Chapter IV: Part THE FIRST: Essays, Criticisms, and Miscellanies (4)

‘In the Hebrides, of one of which I am a native, the swan is
not uncommon. There is in Argyleshire a loch, or lake, called
_Lochanell_, or the Lake of the Swans, which gives title to a
considerable family of the Campbells. Swans frequent this and
other lakes in that country; and it is the current opinion (by no
means a matter of question or debate) amongst all ranks of the
people, that they utter certain plaintive, yet melodious notes.
_The voice of the swan upon the floods_ is frequently introduced
in their little songs to express the complaints and grief of a
fair one, on the loss or absence of a lover. Amongst a people not
highly polished, poetical similes are generally from _nature_: in
_nature_, therefore, I should think there is some foundation for
this so frequent a comparison. I do not remember that the author of
Fingal made use of this simile.

‘In the month of October, 1769, upon their return to the inlets of
the sea (for I was told they disappear in summer), I myself heard,
at different times, one simple but plaintive note, the birds being
at a distance on the water. I do not recollect to have been told
anything concerning the swans’ _vernal_ song in particular, but I
remember it was said, that at other times their notes were various.
But that the following tune--_Gath nah cala_, or the _Song_, or
_Note of the Swan_--has been familiar to me from my infancy, and
to every one else in the country who has an ear for music, I am
as certain of as of any other fact I can mention. It is the first
tune, on account of its simplicity, that musical scholars begin
with, in the same manner as the King’s Anthem is first taught in
England.’

Here the correspondence ended without reply or rejoinder. For my own part, it would be errant presumption to venture an opinion on a point already discussed by so many learned men, particularly as I have no fact within my own knowledge to found even an argument upon; but I cannot, nevertheless, help thinking that the _evidence_ is in favour of the affirmative. Perhaps in its wide circulation your miscellany may fall into the hands of some person competent, from his own knowledge, to confirm or contradict the statement above quoted; though it is far from improbable, that within the last fifty years the march of civilization may have driven the wild birds from their haunts[13], and that tradition of their vocal powers alone remains, unless, indeed, they were to be followed to the distant Iona.--The air is not to be found among Dr. Crotch’s specimens of Scottish music.

I am, Sir, &c. S. D.

ON THE STATE OF OUR THEATRES, CHIEFLY AS RELATES TO THE OPERA DEPARTMENT.

That we are on the eve of great changes in our patent winter theatres is a fact now too obvious to admit of doubt. That their size must be diminished if it be intended any longer to represent what is called ‘the legitimate drama,’ and that the prices of admission must be reduced if the lessees do not mean to be ruined, are equally clear. It is also past dispute that very considerable alterations must be made in the nature of the performances, as well as in the general system of management; and that not only in those vast establishments, but in all other theatres, the rights and emoluments of authors and composers must be so secured and augmented as to induce men of superior intellect and attainments to devote their labours to the service of the public.

In a work like ours, it would be exceeding the prescribed bounds to enter on the subject of the drama generally, otherwise we would endeavour to show that the taste for tragedy, except of the splendid historic kind, is rapidly declining; that though the public will occasionally crowd to hear the fresh production of some celebrated writer, or to see a new and talented or much-extolled performer, yet, as they are beginning to discover that real scenes of misery, enough for all the possible purposes of excitement, are to be witnessed in great abundance, they will not much longer seek those that are fictitious. The salutary truth is now opening to their view, that relief from painful or laborious thought,--or, in a word, amusement, is, in most instances, the only rational object of a visit to the theatre, and that this cannot be extracted from a Jane Shore dying in the streets from inanition, or a Beverley expiring in the arms of his wife from the effects of poison.

Comedy amuses while it instructs; but this admits of very little increase of the voice beyond its ordinary speaking powers; and who can make himself heard in our vast theatres without exerting his lungs in a manner quite destructive of the ease so indispensably necessary to the finished performance of genteel comedy?--Opera, melodrama, and dancing remain, to which Covent Garden seems already driven; and Drury Lane is on the point of following the example of the rival patent temple of _legitimate drama_!

Opera will most likely take the lead decidedly, and when we shall have selected everything good from foreign repertories, which are almost exhausted, what will be our resource? Are we always to look abroad for fresh supplies, or to trust for assistance to our native composers? Let us hope that a country which has given birth to a Lock, a Purcell, an Arne, a Linley, a Shield, an Arnold, and a Storace, will yet produce successors to them, who may become their rivals in melody, and, profiting by the improvements for which we are indebted to the German school, surpass them in harmony and in richness of accompaniment. In concerted music they could hardly fail to excel their predecessors, at least those of the last century, who rarely turned their thoughts to it, the stage during their time affording no means of executing such compositions in a manner at all likely to do them justice.

Let it not be supposed that we are overlooking, or intentionally passing by unregarded, the merits of Mr. Bishop. He has supplied our theatres, principally Covent Garden, with much that will transmit his name to posterity; and had he continued to write in the style which he at first adopted--an improved English style--he might have established a school, the foundation of which was well laid by Arne, nearly a hundred years ago; but, allured by the applause bestowed on Mozart, Rossini, and Weber, he became an imitator, since when his success has not been equal to that which attended his former efforts; and latterly almost everything he has produced for the stage has failed; owing in part, no doubt, to his music having been united to dramas which possessed little, if any, claim to public favour. But he has plenty of time before him, and as we have been among the number of his warm admirers, so we shall be the first to hail his return to a path which led to fame and to profit.

Formerly the copyright of a successful opera would sell for three, four, or five hundred guineas; nay, a thousand, and even twelve hundred, has been the price demanded and paid. But now no publisher will buy an entire work; for a popular song or two out of it, or perhaps a duet, he will offer a sum, not enough, however, to remunerate the composer for the labour of a single week, and the theatres pay him nothing, be his success what it may. The managers find that they are conferring a favour by _accepting_ the music of an opera, and plenty of composers, or pseudo-composers, press forward to be obliged. The consequence of this is so apparent to all, that we may be spared the ungracious and disagreeable task of pointing it out.

To what, then, is the present inferiority of most of our dramatic composers to be imputed?--Is the want of encouragement a cause or an effect?--Certain it is, that what is called the fashionable world will hardly listen to the music of an English composer, while almost any trash of a foreigner, especially if an Italian, (for even Germans are not in very good odour with them,) is received with favour. But the people of fashion do not now carry their influence into the English theatres: some other reason, therefore, must be assigned for the preference given to music by continental composers, and we fear that its superiority is the real cause. Hence springs another question,--from what does this superiority arise? Our belief is, that it is chiefly owing to difference in education. The English composer is commonly not so well instructed, either professionally or otherwise, as the German or French one; he is neither so well grounded in his own art, nor is his mind equally enlarged by the acquisition of other knowledge: he too frequently knows nothing but music, and that often rather imperfectly, because he has not been enabled to study it systematically, and because no one art can be thoroughly understood without the aid of that collateral knowledge which education supplies, but which he has not had any opportunity of acquiring. Another cause is, the necessity he is under of giving lessons,--of travelling from school to school, from house to house, teaching, in three cases out of four, music of the most trivial kind, not from choice, but because such is suited to the taste of the great majority of learners. Hence his own mind is occupied with what must weaken it, and even his taste in the art is in danger of becoming depraved by the examples of what is feeble, if not actually bad, that are hourly before him.

There are, no doubt, exceptions to this rule, and what we have advanced on the subject is to be understood as applying generally, and not pointed at any individual whatever, living or dead. That education, by which we mean the expansion of mind which results from it, is as essential to the composer as to the professor of any other liberal art or science, will not be disputed by those who give the matter anything like serious consideration: that in most cases the English composer has not the advantages which are to be derived from it, few will be hardy enough to deny. A still smaller number, we believe, will venture to question the fact, that the daily occupation of teaching children to play, must deaden the imaginative faculty, and consequently very much tend to disqualify for all the higher branches of composition.

We shall close this article by an authorised account of the ‘Receipts of Covent Garden Theatre, in each season, from 1809-10, to 1831-32,’ as given in the Appendix to the Parliamentary Report on Dramatic Literature.

£. s. d.
1809-10 77,575 6 4
1810-11 98,110 4 8
1811-12 88,703 19 4
1812-13 69,929 7 6
1813-14 83,765 15 6
1814-15 89,972 17 6
1815-16 80,091 14 5
1816-17 70,529 3 3
1817-18 72,968 7 1
1818-19 72,115 12 5
1819-20 53,591 1 10
1820-21 68,168 13 4
1821-22 58,171 17 2
1822-23 52,318 19 6
1823-24 60,496 17 5
1824-25 72,160 5 1
1825-26 51,017 1 2
1826-27 53,032 2 8
1827-28 55,212 16 9
1828-29 41,029 2 1
1829-30 57,431 12 10
1830-31 49,248 14 4
1831-32 43,318 19 11

The following are the ‘Comparative Dimensions of various Theatres, furnished by Samuel Beazley, architect,’ also printed in the Appendix above-mentioned.

Feet. In.
Drury Lane 1799 From curtain to front box 70 0
Across the pit 56 0
---- 1812 From curtain to front box 66 0
Across the pit 56 0
---- 1832 From curtain to front box 61 0
Across the pit 50 0
Covent Garden From curtain to boxes 63 0
Across the pit 50 0
Haymarket From curtain to boxes 47 0
Across the pit 35 0
Late English Opera House From curtain to boxes 52 0
Across the pit 35 0
Pantheon 1791 From curtain to front box 55 0
Across the pit 60 0
Italian Opera From curtain to box 90 0
Width of pit 62 0
Olympic From curtain to box 34 0
Width 32 0
Garrick’s Theatre,
Goodman’s Fields From curtain to front box 25 0
Width 35 0
Dublin 1829 From curtain to front box 52 6
Across the pit 45 0
Tottenham-street Theatre Curtain to front boxes 38 0
Across the pit 22 4

ON SOME COMPOSITIONS OF HANDEL.

_To the_ ~Editor~ _of the_ ~Harmonicon~.

~Sir~, _January 18, 1833_.

I read the communication of your correspondent, Honorius, in your number for December, 1832, with considerable interest, as it referred to a subject which I had long desired to see touched upon--the faults of the great Handel. There are, however, one or two points in his letter upon which I beg leave to offer a few observations. Your correspondent treats as a fallacy the first of Dr. Brown’s objections, which imputes to Handel ‘too much musical division upon single syllables, to the neglect of the true sense and meaning of the song.’ I must say, that I think there are not a few instances in Handel which directly corroborate this charge. In the song in _Saul_, ‘O Lord, whose mercies numberless,’ we have the word ‘_fail_’ in the first verse, and ‘_soul_’ in the second, most unnaturally tortured: the singer has, positively, two or three _rests_ placed in the midst of his laborious enunciation of these words, in order to allow him to take breath between; in consequence whereof, the _continuity_ of the air is broken, and the close of the song materially injured in effect. How can it possibly be said that such divisions ‘increase the meaning of the words on which they are employed?’ In the duet, ‘Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness,’ there are again instances of words most unpleasingly drawled out into long uninteresting passages; one part imitating the other, almost to the entire exclusion of meaning and expression.

Upon the second charge I have nothing to say; but surely the instance in the third movement of the _Dettingen Te Deum_ is almost ludicrously gross.

The _latter part_ of the third charge I admit, as exposing what I have always considered as the most glaring defect of Handel’s style. Almost every air has, first, its allotted number of bars in the major key, then its _quantum_ in the minor, and then returns to the major with the most undeviating and uncompromising regularity. Take, for instance, the well-known song, ‘Let the bright Seraphim.’ Why should ‘the cherubic host’ be forced to ‘strike their immortal harps’ in the minor key, whilst their brethren, the seraphim, are allowed ‘to blow their trumpets’ in the major? Why should there be any minor at all, unless interwoven naturally in the principal movement of the song? Surely those who arrogate to Handel the praise of having deviated from the bad customs of his age, and formed a new style of his own, must allow, that in this most important particular he was as faulty as any of his predecessors. And this, I rejoice to see, your correspondent concedes without a word of defence. Let any unprejudiced person compare those songs where the minor movement and _Da Capo_ are introduced, with those in which they are omitted, and he will at once perceive the superiority of the latter. But, ‘O, what art can teach,’ ‘Pious orgies,’ and ‘But thou didst not leave,’ in the _Messiah_, are as chaste and beautiful compositions as have ever existed; and it is upon such songs as these, and upon his magnificent chorusses that, in my opinion, the true glory of Handel rests.

There is also, I think, another general defect in Handel’s writings, not adverted to in your correspondent’s letter; which is, a constant sacrifice of harmony to melody. Allow him the praise of melody; but surely his harmony is deficient in richness, depth, and grandeur. Where do we find anything in Handel at all equal to ‘The Heavens are telling,’ in Haydn’s _Creation_? Examples might also be adduced from Handel, where the harmony and melody are almost equally neglected--as the duet, ‘Joys in gentle train;’ the air of which, if we can call it an air, is as tame and meagre as we can well conceive possible. With many apologies for this long letter, which you will oblige me by inserting in the _Harmonicon_,

I remain your obedient servant,
and constant reader,
W. H. P.

P.S. I hope to see this subject resumed, ere long, in your valuable pages.

GRESHAM PRIZE MEDAL FOR 1832.

The gold medal, for the best original composition in sacred vocal music, has been adjudged to Mr. Kellow John Pye, of Exeter[14]. Dr. Crotch, Professor of Music in the University of Oxford, R. J. S. Stevens, Esq., Professor of Music in Gresham College, and L. Horsley, Esq., Mus. Bac., were the umpires by whom the prize was awarded.

Mr. Pye was a pupil in the Royal Academy of Music.

The composition, an anthem for five voices, in the true cathedral style, will be performed at the commemoration of Sir Thomas Gresham in the ensuing spring.

THE MANCHESTER GENTLEMEN’S GLEE CLUB.

~Prize Glees~ for 1832.

This club, in furtherance of the purpose for which it was established--the cultivation of the glee--gives annually prizes for the best serious and the best cheerful glee. The prizes offered last year to be decided this, were ten pounds each, and have just been awarded.

There were forty-six candidate compositions--twenty-five serious, and twenty-one cheerful--written by twenty-nine different composers, including many of the most distinguished composers of this kind of music in the kingdom. Twenty-four of the glees were sent in by authors residing in London, all of whom, with an exception or two, are eminent in the profession. Seven came from Manchester gentlemen; the remainder from Liverpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow, York, Bristol, Hull, and Plymouth.

The productions which this competition--unparalleled, we believe, for the extent and variety of the compositions--furnished, were many of them of a high order: the serious glees were particularly excellent, a large proportion of them being, in style and merit, beyond the average of such as are considered established works. The whole collection exhibited a gratifying proof that this peculiarly English branch of musical science is extensively and successfully cultivated.

All the glees were, by means of frequent rehearsals, well executed by the singers. They were sung before the committee appointed to award the prizes at five successive meetings, especially held for the purpose; the last of which took place on Monday, the 21st of January, when, on opening the sealed packets containing the names and mottos of the respective authors, it appeared that the prize for the serious glee had been adjudged to Mr. Henry R. Bishop, for a four-voice glee, beginning ‘Where shall we make her grave?’ and that for the cheerful glee, by Mr. Vincent Novello, a glee also for four voices, to original words, commencing “Old May morning.”

OBITUARY.

The French school of music, and indeed the lovers of the art everywhere, have just sustained a great loss by the death of ~M. Herold~. He fell a victim to a pulmonary complaint with which he had been for some time afflicted, and which has carried him off before he had completed his fortieth year. His death is an almost irreparable loss to the French school of music, as he almost alone, among the operatic composers of the present day, had shown a genius worthy to compete with those great German masters whom he had made the idols of his adoration. He was a pupil of the Conservatoire, where he obtained the grand prize of composition, and was sent to complete his studies at Rome at the expense of Government. His opera _Marie_ first made his name popular, and shortly afterwards _Zampa_, particularly the _finale_ of the first act, secured to him a more solid and imperishable renown. His last work, _Pré aux clercs_, is now in the zenith of its popularity. It is said that the agitation which he felt in consequence of the suspension of the performances of that opera after its first representation, in consequence of the refusal of Madame Casimir to sing, tended to hasten his end. The managers of the _Opera Comique_, as soon as they learnt the fatal event, announced that the theatre would be shut for one night.

* * * * *

~Signor Nozzari~, the celebrated tenor singer, died at Naples, the beginning of last month. He was born in 1775, and studied under the famous David, who was in England some forty years ago. Nozzari first appeared at Milan, and in 1802 and 1807 sang at the _Opera Buffa_ in Paris. He afterwards went to Naples, where at the theatre _San Carlos_, he continued to perform till bad health much weakened his vocal powers, and finally compelled him to quit public life. He has left a fortune of above 100,000 dollars.

* * * * *

Early in last month, ~Signor Giuseppe Deville~, who for many years had been a useful performer at the King’s Theatre, was found dead in his chamber, owing, it appeared upon examination, to apoplexy. He first arrived in this country in 1816; afterwards was engaged at the _Théâtre Italien_ in Paris; then went to St. Petersburg, where he sang during three or four seasons at the Italian Opera in that city, and subsequently returned and settled in London. Though never much distinguished as a singer, Signor Deville was highly valued for the regularity and zeal with which he performed his professional duties; while his high sense of honour, his generous nature, and the benevolence of his disposition, made him respected by all to whom he was known, and loved by the few with whom he lived on terms of intimacy. The newspapers have represented that he died in the possession of a large sum of money, but erroneously: though not expensive in himself, he was too liberal-minded, too kind to such of his countrymen as needed assistance, to be able to save much of his income. In fact when his funeral and other expenses are defrayed, very little will be left to transmit to his nearest of kin, who are residing in Italy.

REVIEW OF NEW MUSIC.

~Eight Songs~, _by_ ~Barry Cornwall~ _and the_ ~Chevalier Neukomm~.
(Cramer, Addison, and Beale.)

Our pages during the last two years will attest how often and how successfully the poet who writes under the above name, and the musician who composes in his own, have combined their talents: ‘The Sea,’ and ‘David’s Lament for Absalom,’ are sufficient, had those authors produced nothing else in union, to float them together down the stream of time, and will assist in proving that the age which certainly brought forth a good deal of trash,--as all ages have done, and will continue to do,--also gave birth to what is, without other evidence, quite sufficient to rescue it from a sweeping charge of false taste and inability. Those canzonets, difficult as they are to ordinary amateurs, are now in almost every house where a musical instrument is to be found, and are sung, especially the first, by all who are blessed with a voice, and by some who possess scarcely any at all.

Barry Cornwall, the _pseudonyme_ adopted by one of the most distinguished of the really good lyric poets of the day, last year published a delightful little volume of ‘English Songs, and other small Poems,’ a fact so well known in the world of literature and taste, that we should not have repeated it here, but for the purpose of showing the connexion of that work with the present. The Chevalier Neukomm had set some of the songs before they appeared in print; and the eight now before us are among the hundred and seventy, or thereabouts, contained in the volume mentioned.

Great success naturally leads to further efforts, and the applause which attended the two songs above-named, has tempted the composer to write perhaps rather too fast. The most fertile fancy, like the richest soil, must be allowed time to recruit: the mind that creates needs fallows as much as the earth which produces. A want of a little of this restorative appears in the songs now under notice. There is no absence of exertion,--certainly no want of whatever science or labour can yield; but we do not meet with those evidences of the inventive faculty that are so strong in the compositions to which we have alluded. We know full well that he who always expects works of equal value from the same pen must infallibly be disappointed, and slightly touch upon a comparison only in order to make our opinion more accurately understood by our readers.

The first of the set, ‘The happy hours,’ is in two movements; the last partly in three-eight time, and partly in six-eight, is rather common. At page 3, however, is a redeeming modulation from ~C~ to ~A~♭.

The second, ‘Hide me, O twilight air!’ is a clever composition, the concluding page exceedingly effective, and the poet’s general meaning is well expressed; but in the setting of particular words, the foreigner, the stranger to the niceties of our accent, is very visible. The style of the early part of the seventeenth century is here so ably imitated by the poet, that we must beg leave to lay his verses before our readers:--

SONG FOR TWILIGHT.

Hide me, O twilight air!
Hide me from thought, from care,
From all things, foul or fair,
Until to-morrow!

To-night I strive no more;
No more my soul shall soar;
Come, Sleep, and shut the door
’Gainst Pain and Sorrow!

If I must see through dreams,
Be mine Elysian gleams,
Be mine by morning streams
To watch and wander!

So may my spirit cast
(Serpent-like) off the past,
And my free soul at last
Have leave to ponder!

And should’st thou ’scape controul,
Ponder on love, sweet soul,
On joy,--the end--the goal
Of all endeavour!

But if earth’s pains will rise
(As damps will seek the skies)
Then, Night, seal thou mine eyes
In sleep for ever!

The ‘Serenade’ is too long and laboured for an evensong in the open air; and the sameness of the accompaniment, running on in one unvarying stream through three verses, becomes at last rather fatiguing.

The fourth, ‘The Night,’ opens with a sweet and gentle melody; the changes of time, however, are too frequent for a song, though, as well as the declamatory parts, they would be proper enough in a cantata. The whole of this appears the result of study. In truth the words are difficult to set.

No. 5, ‘The Evening Star,’ presents no feature at all remarkable. The accentuation of this is free from all reproach.

The sixth, ‘My Sword,’ is a fine, spirited, martial air, the accompaniments in excellent keeping, and the whole characteristic and exciting.

‘The Exile,’ in ~C~ minor, the seventh of the set, is deeply pathetic: a well-imagined andantino in ~F~ comes in beautifully, expressing a gleam of future hope; but this is checked again by reflection; and the last part, ‘Farewell to old England’ is affectingly uttered in the mournful tones of the minor key.

The eighth, ‘Oh, pleasant is the fisher’s life,’ does not conclude the volume in a very brilliant manner; the phrases and cadences offer nothing new, and no part of the song is likely to make any impression on the hearer, whether he belong to the learned or unlearned class of auditors.

This volume is much increased in value by portraits of the poet and composer, drawn by Wivell and engraved by Holt. They are admirable likenesses, and executed in a superior manner. How far preferable are such additions to a work, to those fancy things miscalled embellishments, which we rejoice to find are now pretty generally discarded in musical publications. Portraits, if at all faithful resemblances, are always interesting, and gratify a very natural curiosity; while imaginary scenes and emblematical designs are most commonly destitute of any charm, being too often mean in conception and faulty in execution.

* * * * *

PIANO-FORTE.

~Grand Exercice~ ~d’Octaves~ _dans tous les tons, majeur et mineur
composée par_ ~Charles Czerny~, Op. 152. (Wessel and Co.)

Were an inhabitant of another sphere--of one of those worlds which many folks think made only for our amusement, for us to spy at through a telescope--to be shown this _grand exercise_, he would straightway and naturally conclude that all those belonging to the planet Earth, who ‘handle’ the piano-forte, must be under the immediate influence of their own satellite:--‘For who,’ he would ask, ‘but moon-struck people would submit to a piece sixteen pages long, consisting of nought else, from beginning to end, but semiquavers running in octaves without the slightest break or intermission, without air, or rhythm, or any reasonable object, till one solitary chord ends the mad ramble?’ And this is no exaggerated account of the ‘grand’ composition on our desk, strange and almost incredible as it may appear.

It is to be presumed that a nondescript of the present kind would not have been published unless there had been a chance, amounting almost to a certainty, of finding purchasers for it; and we can only say, that if there are many to waste their money, and what is worse their time, upon such a matchless piece of absurdity, good taste in music, and the common sense of its votaries, are in a more declining state than even the former productions of this composer, and others of the same school, have led us to suppose.

* * * * *

1. ~Rondeau~, _de l’Opéra de_ ~Boieldieu~, la Dame Blanche,
_composé par_ ~Fred. Kuhlau.~ (Wessel and Co.)

2. Ditto, do. do.

3. ~Preciosa Lied~, _from_ ~Weber’s Preciosa~, _varied by_ ~Fred.
Kuhlau.~ (Wessel and Co.)

Kuhlau should ‘have died hereafter.’ Suddenly his sun set before its expected time. Nearly the same packet that brought us the first proofs we ever saw of his talents, bore the news of his death; and since then, every production of his that has reached us has furnished an additional proof of the loss music sustained by his premature decease. Two out of the three pieces conjoined is this article are further evidences of his ability, the subjects of which have been treated by many, by few so well, and by none better.

The first is on the airs ‘Chantez, joyeux Ménestrel,’ and ‘Robin Adair,’ the latter, since Boieldieu introduced it in his opera, having become as popular on the continent as it was here some years ago. The second is on ‘Pauvre Dame Marguerite;’ and the third is the ballad, or _Lied_, ‘Einsam bin ich nicht alleine,’ with variations.

In Nos. 1 and 2, the melodies, though fully accompanied, are distinctly heard; the harmony, abundant as it is, does not obscure the subject, and the arpeggioed passages, in all shapes, are in due relation to it. Both are well calculated for the instrument, and the manner in which they are written would alone be sufficient to prove the composer a real master of the piano-forte. They are not difficult for good players, but far from easy for the generality, and will excite more pleasure than astonishment. We must, however, express our regret that a wish to comply with custom--for M. K.’s own taste surely must have revolted against it--should have betrayed him into the commission of semitonic passages of the worst kind. His introduction to No. 1, in which are some fine effects, is spoiled at the end by an up-and-down run of half notes which seems to have no end, and almost prejudices the ear against the melody that immediately succeeds.

The ten variations, including the finale, on the German air, No. 3, possess all the vivacity which, arises from the active motion of the hand on the instrument, sweeping in arpeggios from low to high and back again, but this is the whole amount of the praise due to them, except that they are not carried on to any immoderate length.

* * * * *

1. La Noce, _second_ ~Rondo~ _sur des Thêmes de la_ Tentation
(_musique de_ ~Halevy~) _arrangée par_ ~Adolphe Adam~. (Chappell).

2. Les Dons à Céline, _Trois Pièces agréables, en forme de_
Sonatines, _composées par_ ~Aloys Schmidt~, _de Francfort_. (Wessel
and Co.)

The airs incorporated in No. 1 are pretty, and free from that kind of commonness, which is almost another word for vulgarity, but the same paucity of new ideas is visible here, as in too many of the publications of the day. It is evident that we must go back to old favourites, most of which are forgotten, and would be novelties to the present generation.

* * * * *

No. 2 are easy enough, certainly, as the word _Sonatine_ announces, but are trite and childish as well as easy, with old-fashioned bases, cantering either in triplets of quavers, or moving à l’Alberti, in chords broken into semiquavers. We certainly should have expected from a man of M. Aloys Schmidt’s talent, trifles of a less _trifling_ kind.

Both the above publications are calculated for very juvenile learners only.

* * * * *

1. ~Divertimento~, _from_ ~Rossini’s~ Barbiere di Siviglia,
_arranged by_ ~W. Etherington~. (Metzler and Sons.)

2. ~The Alpine March~, _arranged as an easy_ ~Rondo~, _by_ ~Thomas
Valentine~. (Chappell.)

Mr. Etherington’s Divertimento is compounded of ‘Una voce poco fà’ with its second movement: ‘Zitti! Zitti!’ and ‘Largo al Factotum,’ all of which, it is true, have been so often arranged, and are so perfectly known by heart by every one with a musical ear--nay, they are actually played about the streets of Constantinople; the very Moslems hum them--that we should have thought the present arranger too late for the market; but of this he is the fittest judge; we have only to speak of the manner of working up the airs into their present form, which is very creditable to Mr. Etherington’s taste. Indeed he has done little more than arrange from the score, his additions are just enough to blend the three, and these are modestly and judiciously made. He has retained the key ~E~, kept within very moderate bounds as regards length, and consulted both the character of the instrument and convenience of the performer.

* * * * *

No. 2 is a very brief and easy version of this popular march, in two pages and a half. It is suited to very youthful practitioners, whom it will please, without in any degree vitiating their taste.

* * * * *

DUETS, PIANO-FORTE.

1. _Souvenirs of_ ~Meyerbeer’s~ _Opera_, Robert le Diable,
_consisting of the favourite Airs arranged by_ ~W. Watts~. _Book
1._ (Chappell.)

2. Ditto. Book 2. Ditto.

_Robert_ has already taken many shapes, and now assumes that of duets, Mr. Watts, the chief agent in the business, having so willed it, and a better qualified person for the purpose could not have been found. It is sufficient now, since we so often have had to speak of the various parts of this opera, to mention what pieces are here chosen; our opinion of their respective merits has already been given. The first book contains the introduction, with the chorus ‘Aux seuls Plaisirs;’ the popular air, ‘Jadis régnait en Normandie,’ of course; and the chorus, ‘Non! il faut qu’il soit punit.’ The second is almost wholly occupied with ‘O Fortune! à ton caprice.’ and the remainder of the scene, preceded by the chorus, ‘Nous sommes tous flattés.’

There is nothing in any of these which could have been rendered difficult when distributed among four hands, and the present is too wary an adapter to throw impediments in the way of performers of the purchasing class.

* * * * *

~Overture~ _to Spohr’s Grand Romantic Opera_ Jessonda, _arranged
by_ ~L. Zerbini~. (Wessel and Co.)

Piano-forte performers are now so abundant that overtures, and full orchestral compositions, when arranged, generally take the shape of duets. We are become so accustomed to them in this form, that very few players will singly attempt them, knowing how comparatively meagre they sound when committed to two hands. This is a faithful and good adaptation of the score, and renders that easy and effective for two performers which is quite the reverse for one.

How long will Mr. L. Zerbini continue to announce himself in his title-pages as a ‘pupil’?--The public, he ought to know, are inclined to think more favourably of publications by masters than by scholars.

* * * * *

1. ~Variations~ _on_ ~Caraffa’s~ _air_, ‘O cara Memoria,’ _arranged
by_ ~A. Diabelli~. (Aldridge.)

2. ‘Una Voce poco fà;’ ~Rossini’s~ _aria in_ Il Barbiere, _arranged
by_ ~George Perry~. (Luff.)

3. ‘Papuccie! chi vuol Papuccie?’ ~Pacini’s~ _air in_ La Schiava di
Bagdad, _arranged by_ Signor Maestro ~G. P. Cittadini~. (Purday.)

No. 1 consists of five clever and very pleasant variations on an air which appears to much greater advantage instrumentally than vocally. This is short enough to admit an encore, and if played with neatness and some degree of brilliancy, will very often induce the hearers to ask for it a second time.

* * * * *

In No. 2, Mr. Perry has given us the air, with its second movement, ‘Io sono docile,’ exactly according to the score. We do not perceive that he has added or taken away a single note; but he has transposed the whole from ~E~ to ~F~, and this we cannot consider an improvement. In days long gone by, the key of ~E~ with four sharps looked formidably; the _march of music_ has robbed it of its terrors; and every one who has the slightest faith in the character of keys, will protest against so violent a change.

* * * * *

No. 3 is the air made so amusing by Signor Lablache; though many laughed while he was crying ‘Slippers! who wants slippers?’ without very well knowing what they laughed at. Signor (_Maestro_) Cittadini might have chosen something better adapted to the purpose than an air, the merit of which depends so much on the words and the humour in singing them. Spread, as this is, over nineteen pages, and exhibiting so little variety, we must say that, should it sell, it will prove more useful to the stationer and publisher than the purchaser. We do not, however, mean to cast any slur on the arrangement itself, which is faultless, but in the selection made by the Maestro.

* * * * *

VOCAL.

~The Art~ of ~Singing~, _a Method, in Three Parts, on an entirely
new plan of vocalization_, &c., by ~J. P. Le Camus~. (_Published by
the Author._)

This is a ponderous tome indeed! Two hundred and twelve large folio pages! But considering what it is to achieve--or rather, what the author most courageously asserts it will effect--such vastness of extent is by no means unnecessary. But let the author himself be heard.

‘The Method,’ he says, ‘I now publish has more novelty, and (I may say) more importance than the public usually attribute to works of this nature. It is the fruit of a singular but fertile idea, developed with conscientious care, and with the intention of superseding all the treatises on singing that have hitherto appeared.’--(_Preface._)

There is no bashfulness in this, but much candour. Whenever a work is published the author wishes it to be thought the best that ever appeared, and hopes that it may cast into utter oblivion all others of the kind; but he seldom has honesty enough to declare this. M. Le Camus has no disguise.

‘Do we,’ he continues, ‘look for a proof of the insufficiency of all these treatises? Let us examine the actual state of the _art_. Vocal music was never so generally cultivated, and yet nothing is more uncommon than to meet with a singer whose principles are invariable, and whose execution is _always perfect_.’--(_Preface._)

Very true, indeed, M. Le Camus; and, let us add, we should think the millennium actually arrived were we to meet with a singer, or any other description of human being, ‘always perfect.’

The Method herein proposed and followed, is to accompany the voice of the student, whether he be singing the diatonic or chromatic scales, the different intervals, or melodies of any kind, with a full harmony, in which as many ‘varied modulations are introduced as possible, in order to familiarize his ear with every _harmonical combination_, so that no _transition, however abrupt_, may take him by surprise.’--(_Preface._)

There is no novelty in all this, we can assure the author; every good master has pursued the same plan. We grant that the number of such masters is not very great; we know that singing is taught,--aye in most instances,--by persons who possess very little, if any, knowledge of principles, or the power of communicating them to others, even if themselves are acquainted with them. But does it follow that, because there are many incapable teachers, a good system has never been followed by those who have studied and know their art? M. Le Camus can have inquired very little into the subject, can have consulted very few works, if he supposes that he now promulgates a system entirely new. We could at once show him three or four treatises in which the same principles are much more fully developed.

In a work of such magnitude it was to be expected that nothing relating to the vocal art would be left unsaid; but the author of this has omitted the mention of much that is essential: he gives no directions for the formation of the voice, touches very briefly on the management of the breath, is wholly silent on the subject of pronunciation, and equally reserved on a point of vital importance--expression[15]. In short, though the author of the Method, which he seems to consider so perfect of its kind, has done something in furtherance of his plan, he has left much more undone; and if, instead of examples of his own (which fill about nineteen-twentieths of the volume), he had chosen fit compositions, in various styles, of the great masters, and treated on the best manner of executing them, he would have rendered a much greater service to the musical world, and made his book far more worth the high price he has fixed on it.

* * * * *

1. ~Serious Glee~, ‘The parted Spirit,’ _for four voices, which
gained the prize at the Gentlemen’s Glee Club, Manchester, in 1831;
the words by_ ~John Malcolm~, Esq.; _the music by_ ~Finlay Dun~, of
Edinburgh. (Mori and Lavenu.)

2. ~Serenade~, ‘Lady of Beauty,’ _for three voices, by_ ~H.
Giffin~. (Brown.)

~Mr. Finlay Dun~’s glee is rather a successful study than work of genius;--it exhibits more signs of persevering labour than of flights of imagination. And such is the character of some of the best compositions of this kind to which the last quarter of a century has given birth. Many, indeed, brought forth during the same period have nothing to distinguish them but the smell of the lamp,--their only merit consisting in the avoidance of grammatical errors. To write these is exceedingly easy; but it requires talent to compose an effective glee,--genius to produce such as is great or beautiful.

This fortunate work opens with a Largo in ~F~ minor, common time, which changes into an andante, and ends with a movement in the major key, three-four time. The poet’s sentiments are, upon the whole, well expressed, though the accentuation is frequently incorrect. At the seventh bar a crescendo on the word ‘blast’ is, indeed, an abortive attempt to make the sound an echo to the sense; and after ‘I call upon the heavens to show,’ there ought to be a rest, or pause of some kind. There is melody in this, but the harmony is most deserving of praise. The gracefulness, though not of a very original kind, of the last movement, most probably carried the votes of the judges; but we speak on this subject with reserve, not knowing the quality of the rivals with which the work had to contend.

The piano-forte accompaniment we cannot approve: with it the composition is no longer a glee. Moreover, by often running in octaves with the alto and other parts, the worst possible effect is produced. If uncertain singers require aid, the only allowable accompaniment to a glee is confined to the very notes given to the voices.

* * * * *

The second of these must surely claim as its parent either a very youthful or an extremely inexperienced composer.

* * * * *

1. The Maid of Abbotsford, _written and composed by_ ~Mrs. J. F.
Turner~. (Collard and Collard.)

2. ~Ballad~, ‘Mary, meet me there,’ _composed by_ ~Miss Mounsey~.
(Collard and Co.)

3. ~Romance~, The Bridal Death, _written and composed by_ ~J.
Augustine Wade~, Esq. (Chappell.)

4. ~Ballad~, ‘Here do we meet again,’ Ditto ditto ditto.

5. ~Ballad~, ‘I saw her at the Fancy Fair,’ _the poetry by_
~Edm. Smith~, Esq., _composed by_ ~John Barnett~. (Goulding and
D’Almaine.)

6. ~Ballad~. ‘That lovely girl,’ _the poetry by_ ~E. Smith~, Esq.,
_composed by_ ~J. A. Barnett~. (Goulding and Co.)

7. ~Song~, ‘’Tis the season of friendship,’ _the words by_ ~W. F.
Collard~, _the music by_ ~C. M. Sola~. (Collard and Collard.)

8. ~Swiss Air~, ‘The Emmethaler Shepherd’, _written by_ ~J. A.
Wade~, Esq., _and arranged by_ ~F. Stockhausen~. (Chappell.)

9. ~Canzonet~, ‘Sweet pensive woodland nightingale,’ _the poetry
by_ ~Lily Godwin~, _composed by_ ~Thomas Graham~. (Chappell.)

10. ~Cavatina~, ‘The Flowers’, _the poetry by_ ~Mrs. Charles
Greville~, _the music composed by_ ~Bianchi Taylor~. (Collard and
Collard.)

Though we may be charged with a want of gallantry, yet we cannot say much in commendation of either Nos. 1 or 2.

* * * * *

The music of No. 3 is far better than the verses, which are very inferior to most of Mr. Wade’s lyrical productions.

* * * * *

No. 4 has appeared in a musical annual reviewed by us long ago.

* * * * *

If the success of No. 5 is as great as many very bold advertisements might lead us to believe, popularity is not invariably a test of merit in a song. The air is rather pleasing, but such an utter disregard of poetical accent we have rarely ever witnessed, _e. g._

Heav’n was in her diamond eye,
And roses crimson’d o’er her cheek.

Then we have--

* * * * *

No. 6 is a worthy companion to the preceding. The poet and musician rival each other in good sense: _Par nobile fratrum_.--The one sings,--

That lovely girl enchants me still,
Through each changing scene of pleasure;
Her brilliant charms with rapture _fill
My soul for such a treasure_--

which the other sets thus:--

Her brilliant charms with rapture fill,
With rapture fill--
My soul for such a treasure.

At the second page things get worse--but we have shown up enough.

* * * * *

No. 7 is a good Christmas song, with chorus for soprano and base. The words and music are both exhilarating, and the whole is easy.

* * * * *

No. 8 is one of the numerous class of Swiss airs which so much resemble each other. The few bars, however, of opening, slow and in the minor key, give some variety and character to this, and rather distinguish it from the many. We cannot say much in favour of the words, which savour of nonsense verses.

* * * * *

No. 9 is well designed, but in the execution the composer seems to have been at a loss; there are in this many proofs of inexperience as a writer,--not exactly errors, but want of habit. We, however, recommend him to persevere, practice will remedy defects of the kind to which we allude.

* * * * *

No. 10 evinces talent that we hope will be often called forth. The melody is exceedingly pleasing, and far from common; some of the phrases remind us of the classical schools, and are as unexpected as charming, particularly that in the second page, beginning at the fifth bar. The accompaniment, too, is not less to be approved.

VOCAL SOCIETY.

We have great pleasure in announcing the first meeting of a Society, under the above designation, comprising a body of musical talent, calculated, as we think, to render most essential service to the cause of music generally, but more especially so to the exhibition of vocal excellence, unfettered by the caprice or tyranny of that non-descript, but all-powerful, influence which is known under the familiar term--Fashion. It is, perhaps, the fairest way that the Society should speak for itself; and we therefore insert a considerable portion of the prospectus put forth by its members, which is sufficiently explanatory of what it purposes to accomplish:--‘It has often been a subject of regret among the lovers of English vocal music, that the opportunities of hearing it effectively performed are becoming more rare. The compositions of native musicians are nearly banished from the concerts of the metropolis; the glees of Webbe, Calcott, Cooke, and Battishill, as well as those of their living successors, being superseded by the productions of foreign composers. Were excellence alone made the test of admission, the English musician would have no right to complain; but it may be questioned whether such a principle of exclusion is called for by public opinion or the progress of musical science; or whether the compositions of modern Italy are better calculated to improve the taste of the professor, and to increase the gratification of the amateur, than those of our own country. The regulations of the several societies formed for the encouragement of glee writing, and the practice of glee singing, preclude the presence of ladies, while they are attended with considerable expense wholly unconnected with their musical objects. The intention of the Vocal Society is to present, as its principal feature, the vocal music of the English school, both ancient and modern, including that of the church, the chamber, and the theatre; with the addition of foreign compositions of excellence, songs, duets, concerted pieces, and chorusses, several of which (hitherto almost unknown in this country) are preparing for performance. To this object, its members respectfully invite the co-operation of those who cherish a love for that species of music in which the most celebrated English composers have been proved to excel, and to unite with them in a strenuous effort to vindicate its claim to public attention and patronage.’

To this rational and ingenuous address thirty names are appended, both male and female, including most of the vocal performers of acknowledged merit in the metropolis. We now proceed to give the program of the first concert, to which we shall add such observations as occurred to us during the performance:--

FIRST CONCERT OF THE VOCAL SOCIETY, King’s Concert Room, Hanover Square, Monday, January 7th, 1833.

Leader, Mr. T. COOKE.--Organ and Piano-forte, Messrs. TURLE, GOSS, and HORNCASTLE.

~Part I.~

God Save the King,--Verse and Chorus.

1. Sestetto and Chorus, Ode to St. Cecilia. (Miss ~Webbe.~
C. Novello, Master Howe, Messrs. Terrail,
Bennett, Turle, and Sale)

2. Duet, ‘In this glad Season.’ (_The Seasons._) ~Haydn.~
Mrs. G. Wood and Mrs. Hobbs

3. Trio, ‘Sicut locutus est.’ (Miss C. Novello, ~Fenoglio.~
Hawkins, and Bellamy)

4. Air, ‘Lascia Amor.’ (_Orlando._) Mr. Phillips ~Handel.~

5. Madrigal, ‘All creatures now.’ (1601.) ~J. Benet.~

6. Offertorium, ‘Alma Virgo!’ (Mrs. Bishop and ~Hummel.~
Chorus)

7. Glee, ‘In this fair vale.’ (Masters Howe and ~Attwood.~
Hopkins, Messrs. Bennett, Parry, and Chapman)

8. Quintet, Piano-forte, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, ~Beethoven.~
and Horn. (Mrs. Anderson, G. Cooke, Willman,
Mackintosh, and Platt)

~Part II.~

9. Chorus, ‘Hark! hark!’ (_The Seasons._) ~Haydn.~

10. Selection from a Mass (No. 1) ~Mozart.~

11. Cantata, ‘Mad Tom.’ (Mr. Braham) ~Purcell.~

12. Glee, ‘Deh! Dove.’ (Miss George, Terrail, ~Dr. Cooke.~
Hobbs, and Sale)

13. Song, ‘My ain fire-side.’ (Mr. Broadhurst).

14. Serenade, ‘Sleep, gentle Lady!’ (Hawkins, ~Bishop.~
Hobbs, Fitzwilliam, and Chapman)

15. Terzetto, ‘Tremate, empi tremate.’ (Miss Novello, ~Beethoven.~
Braham, and Philips)

16. Catch, ‘Would you know.’ (Horncastle, C. ~Webbe.~
Taylor, Fitzwilliam, and Bellamy)

17. Chorus, ‘To Rome’s immortal hero.’ (_Tito_.) ~Mozart.~

We have here presented to our view a wide range of musical compositions embracing a period of upwards of two centuries, and comprising names which will live till ‘music shall untune the sky.’ The performers exerted themselves to the utmost, and the most fastidious critic could have found but little to disapprove. We earnestly hope that the same spirit of emulation will continue to be shown throughout the remaining concerts; and, if such be the case, we cannot entertain a doubt of the liberal patronage of the musical public. Much will depend upon the judgment and taste of those with whom the choice of the selections will rest; and it will involve a point of some delicacy, as well as require a certain firmness, in deciding upon the introduction of the works of living composers, who will naturally be desirous of having their music brought forward under such favourable circumstances. It is in this point of view that we are glad to observe among the names of the members a great preponderance of vocalists, and but few distinguished by their writings; this will render the society more independent, by offering a wider and more extensive field in which to roam, collecting sweets wherever they are to be found; and while not insensible to living merit, yet free to draw largely from the stores of excellence, both ancient and modern, which will amply repay the task of bringing forward, and present the fairest prospect of success and permanence to the ~Vocal Society~.