Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1865-11-11
New Musical Instruments for the

exclusive favor as drawing-room instru-
ment, is finding rival in the cabinet Or
+ gan, recently introduced, and which is re-
ceiving much favor in musical circles.
An instrument which should be capable,
in good degree, of producing the admir-
able effects of the large pipe-organ, of
adding to them theimportant respects, and
yet, which should not exceed the pOssibiE-
ties of private houses, as tospaee, expense,
ETC., has long been desideratun with mu-
sieal co'lnoisseatrs; and its production an
object of the ambition of manufacturers.
We have become so accustomed to the
piano-forte as the sole interpreter of all
classes of instrumental music in our
homes and it is so admirable in its office,
in many respects, that it is not realized
that, in large classes of music, it labors
under great disadvantage from its ina
bility to produce sustained tones. Yet, for
the Interpretation of many compositions.
these are very essential. From the instant
a piano kye is struck the tone rapidly de-
creases until it is lost entirely In no way
can it be long continued or made to in
oroaso inat0ad of diminishing; and the re-
petition of tones, to which the performer
Is compelled to resort in place of their pro-
longatiOn, is, after all, unsatisfactory in its
results This popularity of the tones of
the piano-forte is sundoubtedly excellent as
a single effect, conducting to the graceful
ness and spirit of its utterances, and its ca
paeity for expression, but it is by no means
the only desirable effect, and the impossi-
bility of escaping it, produces a certain
sameness and monotony, and greatly cir
cumscribes the capabilities Of the instru-
ment
The orchestral and band instruments.
and the human voice, especially, avoid this
sameness of the piano-forte and are capa-
bic of sustained tones, with greater variety
in eTescendo and diBlinuendo effects hr,t
| not one of them -:--'--~ ~ usoiO'iiiess-
! v, .Iore number of them can be used to-
gether, as in a choir or even g1artette of
voices and instruments harmony as well
as melody is possible, with every variety of
musical effect Hence it is for such COM
binations that most of. the best musical
compositions have been written, and |
they cannot be adequately rendered by |
any instrument not capable of sustained |
tones. But those of us who are less than 1
princes cannot keep at our private COM
mand, bands of musicians to administer TO
our musical pleasure at will, and thus the |
need of some one instrument which shall |
combine the capabilities of many; which |
shall add to the capacity of the piano that |
of the organ, and, under the hands of |
single performer, better render our most |
valuable music than the piano can possibly |
do on account of the peculiarities men
| toned.
Pipe-organs are out of the question,
| from the large space they must occupy, in
order to contain reasonable compass and
variety, as well as from their great cost.
In pipe-organ, if it be properly balanced, |
and well furnished in its lower, as well as
upper tones, pipe sixteen feet long, and
several inches in diameter is requisite to
produce the single lowest tone. From
this size the pipes gradually decrease in
size as the tones to be produced are higher
but, as in a single stop, there must be sixty
one pipes, and as a reasonably satisfactory
pipe organ must contain several stops, it
is obvious that large amount of space
must be occupied by such an instrument
not to mention the expense involved in
its construction. For private houses,
therefore, to save space and expense, 1t
has been customary, and even necessary,
to omit the heavier stops, requiring these
large pipes; and so disproportioned, i'll
balanced instruments have been the result,
without, after all, attaining sufficient COM
pactness and economy to render them gen.
t orally available.
This insuperable difficulty, with some
minor ones, has prevented the pipe-organ
from becoming popular as parlOr instru-
: ment.
For long time it has appeared proba-
! Bile to those who were cOgnizant of such
! ! matters, that if the desired instrument,
which should be a miniature of the great
4 pipe-organ, or an epitome of the orchestra,
e were ever produced, it must be by the i'm
+ provement and development Of some form
of instrument in which the tones were
produced by reeds. These occupy little
r space are readily controlled, and do not
: involve very great expense. Hence, much
y time and ingenuity have been given to ex-
periments in this direction. The CHIEF
{ difficulty to be overcome was not trifling
f being nothing less than poor, unattractive
= quality of tone. The term "reedy tones,
had become almost proverbial expression
of condemnation. And then there were
3 other shortcomings scarcely less important
t 1t is not our purpose to attempt any al
e lusion even, to the innumerable expert
> ments which have been made in the course
is of many years to overcome this radical de
l. feet, as well as the other deficiencies il
10 reed instruments Their success has beer
various and not always encouraging
though progress was made from time Il
( time, the result of which the public had il
le the shape of melOdeons, harmonious an(
"a reed organs of various names. 1t is only
10 within a few years, however, that reed in
q struments have attained such degree o
m excellence as to merit or receive mucl
hi attention from musical connoisseuTS
E. But within these few years such ma
ed terial progress has been made by tn
well known manufacturers, MessrS
O. Mason & Hamlin, of Boston, as to place tn
IT. instruments made by them on a highe
te level, and to decide the question that tn
I'D piano-forte is no longer to hold the onl
as | i'IVII4i-~->t place ss . household instrumen
m | THESE manufacturers nave worked out III
lis secret of producing tones of the best qua
ity-tones of surprising purity and rich
m, ness-frOm reeds, and have otherwis
mt brought the instruments for which the
is have adopted the appropriate mann
ng cabinet Organs" to such degree of e1
"a cellence that they are exciting much il
- terest in musical circles, and are slread
r. becoming the fashion with those who al
on on the alert for musical novelties of rel
m merit. Without doubt, in these Cabin'
,ut Organs, we have the long-sought instr
lat ment of sustained tones, which is hereaftC
in to divide with the pisno-forte the musici
lin honors of the drawing-room-
The attractions of these new instrumen
are their really beautiful tones, which al
of capable of being sustained indefinitely an
ess which have considerable variety of cha
he acter, while the performer has their degr'
the ofloudness always easily at command;
that he can, at will, produce what areteel
nically termed orgd1l-tO1es 'erescendos, DIN
lor in,tendos, etc. Here, then, are met Il
ION principal requirements of the long-needC
@ ieu instrument, possessing the capacity whit
re- e. tbe piano lacks. Almost all sacred musi
VI as well as the majority of Transcription