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MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. |
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Roman instruments of percussion the scabillum, which consisted of two plates combined by means of a sort of hinge, deserves to be noticed; it was fastened under the foot and trodden in time, to produce certain rhythmical effects in musical performances. The cymbahim consisted of two metal plates similar to our cymbals. The crotala and the crusmata were kinds of castanets, the former being oblong and of a larger size than the latter. The Romans had also a irianguhtm, which resembled the triangle occasionally used in our orchestra. The sis/rum they derived from Egypt with the introduction of the worship of I sis. Metal bells, arranged according to a regular order of intervals and placed in a frame, were called tiniinnabula. The crcpilacidum appears to have been a somewhat similar contrivance on a hoop with a handle.
Through the Greeks and Romans we have the first well-authenticated proof of musical instruments having been introduced into Europe from Asia. The Romans in their conquests undoubtedly made their musical instruments known, to some extent, also in western Europe. But the Greeks and Romans are not the only nations which introduced eastern instruments into Europe. The Phoenicians at an early period colonized Sardinia, and traces of them are still to be found on that island. Among these is a peculiarly constructed double-pipe, called iwnedda or launcJda. Again, at a much later period the Arabs introduced several of their instruments into Spain, from which country they became known in France, Germany, and England. Also the crusaders, during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, may have helped to familiarize the western European nations with instruments of the east. |
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