St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1888-12-08
THE ENGLISH MADRloAl.
A Branch Of Music In which the Britons
Have Never Been Exceled.

A Branch OF Music In which the Britons
Have Never Been Excsled.
We picture to ourselves the old halle
OF England in the times ~ good Queen
1ess, stately DANES and gallant cour.
tiers rise before our eyes; hoops and
ruffs, doublets and hose. make brilliant
coloring against oak panels. with here
and there the glisten Of armor. and.
that nothing may be lacking to this
brilliant spectacle. there IL also
brilliant sound. Some such madrigal
as Mofiey's .iNow is the Month Of May.
ing" flows On with its rare feeling Of
rcvciry. from nd musical hirelings, but
from the gas throng itself. proud to d.
honor to the English art OF the day, to
that music IN which we stand now as
as we stood then-in the first and fore
most rank as composers. Where should
we find such a gathering to give US
that beautiful love-lorn, pastoral or
merry-making music at the present
day? Instead OF that we spend E5OC
on a concert to give supposed salts
faction to similar assembly. often
with a very dire result musically. lit
tie remaining to us ri tho evening but
a general sense ef hurry as We scuffle
on To something else: neither place.
people. nor performance having given
us the slightest qualification. One OF
the simplest methods for the cultiva-
ton of musical taste We believe to be
general participation in it when il
forms an evenings entertainment.
Why is ball SO much the most popu.
lar form Of gathering? Because every
one has his or her active share in the
evenings proceedings. Will the time
ever come again when general society
win give as pert ,i,usic, ~ ws have
reason t3 believe Ii was given in the
time of Elizabeth?-whcnt the number
of clcfs, too, used by composers, must
have doubled ordinary musical study
No one in those days was considered a
| properly constituted member of society
unless he or she could at sight take Il
part in those famous choral produc-
L tltuS. ANO St<ttIubIu vi SAICkCuIC
either. A sorry hearing would be the
result of an amateur or professional
reading Of them nowadays! Then no.
body cared Tor soio-singing: the ingenu.
ity displayed in writing vocal music in
many parts was eagerly welcomed by
the court and by the country, and to
excel in the production and perform
ance of such music was the highest
ambition alike of the musician and the
amateur. Coming at a date when all
that was great in poetry lay. as il
were, before them, assisted by the real
| encouragement of Elizabeth, not only
rs queen. but as n musician (if she
ever performed half the pieces con.
tained in her VirginM book), oul
madrigal writer's were determined thai
the sister art should not be a whit be
hind the age in which it lived. and in
deed they succeeded in their ambition
In this particular branch of music the
English have never been exceled, or
we venture to think, equaled by Other
nations. For a period of fifty year.
madrigals led the way in music in En-
| gland. and were almost all for which
popular taste asked. Their birthplace,
was. Of course, italy and the Neither
lands. but it was the English coihposer:
who obtained for them the important
position they held then and continue Il
hold in the music of all ages.