Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/226

* MUSICAL NOTATION. 188 MtrSIN. signature llie siyii 9 appears lirst in the Church nioiles, but denoted ouly a transposition of the original mode. (See -Modes.) Kvcu iu the eigh- teenth lentury a b "as used as a sign of resolu- tion for a note having a 5 or l^ (these two signs a German termiuolog- for the Italian. But tbo Italian terms are more detinite. Iieeausc two centuries of constant use have familiarized them to musicians of every nationality. Another system of musical notation used for- were identical) ; and vice %-ersa a 5 or l^ served to merly, especially for the lute, is discussed under resolve a b- i'he signs of the double sharp and '" " " double Hat (X, bb) cannot be traced further back than the beginning of the eighteenth cen- tury. The sign X arose from writing the older the seventeenth century accidental sharps, llats, or signs of resolution appeared very seUioni in writing. The singer was supposed to introiluce the necessary chromatic alterations during the actual performance. As long as the Church modes reigned supreme no use was made of regu- lar key-signatures. A flat or sharp placed at the beginning of a piece denoted only transposi- tion. But as soon as the modern major and minor scales displaced the modes the necessity of key-signatures arose, in order to avoid the great number of accidentals. Tablatlre. For the new system of de nating chords by figures, used in theoretical treatises, see Numerical Notation. A complete history of musical notation was written by Kiemann: Studienzur (Jeachichtc der yulensclirift (Leipzig. 1878) : an abridgment of this is the same author's Die Entiriclclunij un»crcr Sotcn- svlirift (ib., 1881); Riemann. (Icschichtc der Miisih-thcorie im /A'.-A7A'. Jahrltiindcrt (ib., 18'JS). MUSICAL SAND. There are a large ninnber of iK'aches, uftcntimcs, however, of very small extent, whose sand has the peculiar property of giving out a distinct musical tone when stepped upon. The musical note appears to depend upon the fact that the grains of sand are of such very uniform size that as they slip past each (jther KXPRES.S10.N Marks. Toward the end of the under pressure the vibrations of the particles re eighth century we find in one old manuscript written in ntiimcs small letters inters|)ersed with the characters of the iwiimcs. These letters refer to the expression. We find a small f ((ragor), h t or t {bene teiieaUiror tcneatur), c (celeriter) , etc. This manuscript is the famous Antipbnnary of Saint Gall. The works of the great poly- phonic masters of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries are utterly devoid of any marks of ex- pression, nor are any evidences of expression marks to l)e found in works written between the eighth and fifteenth centuries. There really was no pressing need for such marks, for all music was vocal, and the text gave a sufficient clew to the singers, who were all thoroughly trained musicians. But the development of instrumental nuisic gave rise to various marks of expression. Hand in hand with the development of instru- mental music went the perfection of the musical instruments. Many new effects were discovered, and to express tliese composers were obliged to use words. Monteverde in his opera Orfeo (IfiOS) demands that the trumjiets ])lay with unites, and this is indicated in the .-.core by the words e<in sordini. The same composer intro- duced a number of new eflVcts in his Tnnrrrdi e Clorindn (lfi24), among which were the tremolo and the pizziento for strings. Such efTects were called for by the actual words placed in the score. These are the earliest instances of ex- pression-marks. Operatic composers immediate- ly followed the practice established by ^Innte- verde. .Xmong the earliest of purely instrumen- tal masters who employed words to help the per- formers was Frcscobaidi ( l.iS.I- 1(144 1. He was ]iartiinlarly careful to indicate the tempo. One of his favorite marks is ndnijio. Soon the words all<!ir<>. Inrfio, firure. moderatn came into gen- eral use. In the course of the eighteenth century nearly nil the important marks of expressi<m and time were in use. The nineteenth century sihsti- futed convenient signs for some of the most fre- quently recurring marks, such as crcKerndo <=::^, diminurndo "^^^^ ^ sfncrato Jetjato ■ — v, Mfnrzando / etc.. and increased the vneabularj- of musical expression cimsiderably. Some of the German masters of the last century, notably Schumann and Wagner, attempted to substitute pcctively reenforce each other so that sounds which would otherwise be inaudible become dis- tinct, and the crunching noise which is heard when the foot presses down upon snow or ordi- nary :sand becomes a clear musical note. MUSICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. A famous Engli.~h nuisical society organized at London in 1083. At this period the study of choral music in England had assumed dimensions and a degree of artistic importance far greater than obtained in any other country. The success which had attended the work of 'The Corporation of the Sons of Clergy.' established in ('y and incor])orated by charter of Charles II., in 1078, led to the founding of the Musical Society, the principal function of which organization was the celclir.ition of Saint Cecilia's Day. Among the poets who wrote odes for the society were Dry- dcn and Congreve, and among the composers Purcell and Blow. At the last regular Cecilian festival held in London in 170.3 the chorus num- bered about thirty boys and as man.v men, and the orchestra about twenty-five persons. The societv still occupies an important position in English musical life. MUSIC BOX. A ease containing mechanism constructed in such a manner that music can be produced automatically. Machines for making mechanical nuisic have been known since the in- vention of clocks; but real music boxes were not introduced till after 17.")fl. They have been great- ly improved since then, and some modern musical boxes can play over 100 tunes. The mechanism is similar to that of the liarrel-organ. The prin- cipal parts are the comb, the cylinder, and the regulator. Uclls, drums, and castanets are fre- quently added to produce musical efTects, and there are occasionally combinations of reeds and pipes. The musical boxes of Prague, Sainte Lusanne in France, and Geneva, Switzerland, are especially famous. MUSIC-DRAMA. See Musical Drama. MUSIC RECORDER. See Melourai'h. MU'SIMON. See MofKi.ox. MUSIN. mu'zi^iN'. OvinE (18.54—). A Bel- gian violinist, liorn at Nandrin, near Li6ge. He
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