Shakespeare and Music Part 1

Shakespeare and Music.

by Edward W. Naylor.

PREFACE

This book contains little that is not tolerably well known both to Shakespeare scholars and musicians who have any acquaintance with the history of music. It is hoped that it may be of some use to a large cla.s.s of students of Shakespeare who have no opportunity to gather up the general information which will be found here. The author also ventures to believe that some brother musicians will be gratified to see at one view what a liberal treatment the great Poet has given to our n.o.ble art. It will be observed that settings of Shakespearian Songs of a later date than the generation immediately succeeding Shakespeare's death are not noticed. The large number of settings of the 18th century, by such men as Arne, though interesting musically, have nothing whatever to do with the student of Shakespeare and the circ.u.mstances of his time. It can only be regretted that so much of the original music seems to have perished.

The author is greatly indebted to Mr Aldis Wright, who has kindly looked through the work in MS., and contributed one or two interesting notes, which are acknowledged in the proper place.

LONDON, _March 1896_.

DESCRIPTION OF FRONTISPIECE

[Ill.u.s.tration]

[I am indebted for the arrangement of this picture to the kindness of the authorities at South Kensington Museum, where all these instruments may be found, except the Pipe and Cornet, which belong to my friend, Mr W.F.H. Blandford.]

_In the middle, on table._

QUEEN ELIZABETH'S 'VIRGINAL.' Date, latter half of 16th century.

Outside of case (not visible in picture) covered with red velvet.

Inside finely decorated. Has three locks. Is more properly a Spinet, the case not being square, but of the usual Spinet shape--viz., one long side (front view), and four shorter ones forming a rough semi-circle at back.

_Top row, counting from the right._

1. TABOR-PIPE. Modern, but similar to the Elizabethan instrument.

French name, 'galoubet.' Merely a whistle, cylindrical bore, and 3 holes, two in front, one (for thumb) behind. The scale is produced on the basis of the 1st harmonic--thus 3 holes are sufficient. It was played with left hand only, the tabor being hung to the left wrist, and beaten with a stick in the right hand. Length _over all_ of pipe in picture, 1 ft. 2-1/2 in.; speaking length, 1 ft. 1-1/8 in.; lowest note in use, B flat above treble staff. Mersennus (1648), however, says the tabor-pipe was in G, which makes it larger than the one in the picture. A contemporary woodcut (in Calmour's 'Fact and Fiction about Shakespeare') of William Kemp, one of Shakespeare's fellow-actors, dancing the Morris, to tabor and pipe, makes the pipe as long as from mouth to waist--viz., about 18 inches, which agrees with Mersennus. A similar woodcut in 'Orchesographie' makes the pipe even longer. Both represent pipe as conical, like oboe. The length of the tabor, in these two woodcuts, seems to be about 1 ft. 9 in., and the breadth, across the head, 9 or 10 in. No snare in the English woodcut, but the French one has a snare.

2. CORNET (treble), date 16th or 17th century. Tube slightly curved, external shape octagonal, bore conical. Cupped mouthpiece of horn, 6 holes, and one behind for thumb. Lowest note, A under treble staff.

3. RECORDER. Large beak-flute of dark wood. Three joints, not including beak. The beak has a hole at the back, covered with a thin skin, which vibrates and gives a slight reediness to the tone. The usual 6 finger holes in front, a thumb hole behind, and a right-or-left little-finger hole in lowest joint.

4. SMALL FRENCH TREBLE VIOL, 17th century. _Back view_, same shape as of all other viols of whatever size. 6 strings, 4 frets.

5. TREBLE VIOL, as used in England and Italy; label inside--Andreas (?) Amati, Cremona, 1637. _Side view_, shews carved head and flat back. 6 strings, 4 frets, ivory nut.

6. TENOR VIOL. English, late 17th century. _Front view_, shewing sloping shoulders. 6 strings, 7 frets, plain head.

7. VIOL DA GAMBA BOW. Ancient shape. No screw. This shape in use later than 1756.

8. VIOLONCELLO BOW. Modern shape, with screw.

_Bottom row, counting from left._

1. Ba.s.s VIOL, or VIOL DA GAMBA, or DIVISION VIOL. Italian, 1600.

Carved head, inlaid fingerboard, carved and inlaid tailpiece. 6 strings, 7 frets.

2. LUTE. Italian, 1580. Three plain holes in belly, obliquely.

Ornamental back. Flat head. Pegs turned with key from behind. 12 strings--viz., 1 single (treble), 4 doubles, 1 single, and 2 singles off the fingerboard (ba.s.ses). 10 frets.

3. ARCH LUTE. Italian, 17th century. 18 strings, 8 on lower neck, 10 on higher, off the fingerboard. The latter are 'ba.s.ses,' and probably half of them duplicates. 7 frets on neck, 5 more on belly.

INTRODUCTORY

A princ.i.p.al character of the works of a very great author is, that in them each man can find that for which he seeks, and in a form which includes his own view.

With Shakespeare, as one of the greatest of the great, this is pre-eminently the case. One reader looks for simply dramatic interest, another for natural philosophy, and a third for morals, and each is more than satisfied with the treatment of his own special subject.

It is scarcely a matter of surprise, therefore, that the musical student should look in Shakespeare for music, and find it treated of from several points of view, completely and accurately.

This is the more satisfactory, as no subject in literature has been treated with greater scorn for accuracy, or general lack of real interest, than this of music.

This statement will admit of comparatively few exceptions, one of which must here be mentioned.

The author of "John Inglesant," Mr Shorthouse, whether he "crammed"

his music or not, has in that book given a lively and quite accurate picture of the art as practised about Charles I.'s time.

There is no need here to name the many well-known writers who have spoken of music with a lofty disregard for facts and parade of ignorance which, displayed in any other matter, would have brought on them the just contempt of any reviewer.

The student of music in Shakespeare is bound to view the subject in two different ways, the first purely historical, the second (so to speak) psychological.

As for the first, the most superficial comparison of the plays alone, with the records of the practice and social position of the musical art in Elizabethan times, shews that Shakespeare is in every way a trustworthy guide in these matters; while, as for the second view, there are many most interesting pa.s.sages which treat of music from the emotional standpoint, and which clearly shew his thorough personal appreciation of its higher and more spiritual qualities.

Hamlet tells us, and we believe, often without clearly understanding, that players are _the abstracts and brief chronicles of the time_, and that the end of playing, both at the first and now, was, and is, to hold the mirror up to nature, and _to shew the very age and body of the time, his form and pressure_.

The study of this one feature of the "age and body" of Shakespeare's time, with the view of clearly grasping the extreme accuracy of the "abstract and brief chronicle" to be found in his works, will surely go some way to give definiteness and force to our ideas of Shakespeare's magnificent grip of all other phases of thought and of action.

The argument recommends itself--"If he is trustworthy in this subject, he is trustworthy in all."

To a professional reader at all events, it argues very much indeed in a writer's favour, that the "layman" has managed to write the simplest sentence about a specialty, without some more or less serious blunder.

Finally, no Shakespeare student will deny that some general help is necessary, when Schmidt's admirable Lexicon commits itself to such a misleading statement as that a virginal is a kind of small pianoforte, and when a very distinguished Shakespeare scholar has allowed a definition of a viol as a six-stringed guitar to appear in print under his name.

Out of thirty-seven plays of Shakespeare, there are no less than thirty-two which contain interesting references to music and musical matters _in the text itself_. There are also over three hundred stage directions which are musical in their nature, and these occur in thirty-six out of thirty-seven plays.