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Scan 55
Grove's Dictionary of music and musicians, 1927
33 lines. Read by computer on 5 September 2026. Printed page 13. See the scan on archive.org.
1centuries. Take, for example, the mathematical demonstrations of Galileo in his Trattato del suon, the writings of the great Florentine theorist, Giambattista Doni (a member of the literary academy 'Della Crusca'), and Tartini's Trattato di musica. From the 15th to the 18th century the passion for academical institutions was so vehement in Italy that there was scarcely a town which could not boast at least one, while the larger cities contained several. At first they went by the name of their founder, as that of 'Pomponio Leto' at Rome, or 'Del Pontano' at Naples. But as they increased and multiplied this did not suffice, and each chose a special name either with reference to its particular object or from mere caprice. Hence arose a number of elaborate designations indicative either of praise or blame, 'Degli infiammati,' 'Dei solleciti,' 'Degl' intrepidi,' etc. Each of these societies had, moreover, a device bearing a metaphorical relation to its name and object. These were looked upon as important, and were as highly esteemed as the crests and coats-of-arms of the old nobility.
3Selecting, as far as possible, the academies which had the cultivation of music for their special object, we find that the earliest in Italy were those of Bologna and Milan, founded, the former in 1482, the latter in 1484. In the 16th and 17th centuries Bologna had four societies for public instruction in music, Cesena and Ferrara one each, Florence five, Padua and Salerno one each, Siena four, entirely for musical dramatic representations, Verona one, founded by Alberto Lavezzola—a combination of two rival institutions which in 1543 became united—Vicenza two, also founded entirely for musical representation.
5At this period there appears to have been no particular academy for music either at Milan, Rome, Naples or Venice, though the science was probably included in the general studies of the various academies which flourished in those cities, while it could be specially and closely studied in the famous Neapolitan and Venetian Conservatori or under the great masters of the Pontifical and other Chapels at Rome.
7The 'Accademie' were all more or less short-lived, and that of the 'Filarmonici' (at Bologna) is the only one which Burney (Musical Tour, 1773) mentions as still extant (see BOLOGNA, FLORENCE, MILAN, NAPLES, PADUA, ROME, VENICE).
9The name 'Accademia' was also given in Italy to a private concert. Burney says in his Musical Tour:
11'The first I went to was composed entirely of dilettanti. Il Padrone, or the master of the house, played the first violin, and had a very powerful band; there were twelve or fourteen performers, among whom were several good violins; there were likewise two German flutes, a violoncello, and small double bass; they executed, reasonably well, several of our [J. C.] Bach's symphonies, different from those printed in England: all the music here is in MS. . . . Upon the whole, this concert was much upon a level with our own private concerts among gentlemen in England.'
13(Tour, ii. 94, 95). From Italy the use of the word spread to Germany. 'Besuche er mich nicht mehr,' said Beethoven on a memorable occasion, 'keine Akademie!' C. M. P.
15ACCELERANDO (Ital.), a quickening of the time, generally used where the quickening is maintained over a fairly long passage (see STRINGENDO).
17ACCELLI, CESARE (2nd half of 16th cent.), published 'Libro primo de madrigali a cinque' (Venice, 1557). It contains the very beautiful madrigal, 'Donna mia casta e bella.' 'De floridi virtuosi d' Italia il terzo libro' (Venezia, 1586) contains some fine madrigals by this master.
19E. v. d. s.
21ACCENT. The Greek προσωδία (πρός, 'to,' and ωδή, 'song'), of which the Latin accentus (ad and cantus) is a literal translation, meant (1) the giving of importance to a syllable, and (2) the diacritical mark which showed this importance. Of these marks there were two kinds: quantitative accents, long and short; and tonic accents, acute, grave and circumflex. This distinction is repeated in the two essentially vocal accents of music—the agogic and the tonic.
23AGOGIC ACCENT.—The longer of two successive notes is said to bear the agogic (or 'attracting') accent. In this phrase from the Venite of Byrd's Great Service, the longer notes coincide with the important words (if we except the two 'ands').
251.
27The sea is His and He made it
28And His hands pre-par-ed the dry land
30There are only three words which are not drawn into the scheme of this accent, and they are at places where they would have been 'common' (long or short) in poetry; and there is no bar accent to compete with this agogic, for bars were not then invented. The time is thought in feet (see METRE), as a poet thinks his verse. A modern instance of agogic accent is the second beat of the saraband or the mazurka, both of which are easily vulgarised by adding an uncalled-for stress accent at that place.
32TONIC, OR PITCH, ACCENT.—τόνος, 'tension' (of a string), means primarily pitch. The fact that a note is of higher pitch tends to accentuate it, especially in vocal music; and this ultimately because the higher register of the voice is the stronger. Even in the example just given the long note was, in every case but one, higher than the short note, so that the
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