The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903, 1898-02-05

o1i:e.-EDIroR.
At the last meeting OF the FOrtnigttly
Mrs. Il. H Barbour presented the result
Of search for the drama and music Of
Holland Mrs. Barbour said in part
that since she had learned OF the supre
ma y Of the Dutch IN engineering. dyke
building. as statesmen, reformere, war
riore, citizens, artists and educators it is
somewhat Disappointing tn find that in
the fine arts of music and the drama they
are almost without expression. A Dutch
school OF music does not exist; and with
the exception Of a short time in the mid.
die agee, when in the dry beginning of
mueic they showed some ability in the
development # C ,unterpoint, the Dutch
have not cDLtr b ,ted TO the mueical
knowled 20 OF tbs world. Three months
d ligent search has failed to discover
even national air, though We read that
"all the steeplee Of Holland hare chimes
OF bells which give an aerial concert
every hour OF the dsy and night the
tun being rational airs or from Ger.
man. or Italian operae.' The airs from
almost every other nation are familiar to
Us, hut who can recall Dutch sir?
Even amorg the Characteristic lullabies
OF the various nations We can find moth
ing to represent tAe Net ,erlsnder's.
Yet when one reflects on the awful un-
oLounceable wonders OF the Dutch
language With sll its misplaced and
superfluous )nsonants, We are enclined
to grant them full absoluiion for having
NJ national ans and luliabiee. Many
writer's claim an early supre macy for
Music among the Dutch but / cannot
make it seem worthy Of much mention.
1t was simply an intellectual compre-
hepsion Of the mathematical rudiments
OF music. Itrsquires more Of an effort
to be grateful to one who has furnished
US with the necessary principles for the
development OF an art, than it does to
recognizes an obligation t. one who. in
charming our ears with an exquisite
strain. showes US the possibilities OF the
art in IFS fullest perfectio1. These
Netherlapd masters we're entirely alb
sorbed in developing the technical con-
etruction and left out the emotional
possibilities. Ihs Dutch school CT
music is generally divided into four
tpochs which extend over nearly go
years which are distinguished by the
name OF the foremost musician in each
epoch. Thus the epoch OF Dufsy. Of
Okeghern, CT Joequin des Pres and Will
laert. As carly as 8s5 Huckbald, .
Benedictine monk, was the fist to for
nulat, rules for harmony. But his
ideas we're crude and tina result disagree.
able to the modern ear. His chief trait
was the use Of parallel fourths and
fitthe. Harmony was not positively in
vented by him. but he vas the writer Of
the first treatise on the subject. This
field, thus opened up ives icdustriously
cultivated and by the time the era of
the Netherland school began. was pro-
ductive o! ri h harvest. The employ.
ment IL fur lin and spaces in the staff
WIS The invs Mi On Of G nidO OF Arezzo Who
died in 1C5O. With the formation Of rules
for ne sire by Franco OF Cologne who
100 A. D. with harmony and
measure gcverret by rules, syet,matic
became for tho first time Q
possibility. Naturally the development
Of this art was the work of tho monks
and their vehicle was the plain chsnt OF
tho church. Guido trained his choris-