Here's the text with a few OCR error: About the beginning of the seventeenth century madrigals which were almost the only compositions, in parts, for the Chamber, then cultivated, seem to have been suddenly supplanted in the favour of byers of Music by a passion for FANTASIAS of three, four, five or six parts, wholly composed for viols and other instruments, without vocal assistance. And this passion seems to have arisen, from the calling in these instruments to reinforce the voice-parts, with which they played in unison, in the performance of motetti and madrigals, thence termed concertati. At length, the instrumental performers discovered, that both the poetry and singing of the times might be spared without any great loss or injury to the musical effects; as the words, if good, were rendered unintelligible by fugue, imitation, and multiplicity of parts; and the singing, being often coarse and out of tune, could be better supplied by their own performance. Thus vocal Music not only bost its independence, but was almost totally driven out of society: as the ancient Britons, calling in the Saxons to assist them in their conflicts with the Picts, were themselves subdued and forced from their possessions, by too powerful auxiliaries. I am the better enabled to speak of the instrumental Music of this period, by being fortunately in possession of several considerable manuscript collections of fancies, particularly one in six parts, folio, which had been made for the L'Estrange family, in Norfolk, by the celebrated composer of Charles the first's reign, Mr. John Jenkins [1592-1678], and collated with other copies, and corrected flot only by himself, but by six or eight other eminent masters of the times. These pieces, which consist more of motets, madrigals and in nomines, originally designed for voices, than fantasie made expressly for instruments, were the productions of William Bird, Alfonso Ferrabosco, Sen. and Jun., William White, John Ward, Thomas Ravenscroft, William Cranforde, Thomas Lupo, Giovanni Coprario, and others. The Style would flow appear very dry and fanciless in spite of the general title of these pieces. Indeed it would be difficult to select one of them that would afford any other instrument to my readers, than that of discovering how ingenious and well disposed the byers of Music, during the former part of the last century, must have been, to extract pleasure from such productions. Infinite pains, however, seem to have been taken in collating and correcting these books; which only proves that however insipid and despicable we may think their contents, our forefathers were of a different opinion; and, that contemptible as they flow seem, they were the best which the first musicians of the age could produce. There is an infancy in every human production, that is perfectible. The instruments to which these fansies were adapted, were viols of different sizes, of which it was usual, duririg the last century, for most musical families to be in possession of a chest, coflsisting of two trebles, two tenors, and two basses, with six strings upon each, all tuned alike, by 4ths and 3rds, and the necks fretted The passages given to these several instruments, at this time, discover no kifid of knowiedge of the expressive power of the bow; and even Orl. Gibbons, who composed so webb for voices in the Church, seems very little superior to his contemporaries in his productions for instruments. The subjects of Orlando Gibbofis's madrigals are so simple and unmarked, that if they were flow to be executed by instruments alone, they would afford very little pleasure to the greatest friends of his productions, and those of the same period. At the time they were published, however, there was nothing better with which to compare them, and the best Music which good ears can obtain, is always delightful, tilb better is produced. Air, accent, grace, and expression, were flow equally unknown to the composer, performer, and hearer; and whatever notes of one instrument were in harmony with another, were weicome to the player, provided he found himself honoured from time to time with a share of the subject, or principal melody; which happening more frequently in canons, and fugues, than in any other species of composition, contributed to keep them so long in favour with performers of limited powers, however tiresome they may have been to the hearers, when constructed on dull and barren themes. Music is so much a work of art, study, exercise, and experience, that every style must be best treated, even by men of the greatest genius, in proportion to the attention and labour they bestow on that particular species of composition. Orlando Gibbons, who appears to such advantage as a Church composer, is utterly cofltemptible in his productions for instrumefits, of whose powers he was ignorant. Indeed all Instrumental Music, but that of the organ, seems to have been in a very rude state at this time throughout Europe; and, if we except the fugues of Frescobaldi, all the music, even for keyed instruments, is dry, difficult, unaccented, and insipid. Music So Long in Favour with Performers of Limited Powers >From A General Histoiy of Music Dr Charles Burney 1789 Music in England During the XVII Century Dr Charles Burney A General Histoiy of Music 1789, Vol 2 p 283-285 Dover Publications, New York 1957.
>-----Original Message----- >From: BIRCH Christopher (DGT) >Sent: Friday, May 29, 2009 11:21 AM >To: BIRCH Christopher (DGT); phi...@gruar.clara.net >Cc: nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu >Subject: RE: [NSP] Re: No kind of knowledge of the expressive >power .... > >It certainly did this time! >c > >>-----Original Message----- >>From: lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu >>[mailto:lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu] On Behalf Of >>christopher.bi...@ec.europa.eu >>Sent: Friday, May 29, 2009 11:06 AM >>To: phi...@gruar.clara.net >>Cc: nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu >>Subject: [NSP] Re: No kind of knowledge of the expressive power .... >> >>Maybe Dartmouth filtered the attachment. >>c >> >>>-----Original Message----- >>>From: Philip Gruar [mailto:phi...@gruar.clara.net] >>>Sent: Friday, May 29, 2009 10:59 AM >>>To: BIRCH Christopher (DGT) >>>Subject: Re: [NSP] No kind of knowledge of the expressive power .... >>> >>>Chris, Please don't tempt us with promises of Burney scans >>>which are not >>>there! You seem to have inadvertently made public a possibly >>>fascinating >>>private exchange between you and Francis. The least you can do >>>now is let at >>>least some of us in on it! >>>Philp >>> >>>----- Original Message ----- >>>From: <christopher.bi...@ec.europa.eu> >>>To: <francis.w...@gmail.com> >>>Cc: <nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu> >>>Sent: Friday, May 29, 2009 9:29 AM >>>Subject: [NSP] No kind of knowledge of the expressive power .... >>> >>> >>>Hello again Francis, >>> >>>Here's scan of the Burney I mentioned. >>> >>>I can see his arguments, mutatitis mutandis, as those of the >>>hardline NSP >>>traditionalists turned on their head. >>>I wonder if you perceive the parallels too? >>>I can bore you at great length on them should you wish ;-) >>> >>>Csírz >>> >>>Btw, thanks again for the links to the BBC progs. It would >>>seem that KT was >>>unusual in that she bothered to play in tune! >>> >>>-- >>> >>>To get on or off this list see list information at >>>http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >>> >>> >>> >>>--------------------------------------------------------------- >>>----------------- >>> >>> >>> >>>No virus found in this incoming message. >>>Checked by AVG - www.avg.com >>>Version: 8.5.339 / Virus Database: 270.12.44/2140 - Release >>>Date: 05/28/09 >>>18:09:00 >>> >>> >> >> >>
