Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/783

* MAGRATH. 695 MAGYAR MUSIC. in Cork, Ireland. He had studied in his native city when he came to this country in 1855. Afterwards he lived in London, Washington, and Kew York City, where he was elected a National Academician in 1870. His best work is in character studies, such as "The Road to Kenmair" (1S71); "The Reveille" (18731; "Rustic Court- ship" (1877) ; and "On the Old Sod" (1879), in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. MAGRU'DER, .Joiix Baxkhead (1810-71). An American soldier, born at Winchester, Va. He graduated at West Point in 1830, and was assigned to the Seventh Infantry, but was trans- ferred the next year to the artillery. He served at various Eastern garrisons, became first lieu- tenant in 1836, took part in the Florida War of 1837-38, and in the military occupation of Texas in 1845-46, and in 1846 was promoted to be a captain. During the Mexican War he was brevetted major (April, 1847) and lieutenant- colonel (September, 1847) for gallantry at Cerro Gordo and Chapultepee respectively. He was in garrison in Washington in 1861, and resigned from the Xational service to become colonel in the Confederate Army. His first command was that of the artillery around Richmond, After ■winning the battle of Big Bethel he was pro- moted to be brigadier-general in June, and be- came major-general in October, While in com- mand of the district of Y'orktown he prepared the fortifications across the Peninsula of Yorktown, and with twelve thousand men defended a line thirteen miles long against MeClellan's entire army during the month of April, 1862, In the Seven Days' Battles he commanded the Confed- erate left "wing, and attacked at Savage's Station and Malvern Hill, He was then appointed to the new Trans-Mississippi Department, but this command was reduced to Texas alone. On Jan- uary 1, 1863, he recaptured Galveston, drove off the blockading squadron, and succeeded in keep- ing the port open. New Mexico and Arizona were added to his department. At the close of the war be joined the army of Maximilian in Mexico as major-general and served until the Empire fell. For a time he lectured on his ex- periences in Mexico, but settled at Houston, Texas, in 1869, MAGUEY, Various agaves and their fibre. See Agave. MAGUINDANAO, mii'g^n-dii'nou, A More tribe on the Rio Grande, Cotobato Province, See MoEO. MAGUIRE, nui-gwlr', John Francis (1815- 72), An Irisli law^-er and journalist. He was called to the bar in 1843, edited and published at Cork the Roman Catholic Examiner, sat in Parliament as member for Dun^arvan from 1852 to 1865, and for Cork from 1865 till his death. He was a supporter of Home Rule, and was for several years Mayor of Cork. He was the author of The Industrial Morenwnt in Ireland (1852) ; Rome and Its Ruler (1857; enlarged as The Pon- tificate of Pins IX. i 1870) ; Father Mathew. a Biography (1863) ; The Irish in America (1868) : and The Sext Generation (1871), MAGYAR, m6'dy6r, LAszl6 (1817-64), An Hungarian traveler, born at 5Iaria-Theresiopel (Szabadka), He was in the Austrian Navy for two years and then traveled in the United States, the West Indies, and South America from 1844 until 1847, when he left for the Portuguese colonies of South Africa. Thence he journeyed by caravan into the centre of the continent as far as Bihe, where he married a native princess and remained to make important explorations into the sur- rounding unknown country until 1857, when he left for Luiera Bay to establish a post between Benguela and Mossamedes for the Portuguese Government, The results of his travels were pub- lished at Budapest (1859), under the title. Trav- els in iSouth Africa in lSli9-ol. MAGYAR (Gypsy, or Hungakian) MUSIC. The characteristic music of Hungary, in which the JIagjar and Gypsy elements in the popula- tion find expression. The following characteristic scale is undoubtedly of Asiatic origin: C, D, Eb, F;, G, Ab, B, C. The distinctive features of Mag- yar music are endless variety of rhythm, absolute freedom, even abruptness, in modulation, and a profusion of embellishments. Polyphony is prac- tically unknown, the performances consisting chiefly of improvisations upon well-known melo- dies, although original themes are also employed. The national instrument is the violin. The Magyar orchestra was formerly composed of va- rious instruments, the violin and the cembalo be- ing the principal ones. This cembalo is an oblong box with steel strings struck by two wooden mal- lets. To-day there are al.so second violins, celli, double-basses, clarinets, and trumpets. These, however, are not used as in our music, but only for the doubling of the harmonics and the accen- tuation of the rhythm. The principal instrument always remains the violin, and all others follow it. It is almost impossible for us to conceive how so many performers can keep together when the principal instrument practically improvises. But competent musicians who have heard the Mag- yar orchestra are unanimous in their admira- tion of the precision and fire with which every- thing is executed. Even as early as the thir- teenth century the musicians of Hungary were famous. During the fourteenth century their assistance was considered indispensable in the celebration of all public festivals. It is on rec- ord that about 1550 Karmann reaped honors and wealth through his marvelous performance upon tlie violin, Michael Barun is called the 'Hun- garian Orpheus.' He won the first prize at a tournament arranged by the magnates of Hun- gary, About 1775 Cinska Pama was regarded as the greatest violinist. The more recent of the great Magj'ar violinists, who also appeared in German.v, were Paticarius, Kecskemety, Sarkiizy, and Bihary, That practically nothing has been preserved of their compositions is due to the fact that they were chiefly improvisations. The peculiar embel- lishments, the sudden transitions, and ever-chang- ing and complicated rhythms make actual nota- tion exceedingly difficult. Nevertheless, the writ- ten works of Lavotta and Czermak give a .sood idea of the genuine Magyar nuisic. The latter is regarded bv the Hungarians as their greatest national composer, although by birth he was a Bohemian, The musical forms of the Hungarians are very limited. The artists give themselves up to momentary inspirations. Hence the chief form would be the fantasia, which, in reality, is no form at all. The only definite artistic form we find in the national dance, the csflrdfls (q,v.).