Page:A Dictionary of Music and Musicians vol 1.djvu/276

264 the 19th century. Bourgeois published several sets of Psalms in four parts. [ F. G. ]

BOURGEOIS,, dramatic composer, born at Fontaine l'Evêque in 1676. He was counter-tenor at the Grand Opéra in Paris in 1708, but in 1711 devoted himself entirely to composing. In 1713 he produced 'Les Amours déguisés,' and in 1715 'Les plaisirs de la paix.' He was chapel-master at Toul in 1716, and afterwards at Strasbourg. He died in Paris in great poverty, Jan. 1750. He composed sixteen operas (for list see Fétis) and many cantatas. [ F. G. ]

BOURGES,, eminent composer of the 16th century. Her husband was killed fighting against the Huguenots in 1560, and she died of grief Sept. 30 in the following year. Her compositions deserve to be ranked with those of the great composers of her time. A four-part chorus, 'Da bei rami,' by her is included in Paix's 'Orgel-tabulatur-Buch.' [ F. G. ]

BOURGES,, distinguished musical critic, born at Bordeaux Dec. 2, 1812; came early to Paris, and studied composition under Barbereau. In 1839 he became joint-editor of the 'Revue et Gazette musicale,' the high reputation of which paper is in great measure owing to him. In 1846 'Sultana,' an opera of his, was successfully produced at the Opéra Comique. He made an excellent translation of the words of Mendelssohn's 'Elijah.' He died in 1868, after an illness of many years. [ F. G. ]

BOURRÉE. A dance of French origin, which is said to have come from the province of Auvergne. According to other authorities, however, it is a Spanish dance, from Biscay, where it is said to be still practised. The bourrée is often to be found in the older suites, especially in those of Bach, and is of a rapid tempo, in common (allabreve) time. In its general character it presents some features of analogy with the, from which, however, it may readily be distinguished; first, because it is in allabreve time, that is, with only two beats in the bar, whereas the gavotte has four; and secondly, that the latter begins on the third crotchet in the bar, while the bourree always commences on the fourth. Like most of the older dance- movements, it consists of two parts, each of which is repeated. In Bach's suites, a second bourrée frequently follows the first, in the same way as in a symphony or sonata, a trio follows a minuet, after which the first bourrée is repeated. There is a good modern example in Sullivan's music to the 'Merchant of Venice.' [ E. P. ]

BOUSQUET,, composer and critic, born at Perpignan 1818, died at St. Cloud 1854; entered the Conservatoire as violin pupil; won the Grand Prix in 1838; and his compositions while he held the prize, particularly two masses (Rome, 1839–40), excited hopes of a brilliant career. But his first opera, 'Le Mousquetaire,' produced at the Opera Comique in 1844, was a failure. 'Taburin' (1852) met with better success. For three seasons Bousquet conducted the orchestra at the Theatre Italien. He contributed articles to the 'Revue et Gazette musicale.' [ M. C. C. ]

BOW. The strings of the various instruments of the violin tribe are made to vibrate by friction with the hair of the bow. Like the violin, the bow went through many progressive phases, till, at the end of last century, it acquired its present shape, which seems to leave no room for improvement. The bow with which the (the oldest stringed instrument played with the bow with which we are acquainted) was played, had the form of the weapon from which it derived its name. The stick was much bent, and a cord or string was tied from one end to the other. (Fig. 1.)



In pictures of the 13th century we notice something like a nut and head, and hair was possibly used in place of the cord. The bow now gradually loses more and more the actual bow-shape (Figs. 2, 3, 4); the head is distinct from the stick, and the nut is no longer a portion of the stick, but is attached to it by a wire. On the top of the stick a narrow piece of indented iron is fixed, on which the wire is hooked, and thus the hair made tighter or looser at pleasure. (Fig. 5.) The next step consisted in the substitution of a screw for the wire and indented iron, by which the tension of the hair could be perfectly regulated. This was Corelli's bow. (Fig. 6.) It was made of light wood, the stick perfectly straight, hardly if at all elastic, and very short. Tartini's bow (Fig. 7) was considerably longer, the wood thinner, and more elastic.

Towards the end of the 18th century Francois [sic] brought the art of bow-making to perfection, and created a model on which no improvement has been yet made. In fact his bow 