The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-08-27
A STUDY IN EVOLUTION.
From the Claviohord and Spinet to the
Modern Grand Piano.
From the WASHINGTON Star.

not many of the readers of The Star, as
they hear the notes fthe piano played on
these summer nights, stop to reflect from
what primitive beginnings the instru-
ment started. Some of US have seen old
harpsichords and looked at them in won
der to think that they have anything in
common with the modern piano, but
whoever wishes to see the Oldest pianos
must come to the worlds fair and see the
wonderful collection in the musical sec
ton of the liberal arts building.
/ II embraces almost all the notable
/ types and illustrates quite completely the
/ evolution Of the most popular musical in
struments of the present day. Near this
collection are the pianos of the best mod
ern makers. These are big concert grand
| pianos, "baby grandsn and "uprights, -
but the square piano which used to be so
! popular seems to have been given posi-
/ ton in the background and is not now ex-
| hibited among the modern instruments.
In the historical exhibit the visitor may
first consider the earliest instruments re-
sembling the piano aud these are known
as clavichords. They were made as early
as the middle Of the fifteenth century and
| as a general thing had no legs, but were
simple cases intended to be played upon a
| table. The first one has four and one
| half octaves and the sound comes from a
! piece of brass fastened to the back of the
| key. When the key is pressed this brass
strikes the string and makes the sound.
! There are more keys than there are
strings and each set of strings produces
| three different tones Another clavichord
| of a century later is set upon four legs
/ and the sets of strings produce but two
! different tones. A third one is in quite
| an elaborate case, rocco STYLE in white
enamel and gold, and belongs to the sew
enteenth century, and one made in 1850
has black 'naturals' and white
''sharps."
THE sPINET.
The evolution next in order in the pi-
ano was from the clavichord to the
! spinet. In old books that are still read
the accounts of an accomplished lady of
| fashion usually include the assertion
that she played the spinet, but if any
young lady of the present day were
! given one of these queer Instruments to
| perform upon she would be rather help
less. Some of them are really more pc
| culiar-looking than the clavichords
! themselves There is, for instance, a
double spinet of four octaves, made by
| the famous Hans Fuckers, the elder. of
| Antwerp. He belongs to a family of
| spinet makers, who manufactured the in
| struments as early as 1919, but this one is
| supposed to be of later date. To
the left of the keyboad is the "litte
spinet' tuned to an octave higher
! than the larger. II can be taken out, and
| the two can be played separately. The
| lid of this remarkable instrument, when
raised, shows an elaborate old painting Of
the contest before the gods of Apollo and
| Marsyus. The former is playing a viol
and the latter pipe, and children are
| dancing. There is background of hills,
a castle and a lake with boat on 1t.
10
| paintings of men and women and women
dancing in pairs. The spinet is supported
| by carved stand. OF paintings upon the
| old instruments there are number, and
some of them are fine works of art. On
| one of the old harpsichords for instance,
Of date 1879, the lid is embellished by an
elaborate landscape by the great Dutch
artist, Van Kessell
Most Of the spinets are italian, with
three or four octaves. There is one string
to each note, and a crow quill strikes the
| string and causes the vibration. The in
| strument, it will be remembered, was a
favorite one of Queen Elizabeth, and it
may easily be imagined without much
| improba bility that she listened to one of
these now on exhibition at the fair.
| There are not many musical instruments
that were popular for longer period, for
1t was invented in the fourteenth century
and continued in use to the eighteenth.
| One curious specimen, made by Andreas
Fuckers in 1920. has on the lid the Latin
motto "Sio transit gloria mundi." This
was the maker who supplied Handel with
| his favorite harpsichord, which is now in
the South Kensington museum in London.
An English spinet, made by Thomas
Hitchcock of London in 1850, has five
octaves, and looks not unlike a slightly.
built grand piano of the present day.
THE HARPsICHoRD.
The next step from the spinet is to the
harpsichord, an instrument so modern
that many of us have grandmothers who
played upon it. At Mount Vernon there
is the one Nelly GUSTS used and in old
furtiture shops the collector is still able
to pick one up as curious article of furn-
iture. Among the finest in the collection
under consideration is the one with five
Octaves bulltuby j. A. Hasse of Hamburg
1t has two keyboards, with tortoise-shell
''naturals' and ivory "sharps," and is
unique among harpsichords in that it has
eight stops such as are used in
organs. 1t has long set of
strings, producing what is known as a
''i5-foot tone" two shorter sets produc-
ing an "S-foot tone" two still shorter for
"4-foot tone" and the shortest produc-
ing ''2-foot tone" One of the stops i'm
stands on eight legs and the sounding
board is deliberately painted, as also is
the inside of the lid. Very little is known
about this notable old instrument, but the
maker was one of the most famous of his
day, and Hamburg was the home of Rein
ken, Handel, Bach and Hasse. 1t is not
probable that there were many harpsi-
chords finer than this one, and it is fair
TO presume that it was touched by
the famous musicians of the day
Another interesting harpsichord is
the one made BY Jocobus Kirk
man of London in 1859. 1t has five oc-
taves and three registers, two of "eight-
foot tone" and one initiating the lutte
The history of the instrument is interest
ing. 1t was first owned by Napoleon the
First, and after his Punishment to st.
Helena was given to a French sergeant.
The latter left France and came to
America, carrying the harpischord with
him. He settled at Scituate, Mass, one
of the old fishing stations near the dread
ed MinOt's ledge. In 1888 he sold the
harpischord to Simon Bates, who kept
the Scituate harbor light, and his son in
herited it, and it thus passed into the
collection now shown at the fair.
THE PIANO.
The visitor may now pass into the
region of the present generation and see
German hammerclairer or pianoforte
The tones are produced by blows of ham
mers against tightly stretched strings
and the hammers are worked by a key
board-that, in a sentence, is d descrip-
ton of the working of a piano One old