Act II.

New MS. Sinfonia in ~G~ minor, composed ~C. Potter.~

expressly for the Philharmonic Society, and first

time of performance.

Aria, Madame Pasta, ‘Bel raggio.’ (_Semiramide._) ~Rossini.~

Duetto, violoncello e contra basso, Messrs. Lindley ~Corelli.~

and Dragonetti.

Aria, Madame Puzzi, ‘Se amore soltanto.’ Corno, ~Mayer and

obligato Signor Puzzi. Rossini.~

Overture. (_Anacreon._) ~Cherubini.~

Leader, Mr. Mori.--Conductor, Mr. C. Potter.

Beethoven’s first symphony was that in ~C~, which at once, without the

usual _gradatim_ rise, placed him on a level with Haydn and Mozart.

It is now nearly forty years since it was written, but, owing to the

state of the continent, did not reach this country till about fifteen

years after its appearance at Vienna, and was then only attempted

by bold instrumentalists. This Society, however, from its very

commencement took it up,--it was the first symphony ever performed by

the Philharmonic band, and then was heard everywhere in some shape

or other; till at length--such is the fate of all that is good in

music--by too frequent repetition, it began to ‘pall upon the sense,’

and was laid aside. It now came out, after many years’ repose, in

much of its pristine freshness,--it was actually new to some of the

audience, and was welcomed by all.

Mr. Potter’s symphony is not only the best composition that has yet

proceeded from his pen, but a work that will give him an honourable

place in the temple of fame,--a work, that the oftener it is heard the

better it will be understood, and the more it will be liked; for not

only the experienced master, but the man of genius, is evinced in every

movement. It consists of an allegro con fuoco, in ~G~ minor, strikingly

original; a very melodious and effective andante in ~D~ minor; a bold

scherzo in G minor, and trio in ~E~ flat; and a finale in ~G~ minor.

The only point in this symphony that seems to us liable to objection,

is, that all the movements, except a short trio, are in the minor key,

and this three times the same; thus a want of contrast is felt at the

beginning and ending of each, though in the modulations the major third

is sufficiently often introduced to afford the necessary relief.

The Fantasia Drammatica, for the full orchestra, is a descriptive

piece; but M. Neukomm has had the good sense to attempt only to

describe generally, never particularly. The last four books of

_Paradise Lost_ have supplied him with subjects, as his printed

argument will show. The numbers distinguish the movements:--

No. 1. Adam’s and Eve’s happiness in Paradise.--Their Morning

Hymn.--(Books IX. and X.)

No. 2. Adam and Eve go forth to their

labours.--Temptation.--Transgression.--Satan’s Triumph.--(Books IX.

and X.)

No. 3. Judgment of the transgressors.--Book X.

No. 4. Their lamentation.--Only consolation in the promise of

the coming Redeemer.[69]--Submission.--Michael leads them out of

Paradise.--(Books XI. and XII.)

The phrase alluded to by the composer is the first few bars of ‘I know

that my Redeemer liveth,’ which he has introduced in a most felicitous

manner. That the whole of this is well written, we hardly need say.

There is some imagination in the various movements, but not of that

vigorous kind which will put the indelible stamp of genius on the work.

M. Hummel’s concerto--the same that he produced at his recent

benefit--is a very masterly composition, and, with a far superior band,

went off much better now than at his own concert. The duet between

Lindley and Dragonetti fixed the attention of the whole room, and

pleased all. The last movement was loudly encored, for the wonderful

command obtained over so intractable an instrument as the double-base

naturally enough excites a desire to witness more of it than the single

hearing of so brief a piece affords an opportunity of doing. The soft,

low tones also, after the _brass band_ had been very active, operated

as a great relief to the auricular nerves.

Though the vocal portion of this concert furnished nothing new, the

manner in which it was executed by Madame Pasta and Signor Tamburini

gave a charm to it that was most sensibly felt by all present, who

testified their pleasure by the warmest applause; and applause is not

here lavishly or indiscriminately bestowed.

Madame Puzzi and her _smaller half_ took more pains with the aria of

Rossini than, as a composition, it deserved, but not more than that

respect which they always feel for their audience taught them was

required.

EIGHTH CONCERT, MONDAY, ~June~ 10, 1833.

~Act I.~

Sinfonia, No. 4. ~Beethoven.~

Aria, Signor Zuchelli, ‘Mentre ti lascio.’ ~Mozart.~

Concerto, piano-forte, M. Herz. ~Herz.~

Scena, Madame Malibran, ‘Non più di fiori.’ ~Mozart.~

Corno di bassetto obligato, M. Willman.

Overture, composed expressly for the Philharmonic ~F. Mendelssohn

Society, and first time of performance. Bartholdy.~

~Act II.~

Sinfonia in ~G~ minor. ~Mozart.~

Aria, Madame Cinti Damoreau, ‘Sento un interna ~Rossini.~

voce,’ (_Elisabetta._)

First Concerto Violin, M. De Beriot. ~De Beriot.~

Duetto, Madame Cinti Damoreau and Madame Malibran, ~Mercadante.~

‘Vanne, se alberghi in petto.’ (_Andronico._)

Overture. (_Egmont._) ~Beethoven.~

Leader, Mr. Weichsel.--Conductor, Mr. Bishop.

The symphony in ~B~ flat of Beethoven, though less known than two

or three of his others, is inferior to none in beauty, and in that

kind of originality which does not strike the hearer who is content

to enjoy without inquiring into the remoter causes of his pleasure.

Both this and Mozart’s in ~G~ minor, which it is needless to praise,

were performed and received with a warmth of feeling that acts by

reciprocation, and is a cause, a main one, of the acknowledged, the

vast superiority of the instrumental performances at these concerts.

The overture by M. Mendelssohn in ~C~, declares itself the offspring

of genius and knowledge. Its rapidity and, what appears, wildness,

render an analysis of it impossible, without either frequent hearing or

an examination of the work on paper; we therefore venture no further

opinion of it than the very general one we now express.

Great curiosity was excited to hear M. Herz, whose name has for some

time past been pretty well known in all the music-shops of Europe. To

those who consider mechanical dexterity, or that sort of command of the

key-board which persevering labour is sure to bestow, the perfection

of piano-forte playing,--or, in other words, to such as think what

is termed execution the only reasonable aim and desirable end of

music,--this gentleman must appear the realization of the beau-ideal

of a performer: the neatness with which, without any apparent effort,

he does extraordinary feats, is surprising--quite as astonishing

as some things accomplished by Paganini on the violin, and equally

valuable, in the eyes of those who ground their judgment on anything

like sound principle. He crosses his hands, he weaves his fingers,

with the cleverness of a juggler; an automaton constructed by Maelzel

could hardly surpass him in precision. He invents and masters passages

which the greatest musicians never dreamt of, which the best players

never did and never will attempt, and is a most successful rival of

that self-playing piano-forte which is manufactured and to be purchased

somewhere in London within sound of Bow-bell. But with those who think

that sentiment or expression,--that taste, that rich harmony, that air

‘_che nell’ anima si sente_,’ are all or any of them essential to good

music, M. Herz has small chance of becoming a favourite. To which party

the majority of our readers belong, we only know by conjecture: we lay

the case before them in the best way that our ability will permit, and

respectfully leave them to guess our opinion. The concerto performed by

M. Herz is in ~C~ minor, and at least on a par with most of the other

compositions by the same author.

M. de Beriot’s concerto, though not as a composition equal to that he

played on the sixth night, proved highly gratifying to his audience,

for his performance was marked by excellencies in which he has no

rival. He was greeted with acclamations.

Not less animated were the applauses that followed the scena of Mozart,

‘Ecco il punto,’ and aria, ‘Non più di fiori,’ in which Madame Malibran

displayed a compass of voice, (from ~A~ below to ~A~ above the treble

staff,) a power in delivering this fine recitative, and a correctness

of taste in the execution of the air, that, altogether, we never knew

equalled. In the duet, which is one of the best things that Mercadante

has produced, the two ladies were quite equal in their respective

styles, and established a just right to the almost enthusiastic

approbation they met with. The aria sung by Signor Zuchelli, a clever

composition, is among the _Operngesaenge_ of Mozart, but he was

not at home in it: probably he had not had time enough to study it

sufficiently. He was nearly overpowered, too, by an unmercifully loud

accompaniment, a fault, and a very glaring one, in these concerts,

which the directors ought to have corrected. Most of the audience

stayed to hear the profound overture to _Egmont_, which terminated a

remarkably fine and universally admired concert.

BENEFIT CONCERTS OF THE SEASON.

~Mr. Vaughan’s~,

_Hanover Square Rooms, Friday_ Evening, _April 26_.

Mr. Vaughan filled his room completely without any aid from foreign

singers; and except a duet from Spohr’s _Jessonda_--which was not well

chosen for Mrs. Bishop and Mr. Horncastle--the music was almost wholly

in the native language of the performers. Giovanni Croce’s madrigal,

‘Cynthia!’ was called for a second time, for madrigals are _coming into

fashion_ again. Mrs. Bishop sang Hummel’s Offertorium very chastely;

and Miss Stephens, in ‘Sweet Bird,’ pleased every admirer of simplicity

and pure intonation. Mr. Phillips’s ‘Old English Gentleman’ was

received with a universal encore.

~Mr. Moscheles’~,

_Opera Concert Room, Wednesday_ Morning, _May 1_.

M. Moscheles gave the septetto written for the Philharmonic Society,

with exceedingly good effect. He also, with M. Mendelssohn, played

Weber’s Gipsies’ March with concertante variations, as a duet for

two piano-fortes, which excited the most lively interest--these two

highly distinguished musicians having each contributed his share of

variations, and, in friendly conflict, put forth all their powers in

the performance of them. Their cadences were of the most masterly

kind, and excited the admiration of a crowded room, in which were

most of the connoisseurs in town. Miss Francilla Pixis made her first

appearance in London, in a feeble air by Bellini. Her voice is a mezzo

soprano, and as she had but recently recovered from an indisposition,

her performance is hardly a fair subject for criticism. Mad. Pircher

sang an air from _Figaro_, in German, not in the best manner. Indeed

it was injudicious to give it in a translation. But the strength of

the concert consisted in the instrumental part; this also included

Mendelssohn’s fine poetical overture to _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_,

and a clever extemporaneous performance by ~M. Moscheles~.

~M. Pio Cianchettini’s and Mad. Campanile’s~,

_At Willis’s Rooms, Monday_ Morning, _May 6_.

M. Cianchettini produced a new duet for piano-forte and flute, in

which he was ably supported by M. Sedlatzek. He also performed Dussek’s

fine duet for two piano-fortes, with his sister, Mad. Campanile;

likewise an extempore fantasia. Mad. Cinti, Signori Rubini, Donzelli,

Zuchelli, &c., rendered their vocal assistance; and M. Mori, M. Puzzi,

M. Sedlatzek, and M. Sagrini, on the violin, horn, flute, and guitar,

contributed their assistance.

~Mrs. Anderson’s~,

_Opera Concert Room, Friday_ Morning, _May 10_.

Mrs. Anderson introduced, for the first time in public, Beethoven’s

concerto in ~G~, which she performed in her accustomed accurate

and brilliant manner. Also the fantasia of the same composer, in

which he has joined voices and instruments. She likewise played

Czerny’s Military Fantasia, which, having the least merit of the three

pieces, was most applauded, for the assembly--a remarkably full one,

as usual--was of a very fashionable kind. Mad. Pasta sang (for the

_hundredth_ time, we believe) ‘Il braccio mio conquise;’ and the best

thing Morlacchi ever produced, ‘Notte tremenda.’ Mad. Cinti gave ‘The

last Rose of Summer’ with variations. The latter were executed in a

most perfect manner, and the absurdity of them did not seem to strike

the audience. She also sang an unmeaning air by Pucitta, but made up

for the weakness of this by accompanying herself very skilfully on the

piano-forte. Mori played a violin solo by Mayseder, in which was less

of that skittishness than is commonly found in the productions of this

ephemeral composer. And Miss A. Windsor performed a harp concerto by

Labarre, with considerable applause.

~M. Hummel’s~,

_Opera Concert Room, Monday_ Morning, _May 13_.

The most attractive piece in this performance was a new concerto by

M. Hummel, a composition in which knowledge and taste are equally and

happily combined. He also played a new _Rondo Brillante_, the subjects

and style of which are quite of the popular kind, though, of course, it

can only be made available, should it be published, by a few--by those

who devote their lives to the overcoming of difficulties. Mesdames

Pasta, De Meric, and Pircher, Signori Donzelli and Tamburini, with Herr

Blume and Herr Binder, sang each one aria. The _German vocalists_ also

attended, and performed what we should be inclined to call an English

glee, to German words, and not a very good one. In fact, had they not

been _foreign_, and had not the music been throughout the same, nothing

but the urbanity of the audience would have prevented their manifesting

some disapprobation at such a performance. The room was not fully

attended.

~Mr. F. Cramer’s~,

_At the Hanover Square Rooms, Wednesday, May 15_.

To the regret of his numerous friends, Mr. F. Cramer was by

indisposition prevented from being present at his own concert, but his

place was ably filled by Mr. Mori; and his brother, Mr. J. B. Cramer,

delighted the Audience by a _concertino_, a _pasticcio_ in fact, made

up for the occasion, on the piano-forte. Mr. F. Cramer’s pupil, young

Blagrove, played Mayseder’s concerto in ~E~ minor with great neatness

and spirit; and Mr. Wright exhibited much talent in Hummel’s favourite

concerto, adapted for the harp; a change, however, which we cannot

quite approve, and trust that it will not often be imitated. Mrs.

Knyvett sang ‘If guiltless blood,’ very feelingly. Mr. Phillips was

very great in Neukomm’s cantata, _Napoleon’s Midnight Review_, and

very amusing in ‘The Old English Gentleman.’ Mad. Pasta sang ‘Ah! come

rapida!’ admirably: but why will she not extend her catalogue of arie?

She doubtless has heard of ‘toujours perdrix.’

~Madame Cellini’s~,

_Hanover Square Rooms_.

Mad. Cellini sang in good taste a duet of Rossini with her pupil, Miss

Heath, and joined in other pieces. Mad. Pasta, Mad. Devrient, Signori

Zuchelli, De Begnis, Mr. Parry, jun., Mr. Bennett, &c., assisted in the

vocal department. M. De Beriot played very finely a violin solo; and a

M. Dorn made his first appearance in London, in a solo for the horn. He

is a master of his instrument, but not so great a master as Puzzi.

~Mr. Dressler’s and Mr. F. Pelzer’s~,

_Opera Concert Room, Wednesday_ Morning, _May 15_.

This was not very fully attended, but Mr. Dressler and Mr. Pelzer on

their respective instruments very much delighted their audience.

~Miss Dorrell’s~,

_At the residence of Sir Giffin Wilson, Stratford Place, Wednesday_

Evening, _May 15_.

Miss Dorrell, late a pupil of the Royal Academy of Music, performed

Hummel’s piano-forte concerto in ~A~ minor, also the principal

part in his military septet, in a very correct, neat manner. The rest

of the concert was vocal; among the pieces were ‘Ah! come rapida!’ and

a Tyrolienne, by Mad. Cinti, an aria, by Signor Zuchelli, a duet by

the latter and Signor De Begnis, a serenade by Mr. Bennett, composed

by Lord Burghersh, &c. A numerous and elegant company attended this

concert.

~M. Kiallmark’s~,

_Opera Concert Room, Thursday_ Morning, _May 16_.

The first movement of Moscheles’ concerto, No. 5, a concerto by

Mendelssohn, and the piano-forte part of a trio by Hummel, were

played with much brilliancy by M. Kiallmark. M. Dressler performed a

flute solo. The concert was otherwise chiefly vocal; and except what

was assigned to Mad. Cinti, was far from laudable. A song, in the

programme, named ‘The Rhine,’ is too palpable an imitation of Neukomm’s

‘Sea,’ to pass without a stricture; and as if it had been intended to

expose the author of it, the model was subsequently produced.

~M. Mori’s~,

_Opera Concert Room, Friday_ Evening, _May 17_.

The whole force of the London orchestra, and the corps de l’opera,

were, as usual, assembled by M. Mori, and his room was filled in every

part. He played with great force and execution a _concertino_, made

up of Mayseder and Maurer, and some ‘grand variations’ by the former

composer; besides the violin part of an ottetto by Spohr, in which

Handel’s celebrated air in ~E~ is introduced, a work which

certainly will not add to the fame of M. Spohr. In addition to the

above were, Mrs. Knyvett, Mrs. Bishop, Mad. Devrient, and Miss C.

Novello. MM. Moscheles and Mendelssohn repeated the duet which they

had played at the concert of the former, and M. Bochsa played some

variations on the harp. The concert opened with Beethoven’s symphony in

C minor, which was very well executed.

~M. Cipriani Potter’s~,

_Opera Concert Room, Friday_ Morning, _May 24_.

On this occasion M. Potter produced a new symphony, a new piano-forte

concerto, and some brilliant variations on a French theme, all of which

well sustained the high reputation he has acquired, both here and in

Germany, as an instrumental composer. We regret that our limits do not

admit of our entering fully into the merits of these fresh proofs of

his ability. Mesdames Pasta and Devrient, Signori Donzelli, Tamburini,

&c., were his vocal supporters; and his band consisted of nearly all

the performers of the Philharmonic Concerts.

~M. Henri Herz’s~,

_Opera Concert Room, Wednesday_ Morning, _May 29_.

This was M. Herz’s first public appearance in England, and as his fame

had preceded his arrival among us, a large audience assembled to hear

an artist concerning whom so much diversity of opinion prevailed. As

we have spoken of him in another part of our number we shall merely

state here that he was received in a most encouraging manner, and

that his performances were followed by very flattering applause. He

played a concerto in ~C~minor, ‘grand variations’ on the march

in _Otello_, and a duet on one piano-forte, with M. Moscheles. His

extemporaneous performance need hardly be noticed. It was as good, and

made up of pretty much the same materials, as such things generally

are. And we will take this opportunity of observing, that such

exhibitions are, in our opinion, as derogatory to a great musician, as

improvisation would be to a great poet. The vocal strength consisted

of Mad. Cinti, Signori Rubini and Tamburini. Signor Puzzi played in a

charming manner a fantasia on the horn, and M. de Beriot performed a

solo admirably on the violin.

~Mr. Salaman’s~,

_Hanover Square Rooms, Thursday_ Evening, _May 30_.

This gentleman announces himself as a pupil of Mr. Neate, to whom he

does credit. On this occasion he played Mendelssohn’s fine concerto

in ~G~ minor, and Czerny’s ‘Grand Military Fantasia,’ in a manner

that gained him much applause. Mesdames Pasta, Devrient, De Meric,

Puzzi, Mrs. Bishop, MM. Phillips, Donzelli, Haitzinger, Zuchelli, &c.,

were the vocalists; and M. Eliason played a pleasing fantasia, _à

l’Espagnol_, on the violin. The King’s Theatre having been open this

evening, Mr. Salaman was incapable of forming a very good orchestra,

and Beethoven’s symphony in ~C~ minor suffered in consequence. A trio

_à la Tyrolienne_ was sung by Mad. de Meric and two debutantes, the

Demoiselles Correldi, who accompanied themselves with the castagnettes!

Neither the music nor the performance proved very satisfactory.

The room was exceedingly full, but we doubt whether it was equally

productive.

~Mr. Sale’s~,

_Hanover Square Rooms, Friday_ Morning, _May 31_.

A very charming selection, in which some excellent music was allotted

to our best English singers, and equally good Italian music was

assigned to Italians. This is just as it should be, and proves Mr.

Sale’s discrimination. A new and clever madrigal by Lord Burghersh was

performed for the first time; as was a pleasing song by Mr. Phillips.

Mrs. Knyvett in ‘Let the bright seraphim,’ accompanied by Harper, was

most deservedly applauded; but we wish that she would not add any

cadenza to what is an _aria d’agilità_ from beginning to end. Miss

Stephens in ‘John Anderson,’ and Mr. Braham ‘In native worth,’ from the

_Creation_, (_sung by command_) drew abundance of plaudits; as did Mad.

Pasta in (the old story) ‘Ah! come rapida,’ and Mad. Cinti in Hasse’s

fine bravura, ‘Sorprendermi vorresti.’ Sig. Rubini sang, or rather

sacrificed, Mozart’s ‘Il mio tesoro intanto;’ and the _Adelaida_ of

Beethoven is too much for the physical powers of Mr. Hobbs. The concert

opened with ‘God save the King,’ in compliment to the Duchess of Kent

and the Princess Victoria, who, with their suite, were present in the

royal box, and seemed highly delighted with the performance.

~Sig. Giubilei’s and L. Sagrini’s~,

_At the residence of Sir John De Beauvoir, Connaught Place, Monday_

Morning, _June 3_.

All the strength of the Italian Opera were here, augmented by Mrs.

Bishop, Miss H. Cawse, Messrs. Haitzinger and Parry, jun., &c.

Mrs. Anderson, Mr. Mori, and Sig. Costa, as instrumentalists. The

performance was well attended, and deserved the applause it received.

~Messrs. Chelard’s and Eliason’s~,

_Hanover Square Rooms, Friday_ Morning, _June 7_.

This opened with the overture by M. Chelard performed at the third

Philharmonic Concert, whose drinking chorus in _Macbeth_ was also given

effectively by the German party. Mr. Eliason played a violin concerto,

the music by Rode and Mayseder, with much brilliancy of execution, and

the violin part of a duet concertante with the harp. M. Herz played his

‘variations de concert’ on a subject from _Guillaume Tell_.

~M. Sedlatzek’s~,

_At the residence of J. Taylor, Esq., George Street, Hanover Square,

Saturday_ Morning, _June 8_.

Well attended, and M. Sedlatzek performed several pieces on the flute

with that ease of execution and delicacy of manner for which he is

distinguished.

Mr. ~J. B. Cramer’s~,

_Opera Concert Room, Friday_ Morning, _June 14_.

The highest treat in this concert was Mr. Cramer’s performance of

his own beautiful concerto, op. 48, which he played with that pathos

in which he excels all pianists, and with the spirit--but spirit

devoid of feats of agility--that he ever possessed. With M. Hummel he

performed the fantasia in ~F~ minor of Mozart, and, as a last movement,

the finale to his duet in ~F~ major,--a most finished performance;

and with M. Herz, a ‘grand concerto duet,’ which, though admirably

executed, we could not but think a very incongruous union. He also

introduced, by permission of the Philharmonic Society, the new quintet

he wrote for their concerts, and which now went off in a very perfect

manner. Messrs. Mori, Nicholson, and Wright, played fantasias on their

respective instruments; and Mad. Cinti, Mrs. Knyvett, Miss Novello,

Messrs. Phillips and Parry, jun. contributed their vocal aid. The room

was full from the commencement.

~Sig. and Mad. Puzzi’s~,

_At the residence of the Countess Cornwallis, Friday_ Evening, _June

14_.

The _élite_ of the foreign artistes now in London came in support of

this concert, and the company consisted almost exclusively of people

of fashion. The music exhibited little that is new, but it was well

performed, and chiefly vocal. Mad. Puzzi sang an aria, ‘Se amore

soltanto,’ by Rossini, and was charmingly accompanied by Sig. Puzzi.

The latter also played a fantasia on the horn. Messrs. Moscheles and

Herz performed a duet on the piano-forte; and Messrs. Osborne and De

Beriot a divertimento for piano-forte and violin. The tickets to this

were a guinea each, and the rooms were well filled, but not crowded.

FOREIGN MUSICAL REPORT.

VIENNA.

A second concert has been given at the _Hofoperntheater_ by Bernhard

Romberg, which was in every respect equal to the first. The young

prodigy, Apollinar Kontsky, aged seven years, has also given a concert;

this precocious virtuoso, who still plays upon a small-sized violin,

evinced extraordinary strength of arm and perfect fulness of tone, and

particularly delighted his audience by the correct taste he displayed,

and by the expression which he infused into his performances. With

the genius which is already apparent in him, and the promise which

his present astonishing proficiency holds out, if he persevere in the

cultivation of his instrument, under the care of a really good master,

there is reason to expect that he will become one of the first violin

players in the world.

BERLIN.

A young singer, Mad. Schodel, from Vienna, has made her first

appearance at the _Königstadt theater_; her voice, which is of an

agreeable quality, is rather weak, particularly in the lower notes; she

has, however, considerable flexibility, and she sings simple melodies

with exquisite sweetness and taste; her acting, moreover, is very

good. There has been no novelty at this theatre of late; the operas of

_Melusine_ and _Des Adler’s Horst_ have been the principal attractions.

A new opera has been produced at the _Königliche theater_, _Das Schloss

Candra_ (Candra Castle), by Joseph Wolfram, which was rather favourably

received. The music makes no pretensions to genius, at the same time

the opera contains much that is very meritorious; the choruses, if not

beautiful, are at least good, and the same may be said of the concerted

pieces; the arias, however, are weak. The other performances have been,

_Alcidor_, _Die Stumme_, and _Fra Diavolo_.

DRESDEN.

The unceasing efforts of the Kapellmeister Reissiger have led to an

engagement as a compensation for the temporary loss of Mad. Schroeder

Devrient, whose characters will be sustained during her three months’

absence by Mad. Kraus Wranitzky; Mlle. Maschinka Schneider is also

engaged for one year. The opera, however, experiences an irreparable

heavy loss in the departure of Mad. Schebest, who appeared for the last

time as _Irma_, in _Der Maurer und der Schlosser_ (le Maçon.)

On Palm Sunday there was a grand performance of Bach’s oratorio, _St.

Matthew the Evangelist_, at the great opera house, under the very able

direction of Kapellmeister’s Morlacchi and Reissiger, in aid of the

fund for the relief of the distressed widows and orphans of members

of the Royal Chapel; the choruses consisted of upwards of two hundred

voices, and there were ten eminent solo singers--among them, Mesdames

Kraus Wranitzky and Schebest; the tenors, Babnigg and Schuster, and the

bases, Risse, Wächter, and Zezi; and upwards of a hundred instruments

judiciously proportioned.

FRANKFORT.

Mlle. Carl has arrived here, and has sung at a concert which,

notwithstanding her fame, was but thinly attended. On the 15th April M.

Kalkbrenner gave a concert and was received with enthusiasm.

BREMEN.

The winter concerts, which were very successful, having terminated,

there was a benefit concert got up for Mad. Mühlenbruch, the principal

singer, who has a sweet voice and exquisite taste. On Good Friday, the

_Messiah_ was given in the cathedral, when Mad. M. and the younger

Mlle. Graban, and some talented dilettanti, did justice to the music of

the immortal Handel.

DUSSELDORF.

It is expected that the musical festival which is to take place this

year will be one of the most brilliant on record for many years. Among

the attractive pieces which are announced for performance, are Mozart’s

symphony in ~G~ minor, the overture to _Leonore_, by Beethoven;

Handel’s oratorio, _Israel in Egypt_; a cantata by Wolf; and _Die Macht

der Töne_ (the Power of Sounds), by Weber; and some compositions of M.

Bergmuller and of M. Felix Mendelssohn, director for the present year.

Mad. Decker (late Fraul. von Schätzel) is to sing on the occasion.

DESSAU.

For some years past few foreign artists of eminence have played at our

concerts; the recent visit therefore of M. Haase, jun., from Dresden,

was the more welcome, from the rarity of such occurrences. He played a

fantasia by Molique, on Swiss airs, a duet by Lafont and Hertz, from

_Fra Diavolo_, and Mayseder’s Thema, with variations in D major. His

tone is full of exquisite expression, his style remarkable for elegance

and freedom, his cantilena is exceedingly grand, and his bowing

masterly, like that of Polledro his instructor.

JENA.

Our usual concerts and musical entertainments under the direction

of Dr. Hand have given great satisfaction. A concert by the Vocal

and Instrumental Society was the first of the season. The selection

comprised an overture by Reissiger and one by Lindpaintner, and

concertos of Hummel on the piano-forte, Keller on the flute, and Jansa

on the violin, all played by dilettanti.

Mad. Filipowicz gave a concert, at which she played a polonaise by

Kalliwoda with much feeling, and Mayseder’s variations in ~E~

major. There was also a musical entertainment given by M. Rössner of

Darmstadt, and MM. Buschmann, father and son, the former playing the

harp, the other the terpodion.

UTRECHT.

At the two hundredth anniversary of our City Concerts, on the 14th

March, was performed a cantata composed by M. Kufferath, a pupil of

Spohr’s. The performance was conducted by the composer and surpassed

every expectation; there were also given a symphony of Kalliwoda, and

Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s overture to a Midsummer Night’s Dream, which

were well played.

ST. PETERSBURG.

A concert was lately given at the palace of M. von Narischkin, for

the relief of the widows and orphans of musicians, at which several

dilettanti of rank, namely, Prince Wolchonski, Count M. Wielhorsky,

Mlle. von Bolotnikow, and others, contributed their valuable services.

COPENHAGEN.

The season just past brought before the public two new operas which

were very successful; the first _Das Bild und die Büste_ (the Portrait

and the Bust), in three acts, by P. C. Berggreen, the other, _Die

Braut von Lammermoor_, by the Kapellmeister J. Bredal; both composers

in their productions successfully clothed in musical expressions the

ideas of their poets, regarding melody as the first consideration--in

style however they differ widely. Besides these, there was another

vocal piece, _Der Rabe oder die Bruderprobe_ (The Raven, or the Test

of Fraternal Affection), by J. P. E. Hartmann. The other performances

of the season were Boieldieu’s _Die Zwey Nächte_ (Les deux Nuits), J.

L. Heiberg’s humorous operetta, _Ein Abentheuer im Rosenberger Garten_

(An Adventure in the Rosenberg Garden), Weyse’s opera, _Ludlam’s Höhle_

(Ludlam’s Cave), _Die Stumme_, _Fra Diavolo_, _Der Liebestrank_, _Die

Weise Frau_, _Figaro_, _Joconde_, _Die Weinlese_ (The Vintage), _Der

Erlenhügel_ (The Alder Hill), music by Kuhlau; _Don Juan_, _Das Schloss

Montenero_, _Der Schatz_ (Le Trésor Supposé), _Der Schlosser und der

Maurer_, _Preciosa_, _Der kleine Matros_ (Le petit Matelôt), and _Die

verliebten Handwerksleute_ (The Love-smitten Mechanics.)

MADRID.

Italian operas are performed here twice a week, alternately in the

_Teatro del Principe_ and in the _Teatro della Cruz_; thus the lovers

of the opera are obliged to take boxes in both houses. None, indeed,

but Italian operas are tolerated, and Rossini is the favourite

composer. Hence piano-forte arrangements of his music are to be met

with all over Madrid, and there is scarcely a female of the middle

rank in life who has not acquired some degree of proficiency on the

piano-forte. The guitar is almost entirely discarded. People alone of

the lower class are now and then to be seen playing that instrument

before their doors. Spanish music, too, is completely out of vogue, and

the ladies invariably sing that of Italy, unless expressly entreated to

sing a national air; so that the lively Spanish airs are now only to be

heard in the mouths of the common people.

THE DRAMA.

~King’s Theatre.~

The _Pirata_ of ~Bellini~, which is not only his best opera, but the

only one of that composer which has a chance of surviving above another

year or two, has been performed since our last report, Madame ~Pasta~

in the character of _Imogene_, who enabled us to enter fairly into the

merits of the work, which, at its first representation in this country

four seasons ago, were not so discernible, the then _prima donna_

having made a very sad affair of it, though she was amazingly bepraised

at the time, and we were exceedingly vituperated for pointing out her

incapability.

Fragments of operas have also been performed; the best works have

suffered all kinds of mutilations and martyrdom, and the audiences have

been content, which is a sufficient justification of the manager. The

fact is that in the months of May and June the opera fills, however

conducted. A really good manager directs his efforts to the first few

months of the season, well knowing that after Easter a single great

name is sufficient to draw crowds.

On Thursday the 20th of June, a new opera was actually produced--the

first attempt of the kind this season! The occasion was Madame

~Pasta’s~ benefit; the name of the piece, _Norma_, a tragic opera in

two acts, composed by Signor ~Bellini~, and got up under his personal

direction.

The following are the characters:--

_Pollione_, Pro-Consul of Rome, in Cambria, Sig. ~Donzelli.~

_Oroveso_, Chief of the Druids Sig. ~V. Galli.~

_Norma_, Druidess, daughter at _Oroveso_, Mad. ~Pasta.~

_Adalgisa_, a young priestess Mad. ~De Meric.~

_Clotilde_, confidante of _Norma_ Mad. ~Castelli.~

_Flavio_, friend of _Pollione_ Sig. ~G. Galli.~

‘The scene lies in Cambria, in the sacred forest, and in the Temple of

Irminsul.’

The story is as wide a departure from anything in the shape of

historical _vraisemblance_ as can be imagined. The Gauls subjugate

the Romans in Wales, then commit the government of that country to

_Pollio_, a pro-consul of Rome! He becomes enamoured of _Norma_,

daughter of the Arch-Druid, and is secretly married to her, though she,

something like the Vestal virgins, had devoted herself to celibacy.

After she has become the mother of two children, _Pollio’s_ affections

are transferred to _Adalgisa_, who consents at first to fly with him

to Rome; but, struck by remorse, she reveals all to _Norma_, whose

‘love to hatred turns,’ and the latter determines to avenge herself by

destroying her children; but she changes her purpose; impeaches herself

in the assembly of Druids, and is condemned to be burnt alive; to which

fate her faithless husband is also sentenced; but his love for her

suddenly returns, and he unreluctantly ascends with _Norma_ the fatal

pile.

That this is an imitation of _Medea_ is evident, and, as in that opera,

Madame ~Pasta~ is the life and soul of this. Her acting alone saves it

here, as it did in Milan, where it was first produced last year.

Considered as a whole, the music, though not censurable in regard to

the rules of composition, possesses the most fatal of all faults--it

is deplorably uninteresting: except the motivo of the duet, _Deh! con

te li prendi_, an aria, _Norma! che fu?_ and the finale, not a piece

has the slightest pretence to originality, or produces the least

effect. The overture and introduzione stun one with all kinds of noisy

instruments, and half, or more, of the first act is accompanied by the

same intolerable din. The music of the last scene, and the acting of

~Pasta~, but especially the latter, will keep the opera on the stage

while she remains to fill the part; without her, or her equal, if such

should ever be found, it has no chance of being listened to in London;

and even with her, it is with a half reluctance permitted[70].

~Drury-Lane Theatre.~

On the 4th of June a nondescript piece, called _The Students of Jena_,

or _The Family Concert_, was produced here, the principal character by

Madame ~Malibran~ but it was a decided failure, and the theatre was

shut very shortly after.

~Covent-Garden Theatre.~

This theatre closed very early last month, the lessee declaring that,

as the performers declined acceding to the terms he proposed, he could

no longer carry on the concern, without incurring the most ruinous

loss. The company then obtained the Lord Chamberlain’s permission to

open the Olympic, and transferred themselves to that theatre, where

they have since continued to perform. Shortly after, this theatre was

re-opened with the German company, brought hither from Drury-lane, in

consequence of an agreement between ~M. Laporte~ and Mr. ~Bunn~! Their

first performance was ~Mozart’s~ _Zauberflöte_, ~M. Haitzinger~ as

_Tamino_, who sung the airs with great feeling, but was occasionally

too loud and turbulent,--~M. Dobler~, a fine deep, musical base, and a

very superior singer, as _Sarastro_,--Madame ~Schroeder Devrient~ as

_Pamina_, who did the most ample justice to the part,--Madame ~Stoll

Böhm~, a soprano with an indifferent voice, whose deficiencies as a

singer are not compensated for by her acting, as _Astrifiammante_,--and

~M. Uetz~, a very excellent actor, and a singer of great merit, as

_Papageno_. Though much of this opera was performed remarkably well,

parts of it disappointed our expectations: the two lovely trios,

best known here by the Italian words, ‘Te guida a palma nobile; and

‘Già fan ritorno,’ were executed in but a slovenly manner, and the

fine religious march lost some of its effect by being played to an

empty stage. This, however, we believe, was afterwards corrected. The

_Zauberflöte_ has not drawn, in spite of its many beauties, and the

German Opera is not in a much better condition in London than the

national, the _legitimate_ drama!

THE MUSIC OF THE PRESENT NUMBER.

The titles of the pieces in this number leave us little to add, for

as four out of six of them are of modern date, their authors are well

known, and no history at all interesting is connected with those

compositions.

The cavatina is in the last scene of _The Pirate_, sung in the

character of _Imogene_, who addresses it to her young son. The words

are thus translated into not very good English verse, in the printed

book of the opera:--

Thy innocent smile and thy glances of love,

To mercy and pardon thy father will move:

Oh! tell him thy life has been purchased by me,

And each kind look he gave I have purchased from thee.

* * * * *

The _Romanza_ is from the most admired of Mozart’s concertos. The

author has not indicated the movement, but it is commonly played as an

andante. Sig. Cimador, who arranged it, was an excellent musician, well

known in the fashionable and musical world some thirty years, or more,

since.

* * * * *

Purcell’s air is from an ode on the birth-day of Mary, consort

of William III. Our arrangement is made from the score published

by--Goodison, Esq., an amateur, about forty-five years ago. The beauty

of this melody speaks for itself.

The quartet, _Agnus Dei_, is from a mass of Beethoven and of his sacred

compositions, may fairly be deemed the most melodious and elegant.

* * * * *

The Minuet and Trio from Haydn’s Eleventh Symphony, were composed for

Saloman’s Concerts about the year 1794.

* * * * *

The movement from Handel’s 4th Hautboy Concerto[71] is one of his most

beautiful _morceaux_. The melody of the latter part, marked pianissimo,

is written for the bassoon, an octave lower than it now appears; but

in arranging it for the piano-forte, we thought it advisable to place

it an octave higher, as we could not add the hautboy accompaniment in

any convenient form for the player. It should be borne in mind that the

allegro of Handel’s time was not so quick as the allegro of the present

day.

The Hautboy Concertos, six in number, were written at Cannons, the

seat of the Duke of Chandos, (Pope’s _Timon_,) in the year 1720, and

published in 1729. Four of them still continue to be used in the

Ancient Concerts, where they are admirably performed, and are great

favourites with the subscribers, as they deserve to be with all lovers

of good music.

[Sidenote: August, 1833.]

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF MARIN MERSENNE AND ATHANASIUS KIRCHER.

[Chiefly from ~Hawkins’s~ and ~Burney’s~ Histories.]

Among the laborious and voluminous writers on music, those now selected

stand prominently forward; and though their respective merits are far

from equal--the French ecclesiastic being undeniably superior to the

German jesuit, both in knowledge and exactness--yet the works of each

have long enjoyed a high reputation, and will always be found useful to

those who study music as a science, or historically, and as connected

with general literature.

* * * * *

~Marin Mersenne~ (in Latin, Marinus Mersennus), a most learned French

writer, was born in 1588, at Ayse, in the province of Maine. He

received his instruction in polite literature at the college of Flêche;

but, quitting that seminary, he went to Paris, and, after having

studied divinity some years in the college of the Sorbonne, entered

himself among the Minims (a religious order), and, in 1611, received

the habit. In 1612, he went to reside in the convent of that order at

Paris, where he was ordained priest, and performed his first mass in

1613. Immediately upon his settlement he applied himself to the study

of the Hebrew language, under the direction of Father John Bruno, a

Scotch Minim, and having acquired a competent degree of skill therein,

became a teacher of philosophy and theology in the convent of Nevers.

In this station he continued till the year 1619, when he returned to

Paris, determined to spend the remainder of his life in study and

conversation, as indeed he did, making them his whole employment. In

the pursuit of his studies he established and kept up a correspondence

with all the learned and ingenious men of his time.

During his stay at Flêche he contracted a friendship with Des Cartes,

and manifested it in many instances; of which the following may be

reckoned one. Being at Paris, and looked on as the friend of the great

philosopher, he reported that Des Cartes was erecting a new system of

physics on the foundation of a vacuum; but finding that the public were

indifferent to it, he immediately sent intelligence to his friend that

a vacuum was not then the fashion, on which the philosopher changed

his system, and adopted the old doctrine of a plenum. The residence

of Mersenne at Paris did not prevent his making several journeys into

foreign countries, for he visited Holland in the middle of the year

1629, and Italy four times, in 1639, 1641, 1644, 1646. In the month of

July, 1648, having been to call on his friend Des Cartes, he returned

home to his convent excessively heated; to allay his thirst, he drank

cold water, and soon after was seized with an illness which produced

an abscess in his side. His physicians, imagining his disorder to be

a kind of pleurisy, ordered him to be bled several times, but to no

purpose. At last it was thought proper to open his side: the operation

was begun, but he expired in the midst of it, on the 1st of September,

1648, being then about sixty years of age. He had desired the surgeons,

in case of miscarriage in the operation, to open his body, which

direction they complied with, and found that they had made the incision

two inches below the abscess!

The character of Mersennus as a philosopher and a mathematician is

well known in the learned world. To that disposition which led him to

the most abstruse studies, he joined a nice and judicious ear, and a

passionate love of music; these gave a direction to his pursuits, and

were productive of numberless experiments and calculations, tending to

demonstrate the principles of harmony, and prove that it is independent

of habit or fashion, custom or caprice, and, in short, has its

foundation in nature, and in the original frame and constitution of the

universe.

In the year 1636, Mersenne published, at Paris, in a large folio

volume, his _Harmonie Universelle_, in which he treats of the

nature and properties of sound, of instruments of various kinds, of

consonances and dissonances, of composition, of the human voice, of the

practice of singing, and a great variety of other matters concerning

music.

This work consists of a great number of separate and distinct

treatises, with such signatures for the sheets, and numbers of the

pages, as to make them independent of each other. The consequence

whereof is, that there are hardly any two copies to be met with

that contain precisely the same number of tracts, or in which the

tracts occur or follow in the same order; so that to cite or refer

to the _Harmonie Universelle_ is a matter of some difficulty. Among

these are to be found the most minute and satisfactory account of

the state of music in France during the reign of Louis XIII. Indeed,

Dr. Burney remarks,--his _Harmonie Universelle_ is a work in which,

notwithstanding his ‘partiality to his country, want of taste and

of method, there are so many curious researches and ingenious and

philosophical experiments, which have been of the greatest use to

subsequent writers, particularly Kircher, as render the book extremely

valuable.’ This work, corrected and enlarged, was translated into

Latin, and published by the author in 1648, the year of his death,

under the title of _De Sonorum Natura, Causis et Effectibus_.

In his twenty-third proposition, liv. i., Mersenne explains and

describes twelve different kinds of music and movement used in France

during his time: namely, motets, songs or airs, passacailles, pavans,

allemandes, gaillards, voltes, courantes, sarabands, canaries, branles,

and balets; of all which he gives examples in notes. But though most of

these movements were the specific names of the dances then in vogue,

the minuet, which during the last century was in such general favour

all over Europe, is never mentioned.

In the _Préface Générale_, the author speaks of Galileo’s discoveries

in harmonics; and in his liv. ii., _Des Consonances_, of sympathetic

vibrations. In other parts of his work he clearly explains the twelve

major keys of practical music; and shows, for the first time perhaps,

that there may be seventy-two keys, or six for each note, flat,

natural, and sharp, major and minor. There is nothing in this good

Father’s book which reflects more honour on his taste and penetration

than his partiality for the violin, to which, in liv. iv., _Des

Instruments_, prop. 1, he gives the preference over all other

instruments then in use, at a time when it was thought unworthy of

being admitted into the concerts of other countries.

One proposition in this book (xxxiv.) is to inquire whether the

French method of singing is the best of all possible methods? and

he determines in the affirmative, not only with respect to this,

but affirms, that of all those he ever heard sing in neighbouring

countries, as in Spain, Germany, Flanders, and Italy, he had met with

none who sang so agreeably as the French. ‘There may,’ says he, ‘be now

and then a miraculous performer in other countries, but I speak here in

general.’

He mentions recitative as a thing little practised in France, for want

of courage. The Italians, he observes, succeed in this species of

singing, which Giacomo Peri had invented at Florence at the beginning

of the century. Here he speaks of several musical dramas in Italy, but

does not call them operas. (Liv. vi. _L’Art de bien chanter_.)

* * * * *

~Athanasius Kircher~ was born at Fulda in Germany, in 1601. At the

age of seventeen he entered the society of Jesuits, and, after going

through a regular course of study, during which he distinguished

himself by his vast attainments in literature and science, he became

a teacher of philosophy, mathematics, and the Hebrew and Syriac

languages, in the University of Wurtzburg in Franconia. In 1631,

when the Swedes entered Germany under Gustavus Adolphus, he returned

to France, and settled in the Jesuits’ college at Avignon, where he

remained till 1635. He was then called to Rome to teach mathematics in

the Roman college, where he continued during six years. He afterwards

became professor of Hebrew in that city, and died there in 1680, having

written and published twenty-two volumes in folio, eleven in quarto,

and three in octavo. Kircher was more than ordinarily addicted to the

study of hieroglyphics, and it is said that certain young scholars

caused to be engraved some unmeaning fantastic characters or figures

upon a shapeless stone, then buried it in ground which was shortly

to be dug up. Upon digging the place, the stone was found, and, by

the scholars who had hidden it, carried to Kircher as a most singular

antique, who, quite in raptures, applied himself instantly to explain

the characters, and, as he perhaps persuaded himself, and certainly

attempted to persuade others, made them intelligible.

The chief work of Kircher is his _Musurgia Universalis_, which is

written in Latin, in ten books, occupying two volumes in folio, the

first containing seven books, the second three. The subjects on

which he treats are principally the following--of the propagation of

sound--of the elements of practical music--of harmonics, or the ratios

of sounds--geometric and algebraic division of the monochord--new

experiments in the construction of musical instruments--of melody,

comprehending new _secrets_ for producing every species of melody

(!)--a parallel between ancient and modern music, pointing out

the dignity of the ecclesiastical _canto fermo_, and the means of

arriving at the pathetic style--of composition, or the combinations

of sounds, and the application of air to poetical numbers and rhythms

in all languages--musical wonders produced by hidden means, and new

experiments of all kinds--and, lastly, of the various derivations of

music, and the physical and artificial purposes to which it is, or may

be, applied.

Kircher was the inventor of the Æolian harp, which he thus describes

in his _Musurgia_, (lib. ix. 352.):--The instrument is not only new,

but agreeable, and very easy of construction, and every one admires it

who hears it in my museum. It is silent while the window remains shut,

but when this is opened, sudden bursts of harmony surprise the auditor,

who cannot tell whence they proceed, or by what kind of instrument they

are produced, the sounds not resembling those of a stringed or a wind

instrument, but are a mixture of both. This instrument is made of deal,

is fifteen inches long, six broad, and three deep. It may be strung

with fifteen strings, or more, all equal, and of catgut.

This work, says Dr. Burney, speaking of the _Musurgia_, which

undoubtedly contains many curious and amusing portions, is, however,

disgraced by the author’s credulity and ill-founded assertions.

Kircher has been truly called ‘Vir immensæ quidem, sed indigestæ

eruditionis’--a man of immense but indigested learning. Yet, with

all its imperfections, the _Musurgia_ contains much ‘curious and

useful information for such as know how to sift truth from falsehood,

and usefulness from futility;’ for a considerable portion of which,

however, he was indebted to the _Harmonie Universelle_ of Mersenne,

which appeared in 1636; the _Musurgia_ not having been published till

fourteen years later.

OTTO ON VIOLINS[72], &c.

The professed object of M. Otto’s work is to guard purchasers of

violins, &c., against imposition, and to show how such instruments

may be kept in order and repaired. But it is quite clear that he

has prudently had the main chance in view, and, while thinking of

the interests of others, has not been unmindful of his own, for

he takes especial care to let his readers into the history of his

business, where he and his sons reside, and what--of course for ‘a

consideration’--they undertake to do in the way of trade.

But while advertising himself and Co.--perhaps very justifiably--he has

embodied in his pages a number of facts interesting to amateur players,

highly useful to professional performers, and curious to all whose

pursuits lead them to inquire into the state of the mechanical arts,

among which is to be reckoned the manufacture of musical instruments;

and if he has really taught ‘the best means of preserving a good

instrument, and of improving a spoiled one,’[73] he has rendered a

service which entitles him to the gratitude of the musical world.

Many of our readers will be surprised to learn that a really good, a

complete violin, consists of fifty-eight different parts, which the

author thus describes:--

2 pieces for the back

2 ditto belly or sound-board

4 ditto corner blocks

2 ditto end blocks

6 ditto ribs or sides

12 ditto linings

1 ditto sound or bass bar

12 ditto purfling

1 ditto ebony rest for the tail-piece

1 ditto ebony or sometimes ivory nut

1 ditto ebony tail-piece

1 ditto ebony finger-board

4 ditto screws or pegs

1 ditto the neck

1 ditto button for the tail-piece

4 ditto strings

1 wire or catgut connecting the tail-piece with the button

1 sound post

1 bridge

----

58

‘The wood used in the manufacture of this instrument is of three sorts.

The back, the neck, the sides, and the circles are made of sycamore;

the belly, the bass bar, the sound post, and the six blocks of Tyrolese

deal; the finger-board and tail-piece of ebony.’

It appears that the peculiar curvature, or swell of the back and belly

of good violins, is produced by scooping out of the solid wood, and

not by pressing the material on heated moulds of the desired shape, a

practice which the translator, in a note, informs us is common now in

Germany, among the cheap makers.

M. Otto rather inclines to the opinion that violins might be now made

equal to the old Cremonese, and thinks that musicians and dilettanti

are blameable for not encouraging good makers, and for putting too much

confidence in _repairers_. He seems to be persuaded that the rich,

mellow tone of instruments depends much on the ameliorating effects of

time; and his translator strengthens what is said in the original, by

the following remarks:--

‘It may not be unreasonable to attribute the superiority of old

instruments to _time_, which, by its slow but sure and powerful agency,

mellows and softens down the asperities of many musical instruments,

and in particular organs and violins. That the mechanical construction

of the old instruments is in any degree superior to the present day can

scarcely, upon mature reflection, be admitted, as in the present age,

when every art or science is analysed and sought into with the most

unsparing avidity, it is certain that many enthusiastic and scientific

admirers of the violin have destroyed some of the very best instruments

of the old makers, for the sole purpose of forming a correct opinion

of the minutest proportions of their interior construction.... I feel

rather reluctant in expressing my opinion, that were it possible to

produce an old instrument, possessing precisely the same quality of

tone as when _first finished_, no very great superiority, if any, would

be discerned over the modern-made instruments, constructed with the

care which would be bestowed upon a violin intended to be a pattern

of the excellence of modern workmanship and science. I am, however,

compelled to state that, as far as I can collect from many professional

individuals, there is _one_ reason why many of the modern-made

instruments are so inferior to the old ones. It is this: many makers of

late date in England, Italy, Germany, who had succeeded in producing

excellent instruments, and in consequence established their reputation,

as they imagined, in a short time after their fame had gone forward to

the world, relaxed in their application, and became negligent, under

the impression that their name having been once established, their

instruments, no matter how indifferent they might be, would be well

received. It is but justice to the Italian and the German makers, to

state that they entertain a very favourable opinion of the violins

manufactured in England. It may also not be uninteresting to learn that

the generally received opinion, collected from various sources upon

which reliance can be placed, is, that there exists at the present day,

in England, a greater number of the genuine instruments of the old

makers than, _proportionally_, in any other country.’

The following facts, stated by the translator, are very worthy of

notice, and, we will venture to say, are new, not only to musicians in

general, but even to many violin-players in particular:--

‘It is an authenticated fact, that the shallower or flatter the model

of a violin is, the fuller is the tone. Many amateurs conceive the

very reverse. On comparison, however, between a genuine Straduarius

and an Amati, this will be immediately perceived. A Guarnerius or a

Straduarius is of the _flat_ model and powerful in tone. An Amati,

on the other hand, has a very beautiful high _model_, very fine wood

and highly-finished workmanship, and in the genuine instruments the

purfling is inlaid very close to the edge, much more so than in any

other genuine Italian instruments. The Amatis possess a _brilliant

silvery_ tone, but from the cause above-mentioned they are not so

sonorous as the flatter-modelled instruments, particularly the

Guarnerius or Straduarius.’

* * * * *

‘It is a prevalent opinion, as well with professors as amateurs, that

the old Italian instruments have attained their zenith, and some

even aver that they have been deteriorating.... Is it not probable

that the improvements, introduced within late years, added to the

patterns afforded by the old instruments themselves, which have been

studied with the most intense anxiety by the most skilful artists of

Europe, and of England in particular, have tended to detract from the

value of the old instruments?... The Amatis, from their sweetness of

tone, are preferred for accompaniments to the voice. In performances

strictly instrumental, a Guarnerius or a Straduarius is more valued in

consequence of possessing a greater body of tone.’

There are cheats in all trades, and in all quarters of the world, it

seems; even the rude mountaineers, the simple Tyrolese, we now learn,

are not guiltless of a fraud which it may be well to guard the amateur

against--‘The Tyrolese makers,’ says M. Otto, ‘have carried on an

extensive business, and put forth a great quantity of violins, tenors,

and basses; the greater part of which have been surreptitiously palmed

upon the uninitiated as genuine Cremonese or Steiners.’

The author then points out the forms and mode of construction of the

violins of the most celebrated Italian makers. He says, ‘I have had

under my hands about thirty Cremonese instruments, of the following

makers. The oldest were made by ~Hieronymus Amati~, at the beginning

of the seventeenth century. After him came ~Antonius Amati~, about the

middle of the same century. Then followed ~Nicolas Amati~, towards

the end of the same. To these must be added ~Antonius Straduarius~,

of Cremona, who flourished during the same epoch as the above, and

after them ~Joseph Guarnerius~, at the commencement of the eighteenth

century. All their instruments were constructed after the simplest

rules of mathematics,[74] and the six which came into my possession

_unspoilt_, were made after the following proportions. The belly was

the strongest in thickness where the bridge rests, then it diminished

about a third at that part where the _f_ holes are cut, and, where the

belly rests on the sides, it was half as thick as in the middle. The

same proportion is observed in the length. The thickness is equally

maintained all along that part on which the bass bar was fixed; from

thence to the upper and under end blocks the thickness decreases to

one-half, so that the cheeks were three-fourths of the thickness of the

breast, and the edges all round only one-half. These proportions are

the best adapted for imparting a full, powerful, and sonorous tone.

* * * * *

‘The back is worked out much in the same proportion as the belly, and

is generally rather stronger in wood.’

* * * * *

‘~Hieronymus Amati~, of Cremona, whose violins are the oldest, used

the most beautiful maple, which has a very strong full figure, and,

as far as I can learn, the greater part of his backs are made in one

piece only. The figure runs from the left to the right side, somewhat

sloping. The form of his violin is large, and the model decreases in a

very beautiful manner towards each edge.’

* * * * *

‘The instruments of ~Antonius Amati~ differ but little from his

father’s, though he was not so nice in the choice of his figured wood;

yet in beauty of tone they are in no way inferior, if not spoilt in

_repairing_.’

* * * * *

‘Those of ~Nicholas Amati~ are conspicuous for having a somewhat

smaller form and a peculiar model; the swell rises gently near the

purfling, and afterwards springs up more abruptly, so as to form a

difference of an inch in height between the highest part at the centre

and that at the edges. They swell more abruptly than those of either

Hieronymus or Antonius, and in the centre form a sharp ridge. For the

rest, his instruments are not constructed with the same care as those

of Hieronymus.’

* * * * *

‘Those of ~Straduarius~ are remarkable for their flat construction. The

model or swell on the back and the belly does not rise more than half

an inch; they are therefore the flattest of all the Cremonese makers’

instruments. Those that are uninjured possess a very beautiful deep

full tone. They are the most esteemed by concert violinists; for every

virtuoso will obtain one, if he has an opportunity, at no matter what

price.

‘Their shape is invariably very fine, but their corners are not quite

so obtuse as those of Hieronymus Amati. The _f_ holes are beautifully

cut out and lie near together, as in all genuine Italian instruments;

the back, the sides, and the neck are made of beautifully figured

maple, and coloured with dark brown amber varnish.

‘The violins of Joseph Guarnerius are beautifully constructed. They are

extremely similar in shape, model, and the cutting of the _f_ holes,

to those of Nicholas Amati, and are coloured with the same deep yellow

amber varnish.

‘The instruments made by Jacob Steiner, of Apsam, differ from the

Cremonese both in outward shape and in tone. They are higher modelled,

and their proportions of strength are calculated quite differently.

The nearest comparison which can be drawn between a Cremonese and

a Steiner is this: a Cremonese has a strong reedy, sonorous tone,

something similar to that of a clarionet, whilst a Steiner approaches

to that of a flute. The belly is modelled higher than the back. In

length they are somewhat shorter than the Cremonese. The sides and the

back are made of the finest figured maple, and covered with a deep

yellow amber varnish.’

The author now digresses, for the purpose of letting us know that for

sixteen years he became a guitar maker, but that he has now given

that trade up to his sons, for reasons which, as a matter of profit,

are obvious enough. We may just remark, _en passant_, that guitars

are now to be had in all parts of Europe, at less than half the price

they used to be sold at. But M. Otto shall be heard--‘I must in this

place observe that the guitar had originally five strings only. The

late Herr Naumann, _Maître de Chapelle_ at Dresden, gave me the order

for the first guitar with the sixth or low ~E~ string, which I added

according to his instructions. Since then the guitar has always had six

strings, for which improvement amateurs have to thank Herr Naumann. As,

however, for the last ten years a great number of instrument makers, as

well as cabinet makers, have taken up this business, I have since then

entirely given it up. When I receive any orders I turn them over to

my sons at Jena and Halle, who are doing considerably in that branch.

The substitution of covered strings for the ~D~ and ~G~ is a small

improvement of my own.’

But we must return to the violin, and hasten to the close of this

article; not, however, till we have communicated to our readers some

useful instructions given by the author for the preservation of

instruments.

‘I shall now,’ he says, ‘lay down some brief hints for the treatment

and preservation of the instrument. A good old violin should be kept

in a wooden case, lined with cloth or flannel, as the too great heat

in summer, as well as the sudden transitions from cold to warmth in

winter, are injurious. Too great a heat renders the wood brittle, which

gives the instrument a harshness of tone, besides drying and parching

the strings. In winter the too great warmth of a room produces the same

effects.... Much greater damage is done to the instrument in summer

by the flies when it is left out of its case. They get in at the _f_

holes, and in a few years the inside of the back and the belly gets so

much spotted with dirt as to feel like shagreen to the touch.

‘The instrument should be kept particularly clean, and the dust

carefully wiped off the rosin with a linen rag. The insides should be

cleaned out once every six months, with a handful of barley made warm,

and poured into the _f_ holes, and well shaken. The dust or dirt inside

adheres to the barley, and is brought out again through the _f_ holes.

In order to preserve the strings a length of time in good condition

and sonorous, it will be advisable to keep in the spare bag, (which

should be lined with a piece of bladder moistened with oil of almonds,)

a small piece of silk taffeta, slightly damped with the same oil. The

strings should be rubbed with this piece of silk from the bridge to the

neck, before putting the instrument away in the case, and when again

wanted for use, the oil should be wiped off dry with a piece of fine

linen, and particularly in that part where the bow is used.’

The best strings, called Roman, come from Milan, and the purest rosin

from Prague, in the opinion of the author. He then remarks that much

playing in fourths and in fifths on a violin improves its tone, as

‘tending to extract the resinous particles from the wood’! If this be

a fact, he assigns _a_ reason; but afterwards declines divulging the

cause of ‘this singular effect,’ from a sense of ‘duty to his family.’

This smacks rather of what is commonly called quackery; but we must

make due allowance for the worthy man’s paternal care.

The present translation--which, on the whole, is well executed--will be

found very useful to all violinists, especially amateurs who are not

acquainted with the German language. In fact no violin-player ought

to be without it, for the cost is trifling, the time it will occupy

in reading cannot exceed a couple of hours, and the information it

contains is of a very valuable kind.

OXFORD CONCERTS.

During the last week but one in June, the annual ~Commemoration~ of the

Founders and Benefactors of the University was celebrated in the usual

academical manner, and by several musical performances.

On Monday evening, June 17th, a concert was given by the members of the

_Amateur Musical Society_, in the New Assembly Room at the New Inn; at

which there were upwards of 500 visiters, who were all, and with good

reason, much gratified by the performances they were invited to hear.

On Tuesday morning, June 18th, the vice-chancellor, heads of houses,

proctors, &c. assembled in the Radcliffe Library, and thence proceeded

to St. Mary’s Church, to hear a sermon preached for the benefit of the

Radcliffe Infirmary. Full service was performed by the members of the

different choirs in Oxford, under the direction of Mr. Vicary, who took

the organ.

On Wednesday, the 18th, the heads of the University, the young

noblemen, &c. attended at the Sheldonian Theatre, to hear the Crewian

Oration, in commemoration of the founders and benefactors, &c., and

also the several literary compositions to which the prizes for the

present year had been adjudged. They entered and retired to solemn

peals of the organ.

The Stewards of the Music Room, with that zeal which always marks their

management, made ample preparations for two concerts to be given in the

Town Hall, on the evenings of Tuesday and Wednesday, for which they

engaged Madame Malibran, Sig. Tamburini, M. de Beriot, Mr. Willman, the

clarinet, and many excellent orchestral performers, in addition to the

force resident in Oxford: but the illness of Madame Malibran frustrated

all their intentions, and the absence of an individual rendered

unavailing, it seems, the talents of all the rest. Upon such occasions,

why not engage a _double_; one who is able, if required, to take the

pieces intended to be sung by the principal? Thus the accidents to

which female singers are occasionally liable, and the caprices in

which they more frequently are suffered to indulge, would be provided

against, and the public be saved from that complete disappointment

which the absence of the only female performer must necessarily produce.

When it was found that Mad. Malibran could not perform, the Stewards

immediately issued a bill, announcing the fact. Nevertheless, about

300 persons were present. “At the commencement of the concert,” says

the _Oxford Journal_, “Mad. Malibran was handed to the front of the

orchestra by Mr. Nicks, and an apology made.... The lady certainly

appeared ill; but it may be asked, if Mad. Malibran had been ill for

three or four days, as stated, why did she venture to come to Oxford?

But we learn that she played exceedingly well (at Covent Garden) on

Saturday night. Be it as it may, Mad. Malibran has lost the esteem of

the Oxford audience; many of whom were not sparing of exclamations

against her when they left the hall.... The other performers exerted

themselves to the utmost, to supply the vacancy; but the absence of

the _only female singer_ left a chasm that could not be supplied. Sig.

Tamburini sang an extra song; and the powerful efforts of M. de Beriot

and Mr. Willman, who generously played an extra concerto each, failed

to restore _harmony_ to the company.”

Now we cannot help thinking that the Oxford critic is a little hard

on Mad. Malibran. That she was ill he seems to admit, and that she

did all in her power to convince the company of the fact is proved by

her having been a _second_ time led into the orchestra, and, as she

could not sing, sitting down to the piano-forte, and accompanying Sig.

Tamburini in the air “_Largo al Factotum_.” Of course the lady did not

receive, or expect to be paid, the 200 guineas for the two concerts.

An express was sent to London the same evening, which brought down Mrs.

Bishop on the following afternoon; who, at the second concert, sang

“Gratias agimus tibi,” and “Should he upbraid?” with much applause. But

the principal feature of both concerts was M. de Beriot on the violin;

who produced as much effect on a University audience as he had before

done on the best judges in the metropolis.

Sig. Tamburini sang with great ability some _arie_ of

Rossini--(everlasting Rossini!) which were well received: but many

wished that he, as well as other singers, would a little enlarge their

_repertoire_, and endeavour to learn that there are other composers

besides those of the last dozen years whose works are worth studying,

and would be infinitely more acceptable to real judges of music than

pieces which, whatever their merits, are worn threadbare, and become

almost nauseous from frequent repetition.

Mr. Marshall (of Oxford) led the band at these concerts, and Mr. Vicary

(a Mus. Bac. of this University) sat at the piano-forte.

OXFORD COMMEMORATION CONCERTS.

_To the_ ~Editor~ _of the_ ~Harmonicon~.

~Sir~, _Oxford, July 8th, 1833_.

It is very well known that many persons are annually induced to visit

Oxford at the time of The Commemoration. The town is always unusually

gay at this season. The friends and relatives of the students go

thither to gratify the proud satisfaction they feel in hearing a

brother or cousin recite his prize poem in the theatre; strangers, of

all ranks and degrees, to hear speeches in Latin and Greek, of which

they do not understand a syllable, and to see--the lions! Hence it

follows that throughout both the University and city there is visibly

a greater air of gaiety, more stir and bustle in the streets, and in

each “lane and alley green,” you hear more sounds arising from the

“busy hum of men” (and women too) at this particular time than at any

other part of the year. To, stroll in Christ Church meadow, and hear

the “mighty Tom” beat the hour, or to loiter at sunset in “Addison’s

Walk,” is, with many of those annual visitants, a _classical_ event,

much talked of, and never to be forgotten. You may not, perhaps, be

aware that, at the Commemoration, it is usual for the stewards of the

music-room to get up some musical performances, and which, for the

reasons before stated, have generally been well attended. According,

therefore, to their usual custom, two concerts were announced for the

evenings of Tuesday and Wednesday, the 18th and 19th of June last, upon

which occasion they (the stewards), with a spirit of liberality that

has indeed marked all their former proceedings, engaged (and it is said

at a very large sum) Madame Malibran and Signor Tamburini. Nor did they

stop here; for in order to make the attraction still greater, and at

the same time to render the performances as perfect as possible, to

those eminent and celebrated vocalists was added M. de Beriot, who, I

understand, is confessedly the finest and most finished performer on

the violin either in this or any other country.

That the performers were few in number will not be disputed; but, to

borrow a theatrical phrase, they were all “stars,” and of the first

magnitude. With a view to accommodate the public in general, and that

“the listening crowd” might meet with no impediment, the Town Hall

(being larger than the music room, where the concerts are usually

given) was, by permission of the mayor, fitted up, at a considerable

expense, for the occasion.

The programmes were printed and circulated; and I beg leave to send you

a copy of each, to enable both you and your readers to form an opinion

for yourselves of what I shall venture to call the musical treat that

was prepared to gratify the excited expectations, and realize the

anticipated pleasures of, what was naturally enough conjectured would

prove, a crowded audience: for, be it remembered, the aforesaid three

eminent performers were new at Oxford.

FIRST CONCERT, Tuesday, June 18, 1833.

~Act I.~

Overture. (_Semiramide._) ~Rossini.~

Aria, Signor Tamburini, “Come un ape.” ~Rossini.~

(_Cenerentola._)

Aria, Madame Malibran, “Voi che sapete.” ~Mozart.~

(_Figaro._)

Concerto, Violin, M. de Beriot. ~De Beriot.~

Duo, Madame Malibran and Signor Tamburini, ~Rossini.~

“Di Caprici.” (_Corradino._)

Concerto, Clarinet, Mr. Willman. ~Weber &

Spohr.~

Aria, Madame Malibran, “Il soave e bel contento.” ~Pacini.~

(_Didone Abbandonata._)

~Act II.~

Overture. (_Agnese._) ~Paer.~

Song, Madame Malibran, “Holy, holy.” ~Handel.~

Aria, Signor Tamburini, “O colpo impensato.” (_La ~Rossini.~

Gazza Ladra._)

Fantasia, Violin, M. de Beriot. ~De Beriot.~

Duo, Madame Malibran and Signor Tamburini, ~Rossini.~

“Bella immago.” (_Semiramide._)

Overture. (_Il Barbiere._) ~Rossini.~

Provençal Airs, Madame Malibran, (in which she

will accompany herself on the Pianoforte.)

Finale, Overture to Lodoiska ~Cherubini.~

SECOND CONCERT, Wednesday, June 19, 1833.

~Act I.~

Overture. (_Anacreon._) ~Cherubini.~

Aria, Signor Tamburini, “Una voce m’ha colpito.” ~Rossini.~

(_Inganno felice._)

Recit. ed Aria, Madame Malibran, “Alma invitta.” ~Rossini.~

(_Il Sigismondo._)

Concerto, Violin, M. de Beriot ~De Beriot.~

Duo, Madame Malibran and Signor Tamburini, ~Rossini.~

“Dunque io son.” (_Il Barbiere._)

Fantasia, Clarinet, Mr. Willman ~Crusell.~

Aria, Signor Tamburini. “Non speranza di grandezza.” ~Coccia.~

(_Edoardo in Iscosia._)

~Act II.~

Symphony, No. 1. ~Mozart.~

Aria, Madame Malibran, “Non più di fiori.” (_La ~Mozart.~

Clemenza di Tito._) (Corno Bassetto, Mr. Willman)

Aria, Signor Tamburini, “Sorgete.” (_Maometto ~Rossini.~

II._)

Adagio and Rondo Russe, Violin, M. de Beriot ~De Beriot.~

Duo, Madame Malibran and Signor Tamburini, ~Mozart.~

“La ci darem la mano.” (_Don Giovanni._)

Symphony ~Haydn.~

Ballad, Madame Malibran, “The deep, deep sea.” ~Horn.~

(Accompanying herself on the Pianoforte.)

Finale--“God save the King.”

So far all was well; and I think it will be allowed that the

authorities here had left nothing undone that they ought to have done,

in order to make the concerts literally as good and as attractive as

possible. Well, sir, Tuesday, the day for the first concert, arrived;

and about one o’clock the Worcester coach arrived. By the coach came

Signor Tamburini and M. de Beriot, accompanied by Madame Malibran--and

(most unfortunately) Madame Malibran came, accompanied with--what an

Irishman would call--a great big cold! This was an ill omen to commence

with. “Thus bad begins, but worse remains behind;” for just as the

doors were about to be opened, the lady informed the stewards that it

would be impossible for her to sing that evening! This proved a sore

annoyance to the Committee, and a very great disappointment to the

public, who were flocking in crowds to hear this far-famed prima donna;

but on being informed that Madame Malibran could not sing, hundreds

turned away without entering the Hall.

But how was the concert to be got through with only one singer?

All parties were placed in a most unpleasant situation. An apology

was made, explaining to the thin audience the cause of their

disappointment. Signor Tamburini sang two extra Italian arias. M. de

Beriot performed a third piece for the violin, which helped to put the

audience in good humour. Mr. Willman played a second fantasia on the

clarinet, and--and--and so the concert ended.

But while all this was going on, the stewards, it appears, were anxious

to make some preparation for the next evening’s performance; and, not

thinking it prudent to depend on any assistance from Madame Malibran,

despatched a special messenger (who travelled all night) to London,

with a carte-blanche to Mrs. Bishop, desiring her, if possible, to come

down. Luckily the letter found Mrs. Bishop at home, and, at almost

a minute’s notice, she very good-naturedly started, and arrived in

time to sing at the second concert. It was fortunate this precaution

was taken; for Madame Malibran’s cold and hoarseness continuing, she

left Oxford at mid-day on the Wednesday, and returned to London. Mrs.

Bishop was warmly greeted on her entering the orchestra. She sang three

songs, and an Italian duet with Signor Tamburini, in all of which

she acquitted herself admirably. She was (and most deservedly) much

applauded. Still, however, the public disappointment was great in not

hearing, Madame Malibran; and the concerts, which promised so fairly,

and which every one expected would prove most successful, turned out

to be a very losing concern. But you know very well, Mr. Editor, that

“’tis not in mortals to command success,” and so, sir, I shall bid you

adieu, for the present, by signing myself,

Your obliged and obedient servant,

~An Oxonian~.

P.S. Since writing the foregoing, I have been told that the very day

before Madame Malibran went to Oxford, she was prevented singing at M.

Begrez’ Morning Concert, by a severe cold and hoarseness; and that on

the evening of the same day, she literally walked through the part of

an opera at Covent Garden Theatre, without speaking one word of the

dialogue, or attempting to sing any one of the songs. If it really were

so, it may be asked, why did Madame Malibran set out for Oxford? Or, if

she would persevere in going, why did she not select some female singer

from among her acquaintance to accompany her, and who might, in case

of an emergency, be brought forward as her substitute? Should these

questions be ever put to Madame Malibran, I hope she will be able to

answer them satisfactorily.

CAMBRIDGE COMMENCEMENT.

Cambridge was more full this commencement than it has been for many

years past. The meeting of the ~British Association for the Advancement

of Science~ brought at least 1200 visiters to the University during

the last week in June, and the concerts, which followed, tempted

many of those to remain, drew several county families into the town,

and induced the heads of houses, as well as numerous fellows, to

continue in college longer than they would have done under ordinary

circumstances.

The Committee for managing the musical performances made their

preparations on an extensive and remarkably liberal scale. Among the

vocal performers were Mad. Malibran, Mrs. W. Knyvett, Mr. Braham, Mr.

Phillips, Mr. W. Knyvett, Mr. Horncastle, and Sig. Tamburini. The

instrumentalists included Messrs. De Beriot, Lindley, Dragonetti,

Venua, Nicholson, Willman, G. Cooke, Mackintosh, Harper, and several

others of the Philharmonic band. Mr. F. Cramer was leader; Sir G.

Smart conductor; and the whole was announced as under the direction of

Dr. Clarke Whitfield, the Professor of Music; but whether he took any

active share in the business, except to receive one hundred guineas for

the advantage of his name, we cannot say.

The first concert was given on Friday evening. The fine symphony

in ~D~, by Beethoven, was executed with spirit. The air “Lo! here

the gentle lark,” as sung by Mrs. W. Knyvett, was received with

loud plaudits. Mr. Braham in “Oh! ’tis a glorious sight,” of Weber,

and Rossini’s duet, “All idea,” with Sig. Tamburini, was extremely

successful. Mad. Malibran sang the lovely aria “Non più di fiori,”

from Mozart’s _Tito_, admirably; and her accompanyist, Mr. Willman,

on the clarionet, was not less perfect. But in “Il soave e bel

contento” she gave more pleasure to her audience--no very great proof

of their judgment. Neükomm’s “Fantasia Concertante,” written for the

Philharmonic Concerts, and there produced in 1832, was played by

nearly, if not exactly, the same persons who originally performed it,

and was heard with great attention, though, perhaps, not with that

enthusiasm which it excited in an audience of London connoisseurs. M.

de Beriot exerted himself to gain the same character in an English

University that he has acquired in the British capital, and succeeded

in convincing the Cantabs that he has no equal on the violin. Mr.

Phillips, in the “Midnight Review,” the joint product of Barry Cornwall

and M. Neükomm (for the poet is entitled to his share of praise in

this), did not hit the taste of the company. Perhaps the mere name of

Napoleon, in a colony of clergy, raises alarming associations. But

Martini’s “Vadasi via di quà” was encored; an honour to which its

distinct, beautiful melody and cheerfulness really entitle it. The

room was not half filled, we regret to add.

The sacred concert on Saturday was miserably attended; so that Mr.

Braham’s triumph, “Deeper and deeper still;” the “Benedictus” of

Mozart; the “Deh! parlate” of Cimarosa, sung by Mad. Malibran, with

“What though I trace,” and “Ye sacred priests,” by Mrs. W. Knyvett,

were, we had almost said, thrown away. The concert in the evening was

even more thin in company; and parts of the selection were not well

calculated for the place. But Mad. Malibran’s “Una voce poco fà,”

from Rossini’s “Barbiere;” Braham’s “Alexis;” the terzetto, from _Il

Matrimonio Segreto_, “Lei faccio un’ inchino,” pleased much. “Largo al

factotum,” and Horn’s song, “The deep, deep Sea,” were encored.

On Sunday, an anthem, “Let God arise,” with full orchestral

accompaniments, composed as an exercise for a bachelor’s degree

in music, by Mr. T. Attwood Walmisley, who has very recently been

appointed organist of Trinity and St. John’s Colleges, was performed

before the University, at Great St. Mary’s Church, and proved highly

creditable to so young a composer, one who has not yet completed his

twentieth year; and who, if he proceeds as he has begun, will, at no

great distance of time, reflect great honour on his instructor, (his

father,) and assist in raising the character of the English school of

music.

On Monday the Messiah was performed in an excellent manner by the

principal singers, at St. Mary’s, though the choruses certainly wanted

strength. The church was completely filled, at very high-priced

tickets, too. Indeed the terms of admission to all the performances

were rather extravagant, and produced a smaller total than if they

had been forty, or even fifty, per cent lower. The concert in the

evening, at the Senate House, was also well attended, and went off with

proportionate spirit and effect. Mad. Malibran’s national airs, sung to

her own accompaniment, excited a very lively interest: one of them was

loudly encored. Braham, in Attwood’s beautiful cantata, “The Soldier’s

Dream,” Phillips in Neükomm’s splendid song, “The Sea,” and Tamburini

with Phillips, in “Se fiato in corpo avete,” Cimarosa’s favourite but

hacknied duet, seemed to delight every person present. The inimitable

Lindley, on his violoncello, and the equally unrivalled De Beriot,

on his violin, made the audience fully sensible of their powers.

Indeed, everything was good, and received in a manner that proved the

cultivated taste of the company.

However, the affair has been a losing one: the guarantee committee

have had to pay a balance of 400_l._ out of their own pockets. The

fact is, that the festival was ill-timed. It came when all were

exhausted by the breakfasts, dinners, and fêtes, given to the _ambulant

philosophers_; and the prices of tickets were too high. London is now

brought so near Cambridge by improved travelling, that the public

performances in the metropolis are quite accessible to both gownsmen

and townsmen, who will not very willingly pay twelve and fifteen

shillings for what, by means of a short, easy journey, may be heard, in

certainly a more completely perfect manner, for little more than half

the money. Nevertheless, we give every credit to the gentlemen who have

sustained the loss, for their boldness and liberality.

LIVERPOOL AMATEUR SOCIETY.

_To the_ ~Editor~ _of the_ ~Harmonicon~.

~Sir~, _Liverpool, July, 1833_.

As I observe that you take an interest in whatever relates to the

cultivation of music, in the country as well as in London, I beg to

offer you an account of a Society which has lately been formed, on

a small scale, in this town, leaving it to your judgment to accept

or reject it as you may deem expedient. I have ventured to send

it, because I think the Harmonicon is a valuable record of musical

proceedings, and ought to be supported by amateurs, not only for their

own sakes, but to assist in the promotion of the science; I shall,

therefore, be rejoiced if I can, in the smallest degree, contribute to

so desirable an object.

The society which I wish to introduce to your notice is called the

_Apollo Vocal Concert_, and consists of a soprano and contralto,

(ladies,) a tenor and two bases, with the able and esteemed conductor

of the Liverpool Festival Choral Society as conductor and pianist.

Their object in associating is for the purpose of practising the

higher kinds of music, with a view to their mutual improvement; for

which purpose they meet regularly once a fortnight all the year round;

and to ensure a punctual attendance they have bound themselves, by

heavy fines, to observe the rules laid down for the government of the

society. So far its existence would not have been a subject of public

interest, and unworthy of your notice; but the parties concerned,

urged by several amateurs, and desirous of laying the foundation, if

possible, of some sort of permanent musical institution in the town,

determined on giving a set of four public vocal concerts; and the first

of these took place on Thursday, June 27th. In order to defray the

unavoidable expenses, and to secure the respectability of the meeting,

none were admitted but subscribers for the set--each subscriber having

a transferable ticket besides his own--the subscription being one

guinea for the four concerts. The number of subscribers is limited to

one hundred, which number is nearly filled, and includes the names of

some of our leading gentry.

You will be surprised, Mr. Editor, to learn, that Liverpool, the second

town in the empire, and distinguished, in other respects, by its

liberality and splendor, cannot boast a single musical establishment

of any description!--a most unaccountable, and, I had almost said,

disgraceful, fact--only to be explained, even by those well acquainted

with the place, on the supposition that no one likes to commit himself

by being one of the first to give his name to a project which may not

become fashionable.

It is hoped, however--seeing that most important undertakings have

had small beginnings--that some musical institution, creditable to

so opulent and important a town, may arise from the _Apollo Vocal

Concert_. Unpretending though it be in itself,--it will at least show

that a pleasant and unobjectionable recreation may be obtained at a

very trifling individual expense. But a good band might be collected

in the town, which by regular practice together would soon become

efficient; and there is every encouragement to take such a step, from

the example of Manchester, where the best orchestra in this country,

out of London, is found at the _Gentlemen’s Concert_ in that town.

I subjoin the programme of the public concert on the 27th of June

already mentioned. The company, consisting of nearly two hundred

persons, appeared to be not only satisfied, but extremely pleased with

the performance; indeed, the execution of some of the pieces would

have done no discredit to performers of much longer standing; and the

members of the society have expressed themselves highly flattered by

the manner in which their endeavours were received.

I fear I have taken up an unreasonable portion of your space: if so,

you must either curtail this letter, or excuse

Your obedient servant,

~Un altro Dilettante~.

* * * * *

~Part I.~

Symphony (_in_ ~E~ _flat_) Mr. G. ~Mozart.~

Holden and Mr. W. Comber

Trio, “Tremate! Empi, tremate,” Miss Johnson, ~Beethoven.~

Mr. Caird, and Mr. Pemberton

Cavatina, “Una voce poco fà,” Miss Potts ~Rossini.~

Duo Buffo, “Mentre Francesco,” Mr. Pemberton ~Coccia.~

and Mr. Aubrey

Scena, “Cœur de Lion,” Mr. Caird ~G. Hargreaves~[75]

Glee, “Blest pair of Sirens,” Miss Johnson, ~J. S. Smith.~

Miss Potts, Mr. Entwistle, Mr. Caird, Mr.

Pemberton, and Mr. Aubrey (encored)

Aria, “Miei rampolli femminini,” Mr. Aubrey ~Rossini.~

Finale, “Venite pur avanti,” (_Don Giovanni._) ~Mozart.~

Miss Johnson, Miss Potts, Mr. Entwistle, Mr.

Caird, Mr. Pemberton, and Mr. Aubrey

~Part II.~

Overture. (_Zaira._) Mr. G. Holden and Mr. W. ~Winter.~

Comber

Duetto, “D’ un bell’ uso di Turchia,” Mr. ~Rossini.~

Caird and Mr. Aubrey

Song, “Batti, batti,” Miss Johnson ~Mozart.~

Terzetto, “Dolce tranquillita,” Miss Johnson, ~Pucitta.~

Miss Potts, and Mr. Caird (encored)

Scena, “The battle of Hohenlinden,” Mr. ~C. Smith.~[76]

Pemberton

Glee, “Hark the curfew,” Miss Johnson, Miss ~Attwood.~

Potts, and Mr. Aubrey

Terzetto, “Pappataci!” Mr. Caird, Mr. ~Rossini.~

Pemberton, and Mr. Aubrey (encored)

Finale. (_Guy Mannering._) “The Fox jump’d ~H. R. Bishop.~

over the Parson’s gate,” Miss Johnson, Miss

Potts, Mr. Caird, Mr. Pemberton, and Mr.

Aubrey (encored)

[We wish all possible success to the _Apollo Concert_, and to every

society of the kind, but cannot congratulate the founders of it on

their choice of a name.]

HISTORICAL NOTICES RELATIVE TO THE VIOLIN. ~By~ G. E. ANDERS, _of

Paris_.

(From the German ~Cæcilia~.)

Whoever may hereafter wish to write a history of the violin, a

desideratum in musical literature, will scarcely seek for historical

notices in a book which, according to its title, treats only of

old edifices, monuments, tombs, and the like. I allude to Millin’s

_Antiquités Nationales, ou Recueil de Monumens pour servir à l’Histoire

de l’Empire François_. In the fourth volume of that work, the author

describes, among other churches, abbeys, castles, &c., the chapel of

_Saint-Julien-des-Ménestriers_, in Paris; and a statue in the porch

of this edifice, representing a man with a violin, affords to the

author an opportunity of inquiring into the age of this instrument. It

may be sufficient to observe, that this chapel was founded in 1330,

by two members of the company, or guild, of musicians, which in the

fourteenth century was very numerous. It received the name of St.

Julian because adjoining an hospital which was so called, and existed

up to the time of the French revolution, when, together with other

churches and monuments, it was demolished. Millin’s work, therefore, is

of additional value, because it preserves from total oblivion buildings

of which there is no vestige left. The following are the author’s own

words:--

The front of the chapel of St. Julian was very picturesque. The porch,

executed in a neat Gothic style, consisted of a great arch with four

niches. The frieze was decorated with little angels, delicately

carved in stone, playing on various instruments, such as the organ,

a triangular harp, with perpendicular (not horizontal) strings, the

violin, (a three-string rebeck,) the lyre, mandoline psalterium,

bagpipes, horn, oboe, flutes, kettle-drums, lutes, and dulcimer. In the

niche to the left of the porch stood the image of St. Julian, and in

the right-hand niche was placed, as is stated, that of Colin Moset; but

it is more natural to suppose this to be the statue of St. Genest, the

patron of musicians, and of their church.

The statue of St. Julian has a singular head-dress, is decorated with

a wide mantle, and in the hand holds a violin. It has frequently

been appealed to by antiquaries. The violin has four strings, and is

quite similar to that of the present day. Unfortunately the statue is

mutilated, and the right arm, with the bow, broken off. The antiquity

of the violin has been the subject of much inquiry. Laborde, in his

investigation, refers to the paintings of Philostratus, and maintains,

that on a fountain represented in one of these a violin is introduced,

which, with the exception of its shorter finger-board, resembles our

present violin. He would not have committed so great a mistake, had he

considered that we have only the _descriptions_ of these paintings,

not the _realities_. He further maintains that the fountain, with the

violin represented by Philostratus, occurs again on the medals of

Scribonius Libo; but these pretended violins are lyres, decorating

a kind of altar, which the ancients called _puteal_, an appellation

which Laborde very improperly translates by the word _fountain_.

Terrasson has written a dissertation on the lyre (vielle), wherein

he endeavours to prove that this instrument is of greater antiquity

than the violin. He has found some passages in which the word occurs,

and makes them subservient to his theory. But the words _vielle_ and

_viole_ manifestly signify the same thing as _violon_; and _vieller_,

_violonner_, the same as _jouer du violon_. The word _archet_ and

_arçon_ (bow) which is always mentioned in conjunction with the lyre

(vielle), leaves no doubt on this matter.

J’allai à li et praclet,

O la vielle et l’archet.[77]

But the defenders of the lyre (vielle) maintain, against all reason,

that the words _archet_ and _arçon_ signify the winch or the keys of

the instrument.

Maffei’s reference to a painting, representing Orpheus playing upon a

violin, is as little to the purpose: every thing bespeaks its later

origin.

It is indeed certain that the violin is an instrument of great

antiquity, and may be traced to the earliest periods of the French

monarchy. This fact is incontestably proved by the evidence of

monuments, the most important of which is the statue of a French

king, on the lower and right-hand side of the porch of the church of

_Notre-Dame_ in Paris.

Montfaucon, who has also given an engraving of this figure--though

by no means a correct one--conceives it to be a representation of

King _Chilperic_, because that monarch was the author of some hymns,

and of two books of songs for the church service. _La Ravallière_

has furnished a better delineation of this statue. Without stopping

to inquire whether, according to the highly probable opinion of

Montfaucon, that statue be a representation of King Chilperic, it

is evident that the crown and the royal mantle are intended to

represent royalty. The violin in the left hand has four openings or

sounding-holes, the bow in the left is broken. La Ravallière has

instanced another remarkable monument, a small basin, which the Abbé

Le Bœuf; who transmitted it to him, conceived to be a production of

the earliest times of the French monarchy. This was found where a royal

palace is supposed to have stood formerly. It is gilt, and embellished

with enamelled embossed work, and in all probability was used for

washing the hands in. The design of the embossed work is divided into

several compartments. In that of the centre is a harp-player sitting

on a chair; on his right is a singer, judging by the roll of paper in

his hand; and on his left is a violin player. In one of the lateral

compartments we observe a violin with a double bridge.

The vignette of a manuscript of the beginning of the fourteenth

century, which was in the possession of _Gayon de Sardiere_, exhibits

the figure of a _jongleur_ sitting on a high bench and playing the

violin. As the manuscript contains the songs of the King of Navarre,

the intention of the artist was to represent the jongleur in the act

of singing the songs of the king, who is present with his consort, the

queen. Both are sitting, and seem to be listening to the performer. The

courtiers appear to pay him no less attention. These various monuments

prove that the violin had been long in use among the jongleurs. The

most celebrated people of this calling were the best violin players

of their time; and the lyre was at all times but a very subordinate

instrument.

The Antiquities of Struth contain many interesting figures. One

represents an English fiddler, whose violin has only two strings,

while others have four. One has but three. This was during a long

period the usual number, and the instrument was called a rebec. It is

not exactly known when the fourth string was permanently added. Laborde

thinks in the sixteenth century, and rests his opinion on the fact,

that the best violins which we possess are still those which Charles

IX. of France caused to be constructed by the celebrated _Amati_ of

Cremona. These are also the best models. But there is a drawing of the

instrument by Matthew Paris, which proves its antiquity to be great.

Perhaps it was only in the sixteenth century that its use became

general, about which time the form of the violin, as well as the art of

playing on it, reached a high degree of perfection. The violin of St.

Genestus is no rebec; it has four strings, and is formed like ours.

It remains for us to speak of a singular dignity or office, which owed

its origin to this instrument. Every company, or guild, had formerly

a head or leader, who bore the title of king. The grocers, surveyors,

barbers, &c., nay, even the poets, had their king: but the usurpations

and arbitrary sway of these singular monarchs brought about their

dethronement, and nothing remained of such royalty except the _king at

arms_ and the _king of the fiddlers_.

The history of the first kings of the fiddlers is not known, and it

would be impossible to enumerate them in the order of their succession.

The earliest on record is _Jean Charmillon_, who, under Philip le Bel,

was chosen king of the jongleurs in the city of Troyes, ~A.D.~ 1295.

Constantine, a celebrated violin player at the court of Lewis XIII.,

obtained the dignity of _king of the fiddlers_ and _master of the

musicians_ (_roi des violons et maître des ménestriers_). He died in

1657, and was succeeded by Dumanoir, known by the name of William I.

After the death of the latter, the crown descended to his son, William

II., who abdicated, and thereby caused a state of anarchy. Lewis XIV.

looked with indifference on the extinction of a royalty of this kind,

and declared that he had no inclination to revive it.

The musical kingdom had long been troubled by internal and external

feuds: the dancing-masters, supported by their leader, had for more

than half a century carried on a warfare against their rivals, the

common fiddlers, who, to the disgrace of their art, used to play in the

taverns and beer-houses. They prosecuted the town-dancers, until, in

1666, they obtained a formal decree. No company was so rich in strife

and turmoil; their contests produced a number of judicial sentences.

The momentous object of these contests was the suppression of one

string in the fiddles of their adversaries, whom they wished to bring

back and limit to the ancient and legitimate form of their instrument,

the rebec.

This interregnum lasted from 1685 to 1741, when _Gaignon_, a celebrated

violin player, aspired to the rank of fidicinal royalty, and was

honoured with it, by Lewis XV., on the 15th of June of the latter year.

But _Gaignon’s_ government was too arbitrary; he wished to revive a

number of obsolete privileges; and many musicians, especially the

organists, successfully opposed his attempts, and _Gaignon_ in disgust

resigned his royal dignity, which was finally abolished in 1773.

The second bridge, above mentioned, is a matter of some surprise;

for it is difficult to conceive what could have been the use of the

finger-board, or indeed of the neck altogether, if the sounds of the

strings were fixed between the two bridges. I have myself met elsewhere

with drawings of this kind, the execution of which, however, is so

bad and indistinct, that it is not easy to guess the purport of the

little cross-stroke which _Millin_ takes for a second bridge. Might it

not be possible to explain the matter in a more obvious manner?--The

sounding-holes in violins (our present _f_ holes) have in former times

often changed their figure and place, until the shape of an _f_ was

universally adopted. Sometimes they were in the form of a crescent;

sometimes they were contrived in the sides of the instrument, either

above or below. In short, their shape and place depended entirely on

the fancy of the constructor: I therefore think it probable that the

little cross-stroke may have been meant to represent, not a second

bridge, but a sounding-hole.

WORCESTER MUSICAL FESTIVAL.

The hundred and tenth meeting of the choirs of Gloucester, Hereford,

and Worcester, for the benefit of the Widows and Orphans of Clergymen

of the three dioceses, will be held at Worcester on Tuesday, Wednesday,

Thursday, and Friday, the 24th, 25th, 26th, and 27th of September next.

There will be, in all, seven performances--four in the Cathedral,

on the mornings of the days before mentioned, and three Grand

Miscellaneous Concerts at the College Hall, on the evenings of Tuesday,

Wednesday, and Thursday.

We feel happy in being able to make this announcement, because, from

the great loss with which several of the late triennial meetings have

been attended--(the receipts not having been equal to the expenditure,

and consequently leaving a large sum to be advanced by the stewards, to

make good the deficiency)--it was for some time very doubtful whether

these musical performances, which have been so long established, and

from which, we believe, all other of our provincial musical festivals

have emanated, would, or would not, be continued. To prevent, however,

the abandonment of these most respectable and useful meetings--(we say

_useful_, because although, as we have before stated, a heavy loss has

sometimes fallen on the stewards, yet the ends of the establishment

have not been defeated, for the total amount of donations, and the

collection made each day of the performance at the doors of the

cathedral, amounting, on the average, annually to between 700_l._ and

800_l._, is invariably, and without the least deduction towards the

expenses, distributed amongst the several claimants--we say, then, in

order to keep up these respectable and useful meetings)--and that the

objects of the charity may not suffer from their being discontinued,

the following distinguished personages have most willingly consented

to take upon themselves the office of steward for the ensuing meeting:

Lord Foley, Lord Southwell, Sir Offley Wakeman, Bart., Colonel Russell,

M.P., Osman Ricardo, Esq., Joseph John Martin, Esq., Elias Isaac, Esq.,

John Taylor, Esq., the Bishop of Worcester, the Venerable Archdeacon

Onslow, Hon. and Rev. James Somers Cocks, Rev. John Davison, Rev. John

Peel, and the Rev. Thomas Pearson.

To the foregoing list we have no doubt that other names will yet be

added.

The music to be performed in the cathedral will be chosen from the

works of Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Cherubini, and other masters

of the greatest celebrity, including selections from the following

Oratorios, which may justly be ranked amongst the most highly classical

productions, viz.: The _Creation_ (Haydn); _Mount Sinai_ (the Chevalier

Neukomm); _The Last Judgment_ (Spohr); the _Deluge_, a new work, held

in the highest estimation in Germany, no part of which has hitherto

been performed in this country (Schneider); and, though last not least,

_Palestine_, the masterly production of our countryman Dr. Crotch. This

augurs well for the undertaking; and that the music so judiciously

selected may lose none of its charms in the performance, the following

principal vocalists are engaged: Madame Malibran, Miss Clara Novello,

and Mrs. W. Knyvett; Messrs. Braham, Vaughan, W. Knyvett, Ed. Taylor,

and Mr. Phillips; with a strong and efficient chorus. Signor Donzelli

is also engaged, whose splendid voice will no doubt prove a great

acquisition at the evening concerts. Mr. F. Cramer will lead the

band, and be supported by Messrs. Moralt, Marshall, Loder, R. Ashley,

Lindley, Dragonetti, Nicholson, Cooke, Willman, Mackintosh, Platt,

Harper, &c. &c. The repieno performers will be principally selected

from the Philharmonic Concert; and to make the arrangements as perfect

as possible, M. de Beriot is engaged as concerto player, who, we

believe, is allowed, by all good judges, to be the most finished

performer on the violin in Europe.

From this brief outline, it appears to no that the conductor (Mr.

Clarke) has left nothing undone that is likely to contribute to the

success of the meeting; and if novelty, combined with excellence, has

lost none of its usual attraction, we predict that the meeting will be

fully attended.

THE UTILITY OF MUSIC TO SAILORS.

Though it is well known to every one that seafaring men of all grades

are warm admirers of music,--that the song is as welcome to the

admiral in his state cabin, as to the foremast-man seated on his chest

amidst the lower-deck guns,--that the ‘soft complaining flute’ is

constantly in request in the ward-room and cockpit, when less gentle

winds than those which give it utterance are not blowing hard,--and

that ‘sharp violins proclaim,’ in every part of the ship, except

indeed the quarter-deck, Jack’s love for innocent scrapes, as well as

mischievous ones;--yet we never knew music recommended, from anything

like authority, to mariners as a pursuit, till we took up the _Nautical

Magazine_ for May last, wherein we find ‘A Sailor’s advice to his Son,’

a sensible essay, so far as the matter is concerned, in which the

art of modulated sounds is mentioned as one that may, with the most

beneficial results, be cultivated by the sailor, whatever his degree,

for reasons that will be seen in the following extract, which we make

with much pleasure, as it affords another proof of the increasing

spread of an art to which our work is devoted; though we do not attempt

to conceal that some allowances must be made for the style of one whose

life has, most likely, been devoted to studies of more importance to

him than the very exact value of a word, or the turning of a period.

‘The influence,’ says the sailor, ‘of music in elevating the enjoyments

and alleviating the daily disturbances of life, by lulling its cares,

its passions, and its follies, into calm repose, is perhaps still

more instantaneous. Music alone can open every avenue to the heart,

and unfold the various treasures with which a beneficent Creator

has furnished the susceptibility of his creatures. The most painful

ebullitions of grief are stifled, and charmed into tranquillity by

skilful music. To dissipate affliction, to moderate the anguish of

severe disappointment, or to adorn the sparkling moment of festivity,

music is equally powerful and efficient: it can quell the agitation

of despair, and exhilarate with speechless tremor the heart, while it

overflows with delight. Music is the language of those regions where

happier and better beings reside, and its sympathy with the fine and

tender affinities of our own species gives it unlimited sway over the

modulation of our feelings. The mother’s lullaby to the darling in her

lap breathes music upon us in our infancy; it affects us in various

modes in after life--in the midnight serenade, in the festive tabor,

in the shrill clarion of war, and in the full toned organ, which

sounds a requiem over the departing reliques of mortal existence.

Amidst the wildest scenery of nature, music can breathe sentiments

of humanity in the breast of the most obdurate savage; and among the

infinite gradations of civilized life can call down the monarch from

his throne, can console the exile under his expulsion, and can elate

the breasts of humble peasantry with jocund celebration of their

evening repose. In its simplest form, music requires neither skill nor

precautionary steps to find access to the heart--the ploughboy’s carol,

the milkmaid’s ballad, the seaman’s ditty, or the recitation of the

foreign mountaineer chanted with inartificial melody, produce powerful

and pleasing sensations. But to create that intensity of feeling, which

solely identifies itself with the accordance of musical composition,

the corresponding symphony of which awakens from their secluded

cells the sweetest and tenderest affections, elucidates emotions of

hope, fear, surprise, terror, and joy,--and as the stream of harmony

flows along calls forth involuntary exclamations of delight, wonder,

and admiration--demands a much more copious extent of subject and

execution. The sublime compositions of Handel, Haydn, Arne, Mozart, and

Cimarosa, are of this description.’

THE MADRIGAL SOCIETY.

This ancient and excellent Society held its last meeting of the

season at Freemasons’ Tavern, on Thursday the 18th of July, when a

remarkably full attendance of members, and numerous visiters, showed

that such music as is here performed, instead of producing satiety, as

is the case with too many modern compositions, becomes more exciting

and delightful the longer it is enjoyed. Sir John Rogers, Bart., the

highly-talented President, was in the chair; and under the guidance of

one possessed of so much knowledge and tact, aided, too, as he was, by

such a host of vocal supporters, nothing less than so satisfactory, so

brilliant an evening could have been expected.

But for this Society, the Madrigal, when by fashion--which always

thirsts for change, and is generally tasteless--banished from every

other musical circle, would, most probably, have been utterly

unknown and lost to our generation. And even this very Society, the

only place of refuge that was left for so masterly, so beautiful a

species of composition, was, not long ago, in imminent danger of

speedy dissolution; when its extinction was not only averted by the

accession of the President who now sways the sceptre, but its means

were extended, and its importance increased, by the addition of members

in whom taste and rank are united, and it received a new impetus,

which has given it a high place among the most distinguished musical

associations in Europe, and ensures its stability and prosperity so

long as its present course is pursued.

Of the dinner, though the best of its kind, and of the wine, which is

equally good, being chosen for and reserved for this Society, we will

not speak,--though far from holding the reasonable pleasures of the

table in contempt,--because music is here the grand, the almost sole

object. Instead, then, of laying before our readers the number and

nature of the various dishes and wines, we will present them with a

list of the musical pieces performed, the intellectual treat, after the

cloth was removed--

I will sing of thy power 5 voices. ~Dr. Greene.~

At sound of her sweet voice 5 „ ~Quintiani.~

Con la sua 6 „ ~Luca Marenzio.~

Due begl’ occhi lucenti. 5 „ ~Gio. Pizzoni.~

Lo! ladies, where my love comes 5 „ ~Ruggiero Giovanelli.~

How springs each plant 5 „ ~Quintiani.~

O that the learned poets 5 „ ~Orlando Gibbons.~

Phillis, go take thy pleasure 5 „ ~Weelkes.~

Round about her chariot 6 „ ~Ellis Gibbons.~

Since neither tunes of joy 4 „ ~Bennet.~

Sweet love, if thou 5 „ ~Wilbye.~

When Oriana walked 6 „ ~Bateson.~

_The Waits_, a Fal la la 4 „ ~Jer. Savile.~

Some three or four of the above had never been tried here before, were

quite unknown, but turned out real treasures. To the director of the

music, Mr. Hawes, the Society is indebted for bringing these madrigals

forward.

THE LEADER OF THE ANCIENT CONCERTS.

The instrumental band belonging to the Ancient Concert, in testimony

of the regard and esteem they feel for their leader, Mr. F. Cramer,

have presented him with a very handsome and valuable silver salver.

This reflects great credit on all parties. It is, unquestionably,

most highly gratifying to Mr. Cramer, after having led the band for

thirty-five years, to receive this flattering mark of approbation from

his brother professors; and we hope he will maintain his post, and live

many years to enjoy the use of so solid a token of their regard, which

should (and we have no doubt but it will) descend to his posterity in

the nature of an heir-loom. The simple circumstance in itself may serve

as a stimulus, and, at the same time, prove a wholesome lesson to the

aspiring young artists who are rising in the profession, and who may

be destined hereafter to preside over a large orchestra, for it will

show them that talent in a leader, when combined with agreeable manners

and gentlemanly conduct, will not only entitle him to the attention

and obedience of the band when _in_ the orchestra, but, what is of

infinitely more value, it will ensure him the kind regard, good will

and friendship of his band when _out_ of it.

THE OLD ENGLISH GENTLEMAN.

_To the_ ~Editor~ _of the_ ~Harmonicon~.

~Sir~, _June 11th, 1833_.

In consequence of a low puff, in the form of an advertisement, having

appeared in several papers, relative to the song of ‘The Old English

Gentleman,’ I have presumed to ask the favour of your contradicting

the assertion made through that medium, which is entirely false from

beginning to end, indeed almost too contemptible to notice, and should

have been passed in silence, but that I think such manœuvres ought to

be exposed. It is a fact, that the very man who issued the article in

question has been himself prevented from publishing the copy of which

he so unjustifiably possessed himself, and of which he accused _me_ of

having robbed _him_!

However, to avoid all further contention, I have rewritten and re-set

the song, and thus, in future, mean to sing it. This is not the first

attack made upon me by the same person, who pirated the ballad of

_The Maid of Llammelyn_ when in its height of popularity, and issued

circulars and advertisements to say that the song bearing my name was

not the popular ballad--a declaration as false as the present.