Handel introduced the harp into his orchestral scores. In the oratorio of _Esther_, produced at Cannons for the Duke of Chandos in 1720 and performed in London in 1732 he used it in combination with the theorbo in “Breathe soft, ye winds”; Mozart wrote a Concerto for the Flute and Harp for the Duc de Guisnes and his daughter. Spohr wrote much for the instrument (his wife was a harpist). Meyerbeer, the first to use the double-action harp, called for two in _Robert le Diable_. Berlioz introduced a lovely trio for two flutes and a harp in _L’Enfance du Christ_. Liszt treats the harp most poetically; and it occurs in almost all of his works. Wagner makes it conspicuous in _Das Rhinegold_ and _Die Walküre_. It is strikingly used by Richard Strauss and Debussy. The modern school of Russian and French composers treat the harp as an orchestral instrument rather than as a solo instrument, making its voice a part of the woven web of melody and harmony. CHAPTER XI THE PIANOFORTE _The dulcimer and the psaltery or psaltérion; ancestors of the pianoforte; the jacks; the spinet; the virginal, the gravicembalo or harpsichord; the Ruckers of Antwerp; the pianoforte; Cristofori; Liszt; the pianoforte a hundred years ago._ The piano, or harpsichord, ceased to belong to the Orchestra in the days of Haydn; but it is often called upon to play a Concerto with the Orchestra and of late composers have again been experimenting with it as an orchestral instrument. A description of its mechanism would be dull. Like every other instrument, the piano was a development of older instruments; and as it developed composers changed their style of writing for it. We can follow the development of the piano by following a chronological list of compositions, from the preludes and fugues of Bach; the suites for the clavecin and clavier of Handel, Couperin, and Rameau; and the early sonatas of Mozart and Beethoven to the big sonata of Beethoven, written for the “hammer clavier,” op. 111, and the elaborate _Hungarian Rhapsodies_ of Liszt, and so on. With the development of the piano came the development of _touch_. In the days of the harpsichords and clavichords there was practically no such thing as _touch_. There was brilliant execution, of course, and effects were produced; but _touch_ developed after the piano had been equipped with its softly padded hammers and its improved action. The modern piano is a miniature orchestra; and since the days of Liszt pianists have sought to get orchestral effects from it. More literature has been written for the piano than for any other instrument.