Musical Myths and Facts, Volume 1 (of 2)Engel, Carl
History
Musical Myths and Facts, Volume 1 (of 2)
Engel, Carl
Music -- History and criticism
Inscription: "Wood and Ivy, late Gerd Wood, London." A basset horn
(corno di bassetto), probably English. A border bagpipe, from
Northumberland. With bellows, and four drones. A French bagpipe
(cornemuse). An English trumpet in case; made probably in the eighteenth
or in the beginning of the nineteenth century. A small trombone,
English, made by Allen and Pace. A horn, of brass; the bell terminating
in the head of a serpent; English, eighteenth century. A serpent, by
"Gerrock Wolf, in London;" beginning of the present century. Two
alphorns, made by M. von Euw in B¸rgy, Rigi Kulm, Canton Swyz,
Switzerland, of birchwood neatly covered with birch-bark. Length, 8 ft.
1 in. A cither, a specimen of the kind which was commonly found in
England, some centuries ago, in barbers' shops; English, about 1700.[6]
A German cither; end of the seventeenth century. Ornamented with
marquetry. A small English cither, made about the year 1700. The open
strings produce only five tones instead of six. Specimens of this kind
are very scarce. An English cither of the eighteenth century. An English
cither made by Remerus Liessem, London, 1756. The body is of a very
old-fashioned form, having several incurvations at the sides. A small
English cither of the eighteenth century. The sound-hole is ornamented
with a rose made of wood. The rose of the English cither is more usually
made of bronze. Cetera; an Italian cither, made about the year 1680.
This is the most beautiful cither in the collection. The entire
instrument, except the belly, is inlaid with tasteful designs in ivory
and ebony. Also the tone is remarkably fine. A Scotch cither neatly
inlaid with wood ornamentation. At the back is a plate of
mother-of-pearl with the inscription "Rudiman, ABDN, DG." Perhaps this
cither belonged to the well-known Latin grammarian Rudiman, who, about
the year 1700, was at King's College in Aberdeen. An Irish cither with
an ivory finger-board and with ten tuning-screws of brass. A large
specimen. Made by Perry in Dublin; eighteenth century. Cithara; a
Portuguese cither with six pairs of wire-strings, inlaid with
tortoise-shell and ivory. Made by Joan Vieira da Silva at Lisbon, about
1700. Cithara; a Portuguese cither, probably dating from the beginning
of the eighteenth century. Mounted with twelve strings in pairs. A very
fine-toned instrument. Inscription: "Cyprianio Antonio a fez em Lisboa,
ao Largo da EsperanÁa." A keyed cither; English, eighteenth century. It
has six ivory keys. The idea of applying keys like those of the
pianoforte to the cither, and thus striking the wire-strings with
hammers instead of twanging them with a quill originated in Germany, but
proved to be of no practical advantage. Bijuga cither (_i.e._ a cither
with a double neck, like the theorbo). Two French specimens, dating from
about the middle of the eighteenth century. Bijuga cither, made by
Renault in Paris, anno 1779. This handsome species of cither,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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