Music
[Listen]
[Listen]
Uns ist ein Kind-lein heut ge-born, Gott mituns! Von ein'r Jung-frau aus-er-korn. Gott mituns! Gott mit uns! Wer will seyn wi-der uns!
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.[83]
Knowledge is, of course, to superstition as light is to darkness; 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 superstitions 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 facts which would almost certainly be regarded as fictions, were they not well authenticated. On the otherhand, 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?
————
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 representing 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,—theSaltarello, theMonferrino, 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."[84]The same may be said of the Spanish Bolero and Fandango.
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 sportsman 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.[85]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, thevaliant 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 extemporecomedies, 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."[86]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 calledTeto(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.[87]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 becomingacquainted with their customs and amusements. His observations, 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 semi-circle, 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.[88]
Grotesque dresses and adornments are, of course, an essential attribute in these entertainments. Neither are buffoons wanting. According to B. Seeman, the entertainment calledKalau Rere, which he witnessed in the Fiji Islands, "with its high poles, streamers, evergreens, masquerading, 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 hunchbacks, are attached to the chief's establishment."[89]
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 performances are generally considered objectionable. Morier states that in Persia the princes, governors of provinces, etc., as well as the King, have a band ofLooties, 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 greatnatural 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."[90]
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."[91]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.[92]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.
In most of the entertainments, of which examples have just been given, the music must necessarily partake 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 accompanies. 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, "wasvery 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."[93]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 Loubère, 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 prompteresses, 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 managedto 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."[94]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."[95]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 Hansán) 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 movement of the instruments."[96]The band consisted of stringedinstruments, wind instruments, and instruments of percussion. 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 recitation 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, tillthe 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."[97]
A curious mode of paying the actors, which prevails in Cochin-China, may be mentioned here. An Englishman 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 entertainment. 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. Sometimes the string on which the cash was tied, unluckily broke, and the money flew in all directions; by which some of the bystanders profited, not being honourable enough to hand it up to the poor actors."[98]
The Burmese have dramas performed by men, and also comedies represented by means of marionettes, or puppets. In the latter entertainments the figures are cleverly managed by persons situated beneath a stage which is hidden by acoarse 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 performances 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 represented 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 somewhat resembling the Javanese instruments, but being attuned according to a diatonic order of intervals, instead of the pentatonic order. Also a curious contrivance, consisting of a set of drums suspended in a frame, each drum having a fixed tone, is used on these occasions. Moreover, 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 plays 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 Oodeinna, 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.
(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 prosperity, and the happy years have been to them as water to the lotus."
(Scene closes.)
Himalaya Mountains.—Enter a Nát.[99]
Nát.—"Now I am a Nát! When, and in what body was I before? Ah! looking with a Nát'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 Nát, with the nine jewels in thy crown?"
Nát.—"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 Nát, 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."
Nát.—"O holy Hermit! I will give thee a golden harp, and by the virtue of its sounds, and 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, whichthe reader will find in the interesting book above alluded to.[100]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 Kauthambi, play a soft and simple air, O leader of the orchestra!"
(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).
(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 represented; and that the orchestra is conducted by a leader or music-director. The following example, from another scene, indicates the employment of the full orchestrafortissimoin conformity with the action.
Forest. A Hunter.
Hunter.—"I and my dog will now go and kill whatever 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 performed at Singapore is given by Charles Wilkes;[101]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 characters of the Dramatis Personæ. 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 informer time no building appropriated to the public performance of dramas. The Kings had in their palaces a kind of music hall, calledSangita Sálá, 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.[102]
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, on 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.[103]Female characters are represented by boys and eunuchs. The plot of a Chinese drama, which was performed 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.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."[104]
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 Golowninvisited 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."[105]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 othersupernatural creatures; but, the musical part of these entertainments 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 entertainments, 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 Ottave 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 religiouscharacter, 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.[106]In Brazil we find on Hallelujah Saturday (between Good Friday and Easter 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 mediæval 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. 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 contributed much to the impressiveness of the whole.[107]During the second half of the thirteenth century, Adam de la Hale wrote dramatic plays with songs, founded on secularsubjects. 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 accompaniment of flutes and other instruments, in close connection with the poetry. The latter art was, however, the principal one, while in our present operamusicis 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.[108]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 performers 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 confused mass amidst the flashing of their drawn knives, theirmovements 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."[109]
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 themselves 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.[110]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 thesword-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."[111]
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 history, 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,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 mediæval costume, while some appeared in Oriental dresses. The sons and daughters of the most influential citizens generally undertake the representation 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 mediæval 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 developed 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 retrocessions. 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 dependent 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.
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 information is better conveyed by means of chronological tables, such as Carl Czerny has compiled in his 'Umriss derganzen 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 compositions, 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 inspiration, 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, Döhler, 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 forefathers during the Middle Ages, and of the rise of our modern tone-art. This Section is arranged in eighteen Periods, thus:—
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 associated 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.1). New Musical System. Decay of the Arts.
Fifth Period.—From the Birth of Christ until Hucbald (a.d.1-900). 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 Harmony. Invention of Musical Notation and Measure of Time.
Seventh Period.—From Franco of Cologne until Dufay (a.d.1200-1380). Invention and development of Counterpoint.
Eighth Period.—From Dufay until Ockeghem, or Ockenheim (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 Prés (a.d.1450-1480). The newer or second Netherlandish School. Artificial Counterpoint. Beginning of the reputation 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 Prés until Willaert (a.d.1480-1520). Commencement of the flourishing,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 develop 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 Netherlandish 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 Recitative 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.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. Development 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: 1, 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 Instrumental Music until the end of the Eighteenth Century (a.d.1700-1800). Division of Church Music, Operatic Music, and Instrumental Music. 1, Italy (with Spain and Portugal); 2, France (with the Netherlands); 3, England; 4, Germany (with Bohemia, Hungary, Poland, Sweden, and Denmark).
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 important 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 froma.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 yearb.c.328? Especially among the 1345 composers who distinguished themselves during the four centuries froma.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 morecelebrated 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 composers 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 asthat 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 inconvenience thereby occasioned to the student. Cherubini, like Bellini and Donizetti, is classed with the Italian composers; 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,[112]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.