Archive | A

a technical expression for decision a n d spir it in beginning a phrase or passage. An orchestra or performer is said to be ' w a n t ing in a t ta c k ' when there is no firmness and precision in the i r style of ta k in g up the points of the music. This applies especially to quick tempo. I t is equivalent to the coup d'archet, once so much exaggerated in the P a r is orchest ra s , and of which Mozart makes such game (Letter , Ju n e 12, 1778). The chef d'attaque in F rance is a name for the leader of the first violins, or wh a t we in E ngland call the leader of the orchestra. (See L e a d e r .)

Such of the ecclesiastical modes are called authentic as have the ir sounds comprised within an octave from the final. (See Mo d e s , E c c l e s ia s t ic a l .)

(b. Par is, Feb. 14, 1874 ; d. Dieppe, Aug. 31, 1910), a distinguished musical paleographer in the domain of mediaeval music, orientalist, an d lecturer on musical history a t the ficole des Hau te s iStudes Sociales a t Paris. He wrote H u it Chants heroiques de Vancienne France (1896), Melanges de musicologie critique, Essais de musicologie comparee, an d many more im p o r ta n t works. Many mediaeval systems of melody n o ta t io n were first made known by Aubry. (See T r o u v #;r e . )

(b. Bologna), published between 1557 an d 1569 3 books of ' Villote del fiore ' a 4 v., co n ta in ing madrigals, bergamascas, etc., by various authors (Eitner).

(early 16th cent.), a n English composer, whose work, both sacred an d secular, has to a cer tain ex te n t been preserved. He has been identified by Davey (Hist. Eng. Mus.) with a certain Hugh Aston ' who was born in Lancashire, gradua ted M.A. a t Cambridge in 1505, was incorporated a t Oxford in 1507, became Comptroller to Lady Margaret, Countes s of Richmond, an d finally Archdeacon of York.' This Aston died in 1522, an d his monument is still to beseen a t St. J o h n 's College, Cambridge (see D .X .B .) . The theory is somewhat strengthened by the fa c t th a t a ' Te Matrem ' of As ton's composition is in the l ib ra ry of St. J o h n 's College (see below), b u t the i r actual id en tity c an n o t be considered as in an y way established. (For a fu r the r discussion of this,see an article by Dr. Gra t tan Flood, Mus. T., Feb. 1920, where Dav ey 's assumption is discredited, and the details of As ton's life are given as fo llow s : 6. 1480, M.A. (Oxford), 1505, Canon of St. S tep h en 's, Westminster, 1509, d. 1522.) His position in English music is one of considerable im p o r t ance, for he has been claimed as the inventor of ins trumental (as opposed to purely ' vocal ') composition. There is a Hornpipe for V irginals by him (b.M. Royal MSS. App. 58), which is quite unique as an example of the keyboard technique of the time. I t is chiefly in long scale passages, and is an early anticipation of the virginal style la te r affected by Jo h n Bull. This, together with two anonymous pieces which also ap p e a r in Roy. App. 58, ' Lady Carey's Dompe ' an d ' The sh o r t measure of my Lady Wynkfylds ro u n d ,' was reprinted by J . Stafford Smith in his ' Musica an t iq u a ' (1812). I f (as Davey assumes) the ' Dompe ' can also be tak en as As ton's work, he will s tan d as the inventor of the variation form, which was n o t finally established in England until possibly a h undred years la te r-(by Byrd in such virginal pieces as ' Jh o n come kisse me now ' an d ' The Ca rman's Whistle '). T h a t As ton was a man of fair rep u ta tio n in his time is shown by the fa c t th a t ' Hugh As ton's Grownde ' was used by la te r composers a s a theme for var iations (notably b y Byrd in a composition in Lady Neville's Virginal Book). In some p a r tb o o k s in the libra ry a t Christ Church College, Oxford, there is also a long piece for four instruments, which appears u nde r the title of ' Hugh As ton's Maske.' This is ap p a ren t ly based upon the same ground, an d wouldseem to be a r ranged by W h it b r o k e (q.v.), as this name is to be found a t the end of the medius par t. Besides these, there also exis t in MS. the following sacred compositions b y As ton : MASSES Videte manus tu a s (a 6). Bodl. Mus. Sch. Te Deum (a 5). Bodl. Mus. Sch., PH. (incomp.). MOTETS Ave Maria ancilla. PH. (incomp.). Ave Diva* m atr is Annae. PH. Ave Doiniue. Harl. 7578/80 b (Treble p a r t only). Gaude Mater. Bodl. Mus. MSS. Gaude virgo m a te r Chr is ti. PH. (incomp.). O Baptista. PH. (incomp.). Te m atrem. St. J . (Tenor p a r t only). j^jK^ seen a t St. J o h n 's College, Cambridge (see D .X .B .) . The theory is somewhat strengthened by the fa c t th a t a ' Te Matrem ' of As ton's composition is in the l ib ra ry of St. J o h n 's College (see below), b u t the i r actual id en tity c an n o t be considered as in an y way established. (For a fu r the r discussion of this,see an article by Dr. Gra t tan Flood, Mus. T., Feb. 1920, where Dav ey 's assumption is discredited, and the details of As ton's life are given as fo llow s : 6. 1480, M.A. (Oxford), 1505, Canon of St. S tep h en 's, Westminster, 1509, d. 1522.) His position in English music is one of considerable im p o r t ance, for he has been claimed as the inventor of ins trumental (as opposed to purely ' vocal ') composition. There is a Hornpipe for V irginals by him (b.M. Royal MSS. App. 58), which is quite unique as an example of the keyboard technique of the time. I t is chiefly in long scale passages, and is an early anticipation of the virginal style la te r affected by Jo h n Bull. This, together with two anonymous pieces which also ap p e a r in Roy. App. 58, ' Lady Carey's Dompe ' an d ' The sh o r t measure of my Lady Wynkfylds ro u n d ,' was reprinted by J . Stafford Smith in his ' Musica an t iq u a ' (1812). I f (as Davey assumes) the ' Dompe ' can also be tak en as As ton's work, he will s tan d as the inventor of the variation form, which was n o t finally established in England until possibly a h undred years la te r-(by Byrd in such virginal pieces as ' Jh o n come kisse me now ' an d ' The Ca rman's Whistle '). T h a t As ton was a man of fair rep u ta tio n in his time is shown by the fa c t th a t ' Hugh As ton's Grownde ' was used by la te r composers a s a theme for var iations (notably b y Byrd in a composition in Lady Neville's Virginal Book). In some p a r tb o o k s in the libra ry a t Christ Church College, Oxford, there is also a long piece for four instruments, which appears u nde r the title of ' Hugh As ton's Maske.' This is ap p a ren t ly based upon the same ground, an d wouldseem to be a r ranged by W h it b r o k e (q.v.), as this name is to be found a t the end of the medius par t. Besides these, there also exis t in MS. the following sacred compositions b y As ton : MASSES Videte manus tu a s (a 6). Bodl. Mus. Sch. Te Deum (a 5). Bodl. Mus. Sch., PH. (incomp.). MOTETS Ave Maria ancilla. PH. (incomp.). Ave Diva* m atr is Annae. PH. Ave Doiniue. Harl. 7578/80 b (Treble p a r t only). Gaude Mater. Bodl. Mus. MSS. Gaude virgo m a te r Chr is ti. PH. (incomp.). O Baptista. PH. (incomp.). Te m atrem. St. J . (Tenor p a r t only). j^jK^

(b. Felanitx, Mallorca, 1797 ; d. there, 1867), a Dominican monk of precocious musical talent, who had already been an organist when, as a youth, he entered the order. On the dissolution of the Spanish monasteries in 1823, he wandered over Spain, playing the organ for a time a t the Church of Our Lady of Atocha a t Madrid. He returned to Mallorca ; b u t being expelled once more in 1835, abandoned his Orders and became an organist a t Gibraltar. The climate, however, drove him back to the Balearic Isles, where he spent the re s t of his life in farming, varied by the p ractice of music. His works are severe in style and f rankly monastic in feeling ; a ' Misa de Coro,' with organ accompaniment, was published recently b y Noguera. His two operas have never been performed. J. B. T.

a music printer of Paris in the 2nd quarter o f the 16th century, ' demourant en la rue de la Harpe d e v a n t le bout de la rue Mathurins pres de l 'eglise de Sain ct Cosme.' He hired the print ing material of J ean de la Roche. He married one of the daughters of the printer, Philippe Pigonche t , and succeeded his father-in-law. He is said to have been the first in Paris to print music from movable types , using the newly devis ed typ e of Pierre Haut in, in which fragments of the s ta v e were for the first time combined with the note. His first printed book was a Breviarium Noviomense (1525). In an Av ignon catalogue of 1778 a * Chansons nouvelles de musique a quatre parties ' of 1527 is cited as a publication of At ta ingnant , but the earliest dated book now e x ta n t bearing his imprint is ' Trente e t quatre chansons musicales a quatre parties,' of which there is a copy in the Nat ion al Library a t Paris, d ated Jan. 23, 1528, from which year h e began his musical series. A list of A t ta in g n a n t 's publications is given in Q.-L. They are very numerous an d include, besides detached collections of songs, motets an d masses, An Introduction to the Lute, (1529), 18 basse- dances in tab la tu re for the lute (1529), 9 basse - dances, 2 branles, 25 p a vans an d 15 galliards (1530), a splendid folio volume containing 7 books of masses (1532), 13 books of motets (1534-35) and 35 books of songs (1539-49) . This las t series contains no fewer th a n 927 songs in four p a r ts b y F rench a n d Flemish composers. There is a complete se t in the Munich Library, from which E itn e r has published 60 selected specimens. One of the earlier collections, ' T ren te e t une chansons musicales a q u a t re par ties ' (1529), has been rep r in ted by H en ry E x p e r t in the series entitled ' Les Maitres Musiciens de la R enaissance F ran^aise.' Of the collections pr inted (1 5 3 0 -3 1 ) , 4 books have been issued by E. Bernoulli as ' Chansons u n d Tanze ' (facsimile), Munich, 1914. Two books containing organ music appeared in one volume (1925), with a s tu d y in French by Mme. Y. Rihouet. All the leading composers of the Franco-Flemish period, Arcadelt, Certon, Clemens non p apa, Consilium, Courtois, Fevin, Gombert, Ja co t in , Jan n eq u in , Josquin, Le Jeune, Mouton, Richa for t, Sandrin, Sermisy, Willar t an d many others, are repre sented in A t ta in g n a n t 's collections, a t te s t in g the influence of th a t school on contemporary production. The la te s t d a te appear ing on his title-pages is Dec. 3, 1549, an d on the 20th of the following J a n u a ry Nicholas du Chemin issued the first of his series of ' Chansons a q u a tre p a r tie s .' There is, however, no cer tain evidence of A t ta in g n an t 's d e a th before 1553, in which ye a r his widow's name appears on the title-page of a collection of songs. B i b l .- G e o r g e s L e p r e u x , Oallia typographic a- Supp. No. 1 to Revue des Bibliothtques- Sir ie Parisienne, vol. i. p t. 1, pp. 67-G3, Paris, 1911; Y v o n n e R ih o u e t , Note Biblioqraphique sur Attaingnant, Revue de Musicologie, 1924, No. 10. j . F. R. s . ; a d d n s . M. L. p.

a musician of the 17th century, whose biography is uncertain. According to his contemporary Gantez (LE n tre tien des muses, 1643), he was born in P ic a r d y ; others (Magnin), linked him with the family Auxcousteaux of Beauvais, an assertion which comparatively recent research could n o t prove. He is also said to have come from St. Quentin (Gomart). There is, however, reason to connect him with the family Auxcous teaux of Amiens, as he is named pr ie s t of the diocese of Amiens on the registers of the Ste.-Chapelle. He was ' h aute-contre ' for 13 years in the chapel of Louis X I I I . , as appears from the preface of the French psalms of Godeau set to music by Auxcous teaux (1656, Pierre Le Petit), probably a t the beginning of his career, 1613-27. A t this la s t d a te , Fetis asserts he was singer a t the church of Noyon. In an y case, he occupied the p o s t of * m a itre de musique ' a t the ca thedra l of St. Quentin (preface of his L a tin Psalms, 1631), an d th a t of ' maitre des enfants ' (1633), probably in the place of J e a n de Burnonville, who went to the Ste.-Chapelle a t P ar is (Gomart, Notice hi storique de la cathedrale de St. Quentin). Auxcous teaux entered the Sainte-Chapelle, n o t as ' ma itre de musique,' b u t as clerk 'hautecontre,' J u n e 24, 1634. He became chaplainin- ordinary, 1637 ; then was temp o ra r ily in charge of the precentorship, May 7, 1639. On May 17, 1651, he was no longer in office, b u t he o bta in ed a canonry a t the church of St. Ja cques-de- l'Hopita l on leaving the Sainte- Chapelle. He died in 1656, the y e a r of the publication of the Psaumes de David . . . mis en vers frangais p a r A . Godeau (see preface). His works consist of sacred music, masses, ' M agnificat dans tous les to n s ,' Noels, cantiques spirituels, chansons, etc. (see Fetis ; Q.-L.). B i b l . - M i c h e l B r e n e t , Im Miuiciens de la S ainte-Chapelle du Palais (1910). M L P

(b . Lyons, Apr. 11, 1842 ; d. Tierceville, Aug. 17,1901), a composer of light opera, son of Marius Audran (1816-57), composer an d ten o r singer. E d u c a ted a t the ficole Niedermeyer, Paris, he obtained in 1859 the prize for composition. In 1861 he became organist of the church of St. Joseph, Marseilles. His compositions in clude a F uneral March on the d e a th of Meyerbeer, played a t the Grand Theatre , Marseilles ; a Mass produced in 1873 a t the above church, and la te r a t St. Eus ta che , Par is ; a motet, ' Adoro te , ' Par is (1882) ; ' Cour d 'Amour,' song in Provencal dialect, and other songs. He made his name, however, pr incipally as an ' opera bouffe ' composer, an d among such works some h ad very wide popular ity, especially ' L a M ascotte,' played 1700 times in Paris alone u p to 1897. The following is a summary of Audran's o p e r a s : ' L 'Ours e t le pacha,' Marseilles (1862), his first work, founded on Scribe's well-known vaudeville of th a t name ; * L a Chercheuae d'espr it,' Marseilles (1864), revived a t the Bouffes, 1882, a new s e t t in g of an opera of F av a r t (1741) ; ' Le (>rund Mogul,' Marseilles (1876), a t Galtd, Paris (Sept. 19) ; in English, a t the Comedy Theatre, London (Nov. 17, 1884); * Le? Nocea d'Olivette,' Bouffes (Nov. 13, 1879); in English a t the Strxnd as ' O liv e tte ' (Sept. 18, 1880); ' La Mascotte,' Bouffes (Dec. 29, 1880); in English (Sept. 19) a t Brighton and (Oct. 15, 1881) a t the Comedy The a t re ; 'Gillette de N.irbonne,' Bouffes (Nov. 11, 18821, plot founded on Boccaccio; and ' La Cigalo e t le fourmi,' Galtv (Oct. 30, 1886); in English, Lyric The a tre (Oct. 9, 1890) ; ' Miss H e ly e t t ' (1890); in English as ' Miss Decima.' Cr iterion (July 23, 1891); ' L'CEuf ro u g e ' (1890); ' L'Oncle C^lestin ' (1891); ' Article de P a r i s ' (1892); ' Sainte F r e y a ' (189*2); ' Madame Suzette ' (1893); ' Mon P r in c e ' (1893); ' L'Enlfivement de la Toledad ' (1894); 'La Dnchesse de F e ra r re ' (1895, not very successful); ' P h o t i s ' (Geneva, 1896); 'La Poup^?' (1896); in English a t Prince of Wales's The a tre (Feb. 24, 1897); oMonsieur Loh e n g r in ' (1896); ' Les Petites F em m e s ' (1897); ' Le Cu r t Vincent ' (1901) posthumous and unsuccessful. ^ ?

( la tte r half of 18th cent.), a learned I ta l ian theor is t from whose work, I I musico prattico, published in the form of a French tran s la tio n only (Paris, 1786) Cherubini quotes some interesting examples in his Course o f Counterpoint and Fugue. Azzop a rd i held the a p p o in tm en t of maes tro d i cappella i n Malta. w . s . R.