214 V Ape Italiuna... No. XX.— Michael Angela. [April I, 



movements, with the minor pieces of 

 Conclli, have often cliaiuned me for a 

 time, but the mind will ever hail the 

 return of the major key, as Milton did 

 the light after visiting; the realms of 

 darkness. The major key is as capable 

 of producingpathetie nuisicas the minor 

 is ; and the slow movement in Avne's 

 overture to A rtaxerxes, cannot be sur- 

 passed by any thing in the minor key. 

 Hitherto I have only spoken as to facts ; 

 Avere I to hazard a coBJcctiue, I should 

 say, '• as colours exist in t'ae light, but 

 cannot be perceived without the aid of 

 a prism, so Iiarmony exists in the at- 

 mosphere, but it requires the aid of an 

 instrument to make it audible." It is 

 easy, on these principles to acccount 

 for the wolfc, as it is called, in tuning ; 

 I wish it was equally easy to drive him 

 from the piano-forte. 



Philip Johnson. 



or motion. The musical scale is^ a 

 natural law of sound. Every instru- 

 ment, whether of tube or string, will 

 produce this scale, in a greater or less 

 proportion, according to t!ie nature of 

 the instrument. A French horn will 

 produce a regular octave, besides t!ie 

 harmonic octaves which form a thorough 

 bass to its key-note; a German flute 

 will produce the same scale as a bugle 

 horn ; and the string of a violoncello 

 or harpsichord has the same scale as a 

 French horn. Tlie centre of every in- 

 strument, or rather the half of it, is an 

 octave to its key, when the instrument 

 is unbiassed by holes or the pressure of 

 the fingers, &c. Tlie vibration of the 

 whole instrument is its gravest tone 

 and key-note ; but this is not produced 

 by a i-e'gular vibration only: the string 

 must have a tremulous motion in itself 

 or the tone will not be piue: were the 

 quills of a harpsichord to strike the 

 centre of the Mires with much force, 

 the vibration would be so regular, on 

 (he first impulse, as to spoil the tone ; 

 but, as the wire recovered its natural 

 law in the tremulous motion, the note 

 would become pure. The string bends 

 in arcs in forming its tremulous motion, 

 and these arcs are always at such dis- 

 tances, even to mathematical precision, 

 as to form a complete musical scale. 

 Thusitappears that every note or tone is 

 a compound of an octave and a thorough 

 bass to its key. If (he finger or any 

 liffht substance, be drawn along the 

 string of a violoncello either way from 

 its centre, and a vibration be kept up 

 by the bow, a complete scale of the 

 French horn will ba produced ; but, 

 from the nature of the instrument, the 

 scale will be more distinct as the finger 

 approaches the bridge, than it can be 

 moving towards the nut. There is no 

 such tiling as a natural minor key: it 

 is only a mutilation of the major, or 

 an artificial production requiring the 

 constant aid of the natural key by 

 accidentals, to make any thing of it. 

 I am fully aware that the minor key is 

 the favourite with musicians, and that 

 almost every fiddle-stick will be drawn 

 against me ; but truth can resist much 

 more powerful weapons. A common 

 post-horn, which from its form, has 

 but two notes, produces a perfect har- 

 monic fifth to its key. Eveiy sound 

 in nature is in the major key, and the 

 birds sing in it. No insect, not even 

 the flitting grasshopper, will raise his 

 voice in a minor key. The beauty 

 and harmony of Gcmiulaui''s flat 



For the Monthb] Magazine. 



L'APE ITALIANA. 



No. XX. 



Dov' ape suxinaiulo 

 Nei mattiitini albori 

 Voia suggemlo i ruglodesi umori. 



Guarini, 

 Where tl;e bee at eariy dawn, 

 Mtirinuriiifc ."ips (he ilews of morn. 

 MICHAEL ANGELO BUONARROTI 



THIS " Dante of the arts," (11 dante 

 delle belh^ arti) the pride of sculp- 

 ture, of painting, and of architecture, 

 possessed also a singular talent for 

 poetry, and his m'ottos have been con- 

 sidered equal with those of the Greek 

 authors we read of in Dati, as possess- 

 ing all the acumen of wit and the 

 fire of imagination. Lorenzo the 

 Magnificent, the patron of all that is 

 splendid in design, of extensive in 

 execution, was so well pleaseil and 

 convinced of this, that he took Buonar- 

 roii into his own house, made him 

 the confidant of the learned, the friend 

 of Poliziauo, and even the companion of 

 his own sons. Michael Angelo de- 

 rived the most invaluable advantage 

 from such distinguishe.l protection, 

 and divided his studies between the 

 antieut marbles with which the house 

 of Lorenzo then aboimded, and the 

 composition of souettos. He was 

 most particularly partial to that songs- 

 ter of hidden learning, Dante, and has 

 celebrated many of his sublime images 

 in a code which has perished to the 

 lieaA'y loss of the art. Gori says in his 

 illustration of the life of Condivi, that 

 the soul of Michel Angiolo was so 

 much enraptured with the almost in- 

 comprehensible eflusions of the divine 



poet. 



