MusicThe systematic academic study of music gave rise to works of description, analysis and criticism, by composers and performers, philosophers and anthropologists, historians and teachers, and by a new kind of scholar - the musicologist. This series makes available a range of significant works encompassing all aspects of the developing discipline.

A Dictionary of Musical TermsThis illustrated dictionary, written by the prolific Victorian composer Sir John Stainer (1840-1901) best remembered today for his oratorio The Crucifixion and W.A. Barrett, was first published by Novello in 1876. It provides definitions for the chief musical terms met with in scientific, theoretical, and practical treatises, and in the more common annotated programmes and newspaper criticisms, ranging from short explanations of the Italian words for tempi, through descriptions of ancient instruments to expansive articles on such topics as acoustics, copyright, hymn tunes, the larynx and temperament. That it subsequently ran to several further editions suggests that it provided welcome guidance for the concert-going public in the nineteenth century.

C a m b r i d g e L i b r a r y C o L L e C t i o nBooks of enduring scholarly value

Cambridge University Press has long been a pioneer in the reissuing of out-of-print titles from its own backlist, producing digital reprints of books that are still sought after by scholars and students but could not be reprinted economically using traditional technology. The Cambridge Library Collection extends this activity to a wider range of books which are still of importance to researchers and professionals, either for the source material they contain, or as landmarks in the history of their academic discipline.

Drawing from the world-renowned collections in the Cambridge University Library, and guided by the advice of experts in each subject area, Cambridge University Press is using state-of-the-art scanning machines in its own Printing House to capture the content of each book selected for inclusion. The files are processed to give a consistently clear, crisp image, and the books finished to the high quality standard for which the Press is recognised around the world. The latest print-on-demand technology ensures that the books will remain available indefinitely, and that orders for single or multiple copies can quickly be supplied.

The Cambridge Library Collection will bring back to life books of enduring scholarly value across a wide range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences and in science and technology.

A Dictionary of Musical TermsEdited by John Stainer

and William Barret t

CAMBrID gE UNIVErSIT y PrESS

Cambridge New york Melbourne Madrid Cape Town Singapore So Paolo Delhi

Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New york

www.cambridge.orgInformation on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781108000918

in this compilation Cambridge University Press 2009

This edition first published 1876This digitally printed version 2009

ISBN 978-1-108-00091-8

This book reproduces the text of the original edition. The content and language reflect the beliefs, practices and terminology of their time, and have not been updated.

SECOND THOUSAND.

A DICTIONARYOF

USICAL HERMSEDITED BY

J. STAINER, M.A., Mus. Doc,MAGD. COLL., OXFORD,

W. A. BARRETT, Mus. BAC,S. MARY'S HALL, OXFORD.

LONDON:

NOVELLO, EWER AND CO.,i, BERNERS STREET (W.), AND 35, POULTRY (E.C.i

PREFACE.

IN a work of reference of this kind it is always difficult to find any definite principle by

which to include or exclude the words to be explained. On the one hand, if all words

however rare their use in musicwere to be given, the bulk of the book would be

inconveniently large : on the other hand, words seldom met with are from that very fact

often more in need of explanation.

The Editors hope, that from practical experience and knowledge, they have succeeded in

collecting the chief musical terms met with in scientific; theoretical, and practical treatises,

and in the more common annotated programmes and newspaper criticisms. That every

subject should be treated in an exhaustive manner would be, of course, impossible ; but theEditors have endeavoured to give sufficiently true outlines of matters of fact to inform the

amateur correctly, and intimate to the musical student the results to which his own reading

will probably tend.

The Editors are largely indebted to the following gentlemen who have contributed

important articles, or have in other ways rendered them valuable assistance:

R. H. M. Bosanquet, Esq., M.A., Fellow of St. John's College, Oxford, author of thearticle " TEMPERAMENT."

J. Bulley, Esq., M.A., of the Middle Temple, Barr.ister-at-Law, author of the articles" LICENSING " and " COPYRIGHT."

F . . Champneys, Esq., M.A., M.B. (Oxon), M.R.C.P., F.L.S., Medical Registrar ofSt. Bartholomew's Hospital; late Radcliffe Travelling Fellow of the University ofOxford, author of the articles " EAR," " LARYNX," and " LARYNGOSCOPE ;" and forhis explanation of the formation of the hand given in the article " FINGERING."

W. Chappell, Esq., F.S.A., author of the articles "BALLAD" (Old English), "GREEKMUSIC " (Ancient Systems of), and " NOTATION " (Early Systems of).

A. E. Donkin, Esq., M.A., F.R.A.S., Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, author of thearticle " ACOUSTICS."

A. J. Ellis, Esq., B.A., F.R.S., F.S.A., F.C.P.S., F.C.P., formerly Scholar of Trinity College,Cambridge, author of the article " DUODENE."

Henry Gadsby, Esq., for his account of Sonata Form in the article " FORM."

Rev. T. Helmore, M.A., Chaplain-in-Ordinary to the Queen, author of the article " PLAIN SONG."

IV PREFACE.

John HulUh, Esq.. Government Inspector of Training Schools, for extracts from a paperread before the Musical Association on " NOMENCLATURE."

W. G. McNaught, Esq., author of the article " TONIC SOL-FA."

W. H. Monk, Esq., Professor of Vocal Music, King's College, London, author of thearticle " HYMN TUNES."

Also toMessrs. Broadwood, for permission to publish diagrams of their pianoforte action.

Messrs. Cassell, for permission to quote from Musical Articles in the " Bible Educator."

Messrs. Chappell', for permission to quote from " Popular Music in the Olden Time."

Messrs. Erard, for permission to reproduce their diagrams of pianoforte action.

A. J. Hipkins, Esq., for valuable information on the subject of Tuning-Forks and Pitch.W- H. Husk, Esq., for an important list of early printed music, and other assistance.

Messrs. Murray, for permission to quote music from Lanes " Modern Egyptians."

Sacred Harmonic Society, for offering special facilities for the use of their valuable library.

Rev. J. Troutbeck, M.A., Chaplain-in-Ordinary to the Queen, for permission to reprintdiagrams from Troutbeck and Dale's " Music Primer."

Henry Willis, Esq., for diagrams and explanations of his Pneumatic Bellows.

DICTIONARYOF

MUSICAL TERMS

-A BATTUTA.A. (i) The note called Proslambanomenos

in the greater perfect System of the Greeks.The letter-name of Mese, the highest noteof the middle tetrachord; and of Nete, thehighest note of the upper tetrachord. [GreekMusic]

(2) The first note of (1) the Hypo-Dorianmode, or church-scale, commencing fournotes below the Dorian ; (2) the Hyper-Phry-gian mode, or church-scale, commencing fournotes above the Phrygian; (3) the Eolian mode.[Greek Music]

(3) The next note above Gamma Ut,in the Grave Hexachord of the Guidoniansystem, where it is A re. Also, the first noteof the acute and super-acute Hexachords, inwhich it is a la mi re. [Notation.]

(4) The normal minor scale of modernmusic, so-called because it is the relativeminor of C. It is sometimes also named thenatural minor scale, because no sharps orflats are required in its signature.

(5) The normal sound (Ger.Normalton),because the instruments of an orchestratune to this note, as given by the Oboe orOrgan.

(6) The key-note of the major scale,which has three sharps for its signature.

(7) The name given to a string tunedto the sound A. The A-string of a violin isits second string ; of a viola, its first string ;of a violoncello, its first string; but on thisinstrument it is one octave lower in pitchthan the A-string of a violin or viola; of aDouble-Bass, its third string, which is twooctaves lower in pitch than the first string ofa violoncello; of a guitar, its sixth string.The string tuned highest in pitch is calledthe first string of an instrument; the nextbelow it, the second ; and so on.

(8) The actual sound JH=^=r is in somesystems represented by A (capital letter), whileAA represents the note one octave below thatsound, and AAA the note two octaves below

it. Proceeding upwards, the note one octaveabove A is represented by a (italic); that twooctaves above it by a (once underlined); thatthree octaves above it, by q_ (twice underlined),and so on. [Pitch.]

A. (It.) At, by, in, for, to, with, towards,&c; a prima vista, at first sight; a battuta,lit. by the beat, in strict time; a tempo, intime, &c. &c; q.v. sub vocibus.

A. (Fr.) For, by, on; a deux mains, fortwo hands, &c.; q.v. sub vocibus.

Abacus (Lat.) a/3a (Gk.) Any squaretablet; hence, a board on which calculationswere made; hence, in music, a-diagram ofthe notes with their names.

A ballata (It.) (1) In the ballad style.Applied to any song, duet, or chorus, con-structed in the ballad or narrative form.Also to a song with a refrain in chorus, asis found in many old and modern Englishsongs; for example, the song of which aportion runs:

" Ich have house and land in Kent,And if.you love me, love me now;

Two pence half penny is my rent,Ich cannot come everich day to woo."

Chorus." Two pence halfpenny is his rent,

He cannot come everich day to woo "is a song, a ballata.

(2) The term is also used to describe avocal piece, that may be danced to. [Ballad.]

Abbandonamente (It.) With self-aban-donment, despondingly.

Abbandonarsi (It.) To abandon one-self (to the influence of the music).

Abbandono, con (It.) With self-aban-donment, passionately.

Abbassamento (It.) A lowering. Ab-bassamento di mano, a lowering of the hand;abbassamento di voce, a lowering of thevoice.

A battuta (It.) In strict time. This term isusually employed when a break in the time of

ABBELIRE ABBREVIATION.a movement has occurred, and it is desirableto resume the original pace ' by the beat."

Rial.WEBEK.

ttmpo m baltmta.

30- - die angst die je - de Hoffnung raubt.

Abbelire (It.) To overload a plain melodywith ornaments.

Abbelitura (It.) Ornament, embellishment.Abblasen (Ger.) To sound a trumpet call.Abbreviare (It.) To shorten.Abbreviation. A system frequently em-

ployed in music, by which a portion of atechnical term is made to stand for the whole.The following is a list of the abbreviations inmost common use; the explanation of eachterm may be found on reference to the wordsthemselves in their proper places :

up . )

Accel.... IAccel"... IAce.Accom...AccompAccresAd g or ad",Adi >Ad lib ... ]Affett"Affrett0AgAgit .All"Allgtt"All'ott.All'8".AlsegAnd""And"Anim

Accelerando

Accompani-ment

Accresciamento.AdagioAd libitumAffettuosoAfTreltandoAgitato.AllegroAllegrettoAH' ottavaAJ segnoAndantino.AndanteAnimatoColl Arco, orArcatoArpeggioArdito

A tempo

By Augmenta-

(" Bass (voice)B I Bassoon

( Contre BassB C Basso continuoBrill Brilln.-te

ArcArpArdA tA tem ..A temp.. J

C.B.CD.C.S.Cad..Cil ..CmCant

Col BassoCol la desiraColl.i sinistraCadenceCalandoCantorisCanto

CantabCello ...Cemb ...ChChal ...Clar ...Clar""Clar ...Co. So.ColC.Col ottCol Vo.Con. esp.Cor. ...Cres ...Cresc ...C.S. ...C. 8 ...Cl-...Co. 1

...Cantabile

...Violoncello

...Cembalo...Choir organ...Chalameau...Clarinet...Clarinetto...Clarino...Come Sopra...Col Canto...Coll' ottava...Colla vocefCon espres-\ sione...Cornet or horn[ Crescendo

....Colla Sinistra...Coll' ottava...Canto pnmo...Come primo...Concerto

DDC I

Dec... ."."Decres ..DelicDestDiapDimDimDivDolDolcisDopp. pedD.S

' Destra, droite,. right.Da Capo Decani.Decrescendo.Delicamente.Destra.Diapasons.By Diminution.Diminuendo..Divisi.DolceDolcissimo

..Doppio pedale.Dal segno

Energ Energicamente

F. or for ...Forte

Fag FagottoFalset FalsettoFf. or Fff...FortissimoFl Flauto

f :or g -7 .} F u l I O r g a nForz. '""}F o r z a n d o

G GaucheG. O. . . . )G.Org... [-Great OrganGtGrand"Graz" .

...Grandioso,Grazioso

Gr Grand

Hauptw. "IHptw [ HauptwerkH.P JHaut HautboyH.C Haute Contre

Intro IntroductionInv Inversion

LLegL gL.HLoLuo. ..Lusing.

MMain. ..Mano...Maest"Magg ...ManMane Man"1" ...

....Left

. . . Legato

....Leggiero

..-Left hand

....Loco....Luogo...Lusingando

. /Manual

...Maestoso

...Maggiore Manualsr Maocando

Marc Marcato( Mano Diritta

M.D 1 Main Droite( Manu Dextra

M.G Main GaucheMaelzel's Me-

tronomeThe beat of a

crotchet is e-qual to thepulse of thependulum ofthe Metro-nome said tobe Maelzel's,w i t h t h eweight set at

92.

M.M.

M.M.= 92 . . .

M.P.MS.

Mezzo piano' Manuscript or

Mano SinistraBachelor of

, Music Meno.Mezzo

M.V Mezzo voceMf.or Mff..Mezzo forteModto. ...ModeratoMus. Doc. .Doctor of Music

Mus.Bac jMenMez

Obb.Oberst.

..Obbligato...Oberstimmc

otr.:: }--"Oh. ped. ...Ohne pedalOrg Organg | Ottava8 alta ...Ottava alta8rabas. ...Ottava bassa

PPedPerd. ..P.F. ..Piang. ...Pianiss.Pizz. ...Pmo. ...PP. ...

PPP. ...PPPP....1""

Ob. ( Oboe, or Haut-{ bois

...Piano

...Pedal

...Perdendosi

...Piu forte...Piangendo...Pianissimo...Pizzicato

Y Pianissimo

Pianississimo Prima.Primo

4'te Quartet5m QuintetRail RallentandoRaddol. ...RaddolcendoRecit Recitative}R.H Right handRitar RitardandoRiten Ritenuto

S SenzaX A SignScherz. ...Scherzando2

ABBREVIATURE A CAPPELLA.

Trem Tremolando3 TrioTromb. ...TrombiTromb. ...TromboniT.S Tastosolo

U. ..: UnaU.C UnacordaUnis Unisoni

V. ..Voce

V. .VoltiVa ViolaVat VariationVelioViv.Vo.Vno.Viol"V.S.

v.v."

....Violoncello

.-...Vivace

. [-Violino

....Volti Subito! Violini

There are other abbreviations employed inmanuscript or printed music, the chief of whichare as follows:

In time, a dash with a figure above signifiesthe length of the pause in bars, e.g.:

24

In notes, the trouble of writing a passage infull is saved by the use' of abbreviations, e.g.:

Written.

Written.

$

iPlayed.

tEEfRepetition phrases are thus shortened:

Abbreviations, by signs, of musical gracesThe Turn. , -

f= Sung =Written FThe back Turn, + or t

Written . |" .Passing shake, %

tTfito _ gBeat,

H^n'e

H/n

Played,

Flayed J$ J "Abbreviature (It.) .Abbreviations.Abbreviazione (It.) An abbreviation.

Abcidiren (Ger.) (1) To use a system ofsolmisation. A series of exercises in whichthe names of the notes are used instead ofwords. (2) A method of instruction for sightsinging.

Abellare (/*.) To decorate, ornament, orembellish.

Abellimento (It.) A decoration, ornament,or embellishment.

Abendglocke (Ger.) The Curfew, eveningbell.

A bene placito (It.) At pleasure. Thesinger or performer may alter the time, intro-duce ornaments, cadenzas, &c, according tofancy, or may use certain instruments speci-fied, or not, without detriment to the effectrequired. [Chamber Music]

Abenteuerlich(Ger.) Strange and uncouth.The music of the new German school is socalled by the unthinking.

Abgestossen (Ger.) Struck off. Staccato.Abgeleiteter Akkord (Ger.) An inversion

of a chord.Ab initio (Lat.) From the beginning. [Da

capo.]Abkiirzungen (Ger.) Abbreviations.Abre"ger (Fr.) To shorten, curtail, abridge.Abre'ge' (Fr.) Shortened.Abreissung (Ger.) A sudden pause.Abrupt cadence. An interrupted cadence.

[Cadence.]Abrupt modulation. A sudden change

of key for which no preparation has beenmade. [Modulation.]

Absatz (Ger.) Cadence. [Cadence.]Abschnitt (Ger.) Section. [Phrase.]Absetzen (Ger.) 1 To render music 'stac-Abstossen(Ger.) J cato.'Abub. [Ambubajae.]Abwechselnd (Ger.) Alternating, mit ab-

wechselnden Manualen, alternately from thegreat to the choir organ.

Acad6mie de Musique (Fr.) An aca-demy of music.

Academie Royale de Musique (Fr.) Theopera house in Paris.

Academie Spirituelle (Fr.) A concertor performance of sacred music.

Academy of Music. A name given toan organised society of performers andteachers of music; originally applied to theRoyal Academy of Music, founded 1824 inLondon.

A cappella,or,AHacappella(/i!.) (1) In thechurch style, vocal piecea unaccompanied,especially those of the Italian school, becausethe music sung in the Sistine Chapel was neveraccompanied by instruments. [School.]

(2) Church music in a duple time (two orfour minims in each bar), this being for along period considered more ecclesiasticalthan triple measure.

( 3 )

A CAPRICCIO ACCENT.

A capriccio (It.) At will, according toindividual fancy.

Acathistus. A hymn of praise, sung inthe Greek Church in honour of the BlessedVirgin, upon the Saturday in the fifth weekin Lent, by the whole congregation stand-ing.

Accarezzevole (//.) (Lit. flatteringly.)Agreeable, pleasing; used occasionally to de-scribe the anticipation of notes.

Accarezzevolmente {It.) In a caress-ing style.

Accelerando or accellerato (It.) Gra-dually increasing the pace.

Accent (Fr.) A sign used in old Frenchmusic for the Harpsichord :

_a AWritltn Played

The custom of employing a variety of orna-ments in harpsichord music, arose from thefact that the instrument was not capable ofsustaining tone without the use of repeatedtouches.

Accent.In its ancient and widest sense,a sign placed over a syllable to indicate theelevation of the voice when pronouncing it.Hence, the term came to imply a raising up-wards of the voice in the scale series from themonotone or note of recitation, to a sound ofhigher pitch. By using various forms ofaccents, different elevations of the voice wereobtained, until a rude sort of chant resulted.The most ancient known accents, those of theHebrews as found in the Pentateuch, Psalms,and Book of Job, were interpreted only by tra-dition, not according to definite rule. Unfor-tunately therefore in comparing the musicalrendering of them as taken down in modernnotation by authors in various parts of Europe,it will be found that their original force isnow quite unknown, and that the various" foliations " which are supposed to repre-sent their meaning, are the growth of manysurrounding musical or other indirect in-fluences.

2. In earlyGreek Church music, the accentshad to a great extent, a plain and definiteintention, and as they were fixed and adaptedto various poems by John of Damascus inthe 8th century, and their use has been keptup in its purity to this day in Byzantinemusic, a very good insight into early formsand principles of notation can be obtained.[Greek Church music]

3. In mediaeval music the term accent wasalso applied to musical notation, the first twoand most common of the signs being theaccentus acutiis, and acccntus gravis. After-wards the term came to signify the systemgenerally, and so became synonymous withneuma, under which head information as to

mediaeval notation will be found. [Neuma.][Old systems of notation.']

4. In plain song, the term accent, or accen-tus ecclesiasticus, was used to designate thatsystem of movement of the voice, by learningthe principles of which (modus legendi chor-aliter), a chanter could read collects, epistles,gospels, &c, from an un-noted book. Hence,it resolved itself into a series of rules relatingto the inflexions or intonations of the voice onreaching a comma, semicolon, colon, full stop,and also a note of interrogation. But perfectuniformity is not to be found in these regula-tions regarding the puncta. According toits position in the sentence, or the intervalcovered by the movement of the voice, accentwas said to be (1) immutabilis, (2) medius,(3) gravis, (4) acutus, (5) moderatus, (6) in-terrogativus, (7) finalis. The following areexamples of these different species :

immutabilis.

Lec-ti - o E - pi-sto-lae Sane - ti. Pau - limedius.

^ ^ 0et o-pe-ra-tur vir-tu-tes in vo-bis:

gravis.i ar-=* i jBe - ne - fi-cen-tur in Te om-nes gen-tes.

acutus.

Cum Spi - ri - tu cce - pe - ri - tis nunc,moderatus.

- --

cum fi-de-li, ex o-pe-ri-bus le - gis,interrogativus.

an ex au - di - tu fi - de - i ?finalis.

-3 m "A - ni - ma me - a ad Te De - us.

But according to some authors, the epistleshould be on monotone, except at a point ofinterrogation, e.g.:

- - - m -

Lee - ti - o li - bri Sa - pi - en - ti - se

1 IBe - a- tus vir qui in-ventus est si ne ma-cu-la, &c.

Quis est hie et lau-da - bi - mus e - um ?4 )

ACCENT.But in some countries, the epistle is chanted

with the greatest elaboration, the note abovethe reciting note being introduced before thefull stop, and the whole of an interrogativesentence being recited on a note below theut. But as these uses differ not only invarious places, but according to" the Churchseasons, an exhaustive account is impossible.

In chanting the gospel, an accentus mediustakes place at the fourth syllable from a fullstop, or thereabouts, and also the accentusinterrogativus.

Se- quen - ti

se - cun-dum

- a

i Mat

tem-po - re dix - it

; mm..

quid er - go e -

- - - - -

Sanc-ti Ev-:

-ths -urn, &c.

Si-mon Pe-trus

~nm

an - ge

In

-

- l i

-m

il -

i ad Je-sum

rit no - bis ? &c. Ett-

vi-

- i

lo

I 1 , &c.

tarn

e - ter - nam pos - si - de - bit.In the chanting of collects, a fall from Ut

to La, or from Fa to Re takes place at apunctum principale, and from Ut to Si, orFa to Mi once only at a semip'unctum.

The accentus ecclesiasticus of lections andprayers must not be confused with those in-flexions which tradition assigns to other partsof the service, such as confessions, properprefaces, and lections of the Passion; allof which are to.be found noted in authorisedbooks. It shouldbe remarked that the Belgianand French uses often differ much from thatof the Romans, although uniformity in suchthings is without doubt desirable.

5. In modern music, accent is the stresswhich recurs at regular intervals of time. Bythe proper grouping of a series of accents,rhythm is produced. When music was in-dissoluble from poetry, a sign for markingaccent was not needed, but it is necessary topoint out in order to avoid confusion, thatour word accent corresponds more to theancient ictus than to arsis. For althoughthe latter represented a raising of the voice,it did not necessarily occur on a long syllable,whereas it is considered a fault in modernmusic, if a short syllable occurs on an accentednote. The position of the accent is plainlyand simply indicated by upright strokes calledbars [Bar], it being understood that the firstnote inside a bar is without exception accented.The measurement of the whole duration of

the notes between these accents, is recordedat the commencement of a movement, andconstitutes what is called the time-signature.In bars containing more than One group ofnotes, as is the case in compound times, otheraccents occur on the first note of each group,but they are not so strong as that falling onthe first note of the first group. The lattertherefore is called the primary or principalaccent; the former secondary or subordinate.Besides these normal positions of accents,there are others which can be produced atany point by the use of a sign > or 5/. Anaccent can also be displaced for a time fromits usual seat by binding an unaccented chordto a like chord at a point of accent, and sopreventing its repercussion ; or, by both com-bined.

Beethoven's Svtn.,' No. 3.

0 h 1

JPI?4 f^_

-fM

f-

' TJ 1 \ ,_L_*p i_

j jfL

1Ltp_: i4= '

T^Si^

I^J"

^

-d fc*:The throwing of the accent on to an unac-cented part of the bar is called syncopation.A similar effect can be produced by a processthe converse of the above, that is by makingrests fall where an ictus is expected, e.g. :

Beethoven's Sym. No. 3.

15 /

^ ^ ^ ^

This intentional upsetting of our acceptednotions of the expected position of accent iscapable of a most remarkable and powerfuleffect. Heard by a musician just two centu-ries ago, its effect would probably not havebeen sp striking, as he would have supposedthe writer to have changed from triple toduple time, a constant habit in those days.Such accents are sometimes called cross, orfalse.

( S )

ACCENTUARE ACCOMPANIMENT.

Accentuare (It.) To accent.Accentuation. The act of accenting, or

giving to certain notes their due emphasis.Accessory s tops and movements .

Stops and movements acting only on themechanism of an organ, not having pipesin connection with them, as, Couplers, Tre-molo, Signal to the blowers; Compositionpedals, &c.

Acciaccatura (//.) A short appogiatura,.g\:

lightly yet clearly to be sung, or played.Accidentals. Sharps, flats, or naturals,

introduced into a piece of music, beyondthose already in the signature.

A .cinque (It). In five parts.Accollade (Fr.) A brace, uniting several

staves, as in pianoforte or organ music, or ina score.

Accommodare (It.) To tune an instru-ment in agreement with another.

Accompagnamento (It.)} [Accompani-Accompagnement (Fr.)! ment.]Accompaniment ad libitum. Accom-

paniment at will. That is, one which canbe played or omitted without injury to theharmonic construction of a composition, c.f.obbligato.

Accompaniment obbligato. [Obbligato.]Accompaniment. A separate part or

parts, for voices or instruments, added toa solo or concerted piece. Accompanimentmay consist of a single simple instrument,such as a violin or flute, or a single com-pound instrument as an organ or pianoforte, acombination of selected orchestral instruments,or a whole band, or of voices in harmony.Accompaniments are those portions of acomposition which are independent of theprincipal parts, and which are added to sup-port, or to produce such effects as wouldbe otherwise unattainable. Accompanimentshould always be subservient to the chiefpart, so as not to overload or obscure it,and should be so constructed, that the voiceor voices or solo instruments should be madeto appear to the most favourable advantage.In the earliest records we possess, it is foundthat some sort of accompaniment was gener-ally employed either to assist the voice, ormark the time or rhythm of the songs sung:of these many examples could be quoted ifit were necessary. In the Bible,instances arementioned in which singing is accompaniedby musical instruments; but of the natureof these accompaniments we can form nodefinite idea, beyond the fact that, from acomparative knowledge of the instrumentsspoken of, it is presumed that little, if any

attempt was made to gain independent effects.The ancient Greek dance, and the poetry ofthe tragedy, was always accompanied, at firstwith the lyre, afterwards with the flute.

Donaldson, in his "Theatre of the Greeks,"says, that the Ancient Dorian Choral song,the Pcean, was originally accompanied withthe Harp (fopfityl.)

According to modern views, an accom-paniment implies some construction in har-mony, but the ambiguity with which theterms melody and harmony are employedby the ancient Greek and Latin, as well asby the more modern writers, has given riseto a doubt as to whether they had any know-ledge of the art of combining certain concordsaccording to such rules as we now possess.The science of harmony is of relativelymodern growth, and the art of employinginstruments in combination, as accompani-ments to vocal music, is more recent than thegrowth of harmony.

It has been stated that dancing is of greaterantiquity than singing, and that singing wasgenerally the usual accompaniment to dancing.The same root supplying many words refer-ring alike to dancing, singing, and playing,suggests a common origin for dancing andits accompaniment. Most of the words ofancient ballads are set to tunes that weredanced to, and the practice is still observedof arranging words to melodies, that wereoriginally intended to accompany the dance.So that the " new " idea of singing waltzesor other dance measures, is but a revival ofthe ancient practice. Nothing seems morenatural than that those not actually engagedin dancing, but as interested spectators, uponthe recurrence of a musical phrase shouldaccompany it with the voice. This wouldform such a burden or chorus as that alludedto by Shakespeare:

" Foot it featly here and there,And let the rest the burden bear."

Some simple instrument would be employedto play the tune, either with or without somemeans of marking the time or rhythm; acombination like that of the pipe and tabour,would form an adequate accompaniment tothe dance, as the burden would to the song.As most of the mediaeval learning and accom-plishments came through the Church, it isvery reasonable to assume that the methodsof the Church would be reflected in the prac-tices of every-day life. And as it is knownthat the organs employed in the service wereso constructed as to be adapted only for thepurposes of melody, it is scarcely probablethat harmony should have been in use as anaccompaniment to secular songs and tunes.Although instruments were employed as ac-

( 6 )

ACCOMPANIMENT.

companiments to the voice, there is no reasonfor supposing that they were not at timesengaged in the performance of purely in-strumental pieces, but on the contrary, thenumerous instances in which musical in-struments are mentioned in ancient Englishpoetry, show that the performers were notonly accustomed to accompany singing withtheir several instruments, but they also implythat they were able- to play independentpieces. [Mediaeval musical instruments.]

In some instances we find that the accom-panist was distinct from the singer, forexample: " In Alwyni episcopi . . . et durantepietancia in aula conventus, sex ministralli,cum quatuor citharisatoribus, faciebant minis-tralcias suas." Regis. Prior: S. SwithiniWinton (c. 1374). It cannot be ascertainedwhether the harpers did anymore than play thesame melody to which the poems were recited,or by the constant repetition of-certain notesserve any other purpose but that of main-taining the pitch or rhythm.

The following quotation from David Lynd-say's poem, "The Dreme," 1579, impliesthe performance ofa purely instrumental piece:

" Thay beir ane aid stok-image throu the toun,With talbrone, trumpet, shalme, and clarione."

Whether this combination produced con-cord, or unison, it is impossible now to de-cide, for, as before stated, the loose mannerwith which the terms melody and harmony areemployed helps to confuse, rather than tomake clear all conjecture. For example:

" And all above there lay a gay sautrie,On which he made on nightis melodye." Chaucer.

Again, in the " Lyfe of Saint Werburge,"printed by Pynson in 1521, we read:

" Certayne at each course of service in the HallTrumpettes blewe up, shalraes, and claryounsShewynge theyr melody, with toynes musycaU "

and again in the same poem :" A singuler Mynstrell, all other ferre passynge

Toyned his instrument in pleasaunt armony."In the two first quoted examples, that which

is called melody might well be harmony, andin the third, that which is called harmonymight well be melody.

In nearly every list of instruments of min-strelsy, there are one or two pulsatile instru-ments spoken of"Tymphans, tabours,nacaires," whose use was to mark the rhythm,sung, played, or danced to; but where theseregular instruments were wanting, the clap-ping of handS) the beating of a stick upon ashovel, or the clashing of two sticks together,or the " ancient natural instruments of ourislands," as Dr. Burney calls the tongs,marrow-bones and cleavers, salt-box androlling-pin, with the hurdy-gurdy, were em-ployed as accompaniments to rustic songs

or dances. These " natural instruments"required little skill to use, beyond a correctsense of rhythm, though there are instanceson record where some degree of science wasbrought to bear in their employment. Thebutchers of Clare Market, in the parish ofSt. Clement Danes in London, were at onetime noted for their aptitude in playing tuneswith marrow-bones upon cleavers of varioussizes capable of sounding a scale of notes, ina manner somewhat similar to the hand-bellringing in the North of England, but theirperformances were ultimately made independ-ent, and therefore could scarcely be consideredas accompaniments. Addison's descriptionof a Burlesque musician, and his cultivationof strange instruments for accompaniment,may be read with interest in reference to thissubject (Spectator, No. 570.) Skelton, in hisdescription of RIOT, speaks of one, who

" Counter he coulde, 0 Lux, upon a potte,"probably meaning that while he sang themelody of the ancient hymn, " O Lux, beataTrinitas," he would beat upon the vessel hehad been drinking out of, a part, in derisiveimitation of the florid counterpoint sungby the monks during service. The poets andauthors of the middle ages give no lucid in-formation concerning the abilities of themusicians of their times, probably on thepresumption, that because the method oftheir performances was well known andunderstood by every one, no particular de-scription was needed. All our knowledge onthe subject is derived from inference, and soit is assumed that the minstrels and latermusicians, previously to the 16th century,had little, if any, knowledge of harmony; orif they had, they probably left the practice ofit to the Church.

There is a further reason for supposingthat the ancient minstrels accompanied theirsongs by playing the same melody which wassung, in' the character of the majority of theinstruments alluded to in old writings :-

" Harpys, fythales, and eke rotysLutys, ribibles, and geternes,Orguys, cytolis, monacordys. . . . trumpes, and trumpettesLowde shaluys, and doncettes."

The drone of the bagpipe and the funda-mental sound of the drum might suggest theformation of harmony; the character and con-struction of the earliest piece of harmony wepossess, " Sumer is icumen in" offeringcurious confirriiation of this notion.i All writers are agreed as to this being the

oldest Song with musical notes extant. War-ton believed it to belong to the 15th century,but Sir Frederick Madden showed it to be atleast two hundred years older; and judgingby the character in which it is written, and

7 )

ACCOMPANIMENT.

other evidence, fixed its date at about the year1250. It is among the Harleian MSS. in theBritish Museum, The piece is arranged as acontinuous melody; but by commencing thatmelody at certain indicated places, it forms acanon in the unison in four parts, with a " pes,"a foot, or burden for two other parts.

The first attempts at accompaniment in har-mony were arranged for the voice, in a mannerthat to our ears would be simply barbarous [Dia-phony], [Descant], [ Fa burden ]. It was onlyby slow degrees that it was discovered thatcertain instruments were capable of producingcomplicated sounds forming harmony, andwere therefore especially valuable for accom-paniment. The chief among these instrumentswas the Lute, which appears to have been afavourite instrument in Chaucer's time, and tohave continued in favourin one form or another,until the virginals and spinetts, being of moreconvenient form and less trouble to keep in or-der, completely superseded it. [Tablature.]

The opportunity the virginals and spinettsgave for the employment of both hands,tended considerably towards the improvementof accompaniments, as well as developingthe power of execution for solo purposes." Consorts of viols " were at first used only" for Cantilenas and tunes for dancing,"though compositions were occasionally soarranged as " to be apt for viols or voyces,"and when instruments were employed withvoices they generally played the same notesas the voices, a practice observed until thetime of Handel. No doubt an organist ac-companying some of the services and anthemsin Church, occasionally indulged in a littlelicense in the matter of fingering, and intro-duced flourishes and cadences according tofancy, while the choir were singing the plainvocal harmonies. A copy of a portion ofGibbons's service in F [1583-1624] foundamong the old music in Magdalen College,Oxford, in which such variations are writtendown, is still preserved. Although the MS.belongs to the middle of the 17th century,there is no doubt but that it records a con-tinuation of a custom of long standing. Thecharacter of this accompaniment may be seenby the following quotation:

VOICES.

ACCOVT.

I k

; (-|_-fy

1I

i-

the

= |

1

Lord.

J

r

v r i

j

1

-j

1

=1=

1

i

'l

i

EC

ti

1 &c.

1 1

rregarded

^ je r r r f

ie low - Ii - ness of Hisj

ACCOMPANIMENT ACCORD.

up long notes into effective repetitions, andso imparting novel rhythms and striking in-strumental figures. From his conceptionarose the Italian school of accompanimenta school which influenced all musical teachingfor more than a hundred years, and only de-cayed with the growth of a distinct style ofinstrumentation, the result of Italian ideasimplanted in the German mind, after whichthe Symphony and Sonata, retaining namesderived from their connection with vocalmusic, became independent and distinct, andaccompaniment once more was lifeless anduninteresting, a mere adventitious aid. In-difference with regard to the part accompani-ment should play, marked most of themusic produced for a long period, but thepower of the genius of Mendelssohn arousednew thoughts and new deeds, and care asgreat as that involved in the production of avocal piece was employed in accompaniments,with true artistic effect. The followers ofWagner, in imitation of him, are strivingto impart a new form to accompaniment,by giving to every instrument employed,a certain amount of independent work todoa practice at once laudable and in-genious, but neither novel nor needful. Itis laudable, for the reason that it is as well tointerest the performer; it is ingenious, as nocommon amount of thought is involved in itsproduction; it is not novel, for it was thepractice of the Italian writers, and it is notneedful, as accompaniment should always besubservient to the thing accompanied.

Purcell was among the first of the musiciansin England who attempted to give colour to theaccompaniments in the scores of his operas,but only occasionally introduced variety in theorgan parts of his Anthems. The works ofthe musicians of the latter portion of the 17thand the commencement of the 18th centuries,show a desire to depart from the habitual rule,by giving independent melodies to the accom-panying parts, specimens of which may betraced in Blow's Amphion, and contemporaryworks. The scores of J. S. Bach's "Passions"and other of his compositions, contain someexcellent specimens of free instrumental partsin the accompaniments, and many of Handel'sobbligati foreshadow the true use of orchestralcolouring, a shadow to which substance wasgiven by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. _

The influence of conventionality may beobserved in accompaniments from the earliestperiod to the present day. Because it wasthe practice in olden time to accompanyrecitative upon the " cembalo," composersrarely thought of setting down more than afigured bass to these . parts of their scores,excepting when the recitative took somethingof the form of the " soliloquse;" and because

the " maestro di cembalo" became an obso-lete office in the orchestra, as soon asconductors considered it to be undignifiedto do other than direct with the baton, itwas necessary that some mode of accom-panying recitative should be devised, andthe figured bass was interpreted by a violon-cello and double bass. Trumpets and drumswere generally employed together, as muchfor rhythmical, as for any other purpose;and many other instances of the thoughtlesspractice of taking things for granted, anddoing that which was held to be correct,because it was the custom, are to be foundin well-known works of the. lesser lights inmusic, the great thinkers constantly de-spising ordinary forms, and inventing newones, which in their turn became modelsfor imitation, and therefore standards of con-ventionality.

The bagpipe, fiddle, lute, cittern, virginals,spinett,harpsichord,pianoforte, harp, and guitarhave each had their turns of favour and appre-ciation at several times.

The use of the guitar for an accompani-ment became exceedingly popular duringthe latter part of the last century, to the in-jury of the makers of pianofortes, until Kirk-man gave away a number of cheap guitars tomilliners' apprentice girls, and so made theinstrument unfashionable. The portability ofboth harp and guitar rendered them usefulfor the purposes of accompaniment, moreespecially at a time when the pianoforte wasless frequently found in dwelling-housesthan it is now; but improved mechanism andtone, together with smallness of cost, havemade the pianoforte the most available ac-companying instrument in private as well asin public; and the fact that one is to be foundin nearly every house has contributed greatlytowards the neglect of more portable meansof accompanying songs and other householdmusic.

Accompanist. The player who accom-panies. The qualities necessary to form agood accompanist are, (1) that he possess aknowledge of reading music at sight, and ofharmony ; (2) that he should be acquaintedwith the style of the music performed; (3)that he should know the characteristics ofthose performers whom he is called,upon toaccompany; (4) that while playing with firm-ness and decision,he shouldnotattempttolead.

Accoppiato (It.) Joined or connected.Accord (Fr.) (1) The series of notes to

which an instrument is tuned, e.g., Accorddu Violon,

( 9

hence, Accord a I'ouvert, open strings, q.v.(2) A chord. Concord, hence, D'accord, in

tune.

ACCORD ACOUSTICS.

Accord de sixte Ajoute'e (Fr.) Thechord of the Added Sixth. [Added Sixth.]

Accordamento (It.) 1 . . . .Accordanza (//.) | Agreement .n tune.Accordando (It.) Tuning.Accordare (//.) To tune.Accordato (It.) Tuned.Accordatura (It.) [Accord.]Accorder (Fr.) To tune an instrument.Accordeur (Fr.) A tuner.Accordion. A simple musical instru-

ment, of oblong form, invented by Damian,of Vienna, in 1829. The tone is producedby the inspiration and respiration of a pairof bellows acting upon metallic reeds ortongues. [Free reed.]

The first instruments had only four buttons,or keys, each of which acted on two reeds,making the compass one octave of diatonicscale, but with a separate arrangement, bywhich these notes might be accompanied witha tonic and dominant harmony. At first itwas used only as a toy, but the introductionof a chromatic scale made the Accordion morecapable of producing a varied melody andharmony, although the awkwardness of theform was always a hindrance to its use. TheGerman Accordion or Concertina (q.v.) ofhexagonal form made the principle of theaccordion more acceptable. The Englishconcertina (q.v.)and the harmonium (q.v.) aresuperior instruments constructed upon similarprinciples.

Accordo (It.) Concord, agreement, har-mony.

Accordoir (Fr.) A tuning key or hammer.Accresciuto (It.) Increased. Augmented

as applied to intervals.Acetabulum. An ancient instrument,

originally made of earthenware, afterwardsof metal, which, when struck with a rod,produced a sweet sound. [ S * an allusionto it in Boet. de Inst. Mus., Lib. i. cap. xi.]

Achromatic. Not chromatic.Achtel (Ger.) A quaver ^ \ The eighth

part of a semibreve.Achtelpause. A quaver rest ",A chula (Port.) A dance similar to the

Fandango, q.v.Acoustics. The science which treats of

the nature and laws of sound.2. The sensation of sound consists in the

communication of a vibratory motion to thetympanic membrane of the ear, through slightand rapid changes in the pressure of the airon its outer surface.

3. The mode of propagation of sound inair may be explained in the following manner.Suppose a small particle of fulminating silverto be exploded in free air; the air particlesimmediately contiguous are driven outwardsin all directions by the explosion, their motion

(

is almost instantaneously communicated tothe adjacent ones, those first agitated comingat the same time to rest; the adjacent onespass on the impulse in the same way to thoseat a greater distance, and so on; thus theexplosion gives rise to what may be lookedon as a rapidly expanding shell of constantthickness, containing at any instant betweenits exterior and interior surfaces a stratum ofagitated air particles each one of which per-forms a single vibration to and fro during thepassage of the shell over it; in other wordsthe exterior and interior surfaces of the shellare at any time the loci of all those points atwhich the particles at that instant come underthe influence of the impulse, and are left atrest by it respectively, so that its thicknessdepends both on the rapidity of their vibrationand the rate at which they pass on theimpulse, one to another.* Let us supposenow that immediately after the first explo-sion a second were to take place; then, inexactly the same way there would be asecond pulse propagated in all directions.If a series of explosions at regular intervalswere to take place, there would be a regularseries of these expanding shells; and if theintervals were sufficiently small, the alternatechanges of pressure, due to the successivecollisions of the air particles against the tym-panic membrane of an ear in the neighbour-hood of the explosions would convey to thebrain a sensation of a continuous note. Ex-actly the same thing occurs if, for a series ofexplosions, are substituted the vibrations ofan elastic body; and it is, in general, by thelatter means that all sounds, and especiallymusical ones, are produced. The motion ofa sound wave must not be confounded withthe motion of the particles which transmitthe wave. In the passage of a single waveeach particle over which it passes makesonly a small excursion to and fro, the semi-length of which is called the amplitude ofthe vibration, the time occupied during onevibration being called its period.

4. The intensity of a sound is proportionalto the square of the maximum velocity of thevibrating particles. It also approximatelyvaries inversely as the square of the distancefrom the origin of the sound; for, supposingthe latter to be produced at a uniform loudness,the same amount of energy has to be com-municated to the particles contained withinthe external and internal surfaces of shells ofthe same thickness but of different radii. For

The word vibration must be taken in its full sense,viz.: as meaning the whole motion of the particle dur-ing the time that elapses from the instant it sets offfrom its original position to the instant when it nextregains that position, and is ready to start again overthe same path.

ACOUSTICS.

example, if we take a shell of air whose in-ternal radius is one foot, one of the same thick-ness whose radius is two feet will containfour times the quantity of matter; one whoseradius is three feet, nine times the quantity,and so on. Thus the amount of matterover which a given quantity of energy hasto be distributed augments as the squareof the distance from the origin of sound, andtherefore the amount of energy, or, whatcomes to the same thing, the intensity ofthe sound, diminishes in the same ratio.

5. At a temperature ' of zero Centigradesound is propagated at the rate of aboutlogo feet per second, and this speed aug-ments about two feet per second for everyadditional degree of temperature; thus at

. 150 C. the rate of propagation would beabout 1120 feet per second. The velocityof sound in air depends on the elasticityof the air in relation to its density. It isalso directly proportional to the square rootof the elasticity, and inversely proportionalto the square root . of the density. Nowfor' a constant temperature the elasticityvaries as the density, hence in this casethey neutralise one another, and the velocityof the sound is independent of the densityof the air.

6. One sound differs from another not onlyin quantity, but also in quality and pitch.*The pitch of a sound depends on the num-ber of vibrations per second by which itis caused: the greater this number is thehigher is the sound, andx vice versa; thuspitch is a more or less relative term, and it istherefore necessary to have some standard towhich different sounds may be referred. Thisstandard is so chosen that the middle C of thepianoforte shall be produced by 264 vibrationsper second .f

7. Knowing the velocity of sound in airwe can estimate the different wave lengthscorresponding to notes of different pitch inthe following manner. The wave length isthe distance through which the sound tra-vels while any particle over which it passesdescribes a complete vibration; hence, ifwe know the number of vibrations the par-ticle performs per second, the required wave,length will be found by dividing the numberof feet over which the sound travels persecond, by that number. Now, by meansof an instrument invented by Cagniard dela Tour, and by him named the syren, thenumber of vibrations corresponding to a note

* For the cause of the different qualities of soundsee 16.

f That is, according to German pitch; at presentthere is no definitely fixed standard in general use inEngland.

of any given pitch can be determined veryexactly. For a detailed account of thisinstrument and of its improvements by Helm-holtz, the reader is referred to Tyndall'sLectures on Sound, p. 64; but to describeit shortly it may be said in its original formto consist of two equal discs, one forming thetop of a hollow fixed cylinder into which aircan be driven, the other capable of revolvingconcentrically upon it with the smallest pgs-sible amount of friction. A circle of smallholes equidistant from each other is bored uponeach disc and concentric with it ; those inthe upper disc being inclined slantwise to itsplane, those in the lower being slantwisealso but in the opposite direction; there arealso arrangements both for driving a constantsupply of air into the hollow cylinder, and forregistering the number of revolutions theupper disc performs in a minute; thus, whenthe upper disc is so turned that its holes co-incide with those of the lower, and air is forcedinto the cylinder, it will pass out through theperforations, and by reason of their obliquitywill cause the moveable disc to revolve witha rapidity corresponding to the pressure ; andeach time that the holes of the former coincidewith those of the latter a number of little puffsof air get through simultaneously, giving riseto an agitation in the surrounding atmospherewhich spreads round in all directions in theway before described, and if the pressure ofthe air in the cylinder is sufficient, the seriesof impulses thus given will link themselvestogether, forming a continuous note. %

Hence, to determine the number of vibra-tions per second, corresponding to a soundof given pitch, we have only to maintainsuch a pressure of air in the syren as willcause it to produce the s.ame sound for thespace of a minute, and note the numberof revolutions registered in that time. Now,for every revolution of the upper disc, thesame number of sound waves are propagatedaround as there are perforations, hence thewhole number propagated in a second willbe the product of the number of holes andnumber of revolutions per minute divided by60; and this result will evidently be therequired number of vibrations per secondcaused by the given sound.

To apply this to find the wave length cor-responding to the note given by the open Cstring of the violoncello, we should adjust the

% It should be remarked that the pitch of the soundwould be exactly the same if there were only one per-foration in the revolving disc, the number of holesmerely serving to increase its intensity; if the numberof holes in the .revolving disc is less than the number inthe lower one, those of the former must be situated soas all to coincide simultaneously with an equal numberof the latter.

ACOUSTICS.

supply of air to the syren till it gives a noteof the same pitch. Supposing the numberof holes in each disc to be 18, the number ofrevolutions per minute would be found to be220. Hence the number of vibrations persecond of the string, and therefore of the sur-rounding particles of air, would be ",* " = 6 6 .Supposing the temperature were 16 C thevelocity of sound would be about 1122 feetper second, and the quotient obtained bydividing this number by 66 gives the wavelength corresponding to that number of vi-brations per second; that is, just 17 feet; thesound then will travel through this distanceduring the time the string takes to performone complete vibration.

8. If the number of vibrations per secondbe increased, the pitch of the sound causedby them is raised, and vice versa, as can easilybe illustrated by driving more or less air intothe syren, and observing the sound it pro-duces. Dr. Wollaston has shown (Phil. Trans.1820, p. 336) that if the number be increased,beyond a certain limit the sound becomesinaudible, although this limit is not the samefor all ears, some persons being perfectlysensible of sounds inaudible to others. Ingeneral it is probable that no sound is heardwhen the number of vibrations per secondexceeds 40,000; while on the other hand theperception of pitch appears to begin whenthe number of vibrations is somewhere be-tween 8 and 32, the wave length being inthe former case about 0-03 of an inchinthe latter ranging from 140 feet to 35 feet.

9. Sounds are primarily divided into twoclasses, musical and unmusical; the formerbeing denned as those produced by regularor periodic vibrations, the latter by such asare irregular or non-periodic. These defini-tions require some explanation, since, bysounding together a sufficient number of notessufficiently near in pitch, it is plain that wecould produce as unmusical a sound as wepleased, although the components would bethemselves due to periodic vibrations, andwould be therefore musical. The answer tothis is found in the fact that when two ormore sets of sound waves impinge on theear at the same instant, since each one cannotimpress its own particular vibration on thetympanum contemporaneously with those ofthe others, the motion of the latter membranemust be in some way the sum of all thedifferent motions which the different sets ofwaves would have separately caused it tofollow ; and this is what in fact does happen,i.e., the vibrations due to each set combine andthrow the tympanum into a complicated stateof vibration, causing the sensation of the conso-nance or combination of the different soundsfrom which the sets of sound waves proceed.

Now the unassisted ear is only able to dis-tinguish the separate notes out of a numbersounded at once up to a certain point; beyondthis it fails to distinguish them individually,and is conscious only of a confused mixtureof sounds which approaches the more nearlyto the character of noise the more componentsthere are, or the nearer they lie to one another.A noise, then, may be defined as a sound socomplicated that the ear is unable to resolveor analyse it into its original constituents.

10. As the character of a sound dependsupon that of the vibrations by which it iscaused, it is important to know of what kindthe latter must be in order that they may givethe sensation of a perfectly simple tone, i.e.,one which the ear cannot resolve into anyothers. Such a vibration is perhaps bestrealised by comparison with that of the pen-dulum of a clock when it is swinging only alittle to and fro. Under these circumstancesit is performing what are called harmonic vi-brations, and when the air particles in theneighbourhood of the ear are caused by anymeans to vibrate according to the same lawas that which the pendulum follows, and alsowith sufficient rapidity, a perfectly simpletone is the result. Such a tone is, however,rarely heard except when produced by meansspecially contrived for the purpose. If a noteon the pianoforte is struck, the impact of thehammer on the string throws it into a stateof vibration which, though periodic, is notreally harmonic; consequently we do not heara perfectly simple tone, but one which is inreality a mixture of several higher simpletones with that one which corresponds to theactual length of the string. The former are,however, generally faint, and become associatedby habit with the latter, appearing to formwith it a single note of determinate pitch.These higher tones are the harmonics of thestring, and are produced by vibrations whosenumbers per second are respectively twice,three times, four times, &c, as great as thoseof the fundamental tone of the string ( 13).The same may be said of the notes of allinstruments, including the human voice, whichare usually employed for the production ofmusical sounds.

11. Since the consonance of two or moresuch simple tones always gives a more orless musical sound, and since also the earis always more or less capable of resolvingthe latter into its components, the questionnaturally arises whether all sounds are not,theoretically at least, resolvable into simpletones. The answer to this is contained in acelebrated theorem due to the French mathe-matician Fourier. He has shown that anyperiodic vibration is the result of combiningtogether a certain number of simple harmonic

( 1 2 )

ACOUSTICS.

vibrations whose periods are aliquot parts ofthat of the former; and we have conclusivereasons for supposing that, in the same wayas a compound periodic vibration gives riseto a compound sound ( g), so the simple tonesinto which the ear resolves the latter are re-spectively due to the simple harmonic vibra-tions which, as the above mentioned theoremproves, make up the former.*

12. The theorem of Fourier referred to inthe preceding article is of such great impor-tance in all questions connected with acousticsthat a few words illustrative of it may not beout of place.f

If a peg is fixed into the rim of a wheelcapable of revolving about a fixed centre, andat right angles to the plane of the wheel, andif the latter is caused to rotate uniformly andis looked at edgeways the peg will appear tomove up and down in a straight line, its velo-city being the greatest at the middle of itscourse, and diminishing as it approaches eachend. Under .these circumstances the pegappears to perform harmonic vibrations.

Now suppose a- second wheel, also fur-nished with a peg in its rim, is made torevolve about the peg of the first as an axis.If the latter is at rest the peg of the secondwill appear, looked at' as above, to performharmonic vibrations ; but if the former is alsocaused tp revolve these vibrations are nolonger harmonic, but are the result of addingtogether the separate harmonic vibrations ofthe two pegs, in other words of superposingthe harmonic vibrations which the second pegperforms if the first wheel is at rest, uponthose which the first peg performs when it isitself in motion. Now it is evident that by con-tinuing this process indefinitely, and by givingthe wheels different radii, and different uniformvelocities of rotation, the final motion of thelast peg looked at sideways as before, wouldbe an exceedingly complicated one, and thatan infinite number of different vibrations couldbe produced by varying the number, positionat starting, radii, and velocities of the wheels,though it could not be assumed without proofthat every possible variety could be so pro-duced. This however is what Fourier'stheorem asserts, provided that the velocitiesof rotation of the several wheels of the series

* A periodic vibration is any movement which recursafter equal intervals or periods of time, such as that ofa uniformly working punching machine, or of the ham-mer of a clock bell when it is striking, and so on. Itshould be observed that though all harmonic vibrationsare periodic, it is by no means the case that all periodicvibrations are harmonic. See foot note to 2.

+ For a complete discussion and demonstration ofthe theorem, the reader is referred to the work onAcoustics by the late Professor Donkin, published inthe Clarendon Press series.

are in the proportion o f i , 2, 3, 4, &c. % Inother words, every periodic vibration is the re-sultant of a certain number of harmonic vibra-tions whose periods are one-half, one-third,one-fourth, &c, &c, that of the former.

13. A harmonic scale is formed by taking aseries of notes produced by vibrations whosenumbers in a given time are respectively as1, 2, 3, 4, &c.

If we take as fundamental tone the open Cstring of the violoncello, the series of toneswhich with it form a harmonic scale will.beas follows:

The notes marked with an asterisk do notexactly represent the corresponding tones ; butare the nearest representatives which themodern notation supplies. All the; notes of theharmonic scale can theoretically be producedby either a single .string, or by a simple tubeused as a trumpet. If we lightly .touch thestring of a violin, without causing it to comein contact with the finger board, at any one ofa series of points dividing it into a number ofequal parts, and excite it by means of a bow,it no longer vibrates as a whole, but separatesinto the number of equal vibrating segmentswhich is the least possible. consistent withthat point forming one of their points of di-vision ; the latter remain stationary, or verynearly so, and are called nodes, their numberbeing evidently just one less than that of thesegments. It is plain that if the point of ap-plication of the bow he/ one of a series ofnodes, no sound will be produced, provided,of course, the finger remaifls on any other ofthe same series, and this, may serve to ex-plain why it is sometimes difficult to bringout the higher harmonics of a violin, as. thebow may, unconsciously to the performer,be passing exactly over one of the corres-ponding nodes. The first harmonic, as it iscalled, of the open string is produced bytouching it while in a state of vibration at itsmiddle point, and thereby dividing it into twoequal portions, both of which vibrate twice asfast as the whole, and accordingly give theoctave. The second harmonic, or the twelfthof the fundamental, corresponds to a divisionof the string into three equal portions, and soon. And generally, in order to produce then

th harmonic the.finger should touch the

string at any one of the series. of pointswhich divide it into n equal portions. In

% The order in which the wheels are arranged withrespect to their velocities is quite arbitrary.

That is supposing n to be a prime number (..having no divisors). If such is not the case, it is plainthat some points of the series when touched would giveharmonics of lower pitch.

( 1 3 . )

ACOUSTICS.

practice, however, the finger should alwaystouch the string at the point of division adja-cent to either end.

14. The harmonics of a simple tube used asa trumpet are the same as those of a vibratingstring, ri*., the octave, twelfth, fifteenth, &c,and are produced by modifications of the breathand lips; but there is a great difference be-tween the nature of the vibrations whichproduce sound, in the case of strings andpipes. In the former case the vibrations areexecuted at right angles to the length of thestring, that is, are lateral, while in the latterthey are in the direction of the pipe, or longi-tudinal, and are the vibrations of the air itselfwithin it.

15. When an open organ pipe is soundingits fundamental tone, the particles of thecolumn of air within it are all, more or less,in a state of vibration parallel to the lengthof the pipe, of which the intensity is at itsmaximum at the two ends, growing less andless towards the middle, where there is anode, that is, a point of no disturbance. Theharmonics of an open pipe follow the samelaw as those of a simple trumpet, or vibratingstring.

The fundamental note of a stopped organpipe is an octave below the fundamental noteof an open one of the same length. When itis sounding this note there is no node, andthe first harmonic is a fifth above the octave,the second a major sixth above the first, thethird a diminished fifth above the second, andso on. Or, more simply, the successive tonesof the harmonic scale of an open pipe areproduced by vibrations which are as 1, 2, 3, 4,&c, those of a stopped pipe by vibrationswhich are as 1,3, 5, 7, &c.

16. It wai stated ( 10) that the sound of avibrating string was in general compoundedof a number of simple tones, and a welltrained ear can detect a considerable numberof them. If it were not for these harmoniccomponents the tones of strings, pipes, ofthe human voice, or in short, of every instru-ment most generally used for the productionof sound, would be flat and uninterestinglike pure water. Each harmonic compo-nent is by itself a simple tone, and is dueto the vibration of the corresponding seg-ment of the string superposed upon thatof the whole. The same statement applies,mutatis mutandis to pipes, whether openor stopped. That the harmonics of differentinstruments greatly influence their severalcharacters is observable in the difference ofthe tones of a flute, and clarinet. A fluteis an open pipe, a clarinet a stopped one;in the former, therefore, the harmonics followthe order of the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4,and in the latter the order 1, 3, 5, 7;the

intermediate notes being supplied by openingthe lateral orifices of the instrument.

17. When two simple tones, that is (as ex-plained above), notes deprived of all the har-monic components which under ordinarycircumstances accompany them, are soundedtogether very nearly in unison, there are heardwhat are called beats succeeding one anotherat regular intervals, their rapidity depend-ing inversely on the smallness of the intervalbetween the two tones. Their origin maybe explained thus: Suppose the tones to beproduced by vibrations numbering 500 and501 per second respectively, then every500th sound wave of the former will strike onthe tympanum at exactly the same instant asevery 501st of the latter and will reinforce it;while at the 250th of the first the correspond-ing wave of the other will be just half a periodin front of it. Now a sound wave consistsof a condensed and rarified stratum of air par-ticles, and therefore the condensed portion ofone wave here coincides with the rarified por-tion of the other and neutralises it. Thus therewill be an alternate reinforcement and dimi-nution of sound, every second, from the maxi-mum intensity when both waves impinge onthe tympanum at the same instant to theminimum when they counteract each otheras much as possible and vice versd.

In the above case it was supposed that thenumber of vibrations of one tone were onlyone more per second than those of the other;but if the difference of the numbers had beenti0o, for instance, then in one second the firsttone would have gained two vibrations on theother, and there would have been two beats;and in general the number of beats per secondis always equal to the difference between thetwo rates of vibrations per second.

18. In the preceding section, the cause ofbeats due to two simple tones of nearly thesame pitch was explained, and it was seenthat the number of beats per second wasalways equal to the difference of the numbersof vibrations per second of each tone; sothat as the interval between them increased sowould the number of beats increase in a giventime. Hence it is obvious that if the intervalbecame sufficiently large, the beats would suc-ceed each other so rapidly as to become un-distingtiished. For instance, in the case of thefifth whose lower and upper tones are pro-duced by vibrations numbering 264 and 396per second respectively, the number of beatsper second would be 132 and would thereforebe undistinguishableand still more so sup-posing the upper tone to have 397 or morevibrations per second; but, on the other handit is a well-known fact, that if an imperfectfifth, octave, or any other tolerably simpleinterval is played on a violiD or violoncello.

( H )

ACOUSTICS.

the beats are most distinctly heard succeedingeach other at perceptible intervalswhereasaccording to what was said above they shouldoccur so rapidly as not to be heard at all.Two explanations of this phenomenon havebeen given, of which by far the most simpleis due to Helmholtzand which here follows.It appears that when the tones are simpleand at a sufficiently large interval the beatsshould occur too rapidly to be heard, whereaswhen the interval is played on a violin theyare easily distinguishable. The reason ofthis fact is that in the latter case the tonesare no longer simple but compoundandthe beats which are heard are not due tothe fundamental tones themselves but arisefrom two of their harmonic componentswhich are nearly in unison. Suppose* theratio of the interval between the fundamentaltones to be , that is, let be the fraction, re-

n nduced to its lowest terms, which is formed byputting in the numerator the number of vibra-tions per second of the upper tone, and in thedenominator those of the lower. Then it isplain that the th harmonic component of thetone m, will be of the same pitch as the mthharmonic component of the tone n; for theywill each have exactly vibrations per

Msecond. Now let -^ be the ratio, expressed inthe same way, of another interval, nearly, butnot quite, equal to ; then the nih harmoniccomponent of M will have Mn vibrations persecond,while the mth component of N will haveNm. Now since j ^ is nearly equal to->, thedifference between Mn and Nm will be asmall number; and when the two notes aresounded together the number of beats persecond will be equal to that difference.

For example, let be the ratio of a fifth,Mthat is the fraction f, and let -~ represent very

nearly the same interval, say f f j ; then the dif-ference between Mn and Nm, or 794 and 792,is 2; hence if two strings tuned apart at an inter-val represented by -fj are sounded simultane-ously there will be two beats heard per second.

19. When the vibrations of the air "due toa number of different sounds which co-existat the same time are infinitely small, they aremerely superposed one on another, so thateach separate sound passes through the airas if it alone were present;, and this law ofsuperposition holds, though only approxi-mately, 'Until the vibrations have increasedup to a certain limit, beyond which it is nolonger true. Vibrations which give rise to alarge amount of disturbance produce secon-

dary waves; and it is to these that the phe-nomena of resultant tones are due.

Thus if two notes a fifth apart, for in-stance, are forcibly sounded together, a thirdtone is heard an octave below the lower ofthe two, and this ceases to be perceptible whenthe loudness of the concord diminishes. Ingeneral the resultant tone of any combinationof two notes is produced by a number of vi-brations per second equal to the difference ofthe numbers per second of the notes. Thisfact formerly led to the supposition that theresultant tone was produced by the beats dueto the consonance, which, when they occurredwith sufficient rapidity, linked themselves to-gether so as to form a continuous musicalnote. If this were so it is clear that the re-sultant ought to be heard when the originalnotes are sounded gently as well as forcibly;and it was the failure of this condition thatled Helmholtz to the re-investigation oftheir origin. These resultant tones have beennamed by him difference tones; he has alsodiscovered the existence of resultant tonesformed by the sum of the numbers of vibra-tions of the primaries. These summationtones as they are called cannot be explainedon the old theory.

20. The theory of beats explains the law thatthe smaller the two numbers are, which expressthe ratio of their vibrations, the smootheris the combination of any two tones. Whentwo simple tones are sounded together whoserates of vibration per second differ by morethan 132, the beats, according to Helm-holtz, totally disappear. As the differencegrows less the beats become more and moreaudible, the interval meanwhile growing pro-portionately dissonant, till they number 33per second, at which point the dissonanceof the interval is at 'its maximum.

This, however, depends upon the positionof the interval as regards its pitch. For itshould be remembered that though the ratioof any given interval remains the same what-ever the absolute pitch of its tones may be,yet the difference of the actual numbers oftheir vibrations, and therefore the number ofbeats due to their consonance, alters with it.And vice versa, if the difference of the numberof vibrations remains constant, the intervalmust diminish as its pitch rises. For in-stance, either of the following combinations

would give rise to 33 beats per second, sincethe numbers of vibrations of their tonesper second, are gg-66, and 528-495, respec-tively. Now it is obvious that in the lattercase the dissonance would be far greater thanin the former.

ACOUSTICS ACT.

The above explanation of the cause of dis-sonance is also due to Helmholtz, and com-pletely solves a question which had remainedunanswered since the time of Pythagoras, al-though that philosopher made the importantdiscovery that the simpler the ratio of the twoparts into which a vibrating string was divided,the more perfect was the consonance of thetwo sounds.

2i. The sound of the piano, violin, &c,is only in a small measure due to the actualvibration of the strings themselves. Thelatter communicate their own motion to thesound board of the piano, and to the front,back, and enclosed air of the violin. In thelatter instrument communication is made tothe surrounding air from that within it bymeans of the f holes.

If a string were merely stretched betweentwo pegs firmly fixed in a stone wall andcaused to vibrate, scarcely any sound wouldbe heard at all, owing to the mass and rigidityof the wall, which would refuse to be throwninto vibration by so small an amount of energyas that which the string would possess. Onthe other hand, the sound board of a pianoreadily answers to the vibrations imposed onit when the string is struck, and having alarjje surface in contact with the air, everypoint of which originates a system of waves,it causes a full and powerful sound.

22. The vibrations of straight rods may beeither longitudinal or transversal. The formerhave not been generally employed for theproduction of musical sounds; the latter aresuch as take place when a tuning fork isstruck, or when a musical box or triangle isplayed. In the case of a curved rod thevibrations are more complicated, but there isone interesting case, namely, that in whichthe curved rod takes the form of a circularring. In this case the fundamental tone isobtained by suspending it horizontally byfour strings attached at equidistant points inthe circumference, and by lightly tapping itmidway between any two. If the number ofvibrations then given be 2.11 per second, thoseof the successive harmonics are proportionalto 3 V ^ 4v 13, 5V 22, &c.

23. The nature of the vibrations of a bellmay be partly inferred from those of a ring,as the bell may be considered as consisting ofa connected series of rings of different dia-meters all vibrating simultaneously ; thus thefundamental tone of a bell would cause it todivide itself longitudinally into four equalsegments, corresponding to the four quadrantsinto which the suspended ring divides. Theperiod of its vibrations could not, however, besimilarly inferred.

24. The vibration of plates is not, musicallyspeaking, a subject of much interest, as the

(

only instruments which depend upon it directlyfor the production of their sounds, are gongsand cymbals, and the same may be said ofmembranes. Chladni was the first to showthe positions of the lines of nodes on a plate,by clamping it horizontally in a vice, andcausing it to vibrate by passing a violin bowover one edge, having previously sprinkledit with a little sand. The lines of nodes beingthose parts of the plate which, like the nodes ofa string ( 13), are not thrown into vibration,remain covered with the sand which collectsthere from the vibrating portions, and in thisway very curious and interesting figures areproduced.

Act (Acte, Fr.; Akt, Ger.; Atto, 7/.) Adistinct division in the plot or design of adrama or opera, forming an incident completein itself, but bearing reference to the generalidea of the whole. Every dramatic plot natu-rally divides itself into three portions: theexposition, the development, and the conclu-sion ; and this division would seem to pointto the separation of a dramatic design intothree acts, but where the piece is in four,five, or more acts, it will be found on exami-nation that the tripartite division is essenti-ally the same, greater prominence or care indetail being given to one or more of thesections. Thus the exposition may be spreadover two or three acts, the development overone or two, and the conclusion or unravelling,reserved for the final act.

The classical trilogiesgroups of three tra-gedieswere most frequently united by acommon idea, each forming a complete in-cident, connected by a bond of sympathy,sentiment, or subject with the grand design.

Bartholom6 Torres Naharro, of Torre inSpain, who wrote at the commencement ofthe 16th century, is said to have been thefirst who suggested the division of plots intoacts, or jornados, although Cervantes claimsthe invention for himself. It is certain thatNaharro's printed dramas are not so divided.

Donaldson, in speaking of the ^schyleanTrilogy (the Agamemnon, Choephorce, and theEumenides), says, that the three plays mutu-ally cohere, is plain; and as they were actu-ally brought on the stage in sequence, theymay be regarded as so many acts of onegrand heroic drama. This is mentioned, inorder to vindicate the practice of Shakspeareand other modern dramatists, in compressinginto one drama an extensive cycle of humandestinies; because the very objection thathas been made to the practice is the allegedexample of the ancients to the contrary.

Wagner's Nibelungen trilogy, though statedto be " new from end to end" in idea anddesign, bears a close affinity to the ancientGreek drama. For the subject is mythical

ACT MUSIC ADDED SIXTH.

and "the mythical subject has a plasticunity; it is perfectly simple and easily com-prehensible, and it does not stand in need ofthe numberless small details, which a modernplaywright is obliged to introduce to makesome historical occurrence intelligible. Itis divided into a few important and decisivescenes, in each of which the action arisesspontaneously from out of the emotions ofthe actors; which emotions, by reason ofthe small number of such scenes, can bepresented in a most complete and exhaustivemanner." In many modern operas, the di-vision of the work into acts is made, lesswith reference to dramatic principles, than tothe requirements of the stage-manager.

Act Music in Oxford. Cantatas com-posed by the Professor of music, to wordswritten by the Professor of poetry, and per-formed at grand commemorations in theUniversity.

Act tunes. [Playhouse tunes.]Acte de Cadence (Fr.) Certain chords by

means of which the final cadence is introduced.Action. The mechanism of an organ or

pianoforte, or other compound instruments.Acuta. The accent attached to certain

letters in the Greek system of musical no-tation, thus, M'

- 1 '

Acuta. An organ stop. [Sharp mixture.]Acutse claves, acuta loca, acutse voces.

Those keys, places, and sounds, which lie be-tween ' alamire acutum' and' alamire superacu-tum' of the Hexachords,that is between little a

and A

Acute. High as to pitch; opposed to grave.Adagietto (It.) A diminutive of Adagio.Adagio (It.) Slowly; also a name given

to a movement written in that time. -l slowly.

cantabile. Very slow, and sus-tained, as if being sung.

patetico. Slow and with pathos.pesante. Slow and weighty.sostenuto. Slow and sustained.

Adagiosissimo(/f.) (superlative of Adagio).More than usually slow, very slow indeed.

Added Sixth, Chord of the. Thisdissonant combination of sounds is so calledbecause it has the appearance of a commonchord of the Subdominant of the key in whichit occurs, with the addition of a sixth from thebass note, e.g.:

Ex. i.

The above example being in the key of C,the Subdominant of the scale is F, and acommon chord of F consists of F, A, and C,to which is found added at * the sixth of thebass note: namely, D. Although as a merename, the expression added sixth may not.bewithout value, it is by many authors con-sidered very doubtful whether the notes, F,A, C are really the constituents of a Sub-dominant common chord; and the fact thatthe apparent fifth of this chord (C) is nearlyalways treated as a discord, and made todescend, is rightly cited as the cause of theirdoubt.

This naturally leads to the second explana-tion of the chord, which is, that it is aninversion of the chord of the seventh on thesuper-tonic, e.g.:

Ex. 2. Seventh on 1st Inversion.Supeitonic.

But, the system of constructing chords onevery degree of the scale, though once muchadopted, is daily losing ground ; and justly,because by it, the particular progression ofeach component note of a chord, either hasto be ignored, or else treated of with anamount of detail which is puzzling to thestudent, owing to the impossibility of layingdown several laws as to the usual progressionof stated intervals.

A third explanation is, that it is a dominantchordconsisting of the fifth, seventh, ninth,and eleventh from that root, e.g.:

Ex.3.

The objection to this is, that the bass noteof the chord (F), in nine cases out of everyten, ascends in the resolution, as seen inEx. 1. But, on the other hand, it will befound that the ninth" (A), and the eleventh(C), descend properly, and it is a fact wellknown to careful analysts of harmony, thatwhen several discords are heard simultane-ously, the regular resolution of part of themoften completely satisfies the ear; and also,that when the root or generator of a chordis omitted, there is more license in its treat-ment.

A fourth explanation has been offered: itis to the effect that the chord contains two

( 1 7 )

ADDED SIXTH AD LIBITUM.

minor sevenths, namely, F and C, derivedfrom two roots, G and D respectively:

Ex. 4. PIf both sevenths were properly resolved,

consecutive fifths would ensue, therefore one(and generally the lower one) is made toascend, on the principle just mentionedabove. It is also urged that the lowerseventh, F, is practically resolved, if the pro-gression be followed to the cadence in C. Infavour of this view, it is also stated thatchords built upon the dominant of a scaleand its fifth are not uncommon, as for in-stance chords of the augmented sixth, &c.

Whatever explanation be accepted, it ismanifest that as this chord is made up offour notes, it can occur in as many positions,each note forming it being in turn placed inthe bass, e.g.:

It is resolved generally as in the aboveexample, but many other resolutions areoccasionally met with, e.g.:

I 1 1 J I I I 1 I I

mJ i J j AAJ-J-J.T T r

Efc r I r T4^g i r i 11i

When the other positions of the chord areused, greater scope for varied resolution willbe found.

The chord of the Added Sixth is also to befound in the minor series of chords amongstthose authors who accept, though perhapsunder protest, the exigencies of the temperedscale, e.g.:

J I I ! PP

From this source a vast number of resolu-tions of the chord of the Added Sixth will beattainable, the tracing of which in the worksof great masters will be found as instructiveas interesting.

Additato(/*.) Fingered.having signs point-ing out what fingers are to be used for certainpassages. [Fingering.]

Addition. The old name for a dot orpoint.

Additional accompaniments. Parts notin an original score, but added by anotherhand. Such additions may be made for thefollowing reasons: I, because the author acci-dentally left his score in an incomplete state:2, for the supposed purpose of beautifying theoriginal, by supplying parts for instrumentseither unknown or imperfectly known in theauthor's time: 3, to enable modern performersto play such parts as were intended for in-struments now obsolete, or those of a similartone now in use : 4, in order to compensatefor the altered constitution of the orchestra,in which the number of stringed instrumentsis now larger in proportion to the number ofreed wind-instruments, than formerly: 5, that,when for the sake of adding to the power orvolume of tone other instruments must beadded, they should be of varied qualities of.tone instead of a mere numerical reinforce-ment of those already used in the original.

Additional keys. Keys added to enlargethe compass of any instrument.

Addolorato (Ii.) In an afflicted manner,sorrowfully.

A demi jeu {Fr.) With half the power ofthe instrument.

A demi voix (Fr.) At half voice. [Mezzovoce.]

/For two voices or instruments.When the parts of two instru-ments are written on one line

A deux(.FV.) the portion to which this termA due (It.) is prefixed is intended to be

performed by both in unison;the opposite term is divisi

A deux temps {Fr.) In common time oftwo in a bar.

A deux valse (Fr.) [Valse.]Adirato (It.) In an angry manner.Adiaphonon. An instrument of the

Pianoforte class, not liable to get out oftune. Invented by Schuster of Vienna in1820.

Adjunct notes. Short notes, not essen-tial to the harmony, occurring on unaccentedparts of a bar. \c.f. Auxiliary notes. Passingnotes.]

Ad libitum (Lot.) At will. (1). In pas-sages so marked, the time may be altered atthe will of the performer.

( 18 )

ADORNAMENTO AIR.

(2) A cadenza ad libitum is a cadenza, theconstruction of which is left to the performer.

(3) Accompaniments ad libitum are addi-tions to a piece, which may be performed, ornot, at discretion.

(4) The word is also used to indicate thepoint at which a cadenza may be introducedin a concerto.

Adornamento (It.) An ornament, or grace.Ad placitum (Lat.) At pleasure. A free

part. A part added to a strict Canon, whichdoes not come under the laws which governthat class of composition.

Adue corde(/.) On two strings. [Adeux.]stromenti (It.) For two instruments.

A due voci (It.) For two voices.A dur (Ger.) The key requiring three

sharps to complete the major scale. Thekey of A major.

Ad videndum (Lat.) A species of coun-terpoint, which was written down or noted,as opposed to that which was alia mente orimprovised.

.^Eolian harp. [Eolian.]

./Eolian mode. [Eolian.]Eol ian piano. A piano having wooden

bars, instead of strings, which, when struckby the hammers,, produced a tone of peculiarquality.

./Eolodicon. iEoIodion. A musical instru-ment, the sounds of which are produced bythe striking of steel springs by hammers setin motion by an ordinary key-board.

^olomelodicon, called also a Choraleon;an iEolodicon having brass tubes over themetal springs, for the purpose of giving morepower to the tone.

.^Eolopantalon, a pianoforte in connectionwith the jEolodicon.

.flSquisonae voces (Lat.). Equal sounds,but not unison; that is, such a consonantco