The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-08-27
OLD INSTRUMENTS.
A BROOKLYN DEALER WHO HAS AN
INTERESTING PAIR.

Neariy as Long-uistory of Various
String Instruments.
William V. Pezzoni has on exhibition
IN window in Brooklyn a lutte that il
112years old. 1t is said to be the ONLY
one'of its kind in existence. From
printed strip of paper in the interior OF
the instrument it is learned that 1t was
made by Renault s. Chatelain of Braou.
street, Paris, in 1881.
The lutte is as old as the hills. 1t il
mentioned several times in the Bible.
Jubal, said by historians to have been
the first musician, was the inventor OF
it, as he was of the organ and all string
instruments. He fourished about 500
years before the deluge and was the first
to observe that strings Of different sizes
or lengths when stretched produced va.
rious sounds.
In the earliest ages of Egypt instru.
ments having the same general form as
the harp, Tyre and guitar Of modern times
were common, as the discoveries of trav.
eiers In that country have proved. The
ancients had many other stringed instru.
ments, but these three classes were the
principal ones.
The Tyre is supposed to be more ancient
than the harp. A very old painting at
Benz hassan i'll Egypt represents the ar.
rival of some foreigners in that country
supposed to be Josephs brethren. One
of them holds Tyre having four strings.
The guitar is an Improvement on the
Tyre. 1t is seldom found sculptured in
the monuments of Greece and Rome.
AZ the people did not consider the in
strument sufficiently dignified to so
symbolize it, which accounts for its not
appearing III the ruins of those proud
cities. 1t was, however, one of the most
ancient musical instruments Of Egypt.
Some historians are of the opinion that
Hermes, one of the Egyptian councillors.
invented the three stringed Tyre. These
strings gave forth three sounds-grave.
mean and acute--representing respect
lively winter, spring and summer. The
Egyptians and the Greeks. as is well
known, divided the year only into three
seasons,
The lutte was adopted by the Arabs
from Persia and reached the west about
the time of the crusaders In the psalms
of David it is spoken of as the mahha-
lath, and it is said to have been used by
the children of Israel in their rejoicings
after the overthrow of Pharaoh's host.
The modern Egyptian lutte is direct
descendant of the Arabic lutte. 1t has
seven pairs of strings and is played by
plectrum. When frcts are employed.
they are disposed of according to the
Arabic scale of II intervals in the oc-
tave, consisting of 12 limnas-an in
terval rather less than semitone.
There are also five commas, which are
very small, but quite recognizable us
regards difference of pitch.
The large double neckcd lutte has two
sets of tuning pegs, the lower set for the
finger board and the higher for the diapa-
son strings. This style lutte was known
as the theorbo. Its height varied from
feet inches to feet. Very deep notes
were produced from it, Another Lutte
somewhat differently formed was known
rs the archlute. Both have, however, long
since given away to the violoncello and
double bass. Handel wrote part for O
theorbo in 1920. After this date the lutte
appears no more III orchestral scores. 1t
remained, however, III private use until
the close of the century.
Nenere OF Padna, celebrated as maker
of lutes, fourished in 1860. His instru-
ments were highly ornamental and were
admired for their beauty, ivory, mother
of pearl and tortoise shell being used in
decorating them. The present direction
of musical taste and composition is adj
verse to the cultivation of such tenderly
sensitive timber as the lutte possessed
The instrument has now become an OBJ
ject of research for collections and mu-
seums. 1t WAS a favorite instrument of
music in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries, but declined in the eighteenth
century. The great j. S. Bach wrote n
partita for it, which still remains in
manuscript. The latest engraved publ
cation for the lutte is 1760.
MIR. Pezzoni was placed in the posses
sion of the lutte short time ago by
Signor Giuseppe Vitale, prominent
Brooklyn musician, who obtained it at a
pawnbroker's SALE 1t is very valuable
instrument, although it was sadly in
need of repair when it came into Mr.. PEI
zoni's hands. He has been offered sums
for it varying from So to 5000, but it is
not for sale.
The lutte is handsome one. The body
is pear shaped. 1t is beautifully inlaid
with ivory and pearl. The neck is 90
inches long. The fingerboard, containing
II frets, is 12l inches long, and the body,
with three inch sound hole, is 15b
inches long, The base of the instrument
is al inches deep, while at the neck it is
Sinches. 1t has 10 strings, s Of which
are designed for the bass. The head, or
nut, is divided into two sections and con-
tains the pegs. or keys. One of these
sections is 12 inches long and the other
II inches. The latter is used for the