January, 1914 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
23 
In the year 371 the practice of chant- 
ing the Psalms, which up to that time 
had been recited by the congregation in 
the church in a loud tone of voice, was 
introduced by Pope Damasus. In 509 
St. Gregory the Great, who was elected 
Pope, supplemented the work of his 
predecessor Ambrose, by making a col- 
lection of melodies in church use. He 
compiled an Antiphonarium composed 
of hymns with suitable melodies adapted 
to the principal seasons of the church 
year. These have ever since been in use 
and are now familiarly known as the 
“Gregorian Chant,” although the proper 
name is Plain-chant or Plain-song. 
And so we pass on to the advance of 
music in the North through Charle- 
magne and later through the music of 
the troubadours and minstrels who, to- 
gether with the “minnesingers” and 
“meistersingers” of Germany, spread the love 
song throughout Europe and marked the intro- 
duction of music along secular lines. With the 
approach of the eighteenth century, with its 
varied dances of the period and the century 
following, which gave to Europe its greatest 
operas, one finds in America only a limited and 
stilted interpretation of music, through Puri- 
tanical ideas regarding its necessarily lugu- 
brious and sanctimonious character, which 
through the gradual growth of the country and 
broadening of its moral standards, in the early 
nineteenth century developed, what is illustrated 
in this article, the accepted dance music of the 
day and the martial music of the Civil War. 
A war-time music cover 
Illustrated music titles were originally 
introduced with the idea of attracting 
attention to the piece of music they rep- 
resented, and comprised a form of ad- 
vertising and popularizing of the piece. 
1 hey were first used as copper-plate en- 
gravings about 1800, but as a great lux- 
ury. “The Battle of Trenton,” a 
“Sonata for the Piano-forte,” was an 
example of this kind, published in New 
York about 1800, and of interest as con- 
taining on the cover a portrait of Wash- 
ington, of the Wright type, such as was 
etched by Joseph Wright in copper in 
1794. 1 his piece well illustrates the 
present-day value of a rare music title 
in the fact that the only perfect copy of 
this composition ever sold at public auc- 
tion brought over three hundred dollars 
in 1904. Another rare example, pub- 
lished in Boston about 1840, and also 
having a bust portrait of Washington on the 
title page, is the “Battle of Prague March.” 
Following the use of copper-plate engraving, 
which was an expensive process, came the more 
general use of wood engraving and lithograph- 
ing, which began about 1825 to reduce the cost 
of illustrating and tended to increase the use 
and popularity of music of this character. The 
steel-engraved music title is rare, but there are 
examples extant. Many specimens even of 
early lithographing are no longer obtainable, 
and others because of their rarity have brought, 
in the last few years when they have found their 
way into public sale, astonishing prices and far 
in excess of their original cost; as, for example, 
The notes of the ‘‘Contraband 
Waltz" are in the form of ani- 
mated figures of tiny negroes 
The "Fort Hamilton Polka Redowa" music cover 
