A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Lesson
LESSON, or LEÇON, a name which was used from the beginning of the 17th century to the close of the 18th, to denote pieces for the harpsichord and other keyed instruments. It was applied to the separate pieces which in their collected form made up a Suite. The origin of the name seems to be that these pieces served an educational purpose, illustrating different styles of playing, and being often arranged in order of difficulty. This is borne out by the faet that Domenico Scarlatti's '42 Lessons for the Harpsichord, edited by Mr. Roseingrave' are in the original edition called 'Essercizi—xxx. Sonatas per Gravicembalo,' though they have little of the educational element in them, and by the following extract from Sir John Hawkins's History of Music (chap. 148; he uses the word 'lessons' for 'suites of lessons'): 'In lessons for the harpsichord and virginal the airs were made to follow in a certain order, that is to say, the slowest or most grave first, and the rest in succession, according as they deviated from that character, by which rule the Jig generally stood last. In general the Galliard followed the Pavan, the first being a grave, the other a sprightly air; but this rule was not without exception. In a manuscript collection of lessons composed by Bird, formerly belonging to a lady Neville, who it is supposed was a scholar of his, is a lesson of a very extraordinary kind, as it seems intended to give the history of a military engagement. The following are the names of the several airs in order as they occur: 'The Marche before the battell, The Souldiers Sommons, The Marche of foote-men, The Marche of horse-men: Now folowethe the Trumpets, the Bagpipe and the Drone, the Flute and the Drome, the Marche to the Fighte, Here the battells be joyned, The Retreate, Now folowethe a Galliarde for the victory." There is also in the same collection a lesson called the Carman's Whistle.' Rameau's Lessons for the Harpsichord, op. 2 and 3, are not arranged in order of difficulty, but are connected by the relation of their keys. In the case of Handel's 3 Leçons, the first consists of a Prelude and air with variations in B♭, the second of a Minuet in G minor, and the third of a Chaconne in G major; so they may be presumed to be intended for consecutive performance. The 'Suites de Pièces pour le Clavecin,' in 2 Books, were called 'Lessons' in the first edition, but in the later editions this name was discarded for that which they now bear.
An analogous word to this is 'Etude,' which from originally meaning a special form of exercise, has in many cases come to be applied to pieces in which the educational purpose is completely lost sight of. [See Études.] Although in general the name was applied to pieces for the harpsichord alone, yet it was sometimes used for concerted chamber music, as in the 'Firste Booke of consort lessons, made by divers exquisite authors, for six Instruments to play together, viz. the Treble Lute, the Pandora, the Citterne, the Base Violl, the Flute and the Treble-Violl, collected by Thomas Morley, and now newly corrected and enlarged' (London 1611), and in Mathias Vento's 'Lessons for the Harpsichord with accompaniment of Flute and Violin.'