New-York tribune., 1901-07-28
MEXICAN MUSICIANS.
INSTRUMENTS FROM THE ORIENT AND
AFRICA-SALTERIO AND MAfiMBON
A SCIENTIFIC NYLOPHoNE-
A SINGULAR TUNING
METHOD.


,ri1,,Ina .vrIorad the Pan American Midway at
Buffalo and gossiped delightfully."- about the en-
tertainment and diversion TO be fouhd 'here' ~
him # seemed a pleasant dispensauoh thdt tue
stupendous side show had been pia"ieu -
a,nuse rather than instruct. Poor man no"
little he thought Of the thousand ana one ooJso
cf profound study which lie under the surface
Of the Midway fun, How little he dreamed tha' /
a,. ad,uiring colleague would be set to wonder
ir, five minutes after he had entered the SreetS
Of Mexico as to whether OF not he was III 'He
presence of evidence which might be aouuceu ~
uphold the theory that the North American iiiu
inns are descendants Of the ten tribes ol lsIde',
who dropped out of history about the l'i'le VI
,r. HahvIon;an captivity: or the other, that they
u>r. originally emigrants from Phdahic'a' CHIn"'
Tbibet or Hndos;an; the other. recently set
fr.b with much ingenious argument by Pro-
E. ssor FRYER that the art culture of Mexico and
~, Isthmian country was planted there oS
l.uidhist monks from China in the hith century
of the Christian era-a thousand years oei''e
columbus made his tardy ard discounted voyage
across the Atlantic!
Why should one not indulge such day yure'iils'
The music. dances ana instruments cultivated
lv the different peoples Of the "orId are c'i
dences Of popular origin and relationships qulle
a sound and convincing 5 the evidences OF toIk-
tales rly1hoIoEies and languages. Cnhapplly. In
this case there was curb on the lmaSihaI4oh
OF the would be dreamer OF muslco-ethholoBlc
dreams which came from the knowledge that
rone of the instruments to which he " as listen
Ing We're known to the natives of Mexico AT the
time of the Spanish conquest. and must there
fore have been introduced afterward. Whence
they came was an easy specuiaton-the sal
telio an instrument OF the either kind, but lack
ing th- fr,tted nnerrboard came from Spain
with III. Spaniarls. the marimbon an improved
Xylophuue or wooden dulcimer, came from
Africa by way OF South America probably, with
III, negro slaves. So also. according to the wise
men in the Bureau II Ethnolosy at Washing
ton came all the instruments developed from the
primitive bow which have been found In the
hands Of the natives of Mexico and south Amer
lea But that story docs not concern US.
The players Of the sa!tcrio in the streets Of
Mexico us. the instrument in three sizes. and In
combination with guitars and banioras. or large
rlandoLus The name OF Tho instrument and
doubtless the instrument itselt. has a long his
torical recorI The saltero is also SO called in
Italian. It is the sautrIc OF sa"Ty of 'hau-
cerian England the psaltery OF the l-"Il5h
Bible The Isalterium OF Tho Latin books, psdlt"-
r.on Of the Septuasiut. the Isant.rln Of The Book
OF Daui.l the Chadce santeer and tho Persian
sautir. J; has metal strings. stretched over
bridges. on a sounding box which is trapezod1I
H. shape The instrument is common through
out the orient though generally play like a
d4lciIncr that is its strings are set to vibrating
b. being struck with hammers. 1t was am i'm
stIumcut Of this kind which in tho hands OF am
artistic performer Iauta!eou Hct,ustrcit by
name gave rise to the German invention Of th~
p.anoforte. The Mexican players DO not strike
the strings, but pluck them with rlectrum of
zinc, like an elongated and pointed finger nail.
which they wear. thImheHisr, on their fore
fingers The Arabs play a similar instrument.
the chauoon. in the same manner. bat the
Chinese yang-lin, which bears curiousy close
resemblance to the Mexican saitcriu is played
On with little hammers # bamboo
The strings Of the saltcrio are Of metal I'm
which respect again it differs from the ma
tority of the instruments Of its class that are
played by being plucted with the fingers in
stead Of being struck. As a rule the plucked
Instruments have gut or silk strings. The root
OF the Greek word from which came psaIterion
psaterium, psaltery. saltcrIo. etc. seems to
have been 'psao." which meant to touch on
tie surface. to stroke. rub gently to brush.
IN plucklng the strings instead OF striking them
The players in the streets Of Mexico have prob
ably returned to the primitive method OF
manipulation. The effect of the music is like
that from band Of mandoins but richer and
OF greater volume.
The marimbon COR marimba which is its orig
mai African nameb is a much more curious
and interesting instrument. 1t is xyIophonc
tuA ~