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Scan 343
Grove's Dictionary of music and musicians, 1910
14 lines. Read by computer on 12 September 2026. Printed page 297. See the scan on archive.org.
1instruments exercise a greater pressure of wind for the production of the higher notes than the lower, the above ingenious builders applied the same principle to some of their organ registers, with the most excellent result. In this manner they produced the stops—most of which have been naturalised in England—called 'Flûte Harmonique, 8 pieds,' 'Flûte Octaviante, 4 pieds,' 'Trompette Harmonique, 8 pieds,' etc. At first only a few experimental pipes were made to test the soundness of the theory, for the resistance presented to the finger by the highly compressed air was so excessive as to prevent their adoption in practice; but the invention of the Pneumatic lever removed this objection, and Harmonic Stops and the Pneumatic attachment were introduced together for the first time, in Cavaille's fine organ in the abbey church of St. Denis, near Paris, finished in 1841. Very effective Harmonic Flutes, though naturally less powerful, are frequently voiced upon a wind of the ordinary strength when there is a copious supply of it. See HARMONIC FLUTE.
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4HARMONIC UNION, THE. A society based on subscriptions, 'for the performance of sacred and secular music both of the Ancient and Modern Schools,' and particularly of living composers, with Solos, Chorus, and Orchestra. The first proposal was issued in July 1852, Benedict was chosen conductor, and Blagrove leader; the concerts took place at Exeter Hall, and the subscription was £3 : 3s. per head. The first was held on Dec. 17, 1852, the programme being Motet No. 6, J. S. Bach, and the oratorio of 'Joseph' by C. E. Horsley. Others followed at about a month's interval until Feb. 23, 1854, which appears to have been the date of the last concert. Many new works were brought forward, such as Macfarren's 'Lenora'; Pierson's 'Jerusalem'; F. Mori's 'Fridolin'; Symphony in G minor by C. E. Stephens—besides the 'Messiah,' 'Acis and Galatea' (with Mozart's accompaniments), 'Alexander's Feast,' 'Ruins of Athens,' 'Walpurgisnight,' 'Midsummer Night's Dream,' etc.
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7HARMONICA. The power of producing musical sounds from glass basins or drinking-glasses by the application of the moistened finger, and of tuning them so as to obtain concords from two at once, was known as early as the middle of the 17th century, since it is alluded to in Harsdörfer's Mathematische und philosophische Erquickungen, ii. 147 (Nuremberg, 1677). [In its more modern form, the credit of the invention appears to be due to an Irishman, one Richard Pockrich, who played the instrument in Dublin in 1743, and throughout England in 1744. W. H. G. F.] Gluck, when in England, played 'at the Little Theatre in the Haymarket,' April 23, 1746—'a concerto on twenty-six drinking-glasses tuned with spring water, accompanied with the whole band, being a new instrument of his own invention; upon which he performs whatever may be done on a violin or harpsichord.'1 This or some other circumstance made the instrument fashionable, for, fifteen years later, in 1761, Goldsmith's fine ladies in the Vicar of Wakefield, who confined their conversation to the most fashionable topics, 'would talk of nothing but high life and high lived company . . . pictures, taste, Shakspeare, and the musical glasses.' That they occupied the attention of better persons is evident from the testimony of Franklin. He came to London in 1757, and writing on July 13, 1762, to Padre Beccaria at Turin, he tells him of the attempts of Mr. 'Puckeridge' (i.e. Pockrich) and of Mr. Delaval, F.R.S., who fixed their glasses in order on a table, tuned them by putting in more or less water, and played them by passing the finger round the brims. Franklin's practical mind saw that this might be greatly improved, and he accordingly constructed an instrument in which the bells or basins of glass were ranged or strung on an iron spindle, the largest and deepest-toned ones on the left, and gradually mounting in pitch according to the usual musical scale. The lower edge of the basins was dipped into a trough of water. The spindle was made to revolve by a treadle. It carried the basins round with it, and on applying a finger to their wet edges the sound was produced. The following cut is reduced from the engraving in Franklin's letter (Sparks's ed. vi. 245).
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11The essential difference between this instrument and the former ones was (1) that the pitch of the tone was produced by the size of the glasses, and not by their containing more or less water; and (2) that chords could be produced of as many notes as the fingers could reach at once. Franklin calls it the 'Armonica,' but it seems to have been generally known as 'Harmonica.' The first great player on the new instrument was Miss Marianne Davies, who had a European fame, and played music composed for her by Hasse. Another celebrated performer was Marianna Kirchgessner, a blind musician. She
131 See General Advertiser of this date, and Walpole's letter to Mann, March 28.
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