Books › A dictionary of musical terms : containing upwards of 9,000 English, French, German, Italian, Latin and Greek words and phrases … with a supplement containing an English-Italian vocabulary for composers, 1904 › scan 125
Scan 125
A dictionary of musical terms : containing upwards of 9,000 English, French, German, Italian, Latin and Greek words and phrases … with a supplement containing an English-Italian vocabulary for composers, 1904
48 lines. Read by computer on 16 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1Machine-head. (Ger. Mecha'nik.) A rack-and-pinion adjustment substituted for the ordinary tuning-pegs of the double-bass, the guitar, and of the melody-strings of the zither.
3Ma'dre, al'la (It.) "To the Mother"; a superscription of hymns to the Virgin.
5Mad'rigal. (Ger. and Fr. Madrigal; It. madriga'le, madria'le, mandria'le.) Originally, a short lyrical poem of an amorous, pastoral, or descriptive character.—Hence, a poem of this kind set to music, which is polyphonic, with incessant contrapuntal variations, and based (in the stricter style) on a cantus firmus; it is without instrumental accompaniment, and differs from the Motet in being of a secular cast. This style of composition appears to have had its rise in the Low Countries towards the middle of the 15th century, spreading thence to other European States, and cultivated with peculiar success in Italy and England well into the 18th century; in England the Madrigal Society still flourishes. Madrigals are written in from 3 to 8 or more parts, and are best sung by a chorus, which feature forms one of the chief distinctions between the M. and the Glee (for solo voices).
7Maesto'so (It.) Majestic, dignified… Maestà (con), Maesta'de (con), Maestevole, Maestevolmen'te, Maestosamen'te, with majesty or dignity, majestically.
9Maestra'le (It.) Occasional term for the stretto of a fugue, when in canon-form.
11Maestri'a (It.) Mastership, skill, virtuosity.
13Mae'stro (It.) A master… M. al cem'balo, term formerly applied to the conductor of an orchestra, who sat at the harpsichord instead of wielding the baton… M. dei put'ti, "master of the boys", i. e., the choir-master of St. Peter's at Rome… M. del co'ro, choir-master… M. di canto, singing-master… M. di cappel'la, (a) choir-master; (b) conductor; (c) Kapellmeister (conductor of chorus and orchestra).
15Mag'adis (Gk.) An ancient Greek instr. with 20 strings tuned in octaves two by two; hence the term mag'adize, to sing in octaves, as boys and men.
17Ma'gas (Gk.) Bridge (of a cithara or lyre); fret (of a lute).
19Magazin'balg (Ger.) Reservoir-bellows (organ).
21Maggiola'ta (It.) A May-song.
23Maggio're (It.) Major.
25Mag'got. A "fancie", or piece of an impromptu and whimsical character.
27Magni'ficat. Name of, and first word in, the "Magnificat anima mea dominum" (my soul doth magnify the Lord), the hymn or song of the Virgin Mary (Luke I, 46-55), sung in the daily service of the Church.
29Main (Fr.) Hand… M. droite (gauche), right (left) hand… M. harmonique, harmonic hand.
31Maître (Fr.) Master… M. de chapelle, Kapellmeister, conductor… M. de musique, (a) conductor; (b) music-master, teacher.
33Maîtrise (Fr.) In France, prior to 1789, a music-school attached to a cathedral, for the education of young musicians, who were called enfants de chœur. Some few were reestablished, and still exist.
35Majestä'tisch (Ger.) Majestical(ly).
37Major. (Ger. dur; Fr. majeur; It. maggio're.) Lit. "greater", and thus opp. to minor, "lesser." (Comp. Phone, Interval)… Major cadence, one closing on a major triad… M. chord or triad, one having a major third and perfect fifth. … M. interval, key, mode, scale, tonality, see the nouns… M. whole tone, the greater whole tone 8:9 (as c-d'); opp. to the lesser (or minor) whole tone 9:10 (as d-e').
39Malinconi'a (It.) Melancholy… Con m., with melancholy expression, dejectedly (also malinconicamen'te)… Malinco'nico (-nio'so, -no'so), melancholy, dejected.—Also Melanconi'a, etc.
41Mancan'do (It.) Decreasing in loudness, dying away, decrescendo; usually, a combination of decrescendo and rallentando is intended (v. Tempo-marks).
43Manche (Fr.) Neck.
45Mando'la (It.) A large variety of Mandolin.
47Man'dolin(e). (It. mandoli'no.) An instr. of the lute family, the body shaped like that of a lute, though smaller, having wire strings tuned pairwise, played with a plectrum, and stopped on a fretted fingerboard. There are 2 chief varieties, (1) the Neapolitan (mandolino napolita'no), which has 4 pairs of strings tuned g-d'1-a'1-e'2 like those of the violin;
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