Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers \kou-ser-va-'twar-da-'zar-za- ma-'tya\ (French: “Conservatory of Arts and Trades”) Public institution of higher learning in Paris, dedicated to applied science and technology, that grants degrees primarily in engineering. It is also a laboratory that specializes in testing, measuring, and standardization. Its third component is a national museum of technology. It was founded by Jacques de Vau- canson in 1794, in the former priory of St.-Martin-des-Champs, to house his own and others’ inventions; his automated loom, found there after his death by J.-M. Jacquard, became the basis for Jacquard’s revolutionary design. It contains numerous elaborate automatons and other mechanical devices popular in the 18th century.
conservatory In architecture, a heavily glazed structure, frequently attached to and directly entered from a dwelling, in which plants are pro¬ tected and displayed. Unlike the greenhouse, an informal structure situ¬ ated in the working area of a garden, the conservatory became a popular 19th-century decorative architectural feature proclaiming the status of its owner. The most outstanding example is Joseph Paxton’s Crystal Palace.
conservatory In music, institution for education in musical perfor¬ mance and composition. The term and institution derives from the Italian conservatorio, which in the Renaissance period and earlier denoted an orphanage often attached to a hospital. The children there were given musical training; the term gradually came to apply to music schools. The first secular school of music for students at large was established in Paris in 1784. Throughout the 19th century the French model was copied, with modifications, in Europe and in the U.S., later in Canada and Australia. Conservatories typically offer instruction to people of all ages, but the primary focus is on students age 10-25. Important U.S. conservatories include the Curtis Institute of Music, the Eastman School, and the Juilliard School.
consonance and dissonance Perceived qualities of musical chords and intervals. Consonance is often described as relative “stability,” and dissonance as “instability.” In musical contexts, certain intervals seem to call for motion by one of the tones to “resolve” perceived dissonance. The most consonant intervals are generally recognized as the unison and octave, and the next most consonant interval as the perfect fifth. Conso¬ nance tends to reflect the early intervals of the overtone series (which include, in addition to the octave and perfect fifth, the major and minor thirds and the perfect fourth), but many musical factors can affect the per¬ ception of consonance and dissonance.
consonant Any speech sound characterized by an articulation in which a closure or narrowing of the vocal tract completely or partially blocks the flow of air; also, any letter or symbol representing such a sound. Con¬ sonants are usually classified according to the place of articulation (e.g., palate, teeth, lips); the manner of articulation, as in stops (complete clo¬ sure of the oral passage, released with a burst of air), fricatives (forcing of breath through a constricted passage), and trills (vibration of the tip of the tongue or the uvula); and the presence or absence of voicing, nasal¬ ization, aspiration, and other features.
conspiracy Agreement between two or more persons to commit an unlawful act or to accomplish a lawful end by unlawful means. Some U.S. states require an overt act in addition to the agreement to constitute con¬ spiracy. Individual conspirators need not even know of the existence or the identity of all other conspirators. In a chain conspiracy the parties act
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454 I Constable ► Constantine I
separately and successively (as in distributing narcotics). A civil con¬ spiracy is not prosecuted as a crime but forms the grounds for a lawsuit. In antitrust law, conspiracies in restraint of trade (e.g., price fixing) are rigorously prosecuted. In the U.S. it is common to punish a conspiracy to commit an offense more harshly than the offense itself, but there has been a growing trend to follow the European example and make the pun¬ ishment for conspiracy the same as or less than that for the offense itself.
Constable, John (b. June 11, 1776, East Bergholt, Suffolk, Eng.—d. March 31, 1837, London) British painter. The artist’s father was a wealthy man who owned mills at Flatford and Dedham, on the Suffolk and Essex banks of the Stour, respectively. Constable began his career in 1799 after entering the Royal Academy Schools in London. In the years 1809 to 1816 he established his mastery and evolved his individual manner, concen¬ trating on the scenes that had delighted him as a boy: the village lanes, the fields and meadows running down to the Stour, barges drawn by tow horses, and the vessels passing the locks at Flatford or Dedham. In 1813-14 he filled two sketchbooks, which survive intact, with over 200 landscape drawings. After about 1816 Constable began to embody his concept of the Suffolk countryside in a series of canvases monumental enough to make an impression in exhibitions of the Royal Academy; his best-known work from this period is The Hay-Wain (1821). These works reveal Constable’s detailed study of the formation of clouds, the colour of meadows and trees, and the effect of light glistening on leaves and water. Especially later in his career, he was considered a master of water¬ colour as well as oil painting on canvas. He is ranked with J.M.W. Turner as one of the greatest 19th-century British landscape painters.
Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Grounds, oil on canvas by John Constable, 1823; in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
THE BRIDGEMAN ART UBRARY/GETTY IMAGES
Constance (b. 1154—d. Nov. 27, 1198, Palermo) Queen of Sicily (1194-98) and Holy Roman empress-consort (1191-97). The daughter of King Roger II of Sicily, she married the future emperor Henry VI in 1186 and was later crowned with him in Rome. Her marriage gave the Hohen- staufen dynasty a claim to the Sicilian throne, which she asserted against the opposition of her nephew Tancred. When Henry died (1197), she secured the protection of Pope Innocent III and had her son Frederick II crowned king in 1198.
Constance, Council of (1414-18) 16th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic church. It was convened at the request of Emperor Sigismund to deal with three competing popes, examine the writings of Jan Hus and John Wycuffe, and reform the Church. National political rivalries divided the Council of Constance. Two of the three contending popes were deposed; the third abdicated, and in 1417 the council selected a new pope, Martin V. The Council condemned propositions of Hus and Wycliffe, and Hus was burned at the stake by secular authorities.
Constance, Lake German Bodensee Vbod- 3 n-,za\ ancient Lacus Brigantinus Lake, bordering Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. Occupying an old glacier basin at an elevation of 1,299 ft (396 m), it has an area of 209 sq mi (541 sq km) and an average depth of 295 ft (90 m).
It forms part of the course of the Rhine River, and by the Middle Ages it was a major traffic hub. Spectacular Alpine scenery makes the lakeshore a popular resort area. The remains of Neolithic lake dwellings are found in the area.
Constans II Pogonatus Vkan- l stanz... l p6-g3- , nat-3s\ (b. Nov. 7, 639, Constantinople—d. Sept. 15, 668, Syracuse, Sicily) Byzantine emperor (641-68). His reign saw the loss of Byzantium’s southern and eastern provinces to the Arabs. Muslim Arabs took Egypt (642), invaded Arme¬ nia (647), and defeated Constans at sea in 655. A civil war among Arabs prevented them from attacking Constantinople, and he secured a nonag¬ gression treaty with Syria (659). Within the empire he tried to force unity on the church, forbidding debate on divisive theological questions and exiling the pope when he objected (653). He made his son coemperor (654) and then aroused public outrage by ordering the murder of his own brother (660). He left Constantinople (663) and settled in Sicily, where he was assassinated.