Orlando di Lasso.
Schools Outside Italy.—The overflow from the Netherlands concentrated its efforts on certain points or school centres. In Italy, these were Naples, Venice and Rome. There were others throughout Europe, such as Madrid, Paris and Munich, which we must consider first because of their relation to Italy. Nicholas Gombert (1495-1570) influenced the polyphonic development in Madrid, but so isolated was the work that nothing great resulted. Okeghem (1430-1512) worked longer in Paris than other masters, though several lived there for short intervals, such as Arkadelt and Goudimel. Orlando di Lasso (1520-1594) did almost all his work in Munich and established the most important school outside of Italy. He was a most prolific writer and can be compared in ability and style to Palestrina. His style was broad and bold and contained much of that serious and earnest character now attributed to his Teutonic associations. He wrote in all known forms and was well nigh universal in his knowledge of form, technic and expression. His facility in the art of writing was very great and was fully equalled by his love for work. Although his work has somewhat less perfection than that of his great contemporary, Palestrina, it has astonishing power of expression. It shows the force of his genius that he was able to make his works in the strict contrapuntal forms full of real feeling. He was a man of interesting personal character. The most famous of his works is his setting of seven “Penitential Psalms,” containing a number of most curious effects for unaccompanied voices, with much that is singularly characteristic and beautiful, and showing well the character of his genius.
We give part of a composition by di Lasso showing his broad style and the increasing use of what sounds suspiciously like our modern chord progressions. The lack of rhythmic effect and the holding over of notes past the accented beat is shown in this exercise. The whole example, with words, may be found in Naumann, History of Music, Vol. I, page 387.
The Italian School.—But it is with the Italian schools that we are most concerned. The school at Naples had as its principal master Johannes Tinctoris (1446-1511) a Fleming by birth, a doctor of laws and a mathematician, one of those peculiar combinations seldom noticed after the Paris school, and almost sure to mark the theoretician. His work was principally theoretical and his treatises are of great value. Adrian Willaert (1480-1562), born at Bruges, was a pupil of Jean Mouton, at Paris. After visiting Rome and Ferrara, he settled in Venice and, as organist of St. Mark’s, founded an important school. He introduced the use of large double choruses which caused him to write harmonically rather than polyphonically. This influence caused him to relegate the imitative polyphonic part writing to smaller forms (motets, etc.) and to write plain chord progressions in his larger works; and before long he began to observe and to use the relationship between the Tonic and the Dominant. This tendency and the invention of the Madrigal furnished the basis for a new instrumental school at a later date. His best-known pupil, Cipriano di Rore (1516-1565), was short-lived, and worked in both Venice and Parma. He made some investigation into the use of chromatics, thus showing the growing tendency to abandon the Church modes for the natural scales. Following these Dutch masters came the two Gabrieli’s, who were native Italians. Andrea Gabrieli (1510-1586) was a great organist and wrote in the style of Willaert, his famous master. Giovanni Gabrieli (1557-1613) was a pupil of his uncle Andrea, and carried the latter’s methods further toward perfection. He also wrote for instruments in conjunction with voices, abandoning to a certain extent the a capella style, and opening that epoch of instrumental music foreshadowed by Willaert in his madrigals. Rome was the centre of church government, of church art and also of church music, and as such, had the largest and greatest of Italian music schools. Jacob Arkadelt (1492-1570), a Netherlander, lived nineteen years in Rome and did most of his work there; he wrote both secular and sacred compositions in the strict polyphonic style, and in that of Willaert. Claude Goudimel (1510-1572), though a prominent master in Paris, worked much in Rome and was the teacher of Palestrina. He set to music in four parts metrical versions of the Psalms, published in 1565. In him is to be observed that clearness of expression and beauty of melodic flow with which Palestrina attained such a high point of expression.
Palestrina.—It remained for his pupil Palestrina, (Giovanni Pierlugi Sante, 1514-1594) an Italian, to reach the highest point of emotional expression and technical freedom; we must, however, rank Orlando di Lasso with him. He carried to the highest fruition the teachings of the Netherlands, tempered by the romantic and melodic tendency of the Italian nature. His writings were so free technically that they have been called simple in form; this they are, but the simplicity is the simplicity of genius. His style is melodic, and has a clearness never attained by any writer before his time, and yet his music is written in the most severe forms. He founded a school of music in Rome which, however, never produced any great masters, for it was the time when the reformation of Opera began and carried the development of music into other channels.
The end of a composition by Palestrina, showing the melody in the upper voice instead of the tenor, as was usually the case in polyphonic compositions, and the use of our modern Minor mode. This composition, at least this last part of it taken alone, might be by a modern writer, so familiar do its progressions sound; indeed, the melody of the first two measures is strikingly similar to a progression used by Beethoven in one of his string quartets. The entire example with words may be seen in Naumann, History of Music, Vol. I, page 510.
Summary.—The Polyphonic Era has many important characteristics and results which make it worth while to sum it up. Its development is largely the history of the development of vocal music to its highest point, and the consequent failure of it to provide accurate expression for human needs. It marks the development of scales, intervals, forms, instruments and emotion. In scales we find the trend to be always toward the natural; in intervals, toward freedom, using only the ear as a criterion; in instruments we note the development of the organ, but the lack of others which would have changed music entirely; in emotion, we note the evolution from crudeness to the highest and most polished forms of impersonal expression. The lack of the Polyphonic school was not in the intrinsic value of the music, nor in any lack of the desire to express emotion; the failure to provide a suitable means of musical expression was due to the idea of church relation to God rather than to the personal individualistic relations established by Luther. After the Reformation music takes up this new idea and immediately a secular music, vocal and instrumental, begins to develop, culminating in an emotional school of a totally different and truer style than the Polyphonic. Polyphonic music expressed the old monkish ideas of religion perfectly, but monophonic music expresses the emotion of the people, a universal emotion. Polyphonic music must always be appreciated for its value, but it must be examined for its fundamental principles and reasons for being, before it can be understood. Then we may know its value as a foundation for our modern music.
Questions and Suggestions.
Why did the centre of music shift to Italy?
What kind of emotion is present in the polyphonic style of music?
What composers were prominent outside of Italy?
Name the prominent composers of the Italian school.
Sum up the Polyphonic Era.
Consult a history of art and give an account of the great painters, sculptors, architects and their greatest works during the century preceding the development of the Italian school.
Palestrina.
A Church Composer.—But one master of the Italian Polyphonic schools is worthy of lengthy notice, more because of his influence on the music of the Church than his contribution to the new instrumental school then only in its infancy. Palestrina, while acquainted with Galilei, the reformer of Opera, and Neri, the originator of Oratorio, and with many of the men identified with the new style of vocal and instrumental music, gave his entire life to the composing of Church music, though in his poverty-stricken condition musical work under wealthy patronage must have often appealed to him. At any rate, the farthest he ever strayed from the Church was in the composing of many madrigals, in which he excelled; it is almost certain that in these he unintentionally influenced the development of instrumental music. For the present, however, a consideration of his life and influence on Church music is more important. But for him, Church music would have lacked for at least a century that simple and individual note so often struck by himself and Bach. Palestrina, by the enormous number of his masses and by the fertility of his invention, placed the music of the Latin Church on so high a plane that no composers, at least until the time of Bach, even approached him, much less equalled him.
Giovanni Pierluigi Sante, known as Palestrina, after his birthplace, was born in 1514 at Palestrina, a small town southeast of Rome. His parents were peasants and the boy received but the ordinary education of his class. While very young he seems to have become a choir-boy at Rome, though it is recorded that his voice was anything but pleasing. Upon this supposition rests the statement that he was, for a short time, a pupil of Arkadelt; this is unimportant because eventually (1540) he became a pupil of Goudimel, whose influence far overshadowed that of any former teacher. In 1548 he married and four sons were the result of the union, three, however, dying at an early age and the fourth proving, in after-life, a worthless fellow. In 1551 he succeeded Arkadelt as choir-master of St. Peter’s; later the dedication of three masses to Pope Julian III won him a position as singer in the Papal Choir. Owing to the jealousy of the other singers he finally lost his position, but received an appointment at the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore where he stayed for ten years. Naumann says that in 1565 he received the appointment of master of the Sistine Chapel, but never occupied the position because of the opposition among the choir. Grove, however, says that in 1565 he was made composer to the Pontifical Choir and did not become master until 1585, holding the position from that time on. In 1571 he was again connected with St. Peter’s; this also marks his acquaintance with Neri, for whom he wrote some music, and the founding of a music school, though it cannot have amounted to much since most authorities give no particulars in regard to it. Indeed, it is certain that he cannot have had much influence in that line, for his pupils, outside of his own family, did not amount to more than a scant half-dozen. In 1576 he was given the task of revising the Gradual and Antiphonary of the Latin Church but, with the assistance of a pupil, finished only a little more than one-half of the work. He died in 1594 and was buried in the Vatican. His life is marked by the usual jealousies and quarrels of musicians, though Palestrina himself seems to have been nobleminded and more than reasonably free from all such faults. He was in poor circumstances during his life, and his only living son was a bitter disappointment. Altogether, as we examine his life we are impressed by many things; first, his apparent failure from a worldly point of view; secondly, the enormous amount of composing which he did; and, finally, his devotion to the Church and her music, and because of it, his glorious success as a musician, and his undying fame.
Reform of Church Music.—The year marking the climax of his life was 1565. The Council of Trent, by a unanimous vote, decided to prohibit the use of music in the Church unless some means could be devised to make it more devotional and suited to its purpose. Naumann says that it was the desire of the Council of Trent to simplify the music so that the people might take part in the services; but Grove claims that it was because of the use of secular music in the composition of the masses. It seems that it was customary, for part of the singers at least, to sing in services not only the melodies of the popular songs, but also the words, thus producing confusion and defeating the very purpose of the music. In all probability, both of these reasons had something to do with the edict. It is plain that the fundamental principle at stake was the lack of the personal devotional note (which caused this action by the Council of Trent), and it was the supplying of this want that made Palestrina the saviour of music in the Church. A committee of Cardinals was appointed to see if proper music for the service could be found. They commissioned Palestrina to write a mass and submit it for trial. When the trial came, at the home of Cardinal Vitellozzi, Palestrina submitted three masses, the last of which was the best; this he afterwards called the “Missa Papæ Marcelli.”
Palestrina’s Style.—In these masses Palestrina had succeeded so well in subordinating technic to expression, and in eliminating all extraneous matter, that he was hailed as the greatest musician of the Church, and honors were showered upon him. From this it would be supposed that Palestrina had shown an entire change in style, yet this was not the case. Goudimel, his master, shows traces of the so-called Palestrina style, and Palestrina himself was gradually growing into that simplicity which marked the music of his later days. This simplicity was not only simplicity of emotion but also simplicity of technic; only a man with a most consummate skill could have written such great music with such little use of showy technic. Palestrina wrote in all of the polyphonic forms, complex and simple, but he reached his highest point in his most simple works; and those works were written for his Church.
Secular Art Song.—The secular life of the 15th and 16th centuries, as well as the Church, had an art music, which, like the other music of the period was vocal, not solos with accompaniments, but choral, consisting of three or more parts; this we may call a species of vocal chamber music. We can trace the development of this form of musical composition to an application of the principle of Discant to secular or Folk-melodies. The minstrels, as mentioned in a previous lesson, were accustomed to improvise accompanying parts to a familiar song—a favorite custom was that of adding two parts—for the entertainment of their hearers. This process was not a haphazard one, but followed fixed rules. The absence of a simple system of notation, however, prevented the accumulation of musical records. And when minstrelsy ceased to exist as a calling, only the memory of the crude attempts of the minstrels remained. But the principle was not lost. Fortunately for the good of the art, the trained musicians of the Church took it up, and, calling to their aid the resources of their art as used in the music of the Church, applied them all to secular melodies, the songs of the people.
The Predecessors of the Madrigal.—Several of the forms of secular music found in Italy, the Frottole (song of the mass or crowd), and the Vilanelle (village or peasant songs), were used in a crude way by the musicians of the people as airs to which to add accompanying parts. Both Germans and English made similar use of their folk melodies. But since the text was usually of a humorous, or a witty character, the accompanying melodies or “counterpoints” were simple in style. The work of the trained composers along this line resulted in the Madrigal, which shows a union of the musical spirit of the people with the finest poetic art; the melodies had the style of the popular music, but they were used with technical skill.
The Madrigal.—The text of the madrigal was erotic in character, representing the emotions of a heart filled with noble, often hopeless love. The Italian poets Tasso and Petrarch were masters in this style of writing. The name Madrigal was first applied to this kind of lyric, and afterward became identified with the music itself. There is disagreement as to the origin of the name, the common explanation being that it comes from the word mandra, a sheepfold, mandriale, shepherd, in allusion to the frequent pastoral character of the text. The Madrigal undoubtedly owes its origin to the composers of the Flemish school. The musicians of the Netherlands, in the middle of the 15th century, had a polyphonic song, elaborate in construction, in the old Church modes, modeled doubtless on the plan of the Motet, but using the melody of some popular song as a Cantus Firmus. When the centre of musical power was transferred to Italy, the madrigal principle came into new hands, those of the composers of the Venetian school, who gave it the character which made it so popular.
The Italian School.—The first great composer in this style was Adrian Willaert. After him came Arkadelt, who published several books of madrigals. The most famous composer of madrigals was Luca Marenzio (1560-1599), called by his contemporaries “the sweetest swan of Italy,” whose works attained extraordinary vogue. They are extremely melodious. A composer who made considerable use of the chromatic element was Gesualdo, Prince of Venusia (1560-1614). Other Italian composers of madrigals are Festa, Palestrina, Anerio, Waelrant, Orlando di Lasso, Cipriano di Rore, Vecchi and Gastoldi, the latter being credited with the introduction of the “Fa, la.”
The English School.—The Madrigal never displaced the Folk-song in Germany or the Chanson in France, but it found a home in England, in which country a number of composers were developed whose best work is considered to be superior to that of their Italian predecessors. The period of fifty years, beginning with 1588, when the first collection of madrigals was published in London, is called the Madrigalian Era. The composers of prominence are: William Byrd, Thomas Morley, Thomas Weelkes, John Dowland, John Wilbye, Orlando Gibbons and Richard Edwardes. So great was the interest in this class of music that it was considered a necessary part of the education of a gentleman that he should be able to sing, when requested, a part in a madrigal, as we learn from a work or music study published by Thomas Morley in 1597.
Characteristics of the Madrigal.—The best means of securing an understanding of the Madrigal style is to study good examples, and, if possible, to hear them sung by a good choral organization. They are written in three, four, five and six parts, the five part being the one most favored. The principle of construction is polyphonic, imitation being freely used, cross accents being frequent on account of the syncopated style, each part being conceived as melody, not as the result of the movement of successive chords.
Influence of the Madrigal.—The great number of madrigals written by so many composers may be taken as an indication of the growth of musical sensibility. The creative side developed. The composer was no longer contented with taking a melody or some theme ready made, and elaborating it or accompanying it; he invented his own themes, thus opening the way to the idea that each text should have a theme to suit its special character, a principle which rules in modern music. Since the themes thus took on greater significance, it became important that accompanying parts should not obscure them by over-elaboration; hence the counterpoint used became clearer and simpler, and therefore more artistic. Another fact of great significance is that frequently the madrigals were played by viols, instead of being sung by voices. Composers marked the pieces as “Apt for viols or voices.” It was also customary to sing one part and play the others on instruments, the design being to cause the melody to stand out more clearly; this aided in developing a feeling for the solo with instrumental accompaniment, a fact of great significance in preparing the way for the opera.
Petrucci.—Music owes a great debt to Ottaviano Petrucci, who is credited with devising a method for printing music from movable type. He was born in 1466, died in 1523 or shortly after that date. Before he began his great work all music was written out by hand, a fact which necessarily interfered with its circulation; the works of the great writers were jealously guarded and students had small chance to profit by the work of experienced composers. Petrucci and his successors changed this. In 1501, he printed a collection of ninety-six pieces in three and four parts by Isaac, Josquin, Hobrecht, Okeghem and others; in 1504, a collection of eighty-three motets for four, five and six voices. By the time the composers of the Venetian Madrigal school appeared on the scene, printing processes had been improved and spread more widely; thus their works could be circulated freely and made popular. We who know the tremendous power of the printing press can appreciate the new force in the development of music inaugurated by Petrucci in the early part of the 16th century.
Questions and Suggestions.
Who was the most important of the earlier composers for the Church?
Give a sketch of his life.
What did he do for the music of the Church?
What peculiarities marked his style?
Give a brief résumé of the Council of Trent. (Consult a general history or church history.)
What attempts at part music did the Minstrels make?
Who took up this work later?
What is the origin of the word Madrigal?
Name some composers of Madrigals in Italy.
In what other country did the Madrigal take hold?
Name some of the composers in that country who cultivated the Madrigal style.
Name some characteristics of the Madrigal.
What influence did the Madrigal exert?
Who invented printing music from movable types?
If the members of the class cannot sing a madrigal or there is no choral society at hand that sings them, a string quartet can play the parts, or any combination of instruments that can represent the necessary four, five or six parts; two or four players at two pianos can give some idea. Novello & Co. publish in cheap octavo form many of the finest madrigals by the Italian and English composers. The members of the class should sing or follow the playing of each part of at least one madrigal and note its essentially melodic character. This class of compositions will also give an idea of the character of the old Church motet and the methods used in the masses.
Classification of Instruments.—The means for the production of musical sound are few in number, and of such universality and antiquity that we cannot say when, how, or by whom they were invented. Modern skill has not added one new means, but has simply improved the contrivances by which musical sound is produced. We can, however, trace the evolution and growth of the various instruments with considerable accuracy, and to this end it is of the utmost importance to have a clear understanding of the principles upon which musical instruments are constructed, in order to avoid bewilderment among the endless variety that have been and are yet made. All instruments may be divided into three general classes: Percussion Instruments, Wind Instruments, Stringed Instruments.
The Percussion Instruments are the instruments of rhythm. In this class are included all instruments used for this purpose. It is universally admitted that rhythm is the very basis of music, without which it is vague and meaningless. Possibly the physical fact that lies behind rhythm is the tendency of all repeated muscular action to become regular; witness the blows of the hammer on the anvil, or the carpenter driving in a nail. The psychologic reason is that when the will has set a certain muscular action in motion, it leaves the carrying out of the command to some subordinate function, so long as it is continuous; but if the continuity is to be interrupted, the will must again exert itself; hence, drumbeating and rattle shaking must of necessity be rhythmic. Nearly all savages have dances of various kinds. Varieties of drum rhythms arise from the almost universal custom of accompanying dances with drums and rattles.
Varieties of Percussion Instruments.—Percussion instruments are almost endless in variety. The most primitive example is that of a hollow log beaten with a war-club by some prehistoric savage. The next step leads to the hollow gourd or other hollow body, across the open end of which is stretched the dried membrane of some wild animal. From these descend all the long line of drums of all sorts, ending with the modern orchestral kettle-drums (tympani) which, by means of a mechanism for changing the tension of their parchment heads, may be tuned in various keys. Percussion instruments of metal are of very ancient origin. In this category are included cymbals of various sizes and shapes, gongs of all sorts, and later, bells and triangles. Comparatively few of the percussion instruments emit sounds of any definite pitch. They were and are to a great extent noise-producing, used for the purpose of marking rhythms.
Wind Instruments: Vibrating Column of Air in a Tube.—The next step in advance of noise-producing instruments is the discovery of means for the production of musical sound, which differs from noise in the possession of definite pitch. This leads to a consideration of the wind instruments that produce sound by means of a vibrating column of air enclosed in a tube. This is an important class and has several subdivisions, as will be seen. The simplest form of the wind instrument is the plain tube, producing a single sound when blown across the top. A series of such tubes fastened together side by side constitutes the Syrinx or Pan’s pipe, an instrument known over all the world from the remotest ages. This is thought to be the instrument mentioned in Genesis with the Hebrew name Ugab—translated organ, in the verse: “Jubal was the father of all such as handle the harp or the organ.” It is generally believed by scholars that the Pandean Pipe or Syrinx is the oldest of musical instruments; but long before a sufficient advance had been made to bind together several reeds giving different sounds, the discovery was made that sound might be produced in this way. Some prehistoric man found it out, perhaps by blowing across the top of a hollow bone. A whistle of this kind, of prehistoric make, bored from one of the bones of a reindeer’s foot, was found in a bone cave in France. It may have been used as a signal, and we may imagine that it may have guided a troop of palæolithic hunters in the chase of the mammoth or rhinoceros, when these animals still roamed over the plains of Europe.
A Tube Pierced with Holes.—The next advance was the discovery that one tube could be made to give several sounds by piercing holes in it. The effect of piercing is equivalent to shortening the tube; thus the Flute came into existence. There are three forms of the flute; the simplest is the old Japanese flute, blown at the end and pierced with a few holes. Next, the endless variety of flutes blown at a hole in the side, hence called the cross flute, or Flauto Traverso, in German, Querflöte. A perfect series of these flutes may be made. From the piece of bamboo with three or four holes, up to the exquisite workmanship and musical possibilities of the orchestral Boehm flute, all these flutes are identical in principle. The third kind of flute is blown at the end and is furnished with a diaphragm, which directs the air in a thin stream against the edge of the opening. Flutes of this kind were once used under the names of flageolet and recorder. Their chief interest lies in the fact that they have served as the model for the flue pipes of the organ, from the ponderous thirty-two foot Diapason to the half-inch extreme of the Mixture.
The Tube with a Reed.—The next subdivision is: The tube in conjunction with a tongue or slip of cane, called a reed. Reed instruments are further divided into single and double reed instruments. The double reed instrument is of great antiquity and widely known. This is the instrument generally meant by the term “flute” in the ancient Greek authors. It is known in China and Thibet, and in its modern form as Hautboy (oboe), English Horn or Bassoon, is an important member of the modern orchestra. The beating or single reed is so-called because it is made a little larger than the orifice over which it is fixed, and therefore beats against this orifice at every vibration, closing it and causing the air to be emitted in puffs. This form of reed instrument is also widely distributed. By the Greeks it was called the Berecynthian pipe; in modern Egypt Arghool, in early England the Shawm, which is a corruption of an older French name—Chalumeau. Under the name Clarinet it is another important member of the orchestra. The beating reed also furnishes the model after which the reed stops of the organ are constructed.
The Tube with the Lips of the Player.—The last subdivision is the tube in conjunction with the lip of the performer, the lips assuming the rôle of the reed. Countless varieties of trumpets have been used from time immemorial, made at first from that natural tube that has given them their generic name, the “horn” of the ox or goat or antelope. The forms of the horn are endless, but from the conch shell of the Japanese or the ram’s horn Shofar of the Hebrews to the perfectly tuned and mechanically perfect instruments of our bands and orchestras the series is complete, and the acoustic principle in all respects identical.
Stringed Instruments Played by Plucking.—The stringed instruments are those which depend for their sound upon the vibration of stretched strings. This class of instruments is of very ancient origin. As in the case of the wind instruments, the discovery of the principle of the vibration of a stretched string was probably accidental. The twanging of a bow-string suggests a possible clue, or the membranes of animals used for any purpose in which tension is required. Earliest among stringed instruments are the various forms of Harp or Lyre, in which each string gives a single sound, and is put in motion by being plucked by the finger or struck by a rod or flat strip of wood, ivory, etc., called a plectrum. In the next class are included those instruments that are furnished with a neck or fingerboard, with or without frets. In this class the strings are comparatively few in number, as many sounds may be obtained from each string by altering its length by the pressure of the fingers on the neck. These instruments are also played either with the fingers or the plectrum; to this class belong the Guitar, Lute, Mandolin, etc.
The Lute Family.—For many years, until displaced by instruments of the violin family, the Lute occupied the foremost position among instruments. It was a favorite instrument in the East, whence it reached Spain and lower Italy. During the 14th century, it spread over all Europe, retaining its popularity from the 15th to the 17th centuries. In shape it was similar to the mandolin of the present day. It had, however, a far greater number of strings. Five pairs of these and a single melody string lay over the keyboard, while the bass strings (finally five in number and used only as open strings) lay at the side. More elaborate forms of the lute, owing to improvements in the arrangement of the bass strings, were the Theorbo and the Archilute. For the various forms of the lute the ordinary measured notation was not used, but special letters or figures were given to indicate, not the pitch of the sound, but the proper fret on the fingerboard of the instrument to be used by the player. This method of notation was called Tablature; it differed somewhat in the various countries. Until displaced by the violin, the lute was in use as an orchestral instrument. In addition, transcriptions of all sorts of vocal and instrumental pieces were made for the lute, for home use, much in the same manner as they are at the present day made for the pianoforte.
Stringed Instruments Played with a Bow.—The next and most important class resembles the last in being furnished with a neck or fingerboard, but with strings put in vibration by a bow, the familiar Violin family. A German writer on the stringed instruments played with a bow gives the following as the successive steps in the evolution of the violin: Rebec, Tromba Marina, Hurdy Gurdy, Fidel (Fidula), Chrotta, Viole, and Violin. The early history of instruments is shrouded in darkness, which existed up to the 16th century. Before that time, although writers on music made reference to the instruments in use, they did not give detailed descriptions. Virdung, who published a work in 1511; Agricola, in 1528; and Gerle, in 1546, were among the first writers. Yet much confusion has arisen from the fact that these writers used different terms for the same instruments, a difficulty that confronts the student of musical history who consults German, French, or Italian works.
1. The Rebec was of Oriental origin and consisted of a wooden frame, which formed the side walls, the top and the bottom being spanned with skin, like a drum. The instrument had only two strings, and was used in accompanying singing. Later the number of strings was increased to three. In the 8th or 9th century an instrument called the Lyra (Lyre) was in use. Its shape shows a change toward the pear-shaped body and narrow neck of the lute.
2. The Tromba Marina (Eng., literally, “Marine Trumpet”), which the Germans call Trumscheit, had a long, sonorous body, over which a strong string, like that of the ’cello D, was stretched. This string, when sounded with the bow, gave forth a harsh, somewhat nasal tone, similar to that of the 8-foot wooden organ reed-pipe. But the proper way to play it was by lightly touching the string with the finger, as in making harmonics on the violin. This gave a series of tones, according to the pitch of the open string, the same as the so-called overtones. If the string were tuned to low C, the sounds were middle C, then in succession E, G, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. This instrument was a favorite with choirs of nuns to accompany their singing. Another name given to this instrument from its single string is Monochord.
3. The Hurdy Gurdy, also called Vielle, Radleier (“wheel lyre”), Bettlerleier (“mendicants’ lyre”), Organistrum and Chiffonie, was a great favorite in the period from the 10th to the 12th century. This peculiar instrument consisted of a resonant body, over which four strings were stretched. It has analogies to bowed and keyed instruments. Its shape was somewhat like that of the lute or the viola d’amore or guitar. Two of the strings were tuned in unison, were stopped by an arrangement of keys, directed by the player’s left hand shortening the string, thus making it possible to play melodies of a limited compass. The other two strings were usually tuned as Tonic and Dominant, thus giving a drone like the bagpipe. The strings are set in vibration by a wooden wheel, which, being well rosined, has the function of a violin bow; this wheel is turned by a handle at the tail end of the instrument, the player using his right hand for the purpose.
4. The Chrotta (Welsh Crwth—“crooth”) is one of the oldest of string instruments played with a bow. The original home was possibly India, but in its European use it was limited to England, and especially to Wales. It was a favorite instrument of the Welsh bards. The oldest form had three strings. In its later form it was mounted with six strings, four stretched over the fingerboard and played with the bow, and two lying at the side of the fingerboard, and pinched with the thumb of the left hand.
5. Fidula (Fidel, Fiddle), equivalent to “viol,” is the comprehensive term for the string instruments of the 8th to the 14th century. Its resonant body was arched and pear-shaped. The French flattened it more and called it Gigue, the Italians Giga, the Germans Geige, the latter term still being used. Two varieties were in use—the small and the large. The former had three strings tuned in fifths, the latter four to six, usually tuned in fourths and one third. The “large” species was made in four sizes for Discant (soprano), Alto, Tenor, and Bass. The “large” instrument had no bridge such as the violin of today has, and in its rounded form was difficult to play. Later it was cut out at the sides, thus approaching the shape of our violin.
6. The Viol, which first appears in the 15th century, had a resonant body which came almost to a point back of the neck, and the upper part of the body of the instrument was smaller than the lower; the fingerboard had frets like our guitar; the edges were higher, the f holes were sickle-shaped, the top was flat, and the number of strings was six. Viols were divided into two groups—those held with the arm (like our violin), those played between the knees (like our ’cello). They were named the soprano or discant viol (violetta), the alto and tenor viols, and the bass viol (gamba). The contra-bass or double bass has the viol form in certain respects.
From the viol family comes our violin through a diminution and beautifying of the form, through lessening the number of strings and doing away with the frets.
Questions and Suggestions.
What are the general classes into which musical instruments are grouped?
Name the percussion instruments.
Name the principles of classification for wind instruments.
Give examples of each class.
What is a reed? How many kinds are in use?
What methods of producing sound are used in playing stringed instruments?
Give examples of each class.
Give a description of the lute.
Name the steps in the evolution of the violin.
The catalogues of the instruments contained in the Metropolitan Museum (Crosby-Brown Collection), New York City, will be found very useful for reference. This collection is one of the most complete in the world, and is arranged so as to show the development of instruments of the various types. They can be secured at slight expense by addressing the Museum.
In the book of Genesis it is written: “Jubal, he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.” It is not to be understood that the word organ in this passage meant an instrument anything like that heard in our churches at the present day. In fact, as St. Augustine tells us, there was a time when all musical instruments were called organs.
The Germ of the Organ.—The invention of the organ is veiled in deepest darkness. Its development from its earliest forms to its present state has occupied a period of almost two thousand years. Doubtless, the first idea of a wind instrument was suggested by the breeze blowing across the open ends of broken reeds, the discovery naturally following that reeds of different lengths gave forth sounds of varying pitch. In course of time, reeds or pipes, differing in length, began to be joined together, conveniently arranged so as to produce a succession of musical sounds, the players blowing them with the mouth. These instruments were called Pan’s Pipes, the Syrinx of the ancient Greeks.
The First Stage of Development.—As the number of pipes was increased, the moving of the head back and forth in order to blow them became difficult. The pipes were then placed in a sort of box or wind chest, a tube being added through which the player could blow, the pipes not intended to sound being closed by the fingers. Furthermore, as the pipes were increased in number and in size, it became necessary to employ various mechanical accessories to furnish adequate wind supply, and to open and close the pipes at will, the breath and fingers of the player proving insufficient. A device was invented in the form of a slide, rule or tongue of wood, which was placed beneath the aperture of the pipe, and perforated so as to shut off or admit wind to the pipe as it was drawn back or forth. The earliest form of bellows might be suggested by the leathern bag of the bagpipe. In this the wind pressure was unsteady and the tone necessarily disconnected.
The Hydraulic Organ.—The first attempts to secure regular or steady wind pressure were made by Ctesibus, who lived at Alexandria, about 180 B. C. To him is ascribed the invention of the so-called “Hydraulic Organ.” This term seems somewhat of a misnomer, since the water was used merely to give the necessary pressure to the bellows, and to regulate the wind supply. This method was never developed, since the device did not seem applicable to instruments of any considerable size. The trend was rather toward a wind supply from a bellows operated on the same principle as that of the blacksmith’s. In the Hydraulic Organ the water was thus applied: An inverted air receiver, into which the wind was forced by a bellows, was immersed in a tank of water, the pressure of the water around and above the receiver forcing the air through an aperture at the top into the pipes, the pressure being regulated by the volume of water in the tank. The hydraulic organ continued more or less in use up to the early part of the 14th century.
The Earliest Organs.—The organ developed little as to size or mechanical improvements during the first ten centuries of the Christian Era, and it is difficult to trace the progressive stages in point of time, place or mechanical invention. The first organ known to the people of Western Europe was a present from the Byzantine emperor, Constantine, to Pepin the Short, Major-Domo of the Frankish Kingdom, in 742. It had brass pipes and the “keys” were struck by hands and feet. Eastern organs also came into France in the time of Charlemagne, son of Pepin. The first organ used in Germany was made in 812, modelled after the one just mentioned. In 880, the Pope ordered an organ and an organ builder from Germany, which seems to indicate that the art had found support there at an early date. Although not considered absolutely indispensable, the organ from that time on seems to have been generally adopted for use in churches. Its many imperfections gave ground for criticism, yet today it is considered, par excellence, the ecclesiastical instrument.
Increase in the Size of Organs.—The organ builders of these early days were mostly monks, Pope Sylvester II (1003) being eminent, under the name of Gerbert, prior to his election to the papacy. They built small organs called “Portative,” and large organs called “Positive.” The old hydraulic organ, owing to its excessive weight, was called “Positive” to distinguish it from the “Portative” or portable organ, and these terms have been perpetuated to the present time. An organ built for the Cathedral at Winchester, England, had ten keys, four hundred pipes and twenty-six bellows, which were operated by seventy men, “in the sweat of their brows.” Since forty pipes were attached to a single key, it may be readily understood why its tone was compared to thunder. The keys were very large, having a deep fall, and required the whole force of the hand to press down a single one.
Mechanical Improvements.—The pipes in the early organs were made of copper, lead, tin, silver, glass, ivory and various woods, but experiments finally showed tin or wood to be best suited for the purpose. The earliest organs had about twelve pipes, and the larger instruments three octaves, but without the chromatic intervals. The pipes were arranged according to the sequence of tones in the old Church modes, the octave containing but three semitones: between E-F, A-B flat and B-C. The chromatic tones were added gradually, the breadth of the keys being correspondingly reduced as the increased number of keys occupied the same space as before. Heretofore, the wind had usually been forced from the bellows by the weight of men standing upon them, but in the 10th century use began to be made of a lever, the bellows presumably being weighted.
The Keyboard is Adopted.—In the 11th century, the keyboard appeared, supplanting the levers and slides, previously in use. The first organ containing this marked improvement was made for the Cathedral at Magdeburg, Germany. It had sixteen keys. In 1350, a monk at Thorn built an organ with twenty-two keys, and in 1361 an organ was built for the Cathedral at Halberstadt with fourteen diatonic and eight chromatic tones in a compass extending from B, second line, bass staff, to A, second space, treble. This organ had three keyboards, now termed manuals.
The Pedals.—The invention of pedals is variously ascribed to Albert Van Os (about 1120), to Van Valbeke, of Brabant, and to a German named Bernhard (1470), an organist of Venice. The latter probably improved, but did not invent the pedals. The pedals at first did not exceed the compass of an octave, and were used only for sustaining prolonged tones. They were fastened to the broad manual keys by stout cords, thus enabling the performer to draw down the desired key with the foot. About the year 1418 the pedals began to be attached to independent pedal-pipes, thus imparting to the organ a certain dignity and sonority, still a chief characteristic of the instrument. After 1475, all important organs were built with pedal keyboard.
The Introduction of Stops.—Up to the 14th century, the different registers (set of pipes with uniform tone quality) could not be sounded separately, that is to say: all the pipes belonging to any one key sounded when that key was depressed. At the close of the 14th century it was found possible to add valves to the pipes in such a manner as to cause the wind to pass through or be cut off from any series of pipes at will. The opening and closing was managed through a spring. The next improvement was to introduce a slide to open or close the passage of wind into the pipes. With these improvements it became possible for builders to set themselves to the improvement of the various “stops” or registers.
Improvements in Stops.—In the 15th century, pipes of sixteen and thirty-two feet in length began to be used, necessitating a greatly enlarged bellows. Pipes were closed at the top, thereby lowering the pitch an octave. They were given smaller diameters, producing a softer tone quality. The shapes of the pipes were varied, giving additional variety in tone quality.
Thus began the broad classifications of “Open” and “Stopped” pipes in all their varieties. The “Reeds” (pipes containing a vibrator or tongue to set the column of air in motion) were familiar to the earliest performers, but were not introduced into the organ until as late as the 14th century. Further improvements were made in the bellows at the beginning of the 16th century.
St. Mary’s, Lübeck.—In 1561, a three-manual organ was in use in St. Mary’s, Lübeck, Germany. To this organ all the important improvements were successively added at various intervals until it had, at the beginning of the 18th century, in the three manuals, respectively, thirteen, fourteen and fifteen stops, and in the pedal, fifteen stops. It was to hear the famous Buxtehude play upon this organ that Sebastian Bach walked fifty miles in 1705.
Design of Improvements.—Great improvements have been made in organ building since the time of Bach, all designed to give the player greater resources, and increased facility in the handling and control of the resources, which in the present day are simply enormous.
The Organ in the American Colonies.—Although the first organs heard in America were probably introduced by the Spaniards, of these there are no authentic records. According to reliable historic data, the famous old “Brattle” organ was “the first organ that ever pealed to the glory of God in this country.” It was imported from London, in 1713, by Mr. Thomas Brattle, who bequeathed it to the Brattle Street Church, Boston, directing that the parish “procure a sober person that can play skilfully thereon with a loud noise.” This organ became the property of King’s Chapel, Boston, and was used until 1756.
No Art in Early Organ Playing.—The organs of the early Christian period were of such a character that playing, in the sense in which we now understand the word, was out of the question. For some time the span of the hand possible to players did not exceed the distance of a fifth. If an octave was to be struck, a second player was necessary. Only with the narrowing of the keys did artistic playing become possible. In fact, organ playing has invariably reflected the style and development of contemporary musical art.
Early Organists.—The credit of being “father of organists” is given to Francesco Landino, of Florence (1325-1390), and after him to Bernhard, mentioned as the inventor of the organ pedals. The oldest organ compositions are some works by Konrad Paumann (1410-1473), who was born blind, yet, like many others since, became a thoroughly trained musician in spite of his affliction. He also played other instruments and was a fine contrapuntist. Another of the early organists is Benedictus Ducis (or Hertoghs), born at Bruges, about 1480. He was a pupil of Josquin des Pres. From Ducis, representing the second Flemish school, as founded by Okeghem, there is a chain almost of master and pupil, between the early masters of organ playing and polyphonic writing and Bach, who in these arts became the master of all. Paumann’s pieces show the style of composing for the instrument that was considered appropriate. They are essentially transcribed, but elaborated, vocal works. The compositions of the next organists of fame, Willaert, of Venice (1490-1562), and Cyprian di Rore (1516-1565), pupil of the former, have distinct names. Ricercari, Intonationi, Contrapunti, Toccati, Praeambula, and Canzoni, but the character remains the same, vocal pieces, elaborated and freely embellished with runs and other passage work. Later the term Ricercari came to mean a sort of fantasia in fugal form, often on a popular air; Toccata became a free fantasia with brilliantly figurated passages, and a Praeambulo a prelude to a larger piece. Other famous organists of this period were Bernhard Schmidt (1520-?), German; Claudio Merulo (1532-1604), organist at Venice, and his successors, the two Gabrieli’s.
Frescobaldi and His Successors.—The greatest of all the organists of the earlier days, to whom the title of “Father of true organ playing” has been given, was Girolamo Frescobaldi, born in 1583 at Ferrara, in Italy, educated in Flanders, and from 1608 to his death in 1644 organist at St. Peter’s, Rome. His fame was so great that the spacious cathedral was often filled when he gave an organ recital. His compositions, many of which have been preserved, have a very decided contrapuntal character, whence some have called him the inventor of the organ fugue. Two prominent German organists, whose compositions were studied by Bach, were Caspar Kerl (1627-1693), and Jacob Froberger (———1667), both of whom lived in Vienna. The most eminent organist of the 17th century was Johann Peter Sweelinck (1562-1621), pupil of Zarlino, the famous Italian theorist, and of Andreas Gabrieli, organist of Venice. Sweelinck occupied the position of organist at the Cathedral in Amsterdam, and gave much attention to the development of the fugal style of composition. His compositions are of the highest importance historically, since they exhibit the first known examples of the independent use of the pedals in a real fugal part. He was the most eminent organist of his time (being called the organist maker), and was the teacher of the following noted players: Jacob Praetorius (died at Hamburg in 1651); Heinrich Scheidemann (1596-1663), also located at Hamburg; Jan Adams Reinken (1623-1722), from 1663 organist and successor to Scheidemann at the Catherine Church, Hamburg (Bach came to Hamburg several times to hear Reinken play and to learn his style); Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654), organist at Halle. Some of their compositions are accessible.