MOUNT OF OLIVES. The English name of Beethoven's oratorio, 'Christus am Oelberg.' It was first produced in this country on Feb. 25, 1814, by Sir George Smart, in the Lenten oratorios at Drury Lane; and the English version was probably made by Arnold, at that time manager of the King's Theatre and a prominent person in all theatrical matters. Another version was made by the late Thos. Oliphant, and a third, more recently, by Mr. Bartholomew. The strong feeling prevailing in England against the appearance of our Saviour as a personage in the oratorio, which led to the modifications in the versions already mentioned, led to one by Dr. Hudson of Dublin in 1842, in which the story was changed to that of David, and the title to Engedi. This however is now given up; and indeed in the latest version of the book, by the Rev. J. Troutbeck for the Leeds Festival, the Saviour reappears among the characters.
[ G. ]
MOUSQUETAIRES DE LA REINE, LES. An opera-comique in 3 acts; words by St. Georges, music by Halévy. Produced at the Opera Comique Feb. 3, 1846.
[ G. ]
MOUTHPIECE (Fr. Bec, Bocal, Embouchure; Ger. Mundstück). That portion of a wind-instrument which, as the name implies, is inserted into the player's mouth, or applied to his lips. Mouthpieces may be divided into those of the Flute and Flageolet, Cupped mouthpieces as in brass instruments, and Reed mouthpieces single or double.
The simplest of all forms is that adopted in the Nay or Egyptian flute, in which the stream of air is directed against the thinned edge of the tube itself. [See Flute.] This edge in the ordinary flute is modified into a lateral orifice, the instrument being held transversely. In the Flageolet, the column of air is directed by a channel against a transverse edge similar to that of a flue-pipe in the Organ. From the beakshaped termination thus given to the mouthpiece, the instrument derives its name of 'Flute à bec.'
Cupped mouthpieces are applied to the outer surface of the lips, not inserted between them. The lips thus stretched across the calibre of the cup form a kind of double reed, closely resembling the Vocal Chords of the Larynx. Each instrument of this class has a somewhat different form of cup, which is described under their respective headings. In the older examples, however, and in those used by uncivilised tribes, the cup consists of a simple hole, at the end of a cow's horn for instance, or in the side of an ivory tusk, communicating with the medullary cavity. The transition from this to the shaped cup can be well seen in the Swiss Alpenhorn, in which a small globular cavity, like the mouthpiece of the Trumpet, is rudely carved out of the wooden strips of which the long tube is built up. In more finished instruments of this class, the mouthpiece is turned out of Brass, Ivory, Aluminium, or Silver, with a rounded cushion-shaped edge for the accurate and painless pressure of the lips. Glass has also been used, and of late the cushion has been made of vulcanized India Rubber. The weight and elasticity of the material employed, like the shape of the cup, exert a certain influence over the pitch and quality of the notes produced.
The single-reed mouthpiece is used in the Clarinet and in the Saxophone. It is described at length under the former heading. It may be noted here that it can be applied, though rather ineffectually, to the Bassoon and its diminutives. The Dolcino or small bassoon, in the B♭ of the four-foot octave, was actually played in military bands by means of a single reed as late as the early years of the present century.
The double-reed, consisting of two parallel vibrators, constitutes the mouthpiece of the Oboe and Bassoon family. It is probably the oldest mode of producing sound in existence. Such reeds are found in the sepulchral chambers of Egypt, lying beside the pipes to which they have evidently been fitted. Mr. William Chappell has succeeded in replacing a similar sound-producer in facsimiles of the original pipes, and has obtained from them a scale fairly agreeing with that probably employed by the Egyptians, and borrowed from them by the Greeks. In the Bagpipe both the single and double reed have been employed since ancient times. These are described in detail in the article on that instrument.
[ W. H. S. ]
MOUTON, Jean, French composer, born about the year 1475[1] in the department of the [2]Somme, pupil of Josquin, teacher of Willaert, musician to Louis XII and Francis I of France, canon of [3]Therounne, and afterwards, like Josquin, canon of the collegiate church of S. Quentin, in which place he died and was buried in 1522, the following words being inscribed on his [4]tomb:—
Ce gist maistre Jean de Hollingue dit Mouton, en son vivant chantre du Roy, chanoine de Therouaune et de cet eglise, qui trepassa le penultieme jour d'Octobre mdxxii. Priez Dieu pour son âme.
When Petrucci began to print music, Mouton was in his prime, and the edition of 5 masses (à 4) in 1508 is an early example of a whole book devoted to one composer. This book, which [5]Glarean found 'in manibus omnium' is now scarce, and Fétis thinks the copy of the [6]2nd edition in the British Museum the only complete one. Burney carefully examined the 4th [7]mass, and scored several movements, discovering no variety of measure or subject, no
- ↑ Date proposed by Fétis. Mouton's first publication appeared in 1505.
- ↑ See 'Joannis Mouton Sameracensis … aliquot moduli'; Paris, Le Roy & Ballard, 1555 (Brit. Mus. A. 132)—an edition apparently unknown abroad, or the word 'Sameracensis' would not have escaped attention. Glarean merely calls Mouton 'Gallus.' Fétis thinks, from the inscription on the tomb, that Holling, a little town near Metz, may have been his birthplace. In that case 'Sameracensis' may refer simply to Mouton's residence at S. Quentin.
- ↑ Whence he removed, probably, when the English took the town in 1513.
- ↑ See 'Etudes St. Quentinoises' (S. Quentin 1851–62, etc.), tom. i. p. 302. Ch. Gomart, the author, took the inscription from a MS. of Quentin Delafons, but does not state where it is to be found. It is the only authority for the date of Mouton's death, and for his two church preferments.
- ↑ 'Δωδεκαχορδον' (Basilew 1548), p. 464.
- ↑ 'Missæ J. Mouton' (Fossombrone, Petrutlus, Aug. 11, 1515), containing 'Missa sine nomine,' 'Alleluia,' 'Alma Redemptoris,' another 'Sine nomine,' 'Regina mearum' (Brit. Mus. B. 15 [App. p.720 "K 1, d. 7."]).
- ↑ For Burney's examples from Mouton, and critical notes, see 'Musical Extracts' (vol. ii. pp. 104, 134, 137, 169) in Brit. Mus. (Add. MSS. 11,582). Most of the notes are incorporated in his History (vol. ii. p. 533).
