Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

THE

COLUMBIAN CYCLOPEDIA.

CHOP, n. chop [old Dut. koppen, to cut off: Dut. and Ger. kappen, to cut or bew, to chop: Scot. chap, to strike; choppe, a blow]: a piece cut or struck off; a piece of meat: V. to cut off or separate by the blow, or repeated blows, of a sharp instrument; to cut into small pieces; to mince. CHOP PING, imp. CHOPPED, pp. chopt. CHOPPER, n. an instrument for chopping; one who. CHOP-HOUSE, a dininghouse. CHOPS, n. plu. small slices of meat chopped or cut from the loin or joint of mutton. TO CHOP LOGIC, in slang, to wrangle as if with logical terms while mangling them; to talk glibly; to bandy words.

CHOP, n. chop: in China, a permit or stamp; quality of goods; quantity. CHOPSTICK, n. a Chinese instrument for feeding.

CHOP, v. chop [Dut. koopen, to buy: Icel. kaup; Scot. coup, to buy and sell, to exchange (see CHAP 3)]: to barter; to exchange. CHOP PING, imp. CHOPPED, pp. chopt. CHOP AND CHANGE, in OE., to put one thing in place of another; to exchange. THE WIND CHOPS, the wind changes or veers. TO CHOP, or CHAP HANDS, in Scot., to strike hands to keep them warm; also as in token of the conclusion of a bargain.

CHOP, n. chop, CHOPS, n. plu. [AS. ceaplas, the chaps or jaws: Wall. chiffe, the check; chofe, smack on the chops: Gael. gab; Ir. gob, the beak, the mouth (see CHAP 2)]: the sides of the mouth of a river or of a channel; the chap or jaw. CHOP-FALLEN, a. cast down in spirits; dejected. CHOPS, n. plu. the jaws.

CHOPIN, n. chop'in, Scotch, CHAPPIN [F. chopine, a chopin-from chope, a beer-glass: Ger. schoppen, a liquid measure]: in Scot., liquid measure equivalent to the English quart.

CHOPIN, sho-ping, FRÉDÉRIC: Polish pianist and musical composer: 1810-1849, Oct. 17; b. Zelazowa-wola, near Warsaw. He studied music at Warsaw under Prof. Joseph Elsner. An exile after the revolution of 1830, he took up his residence in Paris, where he lived admired

:

CHOPINE-CHORAGUS.

botn pressionally and in society. His health, always ueiicate, broke down in 1837, and he went for a time to Majorca, whence he returned, benefited by the change. After again suffering much from illness and depression of spirits, he visited England and Scotland 1848, and in London was welcomed with enthusiasm in public and private. He never recovered from the fatigues of this journey, but died in Paris, and was buried, by his desire, beside Bellini in the cemetery of Père-la-Chaise. His compositions, restricted to pianoforte music, are in high esteem among musicians, and are chiefly preludes, notturnos, polonaises, mazurkas, and valses, with a few concertos and sonatas. They are pervaded by a sensitive, restless, and highly poetic fancy, and abound in subtle ideas, graceful and original harmonic effects, and rich ornamentation. The so-called polonaises, mazurkas, and valses are not dance music, but dreamy compositions suggestive of the rhythm and character of these dances, in which the peculiarities of Polish national music are blended with French elegance and taste.

CHOPINE, or CHOPPINE, n. chip-ên' [Sp. chapin, a clog with a cork sole]: high clog, or slipper, deriving its name, as is supposed, from the sound chap, chop, made by the wearers in walking. Chopines were of eastern origin, but were introduced into England from Venice during the reign of Elizabeth. They were worn by ladies under the shoes, and were usually made of wood covered with leather, often of various colors, and frequently painted and gilded. Some of them were as much as half a yard high; and in Venice, where they were universally worn, their height distinguished the quality of the Chopine. lady. The C. is mentioned by Shakespeare in Hamlet. The accompanying representation of a C. is copied from Douce's Illustrations of Shakespeare.

CHOPPIN, SAMUEL PAUL, M.D.: 1828, Sep. 20-1880, May 2; b. West Baton Rouge, La. He graduated at Jefferson College, Philadelphia, 1846, and studied medicine further in New Orleans and Paris. He became residen: surgeon of the Charity Hospital of New Orleans and demonstrator of anatomy in the Univ. of La. 1852; was one of the founders of the school of medicine in that city 1856, and of its Medical News and Hospital Gazette; was surgeon-in-chief on Gen. Beauregard's staff 1861; and in later years performed brilliant operations in plastic surgery and ovariotomy. As pres. of the La. board of health from its reorganization 1876, he sought vainly to enforce quaran tine regulations and prevent the entrance of yellow fever which he believed to be never indigenous. He died at New Orleans.

CHORAGUS, n. kō-rā'gés, CHORAGI, n. plu. kō-rā'ji [L. choragus; Gr. choregos, he who had the care of the chorus and supplied what was necessary for it-from Gr. choros,

CHORAGUS.

the chorus; ago, I lead]: among anc. Greeks, one who superintended a musical or theatrical entertainment and instructed the performers; one who paid the expenses of a chorus, or of such an exhibition, and entertained the performers: see CHORUS. CHORAGIC, a. kōr-ā'jik, belonging to, or in honor of. a choragus, as a choragic monument. The choragus who, on behalf of his tribe, had supported the chorus (q.v.), and who, in competition with the other

KNASD

Choragic Monument of Lysicrates in Athens, restored.

tribes, had exhibited the best musical or theatrical performance, received a tripod for a prize; but he had the expense of consecrating it, and of building the monument on which it was placed. There was at Athens a whole street formed by these monuments, called the 'Street of the Tripods. The figure represents the monument of Lysicrates, popularly known as the Lantern of Demosthenes.'

CHORAL-CHORD,

CHORAL, n. kōrál, or CHORALE, n. kōr-ál'ě, СнORALES, n. plu. kōr ál'éz [1t. corále, belonging to the choirfrom coro, the choir; F. chaur, the choir]: melody to which sacred hymns or psalms are sung in public worship by the whole congregation in public unison. The melody of the C. moves in notes of a slow and strictly measured progression, and of a solemn and dignified character that disposes the mind to devotion. Although the term C. is now limited to the music of the Protestant Church, it belongs to the Christian Church at all times, as melodies still in use can be traced with certainty to have been sung by the congregations in the first centuries of Christianity. Among these is the Te Deum (q.v) ascribed to St. Ambrose, still retained in the Lutheran Church, to the words, Herr Gott, dich loben wir; and in the Anglican Church (and of late years heard in other churches) to the words, We praise thee, O God.' The C. is intimately connected with the history of music. It is what the psalmtune is, or rather what it properly is and formerly was. The pure, simple C. has, in a great degree, been cast aside in the British Isles, and in the United States, and its place occupied by tunes of a comparatively puerile style, which are frequently only adaptations of operatic songs and other profane pieces. In recent years, the choral style is again becoming more usual. CHORAL, a. körül, of or belonging to the choir: see under CHOIR. CHORAL MUSIC, the ancient music of the church; music in parts for different voices: see SACRED MUSIC. CHORAL SERVICE, the musical service of the English Church, celebrated by a full complement of clergymen and choristers in a cathedral church, and when all those parts of the service are sung as ordered in the rubrics.

[ocr errors]

CHORD, n. kawrd [L. chorda; Gr. chorde, an intestine of which strings are made]: the string of a musical instrument; notes in harmony; a straight line joining the two ends of the arc of a circle: V. to string a musical instrument. CHORD'ING, imp. CHORD ED, pp. strung.

CHORD (chord of an arc of a curve): straight line joining the two extremities of the arc. A SCALE OF CHORDS is used in laying off angles. It is thus constructed: Let AB be the radius of the circle to which the scale is to be

220

F

adapted. With centre A and radius AB describe a quadrant BEC. Divide the quadrantal arc BEC into nine equal parts BD, DE, etc. This may be done by taking a radius equal to AB, and from the centres B and C cutting the are in G and F. As the radius is always Dequal to the chord of 60° or of a

E

quadrant, the arc CB is thus divided B into three equal parts, BF, FG, GC, and each of these parts may then be trisected by trial, as no direct method is known. Draw the chord of the quadrant BC; from B as a centre, and the chord of BD as a radius, describe an arc cutting BC at 10. with the chord of BE as

CHORD.

a radius, describe an arc cutting BC in 20; with the chord of BF, describe an arc cutting BC in 30; and in a similar manner, find the divisions 40, 50, 60, 70, 80. Then the arcs BD, BE, BF, being arcs of 10°, 20°, 30°, etc., respectively, the distances from B to 10, 20, 30, etc., are the chords of arcs of 10°, 20°, 30°, etc.; so that BC is a scale of chords for every 10°, from 0° to 90°. To lay down or measure angles with such a scale, the arc of measurement must be described with the chord of 60°.

CHORD, in Music: simultaneous and harmonious union or different sounds, at first intuitively recognized by the ear, and afterward reduced to a science by the invention of the laws or rules of harmony: see HARMONY. Chords may consist of from two to five parts. Absolute chords of two parts are produced only by thirds or sevenths. Chords of more than two parts are either fundamental chords or inversions of them, and are divided into concords and discords. The union of sounds in all chords will be found, on analysing their component parts, to be an admixture of major and minor thirds. The common chord, or Trias harmonica perfecta, is the basis of all harmony, and consists of a base note, or prime, with its third and fifth

above, thus:

These three sounds are at the

distance of a third from each other. When the lowest third is the greater third, as above, the C. is a major cord; but

when the lowest third is the lesser, thus:

the

C. is called a minor chord. A chord of two minor thirds combined is called diminished, as the interval from the lowest note to the highest is less than a perfect fifth,

thus:

The common C. admits of two inver

sions, according as one or other of its notes is made the base, or lowest note of the C., thus:

Fundamental Chord. 1st inversion. 2d inversion.

By adding another third above the common C., a C. of four parts is produced, which is called the chord of the seventh, because the highest note is a seventh above the bass. When the C. of the seventh is produced on the fifth of the scale, it is then called the dominant seventh, which is the most perfect species of the C. It then consists of a major third, perfect fifth, and seventh, the minor, which is the next harmonic produced by nature above the fifth.

« ZurückWeiter »