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Scan 875
Grove's Dictionary of music and musicians, 1910
24 lines. Read by computer on 12 September 2026. Printed page 811. See the scan on archive.org.
1for female voices, several anthems, 'Break forth into joy,' 'I love the Lord,' etc., part-songs, trios, etc., besides numerous songs and pianoforte pieces, among the latter of which may be mentioned a 'Gavotte fantastique,' an elegy, a minuet and trio, etc. He edited six cantatas by Carissimi, with accompaniments, and wrote an excellent series of instruction-books for the pianoforte under the collective title of The Musician (Swan Sonnenschein & Co.), in which special stress is laid upon the analysis of musical compositions from the beginning of pianoforte study. His Hand Gymnastics is No. 36 of Novello's Music Primers. He died at Hampstead, July 15, 1895.
3PRENTICE PILLAR, THE. Opera in one act, text by Guy Eden, music by Reginald Somerville. Produced at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sept. 24, 1897.
5PREPARATION. The possibility of using a very large proportion of the dissonant combinations in music was only discovered at first through the process of 'suspension,' which amounts to the delaying of the progression of a part or voice out of a concordant combination while the other parts move on to a fresh combination; so that until the delayed part moves also to its destination a dissonance is heard. As long as the parts which have moved first wait for the suspended notes to move into their places before moving farther, the group belongs to the order of ordinary suspensions (Ex. 1); but when they move again while the part which was as it were left behind moves into its place, a different class of discords is created (Ex. 2). In both these cases the sounding of the dis-
7Ex. 1. Ex. 2.
9cordant note in the previous combination (i.e. the upper C in the first chord of both examples) is called the 'preparation' of the discord, and the latter class are sometimes distinguished especially as prepared discords. The note which prepares a discord must be ultimately capable of being taken without preparation; hence for a long while only absolutely concordant notes could be used for the purpose. But when by degrees the Dominant seventh, and later the major and minor ninths of the Dominant, and some similarly constructed chromatic chords of seventh and ninth, came to be used as freely as concords, their discordant notes became equally available to prepare less privileged discords.
11C. H. H. P.
13PRESA (literally, 'a taking'). A sign used to indicate the places at which the Guida (or Subject) of a Canon is to be taken up by the several voices.
15The following are the forms most frequently adopted:—
17S. :S: .S. + ✱
19In the famous 'Enimme,' or enigmatical Canons, of the 15th and 16th centuries, an Inscription is usually substituted for the Presa, though in many cases even this is wanting, and the singer is left without assistance. [See INSCRIPTION.]
21W. S. R.
23PRESENDA, JOHANNES FRANCISCUS, a Turin violin-maker of local repute, born at Lequio-Berria, a small village in the department of Alba, on Jan. 6, 1777; died at Turin, Sept. 11, 1854. His father, who was a self-taught violinist, gave him some violin lessons which, besides assisting the boy's natural talent, inspired him with an inordinate curiosity concerning the construction of the instrument upon which he played. So ardent was his desire to learn something of the secrets of violin-making that, when but a lad of twelve, he begged and fiddled his way to Cremona, where he arrived after an eventful and arduous journey, and in due course became a pupil of Lorenzo Storioni. On the completion of his studies at Cremona he returned to his native town in the same manner in which he came, and in 1814 set up a business of his own at Alba. Meeting with but little encouragement he removed to Carmagnola in 1817, and finally drifted to Turin in 1820. Here success at last attended his efforts, owing to the patronage of Giambattista Polledro. This pupil of Pugnani was appointed conductor of the Royal Band by King Charles Felix in 1824, and in the reorganisation which ensued, Polledro, together with Ghebart (his successor), adopted the use of Pressenda's violins in the Royal Band and the orchestras of the Theatres. Tarisio bought a considerable number of his violins, predicting an auspicious future for them, and diplomas and silver medals were awarded Pressenda by various Philharmonic Societies. Beyond Italy Pressenda's name is comparatively unknown, but his work was brought before the notice of the musical public in this country in 1882, in connection with the Hodges v. Chanot case. The violin—a remarkably handsome instrument bearing a Bergonzi label—which was the cause of the suit, brought to light the very doubtful practices of violin-dealers, and their methods of inserting false labels. Von Lütgendorff (Die Geigen und Lautenmacher) highly commends Pressenda's work, especially praising his varnish, and the individuality displayed in the scrolls. According to the same writer, the prices of his instruments vary from £45 to £100. The little brochure (mentioned below) which was written by B.-Gioffredo Rinaldi, a Turin violin-maker and pupil of Pressenda, on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition at Vienna, and dedicated to the Archduke Ranieri as the president of the Imperial Commission
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