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which was originally C, has sunk to A upon the lowest space. The elevated situation of this bell gives it an horizon of nearly fifty miles in every direction. It is never rung, lest it should bring down the steeple in which it hangs, and never tolled but upon the death of a royal personage. When rung in this partial way, its tones roll over the surrounding distance with a sublime effect. Oft on a plat of rising ground I hear the far-off curfew sound, Over some wide-water'd shore, Swinging slow with sullen roar.

*This famous bell, the note of which was like the chord of A upon a full organ, lately fell from its support and was destroyed:—

C#

A bell, similar to Tom of Lincoln, is that which Purcell has celebrated in his catch of Gabriel John,' some curious remarks upon which, by Dr. Parr, and addressed to the writer, are extracted from a letter written by that learned divine, to Dr. Hill, of Leicester:

'There is a piece of vocal music which I have often joined in singing with minor canons, and other musitianists at Norwich, part of the words, and indeed all I remember, are these:

Under this stone lies Gabriel John,

Who died in the year one thousand and one.

We were contented with the sounds, which, to say the truth, were sweet and plaintive; but, like good catholics, we never inquired into their meaning, nor had any notion of history in the choice of the words "Gabriel John," nor any metaphysical puzzles whether Gabriel and John implied one person, or more than one.

'The Christian baptism and nomination of bells is an old practice.

The days of prejudice and ignorance are past, and bells are no longer used for the purposes of craft, or regarded with religious awe.

Though introduced under the frauds of religion, they remain a harmless relic of superstition and folly; and the same sounds which filled the peasant and votary with fear in a dark age, now form the pious and mirthful strains of an enlightened community.

Thus you have heard of Tom of Lincoln, and Bell Harry at Canterbury, which stands on the outside of the middle and highest tower, and which calls together the congregations. And thus, in the plenitude of my antiquarian learning and my ecclesiastical orthodoxy, I have put brazen tablets upon my eight parish bells at Hatton, in the following order-Philip, James, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul. And now you are prepared for the evolution of the mysterious words "Gabriel John." Between Christ Church College, Oxford, and the river Thames, was formerly a celebrated abbey, called Osney Abbey ; and in the tower of the said Osney Abbey were six bells, of which the fifth was named Gabriel, and the sixth John. John being the tenor bell, probably gave the key-note to this piece, upon the principle that D gave the key-note to "Hark! the bonny Christ Church bells."* In the Encyclopedia, these bells are mentioned as being very famous ; their several names were, Douce, Clement, Austin, Haubiler, Gabriel, John. Tell friend Berry, that I am a faithful and zealous believer in the effects which ecclesiastical history ascribes to the power of these sacred vessels.

'Laudo Deum verum, plebem voco, conjugo clerum,
Defunctos ploro, pestem fugo, festa decoro.

Funera plango, fulgura frango, Sabbata pango

Excito lentos, dissipo ventos, paco cruentos.'

*Here Dr. Parr is mistaken. The key of Christ Church bells is in C, and was composed by the eloquent and learned Dean of that college, Dr. Aldrich; and, no doubt, represents the tone of the bells at that time, 1689.

CHAPTER XVII.

HAUTBOY, OR OBOE.

IN the voices of the wind instruments, we may notice a marked distinction of accent, upon which their character chiefly depends. This is produced by the formation of the mouth-piece with which they are blown. The meek tone of the oboe is unlike the energetic voice of the clarionet, or the soft tones of the flute; and the fire of the trumpet bears no resemblance to the mellow notes of the horn. Hautbois is a French word, signifying high wood, a term describing the pipe which plays the highest part in the band; but since the flute has been called upon to perform its notes in altissimo, this is no longer the case, and, in rank, the oboe takes its station below that of the flute. For a century, the oboe was a mere lackey, or helper,* to the violin; and, in loud music, its biting tones were sensibly heard, and increased the sound, but since it has risen to the rank of a solo instrument-seldom more than two are admitted into the largest bands. Not so joyous as the clarionet, or piercing as the high notes of the flute, it is more adapted to passages of tender expression.

In the year 1791, forty of these instruments were assembled and performed together in the band at Westminster Abbey.

The pitch of its voice lies between these instruments, and its written part occupies the second stave in the score. In the hands of the academician Cooke, the neatness of its articulation surpasses that of any other instrument. Rossini has availed himself of its artless simplicity to beautify his sprightly compositions. Sometimes he combines it with other instruments in the unison, or the octave, producing a compound sound, novel and charming.

CHAPTER XVIII.

SINGING OUT OF TUNE.

It is a remarkable circumstance, that many of the greatest vocalists of the age have been justly charged with the occasional fault of singing out of tune. That persons, who have taken so much care in their musical education, and who have spent their lives in pursuit of the art, should fall into an error of such magnitude, is somewhat curious and unaccountable. This want of correctness is generally imputed to a defect in the ear; but, with persons so instructed, surely this cannot be the case. We have seen that the ear may be trained to any purpose, and that, by practice, its discriminating power can be carried to the greatest height; from which we might infer, that professional singers are

the last persons we should have to complain of in this particular. May we not then reasonably conclude, that the want of this correctness does not arise solely from a defect in the ear? The points of inaccuracy with the singer are generally, if not always, upon the 3d, 5th, and 8th of the key. These intervals, being the same as those of the speaking voice, which we utter instinctively, make us careless in producing them; but the other notes of the scale require an operation of the mind, and a peculiar formation of the voice, to produce them —hence they are always more correctly given.

As a proof of a great disposition in the voice to give the harmonic intervals too flat, we may try the experiment of raising the 5th, upon the key-note in the ordinary way; afterwards, by first glancing the voice upon the 6th, as an appogiatura note, and then descend upon the 5th, we shall find that we make it much sharper this way than the other. This mode of acquiring a point d'appui in attacking an interval, will, with many voices, ensure a correct intonation.

It will sometimes happen that the key of the piece may be rather above, or below, the natural pitch of the singer's speaking voice. If it is a trifle sharper, the most correct singer will feel a distress in making the harmonic intervals in tune; but if below, the inattentive performer, who has the fault of singing too flat, in this instance, probably, will sing too sharp. Persons who sing carelessly, and

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