The Elizabethan stage relied greatly upon the aid of trumpets,
cornets, &c., for the "soundings" which announced the commencement of
the prologue, and for the "alarums" and "flourishes" which occurred in
the course of the representation. Malone was of opinion that the band
consisted of some eight or ten musicians stationed in "an upper
balcony over what is now called the stage-box." Collier, however,
shows that the musicians were often divided into two bands, and quotes
a stage direction in Marston's "Antonio's Revenge," 1602: "While the
measure is dancing, Andrugio's ghost is placed betwixt the music
houses." In a play of later date, Middleton's "Chaste Maid in
Cheapside," 1630, appears the direction: "While the company seem to
weep and mourn, there is a sad song in the music-room." Boxes were
then often called rooms, and one was evidently set apart for the use
of the musicians. In certain of Shakespeare's plays the musicians are
clearly required to quit their room for awhile, and appear upon the
stage among the _dramatis personae._
The practice of playing music between the acts is of long standing,
the frequent inappropriateness of these interludes having been
repeatedly commented on, however.
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