Chapter II: Part 2

Who controlled the knowledge of music and other sciences and arts? Was this beneficial to music?

What instruments did the Egyptians use?

What was the character of Egyptian music?

What was the origin of the Hebrew race?

What influences did they come under in Egypt?

What difference was there between the music of the Hebrews and that of the nations around them?

Why did they express themselves in poetry and music?

What was a leading characteristic of their poetry?

Have any ancient Hebrew melodies been preserved?

What musical instruments did the Hebrews have? What was the origin of these instruments?

LESSON III.

MUSIC OF THE GREEKS: SCALES.

When we think of Greece, it is Athens, the centre of Greek art and culture, that comes to mind. An ancient city, Athens, as history teaches us. The record is that it was founded by Cecrops, who brought a colony from Egypt, in 1556 B. C., a period when Egypt was a centre of power, wealth, education and science. Therefore we infer that these colonists brought with them to Greece the ordinary, popular music and instruments to which they had become accustomed in their home. But there was an older Greece; for late discoveries show that there were five cities, each built upon the ruins of an older city, the first one going back to 2500 B. C. These earlier inhabitants, themselves an offshoot of the great Aryan race, were absorbed by the colonists.

=Music and Myth in Greece=.—The beginnings of music in Greece are mingled with myths: Pan, Apollo, Mercury, Athene and others appear as the patrons and exemplars of the musical art. Aside from the names of the mythical gods and goddesses, there are names of human beings that stand out with clearness. These early musicians were singers or bards who chanted the songs composed in honor of chiefs and tribal heroes. Such were Hyagnis, 1506 B. C., Marsyas, his son, and Olympus the elder, Orpheus, Musæus (1426 B. C.), chief of the Eleusinian mysteries, Linus, Amphion, Thaletes, whose songs were favorites of Pythagoras; the greatest of these bards was the blind Homer, to whom the date 900 B. C. is assigned. “By the Greeks, music as an art was considered an aid in regulating by rule the inflections of the voice, to mark the places of emphasis, and to define the pauses in the recitation of their epic poetry; and the rhythm of their songs followed strictly laws that had been laid down; innovation was reprehended, and even prohibited.”[4]

=Early Greek Musicians and Writers=.—The earliest musician’s name met with in the annals of music is that of =Terpander= (676 B. C), who is said to have increased the number of strings on the lyre from four to seven. Next in order was =Pythagoras= (585-505 B. C.), who added an eighth string to the lyre. He was called the discoverer of the Tetrachord, which is still known by this name, the inventor or discoverer of the Octave Scale, also the discoverer of the ratios of the consonances; but there is no doubt that he learned all these things during his sojourn in Egypt. He is also credited with the invention of the Canon or Monochord with movable bridges, a contrivance still in use for investigating the ratios of intervals. Unfortunately none of the writings—if any ever existed—of Pythagoras have come down to us. Our knowledge of his theories is second-hand, gathered from the writings of his disciples. Pythagoras seems to have studied sound more in the manner of the acoustician than of the musician; hence his followers, or rather those who called themselves by his name, were more concerned with the ratios of sounds than with their musical effects.

Among the great philosophers who treated on music, =Aristotle= (384 B. C.) holds an important place. We find his theories expressed in one of his works called “Problems.” A pupil of his—=Aristoxenus= (350-320 B. C.), has left the most valuable treatise on music, of any of the ancients, the oldest musical work known at the present time; it is, unfortunately, not complete. Aristoxenus was a practical, in addition to being a theoretical musician; he thought that the ear was the final court of appeal in matters musical. Hence the musical world was divided into two factions: the Pythagoreans, who held that music was purely a matter for arithmetical investigation, and the Aristoxenians, who claimed that the chief end of music was to be listened to. This dispute lasted for many centuries. =Boethius=, the Roman philosopher, in his writings takes sides with the Pythagoreans and pours contempt on the mere musician. The successors of the Pythagoreans are even yet not extinct, as every now and again some wiseacre turns up with a scheme to secure just intonation, at the price of losing all that music has gained under our present system. =Plato= (430 B. C.), the greatest of philosophers, has much to say about music; but these sayings are largely incomprehensible to modern understandings. =Euclid= (323 B. C.), the great mathematician, treated largely of music.[5] =Aristides Quintilianus= was another author of great weight. =Plutarch=, in his _Symposia_, has one devoted to music, but unfortunately the meaning of these authors is often so obscure that it cannot now be discovered. Alexandria, in Egypt, came into prominence in music when the great library was founded there by Alexander the Great, in 332 B. C. =Eratosthenes= (276-196 B. C.), the librarian, figures in the mathematics of music. When we reach the Christian Era, we meet with two more writers, =Didymus= (A. D. 60), who introduced the “minor”[6] tone into the scale, and =Claudius Ptolemy= (A. D. 130).

=The Music of Ancient Greece the Foundation of Modern European Music=.—Although the history of European music properly begins with the music of Ancient Greece, we are still very ignorant of the subject, owing to the fact that there is not in existence a note of music anterior to the Christian Era. But lately, in the ancient treasure house at Delphi, a hymn was found inscribed in marble on the inner wall. Mr. J. P. Mahaffy, an authority in matters pertaining to Greek literature, says: “The time is given by the metre, a long syllable and three short, variously placed, or two long and a short between them, in every case 5-8 in a measure.... As regards the accompaniment or harmonizing of the air, there is none extant. [As to the melody] although there is rhythm and even a recurrence of phrases to mark the close of the period, nothing worthy of being called melody in any modern sense is to be found.” The inscription dates from the third century before Christ, is a hymn to Apollo and the Muses, and consists of phrases equal to eighty measures in our modern reckoning. The blank spaces in the measure were filled in by an instrument, probably the cithara. Our knowledge is confined to the treatises of mathematicians and musicians, previously mentioned, and these works are often so obscure that there is much uncertainty as to their meaning. Besides, these writings are scattered over a period of about 800 years; that is, from 585 B. C., the date of Pythagoras, to 130 A. D., the date of Claudius Ptolemy. Numberless changes took place in the art in the course of this long period; hence the attempt to elucidate a homogeneous system by comparing these writings is about as hopeless as would be the attempt to deduce the modern system of music from the collocation of the works of Guido and Hucbald of the 10th century with those of Richter and Prout in the 19th.

We owe much to the labors of these bygone writers; in fact, the Greek system of music is the foundation upon which the modern system is the superstructure. No attempt will be made here to settle the many disputed points that have puzzled the learned for ten or more centuries, but a clear and concise account of all that is necessary to an understanding of the place of this system in the historical development of music will be given.

=Formation of the Greek Scale=.—The Greek Scale was founded on a tetrachord or succession of four sounds, arranged as follows:

E (half tone) F (whole tone) G (whole tone) A

It is commonly believed that these letters written on the bass staff, thus:

[Music]

represent the exact pitch, as near as may be, of this tetrachord. In early times the lyre was tuned to these four sounds, and was called the _Tetrachordon_; that is, four strings. This gracefully shaped instrument has remained to this day the symbol of music. This limited scale was extended by adding another tetrachord, which began with the last note of the first tetrachord, thus:

A—B♭ C D
E—F G A

making a scale of seven sounds, called the scale of _Conjunct_ or _Joined Tetrachords_; also from its seven strings, the Heptachord scale. The next step was to take in the limit of the octave. The first way adopted was to raise the highest string a whole tone, thus making it the octave of the lowest; the sixth string was also raised a whole tone to make it a whole tone below the seventh. The result was a scale of seven sounds with one degree omitted, thus:

A—B♭ (C) D E
E—F G A

The next form was:

E—F G A B (C) D E

It will be seen that in this scale the second tetrachord begins a whole tone above the first, instead of beginning with the final of the first. It is therefore called the scale of _Disjunct_ or _Separated Tetrachords_. The missing sound (C) is here added and the octave scale is complete. When the lyre had seven strings, the middle string, that is, the fourth, counting from either end, was called _Mese_, which means “middle”; but this word soon gained a secondary meaning which, in time, became the most important, viz.: _Keynote_.

=The Lesser Perfect System=.—There was in use at the same time a scale called the _Lesser Perfect System_, which was made from the conjunct seven-note scale by adding another conjunct tetrachord below, thus:

A—B♭ C D
E—F G A
(A) B—C D E

Then A was added below the first tetrachord to make an octave with the note _Mese_. This A was the lowest sound admitted in the Greek System. It was the Romans who gave to this series of sounds the first seven letters of the alphabet, which they still retain. This octave (A to A) is also the origin of our natural minor scale. This Lesser System was the scale used in the Temple rites. It continued to be used for this purpose long after the system about to be described was invented.

=The Greater Perfect System=.—This was made from the disjunct octave by adding a conjunct tetrachord below and one above, thus:

E—F G A
E—F G A B—C D E
(A) B—C D E

The A below was also added, thus making a scale two octaves in extent. In later times the disjunct tetrachord, B—C—D—E, was added at the top. This E was the highest note admitted in the Greek System; consequently, their music never exceeded the limits of two octaves and a fifth, and the sounds included in these systems were as follows:

[Music: Greater Perfect System without B♭

Added Note Lesser Perfect System without B♮]

Peculiar interest attaches to this series of sounds, because in the Middle Ages they were supposed to be the _only_ sounds admitted by the Greeks. This accounts for the fact that B was the first note that it was considered right to use in two forms.

=The Greek Scales=.—The Greeks did not by any means confine themselves to these sounds, but changed the pitch of the starting note just as we do with our scales; in other words, both of these systems might be transposed. Therefore they not only had all the sounds at command that we have, but as their scales were (theoretically, at least) tuned acoustically true, they had a great many more. But their scales were all diatonic (the scales they called Chromatic and Enharmonic will be explained later), they were all like our natural minor. When they said “Dorian Scale” they meant just what we mean when we say scale of D minor; Phrygian Scale meant E minor; Lydian Scale, F-sharp minor; Mixo-Lydian, G minor. In addition to these four scales there were three that began a fourth below, one a fourth below the Dorian, called the Hypo-Dorian, A minor; a fourth below the Phrygian, called the Hypo-Phrygian, B minor; and a fourth below the Lydian, called Hypo-Lydian, C-sharp minor; these were the standard scales of Greek music. These names, Dorian, etc., were retained in the Ecclesiastical System, but the mistake was made of supposing that the Greeks used only the fixed sounds given by the untransposed Greater System. Hence the Church Dorian has B natural, not B-flat; the Church Phrygian, F natural, not F sharp; and the Church Lydian begins on F natural, instead of on F sharp. Hence, no two church scales are alike in the positions of the halftones.

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS.

Name some of the myths connected with music among the Greeks. Consult a work on mythology.

Name the musicians and philosophers connected with Greek music; arrange them in chronological order, with dates.

State the successive points of development.

Why do we consider that the history of music as we know it today begins with Greek music?

Have we music that belongs to the Greek period?

On what was the Greek Scale founded?

How was this extended? What name did this form receive?

In what respect did the Disjunct form differ from the Conjunct?

What was the _Mese_?

What was the Lesser Perfect System?

What was the Greater Perfect System?

What was the highest note used by the Greeks? What was the lowest?

Were these systems transposable?

What is the meaning of the prefix “Hypo”?

LESSON IV.

MUSIC OF THE GREEKS (_Concluded_).

=The Greek Octave System=.—So far, everything is clear enough; but the next step is not quite so sure. The Greeks spoke of the Dorian Octave, the Phrygian Octave, and so on; and the word Octave, used in this way, has been thought to be synonymous with Scale, which is doubtful, for the following reasons:

The standard instrument of the Greeks was the octave lyre. The lowest and highest strings were tuned respectively A, fifth line bass staff, and A, second space, treble.

[Music:

Dorian Octave. Signature B♭ Phrygian Octave. Signature F♯

Lydian Octave. Signature F, C and G sharps. Mizo-Lydian Octave. Signature B and E flats.

Hypo-Dorian Octave. Hypo-Phrygian Octave. Signature F and C sharps.

Hypo-Lydian Octave. Signature F, C, G & D sharps.]

These were fixed sounds, but the tuning of the remaining six strings _might be changed_ at will; therefore, a series of sounds belonging to any one of these scales could be made; and it will be seen, on examining the following table, that all the seven scales may be represented _without changing the extreme notes_, A to A. Suppose we make the B flat. Now B-flat is the characteristic note of the Dorian Scale, in our term, its signature. Therefore this octave would be called the Dorian Octave, _not_ Dorian Scale. We speak of a scale as beginning and ending on its _keynote_; if it does not, we call it a scale passage in such and such a key.

The notes marked + are the keynotes (_Mese_). It will be seen at once that the positions of the halftones differ in _each_ of these octaves. One cannot help feeling a slight suspicion that some confusion between scale and octave had a great deal to do with the growth of the Ecclesiastical Scales.

One of the latest of the ancient writers on music, =Claudius Ptolemy= (about 130 A. D.), proposed that all these octaves should be transposed a _fourth lower_; this made the Dorian Octave E to E (all naturals). One result of this change is that many authorities at the present time call this the Dorian Scale, whereas it is evident that it is simply the Dorian Octave, as given above, transposed a _fourth lower_. Other scales were added from time to time, called _Hyper_-Dorian, _Hyper_-Phrygian, etc., a _fourth above_ the standard scales; but it is very uncertain whether they were in practical use; they were probably purely matters of theory.

=Characteristics Attributed to the Different Greek Scales=.—The Greeks attributed many fanciful characteristics to the various modes or scales, much as some modern musicians, Berlioz, for example, do to the different keys. But all seem to have agreed as to the Dorian. This was considered the true Greek mode, and was called severe, firm and manly, suitable for martial songs. The Lydian mode was esteemed to be effeminate, suited to love songs, possibly because the Lydian Octave corresponds with the scale of A major, and a major scale was not relished by the Greeks, any more than it was by the early ecclesiastical musicians. A more probable explanation of this attribution of different characters to the different scales is, that it was customary to use certain modes for songs on certain subjects, and the character of the poetry was transferred to the music.

=The Greek Chromatic Scale= differed altogether from what _we_ call a chromatic scale. It was made by _lowering_ the pitch of the _fourth_ and _seventh_ strings above the _keynote_ a halftone. Supposing the octave lyre to be tuned to the Hypo-Dorian Mode or Scale, it would begin and end on the Keynote (_Mese_), thus:

[Music]

Now, by lowering D and G we get the following scale:

[Music]

This is the scale that was called Chromatic. It is said to have been at one time the most popular of all the scales, a statement we can easily credit, since it contains in itself the two world-wide five-note or _Pentatonic_ Scales, commonly known as the Scotch or Irish Scales, the most widely distributed of all scales in Europe, Asia and America.

[Music: Major pentatonic scale Minor pentatonic scale]

=The Greek Enharmonic Scale=.—The scale called Enharmonic was made thus: The fourth and seventh strings were lowered a whole tone; that is, to the pitch of the second and sixth, the second and sixth were lowered a _quartertone_, thus:

[Music]

C-flat is supposed to be halfway between B and C; F-flat halfway between E and F. Our modern system does not provide for the notation of quartertones.

=Greek Instruments=.—The standard instrument of the Greeks was the =Lyre=. It bore many names, as Lyre, Tetrachordon, Chelys, Phorminx, Cithara, etc. There may have been slight _differences_ in the _size and the number of the strings_, but great uncertainty prevails on this point. Under the name of =Flute= (_Aulos_) they seem to have included both _Flutes_ proper and instruments of the _hautboy_ or _clarinet_ family. These instruments bore a bewildering number of names, the exact meaning of which is lost. Judging from the pictorial representations that remain, the Greek instruments were inferior both in variety and extent to those of the Egyptians. They seem to have made little use of the Harp, of which instrument the Egyptians had a great variety. The Greeks seem to have used instruments chiefly, if not solely, to accompany the voice; and they appear never to have combined large numbers of instruments for any purpose. Even in their tragedies, which were performed in immense theatres open to the sky, the Chorus was limited to fifteen men, accompanied by two flutes. When accompanying the voice with the lyre they may have occasionally struck the fourth, fifth or octave of the vocal melody; but, in general, they played the voice part. Their most highly developed instrument was a variety of lyre, the strings of which passed over a bridge placed one-third of the strings’ length from the lower end of the lyre, thus causing the lower part of the string to sound the octave of the upper part. The shorter part of the string was played with a plectrum in the right hand, the longer part by the fingers of the left hand. This instrument was called =Magadis=—from _Magas_, a bridge. The term _Magadize_ was eventually used to signify playing or singing in octaves, and was _synonymous_ with _Antiphony_.

=Greek Musical Notation=.—Our knowledge of Greek musical notation is very defective, being derived from only four or five specimens of ancient music, and a few small fragments. They appear to have used a _separate notation for each mode_, and these four hymns are apparently all in the same mode, but authorities differ as to the mode. They used the letters of their alphabet, both capital and small, written in various positions, sometimes upright, sometimes lying on one side. The notation for the lyre differed from that used for the voice. The letters representing the _vocal_ part were written _above the words_, those representing the _instrumental_ part, _below_ the _words_. These _letters represented_ the _pitch_ of the sounds, but _not_ their _duration_. The duration was regulated by the _meter_ of the poetry. Instead of a portion of one of these hymns, the first three lines of our National Hymn are given as a sample of this notation:

R R Φ Γ R Φ σ σ Ρ σ Φ R Φ R Γ R
My country ’tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing.

These letters have been interpreted as indicating the following sounds, the transposed Hypo-Lydian Scale in its old form; that is, the Lesser Perfect System with G sharp as its keynote.

[Music]

=Greek View of Harmony=.—The question has been much debated as to whether or not the Greeks practiced harmony. It seems hardly possible with such a defective notation; but the best argument against it is, that there is not a word in any of the extant treatises as to combinations and successions of these combinations, and it is impossible that any art of harmony should have existed unless some rules for its employment should have been evolved.

=Greek Terms in Music=.—The modern terminology of music is largely indebted to the Greek system, although many of the words have entirely changed their significance. The word Music itself, to the Greek, meant the whole circle of the sciences, especially Astronomy and Mathematics. Melody meant the rising and falling of the voice in either speaking or singing. Harmonia meant rather what we call Melody than our Harmony. This latter, namely, the sounding together of different sounds, was called Symphony. Antiphony originally meant singing in octaves, that is, men with women or boys. Chromatic and Enharmonic have already been explained. Diapason, now applied chiefly to organ stops, originally meant the octave; that is, “through all.” Diatonic has nearly retained its original meaning. Tone, Semitone and Tetrachord have retained their meaning, with the exception that in the modern tetrachord the halftone is at the other end.

REFERENCES.

Monro.—The Modes of Ancient Greek Music.

Rowbotham.—History of Music.

Oxford History of Music, Vol. I.

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS.

What was the Greek use of the term Octave; “Dorian Octave,” for example?

What change did Claudius Ptolemy suggest? What confusion resulted?

What is the meaning of the prefix “Hyper”?

Explain the Greek Chromatic Scale.

Explain the Greek Enharmonic Scale.

What was the standard Greek musical instrument? What names were given to modifications of it?

What instruments were comprehended under the term _Aulos_?

How were the instruments used in accompanying the voice?

What is meant by “magadizing”?

Give an account of Greek musical notation.

Did the Greeks use “Harmony” as we understand that term?

Name some musical terms that come from the Greek. Berlioz gives the characters of different keys in his book on Instrumentation. “Auld Lang Syne” is a pentatonic melody, scale of F, with fourth and seventh omitted. Any series of five notes on the black keys of the piano will make a pentatonic scale, major character. The language of music was determined by scholars, hence the use of so many terms with Greek and Latin roots.

LESSON V.

ECCLESIASTICAL SYSTEM.

=Rome the New Centre=.—The Power that rules in the affairs of men seems to have made provision for the elevation of the whole race by diffusing at intervals of centuries, the treasures of art, science and thought accumulated by a nation of unusual power and energy. Egypt dominated the northern part of Africa, the shores of the Mediterranean and the western slopes of Asia Minor, and in course of time yielded to the advance of the Greeks, but leaving behind, as a legacy, much that has had enduring value. What had once been centred in one nation, under the control of one caste, the priests, was spread through much of the known world. Greece, in turn, shaped the destinies of expanding civilization. In the Greek social life free art played a great part; wherever the Greeks went as merchants and colonists, they carried with them the principles of Greek art, including music. Greek musicians were accounted stars of the first magnitude in Egypt, in the Greek colonies of Italy, and later in Rome, which, after the fall of Greece as a political factor, became the political, social and artistic centre of the world; through her conquests and subsequent colonizing diffusing throughout a larger world than Egypt and Greece knew, an increased wealth of thought and action which greatly influenced later generations.

=Rome Dependent Upon Greece=.—The Romans did not show a native instinct for art. Their national qualities were essentially warlike, and were developed by years of struggle for existence. A people whose organized life was political and martial, and for so long found expression first in defence, later in conquest, would not develop a true art life. As they grew stronger they built up their collections by pillage and by purchase; they were taught music, oratory, architecture, sculpture by Greeks who sought the capital of the world. Roman nobles imitated Greek customs, learned the Greek language and literature, cultivated music according to Greek methods, used Greek instruments, such as the cithara, lyre and flute, sang Greek songs and formed companies of singers and players to furnish entertainment at their feasts and at the public spectacles. The Roman drama was modified by Greek principles, and Greek actors replaced Roman artists; the pantomime was borrowed from Egypt. Music was a favorite distraction in the high ranks of Roman society, and men known to history were skilful players or singers—Sylla, Flaccus, Calpurnius Piso, Titus, Caligula, Hadrian, and, best known of all, Nero.

=Growth of Christianity=.—While the Roman Empire, in its turn, had served the purpose of the Ruling Power in the affairs of men, in secret a new force was gaining strength, one that was soon to drive pagan arts and pleasures from open cultivation. In the Catacombs, in remote sections of the great city, pursued, hunted like beasts, martyrized, the Christians clung to their faith with its simple rites of worship, in which the singing of songs was a marked feature. Whence these songs came is by no means certain, the prevailing opinion being that they were of Greek origin, modified by Hebrew influence.[7] In the course of years songs were introduced in the Christian service with no other warrant than that of tradition. During the years of persecution no systematic cultivation of music was possible. Later, when Constantine accepted the Cross, 325 A. D., and Christianity had triumphed over Paganism, the abuses became such that the ecclesiastical authorities set themselves to the task of reform and of establishing a system of song for the use of the Church.

[Music: Tonus Peregrinus as a chant]

=Origin of the Church Scales=.—It is absolutely unknown when or by whom the system of scales, known as the Church Scales, was invented. The latest writer on the Greek System was =Claudius Ptolemy= (about 130 A. D.). In 330, =Pope Sylvester= established a school for training church singers, but we have no information as to the system he employed. The name of =Ambrose=, Bishop of Milan (333-397), has for centuries been associated with what are called the _Authentic_ Scales, but there is no valid evidence whatever that he had anything to do with their adoption. The name of =Pope Gregory= (540-604) has also been associated with another set of scales called _Plagal_, with as little authority as in the previous case. There does not appear to have existed any system of notation in the time of Ambrose or Gregory. The Greek notation by letters was forgotten, and the very insufficient system of notation by Neumes had not been invented. The only writer of any authority after Ptolemy was Boethius, and he did more to confuse the subject of music than to explain it.

=Foundation of the Church Scales=.—But if we know nothing of the inventor of the Church Scales, or of the way in which they grew into their final form, we are, nevertheless, perfectly well informed of the fully-developed system which, it must be remarked, grew out of a misunderstanding of the Greek Scales. The Church Scales were founded on the Greater Perfect System of the Greeks, with this restriction, namely, that it was _not transposable_; whereas, we have seen that the various Greek modes were transpositions of either the Lesser or Greater Systems.

[Music]

This is the series of sounds from which the Church Scales were made. None of them might be _altered_ by sharp or flat, _except_ the _B_ in the second octave (and this was a later addition which was probably owing to a remembrance of the Lesser Perfect System in which the B was flat.) The Greek names were retained for the Church Scales, but as not one of the notes was inflected, it follows that the _halftones_ occur in _different_ places in every scale. The scales to which these names were given were called Authentic, those with the prefix _Hypo_ were called Plagal. In the table on the next page, the Greek and Church Scales, also the Greek _octaves_ are given side by side.

=Confusion Between the Systems=.—We may gather from this table how the confusion between Dorian and Phrygian has arisen. The Phrygian Octave is identical with the Church Dorian, and the Dorian Octave with the Church Phrygian. A proof that the Church Scales originated in the way indicated may be found in the fact that the Church and Greek Hypo-Dorian Scales are identical, this being the only Greek Scale without a sharp or flat. The Church Hypo-Lydian was also called the Ionian Scale; its arrangement of tones and semitones is the _same_ as that of the _modern major scale_. It was not considered appropriate for church music, being looked upon as soft, effeminate and lascivious, by both Greeks and mediæval churchmen.

[Music:

GREEK OCTAVES CHURCH SCALES GREEK SCALES

At the pitch as transposed by Ptolemy

Phrygian Octave Dorian Dorian

Dorian Octave Phrygian Phrygian

Hypo-Lydian Octave Lydian Lydian

Hypo-Phrygian Octave Mixo-Lydian Mixo-Lydian

Hypo-Dorian Octave Hypo-Dorian Hypo-Dorian

Mixo-Lydian Octave Hypo-Phrygian Hypo-Phrygian

Lydian Octave Hypo-Lydian Hypo-Lydian

Phrygian Octave Hypo-Mixo-Lydian]

=Eight Modes in Use=.—The Church Scales were numbered from one to eight; the Authentic Scales were given the odd, and the Plagal Scales the even numbers, thus:

1. Dorian 2. Hypo-Dorian
related scales.
3. Phrygian 4. Hypo-Phrygian
related scales.
5. Lydian 6. Hypo-Lydian
related scales.
7. Mixo-Lydian 8. Hypo-Mixo-Lydian
related scales.

A melody in an Authentic Scale had to end on its Keynote, but a melody in a Plagal Scale ended on the Keynote of its _related_ Authentic Scale. Observe that the Dorian and Hypo-Mixo-Lydian Scales are identical; but while the former had to end on the Keynote, D, the latter ended on G, which is the fourth of its scale, and Keynote of its _related_ Authentic Scale.

Traces of these Authentic and Plagal Scales may be found in many old folk-songs. Thus, the melody of the “Last Rose of Summer” begins on the Keynote, rises in the course of the melody to the octave, but ends by falling to the Keynote; it is therefore Authentic. On the other hand, the melody of “Robin Adair” begins on the fourth _below_ the Keynote, rises to its octave, but ends on the fourth _above_ its initial note and is Plagal; thus:

[Music:
Range Range

Initial Final Initial Final

LAST ROSE OF SUMMER. ROBIN ADAIR.]

The term _Hyper_ (above) was sometimes applied to the Authentic Scales. In the Greek System the _Hyper_ Scales were the same distance _above_ the standard scales that the _Hypo_ Scales were _below_. Although twelve modes were theoretically admitted in church music, it was for the most part confined to the eight modes given above.

=The Dominant=.—In addition to the keynote there was another note in every scale of almost equal importance, called the _Dominant_. This name has been retained in the modern system, but with a total _change_ of meaning. In the Church Scales it meant the _Reciting Note_, that is, the note on which the principal part of the words was chanted. In all the _Authentic_ Scales but the Phrygian, the _fifth_ of the scale is the _Dominant_; in the _Phrygian_ the _sixth_ is the _Dominant_, because the B was a changeable note, that is, might be natural or flat. The _Dominants_ of the _Plagal_ Scales are a _third below_ the Dominants of the related Authentic Scales, except in the Hypo-Mixo-Lydian, in which the Dominant is a second below that of its related Authentic Scale. Therefore the _Dominant_ is the _sixth_ of all the _Hypo_ Scales, but the _Hypo-Phrygian_ and _Hypo-Mixo-Lydian_, in which it is the _seventh_.

=Hucbald’s Scale=.—Two attempts were made in the 10th century to construct new scales, first by =Hucbald=, who founded his series of sounds on a tetrachord, in which the halftone was between the second and third, thus: A B C D. His object seems to have been to obtain a series in which a succession of perfect fourths and fifths might be secured, for which purpose he made use of the following series of sounds:

[Music]

In the first tetrachord B was flat, in the third natural; in the fourth, F was sharp. As to the use made of this scale, little or nothing is known.

=Guido’s Scale=.—The other attempt, usually attributed to _Guido_, a contemporary of Hucbald, resulted in the _Hexachord_ Scale (six-note scale). This scale was formed by adding a whole tone above and below the Hucbald tetrachord, thus: G, A, B, C, D, E. To complete the series of Hexachord Scales, another sound was added, namely: the G below the A on which the Greek scales and their derivatives, the Church scales, began. The first seven letters of the Roman alphabet were used to name the sounds already in use, hence to indicate this sound the Greek letter, Gamma, was adopted. At the same time the syllables _ut_—_re_—_mi_—_fa_—_sol_—_la_ were used to name the sounds of every hexachord (precisely as the movable Do is used now); hence this lowest sound was called _Gamma-ut_, corrupted into Gamut. The sounds in the series were indicated by placing after the letter the syllables that indicated its position in all the hexachords in which it was found, thus:

G A B—C D E
C D E—F G A

1. _Gamma—ut_. 2. _A—re_. 3. _B—mi_. 4. _C—Fa—ut_, because C is _fa_ in the first, and _ut_ in the second hexachord. Consequently, to a mediæval musician, _C—fa—ut_ meant what we would call C, second space bass clef.

The following table gives all the Hexachord Scales with the names of the sounds. It is of interest because this system of nomenclature persisted long after the one which gave rise to it was obsolete.

{ E la
{ D la sol
Super { C sol fa
Acute { B♮ mi
{ B♭ fa
{ A la mi re

{ G sol re ut
{ F fa ut
{ E la mi
Acute { D la sol re
Octave { C sol fa ut
{ B♮ mi
{ B♭ fa
{ A la mi re

{ G sol re ut
{ F fa ut
{ E la mi
Grave { D sol re
Octave { C fa ut
{ B mi
{ A re
{ Γ ut

The Hexachords in which the B was flat were called Soft (_Mollis_); those in which B was natural, Hard (_Dura_); the term _mollis_ has been retained in the French word _Bemol_, a flat, and in the German name for a minor key, _Moll_. The word _dura_ (hard) is also retained in the German as a name for the major key _Dur_. When the letters were used as a means of notation, the sound B-flat was indicated by the old form of the letter b, which has been retained as the sign for a flat. This was called B _rotundum_ (round B); when B natural was wanted, a stroke was put on the right side of the ♭, called B _quadratum_ (squared B), the sign to this day for a natural.

REFERENCE.

Oxford History of Music, Vol. I.

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS.

What city became the centre of life after Athens and Greece fell?

What new influence was shaping in the Roman Empire?

When did music receive official attention and reform?

What names are associated with the early history of Church Music?

On which Greek system were the Church Scales founded?

What difference exists between the Greek and the Church Scales as to the positions of the halftones?

What is meant by Authentic and Plagal?

What were the rules in regard to a melody in the Authentic forms? What Plagal? Give an example of each.

What is meant by Dominant? Was the position of the Dominant the same in each scale? Name some variations.

What attempts were made to construct new scales?

What is meant by “Gamut”?

What is meant by C—fa—ut?

What names were given to the different forms of the Hexachord? What are the modern meanings of the terms?

What is the origin of the flat and natural signs?

Note the points of similarity and difference in the three scale forms on page 65 in this lesson. As an exercise take well-known airs to see if they are Authentic or Plagal. In the “Taming of the Shrew,” by Shakespeare, is a passage in which reference is made to the names of the notes as found in this lesson. Read this passage in class.

LESSON VI.

NOTATION.

=System of Notation by Letters=.—The earliest system of Notation, attributed to =Boethius=, the Roman philosopher, seems to have been the placing of letters over the syllables, thus:

C C D B C D
My country ’tis of thee.

[Music: Boethius’ Notation]

During the period of history dominated by Pope Gregory the Great, a change was made in this system by which capital letters, small letters and double letters were used, an improvement, since only the first seven letters of the alphabet were employed, thus:

[Music]

This system seems to have been used chiefly for theoretic demonstration. These two methods indicated the _pitch_ sufficiently, but _not_ the _duration_ of the sounds.

=Neumes=.—The next attempt was somewhat of a retrogression instead of an improvement. Signs called _Neumes_ were placed over the words. These signs consisted of points, lines, accents, hooks, curves, angles and a number of other characters placed more or less exactly over the syllables to which they were intended to be sung, in such manner as to show, relatively, by the distance above the text, how much the voice was to rise or fall. They did _not_ indicate _absolute pitch_ or _duration_. The number of characters in use, according to manuscripts still preserved, varied from seven to forty. In later forms they appear in the notation used for the old Plain Song melodies (Gregorian) which were recalled into general use by Pope Pius X, in 1904.

[Music:

Neumes.

Lettres.

fh f gd fff efgfd d g g hg hi h kk hg ef

Notation du treizième siècle.

Notation moderne.

Neumes.

Lettres.

gfg ef hi g g fd f de de c d gh efg f d c dd.

Notation du treizième siècle.

Notation moderne.]

=Parallel Lines=.—Another plan was to use a variable number of _lines_, writing the syllables in the spaces, thus:

This clumsy contrivance indicated _relative_ pitch well enough, but _not_ the _key_—or the duration. The next step was to use lines—which varied in number—upon or between which the Neumes, which gradually changed to square notes, were written. The pitch was indicated by using a _red_ line for F, and a _yellow_ or _green_ line for C. A further improvement was, to put the letters F or C and later G on one of the lines at the beginning; the modern clefs are simply modifications of these letters.

=Characters to Indicate Duration=.—The honor of suggesting characters to indicate _duration_ is usually attributed to =Franco of Cologne=, an ecclesiastic who lived in the latter part of the 12th century; but as in the case of Gregory and Guido, we must believe that his name simply stands as representative of a period. A system is rarely the work of one man, rather a development from the labor of many. Franco’s treatise on the subject marked an epoch. Up to the end of the 13th century the notes in use were the Longa, Brevis, and Semibrevis, as well as the Duplex Longa, or Maxima. The smaller values, the Minima, and the Semiminima first occur about 1300. About the middle of the 15th century white notes were introduced in place of certain of the black, the latter color being reserved only for the smaller note values. The signs underwent some change at this time. Maxima, Longa, Brevis, Semibrevis (our whole note), Minima (half note), Semiminima (quarter), Fusa (eighth), Semifusa (sixteenth).

=The Beginnings of Harmony=.—Our information as to the beginning of Harmony is very vague and uncertain. As early as the Saxon times in England some rude kind of part singing, without written rules apparently, seems to have existed. The first intimations we have of any scientific attempts are _Faburden_ or _Falsoborden_ and Diaphony or Organum. Faburden consisted of singing a melody while another voice sang a _drone_ accompaniment below it; thus:

[Music]

Diaphony or Organum consisted of a succession of _fourths_ or _fifths_ and _octaves_, thus:

[Music: Two Parts Three Parts]

It has been denied by some authorities that such a barbarous manner of singing ever existed; but two considerations have been lost sight of, in making this denial: First, the fourth, fifth and octave were esteemed the _only consonances_. Secondly, the undisputed fact that as late as the time of Chaucer, if not later, what was called “discanting quatible” or “quinable” existed; this discanting was done as follows: The performer while singing a melody accompanied himself on the lute, playing the _same melody a fourth or fifth above_. It can hardly be doubted that a style of performance that was esteemed in the 15th, was perfectly satisfactory to the ears of the 10th century.

=Discant=.—Another early attempt at harmonic effect was the singing of an _extemporaneous_ part or parts with the melody, called Discanting. In course of time the Discant or Organum gradually crystallized into rules, and other intervals were accepted. Strangely enough, dissonances seem to have been admitted with great freedom, and thirds and especially sixths, were avoided. The only dissonance that was _not_ allowed was the _minor second_.

=The New Organum=.—In the 11th century, a method of combining sounds, called the New Organum, was developed. This kind of Organum admitted thirds and sixths. The following example will sufficiently illustrate this:

[Music]

=Measured Music=.—The next step in advance, and one that proved very important and far-reaching in its results on the development of music, was the invention of a notation that indicated, although not very conveniently, the _relative duration_ of sounds. Thus it became possible to express two or more parts in a permanent form. The plan of this first attempt at a notation by means of which relative duration of notes might be expressed was very complicated. Music written with these signs was called Measured Music (_Cantus Mensurabilis_).

=The Record of Early Harmony=.—There are references to the manner of using voices in combination in the writings of several men associated with the Christian Church in its early days. =Censorinus=, who lived in the 3d century, makes mention of a practice of using a melody in octaves accompanied by the fifth to the lower note of the octave, which is also the fourth to the upper. =Cassiodorus=, in the 6th century, mentions various ways of accompanying the chant with consecutive fourths and fifths. In a work called “Sentences About Music,” written by =Bishop Isidore of Seville=, who lived in the 7th century, we read that “harmony is a modulation of the voice, the concordance of many sounds and their agreement.” In the 9th century we meet with the names of several writers: =Remi d’Auxerre= who defines harmony as “a consonance of voices, and their union in one group”; =Jean Scot Erigene= who recognized that the succession of chords composed of octaves, fifths and fourths is a rational one; =Odo= or =Otger=, a churchman of the south of France, whose work was the first to mark an epoch in the development of the art of music. Also another monk, the Fleming =Hucbald=, who lived in the 10th century. They defined consonance and dissonance, and appear to have been the first to give rules for the construction of Diaphony. Hucbald says in his “_Musica Enchiriadis_”: “Certain dissimilar sounds sung together make an agreeable effect, and this mingling of voices is sweet to the ear.”

Their immediate successor, =Guido=, has been credited, unjustly, with being the inventor of nearly every improvement in the art up to his time. The old organum closed with his. The earliest writer who treats of the new organum is =John Cotton=, in the 11th century. He was the first to promulgate the rule that contrary motion is always to be preferred to similar or oblique. He says: “At least two singers are required in diaphony formed from different sounds. While one voice sings a melody, the other surrounds it with different tones, and at the end of the phrases the two voices unite at the unison or octave.” The fullest development of the new organum was attained in the works of =Guy de Chalis=, about the close of the 12th century. He gives examples in which we find intervals of the eleventh and twelfth, a demonstration of the existence of a system differing from the Gregorian, which does not exceed the octave. In the same epoch, =Denis Lewts=, of Liége, a Carthusian monk, gives rules to fix the use of accidental signs, a flat to lower B, a sharp to raise F. He speaks of these as if they had been in use for a long time, and indicated that the idea was to avoid the occurrence of the diminished fifth or the _augmented fourth_, known in harmony as the _tritone_. This process is called _Musica Ficta_, and formed a part of the instruction of singers. The examples cited by Lewts conform to this theory, and show that although in the songs, motets and other compositions of the period the sharps and flats are not found, it is because musicians knew the principles and made the application for themselves. Instruction in those days was chiefly oral, a method which placed a premium on a retentive memory. By the time that the 13th century was reached, musical forms and melodies were widely spread, and as we look back to the 9th century it is possible to note the gradual development. Harmony always existed, in a limited sense; but it did not take on a scientific development until the Middle Ages. It is to the musicians of this latter period, from the 13th to the 15th centuries, that we must give the honor of having taken the germ of a science of harmony and of having brought it forward to mature development.

REFERENCE.

Williams.—The Story of Notation.

QUESTIONS.

Explain the earliest system of notation used for the Church scales. What was the next improvement?

State the defects.

What was the system of Notation by Neumes? Did they indicate absolute or relative pitch?

Give the successive steps making use of lines.

What was the origin of our Clef signs?

Who is credited with introducing signs to indicate Duration?

Name the signs adopted. Compare them to the notes now in use.

Explain Faburden; Diaphony; Organum; Discant; Measured Music.

Who were the early writers on the subject of music?

LESSON VII.

MUSIC OUTSIDE THE CHURCH.

Up to this, our study of music in the Christian Era has traced the development of the art as fostered by the Christian Church, and mainly among the people of Southern Europe, in whom there was a strong admixture of the Latin blood and spirit. Before going farther on this line we will look into the record of music among the races of Northern Europe.

=Music of the Gauls=.—Roman writers give us some account of the character of the music of the Gauls, which differed much from the Greco-Latin songs. Roman historians make mention of the songs of the Gallic bards, who were poets and musicians as well, composing both religious hymns and songs in honor of their heroes. According to Diodorus of Sicily, the Gauls practiced the musical art long before the Christian Era, having regular schools for the instruction of the younger bards. The instrument used in accompanying their songs was a sort of lyre, judging from representations on some gold medals made in the time of Julius Cæsar. Charlemagne ordered a collection of the early Gallic songs to be made, but the work has not survived.

=The Celtic Bards=.—The Breton bards made use of an instrument the name of which is variously spelled Crouth, Crowd, Chrotta, Crwth, played with a bow, with an opening in the upper part through which the performer placed the left hand in order to press the strings, the number of which varied from three to six. The crouth of the Welsh bards differed in some respects from those that were made use of by the Breton bards. With them, however, a form of the harp became the national instrument. The early history of Celtic music in Wales in particular, is mingled with myth. We have only the names of bards, Fingal, Fergus and Ossian, no authentic music. What is of importance to us is the secular organization of the bards. One class included poets, historians and those skilled in the science of heraldry; another class comprehended musical bards, harp players bearing the title of doctors of music, players of the six stringed crouth and singers, who must have been skilled men, since nine years’ study was exacted of them.

=Ireland=.—The traditionary bard of Ireland is Fergus, whose songs were of war and heroes. When St. Patrick introduced Christianity into Ireland in the 5th century, learning and skill in the arts of poetry and music grew to be cultivated as extensively as in more favored lands. In the 10th century, the famous musician was the King O’Brien Boru, whose harp is still shown in the Dublin Museum. This has twenty-eight strings, and the sounding board, in which there are four holes, is very large at the base. After Ireland was conquered by the English its culture declined, owing to continuous wars and internal strife.

=Scotland=.—The music of the Scotch, like the other Celtic races just mentioned, is characteristic. Their harp was similar in form to the Irish; their favorite instrument was the bagpipe. King James I is credited with having done much to stimulate an interest in music among his subjects. Having been a captive in England for a period of eighteen years, he had acquired great skill in music, which was the solace of his weary hours. According to a contemporary historian, the king played a great many of the instruments in use in his day: the bagpipe, psaltery, organ, harp, lute, flute and dulcimer. The music of Scotland makes great use of the pentatonic scales, and it is likely that the original form of many of the old Scottish folk-melodies was pentatonic. A characteristic feature of Scottish music is the so-called “Scotch snap,” illustrated in the short notes in the familiar air “Comin’ Thro’ the Rye,” and in the following dance tune:

[Music: STRATHSPEY]

An instrument of so marked characteristics as those displayed by the bagpipe will naturally develop a characteristic style of music. The pipers gave extraordinary study to the mastery of their instrument and noted players acquired wonderful skill.[8]

=England=.—Until the time of the conquest of England by William of Normandy (1066), music among the Anglo-Saxons was practiced by the scalds or bards, minstrels (also called gleemen), and the monks in the monasteries. Poetry and music were much encouraged by some of the kings and Alfred the Great (849-901) was widely famed for his skill in playing the harp and as a singer. In the manuscripts belonging to these early days in England we read of such instruments as the psaltery, the rota, little harps of eleven strings, viols, called fiddles, citharas, cornets, trumpets, etc.