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Darwin Correspondence Project

To ?   13 August 1878

Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | (Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.) [Abinger Hall, Surrey.]

Aug. 13th 1878

Dear Sir

The subject which you have taken up seems to me an extremely interesting, but I fear difficult one.— I am sorry to say that I can give you no aid whatever, for my ear is singularly deficient in any power of distinguishing musical sounds; so much so that it is a mystery to me how I can take any pleasure in Music.— I presume that you have of course studied Helmholtz’s works.—1 I remember that the musical notation of the song of a Hesperomys or mouse was given in the American Naturalist, a few years ago.—2

Dear Sir | Yours faithfully | Ch. Darwin

Footnotes

1
The letter to which this is a reply has not been found. Hermann von Helmholtz had written on musical perception in Die Lehre von den Tonempfindungen als physiologische Grundlage für die Theorie der Musik (The science of sound perception as the physiological basis for a theory of music; Helmholtz 1863). CD had cited the French translation of this work (Helmholtz 1868) in Descent, Expression, and Descent 2d ed.
2
Hesperomys is a former genus of American mice roughly equivalent to the genus Calomys (vesper mice). An article, ‘A singing Hesperomys’, published in American Naturalist in December 1871, described the musical ability of Hesperomys cognatus (a synonym of Peromyscus gossypinus, cotton mouse) and included the musical notation for two of its common songs (Lockwood 1871, p. 764).

Bibliography

Descent 2d ed.: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2d edition. London: John Murray. 1874.

Descent: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1871.

Expression: The expression of the emotions in man and animals. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1872.

Helmholtz, Hermann von. 1863. Die Lehre von den Tonempfindungen als physiologische Grundlage für die Theorie der Musik. Brunswick: F. Vieweg und sohn.

Lockwood, Samuel. 1871. A singing Hesperomys. American Naturalist 5: 761–70.

Summary

Cannot help with correspondent’s study. CD has a poor ear for music. Recommends Helmholtz’s work.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-11655
From
Charles Robert Darwin
To
Unidentified
Sent from
Abinger Hall Down letterhead
Source of text
Houghton Library, Harvard University (Autograph File, D)
Physical description
ALS 2pp

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 11655,” accessed on 19 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-11655.xml

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Darwin Correspondence Project
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