MESSRS. DUNCAN DAVISON & CO.'S

NEW PUBLICATIONS.

V.

R.

UNDER THE MOST DISTINGUISHED PATRONAGE OF

HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY THE queen,

H.R.H. THE PRINCE CONSORT,

THEIR ROYAL HIGHNESSES THE PRINCESSES AND PRINCES OF THE
ROYAL FAMILY,

The Most Worshipful the Grand Master of Ireland,
His Grace the DUKE of LEINSTER,
And several other Distinguished Freemasons;
His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, the
EARL of EGLINTON and WINTON,

The LORD BISHOP OF MANCHESTER,

The Right Worshipful the Mayor of Manchester, IVIE MACKIE, Esq.
His Worship the Mayor of Salford, W. HARVEY, Esq.

SIR FREDERICK GORE OUSELEY, Bart., Director of Music at the
University of Oxford."

And many of the Nobility, Gentry, Clergy, and Distinguished Families of the Empire.

DR. MARK'S

GREAT NATIONAL ENTERPRISE

Organised in 1848, and developed at THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSIC, BRIDGE STREET, MANCHESTER, established by him expressly as a Great National Institution to facilitate the Encouragement and Promotion of NATIVE MUSICAL TALENT, and the GENERAL ADVANCEMENT OF MUSIC AMONG THE RISING GENERATION, upon his new and effective system, also as a NORMAL SCHOOL, for the training of masters to conduct CONSERVATOIRES OF MUSIC to be established throughout the United Kingdom, for LITTLE CHILDREN, the whole comprising an entirely new scheme of NATIONAL EDUCATION, by blending music with general instruction, so that the study of music shall become a branch of education in the humblest of schools of this country. To illustrate and to rouse an interest in every town and city for these institutions, Dr Mark travels with a number of his pupils occasionally through the country-giving lectures, and introducing his highly approved and pleasing Musical Entertainment, entitled DR. MARK AND HIS LITTLE MEN, who number upwards of Thirty Instrumentalists, and a most Efficient Chorus, the whole forming a most unique and complete Juvenile Orchestra, composed of LITTLE ENGLISH, IRISH, SCOTCH AND WELCH BOYS, FROM FIVE TO SIXTEEN YEARS OF AGE, who play Operatic Selections, Solos, Marches, Quadrilles, Galops, &c., and sing Songs and Choruses in a most effective manner, and to whom Dr. Mark gives a gratuitous General and Musical Education.

APPOINTMENTS OF MASTERS AND ARRANGEMENTS OF CLASSES ÍN THE ABOVE INSTITUTION.

VOCAL.

Allen, G. B.............

"THE MEADOW GATE"

26

Organ ... Pianoforte

Aguilar, E.

"SYMPATHY"

2 0

Violin

Dr. MARK has also made provision for the Orphans of the Musical Profession pos. sessing musical talent, who will find the above institution a happy home, and receive a most effective general and musical education, board, and clothing, free of all

expense.

Little Boys, from five to nine years of age, apprenticed for three, five, or seven years by paying a moderate entrance fee to cover the expenses of instrument and books.

Twelve appointments ready for Masters.

For Prospectuses, apply direct to the Royal College of Music, Bridge Street, Manchester.

Dr. MARK is also open to Engagements with his little Men.

Dr. MARK begs to invite the Parents and Friends, and all those interested in his Enterprise and in the Education of the Youths of this country, to visit his establishVisiting hours:-From Nine to Eleven, a.m., and Two and Four, p.m. Saturdays and Sundays excepted.

ment.

EW SONGS by J. W. DAVISON, "Rough wind that moanest loud" (sung by Mr. Santley at the Monday Popular Concerts); "Swifter far than Summer's flight," (sung by Miss Palmer at the Monday Popular Concerts); "False friend, wilt thou smile or weep," Beatrice's song in the Cenci (sung by Madame Sainton-Dolby, at the Monday Popular Concerts, St. James's Hall); are published by Cramer, Beale, and Co., 201 Regent Street.

The above Songs form Nos. 1, 2, and 3 of Vocal Illustrations of Shelley.

"Mr. Santley was encored in one of the thoroughly picturesque and poetical settings of Shelley, by Mr. J. W. Davison, mentioned a week or two since. His song, Rough wind that moanest loud,' is a thoroughly good song."-Athenæum.

Madame Sainton-Dolby's greatest efforts were called forth by Mendelssohn's Night' song, and Mr. J. W. Davison's False friend, wilt thou smile or weep' (from Shelley's Cenci'), to both of which she did the amplest justice. The latter work is one of the most poetical and beautiful of the Vocal Illustrations of Shelley,' composed by Mr. Davison many years ago, and which, though rarely heard, possess far more sterling merit than nine-tenths of the most admired songs of the day. A more intellectual treatment of the words could not well be imagined. Mr. Davison has com. pletely caught the spirit of the poetry, and heightened its beauty by the potent charms which belong only to the sister art. False friend, wilt thou smile or weep,' sung to perfection by Madame Sainton-Dolby, was enthusiastically applauded." Morning Post, April 26, 1860.

Cramer, Beale, and Chappell, 201 Regent Street.

ORGAN.

WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF ITS MECHANISM.*

THE Organ is a wind instrument, with a key-board, the sounds of which are fixed, but capable of being sustained at the will of the player, especially consecrated to the service of the Church. This definition makes the organ liable to all that may be expected of it by the laws both of art and religion.

On first looking at its case exteriorly, we are struck more especially with three things: with the immense size of its pipes in front, which we take to be the most powerful in the instrument, though they are, on the contrary, the least so; with the key-boards, which, though we should hardly have thought it perhaps, were we to put down the keys, would at once give utterance to those great pipes; and with a quantity of knobs or handles, which stand out from the case of the organ on two sides of the key-board, and carrying, each of them, the name of some instrument, such as the flute, the viol da gamba, the trumpet, and the like. But nothing of all this acts or speaks alone, for in order to this various parts of the organ must be joined together, and all these various parts do not at once meet the eye.

The organ has no voice, but by means of the wind inhaled by the bellows, and these are placed as near the main body of the instrument as possible, in order that they may send the wind the more directly into the pipes which rest upon it. Herein we may compare the instrument to a man, who would not be able to make himself understood without inhaling the air, which, after it has been equally distributed throughout his lungs, is driven out by them again through the vocal passages. The bellows, with its feeders, is as much the chest to the organ as the lungs are to the human frame. Put in motion by the blower, they fill themselves one after the other, and are emptied into a common channel placed near their extremity, and this is called the main wind trunk.

From this main channel other wind trunks branch off, as branches from the same common root, and carry the source of its sound into all parts of the instrument, as the branches of the tree carry the sap, or rather, as we have taken the human frame for our analogy, these smaller wind trunks are as the arteries, which, by means of the heaven-sprung system of the circulation, carry on the blood, which is pumped forth by the heart, throughout the whole of the body. The wind thus conveyed by one or many channels, gathers itself together and is compressed in a sort of chest or large hollow table, on which the pipes of the organ are placed, and is called the sound-board. The interior of the soundboard is but little less complicated than the vocal organ of the human body. It is from them that the compressed air has to escape by the pallets, and so to be transformed into distinct and varied sounds in the hundreds of pipes which bristle on the surface of the sound-board. This wind box, this transformer of the compressed air into sound, is, as it were, the centre of all the mechanical parts of the instrument, which are necessary for the production of sound; the place where they all meet together, and to which they all tend, and hence, perhaps, its name of sound-board. Here it is that we find out if the bellows are weak or strong, if the hand of the organist touches the keys with or without effect, if the pallets on being opened cause an harmonious sound, or merely a disagreeable cyphering, and thus the sound-board becomes the centre of all that is good or bad in the organ; it is, to continue our analogy taken from the human frame, as the heart, to which all the system of the circulation of the blood flows as to a centre; and as the throat, from whence proceeds the word, expressive of

the inward soul.

and action.

In

Since the most interesting details of all this mechanism meet in the sound-board, as in a centre, we will briefly analyse its form In doing this, we do not intend to give a formal list of its many component parts, but simply to give such a general account of them as may be sufficient for our present purpose. building, especially, we want to see a great deal, to know but little. The sound-board then, as we have already said, may be described as a long, square-cornered chest, six or eight inches in depth, the upper-board of which is pierced with as many holes as there are pipes to be placed in order, as an harmonious forest of trees, upon its surface. All the pipes which emit the same quality of tone are planted together in a straight line in the same row, and each row of pipes of the same quality of tone is called a stop. The hole in the foot of each pipe is in communication with the interior of the sound-board, but is separated from the wind by two obstacles, viz., a register and a pallet.

The register is a rule of wood, placed within the sound-board, exactly under the feet of the pipes, and sliding horizontally backwards and forwards, in a groove, as completely air-tight as it is smooth and even. This rule, so-called because it rules or directs the action of the wind, is itself pierced with holes exactly corresponding with those in the upper-board of the sound-board for the feet of the pipes, in such way that, as the rule is moved, the holes in the feet of the pipes and those of the rules are perpendicular or set the one to the other. When they are perpendicular to one another, the ruler, far from being an obstacle to the entrance of the wind into the pipes, is, on the contrary, its conductor, for then the foot of the pipes, by which the wind enters, is in immediate communication with the interior of the sound

board.

We will suppose, then, that the organist wishes to make that quality of sound or that stop which represents the trumpet heard throughout the extent of the key-board. Before putting his hands on the key-board, he places it on one of those knobs, which stand out from the case of the organ, which serve as places for inscribing the names of the registers, and, in this instance, he places it on that one of them which is labelled trumpet, and draws it out. No sooner has he done so than the wind before shut up within the soundboard, so far as this obstacle is concerned, is at once enabled to be in direct communication with the pipes of the quality of tone required, and the preliminary operation is thus far completed. The organist repeats this action for all the registers of which he intends to compose his orchestra. Thus, if he wishes it to be conposed of a bourdon and flute, as well as the trumpet, he draws the knobs which answer to those registers; if only two of those registers, he pushes in one of the three, and so of the rest. But the second obstacle has still to be removed; the pallet must be made to open. The pallet may be described as a little door on a spring, occupying a lower region in the sound-board, a region which may be very properly called that of storms, inasmuch as a certain amount of force is required to overcome the resistance of the wind which rushes headlong from the action of the bellows into the space opened by the gaping of the pallet, and called a groove. The pallet is connected with the key by means of a tracker, which is sometimes of very considerable length, but however far removed the pallet may be from the key-board by the tracker, it is affected by the slightest action on the key, and that

with greater rapidity according to the greater perfection of the mechanism.

There are as many pallets as grooves, as many pallets and grooves as keys, and often more pallets and grooves than keys for the bass notes, which being composed of larger pipes, require more wind, and consequently more openings by which to inhale it. The bellows then being filled, and the registers drawn, as many notes will speak on the sound-board as there are keys put down by the fingers of the organist, for the wind must then of necessity pass from the sound-board to the pipes of which the registers and pallets are open, and is thus transformed, or becomes sonorous in accordance with a law of accoustics, which we shall have to consider later on. . . . . Hence, before touching the key-board, the organist must always draw the registers, for if he did not do so, the keys would no doubt open a passage for the wind, but this wind would only strike against the roof formed by that part of the sound-board which is full of registers, without being able to transform itself into vibrating columns of air in the bodies of the pipes.

But in an instrument so vast as an organ, there is but one sound-board and but one key-board. The organ has but one soul, it is true, but this one soul animates several bodies. There are, in consequence, as many keyboards as there are principal separate parts in an organ, but experience and the requirements of art have for the most part limited them to three or four at most.

Often an organ limited in extent from want of means or space, has but one principal part, but one body: when this is not the case, and it has more than one such part, that part which is the most largely developed and speaks the loudest, is called the great-organ. Immediately below this, as regards its power and volume of sound, is placed the choir-organ; while the swell-organ takes up an intermediate position between these two principal parts, and is destined to give effect to those phrases of music which require a more delicate and special handling, and for which the choir-organ supplies the proper accompaniment. Last of all comes the echo-organ*, emitting veiled and smothered sounds, as its name implies, though it must be confessed it does so more in name than in reality,

These different parts of the organ may be all enclosed within the case, including the choir-organ, though this is very commonly placed in a case apart by itself, and brought in front of the greatIt organ, so as, in appearance, to form an organ in miniature. was so placed, almost without exception, in the older organs. All the keyboards, not excepting that of the choir, are placed in steps one above another, the first and lowest that of the choir, next above this that of the great-organ, above this again that of the swell, and at the top of all that of the echo-organ.

We have said nothing as yet of a key-board which is placed on the floor at the feet of the organist, and forms quite a peculiar feature in his art. This is the pedal-organ, the keys of which are long and short like those of the manual, and have under their control a special sound-board of their own, which carries the pipes which emit the gravest sounds of the instrument. Without the pedal the concert of the organ is incomplete; with it the organist is possessed of a powerful foundation bass, but such that he may even raise it to the dignity of a solo instrument, by causing it to take an independent and special part of its own, a part, however, which should be always more or less grave and dignified in its character, enriched with passages of energy and rapidity according to the skill of the organist.

Seated then in front of these different key-boards, between the organ and the altar, the organist may be compared to the helmsman placed between the rudder and the masts of the ship, attentive alike to the signals of the captain and the motions of the waves. In his case it is the mighty flood of the peoples' song that the organist sustains with the majesty of his chords, while his signals come to him from the sanctuary, the ceremonies of which he follows, and by means of a mirror placed obliquely, he may even turn his back on the altar, as in the ancient organs, see all that is done there as it were before his face, and join his intention with that of the priest who offers the divine mysteries.

Note of Translator.-This last is not found in English organs as at present constructed. In its place is found now either a solo, or what Mr. Hill has called a combination-organ in the Birmingham Town Hall Organ.

Letter to the Editor.

THE THEORY OF HARMONICS. connected with the Science of Music, permit me to offer the following SIR-Preparatory to entering upon a consideration of other subjects remarks explanatory of the theory of harmonics, an important branch of the science, but one, by musicians generally, but imperfectly understood, and has thus led to the most erroneous conclusions.

The harmonics of a sound are, theoretically, those whose vibrations in a given period are some integral number of times those of the given sound; thus, whilst the generating sound gives one vibration, its harmonics are those which give 2, 3, 4, &c. vibrations in the same time. As the number of vibrations of a musical string is inversely as its length, the above corresponds with, and is equivalent to, a division of the string into 2, 3, 4, or a greater number of equal parts, one of which parts gives the harmonic sound. Let then a musical string giving a certain sound, say C, be divided into any number of equal parts, as denoted by the following figures, then one of these parts will give the vibrations as compared with the generating sound, or unity, the ratios corresponding harmonic, the figures also representing the ratio of its of the other sounds, one with another, being similarly exhibited: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 CCGCE GCDE* G* * BC

}

& } &c. Were the series extended further, it would be seen that every harmonic as it enters the series becomes the generator of another series of harmonics, following each other precisely in the same order and ratio as those of the original series, and these again of others, and so on to infinity, the whole of which are harmonics of the original generating sound; thus the series commencing with G is from C as above:

These harmonic sounds are exactly similar in their order and ratios to those of the series commmencing with C. Comparing the magnitudes of the harmonic intervals, we perceive that they gradually become less, according to the following ratios,,,,,,, and so on; but as the smallest consonant interval is g, therefore and all following are dissonant intervals. Confining our attention for the present to the consonant ratios 1, 3, 5, considering the octave sounds as identical, we perceive that the generating sound produces firstly its 5th, and secondly series similar to the first, the law is general; obeying this law we are its major 3d, and as these harmonics become the generators of other enabled to exhibit the harmonies in a tabular form, thus disposing of the sounds as they enter by 5ths in vertical columns, and as they enter by major 3ds in horizontal columns, we have, formed from the consonant ratios, the following

243

ab

с

dx

ය

e g# b# which exhibits them in every relation and combination. The ratio of the vibrations of any sound as compared with the generator may be found by multiplying together the ratios at the heads of the two columns which intersect each other at the required sound. The table may be extended indefinitely in any or every direction; it may also be curtailed so as to commence with any sound as generator, taking care only that such portion is contained by four sides parallel with those of the table, the ratio, of course, commencing with that sound, it may also terminate upon any sound. Taking the first sound in the Table, Bb b, we perceive that all the sounds contained in the table are harmonics of that sound, also, that they are negative harmonics of dx, the last sound

in the table, that is, not one sound in the table is an harmonic of d x but it is an harmonic of every sound therein. Bbb and dx may therefore be called the positive and negative harmonic bases of the table, that is, they are the nearest sounds which are harmonic bases of all the sounds in the table, other sounds more remote, and consequently not exhibited, being also harmonic bases of the same scunds. As we may curtail the table so as to commence or terminate with any sound, it is evident that the same sound has both its positive and negative harmonics, thus C is the positive harmonic base of all the sounds within the double lines, and is the negative harmonic base of those within the waved lines; the remaining sounds are not in any way harmonics of C. It follows also that as C is an harmonic of all the sounds within the waved lines, all the harmonics of C are also harmonies of these sounds, for as any of these sounds will produce C'as a positive harmonic, so also will they produce all the harmonics of C.

It is evident from the construction of the table, that any two adjacent sounds in either the vertical or horizontal columns are consonant, and that they are also positively or negatively harmonics of each other; also that all sounds proceeding diagonally from the bases, or parallel with these diagonals, are harmonics, positively or negatively, of each other, but at the same time no two are consonant; thus C is a negative harmonic base of Db, and a positive harmonic base of B, yet neither of these sounds are consonant with C or with each other, as denoted by their ratios, so that all major 7ths are positive harmonics, and their inversions the minor 2ds (or minor 9ths) are negative harmonics. The diagonals, or their parallels, proceeding in this direction may therefore be called harmonic diagonals. On the contrary, in the opposite diagonals, namely, those at right angles to the former, any two adjacent sounds are consonant, but are not harmonics in any way, of each other; thus in the diagonal passing through C, the sounds Eb and A are both excluded from those portions having C for their base, but C is evidently consonant with either of these sounds, as in the chords F, A, C, and Ab, C, Eb, therefore all minor 3ds and their inversions, the major 6ths are not harmonics, these diagonals may be distinguished as the consonant diagonals. The reason of these facts is evident; from the slightest glance at the order of the sounds in the table it is seen that they proceed from the first sound, through all the keys gradually requiring a less number of flats in the scale, to C, and thence through the keys gradually requiring a greater number of sharps, so that from any given sound, no positive harmonic, distinct from the octaves of that sound, can be produced which shall also be a sound contained in any primary chord, the basis of which is the tonic of a key requiring a greater number of flats, or a less number of sharps in the scale than the key of which the given sound is the tonic, for all such sounds, as compared with the given sound, are either negative harmonics, or harmonics of these: for instance, the subdominant and the dominant 7th are not positive harmonics.

Having thus far glanced at the general principles of harmonics, we may now proceed to enquire whether the harmonic bases are identical, or how far they are so, with what are generally termed fundamental basses, a term, by the bye, not very appropriate, and has thus led to much confusion, but which we may retain, being careful to distinguish it from the harmonic base until we ascertain how far one is identical with the other. In pursuance of this object, let us examine the annexed diagram of harmonic sounds.

B, G, E, therefore C, the positive harmonic base, is in this case not the fundamental bass or root of the chord B, G, E. As in the chord C, E, G, we proceed in a direction from the fundamental bass, so in the negative chord, where the order of everything is reversed, we proceed in a direction to the fundamental bass, or E, as the root of the chord E, G, B, the sounds being arranged within the octave above the fundamental bass. E, G, being a minor 3rd, as seen in the diagram, the chord takes the rame of the minor chord, hence a minor chord is always negative, and has the 5th of the scale, or dominant, for its harmonic base, a major chord is always positive and has the 1st of the scale, or tonic, for its harmonic base. To illustrate this still further, take the following sounds:

C as before is the positive harmonic base of the sounds E, G, B, but Db, F, Ab, and an infinity of other sounds to which C is the negative base, are also positive harmonic bases, but more remote than C, of the same sounds, as well as to the major chord C, E, G; hence to assume that Db, F, Ab, &c. are also fundamental basses to the chords C, E, G and E, G, B is simply absurd. Indeed the harmonic bases, in a general sense, have not that influential character, nor play the important part, which some theorists are inclined to assign to them; in the last diagram the harmonic bases Db and B are the only two sounds not consonant with C (evident from the construction of the table), and if these two sounds be removed, those remaining are the "System of Sounds" of which C is the unit sound, and F the primary basis; by comparing these with the "System of Sounds" (Musical World, Jan. 28), it will be seen that the really important sounds are F, C and G, the primary or central bases; these, and not the harmonic bases Db and B, being the true fundamental basses of the primary chords, whether major or minor, the general expression for the ratio of the fundamental bass being, that is, a 5th below the dominant, or unit sound. If we extend the diagram as follows, we have merely another view of the "Systems of Sounds" as derived from the theory of harmonics, from which all the results previously shown could have been deduced, though not with the same simplicity.

C and B are the positive and negative harmonic bases, but forming the harmonic diagonal are not consonant sounds; C, the generating sound, produces G and E, consonant with each other, and both consonant with C, the positive harmonic base, known also as the grave harmonic, that is the nearest positive harmonic base formed by the coincident vibrations of the two sounds E and G, and is in this case also the fundamental bass or root of the perfect concord C, E, G. Now as a perfect concord, excluding octaves, does not consist of more than three different sounds, the fundamental bass must be one of these three; this is so self-evident, that it may at once be accepted as an axiom. It is also clear from the diagram that the sounds B, G, E, reckoning from the negative harmonic base B, have exactly the same ratios one with another as the sounds C, E, G, reckoning from the positive base C, and consequently as they form a perfect cóncord, the fundamental bass is one of the three sounds

It were needless to give further explanation of these here, a comparison of them with the system of sounds, as explained in my previous letters, rendering such unnecessary; suffice it to say, that herein is exhibited in a very condensed form the true principles of major and minor chords, with their fundamental basses, progressions, &c., and the fallacies derived from harmonic bases, unit bases, &c., under whatever name they may be given, made apparent. I refer to a few late instances of these in the papers of Mr. D. C. Hewitt, in the Musical World, merely for illustration. He, assuming that the intervals in his equivocal chord B, D, F, Ab, are all minor 3ds, gives their harmonic bases under the name of unit sounds (which he evidently mistakes for fundamental

basses); these sounds as minor 3ds are represented in the "Synopsis of Harmonic Sounds" by the letters B, D, f, and ab, and if we find the smallest portion of the table containing these sounds, under the restriction that the 4 sides are parallel with those of the table, we find that its positive harmonic base is Cb, which is the nearest base of all the sounds of the given chord, the other bases which he gives, viz. Eb, Gb, G, Bb, and Db, being only harmonic bases of portions of the chord, as is evident from the table. In the same way, if we take the real sounds of the chord, represented in the table by the letters B, D, F, Ab, then the nearest positive harmonic base of all these sounds is Db, so that these harmonic bases, looked upon generally as being fundamental basses, or roots of chords, is an absurdity, and the basses, as such, would be ridiculous, a term in which Mr. Hewitt agrees with me as being very applicable. According to the principles developed in this and some preceding letters, G is the fundamental bass of this chord, to which are added the sounds F, Ab, having F for the fundamental bass; if to these two be added the negative base of F, Ab, or C, we have the sounds G, F, C, the primary bases, and the essential sounds of the Key of C.

In the series of harmonic sounds in the first portion of this letter, it will be perceived that to some harmonics, as 7, 11, 13, &c., there are not given any representative sounds; in explanation of this, then, we have seen that every harmonic, as it enters the series, gives out its harmonics in exactly the same order and ratios; consequently the series commencing with 7, would be, reckoned from C,

7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, &c.

Now whatever names we choose to give to the seven sounds of the scale commencing with the sound 7, as above, the sounds 49, 77, 91, &c. would still be unrepresented in the same manner as 7, 11, 13, &c. in the former series, and so on to infinity. So that not only the prime numbers, 7 and upwards, but also every integral power of these primes become the origin of other series of harmonics, into which enter all multiples of these primes, but none of which could appear in the first series, evident from the composition of the ratios; the sounds in the last series, if represented literally, would be in the ratio of 7:1 with the similar sounds of the first series, but as the multiplier 7 does not enter into the composition of consonant ratios, the last series would be always dissonant as compared with the first. In fact, if we take unity as a standard of pitch, every prime number is the origin of a series of harmonics similar but of a different pitch to that having unity as its origin, or of any sound derived from unity through the consonant intervals. In illustration of this, suppose a pianoforte or other musical instrument tuned so that the sound represented by C should give eight vibrations in a certain time, then, if we further suppose another instrument tuned so that the sound represented by the same C should give seven vibrations in the same time, we should have a representation of the two series of sounds, having 1 and 7, or 8 and 7 for their origin; if eight then be the standard pitch, the instrument tuned to C, seven vibrations would be, as a musician would term it, more than a tone flat, and the sounds of the two instruments would not combine in any harmonious relation whatever. So that these prime numbers, or the powers of these primes, are the originators of series of harmonics which do not combine in any way with those reckoned from unity, or with each other, and are practically considered merely as differences in pitch. Apologizing for the length to which these remarks have extended, I am, &c. W. W. PARKINSON.

Cheetham Hill, Manchester, June 18th, 1860.

The Operas.

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.

THE first performance for eleven years of Cimarosa's best-known, if not best, opera, Il Matrimonio Segreto, which took place on Saturday, was a decided success; far greater, indeed, than we anticipated from the rather unfavourable reception it met with in 1849, when revived both at Her Majesty's Theatre and the Royal Italian Opera. The little favour a work once so popular obtained then was the more unaccountable, as the cast at both theatres was extremely attractive; that at the elder house comprising the names of Mesdames Parodi, Giuliani, and Alboni, Signors Calzolari, Lablache, and F. Lablache; at the new house, Mesdames Persiani, Grisi, and Angri, Signors Mario, Tamburini, and Tagliafico. The

opera, nevertheless, ran but a few nights at either place, and may be said thenceforward to have been entirely shelved, as no attempt has been made to reproduce it since. The principal cause of its revival at Her Majesty's Theatre is doubtless to exhibit Signor Ciampi in one of those parts in which he had earned his conti. nental reputation. The character of Geronimo is beyond the

grasp of ordinary artists; and, indeed, no singer since Lablache, excepting Tamburini, had attempted it at all. Signor Ciampi created a highly favourable impression in his new essay, proving himself an artist of rare intelligence and rare endowments. His comedy is a very happy combination of art and instinct; his humour is natural and entirely his own, so that originality may be added to his other qualifications. His make-up of the character is extremely skilful, and throughout the entire performance he never forgets that he is personating an old man. If we miss the oily humour of Lablache, which seemed to ooze out at every pore, or the consummate tact of Tamburini, which threw an intense reality about every thing he did, we must remember that Signor Ciampi is at an age when it is impossible, even by the aid of the highest genius, that art could reach maturity. Signor Ciampi is twenty-one years old, at which age, we have no doubt, both Lablache and Tamburini were serving their apprenticeship to singing and acting. Nevertheless, estimating the new buffo's performance irrespective of all such considerations, we must allow it to have very great merit. The audience, indeed, seemed strongly of our opinion, since they applauded Signor Ciampi to the echo in every With so powerful and splendid an organ we shall look by-and-bye for finer vocal results. Signor Ciampi, in singing, should adhere more to the notes, and speak less. The frequent use of the parlante, however agreeable to Italian ears, is not liked by English audiences, more especially in good music. With this exception we can praise the new Geronimo's singing unreservedly. He possesses the true instinct for time and rhythm, and in that respect invariably satisfies the most scrupulous ear, and is always just in his intonation.

scene.

The Count Robinson of Signor Everardi is entitled to unqualified commendation. It is, indeed, the nearest approach in singing and acting to the masterly performance of Tamburini, which, in the olden time, was wont to divide the applause with Lablache's Geronimo. Signor Everardi looks the part, too, to perfection, and dresses it admirably, so that the illusion is complete.

Mad. Alboni's Fidalma was perhaps the best-acted part in the piece. There is certainly not much to do in the character, but what there was to do, or, more properly, what was suggested, was carried out with incomparable comic appreciation. The great artist, indeed, may be said to have created Fidalma. How Mad. Alboni sings the purely legitimate music of Cimarosa can best be conceived by remembering what she achieves in the Barbière and Cenerentola.

Signor Giuglini sings the sweet tender music of Paolino most admirably. The charming air "Pria che spunti in ciel "—one of Rubini's (and Sims Reeves's) most perfect achievements-was given on Saturday with so much grace and sensibility, and finished so exquisitely, as to elicit a warm encore. Signor Giuglini, however, merely reappeared and bowed. In the whole of the last scene, which takes place in the dark, and in which the voices are subdued to a pianissimo, his singing was inimitable, and made us think we know not why-how wonderfully he would sing the music of Conte Ory in Rossini's opera-still more delicious music than that of Cimarosa.

The parts of Carolina and Elisetta, by Mlles. Lotti and Vaneri, should, we think, have been interchanged. Mlle. Lotti throws too much of the vixen, we fancy, into the character of Paolino's wife, who ought to be represented as the gentler of the two sisters; while Mlle. Vaneri hardly indicates sufficient boldness and vigour for Elisetta, the would-be countess, who browbeats her younger sister. Perhaps this effect is partly produced by the greater resonance of Mlle. Lotti's voice.

The band, conducted by Mr. Benedict, was admirable throughout; and the opera, in spite of its want of choruses, scenic effects, or any special interest in the plot, was a genuine success.

One thing is entitled to particular notice-the propriety of the dresses, for which Mr. E. T. Smith's costumier should be publicly thanked. The old custom was, to dress all the characters,