Page:A Dictionary of Music and Musicians vol 3.djvu/548

Besides the above, a more complicated kind of slide is mentioned by Emanuel Bach and others, called the dotted slide, in which the first grace-note received the addition of a dot. Its execution however varies so considerably—as is proved by the two examples by Emanuel Bach, selected from a variety of others (Ex. 10)—that the sign has never met with general acceptance, although the ornament itself, written out in notes of ordinary size, is of constant occurrence in the works of the great masters (Ex. 11).

Beethoven, 'Sonata Pathétique.'

[ F. T. ]

SLIDE (Fr. Coulisse; Ger. Zugstange, Stimstück; It. a tirarsi). A contrivance applied at a very early date to instruments of the trumpet and trombone family, for lengthening and shortening the sounding tube, and thus filling the gaps between the fundamental note and its successive harmonics. Two slide-trombones, essentially identical with the modern pattern, are to be seen, one in the Museo Borbonico at Naples, the other in the Queen's collection at Windsor. Both were found at Pompeii. [Trombone.] In the trombone the mouthpiece, upper joints, and bell of the instrument are held to the mouth of the player by means of the left, while the slide is held and adjusted by means of the right hand and arm. In the G bass trombone, the length of a man's arm not being sufficient to reach the lower slide positions, a jointed handle is fixed to the cross-bar of the slide by way of prolongation. In the trumpet, the extent of travel of the slide being far less, and that instrument being held in the right hand, the slide is placed between the bell and the upper part of the tube, and drawn to its closed position by a spiral spring, or an elastic ligature of caoutchouc. It is drawn out to the required length by the fore and middle fingers, acting in opposition to the thumb.

A double slide-action on the principle of the trombone has been very ingeniously applied to the French Horn by Mr. Ford. It is actuated by a key somewhat resembling the usual rotatory valve apparatus. It is patented, and a model has been deposited in the Museum of Patents at South Kensington. It of course has the inestimable advantage which causes the slide trumpet and trombone to excel all other wind instruments in accuracy of intonation—that namely of producing the notes by ear and not by an unalterable mechanism; but it has never been adopted by musicians.

[ W. H. S. ]

SLOPER, E. H. Lindsay, born in London June 14, 1826, was taught the pianoforte by Moscheles for some years. In 1840 he went to Frankfort and continued his studies under Aloys Schmitt. He next proceeded to Heidelberg, and studied harmony and counterpoint under Carl Vollweiler. In 1841 he went to Paris and pursued the study of composition under Boisselot. He remained there for five years and gained great reputation, both as composer and performer. He returned to London in 1846 and made a successful appearance at a matinée of the Musical Union. He has since devoted himself principally to teaching, but appears occasionally at public concerts. His compositions are chiefly for the pianoforte, but he has also produced some songs and other vocal music, which have had a favourable reception. [App. p.794 "add date of death, June 3, 1887."]

[ W. H. H. ]

SLOW MOVEMENT, (1) A generic term for all pieces in slow time, whether separate, or forming part of a larger work. (2) A name specially applied to such pieces in slow time when they occur in a sonata (or work in sonata-form). When the sonata contains three or more movements, the slow movement may be the second, third, or fourth in the sonata, provided that there is a 'first movement' at the beginning and a finale at the close. In sonatas of only two movements, the slow movement may be either the first, as in Beethoven's Pianoforte Sonata Op. 49, No. 1, or the second, as in his Sonata Op. 90. The right of any movement to this title must depend rather on its character than its time indication, for many movements marked Allegretto are strictly slow movements. [See Sonata.]

[ J. A. F. M. ]

SLUR. This word, taken in its original and widest sense, signifies an effect of phrasing which is more commonly expressed by the Italian term legato, i.e. connected. The sign of the slur is a curved line (Ger. Schleifbogen; Fr. Liaison) drawn over or under a group of notes, and the notes included within its limits are said to be slurred, and are performed with smoothness, if on a stringed instrument, by a single stroke of the bow, or in singing, on a single syllable. [See Legato, vol. ii. p. 112.] But although this was originally the meaning of the word, it is now used in a more restricted sense, to denote a special phrasing effect, in which the last of the notes comprised within the curved line is shortened, and a considerable stress laid on the first. This effect has already been fully described in the article Phrasing [vol. ii. p. 707.] In vocal music the slur is employed to indicate the use of