-1797).

Burney (Charles), born 1726 at
Shrewsbury, died 1814. Author of a

Bos well, bio-

History of Music, and some other

grapher of Dr.

works.

Johnson.

Abel (Carl Friedrich), born 1725 at

Cowper, poet.

Kothen, in Germany, died 1787 in
London. Viola-da-Gambist and com-

Bacon, sculptor.

poser.

Josiah Wedge-

Hiller (Johann Adam), born 1728 in

wood, improver

Lusatia, Germany, died 1804. Com-

of pottery

posed 18 Operettas, many psalms,

manufacture

(I73O-I7Q1;).

sacred and secular songs, symphonies,

v /jw /yj/*

sonatas, and musical treatises.

Alfieri publishes
his first tragedy
' Cleopatra '

HAYDN (JOSEPH), born 1732 at
Rohrau, in Austria, died 1809. Com-

(*773)-

posed 24 Operas (10 with German

Benjamin Frank-

words, and 14 with Italian words), 4

lin, American

Oratorios, 19 Masses, several Te

philoso ph er
and statesman

Deums, a Stabat Mater, Salve Regina,

(1706-1790).

many motetts and other sacred music,

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC. 211

A. D.

Pope Clement
XIV. suppresses
the Order of the

1770

118 symphonies, 83 quartetts, 44
sonatas, and many other instrumental

Jesuits, found-

and vocal compositions.

ed in the year

1540 (1773)-

J. Haydn wrote in 1783 the Oratorio

The Seven Words, for Cadix ; in 1800,

The Jesuits were
expelled from

The Creation; in 1803, The Seasons;

England in

in 1791 and 1793, the twelve so-called

1604 ; from
France, in

English symphonies, in London.

1764; f r o m

Kittel (Johann Christian), born 1732

Spain, in 1767.
The Order was

at Erfurt in Germany, died 1809.

restored by

Many organ compositions.

Pope Pius VII.

1774

GLUCK in Paris, from 1774 to 1779.

in 1014*

Representations of his Operas. Reform

Death of Lord
Clive ImA.).

of the French dramatic music. Rivalry

N^ll V V. ^A f /«!•/•

between Gluck and Piccini in Paris.

The American

First performance of Orpheus and

Colonies deny
the right of the
British Parlia-

Euridice, Vienna 1762 : of Alceste,
Vienna, 1767 ; of Iphigenia in Aulis,

ment to tax

Paris, 1774 ; of Armida, Paris, 1777 ; of

them (1774).
The first battle of
the American

Iphigenia in Tauris, Paris, 1779.
The Operas by Gluck are the noblest

war at Lexing-

musical dramas in existence. They

ton (1775).

have served as models for the most

Voltaire (1694-

eminent operatic composers whose

I778).

works have been written subsequently

to those of Gluck.

W. Herschel,

astronomer

(1738-1822).

1780

Sacchini (Antonio Maria Giuseppe),

born 1735 at Naples, died 1786.

W. Herschel dis-
covers the

Composed 50 Operas, several Oratorios,

planet Uranus,

Masses with double choruses, a

or Georgium

Miserere, several other sacred com-

Sidus (1781).

positions, sonatas, violin-trios, etc.

Mail Coaches are

Anfossi (Pasquale), born about 1736

first set up at

at Naples, died 1797. Many Operas

Palmer, and are

and sacred compositions.

soon in use all

Traetta (Tomaso), born 1738 at

through Eng-
land (1784).

Naples, died 1786. Operas and Church

music.

The Crimea is

Sabbatini (Luigi Antonio), born 1739

given up by

at Albano, died 1809. Church music

Turkey to
Russia (1784).

and several theoretical works.

212

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

A. D.

The power-loom

1780

Boccherini (Luigi), born 1740 at

tor \veaving is
invented 'by E.

Lucca, died 1806. Many symphonies,

Cartwright

quintetts, quartetts, sonatas, and other

(1785)-

instrumental compositions.

Watt greatly

Paesiello (Giovanni), born 1741 at

improves the
Steam Engine

Taranto, died 1816. Composed 94

(1736-1819).

Operas, an Oratorio, a Requiem,

Watt's double

many Masses, a Te Deum, and other

Steam Engine

sacred music.

(about 1780).

Great popularity of the Operas by

The Steam

Paesiello, Cimaroso, Sacchini, Piccini,

Engine is

etc.

applied to

Langle" (Onorio Francesco), born

cotton spinning
(1785).

1741 at Monaco, died 1807. Composed

Lessing (1729-
1781).

8 Operas (with French words), and
wrote several theoretical works on

1 v J

music in French.

T h ** United

JL 11 C W U * * V W

States of

Gretry (Andre-Ernest-Modeste), born

America de-

1741 at Liege, died 1813. Composed

clare their
independence
(1776).

59 Operas, several Masses, motetts,
symphonies, quartetts, pianoforte-

sonatas, etc. Also Essays on Music.

Alliance between

J

France and

Battishill (Jonathan), born 1738 in

the United

London, died 1801. Many sacred vocal

States (1778).

compositions, and some Operas.

Spain and

Arnold (Samuel), born 1740 in

Holland in
favour of the

London, died 1802. Composed 40

United States

Operas and Operettas (with English

(I779)-

words), 7 Oratorios, etc.

United States of

Bach (Johann Christian), son of J.

North America

S. Bach, born 1735 at Leipzig, died

independent.

1782 in London. Composed 15 Operas

Washington their

(with Italian words), 18 concertos for

President

the harpsichord, sonatas, trios, and

(1783).

other instrumental pieces.

Washington

Albrechtsberger (Johann Georg),

(1732-1799).

born 1736 in the neighbourhood of

Frcdc ri ck-

Vienna, died 1809. Composed 26 Masses,

William II.,

43 graduates, 34 offertories, and other

King of Prussia,

sacred compositions, many organ-

nephew of
Frederick the

fugues, etc. Author of a work on the

Great (1786).

Theory of Music.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

2I3

A. D.

The Quakers at
Philadelphia
emancipate

1780

Haydn (Michael), brother of Joseph
Haydn, born 1737 in Rohrau, died 1806.

their slaves

Many Masses, Offertories, Te Deums,

(1788).

etc.

First English

Dittersdorf (Carl Ditters von), born

settlement in
Australia, at
Botany Bay

1739 at Vienna, died 1799. Composed
37 Operas, 41 symphonies, many

(1788).

concertos and other instrumental

pieces.

Invention of the
balloon, and

Andr6 (Johann), born 1741 at

ascent by

Offenbach, in Germany, died 1799.

Montgolfier, in
Paris (1783).

Composed about 30 German Operettas.

Naumann (Johann Gottlieb), born

Blanchard and
Jefferies cross
the English

1741 in Saxony, died 1801. Composed
26 Operas, 13 Oratorios, many Masses,

Channel in a

psalms, cantatas, and other vocal

balloon (1785).

music, many symphonies, concertos,

and other instrumental pieces.

Diderot (1713 —

1784

Martini (Johann Paul Egydius),

1784)

properly Schwarzendorf, born 1741 in

Buffon (1707 —

Germany, died 1816. Composed 12

1788).

Operas (with French words), a Requiem,

Masses, a Te Deum. Wrote several

Herschel com-
pletes his great

theoretical works on music.

forty-foot teles-

Festival in commemoration of Handel,

cope, discovers
volcanic moun-

in London. Mara (Gertrude Elizabeth),

tains in the

the celebrated German singer (born

moon, etc.

1749 at Cassel, died 1833), visits London,

(1787).

and sings at the Festival.

The French

Origin of the English Musical

Revolution

Festivals, in which the principal

(1789).

performers are mostly foreigners.

Death of Mira-

I79O

Salieri (Antonio), born 1750 at

beau (1791).

Legnano, died 1825. Composed 41

Royalty abolished
in France

Operas, a Requiem, many vocal-
canons, and other vocal pieces.

('792).

Zingarelli (Nicolo), born 1752 at

Louis XVI. be-

Rome, died 1837. Composed 22 Operas,

headed (1793).

38 Masses with organ, 45 other Masses,

4 Requiems, and many other sacred

compositions.

214

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

A. D.

Marat stabbed by

1790

CLEMENTi(Muzio),borni752 atRome,

Charlotte
Corday (i793)«

died 1832. Pianist and founder of

pianoforte-playing. Composed above

Robespierre
guillotined
(1704).

60 sonatas for pianoforte alone, many
others with accompaniments, fugues,

\ / y^f

studies (Gradus ad Parnassum),

Netherlandish

symphonies. Also an instruction book

Painters : —

for the pianoforte.

Van Os, Vanloo,

Clementi and Beethoven, by their com-

Van Spaen-
donk, Scheffer,

positions for the pianoforte, especially

Pienemann,

promoted the perfecting and the popu-

Hodges, Kui-

larity of the pianoforte.

pers, Omme-
ffunff V\^onder

Viotti (Giovanni Battista), born 1753

&<*u&> vvuiiucij

etc.

at Piedmont, died 1824. Violinist, and

founder of a new school of violin-

French Painters:

playing. Many concertos and other

Joseph Vernet
(1714 — 1780),

instrumental compositions.

\ / T^ / y/ '

Greuze, Vien,

Cimarosa (Domenico), born 1754 at

David, Isabey,

Naples, died 1801. Composed 75

Drouais, Ge-
rard, Gros, In-

Operas, a Requiem, Masses, etc.

gres, Regnauld,

Dalayrac (Nicolas), born 1753 in

Guerin, Horace

Languedoc, France, died 1809. Com-

Vernet (born
1789), etc.

O ' * -/

posed 56 Operas.

Shield (William), born 1754 in

Denmark sets the

London, died 1829. Composed Operas,

example of

canzonets, instrumental trios. Author

abolishing the
slave trade

of a Treatise on Harmony.

(i79i)-

Storace (Stephan), born 1763 in Lon-

France abolishes
slavery in her

don, of Italian origin, died 1796. Com-
posed 14 Operas with English words.

colonies (1794).

Gerber (Ernst Ludwig), born 1746 in

Abolition of the
slave trade by

Saxony, died 1819. Author of two bio-
graphical Dictionaries of Musicians,

the English

and of some books of instruction on

Parliament

music.

(1807).

Schulz (Johann Peter), born 1747 at

Vaccination is in-

Liineburg, in Germany, died 1800.

troduced by Dr.
Jenner (1796).

Several Operas, Oratorios, choruses,
etc.

Lithography is

Neefe (Christian), born 1748 in

invented by

Saxony, died 1798. Composed 10

Alois oenne-
felder (1796).

Operas. Teacher of Beethoven, in

Bonn.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

215

A. D.

Hahnemann,
founder of

1790

Stadler (Maximilian), Abbe", born

Homoeopathy

1748 in Austria, died 1833. An

(1796).

Oratorio, Masses, psalms, and other

In the year 1792
the French

sacred vocal music, compositions for
the organ and the pianoforte.

nation adopted
a new Calendar

Vogler (Georg Joseph), Abbe", born

founded on

1749 at Wiirzburg, in Germany, died

philosophical

1814. Composed 5 Operas, several

principles. It

Masses, many other sacred compositions,

use until the

symphonies, organ pieces, etc. Author

end of the year

of several theoretical works on music.

1805, when the
Gregorian

Forkel ( Johann Nikolaus), born 1749

mode of calcu-

at Coburg, in Germany, died 1818.

lation was re-
stored sit the

Wrote a History of Music, and several

instance of Na-

other musical treatises.

poleon. The

Koch (Heinrich Christoph), born

public feasts or

1749 at Rudolstadt, Germany, died

oanscuiot-
tides,'' fixed in

1816. Instruction books on harmony,

the Revolution-

and a Musical Dictionary.

ary Calendar,

Kauer (Ferdinand), born 1751 in

were dedicated
to Les Vertus

Moravia, died 1831. Above 200 Operas

Sept. 17 ; Le

of a light and popular character.

Genie, Sept.
18 ; Le Tra-

Reichardt (Johann Friedrich), born

vail, Sept. 19 ;

1752 at Konigsberg, in Prussia, died

L ' O pi nion,

1814. Composed 30 Operas, some

Sept. 20 ; Les
Recompenses,
Sept. 21.

Oratorios, hymns, secular songs.
Author of several Treatises on Music, etc.

Revolution in Po-
land : Koscius-

Knecht (Justin Heinrich), born 1752
at Bieberich, in Germany, died 1817.

ko, in the be-

Masses, cantatas, and other sacred

ginning suc-
cessful, is later

music, and an instruction book on

defeated. Su-

harmony.

warrow storms

Turk (Daniel Gottlieb), born 1756 in

Warsaw(i794).

Saxony, died 1813. An Oratorio, mo-

The third division

tetts, many pieces for the clavichord

of Poland be-

and the pianoforte, a Treatise on

tween Russia,
Austria, and

Thorough-bass, etc.

Prussia (1795).

MOZART (WOLFGANG AMADEUS),

thematician

born 1756 at Salzburg, died 1791.

and astrono-
mer (1796).

Composed 6 great Operas with Italian
words, 2 great Operas with German

2l6

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

Stereotyping in-
vented by Am-
brose Didot, of
Paris (1797).

Frederick Wil-
liam III., King
of Prussia
(*797)-

Buonaparte in
Egypt and
Syria (1798).

Buonaparte, in
France, is de-
clared First
Consul (1799).

The English take
possession of
most of the
French and
Dutch domin-
ions in America
(1803).

Napoleon, Em-
peror of France
(1804).

Kant, philosopher
(1724—1804).

Death of Nelson
(1805).

Death of Pitt
(1806).

Wieland (1733 —
1813).

Napoleon ar-
rives at Elba
(1814).

Napoleon defeat-
ed at Waterloo
(1815).

The " Holy Al-
liance " con-
cluded at Paris
(1815).

The Jesuits ex-
pelled from
Russia (1816).

The foreign
troops evacu-
ate France
(1818).

Death of Mar-
shal Blucher,
aged 77 (1819).

A. D.
1790

I800

words, 8 earlier Italian Operas, 2
German Operettas, several cantatas, a
Requiem, many Masses, graduates,
offertories, hymns, a Te Deum, and
other sacred compositions, about 33
symphonies, 23 pianoforte concertos,
some concertos for other instruments,
6 violin quintetts, 26 violin quartetts,
31 pianoforte sonatas with and
without accompaniments, many other
instrumental compositions, many songs,
etc.

Mozart composed, in 1780, the Opera
' Idomeneo ' for Munich ; in 1781, ' Die
Entfiihrung aus dem Serail ' (his first
Opera with German words) for Vienna;
in 1785, ' Le Nozze de Figaro ' for
Vienna; in 1787, 'Don Giovanni' for
Prague ; in 1790, ' Cosi Fan Tutte ' for
Vienna; in 1791, 'La Clemenza di Tito'
for Prague, and 'Die Zauberflote' (his
second Opera with German words) for
Vienna. In the same year, 1791, he
wrote also his Requiem.

Righini (Vincenzo), born 1756 at
Bologna, died 1812. Composer of 20
Operas, several Masses and other
sacred music.

CHERUBINI (LuiGi), born 1760 at
Florence, died 1842. Composer of
29 Operas, some ballets, 4 great
NIasses, 2 Requiems, many other sacred
pieces, violin quartetts and other
instrumental music. Author of a
Treatise on Musical Composition.

Gervasoni (Carlo), born 1762 at
Milan, died 1819. Instruction books
and historical Treatises on Music.

Mayer (Simon), born 1763 in Bavaria,
died 1845. From his early youth lived
in Italy. Composer of 77 Operas, many
Oratorios, Masses, psalms, and other
sacred music.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

217

A. D.

Captain Ross

I800

MEHUL (ETIENNE HENRI), born 1763

age of Dis-

at Givet, died 1817. Composed 42

covery in the

Operas, many hymns, cantatas, etc.

Polar Sea
(1818).

Lesueur (Jean Francois), born 1764

V /

Klopstock (1724-
1803).

at Abbeville, died 1837. Composed 10
Operas, 33 Oratorios, several Masses

Herder (1744 —

and motetts.

1803).

Rouget de Lille (Claude Joseph),

Winsor, a Ger-

born 1760 at L/ons-le-Saulnier, died

man, obtains in

1836. Composer of romances, and of

England a pa-
tent as the in-

the Marseillaise.

ventor of gas

Attwood (Thomas), born 1767 in

for the purpose
of illumination.

England. Many Operas and sacred

He makes his

compositions.

first experi-

Winter (Peter von), born 1755 at

ment at the Ly-
ceum in the

Mannheim in Germany, died 1825.

Strand (1804).

Above 30 Operas, many Ballets, Ora-

Schiller (1759 —

torios, Masses, motetts, hymns,

1805).

cantatas, etc.

Schiller's 'The

Pleyel(Jgnaz),born 1757 near Vienna,

Robbers' ap-

died 1831. Composed 29 symphonies,

peared in 1781;
Don Carlos,

many violin-quartetts, pianoforte-

about 1785 ;

sonatas, etc.

Wallenstein,

Preindl (Joseph), born 1758 in Austria,

1799 ; Maria
Stuart. 1800 i

died 1823. Many Masses, a Requiem,

William Tell,

and other church music. Instruction

1804.

books for thorough-bass, for singing,

Painters : David,

etc.

Fuseli, G. F.
Morland Stot-

Zelter (Carl Friedrich), born 1758 in

hard, Benjamin

Berlin, died 1832. Many vocal com-

West, North-

positions, and some literary productions.

cote, etc.

Zelter founded, in 1808, the first

Actors: J. P.

Ivtmblc Mrs.

German Liedertafel, or society of male

Siddons, Tal-

singers. Similar societies have sub-

ma.

sequently become popular in Germany

First meeting of

and other countries.

the Imperial
Parliament of

Zumsteeg (Johann Rudolph), born

Great Britain

1760 at Sachsenflur, in Germany, died

and Ireland

/ »QrtT\

1802. Composed 8 Operas, many

(1801).
Jefferson, Presi-
dent of the

ballads, and other vocal music.
Dussek (Johann Ludwig), born 1761

United States

in Bohemia, died 1812. Pianist and

(1801).

composer for his instrument. Wrote

218

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

A. D.

Institution of the
Legion of
Honour in

1800

13 concertos, 53 sonatas, several piano-
forte-quartetts, etc. Also an Opera.

France (1802).

Men of Science
born about this
time : —

Kunzen (Friedrich), born 1761 at
Liibeck, died 1817. Composed 9 Operas

Sir D. Brewster,

(8 of which are with Danish words, and

philosopher,

one is with German words), 3 Oratorios,

born 1781.

several cantatas, and other sacred music.

G. B. Airy, astro-

nomer, born

1801.

Gyrowetz (Adalbert), born 1763 in

Baron Liebig,

Bohemia, died 1850. Above 30 Operas,

chemist, born

TO*-.-}

many Ballets and Entr'actes, sacred

loOj-

R. Owen com-

vocal music, many symphonies, quar-

parative anato-

tetts, pianoforte compositions, songs, etc.

mist, born 1804.

Brassey, engi-
neer, born 1805.
Lesseps, French
engineer, born

Steibelt (Daniel), born about 1764 at
Berlin, died 1823. Pianist. Composed
6 pianoforte concertos, 46 solo sonatas

1806.

and many other compositions for the

J. Stuart Mill,
t_ • i t_

pianoforte, studies for the pianoforte,

philosopher,
born 1807.

and an instruction book for that instru-

Lo ngfellow,

ment ; also 4 Operas.

American poet,

born 1807.

Lyon Playfair,

1810

Paer (Ferdinando), born 1771 at Par-

chemist, born

ma, died 1839. Composer of 51 Operas,

1819.

ii cantatas, and other vocal music.

J. Tyndal, che-

Berton (Henri Montan), born 1767

mist, born 1820.

in Paris, died 1844. About 50 Operas,

Death of Sheri-

several Oratorios, cantatas, and Treatises

dan (1816).

on the Theory of Music.

Iffland, German

Baillot (Pierre), born 1771 at Passy,

actor and dra-

died 1842. Violinist. Concertos and

matic writer
(1759—1814).

other compositions for the violin, an
instruction book for the violin, etc.

Thorwalds en,

Choron (Alexandre Etienne), born

Danish sculp-
tor ^1770- 1844).

1772 at Caen, died 1834. Many theo-

retical works. A Musical Dictionary.

Beranger, French

Catel (Charles Simon), born 1773 at

poet (1780 —
1857).

L'Aigle, died 1830. Composed 10

Operas, many instrumental and vocal

Arago, French
Savant (1786—

pieces. Author of a Treatise on Har-

1835).

mony, etc.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

219

C. Babbage, phi-
losophical me-
chanist (1792-
1871).

Sir Charles Lyell,
geologist
(1797-1875).

Statesmen born

about this time:
Gladstone born

1809.
Baron Beust,

born 1809.
Bismarck-Schon-

hausen, born

1813.
Count Cavour,

born 1810.
Cobden, born

1804.
John Bright, born

1811.
Sculptors born

about this

time : —
Marochetti, born

1805.

Kiss, born 1802.
Powers, born

1805.
The Jesuits are

expelled from

Prussia (1817).

The Mahratta
war in Hindu-
stan.

Steam applied to
printing in the
Times office
(1814)-

The Marquess of
Hastings ren-
ders British
influence uni-
versal in India
(1817).

The Island of
Singapore is
formed into a
British settle-
ment by Sir
Stamford Raf-
fles (1818).

A. D.

1810

Rode (Pierre), born 1774 at Bor-
deaux, died 1830. Violinist. Many
concertos, quartetts, and other com-
positions.

Cramer (John Baptiste) , born 1771 at
Mannheim, in Germany, but living from
early childhood in England, died 1858.
Pianist. Pianoforte studies, 105 solo
sonatas, and 7 concertos for the piano-
forte. Also a pianoforte school, etc.

Weigl (Joseph), born 1766 at Eisen-
stadt, in Hungary, died 1846. About
30 Operas, 14 ballets, 21 Oratorios and
cantatas, 10 Masses, and other sacred
music.

Weber (Bernhard Anselm), born
1766 at Manheim, died 1821- Several
Operas, melodramas, and Entr'actes.

Romberg (Andreas), born 1767 in
Vechte, near Munster, in Germany,
died 1821. Composed 7 Operas, a Te
Deum, psalms and other sacred com-
positions, many symphonies and other
instrumental music, secular songs, etc.
Romberg (Bernhard), brother of An-
dreas Romberg, born 1770 near Mun-
ster in Germany, died 1841. Violon-
cellist. Composed 3 Operas, many
concertos and other pieces for the
violoncello, quartetts, etc.

Muller (Wenzel), born 1767 in Mora-
via, died 1835. Above 200 Operas of a
light popular character, pantomimes,

etc

' Nageli (Johann Georg), born 1773
near Zurich, in Switzerland, died 1830.
Promoter of popular singing societies
composer of vocal music, and author o
instruction books on singing, etc.

BEETHOVEN (Luowio VAN), born
1770 at Bonn, died 1827. An Opera,
2 dramas with music, a melodrama
several single dramatic choruses anc

220

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

A. D.

Reunion of the

Lutheran and

1810

songs, an Oratorio, 2 Masses, 9 sym-

other reformed

phonies, ii overtures, a septett, 7

forms of wor-

concertos for pianoforte, a violin con-

ship in several

certo, 2 violin quintetts, 17 violin

pnrts of Ger-
many (1818).

quartetts, 5 violin trios, 35 solo

sonatas for the pianoforte, 10 sonatas

Voyage to the

T->*-vl«.- Q.^.-. \^ir

for pianoforte and violin, 6 sonatas for

rolar oea by
Parry (1819).

pianoforte and violoncello, 7 trios for

pianoforte, violin, and violoncello, a

Parry undertakes

pianoforte quintett, a great many other

another voy-
age to reach

pianoforte compositions, cantatas,

the North Pole

songs with pianoforte accompaniment,

(1820).

etc.

George IV., King

In 1793 Beethoven came to Vienna

of Great

as Virtuoso on the pianoforte, and dis-

Britain, son of

/-* T T T

tinguished himself by his improvisa-

(j e o r g e III.
(1820).

tions; in 1795 he published his first

\ — *•""••»-/"

important work, the three pianoforte

Guizot, French

trios, Op. i ; in 1799 appeared his first

statesman and
historian^ 1787-

symphony; in 1804 his Opera 'Leonore'

1874).

(Fidelio) ; in 1809 his symphony in C

•

Minor and his pastoral symphony ; in

Revolution in
Spain ; King

1814 his A Major symphony; in 1818

Ferdinand VII.

his ninth symphony.

swears to the

Reicha (Anton), born 1770 at Prague,

constitution of
the Cortes

died 1836. Four Operas, symphonies,

(1820).

quartetts, sonatas, etc., and several

Mexico separates
from Spain

Treatises on Harmony and Composition.
Tomaschek (Johann Wenzel), born

(1820).

1774 in Bohemia, died 1850. An Opera,

several cantatas, a Requiem, a Te

Insurrection in
Portugal (1820)

Deum, Masses, and other sacred com-
positions, secular songs, symphonies,

Revolution in

quartetts, pianoforte pieces.

the Brazils ;
King John VI.

Kiesewetter (Raphael Georg), born

returns to Por-

1773 in Moravia, died 1850. Many disser-

tugal, and his

tations relating to the history of music.

son, Dom Pe-
dro, is made

Weyse (Christoph Ernst Friedrich),

Regent of the

born 1774 at Altona, in Germany, died

Brazils (1820).

1842. Several Operas with Danish

Peru declares her-
self indepen-

words, symphonies, sonatas and other
instrumental pieces. He lived in Copen-

dent (1820).

hagen.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

221

A. D.

Napoleon dies at
S t. H e 1 e n ci

1820

Baini (Giuseppe), Abbate, born 1775 at

(1821).

Rome, died 1844. Many sacred compo-
sitions and historical Treatises on Music.

Union of the

Author of the ' Life of Palestrina.'

vjreeKs in one
con federate

Generali (Pietro), born 1783 in Pied-

state (1822).

mont, died 1832. About 50 Operas.

Dr. T. Young,
natural philo-

Paganini(Nicolo),born 1784 at Genoa,
died 1840. Violinist. Concertos and

sopher, and

other compositions for his instrument.

discoverer of
the hierogly-
phic alphabet.

Spontini (Gasparo), born 1784 at
Rome, died 1851. Composer of about

26 Operas.

Sir Humphry
Davy, chemist,
inventor of the

Isouard (Nicolo), born 1775 in Malta,
died 1818. Composed 42 Operas,

safety-lamp,

several Masses, cantatas, etc.

etc.

Boieldieu (Fran9ois Adrien), born

Macadam, im-

X775 at Rouen, died 1834. Composed

prover of

23 Operas.

roads.

Lafont (Charles Philippe), born 1781

Francis Douce,

in Paris, died 1839. Violinist. Many

antiquarian.

compositions for the violin, and many

Cuvier.naturalist.

romances.
Onslow (Georges), born 1784 at Cler-

C h a n n i n g

mont, in France, died 1852. Composed

(Unitarian
Preacher) Sir

3 Operas, several symphonies, many

R. Phillips, W.

violin quintetts, quartetts, trios, 2

H a z 1 i t t,

pianoforte sextetts, and other piano-

Charles

forte music.

Lamb, mis-
cellaneous

Auber (Daniel Francois Esprit), born

writers.

1782 at Caen, in France, died 1871.

PT> Ot- 11

Above 30 Operas.

. r>. Shelley,
Tames Hoss

Fetis (Fransois Joseph), born 1784

•J r»&

(the " Ettrick

at Mons, in Belgium, died 1872. Dic-

Shepherd")

R; I J

tionary of Musicians, historical Treatises

e g i n a 1 d
Heber Robert

on Music, etc.

Southey, Sir

Castil-Blaze (Frangois Henri Joseph),

Walter Scott,

born 1784 at Cavaillon, in France, died

poets.

1857. Several Treatises on Music, a

Charles X., King

Musical Dictionary, etc.

of France

Bishop (Henry Rowley), born 1782

(1824).

in London, died 1855. Composed 63

Operas and other dramatic pieces,

songs, etc.

222

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

A.D.

Burmese war.
Capture of
Rangoon by

1820

Field (John), born 1782 at Dublin,
died 1837 at Moscow. Pianist. Pupil

the British

of Clementi. Pianoforte concertos,

(1824).

notturnos, etc.

Denham and

Hummel (Johann Nepomuk), born

Clapperton's

1778 at Pressburg, died 1837. Pianist.

exploring expe-

Composed 5 Operas, several ballets, 2

dition to Cen-
tral Africa

cantatas, many pianoforte concertos,

(1824).

trios, sonatas, 2 pianoforte septetts,

etc. Also a pianoforte school.

Bowdich, on an
expedition to

Neukomm (Sigismund), born 1778 at

explore the in-

Salzburg, died 1858. Pupil of J. Haydn.

terior of Af-

Composed 10 Operas, many cantatas,

rica, died at
the mouth of

7 Oratorios, 15 Masses, many psalms,

the Gambia

symphonies, quartetts, sonatas, etc.

(1824).

Logier ( Johann Bernhard), born 1777

Death of Lord

at Kaiserslautern, in Germany, died

Byron (1824).

1846. A new method of teaching the

Nicholas I., Em-

pianoforte and the Theory of Music.

peror of Rus-

Diabelli (Anton), born 1781, near

sia (1825).

Salzburg, died 1858. Many Masses

Death of John

and other Church music, pianoforte

VI., King of

compositions and songs.

Portugal (1826)

Kreutzer (Conradin), born 1782 at

Don Pedro I.,

Moskirch, in Germany, died 1849.

Emperor of

Composed 24 Operas, an Oratorio,

Brazil, son of

several Masses and other Church

John VI., re-
nounces the

music, many instrumental pieces and

Portuguese

songs.

crown in favour
of his daughter,
Maria da Glor-

Spohr (Louis), born 1784 at Bruns-
wick, in Germany, died 1859. Violinist.

ia, aged seven

Composed 8 Operas, several Oratorios,

years. The In-
fanta Isabella

psalms, and other sacred music, sym-

governs as Re-

phonies, many violin quartetts, quin-

gent till the

tetts, concertos, and other compositions

year 1828
(1826).

for the violin, etc. Also a violin
school.

Canova, Sculptor

Ries (Ferdinand), born 1784 at

(1757—1822).

Bonn, died 1838. Pupil of Beethoven.

Charles X. ex-

Pianist. Composed 2 Operas, some

pelled from

sacred and secular vocal music,

France, retires
to England in

pianoforte concertos, quartetts, trios,

the year 1830.

sonatas, etc.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

223

A. D.

Jean Paul, Fried-
rich Richter

1820

Kalkbrenner (Friedrich), born 1784

(1763—1825).

at Cassel, in Germany, died 1849.

Pianist. Many pianoforte composi-

tions, and a pianoforte school.

First Steam Voy-
age to India,

Kuhlau (Friedrich), born 1786 at

by Captain

Uelzen, in Germany, died 1832, in

Johnston in the
1 Enterprise '
(1825).

Denmark. Composed 5 Operas with
Danish words, and many compositions

for the flute, the pianoforte, and for

Athens, besieged

other instruments.

by the Turks,

WEBER (CARL MARIA VON), born

is forced to sur-
render (1826).

1786 at Eutin, in Germany, died 1826,

in London. Composed 8 Operas, several

Russia at war

dramatic scenes, Masses, hymns,

with Persia

overtures, pianoforte concertos, cla-

(1827).

rionet concertos, pianoforte sonatas,

songs, etc.

Ru ssia makes
peace with

In 1821, first performance of ' Der

Persia, and in-

Freischlitz ' at Berlin; in 1823, 'Eury-

creases her

anthe ' at Vienna ; in 1826, ' Oberon '

possessions in
the south

in London.

(1828).

Fesca (Friedrich Ernst), born 1789

at Magdeburg, died 1826. Some Operas,

Russia at war
with Turkey
(1828).

many psalms and other sacred music,
symphonies, quintetts, many quartetts,

etc.

The Turks are

Schneider (Johann Christian Fried-

conquered by

rich), born 1786 in Saxony, died 1858.

the Russian

About 9 Oratorios, several Masses,

General Die-
bitch (1829).

hymns, cantatas, instrumental com-

positions, songs, etc.

Turkey acknow-

SCHUBERT (FRANZ), born 1797 in

ledges the in-

Vienna, died 1828. Several Operas,

dependence of
Greece (1829).

Masses and other Church music,

symphonies, quartetts, trios, and

other instrumental pieces, sonatas,

fantasias, etc. for the pianoforte, a

great many songs with pianoforte

accompaniment.

Charles X. King

1830

Carafa (Michele), born 1785 at Naples,

of France, de-

died 1872. About 30 Operas.

posed (1830).

224

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

A.D.

06^6(1749-1832)

1830

ROSSINI (GIOACHINO ANTONIO), born

William IV., King

1792 at Pesaro, died 1868. About 40

of Great Bri-

Operas, a Stabat Mater, some other

George IV.

sacred vocal music, several secular

(1830).

cantatas, orchestral pieces, etc.

Louis - Philippe,

Bellini (Vincenzo), born 1802 at

King of France

Catania, in Sicily, died 1835. Composed

(1830).

10 Operas, some sacred music, sym-

Cholera Morbus,
its first appear-
ance in Eng-

phonies, overtures, etc.
Herold (Louis), born 1791 in Paris,

land (1831).

died 1833. Composed 16 Operas and

Death of Sir

several ballets.

Walter Scott

/ O \

Lindpaintner (Peter Joseph), born

(1832).

1791 at Coblenz, died 1856. About 25

Slavery abolished
throughout the
British Colonies

Operas, 9 ballets, Oratorios, Masses,
motetts, symphonies, etc.

(1834)-

Mayseder (Joseph), born 1789 in

Wilhelm von

Vienna, died 1863. Many compositions

Humboldt, phi-

for violin, quintetts, quartetts, piano-

lologist (1767

forte trios, sonatas, etc.; also a Mass.

—1835).

Moscheles (Ignaz), born 1794 at

Alexander von
Humboldt, na-

Prague, died 1870. Pianist. Many

turalist (1769

pianoforte compositions ; also some

—1859).

symphonies, etc.

Edmund Kean,

Klein (Bernhard), born 1794 at

English actor
(1787—1833).

Cologne, died 1832. About 3 Operas,
4 Oratorios, a Stabat Mater, and other

The first great

sacred music.

English rail-
way by steam

Meyerbeer (Jacob), born 1794 in

engines is the

Berlin, died 1864. Composed 16 Operas,

Liverpool and

an Oratorio, a Stabat Mater, a Te Deum,

M anchester
Railway, open-

a Miserere, many psalms and other

ed in 1830.

sacred music, secular songs, etc.

Queen Victoria

Czerny (Carl), born 1791 in Vienna,

born in 1819,

died 1857. Many Pianoforte pieces ;

ascends the

also Masses, Te Deums, and other

throne (1837).

sacred music ; theoretical works.

Marriage of

1840

Hauptmann (Moritz), born 1794 at

Queen Victoria

Dresden, died 1868. Several sacred

with Prince Al-

bert of Saxe-

compositions, quartetts, sonatas, secu-

Coburg (1840).

lar songs, and theoretical works.

-

Pacini (Giovanni), born 1796 at Syra-

cuse, died 1867. Composed 34 Operas.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

225

A. D

Prince of Wales

1840

Donizetti (Gaetano), born 1797 at

born (1841).

Bergamo, died 1848. Above 70 Operas,

Frederick Wil-
liam IV., King

a Miserere, and other sacred music,

of Prussia

many romances and other songs.

(1840).

Mercadante (Saverio), born 1797 at

Pius IX., Pope

Altamura, in Italy, died 1870. Above

(1846).

30 Operas.

G. C. Prichard,

Panseron (Auguste), born 1796 in

English ethno-
lofist (1786 —

Paris, died 1859. Some Operas, a

1848).

Requiem, 3 Masses, other sacred music,

Revolution in

many romances, an instruction book

France (1848).

on singing, etc.

The Monarchy

Halevy (Jacques), born 1799 in Paris,

abolished in

died 1862. Above 20 Operas.

France.

Marschner (Heinrich), born 1795 at

Louis - Philippe,

Zittau, in Saxony, died 1861. Many

King of France,
deposed (1848).

Operas, Masses, secular songs, etc.

He dies in

Reissiger (Carl), born 1789 near

exile, in Eng-

Wittemberg, in Germany, died 1859.

land (1850).

Ten Operas, many Masses, symphonies,

quartetts, pianoforte trios, songs, etc.

New Republic in

Marx (Adolph Bernhard), born 1799

France. Louis

at Halle, died 1866. Two Oratorios and

N apoleon
Charles Buo-

some other compositions ; a work on

naparte (son of

musical composition, and several other

Louis Buona-

treatises on music.

parte, for a
short time King
of Holland,and

Lvoff (Alexis), born 1799 atReval,died
1870. Violinist. Composerof the Russian

nephew of Na-

National Hymn, and of other music.

poleon I.) is
elected Presi-

Lowe (Johann Carl), born 1796 near

dent of the Re-

Halle, died 1869. Many ballads and

public (1848).

other songs, also several Operas, Ora-

torios, and pianoforte compositions.

Botta & Layard

iSjO

Beriot (Charles Auguste de), born

excavate the

1802, at Louvain, died 1870. Violinist.

A s Syrian

J / t

Concertos and other compositions for

mounds (about
1840 — 1850).

the violin. A violin school.

•••'-'j -'/ •

Death of Words-
worth (1850).

Berlioz (Hector), bom 1803, at La
Cote Saint-Andr6, in France, died 1869.

Great Exhibition
in London pro-

Requiem, symphonies, overtures, other
orchestral works with and without vocal

jected by

music. A Treatise on Instrumentation,

Prince Albert
(1851).

and many Musical Essays.

226

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

A. n.

Death of theDuke
of Wellington
(18-52).

1850

Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (Felix), born
1809 at Hamburg, died 1847. Com-

\ j /
The Prince Pre-

posed two Oratorios, other sacred com-

sident of the

positions, 2 Operas, other dramatic

French Repub-

music, symphonies, overtures, ottett,

lic is declared
Emperor of the
French and as-

quintetts, quartetts, etc., organ com-
positions, pianoforte concertos, sona-

sumes the title

tas, etc., ' Songs without Words ' for the

of Napoleon
miiRzz}

pianoforte, secular songs for a single

' V o /*

voice, and for several voices, etc.

Historians : —
Thos. Carlyle,

Chopin (Frederic Fran9ois), born

Macaulay,Gui-

1810 near Warsaw, died 1849, in Paris.

zot.Thiers.Rot-

Pianist. Many pianoforte composi-

teck, etc.

tions, studies, etc.

Painters : Rosa

Schumann (Robert), born 1810 at

B o n h e u r,
Cooper, Land-

Zwickau, in Saxony, died 1856. Operas,

seer, Millais,

symphonies, quartetts, etc. Piano-

W. von Kaul-
bach, etc.

forte compositions, songs. Essays on
Music.

Novelists : Chas.
Dickens, \V.

Thalberg (Sigismund), born 1812 at

M. Thackeray,

Geneva, died 1871. Pianist. Compo-

Lytton Bulwer,

sitions for the pianoforte, mostly on

George Eliot,
(Mrs. Lewis),

themes of other composers. Also two

Victor Hugo,

Operas, etc.

Alexandra Du-

Bennett (William Sterndale), born

mas, etc.

1816 at Sheffield, died 1875. Some

Michael Faraday,

chemist

sacred compositions, overtures, piano-

forte music, songs, etc.

Charles Darwin,
philosopher
and naturalist.

During the first half of the present
century great progress in the construc-

Helmholtz, Ger-

tion of musical instruments, especially

man philoso-

of wind instruments.

pher and writer

Innumerable celebrated pianists.

on acoustics.

violinists, flutists, etc.

Important dis-
coveries.

Celebrated female singers : Catalani,

Alfred Tennyson.
Poet Laureate.

Malibran, Grisi, Persiani, Pasta, Pauline
Viardot, Henriette Sontag, Sophie

Liv ingstone,

Lowe, etc.

African travel

Celebrated male singers : Lablache,

ler.

Rubini, Tamburini, Braham, Wild,

Bismarck, Ger-

etc.

man statesman.

Monster Concerts.

Moltke, German
General.

Attempt of a reform of the Opera.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE HISTORY OF MUSIC.

227

Great progress in
sciences relat-
ing to natural
philosophy, and
in practical
arts. Gradual
dying out of
many old su-
perstitions and
prej udices.
Hov/ever, in
some countries
attempts to re-
turn to a Me-
diaeval state of
civilization.

A. D.

1850

There are among our living musicians
so many celebrated ones that it would
really be difficult to make a satisfactory
selection of them for incorporation into
a concise Chronology. Fortunately, the
plan adopted in the compilation, as
previously explained, renders this deli-
cate task unnecessary.

As standard works on the history of
music, easily accessible, may be recom-
mended the treatises by Forkel, Kiese-
wetter, Bellermann, Ambros, Burney,
Hawkins, F6tis, and Coussemaker.

THE MUSICAL SCALES IN USE AT
THE PRESENT DAY.

IN * An Introduction to the Study of National Music '
(London, 1866) I have endeavoured to give some account of
the musical scales of different nations. The subject requires,
however, fuller investigation than the aim of that book
would permit. The ' Introduction to the Study of National
Music ' is intended to acquaint the student with the facts
respecting the music of foreign nations and tribes which have
been transmitted to us by travellers and through other sources.
It can therefore scarcely claim more than to be a collection
of materials which will prove useful for the erection of an
edifice called the Science of National Music, as soon as the
necessary additional materials have been obtained, without
which it would be premature to design in detail the plan of
the edifice, and to determine precisely its dimensions and
internal divisions. The acquisition of useful materials will
probably be promoted by the step recently taken by the
British Association for the Advancement of Science.*
There can be no greater mistake in such pursuits than to
form a theory before the examples which are to serve as
illustrations have been most carefully examined and
verified. It is by no means easy to commit to notation
a popular tune of a foreign country which possesses
peculiarities with which we are unfamiliar. Even musicians
who have had experience in writing down national songs
which they happen to hear, find this difficult. How un-
reliable, therefore, must be the notations of many travellers
who know but little of music ! Still, the student of National
Music, by careful attention and comparison, is gradually

* See above, Vol. I., p. 23.

THE MUSICAL SCALES IN USE AT THE PRESENT DAY. 22Q '

enabled to discern what is genuine, and valuable for his
purpose. He knows that if there prevails a certain peculiarity
in the scale on which the tunes collected are founded, the
cause may be owing to want of musical experience in
the person who wrote the tunes down, or to an individual
whim of the performer by whom they were sung or played
to the writer of the notation. But, supposing the student
examines several collections of popular tunes from the
same country, the collections having been formed by
different persons independently of each other, and he finds
all exhibiting the same peculiarity, he has no reason to doubt
that it really exists in the music of that country. Nothing
gives to the popular music of a country a more distinctive
feature than the order of intervals on which it is founded ;
when the scale has been clearly ascertained, such other
characteristics as the music possesses are generally soon
discerned with sufficient exactness to be definable by the
experienced musical inquirer.

The notations of musical scales of uncivilized nations
emanating from European travellers who have heard the
people sing, are certainly to be received with caution. Of
this kind of communication is, for instance, the notation of
the vocal effusions progressing in demi-semitones of the
Marquesas Islanders at their cannibal feasts, written down
by Councillor Tilesius, and published in the Allgemeine
musikalische Zeitung, Leipzig, 1805; or the notation of
songs of the New Zealanders containing smaller intervals
than semitones, which Mr. Davies has written down, and
which Sir George Grey has published in his ' Polynesian
Mythology of the New Zealand Race' (London, 1855). It is,
however, often possible to ascertain the musical scale of
a nation with exactness by examining the musical instru-
ments appertaining to the nation. Thus, for instance, the
Chinese close some of the finger-holes of their flutes by
sticking pieces of bladder over them, in order to ensure the
pentatonic scale; the Javanese construct instruments of
percussion with sonorous slabs of metal or wood, arranged
in conformity with the pentatonic scale; the Arabs, and
most Mohammedan nations who have cultivated their music

230 THE MUSICAL SCALES IN USE AT THE PRESENT DAY.

after the system of the Arabs, possess wind-instruments of
the oboe kind on which the finger-holes are placed in
accordance with the division of seventeen intervals in
the compass of an octave ; and also several stringed
instruments of the Arabs, which are supplied with frets
made of gut wound round the neck or finger-board, exhibit
the same order of intervals; again, certain stringed in-
struments of the Hindus contain a number of little
bridges, stuck with wax beneath the strings so as to
produce, on a string being pressed down on the bridges
successively, twenty-two intervals in the compass of the
octave. Other instruments have marks on the sound-board
as a guide to the performer where he has to press down the
strings in exact conformity with the established scale.

What we observe with different nations of the present
day, respecting the diversity of musical scales, might
evidently also have been observed in ancient time. The
Greeks had several kinds of scales, the popularity of which
changed at different periods. So also had our forefathers
during the Middle Ages. There is no necessity to refer
to the Tetrachord of the ancient Greeks and the Hexa-
chord of Guido Aretinus for evidences of the mutability of
taste in these matters, since it can be observed sufficiently
by referring to the music of nations around us. However,
the so-called Modes of our old ecclesiastical music require
here, at any rate, a passing notice.

Some theorists maintain that our diatonic major scale
is alone a true scale, and that any other regular succes-
sion of tones in which the two semitones of the diatonic
scale occur upon other intervals than 3-4 and 7-8 is, properly
speaking, a Mode. According to this doctrine, which was
evidently suggested by the ecclesiastical Modes, our minor
scale must be called a Mode, and the scales with steps
exceeding a whole-tone, of which some examples will pre-
sently be given, are Imperfect Modes. It is unnecessary to
refute such pedantic definitions ; suffice it to remember that
they exist.

Again, the diatonic major scale is regarded by many
musicians as the natural order of intervals on which the

THE MUSICAL SCALES IN USE AT THE PRESENT DAY. 231

compositions must be founded whenever the art of music
has attained to a high degree of development, and which
will therefore be universally adopted in the course of time.
They form this opinion especially from the laws of Acous-
tics, since the intervals constituting the diatonic major scale
are those which as harmonics stand in the most simple
relation to the fundamental tone produced by a vibrating,
body. Here, however, it must be observed that the intervals
of our diatonic scale are not all of them precisely the same
as those harmonics, but are "tempered;" since, did we
tune them pure, as nature gives them, we could not use
our system of harmony as it has been developed by our
classical composers.

Moreover, if the diatonic major scale is thus suggested
by nature, the minor scale with its flat third must be more
artificial, and less likely to be universally adopted. How-
beit, the minor scale is especially popular, not only with
several uncivilized races, but also with several who have
cultivated the art of music to a high degree. Some of our
most eminent composers have written perhaps more beau-
tiful music in minor than in major keys.

Besides, certain deviations from the diatonic major
scale, which we meet with in the music of foreign nations,
possess a particular charm, which we are sure to appreciate
more and more as we gradually become familiar with them.
This, for instance, is the case with the Superfluous Second
introduced as an essential interval of the scale. Many of
our musicians regard such intervals as whimsical deviations,
which ought not to be liked because they do not well agree
with the rules laid down in our treatises on the theory of
music. To such learned Professors the scale of the Arabs, with
its seventeen intervals in the compass of an octave, instead
of twelve semi-tones, as in our own system, is of course a
flagrant misconception — not to speak of the twenty-two
demi-semitones of the Hindus, which ought to be twenty-
four. Those nations have musical systems very different
from ours, for which their order of intervals is well suited.
Our rules of harmony and forms of composition are unknown
to them ; still, their popular legends and traditions clearly

232 THE MUSICAL SCALES IN USE AT THE PRESENT DAY.

prove that they appreciate the beauty and power of music
not less keenly than we do ; and they demonstrate the supe-
riority of their scales with the same confidence as any of
our theorists are capable of displaying.

Could we trace our diatonic Major Scale in the songs
of birds and in the euphonious cries of certain quadrupeds,
we should have a more cogent reason for regarding it as the
most natural scale than is afforded by a comparison of the
vibrations required for the production of its several intervals.
The songs of various birds have been written down in
notation, from which it would appear that these feathered
songsters possess an innate feeling for the diatonic major
scale ; but, unfortunately, unless the melodious phrases, or
passages, thus noted down are distinguished by some
remarkable rhythmical peculiarity, they are seldom easily
recognizable when they are played on a musical instrument.
There may be among the numerous birds a few which in
their natural song, untaught and uninfluenced in any way by
man, emit a small series of tones strictly diatonic ; but no such
musicians are to be found among our own birds, although we
have in Europe the finest singing birds in existence. The
nightingale, it is true, produces occasionally a succession of
tones which nearly corresponds with the diatonic Major Scale
in descending, and which might possibly be mistaken for it
by a listener charmed by the exquisite purity and sweetness
of the tones which he does not investigate with the ear of a
pianoforte-tuner. Even the two melodious sounds of the
cuckoo cannot be properly written down in notation; nor can
they be rendered on the pianoforte, because they do not
exactly constitute a Major Third, for which they are generally
taken, and still less a Minor Third. A certain ape of
the Gibbon family is said to produce exactly the chromatic
scale through an entire octave in ascending and descending.
Darwin, who in his work on ' The Expression of the
Emotions in Man and Animals' (London, 1872; p. 87)
mentions the astonishing musical skill of this ape, remarks
that some quadrupeds of a much lower class than monkeys,
namely Rodents, " are able to produce correct musical
tones," and he refers the reader to an account of a " singing

THE MUSICAL SCALES IN USE AT THE PRESENT DAY. 233

Hesperomys " [a mouse] by the Rev. S. Lockwood, in the
' American Naturalist,' Vol. V., December, 1871 ; p. 761.
Notwithstanding the great authority of Darwin, the musical
inquirer will probably desire to ascertain for himself
whether the " correct musical tones" are exactly in con-
formity with our diatonic and chromatic intervals. However,
even if this should be the case in a few instances, it can
only be regarded as quite exceptional.

During the present century, our musical composers have
so frequently employed in the diatonic major scale the Minor
Sixth instead of the Major Sixth, that some theorists— among
them Moritz Hauptmann — notice this order of intervals as
a new and characteristic scale, and desire to have it as such
generally acknowledged by musicians. A. Krauss, a teacher of
music in Florence, has recently published a pamphlet, entitled
' Les Quatre Gammes diatoniques de la Tonalite moderne,'
in which he designates this new scale with the name ' La
Gamme semimajeur' (The Half-major Scale,) which is at
any rate better than that suggested by Moritz Hauptmann,
in his ' Die Natur der Harmonik und der Metrik,' which is
' Die Moll-Dur-Tonart' (the Minor-Major-Key, or scale).

We possess then, according to these theorists, now four
diatonic scales, namely : —

i. THE MAJOR SCALE.

~f r~

I 1

; ii.J J J i J

2. THE HALF-MAJOR SCALE.

ffi J. J • '-

— *-— (-

' «l J J.

Or also with minor seventh in descendin : —

^

THE MINOR SCALE.

THE HALF-MINOR SCALE.

234 THE MUSICAL SCALES IN USE AT THE PRESENT DAY.

The Half-Minor Scale contains the Minor Third, while
its other intervals are identical with those of the Major
Scale. This is the case in descending, where the seventh
and sixth are lowered, as well as in ascending.

Furthermore, we have the Chromatic Scale, a regular
progression in semitones, which is much used by modern
composers; and the Enharmonic Scale, which may be said
to exist only in notation, since it is not executable on most
of our musical instruments, but which is likely to become
important in the music of a future period when our instru-
ments have been brought to the degree of perfection which
permits the most delicate modifications in pitch by the
performer, and which is at present almost alone obtainable
on instruments of the violin kind.

5. THE CHROMATIC SCALE.

-9- I I I _ I J J J r J bJ J J I I i —i II

.| g

6. THE ENHARMONIC SCALE.

*J^*^~

Furthermore, we find at the present day the following
scales in use among foreign nations : —

7. THE MINOR SCALE WITH TWO SUPERFLUOUS SECONDS.

J

If the lover of music is acquainted with the popular
songs and dance-tunes of the Wallachians, or with the wild
and plaintive airs played by the gipsy bands in Hungary, he
need not be told that the Minor Scale with two Superfluous
Seconds is capable of producing melodies extremely beautiful
and impressive. Indeed, it would be impossible to point out
more charming and stirring effects than those which cha-
racterise the music founded on this scale.

THE MUSICAL SCALES IN USE AT THE PRESENT DAY. 235
8. THE PENTATONIC SCALE.

The Pentatonic Scale was in ancient times apparently
more universally in use than it is at present. It is still
popular in China, in Malaysia, and in some other Eastern
districts. Traces of it are found in the popular tunes of
some European nations, especially in those of the Celtic
races. Its charming effect is known to most of our
musicians through some of the Scotch and Irish melodies.
Also among the Javanese tunes, which have been brought to
Europe by travellers, and which are generally strictly penta-
tonic, some specimens are very melodious and impressive.

9. THE DIATONIC SCALE WITH MINOR SEVENTH.

The Diatonic Scale with Minor Seventh is likewise an
Eastern scale. Among European nations, the Servians
especially have popular tunes which are founded on this
scale. The Servian tunes frequently end with the interval
of the Fifth instead of the First or the Octave. As the
leading tone of our diatonic order of -intervals — the Major
Seventh — is wanting, our common cadence, or the usual
harmonious treatment of the conclusion of a melody to
which our ear has become so much accustomed that any
other appears often unsatisfactory, cannot be applied to
those tunes. Nevertheless, they will be found beautiful by
inquirers who are able to dismiss prejudice and to enter into
the spirit of the music. Although the scale with Minor
Seventh bears a strong resemblance to one of our antiquated
Church Modes, called Myxo-Lydian, it is in some respects
of a very different stamp, since its characteristic features
would become veiled if it were harmonised like that Church
Mode.

In addition to the nine scales which have been enumerated,
some others could be pointed out which are popular in
European countries; but, as they resemble more or less
those which have been given above, and as they may be

236 THE MUSICAL SCALES IN USE AT THE PRESENT DAY.

regarded as modifications, it will suffice here to refer to
them only briefly. There are, for instance, in the Irish
tunes many of a pentatonic character in which one of the
two semitones of the diatonic scale is extant, and the scale
of which therefore consists of six intervals, either thus

*EEJi, or thus 5J&E =J J J— «^

IF J. *— *=

We also meet with a pentatonic order of intervals in
which the Third is flat like in our diatonic minor scale.

Again, some nations which have the diatonic order of
intervals deviate slightly from it by habitually intoning some
particular interval in a higher or lower pitch than it occurs
in our tempered system. For instance, careful observers
have noticed that the Swiss peasants in singing their popular
airs are naturally inclined to intone the interval of the Fourth
sharper than it sounds on the pianoforte. Thus, in C-major
it is raised so as to give almost the impression of F sharp.
This peculiarity is supposed to have arisen from the Alphorn,
a favourite instrument of the Swiss, on which the interval of
the Fourth, like on a trumpet, is higher than it is in our
Diatonic Scale. No doubt many peculiarities of this kind
are traceable to the construction of certain popular instru-
ments. This is perhaps more frequently observable among
uncivilized nations than with Europeans. Professor Lich-
tenstein, who, during his travels in South Africa, in the
beginning of the present century, investigated the
music of the Hottentots, asserts that these people sing
the interval of the Third slightly lower than the Major
Third, but not so low as the Minor Third; and the
Fifth and Minor Seventh likewise lower than in our
intonation. He found that the same deviations from our
intervals exist on the Gorah, a favourite stringed instrument
of the Hottentots.

Other peculiarities of the kind are more difficult to
explain. In the Italian popular songs of the peasantry,
for instance, we not unfrequently meet with the Minor
Second, where to an ear accustomed to our Minor Scale it
appears like a whimsical substitution for the Major Second.

THE MUSICAL SCALES IN USE AT THE PRESENT DAY. 237

It occurs, however, only occasionally. When it is used, the
scale is as follows; the Seventh being Major in ascending,
and Minor in descending: —

In some instances such peculiarities have evidently been
derived, as has already been stated, from the series of tones
produced on a popular instrument. But there are many
instances in which the tones yielded by the instrument have
been purposely adopted in the construction of the instrument
from the previously existing popular scale of the vocal
music. Thus, it may possibly be that, as some inquirers
maintain, the pentatonic character of certain Irish airs has
its origin in the primitive scale of the ancient rural bagpipe
of Celtic races, or, as others believe, in the simple con-
struction of the ancient Irish harp ; — on the other hand, the
Chinese and Javanese, as we have seen, contrive in the
construction of their instruments to obtain the pentatonic
scale on which their vocal music is usually founded.

Those theorists who regard our diatonic major scale as
the most perfect one, which ultimately must be universally
accepted as the only true one, will probably not admit that
under certain circumstances the sounding of one or other of
its intervals a little "out of tune" may actually increase
the beauty of a musical performance. Such is, however,
unquestionably the case. To note a curious instance in
proof of the correctness of this assertion as afforded by the
clavichord, a contemporary of the harpsichord and pre-
decessor of the pianoforte : — The strings of the clavichord
are not sounded by being twanged with quills, as is the
case in the harpsichord, but are vibrated by means of
iron pins, called tangents, which press under the strings
when the keys are struck. The pressure of the tangent
lasts as long as the key to which the tangent is attached is
held down. The deeper the performer presses the key down
with his finger, the stronger is the pressure of the tangent
against the string, and the more the string is raised by it.

Q

238 THE MUSICAL SCALES IN USE AT THE PRESENT DAY.

The raising of the string has the effect of slightly raising
the pitch of its tone. The performer, therefore, has it in his
power to modify in some degree the pitch of a tone, and
by this means to distinguish any tone to which he desires
to give emphasis, or to render prominent in expressing a
melody, or in executing a passage with delicacy. The
aptness of the clavichord for yielding to these deviations
from the intonation of the intervals in which it is tuned,
combined with its aptness for producing with great delicacy
different degrees of loudness, constitute the principal charms
of the instrument, and sufficiently account for the love
which our old classical composers, — Handel, Bach, etc., —
bore for the clavichord.

A musical instrument containing all conceivable per-
fections for performance, we do not yet possess. Such an
instrument would be required to yield not only Whole-Tones
and Semitones, but likewise Demi-semitones, Semidemi-
semitones, — in short, every modification of an interval which
the performer desires. It must have the greatest compass
obtainable in tones. All its tones must be of equal power,
sonorousness and beauty. The sustaining, the increasing
and decreasing in loudness, must be possible with each tone
separately, at the option of the performer, even in har-
monious combinations. Likewise the difference in manner
of expression, such as legato, staccato, etc., must be thus
obtainable. The greatest possible difference in the quality of
sound (timbre) must be at the command of the performer for
any tone which he wishes to be thus affected. The instru-
ment must permit the simultaneous sounding of as many of
its tones as the performer desires, whatever their distance
from each other may be, and this must be achievable by him
with about the same facility as he requires for the production
of a single tone. The instrument must be playable by only one
performer ; it must not present any extraordinary difficulty
to musicians to play it well ; and it must permit being easily
kept in tune. Perhaps the organ approaches the nearest to
this perfection, but is still far from it. The violin and the
violoncello are in some respects ahead of all — at any rate,
as regards delicacy of expression.

THE MUSICAL SCALES IN USE AT THE PRESENT DAY. 239

But, fascinating though it may be to depict such a
nearly perfect musical instrument of the Future, the real
substitutes of our present contrivances, a century or two
hence, will probably be very different from our ideal,
especially if we found our speculation on the impression
that our Tonal System is the only right one, and that our
diatonic major scale will be as everlasting as a mathe-
matical truth, or as the axiom that two and two are four.

Indeed, the mutability of the musical taste of man
appears to be unlimited, and it is certainly possible that our
children's children may find decidedly objectionable some
rule of musical composition which is now thought highly
satisfactory. Did not our ancestors at the time of Hucbald
relish consecutive Fifths and Octaves as an harmonious
accompaniment to a melody? A Chinese Mandarin, on
hearing a French Jesuit, at Pekin, play on a clavecin some
Suites de Pieces of a celebrated French composer, endeavoured
to convince the performer that the Chinese music was the
only true music "because," he said, " it appeals to the heart,
while yours makes only noise." When Villoteau, during his
residence in Egypt, investigated the Arabic music, his Arab
music-master at Cairo endeavoured to convince him that the
division of the Octave into seventeen intervals was more
natural and tasteful than the European division into twelve
chromatic intervals. A Nubian musician, on hearing
Mr. Lane play the pianoforte, remarked: "Your instrument
is very much out of tune, and jumps very much." He
evidently missed the accustomed small intervals connecting
the whole-tones in his own music. Livingstone, in his
' Missionary Travels in South Africa,' relates that on a cer-
tain occasion when an English missionary sang a hymn to
an assembly of Bechuana Kafirs, "the effect on the risible
faculties of the audience was such that the tears actually
ran down their cheeks;" and the same may have happened
to the missionary when he heard the Kafirs sing.

Many more examples from nations in different stages of
civilization could be cited evidencing the remarkable variety
and instability of musical taste. Much of our own music,
which about a century ago was greatly admired, appears

240 THE MUSICAL SCALES IN USE AT THE PRESENT DAY.

now unimpressive ; and great masters who introduce impor-
tant innovations are sure at first not to be understood by
the majority of musical people.

Instead of regarding our Tonal System as exhibiting the
highest degree of perfection attainable, and of repudiating
musical conceptions which reveal another foundation, as our
musicians are apt to do, it would be more wise in them to
study the various systems on which the music of different
nations is founded, to acquaint themselves especially with
the characteristics of the various scales, and, by adopting
them on proper occasions, to produce new effects more
refreshing than the hackneyed phrases and modulations
which usually pervade their works.

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