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
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 20 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-11655.xml