Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1888-12-14
THE ENGLISH MADRiGAL.
Branch OF Music In which the Britons
Have Never Deen ExceIed.

"a brhhch OF Music In which the Britons
Have Never Been Exceled.
We picture TO ourselves the old halls
OF England in the times of good Queen
Bess; stately danes and gallant cour-
tiers rise before our eyes; hoops and
ruifs, 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 is also
brilliant sound. Some such madrigal
as Morley's "Now is the Month of May
ing" flows on with its rare feeling of
revelry, from no musical hirelings, but
from the gay throng itself, proud to do
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 n gathering to give us
that beautiful love-lorn, pastoral or
merry-making music at the present
dayP Instead Of that we spend f500
on concert to give supposed salts
faction to q similar assembly, often
with very dire result musically, lit
tie remaining TO us OF the evening but
a general sense Of 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-
tion of musical taste we believe to he
general participation in 1t when it
forms an evenings entertainment.
Why is a ball so much the most popu-
lar form Of gathering? Because every
one has his or her active share in tho
evenings proceedings. Win the time
ever come again when general society
will give lis part music, as we have
reason to believe it was given in the
time OF Elizabeth?-when the number
OF clefs, too, used by composers, must
have doubled ordinary musical study?
No one in those days was considered
properly constituted member of society
unless he or she could at sight take
part in those famous choral produor
either. A sorry hearing would be the
result OF au amateur or professional
reading of them nowadays! Then no.
body cared for solo-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
nnce OF such music was the highest
alike OF the musician and the
amateur Coming at a date when all
that was great in poetry lay, as it
were, before them, assisted by the real
OF Elizabeth, not only
as queen, but as musician (if she
ever performed half the pieces con-
tained in her Virginia. book), our
writer's were determined that
the sister art should not be 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 period of fifty years
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 composers
who obtained for them the important |
position they held then and continue to
hold in the music of all ages.