Musicologie van de Keltische en naburige stijlen |
[Home][Info][Introductie][Cultuurhistorische onderwerpen][Dans en danshistorie][Vorm, technieken en idioom][Toonsystematiek][Akkoordenleer][Harmonie][Extra] |
INHOUD van deze pagina (verberg)
Gerald van Wales of Gerald de Barry (gelatiniseerd: Giraldus Cambrensis, 1146-1223) was schrijver, geschiedkundige en geestelijke. Zijn vader, William de Barry behoorde tot de meest machtige edelen in Wales. Gerald studeerde in Parijs en keerde in 1172 terug, waarna hij in dienst kwam van de Aartsbisschop van Canterbury voor het doen van missies in Wales ten dienste van de Kerk. In 1184 vergezelde hij prins John tijdens een expeditie naar Ierland. Hij schreef veel publicaties over Ierland en Wales, die voor wat betreft de muziekgeschiedenis van deze landen van grote belang blijken te zijn.
Voorstelling van een Ierse harpspeler uit een kopie van de Topographia Hibernica van Giraldus Cambrensis. (National Library of Ireland, Dublin, I-Dn MS 700. Ca. 1200. |
Giraldus noteerde zijn muzikale getuigenissen in Ierland en Wales, in drie in het Latijn geschreven werken, de Topographia Hiberniæ ('Topographia Hibernica', 'De topografie van Ierland', ca. 1188), Descriptio Kambriæ ('De beschrijving van Wales', 1193) en Itinerarium Kambriæ ('De reis door Wales', 1191). In deze werken beschreef hij zijn ervaringen gedurende de jaren 1180-90, waarin hij de kunde van de Ierse harpeneers en Welshe zangtechniek prijsde.
Zijn verwondering van het Ierse harpspel, is nogal opmerkelijk, omdat Giraldus een bijzonder lage dunk had over de sociale status en gedrag van de Ieren. Naast het harpspel van de Ieren, was hij zeer onder de indruk van de meerstemmige Welshe en Noord-Engelse zang, die hij als uniek beschouwde en omschreef als een oude volkskunst, die mogelijk van Noorse afkomst is.
Voor wat betreft de Ierse en Welshe harp, gaf hij een beschrijving van de toepassing van harmonieën in de harpmuziek.
De op deze pagina wordt een aantal relevante fragmenten uit bovenstaande werken weergegeven. De passages in het Latijn zijn afkomstig van een samengesteld werk door James F. Dimock uit 1867 en 1868, hetgeen een compilatie vanuit meerdere manuscripten is (Dimock, 1867) (Dimock, 1868). De Engelse vertalingen zijn van Thomas Forester en Richard Colt Hoare (1894) (Forester, 1894)(Hoare, 1894), maar zijn op enkele punten bijgesteld vanuit een vertaling van A.J. Fletcher (Fletcher, 2001). De correcties zijn in de tekst in blauw aangegeven.
In dit verband gaat het om de genoemde muziekinstrumenten in Ierland, Wales en Schotland. Deze staan in passages in Topographia Hibernia en Descriptio Kambriæ. De originele vertaling volgens Forester (Topographia) luidt:
"Ireland only uses and delights in two instruments, the harp and the tabor. Scotland has three, the harp, the pipes and the crowd; and Wales, the harp, the pipes and crowd."
Inzake de instrumenten in Wales, vertaalde Hoare (Descriptio):
"They make use of three instruments, the harp, the pipe, and the crwth or crowd (chorus)."
Voor wat betreft Ierland is het bekend dat tot de 16e eeuw gebruik is gemaakt van de timpan (tiompán). Dit in onbruik geraakte snaarinstrument, is bekend vanwege de vermelding in middeleeuwse Ierse manuscripten. Naast de harp en crwth, is de timpan is ook in Wales gebruikt bij de uitoefening van cerdd dant ('kunst der snaren'). Zie daarvoor: Cerdd dant, deel 1.
Forester in kennelijk op het verkeerde been gezet, door het woord 'tympanum', een romeinse lijsttrom, vandaar de abusievelijk vertaling van 'tabor'.
Sommige citaten door Cambrenis in de Latijnse versie van Dimock, wijken in de vertaalde tekst in een aantal gevallen af, vanwege verschillen in het aangesproken bronnenmateriaal.
Meer recente vertalingen zijn van: Lewis Thorpe (Thorpe, 2004) en John J. O'Meara (O'Meara, 1982).
Topographia Hibernica Transcriptie naar: James F. Dimock, 1867; p. 153-161 (Cambrensis, Dimock, 1867) |
The Topography of Ireland Engelse vertaling gebaseerd op die van Thomas Forester, 1894; p. 126-132 (Cambrensis, Forester, 1894) |
De gentis istius in musicis instrumentis peritia incomparabili. In musicis solum instrumentis commendabilem invenio gentis istius diligentiam. In quibus, prae omni natione quam vidimus, incomparabiliter instructa est. Non enim in his, sicut in Britannicis quibus assueti sumus instrumentis, tarda et morosa est modulatio, verum velox et præceps, suavis tamen et jocunda sonoritas. Mirum quod, in tanta tam præcipiti digitorum rapacitate, musica servatur proportio; et arte per omnia indemni, inter crispatos modulos, organaque multipliciter intricata, tam suavi velocitate, tam dispari paritate, tam discordi concordia, consona redditur et completur melodia. Seu diatesseron, seu diapente chordæ concrepent, semper tamen a B molli incipiunt, et in idem redeunt, ut cuncta sub jocundæ sonoritatis dulcedine compleantur. Tam subtiliter modulos intrant et exeunt; sicque, sub obtuso grossioris chordæ sonitu, gracilium tinnitus licentius ludunt, latentius delectant, lasciviusque demulcent, ut pars artis maxima videatur artem velare, tanquam. Hinc accidit ut ea, quæ subtilius intuentibus, et artis arcana acute discernentibus, internas et ineffabiles comparant animi delicias, ea non attendentibus, sed quasi videndo non videntibus, et audiendo non intelligentibus, aures potius onerent quam delectent; et tanquam confuso inordinatoque strepitu, invitis auditoribus fastidia pariant tædiosa. Notandum vero quod Scotia et Wallia, hæc propagationis, illa commeationis et affinitatis gratia, Hiberniam in modulis æmiula imitari nituntur disciplina. Hibernia quidem tantum duobus utitur et delectatur instrumentis; cithara scilicet, et tympano. Scotia tribus; cithara, tympano, et choro. Wallia vero cithara, tibiis, et choro. Æneis quoque utuntur chordis, non de corio factis. Multorum autem opinione, hodie Scotia non tantum magistram æquiparavit Hiberniam, verum etiam in musica peritia longe pævalet et præcellit. Unde et ibi quasi fontem artis jam requirunt. |
Of the incomparable skill of the Irish in playing upon musical instruments. The only thing to which I find that this people apply a commendable industry is playing upon musical instruments; in which they are incomparably more skilful than any other nation I have ever seen. For their modulation on these instruments, unlike that of the Britons to which I am accustomed, is not slow and harsh, but lively and rapid, while the harmony is both sweet and gay. It is astonishing that in so complex and rapid a movement of the fingers, the musical proportions can be preserved, and that throughout the difficult modulations on their various instruments, the harmony is completed with such a sweet velocity, so unequal an equality, so discordant a concord, as if the chords sounded together fourths or fifths. They always begin from B flat, and return to the same, that the whole may be completed under the sweetness of a pleasing sound. They enter into a movement, and conclude it in so delicate a manner, and play the little notes so sportively under the blunter sounds of the base strings, enlivening with wanton levity, or communicating a deeper internal sensation of pleasure, so that the perfection of their art appears in the concealment of it. (An art revealed, brings shame) (O'Meara, 1982) From this cause, those very strains which afford deep and unspeakable mental delight to those who have skilfully penetrated into the mysteries of the art, fatigue rather than gratify the ears of others, who seeing do not perceive, and bearing do not understand; and by whom the finest music is esteemed no better than a confused and disorderly noise, and will be heard with unwillingness and disgust. It must be remarked, however, that both Scotland and Wales strive to rival Ireland in the art of music; the former from its community of race, the latter from its contiguity and facility of communication. Ireland only uses and delights in two instruments, the harp and the timpan. Scotland has three, the harp, the timpan, and the crwth or crowd; and Wales, the harp, the pipes, and the crwth. The Irish also used strings of brass instead of gut. Scotland at the present day, in the opinion of many persons, is not only equal to Ireland, her teacher, in musical skill, but excels her; so that they now look to that country as the fountain, head of this science. |
De commodis et effectibus musicæ. Duobus enim ad delicias anima reficitur fomentis et recreatur; odora suavitate scilicet, et sonora. Est siquidem tam melodia dulcisona, quam odor suavissimus, cibus ejus. Cuicunque studio animum applicueris ingenium auget; et insensibilium officio, sensibili tamen effectu, sensus augmentat. Unde et animosis animositates, et religiosis pias fovet et promovet intentiones. Hinc accidit ut episcopi et abbates, et sancti in Hibernia viri, citharas circumferre, et in eis modulando pie delectari consueverint. Quapropter et sancti Keivini cithara ab indigenis in reverentia non modica, et pro reliquiis virtuosis et magnis, usque in hodiernum habetur. Præterea bellica tuba cum strepitu clangoris musicam effert consonantiam; quatinus et clangor altisonus congrediendi signum cunctis indicat, et consona sonoritas animosis audaciam altius infigat. Item et contraria nonnunquam in contrariis operatur. Hujus enim effectu tam vitiosis interdum voluptas, quam virtuosis et validis virtus accrescit. Legitur de Alexandro Macedone, quod in quodam familiarium consessu, dulcisonam audiens citharam, chordas ejus inciderit. Interrogatus vero cur hoc fecisset, respondit, 'Satius esse chordas incidi quam corda'. Præsenserat enim, et in hoc humanæ consuluit imbecillitati, animum ipsius, licet inviti, quo tunc intendebat his vehementer incendi; earumque modulatione mollitiis, quibus jam forte addictus fuerat, magis applicari quam militiis, deliciis quam duritiis, Veneri quam virtuti, voluptati quam voluntati. Affectus enim nostri nostræ nequaquam subjacent potestati. Ad hæc autem morbos lenit et languores; dum exteriori modulatione id interius operatur, ut vel prorsus desinat quod molestat, vel certe facilius feratur quod inquietat. Cunctis igitur confert, multis medetur; dum doloris angustias et nullas non mitigat, et nonnullas curat. Davidica lyra spiritum immundum a Saulis vexatione cohibuit; dum et, ipso modulante, cessavit vexatio; quæ quidem, eodem cessante, cessare nesciebat. His autem illud Salomonis adversari videtur; 'Musica in luctu importuna narratio est.' Qui enim inter luctus cantum ultroneus effert, et in ipso doloris articulo gaudium simulat, et voce lætabunda canorus exultat, contemptor aut fatuus esse videtur. Verumtamen sicut passio quælibet, dum adhuc recens est, et in augmento, solatium non admittit, sic tempore mitescens et consolari non renuit, et vim doloris paulatim amittit. Quem enim nec ratio mitigat, nec medicina medetur, plerumque dies longior hebetat laxatum dolorem: siquidem malis omnibus finis de tempore venit. Sic enim composita est hominum natura, ut vel crescant semper vel decrescant, proficiant semper vel deficiant, quia stare nesciunt, res humanæ et cum ad summum pervenerint, longe quidem ocius quam ascenderant, properant ad descensum. Itaque si tempora discernas, et modum in singulis modulator simul et moderator observes, qui narrator fueras importunus fieri poteris opportunus. 'Flere vetet? Non hoc illa monenda loco est.' 'Tempore cum residet, jam medicina valet.' 'Ad tolerandos quoque labores musica animum mulcet; et singulorum operum fatigationem vocis 'modulatio consolatur.' Unde et plerumque mechanicarum artium operarii sibi laboris solatium cantilenæ remedio quærunt. 'Ipsas quoque bestias, necnon et serpentes ac volucres, et phocas etiam marinas, ad auditum suæ modulationis musica provocat harmonia.' Et quod vehementius est admirandum, fugitiva quoque apum examina musico modulamine tam revocantur quam retinentur. Phocas vero marinas nonnunquam vidimus, cum navigio fungeremur, longo maris tractu navem e vestigio sequentes, et ad citharæ vel etiam tubæ sonitum, tam super undas corpus erigere, quam ad auditum aures arrigere. Præterea, ut ait Ysidorus, 'Sine musica nulla disciplina potest esse perfecta. Nihil enim sine illa. Nam et ipse mundus harmonice dicitur esse compositus: et cœlum ipsum sub harmoniæ fertur modulatione revolvi.' 'Cujuslibet autem soni, unde materiam cantilenæ contrahunt, triformem constat esse naturam. Prima est harmonica, quæ ex vocum cantibus constat: secunda organica, quæ ex flatu consistit: tertia rythmica, quæ pulsu digitorum numeros recipit. Nam aut voce editur sonus, sicut per fauces; aut flatu, sicut per tubam vel tibiam; aut pulsu, sicut per citharam, aut quodlibet aliud quod percutiendo canorum est.' Illud autem quod de commodis citharæ Cassiodorus scribit, et hic interserere præter rem non putavi. Ait enim; 'Hæc sunt commoda citharæ. Tristitiam noxiam jocundat; tumidos furores attenuat; cruentam sævitiam efficit blandam; ignaviam deprimit languorem soporantem expergiscit; vigilantibus reddit saluberrimam quietem. Humatam turpi amore ad honestum studium revocat castitatem: sanat mentis tædium, bonis cogitationibus semper adversum: perniciosa odia convertit ad auxiliatricem gratiam: et, quod beatissimum genus curationis est, per dulcissimas voluptates expellit animi passiones: incorpoream animam corporaliter mulcet, et solo auditu ad quod vult deducit: quod tenere non prævalet tacitus verbo, manibus clamat, sine ore loquitur; et per insensibilium obsequium prævalet sensuum exercere dominatum. Miseratio divina localiter spargit gratiam, dum omnia sua valde fecit esse laudanda. Præpulit quidem Davidica lyra diabolum; sonus spiritibus imperavit; et canente cithara ter rex in libertatem rediit, quem interius inimicus turpiter possidebat.' Facta est voluptuosa digressio; nec sine re tamen; quia semper gratum est de doctrina loqui cum peritis. |
On the beneficial effects of music Further, the war-trumpet, with its blast, shows the corresponding effect of music, inasmuch as when its loud alarm gives the signal for battle, its echo raises the spirit of the brave to the highest pitch. Sometimes music has the contrary effect, for its influence may be used to heighten the pleasures of the vicious, as well as to animate the virtuous and brave. It is written of Alexander of Macedon, that when on some occasion he heard the sweet tones of a harp, while at table with his friends, he had the strings broken. Upon being asked why he had done this, he replied, 'It is better that chords should be broken than hearts' For he was sensible, from his knowledge of human weakness, that his mind was highly excited, however he might struggle against it, by what he pointed out to them; and that such soft strains inclined him rather to pleasure (to which, perhaps, he was already disposed) than to war; to indulgence than to hardship; to Venus than to virtue; to voluptuousness, rather than to voluntary sacrifices of his ease. For our passions are by no means in our own power. Moreover, music soothes disease and pain; the sounds which strike the ear operating within, and either healing our maladies, or enabling us to bear them with greater patience. It is a comfort to all, and an effectual remedy to many; for there are no sufferings which it will not mitigate, and there are some which it cures. David's lyre restrained the unclean spirit from vexing Saul, and while he played his trouble ceased; but as soon as the strains ceased, he was vexed again. What Solomon says may, however, appear opposed to this: 'Music is out of season in time of affliction'. For the man who can amuse himself with singing when he is in trouble, and affect to be gay and lift his voice in jocund strains at the moment he is suffering from severe pain, must be either a stoic or a fool. But although any sort of trouble, while it is fresh and on the increase, refuses comfort, still under the alleviating influence of time it loses its sting and admits of consolation. Grief which can neither be mitigated by reason, nor cured by medicine, yields to the softening effects of time, which brings all evils to an end. For such is the constitution of human nature, that things are always either on the increase or decrease, are getting better or growing worse, and never stand still. When they have reached their summit, the fall is far more rapid than the rise. If, therefore, you discern the times and observe moderation, having a mind well toned and regulated under all circumstances, you may turn to good account what would be otherwise out of season. 'Flere neget? Non hoc illa monenda loco est.' Tempore cum residet, turn medicina valet.' 'Music also alleviates toil, and in labour of various kinds the fatigue is cheered by sounds uttered in measured time.' Hence, artificers of all sorts relieve the weariness of their tasks by songs. The very beasts, not to speak of serpents, and birds, and porpoises, are attracted by musical harmony to listen to its melody. And what is still more remarkable, swarms of bees are recalled to their hives, and induced to settle, by musical sounds. I have sometimes observed, when on a voyage, shoals of porpoises long following in the wake of the ship when she pursuing her course, and how they leaped above the surface, and erected their ears to listen to the tones of the harp or the trumpet. Moreover, as Isidore remarks, 'No teaching can be perfect without harmony. Indeed, there is nothing in which it is not found. The world itself is said to be harmoniously formed, and the very heavens revolve amidst the harmony of the spheres. Sounds, the materials of which melodies are composed, are threefold; first, they are harmonic, being produced by the voices of singers; secondly, they are organic, being produced by wind; thirdly, they are rythmical, produced by the touch of the fingers. For sounds are either produced by the voice, through the throat, or by wind, as a trumpet or pipe; or by the touch, as by the harp, or any other instrument the melody of which is produced by the finger.' What Cassiodorus says in favour of the harp, well deserves a place here. Rewrites thus: 'These are the benefits which the harp confers: -It changes grief and melancholy to mirth; assuages the effervescence of rage; charms away the most savage cruelty; effaces cowardice; rouses the languid and sleepy; and sheds a soothing repose on the wakeful. It recalls man from foul lusts to the love of chastity; and heals that weariness of the mind which is always adverse to good thoughts. It converts pernicious sloth into kindly succour; and, what is the most blessed sort of cure, expels the passions of the mind by its sweetest of pleasures. It soothes the spirit through the body, and by the mere sense of hearing moulds it to its will, making use of insensible things to exercise dominion over the senses. The divine mercy has scattered abroad its favours, and made all its works to be highly praised. David's lyre expelled the devil; the evil spirit obeyed its sound; and while the minstrel sung to the harp, thrice was the king released from the foul bondage to which he had been subjected by his spiritual enemy.' I have made a delightful digression, but to the purpose ; for it is always pleasant to converse of science with those who are skilled in it. |
De primis musicæ consonantiæ inventoribus Et quia Adam audierat prophetasse de duobus judiciis, ne periret ars inventa scripsit eam in duabus columnis, in qualibet totam, una marmorea, altera lateritia: quarum altera non dilueretur diluvio, altera non solveretur incendio. In philosophicis vero traditur disciplinis, primo Pitagoram hujus artis invenisse primordia, ex malleorum sonitu, et chordarum extensione percussa. Quidam autem Linum Thebæum, Zetum, et Anxeon, in musica ferunt arte primos claruisse. Post quos paulatim in tantum hæc disciplina adaucta est, ut tam turpe videretur musicam nescire quam literas. |
Of the first inventors of the art of music. And, as Adam had heard some prophecy of two judgments to come, in order that the art which had been invented might not be lost, he inscribed it on two columns, one of stone, the other of brick; that the one might not be dissolved by the flood, nor the other melted in the fire. In the teaching of the philosophers we are told that the rudiments of this science were introduced by Pythagoras, from the sounds given by the stroke of hammers, and by strings struck while they were stretched. Some, however, say that Linus of Thebes, Zetus, and Anxeos, were the first who were celebrated for their musical skill; after whom the science gradually made such progress, that it became as disgraceful to know nothing of music as not to have learned to read. |
De musicorum instrumentorum cultore præcipuo et ornatore. |
Of an eminent patron and improver of musical instruments. |
De nomine musicæ. Sed hæc hactenus. De cetero ad historiam revertamur. |
Whence music derived it name. But enough of this; let us now return to our history. |
Itenarium Kabriæ Transcriptie naar: James F. Dimock, 1868; p. 26, 27, 32, 33, 47, 48, 62, 63 (Cambrensis, Dimock, 1868) |
Journey through Wales Engelse vertaling gebaseerd op die van Sir Richard Colt Hoare, 1894; p. 343, 344, 349, 365-367, 379 (Cambrensis, Hoare, 1868) |
De transitu per Haiam et Brechniauc, cum notabilibus suis. Campanas namque bajulas, baculos quoque in superiori parte cameratos, auro et argento vel ære contectos, aliasque hujusmodi sanctorum reliquias, in magna reverentia tam Hiberniæ et Scotiæ, quam et Gwalliæ populus et clerus habere solent: adeo ut sacramenta super hæc longe magis quam super evangelia et præstare vereantur et pejerare. Quippe ex vi quadam occulta, et his quasi divinitus insita, necnon et vindicta, cujus præcipue sancti illi appetibiles esse videntur, plerumque puniuntur contemptores, et graviter animadvertitur in transgressores. De cornu quoque Patricii hoc equidem notabile censui, quod ad aurem apposito capite foraminis ampliore, dulcisonam audias per se sonoritatem emitti; qualis ex cithara nudata, aura leniter impulsa, melodia solet educi.... ....Illud autem hoc ia loco mihi notabile videtur, quod in omni fere solemnitate hujus virginis accidere consuevit. Videas enim hic homines seu puellas, nunc in ecclesia, nunc in cœmiterio, nunc in chorea quæ circa cœmiterium cum cantilena ciicumfertur, subito in terram corruere, et primo tanquam in extasim ductos et quietos, deinde statim tanquam in phrenesim raptos exsilientes, opera quæcunque festis diebus illicite perpetrare consueverant, tam manibus quam pedibus coram populo repræsentantes. Videas hunc aratro manus aptare, illum quasi stimulo boves excitare; et utrumque, quasi laborem mitigando, solitas barbaræ modulationis voces efferre. Videas hunc artem sutoriam, illum pellipariam imitari. Item videas hanc, quasi colum bajulando, nunc filum manibus et brachiis in longum extrahere, nunc extractum occando tanquam in fusum revocare; istam deambulando productis filis quasi telam ordiri; illam sedendo quasi jam orditam oppositis lanceolæ jactibus, et alternis calamistræ cominus ictibus, texere mireris. Demum vero intra ecclesiam cum oblationibus ad altare perductos, tanquam experrectos et ad se redeuntes obstupescas. Sic itaque divina miseratione, quæ peccantium conversione magis gaudet quam eversione, multos, ultionem hujusmodi tam videndo quam sentiendo, festis de cetero feiriando diebus, corrigi constat et emendari.... |
Journey through hay and brecheinia ...The circumstances which occur at every anniversary appear to me remarkable. You may see men or girls, now in the church, now in the churchyard, now in the dance, which is led round the churchyard with a song, on a sudden falling on the ground as in a trance, then jumping up as in a frenzy, and representing with their hands and feet, before the people, whatever work they have unlawfully done on feast days; you may see one man put his hand to the plought, and another, as it were, goad on the oxen, mitigating their sense of labour, by the usual rude song: one man imitating the profession of a shoemaker; another, that of a tanner. Now you may see a girl with a distaff, drawing out the thread, and winding it again on the spindle; another, as it were, throwing the shuttle, and seeming to weave. On being brought into the church, and led up tot the altar with their oblations, you will be astonished to see them suddenly awakened, and coming to themselves. Thus, by the divine mercy, which rejoices in the conversion, not in the death, of sinners, many persons from the conviction of their senses are on these feast days corrected and amended.... |
De transitu per Coid Wroneu et Abergavenni, cum notabilibus suis. |
The journey by Coed Grono and Abergevenni. |
De transitu per Novum burgum et Kairdif, cum notabilibis suis. |
Newport and Caerdyf |
Descriptio Kambriæ Transcriptie naar: James F. Dimock, 1868; p. 182-190 (Cambrensis, Dimock, 1868) |
The Description of Wales Engelse vertaling gebaseerd op die van Sir Richard Colt Hoare, 1894; p. 492-498 (Cambrensis, Hoare, 1868) |
De hospitalitate et dapsilitate. Per turbas igitur et familias, capite sibi præfecto, gentis hujus juventus incedit; solum armis et otio data, patriæque defensioni promptissima. Unde et tecta cujuslibet veluti propria secure subintrant. Qui matutinis autem horis adveniunt, puellarum affatibus et cithararum modulis usque ad vesperam delectantur. Domus enim hic quælibet puellas habet, et citharas, ad hoc deputatas. Unde et duo notabilia hic reperies; quia zelotypiæ vitio sicut nulla magis quam Hybernica, sic nulla minus quam Kambrica gens laborat; omnes quoque de curia seu familia viri, citra doctrinam omnem, citharizandi per se peritiam tenent. Vespere vero, cessantibus jam adventantium turbis, juxta numerum virorum et dignitatem, juxta domus quoque facultatem, exhibitio procuratur. Ubi non ferculis multis, non saporibus et gularum irritamentis coquina gravatur; non mensis, non mappis, non manutergiis, domus ornatur. Naturæ magis student quam nitori. Unde cœnantibus, non binis ut alibi, sed ternis, scirpis et herbæ viridi, scutellis etiam latis et amplis, fercula cuncta simul apponunt. Pani quoque tenui et lato, quotidiano labore decocto, [cujusmodi in veteri instrumento Lagana dici solent], interdum pulmentaria supponunt. Talibus olim usus est mensis puer ille nobilis, de cujus et hi se genere jactant, et cujus adhuc ex parte mores observant; testante poeta: Demum autem, hora soporis instante, publico strato per latera domus in longum, juncis solum tenuiter insertis, panno quoque duro et aspero, quem patria parit, qui et vulgari vocabulo Brachan dicitur, superposito, communiter accumbunt. Nec alius eis nocte cultus quam die: pallio namque tenui et interula solum omni tempore frigora pellunt: igne tamen sicut die, sic et nocte tota, ad pedes accenso, propinquoque pariter concubantium calore multum adjuti. Cum autem vel latus inferius tori duritia lassari, vel etiam nimio superius algore frigescere cœperit, illico ad ignem prosiliunt, de cujus beneficio promptissima utriusque incommodi remedia quærunt; et sic ad strata revertentes, seque urgente gravamine crebro vertentes, alternis vicibus latus unum frigori, alterum vero duritiæ donant. |
Of their hospitality and liberality. Those who arrive in the morning are entertained till evening with the conversation of young women, and the music of the harp; for each house has its young women and harps allotted to this purpose. Two circumstances here deserve notice: that as no nation labours more under the vice of jealousy than the Irish, so none is more free from it than the Welsh; and in each family the art of playing on the harp is held preferable to any other learning. In the evening, when no more guests are expected, the meal is prepared according to the number and dignity of the persons assembled, and according to the wealth of the family who entertains. The kitchen does not supply many dishes, nor highseasoned incitements to eating. The house is not furnished with tables, cloths, or napkins. They study nature more than splendour, for which reason, the guests being seated in threes, instead of couples as elsewhere, they place the dishes before them all at once upon rushes and fresh grass, in large platters or trenchers. They also make use of a thin and broad cake of bread, baked every day, such as in old writings was called lagana, and they sometimes add chopped meat, with broth. Such a repast was formerly used by the noble youth, from whom this nation boasts its descent, and whose manners it still partly imitates, according to the word of the poet: A bed made of rushes, and covered with a coarse kind of cloth manufactured in the country, called brychan, is then placed along the side of the room, and they all in common lie down to sleep; nor is their dress at night different from that by day, for at all seasons they defend themselves from the cold only by a thin cloak and tunic. The fire continues to burn by night as well as by day, at their feet, and they receive much comfort from the natural heat of the persons lying near them; but when the under side begins to be tired with the hardness of the bed, or the upper one to suffer from cold, they immediately leap up, and go to the fire, which soon relieves them from both inconveniences; and then returning to their couch, they expose alternately their sides to the cold, and to the hardness of the bed. |
De ingenii acumine et subtilitate. In musicis instrumentis, tanta sonoritatis dulcedine aures deliniunt et demulcent; tanta modulorum celeritate pariter et subtilitate feruntur; tantamque discrepantium sub tam præcipiti digitorum rapaeitate consonantiam præstant; quantam, ut breviter transeam, in tribus nationibus, titulo De musicis instrumentis, Hibernica Topographia nostra declarat in hæc verba. 'Mirum quod, in tanta tamque præcipiti digitorum rapacitate, musica servatur proportio; et arte per omnia indemni, inter crispatos modulos, organaque multipliciter intricata, tam suavi velocitate, tam dispari paritate, tam discordi concordia, consona redditur et completur melodia. Seu diatessaron seu diapente chordæ concrepent, semper tamen a B molli incipiunt, et in idem redeunt, ut cuncta sub jocundæ sonoritatis dulcedine compleantur. Tam subtiliter modulos intrant et exeunt; sicque, sub obtuso grossioris chordæ sonitu, gracilium tinnitus licentius ludunt, latentius delectant, laseiviusque demulcent; ut pars artis maxima videatur artem velaro, tanquam' In causis, actionibus, et foro civili, captando, insinuando, inveniendo, disponendo, refutando, et confirmando, nullas penitus naturalis rhetoricæ partes omittunt. In cantilenis rhythmicis, et dictamine, tam subtiles inveniuntur, ut miræ et exquisitæ inventionis lingua propria tam verborum quam sententiarum proferant exornationes. Unde et poetas, quos Bardos vocant, ad hoc deputatos in hac natione multos invenies juxta illud, Adeo igitur hoc verborum ornatu duæ nationes, Angli scilicæt et Kambri, in omni sermone exquisito utuntur, ut nihil ab his eleganter dictum, nullum egregium, nullum nisi rude et agreste censeatur eloquium, si non schematis hujus lima plene fuerit expolitum. Sicut Britannice in hunc modum; 'Erbyn dibuilh puilh paraut.' 'Ne halt nocht alsor isaid, ne al sorghe atwite.' 'Betere is red thene rap, and liste thene lither streingthe.' 'Natus es, O pulcher, pene puella, puer.' Mirum autem quod Gallica lingua, alias tam ornata, hunc verborum ornatum, ab aliis tam usitatum, prorsus ignorat. Nec ego tamen id crediderim, quod priores populi duo, tam diversi ab invicem et adversi, in hoc verborum ornatu ex arte conveniant, sed potius ex usu longo: qui, quia placuit solum, et facili similium ad similia transitu aures demulcet, per succedentia tempora inolevit. Sicut Tullius, in libro De Elocutione, de talibus qui usum habent et non artem loquitur, dicens; 'Ceteri, cum legunt orationes bonas, aut poemata, probant oratores et poetas; neque intelligunt quare commoti probent; quod eo scire non possunt, ubi sit, aut quid sit, quomodo factum sit id, quod eos maxime delectet.' |
Of their quickness and sharpness of understanding Their musical instruments charm and delight the ear with their sweetness, are borne along by such celerity and delicacy of modulation, producing such a consonance from the rapidity of seemingly discordant touches, that I shall briefly repeat what is set forth in our Irish Topography on the subject of the musical instruments of the three nations. 'It is astonishing that in so complex and rapid a movement of the fingers, the musical proportions can be preserved, and that throughout the difficult modulations on their various instruments, the harmony is completed with such a sweet velocity, so unequal an equality, so discordant a concord, as if the chords sounded together fourths or fifths. They always begin from B flat, and return to the same, that the whole may be completed under the sweetness of a pleasing sound. They enter into a movement, and conclude it in so delicate a manner, and play the little notes so sportively under the blunter sounds of the base strings, enlivening with wanton levity, or communicating a deeper internal sensation of pleasure, so that the perfection of their art appears in the concealment of it: 'Art profits when concealed, Disgraces when revealed.' 'Wrth bob crybwylh rhaid pwylh parawdd'. 'Natus es, o pulcher, pene puella, puer.' |
De symphonicis eorum cantibus, et cantilenis organicis. In borealibus quoque majoris Britanniæ partibus, trans Humbriam scilicet, Eboraci finibus, Anglorum populi, qui partes illas inhabitant, simili canendo symphonica utuntur harmonia: binis tamen solummodo tonorum differentiis, et vocum modulando varietatibus; una inferius submurmurante, altera vero superne demulcente pariter et delectante. Nec arte tamen, sed usu longævo, et quasi in naturam mora diutina jam converso. Qui adeo apud utramque invaluit, et altas jam radices posuit, ut nihil hic simpliciter, nihil nisi multipliciter ut apud priores, vel saltem dupliciter ut apud sequentes, melice proferri consueverit: pueris etiam, quod magis admirandum, et fere infantibus, cum primum a fletibus in cantus erumpunt, eandem modulationem observantibus. Angli vero, quoniam non generaliter omnes, sed boreales solum, hujusmodi vocum utuntur modulationibus, credo quod a Dacis et Norwagiensibus, qui partes illas insulæ frequentius occupare, ac diutius obtinere solebant, sicut loquendi affinitatem, sic et canendi proprietatem contraxerunt. |
Of their symphonies and songs. In the northern district of Britain, beyond the Humber, and on the borders of Yorkshire, the inhabitants make use of the same kind of symphonious harmony, but with less variety; singing only in two parts, one murmuring in the base, the other warbling in the acute or treble. Neither of the two nations has acquired this peculiarity by art, but by long habit, which has rendered it natural and familiar; and the practice is now so firmly rooted in them, that it is unusual to hear a simple and single melody well sung; and, what is still more wonderful, the children, even from their infancy, sing in the same manner. As the English in general do not adopt this mode of singing, but only those of the northern countries, I believe that it was from the Danes and Norwegians, by whom these parts of the island were more frequently invaded, and held longer under their dominion, that the natives contracted their mode of singing as well as speaking. |