A Popular History of the Art of Music

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A POPULAR HISTORY OF THE ART OF MUSIC

From the Earliest Times Until the Present.

With Accounts of the Chief Musical Instruments and Scales; the
Principles and Artistic Value of Their Music; together with
Biographical Notices of the Greater Composers, Chronological Charts,
Specimens of Music, and Many Engravings.

by

W. S. B. MATHEWS,

Editor of "Music" Magazine,

Author of "How to Understand Music," "Studies in Phrasing," "Twenty
Lessons to a Beginner," "Primer of Musical Forms," Associate Editor of
Mason's "Pianoforte Technics," etc., etc.

Chicago:
The "Music" Magazine Publishing Co.
1402-5 The Auditorium.
Copyright by W. S. B. Mathews, 1891.

TO

DR. FLORENCE ZIEGFELD,

_President of the Chicago Musical College_

THIS WORK IS

RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED.

PREFACE.

I have here endeavored to provide a readable account of the entire
history of the art of music, within the compass of a single small
volume, and to treat the luxuriant and many-sided later development
with the particularity proportionate to its importance, and the
greater interest appertaining to it from its proximity to the times of
the reader.

The range of the work can be most easily estimated from the Table of
Contents (pages 5-10). It will be seen that I have attempted to cover
the same extent of history, in treating of which the standard musical
histories of Naumann, Ambros, Fetis and others have employed from
three times to ten times as much space. In the nature of the case
there will be differences of opinion among competent judges concerning
my success in this difficult undertaking. Upon this point I can only
plead absolute sincerity of purpose, and a certain familiarity with
the ground to be covered, due to having treated it in my lectures in
the Chicago Musical College for five years, to the extent of about
thirty-five lectures yearly. I have made free use of all the standard
histories--those of Fetis, Ambros, Naumann, Brendel, Gevaert, Hawkins,
Burney, the writings of Dr. Hugo Riemann, Dr. Ritter, Prof. Fillmore,
and the dictionaries of Grove and Mendel, as well as many monographs
in all the leading modern languages.

I have divided the entire history into books, placing at the beginning
of each book a general chapter defining the central idea and salient
features of the step in development therein recounted. The student who
will attentively peruse these chapters in succession will have in them
a fairly complete account of the entire progress.

W. S. B. MATHEWS.

_Chicago, May 5, 1891._

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE.

Chart of Greatest Composers 11

Chart of Italian Composers 12

Chart of German Composers 13

Pianists and Composers for Piano 14

King David Playing the Three-stringed Crwth 24

Egyptian Representations, 4th Dynasty 28

Bruce's Harpers 30

Harp and Musicians of 20th Dynasty 32

Lyres Found in Tombs 33

Women, Street Musicians 34

Shoulder Harps 35

Kinnor 42

Larger Jewish Harp 43

Assyrian Harps 45

Assyrian Banjo 46

Assyrian Psaltery 47

Greek Lyres 64

Music to Ode of Pindar 69

Hindoo Vina 71

Ravanastron 72

Chinese Ke 74

Japanese Ko-Ko 76

Old Breton Song 88

Old Welsh Song 92

Welsh Song in Praise of Love 94

Harp of Sir Brian Boirohen 97

Facsimile "Sumer is Icumen In" 101

The Same Written out 102

Saxon Harp 104

Saxon Harp 105

Crwth 107

Scotch Pentatonic Melody 108

Arab Rebec 112

Arab Eoud 113

Arab Santir 114

Song by Thibaut, 13th Century 122

Reinmar, the Minnesinger 124

Frauenlob 125

Minstrel Harps 126

Gregorian and Ambrosian Scales 132

Hucbald's Staff 141

Diaphony 141

Diaphony in Fourths 142

Guido of Arezzo 144

Table of the Schools of the Netherlands 162

Orlando di Lassus 167

Music by Palestrina 173 to 175

Roman Letter Notation of Guido 181

Neumae of 10th Century 181

Neumae of 11th Century 182

Neumae with Lines 183

Lament for Charlemagne 184

Early Staff of Five Lines 185

Lute 191

Tuning of the Lute 192

Early Forms of Rebec 195

Angel Playing Rebec, 13th Century 196

Viol da Gamba 197

Barytone 198

Stradivarius Violin 200

Old Organ 202

Portable Organ 204

Bellows Bags at Halberstadt 206

Concert of 7th Century 208

Extract, Peri's "Eurydice" 225

Aria, Monteverde's "Arianna" 230

Aria, Cavalli's "Erismena" 231

Aria, Scarlatti's Cantata 232

Aria, Lulli's "Roland" 240

Heinrich Schuetz 246

Jean Pieters Swelinck 251

Samuel Scheidt 252

Johann Adam Reinken 254

John Sebastian Bach 266

Geo. Friedrich Haendel 274

Joseph Haydn 286

The Mozart Family 293

Mozart (Miss Stock) 300

Mozart 302

Beethoven 311

Beethoven as He Appeared on the Street 314

Beethoven Autograph 315

Facsimile Title Page Mss. Beethoven 318

Gluck 329

Gretry 340

Boieldieu 343

Purcell 350

J.L. Dussek 358

Hummel 362

Moscheles 363

Schubert 390

Spinet, 1590 393

Ornamentation of Same 394

Another View of the Same 395

Mozart's Grand Piano 396

Cristofori's Design of Action 397

His Action as Made in 1726 398

Erard Grand Action 399

Steinway Iron Frame and Over-stringing 400

Carl Maria von Weber 407

Meyerbeer 412

Richard Wagner 417

Mme. Schroeder-Devrient 420

Paganini 430

Paganini in Concert (Landseer) 431

Chopin 442

Liszt 452, 453

Hauptmann 460

Mendelssohn 462

Schumann 476

Rossini 480

Verdi 484

Auber 489

Gade 498

Sterndale-Bennett 502

Rubinstein 506

CONTENTS.

PAGE.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 4

CHRONOLOGICAL CHART OF GREATEST COMPOSERS 11

CHRONOLOGICAL CHART OF ITALIAN COMPOSERS 12

CHRONOLOGICAL CHART OF PRINCIPAL GERMAN COMPOSERS 13

CHRONOLOGICAL CHART OF PIANISTS AND COMPOSERS FOR PIANO 14

INTRODUCTION 15-23

Music defined--general idea of musical progress--conditions of fine
art--qualities of satisfactory art-forms--periods in musical
history--difference between ancient and modern music.

BOOK FIRST--MUSIC OF THE ANCIENT WORLD.

CHAPTER I--MUSIC AMONG THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS 27-39

Sources of information--antiquity of their development--instruments--uses
of music--their ideas about music and education--"Song of the
Harper"--kindergarten.

CHAPTER II--MUSIC AMONG THE HEBREWS AND ASSYRIANS 40-47

Music among the Hebrews--Jubal--kinnor--ugabh--musicians in the
temple service--psaltery--flute--larger harp--Miriam--liturgy of
the temple--musical ideal in Hebrew mind--music among the
Assyrians--types of instruments.

CHAPTER III--MUSIC AMONG THE ANCIENT GREEKS 48-69

Importance of this development--extent of the time--date of Homeric
poems--epoch of AEschylus--extracts from Homer--Hesiod--patriotic
applications of music--choral song--festivals--lyric drama--debut of
AEschylus, Sophocles and Euripides--nature of the classic
drama--orchestic--Socrates--Aristoxenus--problems of Aristotle--Greek
theory of music--Pythagoras and ratios of simple consonances--devotional
use of music--Greek scales--Claudius Ptolemy--Didymus--the lyre and
cithara--magadis--flute--aesthetic importance--Plato on the noble
harmonies--loyalty to the true--Greek musical alphabet--notation--Ode
from Pindar.

CHAPTER IV--MUSIC IN INDIA, CHINA AND JAPAN 70-77

Early beginning--use of the bow--national instruments--the
vina--theory--ravanastron--music exclusively melodic--saying of the
Emperor Tschun--the ke--Japanese ko-ko.

BOOK SECOND--APPRENTICE PERIOD OF MODERN MUSIC

CHAPTER V--THE TRANSFORMATION AND ITS CAUSES 81-86

General view of the transformation to modern music--causes
co-operating--difference between ancient and modern music--harmony
and tonality--consonance and dissonance--three steps in the
development of harmonic perceptions--when were these steps
taken?--tonality defined--growth of tonal perception--unconscious
perception of implied or associated tones.

CHAPTER VI--THE MINSTRELS OF THE NORTH 87-108

Importance of Celtic development of minstrelsy--origin of the Celts--the
minstrel--old Breton song--the druids--classification of
bards--degrees--Fetis on the Welsh minstrel--"Triads of the Isle
of Britain"--old harp music--"The Two Lovers"--Gerald Barry on
the Welsh--old Welsh song--the Irish--Sir Brian Boirohen's harp--English
and Saxon music--King Arthur as minstrel--organ at Winchester--Scandinavian
scalds--Eddas--"Sumer is Icumen in"--Anglo-Saxon harp--source of the
harp in Britain--the crwth--melody in pentatonic scale.

CHAPTER VII--THE ARABS, OR SARACENS 109-114

The Arab apparition in history--their taste for poetry--competitive
contests of poetry and song--encouragement of literature--rebec--eoud;
santir.

CHAPTER VIII--ORIGIN OF THE GREAT FRENCH EPICS 115-120

Period of the Chansons de Geste--social conditions of France as given
by M. Leon Gautier--"Cantilena of St. Eulalie"--subjects of the
Chansons de Geste.

CHAPTER IX--TROUBADOURS, TROUVERES AND MINNESINGERS 121-127

The troubadours--Count Wilhelm--varieties of their songs--melody
from Thibaut--Adam de la Halle--"Story of Antioch"--"Song of
Roland"--minnesinger Reinmar--Heinrich Frauenlob--minstrel
harps--Hans Sachs--influence of these minstrel guilds.

CHAPTER X--INFLUENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 128-133

Church not influential in the development of music as such--nature
of the early Christian hymns--St. Ambrose--the Ambrosian scales;
corruptions elsewhere--St. Gregory and his reforms--the Gregorian
tones--many later reforms--limitations of these reforms--incidental
influence of the Church through her great cathedrals.

CHAPTER XI--MUSICAL DIDACTIC FROM THE FIFTH TO FOURTEENTH
CENTURY 134-147

Macrobus--Martinus Capella--Boethius--Cassiodorus--Bishop Isidore;
Venerable Bede--Aurelian--Remi of Auxerre--Hucbald--examples--instruments
of music during the seventh and eighth centuries--Odon of Cluny--Guido
of Arezzo--staff--Franco of Cologne--Franco of Paris.

CHAPTER XII--THE RISE OF POLYPHONY; OLD FRENCH AND GALLO-BELGIC
SCHOOLS 148-159

Origin and meaning of polyphony--monodic and homophonic--canonic
imitation--chords as incidents--variety and unity--early
French school--Coussemaker's researches--Leonin--descant--Perotin--names
of pieces--Robert of Sabillon--Pierre de la Croix--Jean
of Garland--Franco of Paris--Jean de Muris--fleurettes--John
Cotton--Machaut--Gallo-Belgic school--Dufay--Hans de Zeelandia--Antoine
de Busnois.

CHAPTER XIII--SCHOOLS OF THE NETHERLANDS 160-167

Wealth of the Low Countries--freedom of the communes--strength
of the burgher class--period of these schools--table of periods
and masters--Okeghem--Tinctor--Josquin--his popularity--Arkadelt;
Gombert--Willaert--Goudimel--Cypriano de Rore--Orlando de Lassus--his
Munich school--his genius.

CHAPTER XIV--POLYPHONIC SCHOOLS OF ITALY--PALESTRINA 168-178

Prosperity of Italy in fifteenth century--great cathedrals and public
works--conservatories founded at Naples--Willaert at St. Mark's,
Venice--Zarlino--his reforms in theory--Cypriano de Rore--Goudimel;
Palestrina--the council of Trent--Palestrina's music--Martin Luther.

CHAPTER XV--CHANGES IN MUSICAL NOTATION 179-188

General direction of musical progress toward classification and the
establishment of unities of various kinds--early letter notation
of the Greeks and Romans--Roman notation as used by Guido of
Arezzo--neumae--with lines--additional lines--"Lament for
Charlemagne"--notation employed by the French Trouveres--clefs--new
staff proposed by an American reformer.

CHAPTER XVI--MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS--THE VIOLIN AND ORGAN 189-207

Progress in tonal perceptions--influence of harp and lute--description
of the latter--system of stringing--locating the frets--the
violin--bow discovered in India--early forms of bowed instruments--rebec;
barytone--viol da Gamba--Amati--Stradivari--peculiarities of his
instruments--Maggini--Stainer--antiquity of the organ--early
forms--organ sent Charlemagne--organs at Munich--Malmesbury
Abbey--measure of organ pipes--portable organ--clumsiness of the old
keyboards--the organ in 1500 A.D.

BOOK THIRD--THE DAWN OF MODERN MUSIC.

CHAPTER XVII--CONDITION OF MUSIC AT BEGINNING OF EIGHTEENTH
CENTURY 211-220

Justification of the name "apprentice period"--office of domestic
musicians in England in the reign of Elizabeth--great fondness
for music everywhere--casual influence of counterpoint in educating
harmonic sense--madrigal--multiplicity of collections of
this kind--absurd use of madrigals for dramatic monody--the
work of the seventeenth century, free melodic expression--the
new problem of the musical drama--the representative principle
in music--music last of the arts--Florence and Venice the
centers--statistics of books published from 1470 to 1500.

CHAPTER XVIII--FIRST CENTURY OF ITALIAN OPERA AND DRAMATIC
SONG 221-234

Circle of the Literati in Florence--Galilei and his monody--Peri's
"Dafne"--Schuetz's setting of the same--Peri's "Eurydice"--rare
editions--_Il stilo rappresentativo_--Cavaliere's oratorio "The
Soul and the Body"--second period of opera--Monteverde's
"_Arianna_"--orchestra of the same--new orchestral effects--scene
from "Eurydice"--director of St. Mark's--Legrenzi--Cesti--public
theaters--Alessandro Scarlatti--_recitativo stromentato_--Corelli--sonatas
for the violin--influence of the violin upon the art of
singing--origin of Italian school of singing--artificial sopranos--Porpora;
Selections from Monteverde, Cavalli and Scarlatti.

CHAPTER XIX--BEGINNINGS OF OPERA IN FRANCE AND GERMANY 235-243

Slow progress of opera to other parts of Europe--origin of French
opera--ballets of Boesset--Perrin--Cambert--their first opera--their
patent from the king--Lulli--his success and productivity--attention
to verbal delivery and the vernacular of the audience--foundations
of the French Academie de Musique--opera in Germany--Schuetz--Hamburg
and Keiser--selection from Lulli--"Roland"--Mattheson.

CHAPTER XX--THE PROGRESS OF ORATORIO 244-248

Oratorio invented simultaneously with opera--Cavaliere--mystery
plays--Carissimi--two types of oratorio--cantata--Haendel's
appropriation from Carissimi--sacred oratorio--Schuetz's Passions--"Last
Seven Words."

CHAPTER XXI--BEGINNINGS OF INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC 249-260

Beginnings of instrumental music in seventeenth century--tentative
character of instrumental music of sixteenth century--Gabrieli
and organ pieces--imitations of vocal works--melodies not fully
carried out--Swelinck--Scheidt--Schein--Frescobaldi--Reinken--Pachelbel;
Muffat--Corelli--orchestra of the period--its defects.

BOOK FOURTH--FLOWERING TIME OF MODERN MUSIC.

CHAPTER XXII--MUSIC IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 261-264

The flowering time of modern music--complexity of developments
now taking place--principal actors--two main channels of improvement;
fugue--sonata--Bach and Haendel as writers of fugue--people's
song makes its way into cultivated instrumental music--reference to
Mozart's sonatas--thematic and lyric as elements of contrast.

CHAPTER XXIII--JOHN SEBASTIAN BACH 265-272

Bach as a composer--sketch--his clavier--attainments as virtuoso
upon the clavier and the organ--choral works--Passion oratorios--his
pre-eminence as writer of fugues--general sketch of the
form of a fugue--prelude--mutually complementary--Bach's concertos--his
rhythm.

CHAPTER XXIV--GEO. FRIEDRICH HAeNDEL 273-281

The companion figure of Bach--early life--violinist at Hamburg--conductor;
composer--first opera--Italy--successes there--England--Italian
operas--oratorio "Messiah"--other oratorios--list of his works--Bach
and Haendel compared--Haendel's place in art--personalities.

CHAPTER XXV--EMANUEL BACH, HAYDN--THE SONATA 282-291

The sons of Bach--Emanuel Bach as composer--difficulty of founding
a new form--Haydn--early years--conductor for Prince Esterhazy,
compositions--the visit to London--the money he made--"The Creation";
second visit to London--Haydn and the sonata form--"The Last Seven
Words"--his rank as tone-poet.

CHAPTER XXVI--MOZART AND HIS GENIUS 292-304

Charming personality--childhood--early talent--concerts--Mozart
at Bologna and the test of his powers--Haydn's opinion--early
operas--"Marriage of Figaro"--success--accompaniments added
to Haendel's "Messiah" and other works--call to Berlin--mysterious
order for the "Requiem"--death--general quality of Mozart's
music.

CHAPTER XXVII--BEETHOVEN AND HIS WORKS 305-315

A worthy successor to Haydn and Mozart--early years--orchestral
leader--piano playing--his friends--Count Waldstein--his first
visit to Vienna--settled in Vienna--compositions--life--appearance--place
in art.

CHAPTER XXVIII--HAYDN, MOZART AND BEETHOVEN COMPARED 316-326

Their relation to symphony--refinement of Mozart--early age of
Mozart--Beethoven's independence--relation to sonata--Beethoven
more free--climax of classical art--Beethoven adagios--summing
up--tendency of progress.

CHAPTER XXIX--OPERA IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 327-351

Three great names--Graun--Gluck--his reforms--his ideal--early
works--"Orpheus"--"Iphigenie"--Mozart's place in opera--Rameau--theoretical
writings--Rousseau--Phillidor--Monsigny--Gretry--Gossec--Mehul--Lesueur;
Boieldieu--French opera in general--Italian opera--Pergolesi--Jomelli;
Sacchini--Paisiello--Piccini--Zingarelli--opera in England--Purcell;
Dr. Arne.

CHAPTER XXX--PIANO PLAYING VIRTUOSI--VIOLINISTS--TARTINI AND
SPOHR 352-369

Pianoforte established as domestic instrument--Scarlatti--Mattheson--Dr.
Blow--John Bull--Clementi--Dussek--Cramer--Berger--Hummel--Moscheles;
Tartini--Spohr.

BOOK FIFTH--EPOCH OF THE ROMANTIC.

CHAPTER XXXI--THE NINETEENTH CENTURY--THE ROMANTIC--MUSIC OF
THE FUTURE 373-380

Classic and romantic defined--art in general--applied to music--illustrated
by Schubert--Schumann--development of virtuosity--Berlioz--"music of
the future"--how originating--the outlook.

CHAPTER XXXII--SCHUBERT AND THE ROMANTIC 381-391

Early life of Schubert--compositions--first songs--"Erl King"--rapidity
of composition--unfinished symphony--industry--spontaneity--personal
characteristics.

CHAPTER XXXIII--STORY OF THE PIANOFORTE 392-403

Origin of pianoforte--spinet--clavicembalo--Mozart's grand piano;
Cristofori's design of action--Erard action--iron frame--Chickering;
Steinway improvements.

CHAPTER XXXIV--GERMAN OPERA--WEBER, MEYERBEER, WAGNER 404-427

Tendency of German opera--Weber--"Der Freischuetz"--romanticism--innovations
in piano playing--Meyerbeer--early life--master works--place in art;
Wagner--early life--early operas--"Lohengrin"--Zurich--Schroeder-Devrient,
"Nibelung's Ring"--peculiarities.

CHAPTER XXXV--VIRTUOSITY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY--PAGANINI,
BERLIOZ, CHOPIN, THALBERG, LISZT 428-454

Continuity of these appearances with those already recounted--Paganini--his
playing--inspiring effect--Berlioz--works--place in art--progress of
piano playing--virtuosi co-operating--Thalberg and his style--Parish
Alvars--Pollini--Chopin--place in art--Liszt--early appearances--rivalry
with Thalberg--style--Weimar--Bonn Beethoven monument--as teacher--as
composer.

CHAPTER XXXVI--MENDELSSOHN AND SCHUMANN 455-477

Mendelssohn--personality--talent--early works--maturity--as
player Leipsic Conservatory--Hauptmann--"Elijah"--"St. Paul"--Schumann;
early education and habits--works--strength of the romantic tendency--his
"New Journal of Music"--music in Leipsic--Clara Wieck--larger works for
piano--technical traits--songs--general characteristics.

CHAPTER XXXVII--ITALIAN OPERA IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 478-487

Spontini--Rossini--Donizetti--Bellini--Verdi--Boito--Ponchielli.

CHAPTER XXXVIII--FRENCH OPERA AND COMPOSERS IN THE NINETEENTH
CENTURY 488-496

Auber--Herold--Adam--Gounod--Masse--Massenet--Saint-Saens--Delibes,
Bizet--Ambroise Thomas.

CHAPTER XXXIX--LATER COMPOSERS AND PERFORMERS 497-508

Gade--Brahms--Tschaikowsky--Svensden--Grieg--Bruch--Bennett--Macfarren;
Mackenzie--Nicode--Moszkowsky--Dvorak--Henselt--Litolff--Wilmers--Heller;
Hiller--Rubinstein--Buelow--Reinecke.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE GREATEST COMPOSERS.

(_Copyright._)

EXPLANATION.--The heavy vertical lines are century lines. Light
vertical, twenty-year lines. Horizontal lines, the life of the
composer.

[Illustration]

CHRONOLOGY OF PRINCIPAL ITALIAN COMPOSERS.

(_Copyright._)

From Palestrina to Present Time. (See explanation, page 11.)

[Illustration]

CHRONOLOGICAL CHART OF THE MORE IMPORTANT GERMAN COMPOSERS.

(_Copyright._)

From Orlando Lassus to the Present Time. (See page 11.)

[Illustration]

CHRONOLOGICAL SUCCESSION OF PIANISTS AND COMPOSERS FOR THE PIANOFORTE.

(_Copyright._)

From 1660 to the Present Time (1891).

[Illustration]

INTRODUCTION.

I.

The name "music" contains two ideas, both of them important in our
modern use of the term: The general meaning is that of "a pleasing
modulation of sounds." In this sense the term is used constantly by
poets, novelists and even in conversation--as when we speak of the
"music of the forest," the "music of the brook" or the "music of
nature." There is also a reminiscence of the etymological derivation
of the term, as something derived from the "Muses," the fabled retinue
of the Greek god Apollo, who presided over all the higher operations
of the mind and imagination. Thus the name "music," when applied to an
art, contains a suggestion of an inspiration, a something derived from
a special inner light, or from a higher source outside the composer,
as all true imagination seems to be to those who exercise it.

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