olden time it was played thus:――The performer, having placed the
instrument on a table, twanged the strings with the thumb of his right
hand, while he used his left hand in pressing down, by means of a
little stick, those strings which are placed over the frets, and
which, being tuned in unison, serve for producing the melody. The
other strings, tuned a _fifth_ lower, were occasionally struck as an
accompaniment.
Primitive in construction, and imperfect for our present musical
performances as the _Scheitholz_ is, it nevertheless is interesting,
not only on account of its popularity three centuries ago, but also
because it is the prototype of the horizontal cither, which has come
somewhat into vogue in the last century.
The most popular instruments played with a bow, in the seventeenth
century, were the _treble-viol_, the _tenor-viol_, and the
_bass-viol_. It was usual for viol players to have “a chest of viols,”
a case containing four or more viols, of different sizes. Thus, Thomas
Mace in his directions for the use of the viol, “Musick’s Monument”
1676, remarks, “Your best provision, and most complete, will be a good
chest of viols, six in number, viz., two basses, two tenors, and two
trebles, all truly and proportionately suited.” The violist, to be
properly furnished with his requirements, had therefore to supply
himself with a larger stock of instruments than the violinist of the
present day.
The _virginal_ (Figs. 61 and 62) is said to have obtained its name
from having been intended especially to be played by young ladies. The
statement of some writers that it was called virginal in compliment to
Queen Elizabeth, is refuted by the fact of its being mentioned among
the musical instruments of King Henry VIII., in the beginning of the
sixteenth century. Probably the name was originally given to it in
honour of the Virgin Mary, since the _virginal_ was used by the nuns
for accompanying their hymns addressed to the Holy Virgin. It was made
of various sizes, but generally small in comparison with our square
pianoforte. The Italians, about three hundred years ago, constructed a
small portable instrument of this kind, which they called _ottavino_
(or _octavina_) because its pitch was an octave higher than that of
the clavicembalo, or harpsichord.
Queen Elizabeth was a performer on the _virginal_ (_see_ Fig. 61) as
well as on the lute. Sir James Melville, the Scotch ambassador,
records in his memoirs an interview with Queen Elizabeth, in the year
1564, in which he heard her play upon the virginal:――“Then sche asked
wither the Quen (Mary of Scotland) or sche played best. In that I gaif
hir the prayse.” During the Shakesperian age a virginal generally
stood in the barbers’ shops for the amusement of the customers. The
instrument had evidently retained its popularity at the time of the
Great Fire of London; for Pepys (Diary, September 2nd, 1666)
records:――“River full of lighters and boats taking in goods, and good
goods swimming in the water; and only I observed that hardly one
lighter or boat in three that had the goods of a house in, but there
was a pair of virginalls in it.”
The instrument has metal strings, one for each tone, which are twanged
by means of small portions of quill, attached to slips of wood called
“jacks,” and provided with thin metal springs. Its construction is
therefore similar to that of the spinet and harpischord. Crowquills
were most commonly used in the construction of such instruments; but
other materials, as for instance leather, whalebone, and even elastic
strips of metal, were occasionally adopted instead.
[Illustration: FIG. 63.――SPINET. Made by Annibale dei Rossi of
Milan. Italian. Dated 1577. H. 11¼ in., L. 58¼ in.,
W. 22¼ in. No. 809-’69.
Victoria and Albert Museum.]
[Illustration: FIG. 64.――SPINET. Signed “Johannes Player fecit.”
English. About 1700. L. 59 in., W. 22½ in. No.
466-’82.
Victoria and Albert Museum.]
[Illustration: FIG. 65.――CLAVICHORD. Inscribed “Barthold Fritz fecit,
Braunschweig, anno 1751.” German. 18th century.
H. 31 in., L. 70½ in., W. 22½ in. No. 339-’82.
Victoria and Albert Museum.]
There evidently prevailed, some centuries ago, much vagueness in the
designation of certain stringed instruments with a key-board. The term
_clavichord_ seems to have not unfrequently been applied to any
stringed instrument with a key-board, no matter what its interior
construction might be. Johann Walther, in his “Musicalisches Lexicon,”
Leipzig, 1732, describes the _virginal_ (or “Virginale,” as he calls
it), in these words:-“Ein Clavier vors Frauenzimmer” (_a clavichord
for ladies_). The following brief explanation of the difference
between the spinet and the clavichord may therefore be of interest to
some inquirers.
The _spinet_ (Italian, _spinetta_ or _spinetto_; French, _épinette_)
is said to have derived its name from the little quill (_spina_) used
in its mechanism, which is the same as that of the harpsichord and the
virginal, described before.
The more commonly-known spinet (Figs. 63 and 64) resembles in shape
the harpsichord and the grand piano. It is, however, smaller than the
harpsichord, and its key-board is placed in a somewhat oblique
direction. The tone of the spinet was generally a _fifth_ higher than
that of the harpsichord.
The _clavichord_ (Italian, _clavicordo_; German, _Clavier_, or
_Klavier_), differs from the spinet inasmuch as it is of an
oblong-square shape (Fig. 65), and especially in its being constructed
with so-called _tangents_, _i.e._, metal pins which press under the
strings when the keys are struck. The strings are of thin brass wire.
The oldest specimens of the clavichord still extant are from three to
four feet in length, and about two feet in width. The lower keys are
black, and the upper ones are white. There is only a single string for
each tone and its upper semitone; thus, there is but one string for
_C_ and _C-sharp_, and likewise for _D_ and _D-sharp_, and so on. The
semitone is produced by a second tangent, which touches the string at
a place a little distant from that at which it is touched by the
tangent producing the whole-tone. On being pressed under the string,
the tangent divides it into two vibrating parts, one of which is
considerably longer than the other and gives the sound. The other part
is too short to be distinctly audible, and therefore does not very
perceptibly interfere with the clearness of the sound. Moreover, its
vibration is checked by a strip of cloth interlaced with the strings.
It will easily be understood that of the two tangents, the one which
most shortens the sounding part of the string, must produce a tone of
a higher pitch than the other.
Such was the construction of the _clavichord_ until about the year
1700, when it was improved in so far as that each key was supplied
with a separate string. The clavichord is pre-eminently a German
instrument. Although now almost entirely supplanted by the pianoforte,
it is still occasionally to be met with in the house of the German
village schoolmaster and of the country parson. Though but weak in
sound, it admits of much expression; and most of the German classical
composers who lived before the invention of the pianoforte preferred
the clavichord to the harpsichord. In England it has never become
popular. Considering the simplicity of its construction, it might be
surmised that the price of a clavichord was generally very moderate.
In the latter half of the eighteenth century the prices charged for
such instruments by some of the best manufacturers were as
follows:――Carl Lemme, in Brunswick, made clavichords of various
qualities, which fetched from three to twelve Louis d’ors a-piece; he
also made, for exportation to Batavia, clavichords with a compressed
sounding-board, invented by his father in the year 1771; Krämer, in
Göttingen, charged from four to fourteen Louis d’ors, according to
size and finish; and Wilhelmi, in Cassel, charged from twenty to fifty
thalers,――from about £3 to £7 10s.
[Illustration: FIG. 66.――CLAVICEMBALO. Signed “Joanes Antonius
Baffo, Venetus.” Italian. Dated 1574. H. 9½ in., L.
83 in., W. 36 in. No. 6007-’59.
Victoria and Albert Museum.]
The _clavicembalo_ (often designated merely _cembalo_) is called in
German “Flügel,” on account of its shape somewhat resembling the wing
of a bird. _Clavicembali_ formerly in use generally had a compass of
five octaves. The instrument was usually supplied with some stops by
means of which the quality of sound could in some measure be modified.
Furthermore, it was frequently made with two keyboards, one for the
loud and another for the soft tones. The harpsichord made in England
was precisely of the same construction. In fact, the best harpsichord
makers in England were emigrants from the continent, and the founders
of some of the great pianoforte manufactories still flourishing in
London. Burkhardt Tschudi, for instance, a harpsichord maker from
Switzerland, was the founder of Broadwood’s celebrated manufactory,
which dates from the year 1732. Kirkman, a German (who, before he
established himself in England, wrote his name Kirchmann) sold his
harpsichords in London, according to the German Musical Almanac for
the year 1782, at the price of from 60_l._ to 90_l._ apiece. In the
beginning of the eighteenth century many of the harpsichords made in
England had, according to Grassineau (Musical Dictionary, London,
1740), a compass of only four octaves.
However, already as early as in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries, harpsichords or clavicembali, of a superior quality,
manufactured by Hans Ruckers and his sons Jean and Andreas, were
imported into England. The instruments of these celebrated Antwerp
manufacturers were tastefully embellished, and the best Dutch painters
not infrequently enriched them with devices. The consequence has been
that after the invention of the pianoforte, many of these old
harpsichords were taken to pieces in order to preserve the valuable
panels. The price of a fine harpsichord by Ruckers about 1770, was
£120.
The old _clavicembalo_ by Antonio Baffo, of Venice (Fig. 66), has
slips of prepared leather instead of the usual crowquills, which, if
original, would show that the statement of some writers as to Pascal
Taskin in Paris being the first to use leather is erroneous. Taskin,
in constructing in the year 1768 the _Clavecin à peau de buffle_, may
have revived an old invention, which, however, he seems to have much
improved. He made a _clavecin_ with three keyboards, two of which were
connected with actions constructed of crowquills, and the third with
an action of leather. The modification in quality of sound thereby
obtained was greatly admired.
The illustration (Fig. 67) represents a clavecin made by Pascal Taskin
in the year 1786. The case is highly ornamented with Japanese figures
and gilding.
The invention of the _clavicembalo_ as well as of the _clavicordo_, is
by some old writers ascribed to Guido Aretinus (or Guido d’Arezzo),
the famous monk who is recorded to have invented, in the year 1025,
the Solmisation, and also to have first conceived the idea of
employing lines and dots in the notation of musical sounds.
Unauthentic though the tradition may be which assigns to Guido the
invention of the stringed instruments with a keyboard, it appears very
probable that some rude kind of clavichord was first constructed about
his time, or soon after.
The _claviorganum_, or organ-harpsichord, consists of an organ and a
harpsichord (or a spinet) combined. Either can be played separately or
with the other together. The separation and the union are effected by
means of a stop or a pedal. The claviorganum was, some centuries ago,
not uncommon. It enables the performer to sustain the sound at
pleasure, which on the harpsichord is as little possible as on the
pianoforte. A _claviorganum_ from Ightham Mote, near Sevenoaks,
illustrated in Fig. 68, affords evidence of a higher antiquity of
instruments of this kind than might perhaps be expected. It bears the
inscription, _Lodowicus Theewes me fecit_, 1579. There is scarcely
more remaining of this interesting relic than the outer case; but this
is so elaborately finished that, if the mechanism was constructed with
equal care and success, it must have been a superior instrument. The
maker is unknown in musical history. Perhaps he belonged to the family
of Treu (also written Trew), musicians of repute in Anspach about the
year 1600.
[Illustration: FIG. 67.――CLAVECIN. Made by Pascal Taskin of Paris.
French. Dated 1786. H. 32¾ in., W. of keyboard, 30
in., L. 72 in. No. 1121-’69.
Victoria and Albert Museum.]
[Illustration: FIG. 68.――ORGAN-HARPSICHORD OR CLAVIORGANUM. Formerly
in the chapel of Ightham Mote, near Sevenoaks, Kent.
Probably English. Harpsichord, H. 9 in., L. 84 in.,
W. 35½ in. Organ case, H. 41 in., L. 91 in., W. 40
in. No. 125 125ᵃ-’90.
Victoria and Albert Museum.]
[Illustration: FIG. 69.――TRIPLE FLAGEOLET. Italian. About 1820.
L. 20½ in. No. 295-’82.
Victoria and Albert Museum.]
[Illustration: FIG. 70.――FLAUTO DOLCE OR FLUTE. Ivory. Inscribed
“Anciuti a Milan, 1740." L. 18½ in. No. 7469-’61.
Victoria and Albert Museum.]
The pianoforte, which now has entirely superseded the harpsichord, was
first constructed at the beginning of the eighteenth century, in Italy
and Germany. About the year 1767 it was from Germany introduced into
England; but the English musicians for a considerable period objected
to it, and preferred to retain the harpsichord.
That there was, in the time of Shakespeare, a species of flageolet,
called _recorder_, is undoubtedly known to most readers from the stage
direction in Hamlet: _Re-enter players with recorders_. The recorder
is also mentioned by Milton, and described by Bacon, who states that
“the figures of recorders, flutes and pipes are straight; but the
recorder hath a less bore, and a greater above and below.” An
illustration of this old instrument, which has now become very scarce,
is given in “The Genteel Companion; Being exact Directions for the
Recorder: etc.” London, 1683.
The _flauto dolce_ (French, _flûte douce_, and _flûte à bec_), much in
use some centuries ago, was made of various lengths (Fig. 70). The
Germans called it _Pflockflöte_, _i.e._, a flute with a plug in the
mouth-hole. The most common _flûte à bec_ was made with six
finger-holes, and its compass embraced somewhat more than two octaves.
Several of the finger-holes required to be only partly covered in
order to produce the desired tone. There was often a key on this
instrument in addition to the finger-holes. This flute was much in
favour in England; hence it was called in France “Flûte d’Angleterre.”
It has gradually been supplanted by the “Flûte traversière,” or
“German Flute.”
The _flageolet_ (Fig. 71), the smallest _flûte à bec_, was formerly
played in England even by ladies. Pepys, in his Diary (March 1st,
1666), records:――“Being returned home, I find Greeting, the
flageolet-master, come, and teaching my wife; and I do think my wife
will take pleasure in it, and it will be easy for her, and pleasant.”
The flageolet was made of various sizes. Pepys (Diary, January 20th,
1667) records:――“To Drumbleby’s, the pipemaker, there to advise about
the making of a flageolet to go low and soft; and he do show me a way
which do, and also a fashion of having two pipes of the same note
fastened together, so as I can play on one and then echo it upon the
other, which is mighty pretty.”
The _double flageolet_ was invented by Bainbridge about the year 1800.
The _triple flageolet_ (Fig. 69) is less common but equally useless
for musical performances of the present day. The “Harmonicon,” London,
1830, records:――“Within these few years Mr. Bainbridge has added a
bass joint to his double flageolet and the tone resembles the lower
notes on a German flute. The effect produced by the combination of
three notes is very good and mellifluous. The bass joint is fixed at
the back of the double flageolet, and the breath is conveyed by means
of a tube; and by the introduction of what are termed stop-keys, a
solo, duet, or trio may be instantaneously performed. The bass notes
are produced by keys pressed with the thumb of the left hand.” The
writer remarks that “this instrument being purely English, I consider
it deserving of being recorded as a very ingenious invention.”
The _hautboy_ or _oboe_ (Fig. 72) came into more general use about the
year 1720.
[Illustration: FIG. 71.――FLAGEOLET. Italian. Middle of 18th century.
L. 20 in., Diam. of mouth, 1⅞ in. No. 1124-’69.
Victoria and Albert Museum.]
[Illustration: FIG. 72.――OBOE. Made by Anciuti of Milan; formerly in
the possession of the composer Rossini. Latter half
of 18th century. L. 21½ in., Diam. of mouth, 2½ in.
No. 1127-69
Victoria and Albert Museum.]
The most noteworthy kinds of the hautboy of the time of Handel and
Sebastian Bach are,――the _oboe da caccia_, which is identical with the
_corno inglese_ (_English horn_, _cor anglais_), a large hautboy still
occasionally employed in the orchestra, and the _oboe d’amore_, or
_oboe lungo_, whch has fallen into oblivion. The pitch of the _oboe
d’amore_ was a minor third lower than that of the common hautboy, or
_oboe piccolo_; and its sound, owing to the narrowness of the bore at
its further end, was rather weak, but particularly sweet.
The precursor of the hautboy was evidently the _bombardino_, or
_chalumeau_. The _bombardino_, also called in Italian _bombardo
piccolo_, was a small _bombardo_, an instrument of the hautboy kind,
about three centuries ago much in use on the Continent.
The Germans called the _bombardo_ “Pommer,” which appears to be a
corruption of the Italian name. The _bombardo_ was made of various
sizes, and with a greater or smaller number of finger-holes and keys.
That which produced the bass tones was sometimes of an enormous
length, and was blown through a bent tube, like the bassoon, the
invention of which it is said to have suggested.
The smallest instrument, called _chalumeau_ (from _calamus_, “a reed”)
is still occasionally to be found among the peasantry in the Tyrol and
some other parts of the Continent. The Germans call it _Schalmei_, and
the Italians _piffero pastorale_. In England it was formerly called
_shawm_ or _shalm_.
The _clarinet_, likewise an instrument of this class, is said to have
been invented by Denner, in Nürnberg, about the year 1700. The
clarinet has only a single vibrating reed in the mouth-piece; the
hautboy has a double one.
The invention of the _bassoon_ (Italian, _fagotto_; French _basson_;
German, _Fagott_) is ascribed to Afranio, a canon of Ferrara, who
constructed the first in the year 1539. The instrument was, however,
an improved _bombardo_ rather than a new invention. As early as the
year 1550, the celebrated wind-instrument maker Schnitzer, in
Nürnberg, manufactured bassoons which were considered as very
complete. Fig. 73 illustrates a species of bassoon bound with brass
with brass keys, and complete with mouth-piece and reed.
Various bassoons of small dimensions in use about two centuries ago,
and earlier (the _dolciano_, _Quartfagott_, _Quintfagott_,
_tenor-bassoon_, _corthol_, etc.), are now antiquated.
In the list of musical instruments of Sir Thomas Kytson, of Hengrave
Hall, about the year 1600, recorded in the “History and Antiquities of
Hengrave, Suffolk,” by John Gage, London, 1822, is mentioned “A
Curtall,” which was probably the _corthol_ or French _courtaut_, an
early kind of bassoon, a specimen of which, dating from the fifteenth
century, is preserved in the Conservatoire de Musique at Paris.
According to Prætorius (anno 1619) the _fagotto piccolo_, a small
species of bassoon, was called in England _single corthol_.
The invention of the _serpent_ (Fig. 74) is attributed to Edme
Guillaume, a canon of Auxerre in France, anno 1590. It was, however,
no new invention, properly speaking, but merely an improvement upon
the old _Basszinken_, the management of which was rendered more
convenient by giving a serpentine winding to the tube. This instrument
subsequently became rather popular. It was used in military bands and
in processions until about the middle of the last century. The French
made use of it also in church to support the voices. Towards the end
of the eighteenth century it appears to have still been a common
substitute for the organ in France. Dr. Burney, in his “Journal,”
London, 1773, states that he frequently met with it in the churches of
that country, and he expresses a more favourable opinion of its
suitableness for promoting edification than might have been expected
from a refined musician:――“It gives the tone in chanting, and plays
the bass when they sing in parts. It is often ill-played, but if
judiciously used would have a good effect. It is, however, in general
overblown, and too powerful for the voices it accompanies; otherwise,
it mixes with them better than the organ, as it can augment or
diminish a sound with more delicacy, and is less likely to overpower
or destroy, by a bad temperament, that perfect one of which the voice
only is capable.”
[Illustration: FIG. 73.――BASSOON, species of. English. Late 18th or
early 19th century. L. 48¼ in. No. 637-’72.
Victoria and Albert Museum.]
[Illustration: FIG. 74.――THE SERPENT. Made by Gerock Wolf, in
London. English. Early 19th century. L. 28 in. No.
286-’82.
Victoria and Albert Museum.]
[Illustration: FIG. 75.――SERINETTE OR BIRD ORGAN. French. Period of
Louis XIV. H. 8⅛, L. 11⅛ in., W. 9 in. No. 629-’68.
Victoria and Albert Museum.]
[Illustration: FIG. 76.――ORGAN (Positive). Bears the arms of John
George I., Elector of Saxony (b. 1585, d. 1656).
German. Dated 1627. H. 45½ in., W. 27½ in. No. 2-’67.
Victoria and Albert Museum.]
The _serinette_, or bird organ (Fig. 75), was formerly used in France
by ladies to teach airs to little singing birds, especially to a kind
of siskin or canary, called in French _serin_; hence the name of the
instrument.
The _organ positive_ (Fig. 76) is distinguished from the _organ
portative_ in so far that the former was a larger instrument,
generally placed on a table and blown by an attendant, while the
latter was carried about by the performer in religious processions and
on such-like occasions.
In England some rude species of organ is said to have been used in
public worship as early as about the middle of the seventh century. It
was, however, on the Continent, principally in Germany, that almost
all the important improvements originated which gradually brought the
organ to its present high degree of perfection. Many old organs of
fine workmanship are still extant in the churches of Germany. During
the 18th century especially several large organs of deserved celebrity
were built in that country; suffice it to instance those of the
brothers Andreas and Gottfried Silbermann. In England the important
inventions of the continental builders were not readily adopted.
Recently, however, several huge organs of very fine workmanship have
been constructed in England, chiefly for use in concert rooms, or
public halls.
The _regal_, often mentioned in English literature of the time of
Shakespeare, and earlier (_see also_ p. 96), was a small _organ
portative_. There was till about the end of the 18th century a “Tuner
of the Regals,” in the Chapel Royal St. James’s, with a salary of
56_l._ The name _regal_ is supposed to have been derived from
_rigabello_, a musical instrument of which scarcely more is known than
that it was played in the churches of Italy before the introduction of
the organ.
The expression “a payre of regalls,” used by writers some centuries
ago, evidently implies only a single instrument. Thus also the
virginal is not unfrequently mentioned as “a payre of virginalls.”
Moreover, it appears that the regal was occasionally made with two
sets of pipes, so as to constitute a double organ of its kind.