Scan 95
Musical Courier 1893-05-17: Vol 26 Iss 689, 1893
54 lines. Read by computer on 24 September 2026. Printed page 96. See the scan on archive.org.
1firm a tone as when open. The string, however, is kept perfectly parallel to the two contiguous strings, and free from the lateral motion in the vertical plane. The proportions of the strings were also greatly altered by Erard, so that his harp, compared with the instrument imported into England from France, may be said to have as much resemblance as there is between a grand piano and a harpsichord.
3The consequence of these remarkable improvements in the harp was that it rose considerably in the estimation of the musical world. Professors and amateurs, both in this country and abroad, were eager to procure Erard's harp, because of its increased adaptability to meet the exigencies of modern music.
5About the year 1800 the single action harp had attained such a state of perfection that no further improvement in its mechanical construction was possible, although still very defective as to its power of modulation. It was tuned in the key of E, three flats. That mode of tuning was adopted because the best to divide, as equally as practicable, the imperfection of the instrument between the sharps and the flats. The action of each pedal raising each string one semitone upon the single action harp, had it been tuned in the key of C, the modulation possible would have been confined to the keys with sharps; while, by tuning the harp in a key with flats, the number of keys practicable was divided between the flats and the sharps, though not increased; for where the advantage of the flat was gained that of the sharp was lost, and vice versa.
7This imperfection of the instrument as to modulation could not escape the observing mind of Sebastian Erard; he therefore made the first attempt to remedy the defect about 1801, when he completed a harp which produced three distinct sounds upon every string, viz., the flat, the natural and the sharp.
9The patent for this harp is dated June 16, 1801. It contains the double notch, or cut, in the pedestal of the harp, by means of which the pedal, after having been pressed to the first rest, as in the single action harp, may be pressed to a second rest. The double action harp has great advantages over the single in point of musical theory; for instead of thirteen scales (eight major and five minor) practicable on the single action harp, the double action possesses twenty-seven complete (fifteen major and twelve minor), with the advantage of an uniform fingering for each scale.
11The double action harp is of all instruments with fixed sounds the most perfect; and as it possesses twenty-one sounds in the octave, instead of twelve, as is the case with keyed instruments, it is susceptible of a much more perfect system of temperament. It must be added that this invention has the additional advantage of having reduced the strings once more to one row, which not only enables the performer to keep the instrument in better tune, but to use a thicker string, thus attaining a quality of tone which for mellowness and richness may compare favorably with any other instrument in existence.
13It would be superfluous to pass any encomium on this magnificent instrument; it speaks for itself, and must ever stand as an attesting proof of the genius of the man to whom the world is indebted for such a glorious invention. For it has been the means of inducing men of the highest musical culture to devote their energies seriously to its study, and thereby to develop its extended resources, both as composers and executants. Moreover, although works were composed by Mozart, Naderman and others for the single action harp, it was not until the double action harp was invented (when of course enharmonic and other effects could be produced, and it became possible to modulate into any key with facility) that operatic and other composers introduced it into their orchestral scores whenever they wished to produce those romantic and poetical effects so peculiar to the instrument. Such composers as Spohr, Bochsia, Dizi, Labarre, Godefroid, Hasselmans, Oberthür, Parish Alvares and the writer of this article, with others, have shared in the creation of a répertoire for the instrument, which, but for the invention of the double action harp, would in all probability never have been produced.
15In conclusion, it must be affirmed that the Welsh still cling to their triple harp with three rows of strings, notwithstanding its extreme difficulty of manipulation, combined with limited resources, for the sake of the rich store of music composed for it by Welsh musicians centuries ago, and also on account of its invention being peculiarly their own.
17However, when they learn from experience to appreciate the superior claims of the double action harp; that their own national music can be played upon it with ten times the facility and with far more effect; and moreover when they become sufficiently unbiased to recognize improvements in their national instrument, from whatever source they may emanate, they will, without sacrificing their patriotism, gladly adopt it in preference to their own, as being more in harmony with the advanced state of music in the present day.—"Victorian Magazine."
19A Big Wind Instrument.
21THE largest brass musical instrument ever made has just been sent to Chicago to equip a 6½ foot Swede. It is a circular double B flat bass; only more so. The mouth of the bell is 2 feet wide. The instrument was made in Manchester, England.
23The first state of a brass instrument is a plain and comparatively noiseless sheet of the best brass that can be got for money. A pair of shears cuts out a pattern, which the workman bends into, it may be, the first faint semblance of a cornet. The bell is hinted at, and the tubes, without their bewildering curves, are discernible. Then the edges are soldered, and a brief visit to a fiery furnace makes the bended brass a thoroughly fashioned tube. But it is straight, and must be twined into the familiar symmetrical shapes. For this purpose it is filled with lead, so that the roundness of the tube may be preserved under the ordeal of the shaping. It is then fixed firmly on an iron table, and the pressure of a lever, held in skilled hands, bends it by slow degrees to the required form. Thereupon the lead is melted out, and the shaped tube is ready for the latter stages of its transformation.
25The most delicate part of this process is the making of the valves. They are the pistons, pierced at prescribed intervals, which move up and down in the cylinders and produce the music. These valves must fit the outer casing with the utmost accuracy. They are carefully soldered with silver solder, as also are the cases, and they are ground with the greatest nicety by a well practiced hand.
27The mouthpiece of the instrument is cast in solid blocks and drilled on a lathe to the proper shape. Then a silver rim is spun on it. The screw caps of the valves are also cast and prepared on a lathe. The other parts of the instrument are all of sheet brass, the little bows stamped out, the larger parts cut, soldered together, and drawn upon highly finished mandrils.
29When the tube has been hardened by pressure on a lathe, and burnished into an acceptable brightness, and all the valves and bows have been attached to it, in such a way that the brass will break before the jaws will yield, it may still perhaps have to be plated. It is therefore placed in an electric bath, where its transformation into a silvered article is effected. It may also have elaborate designs worked upon it by the engraver. Then the tuner adjusts it to the proper pitch.
31Of course the process is not the same in all cases. The big instrument is not merely an enlargement of the small one. There is a gusset in the bell of the bombardon for instance though it is so neatly made that the seam is invisible. In very large tubes a mixture of resin and pitch is used instead of lead during the bending process. The large bells also are made separately from the rest of the tubing, not forming the first part of the body of the instrument, as in the cornet.
33It is most interesting to see one of these bells on the lathe. Roughened and discolored it spins round, while the pressure of a steel tool makes it smooth. Another instrument pares off the film and leaves it clean. The wide edge is turned out, a wire is slipped under the rim and a second pressure whips the brass over the wire, which is firmly soldered in, and thus forms a strong edge.
35In large instruments the many bows and curves are made separately and soldered together. On the skill of the workman depends the neatness of the joints and the accuracy of the instruments. At least 60 per cent. of the labor is manual. Exact and careful work is therefore specially necessary in a craft which rests for its success upon precision and yet chiefly trusts to hand labor for its attainment.
37The smallest instrument made is a pocket cornet. It is only 6 inches long.
39The demand for silver plated instruments is growing. Amateur artists in brass are said to be largely on the increase. The clergy appear to have a sneaking affection for the cornet. Those who follow this new fad will find the E flat cornet the hardest instrument to master. They would get more satisfaction and notoriety out of a double bass. There is a lot of sound, too, in a well made bombardon, and the euphonium has its merits.—New York "Times."
41Sockin It to Socin.
43THE Baus Piano Company, the New York piano manufacturers, have put in a claim with Attorney Goodhart, who attached the property of Cherubim Socin, the Grand avenue music dealer, last Friday, for some of the property attached. They claim that previous to the attachment they sold three pianos on consignment. Socin turned over the lease of one of them to the firm, but made no accounting for the other two.
45One of the firm came to this city a day or two ago and found that one of the other two pianos had been sold by Socin without letting them know. The third instrument was in the store when the attachment was made. Attorney Goodhart, after examining the Baus Piano Company's bills, was convinced that their claim was an honest one, and agreed to turn over the piano attached to them. The piano which Socin left no memorandum of was traced after a good deal of trouble by Mr. Baus to a family in Fair Haven. Satisfactory arrangements were made with them and they will keep the piano. The Treat & Shepard Company have also put in a claim for some small goods sold Socin on consignment.—New Haven "Register."
47—Incorporated: The Claflin Piano Company, of New York city, capital, $10,000. Directors, Adelbert E. Claflin, Edmund P. Hawkins, of New York city, and Mary A. Claflin, of Omaha, Neb.
49FOR SPRUCE SOUNDING BOARD LUMBER
50ADDRESS
51IRVING SNELL, Little Falls, N. Y.,
52Manufacturer of first quality quartered spruce for pianos, and also dimension lumber for violins and other instruments.
53MILLAS T. HARRISVILLE, N. Y.
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.