Proceedings of the Musical Association, Volume 12 - 1885
- This volume was published under a former title. See this journal's title history.
Research Article
Music in Elementary Schools
- Marmaduke E. Browne
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- 01 January 2020, pp. 1-22
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It may perhaps interest some members of the Musical Association to know how far the Association's special subject of interest is studied and taught in the schools designed for the poorest of the population : and as, owing to circumstances which I shall presently explain, I happen to have it within my power to collect certain statistics which it would not be easy for any one less intimately connected with a number of schools to gather together, I believe that, however imperfect my contribution to the treatment of the subject may be, it will have such value as belongs to a plain statement of facts which admit of no dispute.
The Orchestras of Bach and Handel
- Ebenezer Prout
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- 01 January 2020, pp. 23-42
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Some years ago I had the honour of reading before this Association a paper on the growth of the modern orchestra during the past century. In that paper I expressly excluded Bach and Handel from the scope of my remarks, because, both in its composition and in the manner in which it was employed, the orchestra in their day differed widely from that of the present time. Your council have now asked me to talk about the orchestras of Bach and Handel—I presume, as a kind of supplement to my previous paper; and I have had great pleasure in acceding to their request, not only because the subject is itself full of interest, but because it is one upon whch considerable misconception prevails. It is very often supposed that there is very little variety of orchestral effect in Bach or Handel. The exact opposite is the case; it will, indeed, be quite impossible, within the limits assigned to me, to do more than touch, so to speak, on the edge of the subject, on which it would be perfectly easy, without needless repetitions, to write a small volume. I must therefore ask your indulgence for the necessarily superficial character of this paper; were I not addressing an audience of musicians I should also feel it needful to apologise for its technical nature.
The Mannerisms of Beethoven
- J. S. Shedlock
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- 01 January 2020, pp. 43-74
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It was originally my intention to write a paper on the mannerisms of the masters, but time would have failed me to tell of Spohr the mannerist par excellence, of Mendelssohn with his “Midsummer Night's Dream” figures and harmonies, of Chopin with his peculiar chords and grouping of notes, and of Schubert, Schumann, and others, so I determined to limit myself to the one great master—Beethoven. Let me say a word or two about the title of my paper. You may not agree with it, but I want you, at any rate, to understand what I mean by the mannerisms of Beethoven. They are those ruts and grooves into which his mind and pen frequently glided. If you ask why I call them mannerisms, I reply that no word better suits my purpose. Mannerism means adherence to a manner, or sameness of manner, and I am going to try and show how Beethoven repeated over and over again certain peculiarities of harmony, modulation, progression, and development. I am well aware that the word mannerism is commonly used in a disparaging sense; that it implies faultiness of manner, and carries with it besides the idea of affectation and also of excess. Now looking at the word from an etymological point of view, its meaning—like that of the word manners—appears to me quite general. Take another word with the suffix ism from the Greek iσμóς, the Latin ismus —the word Egoism. Some dictionaries establish a nice distinction between Egoism and Egotism, or Egomism as it is called, but there are other dictionaries, and good ones too, which give to the former word, first the plain meaning, belief in or adherence to self; secondly, the one used in ordinary language, too much belief in self, thinking too much of self. Dean Trench in his charming little book “On the study of words” says :—“What a multitude of words originally harmless have assumed an harmful as their secondary meaning; how many worthy have acquired an unworthy.” Of this multitude the word mannerism may be one. It is differently used by writers. Of the secondary meanings which I have named sometimes only one is taken. For example, the writer of the article “Spohr” in Sir G. Grove's “Dictionary of Music and Musicians” speaks of that composer as a mannerist, and reminds 'us of the melodious phrases and cadences, chromatic progressions, and enharmonic modulations, “in themselves beautiful enough and most effective,” which occur over and over again in his works. Here the manners are not declared faulty, only they are carried to excess. Again, Lord Macaulay in one of his essays says :—“Mannerism is sometimes not only pardonable but agreeable, when the manner though vicious is natural.” Here the idea of affectation seems excluded, and also that of excess, for surely immoderate use of a vicious manner could be neither pardonable nor pleasant. I take then the liberty of using the word in what I call its primitive sense—viz., sameness of manner, self-repetition. I cannot attribute to Beethoven faultiness of manner, although as a human being he was perhaps not exempt from errors; if any, they originated—as Hazlit has well said of Shakespeare—in the fulness of gigantic strength. I am going to accuse him of having once at least fallen into excess; and at the risk of incurring your displeasure, I am going to point out one or two of his manners which appear to me to savour of affectation in so far as they are artificial, recherchées rather than natural. So in a small way I accept the secondary meanings; and hence my superscription appears to me a convenient one.
On the Position of Organs in Churches
- Frederick A. Gore Ouseley
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- 01 January 2020, pp. 75-90
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In a time like the present when so many new churches are built, the great majority of which are furnished with organs, it cannot but be a question of exceptional interest to all who are mixed up with church architecture or church music to find out the best position in such buildings to be occupied by the organ. Nor is the problem an easy one to solve, on account of the great number of more or less extraneous considerations which enter into the subject. Besides which, it is just one of those matters concerning which it is impossible to lay down any one great, general law which shall apply to every case. So many mistakes are continually made, however, and so much jealous difference of judgment exists between the organ builders and the architects, that it may be useful, and also (possibly) entertaining, to discuss the whole question from various aspects in such a paper as the present. It is, therefore, proposed to treat of the subject: (1) Historically; (2) From a consideration of Continental practice; and (3) With special reference to English places of worship at the present time.
Style
- Ferdinand Praeger
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- 01 January 2020, pp. 91-105
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The subject of the paper which I have the honour to submit to the members of the Association this afternoon is so intimately entwined about our art, extends over so large an area, and is of such deep personal interest to musicians of every degree, that I venture to hope it will elicit copious observations from the members present. It were easy from a subject of such magnitude to fill a volume, but I have carefully condensed my remarks, and dealt only with the salient features, those from which the art is likely to gain the most by discussion. On this theme most of the master minds in art have eloquently discoursed, and not the least, Goethe. There is the real ring of downright affection for art in his words—“It is our bounden duty to hold style in highest honour, to reverence a term which should imply the noblest and worthiest that art has ever achieved, or ever can achieve. Only to have the power to recognise it is a happiness. To discourse on it with fellow intelligences is a pure joy.” It is in this spirit that I approach my paper.
Music as a Language
- H. C. Banister
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- 01 January 2020, pp. 107-124
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Music as a Language: not as an adjunct of other languages, though it is that, but as itself a language; that is, a means, not of intercommunication, nor of narration, nor of description, but of expression.
The Development of Modern Wind Instruments
- D. J. Blaikley
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- 01 January 2020, pp. 125-138
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The title chosen for the paper I have now to bring before you would more fitly introduce an exhaustive treatise than the few notes and remarks I have to offer. These will necessarily have the character of a very rough sketch or outline only, and, as such, I will ask you to receive them. The subject was suggested to my mind by the magnificent loan collection exhibited in the Royal Albert Hall last year. That collection brought before us evidence of the fertility of resource shown by succeeding generations of men in the adaptation of means towards the great end of the advancement of the musical art; the object being to place in the hands of the performer such results of the mechanical arts as should enable him to take his part in bringing before an audience a realisation of the artistic creation of the composer.
The Old Clavier or Keyboard Instruments; Their Use by Composers, and Technique
- A. J. Hipkins
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- 01 January 2020, pp. 139-148
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The object of this paper is to bring before your notice the clavier or keyboard stringed instruments that preceded the pianoforte; to make it evident, by performance upon instruments of various kinds, wherein they differed from the pianoforte and from each other, and to show, as far as is in a short time possible, the historic development of composition for them and of the corresponding technique. The instruments shown, taken in the order of illustration, are an Italian trapeze-shaped spinet of sixteenth century model, an English transverse spinet of late seventeenth century; a Flemish double keyboard harpsichord, dated 1614; an English double keyboard harpsichord, dated 1771; and a German clavichord made about the middle of the last century. In order of invention the clavichord was first; it will be seen why I prefer to place it last in the historic order of illustration. The use of the spinet began about the year 1500; it was nearly contemporary in its start with the larger harpsichord, and both remained popular until nearly the close of the eighteenth century. Relatively they were met with much as grand and smaller pianos are met with now. As I have said, the clavichord or keyed monochord was invented and came into use earlier, and most likely in the fourteenth century—about the time of the composer Josquin des Près; but it was a pitch carrier or interval measurer only for a very long while, without the least suggestion of independent musical effect. The dawn of such effect in keyboard stringed instruments was due to the invention of the spinet jack, with its quill, or perhaps, at first, brass plectrum, and little cloth damper. This was in the last years of the fifteenth century. As far as we know, independent instrumental compositions or separate accompanying parts to the voices did not exist until about 1529; the keyboard instruments of all kinds and even the lute, viol, and psaltery, were treated as voices, and as such were submitted to the interweavings of contrapuntal ingenuity. When an instrumental treatment, as apart from vocal, arose, it was by grafting upon the counterpoint and canonical imitation, the devices of variation, a natural and world-wide tendency, accomplished chiefly by figuration and passages contrived to display executive skill. The great secular revolution which, following the invention of printing, ushered in the sixteenth century, brought about the recognition of the people's song and dance which the domination of church modes and school theories had hitherto kept out of notice. From this time came about, by degrees, the substitution of the major and minor scales for the ecclesiastical modes, helped no doubt by the facilities the keyboard instruments, including the organ, gave to the practice of harmony, upon which our modern European music rests.
Front matter
RMI volume 12 Cover and Front matter
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- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 01 January 2020, pp. f1-f11
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