MUSIC 



pit. h, time, uiul rhythm. The 

 iss emlirocei terms refer- 

 ring to the pace of the music, such as 

 allegro, moderato, andante, etc., of 

 r|ii.il importance being those of the 

 third el;issntTefiiiiu sty If. phrasing, 

 and expression, such as animato, 

 , In ill. into, and the like. 

 The ilyn.-imic class is concerned 



with tin- \,in..u> decrees c! 

 rci|iiirc(l, such as p. (piano -- soft), 

 f. (forU'=loud), crescendo (increas- 

 iimiiiiieiulo (lessening), etc. 

 'f these terms with the ex- 

 ception of those in the first class, 

 l>e qualified by additional 

 trims, such as un poco = a little 

 (un poco animato = rather ani- 

 m.iticl), or non troppo = not too 

 niurh (non troppo allegro = 

 not too fast). Then come the 

 names of voices, instruments, etc., 

 ;iiiil next the terms used in respect 

 to mdody and harmony, such as 

 scale, interval, consonance, dis- 

 sonance, etc. Lastly, there are 

 purely mechanical directions, e.g. 

 volti subito = turn over the page 

 quickly, da capo .= from the be- 

 ginning, and so on. 



The usual language employed is 

 Italian, due to the fact that in me- 

 dieval days the great centres of 

 musical instruction were in Italy. 

 The words indicating style, pace, 

 etc., were naturally those in every- 

 day use, but they became con- 

 ventionalised. Thus allegro (gay) 

 now equals quick, and andante 

 (going or moving) equals slow. For 

 over a century composers have 

 shown an increasing inclination to 

 use their own language. See A Con- 

 cise Dictionary of Musical Terms, 

 F. Niecks, 1884; Dictionary of 

 Foreign Musical Terms, T. S. 

 Wotton, 1907. 



Music and Dancing Licences. 

 ( Mlieial authorisation issued by the 

 county councils, without which no 

 house may be kept for public danc- 

 ing, music, or similar public enter- 

 tainment. The governing statute 

 in this matter before the passing of 

 the Local Government Act of 1888 

 was the Public Entertainment Act 

 of 1751, which enacted that any 

 house in the cities of London and 

 Westminster and within 20 m. 

 thereof providing such public en- 

 tertainment without a licence from 

 the justices should be deemed a 

 disorderly house. 



The licensing committees meet 

 annually in November, and may 

 impose any conditions they deem 

 proper, while the buildings must 

 conform to structural conditions 

 prescribed by the Metropolis Man- 

 agement and Buildings Act Amend- 

 ment Act of 1878. Elsewhere in 

 England and Wales music-halls, 

 etc.. are regulated by various local 

 Acts somewhat similarly, while 



5603 



Music Hall. Interior of Weston's Music Hall, High Holborn, predecessor ot 

 the Royal Holborn, from a print about 1865. Refreshments were served at 

 the tables, while the chairman and his circle of " gilded youth " sat im- 

 mediately before the stage in the place now occupied by the orchestra 



under the Public Health Acts 

 Amendment Act, 1890, Part 3, an 

 adoptive measure, no house or 

 garden, whether licensed for the 

 sale of liquor or not, may be kept 

 for public dancing, music, or 

 similar public entertainment with- 

 out a licence from the justices 

 having power to grant licences for 

 the sale of intoxicating liquor. See 

 Licensing Laws ; Liquor Control. 



Music Hall. Place of amuse- 

 ment licensed for the performance 

 of music, dancing, and varied 

 public entertainment. It is thus 

 distinct from a theatre, primarily 

 intended for the exhibition of 

 stage plays. The variety entertain- 

 ment of the music hall is a natural 

 development of the informal 

 smoking concert, performers at 

 which were regular frequenters of 

 the tavern. The licensee of the 

 premises next engaged professional 

 singers and, making no charge for 

 admission, recouped himself by the 

 sale of refreshments to members 

 of the audience between the items 

 on the programme, which were 

 announced by a chairman. 



Saloon theatres attached to the 

 larger taverns were the next stage, 

 being licensed by the magistrates 

 and permitted to charge for admis- 

 sion to the entertainment, which 

 steadily encroached further upon 

 the privileges claimed by the 

 lessees of the patent theatres. In 

 1834 a performance of Othello at 

 the Britannia, Hoxton, brought 

 matters to a crisis. The producer 

 and performers were fined, but the 

 consequent agitation led to the 

 abolition by Parliament of the 

 patents, and to competition whole- 

 some in its effect upon theatres 

 and music halls alike. 



The first music hall of the 

 modern type was the Canterbury 

 in Westminster Bridge Road, 

 opened 1849. It achieved immense 

 popularity under the management 

 of Charles Morton, who afterwards 

 built the Oxford Music Hall in 

 Oxford Street, opened in Jan., 

 1893, and brought success to the 

 Palace theatre which, having failed 

 as an opera house, was devoted to 

 variety entertainment in Dec. of 

 the same year. The Alhambra 

 theatre in Leicester Square was 

 built in 1854 and, failing as The 

 Panopticon of Science and Art, as 

 which it was designed to rival the 

 Polytechnic, was converted into a 

 music hall in 1857. The original 

 structure was burnt down in 1882, 

 and the present Alhambra was 

 opened Dec. 3, 1883. The Empire, 

 Leicester Square, was erected on 

 the site of Savile House, once a 

 royal residence, later an exhibition 

 gallery and then a cafe-chantant. 

 It was opened in 1887 as a vaude- 

 ville theatre with comic operas and 

 burlesques, but soon was devoted 

 to variety. 



Musicians' Company, THE. 

 London city livery company. It 

 originated from a Society of Min- 

 strels, was first 

 incorporated 

 April 24, 1473, 

 reconstituted 

 JulyS, 1604, and 

 included danc- 

 ing within its 

 province. Claim- 

 ing to be the only 

 Musicians' city company 

 Company arms which retains a 

 professional character, its corporate 

 income is 425 ; trust income, 140. 

 Office, 16, Berners Street, W 



