Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
MUSIC ON THE PACIFIC COAST
The Early Days of Musical Development on the Pacific Coast—Influence of the
Spaniards, the Indians, Missionaries, Mexicans and the Gamp—Factors in the
Upbuilding of Musical Life On the Pacific Coast—How Opera and Concerts Have
Played Their Part—How Music Figures in San Francisco and the Exposition.
W
HEN one speaks of the history of music in any country or
section of the country the line of demarcation must be
made between that which is aboriginal or indigenous and that
which is the real art of music brought into the country. If we are
to consider the music of the Pacific Coast from the point when
outer influences made themselves felt we would probably not at-
tempt to go much back of 1849—those wonderful days of '49 when
the gold fields of California and Nevada attracted the world's
greatest artists, who were repaid for the intense difficulty of their
travel and the hardships which they were forced to encounter in
every way by the lavishness with which the gold was literally
showered upon them, lint there is a history beyond this, indeed
far beyond this, and one which would be mr.jh more interesting
than the story of to-day, were anyone really able to tell it, since
it would be full of romance and full of the beauty of the rugged
freedom and color which forms one of the most interesting bits
in the early life of this country.
Notwithstanding the fact that there is no direct relationship
between the music of to-day and that of the earliest days of Cali-
fornia, there is no denying the powerful influence of that epoch
upon natives of the Pacific Coast, of whom it has often been said
that musically their temperament is almost as warm and as intense
as is that of some of the peoples of Southern Europe. Whereas,
in a limited amount of time one may not go into the creation of
temperament, it is impossible to overlook the great importance of
the extremely early days of California upon the musical life of the
present time.
to the note of rest. It is notable that triumphant chants and songs
of war are among the most ancient forms of the music of any race.
The Indians of California were of a low order of intelligence,
and their music consisted for the greater part of monotonous and
unvarying chants. Still they were not without sufficient inventive
talent to create for musical purposes pipes of two or three reeds
or drums made of hollow logs covered with dried hide and turtle
shells and gourds filled with small pebbles, with which to accentuate
THE MUSIC OF THE INDIANS.
It would be but natural to consider first of all the music of
the Indians, which, like the music of all other uncivilized races,
would mean nothing to the casual observer except howlings and
discordant hoarse cries. To him, searching for that which might
be even remotely related to music, there would be a good deal
more. To begin with there would be very strong rhythm usually
made manifest by instruments of the rudest and crudest sort.
There were certainly shadings, as those of us who have been per-
mitted to hear the incantations and songs of the modern Indian
A Scene on the Avenue of Progress.
the measure. In addition to beating these drums with bones or
sticks, the clapping of hands was another method of marking the
rhythm, and all this formed the accompaniment of every celebra-
tion, whether war, feast, birth, marriage, funeral or other rite.
INFLUENCE OF THE MISSIONARIES.
Palace of Music, Where All Great Music Festivals and Recitals Are Held.
yet found in remote reservations can attest. Also intervals were
distinctly pronounced; they were both major and minor and were
arrived at by means of a slide producing a howling effect. It is
an accepted fact that they had a tonic, and when they departed
from that note to a third or fifth above they invariably returned
A distinct period which might be designated as the second
began soon after the colonization establishment of the first Fran-
ciscan missions during the latter part of the 18th century. Since
the congregations were composed entirely of Spaniards, Mexicans
and native Indians, it was impossible that there should not have
been a merging of the two periods, notwithstanding the fact that
they are entirely distinct. At the beginning of the 19th century
there were eighteen of these Catholic missions with a native con-
vert population of almost 14,000, and among these the padres
found many possessed of enough musical intelligence to pick up
after a fashion the flute, violin, 'cello, horn or guitar. Most of
the neophytes showed interest in music and became real adepts as
choir singers.
They learned to play or sing by note, as well as by ear, and
the padres made the most of music as a refining influence, since
they noted strong evidences of its value in this direction. At many
of the missions it was customary for those Indians who were
especially fond of music to accompany the padres to their homes
after the services and to spend from half an hour to an hour with
secular music, and it was not at all unusual to hear dance music
in church. The Indians were instructed in the work of copying
the Gregorian chants and other church music into their immense
missals and choir books. There are a few of these choir books
yet preserved in some of the State libraries of California, one of
(Continued on page 9.)