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freshment. Double-Masques, one of Men, another of Ladies, addeth State and Variety. But All is Nothing, except the Roome be kept Cleare, and Neat.

"For Justs and Tourneys, and Barriers; The Glories of them, are chiefly in the Chariots, wherein the Challengers make their Entry; Especially if they be drawne with Strange Beasts; As Lions, Beares, Cammels, and the like; Or in the Devices of their Entrance; Or in the Bravery of their Liveries; Or in the Goodly Furniture of their Horses, and Armour. But enough of these Toyes."

CHAPTER II

Instruments Mentioned by Shakespeare
Viols - The Recorders - The Bagpipe.

"Consorts" - Fifes

THE preceding chapter has shown that, although England had not, as yet, the Italian development of orchestra,1 it possessed a fair knowledge of concerted music, and used combinations of instruments. These combinations were called "consorts." Shakespeare alludes to them in "Romeo and Juliet," when Tybalt and Mercutio meet (Act iii. Sc. 1).

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Tybalt. Mercutio, thou consort'st with Romeo.

Mercutio. Consort!2 what, dost thou make us minstrels ? an thou make minstrels of us, look to hear nothing but discords: here's my fiddlestick; here's that shall make you dance. Zounds, consort!

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One finds here the usual Shakespearian pun, and also a subtle reference to the low caste of the musician in this epoch (whereof more hereafter), for

1 "L'Anima e nel Corpo," the first oratorio (Rome, 1600), had a double lyre, a harpsichord, a large guitar, and two flutes, as orchestra. "Euridice," the oldest opera extant (1600), had a combination of harpsichord, large guitar, viol, large lute, flute, and a triple flute.

2❝ Consorts were often mentioned by Milton.

Mercutio is mightily indignant at the minstrel imputation or pretends to be.

At the outset we must accustom ourselves to the fact that Shakespeare makes but few attempts to picture the country in which his scene is laid. Musicians were not despised in Verona, where Romeo and Juliet reside, but the poet is picturing London instead, and he presents the contemporary English life, whether the scene be laid in Bohemia, Denmark, Italy, or elsewhere.

The "consorts" of Shakespeare's time were not only concerted music, but generally composed of such instruments as belonged to one family. If, for example, only viols were employed, the consort was called "whole," but if virginal, lute, or flute, came into the combination, the result was a "broken consort," or "broken music," which Shakespeare alludes to more than once, and which will be described in connection with Shakespeare's technical terms.

Viols were most employed in these "consorts," and were generally sold to music-lovers in "sets," so that a "chest of viols" usually consisted of six pieces two trebles, two tenor viols, and two basses. The violin was not among these, nor the contrabass. The golden epoch of violin-making began nearly fifty years after Shakespeare's death; Stradivarius, Amati, Guarnerius, the kings of violin-making, all came later, and in the first half of the seventeenth century

ARTIST PLAYING VIOL DA GAMBA.

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