as fictions, were they not well authenticated. On the other



i 4 6



POPULAR STORIES WITH MUSICAL TRADITIONS.



hand, it would not be difficult to point out modern
myths referring to the art of music. Tempting as it might
be to cite the most remarkable examples of this kind,
and anecdotes relating to musicians in which fiction is
strangely mingled with fact, it is unnecessary to notice them
here ; for, are they not written in our works on the history
of the art and science of music ?





DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED
RACES.



THE first music of a dramatic kind originated probably
in the passion of love. Savages, unacquainted with any
other dramatic performances, not unfrequently have dances
representing courtship, and songs to which these dances are
executed. However rude the exhibitions may be, and
however inartistic the songs may appear, which, in fact,
generally consist merely of short phrases constantly
repeated, and perhaps interspersed with some brutish
utterances, they may nevertheless be regarded as repre-
senting the germ from which the opera has gradually
been developed. Dancing is not necessarily associated
with dramatic music ; the dances of nations in a low degree
of civilization are, however, often representations of desires
or events rather than unmeaning jumps and evolutions.

Even in the popular dances of nations in an advanced
state of civilization love is generally the most attractive
subject for exhibition by action and music. The Italian
national dances, the Saltarello, the Monferrino, and several
others, have an unmistakable meaning ; or, as Mac Farlane
says, " there is a story in them which at times is told in a
very broad, significant, and unsophistical way. The story
is a sort of primitive courtship, varied by the coyness or
coquetry of the female dancer, and animated by the passion
and impatience of the wooer." * The same may be said
of the Spanish Bolero and Fandango.



:;: ' Popular Customs, etc., of the South of Italy,' by Charles Mac
Farlane, London, 1846 ; p. 68.



148 DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES.

The excitement of the chase appears to be another
cause of the origin of dramatic music. The savage, in
pursuing the animals which he requires for his subsistence,
experiences successes and disappointments which are to
him highly interesting, and the recollection of which he
enjoys. He naturally feels proud of results which he
could not have achieved without agility and shrewdness,
and he delights in showing to his friends how he proceeded
in accomplishing his feat. Besides, savages have a strong
instinct for imitation, almost like monkeys. Hence their
fancy for counterfeiting the habits of certain animals which
they chase and with the peculiarities of which they are
generally well acquainted.

The aborigines of Australia have a dance in which they
imitate the movements of the Kangaroo. The women
sing, and produce a rhythmical accompaniment by beating
two pieces of wood together; while the men, who represent
the Kangaroos, produce sounds peculiar to these animals.
The North American Indians have an Eagle Dance, a
Bear Dance, and even a Dog Dance. The natives of
Kamtschatka have a dance in which they cleverly imitate,
not only the attitudes and tricks of the Bear, but also
its voice. The peasants in Finland, in the beginning of
the present century, still occasionally performed a similar
dance, or rather action. The Aleutian Islanders, who have
various pantomimic dances executed with masks frightfully
ugly, have also a favourite representation in which a sports-
man shoots a beautiful bird, and afterwards cries for grief at
having killed it ; when, suddenly, the beautiful bird revives,
changed into a beautiful woman. The sportsman, of course,
falls over head and ears in love with her, and thus all ends
well.* This story is enacted with recitations accompanied
by some musical instruments.

Next to love and the chase, it is probably war which
elicited the first attempts at dramatic music. To recall to
the memory by a lively description with gesticulations, the

* 'Voyage pittoresque autour du Monde, par M. Louis Choris;'
Paris, 1822; p. 9.



DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES. 149

valiant deeds, clever stratagems, and glorious achievements
of the warriors after the battle, must have been always
a fascinating entertainment to the victorious combatants.
The Dyaks in Borneo, who preserve the heads of their
slain enemies suspended near their hearths as ornamental
trophies, perform a war-dance in which some of the
combatants, gaily decorated, cleverly act a scene by
seizing swords and handling them in various expressive
ways. The Scalp-Dance of the North American Indians,
performed in celebration of a victory, may be described as a
kind of histrionic entertainment, which generally takes
place at night by torchlight. The singular procedure of
the Maori warriors in New Zealand in a certain dance,
of projecting all of them their tongues simultaneously at
fixed intervals, appears to be a pantomimic expression of
defiance or contempt for the enemy.

The Corroborie Dance of the natives of Australia had
perhaps also originally reference to warlike exploits, although
this does not appear at once evident to European witnesses.
Twenty or more men paint their naked dark bodies to
represent skeletons, which they accomplish by drawing white
lines across the body with pipe-clay, to correspond with
the ribs, and broader ones on the arms, legs, and the head.
Thus prepared they perform the Corroborie at night before
a fire. The spectators, placed at some distance from them,
see only the white skeletons, which vanish and re-appear
whenever the dancers turn round. The wild and ghastly
action of the skeletons is accompanied by vocal effusions
and some rhythmical noise which a number of hidden
bystanders produce by beating their shields in regular time.

Traces of dramatic music in its most primitive condition
may also be discovered in representations of occurrences and
scenes like the following :

Wilhelm Steller, in his 'Description of Kamtschatka'
(published in the German language in the year 1774), says
that the inhabitants of that country possess an astounding
talent for imitating the manners and conduct of strangers
whom they happen to see. During their long evenings one
of their chief amusements consists in acting extempore



150 DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES.

comedies, in which the habits of any foreigners with whom
they have become acquainted, are cleverly mimicked and
ridiculed.

The missionary W. Ellis remarks of the Polynesian
Islanders that "they had songs which, when recited on public
occasions, were accompanied with gestures and actions
corresponding to the events and scenes described, and which
assumed in this respect a histrionic character. In some
cases, and on public occasions, the action represented a kind
of pantomime."* Other travellers have given more detailed
accounts of these performances. During Captain Cook's
first voyage round the world, Banks and Solander, who
accompanied him, witnessed in one of the Society Islands,
in the year 1769, a comedy with music and dancing,
performed by the natives, the subject of which was the
adroitness of a thief, and his subsequent capture. At Cook's
second circumnavigation, during the years 1772-75, he was
treated by the Society Islanders with a somewhat similar
comic opera called Teto (i.e. " The Thief "). G. Forster,
who was with Cook, remarks that the dialogue, which of
course he was unable to understand, seemed to be closely
connected with their actions. One of them kneeled down,
and another beat him and plucked him by the beard. Then
two others were treated by the torturer in the same
unceremonious manner; until one of them seized a stick
and gave him a sound thrashing in return. This formed the
conclusion of the first act, and the players withdrew.
The commencement of the second act was announced by
the musicians beating their drums. There were actresses
as well as actors engaged in the performance. t A more
detailed account of the dramatic attempts of the Polynesian
Islanders is given by W. Mariner, who, during his sojourn
with the natives, had the best opportunity of becoming

* ' Polynesian Researches,' by William Ellis ; London, 1827. Vol. I.,
p. 285.

f ' A Voyage round the World, in His Britannic Majesty's Sloop
" Resolution," commanded by Captain James Cook, during the years
1772-75 ;' by George Forster : London, 1777. Vol. I., p. 398.



DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES. 151

acquainted with their customs and amusements. His obser-
vations, which refer especially to the Tonga Islanders, show
that the actors recite sentences which are answered by a chorus
of singers. There is a great variety in their movements and
groupings. Occasionally they sing slowly, and afterwards
quickly for about a quarter of an hour. Sometimes they form a
semicircle, assume a bending position, and sing in a subdued
tone of voice a soft air ; which is soon again followed by a
loud and vehement recitation.*

Grotesque dresses and adornments are, of course, an
essential attribute in these entertainments. Neither are
buffoons wanting. According to B. Seeman, the entertain-
ment called Kalau Rere, which he witnessed in the Fiji
Islands, " with its high poles, streamers, evergreens, mas-
querading, trumpet-shells, chants and other wild music, is
the nearest approach to dramatic representation the Fijians
seem to have made, and it is with them what private
theatricals are with us. They are also on other occasions
very fond of dressing themselves in fantastic, often very
ridiculous costume ; and in nearly every large assembly
there are buffoons. Court fools, in many instances hunch-
backs, are attached to the chief's establishment. "t

Also the Negroes in Senegambia and Upper Guinea have
buffoons, who delight the people with their antics and acting
in processions and public festivities. Buffoons are popular
even in Mohammedan countries, where dramatic perfor-
mances are generally considered objectionable. Morier
states that in Persia the princes, governors of provinces,
etc., as well as the King, have a band of Looties, or buffoons,
in their pay, who are looked upon as a necessary part of
Persian state. They attend at merry-makings and public
festivals, and some of them are endowed with great



* ' An Account of the Natives of the Tonga Islands, in the South
Pacific Ocean, compiled and arranged from the extensive communi-
cations of Mr. William Mariner, several years resident in those Islands,
by John Martin; 'London, 1817. Vol. II., p. 309.

| ' An Account of a Government Mission to the Fiji Islands, in the
years 1860-61 ;' by Berthold Seeman; Cambridge, 1862. P. 116.



152 DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES.

natural wit. This was, for instance, the case with a
certain buffoon named Looti Bashee. " His dress, when
he came to the ambassador, was composed of a felt hat, the
crown of which was made like ours, but with two long ears
projecting before, and two behind. Others of his troop were
dressed in the same way ; all looked grotesque, and I
conjectured that nothing could give one a better idea of
Satyrs and Bacchanalians, particularly as they were attended
by a suite of monkeys headed by a large ape, which were
educated to perform all sorts of tricks. They carried copper
drums slung under the arm, which they beat with their
fingers, making a noise like castanets; others played the
tambourine ; and when all this was put into motion, with
their voices roaring in loud chorus, the scene was unique."*

Sir Robert Ker Porter witnessed at Bagdad, in the
beginning of the present century, a kind of musical drama
performed by men and boys, the latter being dressed like
females. " This amusement," he remarks, " is the only
one of a theatrical complexion known among the people. It
is often called for by the female part of the inhabitants ; but
I am told that with the men it is now very rare, the Pasha
so setting his face against it as to forbid the avowed existence
of hirable dancing-boys in his capital. "t There is a Turkish
theatre at Pera in which Turkish plays, adapted from the
Italian, are acted by Turkish actors, and Turkish women
appear unveiled upon the stage. The women in the
hareem, who in their diversions are only permitted to
employ slaves of their own sex, occasionally make them
act melodramas, the subject of which is generally a love
story.

The Indians in Mexico have some characteristic dances
in which scenes are pantomimically enacted referring to
Montezuma and to the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards.

*' A Second Journey through Persia, Armenia, and Asia Minor, etc.,'
by James Morier; London, 1818. P. 104.

f 'Travels in Georgia, Persia, Armenia, etc.,' by Sir Robert Ker
Porter; London, 1822; Vol. II., p. 272.

{ ' Travels in Greece, Russia, etc.,' by Bayard Taylor; London, 1859;
p. 282.



DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES. 153

In most of the entertainments, of which examples
have just been given, the music must necessarily par-
take of a dramatic character. Generally, the tunes are
not selected at pleasure, but certain tunes belong to
certain representations. The dramatic effect of the music
depends, however, chiefly upon its execution, which
naturally changes according to the action which it accom-
panies. Thus, if the actors represent a sentimental
or heart-rending scene, their vocal effusions will naturally
be in a subdued tone, and the sympathizing musicians will
touch their instruments delicately and slowly. If, on the
other hand, the actors represent some exciting or heart-
stirring scene, they will naturally raise their voices, and the
musicians will play louder and faster as a matter of course.
In fact, when their pulse beats quicker, the rhythmical flow
of their music, however rude and inartistic it may be,
becomes more animated unpremeditatedly. Such is the
most primitive condition, or the commencement of the
development of dramatic music. Let us now examine it
in a somewhat more advanced stage of cultivation.

The Javanese, who among the islanders of the Indian
Archipelago are renowned for their skill in the dramatic art,
generally use fabulous traditions from their own history, or
Hindu legends, as subjects for their performances, which
are acted exclusively by men. A full band of musicians
generally accompanies the drama. The instruments mostly
belong to the class called Instruments of Percussion, but
several of them are constructed with plates of metal which
produce a series of sweet tones, arranged according to
the pentatonic scale. Some of the Javanese airs, which
have been collected by Europeans, are very expressive, and
it might be instructive to musical enquirers, if some
really musical European visitor in Java would faithfully
commit to notation the orchestral accompaniments of
some of the most popular Javanese dramas. Madame Ida
Pfeiffer relates that she was treated in the house of a
Rajah, at Bandong, with a kind of pantomime in three
acts, the third of which represented a combat. "The
music that accompanied the combat," she remarks, " was



154 DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES.

very noisy and discordant; but, on the defeat of the one
party, a soft plaintive melody arose at some distance off.
The whole performance was really pretty and expressive." *
Sir Stamford Raffles, and other travellers, give similar
descriptions, and have besides much to say about the clever
puppet-shows of the Javanese, in which the characters of
dramas are represented by puppets, or by their shadows.
The Siamese are fond of theatrical performances.
According to Turpin's history of Siam, published in the
year 1771, " whenever they burn the body of a minister or
great man, a theatre is erected on the side of a river, where
the actors appear habited according to their parts ; and
during three days they never quit the scene from eight in
the morning till seven at night." De La Loubere, who
visited Siam in the year 1687, says that the subjects of the
dramas are " historical, in verse, serious, and sung by
several actors who are always present, and who only sing
reciprocally. One of them sings the historian's part, and
the rest sing those of the personages which the history
makes to speak ; but they are all men that sing, and no
women." About a century ago it appears to have been the
custom to employ only men as actors, although there were
female dancers. But, at the present day there are actresses,
at any rate in the palace of the King, where Sir John
Bowring saw them perform on several occasions. In one of
these entertainments " the actors were all females, almost
all girls. A few matrons, however, took the part of warriors,
monkeys, priests; and the three manageresses, or promp-
teresses, were not only old and ugly, but seemed very
spiteful, and on several occasions scolded and slapped the
ladies who required correction. One of them had the drama
written on black sheets in white letters before her, from
which she prompted the singers of the recitative. The story
began by the appearance of a monster monkey in a forest,
which is visited by a number of ladies of rank, one of whom,
after an unsuccessful struggle, the others having managed

* 'A Lady's Second Journey round the World,' by Ida Pfeiffer;
London, 1855; Vol. I., p. 211.



DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES. 155

to escape, the monster monkey contrives to carry off. She
is redeemed by the interference of a priest, whose temple is
in the forest. Afterwards we are introduced to a sovereign
Court, where all the ceremonies are observed which are
practised in daily life, the dresses being those ordinarily

worn, and most gorgeous they are There is a

battle, and rewards to the victors, and a crowning of a king's
son in recompense for his valour, and offerings to Buddha,
and a great feast, etc." * The principal performers act, but
do not speak. The tale is told in recitative by a body of
singers, accompanied by various instruments. The band
assisting generally consists of about twenty members who
play on wind instruments of the oboe kind, gongs, large
castanets above a foot in length, and several sonorous
instruments of percussion constructed with slabs of wood,
or plates of metal, somewhat similar to those of the
Javanese before mentioned.

The Cochin-Chinese are remarkably fond of dramatic
entertainments, which are generally of an operatic character
commemorating historical events. An English gentleman
who witnessed the performance of some of these plays
remarks of the actors : " Their singing is good, when the
ear has become accustomed to it ; and the modulation of
voice of the females is really captivating. "t Sir George
Staunton was evidently surprised to find that a kind of
historical opera, which he heard in the town of Turon
(called by the natives Hansan) contained recitatives, airs,
and choruses, which were, he says, " as regular as upon the
Italian stage." He adds : " Some of the female performers
were by no means despicable singers. They all observed
time accurately, not only with their voices, but every joint
of their hands and feet was obedient to the regular move-
ment of the instruments." J The band consisted of stringed

* ' The Kingdom of Siam.' By Sir John Bowring. London, 1857
Vol. II., p. 325.

t 'A Voyage to Coohin-China.' By John White. London, 1824;
p. 302.

| ' An Authentic Account of an Embassy from the King of Great
Britain to the Emperor of China,' etc. By Sir George Staunton.
London, 1797 ; Vol. I., p. 344.



156 DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES.

instruments, wind instruments, and instruments of per-
cussion. Sir John Barrow describes the theatre at Turon
as " a shed of bamboo." He relates : " In the farther
division of the building a party of comedians was engaged
in the midst of an historical drama when we entered ; but,
on our being seated they broke off, and, coming forward,
made before us an obeisance of nine genuflexions and
prostrations, after which they returned to their labours,
keeping up an incessant noise and bustle during our stay.
The heat of the day, the thermometer in the shade standing
at 81 deg. in the open air, and at least 10 deg. higher in the
building, the crowds that thronged to see the strangers, the
horrible crash of the gongs, kettle-drums, trumpets, and
squalling flutes, were so stunning and oppressive that
nothing but the novelty of the scene could possibly have
detained us for a moment. The most entertaining, as well
as the least noisy part of the theatrical exhibition, was a
sort of Interlude, performed by three young women for the
amusement, it would seem, of the principal actress, who
sat as a spectator in the dress and character of some ancient
Queen, whilst an old eunuch, very whimsically dressed,
played his antic tricks like a scaramouch or buffoon in a
Harlequin entertainment. The dialogue in this part differed
entirely from the querulous and nearly monotonous recita-
tion of the Chinese, being light and comic, and occasionally
interrupted by cheerful airs which generally concluded with
a chorus. These airs, rude and unpolished as they were,
appeared to be regular compositions, and were sung in
exactly measured time. One in particular attracted our
attention, whose slow melancholy movement breathed the
kind of plaintiveness so peculiar to the native airs of the
Scotch, to which indeed it bore a close resemblance."

Probably the air was founded on the pentatonic scale,
which is common in the music of the Chinese and Javanese,
and of which traces are to be found in the Scotch popular
tunes.

"The voices of the women are shrill and warbling, but
some of their cadences were not without melody. The
instruments at each pause gave a few short flourishes, till



DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES. 157

the music gradually increased in loudness by the swelling
and deafening gong. Knowing nothing of the language,
we were of course as ignorant of the subject as the majority
of an English audience is of an Italian opera." *

A curious mode of paying the actors, which prevails
in Cochin-China, may be mentioned here. An English-
man who was present at a theatrical performance in
the town of Kangwarting, relates that the Quong, or
governor of the province, bore the expense of the enter-
tainment. The musical drama was performed in a large
shed before a great concourse of spectators. "The Quong
was there squatted on a raised platform in front of the
actors with a small drum before him, supported in a diagonal
position, on which he would strike a tap every time any part
of the performance pleased him; which also was a signal
for his purse-bearer to throw a small string of about twenty
cash to the actors. To my taste, this spoiled the effect of
the piece; for, every time the cash fell among them there
would be a silence, and the next moment a scramble for the
money; and it fell so frequently as almost to keep time with
the discordant music of the orchestra. The actors were
engaged by the day, and in this manner received their
payment, the amount of which entirely depended upon the
approbation of the Quong and the number of times he
encored them by tapping his drum. I could see that many
of them paid far more attention to the drum than they did to
their performance ; though I suppose, the amount thrown to
them is equally divided. Sometinies the string on which the
cash was tied, unluckily broke, and the money flew in all
directions; by which some of the bystanders profitecj, not
being honourable enough to hand it up to the poor actors. "t

The Burmese have dramas performed by men, and also
comedies represented by means of marionettes, ot-puppets.
In the latter entertainments the figures are cleverly managed
by persons situated beneath a stage which is hidden by a

* 'A Voyage to Cochin-China in the years 1792 and 1793,' by John
Barrow. London, 1806 ; p. 295.

f 'A Seaman's Narrative of his Adventures in Cochin-China,' by
Edward Brown. London 1861; p. 221.

L



158 DRAMATIC MUSIC OF UNCIVILIZED RACES.

coarse curtain. The dialogues between these figures are
much relished by the common spectators. At any rate, as
they are apt to elicit uproarious mirth, they may be supposed
to be often irresistibly comic. The real dramatic per-
formances of the Burmese are acted by professional players,
generally in the open air. The principal characters of the
piece usually consist of a prince, a princess, a humble lover,
a slave, and a buffoon. The female characters are re-
presented by boys dressed in female attire. The dresses