The Portland daily press., 1871-08-18
Music.

VO S'h JuuSC SOiHcWUdI Ol Ule character OF
ancient music by the Improvements that have
been made in the science in comparatively
modern times. These are, in reality, so i'm
portant as to affect the very character or ma
ture of music itself. Thus, if we are unable
to tell what ancient music was, we can tell
what it was not In the first place it was not
marked by one of the great characteristics OF
modern music, time. All the musicians of
old, including The great harpsts, from David
down to Alfred, did not know crotchet from
quaver, nor minim from semibreve, ior
the very conclusive reason conveyed by slight
ly parodying an old song:
"'Cause semibreves in olden times
They hadn't been invented'
1t was not before the MIDDLE of the elev.
enth century that the learned and ingenious
Franco, OF Cologne, invented characters for
time. Before this, written music depended
more upon the syllable arrangements of
words, than upon the pulsatiOns now so accu-
rately marked by our metronomes, and indi-
Gated by the forms of our musical notes.
Next in regard to harmony-the ancients
were so deficient in a knowledge of this
branch of music, that their efforts in the mat
Ter would give pain rather than pleasure to
the modern ears. Those who are pleased
with the drone OF the bagpipe, or the hum of
the hurdy-gurdy, may class themselves as ad-
mirers OF one form Of ancient harmony. An
other feature of this was the regular progress
sion OF perfect concords, which is now a.days
regarded as intolerabIe.
The great feature OF music melody, how
ever, remains to be noticed. Are we not able
to judge whether the ancients were gifted
with the power of melody? Did music de-
velop itself in their natures by readiness or
facility of invention and beauty of melody :?
1t would be difficult to aLswer this question
affrmatively, if we may judge from the scale
in use in olden times. Our major scale seems
so plain, so natural, if we may thus term it.
as to be almost iHtuitive. We cannot fancy
human ears to be satisfied with any other
leaving the minor mode for the prese mt out of
the qHestion-and cannot help associating the
singing OF this scale in any other manner
than that now adopted with painful effort
Yet the anclents were either ignorant of this
scale, or purposely shut their ears to its effects
The old Greek system oe the tetachord was
abolished by Gregory in favor of the natural
system OF the octave; but even this most
musical OF Popes arranged the scale so as to
be performed in every way but the right one
VI course the ancients were ignorant of the
division OF the octave into twelve semi.ones,
as exemplified by the white and black KEYS of
piano, but they knew the position of tone
~hN SSihi1chS3 10 plOuuCcu ny Tile WDlJG KEYS
OF piano. In playing these notes we should.
1ancy that every child would soon find the
resting sound, or ey-note, as we call it, which
on the piano we call ID. Now. the curious
part OF the matter is this, that the ancients
always began on the wrong note. The fou,
authentic tones or scales introduced by Am
brose began respectively on ID, E, F, and G.
using the intervals OF the dlatonc scale of G,
as on the white keys OF piano, as we have
already mentioned, To these Pope Gregory
added iour others known as PLaqaI tones. be-
ginning on the remaining notes of the scale
that is ON A, b, and ID respectively. Among
these it would seem impossible but that oae
should be right. Now, the six plaeal tone
begins correctly enough ON ID; but, instead OF
recognizing G as the key note, they-the an
cients-used F, the fourth below, as the fun
damental or key note of this SCALE
Notwithstanding papal denunciations and
ecclesiastical opposition, music made its way.
and in no country more so than in England,
improvement Was naturally slow where any
change was deprecated as innovation :and tb,.
early examples leading to our present system
OF notation are rude and almost undeciphera
Die' IL Is TO the honor of Eng IonJ, however
that 1t possesses The most remarkable spec-
men OF this early notation. rhis is the cele-
6ratcd manuscript forming No. 97S of the
darlelan collection in the British museum,
and is the earliest known specimen of har-
monlzed melody, or part-song, as it is now gen.
orally termed. 1t is called Sumer is icunuen
an, and its date is not later than the middle of
the thirteenth century, and thus precedes BY
at least century any similar production of
any other country. This song, although con-
tanning harmony as obsolete as the words, is
admirable as an example of melody, and forms
the beginning of Moore's popular song, "Rich
and Rare."-Casselps Magazine.