The National Music Of The World

Share page


	22o National Music of the World. as the figure rarely occurs with any use of an awkward interval, I dare to conceive that it may have originated with a player's habit, as among players who spread all their chords, or with a singer's trick. This figure is predominant in Scottish airs of a certain class, but it is not exclusively Scottish. One can find it in Italy, though perhaps not before Rizzio's or Ricci's time. And see how oddly definitions and coincidences turn up ! The form occurs in a sort of sacred song by Pergolesi, called Siciliana:— I presume that in the above, the figure may have been meant to stand for a sob. In any event, the figure is rarely to be met in conjunction with a false concord. Nor is it frequent in Italian, howbeit perpetual in Scotch music. Some of the least-contested Scotch tunes are remarkable in the extent of their compass. I will merely remind the reader of such melodies as ' For the lack of gold,' ' Whistle o'er the lave o't.' The Scotch dances, whether the frantic reel or stately strathspey, are mostly in common time; and, indeed, the triple measure figures sparingly in their music as compared with the music of Ireland. It