The Romance of the Fiddle - Forgotten Books

JOHN BANISTER , THE YOUNGER.

F rom the mezzotz'

nt by I. Smil /z.

THE ROMANCE OF

THE FIDD LE

Origin of the Modem Vii-Mesa

and the Adventures qf Iu‘

s Anm tars

E. VAN DER STRAETEN

wa rm -ma ma .WA"

RE BMAN L IM IT ED

1 2 9 SHAFT ESBURY AVENUE. me.

THE ROMANCE OF

THE F IDDLE

The Origin of the Modern Virtuoso

and the Adventures of his Ancestors

E. VAN DER STRAETENAUTHOR OF THE H ISTORY OF THE V IOLONCELLO

“ THE H ISTORY OF V IOLONCELLO LITERATURE ""VIOLONCELLO TECHNICS, VIOTTIANA

ETC. ETC.

WITH TH IRTY-TWO FULL-PAGE PLATES

LONDO N

R E B M AN L IM IT E D

1 2 9 SHAFT ESBURY AVENUE,W.C.

1 9 1 1

PREFACE

IN the course of studies connected with the history of theviolin family i t occurred to me tha t the manner in which theart of violin playingwas origina l ly a cquired ha s never beensa tisfactorily expla ined in the existing works on the history ofthe viol in. An a ttempt a t elucida ting this ma tter led to a

series of a rticles entitled “ Howour Ancestors Studied theFiddle ,

” which appea red in a periodica l ca lled Strings (London

,1 89 5

—6, Haynes). Becoming more and more engrossedin the subject, I began to inquire more closely into theconditions under which the violin made its début in themusica l world

,trying to elucida te where and by whom itwas

played, and the position it occupied among the musica l instru

ments of the days when itwas i n its infa ncy. I tried toconjure up vivid pictures of musica l meetings in the familycircle or public pla ces from the Ja cobean times down to thebeginning of la st century. This necessita ted a closer a cqua intance with the manners and customs of the times, and evenwith the persona l ity of individua l people who played a

prominent pa rt in the history of tha t instrument.There is a grea t fa scina tion in reviving the pa st, and

obta ining a graphic picture of the manner in which our forefa thers worked and toiled to obta in a ma stery of wha t in ourtime has become the king of instruments. There lies an

vi Preface

indescribable cha rm a lso in seeing how they met together toenjoy the fruits of their study, and howthey gloried in everyfresh a chievement. HowThoma s Ba ltza rwa s looked uponas a lmost uncanny when “ he ran his fingers up the hugerboa rd a lmost to the bridge, as Anthony Wood tells us in hishumorousway, and how Thoma s B ritton , as Ned Wa rdrela tes, induced even the famous Duchess of Queensberry toclimb up a tumbledown sta irca se on the outside of his coa lshop to listen to the performances of a number of excellenta rtists and ama teurs in a l ittle room not much bigger than acana rypipe,

” 1 whichwas buil t over his sma ll coa l store.Besides these, so many more touches of romance from rea l

l ife are running through the history of the development ofviolin technic tha t I confidently hOpe the reader will find thetitle of this little book fully justified

,and tha t he may derive

therefrom as much profitable enjoyment a s the writer did incompil ing it. This la tter and long ta sk could never havebeen a chieved without the friendly a ssistance of Mr. J . E .

Ma tthew and Mr. Edwa rd H eron-Allen and the authoritiesof the British Museum

,who so generously placed their unique

libra ries a t my disposa l , adding thereto from the rich store oftheir intima te knowledge of the subj ect, and permitting thereproduction of ra re portra i ts

,etc. Hea rty thanks are due

a lso to Messrs. Arthur H ill,George Ha rt, A. Hughes

Hughes, J ohn S . Shedlock,and M iss Ka thleen Schlesinger

for their loan of books,prints

, and persona l advice and

informa tion .

E . VAN DER STRAETEN.

LONDON, May 1 9 1 1 .

1 Cana ry wine cask.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCT ION

The Violin in its experimenta l stages— Duifi'oprugcar La Violina con

la sua risposta —Theod. Simpson— A. Gardane— Giov. GabrieliThe Fancye

CHAPTER I

Baltazarini La Clochette — Monteverde Les Violons du roi

AdrianWil laert— Cyprian de Rore— Frescoba ldi— Claudio Merulo

—Concert at Ferrara, 1 598— Massimiliano Neri’s Sona ta ( 1 65 1 )Biagio Marini’s Romanesca ”— Quaglia ti Carl o Farina His

Capriccio Stravagante :” —First use of doub le stopping— Sonata byGiov. Gabrieli— Banchieri— Francesco Turini— Giov. Bat. FontanaBarth. Montalbano— A l legri— Ucce l lini— Merula— First use of

G string— Marini andNeri the first to distinguish between Sona tada Camera ”

and Sonata da Chiesa — Giov. Bat. Bassani - Firsttraces of thema tic workmanship— Torel li— Giov. Bat. Vita li— Borri— Belisi —Buoni —Bernardi— La urenti— Tommaso Ant. Vita liAnt. Veracini

CHAP TER I I

Sonatas ca l led Solos— Ariosti— Mersenne— Qua stiones celeberrime

Tra ité a’e Z

’Harmonz'

e— Les Preludes o'

e Z’Ha rmonze- Ha rmoni

forumLibr i l — L’Ha rmonie Unz

’

verselle— The Kit— Tab la tureNic. A. Strunck— Fingering— Tuning— Lyra— Fifth string- About

Tab le of ContentsPAGE

the possibility of playing a ll modes— On shakes— Imita tion of

various sounds— Concert of violins— “ Fantasie ” by Henri leJeune On bowing Divisions — Kircher— Praetorius - DiscantGeig, also ca l led Violino, Violet ta picciola, or Rebechino

CHAPT ER I I I

The first violin tutor by Z anetti— Violins in Queen Elizabeth’s bandChaprnan

’s Mr. d

’Olive— Reference to fiddlers by Barrey in

RamAlley, a lso Bishop Earle and Hudibras— O rdinance of 1 658Evelyn’

s account of violins in the church— Sir Roger L’Estrange

Ba l tzar— Roger North— Anthony a Wood— Playford’s Skill ofMusic/é Purcel l Davis Mel l Solomon Eccles— BenjaminRogers

CHAPTER IV

John Playford TheD ivision Violin— “Farinel’

sGround ”— TheD anringMaster— John and Ta lbot Young— Apollo’s B anquet

—Charles 1 1.’sband of twenty-four violins— Purcel l’s Sonatas— Dean GoslingPurcel l’s round on the bass Viol— Christopher Simpson’

s D ivision

Violi n— “ John, come kiss me now” and its spiritua l parodySolomon Eccles (biographical sketch)— John Lenten— The Gentle

man’s D iversion or the Violin Exp la ined

CHAPTER V

Early tutors- Raphael Cou rteville— John Banister’s tutor— John Banister, the e lder— Nicholas Lanier— Banister’s salary as King’s violin—The Band of twelve violins —Their sala ries— An dreas Ama ti’sinstruments for Charles xx. of France— The Violoncel lo in Sir

William Curtis’ possession- Price ofCremona violins for Charles 1 1.— Banister’s dismissa l— Pepys’ account thereof- Grabu’s appoint

Tab le of Contents ix

PAGE

ment— Thomas Purcel l— Pelham Humphreys— John ClaytonMathew Lock - Names and sa la ries of the King’s violins— Ban

ister institutes pub lic concerts— Times of commencemen t, priceof admission, etc.

CHAPTER VI

Thomas Britton— First members ofhismusica l club— Ma thew Dubourg’sfi rst appearance— Pepys’ reference t o Roger L’

Estrange— Britton’

s

superstition and dea th— Sa le of his collections— Woolaston, hisportraits of B rit ton— Ned Wa rd— The Sma l l-Coa l-Man

’s Musick

Club, by Ned Ward— John Abel l—His aqua tic concert— Concertat Versail les— Christopher Gibbons robbed

CHAPT ER V II

City concerts—The Mitre— Rob .Hubert, a lias Forges— His col lection inSloane Museum— The Goose and Gridiron— John Phillips— Ben

Wallington- Sa lmon’s E ssay to the Advancement of Musieh and

the reply by Lock, Phil lips, and P layford— John B irchensha,

TemplumMusieunz— The O ld Jewry concerts— Names of members—Concert of Four TrumpetsMarine — The Angel and Crown inWhitechapel— Peter Prelleur—Woolaston’

s concerts— The CastleTavem— The Q ueen’

s Head— Handel playing Mattheson’s lessons

at the Q ueen’

s Arms— Haberdashers’ Ha l l— King’s Arms, Cornhil l— Programme of Castle Concert— The Swan Tavern— ObadiahShuttleworth— Clegg— Brown— Festing

CHAPT ER V I I I

Henry Purcel l’s Sona tas— Music at the Court of Charles 1 1.— LordChesterfield on fiddling

— Sir Thomas Monson— Ned Ward’sdescription of music in a City tavern— Thomas Eccles —The

x Tab le of ContentsPAGE

Vendu near Bedford Gate— The Crown and Anchor, Duck LaneGeorge Tavern, Dogwell Court— Wil liam Caslon

CHAPTE R IX

The Mitre in Stepney— The Folly— Sad ler’s Wel ls— First Cecilia ’s Odea t S t. B ride’s— Castle Tavern, Fleet S tree t- S ta tioners’ Ha l lFashionab le places of entertainment— Jeremiah Clark— WeldonEccles— Dan Purcel l— GodfreyFinger— His compositions pub lishedby R. Carr— Drury Lane and Dorset Gardens— Carr and P layford— York Buildings— August Kiihnel— The I ta lian lady— Freeman’

s Yard, Cornhil l — Hughes (bass)— Nicola Ma tteis Dr.

Staggins— Robert King— Banister, Junr.— Vaughan Richardson

Dr. B low— Mr. Pa isib le— Rampony— Dr. Turner— Dr. B low’s“ St. Cecilia’s Ode — Seigneur Fidelio— The Two Golden Balls inBow Street— The Vendu in Charles Street— Pier FrancescoTosiConsort composed by Grabu— I talian a rtists at York BuildingsMismanagement of concerts— Betterton’

s Operas Circe, by Dr.Chas.Davenan t and Banister— Priest, composer of dances forFayryeQueen— Clayton’

s Arsinoe— Sir Richard Steele, proprietor of

York Buildings— Hande l’s E sther— The A cademy of AncientMusic at the Crown and Anchor— Dr. Pepusch , Gal liard , Gates,Need ler, Stefi’

ani, the Earl of Abercorn— Dr. Greene— The DevilTavern— Ma thew Dubourg— The Concerts for Ancient Music

CHAPT ER X

Wa l ther’s Hortulns Chelicus— Bow and pizzicato combined— “ Scherzida Violino Sol o — Biber— Doub le stopping— Corelli’s technicHis influence on the development of instrumenta l music— Firstintroduction ofhis Sonatas into England introducesCorelli

’s Op. V.

—Published byWa lsh— Meares’ edition— The first

Tab le of Contents xi

PAG E

performance ofCorelli’s Concertos in London—Wm.Dumanoir and

the French “ Violons du roi”— Lully

’s

“ Songe d’Atys ” their testpiece— The “ Confrerie de St. Julien ”— I ta lian art in EnglandRoger North on the increase of violin playing— The Beggar’sOpera

CHAP TER XI

Nicola Ma tteis— Corelli’s resentment to inattention— Duke’s page

ordered to teach— Ma tteis’ compositions— His son a violinistCastrucci— Festing— Hogarth , Enraged Musician -Obbliga to inPom—Castrucci

’s dea th— B ickford’s Room , description of room

and its position— Ga l liard’s concert— Musicians residing in Soho— Residence of Bach and Abel — Michael Christian Festing,biographical notes— Carbonelli— His so l o in Sir Richard Steele’splay— Programme of Carbonelli’s concert— He becomes a winemerchant — Geminiani— Peter Prelleur— The Modern Musich

Master— Monteclair’s Principes de Musique

CHA PT ER XII

Crome’

s Fiddle JVezo Model’d— The Complea t Tutor, names of the

Airs— Mondonville’s Sonatas— First use of harmonics— Corrette’s

instruc tion books— Geminiani’s tu tor— The E ntire Newa nd Complea t Tutor, by Geminiani— O ther reprints— Stephen Philp otGeorge Freake’s Sonatas— The Grea t Room in Dean Street— Carlisle House— Mrs. Cornelys

’ concerts— The Pantheon— Almack’s(Wil lis’) Rooms— The Abingdon Concerts

CHAPTE R XI I I

Tartini’s L’Arte D ell’a rco— Le tter to Maddallena Lombardini— Carl o

Z uccari’s The True Method of Playing a n Adagio— Rudimenta

Tab le of ContentsPAC.

Panduristce— L’Abb é fils Lol li’s Ecole da Violon Franz

Benda— F. W. Rust— Leopold Moza rt— His tutor— Description ofinstruments played with a bow— Applika tur— Principj di Musica

CHAPTE R XIV

Lohlein— Protests against self-instruction— On strings— Warning againstbad habits— Mechanism to lead the bowstraigh t— The FermateRhythm expla ined by humorous ditties— On conducting— Canonand Fugue— On phrasing— Tempi— Shifts— Principa l violin makers 242

CHAPT E R XV

John Adam Hil ler Holding of instrument Tuning from hymntunes Positions Sca les— Suspir

— Viotti— Rode, B aillot, and

Kreutzer’s Method — Campagnoli— Shifts— Different tunings

“ Paganini’s A rt o f Playing, by Chas. Guhr— Paganini’sse lection and treatment of st rings Programme of Paganiniconcert— Sivori— J. A. Fenkner

’s tutor— Holding of the instrument

—Criticism ofHil ler— Three kinds of sca les— Rejects Applicatur

(ha lf and whole shifts)

CHAPTE R XV I

John Paine —His “entertaining poetry and anecdotes —O ld manner of

shifts— J. Jousse— Ancient and modern system of shifts combined—Historica l notes— Makers— On Genius (see Philpot)— Jealousyamong a rtists— Works for study— Sca les, melodic minor— Oma

menta tion of the works of old masters— The cadence, threedifferent forms— Omamentation of Sonatas, etc — Observa tions on

embel lishments

CHAPT ER XV I I

Leoni’

sMethodtoPassfrom the Violin to theMandoline— Felice Gia rdini-William Cramer- Their appearance at Carlisle Mansions- The

Tab le of Contents

Pantheon— Hanover SquareRooms—The Professiona l orAbingdonConcerts, a lso ca l led “ Concert of Nobility — Programme of Professional Concert, 1 783

— The Mannheim School— Stamitz— Mrs.Weichsel’s concert— Cannab ich— Franzl—Wm. Cramer -J. B.

Cramer— Franz Cramer— Antient Concerts— Joah Ba tes— Bates’courtship — George message to Fr. Cramer— Mme Maraand Mrs.

’ Bil lington —The King’s Theatre— City concerts— TheAna creontic Society— The Madriga l S ociety— Goodman’

s FieldWe l ls— Lamb’s Conduit— Lambeth Wel ls— Conclusion

Ji lli

FAG !

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xvi List of Plates

Thomas MaceP lan of his Music Room

Sir Roger L’Estrange, after Knel ler’s portrait

Perspective View o f the Fire which consumed the SwanTavern, Cornhil l

P lan showing the S ite of the Swan Tavern in Exchange A l ley,and John Hare’s shop in B irchin Lane

Edward WardThe Modern Musich Master

, frontispiece, showing a Concertin 1 73 1

Announcement of Corelli’s Sonatas, Op. V., from the London

Gazette

One of the Twenty-four Violins of Louis XIV.

Peter Prelleur, supposed portraitRoger L’

Estrange, Esq.

The Da ncing Master, Hol lar’s title-pageThompson’

s Complea t Collection of Two Hundred Favourite

Country Dances, title-page

Francesco GeminianiThe E ntire Newa nd Complea t Tutor for frontispieceCarlisle HouseLeopold Mozart

Principi di Musica , title-pageJohann Adam Hil lerJohn Paine’s Trea tise on the Violin, title-pageWil loughby

,Earl of Abingdon

THE ROMANCE OF THE FIDDLE

INTRODUCT ION

THE viol in has become the most popula r musica l instrumentof our day, with the exception, perhaps , of the pianoforte.Since the objections of propriety and aesthetica l rea sons havebeen overcome

,which deba rred the fa ir sex from the study

of the K ing of bow instruments, i ts vota ries may be countedby thousands, and the tea chers of our day, such as Sevzick ,

Thompson,Ysaye

,Sauret , and others, may justly be described

as virtuosi,not only in the art of viol in playing, but a lso in the

art of tea ching. The advance in the technic of the violin hasbeen so rapid tha t i t is difficult to rea lise tha t it is one of theyoungest musica l instruments. The Flute, the Ha rp, theGuita r, or the Horn , in va rious modifica tions, da te ba ckabout 3500 yea rs, to the times of a ncient Egypt, while theprecursors of the Viol in— the Guita r Fiddle and the Crwthmake their fi rst appea rance only during the M iddle Ages, andthe viol in family 15 not more than 350 yea rs old. Wha t makesits progress even more surprising is the fact tha t the old

I ta l ian school of viol in playing, which predomina ted down

2 The Romance of the Fiddle

to the middle of the eighteenth century, proceeded still onentirely different l ines from those followed by the va riousmodern schools.The modern technic, a l though it owes a grea t dea l to the

older school ,was led into different channels by Viotti , Ba illot,Paganini , Spohr, and others towa rds the end of the eighteenthcentury

, and thence it proceeded in rapid strides to theachievements of Ernst,Wieniawski, J oachim , and manyother brilliant virtuosi of our times.The latter period is familia r to all vota ries and friends

of the viol in, but tha t interesting period of gradua ldevelopment

,which led up to it, i s a lmost entirely un

known to most ama teurs, and even to many musicians.Nothing can give us a more graphic representation of thatprocess than the instructions given a t various times forthe study of the instrument, which have been preservedhere and there, and which throw many diverting sidel ightsupon the manners and customs of the periods to whichthey belong.The viol in itself is the outcome of a gradua l process of

evolution,in which many of the mediaeva l instruments par

ticipated. The kitha ra of the Greeks,the guita r fiddle of

the troubadours,the Keltic crwth

,the viol

, a ll had theirsha re in i t, and the cha ra cteristics of the present model areundoubtedly the a chievement not of one but ofmany mastersof the end of the fifteenth and ea rly sixteenth centuries. I t iseven unknown to whom belongs the honour ofhaving produced

The Romance of the Fiddle 3

the first instrument which answers a ll the requirements of

the modern violin.1

The credit for this a chievement was for some timeaccorded to Gaspa rd Duiffoprugcar, and severa l importantcollect ions conta in violins with his label bea ring va rious da tesbefore 1 500. Nea rly a ll proved to be the work of the famousVillaume ( 1 798— 1 8 75) of Pa ris. One genuine violin byDuiffOprugcar, however, appears to have been in the possessionof the fa ther of AugustWilhelmij. The la tter rela ted to theauthor tha t the instrumentwas found in an a ttic of his pa renta lhome in Geisenheim on the Rhine, an ancient mansion formerlybelonging to the Prince E lector of Mayence. According toWilhelmij the instrument bore a da te after 1 500 andwa s ina neglected condition , but showed the distinct outl ine and

model of a violin. I t had not been cut in anyway and

could not, therefore, have been a viol a t any t ime. Whenrepa ired i t had a very sweet tone of considerable ca rryingpower. Unfortuna tely we do not know where it is a t

present.The da tes of Duiffoprugcar

’

s life have been fina lly settledby Henry Coutagne , who proved tha t hewa s born 1 5 1 4 , at

Freisingen,nea r Munich, and settled about 1 5 5 2 i n Lyons,

where he died in 1 5 70 or 1 5 7 1 . I t i s quite probable, therefore

,that he may have made viol ins, but there is no proof

tha t hewas the first.1 George Ha rt in his excel lent book, The Violin and Its Music, appears

inclined to think tha t the Double Bass showed the characteristics of the violinfamily before the violin made its appea rance.


On the other hand,it is certa in tha t Gaspa ro da Sa lo

,of

Brescia ,made violins during the la tter pa rt of the sixteenth

century, and severa l fine specimens of his workmanship are still

extant.Adreas Ama ti, whowas born at Cremona about 1 5 20,

and died a fter 1 6 1 1 , is a lso mentioned a s one of the first,if

not the first, maker of violins, but his surviving instrumentsare ra ther sma l l (about three-qua rter size).Severa l authorities a ssert tha t they a re of a pa ttern which

preceded tha t of the a ctua l violin.The la te Count Va ldrighi sta tes tha t he has seen records

of I ta lian Monasteries which mention violins a s forming pa rtof the instruments in their orchestra during the first decadesof the sixteenth century. The sta tement is no doubt correct,but the word violino designa ted origina l ly a sma l l Viol , beinga diminutive from “ viola ” the Viol. This is clea rly shownon the title page of the only chap book known to have dea l twith the subject.The title is La Violina con la sua ri3posta e a l tri canzoni

musica l i bellissime. Aggiuntavi la Ba rzelletta de Fusi perSca rpe rotte. Nuovamente posta in luce per Giulio G rotto.”

(“ The Violin with its responses , and other most beautifulhumorous songs. Added to these is the comic song of thered shoes. Newly brought to light by G iulio G rotto ”

)I twas printed by Ba ldini in Brescia and Ferra ra , and

consists of eight sma l l and unnumbered octavo pages. Thetitle page , which is unda ted , shows the figure of a man playing


a ttracted the more serious a ttention of musicians. The bestof these being lutenists, they adapted the a rrangement of thestrings and tuning of the lute to the viol in the mannerdescribed in the instruction books by Thoma s Robinsonand Thoma s Ma ce

,a l though these a re a lready of la ter da te.

Viol players stil l drew upon the motet,the madriga l

,and folk

songs for their music,and the published music often served

the double purpose of being either played on instruments orsung. The choice of the instrumentwas left to the players ,who might use either lutes

,viols

,recorders (a kind of flute),

cornettos (wood wind instruments), or any other instrumentthey chose.During the la tter pa rt of the sixteenth , and even down to the

middle of the seventeenth, century we meet with numerouscomposit ions in a ll countries, which were to be either executedby voices or played on sundry instruments a ccording to therequirements of the moment. For insta nce, J ohn Wa rd’sThe First Set of English Madriga ls to 3 , 4 , 5 , and 6 Pa rts,Apt Both for Viols and Voices, appea red in London in 1 6 1 3.Also Th. Simpson

,an Englishman who settled in Hamburg,

Ta fel Consort. Allerhand lustige Lieder vor vier Instrumenten und Genera lba ss. Hamburg, 1 6 2 1 (TableConsort. All sorts of merry songs for four instruments andContinno.) Even a s ea rly as 1 539 there appea red in Venicea collection of Canzone by A. Ga rdane, “ buone a Canta reet Sona re (good to sing and play), and the famous G iovanniGabriel i wrote madriga ls for s ix voices or instruments and


Sa crae Symphoniae” in six to sixteen pa rts for voices or

instruments.After the decl ine of the voca l madriga l the “ Fantazia ”

or Fancye came into pra ctice. I t may be looked upon asthe first rea l instrumenta l music

,and consisted in the playing

of a cantus-fi rmus of some well-known church tune accom

panied by one or more other instruments , playing divisions

(va ria tions), and a bass . One of the favourite subjects thustrea tedwas the [n nomine from the Liturgy of the RomanCa thol ic Church

,whichwa s so popula r tha t the Fancies on

tha t subject were simply ca lled I n nomines. An Engl ishwriter on the music of his time rema rked tha t Fancy wasthe one thing whichwa s conspicuous by its absence in thesecompositions. Roger North in his Memoirs tells us tha tthe I ta l ians brought the “ Fantaz ia ” i nto use and tha t theyconta ined “

a ir and va riety enough , and a fterwa rds these

(fanta sia s) were imitated by the English , who, working moreelabora tely , improved upon their pa ttern , which gave occa sionto an observa tion tha t ‘ in voca l the I ta l ians, and i n instrumenta l musick,

’ the English, excelled. They had, however,tha t merit tha t they led gradua l ly to the development of

proper instrumenta l figures, and instrumenta l form , a lthough

the only instruments which derived the first benefit therefromwere the viols, for which these Fancies were written.As a description of the lengthy and gradua l process of the

evolution of instrumenta l musi c l i es beyond the radius of thisbook, we refer those readers who are desirous of obta in ing


more informa tion on the subject to the works of Wa sielewskiD ie l nstrunzenta lmusih incXVl th una

’XVl l thjahrhuna’ert,

and Dr. Alfred E instein : Z ur Deutschen L iteratur fic‘

r Viola

a’a Gamha inc 1 6 und 1 7 jahrhundert. Unfortuna tely weknow of no English work giving a s clea r and concise an

a ccount of tha t pha se of musica l h istory.

CHA PT E R I

AT the beginning of the seventeenth century the v iolinwa s still in an experimenta l sta te, from which i twas, however

,destined to emerge very soon. About twenty-five

yea rs a fter the first appea rance of the viol in we meet withthe first violinist whose name has been handed down byhistory. His namewas Ba ltazarini

,and hewa s a na tive of

Piedmont,who, in 1 5 7 7 ,wa s sent to the Court of France by

Ma rsha l B rissa c. Ca therine of Medic i held her sway a t

tha t time over France 1n the name of her son , Cha rles 1x.

Ba lta zariniwas appointed master of the roya l priva te band,and became a grea t favourite a t Court, where hewa s knownas Ba l tha sa r de Beaujoyeux. Hewa s the inventor of theBa llet (or ra ther the

“ Ma sque which soon became a

favourite enterta inment a t the French Court.On the occasion of the ma rriage of the Duc de J oyeux

with the sister of the King, he a rranged a grand masque whichwas performed with grea t pomp a t the Pa la is du Louvre inPa ris

,in the presence of the King (Henri and a numerous

a ssembly, on 1 5 th October 1 5 8 1 . A full description with

the music and fine engravings of the va rious groups,a s well

a s a genera l v iew, were published in book form soon a fter.One of the illustra tions, giving a genera l v iew of the spectacle

IO The Romance of the Fiddle

i n the grea t ha l l of the Pa la is du Louvre, is shown in Fig. 2 .

This now very ra re book bea rs the following title : “ B a let

Comique de la Royne, Fa ict aux Nopces de Monsieur le Ducde J oyeux et Madamoyselle de Vaudemont sa soeur. Pa r

Ba lta sa r de Beaujoyeulx,va let de chambre du Roy et de la

Royne sa mere. A Pa ris pa rAdrian le Roy, Robert Ba l la rd etMamert Pa ttisson, Imprimeurs du Roy, 1 58 2 , avec Privilege.

”

The music for this ma squewas composed by Lambert deBeaulieu and Sa lmon, two members of the King’s band. Theinterest of this work in connection with the development ofviol in playing centres in one little piece of its music

,which

on the whole is very dry and stilted. The little a ir,which

has reta ined its popula rity to this very day, is ca lled “ La

C lochette,”

and i twa s played when “ Circe ” emerged from

LE SON DE LA CLOCHETTE

THE G REAT HALL OF THE LOUVREFrom the Ba iet Camigue de la Royne.

1 2 The Romance of the Fiddle

Giovanni Gabrieli ( 1 5 5 7— 1 6 1 3) and Claudio Monteverde

( 1 568— 1 643) were the first composers who recognised thecapabilities and importance of the viol in , for which especia l lythe la tter wrote passages which were a lmost a century inadvance of his time. I n one or two instances he goes up tothe sixth position , while his successors never wrote beyond

the neck position with an occa siona l and tha twa sthe l imit of the compa ss of the violin down to the beginningof the eighteenth century , except in Germany , where Wa l ther

,

B iber, and Ba ltza r employed a lready higher positions duringthe la tter pa rt of the seventeenth century. The violin didnot a t tha t time show any signs of an individua l technic. I tsimply sha red with a ll the rest of the instruments of its timein the gradua l development of instrumenta l forms.The first impetus of writing for one instrumentwas given

by Adrian Willaert ( 1 480— 1 56 2 ) and Cyprian de Rore

( 1 5 1 6 his pupil,who composed together a book of

Fanta sia s and R icerca re in three pa rts,for voices or instru

ments (Ven ice , These pieces were written so

tha t they might be played on the organ a s well a s on thevirgina l or ha rpsichord.Frescoba ldi ( 1 587— 1 654) and Claudio Merulo ( 1 5 32— 1 604)

followed up their a chievements by a bolder and freer figuration , such a s may be found pa rticula rly in Merulo

’

s OrganToccatos, published in 1 59 8 and 1 604.

Gio. Ma ria Artusi of Bologna publ ished a t Venice a

The Romance of the Fiddle 1 3

work in two pa rts entitled, Della Imperfettioni Della Moderna

Musica ,which appea red in 1 60 1 - 1 603. I t conta ins the

description of a grand concert given by the nuns of a conventa t Ferra ra ,

in 1 5 9 8 , on the occa sion of a double weddingbetween Philip K ing of Spa in , with Marga ret, Queen ofAustria , and the Archduke Albert with the I nfanta I sabella ,

the King’s sister.He describes the instruments used in the concert, and the

cornetto (an a ncient wood wind instrument with a bright butha rsh tone) appea rs to have taken his pa rticula r fancy,a lthough

,a s he says, i t had a l ready been supplanted in the

publ ic favour by the hautboy. The trumpet,Viol, double

ha rp, lute , flute,and ha rpsichord a ll come in for deta iled

description of their properties,while the viol in is only

mentioned as forming pa rt of the instruments tha t wereemployed on tha t occa sion.About this time the sona ta made its first appea rance. I twa s then

, as the name indica tes, suona re— to play on an

instrument— an instrumenta l composition genera l ly of one

movement only. These Sona ta s were composed for a

number of string and wood wind or bra ss instruments,and

served genera lly a s an introduction to voca l pieces,as did

a lso the Symphonia . Other movements were soon added,

and the Sona ta appea red a s an independent form of instru

menta l music. The number of movements of the Sona tawa snot fixed in those ea rly times, and va ried just a s much as

tha t of the Canzona . A Canzona by Gabriel i has a s many as


twelve movements, and Ma ssimil iano Neri wrote a Sona taof nine movements in 1 65 1 .

So far we have not come a cross any composition for a SoloViol in with or without an accompaniment. Perhaps the firstpiece of this description appea red in B iagio Ma rini’s Op. I I I .,

a book of Airs , Madriga ls, and Courants in 1 , 2 , and 3 pa rts,published in Venice in 1 6 20. I t is a Romanesca for a SoloViolin and Bass ad lié . (see il lustra tion) dedica ted to S ignorGian Battista Magni, a most promising young viol inist.”

ROMANESCAFor Violin Solowith B ass ad lib .

BIAGIO MARINIPRIMA PARTE.

SECONDA PARTE.

The Romance of the Fiddle

TERZ A PARTE 11: ALTUS Mono.


SECONDA PARTE.(b)


known as in the Lomba rdian manner which appea rs inPa rt I., bar 4, and Pa rt I I I bar 1 9 , and consists in shorteningthe harmony note and lengthening the auxil ia ry note by thesame amount. The Romanesca i s fol lowed by a Gaglia rdain two pa rts (of two sections each) and a Corente. Anotherwork by Ma rin i , “ Scherz i e canzonette, for one and twoviol ins

,dedica ted to Ferdinando Gonzaga , Duke of Mantua ,

appea red a t Pa rma i n 1 6 2 2. The publisher’s namewasAnteo V iotti.”Was this an a ncestor of the grea t viol inist

of tha t name ? I t does not appea r improbable, a s the distancebetween Pa rma and Fontanetto da Po

,the birthplace of the

la tter, i s not much more than about 1 50 miles by road. I f i tshould be the case

,i t would connect the first phases in the

art of viol in playing with one of the highest culminatingpoints in one and the same family, covering a period of twocenturies.A Tocca ta for Viol in and Theorbo by Quaglia ti , which

appea red in Rome in 1 6 23 , i s only noteworthy as one of theea rl iest viol in solos. Technica l ly i twas distinctly inferior toMa rin i’s pieces.

Lomba rdy appea rs to have been the nursery of the Kingof stringed instruments in i ts infancy. Ca rlo Fa rina , whowas born a t Mantua during the la tter pa rt of the sixteenthcentury, appea rs to have been one of the foremost virtuosi ofhis time on the viol in. The technica l development of his instrumentwas uppermost in his mind, and theway i n which heset towork to a tta in his obj ectwas very amusing. Like


other ea rly virtuosi he did not try to widen the scope of

musica l figura tion for the viol in on the basis of eitheraesthetica l or theoretica l (contrapunta l) requirements , butmerely by trying to find new “ effects which nobody elsehad tried before. Whether these ej ects were in the na ture ofthe instrument or entirely a l i en to it gave him but sma l lconcern. The chief questionwas, “ Were they curious , andwould they a stonish the publ icThe result of his endeavourswas ‘ tha t curiously grotesque

and amusing composition which he describes as “ CapriccioStravagante ”

(extravagant capriccio). I t forms pa rt of a bookof a i rs and dances “ followed by an amusing guodlihet of allmanner of curious conceits, the like of which have neverappea red in print before ”

(meaning the capriccio), andwa spublished a t Dresden in 1 62 7, where he l ived at the time a sViol inist to the Court of Saxony.”

I n compass i t does not go beyond D (first D on the Estring), and ra rely uses any but the two upper strings. Theoldest viol inists have all avoided the use of the G string,which , being fa rthest from the right hand , presented grea terdifficulties. We sha ll observe the same in the very ea rlySona ta s

,but the obsta clewas overcome soon after, a s we find

the G string freely used by Vi ta l i , Ba l tza r, and others.I n his extravagant “ capriccio ” Fa rinawas the fa ther of

the virtuosi who strove to excel in tricks and outwa rdshow. The piece

,which on the whole has no pa rt icula r

merit , consists chiefly in imita tion of the fifes and drums,


mewing of ca ts,ba rking of dogs , the cock

’s crow, the ca cklingof hens

,the soldiers’ fifes, etc . etc.

With childish delight and pride he expla ins in an appendixhow these marvellous ej

‘

ects may be obta ined. The followingmay serve a s a specimen : “ As rega rds the ca t’s mew it isproduced by pulling the finger

,which takes the written note,

slowly downwa rds ; wherever the semiquavers (semifusa )occur one must work up and down with the bow in a furiousway, sometimes in front and sometimes behind the bridge ,just a s the ca ts, a fter they have been scra tching and bitingea ch other, take to their heels and run away.

”

However ridiculous these things appea r they led to thediscovery of severa l instrumenta l effects like the “ sul

ponticel lo,” “ col legno

, and others. (Moreover, Fa rina hereand there brings into his formless Capriccio sna tches of rea lmelody

,which are completely absent from better pieces by the

old counterpuntists.) Howmuch these childish tricks musthave been admired by the public is evident from the fact tha thundreds have followed Fa rina ’s example. Gem1n1an1, in

speaking of these a rtifices in his tutor which appea red in 1 740 ,

relega tes them to the doma in of conjurers and mountebanks ,and he tells those who hope to find instruction therein in hisbook tha t they will find themselves deceived. Still , peoplecontinued to delight in these tricks, and even the grea t andserious Rameau brings in his “ Pieces en Concert ” a piececa lled La Poule in which the cackling of the hen isimita ted by stringed instruments. Let it be added tha t in


this case the cackling hen has suppl ied Rameau merely witha subject, which , wrought into musica l shape, he has trea tedwith consumma te ma stery of ha rmony and form as wel l aswith fine a rtistic humour.A retrograde step from thiswas Paganin i 3 production of a

sort of Capriccio Stravagante ,” in which he introduced va ria

t ions on the Air, “ St. Pa trick’s Day,”

or God Save theKing,”

a s the occa sion might require. Tha twas cha rla tanry pure andsimple, while Fa rina had a t lea st the excuse tha t he wanted tofind out the hitherto unknown capabilities of the instrument.He happened to get on to the wrong tra ck, but stil l he had themeri t, not only of finding the above-mentioned effects , but a lsoof inventing fresh pa ssages suited to the na ture of the instrument, and of using for thefirst time douhle stopping, which isexpla ined as a new effect in the appendix.The works of Ma rini, Quaglia ti , and Fa rina are the first

germs of our present violin l itera ture. Primitive as they are,they point a l ready to the two roads which , after running indifferent directions

,came together aga in to make the finest

works for the violin possible. The one led to the development of instrumenta l form

,the other to the emotiona l and

figura l development.The development of form in pa rticula rwas tied up with

tha t of the Sona ta,the appea rance of which towa rds the

la tter pa rt of the sixteenth century ha s a l ready been mentioned. During tha t time the Sona ta had no distinct form of

its own. I twas simply a piece of instrumenta l music . The


Sona ta ,R icerca re, Tocca ta , Canzona , Fanta sia , and Capriccio

were pra ct ica l ly a ll the same, and the choice of the one or

other of these names appea rs quite a rbitra ry. The Roya lLibra ry in Berl in conta ins a Sona ta by Giov. Gabriel i composed in 1 6 1 5 . I t consists of one movement for three violinswith bass ad lib., and shows a grea ter freedom and va rietyin its figura l treatment if compa red with the contempora rySona ta s by the Olivetan monk , Adriano Banchieri , of whichM r. J ohn S. Shedlock gives one in short score in his excellentbook on the Pianoforte Sona ta . Dr. Burney speaks in hisH istory of Music about Sona ta s by Francesco Turini , organistof the ca thedra l a t Brescia , which were published under thefol lowing title : Madriga li a una

, due, tre voci, con a lcune

sonate a due aa tre, Venezia 1 6 24. The la tter were for twoviol ins and chittarone (Bass lute). Dr. Burney tells us tha tthey were “ the ea rl iest Sonata s or Trios for two Viol ins and

SONATA CON TRE VIOLINI

(Roy . Library a t Berlin)

GIOV. GABRIEL], 1 61 5.

30'



a Ba ss he had discovered ; and a fter mentioning the title hegoes on to say : Iwas instiga ted by this ea rly da te to scoreone of these sona tas, which consisted of only a single movement in fugue and imita tion throughout

,in which so little use

was made of the power of the bow in va rying the expressionof the same notes, tha t each pa rt might have been a s wellplayed on one instrument as another. Turin i stood, in fact,


on the same level as Banchieri, and both were a longwaybelow the genius of Giovanni Gabriel i. The first to surpa ssGabriel i in compositions for the violinwa s G iovanni Ba ttistaFontana , who ha iled from Brescia . Hewas considered one

of the grea test virtuosi of his age , and l ived successively inVenice, Rome, and Padua , where he died during the plaguein 1 630.

Eleven yea rs after his dea th eighteen Sona ta s of his composition were published by Fa ther Gio. Ba ttista Reghino of

the church of S t. Ma ria delle Gra zie in Venice. Fontana hadbeen appointed a s viol in ist to tha t church at the beginning of

his ca reer.The first six of these Sona ta s are for V iol in Solo with

a Bass. The rest are for “ Viol ino,Cornetto , Fagotto,

Chittarone , Violoncino (Violoncello), or other simila r instruments by the a lready illustrious S ignor Gio. Ba ttista Fontana ,in excellence of his profess ion the eighth best.” I t does nottel l us the names of the other seven.

These Sona tas show a decided advance in form overGabrieli’s work

,and they may be looked upon as the first

rea l Violin Sona ta s. They consist of three distinct pa rts ormovements. The periods are elabora ted and extended, andthe pa ssages begin to show a more viol inistic physiognomy,a lthough he stil l avoids the use of the fourth string. Thestruggl ing a fter form does not permit of any a ttempt at rea lmelody or poetica l expression which

,in fact, came as the last

crowning-point after the perfection of form and techn ic. The3


point which cha racterises them as V iolin Sonatas a s distinctfrom the Sona ta s of his predecessors , who a lso employed theviol in to play the treble pa rt, is tha t the viol in prepondera tesin everyway in Fontana ’s Sona ta s.About the same time Ba rtholomeo Mont Albano

,born a t

Bologna , whowas director of music at the church of St.Francesco a t Pa lermo, wrote simila r compositions for theviol in which he ca l led Symphonies. They were constructedon exactly the same l ines a s Fontana ’

s Sona tas on the ba sisof imita t ive counterpoint. Wa sielewski , who unea rthed thiscomposer and gives some specimens of his work

, admits tha thewas i n everyway inferior to Fontana . I t only tends toshow tha t

,l ike so many other grea t discoveries , the subjectwas

hovering in the a ir,and men ’s minds appea red to be led in

tha t direction as by an unseen hand. The grea t GregorioAllegri

,famous for his Requiem,

published Violin Sona ta s ofa simila r k ind.Marco Uccell ini and Ta rquinio Merula both wrote Viol in

Sona ta s which showed distinct progress in their passage work.They show bolder progressions in leaps and octaves, and thela tterwas appa rently one of the firstwho made use of the

G string. Merula , who wrote two books of Canzonas, etc.,published respectively in 1 6 1 5 and 1 640 ,was born a t Cremona ,and spent the la tter pa rt of his life at Bologna , which took thesame position in the history of instrumenta l music as Venicewith regard to voca l art.I twas specia lly in the church of St. Petronio in tha t city


tive by taking up the thread. I t disappea red with him a s didthe advanced technica l devices of Monteverde , to be resumeda t a much la ter period.Bassani l eft Bologna in 1 685 for Ferra ra , and in the

following yea r Giuseppe Torelliwa s appointed Suonatore diVioletta (viola player) a t San Petronio. This a rtistwa s thefirst to write Viol in Concertos, which in reality were nothingbut Sona tas. I n the Concerto G rosso , however, he made thedistinction between solo instruments and orchestra l instruments (ripieni). The free and bold development of hispassages is shown still more clea rly in his Concertos forone Solo Violin with a ccompaniment of two Violins

,Viola

,

Violone (ba ss), or Arcileuto (bass lute), or Organ. Theyshow a distinct leaning towa rds the virtuoso element

, and

point him out a s the predecessor of V iva ldi and his

followers.He wrote a considerable number of instrumenta l composi

tions a s well a s church music , of which a grea t quantityrema ined in manuscript. Much of the la tter is preserved inthe Roya l libra ry a t Dresden.Hewas one of the first to employ double stopping (after

Fa rina in his Capriccio Stravagante and he made frequentuse ofArpeggios.Torelli’s grea test importance centred in his influence on

the development of the Sona ta .

G iovanni Ba ttista Vita li,a very prominent composer of

his time (born 1 644 a t Cremona ), had a lready introduced single


movements of abstra ct music in his Chamber Sona ta s of

which the first work appea red a t Bologna . On the title pagehe describes himself a s “ Sona tore di Violino da Brazzio i nSan Petronio di Bologna .

Torelli went further than V i ta l i in remodell ing theChamber Sona ta stil l more closely upon the lines of theChurch Sona ta ,

and his examplewas fol lowed more and moreby other composers until the dance movements which formerlymonopol ised the Chamber Sona ta were entirely eliminatedduring the first decades of the eighteenth century. TheM inuet in its a l tered formwa s a t a la ter period reinsta ted byHa ydn and Moza rt. Bolognawas nowthe principa l nurseryof viol in playing. Among its numerous masters of tha t pe riodwe find the names of Borri, Belisi, Buoni, Berna rdi, Laurenti ,and Tomma so Antonio V i ta li.The latter, probably a rela tive of Giov. Ba tt. Vita li,was

born towa rds the middle of the seventeenth century inBologna . He publ ished twelve “ Sona te de chiesa a tre colOrgano , op. 1

, Modena These Sona ta s testify to h isgrea t abil ity a s an executant a s well a s composer. A still moreimportant a nd t ruly rema rkable work is his Ciacconna for

Solo V iolin and Ba ss,which appea red in a modern ised edition

in Ferdinand David’s Hohe Schule des Violinspiels (Breitkopfand Hartel).There were a lso in other towns of I ta ly viol in ists of merit

and renownwho produced compositions for their instrumentwhich were a ll gradua l ly prepa ring the advent of the grea t


masters who ma rk the first grea t epoch in the history of violinplaying. The foremost among their number, Antonio Veracini,uncle and master of the famous Francesco Ma ria Vera cini,wa s born a t Florence towa rds the middle of the seventeenthcentury.H is compositions for the Viol in show a decided advance

over his predecessors and even over his contempora ries.I n his ten Sona ta s, op. 3 , he has clea rly established the

outl ine of the Chamber Sona ta. The dance movements a re

entirely excluded, and they consist usua lly of two quick

movements which are ea ch preceded by a slow movement offree invention. Their thema tic ma teria l i s of an advancedmelodic cha ra cter

,refined and eleva ted in style

,the pa ssage

work is new and more brill iant,and they wil l even in our

days prove interesting and gra teful.

C HA PTER I I

So far we have not met with any work whichwas intendedto serve a s an instruction book. Those who wished to playthe viol in had to seek the persona l advice and instruction ofan executant, and the necessa ry ma teria l for studywas foundin popula r tunes, dance tunes, and solos (Canzone, R icerca ri ,Sona ta s

,etc.)

This system obta ined with some modifica tions even downto the end of the eighteenth century ; a t lea st for those whodid not intend to enter seriously into the study of a musica linstrument Solos and Sona ta s were often designa ted as

“ Lessons ( I ta l. Lezioni) on the title page, as, for instance ,on the Sona ta s by Atti l io Ariosti for the V iole d ’

amour andDomenico Sca rla tt i ’s Sona tas for the Ha rpsichord.The first work which gives pa rti cula rs and instructions

with rega rd to the technic of the violin, as well as a ll the

other musica l instruments which were in use at tha t period,i s the Ha rmonie Universel le by Marin Mersenne (seeportra it), a monk of the order ofM in ims.Mersennewas a man of grea t lea rning

,who formed a lmost

the centre of the scientific and l itera ry world ofhis time. H i slove for music extended not only to the playing of sundry

39


instruments,but a lso to scientific resea rch into their cha ra cter

and capab ilities by the a id of his extensive knowledge of

ma thema tics and na tura l science.Desca rtes the philosopher, Huygens the grea t Antwerp

surgeon,the elder Pa sca l , scientist and philosopher, Roberva l

the ma thema tician , Peiresc the grea t scientist, and manyothers kept closely in touch with Mersenne

,who

,through his

va st c ircle of friends and a cqua inta nces, helped to spread theknowledge of thei r discoveries and investiga tions

,and thus

performed the functions of a clea ring house of scientificinforma tion , a s Mr. J . E . Ma tthew says in his interestingLitera ture of M usic. Mersenne

’

s numerous and compendions works are written in an easy conversa tiona l

,though

somewha t loquacious, manner. They show a va st amount ofgenera l knowledge and a mind which is more brilliant thanprofound, and wanting in critica l judgment.He appea rs ra ther credulous, and sometimes a ccepts for

absolute fa cts the grea test absurdities,so long a s they come

from a source which he rega rds a s authorita tive. Mr. Ma tthew,

in the above-mentioned book , says of him a s of his contempora ry, Athana sius Kircher— whom we sha l l meet la teron— tha t their foiblewas omniscience

,

” yet,while admitting

Mersenne’

s faults, i t cannot be denied tha t his pa tient ploddingled him through the maze ofmusica l science until he foundhimself a t the head of a ll his contempora ries, and theinforma tion which he gives us about the music of his day is

exhaustive aswell a s i nteresting. I n ea rly youth he com


going horoscopes, and tha t nothing can be predicted about theperfection of a musician by the constitution of the skiestha t if a certa in constella tion were found on the top of thehoroscope the subj ect for whom itwas ca st would never die

,

and tha t anybody would die if the midnight pa rt ca l led Immu

coel i were found in the same pla ce.”

But “ the perfect musician knows these errors of Astrology,

and can oppose (comba ttre) them if it plea ses him .

”

I n the following yea r Mersenne succeeded in a ccomplishinghis projected work on the science ofmusic, which commencedwith the Tra ite' a s the first of sixteen volumes which werethen planned out.He had meanwhile modified his origina l plans , and the

work appea red a s Harmonicorum L ibri X1] (Pa ri s 1 635 ,

I n the ninth book or L iber primus de l nstrumentisHa rmonicis

,as he ca lls i t, he gives a description and i llustra

tion of the Viols and instruments of the Violin family with ashort description of the manner in which they are played anda Fantasia in five pa rts by H enricus junior.”

The woodcuts a s wel l as the musica l il lustra tions are byPierre Ba l la rd, son of Robert Ba l la rd , the publisher of theB a let comigue de la Royne

— mentioned before— who ob

tained the monopoly for music printing in Fra nce which re

ma ined in his family for over one hundred and fifty yea rs.Some of the identica l blocks were used in Kircher’s Musurgia ,

as we sha l l see anon. The Ha rmonicorum L ibri X]!wasfollowed in the following yea r by a much enla rged French

VNIVERSELLE

CONTENANTLA THEORI

E T L A PRAT I Q V E

D E LA MVSIQ V E.

Gail cit traitc'

de la Na turedcsSons , 8cdcsMouné'mdnsdcsConfon

desDillonanccs ,des Genres,

Voix, dcsChants


edition , whichwas to form the first pa rt of the grea t workwhich he had in contempla tion , entitled L

’

Ha rmonie Univer

Itwas printed by Seba stian Cramoisy, Imprimeurordina ire du Roy, rue S . Ja cques, aux cicognes,

” whoseprinter’s ma rk, a s i t appea rs on the ti tle page , is here reproduced.

Mr. Ma tthew remarks tha t he deserves to have his namerecorded for his enterprise in venturing to undertake soenormous a work— upwa rds of fifteen hundred pages richlyillustra ted, the woodcuts from the La tin work being usedaga in. The book is very chara cteristic of the author, whocould never control his fanta sy. Thus he introduces a trea tiseon mechanics , by his friend Roberva l , between Books I I I . andIV., which has no connection wha tever with music.The book on instruments of pe rcussion winds up with

a versification of the Athanasian Creed ! After severa lpages of erra ta and addenda he finishes the book withan Essay on the Moral Lessons to be drawn from PureMa thema tics ”

The fourth book dea l s with the stringed instruments, andcommences in the following manner

“ The V iol in is one of the simplest instruments tha t canbe imagined, the more so because it has only four strings, andas there a re no frets on i ts finger-board, i t enables one to produce consonances true to pitch

, as in s inging, because one can

stop it in any pa rt one likes. This makes it more perfect than


the fretted instruments 1 which compel one to use the temperament

,and thereby lessen or augment the grea ter number of

consonances,and a lter a ll the musica l interva ls

,as I sha l l

showherea fter.”Then he goes on to extol the violin as follows I ts

tones have more effect upon the mind of the listener thanthose of the lute or other stringed instruments

,because they

a re more powerful and penetra ting on a ccount of the hightension of their strings

,and their sha rper tones. And those

who have hea rd the twenty-four viol ins of the King 2admit

tha t they have never hea rd a nything more cha rming or morepowerful . Thence it comes tha t this instrument is bestadapted for playing dance music

,as one can hea r in the

ba llets , and everywhere else.Moreover, the lovely and gra ceful things tha t can be exe

cuted thereon are so numerous tha t one may prefer it to a llother instruments, for the va rieties of bowing (les coups de sona rchet) are so cha rming tha t one regrets noth ing more thanto hea r the end of i t, especia l ly when they are intermingledwith the vibra to (tremblement) and ba ckfa lls (fla ttements)which will extort from the l istener the confession tha t theviolin is the King of I nstruments.’

La ter on he expla ins the different species of violins ,

1 Al l the species of the Viol and the Lute tribe were provided with frets aswe see them stil l on the Guita r, the Mandolin, and other instruments played witha plectrum. Even the violin and the Violoncello were fretted in many instancesdown to the end of the eighteenth century.

2 Baltazariniwas the first master of these Violons du Roy” (see page


beginning with the Poche (the Kit), so ca l led onaccount ofitssize , which enables Viol inists who give dancing lessons ” toca rry it about in their pocket. After expla ining the va riouspa rts of the instrument he tells us tha t, in contradistinction tothe older instruments , it has four strings (instead of three)which were tuned like those of the violin , viz

2 7 E mi la

1 8 A mi la re1 2 D la re sol8 G re sol ut.

The denomina tion of the notes is a ccording to the old systemof solmisa tion which determined the a ctua l pitch of notes.The numbers give their a coustic equiva lents.The compa ss of the va rious members of the violin family

he gives a s being seven fifths or four octaves , tha t being thesame a s the compa ss of the Spinet and the Organ (see il lustra tion,

p. After a lengthy chapter on appl ied a cousticshe expla ins the rules of the Ta bla ture whichwas sometimesused in violin music. The Tabla turewa s a musica l nota tionwhich indica ted by numbers or letters the position of the noteson the instrument as 'well a s their rela tive va lues, instead of

giving the notes themselves a s in the modern sta ff system.

His rema rks on the subject a re worth quoting :“With re

ga rd to the Tabla ture of the viol ins and viols, it does notdiffer

‘

from the ordina ry nota tion of music (l) Those whodo not know its va lue can employ numbers

,or any other


cha ra cters they like, to ma rk their lessons and conceptions,’

and can write specia l tabla tures l ike tha t of the lute and

guita r ; though the notes (sta ff nota tion) are preferable a s

they ma rk better the a ctua l sound, time, ba rs, etc., and are

more genera lly employed in Europe.“ And if one intends to rel inquish the names by which the

ancients ca lled their modes, viz. Dorian , Phrygian , Lydian ,I onian , etc., and to give them more intell igible names thanthose of the Greeks, one might ca ll the tone or mode of theviolin ( l) the gay and j oyous mode tha t of the Viol and theLyra ,

‘ the triste and languishing mode ’

; tha t of the Lute ,the wise (prudent) and modest mode tha t of the trumpet ,

‘ the brave (ha rdy) and wa rlike mode and so the others,a ccording to the chara cter of ea ch instrument.” 1

I t rema ins to be sa id tha t the viol in is capable of

expressing a ll kinds of music , and tha t one can play the enha rmonic a s well as a ll kinds of dia tonic and chroma tic sca leson i t because it is not hampered by any frets. For this reasonthe violin can produce innumerable notes , andmight, therefore ,justly be ca lled the Ha rmonie Universelle.’

This shows how much Mersenne apprecia ted the importance of the violin (by which he understands the whole viol infamily including the viola and the Violoncello) a lthough hisnotions appea r somewha t hazy in rega rd to deta il.His style , however, is so na ive tha t we cannot do better

1 This is a curious mixture of ideas with regard to the meaning of the wordmode.

”


the first ca l led ‘ chanterelle. To give the essence of a

l engthy explana tion which follows his “fingering for the firststring

,tha t fingering is given hereunder. Suffice it to add

tha t the other strings a re fingered simila rly.

For the la st two notes, C and he gives no fingering,but

,

a s the a rt of shifting into different positionswas unknownin his time, they must na tura l ly fa l l to the fourth finger.Mersenne

,a fter giving the fingering up to the B na tura l ,

says : “ I f one advances stil l fa rther towa rds the bridge one

obta ins ‘C ,

’

and stil l fa rther up ‘D,

’ so tha t the completecompa ss of the violin is a nineteenth.

”

Towa rds the end of the chapter he returns once more tothe question of tuning, and his rema rks show tha t not onlydifferent tunings were used, but a lso bridges of va rious shape.After tell ing his reader tha t if he stops two strings with one

finger stra ight a cross the finger-boa rd he will a lways obta infifths, providing the instrument is tuned in fifths

,he

continues : “ I f the instrument is tuned differently,for

instance, i n fifths and fourths , one and the same finger,by

pressing down two or three strings simultaneously,can

produce a continuous series of chords,but the bridge must be

fla tter for this purpose, l ike the bridge of the Lyra of which Isha l l spea k la ter on.”


This Lyra wa s a species of viol with from seven to

twenty-four strings besides the so-ca lled Bourdone’

s or bassstrings which in the Lyra Tedesca or Ba ryton ran throughthe back of the neck , and were plucked with the thumb.I n Chapter I I I . Mersenne discusses the advisab il ity of

adding a fifth string to the four strings of the viol in, and

he comes to the conclusion tha t the five-stringed instrumentwould supersede the four-stringed viol in in the samewaytha t the la tter superseded the rebec, which had only threestrings with the compa ss of a twelfth. This experimentwas a ctua lly tried in the case of the Violoncello, with theresult tha t the tone of the instrumentwas considerably te

duced in power by the additiona l pressure of the fifth stringon the table of the instrument. The advantage ga ined incompa sswas so far outweighed by the loss in power as wel la s in qua lity of tone tha t it never came into genera l use, and

the fifth stringwas fina lly condemned and abol ished by theFrench Abbé Ta rdieu about 1 730.

I n the course of his d iscussion about the number of

strings we find a most amusing example of Mersenne’

s

credulity and habit of talking without critica l observa tion.He sta tes, as an additiona l a rgument in favour of the fivestringed viol in , tha t “ I ts compass would then be extensive

enough for a ll modes,1as, so far, one can only play three or

four modes on the four strings of the viol in,viz. the seventh

1 Modes- the old church modes, which were supplanted by our modern minorand major sca les.


which begins with Fa ut fa ,and the n inth commencing with

G re sol ut, the end note ofwhich fa lls on the fifth (string) inthe ba ss (G). As for other modes, they a re incompleteending on the plaga l mode (subdominant), which produces a bad effect. For instance, the first mode ,which is C sol ut fa , i s imperfect on the violin, because i tscadence is made in the fourth , viz. its plaga l

,D la re

5 01. But if one thinks i t advantageous to have an

instrument which admits of va riety with few strings, and if

one uses chiefly the first and second strings on the viol in ,one might dispense with the fifth

,and might even be content

with three strings (l).This is an extraordinary sta tement, and the writer spent

some time in trying to unravel i ts meaning— but in va in.Coming to the end of the book

,we find the following rema rk

I t is certa in tha t the violin can represent a ll the modes ,though it has but four strings, and I must, therefore, correctwhat I sa id before on this point, though it can be expla inedin the sense of some viol in players whose idea s I thenfollowed ”

(l !l). But, as Iwant to be clear and intel ligible, i ti s necessa ry to take all s ides of the question. I must a lsocorrect the sta tement tha t the D sol re is the plaga l of C solut fa , which ought to be G sol re ut (l). The idea of a man

having such a discussion on the capabil ities of the viol in ,together with the contradiction thereof printed in an elabora tescientific work, i s rea l ly fa rcica l. To crown it, he gives thesecond of the sca le (D) as the dominant, and then corrects


both sta tements in the text of the book ! He surely musthave laughed about it himself.With a ll tha t there is much in the work tha t stil l holds

good,and i s worth the notice of the students of the present

day. He lays grea t stress on the purity of intona tion and

beauty of tone, and says tha t exa ct stopping must be pra ctised,so tha t the fingers stop the notes in a s sure a manner as ifthey were gu ided by frets l ike on the Viol. Then he makesa very curious sta tement : “ Secondly

, one must sweeten thestrings (notes— the Editor) by the vibra to, which has to beexecuted by the finger next to the one tha t stops the note

(sic I), so tha t the tone sounds ful l. I t is necessa ry to pressthe fingers very firmly on to the strings, so tha t they givemore ha rmony ( tone— the Editor), and to l ift them only verylittle, so tha t one has time to change them from one string toanother.

Thirdly, if one wants to become quite proficient, the handtha t holds the bow must be a t l ea st equa l in agil ity to the lefthand , so tha t it can produce the different movements whichenrich the a i rs, and which give beauty to the melody (chant).

Fourthly, one must draw the bow slowly a cross the stringsand repea t the shahe severa l t imes on one and the same note,continuing thus from the highest to the lowest notes , and

execute the gra ces , which a re very agreeable on a ccount ofthe fine modula tion , which gives grea t pleasure to the ea r,

though one must proceed in this with judgment.”

These rema rks tend to show how clea rly some of the most


important technica l points had a l ready been recognised and

defined.I t is very amusing to read howa man of thought and

science like Mersenne trea ts of the same childish tricks whichFa rina cultiva ted. We quote his own words : “ The violinhas tha t advantage over the other instruments tha t, besidesthe voices of anima l s

,it can counterfeit and imita te all sorts

of instruments , such a s the organ , the vielle, the cornemuse

(a sort of‘English Horn.’ Sometimes the word is erron

eously used for the bagpipe), the fife,and others ; so tha t it

can produce sadness l ike the lute,and sti r l ike the trumpet ;

and tha t those who ma ster it can express a nything tha t comesinto their head. I omit many things rega rding this instrument,as, for insta nce , tha t one can play (sonner) a courant and

severa l other pieces in one bow ; tha t one can shake on thenotes with eight, sixteen , or thirty-two bea ts to the b ar, andtha t the first three fingers of the left hand should not bera ised more than one-s ixteenth of an inch over the fingerboa rd, so tha t the distance should not impede their speed instopping and shaking.

This la tter sentence may stil l be impressed upon studentsa s a point of grea t importance.I n the following chapter

,

“ Proposit ion IV Mersenneexpla ins the figure and dimensions of a ll the different pa rts ofthe va rious members of the violin‘ family, theway to playthem “ i n consort, and the pieces of music which a re suitablefor tha t purpose.

bub . surge-“Cu bed “ b ut a l u m“ in culté K d'c

‘

Ml x xu bée bcumknew} “my “ in l ' txx zpwicvc. r mm L: la tte A d i dam

Kit and Violin, with their compass. FromMersenne

’s Harmonie Universelle.— P. 45.

Kit, Violin, and Violonce l lo , with complete compass ofViolinFamily. From Mersenne

’

s Ha rmonie Universel le.


holds the same position with rega rd to the Violoncello a s theviol in holds to the viola. I t ha s been used by severa lmodern composers. The Violoncello, a ccording to Mersenne,was tuned sometimes “ B , F , C ,

G ,

” sometimes Bb, F ,C

,G

,

but he gives a lso the turning C ,G

, D , A ,a s we know it now.

In a “ ‘Fanta sie ’

in five pa rts by le “ S ieur Henry leJ eune which he gives as a specimen ofmusic for violins, withthe rema rk tha t i t shows the exact compa ss of each instrument,the Violoncello does not go below C and not above C’

, wh ichindica tes the la tter tuning.The piece

,pa rt of which we reproduce as a specimen

, is

very interesting, as i t gives an insight into the standa rd of thetechnic of tha t time. Mersenne gives some advice as to itsexecution ; he expla ins tha t the a ccented bea t should beplayed with a down bow, while the up bowshould serve forthe unaccented bea t. When there is an uneven number ofnotes in a b ar

,as happens when there are some dots a fter a

note,” the bow must be pushed up to the nut on the first note

of the following b ar, so tha t the first note of the third barcomes aga in on a down bow.


FANTAISIE A 5 COMPOSEE PAR LE S IEUR HENRY LE JanNE l

1 Condensed from the score on 5 staves.Dessus,

"written in G c lefon the first l me.Cinquiéme ,

" written in C clef on the first line.Haute-contre,

” written in C clef on the second line.Ta il le, ”written in C c lef on the third line (a lto clef).Basse-contre, "written in ordinary bass c lef.


DIMINUTION

(For the fi rst part)

fi it fi il fi il

fi fi fi it fi ii it

(The G c lef on the first line , as marked in the original , has been retained here : the notes mustconsequently be read a third higher.)


The “ Fa nta sie as a composition is dry and uninteresting. The compa ss, which Mersenne gives a s showing the

full compa ss and capabilities of the viol in , i s below tha t ofthe I ta lian or German violinists , and the divisions which are

added to show “ how the violinists embellish a ll kinds of

melodies ” a re clumsy and stiff, and bea r no compa rison withthe figures in Monteverde

’

s Ritornelles. The divisions wereexecuted by the “ Dessus de violon ”

or treble. As to thenaming of the different kinds of violins, there appea rs a grea tdea l of confusion , as we may ga ther from the followingrema rks : “ The twenty-four violins (of the King) ca ll the‘Quinte

,

’ tha t instrument which other musicians ca l l theAlto, so tha t their tenor is our a lto. This ta l lies with thepresent denom1nat1on. Tha t the “ Dessus ,

” the “ Quinte,and the Haute-contre

,which were tuned a like

,were of

different size is evident from another rema rk, tha t “ thecompa ss of the quinte in the above piece i s nea rest to tha t ofthe treble

,and must, therefore, be played by the sma llest of the

three violins which are in unison.”

With rega rd to tuning, Mersenne wa rns the player not totouch the note he tunes from with the finger (pizzica to), andthe other with the bow, or vice versa

,as the bow produces a

stronger vibra tion of the string “ in making it sound beyonda stra ight line , and violinists ma inta in tha t the note is sha rperwhen the bow touches the note with force. I t may happentha t a violin tuned in a dry pla ce wil l get out of tune in a

damp one , and vice versa .

” The effect of the mutewa s


a l ready known in those days , as i s shown in Mersenne’

s

rema rk tha t “ the viol in loses a grea t dea l of its tone if a keyor simila r obj ect is fixed to the bridge.” H e a lso sta tes tha t“ colophonium ”

(prepa red rosin) is better than the“ poix

résine " or crude Burgundian yellow rosin to rub on theha ir of the bow ,

”

a s i t produces a softer tone.Mersenne gives a lso instructions “ howone can transpose

each tone (key) i n twelve different ways by means of thediesis and ‘fa feints ’

or‘b mols ’

(sha rps and fla ts) whichare ca l led accidenta ls , etc. etc.However primitive Mersenne

’

s instructions for the violinmay appea r, they show a very clea r idea of the fundamenta lprinciples

,and these once established, a fa irly rapid progress

of i ts techn ic might have been expected if the executa nts hadnot lost so much time in unprofitable experiments l ike thetricks tha t we have a lrea dy referred to. With rega rd to theshape of the viol in it i s interesting to note the differencebetween the illustra tion of a viol in on page 5 3 and tha t onpage 60,

both taken from the same book of the H a rmonieUniverselle. Kircher in his Musurgia ,

”

of which we havespoken before , gives on ly a description of the violin withoutgoing into technica l deta il. I t is interesting to note tha t theillustra tion which he gives of the instrument is printed fromthe identica l blocks by Ba lla rd which were used in the works ofMersenne. Kircher, a J esuit Fa ther, publ ished his Musurgia

”

in Rome in 1 650 , and evidently a cquired the blocks fromCramoisy a fter the dea th of Mersenne in 1 648. An ea rlier


work, Syntagma Musicum,

1 6 1 5 , by Michael Praetorius ,which appea red between 1 6 1 4

— 1 6 20 , gives a lso an i llustra tionof the viol in family. He ca lls the instrument “ Bass

,Tenor

,

and D iscantGeig,”

and mentions tha t the la tterwa s sometimesca l led V iolino or V ioletta picciola , as a lso Rebechino.

He gives a picture of an instrument which, a ccording to a

sca le on the ma rgin , is about four feet high, fitted with a ta ilpin, and which he ca l ls Ba ss Geig de B raccio,

” which meansArm Violin This shows wha t a confusion there stil lexisted in the name of the new instruments. He saysa lso tha t the Discant viol inwas tuned a fourth higher

,and

the Kit an octave higher than the ordina ry viol in , and tha tthey were sometimes strung with bra ss or steel stringswhich gave a pa rticularly sweet sound — “ da ss wenn sie

mit messing und stahlenen Saiten bezogen werden ein still enund fa st lieblichen Resonantz mehr a ls die andern von sich

geb enf’

Kircher gives the tuning of the K it (Linterculus) as

exa ctly the same as tha t of the viol in.1 The meaningwas that it belonged to the .

“Arm Violin ” family and not tothe viols.


and Academico Filaschese , on the title page of hisCorrenti e B a lletti da Camera , Op. I., which were publ ishedby Merino S ilvani a t Bologna i n 1 666.

As to Z anetti’s tutor, i t is so ra re tha t the author has not

been able to examine i t persona l ly. Two facts are evidentfrom the title page : tha t Zanetti considered the tabla tureea sier than sta ff nota tion , and therefore tried to revive i t, andtha t instrumenta l ists were in the habit of playing the tenorand ba ss as well a s the “ treble viol in.”

I n England the art of viol in playing had so far receivedbut scant a ttention , a l though two viol inists are mentioneda l ready among the musicians of Henry the E ighth’s band.I t is, however, pretty certa in tha t they were players

of the ancient Viol s, and not of the Violin as weknow it.Queen E lizabeth , however, had severa l Violinists in her

band, and they continued as an integra l pa rt of i t ever since ,a lthough it took nea rly a century before the viol in ga inedascendency over the “ Bass V iol ,

” whichwas the favouriteinstrument in fa shionable circles.The first authentic record of viol ins in the Queen ’s priva te

music da tes ba ck to 1 56 1 , when f, 230, 6s. 8d. were pa id to

them . I n 1 5 7 1 they numbered seven in all, who were pa ida sum of£32 5 , 1 5 5 . per annum.

At the end of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, music had becomea fad, and fa shionable ta ste, as in all cases, did all i t could todistort the noble fea tures of Art into a ca rica ture. When

Ca tch tha t Ca tch can. A Lute and a Vio l are hangingFrontispiece ofHilton’son thewa l l above the singers.

u

“

a"

‘

Etlfittttnons ,and Variety of fi re t ours, fil m s, 3 >

and fiweral NewFO R T H ?

TREBLE-V I


Mr. d’

Olive ,1a fop of the period , intends to furnish his lodging

in the most approved style, this is how he goes to work :

“ Here sha l l sta nd my court cupboa rd , with its furniture of

pla te ; here sha l l hang my base V iol ; here my theorbo , andhere wil l I hang myself.” The title page of H il ton’s Ca tchtha t Ca tch Can,

1 65 2 , shows two groups of singers with a ba ssviol or lute hanging on the wa l l (see Pla te).

Under Cha rles whowas a grea t lover of music and a

very fa ir performer on the bass Viol , the number of violin istsin the Roya l Priva te Musicwas steadily increa sing. I n 1 6 2 5

the band consisted of eight hautboys and sa ckbuts , s ix flutes,six recorders

,and eleven viol ins , s ix lutes four viols , and a

ha rp , exclusive of trumpets , drums , and fifes. I n 1 64 1 therewere no less tha n fifty-eight musicians in the Roya l band , theviol ins being Thoma s Lupo

,Thoma s Wa rren , Leona rd Mell ,

Davies Mell , J ohn Hopper, N ichola s Pika rd , Stephen Nan,

Richa rd Dorney, James Woodington , S imon Nan,Ambrose

Byland, Theophilus L'upo,B a stien Lapiere, George Turgis.

The violinwa s looked down upon as the instrument of thevaga bona

’s and sturdy beggars who played a t fa irs , dances ,

and in a le-houses.At weddings , Christma s festivities, and simila r occa sions

the “ fiddlers were in grea t request, and a grea t nobleman ’shouseholdwas not complete without one or more fiddlers, whoreceived a sma l l stipend as well a s cloaks and badges withthe Arms of the family. The custom is mentioned in Barrey

’

s

1 In Chapman’s comedy of tha t name, printed in 1606.


comedy, Ram A lley or Merry Trichs, published in 1 6 1 1 .

S ir Oliver Sma l l Shanks, one of the cha racters in the play,addresses his fiddlers thus

“ This year you sha l l have my protectionAnd yet not buy your livery coats yourselves.”

A bla ck Jack of beer and a Christmas pie formed theusua l Christma s enterta inment of the musicians, to which somesilverwas added by more l ibera l pa trons.Bishop Earle’s description , as conta ined in H awkins’

H istory of Music, gives a fa i r idea of the socia l position of

the professiona l viol inist of tha t time : “ A poor fiddler is a

man and fiddle out of ca se, and i n worse ca se than his fiddle.One that rubs two sticks together (a s the I ndians strike fire),and rubs a poor l iving out of i t ; pa rtly from this, and pa rtlyfrom your cha rity

,which is more in the hea ring than giving

him , for he sells nothing dea rer than to be gone. He is justso many strings above a begga r, though he have but two and

yet he begs too,only not in the downright for God’s sake ,

but with a shrugging God bless you,and ! his fa ce is more

pin’d than the blind man’s. Hunger is the grea test pa in hetakes , except a broken head sometimes, and the labouringJ ohn Dory. Otherwise his l ife is so many fits ofmirth, and’tis some mirth to see him. A good feast sha l l draw him fivemiles by the nose

,and you sha l l track him by the scent. H is

other pilgrimages are fa irs and good houses , where hisdevotion is grea t to the Christmas , and no man loves goodtimes better. H e is in league with the tapsters for the


worshipful of the inn , whom he torments next morning withhis Art, and has their names more perfect than their men.A new song is better to him than a new ja cket

,especia lly if

b audy which he ca lls merry, and ha tes na tura l ly the Puritan ,as an enemy to his mirth. A country wedding and WhitsonAle are the two ma in places he domineers in , where he goesfor a musician , and overlooks the bagpipe. The rest of himis drunk and in stocks.”

An Ordinance made in 1 658 conta ins the following clauseAnd be it further ena cted , tha t if any person or persons,commonly ca lled fiddlers or minstrels

,sha l l at any time after

the sa id first day of J uly ( 1 657 ) be taken playing, fiddling,

and making Musick in any inn , ale-house, or tavern , or sha l lbe taken proffering themselves

,or desiring

, or entrea ting any

person or persons to hea r them play,or make Musick in any

of the pla ces a foresa id, tha t every such person and personsso taken , sha ll be adjudged, and are hereby adjudged and

decla red to be rogues, vagabonds, and sturdy begga rs, and

sha l l be proceeded aga inst and punished as rogues , vagabonds,and sturdy beggars within the sa id sta tute

,any law, sta tute or

usage to the contra ry thereof in any wise notwithstanding.

”

Hudibra s’ invective aga inst Crowdero endorses the sentiment of this ordinance, whichwa s quite in sympa thy with thepopula r feel ing of the puritanica l cla sses

He and tha t engine of vile noise,On which illega l ly he plays,Sha ll dictumfactum both b e broughtTo condign punishment as they ought.”


The following entry in Evelyn ’s dia ry , under 2 1 5 t

December 1 662 , gives ample proof of this One ofHisMaj esty’s chapla ins prea ched, a fter which, instead of ye ancientgrave, and solemn wind musick a ccompanying ye organ ,wa sintroduc

’

d a concert of twenty-four violins between everypause, a fter ye French fanta stica l lightway, better suiting a

tavern or playhouse than a church. Thiswas ye first timeof change, and nowwe no more heard the comet 1 which gavelive to ye organ ; tha t instrument quite left off in which theEngl ish were so skilfull.The idea of the viol inwas, however, soon modified, and

i twas due in a grea t mea sure to Thoma s Ba ltza r of L '

ubecktha t the prejudice aga inst the instrument disappea red.Ba l tza rwas one of the grea test virtuosi of his time, and oneof the first who made use of the higher positions which werestil l unknown in England.Evelyn had hea rd him as ea rly as 1 656. On 4th March

he made the following entry in his dia ry “ This night Iwa sinvited by Mr. Roger L’

Estrange2 to hea r the incompa rable

Lub icer (Liib ecker) on the violin. H is va riety on a few notes,and pla ine ground with tha t wonderful dexterity,wa s admirable. Though a young man

,yet so perfect and skilful , tha t

therewas nothing,however cross and perplext, brought to him

by our a rtists which he did not play off a t sight with ravishing

1 The cornetto a woodwind instrument.2 Sir Roger LEstrangewas an accomplished ama teur musician and a clever

executant on the bass viol.


of the viol in , and run them ba ck insensibly, and a ll witha lacrity, and very good time which he (Wood)

“nor any in

E ngland sawthe lihe before. Dr. Wilson in his humorousway stooped down “ to see if he had hufi

'e

”

(hoof). At theRestora tion he became leader of the King’s band of twentyfour violins, of which we sha l l hear la ter on— and Wood tellsus tha t “

about the same time he commenced bachelar ofMusick a t Cambridge,

” but being much admired by a lllovers of Musick his companywas desired : and company,especia l musica l company delighting in drinking

,made him

drink more than ordina ry, which brought him to his grave.”

He died in 1 663 , about thirty-four yea rs of age, andwa sburied in the cloisters of Westminster Abbey. AlthoughBa l tza r a cqua inted English players with the use of thepositions, i t took many yea rs before they came into genera luse. No mention is made of the positions in Playford

’

s

Introduction to the Shil l of Musich, the first edition of whichappea red in London in 1 654.

An “ Allemande ” by Ba l tza r has been republished byWehrle in a collection of ancient Violin Music (Leipzig B reitkopf and Hartel). Tha t piece, however, does not exceed thefirst B on the E string. I n comparing Ba l tza r with DavisMell

,a clockmaker of Oxford (whowas a member of the King’s

band andwas considered the best violinist in England),Wood says tha t the fame of the la tter began to fade whenBa l tza r showed the wonderful things he could do on theinstrument. But he says tha t Mell’s tonewa s sweeter, and

INTRODUCTION- T O T H E

IN TH R E E B OO /( S.

By JOHN PLAYFORD.

c o n r n n u n a ,

Woe fi btrmntb Eamon.


into the sta te of violin playing and tea ching a t tha t period.Wa sielewski in D ie Violine und ihre Meister mentionsS impson as author of the second book , but tha t is an evidenterror a rising from the fa ct tha t he appea rs as reviser of

Campion’s trea tise Although instrumenta lists of tha tperiod genera l ly played a ll the instruments belonging to one

pa rticula r group (either wind , string, or keyed instruments),and sometimes some of other groups a s well , yet ba ss-Violplayers considered their instrument so far superior to theviolin tha t S impson is not likely to have befriended thela tter instrument to the extent tha t J ohn Playford did , whoa ctua lly wrote the a rticle, and may have been assisted by hisfriends Henry Purcell, Davis Mell , Solomon Eccles , and

Benjamin Rogers. The la tterwas a gentleman of the ChapelRoya l a t Windsor

,who published a Suite and “ Court Ayres

for two violins, viola and ba ss about 1 650.

Playford commences his Instructionsfor the Treble Violinwith some introductory rema rks which

,on a ccount of their

qua intness, deserve verba l quota tion“ The Treble V iolin ,

” so he begins in the 7 th edition of

1 674, is a cheerful and sprightly instrument , and muchpra ctised of la te, some by B ach and somewithout ; which of

these two is the bestway may ea si ly be resolved : First , tolea rn to play by Rate or E ar without booh, is theway neverto play more than wha t he can ga in by seeing and hea ring

another play, which may soon be forgot ; but, on the contra ry,he which learns and practises by book, according to the rules


of musich, fa ils not, a fter he comes to be perfect in thoserules

,which guide him to play more than ever hewa s taught

or hea rd, and a lso to play his part in consort ; the which theother wil l never be capable of, unless he ha s his sureguide.

“ These rules ofmusic a re in pla in method set down in thefirst six chapters of this booh ; the which being perfectlyunderstood

,viz. the na ture of the sca le or gamut, which

directs the pla ces of a ll notes, fl a t and sha rp. By which are

prick’

d all lessons and tunes on the five lines,the distinguish

ing of the severa l pa rts by their cl iffs,a s the Treble, Tenor,

and B asse.

” This refers, of course, to the violin , the viola ,

and the Violoncello. I t is curious to note tha t, while theviol in and viola appea r tuned a s we know them now, theVioloncellowas tuned a ful l tone lower, viz. B flat, F , C , G.

“ There then rema ins two things to be instructed in : howthe violin is strung and tuned ; secondly, to give you

directions for the stopping the severa l notes, both fla t and

sha rp,in their right pla ces. Then first observe tha t this cannot

be expressed in words,unless on the nech orfinger-boa rd of the

viol in there be set five or six frets, as on a viol. This,though it be not usua l , yet i t is the best and ea siestway for a

beginner, for by it he has a certa in rule to direct‘him to stop

a ll his notes in exa ct time,

1 which those tha t do lea rn withoutseldom a tta in so good an ear to stop all notes in perfecttime.”

1 He evidently means “ pitch,” as may b e seen from his remark, “ time yourviolin according to the rule of the gamut,” see p. 72.


This rema rk shows tha t Playford took a more primitiveposition with rega rd to this ma tter than Mersenne

,who

condemned the use of frets on the viol in , as we have seenin the previous chapter (pageI n the second edition of his book Playford empha sises his

opinion of the necessity of frets for beginners in the followingwords : “ The which though it be not usua l

,yet it is very

necessary for young beginners to have their violin fretted,with six frets or stops on the neck thereof which somebeginners who lea rn without can never a tta in so good an ear

to stop a ll notes in their exact time, therefore you mustprocure your violin to be exactlyfretted by a skilful hand tothe true distances of ha lf andwhole notes ” (here is given a

table drawn exactly to the neck of the violin with four stringsand six frets),

“ being rightly understood,will direct to stop

every note,either flat or sha rp, in his right place ; and a lso

to time your violin a ccording to the rule of the gamut.”

With rega rd to nota tion there existed evidently still al ingering fancy for the tabla ture

,a lthough Mersenne had

a lready frankly and strongly decla red in favour of the sta ffnota tion. As, however, the bass Violwas still the fa shionableinstrument in England, and a good dea l of its musicwa swritten in tabla ture , Playford may have found it advisableto expla in i ts applica tion with rega rd to the violin. Heexpla ins thus : “ Therefore

,for the better understanding of

these following examples,I sha ll a ssign to those six frets on

thefinger-board of your violin six letters of the a lphabet in


string by the letter C (for the second fret)being placed overthe lowest line representing the fourth or G string ; B fla t onthe A string by the letter “ B pla ced over the second linethe open E string by the letter “ A ” over the first line, etc.These letters representing the frets, which had to be stopped,gave, na tura lly, no indica tion to the va lue of the notes whoseactua l position they described. The length of the notewa s,therefore

, indica ted by a breve, a minim , a crotchet— or

wha tever the va lue of the notewas to b e— being pla ced overthe letter indica ting the fret.Playford expla ins “ The Sca le of Musick on the four

strings of the Treble V iolin expressed by Letters and Notes,”

commencing : “ I n this example observe tha t from one fretto the next is but ha l f a tone or sound, two frets go to one

whole perfect sound or note.” After this he gives the notes of

the first position as they appea r in the sca le of C Major,beginning with the open G string and going up to A”

on theE string, ma rking the frets in the manner above described.At the end he remarks : “ These few rules (and the help ofan able ma ster to instruct thee in the true fingering,

and thesevera l gra ces and flourishes tha t are necessa ry to be lea rn tby such as desire to be exquisite herein) will in short timemake thee an ableproficient.

”

His standa rd of proficiency wa s evidently suited toencourage the a spira tions of his purchasers.As exercises he gives three “ short tunes to begin on the

treble viol in , both by tablature and by notes.” These are


with,he must wind up his first or treble string as high a s it

will bear 1 and stop in F (meaning the letter of the fret), thentune hi s second an eighth below it, then stop the secondin F etc. and so your strings wil l be in perfecttune.I n the rules to be observed by pra ctit ioners on the treble

violin,he rema rks tha t the lower pa rt of the violin “ is

rested on the left brea st a little below the shoulder ” (a comfortable position — and “ the bow is held in the right hand ,between the ends of the thumb a nd the three first fingers ,the thumb being sta id upon the ha ir and the nut, and thethree fingers resting upon the wood.

” The fourthwas thusprobably held up in the a ir.— 0 tempera , 0 mores

To avoid the use of ledger l ines below the stave , Playfordwrites a ll notes which a re below the open D string in thea l to clef. I n the edition of 1 666 Playford makes for the firsttime some a l lusion to the shifting of the hand

Next,when you have any high notes, which reach lower

(towa rds the bridge which, of course, with rega rd to pitch ,means ‘higher than your usua l Frets or Stops, there youa re to shift your fingers ; if there be but two Notes , then thefirst is stopt with the third finger ; but if there be threeNotes tha t a scend , then the first is stopt with the secondfinger, and the rest by the next fingers.”

1 This reminds one ofAgricola and Neusied ler, andwas evidently intended toassist those who had neither tuning pipe nor fork nor ha rpsichord. The la tterwasa rare instrument when the lute, or especia lly the theorbo or ba ss viol,was used toaccompany the violin as well as the voice.


This shows tha t he had not exceeded the compass of anineteenth , whichwa s a lready used by Mersenne.With rega rd to bowing, he used still more primitive

methods by following the example of the ba ss-Viol playerswho used an up bow on the a ccented bea t instead of a downbow

,whichwa s a lready advoca ted by Mersenne.The names given to graces and embellishments are very

amusing. Different kinds of Appogia ture a re expla inedunder the following names : a bea t , a ba ckfa ll, a doubleba ckfa ll , an eleva tion

,a springer, and a cadent

,while the

shaked gra ces ” included “a ba ckfa ll shaked,” a

“ doublerel ish ,

” etc.I n the “ Conclusion of his work he says : “ Yet do I

not approve of thisway of playing by Letters (meaning thetabla ture save only a s a guide to young pra ctitionersand having by this pra ctice come to a perfect (l) knowledgethereof, to lay the letters a side, and keep them to theirpra ctice by notes only.Of theway of holding the viol in aga inst the chest below

the left shoulder a s expla ined by Playford we find manya ccura te illustra tions in pa intings of tha t period , especia l lyby the Netherlands ma sters. People a re often led to lookupon the pose of the player a s inaccura te, and ascribe it toca relessness on the pa rt of the pa inter, a l though the ma stersof tha t school were genera l ly inclined to be over-pa instakingin the representa tion of every deta il.The Shill of Musich held its own for nea rly eighty


yea rs,and even la ter i t formed pa rt, either verba l ly or in

substa nce,of many subsequent tutors which appea red under

va rious authors ’ names, sometimes with a most mysteriousfamily likeness to one another ; but on tha t subj ect we sha llhave something to say la ter on.

sfor the Lyra Viol printed consort-way.


and he died in 1 693 or 1 694. I n 1 648 his name is firstmentioned as entering books in the S ta tioners’ Company.Hewas a t tha t time a bookseller with a shop in the I nnerTemple nea r the church door. H ewa s clerk a t the TempleChurch

,and his wife kept a boa rding-school at I sl ington ,

Over aga inst the church where young gentlewomen mightbe instructed in a ll manner of curious work, as a lso reading

,

writing,musick, dancing, and the French tongue. Thus it

appea rs in an advertisement a t the end of Select Ayres and

D ia logues, in 1 659 , and tha t house was appa rently a lsoPlayford

’

s residence where his two sons,J ohn and Henry

,

were born. J ohn became a“ ma ster printer ” and Henry

continued his fa ther’s business. J ohn Playford’

s first musica lpublica tionwas The E nglish Dancing M aster

,or Pla ine

and E asy Rulesfor the Dancing of Country Dances,with theTunes to E a ch, and this is, as Kidson says , not only the firstEnglish work on the subject, but thefirst genera l collectionof the popula r dance and ba llad tunes of England. I tappea red a t the beginning of 1 65 1 , and in 1 65 2 i ts titlewas changed to The Dancing Master

,and i t appea red in

eighteen editions , with the addition of a second volumeforming

,a unique record of English popula r melody. From

this time Playford devoted his whole enterprise to the production ofmusica l works, and he held pra ctica lly the monopolyof the Engl ish music publishing trade, whichwas probablydue to his excellent persona l qua l i t ies as much as to hisfriendship with the leading musicians

,and the a rtistic and


ca reful finish of his publica tions. The majori ty of these wereprinted from movable type with the exception of a fewdelica tely engraven oblong volumes including The D ivisionViolin which appea red in 1 685 . I twa s advertised in theLondon Gazette. “ The Division Violin conta ining severa lchoice Divisions for the Treble Violin to a ground Ba ss

,fa irly

engraven on copper Pla tes , being the first of this sort ofMusick ever published. Price 23 . 6d. The same advertisement offers the “ St. Cicely’s Ode ”

of 2 2nd Nov. 1 683 , byHy. Purcell , and tha t of Dr. J ohn B low of 1 684. To be soldby J . Playford and by J . Ca rr. Wm . Holla r etched theVignette of the Dancing Master, of which we give a copytaken from the edition “ Printed by Wm . Pea rson and soldby J ohn Young

,musica l instrument maker, a t the Dolphin

and Crown ,1 a t the West End of S t. Paul ’s Churchya rd,

1 7 28. Price, bound, 3s. 6d. Where may be had the first andthird volumes.” Young took over severa l of Playford

’

s

publica tions,and his name is a lso on the 1 707 edition of

Pills to Purge Melancholy. H is son , Ta lbot, appears tohave been a good violinist ; hewas the origina tor of theCa stle Concerts in Pa ternoster Row (see anon , pageand

, together with his fa ther, forms the subject of a

very humorous ca tch which appea red in the Second E ach ofthe Pleasant Musica l Companion, printed by Wm. Pea rson

1 The sign of “The Dolphin and Crown ” is,a ccording to Hotten, of French

origin, Dolphin ”being the English for “Dauphin,” the title of the heir-presumptiveto the French Crown.

6


for Henry Playford, 1 70 1 . Mr. Kidson quotes i t from the1 7 26 edition

A CATCH UPON MR. YOUNG AND HIS SON (Dr. Caesa r)You scampers that want a good fiddle well strung,You should go to the man tha t is old while he’s young.But if this same fiddle you fa in would play bold,You must go to his son who’ll b e young when he’s old.There’s old Young and young Young

,both men of renown,

O ld sel ls, and young plays the best fiddle in town.

Young and old live together, and may they live long,Young to play an old fiddle, O ld to sel l a newsong.

The copy of the Dancing Master , from which our illustra t ionis taken ,was a t one time in the possession of a Puritan , who ,a l though he stretched a point with rega rd to the dances

,

considered the little cupid with his bow and a rrow quiteimproper, and promptly blotted it out with ink ! Mr. AlfredMoffa t , in whose possession the copy is a t present, succeededin having the title page restored to its origina l condition .The 1 665 edition of the Dancing Master had an

appendix,conta ining instructions, and a va riety of new tunes

for the Treble Violin. In 1 669 tha t appendixwa s advertisedas

“ A book for the Treble Violin now fitted for the Press.I n 1 67 2 i t appea red for the first time under its subsequenttitle : “ Apollo’

s B anquet, conta ining instructions and va rietyof new Tunes, Ayres, J iggs, and severa l new Scotch Tunesfor the Treble Violin , to which is added the tunes of thenewest French Dances

,nowused a t Court and in Dancing

Schools. The sixth edition with new addit ions. I n the


tried to copy in more than oneway. When Purcell embra cedthe cause of the violin and produced his fine Sona tas, besidessome minor pieces for tha t instrument, he gave na tura lly a

powerful impetus for the study thereof. Purcell had a distinctaversion to the ba ss viol, which still counted many friendsamong musica l ama teurs. Among the la tterwa s the SubDean Gosling, a friend of Purcell and a clever ama teurmusician. To tea se Gosling about the instrument of his

choice,Purcell a sked a friend to write him the following mock

eulogium on the subject , which he set to music in the form of

a round for three voices. I t appea red in the above-mentionedPlea santMusica l Companion of 1 70 1 , and runs thus

Of a ll the instruments tha t are,None with the viol can compare ;Mark how the strings their order keep,[With a whet

,whet, and a sweep, sweep, sweep.

But above a ll this stil l aboundsWith a zingle, zingle, zing, and a zit, zan, zounds.

I n 1 684 Henry Playford publ ished The D ivision Violin

a s a successor to Christopher S impson’s D ivision Violist.

These “ Divisions or Va ria tions on a ground (a bass) werea very favourite form of instrumenta l composition during theseventeenth century, and some ofthe “ grounds ” were used bycomposers of va rious nations

,a s for instance the one by Fari

nell i,uncle of the famous singer

,Carlo Broschi, which formed

the subject of Corelli’s Folie ’s d’

Espagne, Ma rin Ma ra is ’“ Thirty-Two Va ria tions for Ba ss Viol

,and many simila r

works. I n England itwas known as Farinel’

s Ground ,”

and


appea rs as such in The D ivision Violin, with compositions byChristopher S impson , J ohn Banister, Davis Mell, SolomonEccles , J ohn Lenton , and others. Ba l tza r contributed twoPreludes, an Allemande , and va ria tions on the favourite song,J ohn

,come Kiss me now, which formed a lso the theme of

va ria tions by Davis Mell. I t had been used a l ready byWilliam Byrd, who wrote va ria tions for the virgina l on thetune for a publica tion which is incorrectly known a s QueenE lizabeth ’s V i rgina l B ook. The words were pa raphra sed inAne Compendium B oohe of Godly and Spiritua ll Songs,Edinburgh , 1 590. The book is a monstrous piece of grotesquebigotry. J ohn “ stripped of his profane dress appea rs in a

penitentia l habit which makes him more ludicrous than hisbrother Ja ck in the Ta le of the Tub. This i s the spiritua lversion

John, cum kiss me now,John, cum kiss me now

,

John, cum kiss me by and by,

And make no more adow.The Lord thy God I am,

Tha t John dois thee ca l l.John represents manBy grace celestia ll.

My prophites ca l l, my preachers cry,Johne

,cum kis me now

,

Johne, cum kis me by and by,And make no more adow.”

Solomon Eccleswas a religious fana tic whowas frequentlya rrested for disturbing congrega tions at Divine worship. He


was the fa ther of three highly gifted musicians, J ohn , Henry,who appea rs among the contributors to The D ivision Violin,

and Thoma s,who through his intempera te habits sank very

low and played a t a le-houses about town. I n 1 660 the fa therburnt his musica l instruments and b ooks publicly on TowerH ill

,turned Quaker, and took to ta iloring. La ter on he came

to the conclusion tha t though dances and profane songs besinful there might stil l be a musica l art tha t might find favourin the eyes of the Almighty. I n consequence he began towrite divisions on a ground which were religiously stripped ofa ll worldly charm.

J ohn Lenton,whose name appea rs as a contributor to The

D ivision Violin ,wa s a prol ific composer of opera tic music

,

songs,and chamber music. Hewa s a gentlema n of the

Chapel Roya l,and l oth November 1 685 i s mentioned a s

the da te on which hewas sworn in. Under the title, TheGentleman

’

s D iversion or the Violin Expla ined, he publ ishedan instruction book, in oblong qua rto , which appea red firstin 1 69 3 , a ccording to Stra tton and Brown’s B ritish Musica l

B iography. At the end were some pieces of his own com

position . A second edition with an appendix , but withoutthe pieces , appea red in 1 702 as The Useful Instructor of the

Violin. The writer has not been able to find a copy of

either edition, but S ir J ohn H awkins speaks about them , and

some of his rema rks are very interesting. According to these ,J ohn Lenton cautions the lea rner, in the D irections forOrdering the B owand Instrument, aga inst holding the la tter

C HA PT E R V

THERE were a t least three more violin tutors published in

London before 1 700, a ccording to announcements in theLondon Gazette, of none of which does any copy appea r tohave been preserved. The titles of these instruction bookswere : “ The Self-Instructor on the Viol in : or, the Art ofPlaying tha t I nstrument , improved and made easie by pla inRules and Directions. Together with a choice collection ofthe newest Tunes and Ayres composed by the ablest ma sters.To which is added an excellent Solo of Mr. Courtiville ’

s.

Printed for J ohn Wa lsh (His Maj esty’s I nstrument Maker inOrdina ry) a t the Golden H a rp and Hautboy in Ca therineStreet in the Strand, J . Miller a t the Viol in and Hautboy onLondon B ridge

,and J . H a re in Freeman ’s Ya rd in Cornhill.

Price IS. 6d.,1 695 . The Mr. Courtiville above referred to

wa s Raphael Courteville, whowa s brought over from Fra nceby Cha rles 1 1. and appointed by him a s organist of St. James’s ,Westminster

,and gentleman of the Chapel Roya l. He com

posed a number of violin solos, andwa s detested by themajority of his colleagues on a ccount of his intriguing na ture,which ea rned for him the nickname of Court-evil (a pun on

his name).


The Second B ooh of the Self-Instructor on the Violin

wa s published by Wa l sh in 1 69 7 . I t conta ined an

appendix of favourite dances with instructions— how to dancethem !And last but not lea st , The Compleat Tutor to the

Violin : conta ining pla in and easie Directions for Beginners,with the newest Tunes nowi n use , and a Flourish in everyKey by Mr. J ohn Banister, published by J . Young a t theDolphin and Crown a t the West End of St. Paul ’s Church ,and 3 Cross, in Ka therine Wheel Court on Snow H i l l , i n1 698 .

I t is much to be regretted tha t appa rently no copy of thiswork is obtainable , as it would give us an insight into themethod of one of the best E nglish violinists of his time

,and

would in a ll probabil ity show a distinct advance on Playford’

s

works.J ohn Banister the younger— the author of this tutor a s

well a s of the piece in The D ivision Violin—was one of thetwenty-four viol ins of Cha rles and subsequently a member of the priva te bands of James 1 1. and Queen Anne.He wa s a l so principal viol in a t the I ta lian Opera . I nspeaking of the “ twenty-four viol ins ” one must of courseremember

,as has been rema rked a l ready in a previous

chapter, tha t they consisted of six violins, s ix countertenors, six tenors

,and six ba sses. His portra i twas pub

lished in a beautiful mezzotint by J . Smith , and is herereproduced.


Banisterwa s a l so the author of The Gentleman’

s Tutor

H isfa ther, whose Christian namewas a lso J ohn , had a fa r

grea ter influence upon the development of the violin a s well a sof London musica l life in genera l. J ohn Banister’s fa therwas one of the waytes ”

of St. G iles’s in the Fields, and itis interesting to note tha t the name of the second master ofthe “ Children of the Chapel Roya l ”wa s a lso Banestre or

Banister. He followed Henry Abingdon , the first ma ster,and received a sa la ry of forty ma rks yea rly for the fynding,

instruction,and governaunce of the children. Hewa s

a poet of some note in his day, and wrote “ The M ira cle of

St. Thoma s,” the ma nuscript of whichwas preserved in

Benet College Libra ry,nowmerged in Corpus Christi in

Cambridge. Abingdon died about 1 5 83. The followingepitaph is conta ined in “ The first foure Books of V i rgil ’sfEneid, transla ted into English Heroic verse by R icha rdStanyhurst, London , 1 583

Here lyeth old Henry, no freend of mischievous envy,

Sumam’d Abingdon, to a ll men most hea rtily welcomeClerk hewas inWellis,1 where tingle a grea t many bel lis,Also in the chapel hewas not counted a moungrel ;

And such a loud singer, in a thousand not such a ringerAnd with a concordance, a ‘most skilful in organee,

”

Now God I crave duly, sence this man serv’d Thee so truly

,

Henry place in Kingdom,tha t is a lso named

According to the time and the fa ct of his being a musician1 Wel ls. 3 Art of organ playing


Lanier,whowa s one of the most prominent members

K ing’s fiddlers, whom D’

Urfey mentions thus

Four-and-twenty fiddlers a ll of a row,

And therewas fiddle, fiddle,And twice fiddle, fiddle,’Cause ’twas my lady’s birthday,Thereforewe keept holidayAnd all went to b e merry.”

This expresses well the cha ra cter of the music and theplayers. The levity of Cha rleswas not in sympa thy withanything grea t and noble in Art

,and a l though he had a

superficia l knowledge of music,and sang a plump bass, he

looked upon it merely a s an incentive to mirth,and did not

ca re for anything tha t he could not stamp time to.I n 1 66 2 Banister returned from France , and on 8th May

a wa rrantwas issued for a grant to J ohn “ Bannaster”

of

the pla ce of one of the violins in ordina ry for the K ing’sPriva te Musick in pla ce of David (l) Mell decea sed, a t a feeof 1 1 0 a yea r.

Hewas a lso empowered to instruct and direct twelvepersons chosen by him out of twenty-four of the Band of

violins for better performances. They served withoutbeing mixed with the other viol ins unless when the Kingordered the twenty-four.For these twelve violins Banister received £600 per

yea r, to be divided among them.

These twelve viol ins a ccompanied the King on extraordinary occa sions, as may be seen from the fact tha t on


1 4th May 1 662, £2 3, 1 05 . ea chwas pa id to the twelve

viol ins in ordina ry,and to J ohn Banister, towa rd their

expenses in a ttending the King on his journey to Portsmouthto receive the Queen.The King spa red no expense in supplying his viol ins with

instruments of the highest qua lity. The fame of the Ama tiswho supplied the French Court from Cha rles II. downwa rdhad spread a ll over Europe

,and very la rge sums were pa id

for their instruments,taking into a ccount the purcha sing

power of money a t the time. Nicola s Delinet, one of thetwenty-four violins, purcha sed a Cremona viol in in 1 5 7 2

for Cha rles IX., for which he pa id about £ 1 0, whichsum would probably include incidenta l expenses. Andrea sAma ti suppl ied the same K ing with twelve la rge and twelvesma l l v iol ins , six tenors , and eight ba sses which were keptin the Chapel Roya l at Versailles until 1 7 90, when theydisappea red. On the ba cks were pa inted the Roya l Armsand other devices with the motto , Pieta te et Justitia .

”

A Violoncello with these decora tions, da ted 1 5 7 2 ,was i nthe possession of S ir Will iam Curtis

,and there is l ittle doubt

tha t i t belonged to the famous set as well as the viol in whichDelinet bought for the King.Cha rles 1 1. and Ba nnister must both have known these

instruments. A wa rrant da ted the 24th ofOctober 1 662wasissued by order of the King running a s follows

These are to require you to pay, or cause to be pa id, toJ ohn Banister, one of H is Maj esty’s musicians in ordina ry,


the sum of forty pounds for two Cremona violins, by himbought and dilivered for H is Maj esty’s service , a s may appea rby the bil l a nnexed

,and a l so ten pounds for strings for two

yea rs ending 24th JuneThings went on fa irly well for a time with the King’s

musicians, and the select twelve

” received even promise of

an increa sed a l lowance of£600 to encourage their pra ctisings,and pa rticula r a ttendance on H is Maj esty. Cha rles ’s wa stefulextravagance made the fulfi lment of his promise soon impossible , and in July 1 665 we find Banister petitioning fortha t increa sed a llowance. On the fourth of tha t month hereceived a wa rrant from Hampton Court for the sum of£350

to pay for his own a ttendance,and tha t of six of the twelve

viol ins during the summer. On the 29 1h of August of tha tyea r another wa rrantwas issued to pay Geoffry Banister,

”

musicia n in ordina ry for the violin, £46 , 1 2 5 . 8d. qua rterly for

life from Michaelma s 1 663. From tha t time onwa rd thingswent from bad to worse.I n the same yea r

, 1 665 , J ohn Atkinson and Ben Brockwell ,two of the King’s viol ins, sent in a petition to obta in a billfor their fees for the priva te concerts. They received onlytwenty pence per day and £ 1 6

,2 5 . 6d. yea rly for their l ivery,

without diet or boa rd wages. Yet they were not a l lowed toseek employment elsewhere in their leisure hours.Another petitionwas filed on 7 th November 1 666 by

twenty-two of the King’s violins for payment of pa rt of theira rrea rs out of a sum of ordered for payment of H i s


tha t makes such a flutter as he do. When we come to theDuke of York here , I hea rd discourse how H a rris 1 of hisplayhouse is s ick , and everyhody commends him , and abovea ll things for a cting the Ca rdina l]. Here they ta lk a lso howthe King’s Via llin Bannister is mad tha t the K ing has a

Frenchman come to be chief of some pa rt of the King’smusique. a t which the Duke of York made grea t mirth.I n a nother entry da ted 1 8th June 1 666 Pepys a lso refers

to Banister. The entry runs thus Thence to myLord Bellasses, by invita tion , and there dined with him ,

and

his lady and daughter ; and at dinner there played to usa young boy la tely come from France, where he had beenlea rning a yea r or two on the V iallin

,and plays finely. But

unpa rtia lly I do not find any goodness in their Ayres (thoughvery good) beyond ours when played by the same hand.

’

Iobserved in severa l of Baptiste ’s (the present grea t composer)and our Banister’s. But itwas pretty to see how pa ssiona telymy Lord’s daughter loves musique, the most tha t ever I sawcrea ture in my life.”

Whether the above compa rison refers to Baptiste Lul lyor Baptiste Draghi , who came to London about this time ,and a cquired a high reputa tion for his music to D’

Urfey’

s

and Shadwell’s plays, we may take it for granted tha t Pepys’

1 Harriswas origina l ly an actor in SirWilliam Davenant’s company. As he

eventua l ly asked a higher sa la ry than Betterton or any one else,whichwas refused,

he left. Afterwards he j oined the Duke of York’s playhouse. Pepyswas hisstaunch friend and admirer, and he had his portrait painted by Hales, who a lsopainted tha t of Pepys.


pa triotic enthusiasm ca rried him a l ittle too far ln theapprecia tion of the elder Banister’s compositions.The Sta te papers conta in the full documents relating to

Banister’s dismissa l , which a re not without interest a s theytouch upon incidents which illustra te the l ife of tha t time.A remonstrancewa s made on 2 9th Ma rch 1 667 , by the

King’s Band under Mr. Grabu,ma ster of his music , aga inst

the fraudulent conduct of J ohn Banister,who received £600a yea r for extraordina ry services of the viol ins, and keepsmost of i t himself ; compelling them to submit by threa ts ofhaving them turned out of their places ; severa l have beenturned out without orders from the King or Lord Chamberla ine. I n 1 663 they played to the Queen

’s dancing on herbirthday, and a sked Lord Chesterfield to speak for t heira ccustomed fees the Queen ’s trea surer told H er Maj esty tha tthey had received grea t sums a lready, about £260 ; Mr.Banister had kept it a ll, and they would never have knownof i t, had they not spoken. When the Queen knew this shewas very angry. Banister a lso kept £20 out of £50 whichthe Queen gave them a t Ba th , £4 out of £ 10 given by aperson of honour, the whole of 20 given by the Duke of

Buckingham , and most of the Queen’s la st birthday fee of

£ 1 0. They request Lord Arl ington to order the cavea t tobe taken off tha t the sea l may pa ss, and are will ing to answerany objection tha t Banister may make.

” On the next daywe find a reference to the Lord Chamberla in of the household,who ordered a stay of proceedings aga inst Banister on the


strength of the la tter’s representa tion of the compla ints madeof him by the band.On Sunday, 4th August, the Lord Chamberla in (Duke of

Manchester) writes to Lord Arlington tha t the privy sea lwhich Banister had for a pa rticula r band of viol inswas givenby the King’s command to Lewis Grabu, ma ster of theMusick, but a stopwas made on Banister’s petition tha t hemight receive a rrea rs due in the Exchequer. The whole bandofviol ins compla in ing tha t Banister had wronged them in theirsha re

,he thinks fit

,upon hea ring a ll pa rties, tha t the master

of the Musick should receive the money, and wil l himself seei t justly distributed. His Maj estywas well plea sed therewithand wishes his privy sea l to pa ss as i t is drawn .I n December of tha t yea r a wa rrantwas issued to pay

Lewis Grabu,ma ster of the select band of violins

,in pla ce of

J ohn Banister, 600 for himself and the band, with a rrea rs tocommence Lady Day 1 66 7, with note tha t the whole establishment is to be made over aga in.I n 1 668 new compla ints came in from the musicians tha t

a wa rrant had been issued for retrenchment of the payment oftheir a rrea rs which had been promised by the K ing. Thisappea rs to have met with l ittle success, and the Frenchmusicians sent in a petition to Lord Arlington to obta inmeans of going away since this is determined upon by theKing’s command.”

I t is interesting to note tha t while Thomas Fitz,a musician

in ordina ry, received an order for £ 1 10 a yea r for l ife, a


cluded fees for composi t ions. Banisterwas third , while Ma thewLock received only the fee of the ordina ry viol in ists. He hadturned Roman Ca tholic

,and the Queen had appointed him

to be her organist a t Somerset House. H is little Consort inthree pa rts for viols publ ished in 1 656 i s the la st of tha t kindof composition. On 5 th April 1 69 7 an awa rd is offered toany one giving informa tion of the whereabouts of “ Ma thewLock

,aged 1 6

,who absented himself from his master in

Covent Ga rden ” Wa s he a rela tive of the composer ?The following are the names and sa la ries as they appea r

in the l ist5 . d .

Tho. Pursel lPelham HumphreysJohn Ha rdingeWilliam Hawes.Tho. B lagrave, sen.

Alf. MarshJohn GoodgroomeNat.Wa tkinsMat. LockJohn ClaytonIza ack Stagins, sen.

Thomas Battes

O 0

1 5th May 1674. (Signed) T. PURCELL.

From this l ist it appea rs evident tha t the elder Banisterhad been reappointed a s a member of the Priva te Music.Banister’s disgra ce had important consequences for the

genera l musica l public of the metropol is.He establ ished himself a s a priva te teacher of mus ic

,and

John LillyHen. GregoryTheo. H il lsHen. MadgeJohn Gambel lRich. DomeyJohn Banister, sen.

Phil. BeckettRob. B lagrave, junJohn S ingletonRob. Strange

The Romance of the Fiddle 1 0 1

instituted the first lucra tive publ ic concerts in London in1 67 2 .

Before the Restora tion there existed no publ ic concerts ofany kind in London.The performances of Fancles, Madriga ls , and Motets were

restricted to priva te circles where no admissionwas a ccordedto the violin a s the instrumenta l pa rtwa s executed exclusivelyon viols with the a ssista nce of the ha rpsichord or organ .The London Gazette of 3oth December 1 67 2 conta ins

the following advertisement “ These are to give notice,tha t at Mr. J ohn Banister’s house (now ca l led the musickschool) over aga inst the George Tavern,

1 in White Fryers,nea r the back ga te of the Temple , this Monday, will beMusic performed by excellent ma sters, beginning precisely a t4 of the clock in the a fternoon , and every a fternoon for thefuture, precisely a t the same hour.”

From another source we lea rn something about thea rrangements of these concerts. I t tells us tha t the elderBanister “ had a good thea trica l vein

,and in composition had

a lively style peculia r to himself.”

He procured a la rge room inWhitefria rs,nea r the Temple

back ga te , and made a la rge ra ised box for the music ians,whose modesty required curta ins. The roomwas surroundedwith sea ts and sma l l tables

,a lehouse fa shion .” Roger North

tells us tha t the company a t these concertswas composed of

shopkeepers , and others who went to sing and “ enjoy a le

1 The George Tavern, Dogwell Court (see page


and tobacco. The cha rgewas one shilling and ca l l for wha tyou plea se. Therewas very good musick, for Banister foundmeans to procure the best hands in the towne and some voicesto come and perform there

,and there wanted no va riety of

humour, for Banister himself (inter a l ia ) did wonders upon a

flageolett to a thro’ Ba se ( l), and the severa l ma sters had their

Solos. This continued full one winter, and more I remembernot.” I t i s amusing to find the Thorough Ba ss (thro

’

Base) spoken of as if it were an instrument, while in rea lity itapplied to the knowledge of ha rmony a s appl ied to the playing from a figured ba ss.The commencement of a fresh sea sonwa s announced in

the following words : On Friday,October 3 instant

a t the Musick School in White Fryers , will be new Musick ,Voca l and I nstrumenta l

,performed by excellent ma sters

,

beginning a t three of the clock a fternoon and ending a s

formerly, and so wil l continue every day for the future.”

Another advertisement adds tha t “ for the future , the firstday of every month sha l l be new musick.

”

I t is curious to note the hours of commencement, whichva ried a t different times between 3 p m. and 6 p m. I tevidently shows tha t “ shopkeepers and others, who formedthe public on these occasions, took life more ea sily than theirsuccessors in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.On 2 5th Janua ry 1 6 74 , Banister a cqua inted his friends and

pa trons tha t he had removed from Whitefria rs to Shandois

S treet (Chandos Street), Covent Ga rden , “and there intends


Banister died in 1 679 a t the age of forty-nine, and hisconcerts found a continua tion in those which Thoma s Brittoninstituted

,who ga thered round him the first musica l ta lent.

We have wandered from our origina l subj ect to il lustra tethe conditions of life under which the musicians a t the end ofthe seventeenth century worked and existed in this country.We sha l l now try to depict the manners and customs of

musica l amateurs of tha t period.

THOMAS BR ITTON , 1 654- 1 7 14.

From the origina l pa inted in 1 703 by G. Woola ston. Nowin the Na tiona l Portra it Ga l lery.


was so much admired tha t a gentleman from Wa les induced himto go down with him and build him one on the same lines.Besides his studies in science and l i tera ture he a cquired a

good knowledge of the theory of music and became a fa i rexecutant on ! the organ and the bass viol.The lower pa rt of the l ittle building (on the site of which

stands now the “ Bull’s H ead ” publ ic house), above referredto

,served as a repository for sma l l-coa l.1 I n the upper pa rt

therewas a long na rrow room , so low tha t a ta l l man couldonly just stand upright in it. The sta irs to this room wereon the outside of the house

, and they could “ sca rce bea scended without crawling,

”

as Hawkins tells us.I n this room he sta rted his famous Musica l Club which

counted among its members the most brill iant names in a rt

and fa shion.Mr. Roger L’

Estrange (whowas a fterwa rds knighted)was essentia l in the forma tion of the Club,and among the

members wereHandel

,Dr. Pepusch, Organ and Ha rpsichord

,the

younger Banister and H . Needler, a l terna tely first violin ,J ohn Hughes the poet, J . Woola ston the pa inter, Philip Ha rt

,

Henry Symonds,Ab iellWhichello,

Obadiah Shuttleworth ,1 Opinions differ as to the '

meaning of this word. Some declare it to meancha rcoa l,” others “

sma l l pieces of coa l.”We find ourselves unable to a rrive at

a definite conclusion. Ned Ward appears to differentia te between the two, as hemakes Britton ca l l

do you lackany charcoal, or sma l l-coa l, within

(see his song, page


organist of St. Michael ’s, Cornhill , and a fterwa rds of theTemple Church

, a ll good performers on the viol in. Thefamous Duchess of Queensberry , one of the most celebra tedbeauties of her time,was a very frequent visitor, as well as a

number of the choicest spiri ts about town. S ir J ohn Hawkins

(H istory of Musich), who knew the Duchess of Queensberry,still says tha t “ She may yet remember tha t in the plea surewhich she manifested hea ring Mr. Britton’s concert, sheseemed to have forgotten the difficulty with which shea scended the steps tha t led to it.”

Ma tthew Dubourg made his first appea rance a t Britton’sconcerts , where— standing upon a joint stool— he played a

solo, probably one of Corelli’

s, as Hawkins surmises and

G . Dubourg (grandson of Ma tthew) a sserts in his H istoryof the Violin. Hewa s then a boy about nine yea rs old,and the sight of the brill iant a ssembly awed him to such an

extent tha t he would fa in have fa l len to the ground. Brownand Stra tton ’s Dictiona ry gives the yea r of his début a s1 7 1 5

}

Sir Roger L’

Estrange , whowa s Britton ’s most zea loussupporter and essentia l in the forma tion of his club , played animportant pa rt in the musica l l ife of his time. Hewas an

excellent ama teur ba ss-Viol player, and is frequently mentionedby contempora ry historians and dia rists. Pepys speaks of

1 As Britton died 1 7 14, tha t must b e an error. He would in tha t case havebeen twelve years old

,while the age of nine fixes his début as 1 7 1 2, two years

before Britton’s dea th, which appears more likely.


him on sundry occasions. Their first meeting is described inthe following entry

“ December 1 7 At noon I to Change, and there

had my first meeting with Mr. L’

Estrange (Licenser of thePress and Pamphleteer) who ha th endeavoured severa l timesto speak with me. I t is to get, now and then

,some newes of

me,which I sha ll

,a s I see cause, give him. He is a man of

fine conversa tion , I think , but I am sure most courtly and fullof compliments.”

This is an amusing illustra tion of both the persondescribed and the one tha t describes him.

The Club meetings were at first free of cha rge, and infact B ritton felt offended if any paymentwas offered him ,

a s

we may lea rn from Wa lpole’s a ccount of Woola ston , thepa inter, given to him by his son , who , together with his fa ther,wa s a member of the sma l l-coa l man’s club. Thomas Rowe(the husband of Mrs. Elizabeth Rowe) has left a Dia ry inMS. which conta ins an entry to the same effect. Afterwa rdsitwas a rranged tha t B ritton should find the instruments , andtha t the members should pay a subscription of ten shill ings ayea r, and tha t coffeewas served to them a t a penny a dish.

At the beginning of the eighteenth century many membershad begun to collect old manuscripts and books to save themfrom destruction. Foremost among them were : Edwa rd ,Ea rl of Oxford ; the Ea rls of Pembroke, Sutherland, and

Winchelsea,and the Duke of Devonshire.

On winter days,when Pa rliamentwas not sitting, they

1 1 0 The Romance of the Fiddle

ventriloquist. H is name wa s Honeyman , and he wa s a

bla cksmith who l ived in Bea r Street , nea r Leicester Squa re.Robe brought this man with him to one of Britton ’s meetingsin order to terrify him ,

and Honeyman announced, in a voicetha t sounded as from a fa r, tha t B ritton would die within a fewhours unless he fell on his knees immedia tely and sa id theLord’s Prayer. The poor man did so without hesita tion

,but

the shockwa s so grea t tha t he went home, took to his bed ,and died within a few days , on 2 7th September 1 7 1 4 , a t theage of sixty-three. Hewa s buried on the I st October

, in thechurchya rd of St. James ’s , Clerkenwell , without monument ori nscription , “ being a ttended to the G rave, as Hea rne says,“ in a very solemn and decent manner, by a grea t concourseof people, especia l ly such a s frequented the Musica lClub.He left a large collection of music, which to a grea t

extent he had copied out himself. This, together with hismusica l instruments,was sold in December 1 7 1 4 , and theca ta logue, which is reprinted in Hawkins’ H istory of Music

,

conta ins the following pa ssage : being the entirecollection of Thoma s B ritton of Clerkenwell , sma ll-coa l man,

la tely deceased. Who a t his own expense kept up soexcellent a consort for over forty odd yea rs a t his dwellinghouse

,tha t the best masters were a t a ll times proud to exert

themselves therein and persons of the highest qua lity desirousof honouring his humble cottage with their presence and

a ttention but dea th having sna tched away this most va luable


man tha t ever enjoyed so ha rmonious a life in so lowa sta tion ,

his music books and instruments , for the benefit of his widow ,

are to be sold by Auction , on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, the 6th , 7 th, and 8 th December, a t Mr.Wa rd’s housein Red Bull Ya rd in Clerkenwell , nea r Mr. Britton

’s, whereCa ta logues are to be had gra tis '

a lso at most music shopsabout town. Conditions a s usua l.The music ca ta logue conta ins many names of composers

for the viol in, English as well a s foreign , which are entirelyunknown to most ama teurs and even musicians of the presentday, and many of those tha t are written with golden letters inhistory. The instrument ca ta logue included five instrumentsin the shape of fish ”

(probably old wind instruments a

curious ivory K itt. A Cremona viol in , two viol ins by Ditton ,four by Rayman (ab . 1 650, in Bell Ya rd , Southwa rk ,wa snoted for his Viola s), two by Claud. Pieray of Pa ris, “

a s goodas a Cremona ,

”

one very good one for a “ high violin (whichshows tha t the trebles in consorts were stil l played on specia l— sma l ler ? instruments. See a lso Mersenne , chap. i ).Ba rak Normanwas represented with a viol and a violoncello repa i red by him ; Lewis with a viola and Violoncello ;

Jay with a viol sa id to be “ the best he ever made ”

; Bakerof Oxford a l so with a Viol. Therewas a lso a good organwith five stops, a ha rpsichord by Phil ip J ones, and a virgina lby Ruckers thought to be the best in Europe.The sum rea lised from the musicwas about £ 1 00,

and

£80was the amount pa id for the instruments. His books


between fourteen and fifteen hundred in number— were soldat Tom’s Coffee House in Ludga te H ill , and S ir Hans Sloanewa s one of the purcha sers. The tota l proceeds representeda la rge sum ofmoney in those days.The respect shown to Britton by his contempora ries is

reflected in the sta tement made by severa l historians tha thewas ca lled M r. Britton , and addressed as Sir, whichtitlewas not otherwise applied to any. man in his s ta tion.Britton was a short and thick-set man, with an open

,

honest, and intel l igent face. H is friend Woolaston pa inted

two portra i ts of him, and from both there a re mezzotintprints. Hawkins rela tes the occa sion of pa inting one of

these as he hea rd i t fromWoolaston’

s own l ips : “ Brittonhad been out one morning, and having nea rly emptied hissack in a shorter time than he expected, had a mind tosee his friend Mr. Woola ston ; but having a lways beenused to consider himself in two capa cities , viz. as one whosubsisted by a very mea n occupa tion and as a companionfor persons in a sta tion of . life above him

,he could not, con

sistent with this distinction , dressed as he thenwas, makea visit, he therefore in hisway home va ried his usua l round,and pa ssing through Wa rwick Lane, determined to cry sma llcoa l so nea r Mr.Woolaston’

s door a s to stand a chance of

being invited in by him. Accordingly he had no soonerturned into Wa rwick Court, and cried sma l l-coa l in his usua ltone, than M r. Woolaston,who had never hea rd him therebefore, flung up the sash , and beckoned him in. After some


conversa tion Mr. Woola ston intima ted a desire to pa int hispicture, which Britton modestly yielding to, Mr. Woolaston ,then , and a t a few subsequent sittings

,pa inted him i n his blue

frock, and with his smal l-coa l mea sure in his hand, a s heappea rs in the picture a t the Museum. I t is now in theNa tiona l Portra i t Ga l lery. A mezzotintwas taken from this ,for which Hughes wrote the following l ines

Tho’ mean thy rank yet in thy humble cell

D id gentle Peace and Arts unpurchas’d dwel l ;

Well pleas’d Apollo thither led his Tra in,And Musick wa rbled in her sweetest stra in.

Cyllenius so, as Fables tell, and Jove

Came wil ling guests to poor Philemon’s grove.

Let useless Pomp behold, and blush to findSo low a sta tion, such a libera l mind.”

They appea red under the mezzotint a s well a s in the firstvolume of J ohn Hughes’ poems, published in 1 735.

The other portra it by Woola ston represented Brittontuning a ha rpsichord, a violin hanging on the s ide of theroom

,and shelves of books before him. A mezzotint taken

from this is described a s very ra re a l ready by Hawkins,who

reproduced the ha lf-figure portra it in his book from it. Underthe print are the following l ines

Tho’ doom’d to sma l l-coal, yet to a rts a lly

’d,

Rich without wea lth, and famous without pride ;Musick’s best pa tron, judge of books and men

,

B elov’d and honour

’d by Apollo’s tra in ;

In Greece or Rome sure never did appea rS o bright a genius, in so da rk a sphere ;More of the man had a rtfully been sav

’d

Had Kneller pa inted and had Vertue graved.”


They were written by Prior to recommend Vertue,then a

young man, and patronised by the Ea rl of Oxford. Theyare certa inly not complimenta ry to either Woola ston or

J ohnson the mezzotinter. Hawkins suggests tha t the a rtfullywas inserted by mistake forprobably.

The name Wa rd, which occurs in the announcement ofthe sa le of Britton’s collections, refers to his friend Edwa rdWa rd, better known as Ned Wa rd, a sort of Democritus whowith a dea l of humour describes the manners and customs of

his time in the London Spy,B a rtholomewFa ir, Trip to

Islington, and a number of simila r publ ica tions which are

unfortuna tely ta inted with the coa rseness which permea ted a llthe litera ry productions of tha t period.Wa rdwas a neighbour of Britton and kept a public-house

in the Red Bull Ya rd, where he sold a le of his own brewing.

From thence he removed to a public-house in an a l ley on thewest side ofMoorfields, between Li ttle Moorfields and Chiswel l Street, and his housewas for a time a grea t resort ofH igh Churchmen.Hewas on intima te terms with Britton , and nonewas,

therefore,better fitted than he to give a description of

Britton ’s Club. This he did in his Sa tirica l Refl ections on

Clubs. As tha t book is extremely rare, we give the a rticle ini ts entirety


ladies at Boa rding-Schools.1 The Rea sons tha t inducedSir Roger

,and other ingenious gentlemen , who were Lovers

of the Muses, to honour the little Mansion of the black and

blue Philomat with their weekly company, were chiefly theunexpected genius to Books and Musick tha t they happenedto find their smutty acqua intance, and the profound Rega rdtha t he had in genera l to a ll Manner of Litera ture , beyondwha tever had been found before among the na rrow souls ofthose groveling Morta l s, who a re content to disguise Na turewith such crocky colour’d Robes, and to ha za rd the Welfa reof their eyes in such a dusty Profession ; however like a

prudent man,though he might justly boa st a grea t many

Qua lifica tions above any ofhis Level , yet he never suffered theFla tteries of his Betters to l ift him up above the ca re of his

Employment ; for though he a lways took Delight to spendhis leisure Hours in the Studies of a Gentleman , yet helimited his I ndustry to the Trade he had been bred to ; andthough hewas Master enough of Musick to play his pa rttollerab ly well , upon severa l I nstruments, yet he would notgrow too proud, for the profitable Tune of Sma ll-Coa l , or laya side his Sa ck til l his day ’s Workwa s over

,to dance a fter

a Fiddle, having sense enough to consider, tha t spa re Time

1 In Vanbrugh’s Relapse, it is sa id of a young lady, “ the parson of the parishteaches her to play on the bass viol , the clerk to sing, her nurse to dress

,and her

fa ther to dance.

” In The Level lers, a dia logue between two young ladies concerning matrimony, 1 703, Politica , a tradesman’

s daughter, describing her educa tionat a boarding-school, says she “ lea rned to sing, to play on the bass viol, virgina ls,Spinet, and guitar ” (Sandys and Forster).


and empty Sound were the most agreeable concomitants, andtha t Pleasure a lways ought to be postpon

’

d to Business :This Sort of D iligence recommended him the better to a ll

prudent Gentlemen,who liked his Company the more , when

they found themselves out of Danger of incurring the Cursesof his Family, because he would not be tempted into thoseNeglects tha t might termina te in his Ruin : Thus thePrudence of his Deportment

,among those who were his

Betters,procured him grea t Respect from All tha t knew

him, so tha t his Musick Meeting improved in a l ittle Time to

be very considerable,insomuch , tha t men of the best Wit, as

well a s some of the best Qua l ity, very often honoured hisMusica l S ociety with their good Company, tha t in a fewyea rs his ha rmonious Consort became a s publ icly noted as theKit-Ca t Club ; notwithstanding the formerwa s begun by a

Sma ll-Coa l-Man, and the la tter by a pa strycook.1 Sir Rogercontinued to be a constant Meeter in the zenith of his Glory ,and many other Gentlemen

,who were fit Companions for so

worthy a Person of hisWit and Lea rning : So tha t Briton ,when equipped in his blue Surplice

,his Shoulder laden with

his wooden Tinder,and his mea sure twisted into his mouth of

his sa ck,was so much d1st1nguished a s he wa lked the Streets ;

and respected by the good Hussifs , who were Customers forhis Commodity , a s if he had been a Nobleman in disguise ,who had only turned Sma l l-Coa l-Man

, as my Lord Rochester

1 This is a curious sta tement by Ward, as according to a ll accounts Kitca t kepta cookshop in Fleet Street.


did Qua ck, not out of Necessity, but to humour his Maggot ;every one tha t knew him

,pointed a s he pa ssed crying, There

goes thefamous Sma ll-Coa l-Man,who is a Lover of L ea rning,

a Professor in Musich,and a Companion for a Gentleman.

The better to demonstra te his Love of I ngenuity, he hasmade a very good Collection

,to his grea t Expense, of

Ancient and Modern Musick by the best Ma sters , had someyea rs since picked up in his Wa lks a very handsome Libra ry,which not long since

,wa s publickly disposed off to a considerab le advantage, and has nowby him a grea t manyCuriosities

,tha t

,by Persons of J udgement are esteemed

va luable, yet the Hut wherein he dwells, which ha s long beenhonoured with such good company, looks without S ide as ifsome of his Ancestors had happened to be Executors to oldsnorling Diogenes, and tha t they had ca refully transplanted theAthenia n-Tub into Clerkenwell ; for his House is not muchhigher than a Cana ry Pipe , and the Window of his Sta teRoom , but very little bigger than the Bunghole of a Ca sk.

Tho ’, sometimes since for the more commodious Enterta inment of his Thursday

’

s Audience,he had taken a convenient

Room out of the next House tha t the Company might notstew in Summer-Time like swea ty dancers a t a buttock ba ll ,or Seamen

’

s Wives in a G ravesend Til t-Boa t, when the Fleetlies a t Chatham : But a worse use than he expected happening to be made of the additiona l Liberty he had given to theCompany, occa sion

’

d him,for some Rea sons best known to

himself, to reduce his Society to their primitive S ta tion , who,


though they have lost something of their primitive Glory, yetthey constantly continue their Thursday

’

s Meetings , whereany Body tha t is willing to take a hea rty Swea t, may havethe Plea sure of hea ring many notable Performances, in thecha rming Society of Musick , and among the rest, perhaps thefollowing song

,very appl icable to their ha rmonious Consort,

VIZ .

Come a ll ye merry Beaus and Blades,Who love the cha rming Fidd le,And a iry Jades

1

Upon Thursday’s Repa irTo my Pa lace, and thereHobble up Stair by Stair ;But I pray ye take CareTake you break not your Shins by a stumble,And without e’er a SousePa id to me or my Spouse,Sit as stil l as a MouseAt the top of my House,And there you sha l l hea r howwe fumble.

For tho’ I look blackWhen I ca rry my sackAbout streets at my Back

,

Crying ma ids do you lackAny Charcoal, or Sma l l-Coa l, within ;Yet by Fits and by StartsDo I suty a ll Arts

1 The words are too coa rse for insertion .


And can tickle your Hea rtsWith my Sweet Tenor Pa rtsUpon Viol, or crack ’d Violin.

Chorus

Alth’ disguis’d with smutty Looks,

I ’m skill’d in many Trades ;Come hear my Fiddle, read my Book,Or buy my Sma ll-Coa l Ma ids.

THE SECOND PART

We Th rum the fam’d Corella’s 1 Aires ;Fine Solos and Sonnettos

NewRiggadoons and Ma idenfairs

Ra re Jigs and Minuettos.

We run squeaking upTo the Finger Board Top,And from Ela can drop.Down to Gwith a SwopTha t would ravish ye were you but nearAnd when cramp

’d by hard Tugs

At our Bottles and MuggsThenwe give you such Fugs,Tha t would startle your Lugs,And amaze any Master to hear us.

Sometimes we’ve a Song,

Of an Hour or two long,

Very nicely perform’d

By some Beau tha t’s sowarm’d

1 Archangelo Corelli, whose Sonatas had been recently brought over from I ta ly.


How the pa rty Swetly Chime ?Mr. Clod mind your Time ;’Tis a wonderful Tune tho’ it’s plainWhat a Cadence is there !H ow it tickles the Ear lYou’re too fast Sir forbear ;We are a ll out I swea rS ince ’

tis good let’s begin it aga in.

Chorus

Alth’ disguis’d with smutty Looks,

I ’m skill’d in many Trades ;

Come hear my Fiddle, read my Books,Or buy my Sma l l-Coa l Maids.

Thus fin ishes Ned Wa rd’s description of Britton ’s concert,and we resume our own a ccount of public concerts in Londonduring the eighteenth century.Thoma s Ma ce

,in his Musich

’

s Monument (London ,J ohn Ca rr, gives the description and plan of a musicroom which is very interesting, the more so as i t is sa id hehad one constructed for his own use on the ba sis of thi s plan .His instructions a re as follows

“ The Room itself to be Arch’d ; as a lso the 4 M iddleGa lleries (a t least), if not A l l Twelve ; and Buil t one storyfrom the Ground, both for Advantage of Sound, and a lso toavoid the Moisture of the Ea rth , which is very b ad, both forI nstruments and Strings.

“ The Room would be one step higher than the ga lleriesthe better to conveigh the sound to the auditors. The

H eight of the Room not too H igh for the same Reason.


Roya l on i st May 1 769 , a ccording to the old cheque book.He a rranged an aqua tic concert in honour of the birth of thePrince of Wa les. An a ccount of this concert has beenpreserved, which is very interesting, andmay, therefore, find apla ce in these pages

Mr. Abel,the celebra ted Musician , and one ofthe Roya l

Band, enterta ined the publick , and demonstra ted his loya ltyon the evening of 1 8 th June 1 688 , by the performa nce of an

aqua tic concert. The ba rge prepa red for this purposewasrichly decora ted

, and il lumina ted by numerous torches. Themusickwas composed expressly for the occasion by SigniorFede , Master of the Chapel Roya l

,and the performers , voca l

and instrumenta l,

amounted to one hundred and thirty,selected as the grea test proficients in the sc ience.

‘Allambitious,

’ says the author of Public Occurrences,‘hereby to

express their loya l ty and hea rty joy for Her Maj esty’s safedeliverance , and birth of the Prince of Wa les.’ The firstperformance took place fa cing Whiteha ll

,and the second

opposite Somerset House where the Queen Dowager thenresided.

Grea t numbers of ba rges and boa ts were a ssembled, andea ch having flambeaux on boa rd, the scenewa s extremlybrilliant and plea sing. The musick being ended, a ll thenobility and company tha t were upon the wa ter gave threeshouts to express their j oy and sa tisfa ction ; and a ll thegentlemen of the musick went to Mr. Abel ’s house, whichwa s nobly illumina ted and honoured with the presence of a


grea t many of the nobility out of whose windows hung a finema chine full of lights, which drew thether a va st concourse ofpeople. The enterta inment la sted till three of the clock thenext morning, the musick playing and the trumpets soundinga ll the while, the whole concluding with the hea l th of theirMajesties, the Prince of Wa les

,and a ll the Roya l family.

I n speaking of Court Concerts of the seventeenth centurywe cannot pa ss over the description in the London Gazette of

1 8 th to z2ud August 1 6 70 (No. of Court Festivitiesa t Versa illes , a t which the Duke of Buckinghamwa s present.We a re told tha t the Queen and ladies of the Court, who filledmost of the boa ts in the representa tion of a Sea fight, wereenterta ined with a grea t noise of Kettledrums trumpets

,

and— a band of violins. After dinner a pastora lwa s performed“ byway of opera ,

with grea t va riety of excellent musick.

”

The London Gazette has a lso a notice which is of

interest a s it concerns a musician whose namewas a household word in the olden times, and i t may therefore find a placehere

,a lthough it is not directly connected with our subj ect

No. 5 88 , 3rd to 6th J uly, 1 67 1 . Christopher G ibbons ,Doctor in Musick and principa l Organist to H is Maj esty inpriva te and publick , had stol

’n out of his house which is inNew Street, betwixt the Ambry and Orcha rd Street inWestminster

,the 2 6th of June, between 9 and 1 2 i n the

morning, a S ilver Tanka rd, to the va lue of nea r seven poundswith the ma rk of C

GE on the handle.” Two pounds rewa rd

were offered for its recovery.

C HAPT E R V II

AFTER seeing how the professiona l,violinist l ived and how he

cultiva ted his art, how enthusia stic ama teurs met to furtherthe interests ofmusic, and discourse sweet ha rmony, i t wil l beinteresting to see how the fiddlewas received by the ma sses,and how their musica l entertainments were organised.Britton’s concerts appea led chiefly to the most accom

plished ama teurs ; Bannister found his audience among theclerce (Cleries or Clerks ? ) and shopkeepers.The first of the public concerts in London were

,a ccord

ing to all a ccounts, held at a place in London-house Ya rd,a t the north-west end of St. Paul ’s Churchya rd, whichwasknown by the S ign of the Mitre. I n Cha rles 1 1 .’s t ime itwasowned by a man who , l ike many of his brother publicans,wa s a lover of music, and a collector of ra rities. I n 1 664 hepublished “ A Ca ta logue of many na tura l ra rities

,with grea t

industry, cost, and thirty yea rs ’ travel into foreign countries,collected by Robert Hubert, 1 a lia s Forges, Gent. and swornservant to His Maj esty, and da i ly to be seen a t the placeca lled the Musick-house a t the Mitre nea r the West end ofSt. Paul ’s Church.” A grea t pa rt of this collection was

1 Hotten, in h is History of London Signboa rds, cal ls h im Robert Herbert.”

1 26


Roger North tel ls us about the old Mitre tha t therewasa chamber with an organ 1 in it, on which one Phillips used toplay

, and some shopkeepers and foremen came weekly toenjoy a le and tobacco. After some time the audience grewstrong

,and one, Ben Wa llington , got the reputa tion of a

notable bass voice,who a l so set up for a composer, and ha s

some songs in print, but of very low excellence, and theirmusickwa s chiefly out ofPlayford’

s Ca tch Book.”

I n the second pa rt of tha t work , publ ished in 1 67 2 , thereis a glee for three voices , “ HowHa rmless and Free, byWa llington , and in N ewAyres and Dia logues, composed forvoices and viols of two, three, and four pa rts , published byB anister and Lowe in 1 678 , a re three duets by the samecomposer, viz.

’

Tis Musick tha t Giveth,” I n a Fa i r Plea sant

Lawn ,”

Laurietta once I Did.

” These and a song “ for a bassa lone ” in ChoiceAyres andD ia logues, Book I I ., 1 679 , comprisea ll tha t worthy “ citizen’s ” printed compositions

,and they

bea r out Roger North ’s verdict to the full. Wa ll ington hasbeen mentioned a lso as a member of the society in the OldJ ewry (pageSamuel Pepys , whowas very much inclined to judge

people by their outwa rd appea rance, met Wa llington , as

appea rs from an entry in his Dia ry in September 1 66 7 , wherehe describes him a s a very little fellow, a most excellent bass,and yet the poor fellow a working goldsmith that goes withoutgloves to his hands.1 Aswe have seen a lready, an organwas to b e found in every music-house ofnote.


J ohn Phil l ips, mentioned as the organist at the M i tre ,wasa composer of numerous ha lf-sheet songs a t the close of theseventeenth century. Hewas evidently held in high reputeas a musician

,as appea rs from the t itle page of a pamphlet

which he wrote in conjunction with Ma thew Locke and

Playford,

andwas advertised in the London Gazette inJanua ry 1 672

- 1 67 3 :“ The present Pra ctice of Musick ,

vindica ted aga inst Thos. Sa lmon his Essay to the Advancement of Musick by Ma thew Locke

,J ohn Phill ips, and

J ohn Playford,and to be sold by Na th. Brookes a t the Ange l

i n Cornhil l and J . Playford nea r Temple Church.” Sa lmon’s

bookwas entitled An E ssay to the Advancement of Musich ,

by Casting away thePerplexity of Dzfi'

erent Cl and Uniting

a ll Sorts of Musich in One Universa l Cha racter. I twas oneof those faddist productions to build a donkey’s bridge formusica l dilettanti which have down to the present dayappea red periodica lly like the sea serpent about the timeof the dog days. The bookwas da ted 1 67 2 , and sold byJ ohn Ca rr at the M iddle Temple Ga te. I twas printed byJ . Ma cock , with a cha rming frontispiece by Fa ithorne repre

senting a lady playing the theorbo,and surrounded by lutes ,

citherns, and guita r. The prefa ce is in form of a letter from“ The Publisher to the Reader,

” by John Birchensha,an

I rishman by birth, and a member of the Roya l Band, whotransla ted [E stedius

’

Templam Musicam. The la tterwasprinted by Will. Godbid, who printed many of Playford

’

s

publica tions, and i twas sold by Peter Dring at the Sun in9


the Poultrey next door to the Rose-Tavern, 1 664. Bothbooks conta in the l icence signed by Roger L’

Estrange , whowas mentioned in tha t capacity by Pepys, as we have seenfrom the extra ct from his Dia ry given on page 1 08 . Ma thewLocke’s opinion of L’

Estrange a s a musica l ama teur appea rsto have been very favourable, as he dedica ted to him his

Melothesia ,the first instruction book for playing a thorough

bass on keyed instruments, publ ished in 1 673.

J ohn Playford and his friends had a musica l society whichmet in the Old J ewry

,i n the city of London, about the

middle of the seventeenth century. They cultiva ted, however,chiefly voca l music, and therefore do not enter into the fieldof our investiga t ions. Suffice i t to record tha t Playforddedica ted the second book of Ca tch that Ca tch Can, con

ta in ing Dia logues, Glees, Ayres , etc., for two or four voices“ to his endea red friends of the la te music Society, and

meeting in the Old J ewry,London.” 1

The book appea red in 1 66 7, the yea r a fter the grea t firewhich la id their meeting-house in a shes. The names of thesefriends are a lso preserved. They were Charles Pigou, Esq.,Mr. J ohn Tempest , Gent., Mr. Herbert Pelham ,

Gent , Mr.J ohn Pel l ing, citizen , Mr. Benjamin Wa l l ington , citizen , Mr.George Piggot, Mr. Francis Piggot

,citizen,

andM r. J ohnRogers, Gent. A la ter edition of this book appea red in 1 687 .

1 Roger North, in speaking of these meetings in O ld Jewry, remarks tha t theyshowed an inclina tion of the citizens to follow music, and the samewas confirmedby many little entertainments the masters voluntarily made for their Scollars, forbeing knowne they were a lways crowded.”


I t conta ined the famous song of “ Mad Tom, composed fora ma sk a t Gray’s I nn in 1 600, by Coperario (Thom. Cooper,the bass viol player), and erroneously a ttributed to Hy.Purcell. Cha rles Pigeonwas a member of Gray’s I nn , whowrote some verses “ To his ingenious Friend M r. J ohnPlayford ,

” complimenting him on his musica l companions.Another member

,Francis Piggot, was a Mus.Bac. of

Cambridge, 1 69 8 , and first organist of Temple Church , andsucceeded Purcell a s organist of the Chapel Roya l.The popula r musica l enterta inments before Banister and

Britton were genera lly held a t so-ca lled “ Music-Houses ,where ha lf a dozen fiddlers would scrape Sellenger

’

s Roundor “ J ohn , come Kiss me now,

”or Old S imon the King,

” withD ivisions , till both the players and the audience were t ired.When flesh and blood could stand Sellenger

’

s“ Round , etc.,

no longer, a dance would be indulged in to the tune of GreenSleeves,

” or some ha lf-dozen players on the hautboy would ,as Sir J ohn Hawkins says

,gra te forth, i n the most harsh

and discordant tones ‘Green Sleeves ,’ ‘Yellow Stockings,

’

Gillian of Croydon , or some such common dance tune ,and the people thought it fine musick.” These musiciansbelonged usua l ly to the wa its which in those days pa raded thestreets nightly during the winter. An interesting announcement illustra ting the musica l taste of the time is the following, which appea red in the London Gazette of 4th Februa ry1 674 (No. A ra re concert of four Trumpets Ma rine,never hea rd of before in England. I f any person desire to


come and hea r i t, they may repa ir to the Fleece Tavern’ nea r

St. James’s about two of the clock in the a fternoon every dayin the week except Sundays. Every concert sha l l continueone hour, and so to begin aga in. The best pla ces are oneshill ing and the other Sixpence.”

The Trumpet Ma rinewas a monochord about six feetlong ; its possibilities were l imited , and the tonewa s roughand snarling. I twas used in nunneries to supplant thetrumpet

, and it has been suggested tha t this circumstancecaused it to be ca lled Trompetta Mariana , whichwa s a fterwa rds corrupted to trompetta ma rina . The la tter wouldotherwise be inexpl icable, for Grove

’s deduction (Grave’

s

D ictiona ry) from the simila rity of its tone to tha t of a ma rinespeaking-trumpet is not very convincing, a s the tone of thetwo instruments has too l ittle resemblance.

Upon the breaking up of Britton ’s concert the persons tha tfrequented it formed themselves into little societies tha t met a ttaverns in different pa rts of the town for the purpose of musica lrecrea tion. One of thesewas the “Angel and Crown Tavern ”

i n Whitechapel , where the performancewas both voca l andinstrumenta l. Among those who frequented itwas PeterPrelleur, then a writing-master in Spita lfields, but a fterwa rdsone of the first professiona l ha rpsichord players of his time.J ohn G ilbert, a ma thema tica l instrument maker, and clerk tothe Dissenters’ meeting in Ea stcheap

,and Mr. J ohn Stephens ,

ca rpenter in Goodman ’s Fields,two persons with good voices ,

and a ccustomed to sing Purcell’s songs,were a lso of their


The “ Queen’s H ead Tavern stood in a sma l l Squa re onthe east side, about the middle

,of Queen’s Head Alley

leading from Pa ternoster Rowinto Newga te Street. Onthe same site stood Dolly’s Chop House, which has recentlydisappea red to make room for an extension of the premisesof Messrs. Faudel, Phillips, Co. The wa rehouses recedefrom the l ine of the a l ley, and thus stil l mark the spot wherethe house stood.Another house with a simila r name

,the Queen ’s Arms,

which Handel frequented in 1 7 1 4 ,was s itua ted a t the wests ide of St. Paul ’s Churchya rd. After a ttending service , heused to play the organ a t S t. Paul’s, and then he wouldadjourn in the company of some of the gentlemen of theChoir to the Queen’s Arms Tavern in S t. Paul ’s Churchya rd ,

” wherewas a ha rpsichord. One a fternoon Mr.Weeley,a gentleman of the Choir, told them tha t Mr. Mattheson

’

s1

(sic !) lessons had appea red a t Meares ’s shOp,at Ye Golden

Viol and Hautboy in St. Paul ’s Churchya rd. Handelimmedia tely sent for them and played them a ll over withoutrising from the instrument.These lessons or “Pieces de Clavecin,

by J . Ma ttheson,

published in 1 7 1 4, are mentioned by Kidson 2a s one of the

ea rl iest books printed by Mea res.I n 1 7 24 the Youngs removed to the “ Ca stle Tavern , where

1 J.Mattheson ( 168 1 celebrated composer and writer on musica l subjectsin Hamburg.Frank Kidson B ritish MusicPublishers (London W. E . H i l l 8: Sons).


the son , Ta lbot, sta rted the “ Castle Concerts,leading the

band himself until the decl in ing sta te of his hea l th obligedhim to retire. H is portra i t pa inted by Woola ston adornedthe concert room.

1 The concerts were continued underthe leadership of Prospero Castrucci and other eminentmusicians.Hawk ins tells us tha t auditors as well as performers were

admitted subscribers,and tickets were given to the members

in rota tion for the admission of ladies. Many professiona l aswell as business people joined the Society with a view toesta blish a la rge connection as well as to enjoy the music.At theLinstance of an A lderman of the C ity of London ,

the subscriptionwas ra ised in 1 744 from two guinea s to fivefor the purpose of performing Ora torios. They removed fortha t purpose to Haberda sher’s Ha l l and about fifteen or

sixteen yea rs la ter to the K ing’s Arms in Cornhill.The Ca stle Tavern ” in Pa ternoster Rowwas i n Ca stle

Court between Queen’s H ead and Panyer Alley, as appea rsfrom a map in Stow’s Survey. Tarleston the a ctor used tofrequent the “ Old Castle Tavern before itwas destroyed inthe grea t fire of London. The “ Ca stle Concerts ” sha redtheir popula rity with the “ Swan Concerts in Cornhil l.M iss Turner (the daughter of Dr. Wm. Turner had sung

in the Opera N a rcissus)wa s a grea t favourite at the la tterpla ce in Burney

’

s t ime,while Fra si and Bea rd appea red a t

both pla ces. The following announcement appea red in the1 The author has been unable to trace this interesting portrait.


Genera l Advertiser of Monday , Janua ry 20, 1 7 5 2 , and deserves to be mentioned

,as it will amuse modern readers

“THE SEVENTH AND LAST N IGHT, THAT THESEORATIONSWILL BE DELIVERED.

To morrow being the 2 1 5 t of Janua ry,

wil l b e exhibitedAt the ‘Castle Tavern ’ in Pa ter-noster-Row, a grand Conce rtof Voca l and Instrumenta l Musick, by Gentlemen, mask’dafter the manner of the Grecian, etc., Roman Comedy,Price for Admittance Two Shil lings and Sixpence.

At the same timewill b e open’d and given Gra tis,

THE OLD WOMAN ’S ORATORY.

To b e conducted by MRS. MARY M IDN IGHT, and her Family,Being the seventh time of their Persona l Appearance in publick,

To b e divided into three Acts.

ACT IWILL CONTAIN(I) A grand Piece with Kettle-drums and Trumpets. (2) Soloon the Violonce l lo by CUPID. (3) The Inaugura tion Speechby MRS. M IDN IGHT. (4) Concerto for two Clarinettos.(5) MR. HANDEL’S Water-Piece, with a Preamble on

the Kettle-D rums.

ACT THE SECOND(I) A Full Piece. (2) Speech of MRS. M IDN IGHT in Defenceof her Existence. (3) 8 010 on the Viol d’Amor. (4) Overture in Otho. (5) An Ora tion on the Sa lt Box by a

Ra tionalist.

ACT THE THIRD( 1 ) A Volunta ry on the Cymba lo. (2) A NewD issertationby MRS. M IDN IGHT. (3) A French Horn Concerto. (4) ADeclama tory Piece on the Jew’s Ha rp, by a Casuist.(5) March in judas Ma ccabeus with the S ide Drum.


had a clea r, sprightly, and loud tone , but had no sense ofexpression.”

The Swan Concerts were held a t the Swan Tavern inExchange Alley,1 Cornhill. Ba rton , the ma ster of the house,had been a dancing-master.I t is interesting to note tha t the dancing-ma ster in those

days impa rted wha t may be termed“ socia l educa tion

,and

thus became a person of great consequence.I n the London Gazette ofMa rch 1 676 , one

’

,J ohn Waver

,

dancing-ma ster,announces tha t he has set up a Boa rding

School for young Gentlewomen at Oxford, “ where they may

be educa ted and instructed in the Art of dancing, singing,musick, writing, and a ll manner of works, and wha t else sha l lbe required tha t belongs to their Sex and qua l ity to lea rn , a treasonable Ra tes.Ba rton

,the ma ster of the Swan Tavern

,wa s a.lover of

music , and the grea t room in his housewas considered one

of the best concert rooms in London. A grea t number ofmerchants and wea lthy citizens sta rted concerts there in 1 7 28.

Obadiah Shuttleworth played the first viol in , and hewasfollowed successively by J ohn Clegg

,Abraham Brown , and

Michael Christian Festing. Burney tells us tha t Brown ,Collet, and Festing were then the principa l performers of theviolin in London. Dissension a rose in this Society a bou ttwelve yea rs a fter i ts founda tion

,and on 24th and 25th Ma rch

1 748 , on the evening of a performance,a fire broke out , which

1 Now Change Al ley.


destroyed the books and the instruments including a fineorgan by Byfield, and la id the house in a shes. I t is curious tonote tha t Hawkins speaks of The Swan Tavern ,

” now TheKing’s Arms ” (about which is a lso the name of thehouse in Cornhill where the Ca stle Concerts were founded inI7 24. I twas probably the name which the house received a fteri t had been rebuilt

,and the Ca stle Concerts were thus held in

the same place a fter the Swan Concerts had come to an end.The following advertisement appea red in the Genera l

Advertiser, Janua ry 2 5 , 1 7 5 2

Bv DESIRE,FOR THE BENEFIT OF M ISS THOMPSON

At the King’s Arms Tavern, Cornhill, on Monday,Janua ry a7th ,

wil l b e perform’d a Concert of Voca l and Instrumenta l

MUS ICKThe principa l Pa rts as follows

,

First Violin by SIGR. PASQUALI ; a Concerto on the Violonce llo by MR. G. JONES ; a Concerto on the Bassoon by MR.M ILLER a Concerto on the H a rpsichord by M ISS THOMPSONlikewise a Canta ta of Mr. Stanley’s

, and two Songs ofMr. Hande l’s, by M ISS THOMPSON in the first a ct.

In the second Act wil l b e the most favourite songs and chorussesin Acis a nd Ga la tea ; the Pa rt of Ga la tea to b e performedby M ISS THOMPSON , and the Rest of the Parts by

Performers of the first class.Tickets to b e had a t Mr. Wa lsh’s in Ca therine Str., in the

Strand ; a t Robert Thompson’s,St. Paul’s Churchyard ; and at

Mr. Cox’s in Swithin’s Alley, Roya l Exchange a t 55 . each.WBooks of the Performance to be had at the Door.

The exa ct position of “ The Swa n Tavern is shown in aplan of the site preserved in the Guildha l l l ibra ry, whichconta ins a l so a picture of the fire in which itwas destroyed.

C H APT E R V I I I

THE influence of Cha rles 1 l .’

s levity and superficia lity, in a llma tters of public as well as priva te life , pervaded a ll cla sses ofsociety until i t rea ched a level where idea l s never existed norever will exist. The resul twas tha t musica l Artwas draggedfrom its pedesta l , and degraded to serve as an incitement tomerriment a t Fa irs and Tavern Meetings.Few men of Serious mind and stea dfastness of purpose

rema ined to cultiva te music in its higher and nobler form .

Among the la tter we find the names of Banister, Britton ,S ir Roger L’

Estrange , Playford, and the grea t Henry Purcell ,who dedica ted the first set ofhis famous Viol in Sona ta s ( 1 683)to the King. I n the prefa ce “ To theReader Purcell says : “ Isha l l say but a very few things byway of Prefa ce, concerningthe following Book and its Author. For i ts Author, he hasfa ithfully endeavour’d a just imita tion of the most fam’

d I ta lianMa sters ; principa l ly , to bring the seriousness and gravity oftha t sort of Musick into vogue, and reputa tion among our

country-men,whose humor

,

’

tis time now,should begin to

loa th the levity,and ba lladry ofour neighbours. These

Sona ta s Purcel l “a ssumed the confidence ” to lay a t His

Maj esty ’s sacred feet the “ immedia te results ” ofHis Maj esty’s


true Christians’ sorrow, to see how tha t Divine Worship iscommenced by blind zea lots, who do not, nor will not understand the use and excellency thereof.

“ But Musick in this Age (like other Arts and Sciences) isi n low esteem with the genera lity of People. Our la te and

solemn Musick,both Voca l and I nstrumenta l , i s now justled

out of Esteem by the newCorants, and J igs of Foreigners , 1to the grief of a ll sober and j udicious understanders of tha tformerly sol id and good Musich ; nor must we expectHa rmony in people’s minds , so long a s Pride, Vanity, Fa ction ,and Discords are so Predominant in their Lives.”

The King and Court kept to the levity and ba lladry ofour neighbours ,

”

a s Purcell ca ll s it, with the result tha t thefiddlewas looked upon as a tool tha t added to mirth and

revelry. Hence we find Lord Chesterfield wa rning his son

aga inst the practice of music a s a ltogether unworthy of a

gentleman,and his view obta ined for more than a century.

Music is usua l ly reckoned one of the l ibera l a rts,

” he sa ys,

and not unjustly, but a man of fa shion who is seen piping or

F iddling a t a concert degrades his own dignity. I f you lovemusic

,hea r it pay Fiddlers to play for you , but never F iddle

yourself. Thus spake the Grand Mogul of Snobs.Ma lcolm in Manners and Customs of London quotes the

following from a sma l l book ca lled The Court of K ingjames.I t is a very cha racteristic illustra tion of the spirit whichgoverned the Stua rt Court l ife

1 See Evelyn’s rema rks in his Dia ry, 2 1 st December 1662.


S ir Thoma s Monsonwa s a grea t lover of musick, and

had as good musicians as England had, especia lly for voices ,andwas a t i nfinite cha rge in breeding some in I ta ly. Aservant of his, named Symon ,was an excellent Musician , anddid sing del ica tely ; butwa s a more genera l musician thanever the world had. H e had a

‘caeiro

’ 1of an immense

length and bigness with this being his tabor-stick , his pa lmof his hand his tabor, and his mouth his pipe

,he would so

imita te a tabor and pipe as i f it had been so indeed ; to thismusick would Mrs. Turner, the young ladies, and some of the

gig, dance ever a fter supper ; and the old lady, who lovedtha t musick as well as her daughters, would s it and laugh.She could sca rce sit for laughing.The majority of the genera l publ ic had no higher apprecia

tion ofmusica l a rt, a s we may see from a description of NedWa rd , who rela tes of a visi t to a city Music-House , which ina ll probabil ity refers to one of the houses nea r S t. Paul ’s.As he speaks from persona l experience the impression is morelifel ike and true than any description we receive from booksof history. Here a re his own words

Now, says my schoolfellow, we’ll spend the evening in a

cheerful glass. Here’s a Tavern ha rd bywhere a parcel ofpleasant companions of my a cqua intance use ; we

’ll see wha tdiversion we can find in their Society. Accordingly we steptin , and in the kitchen found ha lf a dozen of my Friend’s

1 The author has not been able to discover the meaning of this word, but itwasevidently a stick of some sort.


a ssocia tes, in the height of their j ollity, a s merry as so manyCanterbrzgians a t Stirbridge-Fa ir, or Cobblers a t a Crispin ’sFeast. After a Friendly Sa luta tion free from all FoppishCeremonies

,down we sa t, and when a gla ss or two round had

given fresh motion to our drowsy spirits , and abandoneda ll those ca reful Thoughts which makes Man’s l ife unea sie ,

Wit begotWit, andWine a thrifty appetite to ea ch succeedinggla ss. Then open were our Hea rts and unconfin’

d our Fancies,my Friend and I contributing our M ites to add to theTrea sure of our Fel icity. Songs and Ca tches crown’

d thenight

,and ea ch Man in this Turn pleas

’

d his Ea rs with hisown Ha rmony. Amongst the rest we had one SongMusich, which, because of i ts being the first Essay in tha tNa ture

,I have thought it worth inserting

A SONG AGA INST MUS I C

Musick’s a crotchet,the sober think va in,

The Fiddle’s a Wooden Projection ;Tunes are but Flirts of a Whimsica l Bra in,Which the Bottle brings best to Perfection.

Musicians are Ha lf-witted,Merry and Mad,

The same are a ll those tha t admire ’em ;

They’re Fools if they Play, unless they’re wel l Pa id,And the other are Blockheads to H ire ’

em !

Chorus

The Organ’s but Humming

Theorbo but Thrumming,

The Viol and VoiceIs but J ingle and Noise,The Bagpipe and FiddleGoes Tweedle and Diddle

,


Solos and Sona ta s in Pa ris. The secondwas J ohn Eccles ,who succeeded Dr. Staggins a s Master of the Queen’s Band

,

an excellent violinist, and one of the most popula r composersof his time, whose works are very fine, though little knownto-day. Thomas, the youngest son ,was perhaps the mostgifted viol in ist of the three, but hewas a scapegrace of themost hopeless type. The most disreputable haunts of “ Al

sa tia ”

(in the Savoy district of the Stra nd) knew him well,and he is described as one of the la st “ itinerant fiddlers whowent from tavern to tavern dragging on their miserableexistence through insul t and infamy. I t is the itinerant fiddlerwho served as prototype for Butler’s champion Crowdero ”

i n Hudibras,whowas outlawed a s a

“ sturdy begga r and

vagabond throughout the Engl ish Rea lm.

I n 1 7 33 Thomas E ccleswa s a member of Handel ’s band ,but la ter on he sank very low, and an a ccount of him existsby a contempora ry musician to the following effect I twa sabout the month of November 1 7 5 3 tha t I , with some friends,were met to spend the evening a t a tavern in the City, whenthis man,

in a mean but decent ga rb,wa s introduced to us by

the wa iter ; immedia tely upon opening the door I hea rd thetwang of one of his strings from under his coat, whichwa sa ccompanied by the question, Gentlemen , will you plea se tohea r my music ? ’ Our curiosity

,and the modesty of the

man ’s deportment,inclined us to say yes, and music he gave

us,such a s I had never hea rd before, nor sha l l aga in under

the same circumstances. With as fine and delica te a hand


as I had ever hea rd , he played the whole fifth and ninthsolos of Corelli, and two songs of M r. Handel ; in short, hisperformancewas such a s would command the a ttention of thenicest ear, and left us

,his auditors , much at a loss to guess

wha t i twas tha t constra ined him to seek his l iving in awayso disreputable. He made no secret of his name he sa id hewas the youngest of three brothers

,and tha t Henry, the middle

one,had been his ma ster

,andwa s then in the service of the

King of France. He lodged in the Butcher Row, nea rTemple Bar, andwas well known to the musicians of his time,who thought themselves disgraced by this pra ctice of his, forwhich they have a term of reproach not very intell igible theyca ll it going a-busking.

’

The publ ic music-houses in London augmented rapidly,and many are mentioned, a s for instance, “ The Vendu , a

concert room in Cha rles Street, next the Bedford Ga te, whichwa s a lso a sa le-room for pictures then the Crown Tavernin Duck Lane, Smithfield, and the George Tavern ,

”Dogwell

Court, Bouverie Street.1

They were a ll conducted on simila r l ines.Another meeting founded by the friends of Brittonwas

held at the house ofWilliam Ca slon , the first English Musictype founder

,who l ived in I ronmonger Row, i n Old Street.

1 The George Tavern in Dogwell Court, Bouverie Street, mentioned in Shadwell’s Squire of Alsa tia , and Mrs. Behn’s Luchy Chance was afterwa rds theprinting office of Wil liam Bowyer, the famous printer whose life is given in N ichols’,etc. I twas next occupied by Thoma s Davison, a wel l-known printer in his time.La tterly itwas the printing office of Messrs. Bradbury Co.


He removed to Chiswell Street, where he had an organ erectedin his concert room. H e gave his concerts once in everymonth on the Thursday which fell nea rest the full moon

,

tha t his friends might wa lk home in safety. From this theyca l led themselves humorously the “ Luna tics.

” Woola stonwas leader a t these meetings except when Cha rles Froud ,the organist of Cripplega te,was present. I n tha t case thela tter would lead, and Woolaston took the second violin.Other members were William de Santhuns, who succeededPrelleur as organist of Spita lfields ; Samuel Jeacock , a bakera t the corner of Berkeley Street

,Red Lion S treet, Clerken

well , and many others. They played Corelli’s music intermixed with English and I ta lian Overtures, a s

“ Clotilda ,

”

Hydaspes,” “ Camilla ”

and wha t Hawkinsca lls the modern ones by Mr. Handel. An amply furnishedsideboa rd suppl ied refreshments during interva ls, and whenthey had finished their concert and sat down to a bottle of

wine and a jug of ale of Mr. Caslon’

s own brewing theyconcluded the evening with a song or two of Purcell, sung tothe ha rpsichord, or a few ca tches , and about twelve reti red.

EDWARDWARD , AGED 54.

Pa inted a nd engraved by johnson in 1 7 1 4.

C HA PT E R I X

BEFORE we turn West aga in , towa rds the sea t of Music in itshigher and highest forms, i t may be interesting to obta in a

glimpse of musica l life in the “ Nea r Ea st ” ; viz. the Ea stEnd of London between the reign of Cha rles II. and George I.Ned Wa rd is aga in our best authority. He tells us of one ofhis expeditions which he undertook in the company of hisfriend, with a view to explore tha t pa rt of the town As soonas we came to the Sign of the Spiri tua l Helmet,

’ 1 such as theH igh Priests used to wea r when they b id defiance to the Devil ,we no sooner enter’d the House but we hea rd Fidlers and

Hoitboys, together with a Humdrum Orga n make suchincompa rable Musick

,tha t had the H a rmonious Grunting

of a Hog been added a s a B a se to a Ravishing Concertof Ca ttermauling Performers, in the height of their Exta sie,the unusua lness of the Sound could not have render’d i t, to anice Ear, more Engaging.

“ The Musick-Room a most sta tely appa rtment to theLovers of Musick

,Pa inting

,Dancing, and other sports. No

gilding, ca rving, colouring, or good contrivancewa s therewanting to illustra te the Beauty of this most noble Academy ;

1 The Mitre.”1 49


where a good Genius may lea rn with sa fety to abomina te Vice ,and a b ad Genius (with a s much Danger) to practise it.

”

The musicwas suppl ied by an organ, violins, and hautboys.Wa rd describes the “ M itre a s being in Wapping, but it hasbeen suggested tha t i twas in rea l ity in Shadwell, where thereis still a Music-House Court.Another of these popula r places for music and dancingwas the coffee house-boa t , “ The Folly,

” which flourished inWill iam 1 1 1.

’

s time, andwa s moored on the lower Thamesnea r Limehouse or Blackwa ll. Tom D ’

Urfey mentions it inthe following doggerel verses

“When Draper’s smugg’d apprentices

With Exchange girls most jollyAfter Shopwas shut up and a ll

Could sail up to ‘The Folly.’

I n Stepney therewas a“ Musick-House ” in the row of

houses fronting the west end of Stepney Church. I t had fora sign the head of Charles andwa s a favourite resort ofseafaring people. I n a grea t room this house had an organand a band of “ fiddlers and hautboys. The housewa sfrequented even by members of the better classes

,yet itwas

not uncommon for single people a s well a s whole pa rties todance to the music of the band.Sadler founded a music-house in I slington , in the yea r

1 683 , whichwa s a fter his dea th taken over by FrancisForcer, a composer of songs, printed in the Theatre of Music,

1 68 5—87 . The house

,which is stil l known as Sadler’s


Tavern 1n CoventliGarden ; White’s Chockolate House nea r

St. James’s ; the Bell Tavern’

in King Street, Westminsterand Garraway’s Coffee House, nea r the Roya l Exchange.This advertisement is pa rticula rly interesting, a s i t gives

the names of some of the fa shionable places of enterta inment,among which stood foremost the names of White’s and

Garraway’

s. I t is curious tha t in those days of the signboa rdstherewas not one of the numerous “ George and the Dragon ”

houses tha t appea rs to have been connected with musica l life.An amusing rhyme appea red in connection with the lattersignboa rd, which appea rs to have been popula rly knownduring the seventeenth century

To save a mayd St. George the dragon slewA pretty ta le, if all is told b e true.

Most say there are no dragons,

And ’tis said

Therewas no George ; pray God therewas a mayd.”

According to Ha tton’s NewViewof London the “ CastleTavern ” in Fleet S treet had the la rgest signboa rd inLondon.I n the proposa l s for the establ ishment of a Roya l Academy

in 1 7 20 the subscription books were laid open, among otherplaces, “

a t the Musick-Room in Cha rles Street, a lso ca lledthe Vendu.The Society of Gentlemen at Sta tioners’ Ha l l became a

powerful institution, and to their celebrations on St. Cecilia’s

Day we owe a number of those fine St. Cecil ia ’s Day Odes,


including the famous composition by Handel. The Kingand the nobles gave their pa tronage and moneta ry supportto the Society, and in Ma rch 1 699 a sum of two hundredguinea swas pa id by “ severa l persons of qua lity ” for theencouragement of music. Tha t sumwas to be distributedin four prizes, the first of one hundred, the second of fifty,the third of thirty, and the fourth of twenty guinea s for thebest composition of Congreve ’s poem ,

“ The J udgement ofPa ris.” I t appea rs tha t the Ea rl of Ha l ifaxwas one of themost l ibera l contributors to this fund. I ntending competitorswere a sked to repa ir to Ja cob Tonson , at Gray’s I nn Ga te ,before Ea ster Day next, where they may be further informed.

”

Unfortuna tely the subscribers were to be the judges, andRoger North tells us that “ they had ea rs but not a rtificia l

(sic !) ones. Their musica l educa tion proved inadequa te tothe ta sk of pronouncing a j udgment in strict a ccordance withthe a rtistic merit of the compositions .placed before them.

The resultwa s tha t the victorwas the only one plea sed, anda ll the rest dissa tisfied. J eremiah Cla rk, an excellent violin is tand composer, when a sked why he did not compete , merelyanswered , “ The nobili ty are to be the judges,” leaving theinference to be drawn by the querist. The successfulcompetitors were : Weldon, first prize ; Eccles , second ; DanielPurcell , th ird ; and Godfrey Finger, fourth . The la tterwa sconsidered by competent j udges to be the best composer ofthe four. He is sa id to have rema rked tha t “ he thought hewas to compose music for men and not for boys.” Weldon’s


Glee,

“ Let Ambition Fire Thy M ind, is the only portion ofthe Ode now known. The origina l manuscript occurred inthe Rev. J . Pa rker

’s sa le,in 1 8 1 3 (Lot and in Shade’s

Ca ta logue of OldM usic,in 1 8 1 4. Eccles

’

s and Purcell’s Odeswere printed by Wa lsh.These compositions were performed on the stage at

Drury Lane and Dorset Ga rdens, between 1 70 1 and 1 704.

The Gazette of 24th to 27 th Ma rch 1 70 1 brings the following announcement : “ The Performance of the Music Pr ize,

composed by Mr. Finger, will be a t the Thea tre in DorsetGa rdens on Friday next, the 28th inst., beginning a t Five ofthe Clock. Places may be had in both the First and SecondGa lleries, the profit a rising from them being for thePerformers. A ticket for tha t performance is preservedin the H a rleian MS . (No.The Odewas so ill received tha t Finger left the country

in disgust soon a fter the performance.Gottfried (Godfrey) Finger, born at Olmutz , in Moravia ,was a violinist of merit, belonging to the School of Ba ssani

and Torelli (see Chap. I . pages 35 , He came to Englandin 1 685 , andwas ma ster of James II.

’

s band. He wrote a

number of compositions for his instrument,some of which are

stil l in existence.R icha rd Ca rr, a violinist in the King

’s band,publ ished

some of those compositions,and the London Gazette of

5th November 1 69 1 conta ins the following advertisementThere is now published a collection of Musick in two P'a rts


this day preserve his name and title in the designa tionsGeorge Street, Vill iers S treet, Duke Street, “ Of Alley,and Buckingham Street. A terra ce planted with treesextended a long the bank of the river, in the centre of whichstood a handsome ga te in the Tuscan style, with rustic workopening on the steps which led to the river. The ga te ,which is stil l in existence,was designed by I nigo Jones. Atthe east cornerwa s a high wooden tower constructed by theYork Buildings Wa ter Company. This stood close byVill iers Street, and on the right-hand side (west) of tha tstreet, nea r the bottom and adjoining the wa ter office,was aroom fitted up for musica l performances whichwa s known asthe “ York Buildings.” I twas buil t in 1 680, and for morethan ha l f a century continued one of the most fashionableConcert Rooms, where the best a rtists of the time werelistened to by the first people in London. The Concertswere known as “ The Musick Meeting ” in York Buildings.Towa rds the middle of the eighteenth century other

Concert Rooms came into fa shion , which caused it to beabandoned, and in 1 768 i twas pulled down , and two sma l lhouses erected upon the site which is nowcovered by pa rt ofCha ring Cross Sta tion , nea r the sta i rs leading to HungerfordB ridge.

One of the first Concerts recorded is tha t of the famousba ss-Viol player, August Kiihnel (Keenell, a s he is ca lled inthe advertisement in the Gazette, which corresponds withthe phonetic spelling a ccording to the Saxon dia lect). On


Sa turday evenings in November to December 1 685 heplayed Sona ta s composed a fter the I ta lianway, for one andtwo ba ss viols with thorough ba ss, as well a s Solos on theBa rytone a t the “ Dancing School in York Buildings, and on

Thursday evenings a t the Dancing School in Wa lbrook,in

the City,next door to the Bel l I nn. I t is interesting to note

tha t a lmost a ll the celebra ted Concert Rooms were a lso usedas Dancing Schools or Academies. We find tha t the samewas the ca se with Hickford’

s Room , in Brewer Street, to bementioned la ter on.

The York Buildings Concerts a fterwa rds started on a

wandering ca reer. I n Februa ry 1 689 they were removed fora short period to Exeter Change. On Ea ster Monday, 1 69 1 ,“ The Consort of voca l and instrumenta l Musickwas held atthe grea t room York Buildings ” by the command , and for

the enterta inment of, H er Roya l H ighness the Princess ofDenma rk. On Tuesday, l oth Janua ry 1 69 2 , an I ta l ian ladyannounced weekly concerts during the sea son, which appea rto have met with success , for we find her a fortnight la terannouncing Thursday Concerts in Freeman’s Ya rd

,Cornhill ,

besides her Tuesday Concerts a t the York Build ings. In

these a dvertisements shewa s ca l led the I tal ian Woman.On 6th J anua ry 1 689 Mr. Hughes

’

s (bass singer) consortis announced in the London Gazette to take pla ce a t YorkBuildings on Wednesdays, beginning between seven and

eight in the evening.Nicola Ma tteis

’

s“ Cecilia Ode was produced there on


7th Janua ry 1 696 , and on 1 3th May“an enterta inment of

voca l and instrumenta l music by Dr. Staggins. Thiswasprobably one of his “ justifica tion Concerts in answer to themurmurings aga inst his Doctor Degree, whichwas obta inedby favour and not by merit. Staggins, by power of influence,wa s made composer to Cha rles and a fterwa rds Master ofthe band ofWilliam 1 1 1.

A benefit Concert for Mr. King (Robert K ing, a memberof the King’s Band

, Mus.Bac. of Cambridge and songcomposer) and Mr. Banister, Junior, took place on Monday,roth Janua ry 1 69 7 . On 1 4th Februa ry an

“ enterta inmentof new musick composed on the pea ce , by Mr. Van (Vaughan)R ichardson , organist ofWinchester Ca thedra l ,

”was a nnounced.On Wednesday, 1 6th Ma rch

, a benefit Concert took placefor Dr. Blow and Mr. Pa isible, a famous flute player and a

composer for tha t instrument.I n 1 698 we find the following Concerts announced to take

pla ce a t York Buildings“ Monday, 28th Ma rch, a new consort of musick by the

chiefest ma sters of England, where S ignior Rampony,an

I ta lian musician belonging to the Prince of Vaudemont, a t therequest of severa l persons of qua l ity will for once sing thesame in I ta l ian and French. The entrance fee on thisocca sionwas fixed a t ha lf a guinea— a very la rge amount ofmoney considering its purcha sing va lue. We see, moreover,here an instance of the absolute serfdom of musicians whichwas a surviva l of mediaeva l times. On Wednesday, 4th May,


According to the following advertisement in the LondonGazette, October 6- 9 , 1 690 : Mr. Franck’s Consort of Voca la nd I nstrumenta l Musick wil l be performed to-morrow, beingFriday, the l oth instant, a t the two Golden-Ba l ls at theupper end of Bow-Street, Covent Ga rden , a t 7 in the Evening,and next Wednesday at the Outroper’s Office on the Roya lExchange , and will be continued a ll the ensuing Winter.”

I t appea rs tha t about this time the BowStreet Concertswere aga in held sepa ra tely from those of the York Buildings,a s an announcement of 1 9 th Februa ry 1 690 informs us tha tthey were removed from BowStreet to a house in Cha rlesS treet, next to Bedford Ga te, Covent Ga rden.0 11 l oth Ma rch 1 69 1 a Concert of Musick with severa l

new voiceswas performed a t the Vendu in Cha rles Street.As appea rs from other advertisements in the London Gazette,

thiswas a place for the sa le of pa intings, etc., and situa tenext the Bedford Ga te in Covent Ga rden. Evidently i t musthave been identica l with the one mentioned in the previousadvertisements.On the 6th April 1 693 S ignor Pier Francesco Tosi , a

celebra ted I ta l ian Singer, gave a Concert in tha t room. Hewas the author of a book , Opinione de Cantori antichi,whichwas transla ted into Engl ish by J . E . Ga l l ia rd and

published in 1 742 by J . Wilcox at the“ V i rgils H ead in the

Strand over aga inst the new Church,under the title of,

Observa tions on the Florid Song ; or Sentiments on the

Ancient and Modern Singers. A second edition appea red


in 1 743 , which shows its popularity. I n the Prefa tory Discourse the transla tor says : “ The studious will find tha t ourAuthor’s Rema rks wil l be of Advantage

,not only to Voca l

Performers, but l ikewise to the I nstrumenta l , where Ta steand a Manner are required ; and show tha t a l ittle lessF iddling with the Voice, and a little more Singing with theInstrument, would be of good Service to Both.

” The bookconta ins a good dea l of i nforma tion, but nothing about theproduction and emission of voca l sound whichwa s the greatesta chievement of the ancient I ta lians.I n 1 694 the proprietor

’s name of the “ Vendu wasSmith

,as we lea rn from an announcement in the London

Gazette of “a consort of musick composed by M r. Grabue.

”

On 26th November of tha t yea r we are told tha t the room“ being put in good condition ” the Thursday Concerts wereresumed with the addition of two new voices , one a young

gentlewoman of twelve yea rs of age. This shows tha t prodigies are by no means phenomena of modern times. Weneed only think of both Ba ch and Handel.I n the proposa l s for the establishment of a Roya l

Academy in 1 7 20 the subscription books were la id open ,among other pla ces

,a t the Musick-Room in Charles Street,

a lso ca l led the Vendu.On Wednesday

,1 1 th December 1 700,

Dr. J ohn B low’sConsort of Voca l and I nstrumenta l Musick,

” composedfor the late Anniversa ry Fea st of St. Cecilia ,wa s performeda t

“ Mr. Reason ’s Musick-Room in York Buildings ” for theI I


Benefit of Dan Will iams. T ickets were sold a t Wells’sCoffee House a t Scotland Ya rd Ga te , and a t the Ra inbowCoffee House a t the Temple Ga te.The famous Music-Room ‘seems to have frequently

changed its owners. I n the above advertisement a Mr.Reason appea rs in tha t capa city, while a Mr. Holywasa lready his successor in the following yea r.We are told in the London Gazette tha t “

on Mondaythe 24th inst. between eight and nine at night, an

entertainment of Voca l and I nstrumenta l Musick will beperformed at York Buildings , by the same Ma sters tha tformerly kept the Consort there : The words to all theSongs are made, and set to Musick, for this pa rticula rocca sion ; and the last is in the na ture of St. Cecil ia ’s Song.Tickets may be had at any time before the day from Mr.Holt at his Room in York Buildings a foresaid (where theConsort wil l be held). The Price of each T icket, 5 5 .I n 1 703 I ta l ian a rtists held Sway over York Buildings.

Signo (sic ! for signori) Ga spa rin i and Petto performed compositions by Signor Saggione, “ la tely a rrived fromI ta ly.”I n Ma rch , S ignor Francesco, 1 with S ignorina Anna , a

singer, la tely a rrived from Rome. I n fact, York Buildingsbecame a fashionable place where numerous foreign a rtistsmade their debut. The fashionable world, however,was,here as in every instance , the ruin of the enterprise. Wherethe true a rtistic zea l and enthusia sm of the educa ted middle

1 Francesco Tosi (i), see page 160.


this piece were so grea t tha t it brought very little profit tothe Compa ny. I twas a fterwa rds given a t Covent Ga rden ,but the score disappea red a fter Purcell ’s dea th , a nd a rewa rdof 20wa s offered for its recovery. I twas never found, however

,until Mr. J . S . Shedlock (the well-knownmusica l critic

and editor of theMusica l Record) discovered it in 1 90 1 in thelibra ry of the Roya l Academy of Music. The first Opera a fterthe I ta lian stylewa s Arsinoe

, Queen of Cyprus, by Thoma sClayton, whowas mentioned before a s one of the twenty-fourviolins of the King. I twas produced a t Drury Lane Thea trein 1 705 , under the management of Clayton , H aym

,and

Dieupa rt. Haym himself played the principa l Violoncelloin the Orchestra

,and William Corbett

,one of the K ing’s

violins,was leader. I t appea rs to have been a poor con

coction of ga rbled I ta l ian melodies,andwa s followed by

another Opera by Clayton, Rosamond, which from all

a ccountswas stil l worse.On Handel ’s a rriva l

,Clayton

,Haym ,

and D ieupa rtvanished a s little sta rs a re eclipsed by the rising sun. Theyleft Opera a lone, turned their a ttention to the Concerts a t YorkBuildings, and tried to put fresh life into the enterprise.Clayton is mentioned a t the time as the owner, but S irRicha rd Steele became proprietor of the Music-Room in 1 7 10,

and did a ll he could to give Clayton and his a ssocia tes mora land financia l support

,butwithout success. The sun of York

Buildings had set for ever. One of the la st notable performanecswas tha t of Handel’s Esther. An announcement in


The Da ilyjourna l runs thus :“ Never performed in public

,

at the grea t room in Vi ll iers S treet,York Buildings

,by the

best voca l and instrumenta l music,E sther , an Ora torio , a

sa cred drama ,wil l be performed on Thursday, 2oth April

1 7 1 0P). I twas composed for the most noble James Duke of

Chandos by George Frederic Handel. Ea ch Ticket fiveshill ings.I n the same yea r in which S ir Richa rd Steele j oined

Clayton in the management of the York Buildings, a notherand more important musica l enterprisewas sta rted a t the“ Crown and Anchor ” Tavern in the Strand. The housewas so named from the Anchor of St. Clement, and stoodopposite St. Clement’s Church a t the upper end of ArundelS treet, whichwa s buil t in the yea r 1 678 . The site is nowoccupied by the Temple Club . I n 1 7 1 0 a number of

musicians and ama teurs established the “ Academy ofAncientMusic ” for the preserva tion of the works of the old ma stersof every country. The chief founders were : Dr. Pepusch ;Ernest Ga llia rd (oboe player, composer, etc., transla tor of

Tosi’

s work mentioned on page 1 60) Berna rd Ga tes , ma sterof the children of the Queen ’s Chapel ; and Henry Needler,an excellent ama teur viol inist and member of Britton’smusica l club,who held a considerable post in the exciseoffice. Agostino S teffani was elected President of theSociety. The Ea rl of Abercorn , whowas a lso among thefounders, used to play in the Orchestra .

They began by forming a l ibra ry of the most celebra ted


compositions , printed a s well as manuscript. I n the performa nce of these they were a ssisted by the gentlemen of theChapel Roya l and of the Choir of St. Paul ’s , with the boysbelonging to ea ch. I n 1 7 2 8 differences a rose which causedDr . Maurice G reen to secede together with his choir and toinstitute Simila r Concerts at the “ Devil Ta vern.” H andelrema rking on the fa ct sa id in his humorous and la conicway“ De Toctor Creene is gone to de Tefel.” Tha t tavernderived its name from a signboa rd representing St. Dunstanpull ing the Devil by the nose. I twas a favourite Music-Houseof the period, next door but one west ofTemple Bar. Concertsgiven a t this pla ce were advertised in the newspapers a s wella s by bills giving the names of the performers , etc., whichwere posted about town. Thornbury

’

s Old and N ewLondonconta ins a picture showing the interior of the “ Devil ” in

Ben Jonson’s time.I n 1 73 2 , when Handel had fa l len out with the nobility,

a nd lost in his opera tic enterprise a t Covent Ga rden,

his Ora torio, E sther ,was performed by the members of theAcademy of Ancient Music a t the “ Crown and Anchor.” I thad previously been performed by the children of the ChapelRoya l , with a ction

, on a stage erected in the priva te houseof their ma ster, Bernard Ga tes, i n James Street, Westminster.Sandys and Forster quote from a letter of Mrs. Delaney

saying tha t Ma tthew Dubourgwa s leader of the music inhonour of St. Cecil ia on the 1 l th November 1 7 27 ,

“and

every lady says he exceeds all the I ta l ians , even his master

C H APTE R X

“Readers, I b eg you wil l excuseThis long digression of my MuseConsider, Travellers wil l stray,Sometimes, a little out 0’

th’Way,

But nowaga inwe steer our FeetInto the common Road or Street.”

NED WARD.

THE reader might greet us with the words “Welcome homeaga in ,

” tha t H andel addressed to Dubourg— who lost histhread for a time when playing a cadenza— were it not for thefact tha t the preceding chapters form an integra l pa rt of thisbook, as much as the description of the technica l developmentof the violin by the hand of its educa tiona l litera ture. Thela tter can only be fully understood if we know the conditionsunder which both professiona l and ama teur musicians l ivedand worked a t the va rious times at which the respectiveeduca tiona l works were published.We have seen how Cha rles 1 1 . introduced French art,

and how Purcel l va inly strove to convince his K ing and hiscontempora ries of the superiority of I ta lian music, and howhewas supported in this by B anister and Playford. Theirviews proved correct

, as we sha ll soon find I ta ly the uncon

tested ruler in matters musica l. Yet while conceding their1 68

The Romance -

of the Fiddle 1 69

superiority in most things, justice should be meted out to all,

and we must, therefore, speak of those who were in some pa rtstheir equa ls, and even surpa ssed them in others.We have a lready mentioned Ba ltza r and Strunck, whose

extraordina ry mastery on the viol in left its powerful traces onthe technica l development of tha t instrument. During thela tter pa rt of the seventeenth century their compa triots, RudolfB iber ( 1 638—98) and J ohn Ja cob Wa l ther, followed in theirfootsteps. Both were far ahead of the virtuosi of their time.Wa l ther extends the compa ss of the viol in to while theI ta lian ma sters ra rely went a s far as C’ which they took byan extension of the fourth finger in the first position. Corelliuses a casua l D’” in his Op. V. Four yea rs a fter the publica tion of Playford

’

s The D ivision Violin, viz. in 1 688 ,

L. Bourgea t in Mayence publ ished Wa l ther’s Hortulus

Chelicus, being the first instruction book for the viol inwhichappea red in Germany. According to the prevailing fa shion ,the outcome of monastic educa tion , and of a cra ze to appearvery lea rned

,the bookwas written in La tin . La ter editions

appea red in the German language. The title of a copy inthe l ibra ry of the Pa ris Conserva toire runs a s follows :“ Hortulus Chelicus, das ist wohl gepflanzter Violinischer

Lustga rten , da rin a l len Kunst B egierigen musika lischenLiebhabern der Weeg zur Vollkommenheit duch curioseStiick and annehmliche Varietat geb ahnet, auch durchBeriihrung zu weilen zwey, drey , vier Seithen,

auff derViol in die l iebl ichste Ha rmonie erwiesen wird , durch J ohan

1 70 The Romance of the -Fiddle

Ja cob Wa lter, Churfiirstl Mayntzis Italianischen Secretaris.

Mayntz in Verlegung Ludovic Bourgea t, 1 694. Oblong, 4to.

(Transla tion Hortulus Chelicus,tha t is the well-stocked

viol inistic pleasure ga rden , which smooths the path for thezea lous musica l ama teur by curious pieces, and agreeableva riety, a lso showing how to produce the sweetest ha rmonyon the viol in by touching sometimes two

,three, or four

strings, by J ohn Jacob Wa lter, I ta lian Secreta ry to thePrince E lector of Mayence. Publ ished by Ludovic Bourgea t,1 694

Both Wa sielewski and Mendel-Reissmann have tried tobelittle this grea t a rtist

,who 1n modern times has been much

more apprecia ted by French and Belgian historians. Fé tis

ca lls him the “ Paganini of his century,”

and Felix Huet, inL es Ecoles da Violon,

the “ Paganini of Germany.” LaurentG rillet , in his excellent work Les Ancétres du Violon,

givesan example of his extremely bold pa ssages from the PreludioX I I I . of the Hortulus

”

Grillet as well asWeckerlin testifies to his knowledge and

ability both a s counterpuntist and ha rmonist.Weckerlinsays tha t his work is interesting with rega rd to i ts musica land poetica l conception

,the ha rmony is pure and the style

is elegant. The last of the twenty-eight pieces,a Serena ta


Like a ll his contempora ries he indulged here and there inrea listic imita tions, but even these Show a decided advanceon Fa rina ’s Capriccio Stravagante.” For instance

,he does

not introduce the nightinga le by a lot of shakes, which is the


usua lway in which it is represented. Wa l ter illustra tes i t Bythe long-drawn swelling notes , which is more poetic and morepeculia r to the na ture of the viol in. Also the imita tion of thecuckoo 1 is produced in an interesting manner. Wa l terwas theinventor of the pizzica to a ccompaniment to a melody playedwith the bow. The eleventh Prelude is ca lled Hahnen undHiihner, cocks and hens, andWeckerlin says tha t it i strea ted in a very origina l manner. I n spite of the indigna tionof our fossilised historians, let i t be said tha t Rameau repea tedthe experiment in his “ Pieces de Concert ,

”

and tha t hiscomposition is a most delightful little piece.The Hortulus Chelicus experienced another edition in

1 708 . Besides this work Wa l ter wrote,Scherz i da Violino

Solo, with continuo and gamba or Lute ad libitum. Theywere dedica ted to the Elector of Saxony and published a t

Prague in 1 676.

Wa l ter made a l so extensive use of double stopping, and

both he and B iber wrote so-ca l led “ Duets for one violin,

consisting of imita t ive counterpoint in double stopping. B iberhad a grea ter crea t ive power from a musica l point of View

,

and wha t he had to concede to Wa l ter a s a virtuosowasqui te outbalanced by a deeper poetica l conception

,a s we may

see from the Sona ta republished by B reitkopf and Harte],

in spite of David’s additions and a l tera tions. An Interestingwork by B iber is an unpublished V iol in Sona ta which in a

series of short movements describes the pa ssion of our Lord.1 In the fifteenth piece ca lled “The B irds and the Cuckoo.”


Ea ch movement has a l ittle pen-and-ink illustra tion. I treminds one in many ways of Kuhnau’s B ible Sonatas,

republished by Augener in a revised edition by Mr. J . S .

Shedlock.E ight of B iber’s Sona ta s for viol in solo and continuo were

published in oblong folio a t Sa lzburg in 1 68 1,two yea rs before

Corelli’

s Op. I . They were engraved by Ho’ger, and conta ineda dedica tion to the Archbishop Maximilian Wolfgang

,Count

of Kuenburgn and a portra i t of the composer. They haveb een recentlyrepublished in the Deuhmc

’

iler der Tonhunnst

in Oesterreich ,vol . v. pt. 11. (Vienna ).

B iber stood in high esteem among his contempora ries,

and the Emperor Leopold I. ra ised him to the rank of a

nobleman. Both Wa lter and B iber give proof of the rapidstrides which the art of violin playingwa s making in Germanyin spite of the horrors of the Thirty Yea rs’Wa r whichwasdeva sta ting the country. I n boldness ofpassages and va rietythey were far ahead of Corelli

,but the la tter brought the

a chievement of his time into systema tic order, and had an

inna te feeling for symmetry of form and beauty of proportion ,which raised his work a s musica l composition high above thelevel of his contempora ries.

Corelli’

s idea s are clea r and concise , and the ha rmonicoutl ine of his movements is well ba lanced and well defined1n spite ‘

of ca sua l crudities in his ea rlier work. All hiscompositions bea r the stamp of a lofty, spiritua l , and noblemind of a virgin purity tha t a lmost chills

,while the ruling


Corell i begins the rapid development of instrumenta l musicwhich took place during the eighteenth century, and hisnumerous pupils spread the knowledge of his art among all

European na tions , so tha t hewas j ustly ca lled Maestro deiMaestri ” (Master of Ma sters).I t is impossible to say with certa inty whowa s the first

to introduce Corelli’s works into England— Nicola Ma tteis,

a lthough his countryman may not even have known them,

as he came to England more than fifteen yea rs before theappea rance of Corelli’s first book of Sona ta s. As he deriveda considerable income from his own publica tions

,i t is much

to be doubted tha t he exerted himself on beha lf of hiscountryman .The London Gazette, 3 1 1 6, 23rd September 1 695 , con

ta ins the following advertisement : “ Twelve Sonatas (newlycome over from Rome) in three pa rts, composed by SigneurArchangelo Corel li , and dedica ted to H i s H ighness theE lector of Bava ria ,

this present yea r 1 694, are to be hadfairly prick

’

d from the true origina l , at Mr. Ra lph Agutter’s

,

Musica l I nstrument Maker, over aga inst York Buildings inthe Strand, London.These were evidently wha t we should describe as pirated

copies. “ Pricking down ” music was the term used forwrit ing or printing music in staff nota tion. The firstlegitima te printed copywas published by Wa lsh about 1 7 1 0,

and Sir J ohn Hawkins sta tes that he stamped them onpewter pla tes , which would give him the credit for an

Frontispiece of The Modern .Musich-lkl aster , I73 1 ,

il lustrating a concert of the time.


being much fa irer and more correct in the Musick , than tha tofAmsterdam. Printed for and sold by John Wa lsh (servantto H is Maj esty , etc. Price 8s., or ea ch Part single,Wa lshwa s evidently fully a live to the importance of this

work, which stil l retains its pristine freshness, pa rticula rlyin the “ Follia ,

”

a Spanish dance mea sure composed uponthe famous ground by Farinelli (page which is a favouritewith some of our grea test l iving viol inists (Ysaye, Kreisler,etc. etc.)Richa rd Mea res, a t the Golden V iol in St. Paul

’s Churchya rd, publ ished an edition of the complete works of Corell i bysubscription. I t appea rs , however, tha t his edition of the“ Concerti Grossi ,

” Op. VI., whichwas pa rtly engraved and

pa rtly stamped, proved a fa ilure.The popula ri ty of these works is all the more compre

hensib le in tha t they clea rly showed theway for the development of instrumenta l composition on a strictly classma l ba sis.We have a lready mentioned Dubourg

’

s début with a Solo byCorell i (page and Ned Wa rd’s a llusion to “ the fam’

d

Corella ’s Aires ” in his description of Thoma s B ritton ’sConcert. The first performance in London of the Concert iG rossi,

” Op VI., gives another pretty picture of musica l l ifeduring tha t period.Henry Needler

,one of the origina l founders of the

Academy of Ancient Music,was considered one of the best

performers of Corelli’s music. Hewas a frequent performerat the weekly concerts held a t the houses of the Duke of


Rutla nd , the Ea rls of Burlington and Essex,and Lord

Perciva l (fa ther of the Ea rl of Egmont). Another weeklyconcert which he a ttendedwas held a t the house of J ohnLoeillet, the composer and flute player, in H a rt S treet,Covent Ga rden. There lived a t tha t time opposite Southampton Street in the Strand (says Hawkins), where Mr.Elmsley now l ives , Mr. Prevost, a bookseller, who dea l tla rgely

'with Holland. I t happened tha t one day he hadreceived a large consignment of books from Amsterdam ,

and

among them the Concertos of Corelli,which had just then been

published (by Roger). Upon looking a t them he thought ofMr. Needler, and immedia tely went with them to his housein Clement’s Lane

,behind S t. Clement ’s Church in the Strand ,

and being informed tha t Mr. Needlerwa s then a t the Concerta t Mr. Loeillet’s, he went with them thither. Mr. Needlerwas transported with the sight of such a trea sure, the bookswere immedia tely la id out, and he and the rest of theperformers played the whole twelve Concertos through , without rising from their sea ts. They formed , in fa ct, the mostimportant items in a ll instrumenta l concerts down to the firstdecades of the nineteenth century. I twa s England , too,

whichwas among the first to show the effects of the grea tMa ster’s example

,while France clung to its beloved Ba sse

de V iole, which flourished there down to the middle of theeighteenth century in spite of Mersenne

’

s enthusia sm aboutthe capabil ities of the viol in and the twenty-four v iol ins of theKing. Will iam Dumanoir 1 whowa s one of their number,


received in 1 665 the title Roi des V iolons,

and Louis XIV.

made him head of all instrumenta l players in France. As heconsequently resigned his position as member of the twentyfour viol ins in favour of Pierre Corneille

,the King, fea ring

tha t his resigna tion might prejudice tha t body, crea ted a postof twenty-fifth violinist, which he conferred upon Dumanoir

together with complete command over the “ Violons du roi.”

Laurent Grillet gives the names of two hundred and tenmembers of tha t famous band, and a lso an interesting pictureof one of their number engraved in 1 688 . The “ Violon duroy i s represented in his Court costume with plenty of laceand gold brocade , an ostrich fea ther in his ha t, a sword by hisside , and a silk bow with gold ta ssels round the scroll of hisviol in .The a rtistic standard of these “ Violons du roy was not

in keeping with their brill iant outer a ppea rance, and J ohnBanisterwa s no doubt correct in wha t he sa id about thesuperiority of Engl ish viol inists. The test piece for sightreading, which Lully used in examining Viol inists for hisorchestra , consisted in a little slow movement from his Songed

’

Atys,” which would ba rely be recognised a s sufficient for

passing an elementa ry examina tion a t any of our moderna cademies. The piece

,which is very pretty in itself, has

been republ ished by Augener, Limited , revised by Friedr.Hermann. Like a ll guilds the French “ Confrerie de St.Julien tried to surround the study of their art with so muchmystery and awe tha t i t appea red a lmost unapproa chable to


any ordina ry morta l. This may a ccount for the fa ct tha t wedo not meet with any viol in tutor about this time, as such a

work might have led some ama teur of the poorer cla sses toa ttempt the study of the instrument without the a ssistance ofa member of the guild of musicians. The violin remainedthus in France the despised instrument a s we have known itin England in the time ofAnthony 21 Wood, Evelyn , etc., whilethe ba ss Viol rema ined a fa shionable instrument , and above a llthe ha rpsichord. The French composers for the la tter instrument leftalitera ture which is unique ofits kind , and much of i tha s reta ined its freshness and the cha rm of its elegant gra ce tothis very day. While France prevented self-instruction and

was absolutely ba rren as rega rds the production of educa tiona llitera ture for the violin , we find grea t fertility in England.We have a l ready spoken of Banister’s , Playford

’

s, and

Lentou’s Tutors. Towa rds the beginning of the eighteenthcentury I ta lian art became pa ramount in England. The firstimpetus for thiswas given by the introduction of the worksofCorelli , which , a ccording to Roger North , “ became the onelymusick relished for a long time. All Englishmen of fashionwho Visited I ta ly

, and who had or a ffected an interest in music,tried to obta in Violin lessons of Corelli. The resultwa s tha ton their return home they would have none but I ta lian music,and they induced I ta lian a rtists to ' come over to England.

The result i s quaintly described by North : “ And the bestutensill of Apollo, the viol in , i s so universa lly courted , and

sought a fter to be had of the best sort, tha t some say England


ha th dispeopled Ita lly (sic) of violins, and no wonder,a fter

the grea t ma ster made tha t instrument speak as it werewith human voice, saying to his scollars— Non udite lopa rla re ? (Do you not hea r it speak ?) But not sa tisfiedwith tha t

,the ga llants must have the voices themselves,

set off in Opera s a s amply as ha th been known in Itally.

But how long this humour will hold without ba ck-slidinginto Ba llad-singing I cannot forsee , tho

’

a fa ir proffer ha thb in made of it in the celebrious and beloved entertainmentof the Begga r’s Opera ,

which made a nightly a ssembly of

the bean mond a t the Thea ter for above a month uninter

ruptedly. We see tha t North had no grea t confidence in theseriousness of his countrymen with rega rd to I ta lian a rt, andhe proved to be correct in so far a s the “ Begga r’s Operabecame a perfect cra ze which invaded a ll phases of socia l life.Scenes from the Opera were pa inted on screens, on china ,ca rved in wood. Miss Fenton

,who played the pa rt of Polly ,was transformed into a popula r goddess. Her portra itwas

more popula r than those of the Roya l family. Books werepubl ished conta ining her bons mots

,repa rtees, a necdotes, etc.

Her “ life ”wa s invented and published,her style of dress

superseded French mil linery, her songs drew away thefashionable world from the I ta lian Opera

,and eventua lly she

ma rried the Duke of Bolton ! I ta lian a rtists , however,continued to come to London

, and their a rt outlived verysoon the glories of the Begga r’s Opera .


the remunera tion for his professiona l services. The ignorance shown in ma tters rela ting to musica] art is gla ringlyillustra ted by Roger North’s rema rk tha t Ma tteis “ behavedhimself fastously (fa stous— a rroga nt, pretentious) ; no personmust whisper while he played, which sort of a ttention hadnot been the fa shion a t court. ( l) This reminds one of a

modern humorist’s description of a musica l “ At Home ” inwhich a pianist is made to say :

“ Go on ta lking ; don’t mind

me.” Tha t kind of socia l pest which possesses neither ta ctnor feeling appea rs to have been abundant a t a ll periods.Cibber

,in the apology for his life (p. relates tha t when

Corelliwas playing a solo a t Ca rdina l Ottoboni’s, he discovered the Ca rdina l and another person engaged in discourse

,upon which he la id down his instrument ; and being

a sked the rea son , gave for answer tha t he fea red the musicinterrupted the conversa tion (Hawkins).Of Beethoven we are told tha t when he discovered two

people engaged in conversa tion while hewas improvising, theira scible Titan jumped up from his sea t, and with vehementexecra tions ran out of the room .

The English Court still clung to French music whenMa tteis made his appea rance. Some nobleman— Roger Norththinks itwas the Duke of Richmond— would have given hima pension , but he did not l ike his style, and ordered one of his

pages to instruct Ma tteis in wha t he considered “ the bestmanner.” Ma tteis for jest’s sake simula ted consent, but in a

very short time he outran his master in his ownway. Three


well-known ama teurs , Dr.Wa ldegrave, a prodigy of an

archlutenist a lso mentioned in Pepy’

s D ia ry, S ir RogerL

’

Estrange , and Bridgman , under-secreta ry, a thorough-ba ssplayer on the ha rpsichord , took a grea t interest in Ma tteis.They converted him to English manners and ways

, and toldhim tha t if he would humour the English public, he wouldfind them libera l , while on the other hand he would be leftunnoticed. As soon as Ma tteis found tha t h is conversionwa sauriferous

,he became quite tra ctable, and rema ined so to the

la st. He had a keen eye to business , and when he found tha this compositions grew in popula rity he had them engraved oncopper pla tes

, and printed in oblong octavos well bound , whichhe presented to his pupils and musica l ama teurs , who, i nreturn

,gave him from three to five guinea s ea ch . This eu

couraged him to publish fourmore books, and a lso a Capriccioin the French style. The la tter he took to Pa ris, where heplayed it

,with the intention of publishing it in the sameway.

But he came soon ba ck to London without having a chievedhis object

,for

,a s Roger North says , “ he soon found tha t

pistolls (French gold coin) did not wa lk so fa st as ginnys.”

These books were considered excellent books for the study ofthe violin , but unfortuna tely they were a t tha t time consideredtoo difficul t for ama teurs, and consequently they became veryra re. The London Ga zette, No. 1 1 54, 7 th to 1 1 th December1 676 , conta ins the following advertisement The famous andlong expected musick of two pa rts by N ichola Ma tteis, are nowpublished consisting ofAyres ofa ll sortes, fitted for all Hands


and capa cities , and 1 90 copper pla tes, cut a t the desire and

cha rge of certa in well-wishers to the work. They are to besold by John Ca rr a t the Temple Ga te, Thomas F isher, a

Sta tioner in Cornhil near the Exchange, and a lso by theAuthor at an Apotheca ries, over aga inst

'

Exeter Street inCa therine Street, where such a s desire to lea rn composition ,or to play upon the V iolin , may be instructed a ccordingly.

”

I t is interesting to notice tha t the publica tion of theseAyres ”wa s about seven yea rs ea rlier than the appea rance

ofCorelli’

s Sona ta s,Op. I .

Mr. Kidson,in his book B ritish Music Publishers, tells us

tha t J ohn Ca rr brought out severa l works in conjunction withJ ohn Playford , and tha t the la tter announced his intention toleave his labours to be taken up by his “

own son and Mr.Ca rr’s son , who is nowone of his Maj esty’s Musick.Ma tteis published the third and fourth pa rts of Preludes

in 1 687. A second treble pa rt of this work i s preserved inthe B ritish Museum

,a s a l so a copy of “ Arie diverse per i]

Violino, which appea red in 1 688 .

Dr. Burney says : “ Though the compositions of theelder Ma tteis would not now appea r very origina l or elabora te

,

yet they still reta in such a degree of fa cility and elegance,

and so many tra its of the beautiful melody tha twas floa tingabout I ta ly during the youth of Corelli

,a s to render them far

from contemp'

tible We have a l ready mentioned tha t hea lso wrote an Ode for St. Cecilia

’

s Day ,1 69 5 ,whichwas

performed in York Buildings. Sometimes he would give a

ROGER L

’EST RANG E , ESQ . ,AT THE AGE OF 68.

From a n engra ving by G. Tempest.


concert , a ssisted only by his friends and pa trons, Dr. Wa ldegrave, Sir Roger L

’

Estrange , and Bridgman , and he wouldkeep a la rge company absolutely spellbound for more thanan hour a t a time. Eventua lly he ama ssed a considerableamount of money, took a large house and lived in luxurywhich undermined his constitution and caused his dea th.His sonwa s a lso a very ta lented violinist. Roger North

says : “ He left a son N ichola s , whom he taught the violinfrom his cradle ; and I have seen the boy in coa ts play to hisfa ther ’s Guitarre. He went to Vienna , but returned toEngland and settled in Shrewsbury, in 1 737 , a s a teacherof the violin and languages. He died there about 1 749 .

Dr. Burney took lessons from him in French and Violinplaying, and he says tha t the younger Ma tteis “ playedCorelli

’

s solos with more simplic ity and elegance than any

performer I ever hea rd.

”

The elder Ma tteiswas a contempora ry of Corelli, and someof his compositions appea red even before Corelli’s Op. I . (seepage 1 Theywerelverymuch more primitive , yet his dancemovements showed a certa in amount of melodic individua lity.A specimen of his work may be found in a Sa raband a rrangedby Mr. Alfred Moffa t (Augener After Ma tteis hadprepa red the ground for Corelli

, and the works of tha tgrea t ma ster had taken possession of the whole musica l world ,his disciples began to make their appea rance in England

,and

to proceed and enla rge upon his basis.According to an advertisement in the public papers there


was a benefit concert for “ S ignor Castrucci, who la tely cameover from I ta ly with Lord Burlington.” Thiswas PietroCastrucci, a pupil of Corelli, whowas born a t Rome, 1 689 .

Both he and his brother Prospero played an instrument ca lledthe Violetta Marina ,

” which Handel introduced in his operaOrlando

,where an a ir i s a ccompanied by two V iolette

Ma rine “ per 11 S ignori Castrucci ” (by the Messrs. Castrucci),and in the third act of Sosa rme, where he has an a ir cuor dimadre with one Violetta Ma rina obbliga to.Pietro Castrucciwa s the better Virtuoso, andwas appointed

as leader of Handel ’s Opera Band. Hewas the successor ofCorbett, reta ining his position until 1 737 , when hewa s superceded by Festing. I n self-conceit and i ra scibil i ty he seems tohave been a t lea st the equa l of Ma tteis. Of Festing, whowa sbut a mediocre v iolinist

,but of gentlemanly deportment, and

a grea t favourite , hewas extremely j ea lous , and his sensitivenesswa s the source of amusement and sport for many whoknew him. Whenever they met him they offered to shakehands, with the words Howdo you do

,Mr. Festing —ah

excuse me- Signor Castrucci.” Thiswas sufficient to producea pa roxysm of rage in the poor man. Hawkins and othersbelieved him to be the prototype of Hogarth

’

s“ Enraged

Musician. But this has since been proved to be J ohn Festin

(as he spelled his name), a flute and oboe player,and brother

of M ichael Festing the violinist.I n 1 7 3 1 Ha ndel

’s opera Porowas given , in which an

a ria “ Se 11 ciel me divide was sung by the famous Anna


not ca rried out. He rema ined in England , but a fter hisdismissa l from the Opera he fell upon evil days

, and a t theage of eighty he made an appea l to the public on the meritof his past services. A benefi t concertwas a rranged a t whichhe played a solo. Soon a fter he died in poverty

,in 1 769 .Wa sielewski’s a ssertion tha t he lost his rea son finds its con

tradiction in the above sta tement by Hawkins,who speaks

from persona l knowledge.Hickford

’

s Room in Brewer Street, Golden Squa re , a lso

described as“ Hickford

’

s Dancing Academy,mentioned

above,wa s in existence a s ea rly a s 1 7 1 0 , the yea r in whichthe Academy ofAncient Musicwa s founded a t the “ Crownand Anchor Tavern ” in the Strand (Chap. IX., pageI n 1 738 itwa s opened a s

“ The Musick Room. I n 1 7 39

a concertwas established there whichwa s the only subscription concert in the West End of London a t tha t time ,while the concerts a t the “ Swan and the Ca stle Taverns ”

were flourishing a t the C ity (pageFestingwa s the principa l soloist a t these concerts

,and

hewas a l so chosen as leader of the band for the HickfordConcerts , whichwas composed of members from the , band ofthe Roya l Opera .

One of the grea test a ttra ctions of Hickford’

s Roomwasan organ combined with a ha rpsichord played by clockworkwhich exhibited an orrery 1 and a ir pump

,besides solving

1 I llustrating the sizes, positions, and revolutions of the planets. So ca l ledfrom the Earl of O rrery, who had one made for him.


a stronomica l and geographica l problems, on two globes, andshowing the moon ’s age with the Copernica n system in motion.The first announcements of the Concerts a t Hickford’

s

Room appea rs in the Da ily Post, 1 9 th Ma rch 1 739 . I n thiswe are informed tha t

“FOR THE BENEFIT OF MR. AND MRS. ARNE

a t Mr. B ickford’s Grea t Room in Brewer’s-streetnear Golden-Square, this day, M arch 1 9, wil lb e performed a grand Entertainment of

MUS ICKwith singing by MRS. ARNE

who wil l perform the following songs

ACT I‘Fa lsa Imagine,’ a celebra ted song of Cuzzoni’s

in the Opera of ‘Otho ’ ; ‘Mi Lusinghe,’ a favouritea ir of Carestini’s in ‘A lcina.

’

ACT I I‘Would You Taste the N oon-tide Air

,

’

a favourite Song in the‘Masque of Comus,’

‘Lascia ca Dermi ’ in ‘Volto,’ a favouritea ir of Fa rinelli’s 1 in ‘Artaxerxes,’with the following songs byMR. RUSSEL, viz. ‘Dove Sei,’ in

the Opera of ‘Rodelinda.’ ‘

In M il ledolci Modi,’ in ‘

Sosarmes,’

and a Solo on the Violonce llo,by S IGN IOR CAPORALLI Capora le)

Tickets 55 . each.

Gentlemen and Ladies are desired to order their Chairs tothe Ba ck Door in Windmil l Street.

Among the places where ‘ tickets may b e had’Arne’s Address

is mentioned : Mr. Arne, at Mr. West’s, a Pa inter in DukeStreet, near Lincoln’

s Inn F ields.”1 The “

sung by,

”etc.

,was evidently a lready ca rrying a s much or more weightwith public Opinion as the a rtistic merit of the song itself.


On 3 1 5 t Ma rch 1 740 we find the following announcementin the same newspaper :

“ FOR THE BENEFIT OF MR. GALLIARDa t Mr. Hickford’s Great Room in

Brewer Street near Golden Squarethis day wil l b e performedan Enterta inment of Musick

Being the Chorusses of the Tragedy of‘Julius Ceasa r ’

written by the late Duke of Buckinghamand an Interlude of Love and Folly both set to Musickby Ga lliard, intermixed with Two concertos for the Hautboy.

The reason for a ltering the day is tha t the voices were previously engaged byMr. Handel.”

The price of admissionwa s 1 05 . 6d., and tickets were tobe obta ined from Mr. Ga l lia rd a t his house in Ra thbonePlace.The address is in so far i nteresting a s i t adds another

name to the list of eminent musicians living in tha t district.Ba ch and Abel resided in K ing’s Squa re, now Soho

Squa re, next door to Ca rl isle House.Rimbault rela tes tha t in 1 78 2 , NO. 1 Ca rl isle S treetwa s

Mr. Angelo’s R iding School , and tha t this probablywas theidentica l pla ce , a s Angelo bought Ca rlisle Mansion. Theyounger Angelo used to tell tha t he could well remember thedelightful evenings when Ba ch and Abel with Ba rtolozzi andCipriani formed a little friendly pa rty in his pa terna l home,and amused themselves with drawing, music , and conversationtill long a fter midnight. Ga insborough, whowas then in love


M ichael Festing studied the violin under Richard J onesand Geminiani , and a l though he has been described as “ buta mediocre viol inist, but of more gentlemanly deportment ”

than some of his riva ls,i t appea rs doubtful tha t the la tter

qua l ifica tion should have placed him a t the head of theprincipa l orchestra s of his time. He composed a number ofConcertos

,Solos , and Sonata s for the violin , which were

mostly published by priva te subscription, and consequentlyrema i ned little known and eventua lly disappeared a l togetherwith very few exceptions.Festing died 24th J uly 1 7 5 2 , at his house in Wa rwick

S treet, Golden Squa re. His only son , the Rev. MichaelFesting, Rector of Wyke Regis, ma rried the only child of

Dr. Greene (see Handel’s rema rk

,page After the dea th

of Festing the subscription concerts a t Hickford’

s Roombegan to decl ine

,and Mrs. Cornelys, taking advantage of

this circumsta nce, instituted concerts at Ca rlisle House,securing some of the best performers, and even causingsingers of the Opera to appea r in contravention of theiragreement with the directors

,which caused the interference of

the Magistracy on severa l occa sions.I n 1 763 Ba ch and Abel joined forces and sta rted their

subscription concerts,mentioned in Chap. XI I ., which con

tinued with uninterrupted prosperity for more than twentyyears

,when they were continued by the “ Professiona l

Concerts or“ Concert of the Nobility ” under the direction

of Lord Abingdon, of which we sha l l speak in a later chapter.


Hickford’

s Room became a fterwa rds the famous Almack’

s,

which opened in 1 765 with a ba l l a t which the Duke of

Cumberland, the hero of Culloden ,was present. I n 1 8 50 i tbecameWillis’

s Dancing Academy, popula rly known a sWillis’

s Rooms.The second of Corell1 s prominent pupils who came to

reside in England and diffuse the art of his masterwasStefano Carbonelli. Hewas induced to come over with theDuke of Rutland, who received him into his house. Hewasappointed to the leadership of the so-ca l led “ Roya l Academyof Music,

” which gave I ta l ian Opera at the Hayma rketThea tre. Buononcini ’s Griseldawas performed there in 1 7 2 1 ,and Ca rbonelli cha rmed so much with his playing tha t S irR icha rd Steele pa id him the compliment of introducing thefollowing incident in his comedy of the Conscious Lovers.A conversa tion between Bevi l and I ndiana , on the subjectof the opera in genera l and Griseldis in pa rticula r

,i s inter

rupted by a servant who informs his ma ster tha t S ignorCarbonelli wa i ts his commands in the next room. Bevi lreminds I ndiana tha t she expressed the day before a desireto hea r tha t a rtist , whereupon he is introduced and playsa 5 010. I t became eventua lly the fashion to introduceinstrumenta l solos between the Acts.I n 1 7 2 5 Carbonelli exchanged his position at the Hay

ma rket for a simila r one a t Drury Lane, where he a lsoplayed solos between the Acts. When Handel sta rted hisOra torios, he became his leader. Dr. (Edwa rd) Rimbault


was in the possession of a curious bil l of a concert givenby Carbonelli in 1 7 2 2 (before his permanent engagementat Drury Lane)

DRURY LANE THEATREMay 4

S IGNOR CARBONELLI’S CONCERT

ACT I

A newConcerto for two Trumpets composed and performedby Grano and others.

A newConcerto by Albinoni, just brought overSong— Mrs. Barbier

Concerto composed by S ignor Carbonelli

ACT 11

A Concerto with two Hautboys, and two Flutes, composedby Dieupart

A Concerto on the Base Violin by PippoSong —Mrs. Barbier

By desire the eighth Concerto by Arcangelo Core lli

ACT I I IConcerto by Carbonelli

Solo on the Arch-Lute by S ignor Veb arSong— Mrs. Barbier

NewConcerto on the Little Flute composed byWoodcock and played by Baston.

Solo— Signor Carb onelliFinale : Concerto on Two Trumpets by Grano and others.

Pippowas the famous I ta lian Violoncell ist and composer,Amadio Pippo. An adagio of hiswa s one of the favouritepieces in Bernha rd Romberg’s repertoire.


virtuoso pieces in existence. An instruction book whichappea red in London about 1 730 is , a ccording to Mr. Edwa rdHeron-Allen

,to be a ttributed to Geminiani , in so fa r as i t

conta ins certa in principles of tha t master’s school which werecollected and transla ted by the compiler. I t is entitled The

Art of Playing on the Violin,with a new sca le showing how

to stop every note in tune,and where the shifts of the hand

should be made. To which is added a collection of the finestR igadoons, Almands, Sa rabands, Courants, and Opera; Airsextant.” I t formed pa rt of a collection of i nstruction booksfor a ll the principa l instruments then in use. The compilerof a ll these bookswas Peter Prelleur, a Frenchman by birth,and a good ha rpsichord player and organist , whowa s an

a ctive supporter ofWilliam Caslon’

s Music Meeting in theCity

,as mentioned in Chap. VII]. The above collection

appea red under the title of The Modern Music Master, whichwas published a t the Printing Office in Bow Church Ya rd.The publ isher’s name is not given

,but i twa s either Thoma s

Cluer or William Dicey,his immedia te successor, and the

da te is 1 73 1 . Some authorities mention 1 7 20 a s the da te ofpubl ica tion (see Ca ta logue of the British Museum), but this isevidently too ea rly

, a s Mr. Frank Kidson shows in his B ritish

Music Publishers. A la ter edition of The Art of Playing on

the Violinwas Engrav’

d,Printed

,and sold here by T.

Cobb , a t ye Apollo in Silver Street near Cheapside , London.Where books of I nstruction for any single I nstrument may

be had. Price 1 5 . 6 d. Also by John S impson , Musica l


I nstrument Maker, a t the Viol and Flute in SweetingsAlley nea r the Roya l Exchange (from the la te Mrs. Ha re)in Cornhill. Cobbwas the successor to Cluer and Dicey,and commenced publ ishing in Bow Church Ya rd about 1 734,removing a fterwa rds to the Apollo in S ilver Street. J ohnS impson ca rried on the business founded by J ohn Ha re.M rs. H a re died in 1 74 1 , so tha t the da te of the abovepublica tion must be pla ced a fter tha t da te. The frontispiece shows the figure of a gentleman playing the viol inappa rently a portrait of Prelleur— engraved by J . Smith.

The instructions given in the book are very primitive, butthey Show a decided improvement in the art of bowing. I tconta ins a lso a table ma rking the position of tones and

semitones on the fingerboard up to A in alt. (a 7 th position.Pupils are told to ma rk the fingerboa rd of their instrumentin a ccordance with this drawing by means of a pa i r of compasses. They are told to make the distance between the nutand the bridge of their instrument the same a s in the table, byshifting the bridge a l ittle forwa rd or backwa rd as required !The na tura l position of the bridge with rega rd to the soundholes and length of table evidently did not trouble him in thelea st.I n his instructions for tuning he keeps stil l to the primitive

method of pull ing up the first string as far a s i t will go withoutbreaking— as recommended by Hans Gerle in the sixteenthcentury. At the end of the book are some Minuets ,Rigadoons, a Saraband, and Gavotte by Albinoni, and a


number of a irs from Opera s by Handel , Buononcini , Masciti,

and Sa int Hé léne.

An instruction book of simila r s tanda rd entitled Principesde Musiquepa r M ichel Pignolet deM onte’cla ir 1was publ ishedin Pa ris in 1 7 20,

and a la ter edition appea red in 1 735 .

1 Born 1 666, at Chamnont en Bassigny ; died 1 737 , nea r S t. Denis. Hewasthe first who played the Double Bass in the orchestra of the Grand Opera in theyear 1 707 .


the master expostula tes aga i nst the pupil’s desire to learn a

tune before he has la id a good founda tion. The pupilrema rks : “ I f I cou’d lea rn but one Tune , I cou

’d ea silylea rn another. The master : “ Yes , and another

,and be

just whe re you were, not a step forwa rder. The pupil says“ But I fea r my ear is not good,

” to which he is answered,You can’t expect I should teach you and find ea rs. Wha tkind of voice have you ? Can you sing the Tune of eightB ells ? or, to speak in the musica l phra se, can you Sol Fathe eight notes a scending and descending as I play them onthe fiddle, thus ?

Fa Sol La Fa Sol La Mi Fa Fa Mi La 8 0] Fa La Sol Fa

Sc. “ My voice is not very good, but I’ll try. M “ Hold,

this key don ’t suit the compa ss of your voice ; I’ll try

i t a note higher.” The pupil says tha t he lea rned thenames of the notes as Alamire , B fa bemi , C so]fa ut, etc.,whereupon the master tells him tha t the first letter does aswel l. This shows tha t down to the middle of the eighteenthcentury the names of the old solmisa tion were stil l i n use.The ma ster expla ins tha t he intends to “ draw the Tune

Pa rt from the sound or Tune of eight B ells. This leads himto speak of the Ca rillons : “ You find tha t there is somethingto be gather

’

d from the R inging of Bells ; but in France andHolland, you may hea r them to grea t Perfection , but then,


they have a grea ter number, 50 or 60 B ells, and somethinglike the keys of an Harpsicord or Organ , are contriv

’

d to havea communica tion with the Bells, and a person is employ

’

d a t

fix’

t hours to perform . He would sca rcely have rel ished therema rk of a famous composer who sa id tha t the musica l ta lentofa na tionwas in inverse ra tio to the number of their ca rillons .Crome expla ins the fingering by means of diagrams , or a s

he says For the Tune pa rt I have drawn a sca le for everypractica l Key, by representing the Finger Boa rd of the Fiddlewith Strings, and pla cing spots thereon to shew where theFingers should be put to stop each Note in Tune , and thoughthe Schola r can ’t a t first stop with Exa ctness

,he will see

where the Fingers should be put. Though I am satisfy’

d

these Sca les will be of great use for stopping in Tune , nevertheless we must depend on the Ear as Umpire.” All thepra ctica l sca les go as far a s four sha rps and three fla ts. Thisreminds one of the Old orchestra l fiddler who sa id tha t hecould not understand why composers should go to the troubleto write pieces with six or seven fla ts or sharps a s they neverplayed more than three !

For the pra ctice of the sca les he has constructed a l ittleminuet by the rhythmica l a rrangement of the dia tonic noteswithin one octave, and this minuet he transposes into theva rious keys. The fingering of the chroma tic sca le is identica lwith tha t given by Mersenne (Chap.

For the tuning of the Viol in Crome recommends the useof a pitch pipe , on the sl ide ofwhich were ma rked the dia tonic


notes in C major. Some of these pipes gave the notes of a fulloctave. He advises the pupil to commence with the A string,or else to begin with the E string, and So]fa downwa rd “ likea ring of five Bells until you come to A

,and then down in

the same manner to A and G , f‘

and if they a re in Tune therewill be an agreement in the two Sounds which is a lso ca lledConcord , and if there is no agreement then the strings a re notin Tune.” The holding of bow and i nstrument he describesas follows Take the fiddle and hold i t in your Left Hand ;let the Neck lie between your forefinger and Thumb , turningyour Wrist tha t your Fingers may l ie over the Finger Boa rdto be in readyness when you want them ; then let the ba ckpart rest on your left B rea st, the bestway is to stay it withyour Chin

,tha t it may rema in steady ; hold your Bow with

your right Hand nea r the) Nut, with your F ingers and Thumbwithout touching the Ha ir, and when you draw the Bowdownwa rd

,and upwa rds ; take ca re you don

’t let your BowHand come too nea r the Fiddle , but ra ther play with thesma l l end of the Bow, unless it be to lengthen out a longnote.Next he recommends the study of the major keys a s the

pupil will have the eight Bells for a guide. Then he recommends the division of these notes in quavers and semiquavers

“ without setting any exa ct time - for the pra ctice of thebow.

After tha t he comes to “ T ime I can’t wa rrant yourstoping the Fiddle in Tune by these Rules ; I may venture to


with Exactness , else’

twou’

d be likewise guess worktoo.”

For the counting ofquavers he recommends the use ofsomesyllables such a s To], Do], Lol, etc., and when the Notes runvery quick , to use other syllables a s Tid il, did il, did il, etc.And when pronounced a s fa st as you can, each syllable is thetime of a semiquaver, so tha t , whilst you are S inging or sayingsixteen of these Syllables, I can very easily count E ight thus1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 . But, for your sa tisfa ction , I

’ll write themdown and you may the better judge, and though the compa risonbe very simple yet you may form a just I dea of the lengthof Sem iquavers and be of singula r service to you hereafter

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Tid il,did il

, did il, did il, did il,did il

,did il

, did il.

After expla in ing common or triple time, and the tempo of theM inuet, he expla ins the Jig : Jigg t ime is much the ea siestboth to count and play, provided you have command with theBow Hand, a s J iggs a re a lways play

’

d with life and Spirit.You may form a Just I dea of Jigg Time by the Hand Ga l lopof a Horse or Poney a s he bea ts Time of every Note with hisFeet thus 1 2 2 3 , and so on continua l ly I sha ll set thesame Jigg va rious ways, but wil l be to the same purposediffering only in appea rance. Then fol lows a Jigg writtendown in 1 51 , £1 , 17 1 time.


I n his explanation of the terms “ Adagio and “ Allegrohe says they “

a re taken from the I ta lian Language. This la sti s the Time I have been speaking of, and is the sort of Timetha t is genera lly us’d for single Tunes

,such a s Minuets

,J iggs

,

Song Tunes , and other Airs ; the Adagio or slow Time isseldom us’d but in Concert Musick.” This reminds of

Purcell ’s words about the levity of our neighbours.While expla ining many things in a very clea r manner

, a s,

for instance, the amusing simile of the Hand Ga llop to J ig time ,he shows him a lso the best and shortestway to dri ft into a llsorts of bad habits (speaking of syllables, and stamping timewith the foot). A very useful passage is that which expla insthe manner of playing tenor or bass pa rts on the viol in and

the use of C and F clefs.About Gra ces he says I t i s adding other Notes that a re

not set in the Tune in order to sweeten and make the Tunesmooth and plea sing to the Ear they may very properly beca lled Ornament or dress as the Musick wou’d be quitena cked and ba re without them. With Prelleur’s The Art ofPlaying on the Violin Cromewas evidently well a cqua inted ,and showed his apprecia tion of the work by reproducing a

considerable pa rt of his instructions on bowing to the letterin his Fiddle N ewModel

’

d. This kind of pira cywas quitecommon among our worthy forefathers. They frequentlypira ted whole instruction books as well as music. The Art

of Playing on the Violinwas l itera lly reprinted in 1 7 50—55 by

Peter Thompson,a t the “ V iolin and Hautboy ”

a t the West


End of St. Paul ’s Churchya rd, as The Complea t Tutor forthe Violin (8vo, 48 The only difference between thetwo bookswas tha t Thompson had returned Crome’s compl iment of reprinting the bowing instructions from Prelleur’sbook by adding a number of lessons from the appendix ofThe F iddle N ewModel

'

d, and a lso by the addition of thefollowing Airs :Coldstream or Second Regt. of Gua rd’s March.Bellisle Ma rch.The Pa stry Cook ’s Shop in Fortuna tus.Well Met Pretty Ma id in Thomas and Sa lly.The Baguio i n Ha rlequin Ranger.The Settee in Queen Mab .

Bedfordshire Ma rch and Capt. Reed ’s or Third Regt.Guard’s Ma rch.

The Dog in Perseus and Andromeda .

Ye Fa i r Marri’

d Dames.The La ss with the Delica te Air.Mrs. Vernon’s Hornpipe and Miss Dawson ’s New Hornpipe.

Ra i l no More ye Lea rned Asses.Queen Cha rlotte’s M inuet.Dead Ma rch in Saul.Come

,Come my Good Shepherd : Winter’s Ta le.

Ca ckl ing of the Hens.The Pa rlour and the Cook’s Pursuit in Ha rlequin Ranger.Handel ’s Wa ter Piece (sic I).

Wm. Hol lar’s Frontispiece to Playford’s D ancing l l/ a ster. From the la ter edition sold by John Young.


The rea son for giving the names of the pieces in this placeexpla ins itself. Where they do not reca ll historica l recollectionsthey a re , a t least, amusing. The Baguio played a grea tpa rt in the history of the eighteenth century. I t was themeeting-pla ce of the fashionable world, and fil led the office of“ Figa ro of la ter days as the best medium for spreadinggossip and scanda l.

The Ca ckling of the Hens wa s a favourite theme amonga ll musica l people. We have a lready mentioned the cha rmingexample from Rameau’

s Pieces en Concert,

”

and the ea rl ierone from Fa rina ’s “ Capriccio Stravagante. Some of the abovepieces conta in some specimens of double stopping. They arethe first tha t occur in an English Tutor. Thompson publ isheda l so E ight Solos for a V iolin and a thorough bass, composedby J oseph G ibbs

, of Dedham in E ssex (about 1 7 50—5 whileThompson and Son published S ix Solos and Six Scots Airswith Va ria t ions for the V iol in

,by Wa l ter Clagget, 0p. 2

(c. and Cha rles and Samuel Thompson about 1 765—66,S ix Sonata s with thorough bass, by Sigr. Lampugnani.Peter Thompson publ ished in 1 7 5 8 a book of country

dances with frontispiece showing the interior of a ba l lroom.

The music is provided by two viol ins,etc., one pipe and

tabor. As it is an interesting il lustra tion of the mannersand costumes of tha t period we reproduce it here.The pieces m Crome’s The Fiddle NewModel

’

d are

insignificant l ittle tunes,minuets

, a gavotte, and a jigg withnot more than three fla ts or .four sha rps

,and not exceeding the

1 4


first position. The same author wrote a lso a sim ila r instructionbook for the Violoncello ; a collection of Dr. Wa tts’ divineand mora l songs and

,perhaps only to show his

versa tility, he set to music a song ca lled “ The TipseyLovers, which appea red among the ra re publica tions of

Tyther, who a lso published “ Six Solos for the German Flute,Violin

, or Ha rpsichord the first three composed by Mr. BurkThumoth, the three last by Sigr. Canaby. Thumothwas anI rish flute player, but who Sigr. Canabywas is appa rentlynot known.About the same period, viz. 1 7 35

—40,

appea red a bookof Six Sona ta s , by the famous violinist J ean J oseph Cassaneade Mondonville, entitled : “ Les Sons Ha rmoniques, Sona tesa viol in seul a vec la ba sse continue

, par Mondonville oeuvre 4 ,gravée par L. Hue. A Pa ris et a Lille, chez : L

’

Auteur au

Concert de Lille en Flandre. Me.Boivin Mde (Ma rchande), rueSa int Honoré, a la Regle d

’

or. Le S" (sieur)Le Clerc, M1, rue

du Roule,a la Croix d’

or. Avec Privilege du Roy ”

(no da te).

(The H armonics, Sona tas for Viol in solo with a thoroughbass, by Mondonville, op. 4, engraved by Hue , etc.) TheSona tas , printed on 4 1 qua rto pages , are prefa ced by Usefulinstructions to play the Sona ta s in the spirit of the author.”

I n these instructions Mondonville expla ins the theory of theovertones or na tura l ha rmonics and the division of the strings,giving the exact pla ce where they are to be found, and howthey are to be produced on the viol in. This work is of verygrea t historica l interest as i t is, a ccording to Laurent Grillet


School of Orpheus , an ea sy method for the study of theviol in in the French and I ta l ian style, together with theelements of music and numerous lessons for one and twoviol ins. Op. 1 8 , Pa ris , 1 7 38 , sold by the author.)The other bookwasL

’

Art de se perfectionner dans le viol in ou l’

ou donneh étudier des legons sur toutes les qua tres cordes d

’

u violonet les differentes coups d’

archet. Cet Ouvrage fa i t lasuite de l’Ecole d

’

Orphée. Pa ris , Castagneri,(The Art to become perfect on the violin where may befound lessons for all the four strings and the va rious kinds ofbowing. This work is a continua tion of the “ Schoolof Orpheus

,etc.)

These were the first instruction books of any consequencepublished in France. I n the “ School of Orpheus ,

” whichwas not in advance of the average standa rd of the time, hespeaks still of va rious ways of tuning the viol in, besides theone in G , D’

, A', E”, viz. G ,

D ’

,A’

,D”

and F , C’

, A’

, E”.

I n the second work,L

’

Art de se perfectionner,” etc., he

gives examples and pieces by : Abaco, Albinoni , Birckens

(tock l), Castrucci, P. Conti , Corell i , Desja rdins, Pa cco,Geminiani, Laurenti , Maurini , Meek

,Ottoni

, Rasetti, Saccia ,

Ta rtin i, Tessa rini, Va lentini , Veracini, V iva ldi , Zani, Zucca ri ,H andel , Loca tel li, Nozeman, Chinzer, Kenis. At the end hesays : Thosewho should find one or other of the lessons difficultI a dvise to stake on the number of the piece in the lottery untilhe can master i t. I n tha t manner he wi ll win both ways.”

FRANCESCO GEM I N IAN I .From his Tutor L

’

Art da Vznlon.


from one extremity of the fingerboa rd to the other, a ecom

panied with contortions of the head and body, and a ll suchtricks which ra ther belong to the professors of legerdema inand posture-masters than to the a rt ofmusick. The exampleof his grea t contempora ries and his own a rtistic feelingshowed him tha t the a ims ofmusica l expression lay a ltogetherin a different direction. He felt tha t musicwas capable of

expressing va rious pha ses of our inner iife ; but in trying tofind the means of expressing them he lost the right tra ck .

I nstead of seeing them in the musica l idea itself he tried tofind them in externa l symbolism and superficia l by-work. Hesays, for instance “ The turned shake being made quick and

long,is fi t to express ga iety, but if you make i t short, and

continue the note pla in and soft,it may express some of the

more tender pa ssions.” “ The bea t , if it be performed withstrength and continued long

,expresses fury, anger, resolution ,

etc. I f i t be played less strong it expresses mirth , sa tisfa ction ; by making it short and swelling the note gently,i t may express affection and pleasure , and so on. He t e

commends beginning the study of fingeringwithout usingthe bow ,

“ which you should not meddle with till you cometo the seventh example

,in which will be found the proper

method of using it.” This is very curious,as we know tha t

his ma ster, Corelli, followed exactly the opposite course. Hetaught his pupils first howto draw their bowa cross the strings

,

and did not a llow them to use the fingers of the left handbefore they could do so to his sa tisfa ction . Corelli

’

s superior

Frontispiece from the Entire Newand Complea t Y'

utorfor the Violin ,

about 1 780.

Engraved by H. Roberts.


costume of the time playing the violin in front of a musicstand.The text of this very primitive l ittle book is absolutely

identica l with Prelleur’s The Art of Playing on the Violin.

I t conta ins a lso Crome’s rema rk on gra ces from The F iddle

NewModel’

d“ They may very properly be ca l led

ornament or dress as the Musick wou ’d be quite na cked andbare without them.

”

Longman and Broderip,“ At Ye Apollo in Cheapside

,

published another tutor which contained a verba l reprint ofthe above. I t appea red about the same time a s N ewandCompleat Instructions for the Violin, by Geminiani

,

and conta ined at least one exercise from Geminiam 5 book, Viz.

the seventh.Therewas evidently no protection for the property of

musica l authorship, for we find reprints of the above book aslate as 1 800, when W.M . Cahusac, 1 96, Opposite St. Clement

’sChurch, Strand, published The Complea t Tutor , byGeminiani ; oblong, 4to with exactly the same text. Anindirect outcome of Gem1niani

’

s schoolwas Stephen Philpot, apupil of Michael Festing (see page 1 9 who

,in his turn

,was

a pupil of Geminiani. He published in 1 767 a tutor : “ AnIntroduction to the Art of Playing on the Violin on an

Entirely New Plan ca lculated for Laying a Regula r Foundation for Young Beginners. Expla ined by such Ea sy Rulesand Principles as will enable a schola r to a cquire a properMethod for performing on tha t I nstrument. By Stephen


Philpot, of Lewes in Sussex , one of H is Maj esty ’s Musiciansin Ordina ry, London : Printed and Sold for the Author byMess. Randa l l and Abel], Successors to the la te Mr.Wa lsh, i n Ca therine Street in the Strand, Mrs. J ohnson, atthe Ha rp and Crown

,Opposite Bow-Church , Cheapside ; Mr.

Smith,a t the Ha rp and Hautboy in Piccadilly ; Mr. Cha rles

Thompson in St. Paul ’s Church-Ya rd ; and Mr. Bremner,opposite Somerset House in the Strand. Price 7 5 . 6d.

” I ti s not known who Randa l l ’s pa rtner Abell was, but it seemsnot improbable tha t hewas a grandson or even a son of J ohnAbel], a celebra ted lute player and singer, and B a chelor of

Music a t Cambridge , where he died in 1 7 24. The othernames, as given on the title page , have been added on a ccountof their historica l connection . J ohn J ohnson publ ished ,moreover, Philpot

’

s Dances, R igadoons, etc., which appea reda l so in B remner and Preston’s lists.

Undernea th the publishers’ names the title page has thefollowing announcement , which appea rs very comica l inconnection with the violin tutor : “ Where may be had,a Trea tise on the Advantage of a Pol ite Educa tion , joinedwith a Lea rned one, dedica ted to the Duchess of Somerset.

”

Then follows a notice which reminds one of the musica lpi ra tes of the present time : “ This Trea tise i s entered a t

Sta tioners ’ Ha ll,a ccording to Act of Pa rl iament. Those tha t

are sold without being signed by the Author a re unfa irlyprocured, and the Vender will be prosecuted.” Undernea thPhilpot ’s signa ture (in ink) a slip with the following notice

2 1 8 The Romance of the fi ddle

has been pa sted on to the title page ALB — The Lessonsmay a lso be played on the German Flute, Violoncello , andby Beginners on the Harpsichord ; and are figured forThorough Bass.” Tha t savours still of the old Lessons forsundry instruments or voices

,

” which were quite commonduring the early part of the seventeenth century.I n lieu of an introduction he prints a letter da tedLondon , the 10th of December I t conta ins thefollowing passage : “ The Lessons are genteel and proper totheir different Subjects. The Bases well set. The Rulesand Directions masterly and ingeniously contrived

, and Ithink it on the whole a very useful and well-executedPerformance. The letter is signed

,

“ Your Friend andServant ” (no name).I n his preface he sets forth the “ three grand Requisites

tha t must conspire to bring any Art or Science to Perfection a proper genius ; (2 ) regula r and well-groundedI nstructions ; and 3)Applica tion.

”

I n his first subdivisionheaded “ i. Of Genius, he shows tha t he confounds na tura lability in genera l and physica l ability in pa rticula r with the

indeed very wonderful, and a great mystery beyond thehuman comprehension to a ccount for ; and is a Phaenomenonwhich must be resolved into the Will

,Power

,Wisdom

, andGoodness of the Grea t Creator

,who doubtless designed the

pleasing Melody and Ha rmony of sounds,to sweaten and


one of Geminiani (which is too difficult for children or youngBeginners to a ttempt till they have made a good Progress inPlaying), there has not appea red any Trea tise upon thisSubject tha t has been of any Use

,than as a gamut to shew

the notes,and something of the different sorts of Time.Fourthly: I n order to proceed regula rly, I sha l l begin

with shewing the Manner of holding the Violin. As to theposition in which the V iolin should be held , different Ma stersgive different Directions. The Method I lea rntwa s to restit upon the collar-bone, the Ta il-piece ra ther of the Left sideof the Chin ; bringing the hollow pa rt of the Arm ,

and theElbow quite under the I nstrument

,tha t the Fingers may the

more readily cover a ll the strings.”

From the pictures of Geminiani and Moza rt we see tha tthiswas followed by the best Ma sters of tha t time

,and even

later.“ The Method of holding the Bowforms the next

heading. “ The Thumb should be placed just above theNut, the Ha ir resting on the Ba ck of the Thumb

,and the

Fingers on the outside of the Bow,some little distance from

ea ch other, tha t thereby the whole Length of the Bow may

be commanded a t Pleasure.” This ta llies aga in with themanner shown in Geminiani’s portra it.The next advice to the pupil is to play the “ gamut up

and down , drawing the bowsoftly, and the whole length a t

ea ch semibreve , stopping the Fingers firm upon ea ch String ;by which Means a clea r Tone wil l be produced. This

The Romance of the Fidd le 22 1

is sound advice and good sense, and so is the following, butthe manner of expressing it is extraordina ry : “ I havesha rpened the Note F in the Gamut for two Rea sonsF irst

,to make the first F inger of an equa l Height on a ll the

S trings. Secondly, to make the Sounds in the key of G,

with a sha rp Third, in their proper Progression which wouldhave been deficient had they rema ined in their dia tonic Order.All through the book he never uses the words Major or

Minor,but ca lls them keys with a sha rp third and keys with

a fla t third. “ I f a sha rp is set upon a note a l ready sha rp,

he says,

“ i t must be played a semitone higher ; and if a Fla tshould be pla ced upon a note a l ready flat, i t must be played asemitone lower.I n playing compositions of that period i t is necessa ry to

pay a ttention to this,a s we should employ the Sign of double

sha rp or double flat i n such cases to avoid any mistake,a lthough the oldway i s more logica l.To impress upon the student the position of tones and

semitones in a“ sha rp (major) key, he advises him to sing

or sol-fa eight Bells up and down. Thiswas a favouritedevice of the eighteenth-century ma sters , a s may be seena lso from Crome’s Fiddle N ewModel

’

d (page 20 1 ) and

other contempora ry tutors. Philpot tells the pupil to playthe gamut up and down no higher than B in Alt. a t first

,

because from A to D in A lt. is thewhole shift. The ha l fshiftwas from G to C in Alt., corresponding with our secondposition.


With rega rd to the positions of the semitones in a flat

key (minor), Philpot explains“ tha t the sixth and seventh

note must be sha rpened in a fla t Key to a scend properly intothe Key. The seventh , being sha rpened, becomes the sha rpthird to the fifth of the Key, and leads you into the Key butin a flat Key descending, the semitones a re between thesixth and fifth

,and third and second of the Key.

Thus he expla ins our melodic minor sca le, but of theharmonic minor he makes no mention.The common chords he ca l ls concords. I n speak ing of

gra ces and ornaments, he expla ins tha t the Shake is begunfrom the whole or ha l f Tone above, and the Bea t from tha tbelow. This explana tion may be welcome to some of our

readers , as it is not so genera lly known as might be expected.“ No Bea t, Shake, or appogiatura can be made on the

semitone minor, but a ll may be used upon the semitonemajor. Upon the Ha rpsichord there are no Semitonesminor, which renders tha t I nstrument imperfect.” This is aninteresting rema rk and important for the better understa ndingof eighteenth-century compositions

,a s we are so used to the

tempera te sca le tha t we take no notice of maj or and minorsemitones in this respect.The exercises, in all major or minor keys not exceeding

four fla ts or sha rps, a re in the form of short Suites precededby the respective sca le and its common chord (concord, a s heca lls i t). They commence with a little “ Prelude ” followedby a Minuet , sometimes with a second Minuet as “

a lterna


a Thorough Bass, or Lessons for the Ha rpsichord ; whichthe Subscribers to the above Sona ta s will be entitled to a t thePrice of 4s. 6d.,

which otherwise is 75 . 6d. Subscriptions aretaken a t Mr. Simpson’s Musick Shop in Sweeting’s Alley,Cornhil l ; a t Mr. Solerol

’

s the Cocoa Tree Chocola te Housein Pa l l Ma l l ; a t Mr. Clegg’s, the Mount Coffee House inGrosvenor Street ; a t Mr.Winfield’

s, the Prince of OrangeCoffee House a t the Bottom of the Hay Ma rket ; and a t theAuthor’s House in Ra thbone Pla ce

,1 7 54.

Another point of interest in the above advertisement isthe mention of the G rea t Room in Dean Street

,which figures

conspicuously in the a nna ls of musica l London from themiddle of the eighteenth to the beginning of the nineteenthcenturies. I t had previously formed pa rt of the VenetianEmba ssy, a la rge house pa rtly in Dean Street (No. 1 7 )and pa rtly in Frith S treet (No. One of the first references is conta ined in the Genera l Advertiser of 2 3rd Ma rch1 7 50 :

“ For the Benefit of Mr. Pa rry and Mr. Gwynn, a t

the Grea t House in Thrift S treet,Soho (la te the Venetian

Ambassador’s), on Monday, Ma rch 2 6,will be perform

’

d a

Concert of Voca l and I nstrumenta l Musick. The Voca l Pa rtsby Sig. Gaetano Guadagni the first Viol in by Mr. Brown

,

and severa l pieces of Musick on two Welsh Ha rps together,

by Mr. Pa rry and Mr. Gwynne,a lso severa l Welsh and

Scotch Airs, by Mr. Pa rry a lone. Tickets to be had at thepla ce of performance a t 5 shill ings each. To begin a t seveno’clock.”


London. Fisher, Cramer, Cervetto, Crosdill a ll appea red a t

these concerts, a s well as Abel and Ba ch. But the la tter two

instituted concerts of their own about 1 763, which were givenat Hanover Rooms. Mrs. Cornelyswas supported by thea ristocra cy to screen their orgies and gaming pa rties. Theinfamous masquerades became a public scanda l , and whenMrs. Cornelys tried to open a simila r institution in B ishopsga te shewa s opposed by the citizens in the interest of

public mora lity. The managers of the Opera compla inedtha t the principa l singers appea red a t Mrs. Cornelys

’

concerts, and Sir John Fielding had Gua rdini a rrestedat Ca rlisle House for breach of contra ct. I n 1 77 2 thePantheon was Opened in Oxford Street. I t had beenconstructed from designs by Sir J ames Wya tt a t theexpense of andwas to form a sort of WinterRanelagh. Almack

’

s (la ter Willis’ Rooms) had a lso been

opened for concerts, dances, and a ll sorts of public entertainments, and Ca rlisle House went from bad to worse.The contents were brought to the hammer

,and theWest

minster Maga zine for Janua ry 1 7 73 gives an a ccount of

the auction under the heading “ Cupid turned Auctioneer.”

A fewyears la ter Mrs. Cornelyswas found selling a sses'

milk a t Knightsbridge, and eventua lly she died in FleetPrison , still forming schemes for retrieving her brokenfortune.The Bach-Abel Concerts lasted for about twenty-two yea rs

,

when they were succeeded about 1 7 85 by the professiona l


concerts under the management of Lord Abingdon,who

was a lso the chief supporter of the former.Therewa s a lso a “ Grea t Room in James Street, which

is mentioned in Dubourg’

s a s a concert roomin which Ma tthew Dubourg played some solos when hewastwelve yea rs old.

C HAPT E R X I I I

GEMIN IAN I ’S tutorwas the first and most important instructionbook for the violin which

,so far, had emana ted from the

I ta lian School , as Corelli never wrote any work whichwa sexpressly conceived for educa tiona l purposes, a l though his

Sonatas offer some of the finest bowing exercises to this veryday. We need only think of tha t wonderful composition

,

Les Follies a”E spagne, written on

“ Farinel’

s G round ”

(seepage The “ Follia ”

appea rs to have been a dancetune whichwas used in Spa in about tha t time. Ta rtini’sfame as a teacherwas so grea t tha t hewas ca l led l l Maestrodei Na zioni

,

”

and i twas to be expected tha t he should contribute to the educa tiona l l itera ture in some shape or form .

He did so in three instances. H is most important work,

entitled L ’

Arte Dell a rco, consists in fifty va riations on a jigby Corell i, which has recently been revived by the masterlyrendering of Mr. Fritz Kreisler. The work is essentia llywritten for the development of the technic of the bow. Theart of bowing formed the point of gravity in Ta rtini’s work ,a s is a l so shown in his “ Lettera a l la Signora Madda llena

Lomb ardini (a pupil of Ta rt ini, afterwa rds Madame Sirmen)inserviente aduna importante lez ione per i suonatoridiviolino.

”

228


line conta ining the pla in melody a s i twas usua lly writtendown by composers of the time. The second line conta ineda version showing a ll the customa ry embellishments, whichwere left to the knowledge

,ta ste , and technic of the executant.

The pieces are instructive for modern players as showing themanner in which the slow movements were rendered a ccordingto the composer’s intention.Germany had so far produced very little in theway of

instruction books for the violin. The first work of a popula rna ture , like Prelleur

’

s and Crome’s books,was “ Rudimenta

Pandurista '

; oder Geig-Fundamenten

,worinnen die Kiirzeste

Unterweisung flir einen Schola ren,welcher in der Violin

unterwiesen zu werden verlangt, sowohl zum Behuf desDiscipuls, a ls auch zur E rleichterung der M ilb e und Arbeiteines Lehrmeisters auf die griindlichste und leichteste Artmit b eygesetzten Exempeln da rgethan wird. Von e inemMusikfreunde. Augsburg

,1 7 59 , 4to.

”

(Rudimenta Panda rism,or elements of the viol in , i n which

are given the most concise instructions for the student seekingtuition on the violin. For the use of the disciple as well a sfor the a llevia tion of the trouble and work of the master ; ina thorough and ea sy manner with additiona l exercises. Bya lover of music. Augsburg

,1 759 , 4to.)

The next step in the advance of violin technicswas madeby France, by the publica tion of a work which conta inedexercises showing distinctly novel fea tures , while the ex

planatory rema rks rema ined primitive and inadequa te. The


title of this work, which appea red about 1 760, i s : Principesdu Violon pour apprendre le doigté de cet instrument. Et

les différends agréments dont il est susceptibles , Dédiés a

Monsieur le Ma rquis de Rodovan de Damartin. Par Mr.L

’

Abb é le Fils , Ordina ire de l’

Academie Roya le de Musique.Prix 1 2 l ivres en blame, a Pa ri s chez Des Lauriers

Md. de Papier, rue S t. Honorée a coté de celle des Pronva iresa L

’

Enfant Jesus. (avec privilege du Roi).On the title page the author rema rks tha t the work may

serve a lso for the study of the “ Par-dessus-de-Viole ”

(thetreble viol), with the only difference tha t up bows and downbows would have to be reversed in tha t ca se. The holdingof the instrument which L’

Abb é tea ches is the same a s weknow it now, with the chin on the left of the ta ilpiece, whilemany players of tha t period were stil l in the habit of pla cingthe chin on the right of the ta i lpiece. The bow, which heca l ls with just apprecia tion “ the soul of the instrument,

” isheld a ccording to modern usage

, and the bowing in itsessentia l points is equa lly modern.While the text of the book is poor, the exercises are very

advanced and make considerable demands upon the executiveskill of the student, including chroma tic chord figures

,double

shakes, etc. etc. Wa sielewski doubts the authenticity of thisbook , but he gives no rea son for his doing so.

L’

Abb é le Fils,whose rea l namewas J oseph Ba rnabé de

Sa int-Sevin ,was the son of Phil ipp de Sa int-Sévin,a church

musician of Agen who,from hi s clerica l dress, was called


l ’abbe (the abbot). The fa therwas appointed Violoncellista t the Pa ris Opera i n 1 7 27 , and his brother Pierre joined tha torchestra in the same capa city in 1 739 . The la tter possesseda very fine tone and showed the advantages of the violoncelloover the bass Viol in such a manner tha t the la tterwas fina llyexcluded from tha t orchestra . L

’

Abb é le Fils is a lsomentioned as a Violoncellist, and i t may be tha t this circumstance caused Wa sielewski to express the opinion abovementioned.

I twas quite usua l in those days for musicians to playmany instruments, a s has been pointed out before ; and

Corrette and Prelleur both wrote instruction books for everypopula r instrument of their time

,so tha t there is absolutely

nothing extraordina ry in the fact tha t a well-educa ted musician ,whose ckief instrument may have been the violoncello , shouldhave written a viol in tutor. L

’

Ab b é le Fil s had a grea treputa tion a s a teacher a s well a s an executant, and it isimpossible that an important work like the above, with a

dedica tion to a well-known noblema n,should have appea red

under his name without a ctua l ly emana ting from his pen .About the same time tha t L’

Ab b é le Fils’ book appea red,viz. 1 760, Antonio Lolli published his Eeole a

'u Violon, 0p. 8

(Pa ris-S ieber), dedica ted to the Russian Count Potemkin. ARussian edition appeared a t St. Petersburg in 1 77 5 . Thiseditionwas engraved in London with a French title, and

the engraver’s name, J . Sherer, No. 7 Hayma rket, appea rs to

be the anglicised name of Scherer, a very frequent name in


a ccompaniment by Ferdinand David , whichwa s made popula rby Madame Norman-Neruda (a fterwa rds Lady H a llé). TheSona ta in A anticipa tes Paganini ’s Solo for the G string byabout twenty yea rs

,a lthough the la tterwas credi ted with

being the first to use tha t device. Technica l ly i t stands on alevel with Paganini , and to the present day there a re fewwhocould a ttempt to follow Rust’s a dvice to pra ctise i t a lso on

the lower strings. Musica lly i t stands on a much higherlevel than Paganini’s Solo , although it does not a tta in thestanda rd of the D minor Sona ta , and still less of the gra nd“ Sona ta Seria in B minor for violin and pianoforte. Thela tter is one . of the finest works of its kind, which byundeserved and inexcusable neglect ha s been a lmost forgotten ,and very few violinists of the present day know even of itsexistence. Except a few studies by Benda

,which were

published a fter the composer’s dea th, none of the abovenamed German masters la id down his experience and theresult of his studies in an educa tiona l work for the viol in.This ta skwas reserved for Leopold Moza rt

,fa ther of the

grea t composer, who a ccomplished it in a manner whichchara cterises the thorough and conscientious pedagogue.The book appea red in 1 7 56 , the yea r in which W. A. Moza rtwa s born. I twas published by Ja cob Lotter of Augsburgunder the title of “ Versuch einer griindlichen V iol inschule,entworfen und mit 4 Kupfer-ta feln sammt einer Tabelleversehen von Leopold Moza rt Hochfiirstl Sa lzburgischenCammermusikus. I n Verlag des Verfa ssers.

LEOPOLD MOZ ART.

From Ike i d le-page of Itis Tawn - See p. 238.


the score of his Orfeo, where he prescribes“ due viol ini piccioli

a l la Francese (two little French violins). Moza rt says tha t“ we stand no longer in need of the little violins. Everythingcan be played on the ordina ry violin in the higher positions.The little violins were thenceforth used exclusively to teachvery sma l l boys

,a l though he says tha t even there an ordina ry

instrument would be preferable,provided tha t the size of the

hand permits of its being used.Very curious are his remarks about the “ Fagotgeige

(ba ssoon-violin), which differed from the viola a little in sizeand the manner of stringing (tuning Some ca l l i t theH andbassel (hand bass), but the Handbassel is still a littlebigger than the Fagotgeige. The la tter instrumentsupplied the ba ss to the violins

, Zwerchfiauten (piccolos),and other high treble pa rts.‘

Then comes the “ Ba ssel or “ Bassete which theI ta lians ca ll V ioloncello. Moza rt knew severa l sizes of

this instrument,but says tha t they differed only in power of

tone. The double bass he describes as “ Grosse Ba ss or

“ Violon,

” ofwhich there were two kinds, one with fivestrings and one with four strings

,

“ tuned an Octave lowerthan the V ioloncello

, and, like the la tter, in fifths.” Besidesthese eight members of the violin tribe

'

he mentions theba ss viol (Viola da gamba) a s an instrument with a moreagreeable tone than tha t of the violoncello, and a s being on

1 The name Fagotgeigewas sometimes applied to the Ba ryton, but Mozartevidently makes a distinction between the two instruments.


tha t a ccount mostly used for the treble pa rts. He describesa lso the Ba ryton ,

”

a species of bass viol with bra ss stringsrunning through a groove a t the back of the neck which wereonly used a s open ba ss strings and plucked with the leftthumb. I twa s a favourite instrument of the AustrianEmperor

, and Hadyn composed a grea t dea l of music forit. Moza rt gives a lso an a ccount of the Viola d’amore, the“ English V iolet ” (a species of viola d

’

amore), and of theMa rine trumpet (trompetta ma rina).His description of the construction and pa rts of the violin

is very lucid and correct, and he knows the correct positionof bridge and sound-post too well to make the ridiculousmistake of P. Prelleur, who tells the pupil to make the lengthfrom nut to bridge on his instrument agree with the lengthof a diagram printed in his tutor, by shifting the bridge ba ckwa rd or forwa rd , a s the ca se might be, without rega rd to theproportions of the instrument.The second pa rt of his introduction conta ins an essay on

the origin of musica l instruments which is just as primitiveand na ive as most of the contempora ry trea tises on thesubject.The first chapter (Hauptstuck) of his tutor a cqua ints the

pupil with the elements of music— a very sensibleway of

commencing. I n this he speaks of the absurdity of countingtoo many bea ts in a bar, a s for instance quavers in quicktime , which as he sayswas still la rgely pra ctised.H e describes two different ways for holding the instru


ment. The first is to hold it free aga inst the shoulder, withthe lower rim resting on the colla r bone. This manner hedescribes as more elegant though more difficult as the lefthand has to hold the instrument. I t i s illustra ted on thefrontispiece , which gives his portra i t with the instrumentheld in the above manne r. I t is here reproduced a s wellas a second full-page engraving which demonstra tes thesecond manner.I n this the violin is held with the chin resting on Me

rig/it side of the ta i lpiece. This manner he describes a s

easier, the instrument being thus held firmer and steadier.I n the fourth chapter he speaks about the va rious bowingsand the division of the bow, which a re trea ted exhaustivelyand with critica l penetra tion. These explana tions are

followed by rhythmica l exercises with reference to thesundry pa ragraphs on the va rious kinds of bowing. Ofthese pieces he says : “ The more unpa la table they will befound the more wil l it plea se me itwas a t least my intentionto make them thus. I n the fifth chapter he expla ins Howthe good tone on the viol in may be obta ined and producedby a skilful modera tion of the bow. I n this he shows thespirit of the German school , which excels in breadth and

power of tone, while i ts massiveness is often subservient tobeauty. He recommends the use of thick strings “ to obta inthe power -of the left hand and a strong and manly bow.

"

For,” he says, wha t could be more insipid than not da ring

to a tta ck the violin with a will , but to produce with the bow


(which is often held only with two fingers) an a rtificia lwhispering up the fingerboa rd right to the bridge of

which only a ca sua l note may be hea rd here and there,because all i s floa ting about like a dream. Such a ir

violinists have such a ssurance , tha t they wil l not hesita teto play the most difficul t pieces from sight. “ I fthey have to play loud and with a full tone , their wholeart i s gone a ltogether.” “ Solche Luftviolinisten s ind soverwegen , dass sie die schwersten stiicke ausdem stegreifwegzuspielen Keinen anstand nehmen. Miissen sielant und sta rk spielen ; a l sdann ist die gauze kunst auf

einma l weg.”

This is an amusing mixture of truth and error. Withrega rd to the systema t ic investiga tion of tone production andthe inherent division of the bow, Moza rt may be looked uponas a pioneer, who la id down sound and correct rules and

principles.The use of ha rmonics (

“ Flascholets as he ca l l s them )causes his i re : “ Such trumpery and trickery is best left forthose to excel in who appea r a t Ca rniva l t ime a s mummersand Morris dancers. He who wants to exhibit the ‘Fla scholet ’ (ha rmonics) on the viol in had better use concerts orsolos written on those notes , and not intermix them withna tura l sounds of the viol in.”

This is,of course

,the voice of a conserva tive and pedantic

i t may be well to remember the b ad effectof an indiscriminate use of the natura l ha rmonics (the a rtificia l


ha rmonics are out of the question here), especia l ly in sca lepa ssages

,etc.

He is very empha tic with rega rd to the importance of thestudy of the “ Ca ntabile ”

in phra sing and expression. Thesixth chapter trea ts of triplets and the seventh of the va riouskinds of bowing, viz. deta ched notes, slurred notes , and theirva rious combina tions. The modern system of positionswasunknown to him , as may be seen from the eighth chapter,which trea ts “

of the whole , the ha lf, and the mixed ‘ApBy whole or full “ Applicatur (applica tion) he

understands our fourth position,the ita lf appliea tion denotes

the second, and the mixed applica tion the mixed use of thefirst four positions. Double stopping and Arppegios are

a lso dea l t with in this chapter. The ninth chapter explainsva rious embellishments, the tenth chapter dea l s with shakes,and the eleventh chaper with vibra to (close shakes), mordent,and a few other gra ces. The twelfth chapter dwells upon“ the correct reading of notes and a good style of deliveryin genera l.” I n this chapter he expostula tes aga inst virtuosity.I n pa ragraph four he says : “ One may conclude herefrom ,

whether a good orchestra l violinist should not be thoughtmuch more of than a mere Soloist. A Solo player mayra ttle off his Concerto tolerably

, nay even with honour,without any deeper insight into the essence of music if hehave only a pure intona tion and delivery. A good orchestra lplayer on the other hand requires grea t insight into the wholescience ofmusic

,into the science of composition

,the different


cha racters, nay even a pa rticula r viva cious skil l to fulfil hisduties honourably, especia lly if he intends to become theleader of an orchestra i n course of time.”

He compla ins tha t everybody wants to be a soloist, whilethere is a dea rth ofgood a ccompanists. Moza rt stands not a lonein laying stress on the importance of ensemble and orchestra lplaying. H is views were endorsed by many good masters like

J . A . H il ler, Lohlein , and others. Although their v iews of

the subject a re extreme, i t might be well to ca l l their wordsto mind in the fa ce ofa preva iling spirit of vanity and greed,which has a lmost extinguished the cultiva tion of chambermusic (perhaps the most eleva ted and refined form of tha t a rtin a sma l ler frame) in home circles.To this period belongs a lso a tutor which appea red with

out the author’s name a t Florence. The title is : “Principijdi Mnsica N ei qua l i oltre le antiche, e

‘solite Regole vi sonoaggiunte a ltre figure di Note, schia rimento di schiavi, sca ledel Tuoni, Lettura a lla Francese , sca le semplici delle PrinceRegole del Cimba lo , Viol ino , Viola , V ioloncello, Contrabosso,Oboe e Flauto.” As may be expected from the number ofsubjects comprised in the book, each comes in but for a verysma ll sha re , and the instructions for the viol in are even moreprimitive than those in some of the minor English instructionbooks of the time. The book has, however, a remarkably finetitle page which , for tha t reason , has been reproduced in thisplace.

C HA PTE R XIV

THE most important tutor which followed tha t of LeopoldMozart in Germanywas Anweisung zum Violinspielen mit

pracktischen Beyspielen und zur Uebung mit vier und zwanzig Kleinen Duetten erlautert von George S imon Lohlein.Leipzig und Zull ichau auf Kosten derWaysenhaus undFrommannischen Buchhandlung, 1 7 74.

( I nstructions for playing the viol in with practica l examplesand, for the practice thereof, with twenty-four Duets, expla ined by George S imon Lohlein. Leipzig and Z iillichau at

the expense of the Orphanage and Frommann’s Libra ry,

The book is dedica ted to the Reichsgra f Ca rl H einrich ,H err von Schonburg (Count Schonburg), and the homely andfamilia r style in which the author addresses his readers reca llsa t once the times ofVoss, Gellert, and Gleim. The expla nations are thorough and clea r, yet frequently they revea l thepedantic schoolma ster. He evidently does not overestima tehis own capabilities

,a s he tells us in the prefa ce to his book of

a friend who a sked him why he would not ra ther compose a

comic Opera than write an ABC Book (primer) for the viol in.I and a Comic Opera excla ims Lohlein. No, the la tter


his own idea s, as is often the ca se, then I cannot see why heshould go to a tea cher a t a ll.Speaking of the instrument and the bow he says Many

people hold the opinion tha t the worst instrument is goodenough for a beginner. This is erroneous. As soon as

one applies a thing to a certa in purpose , i t is necessary tha tthe instrument which is required should be good, otherwisethe final ’

a im cannot be a tta ined.

”

The strings he ca lls : “ The ‘Quinte ’

(fifth) or E ; the‘Qua rte ’

(fourth) or A ; the third is ca lled‘Q

’

; the fourth‘G

,

’

or the spun string— the French ca l l i t bourdon from thebuzz of the bumble bee. His rema rks about the best stringsshow tha t a l though the fame of I ta l ian stringswas wellestablished yet itwas difficult to obta in the genuine a rticle“ Many people will buy only Roman strings. They do not

know, however, tha t most of the Roman strings are made inGermany (even in those days and a lso tha t the rea l I ta l ianstrings are Often very bad.

He expla ins Moza rt’sway of holding the viol in as faulty,a lthough still followed by many players. The holding of theinstrument which he advocates is the same as we knowit now.

Lohlein a s well a s Moza rt wa rns the pupil aga inst contra cting b ad habits with rega rd to the position of the bodyand facia l expression. G rimaces

,puffing, blowing, snotting,

etc., are among those bad habits which he strongly condemns ;they are frequently indulged in by present-day ama teurs. He


ha s a good dea l to say about such externa l , gentle signs bywhich the player may legitima tely follow the idea s and

sentiment of the music, and he comes to the conclusion tha t“ i t does not come into considera tion so long as it does notenter the sphere of the ridiculous or the grotesque.” Hedoes not believe in the player who stands there like a sta tue, ashe impresses him as being a “ wooden musician.” I n speakingof the fingers he makes the following droll rema rk : “ Onemore l ittle reminder ! which I am a lmost a shamed to makeThe hands must be kept clean , and the nail s cut. Thisreminds me of an old proverb which my teacher wrote in la rgeletters on the cover of my music book : ‘Wer will lernenOrgel and I nstrument , Schneid’

ab die Nagel und saub re die

Hand.

’

(“Who wants to lea rn organ or instrumentsMust cut h is nails and wash h is hands ”

)

(Very excellent advice !)“ Some have an evil habit of biting thei r na i ls. Apa rt

from being an ugly habit, this has the bad consequence of thena i ls becoming too short and the extreme tips of the fingersbecoming too fleshy , which prevents the free vibra tion of thestring.” His bowi s the so-ca lled Corell i-bow, bending out

wa rds l ike an a rcher’s bow. To a tta in a perfectly stra ightbowing, Lohlein advises the student to “ take a piece of veryflexible wood or wha lebone and bend it so tha t it forms an

a rch about one and a ha l f inches higher than the strings , anda t a proper distance from the bridge. Fix the two ends in the


F holes (! This prevents the bow from travelling up and

down on the strings , and in letting the bow touch the stick or

wha lebone on both sides of the bridge it is bound to travelstra ight, and in following this mode of pra ctice for some timethe student will Obta in a perfectly stra ight bow and a goodtone. When this object has been a tta ined one can throwthe Izoooy norse away.

” He does not say wha t becomes of thepoor soundholes into which tha t stick is wedged tightlyenough to keep in its place even when the bow leans aga instit ; nor eitherWha t effect this a rrangement ha s on the tone ofthe instrument. I t must mute the tone to a considerableextent. Amusing are his instructions for counting semiquavers in common time, viz.

“ Ei-ne-ni-e , Zwei-e-ni-e , etc.(One-na -nee-e), which reminds very much of Rob Crome’s“ Tid-il-did-il,

” only tha t it has, a t least, the advantage of

i ndica ting the exa ct bea t of the b ar.Another very origina l explana tion is tha t of the Fermate

(pause).“When it (the pause) occurs in the middle of a

movement it is the intention of the composer to give thevoca l ist or instrumenta list a l ittle time for recovery and resta fter a long and difficult pa ssage

,to resume hisway afterwa rds

with renewed vigour. This intention is entirely frustra ted bya genera lly adopted custom of exhausting oneself by a ll

manner of musica l Hocns-Pocns (tricks) instead of husbandingone’s resources. Secondly

,the sign occurs when the singer

or instrumenta l ist wants to finish his Aria or Concerto. Hereit is the sign for a Cadence

,or a ccording to present usage the


leads him to expla in the laws and principles of prosody,

and the appl ica tion of the up-bow and down-bow by examplesfrom va rious well -known songs. The following specimensof 1

3; and 8 time he has evidently wri tten and composed for

the edification of his pupils

Seinurhubsch fieissig, duwirst’s schon be greifi'

en und wenn auch dein

Meis -ter b is weilen sollt keifen.

Geh’ lassmich in Ruh’

, ich ho're dirweiter nicht zu.

The master, in the a? time pa ssage

,tells his pupil : “ Be

good and practise, and you wil l get on even if your mastershould sometimes upbra id.” The pupil who gets more advicethan he a sks for answers in fi time Go leave me in peace,I sha l l l isten no longer to you.” Lohlein bel ieves in bea tingtime with the tips of the toes

,but very gently. He recom

mends tha t this should be particula rly observed in churchperformances, where the musicians are sca ttered about.But,

” he adds, “one often finds tha t, i nstead of ma rking

the time with his hands, the musician who conducts themusic in the church shows such a rdour with his feet, a s if he


would stamp the whole choir with everything belonging toit right into the ground. This reminds one of the tragicdea th of Baptiste Lully, the grea t composer at the Court ofLouis XIV. Hewas conducting one of his works with a sta ffabout two ya rds long, which served to stamp time on the floorof the pla tform. I n his excitement he struck his toe withsuch vehemence tha t it had to be amputated , and he succumb ed a fter severa l opera tions.

Lohlein’

s book , which fills 1 36 pages, comprises an

appendix of twenty-four exercises with a ccompaniment of

a second viol in to which a bass i s added in the la st exercise.They are ra ther primitive and not in systema tic order.With Canon and Fugue hewa s not On very good terms,

a smay be seen from examples X I I . and XV I I . No. XI I . is aMinuet

,of which he tells us , “ This M inuet is a canon. Wha t

a canon is everybody has seen during the lastwar, viz. a grea t,long, round

‘ piece of perfora ted bra ss resting on a woodenmachine with wheels, dragged a long, together with the tube,by horses. I t is used inwar time in ba ttles and sieges,

In music,of course, such terrible instruments a re

not needed. The word signifies here a certa in lawor ruleby which one pa rt has to follow another strictly and regula rly.Such lea rned baubles are more for the eye than for the ear.The so-ca lled Fugue No. XV I I . fa res no better. This is wha the says of it : “ To the hea l thy ear this musica l a rtifice wil lbe just a s unpleasant a s the English sa l t 1 to a hea lthy pa la te.

1 Epsom-saltl?


At the same time it is necessary tha t a thorough composershould understand it.I f we take his fugue as a specimen

,we can fully endorse

his verdict. The Rondo does not find favour in his eyes anymore than the Canon or the Fugue. Although the primitiveRondo form which he imita teswas a grea t favourite withFrench composers Of the la te seventeenth century

, Lohleinlooks upon it as an innova tion. “ These little trifles, hesays , which are lugged about so generously (profusely ?) bycomposers of our time are pa rticula rly effective on burdygurdy a ccompaniments to magic-lantern displays , and I am

not certa in tha t this lea rned work (No.XIV. of his examples)of a Rondeau will

.

not sha re their fa te. The ta ste of thepresent time requires such Lyrum La rum. To judge fromthe la test compositions, the motto now is : ‘The worse, thebetter.’ Therefore, I conclude that we sha ll soon requirebagpipes and burdy-gurdies in our music to give an adequa terendering of these modern compositions

,He knew

evidently more about viol in playing than about music a s an

a rt, and l ike many people of our own time he sawin the pa stperfection , i n the present decadence, in the future absoluteruin and decay. Of the grandeur of the fugue a s we knowit from Ba ch and Handel

, and of the grace and bril l iancywhich the Rondo a ssumed under Haydn and Mozart, Lohleinhad not the fa intest notion.Ea ch of his twenty-four examples is a ccompanied with

instructions for its execution. At the end of the examples,


E ine voutnende Ausgela ssen/zeit

A llegrofurioso Hurtigund neftzg (quick and furious).etc.

He continues to expand upon these “ Affecte and theirtempi

,and then follows Chap. XI I I . in which he speaks of

the different kinds of bowing and Applica tions (positions).The fourteenth chapter dea l s with musica l interva ls and

tona lity (Klang Gesc/clecntern) followed by a short trea tise onthe laws of ha rmony. The explana tions given in the la tterare very meagre and elementa ry.I n an appendix (Z ugabe) he Speaks about the construction

of the violin , and the principa l makers , of whom he onlynames Ama ti

,Stradiva rius

,Maussiel of Nuremberg, Grobbitz

ofWa rsaw, and Sta iner. He does not mention the Christianname of the latter

,but no doubt he means Jacobus S ta iner

,

whom,aswa s the Opinion in those days, he places above

Stradiva rius and Amati.

JOHANN ADAM KILLER.

From the portra i t 5] Anton Graf z’

n tire University Libra ry a ! Leipzig.


was given by his predecessors , but in a different manner. Tothis were added some explana tions concerning the construction Of the violin , the bow , the va rious members of the violinfamily, the a rt of bowing, etc. etc.He speaks about the two different ways of holding the

violin expla ined and i l lustra ted in Moza rt’s work.The manner of holding the violin aga inst the brea st which

Moza rt considers agreeable and easy he does not recommend ,as the instrument is not steadied by a nything when the hand

(left) i s moved backwa rd and forwa rd , until one has lea rnedto press it aga inst the chest with the thumb and index.The secondway he decla res to be the best, viz. to hold

the violin aga inst the neck “ so tha t the side of the upper Estring (right of the ta ilpiece) is placed under the chin.

”

H il ler wa rns aga inst using too much force in turning thepegs or using t/ce teet/c, which is a habit Of bad musicians.I f a peg slips one should not use sa liva nor rosin. The

former helps only for the moment, and shows bad manners ;the la tter does more ha rm tha n good in the long run.His instructions for tuning are very origina l. I n the

absence of a well-tuned piano the student is told to take thecommencement of three well-known hymn tunes Wirglauben a ll an einen Gott,

” where the wordWir gives the Dof the third string, and glau the A of the second. Nowsing Lobt Gott ihr Christen and you will find on the word“ Gott the note to which the E must be tuned.

“ Nowtake the first tuned D string and sing in tenor manner


(tenor compa ss)‘Nun sich der Tag,

’ when the syllable‘ sich ’ will give the note for tuning the G . Sound two and

two strings frequently together until the ea r becomes a c

customed to the ha rmony of pure fifths when the a ssistanceof the hymn tunes wil l no longer be required.”

This piece of advice shows at once the “ ca ntor whoa lways thinks of the voice and i ts tra ining. The “ Appli

ca tur,” which Moza rt uses in his school

,is described a s an

antiqua ted device by H iller, who employs the positions as

we know them still.I n teaching the maj or sca les he introduces the tetra chord

of two full tones and one semitone,the la tter fa l l ing between

the third and fourth fingers. H e shows how every sca le i sbuilt up by two of these tetra chords, a very excellentwaywhich

,for clea rness and simplicity, could not be surpassed even

when different fingerings for the sca l es are taught afterwa rds.I n expla ining the melodic minor sca le he says I f i t shouldnot appea r peculia r tha t a descending sca le should be differentfrom the a scending sca le, if one should not Object to the veryOffensive and ha rsh major sixth in a scending, yet the seventhin the descending sca le cuts such a miserable figure tha t themajor seventh as suosemitonium modi (leading note) shouldnot have permitted itself to be ousted on any a ccount. ” Headvoca tes the use of the harmonic sca le (pa rticula rly insinging) as the only means to become famil ia r with theinterva l of the augmented second between the sixth and

seventh degrees of the sca le.


Very origina l i s his explana t ion of short rests on a ccentedbea ts. He ca lls them “ Suspir,

”

a sigh, because the playercan mark them best by a short breath.

The stacca to he describes a s a punto d ’

a rco, because itis easiest in an up stroke from the point of the bow to themiddle.The very rapid (flying sta cca to he describes as

Pikiren (prick),“ which belongs more to the soloist than to

the ripien player.”

I n other pa rticula rs this l i ttle primer does not differessentia lly from simila r books of its period.All these instruction books tha t we have mentioned

formed steps in the gradua l development of viol in playing inwhich a ll the principa l na tions of Europe pa rticipated. Yetthe most important steps towa rds the crea tion of a modernschoolwa s aga in an outcome of the grea t classica l school ofI ta ly.G iamba ttista Viotti, a pupil of the famous Pugnani,was in

rea l i ty the fa ther ofmodern viol in playing. Like some of thegrea test teachers he communica ted his art to his pupils byindividua l instruction, and i twas reserved to Ba i llot to laydown his principles in the form of a tutor, and to make thema ccessible to the majority. Viotti

’

s compositions offer mostva luable ma teria l for study, even at present.


more to the different ways of tuning, and a t the end of hiswork he gives three pieces under the heading “ Imita tion of

the Viola d’amour. The tuning for these pieces is given inthisway

I n his preface Campagnoli sta tes tha t the rules and principles

(Lehrs‘

atze) given in his work are partly those which weretaught by his master, thezfamous Na rdini 1 7 2 2- 1 79

This important work had been preceded by a less completetutor by the same author, which appea red in Pa ris in 1 790.

The modern system of studying the violinwas rea ched inCampagnoli

’

s book and fina l ly completed by Spohr in hiscompendious tutor publ ished by Artaria in 1 832 .

The refined and melodious compositions of Campagnol ihave for a time been overshadowed by the immense numberof works by the grea test composers which followed immedia tely after their appea rance. Recently they havea ttra cted once more the a ttention of many excellent virtuosi.M r. Achille Rivarde , the well-known Professor of the Roya lCollege ofMusic, is an a rdent admirer Of Campagnoli

’

s work,which he considers one of the most important of its kind.Some of his fine solos have recently been republ ished. Themost popula r of his works at the present time are his studiesfor the viola

,whichwas his favourite instrument during his

later yea rs.


With Campagnol i we have rea ched the history of moderntimes

,which is more or less familia r to a ll a rdent vota ries of

the king of string instruments, and is, therefore, outside thescope of our investiga tions. Those who wish to go furtherinto the ma tter will find a grea t dea l of informa tion in J . vonWasielewski’s D ie Vial ine und ili re Meister.

Although the grea t works of Ba illot, Campagnoli, etc., formthe s tanda rds from which the old and new roads diverge

,

there a re still a few educa tiona l works of minor importancewhich deserve to be mentioned. Some on a ccount of theamusing sidel ights which they throw upon musica l society oftheir time , and one a t lea st on a ccount of its interesting informa tion about the manner in which Paganin i used to handlehis instrument, and about his execution of certa in passages

,

chords , ha rmonics , etc.Although the la tter pa rt of the technic of the viol in has

recently been trea ted in a more exhaustive manner byProfessor Ottoka r Sevcik

,the celebra ted ma ster of Kub elick

Kocian, M iss Ma rie Ha l l, and many more of the rising sta rs ,

yet the older work has the merit of conta ining a record of

Paganini’s a chievements by an authentic witness, whowas a tthe same time a competent judge. The title of the work,which appea red in 1 8 29 , runs a s follows Ueber Paganini’sKunst die Viol ine zu spielen , ein Anhang zu j eder b is j etzterschienen V iolinschule nebst einer Abhandlung fiber dasFlageoletspiel i n einfa chen und DoppeltO

‘

nen. Den H errender Viol ine Rode

,Kreutzer

,Ba illot, Spohr zugeeignet von


Ca rl Guhr, Director und Kapellmeister des Thea ter zu

Frankfurt a M . On Paganini’s Art of Playing the Violin,

”

an appendix to every violin tutor which has appea red beforenow

,with a trea tise on the playing of ha rmonics in single

and double notes. Dedica ted to the lords of the violin , Rode,Kreutzer

,Ba illot, Spohr, by Cha rles Guhr

,Director and

Conductor of the Thea tre a t Frankfurt-ou-Ma in .) Publishedby Schott SOhnen.

” Mayence , Pa ris, and Antwerp.

To enter into a detailed a ccount of the work would bea superfluous repetition Of wha t ha s become the commonproperty of modern violinists. Suffice it to say tha t withoutGuhr

’

s record many pa rticulars about Paganini’s a rt wouldhave been lost, a s well a s severa l of his compositions whichPaganini himself never committed to paper, but which werenoted down on hearing by his a rdent admirer

,and thus saved

from complete extinction . I nteresting are his rema rks aboutPaganini’s ca re in the selection and trea tment of his strings.For his G string he selected himself the gut strings

,which

he kept tuned to G on a stretching-boa rd until they werethoroughly settled, so tha t they could not give a fter being spuncovered— with wire. He kept a lso severa l sets of the three

upper strings on the stretching-boa rd tuned to their respectivenotes in order tha t every string on changing should at oncereta in its proper pitch. We have a lready mentioned tha tPaganini stil l employed different tunings for certa in effects ,arid Guhr tel ls us tha t he used to a l ter his tuning with a lmostlightning speed without endangering the purity of his intona


whowas looked upon as the legitima te heir to his technica la chievements, and handed them down to the masters of thela tter pa rt of the nineteenth century.The author had the good fortune to hea r Sivori on severa l

occa sions, and to admire the elegance of his bowing and thepurity of his intona tion , to say nothing of the immensetechnic of his left hand. H is tonewa s a lways beautiful , ofa s inging qua l i ty, and grea t ca rrying power. H is phra singwas elegant, but he la cked depth of feel ing and power Ofemotion , which is to be found more often in the northernma sters.

Unfortuna tely Sivori did not commit to writing thetechnica l principles and instructions ofhis tea cher.An interesting tutor appea red in Ha lle

,in Saxony, in the

yea r 1 803. The title was a s follows : Anweisung zum

Violinspielen von jonann August Fenkner ( I nstructions forV iol in Playing by J ohn Aug. Fenkner). The name of thepublisher and printerwa s J ohann Christian Hendel , and theprice one tha lerI n his preface (Vorerinnerung) the author says tha t his

origina l intentionwas to omit tha t which belonged to theelements ofmusic genera l ly, but tha t on second considera tionhe resolved to include these ma tters. H is reason for doingsowas tha t the pupil should be able to find informa tion on a ll

points , and to read over quietly tha t which the teacher hadexpla ined during lessons. This is a sound idea and the spiri tin which such handbooks and tutors should be conceived by


the ma ster and looked upon by the pupil. Unfortuna telythey a re sometimes used by misguided people as self-tutors,or else they a re mere skeletons which require so many verba lexplana tions on the part of the tea cher tha t most pupils forgetha lf of them on theirway home.I n speak ing of the bestway of holding the viol in , Fenkner

says “ The rzglct side of the viol in is pla ced under the chin.”

This is the manner which , as we have seen before , wasrecommended as the best by Leopold Moza rt, and i t is evidenttha t the influence ofViotti , Rode , and Kreutzer had not founditsway into these pa rts , a lthough the tutor appeared in theyea r in which Rode traversed Germany on hisway to S t.Petersburg.More surprising still i s Fenkner’s sta tement tha t “ there

a re ignorant players who pla ce the viol in aga inst the chestand try to hold it with the fingers. I t will be ea sily understood tha t the player wil l never a cquire technique in thismanner . One would ha rdly expect to see this point discussedin a ll seriousness a t the beginning of la st century.Fenkner

’

s explana tions of stringed instruments are basedupon those conta ined in Moza rt’s book. I n speak ing abouttuning he quotes H iller’s words (see Chap. XV., p.He Opines, however, tha t a lthough correct in itself, tha t methodrequires first of a ll tha t every violin student should know thehymn tunes in question ; secondly, tha t when he knows thetune,Wir glauben , etc ” he should be able to discern betweenthe right and the wrong pitch.


Lohlein’

s bookwas a lso known to Fenkner, a s he wa rnsaga inst trying to fix the pegs with rosin or sa l iva .

I n speaking of sca les , i t is very amusing, a lthough correctfrom his point of view

,to hea r him speak of single sha rps as

Doppelkreuz (double cross), which is, of course, a correctdefinition of the a ctua l sign ill, and of the double sha rp a s

einfa ches Kreuz x,which is likewise an exa ct description .

At present the words a re used in an opposite sense,a s the

“single

” cross has a ctua l ly the effect of two crosses or sha rps.He speaks of three kinds of sca les

,viz. : 1 , the dia tonic ;

2,the chroma tic ; 3 , the enha rmonic. This is very curious,

a s the G reeks had a l ready an enha rmonic mode , which theyobta ined by lowering the third note of the tetra chord one

semitone, thus being in unison with the second note (E ,F ,

F,A). I n la ter times they lowered the second tone a lso , but

only by a quarter tone, whereby the tetra chord appea red thuse 3 ell if a

These qua rter tones they ca lled diesis.The minor sca lewa s a sore point in those days, and has

been even up to the present, as may be seen from the

explanat ions given in some modern dictiona ries. Fenkner’

s

explana tions a re amusing, because his good musica l feel ingtells him tha t the harmonic minor sca le is the correct one , yethe is a fra id of the augmented second between the sixth and

the seventh degree of the sca le. He says The most ma rkednote is the minor third

,where

,a ccording to this

,the first

semitone is to be found from the second to the third degree.


ma sters agree, however, tha t the soft (minor) dia tonic sca leshould descend in the followingway : A

, G ,F

,E

,D , C ,

B,A.

To this he adds in a footnote : “ Whether the F sha rp isnot too ha rd and a l together unna tura l in the soft sca le

,one

may easily decide by playing the pa ssage in the previousfootnote in thisway

A , G , A , Fit, D ,E

,A.

He forgets tha t this is quite another ma tter, a s tha t pa ssageis distinctly in A major, and ha s nothing to do with themelodic minor.He adds tha t in a quick movement

,and in the following

manner, it might pass

This is , ofcourse, simply an ordina ry and correct melodic sca le.The ear of the Western na tions cl ings to smooth progres

sions,and resents, genera l ly speaking, augmented interva ls a s

unvoca l , while the music of the Norse and Orienta l peoplesglories in them. Fenknerwas evidently much troubled aboutit, and while recognising the logica l and systema tic necessityof the ha rmonic sca le

,he tried to find away out of the

difficulty which is very na ifHe proposes for the use Of beginners in pa rticula r to play

the a scending sca le in the following manner


and the descending sca le in the sameway as it is played inthe melodic sca le, viz. with a fla ttened leading note. Verysensible, on the other hand, appea rs the following rema rk I tseems

“

to me absolutely necessary, and conducive to a pureintona tion

,tha t the ea r of the pupil should be tra ined from

the first lessons to perceive the minor sixth and major seventh,as the viol inist can show the difference between the majorand minor semitones.” Wha t these were he evidently did notknow

,for he goes on to say The tea cher should be strict in

this and a ccustom the beginner to draw the minor semitonesC#, D#, etc., a l ittle higher up towa rds D , E , etc., and themaj or semitones E b, Db, etc., a l i ttle downwa rd towa rdsD , C , etc. I n a l ike manner I should l ike to see the soft sca letrea ted. By inserting the ‘E ’

aga in a fter the sixth ‘ F Ithink i t will be much truer than if the G were to followimmedia tely. Also , the Gil, if rega rded a s major third fromE

,progresses more na tura l ly to ‘A.

’

When trea ting about the positions he speaks stil l of

Applica tur,” but he uses the word in a different sense from

the older ma sters : “ By ‘Applicatur’

one understands tha tway of placing the fingers , which enables us to execute comfortably and in perfect time everything expressed by meansof notes or other signs. DO not a ccustom yourself to theincorrectway of speaking of the ‘ha lf ’ and the ‘whole '

Appli/éatur i t is quite as i l logica l a s ca ll ing the white keys ofthe piano forte ful l tones and the black keys ha lf tones.Ra ther divide the ‘Applica tur

’ in severa l positions, for


instance first, second, third, fourth position , etc. Thisdenomina tion is more to the purpose for the beginner.”

The ridiculous mistakes above referred to were morecommon tha n our younger readers would imagine

,and tha t

right into the la tter ha lf of la st century.Very curious is Fenkner’s rema rk tha t “ most things on

the viol in a re played in the first position. I t shows theprimitive sta te of violin playing, a s fa r a s the so-ca lled musica lpublicwas concerned, a t a time when such giants a s Rust,Spohr

,V iotti

,and even Paganini had a l ready appea red.

The explana tions about “ ornaments a re in conform itywith the rules of the cla ssica l school and do not ca l l for furthercomment.The book finishes with some advice with rega rd to style and

phra sing,the a ccompa niment of the Recita tivo (which played

an important rOle in those days), and the elements of musica lform , so important for the understanding of any musica lcomposition.


reader will see tha t i t is very hard to decide which of the twocuts the more ridiculous figure.I n the open ing of the dia logue the professor pa ts himself

on the ba ck by making his pupil say“ I have a grea t desire

of resuming my pra ctice, provided I could meet with a pa tientand experienced ma ster. As such I am recommended toyou. A little la ter on the professor says : “ Well , Sir, I canengage to bring you forwa rd sufficiently in one qua rter to playa ma rch , song, ea sy duets , etc., in tune and time.” Thisis someth ing l ike lightning speed. When the pupil compla instha t he finds his hand slips very much on the fingerboa rd heis told Then you had better procure the pa tent fingerboa rd

,

as tha t has got frets above the strings to prevent the fingersfrom sl ipping, likewise a prong to keep your bow pa ra l lel withthe bridge.” Then he fa ll s into the “ enterta in ing poetryannounced on the title page

“ Praise is deserving, to the careful hand ;But to the unthinking, doth correction stand.

The confusion with rega rd to positions or “ shifts whichexisted during the eighteenth century is stil l exemplified inthis tutor.

“ The first Order, or Ha l f Shift” i s the name he

gives to the second position , and our third position is ca l ledthe “ Second or Whole Shift.” Theway to a scertain thetrue degree of time, by a peculiar method of bowing ” referredto in the title of the book , i s given by the ma ster in thefollowing words Each note counts as four

,in the time you


their despa i r of ever a tta ining a certa in degree of proficiency“ for the want of a proper book of Precepts. With theexception of Geminiani’s Art of Playing the Violin , he says,there existed no complete tutor in this country, and in tha tbook the instructions were very incomplete and the examplesabove the capamty of lea rners. J ousse , like Pa ine,wa s evidently still imbued with the idea tha t he had to fil l tha t want

,

a l though there is no doubt tha t his tutorwa s on a muchhigher level than Pa ine’s book. Jousse sta tes tha t hecompiled his book from the precepts of Mozart, Geminiani,L

’

Abb é , Rode , Ba illot, Kreutzer, etc., a goodly a rray, and heshows tha t he had profited by his study of those ma sters. I tis curious , then , to find him speaking about the ha lf shift andfull shift when he expla ins in the same diagram the

“ positions which he ca ll s “ orders ” or shifts.The book is divided into two pa rts

,the first part con

ta ining technica l instructions, and the second pa rt a number

Of exercises a rranged as duets. These two pa rts are precededby an I ntroduction

,

” giving a brief a ccount Of the history of

the violin, its pa rts, the rudiments ofmusic, and the necessa ryrequirements of an a rtist.The historica l notes conta in the a stounding a ssertion tha tthe shape of the violin bea rs a grea t resemblance to tha t ofthe Lyre, and induces a belief tha t it is nothing else but theancient lyre brought to perfection. He gives illustrations Of three different lyres to prove this

,but only the

third, which appea rs specia lly drawn for the purpose (with a


bridge and ta ilpiece l), suggests the violin in a very remotemanner.After telling his readers a good dea l about the Lyre

, and

the principa l performers thereon in Ancient G reece , he comesto the Rebec and the Viols, and fina l ly to the viol in

, re

ma rking “ tha t the modern violin had a ssumed its presentform in 1 600 (see the I ntroduction (page 4) to the present

After tha t he gives a short a ccount of the progress of theviolin in I ta ly, Germany, France, and England. I n his description of the violin and bow he says tha t “ the viol in isthe first in tha t cla ss of I nstruments the other Instruments of tha t cla ss are the Tenor-Viol in , Ba ss Violin , or

V ioloncello,and the Double Bass. This is interesting, as i t

shows how long these Old designa tions were used. I n hisS/zort Account of tbe B est Violin Makers, he begins with theAmati family, whose viol ins “

a re rema rkable for the Beautyof their Shape and the peculia r sweetness of their tone.Next comes Stradiva rius : There were two persons of tha tname a t Cremona ,

both ofthem admirable workmen. The la tterwas l iving at the beginning of 1 700 ; his signa turewa s thisAntonius S tradiva rius Cremonensis, etc. Whowas the

first ? We only know of his fa ther Alessandro and hisbrother Guiseppe , but nothing of their having been instrumentmakers. The son , Omoboni, cannot come into question as

Antonius is referred to as the ‘ la tter.’ Of the Gua rneriusfamily J ousse only knows Andrea s. J oseph was an


unknown quantity to him. Of Tyrolese makers he mentionsJa cob Sta iner and Ma thia s Albani. Of the former he says“ The violins of Cremona a re equal led, if not surpassed, bythose of Stainer, a German and na tive of Tyrol , whose instruments are rema rkable for a full and piercing tone.”

This admira tion of Sta iner la sted right into the secondha lf of la st century, and the author remembers well the timewhen a S ta iner violin Or violoncellowas looked upon as equa lto an Ama ti

,whichwas a lmost as much va lued a s a Stradi

varius. I t is curious to read Jousse’

s rema rks about thefullandpiercing tone of the Sta iner instruments, as they are nowmore known for perfect workmanship and sweetness of tonewhile la cking in power. Very amusing is his concludingsentence : “ Severa l other makers might be mentioned herea s Ga l liani (Gagliano), Rogerius (Ruggerius), etc. etc., buttheir violins do not come in point of tone, etc., nea r those ofthe foregoing a rtists.” I f he knew wha t the present generation thinks about Gagliano (Ga l liani) and Ruggeri it wouldcome a s a surprise to the good man to find tha t S ta iner andAlbani are not considered their equa ls by a longway.

From tha t which follows one is led to think tha t J oussewas not unacqua inted with Philpot, for Chap. IV. of his“ I ntroduction speaks of the necessa ry Requisites in a

good a rtist. These are Genius , Ta ste, and Applica tion.”

Article I . Of Genius ” gives a far better definition thantha t of his predecessor

,as Jousse is a ltogether more serious

and thorough. I n the second a rticle he speaks of Taste by


mislead his judgment, he wil l a cquire the fa culty of understanding, feel ing, and compa ring everything ; he will imbibetha t sentiment of congruities to which we a re disposed byNa ture

,but which reflection and experience a lone enable us

to apply with propriety.”

At the end of this chapter J ousse gives a l ist of workswhich he recommends for the pra ctice of students. I t isi nteresting to see tha t some of these never cea sed to beda i ly bread ”

for viol in students, while others were lost sightof for a time— as, for instance, many of the works of the OldI ta l ian school -yet have returned to their former positionquite recently aga in. The following are the i tems as theyappea r in Jousse

’

s l istI . “ The Solos of the immorta l Corell i, as a cla ssica l

work for forming the hand of a young pra ctitioner on the viol in ; i t is the first of thekind a ccording to the opinion of the bestMasters.

I I . Ta rtini’s Art of Bowing so justly celebra ted.I I I . “ The Duetts of le Clerc, Stamitz, Viotti , Rode ,

Romberg, etc.IV.

“ The Sona ta s of Corelli, Pugnani, Nardini, Ta rtini ,Geminiani

,etc.

V.

“ The Studies of Fiorillo , and those of Kreutzer

(just imported from Pa ris).Lastly the excellent Concertos of Viotti , a l so thoseofJarnovick.

”


The names of Le Clerc, Stamitz, and Jarnovick are quiteunknown to ama teurs of the present day, while A. Rombergis a lmost exclusively known by his pretty Canta ta “ The Layof the Bell.” Their compositions gave expression to fa shionable conventiona l ities, nice l ittle melodies with nice l ittleshakes and runs between tha t were not too exciting ; foranything exciting or strongly emotiona lwas contra ry to thedicta tes of propriety and good taste. Since people havebroken down some of the fences of artificiality, the workswhich had tra i led on them fell to the ground with theirsupports.Chap. V. introduces the Rudiments of Music. I t is

i nteresting to note tha t by that time the Minor Sca lewa sonly used in its Melodic form , and tha t pra ctice obta ineduntil the la tter pa rt of last century. The ha rmonic form issca rcely mentioned in any tutor of tha t period.The sol-fa ing of Bells, which , as we have seen,wa s a

favourite device to teach the succession of tones and semitones in the Maj or Sca le , had fa llen into disuse by tha ttime.

“ A Dictionary of I ta l ian and Other Words used inMusic ” concludes this I ntroduction

,which is followed by

“ Pa rt the First, in which the theory of the V iol in is fullyexpla ined.The holding of the viol in and bow, a s shown in excellent

engravings, has now reached the modern stage, and requires

therefore no further comment. H e gives a good and full


explana tion of the va rious bowings even to the sta cca to,

length of bow to be used,etc. etc. For the Common Chord

he stil l reta ins the name of concord, and in expla ining the

Orders or Shifts (positions) he still speaks of the “ ha lfshift and the whole shift ” as mentioned above.Double stoppings and a rpeggios are expla ined by numerous

examples. I t is curious to note tha t he speaks of thediminished fifth as

“ fa lse” fifth and the augmented a s

superfluous ” fifth.The shakes are dea l t with fully and explicitly. I n

speaking of the fina l shake he mentions “ va rious ways ofending a Fina l Shake the three la st a re become veryfashionable.

F INAL SHAKE.

As this is a manner of finishing a shake which has sha redthe fa te of a ll things of “ fa shion

, it is interesting to note itin this pla ce , a s it might serve in historica l il lustra tions for


I NTERMEDIATE CADENCES.From the sharp 4th to the sth of the key.

REPRISE.From the sth or Dominant to the key-note.

From the sth to the 3rd of the key.


From the sth to the same note.

From the 6th to the 3rd.

From t

The diligent studentwil l not fail to transpose the foregoing examples into severa l keys.

He gives a lso specimens of ornamentations used in playingthe Old Sona tas , and refers the student for further “ excellentmodels on this subject ” to Corelli’s Solos embellished byGeminiani.At the end of his chapter on graces and embell ishments

he makes some “ Observa tions which are so excellent tha twe cannot refra in from giving them in this pla ce a s a guidanceto those who wish to a cqua int themselves with the use ofthese ornamenta tions in Olden times


I . “ Embellishments are invented by fancy, but soundTa ste restra ins them , gives them their properform ,

and even entirely excludes them from all

pieces in which the Subject of the compositionpresents a pa rticula r sentiment which cannot bea nyways a ltered .

I I . “ I t 18 not enough to introduce Embellishments intheir proper place they must not be repea ted toooften ; for then they injure the true expression ,disfigure the melody, and become monotonous.

I I I . “ A performer oftentimes makes use of them to

enhance the cha rms of his execution , or to makeup for a want of feel ing , but this is an error ; fornothing is fine and moving butWha t is simple ;expression may be adorned by gra ces , but shouldnot be lost in them.

IV. Embell ishments are chiefly used where the melody iswell a ccented

, and when there is no danger of

destroying it by ornaments : Lastly, a performermust be very reserved in the use of them , a s hemay eas ily be guil ty of a Brea ch of Ha rmony.”

I n Chap. XI I . he dea l s a t some length with na tura l anda rtificia l Ha rmonics

,giving a complete dia tonic and a

chroma tic sca le both in two octaves, and a Tempo di M inuettoentirely in H a rmonics.

C H A PT E R XV I I

W ITH the beginning of the nineteenth century the study ofthe viol in entered upon a new era which found its chiefrepresentatives in Spohr, De Beriot, Vieuxtemps, Ala rd,and Léona rd. They collected the best ma teria l of theirpredecessors

,— a rranging a ll tha twas of standa rd va lue into

systema tic order and adding their own va st a chievements,

they gave us the modern art of viol in playing as weknow it.The last two decades before their a rriva l the instructive

l itera ture for the violin assumed immense proportions,but

the tutors of tha t period conta ined nothing tha t could not befound in the works of Moza rt, Hiller, Baillot, Campagnoli , etc.,of which an a ccount has been given in previous chapters.As a cu riosity may be mentioned Leoni’s Met/lode

Ra isonne‘epour Pa sser du Violon a la Mandoline, Pa ris, 1 7 83.

(Ra tiona l method to pass from the violin on to the mandol ine.)I t shows that the mandol ine had a fa i r number of vota ries

a t tha t time, and whilst i twa s pra ctica l ly obsolete during thela st century, a t least in middle and northern Europe it hasrega ined some of i ts popula rity in recent yea rs.

284


The names and description of the numerous tutors mentioned above do not come within the scope of this presentwork, which i s not intended as another addition to the existinghistories of the viol in , but ra ther as a graphic a ccount of themanner in which itwas studied in ea rlier times and thecircumstances surrounding its

"

study and pra ctice. Thosewho wish to acqua int themselves more fully with the titlesof educa tiona l works of the la ter period wil l find most ofthem inWasielewski’s D ie Violine und inre Meister; and

the va rious guides through violin l itera ture.”

Although Jousse compla ins of the neglect which theviol in experienced on the pa rt of the English gentlemen

,

yet there is ample proof of the popula rity which the instrument had a tta ined a t tha t time.The cornets and other wind instruments

,the lutes

,

trumpets marine, and other exotic instruments had vanished.Even the once popula r favourite, the ba ss viol , had but onesol ita ry vota ry of note in Ca rl Friedrich Abel , whose concertsin connection with Joh. Chr. Bach have been mentioned inChap. XI I . The viol in and the ha rpsichord were the rulingsolo instruments of the day.

Felice Gia rdini , of whom there exists an exquisite l ittleportra i t by Ba rtolozz i

,was the chief representa tive of theI ta l ian school resident in London during the second ha lf ofthe eighteenth century. However grea t his persona l a chievements may have been , he proved ephemera l in the development of viol in playing. The most important figures in tha t


respect were two Rhenish a rtists : Will iam Cramer, pupilof the famous Mannheim Ma sters- Stamitz, Senr., a nd

Cannab ich— and J ohann Peter Sa lomon. Both G ia rdini andCramer appea red a t divers times a t Mrs. Cornelys

’ pa lace ofdissipa tion .I n 1 769 a new ga l lery for the dancing of cotil l ions and

a llemandes had been added to Ca rl isle House,a s well a s an

adjoining suite of rooms, which pa rtwa s thrown open for theuse of subscribers a t an additiona l cha rge of £ 1

,1 5 . per

a nnum. A festiva l and gra nd concert , together with illuminations, took pla ce there in honour of the king

’s birthday, andG ia rdiniwas engaged a s conductor for the concert. Theprice of admissionwa s fixed a t £ 1 , 1 5 . for ea ch single ticket.I n 1 7 79 a number of eminent musicians had their benefit

concerts a t Ca rl isle House. Among others, Will iam Cramer,a lso Crosdil, Tenducci, Fisher, etc.The banqueting or ba l l room in Sutton Street wa s

connected with the mansion in the squa re by means of a

Chinese bridge. I t was turned into a Roman Ca tholicchapel in 1 79 2 , and the houses which in 1 788 had beenerected on the site of the mansion had to make room forthe church when itwas rebuilt.The fate of Mrs. Cornelys has been told in Chap. XI I .

(p.Before she left Ca rlisle House for good in 1 7 77 , the fina l

ca ta strophewas hera lded by a compulsory sa le of the contentsof the mansion in November 1 7 7 2 . TheWestminster


amusing anecdote is told with reference to tha t room .

Cipria ni , the intima te friend of the two famous musicianshad decora ted the room with - transpa rent figures of Apolloand the Muses. They were finely executed and the workwas brilliant and striking. Unfortuna tely they threw theirmingled tints so copiously upon the countenances of thecompa ny tha t i twas found necessa ry to ta ke them down.A lady who had not hea rd a bout thiswas surprised at theappea rance of the room when she a ttended one Of the Ba chAbel Concerts a fter the change had ta ken pla ce. “ Wha t

,

Apollo and the Muses gone p She addressed Ba ch.

“ Theyhave quitted their sta tion, was the answer

,

“ but have notabsolutely deserted us. When the performance begins Ihope your ladysh ip will hea r them all.

The Ea rl of Abingdon , the chief supporter of Ba ch andAbe l in their concerts a t the H anover Rooms

,wa s an excel

lent performer on the flute andwas a l so an ama teur composer.He made Haydn’s a cqua inta nce during the grea t master’svis it to London , and presented himwith a composition of

his enti tl ed “ Representa tion of Maria Queen of Scots in

Seven V iews. I t appea rs in the Ca ta logue of Haydn’slibra ry prepa red by his copyist Hissler. This piece of

programme music is now proba bly a t E isensta dt in thepossession of Prince Esterha zy.After the dea th of Ba ch in 1 7 8 2 Lord Abingdon, together

with a committee of noblemen,founded the “ Concert of

Nobil i ty, a lso known as the “ Professiona l Concerts.”

‘VILLOUGHBY, EARL OF AB I NGDON .

Pd uted oy j. F. Rign rt ; M 6; 31 . Benedeth’

, ju n. a, 1 800.


poser,he finds it a ll the more ea sy to play things which a re

unknown to him with the proper expression a nd phra sing.Pielta in the E lder, Violinist, plays a lso very beautifully, andis very conscientious in his mode of delivery. Duport ,Violoncellist, was a sked to come over from Pa ris. His

elder brother is in Berlin. Connoisseurs a ssert tha t theyounger Duport is the stronger (better) of the two , and

tha t is saying a grea t dea l. Cervetto , whose fa ther diedrecently, over a hundred yea rs old, left his son a fortune ofover He is a very grea t player. Duport appea rsto have more feeling

,but Cervetto surpa sses him in power of

note. Fischer, Oboe. He, a l so , is too well known to requirefurther comment. Weiss, flute (flautO-traverso or German

flute,in contradistinction to the flute-a -bec or flageolet), i s

the most plea sing and conscientious flute player I know.

His notes never fa il,and a s he a ssists the weak lower notes

by means of keys,his playing is a ll through clea r and

perfect. His delivery is the best I have hea rd ; the chieffea ture is his beautiful cantilena ,

spa ring but ta steful ornamenta tion , and beauty of tone. Mahon a first-class Clarinet.Pielta in, the younger, an excellent Horn player. Two ladypianists of whom Guest is preferable. A good Tenor, a

Contra l to , three fema le singers of whom M iss Cantelo is thebest on a ccount of her fine voice. All these virtuos i a re hea rdin turn , and a t every concert one or two of the very strongpieces by Graa f ofAugsburg

,who has been specia lly brought

over for the winter, are hea rd. All the virtuosi are engaged


for ea ch sepa ra te winter, but as Mr.G raaf’

s grand musica l compositions have met with exceptiona l success

,he has received

proposa ls to rema in in this country, or a t lea st to a cceptan engagement for next Winter, which he has undertaken provisiona l ly. The Concert Room is in Hanover Squa re

,and

the owner receives fifty guinea s for each concert,which covers

rent , brilliant illumina tion of the whole building, and all

refreshments. The company is brilliant and numerous. ThePrince of Wa les and the Duke of Cumberland are neverabsent. The price of subscription for the Concerts is £6 ,The subj oined is a copy of one of the programmes

HANOVER SQUAREWednesday , 26tli M arc/z 1 783

F IRST ACTOvertureSong

, Superbodime StessoConcerto

,Violin

Concerto, H arpsichordSong, “ Idol mio Serena i ra iConcerto Grosso, for two Violins and

Violoncel los

SECOND ACTS infonie, for two O rchestrasThe favourite Trio for F lute, Hautboy,Violoncello

Song, “ So che fedeleConcerto Violoncel loSinfonieThe doors to b e Opened at Seven, to begin at Eight o’clock precisely.

Haydn.

S ignor Ba rtolini.Mr. Sa lomon.

Master Cramer.Cantelo.By Messrs. Cramer,Pielta in, Cervetto,

and Duport ; composed by Mr.Grafl

'

”

(Graaf).

Bach.By Messrs. Weiss,

Fischer, and Du

port composedby Pla (P).Miss Cantelo.Mr. Duport.


We have a lready spoken about William Cramer a s an

outcome of the Mannheim school,which stood in very high

esteem. I ts chief representa tives were Johann Ca rl Stamitz,born 1 7 1 9 in Bohem ia ,

who died a t Mannheim in 1 76 1 a s

Concertmeister ” and director of the Chamber Music of thePrince Elector. Hewa s entirely self-taught

,but a cqu ired

grea t fame a s a virtuoso on the violin and a prol ific composerof symphonies and chamber music. His compositions , including six violin concertos which appeared in print (othersrema ined unpublished),were standa rd pieces in the programmesof his time.His sons

,Ka rl ( 1 746— 1 80 1 ) and Anton ( 1 7 5 3 and a fter

were both excellent virtuosi and composers. Ka rlStamitz took pa rt in Mrs.Weichsel’s benefit concert as

virtuoso on the viola d’

amore about 1 7 7 5 . An advertisementof one of the da ily papers, conta ining the programme , hasbeen preserved in Mr. J . E . Ma tthew’s collection, unfortuna telywithout the da te or name of the paper

For the Benefit of Mrs. WEICHSEL.

At the Thea tre Roya l in the Hayma rket,To-morrow, the 3oth inst., wil l be performed a

GRAND CONCERT ofVoca l and Instrumenta l Music.

The Voca l Parts by Mrs. and M iss Weichsel ;first violin, Mr. Cramer (see v. p.

ACT IOverture ; Song— Mrs. Weichse l (Arne) ; Concerto Pianoforte— M iss Weichsel

(Schobe rt) ; Solo on the B aryton— Mr. Lidel ; Song— M iss Weichse l ; with

a violin obliga to, Master Weichsel (Sacch ini) ; Concerto German FluteMr. Floris.


the most brilliant virtuosi on the violin of his time. He composed a number of concertos a s well a s trios

,qua rtets

,etc.

Franzl followed the Prince E lector to Munich in 1 778 , and

became conductor of the Court Orchestra , in which positionhis son Ferdinand ( 1 7 70—1 833) succeeded him the la tterwaslikewise famous a s violinist and composer. He studied forsome time under Padre Ma rtini in Bologna

,and visited most

of the principa l towns of Europe, including European Russia ,on his successfu l concert tours.William Cramer born 1 745 a t Mannheim

,studied under

Cannab ich and Stamitz. I n 1 7 7 2 he came to London , wherehe died in 1 799. Hewas ma ster of the King’s band and

leader in the principa l concerts, including the Handel Festiva li n 1 784 and the G loucester Festiva l in 1 799 . H is name isa lso included in Mrs.Weichsel’s programme .The Ma ster Cramer Whose name appea rs in the above

programme of the Concert of Nobility,was J ohn BaptisteCramer, one of the grea test pianists and teachers of his

instrument. H is studies were so much admired by Beethoventha t he wrote commenta ry notes on the ma rgin of his copy.Mr. J ohn S . Shedlock ha s la tely re-edited these B eet/coven

Cramer Studies. J ohn Baptiste,whowas born a t Mannheim

in 1 7 7 1 ,was a lso the founder of the well-known house ofCramer CO., music publishers and pianoforte manufacturers.

A younger brother Franzwas born a t Mannheim in 1 7 7 2 .

He studied the violin under his fa ther and became the leader


of the “ Antient Concerts,which post he reta ined for

forty yea rs.These concerts

,referred to a t the end of Chap. IX.,

werefounded in 1 7 76 , seventeen yea rs a fter the dea th of Handel

,

by a committee of noblemen and gentlemen , viz. : the Ea rlof Sandwich (First Lord of the Admira lty, better known byhis nickname of J emmy Twitcher), the Ea rl of Exeter,Viscount Dudley and Wa rd , the B ishop of Durham, Sir

Wa tkin Williams Wynn,Ba rt , Sir R. J ebb , Ba rt , the Hon.

H . Morrice,and the Hon. Pelham. These were after

wa rds joined by the V iscount Fitzwil liam and Lord Paget

(a fterwa rds E a rl of Uxbridge). J oah Ba tes, a distinguishedama teur

,wa s the conductor, and the concerts took place inthe new rooms

,Tottenham Street, now the Sca la or West

London Thea tre. The principa l s ingers were M iss SarahHa rrop

,a fterwa rds Mrs.

f Ba tes, Master Ha rrison , whodeveloped into a famous tenor, the Rev. Cla rke , M inorCanon of St. Paul ’s , Mr. Dyne , and Mr. Champness.There is a delightful little story about Mr. J oah Ba tes’

courtship which deserves to find a pla ce here a s it brings timeand people nea rer to us, for elementa ry principles of humanna ture remove a like time and distance. The incidenthappened on a night when their Majesties were expected toa ttend the performa nce a t Tottenham Street. Joah Ba tes ,presiding at the organ

,aswa s the wont of those days ,was

going to give the instrumenta lists the chord of D , but to hishorror not a sound came from the instrument. Mr. J ones,


a pa rtner of the well-known firm of organ builders,wa s ca l ledto examine the organ and find out the rea son. He pa ssedthrough the works from the bellows to the manua l , b utfound nothing amiss

,then

,sitting down and pull ing the

necessa ry stops,he put down the keys of the chord, and

out came the sound a s ha rmonious and free a s ever. I ttranspired then tha t the amorous and absent-minded Joah

’

s

thoughts had been with M iss H a rrop instead of with theorgan

, and he forgot to pull out a stop. Joah Ba tes died in1 79 9

I twas a rranged among the directors tha t ea ch shouldchoose his own conductor

,and Mr. James Turle Haywas

leader til l 1 7 80,followed by William Cramer, who died 1 805 ,

andwas succeeded by his son Fra nz,who retired in 1 844 ,

when J . D . Loder became conductor, whowa s aga in followedby T. Cooke.I n 1 78 5 , George 1 11. became pa tron of the concerts and

a ttended regula rly with Queen Cha rlotte. When Fr.Cramerwa s appointed by His Maj esty a s leader, the Kingsent him a message to this effect : “ Tell young Cramer tokeep his eye on me

,and wa tch my hand , with which I will

give him the true time of the va rious compositions. Thisreminds one of Cha rles who used to stamp the time withhis foot to the playing of his twenty-four violins , and l ikewiseGoethe’s Ha rlequin

,who addresses his audience as My good

people, and bad musicians !”

I n 1 785 Madame Ma ra made her first appea rance a t


adjourned to a nother room where supperwas served. Duringsupper-time the concert roomwas a rranged with tables and

benches, and on the pla tform a choir of singers had taken thepla ce of the orchestra . On the tables were bowls with punch ,B ischoff

,

” 1and wine. So we found it after supper, and i twas

not unplea sa nt to enjoy a good song without instrumenta la ccompaniment with a gla ss of punch. The singers , whowere mostly ama teurs , sa t a l so round tables

,rega ling them

selves l ikewise with punch , and their cha irman gave out theva rious toa sts.The first meetings of a nother of these societies ca l led theMadriga l Society

,established in 1 74 1 , were held a t the

Twelve Bells,

”

a public-house in B ride Lane, St. Bride’s,

and this society is still existing !The suburbs had a lso a few pla ces where musica l perform

ances took pla ce. Sadler’s Wells , a s the most important, hasbeen mentioned a lready.

Goodman’s Field Wellswa s a place of enterta inmenta fter the suppression of the thea tre in tha t loca l i ty in 1 735 .

Co leman ’s Music Housewa s another house of enterta inmentwith a la rge and well-planted ga rden whichwas Offered forsa le in I twa s situa ted nea r Lamb’s Conduit, and

demolished upon the building of Ormond Street.At Lambeth Wells therewas a pla ce of publ ic enterta in

ment in 1 69 7 celebra ted for i ts minera l wa ters which were solda t one penny per qua rt. At the beginning of the eighteenth

1 A kind of punch.


century a band played a t interva ls during the day, and theprice of admission was threepence. A monthly concert

,

under the direction of Sterling Goodwin , organist of St.Saviour’s Church, Southwa rk (better known as composer ofthe song, “ Could a Man he was held there in 1 7 2 7 .

These concerts do not seem a t any time to have a ttra ctedfa shionable audiences by the appea rance of any popula ra rtists.The writer does not cla im any persona l merit or origina l

discovery in communica ting the above pa rticula rs aboutLondon music houses , but they complete the picture ofthe conditions under which our forefa thers enj oyed the musicof “ the fiddle." As our objectwa s not only to show themanner in which they a cquired the a rt of violin playing

,but

likewise theway in which they made use of their a chievements in tha t art, the addition Of these pa rticula rs appea redjustified. Ma ny of the deta ils given above are not conta inedin the well-known works on the history of music ; they arehidden in the oddest nooks and corners, and are , therefore,known to few, and not ea sily a ccessible. I f the author hassucceeded In giv ing a compa ct and graphic picture of hissubject, his object has been a chieved , and a ll he can add a re

the words of Monta igne : “ I have here only made a nosegayof culled flowers

, and have brought nothing of my own butthe thread tha t ties them.

”

INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND NAMES

Abaco, 2 1 2.Abbé , L’

,le Fils, 23 1 , 272.

Abel, C. Fr., 1 92 , 1 94, 226, 285.Abel (Abel l), John, 1 23 ; aquatic concert,1 24.Abercorn, Earl of, 1 65.Abingdon, Henry, 90.

Ea rl of, 1 94, 22 7 , 288, 289 .

Academy of Ancient Music, 1 65- 167 ,

1 90 ; John Banister’s, 1 03.Roya l,1 52, 1 6 1 .Accidenta ls, Fenkner’s denomina tion of,

264.Accompaniment of Recita tivo, 268.Adagio, True Method of Playing an, byZ ucca ri

,229 .

Agricola— verse about tuning, 73, 76.

Air de Louis x1 11 ., 1 I.Ala rd, Delphin

,284.

Albani, Ma thias, 2 74.

Albinoni, 1 96, 1 99 , 2 1 2.

Al legri, Gregorio, Sona ta s, 34.Al len, Edward Heron 5, 1 98, 20 1 .Almack’s, 1 95, 226.Alto

, 58 al to clef in violinmusic, 76.Ama ti. 93, 2 52. 2 73, 274 ; Andreas, 4 ;violins for Charles IX., 93 violoncel loof SirWm. Curtis, 93.Anacreontic Society, 297 .

Angel and Crown, Whitechape l, 1 32.Angelo’s Riding School, 1 92.Anna,Signora

, 162.

Apollo’s Ban net, 82.Applica tion Applica tur), 77 Philpoton, 2 1 9 Moza rt on, 240 Fenkner

on, 267.

Appogiatura , 7 7 .Ariosti

,Attilio

,Lezioni, 39 .

Arlington,Lord

, 97 .

Arne, Dr.,

1 9 1 his residence, 1 9 1Mrs , 1 9 1 .Arpeggio

,278.

Art of Playing on t/ze Violin, The, 198 ;Geminiani’s, 2 1 3.

Arte, L

’

,Del l’arco

,Ta rtini’s, 228.Avison

,297 .

Bach, J. s., 26 1 .

Bach andAbel Concerts, 288 J.Ch r. Bach

,1 92, 1 94, 226, 285, 288, 29 1 .Backfa l l, tremblement, 44.Bagpipe

, 52.Bail lot, 2 56, 257. 272 , 284.Baker of Oxford

,V iol by, 1 1 I.

B a let Comigue de la Royne, 10, 42“La.

Clochette,” I o.Ba ltazarini, 9 .

Ba ltzar, Thomas, 2 1 introduces shifts66 Sona tas, 67 Mus.Bac., 68

buried in Westminster Abbey, 68 ;Allemande by,68.

Banchieri, Adriano, 24.Banister, 1 28, 1 40 fa ther of the e lder B.

,

90 ; John B ., the e lder, 90 ; goes toFrance, 9 1 violin in ordina ry

, 92 ;formsselectband oftwe lve violinsoftheKing, 92 ; buys two Cremona violinsfor King, 94 a rrea rs of sa laries, 94his dism issa l , 9 5

—9 8 ; reappointedmusician in ordina ry, 1 00 institutes

first public concerts in London, 1 0 1 ,104 ; died 1 679, 105, 1 26, 1 3 1 , 1 80.

304 Index

Banister, John, the younger, 85 , The

Complea t Tutor, musician in ordinary( twenty-four violins), his portra it by JSmith

, 89 ; The Gentleman’s Tutor,

90 Baptiste and B ., 96 member of

Britton’s Club

,106, 1 55.

John,bandage maker, 9 1 .

Ba rbier, Mrs., 1 96.

Barrey’sRamAl ley orMerry Tricks, 63.

Ba rtolini, voca list, 29 1 .Bartolozzi, engraver, 285.Ba rton

,owner of Swan Tavern, 1 38.

Bass Geig de Braccio, 60.

viol, 53, 62 , 7 2, 1 8 1 , 273, 285.vio lin, 1 5 1 , 2 73.

Bassani, Giov. B at , 35, 36, 1 4 1 , 1 54.Basse]

,Bassete, 236.

Ba teman, Christopher, bookseller, 109 .Ba tes, Joah, 29 5, 296.Ba tten, SirW1 lliam, 95.

Battes, Thomas, 100.

Beard, 1 35, 1 37 .Beckett, Phil., 100.

Beethoven, 1 84, 26 1 , 294.

Begga r’s Opera , 1 82.

Belisi, 37 .

Bellasses, Lord, 96 .

Benda , Franz, 233, 234.

Beriot, Chr. de, 284.

Berna rdi, 37 .Betterton, 99 , 1 63.

Biber, Rudo lf, 1 69 , 1 73, 1 74.Billingt on, Mrs., 293, 297 .

B irchesha , John, 1 29 .

B irckens (B irckenstock 2 1 2 .

B lagrave, Thoma s, sen.,100 Robert,

jun. 100.

Blow,

1 59 , 1 6 1 .

Bolton,Dirke of, married Miss Fenton,

1 82.

Bond,297 .

Borri, 37 .Bow,holding of, 76.

Bow Street,Two Golden Ba lls Concerts,

1 60.

Bowing, 44 ; Lohlein, mechanica l con

trivance to keep bow stra ight, 245 ;Mersenne on, 54 ; Mozart on, 238 ;

Pa ine prong to keep bow frombridge, 2 70 ; Playford applies violb ow1ng to violin, 7 7 Arpeggio, 278.Brahms

,Joh.

,26 1 .

Brettgeigen,235.

Bride’s, St., Church— St. Cecilia’s Ode,1 5 1 .

Bridgman, 1 85, 1 86.

Britton, Thomas, 67 , 1 04 ; biography,1 05

—1 14, 1 26, 1 3 1 , 1 32, 1 40, 2 19 ;dea th of, 1 09 ; sal e of collection,1 10 ; Musica l C lub, 106—1 08 NedWard’s account of, 1 1 5- 1 22, 1 65,1 78 ;Woolaston’

s portra its, 1 1 2

Hughes and Prior, verses thereon,1 1 3.

Brockwel l,Ben, musician in ordina ry,

95, 99Brown

,Abraham, v1011n1st, 1 37 , 1 38,

224.

Buckingham, Duke of, 1 25, 1 92.Buoni, 37 .Buononcini

, J . B .,

“ Camilla,” 1 48

Griselda , 1 95, 200.

Burk, composer, 2 10.

Burlington, Ea rl of, 1 79, 1 88.Burney, Dr., 24 Ba ltzar

’s 5 0105 , 36, 1 35,

1 38, 1 83 Ma tteis, 1 86.Byfield, organ builder, 1 39.Byrd

,Wil liam , 85.

Cadences, Jousse’s examples of, 27928 1 .

Campagnoli, Bartolomeo, 47 , 2 57 , 284.Campion,

Dr. Thoma s, 69 .

Canaby, Sigr., composer, 2 10.

Cannab ich , Christian, 286, 293, 294.

Ka rl , 293.Cantelo, M iss, voca list, 290, 29 1 .Capora le, Violonce l list, 1 9 1 .Capriccio S travagante,” Fa rina’s, 2 1 ,

Carbonelli, Stefano, 1 95 concert, 1 96 ,I 7 .

Carlisle House, description of mansionand concerts, 1 94, 225, 286, 287 .Carr, John, 8 1 , 86 Richard, 1 54.

306 Index

1 78 Concerti Grossi,”Op.V I ., 1 7 5first performance in London

,1 78

Ma tteis’ playing of sona tas, 1 87solos embel lished by Geminiani,28 1 .

Corette, Miche l, 2 1 1 , 232.

Corneil le, Pie rre, violon du Roi, 1 80.

Cornelys, Mrs., 1 94, 22 5—226

,286.

Country dances,Peter Thompson’

s,

209 .

Courtevil le, Raphael, 88.Coutagne, Henry, Life of DuiffOprugca r, 3.

Covent Garden Thea tre, 164.Coventry, SirWil liam, 95.Cramer, Franz, 294, 296 J. B ., 290, 29 1 ,294 William, 226, 286, 289, 29 1 , 292,

Cramoisy,Sebastian

, 43.Cremona violins for Cha rles 93.Crome, Robe rt, Tlie Fiddle NewModel

’d, 20 1—209 Violoncel lo Tutor,

Crosdill, John, 226, 286.Crown andAnchor Tavern, Fleet Street,Crown Tavern, Duck Lane, Smithfield,

1 47 .

Crwth,2 .

Cumberland , Duke of, 29 1 .

D ancingM aster,The,Playford’s, 7 5, 82.

Dancing School in Walbrook, 1 57 .

Davenant, Dr. Cha rles and SirWilliam,

1 63.David, Ferdinand, 234.

De Beriot,Cha rles

,284.

Delpini, clown, 287.Denmark, Princess of, 1 57 .Desja rdin

, 2 1 2 .

Dessus de viole, 53, 58.Devil Tavern, Fleet Street, 1 66.Devonshire, Duke of, 108.Dicey, Wil liam , 1 98, 1 99 .

D ieupa rt, 1 64, 1 96.Diminution

, 57.Discant Geig, 60.

Ditton, two violins by, 1 1 1 .Division violin

, see Playford.”Dolly’s ChOp House , 1 34.

Dorney, Rich .,

Dorse t Ga rden Thea tre,1 54.

Draghi,Baptist

,1 5 1 .

Drury Lane Theatre , 1 54.Dubourg, Ma tthew, 107 , 1 66—168, 1 7 8,227 ; G.

, 107 , 1 38, 14 1 .

Dudley and Wa rd, Viscount, 295.Duifl

'

oprugcar, Gaspa rd, 3.Dumanoir, Wil liam I.

,1 79 .

Duport, 290, 29 1 .D ’Urfey, Tom,

Four and twentyFiddlers,” 92 ; “ The Folly, 1 50.

Durham, Bishop of, 29 5.Dyne, Mr., voca list, 295.

Ea rle, Bishop, description of a fidd ler,64.

Eccles. 7 5 ; John. 86. 1 43, 1 53. 1 54 ;Henry, 86, 145, 1 47 Sa lomon, 70,8 5, 1 45 ; Thomas, 86, 1 45 ; plays a t

City Tavern, member of Handel’sband, 1 46.

Einstein, Dr. Al fred, 8 .

E lizabeth , Queen, 62 .

E llis, Will, 67 .Embel lishments

,Jousse on

,282.

English Violet,237 .

Essex, Ea rl of, 1 79.Esterha zy, 288.Eve lyn , John, 1 8 1 dia ry, 66.

Exercises, short tunes as, 74.

Exeter Change, 1 57 .Exeter, Ea rl of, 294.

Faco, composer, 2 1 2.

Fagotgeige, 236.Fa ithorne

, engraver, 1 29.

Faneye, Fanta zia , 7 .Fanta isie a Cinque, Henry le Jeune, 55.Fa rina , Ca rlo, 20, 209 , 26 1 .“ Capriccio Stravagante,” 2 1 , 36,

col legno, 2 2 .

sul ponticello, 22.

Index

Farinel li, uncle ofBroschi, 84 “Farinel’sGround

,

” 84, 228.

Fayrye Queene, loss and recovery, 1 63.Fenkner, Joh. August, 262—268, 269 .

Fenton, M iss, 1 82 .

Ferma te (pause) Lohlein’s comment on,

247 .

Festin, John,1 88, 1 93.

Festing,MichaelChr1stian, 1 3 7 , 1 38, 1 88 ,Rev. Michael

,son-in-lawof Dr.

Greene, 1 94.

Fiddle, Tlze,NewModel

’d,

20 1 on

tuning, 202 holding of violin and

b ow, 204 ; on time, 205 instructions onbowing taken from Prelleur, 207 , 22 1 .Fidd lers a t Christmas festivities,Ba rrey

’s Ram A l ley ,

63 .

F idelio,Seigneur, 1 59.

Finger,Godfrey, 1 53—1 55.Fingering, first string, 48 ; Mersenne

’s,

47 Crome , 203 F1orillo,276.

F irst position, mostly used, 268.

Fisher (F ischer), 226, 286, 290.

Fitz, Thomas, musician in ordina ry,9 8.

F itzwilliam,Viscount, 29 5.

Fleece Tavern,nea r S t. James’s

,1 3 1 .Floris

,292 .

Folia,La

,see

“ Farinel’s Ground,” a lso

Core l li.”Folie’s d’

Espagne,” 84, 1 78.Folly

,The

,1 50.

Fontana , Gio. Ba tt., sona tas, 33.

Forcer,Francis

,1 50.

Four-and-twenty fiddlers al l of a row,9 2 .

Francesco, S ignor, 1 62 .

Franchville,gambist

,1 33.Franck’s

,Mr., Consort, 1 60.

Franzl, Jgna z, 293, 294.

Ferdinand, 294.Frasi, 1 3 5, 225.

Freake, John George , sona tas, 223.Freeman’

s Ya rd,Cornhill

,1 57 .Frescoba ldi

,1 2 .

Frets on violin, 7 1 - 76, 83, 270.

Froud, Charles, organist, 1 48.

307

Gabrieli, Gio., Cazoria , 6, 1 2 , 1 3.

Madriga ls and Sacrae Symphoniae,

”7 .

sona ta 24.

Gagliano (Ga lliani), 2 74.Ga insborough,1 93.Ga l lia rd

, J. E 1 65, 1 92.

Benefit Concert,1 92.

Gambe ll, John, 1 00 .

Garanciers,Dr., 1 05.

Ga rdane , A., Canzone to sing andplay

,6.

Ca rraway’s Coffee House, 1 5 1 .Ga spa rini, 1 62 .

Ga tes,Bernard, 1 65, 1 66.

Geig, Discant, 60 ; Bass, 60.

Geminiani,Francesco,

1 99 , 2 1 2 ; The Art of Play ing on the

Vi ol in, 2 1 3—2 1 6 ; The Comp lea t Tutor,

2 16, 220,Gentlemen lovers of musi c, society of,George 1 49 George 296, 297 .

George Tavern, Dogwell Court, 147 .Gerle,Hans, 1 99.Gia rdini,Felice

,285, 286.

G ibbons,Dr. Christopher, 1 25.

G ibbs, Joseph, solos for violin, 209 .Gilbert,John

,1 32 .

Gil lian of Croydon, dance tune, 1 3 1Goodgroome,John,musician in ordinary,1 00.

Goodman’s Field Wel ls, 298.

Goodwin, Ster ling, organist-composer,299Goose and Gridiron, St. Paul’s Churchyard, 1 27 .Gosling, Sub-Dean, 84.

Graaf (Graft), composer, 290, 29 1 .Grabue, Louis, 97—99 , 1 6 1 .Graces, Playford on, 7 7 ; Geminianion,2 14.

Grano, trumpet player, 96.Green, Dr. Maurice, 1 33, 1 66.Green Sleeves,” dance tune, 1 3 1 .Gregory, Hen.

,1 00.

Grillet, L., 1 70, 1 80.

308 Index

Grob b itz, 2 52.

Ground,division on a , 84 ;

“ Farinel’s

Ground,

” 84, 228“Folie’s d’Espagne,”

84 John, come Kiss me now, 85.Guadagni

,Gaetano

,voca list, 224, 22 5.

Gua rne rius,Andreas

,Joseph, 273.

Guest,lady pianist, 290.

Guhr,Ca rl, 260 .

Guita r,

fiddle,2 .

Gwynne, voca list, 2 24.

H aberda sher’s Hal l, 1 35.

Ha lb geiglein, Quart or, 235 .Ha lifax,Earl of, 1 53.H a l l

,Ma rie, 259.Ha llet, Ma ster, 1 37 .

Handb assel, 236.Hande l , 1 06, 1 34 Wa ter piece and

Ma rch in judas M a ccaheus,1 36, 1 39 ,

1 46, 1 48, 1 53, 1 64, 1 67 , 1 68 ; E sther,

1 65, 1 7 5 ; Orlando, Sosarme,Poro,

1 92 , 1 95, 1 99, 2 1 2, 287 Festiva l , 294,29 5.H anover Rooms

,287 , 288

—29 1 .Hardinge, John, 1 00.

Hare, John, 1 99 shop plan,1 39.

Harleyan Libra ry, 1 09 .

H a rmonicorum, Lihri XII, 42.

H a rmonics (overtones) first explainedby Mondonvil le, 2 1 1 .Ha rmonious (Moza rt’s explana tion of),220.

Ha rmonie Universelle, Mersenne’S, 39 ,

Harmoniques, lessons, see“ Mondon

Vl ll e.

”

Ha rp,235.Harpsichord

,285, 29 1 .H a rris (actor), 96.

Ha rrison (tenor), 295.Ha rrop, Sa rah, 295, 296.Ha rt, George, 3.

double bass prior to violin, 3.

the violin (Ta rtini’s letters), 229.Ha rt,Philip

,1 06.

Haute-contre, 53, 58.Hawes

,William

,1 00.

Hawkins, Sir J., 64, 103, 106 , 107 , 1 1 0,Hay, James Turle, 296.Haydn

,288, 289, 29 1 .Haym, 1 64.Hayma rket Thea tre, 297 .Hea rne, 109 , 1 10.

Henry V1 1 1 ., band, 62.

Henry le Jeune , Fanta isie a Cinque, 54,55 , D iminution, 56.

Hickford’s Rooms, 1 5 1 , 1 57 , 1 89- 1 92 ,

Orrery, 1 90.

subscription concerts, 1 90, 1 94.H il ler, J . A. 2 1 5, 229 , 24 1 , 253

- 256,

H il ls , Theo., 1 00.

H ilton, Ca tch that Ca tch Can, 63.HOckh , 233.

Hoga rth,E nragedMusician

, 1 88 .

Holding of the bow, 76 Philpot’s, 220.

of the violin Playford, 76 ;Lenton, 87 ,

Geminiani, L. Moza rt,87 ; aga inst the chest, C rome,203

° Philpot, 220° Geminiani and

Moza rt, 220 ; Mozart, 23 1 ; Fenkner,263.Hollar,Wm.

,frontispiece of Dancing

Master,8 1 .

Honeyman, ventriloquist, 1 1 0.

Horn,English , 52.

Hortulus Che licus, J . J .Wa lther’s, 1 69I73Hotton, NewViewof London, 1 52 .

Hubert, Robert, a lias Forges, 1 26 .

Hudibras, Crowdero, 65.Hughes, John, poet, 106 , 1 1 3.

Hughes’s Consort, 1 57 .Humphreys, Pelham, 99 , 1 00.

Imita tion of other instruments on violin,

53 1 2 1 3In nomine, 7 .Instrumenta l music, 5.Instrumenta l solos introduced be tweena cts of plays, 1 9 5.Intona tion, purity of, 5 1 .I ta lian Woman, the, I ta lian Lady, 1 57 .

3 1 0

Ma rine trumpet, 237 .Ma rini, Biagio, Romanesca , 1 4, 23.Scherzi and Canzonette, 20 dis

tinction between chamber and churchsona ta , 35.Ma rsh, Alfr., 1 00.

Ma rtini, Padre, 294.Ma sciti, composer, 200.

Master of specia l band of twelveviolins, 92 .

Matheson, J., 1 34.Matteis,N . (son), 1 86.

Ma

gteis, Nicola, 1 57 , 1 59, 1 76, 1 83 til ,

1 8 .

Cecilia Ode, 1 86.Saraband, arr. by Moffa t, 1 87 .

Ma tthew, J . E ., 40, 43, 292.

Maurini,2 1 2 .

Maussiel, 352.

Mea res, R., 1 34 ; complete edition of

Corel li, 1 78 .Meek , 2 1 2

Mell, Dav1s, 67 , 70, 85.Mersenne, Marin (Ha rmonie Univer

selle). 39. 59 ; fingering, 47. 72.m .

Merula, Ta rquinio, sona tas, 34.first use of G string, 34.Merulo, Claudio, 1 2 .

M il ler, bassoon, 1 39 .

M inuet reinsta ted in sona ta by Haydnand Moza rt, 37.M itre Concerts, London-house Ya rd ,1 26.

M itre , the, Wapping (Shadwell), 1 50.

Modern Music xii aster, The, 1 98.Modes, ancient, 46.

Mofi'

at, Alfred, 82, 1 87 .

Ma tteis Sa raband, 1 87 .Mondonvil le, J. J . C . de (sonatas),Mbnson, Sir Thomas, 1 43.Mont Albano, Ba rtolomeo, 34.Symphonies for violin, 34.

Montecla ire, Pignolet de, instructionbook, 200.

Monteverde , Claudio, 1 2, 36, 58, 235.Morrice, Hon. H., 295.

Index

Mourning Bush, the meeting-place ofSomers Tra cts ” collectors, 1 09 .

Moza rt, L.,220

, 234 ff , 243, 253, 263,

W. A., 234.Music-Houses, see Concerts.”

N a rdini, 276.

Needler, H., 106, 1 65, 1 7 8.Neri, Massimiliano, 14 , 35.Neruda , Wilhelmina , Norman 234.Neusiedler, about tuning, 73, 76.Norman, Barak, viol and violonce llo,1 1 1 .

North,Roger, 7 , 67 , 1 28, 1 30, 1 5 1 , 1 53

about Core l li,

1 8 1 about violin1 8 1 about Ma tteis, 1 83, 1 84, 1 87.

Nozeman, 2 1 2.

O ld Jewry, music meeting in, 1 30.

Outroper’s Offi ce, Roya l Exchange,Franck ’s Concert, 160.

Opera , Betterton’s, 1 63.O rchestra, Berlioz’s monstre, 53.Ordinance of 1 658, concerning fiddlers,

65.Orfeo, Monteverde’s opera , 236.Organ}.45, 52Ottoni , 2 1 2 .

Oxford, Ea rl of, 108 , 1 1 4.

Paganini, 47 solo for G string

, 34.

Paget, var. St. Pa trick’s Day,”and

God Save the King,” 23.Lord, 295.

Pa ine, John, 269 pa tent fingerboa rdfretted, 2 70, 27 2 prong to keep bowfrom bridge, 270.

Pa isible, 1 58, 259 fi’.Pantheon, 226, 287 .Parry, voca list, 224.

Pasqua li, 1 39 .

Paul’s, St., choir of, 1 66.Pegs

,H il ler’s a dvice for tuning, 2 54.

Pelham,Herbert, 130.

Index

Pe lham,Hon. 295.Pelling

,John

,1 30.

Pembroke, Ea rl of, 108.Penn

,William

, 9 5.Pepusch

,Dr., 106 , 1 65.

Pepys,Samuel, 79 , 95, 96, 107, 1 28, 1 30,

1 85.Perciva l, Lord, 1 79.Petto, 1 62.

Phillips, John, 1 28, 1 29 .

Philpot,Stephen, 2 1 6 fit, 274.

Piccolo,little fl ute, 1 97 , 235 ; Zwerch

flaute,236.

Pieltain,e lde r and younger, 290, 29 1 .

Pieray, Claude, violin by, 1 1 1 .P iggot, Francis, 1 30, 1 3 1 George, 1 30.

Pigou, Charles, 1 30, 1 3 1 .Pills to purge melancholy, 8 1 ; D’Urfey’s

four—and-twenty fiddlers, 92 .

Pippo,Amadio

, 196.

Pisendel,233.Pizzica to

, 58 .

Playford,John, 79 , 80, 1 29, 1 30, 1 3 1 ,

John (son), 80 ; Henry, 80 , 83, 1 55.Apol lo

’s B anguet, 82 Ca tch tha t

Ca tch Can, 1 30 Dancing Master andE nglishDancingM aster

,80 Division

Violin,8 1

,84, 85, 89 , 1 69 Instruc

tions for the Trehle Violin, 70, 82 ;sca le for violin, 74 Select Ayres andD ia logues, 80, 1 28.

POix ré sine, 59 .Ponticel lo

,sul

,first used, 22.

Prae torius, M ichae l, 60.

Prelleur, Peter, 1 32, 1 33, 148, 198, 1 99,

Preludes, Les, de l ’Ha rmonie Uni

verselle, 4 1 .Priest, composerdances), 1 63.

Prince ofWa les (afterwa rds GeorgePrincipes du Violon, L’Abb e Fils, 23 1 .Princzpifdi Musica

, 24 1

Public concerts, first in London, 1 0 1

103 ; hours of, 102 admission, 1 02 .

Pugnani, 256, 276.

(Fayrye Queene

3 1 1

Purcell, Daniel, 1 53, 1 54, 1 59 Henry,70, 79, 8 1 , 83 ; round on viol

, 84 ;violin sona tas, 1 40 Golden Sona ta ,”1 4 1 , 1 48 ; operas, 1 63 ; recovery ofFayzye Queene, 1 64, 1 68.

Quwstiones Celeherrimce in Genesim, 4 1

Quaglia ti, Toccata for Violin and

Teorb o,20

,23.

Quartgeiglein, 235.Queen’

s Arms,St. Paul’s Churchya rd,

1 34.

Queen’s Head Tavern, Pa ternosterRow, 1 34.Q ueensberry, Duchess of, 106.

Questiones Ha rmoniques, 4 1 .

Quinte, 53, 58.

RamAl ley or Merry Trichs,64.

Rameau, La Poule,” 22, 1 7 3, 209 .

Rampony, 1 58.Rasetti

,2 1 2.

Rayman,violin by, 1 1 1 .

eason, proprietor of Music Room in

York Buildings, 1 6 1 .Rebec, 49 , 60, 273.Reb echino, 60.

Reghino, Fa ther Giov. Ba t., 33.Reinagle, 293.Richardson, Van (Vaughan), 1 58.Richmond, Duke of, 1 84.

Rimb ault, 69 , 1 63, 1 92 , 1 95.Rivarde, Achille, 2 58 .

Robe,member of Britton’

s Club, 109 .

Robinson, Thoma s, 6.

Rochester, Earl of, 1 1 7 .Rode, 257 , 259, 263, 27 2, 276.Rogers, Dr. Benjamin, 70.

John, 1 30.

Roi des Violons, 1 80.

Romberg, A.,276, 2 77 .

Bernh., 1 96.Rore, Cyprian de, 1 2.

Rose Tavern, Covent Garden, 1 5 1 .Rosicrucians, 109 .Rosin, yel low Burgundian, 59.

3 1 2

Rowe, Thomas, 108 .

Roya l Academy of Music,establishment of, 1 52, 1 95.Royal College of Music, 1 63.

Ruckers’ virgina l, 1 1 1Rudimenta Panduristce, 230.

Ruggeri (Rogerius), 274.

Russell, Mr., voca list, 1 9 1 .Rust,Fr.William,

233.Rutland,Duke of, 1 79.

Saccia , 2 1 2.Sack or Spitz geiglein,” 235.Sacred Harmonic Society’s Libra ry, 1 63.Sadler’s Music-House, Sadler’s Wel ls,

1 50.

Saggione, 1 62.

Saint Helene, composer, 200.

Sa int-Sevin Jos. Barnabé de,23 1 , 232 ; Pierre, 232 ; Philippe, 23 1 ,2 7 2.

Sa lmon, Thomas, 1 29.Sa lo,Gaspa ro da , 4.

Sa lomon, Joh. Peter, 27 1 , 286, 289 .

Sandwich, Ea rl of, 295.Sandys and Forster, 166.Santhuns, Wil liam de, organist, 1 48.Sawyer, N icolas, lutenist, 99 .

Sca les, melodic sca les, Fenkner

’s ex

plana tion,264 fi

'

.

of viol, 74.

enharmonic sca le, 264.sol-fa ing of

, 277 .minor sca le, confusion about theform of

,264

—267 .

Schobert, composer, 292 .Schumann

,R.,

26 1 .

Self-instructor on the violin, the, 50the second book of, 5 1 .

Sellengers’ Round

,

”1 3 1 .Sevcik, Otokar, 229, 2 59 .

Shakes, 5 1 Philpot’s instructions, 22 1Jousse, fina l shake

,278 Trillo

radoppiato, 279.

Bookstriller (shake with third),247 .

Jousse explana tion, 279 .

Index

Shedlock, John S., 24, 1 64, 1 74, 294.

proposed Shift, confusion about the, 270 ; Jousseon, 27 2, 278.

Shuttleworth, Obadiah, 106, 1 38.

S imon, O ld, the King, 1 3 1 .Simpson,

Christopher, 69 , 79 DivisionViol ist

,84, 85.

Thomas,Tafel Consort

,6 ; John,musica l instrument maker, 1 98.

Singleton,John, 100.

Sivori, Camil lo, 26 1 , 262.Skill of Music, 58, 68 7 7 , 83.

Instructionsfor the Treble Violin,

fretting violin, 7 2 tuning, 73, 7 5.tabla ture, names of strings, 73.

tunes for practice, 7 5.consort-way printed music, 7 5.holding of violin and bow, see

Holding.”a lto clef in violinmusic, 76 systemof bowing following tha t of viol, 7 7 .

names of embel lishments, 7 7.Sloane, Sir Hans, 1 1 2, 1 27 .Slur (pieces in one bow, Mersenne), 52.Society, Anacreontic, Madriga l , 297 .Society of Gentlemen a t Sta tionersHa l l, 1 5 1 .Somers Tracts, col lected by Britton,1 09 .

Sona ta,

first appea rance, 1 3 of ninemovements, 1 4 Banchieri, Turini,Gabrieli, 24 Fontana, 33 Allegri,Uccelini, Merula , 34 ; da Chiesa and

da Camera , 35, 37 ; Vita li, 37Chamb erSonata remodelled, 37 reintroduction of Minuet, 37 Veracini,

38 Ariosti, 39 ; Corelli, 1 55, 1 69 , 1 74,1 7 8, 1 86 ; Mondonvil le, 2 1 0.

Spinet, 45.Spohr

,258 , 2 59.Sta cca to, H il ler on, 256.

Staggins, Dr., 1 45, 1 58.

Stagins, Izaack , senior, 1 00.

Sta 1ner, Jac.,2 52 preferred to I ta lians,

274.

Stamitz,276, 27 7 , 286, 29 1 , 293, 294.Anton

,292.

3 1 4

Leopold Moza rt, 234-241 Principj

di Musica , 24 1 Lohlein, 242- 252

H il ler, 2 53—256 ; Rode, Bail lot, and

Kreutzer’s Method, 257 Campagnoli,2 57 , 2 58 ; Ca rl Guhr Paganini’sKunst, etc., 259 ; Fenkner, 262—268J . Paine, 269

- 2 7 1 J . Jousse, 27 1

283 Leoni’s Method to Pass fromthe Violin to the Mandoline, 284.Twelve Bel ls, Bride Lane, 298.Twenty-four violins of Cha rles see

Cha rles I I.”Twenty-four violins of Louis x1v.

, 83 ;c rea tion of twenty-fifth violin, 1 80.

Two Golden Ba lls, Bow Street, 1 59 , 1 60.

Uccelini, Ma rco, sonatas, 34.

Valdrighi, Count Luigi Francesco,violins in monasteries about 1 5 10, 4.Va lentini, 2 1 2 .

Vanbrugh , Sir John (Relapse, footnote),Veb ar, Arch-lute, 1 96.Vendu, The, Charles Street, 147 , 1 52 ,

1 60—1 6 1 .

Veracini, Antonio and Francesco Ma ria ,38 .Vertue, painter, 1 13, 1 1 4.

Vestris, Madame, 1 93.Vibra to (tremblement), 44, 5 1 .Vie lle, 52 .

Vieuxtemps, 284.

Vil liers, George, Duke of Buckingham,

I55.Viol (Viol da Gamba), 2 , 46, 49, 5 1 , 62,Viola , 54.

Viole d’Orph é e, 2 1 1 d’amour, 39, 237 ,293.Violet, English, 237 .Violetta, Ma rina , 1 88 picciola, 60.

Violin Origin, 2—8 , 2 1 3 arm, 60 ;tenor, bass, 273 ; gradua l process ofevolution, 2 first use of G string, 34fifth string, 49 names of strings, 7 3neglect by English gentlemen, 27 1

Index

Wa ites of St.Giles’s (Banister’s fa ther),90.Wa ldegrave, Dr., I85, 1 86.

Wa llington,B en.

, voca list and composer, 1 28, 1 30, 2 1 9 .

Wa lpole,account of Woolaston

,108 .

Wa lsh,John, 1 54, 1 78 , 2 1 7 .

Wa l ther, John Jacob, 1 69 ; inventor ofpizzica to a ccompaniment, 1 73, 1 74.

Wa rts

], Edwa rd, 1 1 1 , 1 1 4, 1 22, 1 49, 1 68,1 7

The Sma l l-Coa l-Man’

s MusickClub, 1 1 5

—1 2 2 ; visit to C ity MusicH ouse, 1 43 Song aga inst Music, 1 44.Wa rd, John, 6.F irst Set of English Madriga ls, 6.

Wasielewski, J . von, Die Instrumenta lmusih

,8, 34 ; a ccount of Banister’s

dismissa l, 9 5, 1 70 ; Castrucci’s end,

Die Violine und ihr Meister, 70,

285Wa tkins

,Nat., 100.

Wa tts, Dr., 2 10.

Waver, John, 1 38.Weckerlin, 1 70.

a l to clef in violin music, 76 despisedduring seventeenth century, 63 ; introduced into English churches, 66for the following, see sepa ra te headings Bowing

,

” “ Compass,” Holding,

” Tuning.”Violina , La , con la sua risposta , 4.Violinists in Henry VIII. band, 62Queen E lizabeth band, 62 Cha rles 1.band, 63 Cha rles see Charles

Violino picciola , 60 violini piccioli a l laFrancese, 236.Violons du Roi, 1 1 .Violotta , 53.Viotti, Anteo, 20.

G. B ., 1 97 , 229, 256, 263, 2 76.Virgina l Book, Queen E lizabeth’s, 85.Vita li, G . B .

, 2 1 , 35, 6 1 Tommaso,Ant., 37 .Viva ldi, 36, 2 1 2.

Index 3 1 5

Wee ley, membe r of St. Paul’s choir, 1 34 . concert in Wa rwick Lane,1 33, 1 34,Ma ster, 292 , 293. 1 48.

Weichsel, M iss, 292 , 293. Wynn, SirWa tkin Wil liams,295 .

Mrs.,293.

We iss, 290 , 29 1 .Weldon ,

1 53.Ye l low Stockings,” dance tune, 1 3 1 .

Wheeler, Paul, 67 . York Buildings, 1 5 1 , 1 55- 1 59 , 1 60—163Wh ite’s Chocola te House, 1 5 2. 1 65, 1 89 .Wichello, Abiel, 106 . York

,Duke of, 9 5 .Wilhelmij, A. (violin by Duiffoprugcar), York’s, Duke of, Thea tre, 1 63.

3, Young, John and Ta lbot— A Ca tch uponWillaert, Adrian, 1 2. Mr. Young and h is Son, 8 1 , 82, 89,Wil liam 1 50, 1 58. 1 33, 1 34.Willis’s Rooms, 1 9 5. Ta lbot sta rts Castle Concerts, 1 35.Wilson, Dr., 68.Winchelsea, Earl of, 1 08.Wood, Anthony a, 1 8 1 .

a story of Ba l tza r, 67 .

Woodbridge, Jos., Kettledrums, 1 37 .

Woodcock, 1 96.Woolaston, J., 106 , 108 , 1 1 2

,1 32 his

ERRATA.— P. 93, l. 7 , for Cha rles read Charles IX. ; p . 1 5 1 , footnote, forBaptist Draglu, read J. B. Draghi p. 24 1 , l . 1 5, for Principij, read Princzpj.

Zanetti, Gaspa ro, 6 1 .

Z ani, 2 1 2 .

Z ucca ri, Ca rlo, True Method, etc., 2 1 2,

229 .

Zwerchfl aute, see Piccolo.

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