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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
IO
capable of doing the wonderful things he sings
of in his poem. His highest experience of
pleasure is evidently a "spell-bound spine."
Gracious!
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The following story is vouched for by a friend :
Contests, after the English fashion, are growing
to be the thing among amateur bands in parts
of the country. Recently a contest on these
lines was held in a town in the Pennsylvania
coal mining regions where the Welsh element is
very strong. Considerable interest was taken
in the event. The prizes were liberal, a large
number of bands entered, and Mr. F
, a
Welsh
bandleader,
was,
after
some
trouble,
HER LIGHT GUITAR.
chosen to act as a judge, for which service he
She twankled a tune on her light guitar—
was to be paid $50. On the day of the contest
A low sweet jungle of tangled sounds,
everything turned out propitious. F
duly
As blurred as the voices of fairies are,
arrived and, according to the plan agreed on,
Dancing in the noondawn dales and downs,
was immediately conducted to a tent where he
And the tinkling dip of the strange refrain
was to remain hidden from sight while the
Ran o'er the rim of my soul like rain.
bands gave exhibitions without. So that his
The great blonde moon in the midnight skies
attention could not be disturbed he was left
Paused and poised o'er the trellis eaves,
alone. Some cigars and whiskey were placed
And the stars in the light of her upturned eyes, at hand, and the contest commenced.
Sifted their love through the rifted leaves—
Band after band performed, and brayed their
Glinted and splintered in crystal mist
loudest. At last all was over, and the com-
Down the glittering string that her fingers mittee approached to hear the momentous de-
kissed.
cisions. They entered and saw
the professor
reposing
calmly
on
the
floor.
He
was blind
O, the melody mad ! O, the tinkle and thrill
and
helplessly
drunk.
It
required
the
efforts of
Of the ecstacy of the exquisite thing !
the
local
militia
to
prevent
the
enraged
bands-
The red rose dropped from the window sill
men from tearing the learned judge to pieces.
And lay in a long swoon quivering ;
He now swears he will never again officiate in a
While the dying notes of the strain divine
like
position.
Rippled in glee up my spell-bound spine.
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JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY.
Mr. Riley must be very susceptible to the M. Riviere, in his "Recollections," gives
sounds of the guitar, or else his poetic imagina- some interesting notes on the early struggles of
tion conceives of an instrument and a performer Auguste Van Biene, the great violonsellist, who
lived at one time in a garret in Northumberland
THE KEYNOTE.
TIHIIE OOLBTT
The HOME musical Journal of America.
EDWARD LYMAN BILL,
NO. 3 EAST 14TH STREET,
NEW YORK.
T H E REVIEWER.
PIANO
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ART, LITERATURE, DRAMA.
From One to Two Dollars worth of Music with each Issue.
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Court, Charing Cross. Biene borrowed a stool
from his landlady, and betook himself to the
street, where he earned sometimes 5s and some-
times 20s. a day. One afternoon he ventured
to Hanover square, and had not long settled
down to play one of his best pieces when he
was addressed by a gentleman, who asked him
why he did this. " Parcequej'ai faim, " replied
Biene, truthfully. The gentleman gave him
his card, which bore the name of Michael Costa,
and told the player to call and see him. The
result, of course, was an engagement.
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Here is a very good explanation of the differ-
ence between the singing and speaking voice
in the same person:
In singing, the sound is made chiefly by the
vibrations of the vocal cords and the resonance
of the cavities of the mouth and pharynx. We
cause the vibration by forcing the air strongly
outwards between the cords, and by an effort of
will we strengthen or relax them, according to
the note we wish to produce. When we utter
articulate speech we modify the sounds thus pro-
duced as they are passing out. By means of
the teeth, the tongue, the lips, we convert the
primary notes into consonants of different
kinds, and by altering the shape of the mouth
we make the sounds called vowels. Singers, of
course, produce distinct words, but in singing
it is too often painfully apparent that the chief
attention is given to the pitch and quality of
the note produced, while the meaning of the
language employed seems of secondary import-
ance. The reverse is the case in ordinary
speech. We produce musical sounds in ordin-
ary conversation, but we keep on one note, and
perhaps we end our sentences on a higher or a
lower note. In singing, the larynx is the chief
organ ; in conversation and oratory the mouth
takes a very large .share of the work.
Grand and Upright Pianos,
ERIE, PA.
NEW YORK OFFICE: 18 East 17th Street, with Gk "W. HERBERT.
F. MUEHLFELDI CO
Seaverns Piano Action
B8TABLISHBD X851.
Piano Manufacturers,
511-513 E. 137th St., NEW YORK
MANUFACTURERS OF
. 113-125 BROADWAY,
CAMBBIDOEPOBT, MASS.