Omaha daily bee., 1899-01-29

hdmf was HIs dpplltu 10 those wan
dering tribes which were to be found on tn,
Syrian borders Of the Roman empire. This
name was given by the later Greeks and
Romans. After the Introduction OF Moham-
mechanism the name was generally applied TO
Arabs. From these s~aracene an impetus
was derived in the development of science.
art. medicine and music.
The gorgeous elegance OF the Alhambra
formed a monument to the artistic elouuence
of the period In the realm Of architecture.
In one or two centuries there swelled an
art wave. which swept to Arabia from the
east and crossing Africa to the Atlantic
rolled in increasing might until it broke in
dashing deluge over Spain. At the same
time another art wave, beginning at the
same point in the east, rolled over Syria
and Persia and spent its strength in India
and Turkestan.
The Arabians were by nature fitted to be the
developers Of the art OF music. Their no.
madic tendencies displayed that fact. And
II we are to believe the stories which have
been written and the histories which have
been published there will be no room to
doubt that the Arabians were a nation of
poets.
But 1t was not until Islam. the religious
SySlelh Vi "ondluIltu, was prevalent,
that the wandering Arabs gave any atten-
ton to music. In the last quarter of the
seventh century there was an instrument
brought to Mecca by an Arabian musician
who had studied in a Persian court. The
name of this instrument was called in his
parlance eel oud,' or in more modern
phraseology 1.-THE lutte" And this instrument
was the foundation Of our mandolin, guitar
and banjo.
The back Of the instrument was shaped
sometimes like the modern guitar and some
times like the mandolin, although the for
mer seems to have been the popular fancy.
The front had one or more sound holes,
like our cello and other instruments played
with the bow The number of strings varied
considerably. The instrument, in it's de-
velopment, received more strings, and metal
strings were introduced, while progress in
evolution went even SO far as to suggest
the use Of a second meek This gave
rise to the instruments called 1.-THE Arch
lutte" "Chittarone" and "Harplute."
Many and interesting are the stories told
by the ancients of the magic powers of this
instrument, the lutte, which far eclipse those
romances current nowadays of the Spanish
guitar. One in particular may be men,
toned. A monarch, or caliph, sent for a
young player on the Lutte and this young
man became very much enamored of one
of the caliph's favorites at court. His play
ing so entrahced the caliph that he treated
the musician like a prodigal son; he killed
the fatted calf, as 1t were. and dressed him
in scarlet robes, and then gave him to
wife the young beauty whom he 30 much
admired.
Another young ~guitarist was to be sent to
a court which he did not wish to entertain
- ---, -.-At - l.
stay where he was. He played the people
into a state Of hilarity, which resembled the
effect of one of our own Chauncey Depew's
funny after-dinner stories. Then he drove
them into a frenzy of rage, which was only
abated by his appeal to their tears, through
melancholy strains, and, finding them sub
dued, he played gentle lullabies until one
by one they fell asleep, and he, taking ad-
vantage Of their hypnotized condition.,
sneaked away and returned to his former
abode.
The tamboura Of Bagdad, which had a
strong resemblance to the modern guitar
family, had only two strings. This was of
Arabian origin. The tamboura of Khorassan,
which was of Persia, was much more elabo-
rate. The largest instrument known Of this
kind is the tanbour kebyr tourky or Turkish
tambour. The handle Of this instrument
was SuTee IteI anu u quarter III leuSlu,
had eight wire strings and a large number
of movable frets made of gut.
The following list will describe, as far as
construction material is concerned, the diff
ferent forms Of the guitar in the older
countries. 1t would be impossible to explain
here the different methods of tuning and
the variations Of pitch capacity. To the
student who wishes to ascertain all that
technical which is not, as a
rule, interesting to the average reader, the
following books are recommended: Groves
Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Musical
Instruments and Their Homes, by Brown,
and Moore's Encyclopedia of Music. These
books are usually to be found in we'll ar
ranged public Libraries.
The lokanga Of Madagascar has four
strings, the wooden body being grotesquely
carved, covered with paint Of gaudy colors,
and profusely decorated with feathers.
Whether these feathers originally belonged
to birds of song, or not, history does not
say, but 1t is possible that the early NADIA
gascans believed somewhat in the trans
mission of the soul of song.
The Arabs of Algiers had the kuitra,
which, no doubt, has a connection in name
as we'll as in form, with our modern guitar,
although it was frequently played with the
plectrum, a small piece Of tortoise shell
with which the strings were put in vibra-
ton, as in the mandolin. The fantastic ideas
of the Algerians gave rise to the use OF
the shell Of a tortoise for the body of the
instrument.
The pepa, or balloon guitar, belongs to the
Chinese. This instrument had four strings
made Of silk, and the ingenious idea has
been advanced that these were supposed to
represent spring, summer, autumn and
winter.
This form has a close counterpart in the
japanese biwa. The san heen (san hsien)
originating in and belonging 10 the same
country, is a guitar Of three strings.
The yue kin (yue-ch'in) was known as the
moon guitar, owing to its resemblance. In
the simple minds Of its players. TO the full
moon. 1t is not unlike a Chinese fan; in fact Is
more suggestive of that than OF the fair luna.
It's strings were made of silk and OF
copper. 1t was never allowed in religious
rites, but in Chinese orchestras, and for
the accomplishments OF ballads, if such
songs as the Chinese sing may be classed
as ballads.
The Indian star is the most important
instrument Of the guitar class to be found