descant —
“Too harsh a,”
THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA, i. 2.
94
;
“on that ground I'll build a holy descant”
RICHARD III., iii. 7. 49.
(used metaphorically)
“The name of Descant is vsurped [that is, used] of the musitions in diuers significations:
sometime they take it for the whole harmony of many voyces; others sometime, for one of
the voyces or partes; and that is, when the whole song is not passing three voyces. Last
of all, they take it for singing a part extempore vpon a playnesong, in which sence we
commonly vse it: so that when a man talketh of a Descanter, it must be vnderstood of one
that can extempore sing a part vpon a playne song.”
Morley's Plaine and Easie
Introdvction to Practicall Mvsicke, etc., 1597, folio, p. 70.
“Descant signified
formerly what we now denominate variations”
(MALONE)
.
A General Glossary to Shakespeare's Works. Alexander Dyce. Boston. Dana Estes and Company. 1904.
This text was converted to electronic form by professional data entry and has been proofread to a high level of accuracy.
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