MUSIC. 373 
tradition Antes it to have been, an inftrument once be¬ 
longing to, that great queen.” 
Dr. Burney fays, that Elizabeth, as well as the reft of 
Henry the Eighth’s children, and indeed all theprinceffes 
of Europe at that time, had been taught muiic early in 
life ; for Camden, in giving an account of her ftudies, 
fays, “that flie underftood well the Latin, French, and 
Italian, tongues; and was indifferently well feen in the 
Greek. Neither did ftie negleCt mufic, fo forthe as might 
become a princefte ; being able to ling, and play upon the 
lute, prettily and fweetly.” There is reafon to conclude 
that ftie continued to amufe herfelf with muiic many years 
after ftie afcended the throne. Sir James Melvil gives an 
account of a curious converfation which he had with this 
princefs, to whom he was fent on an embafly, by Mary 
queen of Scots, in 1564. After her majefty had alked 
how his queen dreffed ? what was the colour of her hair ? 
whether that or hers was belt ? which of the two was 
faireft ? and which of them was higheft in ltature ? then 
ftie alked him, what kind of exercife ftie ufed ? “ I anfwer-. 
ed,” fays Melvil, “ that, when I received my difpatch, 
the queen was lately come from the Highland-hunting; 
that, when her more ferious affairs permitted, ftie was 
taken up with reading of hiltories; that fometimes ftie 
recreated herfelf in playing upon the lute and virginal.” 
She alked if Ihe played well ? I faid, “ Reafonably for a 
queen.”—“ The fame day, after dinner, my lord of Hunf- 
den drew me up to a quiet gallery, that I might hear 
fome muftck (but faid lie durft not avow it), where I 
might hear the queen play upon the virginal. After 
I had harkened awhile, I took by the tapeftry that hung 
before the door of the chamber, and, feeing her back was 
towards the door, I entered within the chamber, and ftood 
a pretty fpace ; but fne left off immediately, fo foon as Ihe 
turned about and law me; appearing to be furprifed to fee 
me; and came forward, feeming to ftrike me with her 
hand, alleging that Ihe ufed not to play before men; but 
when Ihe was folitary, to fliun melancholy. She alked 
how I came there ? I anfwered, ‘ As I was walking with 
my lord Hunfden, as we palled by the chamber-door, I 
heard fucli a melody that raviflied me ; whereby I was 
drawn in, ere I knew how; excufing my fault of homeli- 
nefs, as being brought up in the court of France, where 
fucli freedom was allowed ; declaring myfelf willing to 
endure what kind of punilhment her majefty fliould be 
pleafed to infliCt upon me, for fo great an offence.’ Then 
ftie fete down low upon a culhion, and I upon my knees 
by her; but, with her own hands, ftie gave me a culhion 
to lay under my knees; which at firft I refufed, but ftie 
compelled me to take it. She enquired whether my queen 
or ftie played belt ? In that I found mylelf obliged to give 
her the praife.” Gent. Mag. 1815. 
The oldeft book of leffons that we know of as compofed 
exprefsly for the virginal, is a thin folio, engraved on 
copper, and publiftied in the reign of king James I. under 
the following title: “ Partkenia, or the Maidenhead of 
the firft Mulicke that ever was printed for the Virginalls. 
Compofed by three famous mailers: William Byrd, Dr. 
John Bull, and Orlando Gibbons, Gentilmen of liis 
Majefties molt illuftrious Chappel.” Bird being here 
called “ Gentilman of his Majefties Chappel,” feem§ to 
imply, that he was ftill living when it was publiftied. 
King James died in 1525, and Bird in 1523. The three 
firft movements in this collection, confifting of a Pre- 
ludium; Parana, Sir William Peder; and a Galiarrlo ; are 
in G minor, and may be called a Suite of Leffons. The 
fourth and fifth movements, Preludium; and Galiardo, 
Mrs. Marye Brownlo, in C; and the fixth, feventh, and 
eighth, Parana, the Earle of Salilbury; Galiardo primo; 
and Galiardo J'ccundo, Mrs. Marye Brownlo, in A minor; 
conftitute wdiat may likewife be regarded as two other 
Suites de Pieces, or Sets of Leffons. 
The clavichord, or manichord, is a keyed inftrument 
fomewhat ot the nature of the fpinet or virginal, but of 
an oblong form. It is not known in England, but is ftill 
Vol. XVI. No. MI9. 
much ufed in Germany. Its form is that of a fmall 
piano-forte: it has no quills, jacks, or hammers. The 
firings are all muffled with Hips of red cloth, and the tone 
is produced by little brafs wedges, placed at the ends of 
the keys, wdiich, when put down, prefs againft the middle 
of the firings, acting as a bridge to each. When this in¬ 
strument is touched by a good mailer, it is capable of 
great expreftion, though of a melancholy kind,Something 
like the effefil of the old clofe-fliake on the violin. It is 
fometimes called the dumbJpbict. The antiquity of this 
keyed inftrument in Germany is very great among modern 
mufical inventions ; as there is a delcription and a reprefen- 
tation of it cut in wood, in the Latin Mufurgia of Otto- 
marus Lufcinius, printed at Strafburg in 1536. But we 
find mention made of it, as a common inftrument, in 
England, under the name of clavichord, by Taverner, ftill 
more early. The fcale of thefe three inllruments is the 
fame as that of the old organs. 
The Harpsichord. —As the harp was derived from 
the cithara, fo was the harpiichord from the harp, being 
indeed a horizontal harp, except that it is llrung entirely 
with wire. Its tone is produced by jacks quilled with 
crow or raven quills. A fugle harpfichord of two unifons 
and one fet of keys, was, in effect, a double fpinet or vir¬ 
ginal. But a double harpfichord ufed to have two lets of 
keys, and three firings, two unifons aqd an oCtave, to each 
note. Merlin, we believe, was the firft who changed the 
oCtave-ftop to a third unifon, about the year 1770, wdiich 
rendered the inftrument equally powerful, and lefs fub- 
jeft to go out of tune; the oCtave-ftop being fo much 
affeCted by the leaft change in the temperature of the air, 
that it almoft inftantly difeovered when there was a change 
in the wind. Befides arming the tongues of the jacks 
with crow or raven quills, feveral other means were tried 
by which to produce a fofter tone, and to be more dura¬ 
ble; as the quilling a harpfichord with three Hops was 
nearly a day’s work: leather, ivory, and other elaftic 
fubftances, were tried; but,what they gained in fweetnefs 
was loft in fpirit. The bell harpfichords of the eighteenth 
century were made by Ruckers of Antwerp, and his 
family; Geronimo of Florence, Coufliette, Tabel, and 
Kirkman and Shudi, Tabel’s foremen. 
The harpfichord is now fo entirely out of ufe, that one 
of Kirkman’s double-keyed inllruments may be had for 
fix or eight guineas. We therefore proceed to lpeak of 
the hammer harpfichord, or 
Piano-forte. —About the beginning of the laid cen¬ 
tury, hammer-harpfichords were invented at Florence, 
of which there is a defcriptiou in the Giornale d’ltalia, 
1711. The invention made but a flow progrefs. The 
firft that w'as brought to England was made by an Englifh 
monk at Rome, father Wood, for an Englilh friend, (the 
late Samuel Crifp, efq. of Chefington, author of Virginia, 
a tragedy,) a man of learning, and of exquifite talle in 
all the fine arts. The tone of this inftrument was fo 
fuperior to that produced by quills, with the additional 
power of producing all the ftiades of piano and forte by the 
finger, that, though the touch and mechanifm were fo im¬ 
perfect that nothing quick could be executed upon it, 
yet the Dead March in Saul, and other folemn and pa¬ 
thetic ftrains, when executed with talle and feeling by a 
mailer a little accuftomed to the touch, excited equal 
wonder and delight in the hearers. Fulk Greville, efq. 
purchafed this inftrument of Mr. Crifp for 100 guineas, 
and it remained unique in this country for feveral years, 
till Plenius made a piano-forte in imitation of that of 
Mr. Greville. Of this inftrument the touch was better, 
but the tone very much inferior. Backers, a harpfichord- 
maker of the fecond rank, conftruCted feveral piano-fortes, 
and improved the mechanifm in fome particulars; but the 
tone, with all the delicacy of Schroeter’s touch, loft the 
fpirit of the harpfichord, and gained nothing in fweetnefs. 
After the arrival of John Chr. Bach in this country, 
and the eflablilhment of his concert, in conjunction with 
Abel, all the harpfichord-makers tried their mechanical 
S C powers 
