bus, rugitu quidem, tonitrui boatum, garrulitatem vero lyræ, vel cymbali, dulcedine coæquabat. [De Carolo Magno, cap. 10.] Among the other literary curiofities contained in this chapter, we meet with a very particular account of two scarce, valuable, and well preserved tracts on mufic, written in the 10th century, by the monks, Hubald and St. Odo. Thefe manufcripts are preferved in the library of Bennet College, Cambridge; but under a title which is not likely to difcover the real authors of them [i. e. Mufica Hogeri, &c.]; and to the knowledge of which nothing but his having feen them in other libraries on the continent could have led the Author. The contents of these tracts are here minutely described, after having been examined with great care and fatisfaction by our Hiftorian; as being the two most ancient treatises on modern mufic, in which any mention is made of finging in parts. In our Review of the Author's first volume [M R. Vol. LIV. March 1776, p. 213.] we collected into one point of view the principal arguments on which he founded his decifion, that the ancients were not acquainted with, or practifed fimultaneous harmony, or mufic in parts. The juftice of this decifion appears now to be inconteftibly established, by the fpecimens of infant counterpoint exhibited in this part of the work: particu larly if the Reader attends to the rudencfs of thefe effays; in which fourths and fifths are employed in fucceffion:-to the thirds, introduced as novelties in the character of concords :-to the flownels with which improvements were made in this undoubtedly new art ;-and to the fcandal which was given to piety, fimplicity, and ancient ufages,' by theíe improvements confidered as innovations; fo as to produce the fulmination of a papal bull against these novel and licentious practices. In this chapter the Author gives an account of the contents of another curious mufical manufcript, likewife found in the library of Bennet College; which he believes to be an Unique. It is the work of an Englishman, Walter Odington, Monk of Evesham, who flourished in the reign of Henry III.; and is fo complete and copious, fays the Author, with respect to every part of mufic which was known when it was written, that, if all other mufical tracts hitherto mentioned were loft, our knowledge would not be much diminished, provided the manuscript were acceffible. The account of this treatife is fucceeded by that of two inedited manuscripts of the 13th century, which the Author found in the Vatican library, and which are the productions of Marchetto da Padova. In the works of this bold Contrapuntift, the Author not only met with examples of the most ancient ufe of the Diefis, or Sharp, that he has been able to difcover; but likewife with the earliest fpecimens that can perhaps be found, of what the moderns call Chromatic. Nay, from a paffage given by the Author, Marchetto feems to have paved the way towards the Settima diminuita, or the diminished 7th; concerning which, the Author informs us, that it is a matter of mufical controverly, in Italy, whether the honour of having first dared to use it is due to famelli or Galuppi; as both thefe eminent mafters hazarded this piquant paffage fo near the fame time in different places, the one in a fong compofed at Venice, and the other in a fong compofed at Turin, that it is easier to imagine the invention due to both, than that either fhould arrogate to himself the merit of another,' The invention of the Time-table conftitutes one of the principal fubjects of the 3d chapter. This forms an important æra in the hiftory of mufic, which, among the ancients, was a flave to language' one note only, or not more than two, having been allowed to one fyllable; but which has now become a free agent.' Having got rid of its ancient restraint, and abandoned to its own powers, music, to use the Author's comprehenfive and expreffive language, is now become a rich, expreffive, and picturefque language in itself; having its forms, proportions, contrafts, punctuations, members, phrases and periods." In the 4th chapter, the Author treats very copiously of the first application of melody and harmony to the modern languages of Europe; and of the general state of mufic, till the invention of printing, about the year 1450. The inquiries into which the Author is naturally led, relative to the union of poetry with mufic, cannot fail of being highly pleafing to those even who do not cultivate the last of thefe arts; as they will here meet with many excellent critical and historical observations reJative to the poetry and literature of this æra, as they stand connected with this principal fubject. A pleafing account is firft given of the Troubadours, or Provençal poets; together with fome felect examples of their poetry, and ftill more curious fpecimens of the original melodies, to which their poetical effufions were fung. The first and most ancient example which the Author has been able to find, of this kind, is the production of Anfelm Faidit, a Troubadour; who wrote a poem on the death of our Richard I. whom he bad accompanied to the holy war. This was found by the Author in the Vatican, among the manufcripts bequeathed to that library by the Queen of Sweden, No. 1659; together with the original mufic, fet by the bard himfelf, who was as much admired by his cotemporaries for fetting his poems to mufic, as for writing them. In this, as well as many other inftances, the Author not only prefents us with the ancient melodies (together with a bafe of his own) in modern notes; but he likewife gives us fac-fimiles of of the mufic, exactly copied from the original MSS. And as the language may be difficult, in its antique guife, to many of his readers, he gives us tranflations of thefe feveral pieces, in much better verfes than any one can reafonably require from an hiftorian. Some fpecimens of ancient French Chaunts are next given, which were found by the Abbé Le Beuf, at Amiens. We are forry that our limits will not allow us to extract a part of the Author's fubfequent very amufing account of the Jongleurs, or Minstrels of thefe times. This is fucceeded by two fongs of the Chatelain de Coucy- who has left behind him fome of the moft elegant and affecting fongs in the French language, which have been preserved in manufcripts that are near 450 years old; and cited by all cotemporary writers as models on the fubject of love.' These two melodies are here given in modern notes, accompanied as ufual with their fac-fimiles: but, how elegant and affecting foever the poetry may be; they will probably, as the Author obferves, be found equally rude and doleful with the air which we have above noticed, as the compofition of Anfelm Faidit. This laft obfervation, however, cannot with justice be applied to the two fpecimens which the Author afterwards gives of Thibaut, the King of Navarre's mufic; of which the French antiquaries, and critics, at leaft, believe him to have been the compofer, as well as the author of the poetry. The fecond of thefe melodies, in particular, which is of a light and airy caft, is peculiarly pleafing and fimple. It does not carry a fingle wrinkle of antiquity on the face of it; and is, accordingly, not to be diftinguifhed, by its features, from even the most modern French air, in the gavot ftile, or Vaudeville; though its antiquity appears indifputable.-Thefe melodies, fays the Author, remind us of many French airs of the prefent century, and fhew that vocal melody has remained nearly ftationary in France, ever fince the beginning of the thirteenth century.' We are here naturally reminded-though indeed the obfervation recurs to us almost in every part of this work-of the Author's unremitting induftry; and of the trouble which he muft have taken, both abroad and at home, in fearching for, procuring, and decyphering, the curious materials which he has here collected, and explained. Thofe who are most converfant in the art of which he treats, will, at the fame time, the most highly eftimate the value of his labours, and the difficulty of explaining the mufical productions of thefe early, and even of fill later, times; as well as the fagacity and modefty with which this task has been performed by the Author; who never, in any of the difficulties which he is obliged to encounter, affumes the REV. Jan. 1783. D air air of being fatisfied himself, when he is not able to give fatis faction to his readers. Paffing over many curious particulars, both hiftorical and fcientific, which follow thefe fpecimens of ancient melody, we fhall briefly take notice of an English compofition, in parts, of high antiquity, fet to words of a ftill higher date, which is preferved in the British Museum. It is a defcriptive fong, beginning, "Sumer is i cumen in" (Summer is a coming in), fet in a canon of four parts in the unifon. It is written upon fix red lines, in fquare and lozenge black notes of three kinds. To enable the mufical Reader to judge of the ftate of harmony in our country, about the fourteenth or fifteenth century, the Author bas been at the pains of giving a folution of this ancient Canon and Catch, united, in fcore; as it is not only very ingenioufly contrived, but both the melody and harmony are better than he has hitherto found in any compofition of fo early a period. There are in it, however, certain violations of rule, refpecting harmony, which induce the Author to fufpect that it is of ftill higher antiquity than has been fuppofed. Though its defects, the Author well obferves, may not be difcovered by every ear, during the performance; it is hardly clean and pure enough to fatisfy the eye, in score: as many liquors may be tolerably palatable, and yet not bear a glafs.' Its chief merits are the airy and paftoral correfpondence of the melody with the words; and its being the first example of Counterpoint in fix parts (for there are two other parts which come in occafionally) as well as of Canon, Fugue, or Catch, that can be produced; so that it seems to form an æra in vocal harmony. He thinks it no very wild conjecture, that this very Canon, which requires fix performers, may have been alluded to at the close of the laft ftanza of the burlesque metrical romance, called the Tournament of Tottenham : "Mickle mirth was them among, "In every corner of the house "For to hear precious "Of SIX MENS SONG." Reliques of ancient English Poetry, vol ii. p. 15. After having exhibited these and other specimens of practical mufic, the Author returns to theory, and gives a circumftantial account of a very fcarce and curious manufcript volume, containing nine tracts; which, before the reformation, belonged to the monastery of Waltham Holy-cross, in Effex, but is now the property of the Earl of Shelburne. After the Review of this volume, and of two inedited mufical tracts in manufcripts, found in the libraries of our Universities; the Author proceeds, in his 5th chapter, to treat of the ftate of mufic from the invention of printing till the middle of the 16th century. The The Author has reason to congratulate himself on his being arrived at an æra much more agreeable than any of the past: having now cleared his way to good compofition; we mean, with refpect only to harmony and contrivance, which, in this period, were indeed carried to a very high pitch of excellence. His progrefs, likewise, has hitherto been retarded by the scarcity, as well as the obfcurity of his materials; lurking in the darkest and moft unfrequented receffes of libraries, mixed with the dufty and obfcure remains of Monkish literature. His principal difficulty now is, that of properly selecting from the plenty with which he is furrounded; and great appears to have been his labour in this refpect: for the music of this æra being preserved, in single parts, these must be transcribed, and scored, or placed under each other, that the eye may perceive and compare their several relations at one glance, before their beauties or defects can be discovered: and this, the Author obferves, is rendered a very flow procefs, from the difficulty of obfolete notation, and the want of bars.- Being determined,' fays he, to speak of no mufic with which I am unacquainted, or of which I am unable to furnish specimens, I have transcribed, in fcore, many volumes, not only of the fame age, but fometimes of the fame Author, in order to select the best productions I am able, for my work; or at leaft to qualify myfelf to judge of each compofer's abilities and refources.'-The beft of these compofitions are here given, in fcore, engraved on a confiderable number of copper-plates, and conftitute a very valuable part of this work: as they form a collection of felect fpecimens of the compofitions of the best mufical writers of this learned age; and must be highly acceptable (together with the Author's occasional and inftructive comments) to those who are qualified to perform, or even to read, and meditate on, the latent beauties discoverable in thefe fpecimens of their ingenuity and contrivance. 6 The Author, however, previously relates the fucceffive refinements of harmony,-the new combinations which it gradually received, and the introduction of difcords, by certain bold muficians,' before men had the courage or genius to invent new melodies;' and then proceeds to inveftigate the first principles of Canon and Fugue; as the lives and labours of the pri mitive fathers of harmony were spent in establishing them.' He juftly obferves, however, that many of the rules of fugue were frivolous, and often followed with fuch rigour and pedantry as merited reprobation; for all rules in mufic, deduced from any other principle than effect on the ear, are abfurd. If that fenfe, which this art was invented to delight, be fatisfied, what title has the eye to take offence, though a fharp, flat, or other accident, interrupt the apparent fymmetry of intervals ?'-----The D 2 |