The Musical Myths and Facts (Vol. 1&2). Engel Carl

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СКАЧАТЬ marina or marine trumpet, probably Dutch, seventeenth century. Besides one string of thick catgut upon the instrument, there are in the inside forty-one sympathetic strings of thin steel-wire. A nyckel-harpa, a curious instrument of the Swedish peasantry, which may be briefly described as a combination of a fiddle and a hurdy-gurdy. A crwth, an antiquated Welsh instrument of the fiddle class. The body is cut out of a single block of wood, the belly only being glued to it. Two specimens of the nail-violin, one of which has sympathetic strings of thin brass-wire running over the sound-board. These two curious instruments were probably made in France or Germany about the year 1800. The invention of the nail-violin is attributed to a German of the name of Wilde, who lived in St. Petersburg about the middle of the eighteenth century. A hurdy-gurdy (French, vielle), made by Pagot at Jenzat, a small town near Orleans, about the year 1840. Carved head. Six tuning-pegs at the top, and one at the tail-piece. This hurdy-gurdy is of the kind which the French call vielle en luth, because its body is shaped like that of the lute. The other kind, which has indentations at the sides resembling those of the guitar, is called vielle en guitare. Organ hurdy-gurdy, or vielle organisée, made by a Frenchman residing in London during the middle of the eighteenth century. This curious instrument, which was formerly also known in England, where it was called flute-cymbal, consists of a hurdy-gurdy combined with a small organ of two stops, and it is so contrived as to allow the hurdy-gurdy or the organ to be used each separately, or both combined, at the pleasure of the performer. Some portions of it have been restored in the present century. Clavichord, generally called in German Clavier. Made in Einbeck, near Hanover, about the year 1800. Clavichord, made in Thuringia. Clavichord, made by the celebrated manufacturer, Barthold Fritz, in Brunswick, in the year 1751; ornamented with painting and engraving. Harpsichord, inscribed "Jacobus Kirkman, Londini, fecit 1772." The case is of walnut, inlaid with tulip-wood. Carved legs representing eagle's claws grasping a ball. With two keyboards, constituting a "double harpsichord," as it used to be called in England. The woodwork about the keyboards is ornamented with designs in marquetry of various coloured woods. This harpsichord has six stops and two pedals, and is provided with a Venetian swell. Jacobus Kirkman, having obtained an order from King George III. to produce a fine harpsichord intended as a present for Queen Charlotte, made—as manufacturers under such circumstances not unfrequently do—two harpsichords exactly alike, viz., one for Queen Charlotte, and the present one, which was bought by John Bacon, the famous sculptor, after whose death it came into the possession of Dr. Sclatter, priest-vicar of Exeter Cathedral, who had it for nearly half-a-century, and after whose death it was sold at a sale of his effects. Harpsichord with two keyboards, six stops, and two pedals. Inscribed "Jacobus et Abraham Kirkman, fecerunt 1773." The case is of mahogany; the wood near the keyboards is walnut, inlaid with tulip-wood and a tesselated border of various coloured woods. Only the lute-stop has jacks with crow-quills; the jacks of the other stops are provided with small pieces of prepared leather instead of quills. The variety in the colour of sound thereby obtained is very effective. This instrument probably exhibits the highest degree of perfection which was ever attained in the construction of the harpsichord, in so far as quality and power of sound are concerned. As regards outward appearance, the beauty of some of the Dutch harpsichords, or clavicembali, ornamented with paintings by celebrated artists, is unsurpassed.

      It now remains to draw attention to the fact that many of the Museums of Antiquities in different countries instituted by Government contain some curiosities of the kind in question which cannot fail to interest the musical antiquarian. This is the case even in America, where in the museums of Mexico, Lima, and other towns, may be found among the examples of workmanship and arts of the Aztecs and the Inca Peruvians various contrivances relating to music. That royal personages in their cabinets of curiosities obtained from distant lands should not unfrequently have scarce, or handsome, or grotesque-looking musical instruments is only what might be expected. There are, for instance, about forty acquisitions of this kind in Windsor Castle, which consist chiefly of Asiatic and African drums, pipes, and stringed instruments. Several of them, however, are spoiled by having been "improved," or Europeanized. Some have descriptive labels attached to them, as, for instance, an Ashanti war-trumpet made of a human bone, and ornamented with human jawbones; and an Ashanti war-drum, carved from the trunk of a tree, and likewise ornamented with human jawbones; which two curiosities, the labels inform us, belonged to the King of Ashanti, from whom they were taken "in the action in which he was defeated by Colonel Purden. Sent by Sir Herbert Taylor in 1827. Brought to England by Major-General Sir Neil Campbell, commanding on the Western Coast of Africa." There is also in this assemblage a fanciful contrivance, which is intended for a sort of guitar, and of which a label affixed informs us: "This instrument was made from the head of the Duke of Schomberg's horse, killed at the battle of the Boyne, 1690."

      Of the special exhibition of ancient musical instruments held in the South Kensington Museum in the year 1872, an account has been given in the Descriptive Catalogue of the Musical Instruments in the South Kensington Museum, London, 1874. The present survey would, however, be imperfect if that remarkable exhibition were left entirely unnoticed, although the collection which it comprised had an existence of four months only. Suffice it here to record that it contained upwards of five hundred instruments, including a large number of violins, violas, and violoncellos of the celebrated Cremona makers. Should a similar exhibition be attempted, an equally successful result is not likely to be achieved for years, if ever. Old and scarce musical instruments have become of much more antiquarian interest than formerly was the case. The specimens still obtainable by purchase gradually find their way into public museums, not only in European countries, but also in America, and in the English colonies. Whenever they have been secured for a museum they generally are no longer obtainable on loan for other exhibitions. Private persons possessing such treasures set upon them a higher value than formerly, and are therefore less inclined to expose them to the risk of being injured. For these reasons it appears all the more desirable that there should be some record of the collections known to be still in existence.

      MUSICAL MYTHS AND FOLK-LORE.

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      Music is so delightfully innocent and charming an art that we cannot wonder at finding it almost universally regarded as of divine origin. Pagan nations generally ascribe the invention of their musical instruments to their gods or to certain superhuman beings of a godlike nature. The Hebrews attributed it to man; but as Jubal is mentioned as "the father of all such as handle the harp and organ" only, and as instruments of percussion are almost invariably in use long before people are led to construct stringed and wind instruments, we may suppose that, in the biblical records, Jubal is not intended to be represented as the original inventor of all the Hebrew instruments, but rather as a great promoter of the art of music.

      However this may be, thus much is certain: there are among Christians at the present day not a few sincere upholders of the literal meaning of those records who maintain that instrumental music was already practised in Heaven before the creation of the world. Elaborate treatises have been written on the nature and effect of that heavenly music, and passages from the Bible have been cited by the learned authors which are supposed by them to confirm indisputably the opinions advanced in their treatises.

      It may, at a first glance, appear singular that nations have not generally such traditional records respecting the originators of their vocal music as they have respecting the invention of their musical instruments. The cause is however explicable; to sing is as natural to man as to speak, and uncivilised nations are not likely to speculate whether singing has ever been invented.

      There is no need to recount here the well-known mythological traditions of the ancient Greeks and Romans referring to the origin of their favourite musical instruments. Suffice it to remind the reader that Mercury and Apollo were believed to be the inventors of the lyra and the kithara; that the invention of the flute was attributed to Minerva; and that Pan is said to have invented the syrinx. More worthy of our attention are some similar records of the Hindus, because they have hitherto scarcely been noticed in any work on music.

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