[11]
By Hector Berlioz.
Do you hear, you pianists, guitarists, violinists, violoncellists,
contra-bassists, harpists, tuners, and you, too, conductors of
orchestras--without the aid of the ear! What a vast, incomparable, nay,
priceless discovery, especially for the rest of us wretched listeners to
pianos out of tune, to violins and 'cellos out of tune, to harps out of
tune, to whole orchestras out of tune! Delsarte's invention will now
make it your positive duty to cease torturing us, to cease making us
sweat with agony, to cease driving us to suicide.
Not only is the ear of no use in tuning instruments, but it is even
dangerous to consult it; it must by no possible chance be consulted.
What an advantage for those who have no ear! Hitherto, it has been just
the opposite, and we forgave you the torments that you inflicted on us.
But in future, if your instruments be out of tune, you will have no
excuse, and we shall hand you over to public vengeance. Without the aid
of the ear, mark you--aid so often useless and deceptive.
Delsarte's discovery holds good only for stringed instruments, but this
is much; this is an enormous gain. Hence, it follows that in orchestras
directed and tuned without the aid of the ear, there will be no more
discords, save between the flutes, hautboys, clarionets, bassoons,
horns, cornets, trumpets, trombones, kettle-drums and bass drums. The
triangle might, at a pinch, be tuned by the new method; but it is
generally acknowledged that this is not necessary, just as with bells, a
discord between the triangle and the other instruments is a good thing;
it is popular in all lyric theatres.
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