New-York tribune., 1901-08-11

"a period in which England led the world. The
pieces are supposed by the editors. J. Fuller
Maitland and W. Barclay Squire, to have been
copied ty one Francis Tregian some time be
tween 1908 and 1919 while he inmate
of the Fleet prison, which he had been COM
mitted for recusancy. He PapiSt, like his
father, Cornish gentleman who sat in prison
tventy-four years because of his religion. The
history OF the manuscript is largely cOnjectural,
however. and it does not appear how the
younger Tregian, who died in 1919. could copy
Music composed in 1920 A specimen page is
reproduced herewith in facsimile. II is from
fantasia by John Munday, which derives ad-
ditional interest from the fact that it is
| an pie of descriptive music. Its sections.
rhy thmcally varied and dramatically uncon-
| nected, bear the Inscriptions, Fine Weather,
Lightning Thunder three times; finally
| there comes a slow conclusion marked "A Clear
Day
| Let look another of Shakespeares pc
| culiarly pregnant illusions 1t is in the scene
of the orgy in Twelfth Night Act ii, Scene ).
Sir Toby and Sir Andrew are registering and
have had two songs from the clown who has
Joined them. Then Toby:
But shall make the wekin dance indeed?
| Shall rouse the night owl in catch that will
| draw three souls out of one weaver? Shall We do
| that?
After lot of panning they fall it and like
| thy peace thou knave." To get at the meaning
of Sir Tobys reference 10 the weaver we must
| lock further. In Henry " Part l, Act III,
Scene i. Fastaff deplores the degeneracy of the
| times:
| There live not three good men unhanged in Eng,
| land and OF them is fat and grows old; SIoG
| help the while, = bad world, say would
| were a weaver; / could sing psalms anything
| Why this allusion psalm singing in con-
nection with the weaver? Obviously because
I aim cir e %
were the Lollards dhey 'lolled' psalms) Flen-
ish Protestants who. fleeing from persecution in
! their own country went to England and became
/ wooIlen manufacture When in The Merry
Wives of Windsor Shakespeare illustrates the
! inconsistency between Fastaff's protestations
! and conduct by having Mrs Ford say that they
! did mo more adhere and keep place together
/ than the hundredth psalm to the tune of Green
| Sleeves " he undoubtedly refers to the custom
popular among the nonconfOrmists of that day
! of utilizing popular for religious songs
/ Here have illustration of the persstency
OF human nature. To sing An people that on
| earth do dwell" etc. to the tune OF Green
| Sleeves" the most popular song Of its day. is
| 10 do no more and no less than some religious
bodies do to-day when they adapt music hall
tunes to their supposedly religious ditties
! Shakespeare evidently had sympathy with
this sort of thing, with the hymnal music
! of the PuritanS. Among the SheepShearerS or
! the clowns sister in a Winters Tale four
! and twenty OF them ''three-man song men ii.
/ gleesngers> all" there was Puritan who
would sing psalms TO hornpipes"
Many another hint that the people of Shake
| speares time felt and acted like those of
! own he deduced from his musical allusons,
and indeed. il is more profitable to our appre-
| citation of the poet study his musical allu-
sons in order to learn from them how near he
and the people the life of the twentieth
century than to build up notion of the musical
/ practice of his time. concerning the artistic
side of that practice there are no troublesome
| questions. 1t the period of the perfection
of vocal music of the poyphOnic school and of
! the breaking away from old Journalism for the
sake of dramatic expression eXemplified in the
/ invention of the Italian opera From a scientific
| point OF view it the brilliant period
/ in English musical history. but Shakespeare has
/ not preserved any tribute to the polite art of
his day cOmparabl with that which ne gives 10
the popular art in the introduction of illusions
| to the songs and ballads of his time in his
| dramas the songs and ballads themselves
Mr.. Elson makes an ingenious point against the
! foolish BacOnian theory by showing the differ
ence between the stiff frigidIty of the philoso-
piers discussion of music and tha pulsating
warmth of the poets illusions. In Bacon we
/ may read about the structure and capacity of