The Irish standard., 1893-12-02

fifth century established similar mode
Of correctly regulating the chanting Of
Those venerable cantioles which were
ltraditionally handed down as accompa-
Inying the jewish ceremonies. There
were three species OF these marks,
namely, the grammatical, the rhetorical,
and the musical From the two former
was derived that mode of punctuation
used almost universally throughout the
world today. The third. or musical, de-
noted the tone and infection Of the voice
and supplied species of notation for
the more correct modulations in singing
the Latin hymns and psalmody. The
hymns and poems thus marked were de-
nominated sulcos or marked lines, and
the accents we're called by the clergy
''tractim, punctatim and punctatim can
are. The characters were divided into
two classes; the toni or sounds, which
indicated the pitch OF tonal ascent and
descent as relative distance of the sounds
cf the voice, one from the Others and the
pneumatic, or breaths, which regulated
tbs length Of the vowels and the points
OF rest or inspiration.
Az the ancient harp was generally
tuned in Ct, the foundation Of irish mus
ical notation naturally began on that
note, which was called ceol, and the
character used to denote it was perpen
dicular straight line; the character for 9
third ascending GB was an oblique line
running downwards from right to left,
and called ard ceoi. A third downward
had an oblique line running in the oppo-
site direction and was known as basceoL
The notes B G r going down had q
curved line known as cir-ceol sios and p
G. B ascending had q species Of acute ac-
cent known as circeol suos. A dot un-
der note lowered it tone, and one
above raised it the same distance. The
semitones were indicated by characters
OF different cnlors. The marks of the
tonal system were placed over the lines
OF poetry while those denoting the
rhythn1 we're placed beneath them. Thus
ii will be seen that for several centuries
before the monks Guido d'Arezzo III
vented the gamnt, or Fraco Of G logne
the cantue mensurabilis or time table,
the ancient Irish .ecclesisstics aud bards
| were using scientific system of musical
notation, fully sufficient for all their
needs and purposes.
The Irish system Of notation was en-
tirely distinct from that praoticed on
the continent later, and without doubt
was original with our bards, although the
idsa Of tonal marks and pneumatics GER
tainly came from the Jews. The his
| torian Walker is a. the opinion that the
Irish derived their system OF musical no
tation and contrapuntal sclen % ttrcorn It the
Greeks, but that assertion may be ques
toned as our musical historians doubi
that the Greeks possessed any knowl
edge Of harmony and counterpoint, as We
know that science today.
An instance of the estimation IN which
the science Of the Irish bards was hello
| by other nations may be had in an ex
tract from Powell's history of Cambria
which tells us that N tie twelfth cen.
tury, Grufydth Ap ConaD(king Of North
Wales), brought over with him from Ire.
Hand divers cunning musicians into
Walss, "who devised" !" to use the hlstori-
ans own language, "in a manner, all the
instrumental music that is now there
used; as we'll by the books written of the
came, as also by the names of the tunes
i and measures used among them to thie
day This assertion Of Powell is sup.
ported by the learned Selden, who says
| athat their music, speaking Of the Welsh
"for, the most part came out OF ireland
| with Grufydth Ap Conan, prince Of
North Wales, about King Stephens time
It may be Of interest to note that the
monk Caradoc declares that the Welsh
received the harp from the Irish. The
musical terms Of the Welsh bards are
| nearly all purely Irish, thus clearly de-
noting their origin.
| The frst performance Of harmonized
| sound il Ireland seems to have been
what the bards termed Swelling out. 2
This was played On the harp with two
hands and gave 9 species Of four part
Harmony In the impaesioned outbursta
Iof war songs, iin recitals of valiant deeds
land inGtement to revenge ~ soconnpan-
inent of this DESERT iipttiion g not efEec.
Tive. Tho learned DR.. O'(,onor, in = let
Tier 70 the historian Walker, thus speslnl
| Of ii: Our ancients il Ireland were III
from being strangers To hepower Of har-
lmonized sound, ii directing g well =
Isxcitiing the human passiions 2
In TO Iopog phia Hibernia of e;iiral'
dus Cambrensis we find tths following
euloeqy on Che ekill off the irish sbards
The lhsd yiissiitted ireland Is stthee
i snite g Henry D s. the year III and