The Essay by Sören Kierkegaard the Dane (1813-55) on music is, to my mind, a notable piece of work. Mr. Turner shows irritation at it, but he clearly has not understood it. Kierkegaard writes in Danish, which few read; he is translated badly into German; and far from excellently, as regards this Essay, into American; and his philosophy is cast in the Hegelian mode, one of the most difficult in the world. He is fluent, even prolix; and musical interpretation, as Professor Dent says, is a dangerous amusement to a fluent pen. Yet Kierkegaard avoids all pitfalls, and if we approach him sympathetically he can teach us much. He is seeking in Either/Or, to portray the æsthetic life so he impersonates an “æsthete” (the pseudonym “A”) and purposely makes him extravagantly exuberant. We must allow for this, or we may be put off.

Perhaps the musical condition of man does not appear to be a matter of immense importance in these distracted days when material conditions have become such a gigantic problem. Yet what a wonderful answer the musical condition—the condition which is music—would, be to the prevailing distresses: it is the condition of peace and harmony, of benevolence and co-operation, of construction and preservation—the very condition which our wounded and hunted world is needing.

The reflections in this paper were prompted by a chapter in Roger Fry's book, Transformations. Fry was interested in what he called the “mixture of distinct and separate arts.” He was, of course, primarily concerned with painting, but he used song and opera to illustrate his theory, which was, in his own words, as follows:—

At first sight it may seem perverse to exclude Mozart's two-piano music from a paper concerned with his piano duets. But there is a fundamental difference between duets and two-piano music; and I would prefer to stress this difference rather than to ignore it.

The year 1898 can be reckoned among the crucial ones in the field of musicology. For in that year a work was published which can be considered as one of the main starting-points for the study of music during the Dufay period; that is to say, the first half of the 15th century. This work is the monumental edition of fifty compositions from the Codex Canonici 213, edited by Sir John Stainer, with the co-operation of his son and daughter and of E. W. B. Nicholson.

The early form from which the organ developed was doubtless that of the Pan Pipes or Syrinx found in ancient civilisations (e.g. Chaldea, Greece) and mentioned in Homer's Iliad.

Virgil, 1st century B.C., mentions seven reeds of different lengths joined together by wax. There has been much argument as to whether these gave the Pentatonic or Diatonic scale.

Musicians and acousticians have long been interested in that property, variously called timbre, tone-colour or quality, which characterises the sounds of different wind instruments. The musician's concern lies in the utilisation of these differences of tonal quality for their artistic effect. The acoustician's purpose is, however, to establish the physical principles upon which such differences depend, and this he has accomplished by two methods, mathematical theory and experimental investigation. When I was invited to address this Association it was suggested that I might discuss in a non-technical way some of the more recent work on the tonal analysis of wind instruments, and I have, therefore, chosen this as my topic. As qualifications for the task I may claim a life-long interest in the physics of wind instruments and a certain amateur competence as a player.

Everybody here will remember something about Drake, and his drum, and the way he took Nombre de Dios, that town in Panama. It was on July 31st, 1572. In 1626—forty-four years later—the first account of it was published in a pamphlet called ‘Sir Francis Drake Reviv'd.’ Philip Nichols, preacher, wrote it; the editor was Drake's own nephew, who says that his uncle—our Francis Drake—read it while he was still alive, and made notes ‘with his own hand’ that have been ‘here and there inserted.’ So the facts will be right, and the tale is vivid enough. I should like to read you one passage.