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diff --git a/29280.txt b/29280.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d8a864f --- /dev/null +++ b/29280.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1146 @@ +Project Gutenberg's How the Piano Came to Be, by Ellye Howell Glover + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: How the Piano Came to Be + +Author: Ellye Howell Glover + +Release Date: July 1, 2009 [EBook #29280] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW THE PIANO CAME TO BE *** + + + + +Produced by Meredith Bach and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + + +HOW THE PIANO CAME TO BE + + +[Illustration: UPRIGHT HARPSICHORD + +(_From the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City_)] + + + + + + HOW THE PIANO + CAME TO BE + + BY + + ELLYE HOWELL GLOVER + + + ILLUSTRATED + + + CHICAGO + BROWNE & HOWELL COMPANY + 1913 + + + + + COPYRIGHT, 1913 + BY BROWNE & HOWELL COMPANY + + PUBLISHED, OCTOBER, 1913 + + + THE.PLIMPTON.PRESS + NORWOOD.MASS.U.S.A + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + Upright Harpsichord _Frontispiece_ + + Clavicytherium or Upright Spinet _Facing page_ 12 + + Clavichord 12 + + Spinet 16 + + Queen Elizabeth's Virginal 16 + + Double Spinet or Virginal made by Ludovicus + Grovvelus 20 + + Clavichord made by John Christopher Jesse 24 + + Dulcimer 28 + + Christofori Piano 32 + + Piano made by Matthaeus Andreas Stein 40 + + Piano made by Benjamin Crehore 48 + + Piano made by Charles Albrecht 50 + + Piano, Primitive German Action 52 + + A Stodart Piano 56 + + + + +HOW THE PIANO CAME TO BE + + + + +How the Piano Came To Be + + +From the dried sinews stretched across the shell of a dead tortoise to +the concert-grand piano of the present day is a far flight. Yet to this +primitive source, it is said, may be traced the evolution of the +stringed instrument which reached its culmination in the piano. The +latter has been aptly called "the household orchestra," and in tracing +its origin one must go far back into the annals of the past. If we +accept the Bible as history, and it is the greatest of all histories, +the stringed instrument is of very ancient date. It is recorded that the +ambassadors who came to the court of Saul played upon their _nebels_, +and that David, the sweet singer of Israel, wooed the king from his +sadness by singing to his harp. We must go back to the civilization of +ancient Egypt, more than five hundred years before that morning nearly +two thousand years ago when, it is written, the angelic choir chanted +above the historic manger the glorious message, "Peace on earth, good +will to men," and the morning stars sang together. + +In the olden times the Greeks laid claim to everything which bespoke +culture and progress. The pages of ancient history record no other one +thing so persistently as "the glory that was Greece." And so they tell +of the time when-- + + "Music, heavenly maid, was young, + And yet in ancient Greece she sung!" + +It is now generally conceded, however, that it was not in Greece but in +ancient Egypt that art, music, and the sciences in general were born. +That the Egyptians had stringed instruments is unquestionable. Away back +in the year 525 B.C. Cambyses subdued the land. He overthrew the temples +in the ruins of which have been found the records of musical instruments +dating from the very earliest times. But the priests who guarded the +temples were slain, and every vestige of what might have helped to +determine the origin of the stringed instrument, out of which, later, +the piano was evolved, as well as the names of those who wrought and +endeavored to construct instruments which would give forth music, was +forever lost. + +[Illustration: Clavicytherium or Upright Spinet] + +[Illustration: Clavichord] + +For lack of written authority, then, one must turn back to tradition for +light upon the origin of the piano. Tradition says that Ham, or one of +his sons, led the first colony into Egypt. In fact there is a legend +that Noah himself once dwelt there and some historians have identified +him with the great deity of the Egyptians, Osiris. To Hermes, or +Mercury, the secretary of Osiris, is ascribed the invention of the first +stringed instrument. The story is that Hermes was walking one day along +the banks of the Nile. It was just after one of the great inundations. +The Nile had overflowed its banks and the land had been submerged. +But now the water had subsided, and as Hermes walked along the shore, +his foot struck accidentally against the shell of a dead tortoise. +Across the inside of the shell the dried sinews were tightly stretched. +Hermes picked it up and touched the sinews with his fingers. He was +amazed to hear the sweet tones which the picking of the strings +produced. He set to work to make a musical instrument, using the shell +of a tortoise for the body and placing strings across it. In +substantiation of this legend we find in examining the lyre of the +ancient Greeks that almost every one was ornamented with a tortoise. We +find also in the records of the Hindus, the Chinese, the Persians, and +the Hebrews that these people had stringed musical instruments at a +very early date and that the most common among them was the lyre in its +various modifications. + +The famous sepulcher of Rameses III is elaborately ornamented with +harps. Specimens of this instrument have been found also in excavations +made in comparatively recent years. In 1823 Sir J. G. Wilkinson +discovered in an old Egyptian tomb a harp which, despite the fact that +three thousand years had gone by since it had been put to sleep beside +its royal master, was in an excellent state of preservation. The strings +were of cat-gut and were in marvelously good condition. The custom which +the Egyptians had of portraying their daily life upon their city walls, +their temples, and tombs has been of incalculable value to the +antiquarians in search of authentic information. From the pictures which +ornament these temples and tombs we have learned that the harp and the +lyre were the favorite instruments of the Egyptians, and these carvings +alone furnish indisputable proof of their use by these people. + +But all the research which man, thus far, has been able to make has not +revealed just who it was that first discovered music in a lifeless +instrument. This fact will always be deeply veiled in mystery. All +attempts to unravel the threads have failed. None knows yet just who +they were who first + + "Struck the chorded shell, + And, wondering, on their faces fell + To worship the celestial sounds. + Less than a God they thought there scarce could dwell + Within the hollow of that shell + That spoke so sweetly and so well." + +Just how many strings Hermes had on his tortoise-shell instrument is a +much disputed question. Some say there were but three and that they +represented the three seasons--spring, summer, and winter--into which it +was the custom of the Greeks to divide their year. Some authorities +claim that the strings numbered four. Others say there were seven. No +one knows. The Greek harp was played by picking the strings with the +fingers or with a plectrum. The latter was a small piece of bone or +metal, held in the fingers, with which the strings were snapped. +Sometimes a short piece of wood was used to strike the strings. + +[Illustration: Spinet] + +[Illustration: Queen Elizabeth's Virginal] + +A step forward in the evolution of the stringed instrument was made +during the Middle Ages when the psaltery became popular. It consisted of +a box with strings across it, and records for us the first attempt at a +sounding board. This was followed by the dulcimer, which closely +resembled it but was somewhat larger. A plectrum was used to play them +both. + +A very good idea of the psaltery and dulcimer may be obtained from the +xylophone. This instrument has bars of wood or metal which are struck +with a wooden mallet. The keyboard was invented in the eleventh century. +It was applied first to an instrument called a clavier and later to the +organ. The first stringed instrument to which this new device was +applied was the clavicytherium, or keyed cithara. It had a box with a +cover and strings of cat-gut, arranged in the form of a half triangle. +It was made to sound by means of a quill plectrum attached in a rude way +to the end of the keys. This was the progress the piano of today had +made in the thirteenth century. + +Next in order of development comes the monochord, clarichord, or +clavichord, the latter being the name by which it is generally known. As +it was the instrument most used during the six centuries which followed, +it is worthy of close study. In shape it much resembled a small square +piano without frame or legs. The strings were of brass, struck by a +wedge made of the same metal which was called a tangent. It was capable +of soft tones only, but they were very sweet and melancholy. The elder +Bach loved this instrument. He did not take kindly to the piano which +was about to supplant his beloved clavichord. One regrets that he could +not have lived to have seen it perfected. In playing the music written +by Bach we must remember that he wrote entirely for the clavichord. The +instrument he used was, without doubt, the product of Italy, as during +this time the Italians led all Europe in the arts. At a later period the +clavichord was copied by the Germans and Belgians. It was used by them +for centuries on account of its simple construction and low price. +Mozart always carried one with him as part of his baggage when +traveling. The virginal, spinet, and harpsichord followed the clavichord +in rapid succession, considering that the last named instrument had been +in favor for such a long time, with seemingly no attempt at improvement. +All of these three instruments had strings of brass, with quill plectra +attached to pieces of wood. These were called "jacks"--a name still used +today in making up the action of the piano. + +[Illustration: Double Spinet or Virginal made by Ludovicus Grovvelus +Flanders, 1600] + +The virginal and spinet were almost identical with each other, but the +harpsichord was larger and occasionally was built with two keyboards. +There are several explanations as to why the virginal was so called. +One is that it got its name from its association with hymns to the +Virgin. Another is that it was thus called in honor of Elizabeth, the +Virgin Queen. We may accept whichever theory best suits us, but history +records that both Elizabeth and Mary of Scotland were proficient in its +use and that it was the favorite instrument of Henry VIII. Items for +repairs and for instruction in playing the virginal appear frequently in +the royal expense book, showing conclusively that His Majesty was not +unmindful of such accomplishments. Four octaves was the range of these +old instruments, from the second added line below in the bass to the +second added line above in the treble. There was but one string to each +note, and one can well understand why a writer of that period describes +the tone as "a _scratch_ with a _sound_ at the end of it." Queen +Elizabeth's virginal is still preserved at Worcestershire. It is a most +elaborate creation, having a cedar case ornately covered with crimson +velvet and lined with yellow silk. Its weight is only twenty-four +pounds. Gold plate covers the front. Thirty of its fifty keys are of +ebony with tips of gold. The semitone keys are inlaid with silver, +ivory, and various woods, each key being composed of two hundred and +fifty pieces. The royal arms are emblazoned upon the case. The Queen's +virginal instruction book is also carefully kept, one of the many silent +records of the accomplishments of this gifted and brilliant woman. + +The instrument which belonged, once upon a time, to Mary Queen of Scots +was not quite so gorgeous. Its case was of oak inlaid with cedar, but it +was ornamented with gold and had rare paintings on the case. It was +customary to employ the best artists to decorate these instruments, as +this greatly enhanced their value. There is a story that Salvatore Rosa, +on a wager, made his almost valueless harpsichord worth a thousand scudi +by painting a landscape with figures upon the lid. + +In July of the year 1701 the London _Post_ had an article relating to +virginals which reads: "This week a most curious pair of virginals, +reckoned to be the finest in England, was shipped off for the Grand +Seigneur's seraglio." + +Old Pepys, in his diary, gives a description of the great fire in London +which occurred in 1666, in which he says: "The river was full of +lighters and boats, taking in goods, _good_ goods swimming in the water; +and only I observed that hardly one lighter or boat but that there was a +pair of virginals on it." The word "pair" as it is used then had no more +meaning than when we now say "a pair of scissors." This extract shows +that the instrument must have been almost as commonly used as the piano +of our day. In Shakespeare's time it was customary to have a virginal in +a barber shop for the entertainment of customers, probably to beguile +the weary moments while they waited for the barber to say "next." + +[Illustration: Clavichord made by John Christopher Jesse, Germany, 1765] + +In shape the spinet resembled the harp placed horizontally in the +framework. A very good example may be seen at the South Kensington +Museum in London. It was made by Rossi, a celebrated manufacturer. The +Metropolitan Museum in New York has rare specimens of the harp which +were given by the late Mr. Drexel, of Philadelphia, who purchased them +in Europe. There are two theories as to the origin of the name "spinet." +One is, that it was taken from Spinetti, a Venetian who invented the +oblong form of the case. The other is that the strings were made to +vibrate by the points of a quill, and that the word "spinet" came from +thorn or point. + +In tone the spinet was usually a fifth higher than that of the +harpsichord, which came into favor during the eighteenth century. The +latter was almost exactly like our grand piano, only very much smaller. +To Italy has been accorded the honor of its origin, also, away back in +the fifteenth century. It was not commonly used, however, until about +1702. A harpsichord on exhibition at the South Kensington Museum in +London bears the date of 1521. A step towards the present-day +construction of the piano is shown by the fact that there were always +two wire strings to each note and sometimes three or four, and that it +had a keyboard covering five octaves. It was like an organ in that it +had register stops and sometimes a double keyboard. + +Hans Ruckers, of Antwerp, was the most celebrated maker of the +harpsichord in those days. One of his best specimens belongs to the +Drexel collection in New York. Handel delighted in his Ruckers +harpsichord and gave it preference over all others, which is adequate +proof of its superiority. It was his pleasure to play upon it long after +his failing eyesight forbade the use of notes. He had to improvise +entirely, but was so expert that the orchestra with whom he played was +often diverted by his wonderful accompaniments. This partiality was +resented by the soloists and one of them told Handel that if he ever +played him such a trick while he was singing, he would jump down on his +harpsichord and smash it. This amused Handel immensely and he exclaimed, +"You vill jump, vill you? Varey well, sare. Be so kind und tell me ven +you vill jump, und I vill advertise it in der bills." We are told that +every key of Handel's instrument was hollowed like the bowl of a spoon, +so incessant was his practice. One very lovely harpsichord still in +existence has its history veiled in mystery, but the supposition is that +it once belonged to Marie Antoinette. + +[Illustration: Dulcimer] + +Clementi had one of the last harpsichords made. The date upon the case +was 1802. Beethoven's famous "Moonlight Sonata" was written for either +harpsichord or piano. It was published in 1802. Hummel played on the +harpsichord as late as 1805, but it had to give way, though most +reluctantly, to the new invention called the pianoforte. Just how slow +the public was in accepting the innovation and improvement upon the +instruments mentioned, the following quotation from a folio gotten out +by Thomas Mace, who was one of the clerks of Trinity College, at the +University of Cambridge, testifies. He was pleased to call his booklet +"Musick's Monument," and it was printed in 1676 in London. + +He scorned the new invention but warmly upheld the lute and viol. He +explained that the lute was once considered difficult to play because it +had too few strings, only ten to fourteen, while at the time of his +writing it had sixteen to twenty-six. He makes the statement that he +never spent more than a shilling a quarter for strings. The care of a +lute he describes quaintly: + +"And that you may know how to shelter your lute in the worst of ill +weathers (which is moist) you shall do well, ever when you lay it by in +the day time, to put It into a Bed that is constantly used, between the +Rug and Blanket, but never between the Sheets, because, they may be +moist. This is the most absolute and best place to keep It in always, by +which doing, you will find many Great Conveniences. Therefore, a Bed +will secure from all these inconveniences and keep your Glew as Hard as +Glass and all safe and sure; only to be excepted, that no Person be so +inconsiderate as to Tumble down upon the Bed whilst the lute is there, +for I have known several Good lutes spoiled with such a Trick." + +Again we are indebted to Italy for the invention and name of the +pianoforte. It is a strange fact that, entirely unknown to one another, +three men were working out the same principle--namely, the hammer +action--at the same time. Marius in France, Schroeter in Germany, and +Bartolomeo Christofori (often called Christofali) in Italy worked +secretly and simultaneously, and for a long time it was undecided to +whom the honor really belonged. A careful examination of all records, +however, establishes beyond a doubt the priority of Christofori's +claim. The hammer action was what all previous instruments lacked, and +it seems strange that it took nearly two thousand years for this +principle to be discovered and applied. Many times the inventors +appeared to be almost upon it. They worked all around it, but the idea +seemed illusive and they never grasped it. + +[Illustration: Christofori Piano from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, +New York City] + +At this point it might be well to enumerate in order the instruments +which preceded the piano, if only to fasten them clearly in memory: the +lyre and harp of the ancients; the dulcimer, played by means of the +plectra and to which, as the hand could use but one plectrum, there was +a keyboard added to use all the fingers, thus moving the plectra faster; +the clavichord, with tangents of brass to strike the strings; the +virginal and the spinet, in reality the same; the harpsichord, with its +crow quills to half rub, half strike the strings, still far away from +the hammer action of the present-day piano. It seems almost +unaccountable that the manufacturers who so greatly improved the +mechanism of the harpsichord at this stage failed to discover the hammer +action. But at last, after the quest of centuries, the quill, thorn, and +ivory were discarded and a small hammer struck the string, giving a +clear, precise, but delicate tone hitherto unheard. The "scratch with a +sound at the end" was gone forever. The harpsichord had been changed +into an instrument of percussion, and it only remained for man to +perfect that primitive creation into the superb piano of today. + +Although Italy gave the invention to the world, it remained for northern +Europe and England to take up the idea and improve it. Christofori +solved three important problems: first, the construction of thicker +strings to withstand the hammer action; second, a way to compensate for +the weakness caused by the opening in the tuning-pin block; third, the +mechanical control of the rebound of the hammer from the strings, so +that the hammer should not block against the latter and prevent +vibration. + +The first Christofori instrument was brought out in 1709. Marius did not +come forth with his claim until 1716, and Schroeter not until the next +year. The name "pianoforte" is traced clearly to the year 1598 and is +said to have been originated by an Italian named Paliarino. In some of +his manuscripts he mentions an instrument called _piano e forte_. The +English put in a claim for a monk living in Rome who had made an +instrument resembling Christofori's in 1711 and had brought it to +England, where it created a profound sensation. This may have been true, +but England did little to develop even the harpsichord until long after +Continental makers had achieved marked success in the business. In 1760 +German workmen to the number of twelve went to London. They were known +as the Twelve Apostles, and it is their descendants who became +identified with the successful development of the piano down to the +present time. + +Very few of the first Christofori pianos have been preserved. One, in +excellent repair, is in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Two are in +Florence, dated 1720 and 1726. They show, beyond a doubt, that he had +anticipated the plan of escapement and hammer checking. Like many other +pioneer inventors, this man died in comparative poverty. Schroeter, the +German claimant, became a famous maker of instruments. He succeeded in +improving the piano to a large extent. But his life was made miserable +fighting the claims of other manufacturers who sprang up and immediately +went into business. Marius met the same fate, being driven to +distraction by competitors, some of whom turned out instruments far +superior to his. + +England did not accomplish much before the middle of the eighteenth +century. Up to 1760 all pianos were made in what is known as the "grand" +form. Then a German in the employ of the Tschudi's, famous makers of +harpsichords, invented the familiar "square" style. At the beginning of +the nineteenth century, the most noted European makers were the Steins, +Stodart, Broadwood, Pleyel, Erard, and Silberman. Pleyel was +distinguished not only for his fine instruments, but for the fact that +he was the twenty-fourth child born to his mother after she married +Martin Pleyel. She died soon after his birth, whereupon his father took +unto himself another wife and had fourteen more children, making a +family of thirty-eight, thirty-five of whom lived and prospered. Pleyel +was chapel master of Strasburg Cathedral. He was the author of some fine +hymns and other compositions which we know and love today. He lived in +Paris, manufactured splendid pianos, and was, before his death, +proprietor of one of the largest establishments in Europe. + +To show against what prejudice the piano had to struggle as compared to +the harpsichord (and even the clavichord), we quote from a musical +critic in Leipzig who said: + +"The clavichord stands highest of all instruments, and although on +account of its nature it is excluded from the concert hall, it is the +companion of the recluse. The latter says to himself: 'Here I can +produce the feelings of my heart, can shade fully, drive away care, and +melt away a tone through all its swellings,'" This critic says further: + +"The piano is so deficient in its shadings and minor attractions, it is +adapted only for concerts and chamber music." This dissertation closes +as follows: "In order to judge a virtuoso, one must listen to him while +at the clavichord, not while at the piano or harpsichord." + +To illustrate the novelty of the piano in the year 1767, we find on an +old English play bill of the Covent Garden Theater a certain Miss +Brickler advertised to sing a favorite song from "Judith," accompanied +by Mr. Dibdin on "a new instrument" called the pianoforte. This was at +the intermission after the first act of "The Beggars" opera. + +After Mozart became acquainted with the piano, he gave his preference to +those made by Stein, of Augsburg. Afterwards, however, he transferred +his affection to those made by Anton Walter, of Vienna. His "grand," +which was but five octaves, with white sharps and black naturals, is now +in the Mozarteum at Salzburg. + +[Illustration: Piano made by Matthaeus Andreas Stein +Vienna, early Nineteenth Century] + +Silberman, the German maker, was finally successful in interesting King +Frederick of Prussia in his new instrument to the extent of persuading +him to purchase outright all he had finished. There were some +fifteen of these, which were placed in the rooms at the palace. This +demonstrates the King's love for music. He was a flute player of +considerable ability. One of the court musicians was Carl Philip Emanuel +Bach, son of the great master, and King Frederick had expressed a desire +to hear the elder Bach play upon the new invention. For some time old +Sebastian was obstinate and tartly declined all invitations. His son at +last cajoled him into acceding to the King's wishes. He arrived most +unexpectedly and excited the King to such an extent that he rushed out +exclaiming: "Gentlemen, old Bach has come." + +During the performance he stood behind the musician's chair muttering in +an undertone: "Only one Bach, only one Bach." The King requested the +improvisation of a fugue in six parts, which the master did to the +astonishment of all present. But for the new instrument Bach had little +use. He complimented Silberman on his production, but he found fault +with the unequal tones. He said the high notes were too weak, that it +was too hard to play. Of course this greatly displeased the maker. For a +long time he was very angry. But his better judgment came to the rescue +and at a later date he succeeded in producing an instrument to which the +master gave his approval. Bach, however, was never convinced that any +instrument was equal to his beloved clavichord. + +It will be of interest to women to know that Maria Anna Stein, +daughter of Johann Andreas Stein, the piano maker, was a most +successful business woman, carrying on the manufacturing of instruments. +This she continued after her marriage to Herr Streicher. She was a +person of rare refinement and a warm friend of Beethoven, whom she +greatly admired. She was privileged to make his last years more +comfortable than any he had previously experienced. Good servants were +provided to look after his bodily needs and she always had one of her +best pianos at his disposal. In a letter to "Nanette," as she was +called, he wrote: "Perhaps you do not know that though I have not always +had one of your pianos, since 1809 I have invariably preferred them." + +As late as 1882 there was a grand piano at Windsor Castle which bore +the name of Nanette Stein, Maker. It belonged to Queen Victoria. + +Clementi may be considered the first legitimate writer for the piano. +All the great masters, including Scarlatti, Handel, Bach, and Haydn (in +his first compositions), were written for the clavichord. So when +listening to the classics they have left for us, we must remember the +limitations of the instruments upon which they played and for which they +wrote. Probably no one has realized this fact more keenly than the late +Mr. Morris Steinert, of New Haven, Conn. He spent the best years of his +life (to say nothing of his fortune) in collecting the rare and valuable +instruments which he presented to Yale College. + +Mr. Steinert not only searched for these treasures all over Europe, but +he had them restored and played upon them, thus giving to the world the +long-forgotten sounds and showing, by the only method possible, just how +the great masters played. During the World's Fair the Steinert +collection was in the Manufacturers' Building, the center of attraction +for music lovers. His experiences were most interesting in obtaining +some of the rarest specimens. For instance, a harpsichord with the date +1710 on its case was found broken and dust-covered in an attic in +Vienna. It had two keyboards, tortoise-shell naturals and ivory sharps. +It had eight stops, one imitating the lute and one the flute. The +sounding board was elaborately painted with flowers and other +decorative symbols, while the inside lid was ornate with strictly +Japanese art. + +The dearly loved "Nanette Stein" piano, Beethoven's much prized +possession, is in Mr. Steinert's collection. America is the home of many +priceless pianos. In this same group we find an instrument once +belonging to Napoleon Bonaparte. To be correct, it is a harpsichord, and +it was given to a French sergeant when the fallen monarch was banished +to St. Helena. The Frenchman came to America and gave the harpsichord to +Simon Bates, of Scituate Harbor Light, Mass., from whose heirs Mr. +Steinert purchased it. Claviers, dulcimers, spinets, and harpsichords, +belonging once upon a time to Bach, Haydn, and Mozart, are in this +famous collection. + +Besides the instruments of bygone days, Mr. Steinert has been able to +get original manuscripts, worth their weight in gold. It is a +fascinating character study to examine the scores of the old masters and +note the difference in style and method. For many years this man made +arduous tours with his instruments, giving lectures and illustrating +them with actual performance of the music on the instrument for which it +was composed. His only compensation was that he felt he was furthering +the true spirit of art and music in this the country of his adoption. In +his personal reminiscences published some years ago he says: + +[Illustration: Piano made by Benjamin Crehore, Boston Cir. 1800] + +"How dealers in pianos of this day must envy the manufacturers of the +good old times when they remember that then the would-be purchaser had +to look up the maker and court his pleasure. He had to sign a written +contract, the terms of which sound droll enough to us. The time limit +for construction was from six to twelve months and the payments were, +generally, so much cash, so many casks of wine, a certain amount of +corn, wheat, and potatoes, while geese, chickens, and turkeys +constituted some of the articles used in payment. Even a few cords of +wood would be acceptable in making up the balance. When the piano was +completed, ready for delivery at the home of the impatient purchaser, a +general festival took place. The maker was the hero of the hour. He +was accompanied by his craftsmen, and apprentices if he had any, and +they followed the gaily decorated wagon and horses which bore the +precious burden to its new home. A band of music headed the procession +and the maker was borne aloft on the shoulders of his assistants. +Musicians, organists, school masters, and other dignitaries marched in +the rear. At the place of destination the procession was received with +joyous shouts of welcome. The minister said a prayer and blessed the +instrument and its maker. Then the mayor or burgomaster delivered an +address, dwelling at length upon the importance of the event to the +whole community, stating that the coming of the new musical instrument +would raise the standing of the place in the eyes of the surrounding +countryside. Speeches followed by the school master, doctor, druggist, +and other officials. The mannechor of the village rendered songs, and +amid the strains from the band the piano was moved into place. A banquet +and dance closed the happy occasion." + +In those days the manufacturer had to make each article by hand that +went into a piano, which is the reason it took so long to finish the +instrument. + +[Illustration: Piano made by Charles Albrecht, Philadelphia] + +If the early records are reliable, the history of the piano in this +country begins at Philadelphia. In 1775 John Behrend, a German or Swede, +built an instrument in the Quaker city, and up to 1855 it continued to +be the center of trade in musical instruments. When we consider how +much the piano has contributed to the happiness of mankind and to the +promotion of art and culture, the honor conceded to the Pennsylvania +city is by no means a small one. The first spinets and virginals made on +this side of the water were undoubtedly of Philadelphia manufacture. +This was in the year 1742. Along with its musical progress it is said +that the first hand or barrel organs were made there, and of the latter +some one says: "They are the curse and plague of the modern high class +individual." A Scotchman, who settled in Philadelphia near the end of +1785, was the maker of the hand-organ. + +To show that the town was progressive in all kinds of instruments, we +find that the historical society of Philadelphia has records of the +first organ built there in 1737 by one Mathew Zimmerman. Local +historians claim it to be the first one built in America. John Clark +built one at Salem, Mass., in 1743, for the Episcopal church at that +place. This puts Massachusetts well to the front in early musical +history. Zimmerman's will, probated the same year he finished the organ, +bequeaths it to his nephew and expresses the hope that he would learn to +play upon it, adding, "If not, it can be sold, owing to its being so +much of a curiosity." + +[Illustration: Piano, Primitive German Action. Eighteenth Century] + +The story of the first piano to come into this country is truly romantic +and historic. The famous continental frigate "Boston," a +privateer, sailed into port with a British merchant ship as a prize. The +dauntless Captain Tucker was in command. The cargo was sold for the +benefit of the National Treasury, and among other articles was a +pianoforte of London make. + +It was not until after the revolutionary period that the spinet and +harpsichord were superseded in this country by the piano. A newspaper of +1791 tells us that there were some twenty-seven pianos among the wealthy +Boston families. All were of English make. In 1840 slow, easy-going ways +crept into Philadelphia and she lost the prestige she once enjoyed of +being the center of musical culture as well as of art and literature. +Boston took the place and has held it ever since. Many of the +distinctive features of the American piano actually originated there, +such as the applying of metal in construction, which idea was first +shown to be practical by Alpheus Babcock and Jonas Chickering. Then +Timothy Gilbert, another Boston man, conceived the upright action which +is in such general use today. There is no doubt but that Chickering was +the first man who dared deviate from a prescribed method in case +building. + +Old newspapers contain much of interest concerning these first days in +the musical history of our country. In the Boston _Gazette_, published +in 1770, we are told that an excellent spinet had just been completed +which for goodness of workmanship and harmony of sound was esteemed by +the best judges to be superior to those imported. So much for American +skill and enterprise. + +It might be well to mention that Massachusetts is credited with making +the first violins in this country. In 1789, also, there were two +teachers of harp and piano in Boston, one of whom could act as tuner and +repairer if occasion demanded. We find that Boston early supported a +musical magazine. In 1797 Peter Van Hazen left New York for the "Hub" +and there issued the first copy of his publication devoted to topics on +music. He also imported sheet music direct from London. It was about +1800 when Benjamin Crehore, of Milton, Mass., built the first piano +ever made in this country, and he did it in Boston. He was a skilled +workman who knew how to make violins, 'cellos, guitars, drums, and +flutes. Ten or twelve pianos were all he could make in one year and, to +the shame of America be it recorded, he had to put the stamp of _London_ +or _Paris_ upon them before he could make a sale, showing that our +forefathers considered the foreign made article superior to those of +home manufacture. All these things are changed, however; the American +instrument now commands the highest price and is shipped to every part +of the world. + +[Illustration: A Stodart Piano (Old English)] + +The New York newspapers of olden time contain many notices that are +curious enough to us who read them over in this day and generation. +For instance, we find that "Peter Goelet has just gotten in a supply of +goods on the ship 'Earl of Dunmore,' and advertises that he has over +three hundred articles, from masons' trowels to oil paint, skillets and +books, paint-pots, guitars, fiddles, flutes and other musical +instruments, as well as a large box of harpsichord wire and hammers." + +This motley collection no doubt found eager customers. Another paper +tells us that "Herman Zedwitz, teacher of the violin, announces to the +public that he has just returned from Europe and will give a concert in +the assembly rooms at the 'Sign of the Golden Spade.'" Later, in 1774, +this same man evidently found that the public did not appreciate him +musically, for the intervals were so long between lessons and +engagements for his violin that he was forced to take up the occupation +of a chimney sweep. From accounts in the paper he must have inaugurated +a sort of trust, for he advertised to take contracts by the year for +"dusting out the sooty interior of flues" and adds, "None but competent +boys employed." Evidently musical culture in New York was temporarily at +a low ebb. + +In this story of the evolution of the piano we have seen how, from its +primitive beginning, it has become the one splendid instrument that is +capable of representing the effect of a full orchestra. Before the death +of Beethoven he realized the tremendous power of the piano and +displayed its resources in a manner undreamed of by Haydn. Could these +old masters return today and sit at one of the splendid productions of +the twentieth century they would be dumb with amazement and entirely at +a loss as to how to handle the enormous range of seven and a third +octaves. Best of all, the price is such that some style of modern piano +is within the reach of nearly every one. Music in the home is now the +rule, not the exception. + +Leigh Hunt has well expressed the feeling of all piano lovers in these +verses, which are full of sentiment: + + Oh, friend, whom glad or gay we seek, + Heaven-holding shrine; + I ope thee, touch thee, hear thee speak, + And peace is mine. + No fairy casket full of bliss, + Outvalues thee; + Love only, wakened with a kiss + More sweet may be. + + To thee, when our full hearts o'erflow, + In griefs or joys + Unspeakable, emotions owe + A fitting voice. + Mirth flees to thee, and loves unrest, + And memory dear, + And sorrow, with his tightened breast + Comes for a tear. + + Oh, since few joys of human mould, + Thus wait us still, + Thrice blessed be thine, thou gentle fold + Of peace at will. + No change, no sullenness, no cheat + In thee we find; + Thy saddest voice is ever sweet, + Thine answer kind. + + + + [Transcriber's Note: + + The following typographical errors have been corrected: + + "Stien," "Stiens," and "Stienert" have been changed to "Stein," + "Steins," and "Steinert" in a number of places throughout the text. + + The incorrect page number in the list of illustrations for the Charles + Albrecht piano illustration has been changed.] + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's How the Piano Came to Be, by Ellye Howell Glover + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW THE PIANO CAME TO BE *** + +***** This file should be named 29280.txt or 29280.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/2/8/29280/ + +Produced by Meredith Bach and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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