Restoration. Nevertheless he composed an "occasional" opera, "Pélage ou
le Roi et la Paix" (April 23, 1814); June 21, he brought out a mediocre
opera ballet, "Les Dieux Rivaux," on the occasion of the marriage of
the Duc de Berry (Persuis, Berton, and Kreutzer had also collaborated
for one); he brought about in 1817 a brilliant revival of "Ferdinand
Cortez," remodelled throughout; finally he gave, on the 20th of December,
1819, his opera of "Olympia," which showed here and there the hand of
the great composer, but which was in every respect inferior to "La
Vestale" and "Cortez." It was a complete failure in Paris, but in 1821
the work, having been rewritten to a great extent, was given in Berlin
with great _éclat_. This was a double triumph for Spontini, it being
his revenge on Paris and his crowning success in the German states. For
a long time, indeed, the king of Prussia, Frederick William III., had
cherished the most sincere admiration for him. In 1814 he demanded of
him several pieces for the music of his guard, and after hearing, in
1818, the remodelled "Ferdinand Cortez," he desired to attach this great
musician to his court. Spontini was not satisfied with the title of
royal capellmeister, and notwithstanding the opposition of the Count of
Brühl, intendant of the royal theatre, he obtained, by contract signed in
August, 1819, the position of general director of music, at a salary of
10,000 Prussian thalers (about $7,000). He went to Berlin, therefore, and
occupied this important post from 1820 to 1840, exercising a considerable
influence on all that pertained to musical art in Prussia, elevating the
standard of education for the artists, and composing numerous cantatas
or works for special occasions which his court duties required him to
write. He also brought out two new works at the Berlin Opera House: in
1821, the opera ballet "Nurmahal," taken from Moore's poem "Lalla Rookh";
in 1825, "Alcidor"; and in 1827 he wrote the grand romantic opera "Agnes
von Hohenstaufen," the first act of which had been played ten years
before at a royal _fête_. All these productions added nothing to his
glory, and have fallen into oblivion.
The performance of "Agnes" called forth a very violent criticism from
Rellstab, the representative of all Spontini's enemies in Germany, and
who had just been made editor of the "Vossische Zeitung." Indeed, when
Spontini arrived in Berlin to assume his duties, he soon saw in league
against him all the German musicians and composers, over whose heads he
had stepped.
Though generous and obliging, his pride was deeply hurt by these
hostilities, and he could not conceal deep irritation at the cavillings
of his enemies, to which he gave a sharp retort. He had caused to be
suppressed a pamphlet in which Rellstab had accused him of withholding
from the stage, or else playing with an evident intention of ruining
them, the works of composers whom he had reason to fear; he had
brought about Rellstab's arrest and detention for several months for a
spiteful article in which the critic expressed doubt that the composer
of "Nurmahal," "Alcidor," and "Agnes" was the same as the composer of
"La Vestale" and "Cortez." But Rellstab responded with violent satires
published at Mayence, in which Spontini, without being named, was easily
recognizable by his personal peculiarities of manner and speech, which
were cleverly depicted. Finally, as the natural result of Rellstab's
imprisonment, the entire party of which he was the mouthpiece redoubled
its spiteful attacks against Spontini.
Thenceforth the latter, feeling himself more and more an object of
attack, began to cherish the project of returning to France. His absence
had calmed all the jealousies which his colossal self-love had excited
against him, and in one of the long vacations which he spent in Italy or
France during his twenty years' service in Prussia, there had been talk
of his writing for the Paris _Opéra_ a grand work, "Les Athéniennes,"
in place of the opera "Louis IX.," which Louis XVIII. had previously
wished him to compose, and the first ideas of which he had put on
paper. At length, in 1838, the Académie des Beaux Arts nominated him,
unhesitatingly, in Paër's place, provided he would return and settle
in Paris. His protector, King Frederick William III., died in August,
1840; but even if this event had not taken place, Spontini would not
have accepted a third engagement of ten years with the royal house of
Prussia. The new king would have preferred to retain him, but the disgust
which Spontini felt at the open hostility of the intendant of the royal
theatre, and also the promise which he had made to his colleagues of
the Institute of France, decided him to refuse these overtures. He left
Berlin in July, 1842, under conditions very painful to his self-love, but
advantageous to his purse, since the king provided that he should retain
all his honorary titles and receive an annual pension of about $3,200.
On his return to Paris, after a certain time passed in Italy, he sought
to have his old operas revived, but he, who had dubbed as barbarous all
the music which had taken root at the _Opèra_ in his absence, encountered
only animosity, and was unable to carry out his plans. On the other hand,
his "Vestale" had achieved great success in Denmark; some fragments of it
were sung and much applauded at Cologne in 1847; and Spontini, ennobled
by the king of Denmark, made Conte de San Andrea by the Pope, was
gloriously received by the king of Prussia when he returned as a visitor
to the capital. Such were the last gratifications of self-love which this
great composer experienced; and although France had not much more to
offer him, he always returned to that country, and chose Paris above all
other places for his home.
At last, when his memory and hearing began to fail, he felt that the
beautiful climate of his native country might restore his health, and he
left Paris in 1850 to return to the Roman States. He was received at Jesi
with honors which are by custom reserved for sovereigns. Then he wished
to visit once more his native town, Majolati. He had been there several
months, when one day, while suffering from a very bad cold, he insisted
on going to mass, in spite of the earnest remonstrances of his wife.
There he took more cold, fever set in, and the illustrious composer died
on the 24th of January, 1851, at the age of seventy-seven.
[Illustration: Fac-simile autograph letter and musical manuscript written
by Spontini.]
Spontini's operas no longer hold an important rank, and yet his name
always commands respect, thanks to the beautiful bits which are
still admired in "Ferdinand Cortez" and in "La Vestale." Assuredly,
Spontini was no innovator such as was Gluck. He was content, without
revolutionizing lyric tragedy, to give it more dramatic animation and
masters as bold and as little mindful of conventionalities as were
Berlioz and Wagner have professed a real admiration for Spontini.
[Illustration: BUST OF SPONTINI BY DANTAN.
From the Carnavalet Museum, Paris.]
This artist, in spite of the changes which music underwent during
his lifetime, was so thoroughly convinced of the superiority of his
conceptions of the noble art, that one could not but feel a respect for
him and for his best qualities. The march and the prayer in "Olympia,"
the scene of the revolt in "Ferdinand Cortez," best of all, the grand
_finale_ of "La Vestale," rest upon motives so expressive, and appeal so
strongly to the emotions, that one cannot do otherwise than admire them.
It was Spontini's misfortune never to find another poem which suited his
genius so well as "La Vestale." "Olympia" bears evidence of a singular
indecision and of repeated modifications, in the midst of which the
composer's idea and intention vaguely float. In fact, Spontini constantly
made changes in his scores, pasting alteration over alteration until
almost every page resembled a patchwork or mosaic. "Ferdinand Cortez"
contains some rare beauties as regards melody, expression, and dramatic
effect, but these beauties are exceptional; "La Vestale" alone was a true
masterpiece.
In this opera we must consider especially the high inspiration which
breathes through it, the powerful emotions which it reveals, and not
pause at Spontini's somewhat embarrassed formulas and mediocre methods.
What tenderness in the first duo of Licinius and Cinna, _Unis par
l'amitiè_; what anguish in the supplication of Julia, _Oh! des infortunès
dèesse tutèlaire_; what passion in the air _Impitoyable dieux_, and
what sweet resignation in the cavatina, _Les Dieux prendront pitiè_..!
The last song, _Adieu mes tendres sœurs_, is as sadly expressive as the
hymn _Fille du ciel_ is full of religious sentiment, and this series of
magnificent pages is crowned by that imposing _finale_ of the second act,
which was at that time a work of genius. And yet, when "La Vestale" was
revived at the _Opéra_ in 1854, three years after Spontini's death, it
was played only eight times, making a total of 213 performances in Paris.
When "Ferdinand Cortez" was played again in 1840, it lived through only
six performances, making a total of 248 in Paris. After all, Spontini,
with his great melodic qualities and rare dramatic instinct, only
continued in the path which Gluck had laid out, and was in no sense an
innovator. Thus he exercised no influence on musicians who followed him,
while he stood by and saw powerful rivals revolutionize musical art and
reform the public taste.
He raged and stormed when people talked to him of the "fashion"; but here
he was helpless, for musical taste had totally changed in twenty years.
While he was still in Prussia, he proposed to the administration of
the _Opéra_ to go to Paris and direct a revival of "Ferdinand Cortez,"
with the denouement as he had arranged it for Berlin, and, after a
suit gained at first, then lost, against the director of the _Opéra_,
Duponchel, to prevent him from playing that opera again in its original
form, he was obliged to submit to the pitiful and fatal revival of 1840.
But if he had gained his point, he would have found himself confronted
with entirely new preferences on the part of the public, for since his
departure there had been a complete revolution at the _Opéra_, under the
influence of Rossini and Meyerbeer. "William Tell," "Robert le Diable,"
and "The Huguenots," not to mention "La Muette de Portici," coming one
year before "William Tell," had struck a fatal blow at ancient lyric
tragedy. The public, weary of antique heroes, of Greeks and of Romans,
desired something a little less formal, more animated and real. They
wanted dramas concerning times more nearly approaching their own, and
therefore more interesting to them. The music also had completely changed
in character; it allowed of a much richer instrumentation, a search after
picturesque or historic color, a variety in the melody and dramatic
expression which had never occurred to Spontini.
And yet, after this revolution was an accepted fact, Spontini, quite
blinded by his phenomenal self-love, delivered himself of the following
sentiments to Richard Wagner, when the two composers met at Dresden in
1844: "After Gluck, it is I who have made a grand revolution with 'La
Vestale'; I have introduced the augmentation of the sixth in harmony, and
the big drum in the orchestra. With 'Cortez' I have taken a step forward;
I have taken three steps with 'Olympia,' and a hundred with 'Agnes von
Hohenstaufen.' After that I might have composed 'The Athenians,' an
excellent poem, but I have renounced it, despairing of excelling myself.
Now how do you imagine that it is possible for anybody to invent anything
new when I, Spontini, realize that I am unable to surpass my greater
works? And furthermore it is very evident that since 'La Vestale,' not
a note of music has been written that has not been stolen from me." Was
it possible to show a greater blindness in the face of such works as
"William Tell" and "The Huguenots," or to give a more erroneous estimate
of himself, ranging his works in the exact inverse order of their worth?
Poor Spontini, who was so unfortunate as to outlive his glory, and see
"unworthy rivals" all about him, bearing off the laurels!
[Illustration: Al. Jullien]
[Illustration: SPONTINI'S PIANO IN THE MUSEUM OF THE PARIS OPERA HOUSE.
From a photograph made specially for this work.]
[Illustration: LUIGI CHERUBINI
_Reproduction of an excellent lithograph portrait._]
[Illustration: CHERUBINI]
[Illustration]
LUIGI CHERUBINI
The full name of this illustrious master is Luigi Carlo Zanobi Salvatore
Maria Cherubini. He was born in Florence, on the 14th of September, 1760.
From his earliest youth it was intended that he should follow the musical
profession, and the first instruction he received was imparted to him by
his father, Bartolomeo, who filled the position of musical accompanist
at the Teatra della Pergola. Under his direction, the boy soon became
proficient in playing from figured bass, and with the help of Bartolomeo
Felici, the best teacher of counterpoint in all Tuscany at that time,
he acquired a knowledge of the principles of composition. He received
lessons in singing and in organ and piano playing; in short, all his
musical gifts were developed with such surprising rapidity that at the
age of thirteen he composed his first mass, which was performed in church
and very favorably received. Cantatas, short dramatic compositions, two
more masses, and an oratorio followed in swift succession. It now became
Cherubini's ardent wish to visit the important musical centres in Italy,
and to enjoy the instruction of the most famous masters. His father's
very limited resources being insufficient for the gratification of this
desire, a stipend was granted him for the purpose by the Grand Duke
Leopold. In 1778, Cherubini betook himself to Giuseppi Sarti, in Bologna,
and, on the master's removal to Milan, a year afterward, followed him
to that city. Sarti's methods of teaching were those of the old school;
that is to say, he regarded the contrapuntal style of composition of
the sixteenth century as the foundation of all true art, and exacted
complete mastery of its principles from all his pupils. Yet it argued no
inconsistency on Sarti's part that he also devoted himself zealously to
dramatic composition, a field in which his success was not less marked
than in that of church music. To these two forms of art the Italians
confined themselves in Sarti's time; for their instrumental music, which
served as a model for all Europe until the first half of the eighteenth
century, was in a state of almost complete decay. It was chiefly owing to
the teaching of Sarti, that Cherubini became the greatest contrapuntist
of his time, and excelled even Mozart in purity and severity of style.
His famous _Credo_ for eight voices, _a cappella_, one of the most
marvellous artistic achievements of any age, was worked out in part
under Sarti's eye. In connection with this style of composition,
Cherubini continued to labor diligently in the line of operatic music.
Sarti adopted the commendable practice of inserting in his own operas
certain airs composed by his most talented pupils, thus affording his
young disciples an opportunity of becoming practically acquainted with
operatic effects, yet shielding them from the discouraging severity
of public criticism. After completing his preparatory studies in this
way, Cherubini ventured for the first time to step forward with an
entire opera of his own composition. It was called "Quinto Fabio," and
was brought out in Alexandria, through Sarti's influence. "Armida" and
"Messenzio," performed in Florence, also "Adriano in Siria," produced
at Livorno, followed in 1782, but these works seem to have made no
permanent impression upon the public. Nevertheless Cherubini's earnest,
profound, and eminently artistic nature was revealed in them to an
extent that astonished his countrymen, who were accustomed to music of a
lighter and more pleasing character, such as the operatic compositions
of the Neapolitan and Venetian school. A certain degree of admiration
was accorded him, and he was occasionally honored with flattering
appellations, as for example "Il Cherubino" (the cherub); but none the
less the fact remains that neither the earlier nor the later works of
the musician found true appreciation in his native land.
Sarti, meantime, strove without ceasing to secure the advancement of
his pupil, and procured for him in 1784 the position of composer at the
Haymarket Theatre in London. After Handel's death, Italian music had
quickly regained its old place in the popular esteem in England. During
the three years of Cherubini's residence in London, he wrote the operas
"La Finta Principessa" and "Giulio Sabino," the first of which was
received with much applause, while the latter proved a complete failure.
Wounded by this want of success, Cherubini repaired to Paris in 1786,
and, after one more visit to London in 1787, he took up his permanent
residence in the French metropolis. He had found there a true friend
in Viotti, the famous violin virtuoso, and with his assistance gained
admission to the upper circles of society, even receiving the honor of
an introduction to Queen Marie Antoinette. An event of great importance
in deciding the direction of his artistic faculties was his attendance
at the so-called _Concert de la Loge Olympique_, where he heard for
the first time a symphony of Haydn's, probably one of a series of six,
composed in 1786, by especial command of the society. A new world was
suddenly opened to Cherubini by this magnificently rendered work. From
this hour he began to feel the influence of German instrumental music,
and Haydn, in particular, remained to the end of his life the object of
his highest veneration.
While on the way from Italy to England the musician promised, when he had
discharged his obligations in London, to compose an opera for the Royal
Theatre in Turin. In 1788 he fulfilled his promise by the production of
"Iphigenia in Aulis." This opera was given during the carnival season in
Turin, where it was enthusiastically received, and was also performed
in other Italian theatres. It was the last work which he wrote for the
stage of his fatherland. The impressions produced upon him by the French
opera, the works of Gluck, and Haydn's orchestral music had filled his
mind with new ideals. Before his visit to Turin, he had already begun
to compose the music of "Démophon," an operatic poem by Marmontel, and
he now proceeded with the work. This, his first French opera, was
performed in the _Academie royale de musique_ on the 2d of September,
1788, but proved only a partial success,--a fact which was due partly to
the character of the piece, partly to unfavorable external influences.
Before Cherubini was commissioned to undertake the composition for the
poem, it had been intrusted to Johann Christoph Vogel of Nuremberg, an
imitator of Gluck, but he advanced so slowly with his task that Marmontel
became impatient. Vogel had resided in Paris since 1776 and had won many
friends for himself through his opera "La Toison d'Or," which appeared
in the year 1786. On the 26th of June, 1788, he died, while still in
the prime of life, and, as the completed score of "Démophon" was found
among his papers, the wish was expressed by many that his composition
should be performed before Cherubini's. This, however, did not happen,
and a feeling of dissatisfaction existed in consequence. The overture,
which was played in February, 1789, at a concert of the _Loge Olympique_,
was received with unusual favor, and gave rise to disparaging comments
upon Cherubini's work. But Vogel's opera, taken as a whole, could lay as
little claim to permanent success as that of his rival, though it was
more frequently put upon the stage.
In this same year of 1789, Cherubini first found definite employment
in Paris. Here Léonard, the _coiffeur_ of the queen, had obtained
permission, through the good offices of her Majesty, to organize an
Italian opera. Viotti collected in Italy a number of superior singers,
who at first gave their performances in the Tuileries and afterwards in
a newly erected theatre in the Rue Feydeau. Cherubini was invited to
become musical director of the enterprise, and entered upon the work with
youthful ardor. His extraordinary talents, his exactness and inexorable
firmness, accomplished the desired result, that of securing performances
uniformly of the highest order. The works presented to a delighted public
were those of the most famous Italian composers of the day, Guglielmi,
Gazzaniga, Paisiello, Cimarosa, and others. Cherubini himself composed
a considerable number of detached arias, which were inserted in the
operas of the before-mentioned masters, and served to heighten their
charm. For the concerts of the _Loge Olympique_, in which the queen
showed the liveliest interest, he wrote in the course of the first year
the cantatas "Amphion" and "Circe." He also began an opera, "Marguerite
d'Anjou," which was to be brought out at the Tuileries theatre, but
its completion was hindered by the progress of the French Revolution,
the terrors of which, in 1792, entirely put an end to Italian opera in
Paris. Viotti fled to England, and his singers were dispersed. Cherubini
sought to escape the incalculable dangers to which every one who had
been connected with the royal court was then exposed, by living in the
greatest seclusion, and associating only with a very small circle of
intimate friends. In addition to his musical studies, he began to occupy
himself with the natural sciences, botany in particular possessing great
attractions for him. Yet he could not wholly avoid coming in contact
with the forces at work in the Revolution, and was obliged to enter the
National Guard, in whose service he guarded the prisons and escorted
the condemned to the scaffold. On one occasion his own life stood in
danger. A troop of _sansculottes_ marched roaring through the streets,
looking for musicians to accompany their songs, and among others, they
pounced upon Cherubini, who refused to assist them. The crowd assumed a
threatening attitude, whereupon a friend pressed a violin into his hand
and took position with him at the head of the procession. In his youth
Cherubini had learned a little violin playing for his own pleasure, and
this slight knowledge now proved his salvation. He was obliged to wander
about all day with the rioters, and when they halted in a desolate spot,
the musicians took their places upon some barrels and played down to
their vile audience. It was amid all the terrors and excitement of this
wild period that Cherubini composed his opera "Lodoiska," the work which
decided his position in the artistic world. Within a short time a company
of French singers had been performing in alternation with an Italian
troupe at the _Théâtre Feydeau_, and here the opera was produced for
the first time. Its success was so pronounced that during the following
year no less than two hundred repetitions of the work were demanded in
Paris, and its fame soon spread in every direction. In this composition
the new ideal which Cherubini had cherished for so many years was happily
realized.
[Illustration: LUIGI CHERUBINI
Reproduction of a portrait by Quenedey, Paris, 1809.]
A second opera, "Koukourgi," had been nearly completed in the year
1793. But the overthrow of the monarchy on the 10th of August, 1792,
and the confused condition of public affairs at this juncture, took
away all prospect of its immediate production. In the mean time the
composer had left Paris and was residing in Normandy with a family of
his acquaintance. When he returned, in 1794, he brought with him the
completed score of the opera "Elisa." It was brought out on the 13th of
December, 1794, in the _Théâtre Feydeau_, but was less successful than
"Lodoiska." During the next few years there was a considerable falling
off in Cherubini's activity as a composer, owing to his appointment
as teacher of counterpoint in the _Conservatoire de Musique_, just
established, in which he became also one of the inspectors of the
institution. Exact and conscientious by nature even to the point of
pedantry, the musician devoted himself with unflagging energy to the
duties of his office, yet occasionally returned with fresh ardor to
operatic composition. In 1737 appeared "Medée," his most powerful
dramatic work; in 1800, "Les Deux Journées" (Water-Carrier), the most
admired and effective of all. Between the two stand the lesser operas,
"L'Hôtellerie Portugaise" (1798) and "La Punition" (1799). A number
of short vocal compositions belonging to this same period show that
Cherubini was obliged to contribute his quota to the French Revolution.
Among them are "Hymne à la Fraternité" (22d September, 1793), "Hymne du
Panthéon," "Chant pour le dix Août," the ode on the 18th Fructidor and
others. The most important and almost the last work of this kind was the
beautiful music composed in memoriam of the noble Gen. Hoche, which was
performed in public on the 1st of October, 1797.