  SIX ORIGINAL ENGLISH GLEES, for three and four voices, including the Glee which gained the Prize given by the Manchester Glee-Club, 1832, and those performed at the Concentores Society, composed by H. R. BISHOP. The Poetry by Mrs. HEMANS, JOANNA BAILLIE, J. WILSON, Esq., and Dr. JOHNSON. (Goulding and D’Almaine.) THE Glee is our national music, is indigenous to these isles, and a beautiful species of composition however viewed; we should therefore be sorry to see it fall into anything like neglect, a danger which some few years ago seemed to be threatened, though now we trust is past, judging from the encouragement it has lately received from many associated bodies, and from its re-introduction to domestic parties, where it appears to be regaining that favour which its own merits, and the facility with which it may now be performed, ought always to command. Mr. Bishop, though he pursued his professional studies under an Italian master, and has devoted his life chiefly to the theatre, has cultivated what in an English musician may almost be called a natural talent for glee-writing, to which, it is fair to a laudable institution to state, he has probably been partly induced by his connexion with the Concentores Society, a small club, whose sole object is the conservation of this kind of composition, and for the service of which three out of the present collection were produced. The first glee in this volume, ‘Where shall we make her grave?’ in Eflat, for four equal voices, gained the premium—(a Prize implies a medal, or cup; a far more gentlemanlike reward, by-the bye,)—given by a club at Manchester, and is a very impressive composition, the words set with judgment and feeling, and full of good, rich harmony. Being long, a more frequent and decided change of key would have increased the effect of this; though as it is in four different movements, the sameness which otherwise would have been felt, is much concealed. The melody at the words ‘where shower and singing-bird,’ is very charming; and the whole of pages 4 and 5, where the author modulates first into Aflat, then into Dflat, is set in a masterly, affecting manner. The second, ‘Up! quit thy bower!’ a cheerful glee in F, for two sopranos, tenor, and base, is lively and pleasing: the frequent use here of the diminished 7th is rather a novelty in a glee, and tends to a good purpose. The whole of this is full of agreeable melody, which is particularly striking at page 15, where the annexed passage occurs,—a successful departure from the usual habits of glee-writers:— The third, ‘No more the morn with tepid rays,’ in D, for four equal voices,—the words, Dr. Johnson’s Ode to Winter,—is in several movements, but the key is not so various, and the whole, though set with a due regard to the Poet’s sentiments, is rather monotonous and heavy. The following passage contains some clashing notes, though we allow that many of them are passing notes.— The composer’s design is obvious, but nothing in music can justify what is disagreeable to a cultivated ear. The fourth, ‘Oh! Sky-lark!’ in F, also for four equal voices, is throughout graceful, especially in melody; the repetition of certain pleasing phrases conduces here very much to effect. The fifth, ‘In tears, the heart oppressed with grief,’ in E, for soprano, tenor, and base, a single movement, is The sixth and last, ‘Come forth, sweet spirit!’ in F, for four equal voices, in two movements, is a good composition, and quite irreproachable, yet not very captivating. It is best calculated to please those critics who judge music by the eye rather than the ear,—who deal largely in the phrases ‘fine writing,’ ‘parts well put together,’ &c., and seldom look beyond the mechanism of a composition. We may pronounce this to be a successful work: the glees are all of the orthodox kind, deficient in nothing that good taste requires, or that the nature of the composition, by a prescriptive right, demands. No very hazardous attempts are made at novelty, but we meet with nothing common, and no pedantic show of mistaken learning. Mr. Bishop has written to please, not without a sufficient regard for his own reputation, and has not failed in his endeavour.
WITHOUT being at all informed on the subject, and judging only from the dedication of the Songs of the Bower, we are inclined to believe that they are the production of an amateur, and that the words are by the author of the music. If we are in error as to the latter point, the composer is bound to excuse us, for he should have named the writer of them, if not from his own pen. They are six in number, show a vast deal of taste, a desire to avoid commonplaces, (though not always successful in this respect,) and a most correct manner of setting the poetry, both as regards expression and accentuation. Indeed, it is the latter circumstance which leads us to think that the composer and poet are one and the same person, for mere musicians, more often than not, are influenced by the meaning of particular words rather than by the context, and almost as frequently commit mistakes in quantity and in emphasis. The first of these, ‘Once more to the bower,’ in E, is a slow, expressive air, well accompanied, but not very original, particularly in its cadences. The second, The Regret, in F, if sung slowly, rather ad libitum, and with feeling, will always make an impression. The accompaniment to this is very appropriate. The third, ‘When youth first leads,’ in D, is more pleasing than new. Of the fourth, ‘Now is the hour,’ in E flat, precisely the same may be said, though it is not as a whole equal to the former. The fifth, ‘Come welcome with me, lovely May,’ in G, should have been written in triple time; it has a strong polacca tendency, and halts exceedingly in its present measure. The praise we have bestowed on the composer’s accentuation must be abated so far as this song is concerned: giving a long note to ‘with,’ and in the strong part of the bar too, cannot escape censure. The sixth, ‘The last red rose,’ in E flat, is another expressive air, and the accompaniment shows much good taste in harmony; but the cadences here, as once or twice before, are, contrary to the moral rule, not the more valuable for being old acquaintances. No. 2 is a very pretty volume of lithographed songs, thin enough to carry in the pocket, and with neat cover and gilt leaves, producible in any lady’s drawing-room; and all this at a less price than two songs of the ordinary kind! We confess that the smallness of the characters calls on the eye for unusual exertion; and the singer and accompanyist, if in the dual number, must sit in the closest possible contact if they mean to see a single note or word. Of these songs, the best are, The Promise, in the Scottish style, by J. P. Clarke; The Night Flower, by T. Macfarlane; ‘The Midnight Dream,’ by John Thomson, Esq., a very superior composition; and The Proud Lover, by R. Webster. The poetry of the songs is unaffected, and some of it remarkable for tenderness, if not for any higher quality; and, at all events, the publication is certainly worth the moderate, the hardly remunerating price set on it. PIANO-FORTE.
BOTH of these are remembrances of M. Herold, the lately-deceased French composer, and made up, we believe, chiefly of airs from his operas. The first, though requiring considerable powers of execution, is good music; difficulty is not the author’s object. Some parts are very beautiful, others ingenious; but we most condemn the hateful run of semitones in thirds, foolishly introduced, at page 8, in deference to a vicious fashion. M. Chaulieu has produced some clever and many pleasing things for the piano-forte, which have always been noticed by us in terms of due approbation. Though not an original or vigorous composer, he has generally been a rational one. But all at once his judgment seems to have abandoned him,—a fit of pedantic foppery has seized him! Will it be credited that a composer in the nineteenth century, a musician not under restraint, not actually in a strait waistcoat, can have attempted to retrograde a century and a half, by introducing, in a piece written for the piano-forte only, the contra-tenor clef? He has not only employed this, most freely, in the present fantasia, but written it with 8va. alta over the notes, as if the same meaning could not have been expressed infinitely better by the usual clef, even admitting that the C clef were still in use! If such folly as this is countenanced, we shall soon go back to six-line staves, to the treble clef on the first line, and the mean on the fifth,—to musical darkness and barbarism. Surely the London publisher, Mr. D’Almaine, could not have been aware of this mad freak, or exquisite piece of musical coxcombry, or his common sense would have prompted him immediately to restore sanity to the notation of this work, which, in its present state, cannot have the least chance of sale.
THE subject of No. 1 has frequently, in one shape or M. Kulau, a judicious musician, but, alas! no more, has made a very charming rondo out of Mozart’s popular air from Figaro. Like a reasonable man, he has studied the convenience of the player, and also confined himself within moderate bounds;—like a man of taste, he has been regulated by the style of the subject;—and like a musician who really understands his art, he has added nothing but what every sound harmonist will approve and admire.
No. 1 evinces talent of no common kind: he who composed these pieces could, we should suppose, put parts to them, and by the addition of a single movement exalt them into a symphony, of which they seem to have been intended as portions. The three great masters are the models on which these compositions are formed, of whom Beethoven appears to be the object of the author’s highest admiration. The Minuet, in E flat, and Trio, in A flat, are spirited, and less studied in manner than the Andante, in B flat, which is impressive and recherchÉ. The Allegretto, in A flat, is bold and energetic; the modulations here are many and fearless, and the author has ventured on discords for which he has no precedent that immediately occurs to us, thus at least proving a courage and independence which promise much as the result of his future exertions. Were our advice likely to influence Mr. E. Loder, we would recommend him to pursue his present course, only guarding him against the possibility of being allured from melody by the temptations of harmony. The composer of a song has no chance now of success unless he fee some public performer to sing it; and the composer of a piano-forte piece must not expect that his work will attract any notice unless built on some popular air. Mr. Rawlings has long known the truth of this, and still acts on his experience. No. 2 is formed on two airs said to be popular, and No. 3 on one that unquestionably is, namely, ‘Non piÙ mesta; of all of which he has made good use, and produced two very agreeable and recommendable publications.
No. 1 are animated, animating dances, not exhibiting any very new thoughts, but well put together. No. 2 are subjects from an opera that cannot boast a single original idea, therefore the compiler of this quadrille must not be censured for want of novelty; but he has well arranged the airs he has chosen, and adapted them in a convenient manner for the performer. DUETS, PIANO-FORTE.
No. 1 is the work noticed above, as arranged for a single performer. We like it better in its present form, for the parts are more dispersed, and the melody comes out more distinctly. The upper part of this is very difficult, but the lower is easy, the duet therefore will very well suit an elder and younger sister, or two players whose musical advancement is unequal. No. 2 is Kulau’s Recollections of Odensee, in two quick, pleasing, and very practicable movements. We will not answer for the airs being, bon fide, of Danish origin, but whatever their birth-place, they are lively, pretty, and the superior master often peeps out while he means to be only simple and familiar.
SOME of the best subjects from an opera which has been too much lauded on the continent, are here arranged in an easy but effective manner. ORGAN.SELECT ORGAN PIECES, from Masses, Motets, and other sacred works of MOZART, HAYDN, BEETHOVEN, CHERUBINI, PALESTRINA, and other classical composers of the German and Italian schools, arranged by VINCENT NOVELLO. Nos. 31 to 36. (A. Novello.) WHAT the preceding numbers of this work contain, we have had no means of judging, having only received those now under notice, and must confine ourselves to them. By means of very close engraving, twenty-two pieces are included in these numbers, principally from Haydn’s and Mozart’s sacred compositions, but some few are by Novello, Portogallo, and Bonno. We are not among those who think that the Masses, &c. of Haydn and Mozart are, taken altogether, equal to their secular works; many of them, we are persuaded, would never have been published by the consent of the composers, but parts of them make very good organ pieces. These Mr. Novello has culled, and, with his well-known ability, converted them to a very useful purpose. He certainly calculates his adaptations for superior organists, and is not sparing of notes. Sometimes there will be found too many, by second-rate performers; and we take the liberty to mention to Mr. N. that in the country, nay even in the metropolis, are several respectable organists, very well qualified to do the duty of parish churches, who think his arrangements too much crowded for ordinary players, and too full of harmony for country congregations. VOCAL.‘Tantum ergo,’ a SOPRANO SOLO, with chorus, and violin, or flute, obligato, composed by C. GUYNEMER. (J. A. Novello.) THIS is more to be praised for smoothness of melody, and elegance in style, than for invention; we meet with nothing in it that can be called new, but, at the same time, nothing but what is rather agreeable. The air is in two movements, the first slow in three-four time, the last quicker, in common time. We prefer the former. The chorus, with a principal soprano added, to which a few florid passages are given, is simple, therefore—according to our notion of choral church music—appropriate; but it is also graceful. The flute accompaniment (by Mr. Nicholson) is good, as such, but not of that grave character which the words so imperatively demand.
No. 1 begins with a single voice, the contr’alto following, on the same subject a fourth below; but the most pleasing part of this is where the three voices come together. The whole is quite in the Italian style,—the best, though; and not unworthy the acceptance of the talented and lovely young dilettante to whom it is dedicated,—the Hon. Mary Anne Jervis. No. 2 is not a glee, we beg to hint to the composer: having an accompaniment, and a free one too, it should have been called a quartet. The name, however, may not much signify; but as Mr. Brown is better known by that appellation than if he were called Mr. White, so the term quartet more correctly explains the nature of the present composition than that now bestowed on it. But whatever the name of this, it will not give one to its author: he must not build his hopes of immortality on The Butterfly. No. 3 is simple, easy in every respect, and exactly calculated to please those who either do not understand or have no taste for elaborately written music. In whatever Mr. Lodge publishes, however unpretending, a trait of originality is always to be found, and this duettino is no exception to the rule. We cannot say from which of Mozart’s works Mr. Forde has taken the melody of No. 4; it does not bear any of the very distinguishing marks of the author, though agreeable. The words, which are not quite intelligible to us, are not all adapted with the proper regard to emphasis, and the accompaniment needs much thinning. With a little alteration, this duet may be made useful to such amateur singers as are not disposed to examine too critically the poetry to which they give utterance.
No. 1, short and simple as it is, possesses much of that quality for which we so often sigh,—originality. Nothing can be more easy than this, for both singer and accompanyist, and it cannot fail of a circulation among those who do not take fright at a foreign language. No. 2, we are told in a note, ‘is founded on the ancient Greek enharmonic mode, in which the 4th and 7th of the scale are omitted, as in the scale used in the Scotch melodies.’ In old Scottish airs, and, what is rather remarkable, in Chinese melodies, these intervals are rejected, but we do not wish to see the practice imitated, except, perhaps, now and then, to give—as in the present case—a tinge of antiquity to music set to ancient poetry. No. 3 is very expressively set; but the time being marked 2/4, it appears to us that larghetto would have met the composer’s intentions better than andante, which, in four-quaver time, is quicker than the character of both words and music seems to justify. No. 4 is the andante in B flat from Beethoven’s septet, which Mr. Wade apparently intends now to be sung much slower than it is played in its original form. He has not been very fortunate in adapting words to this; ‘one’ is not emphatic, nor is the last syllable of ‘memory,’ of ‘melody,’ and of ‘minstrelsy,’ long. Me-mo-ry, &c., will not do. No. 5 also exhibits numerous errors in emphasis, beautiful as is the air. In fact, as the words are now adapted, a singer would stand a fair chance of being laughed at who should perform this air. The sixth and seventh of these call for no remark. No. 8 sets off with some promise of novelty, but the composer, in modulating from F to E minor, gets quite out of his depth, and is engulphed in fifths of so abominable a kind, that we cannot allow them to pass without a remark. PIANO-FORTE AND VIOLIN.GRAN DUO CONCERTANTE, on Airs from MEYERBEER’s Robert le Diable; the Piano-forte part by KALKBRENNER, the Violin part by LAFONT. (Chappell.) THIS is a composition in which two first-rate artists have united their talents, and requires performers of nearly equal rank to execute it in a fit and proper manner. It is a work remarkable for its brilliancy, which appears to have been the principal aim of the writers, for the greater part is of this cast; though an expressive adagio in B minor, and one variation of the same kind in F minor, operate as seasonable contrasts and reliefs. The bulk of this consists of an air in C, (we do not recollect its title,) with, in point of fact, five variations, though only numbered as two. The first of these requires a violinist expert in double stops; and if the pianist cannot run demisemiquavers in thirds, with one hand, in quick time, he had better at once decline all share in the concertante. PIANO-FORTE AND FLUTE.INTRODUCTION and RONDO on ‘Ah! quand il gÊle sans se laisser,’ chorus in ONSLOW’s opera, Le Colporteur, composed by F. KULAU, Op. 98. (Hill.) WE cannot any that any great exertion appears to have been made by M. Kulau either in the choice or arrangement of this chorus, but it has an advantage, and not a trifling one, namely, that it enables two moderate performers to make a considerable display without the cost of much previous practice, and at the expense of but little exertion. This is in E minor, but ends in the major key. It has an introduction, which, though there is an air of pretence in it, is heavy, and signifies nothing.
THE duets are ‘Cara pupille,’ and ‘Che cangi sempre,’ of Blangini, and ‘Vedi da questi palpiti,’ by Mercadante, arranged as TRIOS, in as easy a manner as possible for all three instruments; and to a numerous class of amateurs they will not be less agreeable because divested of all manner of difficulty, without being rendered insipid. No. 2 are as brief as the foregoing, but the flute part requires rather more skill in the performer, while the accompaniment is much the same as the other. As to the airs, they are without any distinguishing character; and why such trifling compositions, so short—only two pages each—so scanty in subjects, and consequently so destitute of those flights of imagination which the term fantasia implies, should have received such a title, we are at a loss to guess. |
|
