Shakespeare and Music Part 23

_K. John_ V, ii, 164.

_Lewis_ [Dauphin.]

Strike up the _drums_! and let the tongue of war Plead for our interest, and our being here.

_b.a.s.t.a.r.d._ Indeed, your _drums_, being _beaten_, will cry out; And so shall you, being _beaten_. Do but start An _echo_ with the clamour of thy drum, And even at hand a _drum_ is ready brac'd, That shall reverberate all as loud as thine; _Sound_ but _another_, and another shall, As loud as thine, _rattle the welkin's ear_, And mock the deep-mouth'd thunder.

An entirely different use of the Drum is alluded to by Parolles, in his slanderous evidence against Captain Dumain.

_All's Well_ IV, iii, 262.

_1 Soldier._ What say you to his expertness in war?

_Parolles._ 'Faith, sir, he has _led the drum before the English tragedians_, ... and more of his soldiers.h.i.+p I know not.

There are several occasions in Shakespeare when _trumpets_ are sounded to herald the approach of play-actors, but _drums_ are not mentioned in this connection except here. Rimbault's Preface to Purcell's Opera 'Bonduca' (Musical Antiquarian Society) says that a Play was always introduced by the trumpet sounding three times, after which the Prologue entered. Dekker, referring to the list of _errata_ in his 'Satiromastix,' 1602, says--"Instead of the trumpets sounding thrice before the play begin, it shall not be amiss for him that will read, first to behold this short Comedy of Errors."

VII

ON THE USE OF THE MUSICAL STAGE DIRECTIONS

_With references to the same Words as they occur in the Text_

_Alarum, Alarums_ (of Drums), occurs as a stage direction about 72 times in fourteen of the historical plays, always in connection with battle. It is found alone, as above, about 45 times, sometimes qualified--_e.g._, Loud alarum, Low alarum, Short alarum, Alarum within. _Alarums and Excursions_ occurs about 21 times, always in fight. ['Excursions' merely means 'parties of men running about;' see the stage direction _H. 6. A._ IV, vi. 'Excursions, _wherein_ Talbot's son is hemmed about;' also _Id._ I, v, where the direction has 'Alarum. _Skirmis.h.i.+ngs_,' instead of the usual 'excursions.']

A few special cases are--Alarum _with thunder and lightning_, _H. 6.

A._ I, iv, 97; _Flourish and Alarums_, used by Rich. III. to drown the reproaches of Q. Eliz., etc.; Alarum and _chambers_ [cannon] _go off_, _H. 5._ Act iii. line 33 of the chorus, and again _Id._ end of scene 1; Alarum _and cry within_, 'Fly, fly, fly,' _Jul. Caes._ V, v; Alarum afar off, _as at a sea fight_, _Ant._ IV, x.

Out of the 72 cases in the stage directions, 70 mean a call to battle by _drums_. There are only two exceptions, where the Alarum is identified with trumpets, _H. 6. B._ II, iii, 92, and _Troil._ IV, v, 112, 117.

Skeat gives the original of the term as 'all'arme' (Ital.) a war cry of the time of the Crusades. For the _form_ of the word, he compares _arum_ (arm) and _koren_ (corn).

_'Alarum' in the text._

The word is used 13 times in the text of Shakespeare; and in 6 of these it refers to _drums_, as in the stage directions _H. 6. A._ I, ii, 18, I, iv, 99, II, i, 42; _R. 3._ I, i, 7; _Cor._ II, ii, 76; _H.

5._ IV, vi, 35.

But in two of the remaining examples, alarum is distinctly said to be _trumpets_, _H. 6. B._ II, iii, 93 and V, ii, 3; while other more extended meanings are found--_e.g._, in _Venus and Adonis_, l. 700, where it refers to the noise of the dogs hunting the hare; in _Macbeth_ II, iii, 75 and V, v, 51, where alarum is used of a Bell; also in _Lucrece_, 433, of Tarquin's 'drumming heart' 'giving the hot charge,' and _Oth.e.l.lo_ II, iii, 27, of Desdemona's voice, which Iago says is 'an alarum to love.'

_Flourish_, either simply in this form, or 'Flourish of Trumpets' (six times) or 'Flourish of Cornets' (twice), occurs about 68 times in seventeen plays.

Out of these, it is used some 22 times for the entrance or exit of a King or Queen; 12 times for the entrance or exit of a distinguished person not a king; 10 times in the public welcome of a Queen or great general; 7 times it marks the end of a scene; 6 times heralds a victorious force; twice announces the proclamation of a King; twice signalises the entrance or exit of Senate or Tribunes; and twice gives warning of the approach of Play-actors [See Section VI., at end], or the commencement of a Play. [Players in Hamlet, and Pyramus and Thisbe in _Mids. Nt._].

Some solitary uses are where Rich. III. orders a Flourish to drown the reproaches of Qu. Eliz. and the d.u.c.h.ess of York; the occasion of the betrothal of H. V. and Katherine of France; and the public welcome of the three Ladies in Coriola.n.u.s. The last is _A Flourish with drums and trumpets_, which occurs several times. In Grove's Dictionary (under 'Fanfare') is given a seven bar Flourish which is believed to be of Charles II.'s time, and is still used at the opening of Parliament.

[Appendix.]

'Flourish' in the text is only found twice. In _Richard III._ IV, iv, 149, 'A flourish, trumpets!--strike alarum, drums!' we have a clear definition of the two terms mentioned; and in _Merchant_ III, ii, 49, 'even as the flourish when true subjects bow To a new-crowned monarch;' a reference to the princ.i.p.al use of the Flourish, which was to signify the presence of Royal persons.

_Trumpets_, _A trumpet sounds_, _Trumpet sounded within_, _Drums and trumpets_, _Flourish of Trumpets_ (6 times).

One or other of the above occurs some 51 times in twenty-two plays, either alone, or in connection with Sennet, discharge of cannon, etc.

On 18 of these occasions it announces the entrance or presence of a King or Royal personage; 13 times it figures as part of the proceedings in Duels; 10 times signifies the entrance or exit of princ.i.p.al persons, not royal, great generals, etc.; 3 times precedes a public procession, with Royal persons in it; twice it is connected with the advent of Royal Heralds; and once with the arrival of Players (_Shrew_, Prologue. See also Flourish).

Thus 'Trumpets' divides the honours with 'Flourish' as the mark of Royalty.

Examples of the use of the term in the text are numerous, and are found in most of the plays. They are not generally of very special interest.

_Music, Music plays, Music within._

This direction is found 41 times in twenty-two plays, half of which are comedies.

In 8 cases we have _Music_ during a speech or dream of one of the characters; 7 times as the symphony or the accompaniment to a Song; 7 times in Wedding processions or Pageants; 6 times for Dancing; and 5 times during a banquet.

To give a just idea of the amount of Stage Music considered necessary in or near Shakespeare's time, there must be added to the above, all the stage directions in other terms--_e.g._, _Hautboys_, which is found about 14 times.

Here are a few relics of Stage Music before Shakespeare's day.

The playing of the minstrels is frequently mentioned in the old Miracle Plays, and the instruments used were the horn, pipe, tabret, and flute. In the Prologue to the Miracle Play, Childermas Day, 1512, the minstrels are requested to 'do their diligence,' and at the end of the Play to 'geve us a daunce.'

In Richard Edwards's _Damon and Pithias_ [Transcriber's Note: 'Pithias' is correct for the t.i.tle of this play], acted in 1565, there is a stage direction. "Here Pythias sings and the regalles play." Also, when Pythias is carried to prison, "the regalls play a mourning song." Thus the Regal, a tiny organ that could be easily carried about, was considered a proper instrument for the stage. In the old Comedy, Gammer Gurton's Needle, 1566, mention is made by one of the characters of the music between the acts--

"Into the town will I, my friendes to visit there, And hither straight again to see the end of this gere; _In the meantime, fellowes, pype up your fidles_: I say take them, And let your friends hear such mirth as ye can make them."

In Gascoyne's _Jocasta_, 1566, each act is preceded by a dumb show, accompanied by "viols, cythren, bandores, flutes, cornets, trumpets, drums, fifes, and still-pipes." In Anthony Munday's comedy _The Two Italian Gentlemen_ (about 1584), the different kinds of music to be played after each act are mentioned--_e.g._, 'a pleasant galliard,' 'a solemn dump,' or 'a pleasant Allemayne.' A little later, Marston, in his _Sophonisba_, 1606, goes into considerable detail as to the music between the Acts; after Act I., 'the cornets and organs playing loud full music'; after Act II., 'organs mixed with recorders'; after Act III., 'organs, viols, and voices'; after Act IV., 'a base lute and a treble viol'; and in the course of Act V., 'infernall music plays softly.' Fiddles, flutes, and hautboys are mentioned by other dramatists as instruments in use at the theatre at this time.

Rimbault's Introduction to Purcell's opera 'Bonduca' gives the names of twenty-six Masques and Plays produced between 1586 and 1642 (when the theatres were closed), all of which contained important music.

Amongst them are Jane Sh.o.r.e, by Henry Lacy, 1586, with music by William Byrd; seven masques by Ben Jonson, dating 1600-1621, four of which had music by Ferrabosco; a masque by Beaumont (1612) with music by Coperario; a play Valentinian, by Beaumont and Fletcher (1617) set by Robt. Johnson; The Triumphs of Peace by s.h.i.+rley (1633), with music by William Lawes and Simon Ives; several other masques, set by Henry Lawes, who did the music to Milton's _Comus_ (1634), etc. The list also includes Shakespeare's _Tempest_, with Robt. Johnson's music, two numbers of which, viz., 'Full fathom five,' and 'Where the bee sucks,'

are printed in Bridge's Shakespeare's Songs, with date 1612.

_Retreat_, or _A Retreat sounded_, generally with Alarum, or Excursions, or with both.

_Retreat_ by itself occurs only three times, but in company with Alarums and [or] Excursions may be found in 16 other places. The whole 19 cases occur in eleven plays.

The word explains itself. The actual notes of a Retreat of Shakespeare's time are not known.

In the text it has the same meaning.

_H. 6. A._ II, ii, 3. 'Here sound retreat, and cease our hot pursuit.'

_H. 6. B._ IV, viii, 4. 'Dare any be so bold to sound retreat or parley, when I command them kill'?

_H. 4. A._ V, iv, 159. 'The trumpet sounds retreat; the day is ours.'

_H. 5._ III, ii, 89. _Macmorris_, 'the work ish give over, the trumpet sound the retreat.'

_March, Dead March._