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Scan 140
A dictionary of musical terms, 1889
29 lines. Read by computer on 12 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1Descending. Passing from a higher degree of pitch to a lower.
2Des dur (Ger.) The key of D♭ major.
3Des moll (Ger.) The key of D♭ minor.
4Dessin (Fr.) The design or plan of a composition.
5Dessus (Fr.) One of the old names for the treble or upper part in vocal music.
6Desto (It.) Sprightly.
7Destra (It.) The right, as mano destra, the right hand.
8Détaché (Fr.) Detached, or staccato notes.
9Determinato (It.) Resolutely, definitely.
10Détonation (Fr.) False intonation.
11Détonner (Fr.) To sing out of tune: to sing harshly or coarsely.
12Detto (It.) The same; as, il detto voce, the same voice.
13Deutsche Flöte (Ger.) The German flute. [Flute.]
14Deutscher Bass (Ger.) An instrument of the viol kind, with five or six gut-strings, midway in size between a violoncello and a double-bass.
15Deuxième position (Fr.) (1) The second position or half-shift on the violin. [Shift.] (2) The second fret on a guitar.
16Development of a subject. The elaboration of a given theme according to the rules of art. [Sonata.]
17Devoto, Devozione, con (It.) With devotion, affection.
18Dextra (Lat.) The right, e.g., dextra manu, with the right hand.
19Dextræ tibiæ (Lat.) Pipes held in the right hand; generally, the shorter of the tibiæ impares. Hence, tibiæ dextræ seems to imply a pair of treble pipes; tibiæ sinistræ, a pair of lower-toned or bass pipes. [Aulos.]
20Di (It.) By, of, for, with. Di grado, by degrees; strumenti di fiato, wind instruments; di chiesa, for the church; di bravura, with bravura passages.
21Diagonal Bellows. An old form of organ bellows, the construction of which may be thus explained.
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25When the bellows are empty, the top (a), which is moveable (being hinged at d), lies close to the bottom (c) which is a fixture, and the handle (b) with its levers are in the position described by the dotted lines. Starting thus, if the handle be pressed down, as it leaves the dotted line, the top (a) will ascend, and air will enter the bellows through the apertures e, e, e. When the handle, having reached its maximum depression, is released, the surface weights (f, f, f) exercise their influence to restore the top (a) to its horizontal position; but in the mean time, the valves (g, g, g) inside the bellows have fallen over the apertures (e, e, e), and prevented the egress of the air through them; the air, therefore, is necessarily forced through z, the only exit left, into the sound boards below the pipes. It is evident from this, that during the time the handle is being pushed down, no air is being forced into the sound boards, because, the handle while being depressed negatives the effect of the surface weights. Hence, two diagonal bellows, at least, were absolutely necessary in every organ, whilst some had as many as 10, 12, or 14. The organ in St. Paul's Cathedral had originally 4 large diagonal bellows, measuring 8 feet by 4; and that in St. Sulpice, Paris, 14 diagonal bellows. This large number of bellows was sometimes arranged in a row, side by side, sometimes in two rows, one of which was placed over the other. In the latter case, ropes attached to the handles of those in the upper row allowed them to be blown from the same level as those below. Sometimes diagonal bellows were inflated by treadles, so arranged that the blower could easily step from one to another, whence the Ger. "Balgentreter," "Calcant." One of the chief defects in the diagonal bellows was its inability to supply wind of an uniform pressure. This arose from two causes: the first, because the sides of the folds as they turned inwards, changing from an obtuse to an acute angle, gave more pressure as the top of the bellows gradually fell; the second, because the surface weights would exercise more and more pressure as the top, starting from an inclined plane, approached the horizontal. This defect was in time remedied by attaching to the rod (h) or end of the handle (b) a spring, whose tension was greatest when the top (a) was highest, and when therefore, as explained above, the air was least compressed. [For an account of Horizontal Bellows, see Organ, § 2.]
26Dialogue. A duet.
27Diana (It.), Diane (Fr.) An aubade, huntsup.
28Diapason (Gk.) (1) An octave. [Greek music.] (2) The name given in this country to the most important foundation stops of an organ, termed in other countries more properly Principal. There are two kinds of diapasons,
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