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E YE WITNESS COMPANIONS

Classical
Music
GENERAL EDITOR: JOHN BURROWS

COMPOSERS • PERFOR M E RS
I N STRUMENTS • KE Y W OR K S
E YE WITNESS COMPANIONS

Classical
Music
GENERAL EDITOR
JOHN BURROWS
WITH CHARLES WIFFEN

and contributions from

Robert Ainsley, Duncan Barker, Karl Lutchmayer, Ivan Hewett,
Lisa Colton, Andrew Wilson, Nathanial Vallois, Ann Van Allen Russell,
Jenny Nex, Richard Langham-Smith, Sam Thompson, Simon Rees
“ M U S I C E X P R E S S E S T H AT W H I C H
C A N N OT B E P U T I N TO WO R D S
A N D T H AT W H I C H C A N N OT
R E M A I N S I L E N T. ” Victor Hugo
 LONDON, NEW YORK,
MUNICH, MELBOURNE, AND DELHI
Senior Art Editor Juliette Norsworthy
Project Art Editors Victoria Clark, Maxine Lea
Designers Liz Sephton, Francis Wong
Design Assistance Paul Drislane, Kenny Grant,
Vanessa Marr
Project Editors Sam Atkinson, Catherine Day,
Ferdie McDonald
Editors Caroline Reed, Andrew Szudek, Belinda
Wilkinson, Darren Henley
(for Classic FM)
Picture Research Maria Gibbs
Jacket Designer Nathalie Goodwin
Jacket Editor Mariza O’Keeffe
DTP John Goldsmid
Production Joanna Bull

Managing Editor Debra Wolter

Managing Art Editor Phil Ormerod
Editorial Director Andrew Heritage
Art Director Bryn Walls
First published in 2005 by
Dorling Kindersley Limited
80 Strand, London WC2R ORL
Penguin Group
First American Edition, 2005
Published in the United States by
DK Publishing, Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
04 05 06 06 08 09 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Copyright 2004 Dorling Kindesley Limited
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American
Copyright Convention. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording
or otherwise, without prior written permission of the copyright
owner. Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Classical music / general editor, John Burrows.-- 1st American ed.
p. cm. -- (Eyewitness companions)
Includes index.
ISBN 0-7566-0958-5 (flexi)
1. Music appreciation. I. Burrows, John, 1939- II. Series.
MT6.C564 2005
780'.9--dc22
2004024370

Colour reproduction GRB, Italy

Printed and bound in China by L Rex
Discover more at
www.dk.com
 CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ROMANTIC OPERA
10 1810–1920
232
INTRODUCING
NATIONAL SCHOOLS
CLASSICAL MUSIC
14
1830–1950
272
THE ELEMENTS OF
MODERN MUSIC
CLASSICAL MUSIC
(INCLUDING KEY TO WAVEFORM
1900–
GRAPHICS USED IN BOOK) THE BAROQUE ERA 380
16 1600–1750
76 GLOSSARY
CLASSICAL MUSIC 501
INSTRUMENTS THE CLASSICAL ERA
24 1750–1820 INDEX
126 505
CLASSICAL MUSIC
IN PERFORMANCE THE ROMANTIC ERA
36 1810–1920
166
THE HISTORY OF
CLASSICAL MUSIC
44

EARLY MUSIC
1000-1600
46
10 FOR EWOR D

FOREWORD
I was first introduced by my Mother to in book form. I first approached DK
the live performance of Classical music when they were developing an illustrated
when I was 10 years old, at the Albert handbook on Shakespeare. I instantly
Hall in Nottingham. Sir Malcolm Sargent realised there was much scope for an
was conducting the Halle Orchestra, with imaginatively illustrated reference book
the soloist Moura Lympany which covered as much of the
playing the subject as would be
Rachmaninov usefully practical.
Piano Concerto The book should
No 2. The moment inform, excite,
the orchestra began inspire and be
tuning up I was very accessible to
hooked and Classical music lovers
determined that music of all ages and levels
would play a vital role in my life. I of knowledge. Two
played piano but it became obvious I was very busy years later,
not cut out to be a professional musician, I am delighted to present this book to the
and so I became a music promoter. My public. Many people have been involved
first Classical concert was in 1970 with the with the creation of this book and I am
London Symphony Orchestra conducted indebted to them – it would not have
by André Previn at the New Theatre, happened without them. A big thanks to
Oxford. Since then I have been privileged my dear friend Richard Havers, the Music
to work among many musicians of the Guru and now a major author himself,
highest international calibre. whose encouragement was vital to me;
For many years I had wanted to to my good friend Lady Solti; and to
share my passion and commitment Dr Charles Wiffen and the many writers
to Classical music and academics who have
collaborated on the book.

JOHN BURROWS
OBE HonRCM
 I N T RO DUCT I O N 11

INTRODUCTION
Music has played a vital role in my life husband. How lucky we were to
and from being a child in Yorkshire I was have learnt music from him. He had
taught to love music by my father who extraordinary dynamism, and sheer
was passionate about the value of music vitality. He believed that music was a
in our lives. Music is in my opinion the vital part of human society and over-
missing link between the physical and the whelmingly the greatest language of
spirit; it is also a great educator. Like my communication the best possible
late husband, Georg Solti, I have always ambassador of world peace.
believed in the value of education and the He was a great inspiration to us all and
knowledge that it is the only true he said on many occasions “My life is the
foundation for life. greatest proof that if you have talent,
Without education, in whatever form, a determination and luck, you will make
child is denied a proper chance. The arts it in the end. Never give up!” Because of
have been an integral part of my life, the the Second World War his early career
theatre in all its disciplines, the visual arts, was interrupted and for many years
architecture, the countryside – which after without any work, life was difficult. How
all is nature’s art when you consider the often he was tempted to give up. He
music of a mountain stream or the song always believed that he had a guardian
of a bird. Music has dominated life for angel who guided him through difficult
me and my daughters through the great times and with determination and hard
influence and accomplishments of my work he really did “make it in the end”.
 I N T RO DUCT I O N 13

Georg was considered to be one of the dates and recordings, and make no
greatest orchestral conductors of modern attempt to convey the magic and the
times and he helped shape the finest majesty, the power and the passion,
orchestras in the world. His output was and the sheer excitement of the musical
astonishingly prolific, with experience. We are
33 Grammy Awards and lucky to have such a
over 300 recordings. But, rich pool of talent
throughout our life around us, performers
together he wanted to and composers, who wish
share his music-making to share their enthusiasm
and teaching. I have and love of music.
watched with close Recording, broadcasting,
interest the way this book and the myriad means
has developed from its of other musical
early stages of planning. reproduction available
Although no book can to us today have greatly
convey the extraordinary MUSIC AND POPULAR CULTURE
In recent years, the exposure to, and
increased everybody’s
and rich aural experience making of, serious music has been access to great music. This
greatly broadened through recording,
that lies at the heart of radio, culture, and television.
book has been conceived
music’s impact, the for the lay person, and
Eyewitness Companion Guide to Classical Music can be used as an authoritative ready
goes further than most in providing the reference, or as a beginner’s guide. Its
reader with useful signposts and rich array of illustrations serves to build
information as they begin their voyage an impression not just of each
or careers in the world of serious music. composer’s life and interests, but
Many books have been written for hopefully a glimpse of their creative
aficionados and experts, and speak only to aspirations, too. Over 300 pieces of
them, in a rarified and esoteric language. music are examined in useful detail.
Such books often alienate the beginner, I hope this book will provide a useful
the student, or those who have always traveller’s guide both for the initiated
wanted to enter that world, but are and for those just setting out on their
frightened off by the perceived elitism and voyage of musical discovery.
old traditions. Some books merely provide
the bare bones of composers biographies, LADY SOLTI

Lady Solti was born and educated in Georg Solti about the forthcoming
Yorkshire and at the Royal Academy of production Wagner’s Ring Cycle at Covent
Dramatic Art in London. After a two year Garden. This meeting resulted in their
spell as an actress appearing at the marriage when the focus of her life
Cambridge Arts Theatre, Reading changed from television to the world of
Repertory, and the Globe Theatre, London music. Valerie continued her career for
she became a freelance broadcaster and many years as a well-known broadcaster
writer with both the BBC and Independent and writer. Among many distinguished
Television. From 1960–1970 she was an positions, Lady Solti is a Trustee of the
announcer and presenter for BBC television, Solti Foundation set up by Sir Georg
working for both news and current events shortly before he died with the aim of
programmes. Her life changed dramatically assisting young musicians throughout
in 1964 when she interviewed maestro the world at the start of their careers.
 INTRODUCING

C LASSICAL
MUSIC
 17

The elements o f
CLASSICAL
MUSIC
The basic materials of music are pitch and rhythm.
Conventions in Western art music have arisen over the
centuries by which composers and performers can
organize and manipulate these materials. Some
composers achieve memorable effects by breaking the
“rules”, others by working imaginatively within them.

usical notes are assigned (with its own grand structure or

M different pitches, and are
put together to form melodies.
form), whereas a short song will
have a different and less complex
These may contain phrases, which can form (more like a modest cottage).
be thought of as musical sentences. The colour or texture of a piece of
Often each phrase contains as many music depends on how the voices or
notes as can be sung comfortably in instruments are used, and how they
a single breath. The simultaneous are combined or orchestrated.
sounding of a number of different
notes creates harmony. The flavour PITCH
of these melodies and harmonies For a sound to be produced, a
often results from the types of scales vibration must be set up in the air.
(or collections of notes) that are used. This may result from the motion of
If the individual notes of a a taut string, the skin of a drum, or
composition are bricks, then the the column of air within a cylinder.
rhythm is like mortar, holding them If the vibration is regular, it is heard
together. Rhythm, at its most basic, as an identifiable note of a certain
is the beat of a piece of music and pitch. If the vibration is fast, the
the metre – or time signature – the pitch is heard as high; if it is slow, it
way in which the beat is grouped. will sound low or deep. As a general
An entire piece of music can rule, the longer the string or column
be constructed from these simple of air, the lower the pitch. The low
materials. It is like a building, threshold of human hearing is about
designed by the composer according 16–20 vibrations per second, while
to a “form” – as with an architect’s the upper threshold is about 20,000
plan. A symphony is like a castle vibrations per second.
18 THE E L E M E N TS OF CL A SSI CA L M U S I C

The lowest notes of a pipe organ range

from about 20 vibrations per second
(or “cycles per second”), while a
piccolo can reach about 4,176 cycles.
An adult choir can produce anything
from 64 to 1,500 cycles.

STANDARDIZED PITCH
The letter-name “A” is given to the
pitch of 440 cycles per second, which
is produced by a key just to the right HARPIST PLAYING
of the middle of the piano keyboard On the harp, the shorter strings produce the higher
(known as the note or “tone” a''). notes, demonstrating clearly the relationship between
the length of a vibrating string and its pitch.
This is a standard universal measure
of pitch. Without it, players would covered an “octave”. This particular
experience great difficulty adapting series of notes corresponds to a scale
their instruments as they moved known as the natural minor scale.
round the world. Once you reach the next A you can
repeat the cycle, and will hear higher
MUSICAL NOTATION versions of the same notes. If you
In Western music, seven letters of start from C and repeat the procedure,
the alphabet are assigned to different you will hear the scale of C major.
pitches, ranging from If the length of a string is halved,
A to G. If you play all a pitch is produced which is exactly
the white keys on the double the frequency of the original
piano keyboard from pitch and sounds eight notes (or an
one A up to the next A octave) higher. In other words, if you
(eight notes) you will have halve the length of a string vibrating
at 440 frequencies, you will hear the
pitch of 880 frequencies, which
corresponds to the next (or higher)
A on the keyboard.
Although there are only seven letter
names, other notes (the black keys
on a piano, known as sharps or flats)
exist in between some of these to
produce a total of 12 notes.

INTERVALS
The gaps between the notes
are known as “intervals”, and
moving from one note on the
piano keyboard to its nearest
neighbour covers the interval
of a “semitone”. Of course,
with other instruments (such
as the violin) it is possible to
play in between these notes;
PIPE ORGAN
The lengths of the many pipes on a
traditional organ determine the notes
the instrument can produce.
 THE EL EM EN T S OF CL A SSI CA L M USI C 19

PITCH AND NOTATION

Western music uses horizontal lines and spaces right hand) and the bass clef to the lower half.
against which to plot musical notes in graphic The diagram below shows the relationship of
notation. Since the 17th century, five lines the piano keyboard to the treble and bass clefs.
have been used, comprising a “staff ” or SHARPS AND FLATS
“stave”. A sign known as a “clef ” is used at the These are used to raise (sharpen) and lower
beginning of each stave to indicate which line (flatten) a note by a semitone. The interval from,
or space should be used to denote a particular for example, G to A is known as a “tone”, while
note. The most common clefs are the treble (or the interval from a G to G  is

 
G) and bass (or F) clefs, the former being used a “semitone” (the smallest


possible interval on the
keyboard). Although the G 
for higher pitches and the latter for lower FLAT
SHARP
pitches. Thus, a violinist would typically use is a raised G, it is in fact the
the treble clef, while a double-bass player would same note as an A  (in other
usually use the bass clef. A pianist normally uses words, a lowered A).
both, the treble clef being usually assigned to Middle C, also C above middle C,
the upper half of the keyboard (played by the also written c”


written c’



F
E
D

 
C


B
A
G


F
E


D


C
TREBLE CLEF B


A


G


F

 
E
D
C
B
A
G
BASS CLEF

KEYBOARD
Middle C is
coloured
brown on the
full keyboard
and on the
enlarged
section. ENLARGED SECTION

BASSOON CLARINET PICCOLO

The range of the bassoon The range of the clarinet The piccolo (a small flute)
(the bass instrument of corresponds to the female is the smallest woodwind
the woodwind family) is voice. Its lowest notes are instrument and therefore
just over three octaves, in the alto region while its produces the highest pitch
similar to that of the male high notes are close to of all the instruments of
voice. Its lower notes those of a high soprano. the family. Its range is
correspond to the low It has a range of three nearly three octaves and
notes of a bass singer, and a half octaves and it can reach higher pitches
but its top notes are is most powerful in its than the female voice.
somewhat higher than upper register. The oboe, It often doubles lower
a tenor. This range is trumpet, and violin all instruments to provide
similar to that of the have similar ranges brilliance and penetration
cello and the trombone. to the clarinet. in orchestral music.
 THE E L E M E N TS OF CL A SSI CA L M U S I C

as the resolution of tension. In

conventional tonal music, certain
phrases end in “cadences” (or
closing progressions of chords).
Common examples are the
“perfect” cadence (which
sounds conclusive), the
“imperfect” (which sounds
inconclusive and demands
some kind of continuation),
and the “plagal” (which
SINGING IN HARMONY
sounds serious and final and is
The simultaneous production of musical tones in often used for the “Amen” of a hymn).
a complex interweaving of harmony and melody is
one of the distinguishing features of Western music. RHYTHM AND TEMPO
indeed, it is common for string Many human activities, such as
instruments and voices to slide running, walking, or dancing produce
between notes for expressive effect. distinctive rhythms, which are often
reproduced in music. Rhythm
HARMONY involves not only the positioning or
Harmony is the result of combining spacing of notes in time, but also
musical notes, and when these are their duration, and both of these can
played simultaneously, they are said to be notated in Western music (see
form a “chord”. Some chords sound p.22). Composers can show duration
dissonant, others harmonious or in terms of sound or silence: for
consonant. Harmony can be regarded sound, note shapes are used; “rests”,
HARMONY AND INTERVALS

If two notes played together are separated by suitable consonance. The intervals considered
a consonant (harmonious) interval, the resulting dissonant have changed since the Middle Ages,
sound will be pleasant or relaxing to our ears, but since the Classical and early Romantic eras
whereas the notes of a dissonant interval clash the intervals illustrated below have been
with each other and demand to be resolved by a considered either consonant or dissonant.

2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th

  
    
   
C–D C–E C–F C–G C–A C–B C–C
Dissonant Consonant Consonant Consonant Consonant Dissonant Consonant

EXAMPLES IN THE KEY OF C MAJOR

AMPLITUDE
AMPLITUDE

INTERVAL OF AN OCTAVE INTERVAL OF A SECOND

The waves shown are of two frequencies These waves are of the two individual notes
an octave apart, as in a consonant that are combined to produce a second, a
interval of the type C–C. dissonant interval of the type C–D.
 THE EL EM EN T S OF CL A SSI CA L M USI C 21

with corresponding values and names, PULSE AND TEMPO

are used to denote periods of silence. ITALIAN ENGLISH
The pulse (commonly known as Grave Very slowly
the “beat”) is a regular unit of time Lento Slowly
around which the rhythm of a piece Largo Broadly
is organized. In a march, this would Larghetto Rather broadly
be the position in time of each Adagio Leisurely
footstep. The composer will decide Andante At a walking pace
whether the pulse should be a crotchet Moderato Moderately
or a minim, or any other note value. Allegretto Fairly quickly
The speed of the pulse is the Allegro Fast
“tempo” of the work. Most composers Vivace Lively
have used Italian terms to indicate Presto Very quickly
tempo. Since the early 19th century, Prestissimo As fast as possible
musicians have also used metronome
settings. (A metronome is a device Each group is known as a “measure”
that can be set to “tick” at varying or “bar” and in notation is separated
speeds and is calibrated according to by a “barline”. The metre is indicated
divisions of the minute – for example, by a “time signature”, such as 3/4.
60 or 120 beats to the minute. The top number shows the number of
pulses or beats in a bar, while the lower
METRE number shows the value assigned to
The metre corresponds to the each beat. The time signature 3/4
grouping of the pulse. Much classical indicates that there are three crotchet
music is grouped in twos or threes. beats in a bar (typical of a dance such
NATURAL RHYTHMS
In nature, the sounds of horses cantering or of waves
crashing on a beach create powerful, distinctive
rhythms. Music owes much to such rhythmic sounds,
not to mention more immediate rhythms, such as
breathing and the beating of the human heart.
22 THE E L E M E N TS OF CL A SSI CA L M U S I C

NOTES, TIME, RHYTHM, AND METRE

The chart below shows the time values of the the composer’s instructions or the performer’s
notes used in Western music. For example, two instinct. In slow music, a crotchet could be over
minims are equal in length to a semibreve and two seconds in length; in quick music, less
two quavers are equal to a crotchet. All values are than half a second. The USA uses different
relative, however; a crotchet is not an absolute names for these values, such as “whole note”,
length, such as a second, but varies according to and these are given below the English names.

SEMIBREVE
WHOLE NOTE

MINIM
1⁄ 2 NOTE  
CROTCHET
1⁄ 4 NOTE    
QUAVER
1⁄ 8 NOTE        
SEMIQUAVER
1⁄ 16 NOTE                
DEMISEMIQUAVER
1⁄ 32 NOTE        

WALTZ: 3/4 TIME

The time signature 3/4 indicates
three crotchet beats in a bar
(typical of a minuet or waltz). Each bar is made up of the equivalent of three
crotchets, giving the time signature 3/4
MARCH: 4/4 TIME
There are four crotchets in each
bar, corresponding to the regular
“left-right, left-right” of a march. In the second bar there are two dotted quavers, two semi-
quavers and one minum, the equivalent of four crotchets

as a minuet or waltz). A march ideas of the Ancient Greeks. These

rhythm could be given the time eventually came to be accepted as the
signature 2/4, in which there would principal scales for all music in the
be two crotchet beats in every bar. 16th century: the Ionian became the
“major” scale, and the Aeolian the
SCALES AND TONALITY “natural minor” scale. Traditionally
A scale (from the Latin scala, meaning the associations of the major scale are
steps) is a step-wise series of notes, positive – sometimes joyful, sometimes
usually between one note and the triumphant; Beethoven’s “Eroica”
next note of that name an octave Symphony, for example, is in the heroic
higher. In the West, scales may be key of E flat major. The minor scale
traced back to medieval “modes”, is generally recognized as more sombre
which were based on the musical in mood – sometimes plaintive and
sometimes tragic. The Funeral March
from Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 2 is
in the key of B flat minor.

MUSICAL FORM
All musical works – however short
or long – are organized within a kind
of frame, known as a “form”. The
WALTZ TIME
One of the most familiar time signatures to dancers,
the basic waltz metre (one-two-three, one-two-three)
is three beats to each bar of music.
two basic forms are “binary” (two INDIAN MUSICIANS
sections, stated one after the other and Across the world, most cultures have their own scales,
consisting not only of different notes from those used
sometimes repeated) and “ternary” in the west, but of different numbers of notes.
(three sections, perhaps comprising
section A, followed by section B, then has become known as “dynamics”.
section A again – musical sections or As with tempo, it is common to use
paragraphs are often identified by Italian terms to describe different
letters of the alphabet). Variants of dynamics, all of which are relative
these are to be found in more complex rather than absolute.
forms such as the “rondo”, “variation”,
and “sonata” forms (see glossary). DYNAMICS
Pianissimo (pp) Very quietly
DYNAMICS Piano (p) Quietly
Just as the pitch or rhythm of musical Mezzo piano (mp) Moderately quietly
sound can be varied, so can the Mezzo forte (mf ) Moderately loudly
volume or intensity of that sound. Forte (f ) Loudly
In Western music, this variability Fortissimo (ff ) Very loudly

KEY TO THE “WAVEFORMS” USED IN THE BOOK

Twenty-two of the “focus” works that appear in relates only to that specific recording; another
the book feature a “waveform” (a computerized performer or ensemble could have performed
image of the music) which shows the acoustic the same work faster or slower, or placed
properties of a particular recording of the climaxes at different points. See p.512 for a list
work. The information shown in the waveform of the recordings used to make the waveforms.

The title, basic tempo, metre, key (where Short lines

1minor;
Maestoso:
Quadruple time; F
Sonata form
appropriate), and form are given for
each movement shown on the graphic
indicate quiet
music
A minute marker shows
the duration of the work

Exposition Development Recapitulation A B A A B A Coda

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

First theme Annotations pinpoint landmarks in the music – including Long lines indicate
played by piano instrument entries and changes of key, mood, or tempo loud music
 25

Classical Music
INSTRUMENTS

The design, construction, and acoustics of instruments

change as musicians explore different ways of achieving
what composers ask of them, and as instrument makers
experiment with new materials and technologies.
In the process, some instruments become obsolete,
while those that fit in with new trends become popular.

oday’s symphony orchestra instruments changed: woodwind key

T has its roots in 16th-century
instrumental consorts (p.27)
systems were redesigned; the brass
acquired valves; stringed instruments
and 17th-century bands. The earliest were adapted to enable them to
orchestras, usually attached to a project further. Larger and smaller
court, a church, or a theatre, varied versions of woodwind instruments,
in structure from place to place. such as the piccolo, cor anglais, and
They were often directed from the bass clarinet, featured more frequently.
keyboard or by the principal violinist. Instruments were also added to the
During the 18th century, as popular lower end of the brass section, with
works (such as those by Haydn and trombones and, later, tubas becoming
Mozart) began to be played all over standard members of the orchestra.
Europe, some standardization of the
orchestra became necessary. A string THE ORCHESTRA TODAY
section comprising violins, violas, The orchestra had by now more or
cellos, and double basses was usually less attained its present form, though
joined by two oboes and two bassoons, in the 20th century a whole new
with the occasional addition of two range of percussion instruments
horns, two flutes, two trumpets, and became available. The Early Music
timpani. The clarinet became a revival has seen the recreation of
standard member of the orchestra historic styles of orchestra, but the
only at the end of the 18th century. dominant orchestral line-up remains
The 19th century saw the rise of the symphony orchestra under the
public concerts in large halls, which direction of a conductor, with
necessitated louder instruments and orchestras resident in most major
larger orchestras. As a result, cities throughout the world.
26 CL AS SI CA L M USI C I N ST RUM E N TS

Early instruments
Many instruments from the past have disappeared from mainstream usage or have
been replaced by modern equivalents. Over the last 50 years, however, makers
and musicians have revived these instruments in an attempt to create historically
informed performances. The ancestors of modern woodwinds usually have no
keys, while those of the brass section include trumpets and horns without
valves. Early stringed instruments, which have gut strings and lower
tensions, tend to be softer in tone than their modern equivalents.
STRINGS
Viols have six or seven strings, with frets across
the fingerboard. The outward-curving bow is held
underhand. Some smaller viols, such as the viola
d’amore, have additional sympathetic strings that Tuning
run through the bridge and under the fingerboard. Second peg pegs
Lutes are plucked with the right hand and are box for bass
often used as continuo instruments or to accompany diapason
singing. Some have additional bass strings known as strings
diapasons. The hurdy-gurdy uses a wheel operated
by a crank handle to “bow” the strings, and a small
keyboard to stop the strings.
Decorative Fingerboard
Peg box carved head
Fretted
fingerboard
Tuning
pegs

Keyboard
Diapasons
Cover over Sympathetic Rose
rosined strings hole
wheel
Bridge

Handle Tailpiece
HURDY- VIOLA D’AMORE 18TH-CENTURY ENGLISH-MADE
GURDY (1774) GERMAN BASS LUTE BASS VIOL (1713)

KEYBOARDS
The harpsichord is used in Early-Music ensembles as a
continuo instrument, to add brilliance and rhythm to the
texture. The strings, made of iron or brass, are plucked by
small pieces of quill. The virginal and spinet are plucked
in a similar way, while the clavichord uses small brass
flags – tangents – to strike the strings. Clavichords are
perfect domestic instruments as they are very quiet. In the
organ, different sounds are produced by making pipes of
Decorated
different materials with a variety of cross-sections, and by keyboard
exciting the air in the pipes in various ways, such as blowing 18TH-CENTURY
air across a fipple (as in the recorder) or by using reeds. CLAVICHORD
 CL ASSI C A L M USI C I N STRUM E N TS 27

BRASS
The cornett was a treble instrument with open finger
holes, made from a single piece of ivory or two carved
pieces of wood glued together. The serpent was used “Acorn cup”
as a bass instrument in military and church bands in the mouthpiece
18th and 19th centuries. The earliest trumpets were
“natural” instruments (without valves or keys) which
played a single harmonic series. Various devices were Two carved pieces
added in the 18th and 19th centuries to enable them of walnut, bound
with string and
to play more notes. Horns were also originally natural leather
instruments, sometimes equipped with crooks to enable
them to be played in different keys.

Finger holes,
placed for the
Keys used to convenience
change notes of the player’s
hands, were not
acoustically
correct

19TH-CENTURY
Crooks attached SERPENT
to extend length
of horn

Open finger
holes

LATE-18TH-CENTURY 18TH-CENTURY CORNETT

KEYED TRUMPET NATURAL HORN

WOODWIND A WIND CONSORT

The earliest wind instruments were pipes made from wood or bone, with Consorts were small groups
finger holes to change the sounding length and hence the pitch of the of mixed instruments. The
note produced. The shawm family are sounded by a double reed on a instruments played in a
metal staple fitted into a “pirouette”. Shawms were popular from the 13th wind consort included the
to the 17th century and ranged from high soprano to a low bass called a hautbois (ancestor of the
pommer. Also a double-reed instrument, the crumhorn hides its reed oboe), cornett, and sackbut
within a cap. Its heyday was in the 16th and 17th centuries, when it
(ancestor of the trombone).
was used to accompany religious ceremonies as well as secular dances.
Recorders have a fipple or whistle-style mouthpiece and holes for one In the 17th century, wind
thumb and seven fingers. They were widely used as solo and consort consorts would usually have
instruments before the 19th century and have re-emerged in the 20th been heard outside, often
century for teaching music in schools. Many early woodwinds were at gatherings of important
made of close-grained woods such as boxwood, but makers have also people, with quieter string
experimented with ivory, glass, and various metals. consorts used indoors.

SHAWM Reed Finger holes Bell

Beak

Foot joint Bell

18TH-CENTURY
TREBLE RECORDER
Wind cap

Cotton reel
CRUMHORN
28 C L AS SI CA L M USI C I N STRUM E N TS

Strings
The string section is the largest group in the orchestra and forms
its core, and the leading voice among the strings is the violin, an
instrument of extraordinary range and versatility. Orchestral Scroll
violins are divided into two sections: “firsts” and “seconds”.
Violins, violas, cellos, and double basses are primarily played
with a bow but, like the harp, can also be plucked. The left
hand is used to stop the strings in order to change their
vibrating length and hence the pitch of the
notes. A variety of tonal effects can be
achieved by placing the bow closer to or
further away from the bridge, by damping
Orchestra the vibrations of the bridge using a mute,
First Cellos
violins or by applying different bowing techniques.
Screw for
Second Double Since the early 19th century, many earlier adjusting
violins basses tension
Violas Harp
stringed instruments have been altered to of hair
increase their volume and projection.

Rosined
Tuning horsehair
pegs

Carved
Fingerboard, wood,
usually made usually
of ebony pernambuco
Table,
Ribs, made
made of of pine
maple Bridge

Supporting
spike

VIOLIN VIOLA CELLO

Characteristics: With four Characteristics: The alto of the Characteristics: Tuned an
strings tuned in fifths, violins are family, the viola is tuned a fifth octave below the viola, the cello
agile and versatile, and can play below the violin. It has a darker, is the tenor and bass of the violin
two or three notes simultaneously. richer sound than the violin. family. It is also capable of
History: Early violins were in use History: Larger and smaller viola- playing virtuoso passages.
in Italy from the early 16th type instruments were used for History: Appearing in the early
century. Cremona and Brescia both tenor and alto lines from the 16th century, cellos were made
became important centres of early 16th century. Its modern role by many of the famous Cremona
violin-making from 1550. developed in the 18th century. violin makers.
 CL ASSI C A L M USI C I N ST RUM E N TS 29

Peg box. The

tuning pegs jut HARP
out at the back
and a cogwheel Characteristics: The modern orchestral harp
mechanism is has 47 strings stretched between the neck and
Heavy, used for tuning soundboard, together with seven pedals for
short bow altering the pitches of the strings. As well as
playing plucked chords, the harpist can use
techniques such as glissandos and harmonics
to create special effects. Harps are often
The double associated with heavenly or ethereal music.
bass normally History: Small harps existed in ancient times
has four strings,
but some are and are still important in many folk traditions.
made with five The modern double-action pedal harp was
developed in the 18th and 19th centuries
by makers such as Cousineau and
Erard in Paris and London.
The strings on a harp
The double bass are attached at one end
often retains the to the resonator; in the
sloping shoulders violin family they run
of the medieval viol above its surface
Upper
bouts

French-
style
frog

F-holes Soundboard

Pillar

Pedals for
altering
pitches of
strings

Lower
bouts

ANTONIO STRADIVARI ( C .1644–1737)

Bag for
carrying Stradivari emerged from a
bow long tradition of violin makers
in Cremona. Taught by Nicolo
DOUBLE BASS Amati, he educated his sons
in the trade, and his family
Characteristics: Although properly a member
workshop produced violins,
of the viols, the double bass has been adopted
as the lowest-pitched voice of the violin violas, cellos, pochettes, and
family. There are two main styles of bow: the guitars. Many consider his
French, held like a violin bow, and the German, instruments the finest ever
held with the hand upside-down like a viol bow. made. Debates continue
History: Early double basses often had six concerning the woods
strings, while many 18th-century examples had and varnishes he used.
only three. Modern ones have four or five.
30 C L AS SI CA L M USI C I N STRUM E N TS

Woodwind Crook

Woodwind instruments are derived from basic blown pipes

and can be made from a wide variety of materials. Many
produce their sound by means of a vibrating “reed”. They
come in families, with larger and smaller versions of the
main orchestral instrument, and are used to add a variety
of colours to the orchestral sound. The standard woodwind
section of the modern orchestra comprises two flutes,
piccolo, two oboes, cor anglais, two
clarinets, bass clarinet, two
bassoons, and contrabassoon.
In some works, composers
Orchestra may call for additional
Mouthpiece
Clarinets Bassoons woodwind instruments, such

Flutes Oboes
as saxophones and smaller
high-pitched clarinets.
SINGLE REEDS
Characteristics: Single reeds use
All tone holes
a cane reed, held over a slot in the controlled
mouthpiece by a ligature and placed by keys
against the player’s lower lip. The Ligature
clarinet can produce a wide variety of holding
tone colours. The saxophone appears reed
occasionally in the orchestra but is more
common in wind and jazz bands.
History: Johann Christopher Denner Barrel
of Nuremberg is reputed to have
invented the clarinet at the beginning
of the 18th century. More keys were Keys for
left hand
gradually added in the 19th century.

Feathered
CLARINET REED edge Levers
to extend
range
THEOBALD BOEHM (1794–1881)

Born in Munich, Boehm was

a professional flautist who
also worked in the jewellery
and steel industries. He spent Bell
over 30 years remodelling the
Wide, conical
keywork and bores of flutes, bore, ending
and his 1847 cylindrical flute in bell
is the pattern for most modern
instruments. Boehm’s
successors have applied his
principles to other
woodwind
instruments.
Upper
octave key

Bell

ALTO BASS
CLARINET CLARINET CLARINET
 CL ASSI C A L M USI C I N ST RUM E N TS 31

DOUBLE REEDS
Characteristics: The oboe Reed Bell
and bassoon families have attached
to bent
conical bores and a double crook The tubing
reed, consisting of two pieces of the
of shaped cane strapped contrabassoon
is twice the
together, which is held gently length of the
between the lips. The treble bassoon’s
oboe is often given prominent
melodies and requires a
significant amount of air
pressure to sound properly.
The tenor voice of the cor Slender
anglais is popular as a solo double Crook
instrument as it has a rich reed Long (metal
levers to tube that
and sonorous quality. reach holds
Forming the tenor and bass widely reed)
of the woodwind, the spaced
versatile bassoon has a finger
holes
bore which doubles back
on itself. The large
contrabassoon adds
a deep bass to the
woodwind section.
History: Both the oboe
and the early bassoon
first appeared in 17th-
century France. While
the oboe (from hautbois,
meaning “high” or “loud
wood”) developed from
the shawm, the bassoon’s
precursors were the
dulcian (“sweet
sounding”) and fagot
(“bundle of sticks”).

Staple (cork-
covered tube)

Bore of
oboe is
conical

Staple
Distinctive
bulbous
bell
BASSOON OBOE OBOE COR ANGLAIS Hand
REED REED
support

FLUTES
Characteristics: The air in a flute is set in motion by
blowing across the edge of the embouchure hole. Usually
providing the top woodwind voice, the flute also has a
mellow low register. The smaller piccolo can cut through
Long
the entire orchestral texture to great effect. wooden
History: Early flutes were usually made of boxwood or ivory tube
and had open finger holes. The keywork of the modern flute doubles
CONTRA- back on
(usually made of silver) is based on a 19th-century design. BASSOON itself

PICCOLO Embouchure Butt

FLUTE BASSOON
32 C L AS SI CA L M USI C I N STRUM E N TS

Brass Mouthpiece
Keys
controlling
rotary valves
Brass instruments consist of a length of metal tubing Rotary valves
ending in a flared bell. They use a slide mechanism
or valves, which engage additional lengths of tubing
to extend their range. The air column is set in
motion by vibrating the lips against a cupped
mouthpiece. Sound characteristics are partly
a result of the width of the bore, as well as
the shape and size of the
mouthpiece and the bell.
While they can be played
subtly, brass instruments
Orchestra are often used for power
Horns Trumpets
and dramatic effect.
Trombones
and tubas

FRENCH HORN
Characteristics: The tubing of the modern horn
is mostly conical. It usually has three or four rotary
valves, operated by the left hand, while the right Tuning slide
hand is inserted into the bell to shape the sound. Most
horns are pitched in F (single) or a combination of
F and B flat (double or “compensating”). Horn players
sometimes specialize in playing either high or low parts.
History: The natural horn was used as a signalling
instrument on the hunting field. Before the advent of Small-
valves, some players used hand stopping (partly closing the cupped
mouthpiece
bell with the right hand) to play notes outside the harmonic Bell
series, a technique that also changes the timbre of the note. FRENCH HORN
MOUTHPIECE

TRUMPET
Valves

Mouth-
piece Bell

Cylindrical
tubing

Cup
Characteristics: The bore of the orchestral trumpet is partly
cylindrical and partly conical. It has three valves, which lower the pitch
by a semi-tone, tone, or minor third. Different-sized trumpets (C, D, and
B flat are most common) are used to make higher or lower parts easier
to play. Inserting various mutes into the bell alters the timbre produced. Shank
History: The early trumpet – a single length of tubing with a shallow
flared bell – traditionally had a military or ceremonial function. From the
late 18th century, various methods were developed to make more notes TRUMPET
available, including the addition of crooks, slides, keys, or valves. MOUTHPIECE

Water key Slide to extend length

of tubing
 CL ASSI C A L M USI C I N ST RUM E N TS 33

TUBA
Characteristics: Instruments of the tuba family
(including euphoniums, sousaphones, and
bombardons) have wide, conical bores and
provide the bass of the brass section. Bell
Different shapes and sizes are used but
the typical orchestral instrument has an
upward-pointing bell, with three to six valves.
The player uses a great deal of breath but less
wind pressure than for smaller instruments.
History: First developed in Germany in the
1830s, the tuba was embraced enthusiastically
by composers such as Berlioz. It had replaced
its predecessor, the ophicleide (an early Mouthpiece
19th-century invention) in most bands
and orchestras by the 1870s.

Cup
Valves

Throat
Shoulder

Shank
TUBA
MOUTHPIECE

TROMBONE
Characteristics: The cylindrical bored
trombone has a telescoping slide rather
than valves to change the tube length.
Seven slide positions are used, each
changing the pitch by a semitone.
Sizes range from soprano to contrabass
trombones, with the tenor and
bass being the typical
orchestral instruments.
History: When trombones,
or sackbuts, first appeared
in the late 15th century, they
lacked the flaring bell of Large-
cupped
modern instruments. Valves mouthpiece
were added in the 1820s, but
it is the slide version that
now predominates. TROMBONE
MOUTHPIECE The bore of the trombone
varies from country to country

Bell

Strut

Mouthpiece
34 C L AS SI CA L M USI C I N STRUM E N TS

Percussion and keyboards

The percussion section adds rhythmic vitality and drive to the orchestra.
Percussion instruments are divided into two main categories: membranophones
(where a stretched membrane is struck, as with a drum) and idiophones (where
an object made of resonant material is struck). Some idiophones, such as the
xylophone and tubular bells, are tuned and capable of producing melody as
well as rhythm. Other idiophones used frequently in orchestral works range
from cymbals, triangles, and tambourines to the more exotic tam-tam (a large
oriental gong), wood block, castanets, and maracas. Special sound-effect
instruments, such as the whip (two wooden slats that are
slapped together), sleigh bells, rattles, or sirens, can also
be employed. To these, keyboard instruments, such as the
piano and celesta, are often added.
Orchestra Tuning Tensioning
Tensioned gauge screws
Drums Other percussion
instruments batter head

DRUMS
Characteristics: Timpani (or kettledrums) are used
in groups of two to five instruments and can be tuned
by altering the skin tension using turning screws or a
pedal. The snare drum is smaller and has a set of gut
or metal springs stretched across its lower drum head
which vibrate when the upper head is struck. The large
bass drum is also double-headed and is struck using a
stick with a large, soft head.
History: Drums came into the orchestra in the late 17th
century, initially in combination with trumpets. Timpani
arrived first, with other types gradually being added later.
Copper or
fibreglass
shell

Batter
head
Metal
frame

Tuning
pedal
TIMPANUM AND
SNARE DRUM BASS DRUM DRUM STICK

IDIOPHONES
Characteristics: Cymbals are made from metal and are sounded either
with a stick or by clashing a pair together. Tambourines consist of “jingles”
fitted in a ring of wood, over which a membrane is sometimes fitted. They
can be shaken, hit, or used to play a roll. The triangle – a steel bar bent to
form an equilateral triangle – is hung from a string and may
be hit with one or two metal beaters. Trills are played
using quick strokes inside the top corner.
History: Many percussion
instruments originate in
China or Turkey and
CYMBALS
became regular
Jingles
members of the
orchestra in the 19th
TAMBOURINE and 20th centuries. TRIANGLE
 CL ASSI C A L M USI C I N ST RUM E N TS 35

TUNED IDIOPHONES
Characteristics: The glockenspiel consists of a series of metal bars
tuned to a chromatic scale, laid out like a piano keyboard. Sticks with
heads of wood, metal, rubber, or fabric can be used to create different
tone qualities. A wooden equivalent, the xylophone, can have resonators
fitted beneath its rosewood bars. Tubular bells, which are hit with a
small mallet, are commonly used to evoke the sound of church bells.
History: Xylophones are found in many cultures, and, like tubular bells,
were adopted by European composers in the 19th century. The first
orchestral use of the glockenspiel is thought to be in Handel’s Saul (1739).

Wooden
Resonators bars
Tuned
steel
pipes XYLOPHONE

Metal plates

TUBULAR BELLS AND MALLET GLOCKENSPIEL

KEYBOARDS
Characteristics: The piano, developed from the harpsichord in
early-18th-century Florence by Bartolomeo Cristofori, is sometimes
defined as a percussion instrument since its strings are struck
by hammers. While early pianos are largely made of wood
and have a delicate sound, modern grand pianos have
metal frames, larger hammers, and heavier Metal frame
strings, and can be played much more supports
loudly. The celesta, invented in 1886 tension
of the strings
by Auguste Mustel, is a
keyboard instrument in
which tuned metal plates
are struck by
hammers.

Keyboard
The left pedal (“una
corda”) moves the
hammers so they
strike only one of the
two strings for each
note in the treble
and two of the Right pedal lifts
three in the bass all the dampers,
allowing the
strings to
Some pianos have a third central pedal vibrate freely
which raises the dampers of those notes
being played when depressed GRAND PIANO
 37

Classical music in
PERFORMANCE

A common perception of classical music is that

it is performed in the formal surroundings of a
concert hall and usually involves a large symphony
orchestra and world-famous soloists and conductors.
However, classical music can just as easily be
brought to life in the home or out of doors.

he professional composer Baroque period were opera singers.

T whose works are performed
by professional musicians for
Some of Handel’s sopranos were
notorious for their capricious demands.
a paying audience is a relatively Once, during a particularly fraught
recent phenomenon. The idea of rehearsal, the composer threatened to
attending an event specifically to throw the soprano Francesca Cuzzoni
listen to music – rather than to hear from an upstairs window.
music in the course of a church
service or an entertainment at court – THE CONCERT
would have been very unusual before The word “concert” is probably
the 17th century. In medieval times, derived from the Italian concertare (“to
most sacred music was performed by arrange”, or “to get together”). In the
monks within the Church and secular 17th century, musicians would come
music was played and sung by together to perform both privately
wandering minstrels. Just as many and publicly. An early example was in
early composers were anonymous, so Lübeck, Germany, where it became
too were most early performers. fashionable in the 1620s for a
During the Renaissance and Baroque performance of secular music to
periods, performers began to emerge follow Evensong in a public building
from obscurity. Some of the first to (such as the town hall). This came to
achieve fame in northern Europe be known as Abendmusik.
were organists; during his lifetime, Concerts were enthusiastically taken
J S Bach may have been better known up in England at the time of the Civil
as an organist than as a composer. War, when hardly any music was
Another group of “celebrity” performed in churches. Musicians
performers to emerge during the responded to public demand by giving
38 C L AS SI CA L M USI C I N P E R F OR M A N C E

Ancient Music (established in 1726)

performed music by such composers
as Byrd and Purcell, whereas the rival
Concerts of Ancient Music (founded
in 1776) performed Baroque music,
including that of Handel and Corelli.
Concert life was less developed in
Vienna in the 18th century than in
London, and there was no hall
specially intended for concerts, so
musical events took place in a variety
of venues there including palaces,
theatres, Masonic lodges, restaurants,
and public gardens.

PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANS
The music societies formed during
the 18th century organized concerts
MEDIEVAL MUSICIANS
in which amateur musicians could
A group of 14th-century musicians performs on a perform under the direction of
range of instruments, including drum, pipe, shawm, professionals. The composer
vielle with a curved bow, and psaltery.
Telemann founded such a society in
concerts for which listeners paid an Hamburg in 1713, and another was
admission fee. Many were held in to be found in Leipzig, directed by the
taverns such as London’s Mitre Inn. Kantor of the Thomaskirche – the
position held by J S Bach at the time
A MUSICAL HERITAGE
Until well into the 19th century, the
composer and performer were often
one and the same. The performance
of “old” music (music composed by
earlier generations) was rare until the
19th century. Until that time, almost
all music heard was contemporary,
often composed for specific events,
whether sacred (as in the case of
Bach’s Cantatas) or secular (as in
that of Handel’s Music for the Royal
Fireworks). It was in England that MUSIC FOR THE ROYAL FIREWORKS (1749)
To celebrate the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, Handel was
performers began to take an interest commissioned by King George II to write a suite to
in music of the past: the Academy of accompany a magnificent firework display in London

TIMELINE: CLASSICAL MUSIC IN PERFORMANCE

1726 1748 1781 1791 1810
Academy of Holywell Room First Haydn’s first Paganini
Ancient Music in Oxford Gewandhaus visit to London undertakes first
founded in London opened for concert takes for Salomon’s concert tour
concert place in Leipzig concert series

1700 1740 1780 1820

w 1715 1764 s 1820
Wolfgang and Spohr introduces
Forerunner of Three
Nannerl Mozart tour the baton at
Choirs Festival founded in
Europe and perform an orchestra
Gloucester, Hereford and
for Louis XV rehearsal
Worcester, England
 CL ASSI C AL M USI C I N P E R F O R M A N CE 39

BAROQUE ORCHESTRA
A chamber orchestra gathers around
a harpsichord during rehearsals
for an opera in Venice, c.1710.

of his death. The Leipzig

society was named the
Grosses Konzert in 1743,
and by the middle of the
19th century, all its players
were professionals. The
organization – now the
Leipzig Gewandhaus
Orchestra – still exists today.
Many local music
societies (as well as a few
performers) began to sell
admission to a series of concerts to CONCERT HALLS
the public, demanding payment prior
Initially concert halls were limited in size, but
to the first of the concerts. This London’s Hanover Square Rooms (1775) held
became known as the “subscription in excess of 600 people. The audience was free
concert”. One of the first successful to move around during the performance and
examples was that of J C Bach in talk, or to sit on sofas around the hall. With
London in 1765. the increased projection capabilities of new
During the 18th and 19th centuries, instruments, concert halls could become larger.
In 1826, Berlin’s Singakademie was built for
concerts were long and diverse. The an audience of 1200. During the 19th century,
Gewandhaus subscription concerts cultural centres competed with each other to
would frequently contain an overture, build larger, more elaborate halls, such as the
an opera aria, an instrumental solo Musikvereinsaal in Vienna (1870) and the
and a choral finale in each half, and Royal Albert Hall in London (1871).
might last for three or four hours in PALAU DE LA MÚSICA CATALANA CONCERT HALL
total. Where vocal music had been This richly decorated auditorium was built in
at the centre of 18th-century Barcelona in 1908 as a symbol of Catalan pride.
programmes, during the 19th century
it became more accepted to perform
movements from concertos and
symphonies, although concerts solely
of instrumental music were still rare.
The orchestra had emerged during
the Renaissance period as a group of
players brought together for important
occasions. During the 18th century,

1840 s 1880s 1940 w 2003

Liszt uses Foundation of Berlin Tanglewood Walt Disney
the term Philharmonic, Boston Music Center Hall opens
“recital” Symphony, and Amsterdam founded by Serge in Los
for a solo Concertgebouw Orchestras Koussevitsky Angeles
concert

1860 1900 1940 1980

1870 1877 1891 s 1947 1976
Musikvereinsaal Phonograph Carnegie Hall Amadeus Ensemble
opened in Vienna invented by opens in New Quartet intercontemporain
Thomas York; Paderewski founded founded by Pierre
Edison tours USA for Boulez
first time
40 C L AS SI CA L M USI C I N P E R F OR M A N C E

the modern string family replaced bassoons, trumpets, and horns

viols in this group and an important (“double wind”), and timpani.
member was the keyboard player or During the 19th century, this group
“continuo” – a harpsichord, organ, became extended so that piccolos,
or, later, piano that would play from cor anglais, trombones, tubas, and
the bass-line of the score. further percussion were added.
By the 19th century, the continuo The layout of orchestras has
had disappeared and a standard changed considerably over the years.
layout had emerged. Violins were Perhaps the most radical alteration
grouped into two sections and there in the course of the 20th century
were smaller groups of violas, cellos, was the moving of the second
and basses, while there was normally violins next to the first violins and
a pair each of flutes, oboes, clarinets, the cellos to the conductor’s right.

ORCHESTRA AT THE TIME OF HAYDN MODERN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

The strings – not just the violins – were divided into Since roughly the time of the Second World War, both
two sections, one on either side of the leader, who the first and second violins have sat on the conductor’s
sat at the piano and directed the orchestra. left, facing the cellos and double basses on the right.

THE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA KEY

The personnel and seating First Second Violas Cellos Double
arrangement of the modern violins violins basses
orchestra is now effectively Drums Other Harp Piano Organ
standardized around the world. percussion
The picture below shows the Oboes Flutes Clarinets Bassoons
Bournemouth Symphony
Orchestra with its principal Horns Trumpets Trombones
conductor, Marin Alsop. and tubas
 CL ASSI C AL M USI C I N P E R F O R M A N CE 41

THE CONDUCTOR

The conductor became a focal point of interest on issues such as phrasing, bowing, breathing,
through the efforts of Hector Berlioz in the or the respective attack and decay of sound –
1830s. The conductor’s job is about far more is done before the performance. Some
than keeping time. In performance, he or she conductors (Leonard Bernstein, Valery Gergiev)
may give cues to the players to indicate their have been known for their extrovert use of
entries, and may need to control the balance gestures on stage, while others (Pierre Boulez,
between sections. However, much of the work – Bernard Haitink) are far more restrained.
The one thing that all great conductors have
in common is a natural sense of authority.
THE CONDUCTOR’S ROLE
1 2 1 3 The conductor is responsible
for overall interpretation and
encourages the orchestra to
perform as a unit.
2
2/4 TIME 3/4 TIME

1 4

3
2
4/4 TIME

KEEPING TIME
Whatever the time signature, the first beat of each
bar is shown by a downward gesture (the downbeat)
and the last by an upward gesture (the upbeat).

As orchestras became established, a divided into solo recitals, chamber

“canon” or core repertoire emerged music performances, and orchestral
– largely works by the Viennese performances. The crossover with
composers (i.e. Mozart and Beethoven) opera had largely disappeared, which
as well as opera music by composers resulted in the shorter programme
such as Gluck and Cherubini. By lengths we have today.
the end of the 19th
century, concert THE SOLO RECITAL
activity had Liszt was responsible for introducing
the solo recital in the late 1830s. He
toured Europe extensively, performing
in towns and cities from Scotland to
Russia. One of his innovations was
that of playing from memory. In the
21st century this has become the
norm for soloists, but in Liszt’s time
it was considered dangerously radical.
At the same time that Liszt was
establishing his reputation across
Europe, a market was developing for
the celebrity performer in the United
States. The singer Jenny Lind, for
example, drew an audience of over
7,000 at Castle Garden in New York
in 1850, proving the commercial
potential of America for performers
42 C L AS SI CA L M USI C I N P E R F OR M A N C E

MUSIC FESTIVALS

Festivals date back to about 1715 with the first

meeting of the cathedral choirs of Gloucester,
Hereford, and Worcester (the Three Choirs
Festival). Many great composers have inspired
festivals in their memory, notably Handel (1784)
and Beethoven (1845). The 20th century
saw the establishment of festivals such as the
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (from 1933) and
the Lucerne Festival (1938). The composers
Benjamin Britten and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies
established their own festivals in Aldeburgh and
Orkney, respectively. American festivals include
those at Aspen, Ravinia, and Tanglewood.
TANGLEWOOD FESTIVAL
The Boston Symphony Orchestra has staged its
summer festival at Tanglewood since 1940.

and promoters. Pianists such as succeeded by Liszt’s pupil von Bülow

Thalberg and Anton Rubinstein in 1887. Prestigious orchestras were
toured the United States from the established on the other side of the
mid-19th century onwards, and Atlantic by wealthy industrialists: the
Paderewski created a sensation with Philharmonic Symphony Society
his tours there in the 1890s.

NEW ORCHESTRAS
The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra,
founded in 1882, has set what many
consider the finest standards in
orchestral playing. Brahms’s friend
Joseph Joachim was appointed
its first conductor and was

CLASSICAL MUSIC WITH A NEW FACE

Today’s promoters are always
on the lookout for talented,
attractive soloists like
Vanessa Mae
(born 1978).
 CL ASSI C AL M USI C I N P E R F O R M A N CE 43

of New York (later the New York the spirituality of their playing,
Philharmonic) in 1842 and the while performers like violinist Jascha
Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1881. Heifetz and pianist Evgeny Kissin
are noted for their technical prowess.
WIDER AUDIENCES Others, such as the pianist Alfred
In the 19th century, concert series Brendel, seem to combine all these
were founded to make music available qualities with an intellectual integrity.
to people who could not afford to Others still – violinists Maxim
attend subscription concerts. London’s Vengerov and Nigel Kennedy, for
Crystal Palace concerts were a typical example – are noted for their panache
venture of this kind. Two free concerts and conviction. Flamboyant artists
were given daily throughout the 1850s. who have raised the public profile of
Military bands also brought music their instruments include the flautist
to wider audiences. Under J P Sousa James Galway, the percussionist
in the 1880s, the Marine Corps Band Evelyn Glennie, the trumpeter Håken
would give free weekly concerts at Hardenberger, and the viola player
the White House and the Capitol in Yuri Bashmet. Some performers have
Washington. At the same time there looked to the east for inspiration; the
was a great increase in the number violinist Yehudi Menuhin worked with
of choral societies, especially in sitar player Ravi Shankar, and more
industrial regions such recently the cellist Yo-Yo Ma has
as northern England, initiated an East-West collaboration
Wales, and Germany’s through his Silk Road Ensemble.
Ruhr Valley.
RECORDING

MODERN PERFORMERS Recording made music available to all. The first

Few 20th- or 21st-century composers wax recordings, at the end of the 19th century,
were dominated by opera arias by singers such
have been known as performers, but as Caruso, as the voice could be reproduced
Richard Strauss, Bernstein, Boulez, much better than instrumental music.
and others have combined the Electric recordings began in 1925, allowing
roles of conductor longer excerpts of works to be recorded, and
and composer. the arrival of LPs in 1948 allowed many works
Non-composing to be presented in their entirety. Stereo was
introduced in 1958 and the CD in 1983.
performers, Some commentators, such as Canadian
however, have pianist Glenn Gould, predicted that live concerts
influenced the would be superseded by recorded music, but
repertoire of their there is now more emphasis on live performance
instruments profoundly. than there has been for half a century.
The cellist Mstislav A RECORDING STUDIO
Rostropovich worked closely The availability of so many high-quality recordings
means that new recordings of standard repertoire
with Prokofiev, Shostakovich, cannot be justified by the major record labels.
Schnittke, and Britten; the singer
Kathy Berberian inspired Berio to
compose vocal music; and the pianist
David Tudor worked with John Cage
and other avant-garde composers.
Many performers have chosen to
specialize in certain repertoires; Artur
Schnabel, for example, was known for
his renditions of the Beethoven piano
sonatas. Some artists, such as the
cellist Pablo Casals, are celebrated for
 THE HISTORY OF

C LASSICAL
MUSIC
 47

EARLY
MUSIC
1000 1600 —

“Early Music” refers to the repertoire from historical

periods less familiar to classically trained musicians and
their audiences than that of the Classical and Romantic
eras. This section covers the music of the Middle Ages
and the Renaissance – a vast sweep of centuries of
musical ideas, developments and performance styles.

n terms of architecture, end at the point where Monteverdi

I painting, and sculpture, the
Renaissance can be said to
and his contemporaries experimented
with the new “Baroque” genres of
have begun in 15th-century Florence. opera, sonata, and concerto at the
The transition between the music of beginning of the 17th century,
the Middle Ages and the Renaissance although countries such as England
is more difficult to identify, because were still in a rich period of
musical styles developed gradually “Renaissance” music until perhaps
and in different ways across Europe. two or three decades later.
It is clear, however, that there were
differences in the approach to musical CHURCH MUSIC
composition as practised by the French The music that has survived is heavily
composer Machaut in the 14th weighted in favour of the sacred.
century and the Italian Palestrina in Plainchant was by far the most
the 16th century. Works by influential common sort of sacred music during
composers such as Dufay and Josquin this entire period, and was sung in
changed musical style considerably in every church, monastery, cathedral,
the late 15th and early 16th centuries, and chapel. It was monophonic music
so 1450 is a convenient date to – it had just a single line of melody –
separate medieval from Renaissance and could be sung by one voice or
music. What is usually referred to as many. Most church musicians would
Renaissance music may be seen to have been expected to commit
hundreds of chants to memory as
MINSTREL PLAYING A VIELLE
part of their musical training, even
This illustration is from a 13th-century illuminated
manuscript, the Cantigas de Santa Maria, a collection after Guido d’Arezzo developed the
of songs made for Alfonso X of Castile and León. music stave in the 11th century.
48 EAR LY M USI C

Secular monophonic music was created of a hurdy-gurdy or bagpipe. The

throughout this period, but only from vielle may thus have provided just
the 12th century was it considered a steady drone or more complex
worthy of preservation in written accompaniments to a solo singer.
collections. The most famous secular
composers were the troubadours, POLYPHONY
trobairitz (female troubadours), and The rise of polyphonic (literally
trouvères of medieval France, whose “many-voiced”) forms of composition
music and poetry usually expressed from approximately the 12th century
the ideals of courtly love. Little is took place within the Church, as
known about how their music was singers elaborated on the basic
performed, but it is possible that plainchant by the addition of other
their songs were accompanied by the vocal parts on special occasions, such
vielle, a forerunner of the violin with as Christmas or Easter. In the
five strings, one of which could Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris,
produce a regular drone like that Léonin and Pérotin are credited with
having written the first body of two-,
PLAINCHANT
three-, and four-part music to be
Plainchant was the musical part of the liturgy circulated in manuscript form. By
in the Christian Church. Plainchant was the 13th century, a large repertory
monophonic, a single melodic line set in one
of polyphony was found in major
of the eight church modes (scales based on a
specific combination of intervals). These churches across Europe, and secular
melodies might be short, regular and simple, forms of music were also being
or more extensive, elaborate, and complex. written in more than one part. By
The texts used for chants were religious, and in the 15th century, polyphonic music
Latin or Greek. Melodies were written down was widespread and had become a
only from the 9th century, and there were
necessary part of important religious
regional variations in the chants used. Attempts
were made to bring and courtly celebrations.
European churches
into line so that all THE MOTET
performed the same The motet was one of the most
chants in the same popular sacred forms during the
way, but none
later Middle Ages, gradually making
were particularly
successful. way for polyphonic settings of the
Ordinary of the Mass (the parts of
MANUSCRIPT SCORE
the Mass that remain the same every
This Flemish
score of 1522 is day). The motet was developed in the
illuminated with a 13th century in northern France.
painting of clerics The plainchant was placed into a
playing music
in a garden. strict rhythmic pattern, above which
between one and three other lines
T I M E L I N E : E A R LY M U S I C
1054 1099 s 1150s c.1200
Schism between First Crusade: Works of Hildegard of Rise of German
Eastern Church capture of Bingen, earliest surviving Minnesänger
and Church of Jerusalem set of compositions by a
Rome named author

1050 1100 1150 1200

w 1030 c.1125 c.1165–1200 c.1200 s
Guido d’Arezzo Rise of Léonin and Pérotin Cathedral
describes the stave troubadours compose significant of Notre-
and uses the fingers in southern body of church music Dame, Paris,
and hand as aids to France for Notre-Dame, Paris completed
remembering music
 E A R LY M USI C 49

Wealthy patrons of the 16th century

demanded vocal and instrumental
music for all sorts of musical
combinations. In particular, “families”
of instruments that comprised various
sizes of one type of instrument (a
consort of recorders, viols, or voices)
flourished during the Renaissance
period, though mixed or “broken”
MEDIEVAL NOBLES DANCING IN A GARDEN consorts of string, wind and voice
This scene illustrates the great French medieval were also cultivated. Dances such as
poem of courtly love, Le Roman de la Rose.
the stately pavan and the galliard, a
were placed; these upper parts were lively dance involving leaps, became
each given a new text, resulting in enormously
a complex texture in which many popular.
different words sounded together.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
Along with new secular forms
of song in the 16th
century, such as the
madrigal, instrumental
music rose to such a status
that it was more frequently
copied down than it had been
in the Middle Ages. The
Renaissance saw a rise in the
involvement of the merchant
classes in the performance of
music; the invention of music
printing by Petrucci in 1501
meant that music could be
sold and distributed more easily,
cheaply, and reliably than ever
before, though much was still
written down in manuscript
(literally “handwritten”) form.
MONKS SINGING
French composers produced the first complex
polyphonic settings of the liturgy. This illumination
appears in a 13th-century French psalter.

1338 1347 s
Start of Hundred Years’ War Black Death
between England and France reaches
w c.1307 Europe
Dante starts work on
La divina commedia
1250 1300 1350
c.1250 c.1309 1320 c.1363
Spanish Papacy transfers to Avignon in Publication of Ars Nova, musical Machaut
Cantigas de southern France. The vast papal treatise attributed to Philippe de Vitry composes
Santa Maria palace dominates the town Messe de
written s Nostre Dame
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 “I don’t think I’d trust it in a small safe like that, if it were mine,”
said Westenhanger, glancing at the little iron door from which Rollo
Dangerfield had taken the document. “Any man with a pocket
crowbar could open that thing and get away with the Talisman.”
The old man laughed shortly.
“Don’t trouble about the safe. The Talisman is never put into
that. The fact is, you have come up against another of the
Dangerfield superstitions. The Talisman is never moved from its
place by day or night. It stands where you see it, always.”
The American sat up suddenly.
“You leave it there, sir? You take no precautions against crooks?
You don’t mean to tell me anyone could step in here, lift that bell,
and clear off with the goods?”
He paused, as if struck by a thought. Then he continued in
another tone.
“I take it that you’re fully covered by insurance?”
Rollo Dangerfield’s face took on a faintly sardonic expression. He
seemed to enjoy surprising the American.
“Not at all. The Talisman has never been insured. Why should we
insure it? It always comes back. We have electric alarms on all the
outer doors and the windows, of course; but they are merely put on
because my wife is nervous. The Talisman can look after itself, I
assure you.”
Wraxall looked at his host in amazement.
“Do you really mean that?”
He thought for a moment, and then a fresh idea seemed to strike
him.
“Now I see! You’ve got some medieval mantrap or spring-gun
attached to the thing, something that grips your burglar if he comes
after your property?”
Rollo Dangerfield’s laugh was quite free from sarcasm; he
evidently enjoyed the jest which he alone could see.
“No, Mr. Wraxall, nary a spring-gun, as I believe some of your
compatriots might say. Not so much as a mantrap. You could lift the
thing from its bed at any hour of the day or night without the
slightest risk. My nephew Eric has rooms in the tower above us; but
even if he heard you, I doubt if he would trouble to interrupt you.
We know our Talisman. It always comes home.”
The American was plainly astounded.
“It seems to me, Mr. Dangerfield, that you’re presuming a good
deal on your safety in the past. Crooks nowadays aren’t likely to be
frightened off by talk. No, it would take more than a Castle Spectre
to keep some of our smashers out of here if they only knew what
you’ve told us.”
Rollo Dangerfield’s white eyebrows contracted slightly. It was
evident to them all that he was displeased at being doubted. He
leaned forward and spoke directly to the American.
“Now this is authentic, Mr. Wraxall. You can look up the accounts
in the local papers of the time, if you care to go to the trouble. I
shall be very pleased to give you the dates, if necessary. At least
twice within the last half century an attempt has been made to rob
us of the Talisman. Once a drunken tramp made his way in here
during the night and took the armlet. He was afraid to get rid of it
anywhere near here; and three days later he was arrested for some
other crime; the Talisman was found on him and returned to us. The
second case was a genuine burglary. One of the keepers saw the
man leave the house and gave chase. The fellow dropped dead—
heart failure, it was said to be—and the Talisman was found in his
hand.”
The American said nothing; but quite obviously he was not
convinced. Old Dangerfield seemed to be nettled.
“I am not trying to convince you, Mr. Wraxall. I suppose that
would be quite impossible. But I tell you this frankly: If the Talisman
disappeared to-night, the last thing I should think of doing would be
to call in the police. The Talisman guards itself. Within seven days at
the outside, it would be back there under the bell.”
Eileen Cressage had been listening eagerly to the old man’s
words; but at this last statement, her surprise broke out.
“You wouldn’t call in the police, Mr. Dangerfield? You’d really trust
to the Talisman finding its way home? It seems amazing.”
“You may take me at my word, Miss Cressage. I mean exactly
what I say in this matter. If the Talisman disappeared, either by day
or by night, I should not trouble to call in police assistance. Why
should I, when I know what I do know? Of course I mean what I
say. Did you ever see anything like the Talisman guarded with so
little care? If I did not believe implicitly that it would come back,
wouldn’t I have it trenched round with all manner of protections? Of
course! Let it go! What does that matter, since it is certain to be over
there again before long.”
Conway Westenhanger turned from the Talisman’s niche, but as
he crossed the tessellated floor his eye was caught by something
which he had not noticed before. He stooped for an instant and
glanced keenly at the corners of one or two squares.
“Something there that’s got plugged with dirt,” he reflected.
“Holes a bit bigger than a large pin’s head, they seem to be. Nothing
important, evidently, since they’re choked up in that fashion.”
 Chapter III
Freddie Stickney owed his presence in the Friocksheim house-
party to qualities other than those which make a welcome guest. He
was a mean little man, with a skin which invariably proved itself
impenetrable to ordinary social pin-pricks; and this thickness of hide
enabled him to thrust himself into positions wherein an average
individual would have felt too keenly that he was an intruder. He had
invited himself, knowing Rollo Dangerfield’s dislike for hurting
people’s feelings and counting on that quality to avoid a refusal;
and, having arrived, he proposed to stay for just as long as it suited
him to do so. Not that he had any special interest in the
Dangerfields. He had angled for three other invitations before
turning to Friocksheim as a last resource. However, he was quite
prepared to make the most of it, now that he had fixed the thing up.
“Even the best of us,” he reflected philosophically, “even the best of
us have to put up with the second-best at times.” And in this kindly
spirit he had come down from town.
Freddie’s lack of popularity was due to certain peculiarities in his
mind. An acquaintance of his, hard put to it to account for the
matter, had explained it thus: “Freddie’s got a certain acuteness.
Give him a fact, and he’ll worry at it and draw inferences from it.
And the funny thing is that every inference he draws tends to
discredit somebody or something. And yet he doesn’t do it out of
malice. It’s just Freddie’s way. He’s got that kind of mind—can’t help
making people uncomfortable.”
On the afternoon of the day after Rollo Dangerfield had shown
the Talisman to his guests, Freddie was lounging on a seat in the
garden when one of these inference-bearing facts crossed his mind.
“Why,” he said to himself, “now that Westenhanger’s gone to
town, we shall be thirteen at table to-night. That’s very thoughtless
of the Dangerfields. Out of thirteen people there’s certain to be at
least one person who’s superstitious. That’ll be most uncomfortable
for everybody. I think I’d better mention it before we sit down.”
As it chanced he had not to wait so long before announcing his
discovery. Before he had finished a mental analysis of the probable
distribution of superstition among his fellow-guests, Mrs. Dangerfield
came into view, armed with gloves and scissors. Freddie rose and
joined her.
“Going to cut some flowers?” he inquired. “May I help?”
Mrs. Dangerfield refused his assistance; but Freddie was not to
be shaken off.
“Friend of mine once suffered badly. Tore his finger with a thorn,
then let some dirt into it. Careless fellow he was, poor chap. It
suppurated, swelled up, they had to take the finger off at last.”
Mrs. Dangerfield deliberately put on her gardening gloves.
“I don’t think I shall run much risk in these, Mr. Stickney.”
“No? Perhaps not. Still, one never can tell, you know. A single
prick from a rose-thorn would be enough.”
Mrs. Dangerfield laughed.
“You must be a terribly thoughtful person to live with.”
Freddie considered this for a moment.
“No. Just a knack I have of seeing a thing and knowing how it
happens. That reminds me—we shall be thirteen at table to-night.
Don’t mind myself, of course—and I’m sure you don’t mind either—
but some of the people might, you know. It’s awkward.”
“I shouldn’t trouble about it, Mr. Stickney. As a matter of fact, I
remembered it yesterday and rang up Mrs. Tuxford. She and the
doctor will dine with us to-night. So no one’s feelings will be ruffled.
And of course we never have a full party at lunch. Is your mind
relieved?”
Mrs. Dangerfield did not like Freddie Stickney.
“But what about breakfast to-morrow?” pursued the indefatigable
inquirer. “They might happen to turn up all at the same time.”
“Mrs. Brent always breakfasts in her own room,” said Mrs.
Dangerfield, who was tired of the subject. “I’m sorry. I have some
orders to give to this gardener.”
 Dismissed in this summary fashion Freddie Stickney wandered
about the grounds until it was time to go into the house and dress.
He was feeling rather bored. Friocksheim might be cheaper than the
Continent, but undeniably it was slow. Nothing happened at
Friocksheim. These people seemed to have no interest in scandal.
He began to wish that something would turn up to liven things a
little. He had had hopes of Morchard at first. The mottle-faced fellow
seemed to be keen on the girls; and anything might turn up. But
none of the girls seemed interested in Morchard. Nor did they seem
fascinated by Freddie himself. A slow place, decidedly slow. He was
thoughtful while he dressed. If the Dangerfield circle was going to
turn out so boring he might be forced to leave earlier than he had
intended; but that would mean paying hotel bills somewhere, and
Freddie’s frugal mind could hardly bring itself to consider that
prospect except as a last resort.
After dinner the party split up. Douglas Fairmile, complaining
bitterly of the heat and clamouring for fresh air, easily persuaded
Cynthia to follow him out into the gardens. Old Dangerfield
impressed Freddie Stickney to make up a bridge four with Nina
Lindale and the doctor’s wife. As they sat down Mrs. Tuxford put in a
plea for small stakes.
“What do you call ‘small stakes?’ ” demanded Freddie. “As low as
ten bob a hundred? They’re playing their usual points at the other
table, I think.”
He glanced over his shoulder as he spoke, and noted that Mrs.
Caistor Scorton and Morchard were playing against Eric Dangerfield
and Eileen.
The doctor’s wife, a shy-looking girl, seemed taken aback by
Freddie’s ideas.
“I simply can’t afford to play for anything higher than a shilling a
hundred,” she said, ignoring Freddie’s ill-suppressed astonishment at
the figure. “I’m sorry, but there it is.”
Rollo Dangerfield winced under Freddie’s tactlessness. He knew
that the doctor’s practice was a very small one; and he admired the
girl for having the grit to keep the stakes down.
 “Quite right,” he interjected, swiftly, before Freddie could say
anything further, “I agree with you, Mrs. Tuxford. A shilling a
hundred suits well enough if one’s keen on the game for its own
sake. I’d much rather play with people who want to win a rubber
than with other people who only want to win a sovereign.”
“I’m quite pleased to play for a shilling a hundred,” said Nina
Lindale.
Freddie could take a hint as well as most people. His eyes
opened a little wider, but nothing else showed whether he was
pleased or displeased. As the game began, the doctor came across
the room and glanced at his wife’s hand.
Mrs. Brent, feeling the thunderous closeness of the night, had
made her way to a chair beside one of the deep windows; and
leaning back in it she tried to persuade herself that she felt a breath
of cooler air. Wraxall and Mrs. Dangerfield followed her, and they
were joined almost immediately by the doctor. Helga Dangerfield
circled round the two tables, halting for a moment or two to scan
the cards. Then, saying she had some letters to write, she left the
room.
“The storm must be coming to-night,” Mrs. Brent asserted, as a
faint puff of sultry air momentarily stirred the curtain beside her. “It’s
been banking up all day; and I’m sure it can’t keep off much longer.
I can feel all my nerves atwitch.”
Wraxall bent forward in his chair and scanned the heavy clouds.
“I’m not up in your weather-signs,” he said, “but it does seem to
me that there’s a shake-up coming. I should certainly judge we’d
have rain soon. I should say we’re in for a regular water-spout if
those clouds burst overhead. It will be wet.”
The doctor was examining Mrs. Brent’s face with an interest more
friendly than professional.
“Nerves?” he asked kindly.
She nodded.
“A dose of bromide? Quieten them, and give you a chance to get
to sleep. I can take my car down and make it up for you in ten
minutes, if you’d like it.”
 Mrs. Brent thanked him with a smile; but she nodded dissent to
his suggestion.
“No,” she answered, “I don’t believe in running away from things.
I loathe thunder; but I’m not so feeble as all that. I’d much rather
take it as it comes.”
The doctor was about to say something when she stopped him
with a gesture and bent forward to the window, listening intensely.
“What bird was that?” she asked.
“I heard nothing,” said the doctor.
“Listen!” she motioned for silence, and they sat with ears
strained. “There! Didn’t you hear it?”
“No, nothing,” said the American.
“There it is again!” Mrs. Brent held up her hand for a moment.
“It’s stopped now. Didn’t you hear it, Anne?”
Mrs. Dangerfield shook her head.
“You always forget that the rest of us aren’t gifted with super-
normal hearing, you know.”
“Well, I heard it quite distinctly. It’s down yonder in the trees
near the Pool, I think.”
“Nobody else heard it, at any rate,” said the doctor. “You must
have remarkably sharp ears, Mrs. Brent. Now I begin to see why you
dislike thunder so much. It must be a perfect torture to a person
with your acute hearing. I withdraw my suggestion about a sedative.
Nothing short of morphia would keep you asleep in a storm, I’m
afraid.”
“Well, I haven’t come to that yet,” Mrs. Brent retorted. “And I
prefer to keep what nerves I have, rather than wreck them further
with drugs. One can always stand a thing if one makes up one’s
mind to it.”
“One thing I won’t stand,” said Mrs. Dangerfield, “and that’s the
heat in this room. Let’s go outside and see if we can’t find a cooler
spot to sit.”
The doctor rose and followed her as she crossed the room; but
Mrs. Brent seemed to reject the idea. She remained in her chair and
Wraxall, after rising, sat down again. For a time Mrs. Brent remained
silent, gazing out at the inky sky; but at last she turned to the
American.
“Well, Mr. Wraxall,” she demanded in a low voice which could not
reach the bridge players. “Are you still confident of getting what you
want?”
The American’s face betrayed nothing of his thoughts.
“I couldn’t say. No, it’s too early yet to say. I’ll admit that it’s a
stiffer thing than I expected. It’s certainly stiffer than I supposed.
But I haven’t tried to get it yet. I think I’ll wait till I have tried,
before I say what I think. But I thank you for what you told me. I
take that kindly of you. If you’d said nothing I’d have made a
mistake, likely enough. I hadn’t quite a grip of the situation; I’ll say
that frankly.”
Mrs. Brent scanned his imperturbable features for a moment and
then changed the subject.
“Rather a contrast between those two bridge-tables over there.
Mrs. Tuxford plays well; but she kept the stakes down. The play at
the other table seems to me little better than gambling. I’ve heard
‘Re-double’ twice in the last round or two; and Miss Cressage isn’t
half as good at bridge as Mrs. Tuxford.”
Wraxall looked at her with a faint admiration showing on his face.
“You don’t miss much, Mrs. Brent. That’s a fact. I’ve been
watching them play, but it hadn’t struck me. You’re quite right. But I
suppose they can stand it.”
“I suppose so. No business of mine,” retorted Mrs. Brent, shortly.
She turned slightly round in her chair, however, and studied the
faces of the players at Eileen’s table. Things were going very badly
for the girl. She was the worst of the four, and in addition, her nerve
was going, and her play was growing more and more reckless. That
night she had sat down with the pleasant feeling that in an hour or
two she would have won something more towards the payment of
these bills which still hung over her. But somehow, this evening,
things were different. Instead of Conway Westenhanger, she had
Eric Dangerfield as a partner; and without quite realising what the
change meant she had found that the games did not run so
smoothly as they had done on the night before. Once or twice she
had miscalculated, and her partner had left her to fend for herself. A
run of bad cards had eaten still further into her nerve.
And then, suddenly, she had realised how much she had already
lost; and she had begun to play more wildly in the hope of recouping
herself. The gains of the previous evening were gone by now, and
she was steadily running up a score against herself. She began to
feel the heat of the night; and her play became more erratic.
Mrs. Brent studied her face for a round or two without comment.
Then she turned to the American with an expression which might
almost have been an ill-concealed sneer.
“If either of us was a philanthropist, Mr. Wraxall, I think we could
find a field for our talents by persuading that girl to stop before she
makes matters worse. She’s making a fool of herself.”
“I judge so from her looks. I don’t play bridge. It seems to me to
lack the complete psychological satisfaction that poker gives. And it
hasn’t the swiftness of faro. It’s too slow and not brainy enough. I
regard it as a dud game.”
Mrs. Brent turned her back to the bridge-table.
“Well, if we worried ourselves about other people’s troubles we
should have a full life of it,” she said. “As I told you the other night,
I’m not a professing philanthropist.”
The American made no direct reply.
“You’ve got a headache?” he asked.
“Frightful. It’s the storm, I think.”
“I judged so from your eyes. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go off and
leave you. You won’t be anxious to talk when you feel that way.”
Mrs. Brent gloomily acquiesced. Wraxall rose from his chair and
left the room. As soon as he had gone she turned again slightly and
resumed her study of Eileen Cressage’s face. The girl was evidently
slipping into desperation; and her play had degenerated into mere
gambling on long chances. Once or twice she won heavily; but the
run of luck was persistently against her. Mrs. Brent shifted her
attention to Eric Dangerfield’s face; and from it she could learn that
he was growing uneasy. Once or twice he endeavoured to take the
play out of his partner’s hands; but he had nothing like the skill of
Conway Westenhanger. More often than not, his attempts at rescue