THE MUSICAL PITCH QUESTION.
With regard to musical 'pitch itself, let it suffice to remind our readers that, while all civilised countries have adopted the same system of musical notation, and have agreed on what spaces or lines of the staff the notes of the scale shall be written, a great divergence prevails as to the pitch or height of these notes,— speaking more technically, of the number of double vibrations per second which these signs shall represent. Scientific methods for ascertaining the number of these vibrations have existed long enough to make it clear that the pitch has been forced up a full tone since the time of Handel, and about a semi-tone since that of Beethoven. Vocalists anxious to display an exceptionally high range have contributed slightly to this result. But the chief offenders have been wind-instrument makers and conductors. The latter imagining or rightly believing, for it is still a moot point, that increased sonority or brilliancy of tone was attainable by heightening the pitch, encouraged the former to sharpen their instruments. Now certain wind-instruments once constructed are practically unalterable, so far as pitch is concerned, or only alter- able at considerable expense, whereas stringed instruments, by tuning up, or the device of using thinner strings and slightly modi- fying the structure of the interior, can be adapted to any pitch. So the upward movement went on, orchestras being more than at present dependent upon military bands, and obliged to conform to the pitch of the new and constantly sharper instruments produced by the competing manufacturers. As early as 1834 a Congress of Physicists met at Stuttgart to determine the question, and proposed as the standard a pitch of 528 for C = 440 for A, a suggestion that was void of practical result. Five and twenty years later the question came to a head in France. An Inter- national Committee was appointed in which men differing as widely in musical temperament as Berlioz and Rossini were included. Their sittings elicited much valuable information and resulted in the recommendation of the diapason normal A = 435, C = 522, which was forthwith fixed by legal decree. The advantage of a despotic Govern- ment where art is concerned could not be more happily demonstrated. The Napoleonic pitch was accepted and has prevailed from that date in France, and is now being enforced by Government decree in Belgium. Meanwhile in England the pitch, which had been fixed by the Philharmonic Society in 1813—we quote from the speech of Mr. Ellis at the recent public meeting held in St. James's Hall—at A=4231 and at 433 in 1820, rose under the direction of Costa between 1852 and 1874 to a mean of 4521 and a maximum of 454k. It is not to be supposed that this enhancement of pitch was acquiesced in without protest. In 1860 a meeting of the Society of Arts was held, suggested by the French con- ference. And yet, though starting with the admission that unanimity was above all things to be desired, the merits of three several pitches were obstinately debated, with the result that the Stuttgart standard, as a compromise, was recommended to be adopted—a recommendation equally abortive with that promul- gated by the German savants in 1834. Commenting upon this meeting in an admirable article in the Musical Times of February, 1869, when the question had again emerged, Mr. Henry Lunn saw in its decision "a remarkable instance of the independence of the English character, which, however commend. able in politics, is often most reprehensible in art." He adds, and the words have a special significance at the present juncture, ' It was evident" [i.e., in the interval between 1860 and 1869] ' that with the experience of the Society of Arts before us, whatever might be done in France, the question never could be decided by any conference held in this country." It was during the dictatorship of Costa, as we have seen, that musical pitch in England rose to the height at or about which it now stands, and a full recognition of the merits of that great conductor should not blind us to the two evil effects entailed by this supposed gain of general brilliancy and sonority,—we mean the harm done to the voices of public singers, and the wrong inflicted upon composers whose works had to be mutilated in order to bring them within the range of the human voice. For instance, the enormous intrinsic difficulties presented to vocalists by Beethoven's Mass in D were so far enhanced by the pitch .adopted by Costa, that at the performances of that work in 1854, 1861, and 1870, by the Sacred Harmonic Society, he was obliged to transpose, or even alter, certain numbers of the vocal score. The resolution of the meeting of the Society of Arts was a dead-letter, and when a crisis did occur nine years later, it may fairly be said to have been forced on by the single action of a great vocalist. Mr. Sims Reeves .declined to sing for the Sacred Harmonic Society, giving as his reason, in a letter to the Athenaeum, the abnormally high pitch then prevailing. Detractors were not slow to insinuate that he was merely consulting the interests of his own organ, and not those of musicians as a whole. The odium musicum was aroused, and the papers of the day were filled with corre- spondence on the subject. But the matter did not end here, for this " strike " on the part of an invaluable artist gave an entirely practical turn to the controversy. An enterprising firm of musical publishers took up the cause, and organised a series of oratorio concerts, with Mr. Sims Reeves as their chief attraction, and the adoption of the French pitch as the chief novelty of their programme. A new organ, tuned to the diapason normal, was built for the purpose, the necessary wind- instruments were purchased in Paris, and the services of Mr. Barnby secured as conductor. Now, as no mention whatever was made at the recent public meeting held in St. James's Hall of this practical test of the lower pitch, which extended over several seasons and was attended with remarkable success, we may be allowed, in order to complete this brief historical survey of the pitch question, to summarise the net results of this ex- periment so far as they can be gathered from contemporary Press notices. From these it is evident that while un- doubted relief was afforded to the singers, no perceptible falling-off in brilliancy or sonority was apparent. The critics were almost unanimous in following the lead set by the writer in the. Times — presumably the late Mr. Davison—who candidly confessed that the difference between the pitches seemed so slight as hardly to be worth taking into serious account. A great number of these gentlemen took no notice of the change at all ; and after the first season, Press references to the altered pitch were almost exclusively confined to the statement that it was still upheld. One newspaper, which had assailed the innovation at the outset, was obliged to admit, on the occasion of the performance of the Mass in D, that the adoption of the French pitch was a great advantage; and in another journal the diapason normal was attacked for
the grotesque reason that, no grand piano tuned to that standard being available, the "queen of pianistes "—Madame Arabella Goddard—was compelled to submit to the indignity of perform- ing the pianoforte solo in the Choral Fantasia upon a semi-grand. Eventually, the need of more extended accommodation for the performers induced the promoters of these oratorio concerts to migrate to Exeter Hall, where they were obliged to conform to the pitch of the organ, and abandon the diapason normal. The general public had ceased to take an interest in the question of pitch, and the musical world at large refused to be convinced of the expediency of the alteration. Thus the movement may be said to have died a natural death, but not before it had practi- cally demonstrated the feasibility of the change where the ques- tion of expense was not allowed to stand in the way.
Very little remains to be added to the arguments in favour of or against a lowering of pitch which have been stated at pre- vious crises in the controversy. But it may be as well to set down the pros and cons of the question as clearly as our space will allow. Foremost among the advantages of depressing the pitch is the greater uniformity which would be secured, and of the paramount value of which all musicians are convinced in the abstract. Vocalists and instrumentalists are seriously inconvenienced by the necessity of having to adapt their voices or instruments to the different pitches which sometimes prevail in the same city, and composers are left in a state of un- certainty as to the exact demands they are making upon their interpreters, vocal or instrumental. Secondly, almost all singers would profit by the change. Of course, instances would occur where bass and contralto voices would ex- perience an increased difficulty in producing the cavernous tones of their lowest register which nature or cultiva- tion has endowed them with. But their loss would be more than compensated by the corresponding diminution of strain to tenors or soprani in emitting the high A or any note above it, and, let us add, of pain to the sensitive listener, whose apprecia- tion of a song does not always vary in a direct ratio with the physical exertion expended by the singer. Thirdly, the lower- ing of pitch would, in many cases, extend the repertory of conductors and enable them to surmount the well-nigh in- surmountable difficulties presented by the "monumental choral works of the great masters of the whole of the eighteenth and the greater part of the first half of the present century," —we quote from a letter written by Mr. Manus sixteen years ago, in which the advantages of the proposed change are admirably summed up from the conductor's point of view. There are other advantages besides those mentioned which would accrue from a depression of pitch, but they are of minor importance ; and we may now turn to the chief arguments that are urged against the proposed alteration. These are two in number—loss of brilliancy, and expense, the former a much- disputed point, the latter an indisputable and most serious obstacle, " the crux of the whole subject," as it was described at the recent meeting. It is not our intention to enter on a dis- cussion of the relation of brilliancy to pitch. The late Mr. Hullah was an absolute unbeliever as to the existence of such a relationship, and many distinguished musicians like him fail to recognise the added brilliancy which an enhanced pitch is supposed to bring. But on the other hand, it is only fair to record the fact that many conductors have a strong conviction of the intimate connection subsisting between sonority and pitch, though we know at least one of their number who would be ready to make some sacrifice in this respect in the interests of that uniformity which is so deeply to be desired. There remains, then, the question of expense. The change will not affect the construction of the stringed instruments of an orchestra at all, and can be carried out in pianofortes at slight trouble and cost. Brass instruments are capable of alteration ; but the real difficulty is met with in the case of organs, flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons. It was computed sixteen years ago that to supply the hundred and eighty-one military bands then existing with new wood wind-instruments would cost upwards of £13,000. This sum would have to be paid by the officers, for it is hardly necessary to remind our readers that the cost of providing instruments for regimental bands is not defrayed by Government. But the case of civilian instru- mentalists is a harder one. For while singers—who would be the greatest gainers by the change—are by far the best paid members of the profession, the chief burden of the expense would fall on the poorest class of musicians, players in orchestras. " How," as Mr. Hullah once pointedly asked, " is an orchestral
performer, generally the worst paid of all living artists, to replace a costly instrument often all but his only property P" Hence the excellent suggestion was propounded—we believe by Mr. Manna—that the vocalists should subscribe to aid the instrumentalists. Their readiness to carry out such a proposal, which is pretty sure to be revived, would be an admirable proof of their being really in earnest in demanding a lowered pitch, besides affording a pleasing example of professional solidarity.
The previous history of the pitch question shows that so far as England is concerned, it is hopeless to expect any result from the meeting of conferences and the appointment of committees. Rather must we look for success to a resolute attitude on the part of the great virtuosi whose services are indispensable. Mr. Sims Reeves forced on a crisis sixteen years ago. Joachim might do the same now if he chose, or Herr Richter, and so bring the question to a practical issue. If Sir George Macfarren is so con- vinced of the expediency of adopting the French pitch, then we humbly beg to suggest that he should announce his intention of enforcing it at the Royal Academy. Such an announcement would be of infinitely more practical value than the reopening of a discussion to which there is nothing to add. From the report of the recent meeting, the ordinary reader who had not made a special study of the question might suppose that the last crisis had occurred twenty-five, and not sixteen, years ago, so absolutely did all the speakers ignore the existence of the Sims Reeves coup d'etat and the consequent fair trial of the French pitch. Such oblivious- ness can only be accounted for by our national passion for debate, inasmuch as a brief statement of the results of the experiment in question would have materially curtailed the proceedings. Moreover, such a gathering as that of last Satur- day week, convened under the auspices of a single institution, -could hardly hope to be representative. The co-operation of -conductors is indispensable in the matter ; and yet the names of Messrs. Halle, Manna, Carl Rosa, Barnby, Mackenzie, Stanford, and Parry are unaccountably absent from the proceedings. Reso- lutions were passed, and an excellent committee appointed to carry them out. But resolutions and recommendations in regard to art are of little avail when they are not backed by a Government department, Imperial decrees, or State subsidies. Now, amongst the musical announcements for the forthcoming season we have noticed the promise of renewal by the same firm of publishers of the oratorio concerts to which the crisis of 1869 gave such a special impulse. It would indeed be heaping coals of fire on the heads of those who have so ungratefully ignored their pre- vious efforts if they were to renew the experiment, and give once more proof of the superiority of action over debate. We make this suggestion for what it is worth, and will supplement it with yet another. Should the result of this agitation seem to establish the fact that the change to the French pitch is too great for conductors and instrumentalists to approve of, a com- promise might be effected, and some intermediate pitch agreed on, if our neighbours were to be maliciously reminded that, after all, the diapason normal is a Napoleonic institution. Once they realised this fact, we feel certain that considerations of expense would not hinder them from obliterating yet another trace of Imperialism.
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