Musical Myths and Facts, Volume 2 (of 2)Engel, Carl
History
Musical Myths and Facts, Volume 2 (of 2)
Engel, Carl
Music -- History and criticism
The Tagals, or the aborigines of the Philippine Islands, have theatrical
performances in bamboo buildings. The characters consist principally of
fairies, demons, and other supernatural creatures; but, the musical
part of these entertainments is said to contain much which has been
borrowed from the Spaniards. Probably this is especially the case in
Manilla. Besides the principal theatre, in which the actors are
Spaniards, Manilla has two theatres of the natives. In South America we
find, as might be expected, Spanish and Italian operas. In Lima the
orchestra is deficient; Spanish dances, as the Bolero, Fandango, Don
Mateo, are often performed instead of our ballets. At the theatre in
Mexico, Spanish dances are frequently introduced between the plays. The
Teatro de Tacon in Havana, said to be one of the finest edifices of the
kind in the world, has singers who perform Italian operas, as in Europe.
The female spectators sit in places separate from those of the men.
There can hardly be a doubt that many operatic entertainments, which are
now secular, had originally a sacred character. The ancient nations
performed religious dances with pantomimic representations. Also the
Chinese at the time of Confucius thus enhanced their sacred ceremonies.
The Burmese, at the present day, sing and dance by the coffin of a
deceased priest. They are Buddhists. Funeral dances are common with
several uncivilized races. Our Christian ancestors, during the earlier
centuries of the Middle Ages, performed sacred dances in the church. The
Christian priests of the Abyssinians still dance at certain religious
ceremonies. In the Cathedral of Seville, boys, from the age of twelve to
seventeen, dressed in an old Spanish costume, annually execute a ballet
every evening during the Ottave del Corpus. Again, sacred dances with
recitations, dialogues, and hymns are performed in several European
countries during Christmastide. The Mysteries, Miracle Plays, or
musical-dramatic entertainments on biblical subjects, so popular during
the Middle Ages, have not entirely fallen into disuse. Passion-Plays are
still occasionally performed by the peasantry in Bavaria, in the Tyrol,
and in Moravia. The "Mayings," or popular rejoicings with music,
dancing, and processions, remains of which are still to be found in
England as well as on the Continent, had probably in pagan time also a
religious character, as they were intended to welcome the approach of
the sunny season. Turning to America, we meet in Peru with musical
entertainments which were introduced among the Indians by the Spanish
monks, who accompanied Pizarro's army, and who dramatized scenes in the
life of Christ, and had them represented to facilitate by this
attractive means the conversion of the heathen aborigines. These plays
are no longer performed in the larger towns of Peru, but are still kept
up by the villagers of the Sierra. Good Friday especially is celebrated
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account