gravicembali, six flutes, eight cornetti and tromboni, all of variated types and sizes.

The above enumeration brings to mind the pre-existence of a rather heterogeneous assortment of now partially obsolete instruments with which we are more or less familiar. Therefore, before proceeding from the subject of instrumentation to that of orchestration proper as inaugurated by Monteverde, a review of the structural and mechanical evolution of instruments themselves would seem in place.

(Summary on page 26.)

CHAPTER III.
EVOLUTION OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

The first serious attention bestowed upon the mechanism of instruments and the selection of those whose qualities should justify permanent retention occurred during the sixteenth century, and, as we have seen, the causes that led up to this were extraneous. In glancing over the names and descriptions of the many varieties of instruments already in existence before this development began, the mind becomes easily confused. Many species of stringed instruments such as lutes, viols, clavichords, harpsichords, not to mention brass instruments, the schalmei, cromornes, abounded on every hand; but the deeper the student of instrumental evolution delves into comparative research, the more he finds authorities at variance. However, the lineage of the three great representatives of stringed instruments as are in use to-day—instruments played with a bow, the harp, the pianoforte, may fairly be traced simultaneously.

I.

Prehistoric origin of stringed instruments, in spite of extant relics, is a matter of conjecture. History, on the other hand, suggests various sources in various ages. Of greatest recorded antiquity are the Egyptian lute and harp, which were struck with a plectrum or plucked by the fingers. These migrated through Arabia into Spain, thence to Southern Italy, and became diffused over all Europe. The Greek lyra or kithara, having originally but four strings, was also played with a plectrum, and became the heirloom of the Romans. But to discover the origin of instruments played with a bow is a more difficult matter. A number of theories are plausible. Like all other instruments they were probably invented simultaneously by many isolated barbaric races. The bow and arrow were undoubtedly suggestive, and it is to be presumed that primitive types of the lyre family whose strings were originally plucked, were fitted to uncouth sounding-boards and played upon with a bow. The Hindoos possessed such instruments, and it is possible that their admission into Europe was concurrent with that of the lute and harp. In defence of this supposition, one might point to the dance of the women attending the Jongleurs. Now the dance is no uncertain revealer of racial characteristics. But not only the dance itself, but also certain features of the accompaniment, as well as the types of instruments peculiar to the Jongleurs bear the impress of Orientalism. As far as is known, neither the Greeks nor the Romans possessed instruments played with a bow.

From the Middle Ages on, the study of instrumental evolution is, of course, based upon authentic history. The most direct line of descent for bowed-instruments is probably from either the Celtic crwth or the Oriental rebab to the vielle or viola of the Middle Ages (Spanish vihuela, Latin fidula), of which the last representative was the gamba; and the viola da gamba was the predecessor of the violoncello. The early viols were of manifold types, there being, for instance, as many as seven viole da braccia and six viole da gambe. The violin owes its existence to a gradual metamorphosic development of the early tenor viola, during the latter part of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Skill in the manufacture of these instruments was of an advanced order in the Netherlands prior to the advent of the great Italian violin makers, whose efforts were eventually crowned by the immutable sovereignty of the Cremonese creations at the commencement of the eighteenth century. The introduction of the contrabasso was likewise of slow growth. For as late as the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries there still existed bass instruments of the lute family, such as the double-necked theorbo and the largest bass lute, the chitarrone, which were struck with a plectrum. But growing appreciation for the wonderful possibilities concealed in the infant violin proper, of technique, tone, color, delicacy, and variety of shading, reacted upon the secondary bowed-instruments, and they in turn were rapidly perfected. Hence, by a judicious selection of the superior and a suppression of the inferior types of viols were the violas and violoncellos evolved; and the theorbo and chitarrone were permanently supplanted by the double-bass, constructed on the same general principles as the violin.

Although the ideal balance of tone and expressive powers as embodied in the modern string orchestra justifies the perspicuity of this selective process in every way, it would seem to be a matter for regret that a certain species of viols, the viola d'amore, should have become practically obsolete. Its seven strings were supplemented by seven concealed under strings, designed to vibrate sympathetically. One might say that this principle has been incorporated in the modern grand pianoforte by means of the "una corda" pedal. But since Meyerbeer resuscitated the viola d'amore in "Les Huguenots" in 1836, the only living composer who has assigned to it a conspicuous rôle is, to the present writer's knowledge, Mr. C.M. Loeffler in his symphonic poem "La Mort de Tintagiles," after Maeterlinck, indeed the original score contained parts for two solo viole d'amore though one part has since been rewritten for a violin.

II.

The evolution of the harp is obvious, whereas that of the pianoforte is more complex. The prototype of the modern pianoforte in its embryonic state traces its ancestry to all the various types of stringed instruments taken collectively. Specifically, the primitive acoustic monochord of Pythagoras might be looked upon as a plausible starting point. Add to this a keyboard and its attendant devices as applied to church organs in the earlier centuries of the Christian era, and the prototype is complete. Be that as it may, there was developed during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries a family of widely known instruments embodying advanced qualities of mechanism, styled "Hackbrett," synonym for cembalo, tympanon, although it is best known as the dulcimer. According to Dr. Riemann, it originated apparently in Germany, since for a time it was called in Italy by the name of Salterio tedesco. The instrument consisted of a flat trapezium-shaped sounding-board on which steel strings were set, and was played upon by two hammers held one in each hand of the performer. In improved form, it is still extant in the hands of the gypsies. But already at the beginning of the sixteenth century was the clavichord established as its successor. The clavichord, according to Hipkins, was derived from the polychord with four strings, which in turn was developed from the monochord "to facilitate the melodic division of the Gregorian tones." Directly appeared still another instrument styled clavicembalo or harpsichord, of which the psaltery, a triangular harp, was undoubtedly the ancestor. The spinet and virginal