The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-12-07
IS A MIsNoMER.
The jews Harp Didn't Come From
Jerusalem

1t is very certain that whatever the
uerlVatlon may be, the Jew's-harp
mas little or no special affinity to the
JEWISH race, though it is Of extremely
ancient date, says the London Stand
ara. Its introduction intosEngland can
not be traced. but the term Is clearly
q corrupted form Of the French leu
trompe, literally toy trumpet; but the
corruption Of jeu into Jews is evil
IDENTIFY Of good age. Perhaps it was
Jeu desprit. limbs, in his Popular
Errors" says that the instrument is
called Jew's-harp by Hakluyt. Bacon
called 1t 'jeu-trumpe," while '.teu-
trump" is used by Beaumont and
Fletcher. In Bailey's Dictionary Q773)
will be found "Jew's-harp, an instru-
ment of musick;" the substitution of
harp" commonly for trump is. ap
parently later growth, although, of
course, Hakluyt points to an early
use. In all probability the French
origin Of the term is the correct one.
and 'jaws-harp'' may have been the
matter-of-fact name invented by the
country folk among whom it circulated.
may be through the efforts Of the chap
man and the packman. Brewer is
very brief on the subject; he confines
himself to the statement that ''the
best players on this instrument have
been Koch, Prussian soldier under
Frederick the Great; Kunert, Amstein
and some Others" He makes no men
ton Of EuIenstein who may be said
to nave been the master of all players.
The celebrated Stephanfe FeIicite.
Countess 0A CxQnIiC In hcr III.
tells us great deal about Koch. the
German player, which Is worth record
ing. This soldier, who Is described as
a musician" was in the service of
frederick the Great, and, being fond
OF relieving the tedium of sentry go.
he used to practice on the Jew's-harp
with considerable skill. One night
frederick, who was an amateur must
clan, heard what he thought was a dis
tinct orchestra under his window,
when he discovered that the sounds
came from one Of his prfvates. Sur,
pr1sed on learning that such wonderful
effects could be produced by single
man with two Jew's-harps, he ordered
the player into his presence. Koch was
duly presented to the king the follow
ing morning and performed to the de-
light and satisfaction Of his majesty,
who rewarded Koch with $50 and gave
him his discharge that he might devote
his time and attention to the advances
of his talent. Koch had not the
slightest knowledge Of music, but owed
his ability to natural taste and instinct
He made quite fortune travelling
about and performing in public and
private, and retired to Vienna. where
he lived until long past the age Of so
years. He died about 1880. He used
two harps at once, in 'the same man
ner as the peasants Of the Tyrol," ana
produced, without doubt, the harmony
OF two notes struck at the same mo-
ment, which was considered by the
unsteady curious as somewhat extra
ordinary, when the limited powers OF
the instrument were remembered. Herr
Koch had a fine idea of theatrical eff
feet, for it was his custom to require
that all the lights should be extin-
guished, in order that the Illusion pro-
duced by his playing might be IN
creased.
Another German, q peasant, and
herdsman, named Eulenstein. about this
beginning of this century, devoted his
attention to the cultivation Of the
JeWS'-harp, Softening and enriching the
tone of this "tWanging" instrument
into almost perfect harmony Indeed,
Eulenstein acquired a musical reputa-
ton from the way he manipulated this
meager and not over agreeable instru-
ment. The Jews harp, usually despised
and ignored, possesses three different
tones, the bass tones of the first octave
have some resemblance to those Of the
flute and clarinet; those of the middle
and high to the vox humane Of some
organs; lastly, the harmonica1 sounds
are exactly like those of the harmonica.
1t is conceived that this diversity OF
tone, quotes the Mirror 182O, affords
already a great variety In the exeeu-
ton, which is always looked upon as
being feeble and triffing on account
of the smallness of the instrument 1t
was not thought possible to derive
much pleasure from any attempt which
could be made to conquer the difficult
ties of SO limited an instrument. be-
cause, in the extent Of three octaves
there were number Of spaces which
could not be filed up by the talent Of
the player. Besides, the most ample
Is impossible. Herr Eulen.
stein remedied the inconvenience by
joining sixteen JewS'-harps, which ne
tuned in his own special way, and SO
performed his selection by changing
the harps with extreme rapldity, al
ways keeping one harp In advance, SO
as not to interrupt the measure. He
became so proficient that he was able
to execute, with grace and ease run
ming over four octaves, many quite
difficult Italian, French and German
pieces. He was induced by the Duke OF
Gordon in 1928, who was delighted with
his performances, to tour in Scotland,
where the jews sharp is still rather
popular. Eulenstein also visited the
chief towns Of England, and drew
crowds to hear his novel entertain
ment in London. It is presumed that
he returned to his own country about
1892. Since then the Jew's-harp seems
to have fallen into disrepute, and its
position as q serious means Of musical
enjoyment Is no longer admitted.