  A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HENRY PURCELL, from the best Authorities. 44 pages in folio. (J. A. Novello.) 1832. THIS is the ‘Prefatory Number’ to a complete collection of Purcell’s Sacred Music, containing considerably more than a hundred of his compositions, which Mr. Novello has been publishing during the last three or four years, the early numbers whereof were sent to us, and noticed in our review as they appeared. Purcell, take him for all in all, is the greatest musical genius that this country can boast; and our deliberate opinion is, that, from the earliest period in the history of music down to the moment of his death, Europe would in vain be searched to find his equal as a composer of secular vocal music. That he was to some extent indebted to Lulli, can hardly be denied by those who are well acquainted with the dramatic works of both; but that he far surpassed what, perhaps in compliment to our second Charles and to the fashion of the time, he occasionally took as his model, every impartial critic must admit. If, too, his cantatas—‘From rosy bowers,’ and ‘Mad Bess,’ for instance—be compared with compositions in a degree similar by Alessandro Scarlatti, which have been so highly praised and so long were vaunted, the vast superiority of the English musician, whether as relates to air, to harmony, to propriety of expression, or to beauty of effect, will never be disputed by unbiassed judges. Purcell’s great fame is, as we have before remarked, and now fearlessly repeat, founded on his productions for the theatre and the chamber: in his compositions for the church, he met with equals in his own country and superiors abroad; and when his anthems are compared with those of his successors,—those of Clark, Croft, Green, and Boyce,—though the science displayed in many of them, and the study which some have cost, will readily be granted, yet in melody, in pleasing combinations, and above all, in that judgment which dictates how sounds should be adapted to sense, it will be in vain that his admirers attempt to rank him with such of his followers as we have named, and who possessed advantages that seemed to have been denied to composers at the close of the seventeenth century. Hence we are by no means sure that a collection of all Purcell’s sacred compositions was a publication to be desired, for we feel pretty certain that several of them would never with his concurrence have appeared in print. Composers are liable to be called upon, either in the performance of fixed duties, or to answer some temporary purpose, to write when ‘the muse is not on them,’ and all that can be expected under such circumstances is, that they acquit themselves so as to escape the censure of those immediately concerned with them,—of their contemporaries. It is rather hard for an author to be exposed, at the end of a century and a half, to the chance of being criticised for works on which he most probably set no value, and which he very likely hoped might never be heard of, after the immediate purpose which called them forth had been answered. Still we are most willing to give Mr. Novello every possible credit for research, activity, and zeal, and only wish that he had confined his views within narrower bounds: his collection would then have done still more honour to the author, have been more accessible to many, and not less useful to all. The anthems of Purcell in Boyce’s collection, those published by Goodison, and the six in the Harmonia Sacra printed by Walsh, are in few hands, and without an organ accompaniment: their republication, therefore, was almost called for, and in them are beauties which are as much the object of our admiration, as their defects are of our regret. These, with about half a dozen more, and the services, would have formed a collection that most would have wished to possess. But it is time to look at the biography. It was not to be expected that any new facts remained to be collected concerning Purcell, and Mr. Novello does not profess to offer any: he has very diligently extracted every thing relating to him that is to be found in Hawkins and Burney, and not only all which is immediately connected with the subject of his memoir, but likewise accounts of those necessarily mentioned in the history of the principal, together with an abundance of other not absolutely necessary matter; thus producing a volume of forty-four very large folio pages, printed closely in small type, which might easily have been swelled out into as many more, or indeed to an unlimited extent, by the same ramifying process. Nevertheless, those who are fond of such discursive biography, and have not read the histories of Hawkins or Burney, will be informed and amused by Mr. Novello’s numerous and copious extracts. Mr. Novello does not strive to impress us with any very favourable notion of Purcell’s morals: he gives, apparently as his own, Hawkins’s observations on this subject, and, by omitting the usual marks of quotation, makes himself responsible for the slurs cast by another. But as he thus adopts so unfavourable an opinion of the musician’s private character, he should have been more guarded in speaking of Mrs. Purcell, and not have applied to her epithets which no facts that we are acquainted with can at all justify. It was Purcell’s failing, it seems, to associate with objectionable persons, and to pass late hours with a profligate character in haunts of by no means a reputable kind. Sir John Hawkins states this without any reserve; and also relates, on hearsay, that Purcell, coming home late one night, heated with wine, was refused admittance by his wife, and by being kept a considerable time in the street, caught cold, and died in consequence. But the historian does not give credit to this story,—the only one alleged against the, most likely, neglected wife: and even if true, it would hardly authorize such terms as ‘arrogant,’—‘low-minded and termagant woman,’—‘ill-tempered and hypocritical termagant,’ &c. bestowed on her by her husband’s present biographer. Where are we to find any facts to warrant such language,—or, indeed, to warrant any reproaches at all? Mr. Novello has in this ‘Prefatory Number’ inserted whatever he could find or gather concerning the composer of the works he has edited. He has deemed it advisable to reprint Dr. Burney’s article, ‘Purcell,’ from the CyclopÆdia of Rees; extracts from the EncyclopÆdia Britannica, and from the EncyclopÆdia Metropolitana; from the Harmonicon; several from the Atlas; from Crotch’s Lectures, ‘The clergy,’ he continues, ‘will probably soon find that it will be for their own interest to alter the system of tasteless apathy, careless indifference, and avaricious meanness, which have so long characterized the behaviour of the generality of them, in what relates to the musical department of the service, as well as their shabby, grasping conduct respecting the funds, which ought to be appropriated to the remuneration of the members of the choirs that have been subjected to their management. The slothful and useless drones amongst the clerical body, who have hitherto been allowed to enjoy such valuable benefices and large incomes for doing little or nothing themselves, will perhaps find it advisable, for their own sakes, to consider whether the public, who have been so much enlightened lately upon certain matters, will consent much longer to pay so high a price, or any price at all, for the meagre and uninteresting musical service which is provided for them by these selfish and niggardly, but impolitic and short-sighted persons. It is not very likely that, after the improvement which has taken place in the general taste for good music, the people will continue to be attracted by such common-place, insipid compositions and performances, as those which are but too frequently heard in our rich church establishments, which have already wasted, and still continue to swallow up annually such large sums of the public money. Unless some decided and extensive change for the better should speedily take place, the probability is, that these enormous funds will not only be considerably reduced, so as to be placed upon a more rational and just footing of proportion between the sum paid, and what is received by the public in return for it; but the funds themselves will most likely be transferred to the hands of other persons, who will make a more conscientious appropriation of them to the purposes for which they were really intended; who will have the sagacity to perceive, and the good sense to act according to the demands of the increased intelligence, the improved taste, and the more liberal spirit of the age.’—p. 43. ORIGINAL COMPOSITIONS, in Prose and Verse, illustrated with Lithographic Drawings, to which is added some VOCAL and INSTRUMENTAL Music. 4to. (Lloyd, Harley Street). 1833. This is a volume got up ‘for the benefit of a family in reduced circumstances,’ and contains fourteen prose and poetical pieces, with ten short musical compositions, the whole gratuitously contributed. We, of course, direct our attention to the latter part only. 1. The first is a song by the Chevalier Neukomm, ‘I call’d on the hopes of the years that are past,’ in two movements, is full of pathos, and, considered as a simple, unlaboured effusion, is one of his most pleasing and successful productions. 2. Mr. J. B. Cramer has contributed a very brief, easy air for the piano-forte, in the few bars of which his peculiar style is easily traced. 3. A German air, ‘Gruss,’ the poetry by H. Heine, composed by M. Mendelssohn Bartholdy, the whole comprised in fifteen bars, contains much in a very small compass. 4. A march, by Frederic Arthur Gore Ouseley, a child six years old when he composed it, is one of the most marvellous productions of this age of musical wonders, and as such we have added it to the music in our present number. We can speak of the extraordinary, the unexampled genius of this little boy—now only seven years and a half old—on the authority of a gentleman, in whose report we place the most implicit confidence. He has received no instructions in music, and though taught by himself to play with considerable skill on the piano-forte, does not know his notes on paper, and trusts to his sisters for writing down what he composes. He improvises entire scenes, singing to his own accompaniment, the latter often exhibiting harmony the most recherchÉe, chords that an experienced musician only uses with caution; but these are always introduced and resolved in a strictly regular manner, not by rule, for he has learnt no rules, but by the aid of a very surprising ear, and of some faculty, which, for want of a better term, we will call intuition. His organ of hearing is so fine, that, with his eyes closed, he instantly names any musical sound produced; and so discriminating is this sense in the child, that, when a note is struck on an instrument, tuned either above or below the usual pitch, he immediately discovers and accurately states in what the deviation consists. A chord of four notes being sounded, he named each note exactly, though at some distance from the instrument, and with his back turned to it. When five years of age he suffered during some weeks from a continued fever, and on his recovery composed a piece of music descriptive of the commencement of the disease, its progress, crisis, and abatement, intending it as a present to his physician for the care and attention he had bestowed on him. Though an abundance of lively fancy is displayed in this, there is nothing in it at all extravagant or ridiculous; on the contrary, it is strictly en rÈgle, and expresses, as well as inarticulate sounds are capable of expressing sensations, all the variety of feeling which would be experienced in the course of a long fever. This precocious genius is the son of the Right Honourable Sir Gore Ouseley, Bart., G.C.H., whose learning and high acquirements are well known in all parts of the civilized world: and under a French governess and No. 5 is a short expressive air in A flat, by the same gifted child. This is his favourite key; and A flat with the minor third is the mode which he prefers when he has occasion to use the minor key. No. 6 is a Polonaise by Giornovichi, not endowed with much meaning. No. 7 is a pleasing song, ‘Go, gentle breeze,’ by—Barker, Esq. No. 8 is a waltz, not very new, but written in good taste, by E. Mammet. No. 9 is a Minne-Lied, by C. Klingemann, in A, nine-eighth time, in which much character is exhibited, and an air of no common kind. No. 10 is a Tyrolienne, a lively piece of three short pages, by the Honourable Miss Jervis, but, though agreeable, does not show any of those original traits which sometimes characterize this lady’s compositions. PIANO-FORTE.
Lo! here we have the Fra Diavolo again! There is nothing like wearing a thing thoroughly out, so getting rid of it speedily, composers seem to think. But is this not as bad as cutting up the bird that produced such valuable eggs? A good opera is a rarity, so is a good song; and no sooner do we obtain either, than we set about the means of surfeiting everybody with it. M. Czerny has intended well in choosing subjects from Auber’s opera that are not so common as many others, but he has thus selected the least pleasing. Our readers may perhaps call us unreasonable, and say, that we object to the popular airs because they are worn out, and to those less worn because not popular. Our reply is, that M. Czerny was not driven to an alternative, and should have selected neither the one nor the other, but directed his attention elsewhere. He has here produced a very common-place, dull affair—a fantaisie, in which there is no fancy, and a continual drumming on the high notes, till the auditor is quite fatigued with such an unbroken succession of ear-piercing sounds. Whoever invented the additional keys above ought to be declared guilty of a misdemeanour. M. Adolphe Adam has gone into the other extreme, and chosen subjects that every one knows by heart. These, however, he has managed gracefully, and produced a divertimento at once easy and pleasing.
La BayadÈre is now performing at Drury Lane, under the title of The Maid of Cashmere, where its success depends much more on the dancing than the music. There is a vivacity in the first and second of the above which will procure them attention, though, except that skittish kind of liveliness which marks M. Auber’s latter productions, they possess nothing out of the very common way. The third, however, is more original, and will be effective in almost any form; as a stage piece it is particularly so. M. Herz has arranged these all in a more rational manner than is customary with him, though he is as fond of the additional notes as M. Czerny, and others of the tinkling school.
The very grandiloquent word, ‘inspiration.’ led us to hope that we should find M. Reissiger under the immediate influence and auspices of Phoebus; that we should meet with flights of imagination, efforts of genius, such as can only be expected under favour of a god—or, at least, of a Muse; but on looking at these darling rondos, we soon perceived that neither Apollo nor any of the Nine had taken any trouble in the matter, and that the inspirations boasted of were at the best but mere dreams, brought about by the fumes of mum, or German beer. These, we grant, are pretty, unaffected, easy pieces, prudently short, and will make a little variety in the modern repertory, where, in truth, we find little else than opera airs in every form except a new one. No. 4 is—what shall we say?—it is Mr. GÖdbe’s version of a march now enjoying the full tide of military popularity. Of course, every publisher puts forth his own edition, and the present is a very easy one, with a page of appropriate introduction. DUETS, PIANO-FORTE.
The Jubilee Overture is well known to our readers as a grand military piece, a rÉjouissance, in which the clamourous shouts of joy are chiefly intended to be expressed, and what is called science, as being out of place, is not to be looked for. M. Czerny has done it justice in his arrangement, and not exacted too much from the performers, though he could not make the upper part easy; but he has rendered the whole effective, if placed in proper hands. No. 2 is Carafa’s ‘Aure felici,’ and No. 3 is another air by the same, converted into very agreeable, short, and comparatively easy duets. VOCAL.
The two first of these glees obtained the prizes given by the gentlemen of the Manchester Glee Club; Mr. Novello’s was successful last year, and Mr. Shore’s the year preceding. Mr. Novello’s glee, in A, six quavers in a bar, for four equal, or men’s voices, is in one movement, though the time is rather slackened at page 7, but intended, we presume, to be recovered after the pause, in which case the want of proper notice is an omission that may mislead. This is a composition which will gain the applause of the connoisseur as well as the mere admirer of vocal harmony; the words are set with great propriety, there is no want of pleasing melody, and the technical part is evidence of the author’s ability. The length of the glee, however, excites a wish for a little more modulation: by the frequent repetition of the subject, good as it is in the same key, the ear begins to grow rather impatient, and desires some decided change for the sake of that variety which in a long piece is so needful. But then comes in a holding base, operating like a charm, and a passage (page 9) where the lowest voice imitates the first tenor, introducing some of those syncopated notes so delightful to people of cultivated taste, reconciling us to what had begun to excite some slight degree of mental murmur. Mr. Novello has not spared the countertenor, who frequently is called upon to hold a C sharp, and the other parts demand from the performers more effort than glee-singers in general like to exert. The chances are that many of them will complain that this does not ‘sing well;’ but it is high time to rouse them; drowsy glees which have no merit except that of being ‘well written,’—for such is the phrase under which much dulness is attempted to be concealed,—will not much longer be listened to with that forbearance which has too often been extended to them. Mr. Shore’s glee in D is for three equal voices, and in three movements, the first and last quick, the second rather slower. When we have said that this is not an unpleasing composition, and that it makes no pretence, we have bestowed as much praise on it as is at all allowable. It certainly has not the smallest claim to originality, either in design or execution, and must have been very fortunate in the kind of competitors it had to contend against. No. 3 is a clear and pleasing melody, agreeably harmonized for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, and the exceedingly touching words of Burns are set with taste and feeling.
No. 1 is an accompanied recitative, with a long harp introduction. The romance which follows, in G minor,—a happy mixture of the Italian and German styles,—is full of passion and melodious effect. The recitative to No. 2 is not very striking. The duet which follows opens in D flat, adagio, and passes into a moderato in B flat. Good as this is, it must not be concealed, that it is written decidedly in imitation of Rossini. Sig. Crivelli’s Notturnos will not be disapproved by those who encourage the Italian style of the age immediately preceding the present. They are less simple than the productions of the Venetian and Neapolitan schools, but have not much imagination or vigour. A few inaccuracies have eluded the eye of the composer, among which standing in great need of correction are, octaves between the second voice and the base, page 3, bar 2; and a D flat rising instead of falling, in last bar of page 8. No. 4 is rather elegant, though far from new, and the words are well set. No. 5 is one of those things which may be heard half a dozen times without leaving the slightest impression; and that might have been written by any one having sufficient technical skill to put the notes in right order. But the composer is a maestro. He is an instance of what fame may be acquired in the musical world by a single air. No. 6 is far from a common melody; and but for certain harsh notes, arising from an over-strained though laudable attempt at originality, we should add, that the accompaniment is as masterly as it is bold. An A double-flat, page 3, is beyond our comprehension. Had it not occurred twice, we should have concluded that B double-flat was intended. This canzonet, however, considered altogether, is highly creditable in every may to Mr. Barnett. BALLET OPERA, The Maid of Cashmere, or La BayadÈre, composed by AUBER, and adapted to the English stage by HENRY R. BISHOP. (Chappell.)
No. 1 (‘Comment, aimables BayadÈres’) possesses one great charm, that of originality, and of a pleasing kind too, though we cannot add that the words are set in a manner corresponding with the sentiment or the scene. The second movement of this is an air that must soon become popular. No. 2 (‘O bords heureux du Gange’) is exceedingly light, pretty, and novel: there are too many words for the notes, in both languages, and, as in the former case, the sound does not agree with the sentiment. Love is tender, In No. 3 (‘Sois ma BayadÈre’) the composer partly imitates himself, and partly Rossini. There is nothing worth a remark in this. Nothing can be more common than No. 4; not a phrase, not a cadence, but what has been worn to tatters years and years past. We should have guessed this to be an English air, did not the title-page inform us otherwise. No. 5 is a failure in English, whatever it may be in the original language. We have rarely met with words, both in signification and accent, so ill adapted to the music as are the present.
No. 1 is the magnificent duet for tenor and base, ‘Si j’aurai ce courage?’ of which we have spoken more than once. No. 2 is not belonging to the uncommon order. No. 3 is delicate and pleasing, though it does not seem to have cost the composer much effort. No. 4 is more studied; and by four changes in the time broken into as many short movements, the last of which, in C minor, is the strain of the ‘most melancholy’ Philomel, an interesting air. No. 5 is an ably imagined, well-written, and very pleasing song. No. 6 was favourably noticed by us long ago, as part of a volume entitled the Songs of the Flowers. No. 7 is composed with taste, but laboured; it was not ‘struck out at a heat.’ The English words of No. 8 are well set to the Welsh air which furnished a melody, much more than a century ago, to Gay’s ‘Cease your funning.’ What success Mr. Parry has had with his Cambrian poetry in union with the melody, it is not in our power to say, we having no cunning in his native language. No. 9 is as agreeable as most Swiss airs are, and so like many that all the world have heard, that, unless it had been sent to us as new, we should have believed it to be of three or four years’ standing at least. In fact, hear half a dozen of these Helvetic melodies, and you hear them all; there is a prodigious family likeness in them. M. Stockhausen is over-productive; he wants some musical Malthus to curb him. PIANO-FORTE AND FLUTE.
The first of the above is the overture in E now played, not that originally written for the opera. Considered as arranged for the piano-forte, with accompaniments for two flutes, there is nothing ridiculous in this,—indeed the effect of it is good; but when called a trio, a smile is drawn from us:—the overture to Fidelio as a trio for two flutes and piano! No. 2 makes a very charming duet, requiring two players of the better kind, whose execution is neat rather than brilliant. M. J. Czerny has put an Introduzione to this, and added five variations, all of which, the finale excepted, are in character with the air, and will not disappoint expectation. In No. 3, M. Kuhlau has proved how difficult it is to avoid the snares of fashion. He here succumbed to the prevailing depravity of taste, and wrote what may be called clever variations to Weber’s Romance, but certainly not appropriate ones. The whole of this demands two expert performers, whose time may be much better employed than in overcoming obstacles that are not worth conquering. FLUTE.
No. 1 is a collection of airs, of all nations, that have been most popular during the last few years, each having two or more variations, in which the ease of the performers does not seem to have been a primary consideration. But the task, though somewhat severe for players in general, is not a long one, as one single page is the limit of each piece. This is a good selection, and the additions would be all of a commendable kind were they uniformly in keeping with the respective melodies; but all are brilliant, while many of the airs are quite different in character. No. 2 is a small neat quarto publication of fourteen pages (upon which, by the by, a price any thing but reason VIOLONCELLO AND PIANO-FORTE.SELECT ITALIAN AIRS from the most popular Operas, arranged by F. W. CROUCH. Nos. 1 and 2. (Chappell.) Mr. Crouch has here restored to an air by Paisiello, ‘Ah, mia cara,’ and one by Sacchini, ‘PiÙ non ho la dolce speranza,’ both of which were doubtless once ‘popular,’ but before our time, and, we suspect, ere Mr. C. took much cognizance of these matters. However, we are pleased to meet with them; and convinced as we are that it will soon be expedient to resuscitate many good things by the same composers, we hail this as something of a beginning. Both the present are as short and easy as can be imagined, and are as graceful as brief. GUITAR AND PIANO-FORTE.‘L’or est une chimÈre,’ from MEYERBEER’s Robert, arranged by W. NEULAND. Op. 12. (Chappell.) These two instruments agree remarkably well together when the larger one uses its giant strength with moderation. The present is an excellent adaptation of an excellent air, and is so contrived that almost any two players may execute it, while the best need not blush to perform it. It is so short also, that it will bear an encore. |
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