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Scan 59
The story of the violin, 1904
10 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1Story of the Violin
3out time, and without form and rule; a rising and falling of the voices (unison) to the rhythm of the syllables, as the bird swings on his branch to the rhythm of the breeze. But gradually certain accents, certain turns and cadences were retained, and through frequent repetitions these primitive melodies became fixed in the Christian communities, and were handed down to succeeding generations.
5In the third and fourth centuries, when the spreading of the Christian faith had made mere oral transmission of the melodies more and more impossible, and yet the necessity of uniformity in the singing only more urgent in proportion, some learned and able bishops like Ambrosius (333-397) began to collect and sift the scattered material and, with some knowledge of the ancient Greek systems, commit it to writing. Still later, Gregory the Great gave it its final shape in the modes and chants which ever since have been identified with his name and church music generally, and which lie at the root of our glorious modern musical art.
7The same great Pope also established in Rome the first singing school,1 where talented boys were instructed by an acknowledged master. From it eventually sprang similar institutions in other Christian lands, able teachers having been sent there from Rome to pro-
91 Some writers put the foundation of the first singing school in Rome at an earlier date.
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