Part 9

In examining the group of musicians on this sculpture the reader will probably recognise several instruments in their hands which are identical with those already described in the preceding pages. The _organistrum_, played by two persons, is placed in the centre of the group, perhaps owing to its being the largest of the instruments rather than that it was distinguished by any superiority in sound or musical effect. Besides the small harp seen in the hands of the eighth and nineteenth musicians (in form nearly identical with the Anglo-Saxon harp) we find a small triangular harp, without a front-pillar, held on the lap by the fifth and eighteenth musicians. The _salterio_ on the lap of the tenth and seventeenth musicians resembles the dulcimer, but seems to be played with the fingers instead of with hammers. The most interesting instrument in this orchestra is the _vihuela_, or Spanish viol, of the twelfth century. The first, second, third, sixth, seventh, ninth, twentieth, twenty-second, twenty-third, and twenty-fourth musicians are depicted with a _vihuela_ which bears a close resemblance to the _rebec_. The instrument is represented with three strings, although in one or two instances five tuning-pegs are indicated. A large species of _vihuela_ is given to the eleventh, fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth musicians. This instrument differs from the _rebec_ in so far as its body is broader and has incurvations at the sides. Also the sound-holes are different in form and position. The bow does not occur with any of these viols. But, as will be observed, the musicians are not represented in the act of playing; they are tuning and preparing for the performance, and the second of them is adjusting the bridge of his instrument.

The minstrel gallery of Exeter Cathedral (Fig. 38) dates from the fourteenth century. The front is divided into twelve niches, each of which contains a winged figure or an angel playing on an instrument of music. There is a cast also of this famous sculpture at South Kensington. The instruments are so much dilapidated that some of them cannot be clearly recognised; but, as far as may be ascertained, they appear to be as follows:――(1) The _lute_ or possibly _cittern_; (2) the _bagpipe_; (3) the _clarion_ or the _shalm_; (4) the _rebec_; (5) the _psaltery_ or the _harp_; (6) the _jew’s harp_ (?); (7) the _sackbut_ or the _clarion_; (8) the _regals_; (9) the _gittern_, a small guitar strung with catgut; (10) the _shalm_ (?); (11) the _timbrel_, resembling our present tambourine, with a double row of gingles; (12) _cymbals_. Most of these instruments have been already noticed in the preceding pages. The _shalm_, or _shawm_, was a pipe with a reed in the mouth-hole. The _wait_ was an English wind instrument of the same construction. If it differed in any respect from the _shalm_, the difference consisted probably in the size only. The _wait_ obtained its name from being used principally by watchmen, or _waights_, to proclaim the time of night. Such were the poor ancestors of our fine oboe and clarinet.

X.

POST-MEDIÆVAL INSTRUMENTS.

Attention must now be drawn to some instruments which originated during the Middle Ages, but which attained their highest popularity at a somewhat later period.

About 300 years ago the _lute_ (Fig. 39) was almost as popular as is the pianoforte at the present day. Originally it had eight thin catgut strings arranged in four pairs, each pair being tuned in unison; so that its open strings produced four tones; but in the course of time more strings were added. Until the sixteenth century twelve was the largest number, or rather, six pairs. Eleven appears for some centuries to have been the most usual number of strings; these produced six tones, since they were arranged in five pairs and a single string. The latter, called the _chanterelle_, was the highest. According to Thomas Mace, the English lute in common use during the seventeenth century had twenty-four strings, arranged in twelve pairs, of which six pairs ran over the finger-board and the other six by the side of it. This lute was therefore, more properly speaking, a theorbo. The neck of the lute, and also of the theorbo, had frets consisting of catgut strings tightly fastened round it at the proper distances required for ensuring a chromatic succession of intervals. The illustration (Fig. 40) represents a lute-player of the late fifteenth century. The order of tones adopted for the open strings varied in different centuries and countries; and this was also the case with the notation of lute music. The most common practice was to write the music on six lines, the upper line representing the first string; the second line, the second string, etc., and to mark with letters on the lines the frets at which the fingers ought to be placed――_a_ indicating the open string, _b_ the first fret, _c_ the second fret, and so on.

The lute was made of various sizes, according to the purpose for which it was intended in performance. The treble-lute was of the smallest dimensions, and the bass-lute of the largest. The _theorbo_, or double-necked lute which appears to have come into use during the sixteenth century, had in addition to the strings situated over the finger-board a number of others running at the left side of the finger-board which could not be shortened by the fingers, and which produced the bass tones.

The _archlute_ is a large theorbo with a peculiar arrangement of the strings (Fig. 41). Several of them were doubled, the additional string being tuned an octave higher than the other. The process of tuning such instruments was evidently troublesome and tedious. Mattheson, the quaint contemporary of Handel, in his “Das Neu-eröffnete Orchestre,” Hamburg, 1713, remarks:――“If a lutenist attains the age of eighty, you may be sure he has tuned sixty years; and the worst of it is that among a hundred players, especially of the amateurs, scarcely two are capable of tuning with accuracy. Now there is something amiss with the strings; now with the frets; and now again with the screws; so that I have been told that in Paris it costs as much money to keep a lute as to keep a horse.” Also Mace, an enthusiastic admirer of the lute, testifies to the difficulty of keeping the instrument in proper condition; for his treatise on the lute and theorbo (contained in “Musick’s Monument,” London, 1676) is replete with rules for stringing, tuning, cleaning, repairing, etc. And, as regards preserving the instrument, he gives the advice――“You shall do well, ever when you lay it by in the day-time, to put it into a bed that is constantly used, between the rug and blanket.”

The _chitarrone_ is a theorbo with an extraordinarily long neck, by which the length of the eight bass strings is considerably increased (Fig. 42). The largest instruments of this kind were made some centuries ago, in Rome. They were used in the theatre for accompanying the voice, before the Clavicembalo, or Harpsichord, was introduced for this purpose. The finest instruments of the lute kind were made in Italy, especially at Bologna, Rome, Venice, and Padua. Many of the manufacturers in Italy were, however, foreigners. Evelyn, in his Diary (May 21, 1645), speaking of Bologna, says, “This place has also been celebrated for lutes made by the old masters, Mollen [Maler ?], Hans Frey, and Nicholas Sconvelt, which were of extraordinary price; the workmen were chiefly Germans.” One of the earliest and most celebrated of these makers was Lucas Maler (or “Laux Maler” as he inscribed his name on his instruments). He lived at Bologna about 1415.

Other celebrated lute-makers[8] were:――

Ludwig Porgt, Regensburg, 1525. Hanns Gerle, Nuremberg, b. about 1505, d. 1599. Hans Neusedler, Nuremberg, d. 1563. Sebastian Rauser, Verona, working about 1590 to 1605. Mattheus Buchenberg, Rome, working about 1592-1619. Hanns Fichtholdt, Ingoldstadt (?), about 1612; his lutes, the backs of which are made with narrow strips of wood, in the Italian manner, were formerly much prized by connoisseurs. Paolo Belami, Paris, about 1612, probably an Italian. His lutes were highly valued. Joachim Tielke, Hamburg, b. 1641, d. 1719. Antonio Castaro, Rome, about 1615. Christofilo Rochi, Padua, about 1620. Sebastian Rochi, Venice, about 1620. Clays von Pommersbach, Cologne, probably during the sixteenth century. Magnus Tieffenbrucker, Venice, latter half of seventeenth century. Wendelin Tieffenbrucker, Padua, working about 1572-1611, and Leonhard Tieffenbrucker, Padua (?), during the sixteenth century; their lutes were rather flat and long in body. Michael Hartung, Padua, working about 1602 to 1624; he was a pupil of Leonhard Tieffenbrucker. Raphael Mest, Füssen, working about 1610 to 1650; said to have been pupil of Michael Hartung. Johann Christian Hoffmann, Leipzig, working about 1710 to 1750; his lutes were exported to Holland and England. Martin Schott, Prague, latter half of seventeenth century. Sebastian Rauch, Prague, working about 1700 to 1724. Matthias Hummel, Nuremberg, end of seventeenth century. Sebastian Schelle, Nuremberg, working about 1700 to 1745; his lutes were much valued, not only in Germany, but also in other European countries.

There used to be in Italy various kinds of mandolines, of which the Milanese and the Neapolitan were the most common. The first-named had usually ten strings, constituting five pairs. The Neapolitan _mandolino_ had eight strings, constituting four pairs. The strings were usually twanged with a quill. Mozart, in his “Don Giovanni,” has made use of the Neapolitan _mandolino_ in the serenade; but, as the instrument has fallen into disuse, at least in most countries except Italy, the part written for it by Mozart is now generally played on the violin, _pizzicato_. The _mandolino_ is now often strung with catgut strings. It resembles a diminutive lute; but its fingerboard has metal frets, and its strings are fastened to little ivory pins at the end of the body, instead of being looped through holes in the bridge. The convex back of the mandoline is deeper than that of the lute. It is one of the handsomest musical instruments.

Besides the mandoline the Italians had various instruments in shape resembling the lute. Of this description are, for instance, the _mandora_, _mandorina_, and the _pandurina_. The mandoline differs from the pandurina chiefly in having a rounder and deeper body, and in having the tuning-pegs placed at the back of the head; while the _pandurina_ has a sort of scroll, with the tuning-pegs situated sideways, similar to the old English cither (Fig. 43). The _mandora_ had usually for each tone two strings, which were of catgut and wire; and there were eight pairs of them. The _mandorina_ had four wire strings.

The _guitar_ (Fig. 44) is evidently an importation from the East, but it has undergone various modifications since its adoption by European nations. It was an instrument of the Moors in Spain, and became known in France about the 11th century. The French called it formerly _guiterne_, and the English _gittern_, _ghittern_, and _gythorn_. At the time of Henry VIII. we find it occasionally called “the Spanish viol.” At an early period it probably had the oval shape of the _kuitra_, still in use by the Arab musicians in Tunis and Algiers. In Spain it had formerly also the name of _vihuela_.

Instruction books for the old Spanish guitar have been written by:――Ludovico Milan, Valencia, 1534; Sixtus Kargel, Mayence, 1569; Joannes Carolus, Lerida, 1626; Pietro Milioni, Rome, 1638; Lucas Ruiz de Ribayaz, Madrid, 1672, etc. The number of guitar manuals published during the 18th century is enormous. Germany alone contributed above fifty.

The guitar was a fashionable instrument in England, played by ladies, in the time of Charles II. On the Continent it generally had ten catgut strings, of which two were always tuned in unison. At the present day it has six strings, the two of which are of silk covered with silver wire, and the others are of catgut.

A species of guitar is the _quinterna_, or _chiterna_, somewhat resembling a violin in shape (Fig. 45). It was used about two centuries ago, especially in Italy, by the lower orders of musicians and comedians for accompanying their vocal performances. It was played with the fingers instead of a plectrum.

The _cithern_, _cittern_, or _cither_ (Fig. 46), which during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was a popular instrument in England, where it was often played in the barbers’ shops, had four pairs of wire strings.

Its top generally terminated in a grotesquely-carved human head. The cithers made in England during the eighteenth century have generally at the top some inlaid ornamentation in ivory, mother-of-pearl, or fancy wood.

Although not well suited for the performance of harmonious combinations, since its wire strings are twanged with a quill, and therefore only such chords can be properly produced as are on strings following each other in uninterrupted succession, the cither, nevertheless, possesses considerable charms.

There are several conjectures as to the derivation of the German name _zither_ or _zitter_. Some suppose it to be from “_zittern_,” on account of the peculiarly trembling sound of the instrument. During the first centuries of the Christian era the word _cythera_ (_cithara_) implied almost any stringed instrument, especially if the strings were twanged with a plectrum, or with the fingers. It is also noteworthy, though perhaps only as a singular coincidence, that the Persians and Hindus have a three-stringed species of _zither_, which they call _sitar_, from the Persian word _si_, “three,” and _tar_, “a string.” The Hindu _sitar_ is, however, now usually mounted with five strings.

The _harp-guitar_ and _harp-theorbo_ (Fig. 47) were manufactured in England with the intention of improving the sound of the guitar and theorbo by adopting for them the body of the harp.

There was also another invention of this kind, called the _harp-lute_.

The _harp-ventura_ (Fig. 48) was invented at the beginning of the last century by Signor Angelo Benedetto Ventura, professor of music, and teacher of the guitar and harp-lute to the Princess Charlotte of Wales. The example given has a back of satin wood, and sides of turtle shell; the belly and pillar are painted and gilt. It has nineteen catgut strings, six of which are covered with wire.

The _banduria_ (Fig. 49) a lyre-shaped guitar, was often strung with wire instead of catgut, and played with a plectrum generally made of tortoise-shell. The specimen illustrated is made of various woods, has three sound-holes, a machine head, and twelve catgut strings tuned in pairs.

The Spanish peasants call their rustic guitar _vihuela_; and it appears probable that the “gittrons that are called Spanish vialls,” mentioned in the list of musical instruments of Henry VIII. (Harl. MSS. 1419, p. 202) were small guitars of this description.

The Irish harp (_clarseth_) illustrated in Fig. 50, belonged formerly to a celebrated Irish harper. A similar one, which is in the possession of the Marquess of Kildare, bears the date 1671.

Considering the scarcity of the old Irish _clarseth_, mention may be made of a fine specimen formerly in the collection of Irish antiquities belonging to Thomas Crofton Croker, from which it was purchased, in the year 1854, at an auction in London, by Thomas Bateman, Esq. It bears on its front the inscription, _Made by John Kelly for the Rev. Charles Bunworth Baltdaniel, 1734_. At the contentions or meetings of the bards of Ireland, between the years 1730 and 1750, which were generally held at Bruree, county Limerick, the Rev. Charles Bunworth was five times chosen umpire, or president. Although this harp is not of high antiquity, it is an interesting example of the ancient form and construction, and likewise of the ancient manner of ornamenting the instrument. A wood engraving of it, from a drawing by Maclise, is given in “A Descriptive Catalogue of the Antiquities and Miscellaneous Objects preserved in the Museum of Thomas Bateman, at Lomberdale House, Derbyshire,” Bakewell, 1855. An account of the Irish harps deposited in the Museum of Dublin is to be found in “A Descriptive Catalogue of the Antiquities in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy,” by W. R. Wilde, Dublin, 1863. The illustrations of the Irish harp in the works of Bunting and similar writers may be supposed to be known to musicians.

The number of strings appears to have been greater on the older specimens recorded than on the later ones. Prætorius, in his “Syntagma musicum,” etc., vol. ii., Wolfenbüttel, 1619, gives an illustration of the Irish harp, in which it is represented with forty-three strings. He describes the instrument as having a pleasant resonance, and being constructed with a considerable degree of ingenuity. The illustration exhibits the same shape, with the fore-bar bent outwards, which is shown in the present specimen.

Some harps after the model of the old Irish _clarseth_, which are painted and gilt, were made in Dublin in the beginning of the last century.

The small harp of the middle ages of Central and Western Europe, depicted in old sculptures and paintings, generally exhibits the front-bar of its frame somewhat bent outwardly, much as is the case with the Irish _clarseth_. Gradually the number of its strings was increased; and, likewise the strength of the frame for resisting the tension of the strings. The front-bar of our harp is straight, or a front-pillar. Until the seventeenth century only the diatonic series of intervals was properly obtainable on the instrument. The performer had, however, a method of producing occasionally a semitone by pressing the finger against the string towards the end, much in the same manner in which the Burmese produce chromatic intervals on the _soung_. Towards the end of the seventeenth century the Tyrolian harp makers adopted little plates with hooks, which could be moved so as to press upon the strings, and thereby shorten them, for the production of the semitones, more rapidly and unerringly than could be done by the fingers. A French harp of the period of Louis XVI. is illustrated (Fig. 51). It is carved and gilt in the style of Gouthière, and decorated with oak foliage and acorns; at the top of the pillar is a figure of a Cupid.

Students who examine the old instruments above described will probably wish to know something about their quality of tone. “How do they sound? Might they still be made effective in our present state of the art?” are questions which naturally occur to the musical inquirer having such instruments brought before him. A few words bearing on these questions may therefore not be out of place here.

It is generally and justly admitted that in no other branch of the art of music has greater progress been made during the last century than in the construction of musical instruments. Nevertheless, there are people who think that we have also lost something here which might with advantage be restored. Our various instruments by being more and more perfected are becoming too much alike in quality of sound, or in that character of tone which the French call _timbre_, and the Germans _Klangfarbe_, and which professor Tyndall in his lectures on sound has translated _clang-tint_. Every musical composer knows how much more suitable one _clang-tint_ is for the expression of a certain emotion than another. Our old instruments, imperfect though they were in many respects, possessed this variety of _clang-tint_ to a high degree. Neither were they on this account less capable of expression than the modern ones. That no improvement has been made during the last two centuries in instruments of the violin class is a well-known fact. As to lutes and cithers the collection at South Kensington contains specimens so rich and mellow in tone as to cause musicians to regret that these instruments have entirely fallen into oblivion.

As regards beauty of appearance our earlier instruments were certainly superior to the modern. Indeed, we have now scarcely a musical instrument which can be called beautiful. The old lutes, cithers, viols, dulcimers, etc., are not only elegant in shape but are also often tastefully ornamented with carvings, designs in marquetry, and painting.