Momence High School - Monesse Yearbook (Momence, IL)

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SENIOR YEAR BOOK. 17 double pipe. This gave the treble and bass at once. The harp was the foun¬ dation of the Egyptian orchestra. The origin of Egyptian music is uncertain. The tones were probably discovered accidentally. Egyptian music was purely diatonic. There were no half steps, modern modulation was unknown and every composition, from beginning to end, was played in one key. The compass of the orchestra was about four and a half octaves, or more than half that of our modern or¬ chestra. The long strings gave the lower tones and the short ones the higher ones. Egyptian music was not of a high rythmic order as is shown by the pres¬ ence of conductors. They used no batons but marked the time by clapping the hands. They possessed a system of notation, in the form of hieroglyphics, but not what we would call a musical notation. Small progress was made in music, considering the long period in which the Egyptians enjoyed the art. The cause of this was the slow perception, child-like intelligence, and limited opportunities of the Egyptians. They were also conservative to reaction. Their music was mostly carried on by slaves at the banquets of the Great, for revelry and pleasure, and in the ten ples by the priests. The musicians were placed on a platform at one end of the hall. In the last stages of the Egyptian music every man learned to play the flute or the lyre. Even the King himself, Ptolemy Anletes, was an expert performer. The musicians only knew how to please, astonish and amuse. Their music possessed no harmony, all of it being in unison or in octaves. They gave us the harp. Egypt’s contribution to art w r as the mechanical excellence of its instrument makers. The Hebrew music is second in point of antiquity and first in modern association. The principal instrument, in the olden time, was the harp. Later, they had the shepherd’s pipe. Under this term is included the flute, horn, etc. They also had the timbul or tambourine and the sistra, which served the pur¬ pose of bells. They borrowed their instruments chiefly from the Egyptians but they did not adopt the sensuous ones. The harp, which might better be called the lyre, was a small, portable instrument. The music of the Hebrews was chiefly vocal. They turned from bands and concerts to the minstrel poet, the exponent of religion. This music, sung by the masses had an important place among the people. They used it for praising God. Men were the musicians and the women were pretty generally excluded until later. Women’s charms were considered dangerous. There was no elaborate harmony in the Hebrew music. The enthusiasm centered in the thought and not in the form. There was not much care for

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Iijtroduct-ioij. The following sketch is contributed by our Supervisor of Music, Miss Edith I. Harney. This lady comes to us from Oshkosh, Wis., where she has taught in all the grades and subsequently acfecf as assistant principal in the Eleventh Street school, the largest in the City. This position she held for seven years, finally resigning it in order to complete her studies in the Higher Course in the Oshkosh Normal school, and also to finish her musical education at the Detroit Conservatory of Music at Detroit, Michigan. Besides the work at the conservatory she has had a large amount of in¬ struction from Mrs. Jessie L. Gaynor, of Chicago, in the matter of children’s songs, and from Prof. Neidlunger of the same city, in chorus directing. Some persons seem to think that the results she has achieved in our school in a musical way are very wonderful. The fact is, however, that there is nothing wonderful about it. We expected just such results. When one has the energy and the ability to become not only an excel¬ lent musician but to fit herself, both by study and by practice to teach the best of results are naturally expected. Too many of our musicians neglect this most important factor in their education—the ability to impart. We sincerely hope that Miss Harney may be with us again next year, to continue the work so auspiciously begun. [distory of IV[usic. BY MISS EDITH I. HARNEY. The music and musical instruments of the Egyptians have been traced back to about 4000 B. C. Our chief information comes from tombs, which have been discovered and excavated. These are covered with sculpture and hieroglyphics. The oldest of the representations is in the tomb near Thebes. The musical groups usually consist of from two to eight persons. There is a hidden meaning in this, however, as, in hieroglyphics, an army which might mean a thousand persons or more is represented by four figures. So, in music, one harpest in the group might signify any number of harpists and one flute player any number of flutists. Their chief instruments were the harp, pipe, flute, lyre, lute, double pipe and tambourine. Their favorite collocation seemed to be the harp, double pipe, lute, lyre and tambourine. The favorite instrument was evidently the

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18 SENIOR YEAR BOOK. the aesthetic. The Hebrews were dead to the sensuous and artistic side and exalted in the spiritual side. They despised the art of culture. In this they presented a marked contrast to the Assyrians. The music from the masses inspired motives and noble conceptions. During David’s reign there were signs of a musical renaissance. Music acted as a nerve stimulant. The He¬ brew music was rhythmical, which is shown by the absence of a conductor and in its use for sacred dances. In this it was a contrart to the Egyptian music. The first mention of Hebrew music in the Bible is in the fourth chapter of Genesis. All classes practiced music but did little or nothing to advance it. We do not know the date of its origin. The Assyrians held music in very high esteem and employed it for liturgi¬ cal purposes and in social and private life. Their music was sensuous and martial, with strong, rhythmical effects. They beat time by stamping the foot. Their instruments were harps, banjo-like instruments, drums, trumpets, cymbals, lyres, lutes, dulcimers, flutes and double pipes. All these were smalll, and treble in pitch. In fact, all their music was treble and was in sharp con¬ trast to that of the Egyptians, who were fond of the lower tones. The dulcimer was the favorite instrument and most likely the parent of the piano. They had organized bodies of musicians who played in bands instead of in orchestras, as the Egyptians did. The vocal music was rendered by women and boys. The Chinese seem to have possessed music earlier than any other nation. They have a sensuous delight in tone and excel in the manufacture of instru¬ ments. They recognize eight different sounds in Nature, and their instruments correspond to these. They had drums of skin, cymbals of stone, bells of metal, horns of bak¬ ed earth, castanets and vibrating instruments of wood, flutes of bamboo, mouth organs of gourd and lutes of silk. Two of the principal instruments in modern use are the “kin” and the “ke,” both stringed. The first resembles the guitar. The “ke” is a represen¬ tative of their higher musical culture. The Chinese scale had, at first, five tones, i, 2, 3, 5 and 6 of our scale, but later it was enlarged to seven and they used intervals and small fractions of a step. Their music always has been monodic, or one vaiced. They have made small progress in music because of their principle that, having once found a thing to be satisfactory it is made official and never after¬ wards changed. The origin of Chinese music is attributed to the good and bad spirits.