Musical Myths and Facts Volume II Part 15

[Music:

Uns ist ein Kind-lein heut ge-born, Gott mit uns! Von ein'r Jung-frau aus-er-korn. Gott mit uns! Gott mit uns! Wer will seyn wi-der uns!

The Christmas Chorale sung in the refreshing mountain air wonderfully invigorated their desponding spirits. They arose and solemnly vowed henceforth to unite in Christian fellowship, with reliance upon the wisdom of the divine ordinances. The next day they buried their dead; and when their vow became known in the neighbourhood, many good people were drawn to Goldberg. The town soon revived, and prospered more than ever.

The inhabitants have not forgotten the visitation which befel their forefathers, but remember it in humiliation; and this is a lasting blessing.[83]

FICTIONS AND FACTS.

Knowledge is, of course, to superst.i.tion as light is to darkness; still, some nations endowed with a lively imagination, although they are much advanced in mental development, cling to the superst.i.tions of their forefathers, since the superst.i.tions accord with their poetical conceptions, or are endeared to them by a.s.sociations which pleasantly engage the imaginative faculties.

Besides, in countries where the inhabitants frequently witness grand and awful natural phenomena, their poetical conceptions are likely to be more or less nourished by these impressive occurrences, however well acquainted they may be with their natural causes.

It is therefore not surprising that many superst.i.tious notions, such as have been recorded in the preceding stories, should be found in civilized nations.

Moreover, in some countries, a more careful research into the old traditions harbouring among the uneducated cla.s.ses of the people has been made, than in other countries. It would, therefore, be hasty, from the sources at present accessible, to judge of the degree of mental development attained by individual nations. The Germans are not less rational than the English; nevertheless, a far greater number of Fairy Tales have been collected in Germany than in England.

An enquiry into the musical traditions of the different European races is likely to increase in interest the more we turn to the mythological conceptions originally derived from Central Asia, and dispersed throughout Europe at a period on which history is silent, but upon which some light has been thrown by recent philological and ethnological researches.

A word remains to be said on the musical myths of modern date. We read in the biographies of our celebrated musicians facts which would almost certainly be regarded as fictions, were they not well authenticated. On the other hand, it would not be difficult to point out modern myths referring to the art of music. Tempting as it might be to cite the most remarkable examples of this kind, and anecdotes relating to musicians in which fiction is strangely mingled with fact, it is unnecessary to notice them here; for, are they not written in our works on the history of the art and science of music?

[Ill.u.s.tration]

[67] 'Griechische und Albanische Marchen, gesammelt von J. G. v. Hahn.'

Leipzig, 1864; Vol. I., p. 273.

[68] See above, Vol. I., p. 84.

[69]'Old Deccan Days; or Hindu Fairy Legends, current in Southern India.' Collected from oral tradition by M. Frere. London, 1868; p. 25.

[70] 'Popular Tales from the Norse, translated by G. W. Dasent.'

Edinburgh, 1859; p. 27.

[71] 'Sagen, Marchen und Lieder der Herzogthumer Schleswig, Holstein und Lauenburg,' von Karl Mullenhoff; Kiel, 1845; p. 336.

[72] 'Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg, herausgegeben von Strackerjan;' Oldenburg, 1867; Vol. I., p. 190.

[73] 'Aberglaube and Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg, herausgegeben von Strackerjan;' Oldenburg, 1867; Vol. I., p. 375.

[74] 'Griechische und Albanische Marchen, gesammelt von J. G. v. Hahn;'

Leipzig, 1864; Vol. I., p. 222, and Vol. II., p. 240.

[75] 'Wallachische Marchen, herausgegeben von A. Schott;' Stuttgart, 1845, p. 228.

[76] Aix-la-Chapelle.

[77] 'Deutsche Marchen and Sagen, gesammelt von J. W. Wolf.' Leipzig, 1845; p. 472.

[78] 'Niederlandische Sagen, herausgegeben von J. W. Wolf;' Leipzig, 1843; p. 466.

[79] 'Niederlandische Sagen, herausgegeben von J. W. Wolf;' Leipzig, 1843; p. 648.

[80] _Taters_ is evidently synonymous with _Tartars_.

[81] 'Old Deccan Days; or Hindu Fairy Legends, current in Southern India.' Collected from oral tradition, by M. Frere. London, 1868; pp.

139, 273.

[82] 'Niederlandische Sagen, herausgegeben von J. W. Wolf;' Leipzig, 1843. p 230.

[83] 'Deutsche Volksfeste, von F. A. Reimann;' Weimar, 1839; p. 218.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES.

The first music of a dramatic kind originated probably in the pa.s.sion of love. Savages, unacquainted with any other dramatic performances, not unfrequently have dances representing courtship, and songs to which these dances are executed. However rude the exhibitions may be, and however inartistic the songs may appear,--which, in fact, generally consist merely of short phrases constantly repeated, and perhaps interspersed with some brutish utterances,--they may nevertheless be regarded as representing the germ from which the opera has gradually been developed. Dancing is not necessarily a.s.sociated with dramatic music; the dances of nations in a low degree of civilization are, however, often representations of desires or events rather than unmeaning jumps and evolutions.

Even in the popular dances of nations in an advanced state of civilization love is generally the most attractive subject for exhibition by action and music. The Italian national dances,--the _Saltarello_, the _Monferrino_, and several others,--have an unmistakable meaning; or, as Mac Farlane says, "there is a story in them which at times is told in a very broad, significant, and unsophistical way. The story is a sort of primitive courtship, varied by the coyness or coquetry of the female dancer, and animated by the pa.s.sion and impatience of the wooer."[84] The same may be said of the Spanish Bolero and Fandango.

The excitement of the chase appears to be another cause of the origin of dramatic music. The savage, in pursuing the animals which he requires for his subsistence, experiences successes and disappointments which are to him highly interesting, and the recollection of which he enjoys. He naturally feels proud of results which he could not have achieved without agility and shrewdness, and he delights in showing to his friends how he proceeded in accomplishing his feat. Besides, savages have a strong instinct for imitation, almost like monkeys. Hence their fancy for counterfeiting the habits of certain animals which they chase and with the peculiarities of which they are generally well acquainted.

The aborigines of Australia have a dance in which they imitate the movements of the Kangaroo. The women sing, and produce a rhythmical accompaniment by beating two pieces of wood together; while the men, who represent the Kangaroos, produce sounds peculiar to these animals. The North American Indians have an Eagle Dance, a Bear Dance, and even a Dog Dance. The natives of Kamtschatka have a dance in which they cleverly imitate, not only the att.i.tudes and tricks of the Bear, but also its voice. The peasants in Finland, in the beginning of the present century, still occasionally performed a similar dance, or rather action. The Aleutian Islanders, who have various pantomimic dances executed with masks frightfully ugly, have also a favourite representation in which a sportsman shoots a beautiful bird, and afterwards cries for grief at having killed it; when, suddenly, the beautiful bird revives, changed into a beautiful woman. The sportsman, of course, falls over head and ears in love with her, and thus all ends well.[85] This story is enacted with recitations accompanied by some musical instruments.

Next to love and the chase, it is probably war which elicited the first attempts at dramatic music. To recall to the memory by a lively description with gesticulations, the valiant deeds, clever stratagems, and glorious achievements of the warriors after the battle, must have been always a fascinating entertainment to the victorious combatants.

The Dyaks in Borneo, who preserve the heads of their slain enemies suspended near their hearths as ornamental trophies, perform a war-dance in which some of the combatants, gaily decorated, cleverly act a scene by seizing swords and handling them in various expressive ways. The Scalp-Dance of the North American Indians, performed in celebration of a victory, may be described as a kind of histrionic entertainment, which generally takes place at night by torchlight. The singular procedure of the Maori warriors in New Zealand in a certain dance, of projecting all of them their tongues simultaneously at fixed intervals, appears to be a pantomimic expression of defiance or contempt for the enemy.

The Corroborie Dance of the natives of Australia had perhaps also originally reference to warlike exploits, although this does not appear at once evident to European witnesses. Twenty or more men paint their naked dark bodies to represent skeletons, which they accomplish by drawing white lines across the body with pipe-clay, to correspond with the ribs, and broader ones on the arms, legs, and the head. Thus prepared they perform the Corroborie at night before a fire. The spectators, placed at some distance from them, see only the white skeletons, which vanish and re-appear whenever the dancers turn round.

The wild and ghastly action of the skeletons is accompanied by vocal effusions and some rhythmical noise which a number of hidden bystanders produce by beating their shields in regular time.

Traces of dramatic music in its most primitive condition may also be discovered in representations of occurrences and scenes like the following:

Wilhelm Steller, in his 'Description of Kamtschatka' (published in the German language in the year 1774), says that the inhabitants of that country possess an astounding talent for imitating the manners and conduct of strangers whom they happen to see. During their long evenings one of their chief amus.e.m.e.nts consists in acting extempore comedies, in which the habits of any foreigners with whom they have become acquainted, are cleverly mimicked and ridiculed.

The missionary W. Ellis remarks of the Polynesian Islanders that "they had songs which, when recited on public occasions, were accompanied with gestures and actions corresponding to the events and scenes described, and which a.s.sumed in this respect a histrionic character. In some cases, and on public occasions, the action represented a kind of pantomime."[86] Other travellers have given more detailed accounts of these performances. During Captain Cook's first voyage round the world, Banks and Solander, who accompanied him, witnessed in one of the Society Islands, in the year 1769, a comedy with music and dancing, performed by the natives, the subject of which was the adroitness of a thief, and his subsequent capture. At Cook's second circ.u.mnavigation, during the years 1772-75, he was treated by the Society Islanders with a somewhat similar comic opera called _Teto_ (_i.e._ "The Thief"). G. Forster, who was with Cook, remarks that the dialogue, which of course he was unable to understand, seemed to be closely connected with their actions. One of them kneeled down, and another beat him and plucked him by the beard.

Then two others were treated by the torturer in the same unceremonious manner; until one of them seized a stick and gave him a sound thrashing in return. This formed the conclusion of the first act, and the players withdrew. The commencement of the second act was announced by the musicians beating their drums. There were actresses as well as actors engaged in the performance.[87] A more detailed account of the dramatic attempts of the Polynesian Islanders is given by W. Mariner, who, during his sojourn with the natives, had the best opportunity of becoming acquainted with their customs and amus.e.m.e.nts. His observations, which refer especially to the Tonga Islanders, show that the actors recite sentences which are answered by a chorus of singers. There is a great variety in their movements and groupings. Occasionally they sing slowly, and afterwards quickly for about a quarter of an hour. Sometimes they form a semi-circle, a.s.sume a bending position, and sing in a subdued tone of voice a soft air; which is soon again followed by a loud and vehement recitation.[88]

Grotesque dresses and adornments are, of course, an essential attribute in these entertainments. Neither are buffoons wanting. According to B.

Seeman, the entertainment called _Kalau Rere_, which he witnessed in the Fiji Islands, "with its high poles, streamers, evergreens, masquerading, trumpet-sh.e.l.ls, chants and other wild music, is the nearest approach to dramatic representation the Fijians seem to have made, and it is with them what private theatricals are with us. They are also on other occasions very fond of dressing themselves in fantastic, often very ridiculous costume; and in nearly every large a.s.sembly there are buffoons. Court fools, in many instances hunchbacks, are attached to the chief's establishment."[89]

Also the Negroes in Senegambia and Upper Guinea have buffoons, who delight the people with their antics and acting in processions and public festivities. Buffoons are popular even in Mohammedan countries, where dramatic performances are generally considered objectionable.

Morier states that in Persia the princes, governors of provinces, etc., as well as the King, have a band of _Looties_, or buffoons, in their pay, who are looked upon as a necessary part of Persian state. They attend at merry-makings and public festivals, and some of them are endowed with great natural wit. This was, for instance, the case with a certain buffoon named Looti Bashee. "His dress, when he came to the amba.s.sador, was composed of a felt hat, the crown of which was made like ours, but with two long ears projecting before, and two behind. Others of his troop were dressed in the same way; all looked grotesque, and I conjectured that nothing could give one a better idea of Satyrs and Baccha.n.a.lians, particularly as they were attended by a suite of monkeys headed by a large ape, which were educated to perform all sorts of tricks. They carried copper drums slung under the arm, which they beat with their fingers, making a noise like castanets; others played the tambourine; and when all this was put into motion, with their voices roaring in loud chorus, the scene was unique."[90]