Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1916-03-25

you'll say SO! He plays o. the viol-de-
gamboys and speaks three or four
languages, word for word, without
book, and hath all the good gifts of
Nature" Ii was therefore part of 4
liberal education TO play upon the
viols; in fact, many Of the wealthy
gentlemen kept their chests OF viols
at hand for guests TO divert them
selves with music
Little Like Toaays Orchestra.
With such instruments as these, il
can be seen that there was very little
similarity TO the orchestra of the pres
ent day. The contra-bass existed at
that time and was called a violone.
One Of the curious coneeits OF the
Elizabethan days was TO cut a door in
the back Of the violone and introduce
small boy into the instrument At
the concert the contra.bass player
would render the bass part ON his in
strument, would sing the mean" or
middle part, and the invisible boy
would add a treble-a trio with but
enc performer n sight.
Many other instruments are alluded
to in ShaGespeare's plays which in
themselves would furnish much infor-
nation as to the musical instruments
of the EliZabethan period, as, for in
stance, this extract from "Coriolan-
u.s.: Why, bark you, the trumpets,
sackbuts, psalteries and flies. tabors
and cymbals, and the shouting Ro-
mans, make the sun dance. Hank
yor." -....
The "consorts."
Combinations OF instruments in the
sixteenth century were called con
sorts" These consorts were general
ly composed OF such instruments as
belonged to one family, as "consort
of VOLS "consort of hautboys," but
If the virginia. Tan ancestor of the
modern piano., lutte or Cute came into
the combination, the result was a
broken consort" or broken music"
which Shakespeare almdes to more
than once. II is natural that he
should not have omitted the chance
to make his play upon words when
ever he used this metaphor King
Henry v, in his wooing of Queen Kath-
arine, speaks thus:
"Come, your answer in broken mu-
sic; for thy voice is music and thy
English broken: therefore, queen or
all, Katharine, break thy mind to me
in broken English. Wit thou have
me?" ~.
One of the accomplishments of the
singer in the oldon times was setting
the pitch" 1t meant pitching song
by ear and demanded some degree of
what we call absolute pitch. Shake.
speare alludes to this in the second
scene OF Two Gentlemen of Verona:
Give me note; your Ladyship can
set"
There are frequent illusions to
burdens" In songs. The burden
meant the refrain-the constant reit-
Grafton of certain words generally to
the same music, even though they had
no connection with surrounding lines.
Some of the burdens known today are
CT great antiquity. ike "Tol de rol"
and Fol de Rof' used in Bacchanalian
music, and Derry, derry down" or
Hey derry down"
The close acquaintance which Shake
speare betrays with the different
catches of his time and tho manner
Of singing them, leads one 10 the firm
conclusion that lie himself was a sing
CT. Vocal illusions are more detailed
and exhibit sIrer hand than those
with instrumental work.
Shakespeare frequently made men.
ton of means" bases" and "des-
cants.' These were the parts in much
of the social singing of his time. Al.
most all the catches and rounds were
This explains the intro
duction Of some characters that are
apparently unnecessary, until they
prove their use by making one voice
In three-part song. Every part was
sung by men or boys, no female APP
pearing upon the English stage before
the Civil War The treble parts were
sustained by boys, who were trained
for acting as well as singing.
Tavern Gatherings.
The gatherings in the taverns,
which were the club rooms of the
times, gave rise to style of Bacchan-
allan music frequently introduced in.
TO the Shakespeare drama. The mu-
sic in the tavern was most frequently
made by the conyiyial friends who
met together there, for every gentle
man was expected to be able to bear
his part in vocal music IL he had any.
thing like q voice. There were also
strolling musicians who would enter
these houses to play for some CON-
pany unable to furnish their own mu-
steal recreation. such music was Of
ten called a noise" In the second
act OF king Henry W. the drawer
bids hts cOmpaniGn. See III thou canst