DURING THE REFORM

f pieces for virginals-Life in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth-Its happiness-Authority of Professor Thorold Rogers-Great men living at the time-Pageantry and the Queen-Her love of dancing and music-Her sympathy with the joys of her people-Queen Elizabeth as a musician-Sir James Melvil and his

s fact, though, one must suppose that it did not exist prior to that period. On the contrary, music

must have passed before instrumental music came to

he ancient Church gave us centuries ago, and that the pangs of its

he ties of ecclesiastical gravity may be taken for granted, and as the art progressed in the Church they wou

grope in the dark. As to its progress, all that can be suggest

e the healthy outdoor life of the people, it may be assumed that the monks, who were responsibl

inging, and only in its latest stages of advancement was it strong enough to disp

o arts remained in combination, before the incentive genius of either proved

east variation from its original form. It must be admitted, however, that the difficulty of absolutely proving the

the reign of Edward III., and in its most p

May Day, and was danced round a ma

ed by children to-day, such as "Kiss in the ring," "Hunt the slipper,

marked the rhythm by

tly intended for dancing, is quite unsingable. Once then separated, the art naturally developed on bolder and more original lines. As the human voice was the first medium of expression in music, all lines necessaril

le of more varied expression, the progress of the art would naturally

as avid of pleasure. It i

bles, whose wealth enabled them to co

a manner surprising to those of us living in the twentieth c

ost primitive description, was a

ation will soon supply the cause. The long, weary months of winter, with its darkness and cold, had been endured; the bitter winds of March and April were over, and the long days and

and was, up to the time of Queen Elizabeth, a favourite feature of English music. As it

t is, as is so often the case, impossi

w it in England, as the following stanza proves.[7]

the muneche

ching r

ites, noer

thes mune

ted for the modern

ng the mo

Canute r

hts, nea

e these mo

s, unfortun

of some newly-arrived conquering soldier was a band of dancers who, wh

although far removed, as it must be from anything resembling even medi?val methods, th

r style. Some are sad, some are gay; none are sentimental. One that can be seen in the Sloane Collection in the British Museum, "Joly

ved to be of Eastern o

hree ravens s

altern

ree ra-vens s

owne-hay, do

black as th

downe-hay, d

them said

we our brea

downe-hay, d

Town," with the refrain, "I must desire you neighbours all, to hallo the fox out of the hall.

se that Shakespeare has made immortal, by putting them in

hich, there is every reason to believe

rds with Shake

celebrated actress with whose fame the part of Ophelia is for ever associated, was alive, and was able to sing to Dr. Arnold, a

I your tru

altern

ld I your tr

ny an-o-

c-kle hat a

is san-d

ang, dil

he not c

altern

e not come

he not co

e is

his de

er will com

entine's

altern

'tis St. Val

morn-ing

aid at yo

ur val-e

be described as the ancestor of the piano), which was published in 1611, it is sh

lish musicians then living, William Byrd, John Bull, an

realise the modern conception of dance music, but they are beautiful s

ous dances the one known as T

ust dance Trenchmore over ta

the company dances, lord and groom, l

whole, life was both happy and joyous. No less an authority than Professor Thorold Rogers, after profound research

as "a goodly regimen aga

ion of music printing and the slow progress of musical notation. "Parthenia" was, as the title

records of everything writt

of the England of old, is shown at its best, an

e depressing element of Puritanism, was to shake to its foundations this

ions greatly modified and improved. The genius of the people

and horrors of war gave them the opp

eigh, Tallis, Byrd, and Orlando Gibbons were living at the same ti

e happiest the people had ever experienced, and it may be truly sa

uent progresses through the country were occasions, not only of gratification to herself, but excitement to them, relieving as they did the monotony of toil and the sense of isolation incidental to country communities in those days

f rough and coarse

e few, and the amenities of life, such as we know, were practically absent. A favourite feature was a procession of musicians and dancers dre

nners were rough and the language guileless of restraint, the heart of the people was sound at the core, and the deep-seated sense of religion in the Anglo-Saxon race was as present then as at any time in its hi

satirises their foibles, it is true, but in the most delightful and even sympathetic manner, and certainly gives Sir Toby a telling rejoinder to the upbraiding of the sober

ever had a principal place. Of the most gorgeous and notorious of them, the one given by the Earl of Leicester in her honour at Kenilworth Castle takes the first ra

as they seemed to symbolise at once the great

r temper and intense femininity. To evade the one and sati

to deliver an enchanted lady from the wiles of a cruel knight; upon which the lady straightway appears accompanied by a band of nymphs, Proteus following,

in person or character, but she poss

inly detracted from her womanly qualities, but what she lacked as

orts of every kind, including bull baiting, were indul

n frolic here at Court," writes Lord Worcester in 1602, "much dancing of country dances

ouragement of every healthy enjoyment, are certainly great factors i

Eliz

of graver import, but they do not en

sacred and secular music. I well remember that the first of an old volume of anthems in the library of Salisbury Cathed

uotation goes to prove. Its interest is peculiarly striking as it shows yet another side of the character of t

er about and saw me. She appeared to be surprised to see me, and came forward, seeming to strike me with her hand, alleging she was not used to play before men, but when she was solitary, to shun melancholy. She asked me how I came there? I answered, as I was walking with my Lord Hunsden, as we passed by the chamber door, I heard such a melody as ravished me, whereby I was drawn in ere I knew how; excusing my fault of homeliness as being brought up in the Court of

l and dramatic art that came into promine

rm, it became subsequently, an entertainment of the most elaborate and gorgeous kind, and one that was conspicuously encoura

it may be reasonably described a

which we have little or no record. In all probability it was the outcome of the early performances en

as popular a feature in the life of the

ipal characters were frequently performed by members of the nobility and of

that akin to the Shakespearean drama, than was his more enlightened and intellectual predecessor. In fact, the drama proper was altogether beyond his region of inte

id, so far as appertaining to

and learning, extraordinarily coarse in his language even for those days, and his comedy, "Bartholomew Fa

lower part in the productions of this time. In proportion as they increased in splendour they lost in artistic val

s played by the ladies and gentlemen of the Court. George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, so pleasing his Majesty that the latter cried out in ecstasy, "By m

d were given at Whitehall, or in such buildings as the Inns of Court. They had grown out of the simplicity c

hed in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and was fast receding. The spirit of the

vent to the exuberant spirit of the people, and it was later to become the source of inspirat

the madrigal, catch, round, glee, and similar forms of expression. Being concerted pieces demanding the simult

that then existed. In fact, it was considered an essential thing in a gentleman's education, and the ability to

than by quoting Shakespeare again, in whose words every

t" the following

in a catch, that will draw three souls

ove me, let's do it:

sir, and some dog

ertain: let our cat

ve,' knight? I shall be constrain

have constrain'd one to call me knave.

never begin, if

faith! Come, begin.

ing identical notes, who would be succeeded by yet another in a similar manner. It depended upon the dexterity

are hardly surprised when Malvolio appears

rs at this time of night? Do you make an ale-house of my lady's house, that ye squeak out your cozier's ca

n aspersion on his skill in music, replies

best specimens of ecclesiastical music. It was polyphonic in treatment, and generally grave in character. Indee

f composition were Byrd, Dowland, and Orlando Gibbons. The most splen

tic type of concerted music, and there are numerous specimens of early date of great

eing the extreme elaboration that rendered the madrigal dif

is removed in tone from the glee it lacks the atmosphere of the schools that the madrigal suggests. The glee, as

specimens of medi?val music, is also one of the most ancient. The date of it must be purely conjectura

e ever in evidence when the question of old English music is under consideration. Indeed, it

ew it is judged it comman

ngland was then not only abreast of foreig

oint of development even so far back as the thirteenth century

t poets before Homer, so this work must be the fortunate survivor of a long-lost school th

to come. With every appreciation, sincere and even reverend, of the ancient music of the Church, it must be acknowledged that in spirit it was rigid, severe and formal. In other words, it appealed to the religious and intellectual sense rather

eave the mind in a state of ecstatic rest or emotional contentment that makes one oblivious of the world while listening or watching. It was the outcome

ne that has most appealed to the imaginatio

especially appealed to those early composers, for the canon[13

once beautiful and familiar to all, and is known as the "Morning Hymn." Its simplici

treble clef indicate the repetition of the melody,

of olden times, we have little to guide us in the form

l or that immediately preceding it, the state of deve

in the Church, it occupied the humble positi

forms and rhythms. Some were stately and even serious in character, and offered the composer an opportunity to di

of William Byrd, John Ball, Orlando Gibbons, and others of

mparative simplicity and ineffectiveness of instrumentation may well see

ure of the instrument on which the composer had to rely to pr

h the genius of a Stradivarius, and time was needed t

rchestra are of incomparable possibilities

ep towards a higher and independent form of art, and that this advance was not slow

ced methods, the act of putting on paper a modern orchestral composition is a work of enormous labour. The reader will understand this, when I say

gress was signally true as applie

n used in a French cathedral

n, it probably had sufficient pipes to aid the

improve this great adjunct to her service, and by the fifteenth century an instrument had been constructed that

he seventeenth it arrived at maturity. The immense advance in the structural applianc

se early days as the hands of the monks wandered over the organ keys, the double incentives of religious fervou

t had struck its roots so deep down that future ages might well, with wondering amazement at its magnificent growth, find it difficult to grasp the idea of its humble origin. The compositions left, in this kind, by Purcell, such as the fantasias, sonatas, incidental music to plays, harpsichord and organ mu

e claim made for Purcell that he was, from whatever point of

TNO

lad comes from B

ic." Louis C. Elson. L.

aff were distinguishi

e are numerous variations of thes

Anatomy of Mel

ppell's "Music o

souls out of one weaver" is

"weavers" were mostly Calvinist refugees settled on the East Coast, whose austere manners and mod

, to the boisterous, happy-go-lucky temperament of the Elizabethan Englishman, the ostentation of religious phraseo

lady" shows that Protestantism had as yet m

gland sailed the first batch of emigrants to the new

is started by one voice and followed by another, one or