Scan 122
Groves Dictionary Of Music And Musicians,vol.1 Ed.3, 1904
24 lines. Read by computer on 18 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1AMBROSIAN MUSIC. It is beyond all question that St. Ambrose had an important place among those who developed ecclesiastical music. He was apparently responsible for the introduction, at any rate into the West, of two new forms to be employed in public worship, viz. Hymnody and Antiphonal Psalmody (see Hymn, Antiphon). But beyond this his personal action can hardly be traced. The term 'Ambrosian' has been applied to the usages liturgical and musical of the great Church of Milan, which, defending itself behind the shelter of his great name, has succeeded in retaining its own customs, and in resisting, at any rate to a certain extent, the tendency to assimilation with Rome. Hence Ambrosian music, like the Ambrosian rite, is of the greatest interest for the purposes of comparison with its Roman correlative (see Gregorian Music and Psalmody). A facsimile and transcript of an Ambrosian Choir-book is to be found in Paleogr. musicale, vols. v. and vi. The traditional statement that Ambrosian music knows only the Authentic and not the Plagal modes is not tenable. A fuller study of it is needed in order to establish how far it rests upon the same modal theory as the Gregorian music (see Modes, Ecclesiastical). The name 'Ambrosian' is in early days applied to any Latin hymn sung at the Hours. The genuine hymns of St. Ambrose are few (see Hymn). The term is also applied to the Te Deum owing to the legend that it was originally sung by St. Ambrose and St. Augustine at the baptism of the latter.
3W. H. F.
5AMBROSIO, ALFREDO D' (b. Naples, June 13, 1871; d. Paris, Dec. 31, 1914), violinist and composer, studied at the Conservatoire of Naples with Pinto, Bossi and Camillo de Nardis. He lived for a time in Paris (where he also completed his musical education), then went to Nice, returning to Paris, 1898. His less ambitious compositions—interpreted by such players as Sarasate, Kubelik and Kocian—won undoubted popularity, their chief assets being a facile melodic vein not devoid of a certain easy grace.
7F. B.
9AMBROŽ (AMBROSH), (1) JOSEPH KARL (b. Krumau, Bohemia, May 6, 1750; d. Berlin(?), Sept. 8, 1822), studied singing and musical theory under Kozeluh at Prague. He became one of the greatest tenors and singing-masters of his time. In 1784 he was engaged at the court of Bayreuth; thence he went to Hamburg, Hanover and Vienna; and in 1791 he became first tenor at the National Theatre, Berlin. He composed a number of songs which attained to great popularity. Among his many pupils was his daughter, (2) WILHELMINE (b. Berlin, 1791), who made her début as a pianist-prodigy in 1803. In 1809 she appeared at the Breslau Opera as a high soprano. Her voice, which went up to a", was of great brilliance and purity, while her perfect technique, and especially her shake, placed her among the leading prime donne. After a passing visit to Berlin she went to Hamburg and Copenhagen. She married Becker, a merchant, and seems then to have retired into private life.
11E. v. d s.
13AMENDOLA, GIUSEPPE (b. Palermo?). His opera, 'Il Beglierbei da Caramania,' 1776, acquired great popularity all over Europe. A MS. score of this, and the MS. of a rondo for soprano and PF. are in Dresden Museum.
15AMENER, the name given by Biber and others to a kind of courante or galliard; possibly a later name for the Basse-danse (q.v.).
17AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS, see New York.
19AMERICAN MUSIC GUILD, see New York.
21AMERICAN NATIONAL ORCHESTRA, see New York.
23AMERICAN ORGAN, a free-reed instrument similar in its general construction to the HARMONIUM (q.v.), but with some important differences. In the first place the reeds in the American organ are considerably smaller and more curved and twisted than in the harmonium, and there is a wider space left at the side of the reed for it to vibrate, the result being that the tone is more uniform in power, and that the expression stop when used produces much less effect. The curvature of the reeds also makes the tone softer. In the American organ, moreover, the wind-channel or cavity under which the vibrators are fixed is always the exact length of the reed, whereas in the harmonium it is varied according to the quality of tone required, being shorter for a more reedy tone and longer for a more fluty one. Another point of difference in the two instruments is that in the harmonium the wind is forced outward through the reeds, whereas in the American organ, by reversing the action of the bellows, it is drawn inwards. The advantages of the American organ as compared with the harmonium are that the blowing is easier, the expression stop not being generally used, and that the tone is of a more organ-like quality, and therefore peculiarly adapted for sacred music; on the other hand, it is inferior in having much less variety of tone, and not nearly so much power of expression. These instruments are sometimes made with two manuals; in the most complete specimens the upper manual is usually furnished with one set of reeds of 8 feet and one of 4 feet pitch, and the lower manual with one of 8 and one of 16 feet, those on the upper manual being also voiced more softly for the purposes of accompaniment. A mechanical coupling action is also provided by which the whole power of the instrument can be obtained from the lower row of keys. Pedals, similar to
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.