St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-04-13
The Genesis of the Pianofore.

A house which does not possess a piano
forte-called, for short, piano-cannot in
these days boast much culture. 1t has come
to be almost as necessary piece of furni-
ture as table. Its origin Is comparatively
recent, and yet the principle of its construc-
ton was known to the Jews at the time Of
David, certainly, and probably long before.
1t is the simplest of all principles, being
only the vibration Of a string. 1t is. OF
course impossible to tell who first discover
ed the fact that frightened string would vi
brate with a musical tone, and equally i'm
possible to learn Who first made a practical
use of this discovery.
1t is a well-known fact, that every relig
ion on the face of the globe, however de-
graded or superstltious, has made use Of
musical instruments in its worship. The
higher and more cultured nations employed
instruments of various kinds, and the
Temple of Jerusalem worship reached the
eliminating point in musical excellence at
the period of King Solomon.
With the general features of that musical
excellence we have here nothing to do, but
confine ourselves to the principle of the vi
brating string. This is shown in several in
strlments which are known by the names of
kmq0r( harp), nebd (psaltry) saJecea, (sackbut)
,lsanterht, (Gulcimer) and kithroS GUITAR
These were all constructed on the principle
of the vibration Of strings Of differentlengths
and sizes, and thus various tones were pro-
duced. The next step was to provide q
mechanism for tightening or loosening the
strings at will, thus producing different tones
from the same string. Stopping the string
at different points also varied the tone. Thus
the harp came into being, the strings being
plucked or twanged by the fingers.
Somebody discovered that string would
vibrate and produce Il musical tone, when a
bow was drawn over it, This caused de-
velOpment in another direction, resulting
in a number of instruments ali confined to
the violin family; but We pass them by and
remain only with the development leading
to the piano.
The principal divisions Il the stringcd
instruments played with the fingers are the
Tyres harps aad lutcs.
The harp was common instrument
among the Egyptians; Assyrans and He
brews, and an early date OF elegant shape and
elaboratcly ornamented, as the fresco repre-
sensations on the tomb OF Raamscs III. 1850
b. C. show. Later that harp was especial
ly popular in Central and Northern Europe,
and the favorite instrument Of the German and
Celtic bards and of the Scandinavian skalds.
The most varied kinds Of the Tyre, more
or less differing in construction, form and
size, and distinguished 10y different names,
were found among the ancient Greeks.
Tie lutte seems to be Of Arabic origin, END
TIE Oldest records OF Arabian Iutists date
back to the sixth century. The Lutte, eI oud,
had before the tenth century, only eight
strings, or four pairs, producing four tones.
About the tenth century u string for the
fifth tone was added. A favorite modilic;i-
ton of the lutte WIS the taDs6o,ra, VITA u long
neck. The Arabs introduced the Lutte into
Europe after their c0nqut st Of S2ain, ard
this instrument soon became almost as pop
ular as is at the present dag the pianoforte
Until the sixteenth century twelve strings,
or six pairs, was the largest number. Lutes
with five pairs and single string, produc-
ing six tones, were the i'll ost IN use.
According to Thomas Mace, the English
lutte, during the seventeenth century, had
twenty-fCur strings, arranged in twelve
pairs, of which six pairs ran over the finger
board, and the other six by the side of it.
The lutte was made of various sizes, accord
ing to the purpose for which it was intended.
The largest kind of the douhle-necked lutte
was the archlute. The Oriental tan1bourG OF
taa6ar, the Russian bajalaika, the Chinese
ytcIcin, and the German q,ti1,te,na, belong to
the numerous class of stringed instruments
known under the generic name chita1u. The
psaIteriatn1, a kind Of cithara, with the sound
board at the top, was par excellence the
stringed instrument of the Middle Ages, and
appears either D-shaped, or square or tri-
angular.
The psalterium developed into the dulci-
mer where the strings were, as in the cito7d,
placed over sounding-board. Iu its shape
and arrangement the dulcimer already dis
tinctly foreshadowed the pianoforte. Like
the psalterium, the dulcimer was played with
the fingers, but more generally with two
sticks of wood. 1t contained from six to
fifty strings, and the piano, or forte, was
produced by the greater or lesser force with
which the strings were struck.
The development is now plain. Lay the
harp on its side, inclose it in frame, and
provide a mechanism for plucking the
strings, and we have modern pianoforte in
its elementary state.-From Frank Leslie's
Sunday Magazine for May.