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diff --git a/22793.txt b/22793.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..15fac6c --- /dev/null +++ b/22793.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9084 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Standard Oratorios, by George P. Upton + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Standard Oratorios + Their Stories, Their Music, And Their Composers + +Author: George P. Upton + +Release Date: September 28, 2007 [EBook #22793] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STANDARD ORATORIOS *** + + + + +Produced by David Newman, Stephen Hutcheson and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + + THE + Standard Oratorios + + THEIR STORIES, THEIR MUSIC, AND THEIR COMPOSERS + + + _A Handbook_ + + BY GEORGE P. UPTON + + CHICAGO + A. C. McCLURG AND COMPANY + 1893 + + Copyright + By A. C. McClurg and Co. + A.D. 1886. + + + + + PREFACE. + + +The "Standard Oratorios" is intended as a companion to the "Standard +Operas;" and with this purpose in view the compiler has followed as +closely as possible the same method in the arrangement and presentation +of his scheme. The main object has been to present to the reader a +comprehensive sketch of the oratorios which may be called "standard," +outlining the sacred stories which they tell, and briefly indicating and +sketching their principal numbers, accompanied in each case with a short +biography of the composer and such historical matter connected with the +various works as is of special interest. The compiler has also included +in his scheme a sketch of the origin and development of the Oratorio as +illustrated in its three principal evolutionary stages, together with +descriptions of several works which are not oratorios in the strict +sense, but at the same time are sacred compositions written upon a large +scale and usually performed by oratorio societies, such as Bach's +"Passion Music" and "Magnificat," Berlioz's, Mozart's, and Verdi's +Requiems, Mendelssohn's "Hymn of Praise," Handel's "Dettingen Te Deum," +Schumann's "Paradise and the Peri," and Rubinstein's "Tower of Babel." + +As in the case of the "Standard Operas," the work has been prepared for +the general public rather than for musicians, and as far as practicable, +technical terms have been avoided. Description, not criticism, has been +the purpose of the volume, and the various works are described as fully +as the necessarily brief space allotted to each would allow. The utmost +pains have been taken to secure historical and chronological accuracy, +inasmuch as these details are nearly always matters of controversy. The +favor which has been so generously accorded to the "Standard Operas" +leads the compiler to believe that the "Standard Oratorios" will also be +welcomed by those who enjoy the sacred music of the great masters, and +that it will prove a valuable addition to other works of musical +reference. + + G. P. U. + +Chicago, September, 1886. + + + + + CONTENTS. + + + PAGE + PREFACE 3 + THE ORATORIO 9 + BACH 31 + Christmas Oratorio 33 + The Saint Matthew Passion 39 + The Magnificat in D 48 + BEETHOVEN 51 + The Mount of Olives 53 + BENNETT 60 + The Woman of Samaria 62 + BERLIOZ 68 + The Requiem 70 + BRAHMS 78 + The German Requiem 80 + COSTA 82 + Eli 84 + DVORAK 90 + The Stabat Mater 92 + GOUNOD 96 + The Redemption 98 + Mors et Vita 106 + HANDEL 114 + Israel in Egypt 117 + Saul 125 + Samson 132 + The Messiah 140 + Judas Maccabaeus 149 + The Dettingen Te Deum 155 + HAYDN 159 + The Creation 162 + The Seasons 170 + LISZT 177 + Legend of the Holy Elizabeth 180 + Christus 186 + MACFARREN 191 + St. John the Baptist 193 + MACKENZIE 198 + The Rose of Sharon 199 + MENDELSSOHN 206 + St. Paul 208 + Hymn of Praise 213 + Elijah 218 + Christus 229 + MOZART 234 + Requiem 236 + PAINE 245 + St. Peter 246 + ROSSINI 251 + Stabat Mater 253 + RUBINSTEIN 258 + Tower of Babel 260 + Paradise Lost 264 + SAINT-SAENS 267 + Christmas Oratorio 269 + SCHUMANN 271 + Paradise and the Peri 273 + SPOHR 280 + Last Judgment 283 + SULLIVAN 290 + The Prodigal Son 292 + The Light of the World 294 + VERDI 301 + Manzoni Requiem 303 + SACRED MUSIC IN AMERICA 309 + APPENDIX 329 + + + + + THE STANDARD ORATORIOS. + + + + + THE ORATORIO. + + +The oratorio in its modern form is a musical setting of a sacred story or +text in a style more or less dramatic. Its various parts are assigned to +the four solo voices and to single or double chorus, with accompaniment +of full orchestra, sometimes amplified by the organ. Like the opera, it +has its recitative, linking together and leading up to the various +numbers. The origin of the word is to be found in the "oratory," or place +of prayer, where these compositions were first performed. Crescimbeni, +one of the earliest musical writers, says: "The oratorio had its origin +from San Filippo Neri,[1] who, in his chapel, after sermons and other +devotions, in order to allure young people to pious offices, and to +detain them from earthly pleasures, had hymns, psalms, and such like +prayers sung by one or more voices." In tracing its evolutionary stages, +its root will be found in the moralities, mysteries, and miracle-plays of +the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, which were instituted for the +purpose of impressing Biblical events in symbolical form upon the early +converts to the Christian Church. These representations were entirely +dramatic in character, and their subjects, though always sacred, were +often grotesquely treated, and sometimes verged on buffoonery. Among the +actors, God, Christ, Satan, Mary, and the angels nearly always appeared; +later, the various virtues and vices were personified. The +representations were usually given in the streets or in fields, and +sometimes on the water. The highest dignitaries of the Church did not +disdain to act in these plays, nor did their promoters hesitate at times +to reduce the exhibition to the level of a Punch-and-Judy show by the +introduction of puppets cleverly manipulated. The earliest of these +miracle-plays in England were performed by the various London Companies. +The Tanners, for instance, produced the Fall of Lucifer. The Drapers +played the Creation, in which Adam and Eve appeared in their original +costume,--apparently without giving offence. The Water-Drawers naturally +chose the Deluge. In the scene describing the embarkation of Noah's +family, the patriarch has a great deal of trouble with his wife, who is +determined not to go aboard. She declares that if her worldly friends are +left behind, she will stay and drown with them, and he can + + "Rowe forth away when thou liste, + And get thee another wif." + +Noah expostulates with her in vain, grows furiously indignant, and bids +her + + "Come in, wif, in twenty devill ways, + Or alles stand thee without." + +Her friends the gossips entreat her to remain with them, and have a +carousal over a "pottel full of malmsey;" but at last Shem makes a virtue +of necessity and forces her into the ark, as the following scene shows:-- + + "In faith, moder, in ye shall, + Whither you will or noughte." + + NOE. + + "Well me wif into this boate." + [_She gives him a box on the ear._] + "Haue you that for thee note." + + NOE. + + "A le Mary this whote, + A childre methinks my boate remeues, + Our tarrying here heughly me grieues." + [_She is forced into the ark._] + +The earliest of these representations, so far as has been discovered, +dates back to the twelfth century, and is known as the Feast of Asses. In +these exhibitions, Balaam, superbly habited and wearing an enormous pair +of spurs, rode a wooden ass, in which the speaker was concealed. The ass +and the devil were favorite characters. The former sometimes appeared in +monkish garb and brayed responses to the intonations of the priests, +while the latter, arrayed in fantastic costumes, seems to have been the +prototype of clown in the pantomime. As late as 1783 the buffoonery of +this kind of exhibition continued. An English traveller, describing a +mystery called the "Creation" which he saw at Bamberg in that year, +says:-- + + "Young priests had the wings of geese tied on their shoulders to + personate angels. Adam appeared on the scene in a big curled wig and + brocaded morning-gown. Among the animals that passed before him to + receive their names were a well-shod horse, pigs with rings in their + noses, and a mastiff with a brass collar. A cow's rib-bone had been + provided for the formation of Eve; but the mastiff spied it out, + grabbed it, and carried it off. The angels tried to whistle him back; + but not succeeding, they chased him, gave him a kicking, and recovered + the bone, which they placed under a trap-door by the side of the + sleeping Adam, whence there soon emerged a lanky priest in a loose + robe, to personate Eve." + +The buffoonery and profanity of the early exhibitions, however, gradually +wore away when the Church assumed the monopoly of them and forbade +secular performances. Among the earlier works Burney cites the +following:-- + + "The 'Conversion of St. Paul,' performed at Rome, 1440, as described by + Sulpicius, has been erroneously called the first opera, or musical + drama. 'Abram et Isaac suo Figliuolo,' a sacred drama (_azione sacra_), + 'showing how Abraham was commanded by God to sacrifice his son Isaac on + the mountain,' was performed in the Church of St. Mary Magdalen in + Florence, 1449. Another on the same subject, called 'Abraham and + Sarah,' 'containing the good life of their son Isaac, and the bad + conduct of Ishmael, the son of his handmaid, and how they were turned + out of the house,' was printed in 1556; 'Abel e Caino,' and 'Samson,' + 1554; 'The Prodigal Son,' 1565; and 'La Commedia Spirituale dell' + Anima' ('The Spiritual Comedy of the Soul'), printed at Siena, without + date, in which there are near thirty personifications, besides Saint + Paul, Saint John Chrysostom, two little boys who repeat a kind of + prelude, and the announcing angel, who always speaks the prologue in + these old mysteries. He is called _l'angelo che nunzia_, and his figure + is almost always given in a wooden cut on the title-page of printed + copies. Here, among the interlocutors, we have God the Father, Michael + the archangel, a chorus of angels, the Human Soul with her guardian + angel, memory, intellect, free-will, faith, hope, charity, reason, + prudence, temperance, fortitude, justice, mercy, poverty, patience, and + humility; with hatred, infidelity, despair, sensuality, a chorus of + demons, and the devil. None of these mysteries are totally without + music, as there are choruses and _laudi_, or hymns, that are sung in + them all, and sometimes there was playing on instruments between the + acts. In a play written by Damiano and printed at Siena, 1519, + according to Crescimbeni, at the beginning of every act there was an + octave stanza, which was sung to the sound of the lyra viol by a + personage called Orpheus, who was solely retained for that purpose; at + other times a madrigal was sung between the acts, after the manner of a + chorus." + +It was not until the time when San Filippo Neri began his dramatization +and performance of Biblical stories, such as "The Good Samaritan," "The +Prodigal Son," and "Tobias and the Angels," accompanied with music +written by his friend Giovanni Animuccia, that the term "Oratorio" came +to be accepted as the distinctive title of these sacred musical dramas. +His productions were very crudely and hastily arranged, his only purpose +having been to render his service attractive. After his death, however, +in 1595, his work was continued by Emilio del Cavaliere, a Roman +composer, who produced the first real oratorio which had as yet appeared. +It was entitled "La Rappresentazione dell' Anima e del Corpo" ("The Soul +and the Body"), and was first performed in February, 1600, in the oratory +of the Church of Santa Maria della Vallicella at Rome. Burney assigns to +it the credit of being "the first sacred drama or oratorio in which +recitative was used." The characters were Time, Human Life, the World, +Pleasure, the Intellect, the Soul, the Body, and two youths who were to +recite the prologue. The orchestra was composed of a double lyre, a +harpsichord, a large or double guitar, and two flutes. The composer has +left some curious instructions for the performance of his work; among +them the following:-- + + "Pleasure, an imaginary character, with two companions, are to have + instruments in their hands, on which they are to play while they sing + and perform the ritornels. + + "Il Corpo, the Body, when these words are uttered, 'Si che hormai alma + mia,' etc., may throw away some of his ornaments, as his gold collar, + feather from his hat, etc. + + "The World, and Human Life in particular, are to be gayly and richly + dressed; and when they are divested of their trappings, to appear very + poor and wretched, and at length dead carcases." + +The ballet played a prominent part in all the early oratorios, and the +composer has also left detailed instructions for its guidance. During the +ritornels the four principal dancers accompanied them in "a ballet +enlivened with capers," and at the close of the performance stanzas were +sung, alternating with dances to be executed "sedately and +reverentially." + +Emilio del Cavaliere was followed by a long line of Italian oratorio +composers who contributed to amplify and enrich this form of composition. +Among the earliest of these writers were Carissimi, Stradella, Scarlatti, +Mazzocchi, Federici, Pistocchi, Caldara, and Colonna. Carissimi perfected +the recitative and invested the music with more importance, giving it +something like equal rank with the dramatic character of the composition. +It was during his time that the personage known as "Historicus" was +introduced, who continued the action with explanatory passages between +the numbers,--a modern illustration of which may be found in the +"Narrator," as used by Gounod in his "Redemption." Carissimi employed +this expedient, and made it very effective. It is also claimed that he +was the first to introduce the cantata as a form of church music, and the +accompaniment of violins in motet performances. His most famous oratorios +are "Jephte," "Abraham et Isaac," "Le Jugement Dernier," and "Judicium +Salomonis." Of the first named, Hawkins says: "It consists of recitative, +airs, and chorus; and for sweetness of melody, artful modulation, and +original harmony, is justly esteemed one of the finest efforts of musical +skill and genius that the world knows of." Stradella, whose romantic +history is familiar to every one, is chiefly remembered by his attachment +for Hortensia, the vengeance of the Venetian lover which followed them so +long, and the song which saved the composer's life from the assassins. +This song was from his own oratorio, "St. John the Baptist," first +performed in the Church of St. John Lateran at Rome. Burney, who examined +the score, says: "The recitative is in general excellent, and there is +scarce a movement among the airs in which genius, skill, and study do not +appear." He also observes that this oratorio is the first work in which +the proper sharps and flats are generally placed at the clef. Scarlatti, +born in 1659, was a composer of great originality, as well as +versatility. He has left, in addition to his numerous operas and +cantatas, several oratorios, the most famous of which are "I Dolori di +Maria sempre Vergine," "Il Sagrifizio d' Abramo," "Il Martirio di Santa +Teodosia," and "La Concezzione della beata Vergine." He gave to the +oratorio more breadth, boldness, and dignity of style, improved the form +of the aria, made the accompanied recitative more dramatic, and developed +the treatment of several instruments, among them the trumpet, whose real +beauty and effect he was the first to bring out. Mazzocchi is chiefly +known by his oratorio, "Querimonia," produced in Rome in 1631, which is +said to have drawn tears from all who heard it. Federici wrote two +oratorios, "Santa Cristina," and "Santa Caterina de Sienna," in both of +which "interstitial" accompaniment is used for the first time; that is, +the violins, instead of accompanying the voice, repeat portions of the +melody in short symphonies. Pistocchi was one of the most prominent +stage-singers of his time, and established a school of singing at +Bologna. His most famous oratorio is entitled "Maria Vergine addolerata," +and is without overture or chorus. Burney notes that in the close of this +work degrees of diminution of sound, such as "piano," "piu piano," and +"pianissimo," are used for the first time. Caldara wrote a large number +of oratorios, mostly adapted to the poetry of Zeno and Metastasio, which +are said to have been delightful productions. Colonna, who was a +contemporary of Stradella, but not so famous, has left one oratorio, "St. +Basil," which is highly praised. Bononcini also, who afterwards became a +rival of Handel in England, wrote several oratorios before he went to +that country, the best of which is entitled "San Girolamo della Carita." + +The conclusion of this period brings us to the second stage in the +evolution of the oratorio; namely, the passion-music, which may be +regarded as the connecting link between the earlier form as developed by +the Italian composers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the +oratorio as it appeared after it had felt the mighty influence of Handel. +The passion-music was the direct outgrowth of the passion-play. It +portrayed the passion of Christ. Its earliest forms are found in the +"Passio secundum Matthaeum" by Stephani, a Nuremberg composer who +flourished in the sixteenth century; in a hymn-book published in 1573 by +Keuchental; and in Selenica's hymn-book, which appeared in 1587. Heinrich +Schuetz, however, was the first to establish the passion-music in genuine +oratorio form. He was born in 1585, and died in 1672. The pupil of an +Italian master, the famous Gabrielli of Venice, he retained the Italian +forms, but added to them his native German force and solidity. His most +prominent work, "Die Auferstehung Christi," first performed at Dresden in +1623, where he was chapel-master to the Elector George I., is regarded as +the foundation of the German oratorio. The passion-music was usually +assigned to three priests, one of whom recited or intoned the part of +Jesus, the second that of the evangelist, and the third the other parts, +while the chorus served for the "turbae," or people. In Schuetz's music, +however, the narrative is given to a chorus of evangelists, the +accompaniment being performed by four viole di gamba and organ. There is +also a wide departure from all his predecessors in the entire absence of +dramatic action. His first work was followed by another, entitled "Die +sieben Worte Christi" ("The Seven Words of Christ"),--a subject which +Haydn subsequently treated with powerful effect,--and four different +compositions on the passion of our Lord. In these works are to be found +the real germs of the modern oratorio; they were preparing the way for +Handel and Bach. Johann Sebastiani succeeded Schuetz, and in 1672 +published a passion-music, in which the narrative appears in recitative +form and solidly harmonized chorales are used,--with this peculiarity, +that only the treble was sung, the other voices being taken by the +strings. In 1673 still another passion, written by Theile, was produced +at Luebeck. From this time until 1704 there appears to be a gap in the +sequence of works of this kind. + +In the latter year, however, two more were produced, which made a +sensation all over Germany, "The Bleeding and Dying Jesus," by Reinhard +Keiser, and the "Passion nach Cap. 19 S. Johannis" by Handel. In the +former, cantatas were substituted for the narrative and chorales, one of +the numbers being in the nature of a love-song,--an innovation upon the +established forms which brought down upon the composer the indignation of +the critics both in the pulpit and out of it. The passion-music of Handel +was but a weak prelude to the colossal works which were to follow from +his pen. Between 1705 and 1718 several other passions appeared, written +by Keiser, Handel, Telemann, and Mattheson, preparing the way for the two +composers who above all others were destined to develop the chorale and +make it not only the foundation, but the all-pervading idea of their +passions; they were Carl Heinrich Graun and Johann Sebastian Bach. The +former's greatest work, "Der Tod Jesu," was produced in Berlin in 1755, +and was a revelation in the matter of chorale treatment. Nothing which +had preceded it could equal it in musical skill or artistic handling. But +there was one coming greater than Graun, the father of modern music, +Johann Sebastian Bach. "If all the music written since Bach's time should +be lost," says Gounod, "it could be reconstructed on the foundations +which he laid." Besides his "Christmas Oratorio," Bach wrote five passion +oratorios, two of which, the "St. John" and "St. Matthew," have been +published and are still performed. Of these two, the "St. Matthew" was +conceived on the grander scale. In this sublime masterpiece, the early +oratorio reached its highest form in Germany. It contains a narration +delivered by an evangelist, solo parts for the principal characters, +arias, choruses, double choruses, and chorales, the congregation joining +in the latter, in which the composer not only reveals an astonishing +dramatic power in the expression of sentiment and the adaptation of his +music to the feeling and situation of the characters, but also a depth +and accuracy of musical skill and invention which have been the despair +of composers from that time to this. + +With Bach, the passion-music accomplished its purpose, and we now enter +upon the third and last stage of the evolution of oratorio. It is a new +form, and the change leads us to a new country. We have examined the +sacred dramas, with their musical setting, in Italy, and the +passion-music in Germany; and now comes the oratorio in England,--the +oratorio as we know it and hear it to-day. Handel was its great +originator. He began his English career as an operatic writer; but he +soon tired of setting music to the trivial subjects so common in opera, +which, as he himself declared, were not suited to a composer advancing in +years. There were other inducements, however, which led him to turn to +the oratorio, and among them one of the most powerful unquestionably was +his disgust with the cabals which were organized against him by Italian +rivals. "Esther" was his first English oratorio, and it made a great +success. It was followed by "Deborah" and "Athalia." His vigorous +dramatic power and close musical scholarship were never more apparent +than in these works. They aroused such an enthusiasm that from this time +forth (1737) he devoted himself exclusively to this species of +composition. He wrote in all seventeen English oratorios. In 1739 he +produced "Saul," one of the most dramatic of his sacred works, and the +colossal "Israel in Egypt." In 1741 he began "The Messiah," the most +sublime of all his oratorios and one of the profoundest works of human +genius in music. It still holds its place upon the stage as one of the +grandest expressions of human aspiration and divine truth, and no +Christmas is complete without its performance. Other works followed it, +among them "Samson," "Joseph," "Belshazzar," "Judas Maccabaeus," "Joshua," +and "Theodora," which Handel considered his best work; but none of them +equalled "The Messiah," in which his genius reached its climax. Of those +last named, only "Samson" and "Judas Maccabaeus" still hold their place in +the modern repertory, though the other oratorios mentioned contain many +of his most effective numbers. + +While Handel was writing in England, the oratorio languished in Germany. +Hasse, Porpora, and Fux produced several oratorios, but they have not +left an impression upon the world. Handel died in 1759. It was not until +1798 that a successor appeared worthy to wear his mantle. That successor +was Joseph Haydn, whose greatest work, "The Creation," rivals "The +Messiah" in its popularity. He was in his seventieth year when he +produced it, as well as his delightful work, "The Seasons;" but "Papa" +Haydn, as his countrymen love to call him, preserved the freshness of +youth to the very last. The melodies of his old age are as delicious as +those of his youth. Both these oratorios are exquisite pictures of +nature, as well as of human and divine love. They were inspired by +Handel's oratorios (which he heard for the first time when he visited +London in 1791), and when first performed aroused as great enthusiasm, +though they are not cast in the same heroic mould as are "The Messiah" +and "Israel in Egypt." They are characterized rather by grace, sweetness, +and elegance of form, and by pure, healthy music. Haydn was a master of +instrumentation, as he had shown years before in the string quartet, of +which he was the creator, and in his almost innumerable symphonies,--he +being the originator of the modern symphony. He had had the advantage of +a magnificent orchestra while in service at Prince Esterhazy's, and the +results are seen in the orchestral resources which he employs in his +oratorios. During this period several Italian oratorios by Salieri, +Zingarelli, and Cimarosa appeared, as well as oratorios in the same style +by the German composers Himmel and Winter. In 1803 Beethoven wrote his +only oratorio, "Christ on the Mount of Olives." This production has not +attained to the popularity of his instrumental works or of his single +opera, "Fidelio," in part because it is not in pure oratorio form, and in +part because of its wretched libretto. Schubert, contemporary with +Beethoven, also undertook an oratorio on the subject of "Lazarus;" but it +was never completed, and the fragment even was not heard until 1863. + +The first really successful oratorio of the present century was "Das +juengste Gericht" ("The Last Judgment"), by Spohr, which was produced +under his own supervision at Erfurt in 1812. This oratorio, however, the +work of his earlier years, was but the prelude to his masterpiece, "Die +letzten Dinge" ("The Last Things"), which is now commonly known as "The +Last Judgment," and was first performed at Cassel in 1826. Nine years +later he brought out "Des Heiland's letzte Stunden" ("The Saviour's Last +Hours," now known as "Calvary"), and still later, "The Fall of Babylon," +which he produced for the first time in England in 1843; but neither of +these are constructed upon the grand proportions which characterize "Die +letzten Dinge," or so well illustrate the profound musical knowledge of +the great violinist. Contemporary with Spohr was Schneider, an unusually +prolific writer, who produced no less than sixteen oratorios in a period +of twenty-eight years, in addition to a large number of operas. Though +his oratorios were very popular at the time, but one of them has +survived, the "Weltgericht," written in 1819. Among other contemporaries +were Lindpaintner, whose "Abraham" was very successful,--though this +composer is now remembered only by his orchestral pieces,--and Klein, who +brought out two oratorios, "Jephthah" (1828) and "David" (1830), which +were greatly admired, though they are now almost unknown. + +Spohr had easily held his place in the first rank of the oratorio +composers of his time, but was eclipsed when Mendelssohn appeared, as +were all his contemporaries. This gifted composer had studied Handel and +Bach very closely. In 1829 he brought out the latter's "St. Matthew" +passion-music after it had lain concealed for an entire century. He +aroused enthusiasm for the two old masters both in Germany and England. +His "St. Paul," first produced at Duesseldorf in 1836, was greeted with +acclamations of enthusiasm, and still holds its place in the popular +regard. Ten years later his greatest work, "Elijah," was performed in +England. Though widely different in form and treatment from "The +Messiah," it shares equally with that work in the enjoyment of popular +favor. Its numbers are almost as familiar as household words, through +constant repetition not only upon the oratorio stage, but in the +concert-room and choir-loft. In the presentation of the personalities +concerned in the progress of the work, in descriptive power, in the +portrayal of emotion and passion, and in genuine lyrical force, "Elijah" +has many of the attributes of opera, and some critics have not hesitated +to call it a sacred opera. Indeed, there can be no question that with +costume, scenery, and the aids of general stage-setting, its effect would +be greatly enhanced. Mendelssohn began still a third oratorio, +"Christus," but did not live to complete it. His "Lobgesang" ("Hymn of +Praise"), a symphony-cantata, is usually given as an oratorio, though it +is not in the genuine oratorio form. Contemporary with him and since his +death numerous oratorios have been written, more or less inspired by his +work; but "Elijah" and "St. Paul" still remain unsurpassed. Robert +Schumann gave the world a delightful oratorio with a secular subject, +"Paradise and the Peri." Numerous English composers have produced +meritorious works, among them Sterndale Bennett, whose "Woman of Samaria" +is thoroughly devotional. In Germany, Hiller, Rheinthaler, and others +have made successful essays in this form of musical art. In France, +Massenet and Saint-Saens have written short one-part oratorios, and +Gounod has constructed two, "The Redemption" and "Mors et Vita," upon the +old classical form, so far as division is concerned, and is now at work +upon a third, of which Joan of Arc is the theme. In "The Tower of Babel" +and "Paradise Lost," Rubinstein has given us works which are certainly +larger in design than the cantata, and are entitled to be called +oratorios. In our own country, Professor Paine, of Harvard University, +has written one oratorio, "St. Peter," which commands attention for its +scholarly work and musical treatment. Mendelssohn and Spohr, however, +represent the nineteenth century of oratorio as Haydn, Handel, and Bach +did the eighteenth. Who will take the next step forward in the twentieth, +and give to this noblest form of musical art still higher expression? + +Before closing this sketch, it will not be out of place to refer briefly +to the Requiem, Te Deum, Stabat Mater, and Magnificat, since +illustrations of these musical forms appear in the body of the work. +"Requiem" is the name given to the "Missa pro Defunctis" ("Mass for the +Dead"), and comes from the first word of the Introit, "Requiem aeternam +dona eis, Domine." Its musical divisions are as follows: (1) Introit; (2) +the Kyrie; (3) the Gradual and Tract,--"Requiem aeternam" and "Absolve +Domine;" (4) the Sequence or Prose,--"Dies Irae;" (5) Offertorium; (6) +Sanctus; (7) Benedictus; (8) Agnus Dei; (9) Communio,--"Lux aeterna." The +most famous requiems are Palestrina's, written for five voices, but left +incomplete (1595); Vittoria's, for six voices, written for the funeral of +the Empress Marie, widow of Maximilian II. (1605); Colonna's, for eight +voices (1684); Mozart's great masterpiece (1791); Cherubini's in C minor, +written for the anniversary of the death of Louis XVI., 1793, and a +second for three male voices (1836); Berlioz's "Messe des Morts;" Verdi's +"Manzoni Requiem," and Brahms' "German Requiem." Though an integral part +of the Roman service, appointed for a special day in commemoration of the +dead, the Requiem is also employed for the anniversaries of distinguished +persons who have passed away, as well as for funeral occasions. + +The Stabat Mater, or Lamentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the +well-known Latin hymn on the Crucifixion, is one of the most familiar +numbers in the Roman Missal. It is appointed to be sung at High Mass on +the Friday in Passion Week, and also on the third Sunday in September. On +Thursday in Holy Week it is also sung in the Sistine Chapel as an +Offertorium. The poem was written by the monk Jacobus de Benedictis in +the thirteenth century, and is regarded as one of the finest of mediaeval +sacred lyrics. Grove says of it: "Several readings are extant; the one +most frequently set to music being that which immediately preceded its +last revision in the Roman Office-Books. There are also at least four +distinct versions of its plain-chant melody, apart from minor differences +attributable to local usage." It has always been a favorite hymn with the +composers. The most famous settings are those of Josquin des Pres; two by +Palestrina,--the first, which is the most effective, for a double choir +of eight voices, and the second for a triple choir of twelve voices; that +by Pergolesi for soprano and contralto; Haydn's, which is in his +peculiarly melodious style; Steffani's for six voices; those by Clari, +Astorga, Winter, Racimondi, Vito, Lanza, Inzenga, and Neukomm; Rossini's, +which is the best known of all; and Dvorak's, written in 1881, which is +one of the Bohemian composer's finest efforts. Few hymns have been so +variously treated, and, it may be added, few in the Roman service are +more popular. + +The "Te Deum Laudamus" is another familiar hymn. Its origin is doubtful, +though it is usually credited to Saint Ambrose. L'Estrange, in his +"Alliance of Divine Offices," says: "The Te Deum was made by a bishop of +Triers, named Nicetius, or Nicettus, about the year 500, which was almost +a century after the death both of Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine." +Bingham, in his "Antiquities of the Church," says: "The Benedictines, who +published the works of Saint Ambrose, judge him not to have been the +author of it; and Dr. Cave, though at one time he was of a different +judgment, and Bishop Stillingfleet, concur in the opinion that the Te +Deum was not the composition of Saint Ambrose, or of him and Saint +Augustine jointly." Hawkins also says: "The zeal of Saint Ambrose to +promote psalm-singing is in nothing more conspicuous than in his +endeavors to reduce it into form and method; as a proof whereof, it is +said that he, jointly with Saint Augustine, upon occasion of the +conversion and baptism of the latter, composed the hymn Te Deum Laudamus, +which even now makes a part of the liturgy of our Church, and caused it +to be sung in his church at Milan. But this has been discovered to be a +mistake. This, however, is certain,--that he instituted that method of +singing known by the name of the Cantus Ambrosianus, or Ambrosian Chant, +a name, for aught that now appears, not applicable to any determined +series of notes, but invented to express in general a method of singing +agreeable to some rule given or taught by him." In spite of controversy, +however, the Te Deum is still and will always be known as the "Ambrosian +Hymn." The original melody is very ancient, but not so old as the hymn +itself. It is thoroughly familiar in the Roman Church, though the number +of settings for Church use is almost endless. The early composers +harmonized it in various forms. It has also borne a conspicuous part on +festival occasions. The most celebrated Te Deums of this character, +arranged for solos, chorus, organ, and orchestra, are those of Sarti, to +commemorate Prince Potemkin's victory at Otchakous; of Graun, to +celebrate the battle of Prague; of Berlioz, for two choirs; of Purcell, +for St. Cecilia's Day; of Dr. Blow and Dr. Croft, with accompaniments of +two violins, two trumpets, and bass; and the magnificent Utrecht and +Dettingen Te Deums of Handel. Among those by contemporary writers are +Macfarren's, written in 1884, and Sullivan's, commemorating the recovery +of the Prince of Wales. + +The Magnificat, or Song of the Virgin, is part of the vesper service of +the Church, and has been treated by all the old Church composers of +prominence both in plain chant and in polyphonic form. In the English +cathedral service it is often richly harmonized, and Bach, Mozart, +Handel, Mendelssohn and others have set it in oratorio style with +complete orchestral accompaniment. + +[1] Born at Florence in the year 1515, and famous as the founder of the + Congregation of the Fathers of the Oratory. + + + + + BACH. + + +Johann Sebastian Bach, the most eminent of the world's organ-players and +contrapuntists, was born at Eisenach, March 21, 1685, and was the most +illustrious member of a long line of musicians, the Bach family having +been famous almost from time immemorial for its skill in music. He first +studied the piano with his brother, Johann Christoph, and the organ with +Reinecke in Hamburg, and Buxtehude in Luebeck. In 1703 he was court +musician in Weimar, and afterwards was engaged as organist in Arnstadt +and Muehlhausen. In 1708 he was court organist, and in 1714 concert-master +in Weimar. In 1718 he was chapel-master to the Prince von Koethen, and in +1723 was appointed music-director and cantor at the St. Thomas School in +Leipsic,--a position which he held during the remainder of his life. He +has left for the admiration of posterity an almost endless list of vocal +and instrumental works, including chorales, motets, magnificats, masses, +fugues, and fantasies, especially for organ and piano, the "Christmas +Oratorio," and several settings of the passion, of which the most famous +are the "St. John" and "St. Matthew," the latter of which Mendelssohn +introduced to the world in 1829, after it had slumbered an entire +century. His most famous instrumental work is the "Well-tempered +Clavichord,"--a collection of forty-eight fugues and preludes, which was +written for his second wife, Anna Magdalena Bach, to whom also he +dedicated a large number of piano pieces and songs. His first wife was +his cousin, Maria Barbara Bach, the youngest daughter of Johann Michael +Bach, a composer of no common ability. By these two wives he had +twenty-one children, of whom the most celebrated were Carl Phillipp +Emanuel, born in 1714, known as the "Berlin Bach;" Johann Christoph +Friedrich, born in 1732, the "Buecheburger Bach;" and Johann Christian, +born in 1735, who became famous as the "London Bach." Large as the family +was, it is now extinct. Bach was industrious, simple, honest, and +God-fearing, like all his family. He was an incessant and laborious +writer from necessity, as his compensation was hardly sufficient to +maintain his large family, and nearly all his music was prepared for the +service of the church by contract. The prominent characteristics of his +work are profound knowledge, the clearest statements of form, strength of +logical sequences, imposing breadth, and deep religious sentiment. He was +a favorite of Frederick the Great, who upon one occasion made all his +courtiers stand on one side and do homage to the illustrious composer. +"There is but one Bach," said the monarch. With all Bach's amiable +qualities, it is said that he had a hasty temper. While playing one day, +Goerner, the organist at St. Thomas, struck a false chord; whereupon Bach +flew at him in a passion, tore off his wig and threw it at him, +exclaiming: "You ought to have been a cobbler, instead of an organist!" +Notwithstanding this infirmity of temper, he was a deeply religious man, +and inscribed upon every one of his principal compositions "S. D. G.," +"to the glory of God alone." He died July 28, 1750, and was buried at +Leipsic; but no cross or stone marks the spot where he lies. His last +composition was the beautiful chorale, "Wenn wir in hoechsten Noethen +sein," freely translated, "When my last hour is close at hand," as it was +written in his last illness. The only record of his death is contained in +the official register: "A man, aged 67, M. Johann Sebastian Bach, musical +director and singing-master at the St. Thomas School, was carried to his +grave in the hearse, July 30, 1750." + + + + + The Christmas Oratorio. + + +The "Christmas Oratorio" was written by Bach in 1734, the subject being +taken from texts in Luke and Matthew pertaining to the nativity. It is +not, as its name would suggest, a work to be performed at a single +hearing, but a composition divided into six parts of divine service, +arranged for the three days of Christmas, New Year's Day, New Year's +Sunday, and the Epiphany, each part being a complete cantata for each +day, and all linked together by chorales which give it a unity of subject +and design. Like Wagner's "Ring der Nibelungen," it was given in +instalments, each part separate and complete in itself, and yet combining +to illustrate a given subject in its entirety. It is not an oratorio in +the modern sense; but the justification of its appellation as such is to +be found in Bach's own title, "Oratorium Tempore Navitatis Christi." + +As the entire six parts are very rarely given, a general review of their +character will better suit the reader's purpose than a detailed review of +each. When it has been performed in this country, only the first two +parts have been given; while in England, though it has been presented +entire, the performance is usually confined to the first three, which +contain a complete story. The entire vocal score embraces no less than +sixty-four numbers,--which in itself constitutes a sufficient reason for +abridgment. In the first three parts the connecting narratives, recited +by the evangelist, are assigned to tenor and bass, and declare the events +associated with the birth of our Lord,--the journey to Bethlehem, the +birth in the manger, the joy of Mary, and the thanksgiving over the +advent of the Lord,--the choral parts being sung by the shepherds. The +fourth part, that for New Year's Day, relates the naming of Jesus, and +follows his career in a grand expression of faith and hope. The fifth +part illustrates the visit of the three kings, the anxiety of Herod when +he hears of the advent of the Lord, and the assurances given him to allay +his fears. In the sixth section the visitors depart to frustrate Herod's +designs, and choruses of rejoicing over the final triumph of the Lord +close the work. In his voluminous life of Bach, Spitta makes an +exhaustive analysis of the various parts, an abridgment of which will be +of interest in this connection. + +The only variation from the particular character of each section is to be +found in the introduction of the first chorale in Part I. at the close of +Part VI., in the form of a brilliant choral fantasia. + + "In the first three the Christmas feeling prevails most vividly; this + is effected in great measure by the chorales which are interspersed in + far greater numbers than in the last three, and which are almost all + familiar Christmas hymns. Most of them are simply set in four parts, + with highly ingenious applications of the church modes." + +The first and second parts close with chorales, but in the third the +opening chorus is repeated at the close. + + "Part IV. has least of the character of church festival music. The + Biblical matter consists of a single verse from the Gospel of Saint + Luke, ii. 21, which relates the circumcision and naming of Jesus. Not + much material could be worked out of this, and Bach has almost + entirely set aside all adjuncts from the liturgy. No Christmas hymn, + indeed no true chorale, is introduced in it.... This section, + therefore, bears more strongly the stamp merely of a religious + composition; it is full of grace and sweetness, and can only have + derived its full significance for congregational use from its position + in context with the rest of the work." + +Parts V. and VI., devoted to the history of the three kings, are in no +respect inferior to the first three. + + "The lyrical choruses are full of artistic beauty and swing. The + cantata character is more conspicuous here than in the first three + sections, and the specially Christmas feeling resides more in the + general tone of the music than in the chorales." + +Bitter, in his life of Bach, gives the following interesting sketch of +the origin of some of the numbers contained in the work:-- + + "In some parts of this music Bach borrowed from former compositions of + his own, especially from a 'Drama per Musica,' dedicated to the Queen + of Poland, and a drama entitled 'The Choice of Hercules,' composed in + 1733 for a Saxon prince. The old hymn-tune, 'O Haupt voll Blut und + Wunden,' composed A.D. 1600 (by Hans Geo. Hassler to a secular tune), + and used by Bach five times to different words in the + 'Matthaeus-Passion,' is again used in this oratorio to the words of Paul + Gerhard's Advent hymn, 'Wie soll ich dich empfangen,' and to the hymn + of triumph, 'Nun seid ihr wohl gerochen,' at the end of the last part. + As this tune was familiar to the hearers in connection with a hymn for + Passion Week, its adaptation to Advent and Christmas hymns seems + intended to express a presentiment at the time of Christ's birth of his + future sufferings. The same tune is now used in the German Church to a + number of different hymns, especially to 'Herzlich thut mich verlangen' + and 'Befiehl du deine Wege,' and is in some tune-books called by one or + other of these names. 'Befiehl du deine Wege' is one of the hymns to + which Bach has set it in the 'Matthaeus-Passion.' In the first part of + the oratorio we find two verses of Luther's Christmas hymn, 'Gelobet + seist du Jesu Christ;' first, the verse beginning 'Er ist auf Erden + kommen arm,' to the tune Luther composed for it, and the verse 'Ach, + mein herzliebes Jesulein,' to the tune (also of Luther's composition), + 'Von Himmel hoch da komm ich her.' This last-mentioned tune is also + used twice in the second part, to the words 'Schaut hin, dort liegt im + finstern Stalle,' and 'Wir singen dir in deinem Heer,' arranged + differently each time. The chorales, 'Jesus, richte mein Beginnen,' in + the fourth part, and 'Dein Glanz all Finsterniss verzehrt,' in the + fifth part, are probably Bach's own compositions." + +The first two parts of the work are the only ones which need special +notice for the purposes of the oratorio-goer. The first part opens with a +brilliant prelude, introduced by the drum, which Bach, like Beethoven, +sometimes treated as a solo instrument. It preludes the narrative bidding +Zion prepare to meet her Lord,--a simple, touching melody, followed by +the chorale, "How shall I fitly meet Thee and give Thee welcome due," set +to the old passion-hymn, "O Haupt, voll Blut und Wunden,"--a solemn and +even mournful melody, which at first appears incongruous in the midst of +so much jubilation. It is the same melody which Bach frequently uses in +different harmonic forms in his "St. Matthew Passion." It is introduced +here in the midst of the Christmas festivity for a special purpose. +Bitter gives it the following significance:-- + + "We see the Angel of Death unveil his pale face, bend over the cradle + of the Lord, and foretell his sorrows. The Child hears the song which + one day, sung to other words, will be his death-song." + +The composer's evident intention was to impress the hearer with the fact +that the object of the divine advent on earth was the passion of our +Lord. At the close of the work the same chorale appears, but it has +another meaning. It is there an exultant expression of Christ's victory +over sin and death. As the chorale dies away, the narrative is resumed, +leading up to another chorale, "For us to earth he cometh poor," combined +with an orchestral symphony and bass recitative. The next number is a +bass aria with trumpet accompaniment, "Lord Almighty, King all glorious," +and is followed by a chorale set to the words of Martin Luther's +Christmas hymn, which also occurs in other parts of the work, differently +harmonized to suit the nature of the situation, with which the first part +closes. + +The second part opens with one of the most delightful instances of Bach's +orchestration, a pastoral symphony, with which the Thomas orchestra have +made audiences familiar in this country. Like the symphony of the same +style in Handel's "Messiah," it is simple, graceful, and idyllic in +character, and pictures the shepherds watching their flocks by night on +the plains of Bethlehem. At its conclusion the evangelist resumes his +narrative, followed by the chorale: "Break forth, O beauteous, heavenly +Light," preluding the announcement of the angel, "Behold, I bring you +Good Tidings." It is followed by the bass recitative, "What God to +Abraham revealed, He to the Shepherds doth accord to see fulfilled," and +a brilliant aria for tenor, "Haste, ye Shepherds, haste to meet Him." The +evangelist gives them the sign, followed by the chorale which closed the +first part, in another form, "Within yon Gloomy Manger lies." The bass +recitative, "O haste ye then," preludes the exquisite cradle-song for +alto, "Sleep, my Beloved, and take Thy Repose,"--a number which can +hardly be excelled in the sweetness and purity of its melody or in the +exquisiteness of its instrumentation. This lovely song brings us to the +close, which is an exultant shout from the multitude of the heavenly +host, singing, "Glory to God in the highest." + + + + + The Saint Matthew Passion. + + +The passion-music of Bach's time, as we have already seen, was the +complement of the mysteries of Mediaeval days. It portrays the sufferings +of Christ, and was performed at church festivals, the congregation taking +part in the singing of the chorales, which were mostly familiar religious +folk-songs. It was a revival of the sacred drama in musical form, and the +immediate precursor of the modern oratorio. Bach wrote five +passions,--the "St. John," probably written in 1723, and first performed +in the following year; another, which has been lost, in 1725; the "St. +Matthew," in 1729; the "St. Mark," in 1731; and the "St. Luke," in 1734. +Of these only two are now known,--the "St. John" and "St. Matthew;" of +which the latter is incomparably the greatest. + +Macfarren, in his sketch of the "Matthew Passion," says that the idea of +this form of composition was first suggested to Bach by Solomon Deyling, +who filled an important church position in Leipsic when the composer went +there to assume his duties as cantor of the St. Thomas School, his +purpose being to introduce into the Reformed Church a service which +should be a counter attraction to the Mass as performed in the Roman +Church. It was produced for the first time at the afternoon service on +Good Friday, 1729, but was not heard again until the young Mendelssohn +revived it in Berlin, March 12, 1829. It was frequently repeated in +Germany and aroused extraordinary enthusiasm, and still keeps its place +in the festival oratorio repertory, the necessary additional +accompaniments having been furnished by Robert Franz. + +The passion is written in two parts, between which the sermon intervened +in old times. It includes portions of chapters xxvi. and xxvii. of the +Gospel according to Saint Matthew, the remainder of the text being +composed of hymns furnished to Bach by Christian Friedrich Henrici, who +wrote under the pseudonym of "Picander," and, it is said, was assisted in +the compilation by the composer himself. The _dramatis personae_ are +Jesus, Judas, Peter, Pilate, the Apostles, and the People, or _Turbae_, +and the narrative is interpreted by reflections addressed to Jesus, +forming two choruses, "The Daughter of Zion" and "The Faithful," as +Picander calls them. They are sometimes given by the chorus, and +sometimes by single voices. The chorales are selected from those which +were in common use in the Lutheran Church, and were familiar therefore to +the congregations which sang the melody, the harmony being sustained by +the chorus and instruments. The Gospel text is in recitative form +throughout, the part of the evangelist, or narrator, being assigned to a +tenor voice, while those of the persons incidentally introduced are given +to other singers. In the dialogue, wherever the words of Jesus occur, the +accompaniment is furnished by a string quartette, which serves to +distinguish them from the others, and invests them with a peculiar +gentleness and grace. The incidental choruses, sung by the People and the +Apostles, are short and vivacious in character, many of them being in +madrigal form. The chorales, fifteen in number, as has already been said, +were taken from the Lutheran service. One of them, which Bach also +liberally used in his "Christmas Oratorio," beginning, "Acknowledge me, +my Keeper," appears five times in the progress of the work, forming the +keynote of the church sentiment, and differently harmonized on each +occasion. Another, "O Blessed Jesus," is twice used,--once where the +Saviour announces that he will be crucified after the Feast of the +Passover, when the whole congregation sings it, and again in the scene at +Gethsemane, sung by select choirs. The whole work is written for double +chorus, the two choruses singing the harmony of the chorales, accompanied +by the instruments, while the congregation sing the tune in unison. They +display to the utmost the breadth, richness, ingenuity, and power of Bach +in this form of writing. The reflective portions of the work, the text +written by Picander, are composed of arias introduced by recitative, with +the first part repeated in the close; of arias accompanied by chorus; and +of single choruses constructed in the most massive manner. Speaking of +the melodies in these portions of the work, Spitta says,-- + + "The grades of feeling traversed by Bach in the solo songs of the 'St. + Matthew Passion' are all the more impressive because every sentiment of + joy in its various shades is wholly excluded; they are all based on the + emotion of sorrow. The most fervent sympathy with the sufferings of the + Son of Man, rising to the utmost anguish, childlike trustfulness, manly + earnestness, and tenderly longing devotion to the Redeemer; repentance + for the personal sins that his suffering must atone for, and passionate + entreaties for mercy; an absorbed contemplation of the example offered + by the sufferings of Jesus, and solemn vows pronounced over his dead + body never to forsake or forget him,--these are the themes Bach had to + treat. And he has solved the difficult problem as if it were child's + play, with that inexhaustible wealth of resource which was most at his + command precisely when he had to depict the sadder emotions. In no + other of his works (unless it be in the 'Christmas Oratorio') do we + find such a store of lovely and various solo airs, nor did Bach even + ever write melodies more expressive and persuasive than those of the + arias in the 'St. Matthew Passion.'" + +As we have said, the music is arranged for double chorus, and each chorus +has its own orchestra and its own organ accompaniment. The double +orchestra is composed of oboes, flutes, and stringed instruments. Drums +and brass instruments are not used, the sentiment of the work, in Bach's +estimation, not being fitted for them, sweetness and expressiveness of +tone rather than power being required. As Spitta says, sorrow is the +characteristic of the work. It has no choruses of rejoicing, no paeans of +praise, not even a hallelujah at its close. + +The first part opens with a reflection sung by double chorus, "Come, ye +Daughters, weep for Anguish," the first exhorting believers to weep over +the sinful world, the second responding with brief interrogations, and at +last taking part in the sorrowful strains of the first. Interwoven with +these is an independent instrumental melody, the whole crowned with a +magnificent chorale sung by the sopranos, "O Lamb of God all blameless!" +followed by still another, "Say, sweetest Jesus," which reappears in +other parts of the work variously harmonized. The double chorus and +chorales form the introduction, and are followed by recitative and a +chorale, "Thou dear Redeemer," and a pathetic aria for contralto, "Grief +and Pain," relating the incident of the woman anointing the feet of +Jesus. The next number is an aria for soprano, "Only bleed, Thou dearest +Heart," which follows the acceptance by Judas of the thirty pieces of +silver, and which serves to intensify the grief in the aria preceding it. +The scene of the Last Supper ensues, and to this number Bach has given a +character of sweetness and gentleness, though its coloring is sad. As the +disciples ask, "Lord, is it I?" another chorale is sung, "'Tis I! my Sins +betray me." Recitative of very impressive character, conveying the divine +injunctions, leads up to a graceful and tender aria for soprano, "Never +will my Heart refuse Thee," one of the simplest and clearest, and yet one +of the richest and most expressive, melodies ever conceived. After +further recitative and the chorale, "I will stay here beside Thee," we +are introduced to the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane, which is +characterized by a number of extraordinary beauty and strength in its +construction. It is introduced by a short instrumental prelude, Zion, +represented by the tenor voice, and the Believers by the chorus, coming +in after a few bars and alternating with extraordinary vocal effect. It +calls for the highest dramatic power, and in its musical development is a +web of wonderful harmonies such as we may look for only in the works of +the mighty master of counterpoint. It fitly prepares the way for the two +great movements which close the first part, an aria for soprano and alto, +"Alas! my Jesus now is taken," and a double chorus, "Ye Lightnings, ye +Thunders!" The two solo voices join in a lament of a most touching +nature, accompanied by the chorus exclaiming in short, hurried phrases, +"Let Him go! Hold! Bind Him not!" until at last the double chorus bursts +in like a tempest, accompanied with the full power of the instruments, +expressing the world's indignation at the deed which is to be committed, +in the words:-- + + "Ye lightnings, ye thunders, in clouds are ye vanished! + Burst open, O fierce flaming caverns of hell! + Ingulf them, destroy them in wrathfullest mood! + Oh, blast the betrayer, the murderous brood!" + +and the first part concludes with a chorale, "O Man, bewail thy great +Sin!" + +The second part, originally sung after the sermon, opens with an aria for +contralto, full of the deepest feeling, "Alas! now is my Jesus gone," and +one of the most beautiful numbers in the oratorio, wherein Zion, or the +Church, mourns her great loss. The trial scene before Caiaphas and the +threefold denial of Peter follow, leading up to the beautiful aria for +alto, with violin obligato, "Oh, pardon me, my God!" Macfarren, in his +admirable analysis, says of this aria,-- + + "The deep, deep grief of a tormented conscience finds here an utterance + which fulfils the purport and far transcends the expression of the + words. One might suppose the power of the artist to have been + concentrated upon this one incident, so infinite is its beauty,--one + might suppose Bach to have regarded the situation it illustrates as + more significant than others of man's relation to Deity in his sense of + sin and need for mercy, and as requiring, therefore, peculiar + prominence in the total impression the oratorio should convey. If this + was his aim, it is all accomplished. The penitential feeling embodied + in the song is that which will longest linger in a remembrance of the + work. The soft tone of the contralto voice, and the keenness of that of + the violin, are accessories to the effect which the master well knew + how to handle; but these judicious means are little to be considered in + comparison with the musical idea of which they are the adjuncts." + +The work now rapidly progresses to its beautiful finale. The soprano +recitative in response to Pilate's question, "He hath done only good to +all," the aria for soprano, "From love unbounded," the powerful contralto +recitative, "Look down, O God," the chorale, "O Head all bruised and +wounded!" the contralto aria with chorus, "Look where Jesus beckoning +stands," and the peaceful, soothing recitative for bass, "At Eventide, +cool Hour of Rest," are the principal numbers that occur as we approach +the last sad but beautiful double chorus of the Apostles, "Around Thy +Tomb here sit we weeping,"--a close as peaceful as the setting of the +sun; for the tomb is but the couch on which Jesus is reposing, and the +music dies away in a slumber-song of most exalted beauty. This brief +sketch could not better close than with the beautiful description which +Mr. Dwight gives of this scene in the notes which he prepared when the +work was performed at the Triennial Festival of the Handel and Haydn +Society of Boston:-- + + "How full of grief, of tender, spiritual love, of faith and peace, of + the heart's heaven smiling through tears, is this tone-elegy! So should + the passion-music close, and not with fugue of praise and triumph like + an oratorio. How sweetly, evenly, the harmony flows on,--a broad, rich, + deep, pellucid river, swollen as by countless rills from all the + loving, bleeding, and believing hearts in a redeemed humanity! How full + of a sweet, secret comfort, even triumph, is this heavenly farewell: It + is 'the peace which passeth understanding.' 'Rest Thee softly' is the + burden of the song. One chorus sings it, and the other echoes 'Softly + rest;' then both together swell the strain. Many times as this recurs, + not only in the voices, but in the introduction and frequent interludes + of the exceedingly full orchestra, which sounds as human as if it too + had breath and conscious feeling, you still crave more of it; for it is + as if your soul were bathed in new life inexhaustible. No chorus ever + sung is surer to enlist the singers' hearts." + + + + + The Magnificat in D. + + +The Magnificat in D--known as the "Great Magnificat," to distinguish it +from the smaller--is considered one of the grandest illustrations of +Bach's genius. It was composed for Christmas Day, 1723. Spitta says:-- + + "The performance of the cantata 'Christen, aetzet diesen Tag,' with its + attendant 'Sanctus,' took place during the morning service, and was + sung by the first choir in the Nikolaikirche. In the evening the + cantata was repeated by the same choir in the Thomaskirche; and after + the sermon the Hymn of the Virgin was sung, set in its Latin form, and + in an elaborate style. For this purpose Bach wrote his great + 'Magnificat.'" + +For the occasion of this festival he expanded the Biblical text into four +vocal numbers; but in describing the work it is only necessary to give it +as it is now generally sung. + +The work is written for a five-part chorus, with organ and orchestral +accompaniment. After a concerted introduction, foreshadowing the general +character of the music, it opens with the chorus, "Magnificat anima mea," +in fugal form, worked up with that wonderful power of construction for +which Bach is so renowned among all composers. It is followed by an aria +for second soprano ("Et exultavit spiritus meus: in Deo salutari meo"), +which is in the same key and has the same general feeling as the opening +chorus, that of Christmas rejoicing. It in turn is followed by an aria +for first soprano ("Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae"), of which +Spitta says: "Scarcely ever has the idea of virgin purity, simplicity, +and humble happiness found more perfect expression than in this German +picture of the Madonna, translated as it were into musical language." It +leads directly to the chorus which takes up the unfinished words of the +soprano ("Omnes generationes"), each part overlaying the other as it +enters, and closing in canon form in grave and colossal harmony. Its next +number is an aria for bass ("Quia fecit mihi magna"), of a simple and +joyous character. It is followed by a melodious duet for alto and tenor +("Et misericordia"), with violin and flute accompaniment, setting forth +the mercy of God, in contrast with which the powerful and energetic +chorus ("Fecit potentiam") which succeeds it, is very striking in its +effect. Two beautiful arias for tenor ("Deposuit potentes de sede") and +alto ("Esurientes implevit bonis") follow, the latter being exquisitely +tender in its expression, and lead to the terzetto ("Suscepit Israel +puerum suum: recordatus misericordiae suae"), arranged in chorale form, and +very plaintive and even melancholy in style. Its mourning is soon lost, +however, in the stupendous five-part fugue ("Sicut locutus est") which +follows it and which leads to the triumphant "Gloria," closing the +work,--a chorus of extraordinary majesty and power. Spitta, in his +exhaustive analysis of Bach's music, says of this "Magnificat":-- + + "It is emphatically distinct from the rest of Bach's grand church + compositions by the compactness and concentrated power of the separate + numbers,--particularly of the choruses,--by the lavish use of the means + at command, and by its vividly emotional and yet not too agitating + variety. It stands at the entrance of a new path and a fresh period of + his productivity, at once full of significance in itself and of promise + for the future development of the perennial genius which could always + re-create itself from its own elements." + + + + + BEETHOVEN. + + +A general sketch of the life and musical accomplishments of Beethoven has +already appeared in the companion to this work, "The Standard Operas." In +this connection, however, it seems eminently fitting that some attention +should be paid to the religious sentiments of the great composer and the +sacred works which he produced. He was a formal member of the Roman +Church, but at the same time an ardent admirer of some of the Protestant +doctrines. His religious observances, however, were peculiarly his own. +His creed had little in common with any of the ordinary forms of +Christianity. A writer in "Macmillan's Magazine" some years ago very +clearly defined his religious position in the statement that his faith +rested on a pantheistic abstraction which he called "Love." He +interpreted everything by the light of this sentiment, which took the +form of an endless longing, sometimes deeply sad, at others rising to the +highest exaltation. An illustration of this in its widest sense may be +found in the choral part of the Ninth Symphony. He at times attempted to +give verbal expression to this ecstatic faith which filled him, and at +such times he reminds us of the Mystics. The following passages, which he +took from the inscription on the temple of the Egyptian goddess Neith at +Sais, and called his creed, explain this: "I am that which is. I am all +that is, that was, and that shall be. No mortal man hath lifted my veil. +He is alone by Himself, and to Him alone do all things owe their being." +With all this mysticism his theology was practical, as is shown by his +criticism of the words which Moscheles appended to his arrangement of +"Fidelio." The latter wrote at the close of his work: "_Fine_, with God's +help." Beethoven added: "O man! help thyself." That he was deeply +religious by nature, however, is constantly shown in his letters. +Wandering alone at evening among the mountains, he sketched a hymn to the +words, "God alone is our Lord." In the extraordinary letter which he +wrote to his brothers, Carl and Johann, he says: "God looks into my +heart. He searches it, and knows that love for man and feelings of +benevolence have their abode there." In a letter to Bettina von Arnim, he +writes: "If I am spared for some years to come, I will thank the +Omniscient, the Omnipotent, for the boon, as I do for all other weal and +woe." In Spohr's album his inscription is a musical setting of the words, +"Short is the pain, eternal is the joy." In a letter to the Archduke +Rudolph, written in 1817, he gives no uncertain expression to his divine +trust. He says: "My confidence is placed in Providence, who will +vouchsafe to hear my prayer, and one day set me free from all my +troubles; for I have served him faithfully from my childhood, and done +good whenever it was in my power. So my trust is in him alone, and I feel +that the Almighty will not allow me to be utterly crushed by all my +manifold trials." Even in a business letter he says: "I assure you on my +honor--which, next to God, is what I prize most--that I authorized no one +to accept commissions from me." His letters indeed abound in references +to his constant reliance upon a higher Power. The oratorio, "Christ on +the Mount of Olives," six sacred songs set to poems of Gellert, the Mass +in C written for Prince Esterhazy, and the Grand Mass in D written for +the Archduke Rudolph, one of the grandest and most impressive works in +the entire realm of sacred music, attest the depth and fervency of his +religious nature. + + + + + The Mount of Olives. + + +Beethoven wrote but one oratorio, "Christus am Oelberg" ("Christ on the +Mount of Olives"). That he had others in contemplation, however, at +different periods of his life is shown by his letters. In 1809 he wrote +to Freiherr von Hammer-Purgstall, a famous Oriental scholar, appointing +an interview for the discussion of the latter's poem on the subject of +the deluge, with reference to its fitness for treatment as an oratorio. +Again, in 1824, he writes to Vincenz Hauschka, of Vienna, that he has +decided to write an oratorio on the text furnished by Bernard, the +subject being "The Victory of the Cross." This work, however, owing to +his extreme physical sufferings at that period, was never begun, and the +world thereby has suffered a great musical loss; for, judging from his +great Mass in D, no one can doubt how majestic and impressive the +"Victory of the Cross" would have been, as compared with the "Mount of +Olives," written in his earlier period, and before any of his +masterpieces had appeared. + +The "Mount of Olives" was begun in 1800, and finished during the +following year. Beethoven never remained in Vienna during the summer. The +discomforts of the city and his intense love for Nature urged him out +into the pleasantly wooded suburbs of the city, where he could live and +work in seclusion. Upon this occasion he selected the little village of +Hetzendorf, adjoining the gardens of the imperial palace of Schoenbrunn, +where the Elector, his old patron, was living in retirement. Trees were +his delight. In a letter to Madame von Drossdick, he says: "Woods, trees, +and rocks give the response which man requires. Every tree seems to say, +'Holy, Holy!'" In the midst of these delightful surroundings he found his +favorite tree, at whose base he composed the larger part of the oratorio, +as well as his opera "Fidelio." Schindler says: "A circumstance connected +with both these great works, and of which Beethoven many years afterwards +still retained a lively recollection, was, that he composed them in the +thickest part of the wood in the park of Schoenbrunn, seated between the +two stems of an oak, which shot out from the main trunk at the height of +about two feet from the ground. This remarkable tree, in that part of the +park to the left of the Gloriett, I found with Beethoven in 1823, and the +sight of it called forth interesting reminiscences of the former period." +The words of the oratorio were by Huber, the author of Winter's +"Unterbrochene Opferfest," and were written, with Beethoven's assistance, +in fourteen days. That more time and attention were not given to the text +was probably regretted by both poet and composer many times afterwards. +The first performance of the work in its entirety took place at Vienna, +April 5, 1803, at the Theater an der Wien, upon which occasion the +programme also included the Symphony in D (second) and the Piano Concerto +in C minor, the latter executed by himself. The oratorio was received +with enthusiasm, and was repeated three times during that year. + +The libretto of the work is unquestionably defective in the most salient +qualities which should characterize the text of an oratorio, even to the +degree of extravagance and sensationalism. It fails to reflect the +sorrowful character of the scene it depicts, and the dramatic +requirements which it imposes are often strained, and sometimes border on +the grotesque. The theatrical style of the narrative was deplored by +Beethoven himself at a subsequent period. Marx, one of the keenest of +critics, says of the work:-- + + "The poet had no other aim but that of making verses for a composer; + the latter, no other motive than the ordinary creative impulse + prompting him to try his powers in a different and important sphere. + The result on both sides could not therefore be other than phrases, + although the better of the two proceeded from the composer, and that + composer was Beethoven. To conceal or palliate this would be derogatory + to the reverence which we all owe to Beethoven; he stands too high to + be in need of extenuation." + +This is Marx's judgment; and yet it must be said that the world for the +most part has found more in the "Mount of Olives" than he has. + +The oratorio is written for three solo voices (Jesus, Peter, and a +Seraph), chorus, and orchestra. The narrative opens with the agony in the +garden, followed by the chant of a Seraph reciting the divine goodness +and foretelling the salvation of the righteous. In the next scene Jesus +learns his fate from the Seraph, yields himself to approaching death, and +welcomes it. The Soldiers enter in pursuit, and a tumult ensues as the +Apostles find themselves surrounded. Peter draws his sword and gives vent +to his indignation; but is rebuked both by Jesus and the Seraph, and +together they conjure him to be silent and endure whatever may happen. +The Soldiers, discovering Jesus, rush upon him and bind him. The +Disciples express their apprehension that they too will suffer; but Jesus +uncomplainingly surrenders himself, and a chorus of rejoicing completes +the work. From this brief sketch the artificial and distorted manner of +treating the solemn subject will be evident. + +The score opens with an adagio introduction for instruments which is of a +very dramatic character, and, unlike nearly all of the sacred music of +that time, is noticeable for the absence of the fugue. Barbedette, the +great French critic, pronounces it the _chef-d'oeuvre_ of introductions, +and a masterpiece in the serious style. The first number is a recitative +and aria for tenor, sung by Jesus ("All my Soul within me shudders"), +which, notwithstanding the anomaly of such a scene in such surroundings, +is simple and touching in expression. The Seraph follows with a scene and +aria ("Praise the Redeemer's Goodness"), concluding with a brilliant and +jubilant obligato with chorus ("O triumph, all ye Ransomed"). The next +number is an elaborate duet between Jesus and the Seraph ("On me then +fall Thy heavy Judgment"), which is still more anomalous than the scene +and aria with which Jesus opens the work. In a short recitative passage, +Jesus welcomes death; and then ensues one of the most powerful numbers in +the work, the chorus of Soldiers in march time ("We surely here shall +find Him"), interspersed with the cries of the People demanding his +death, and the lamentations of the Apostles. At the conclusion of the +tumult a dialogue ensues between Jesus and Peter ("Not unchastised shall +this audacious Band"), which leads up to the crowning anomaly of the +work, a trio between Jesus, Peter, and the Seraph, with chorus ("O, Sons +of Men, with Gladness"). The closing number, a chorus of angels +("Hallelujah, God's Almighty Son"), is introduced with a short but +massive symphony leading to a jubilant burst of Hallelujah, which finally +resolves itself into a glorious fugue, accompanied with all that wealth +of instrumentation of which Beethoven was the consummate master. In all +sacred music it is difficult to find a choral number which can surpass it +in majesty or power. + +The English versions of the "Mount of Olives" differ materially from the +German in the text. Numerous efforts have been made to avoid the +incongruity of the original narrative, but with poor success. It was +first produced in England in 1814 by Sir George Smart during the Lenten +oratorios at Drury Lane, the English version of which was made by Arnold, +at that time manager of the King's Theatre. Still later it was produced +again, and the adapter compromised by using the third person, as +"'Jehovah, Thou, O Father,' saith the Lord our Saviour." Two other +versions were made by Thomas Oliphant and Mr. Bartholomew, but these were +not successful. At last the aversion to the personal part of Jesus led to +an entirely new text, called "Engedi," the words of which were written by +Dr. Henry Hudson, of Dublin, and founded upon the persecution of David by +Saul in the wilderness, as described in parts of chapters xxiii., xxiv., +and xxvi. of the first book of Samuel. The characters introduced are +David, Abishai, and the Prophetess, the latter corresponding to the +Seraph in the original. The compiler himself in his preface says:-- + + "So far as was possible, the author has availed himself of Scripture + language, and David's words have been taken (almost wholly) from the + Psalms generally attributed to him, though of course not in regular + order, as it has invariably throughout been the writer's first object + to select words adapting themselves to the original music in its + continually varying expression, which could not have been done had he + taken any one psalm as his text. How far the author has succeeded, he + must leave to others to determine." + +The substituted story has not proved successful, principally because the +music, which was written for an entirely different one, is not adapted to +it. The latest version is that of the Rev. J. Troutbeck, prepared for the +Leeds festivals, in which the Saviour is again introduced. + + + + + BENNETT. + + +William Sterndale Bennett, one of the most gifted and individual of +English composers, was born at Sheffield, April 13, 1816. His musical +genius displayed itself early, and in his tenth year he was placed in the +Royal Academy of Music, of which in his later years he became principal. +He received his early instruction in composition from Lucas and Dr. +Crotch, and studied the piano with Cipriani Potter, who had been a pupil +of Mozart. The first composition which gained him distinction was the +Concerto in D minor, written in 1832, which was followed by the Capriccio +in D minor. During the next three years he produced the overture to +"Parisina," the F minor Concerto, and the "Naiades" overture, the success +of which was so great that a prominent musical house in London offered to +send him to Leipsic for a year. He went there, and soon won his way to +the friendship of Schumann and Mendelssohn. With the latter he was on +very intimate terms, which has led to the erroneous statement that he was +his pupil. In 1840 he made a second visit to Leipsic, where he composed +his Caprice in E, and "The Wood Nymphs" overture. In 1842 he returned to +England, and for several years was busily engaged with chamber concerts. +In 1849 he founded the Bach Society, arranged the "Matthew Passion" music +of that composer, as well as the "Christmas Oratorio," and brought out +the former work in 1854. The previous year he was offered the +distinguished honor of the conductorship of the Gewandhaus concerts at +Leipsic, but did not accept. In 1856 he was appointed conductor of the +Philharmonic Society, and filled the position for ten years, resigning it +to take the head of the Royal Academy of Music. In the same year he was +elected musical professor at Cambridge, where he received the degree of +Doctor of Music and other honors. In 1858 his beautiful cantata, "The May +Queen," was produced at the Leeds Festival, and in 1862 the "Paradise and +the Peri" overture, written for the Philharmonic Society. In 1867 his +oratorio, or, as he modestly terms it, "sacred cantata," "The Woman of +Samaria," was produced with great success at the Birmingham Festival. In +1870 he was honored with a degree by the University of Oxford, and a year +later received the empty distinction of knighthood. His last public +appearance was at a festival in Brighton in 1874, where he conducted his +"Woman of Samaria." He died Feb. 1, 1875, and was buried in Westminster +Abbey with distinguished honors. His musical ability was as widely +recognized in Germany as in England,--indeed his profound musical +scholarship and mastery of problems in composition were more appreciated +there. Mr. Statham, in an admirable sketch, pronounces him a born +pianist, and says that his wonderful knowledge of the capabilities of the +piano, and his love for it, developed into favoritism in some of his +concerted music. A friend of the composer, recalling some reminiscences +of him in "Fraser," says that his music is full of beauty and expression, +displays a remarkable fancy, a keen love of Nature, and at times true +religious devotion, but that it does not contain a single note of +passion. His only sacred music is the short oratorio, "The Woman of +Samaria," and four anthems: "Now, my God, let, I beseech Thee," "Remember +now thy Creator," "O that I knew," and "The Fool hath said in his Heart." +It has been well said of him: "In his whole career he never condescended +to write a single note for popular effect, nor can a bar of his music be +quoted which in style and aim does not belong to what is highest in +musical art." + + + + + The Woman of Samaria. + + +"The Woman of Samaria," a short, one-part oratorio, styled by its +composer a "sacred cantata," was first produced at the Birmingham +Festival, Aug. 27, 1867; though one of his biographers affirms that as +early as 1843 he was shown a chorus for six voices, treated antiphonally, +which Bennett himself informed him was to be introduced in an oratorio he +was then contemplating, and that this chorus, if not identical with +"Therefore they shall come," in "The Woman of Samaria," is at least the +foundation of it. + +The work is written for four solo voices, chorus, and orchestra. The +soprano takes the part of the Woman of Samaria, the other parts being +impersonal. The music for the contralto is mainly declamatory. Tha tenor +has a single aria, while the bass, with one exception, has the part of +Narrator, the words of our Saviour being attributed to him and invariably +introduced in the third personal form,--which is a striking proof of the +devotional spirit of the composer, as in all other instances, after the +announcement by the Narrator, the Woman sings her own words. The chorus, +as in the passion-music of Bach, has the reflective numbers and moralizes +on the various situations as they occur, except in one number, "Now we +believe," where it declaims the words as a part of the narrative itself. +The text for chorus is selected from appropriate parts of the Scriptures +which are in keeping with the events forming the groundwork of its +reflections. + +The story is taken from the fourth chapter of the Gospel according to +Saint John, and follows literally the narrative of the journey of the +Saviour into Samaria,--his rest at Jacob's well, his meeting with the +woman who came thither to draw water, and the conversation which +followed; the only interruptions being the reflections, not only by the +chorus, but also by the contralto and tenor, these episodes being taken +mostly from the Prophecies and Psalms. + +The oratorio opens with a brief instrumental introduction and chorale +("Ye Christian People, now rejoice") for sopranos alone, the melody of +which first appeared in the "Geistliche Lieder," issued at Wittenberg in +1535. The words are a translation of the old hymn, "Nun freut euch, +lieben Christen G'mein," to which the tune was formerly sung in Germany. +The treatment of this chorale, by combining it with the instrumental +movement in opposing rhythms, shows the powerful influence which the +composer's close study of Bach had upon him. Its effect in introducing +the scenes which follow reminds one of the grace before the feast. It +dies away in slow and gentle numbers, and then follows the opening +recitative of the oratorio proper ("Then cometh Jesus to a City of +Samaria"), sung by the contralto, and leading up to an arioso chorus +("Blessed be the Lord God of Israel"), the words taken from the Gospel of +Saint Luke. The next number is a very graceful and artistic combination, +opening with recitative for contralto, bass, and soprano, leading to an +adagio solo for bass ("If thou knewest the Gift of God"), and ending with +a closely harmonious chorus in the same rhythm ("For with Thee is the +Well of Life"), the words from the Psalms. The dialogue between Jesus and +the Woman is then resumed, leading to a solo by the latter ("Art Thou +greater than our Father Jacob?"). The question is sung and repeated in +declamatory tones constantly increasing in power and expressive of +defiance. Bennett was a bitter opponent of Wagner; but in the unvocal and +declamatory character of this solo, and in the dramatic force he has +given to it, to the sacrifice of melody, he certainly ventured some +distance in the Wagnerian direction. The next number, the reply of Jesus +("Whosoever drinketh"), sung, as usual, by the bass voice, is in striking +contrast with the question. Instead of full orchestra, it has the +accompaniment of the strings and first and second horns only, reminding +one of Bach's method of accompanying the part assigned to Jesus in his +St. Matthew Passion. This number is followed by a spirited fortissimo +chorus ("Therefore with Joy shall ye draw Water"), sung to the full +strength of voice and orchestra. After the dialogue in which Jesus +acquaints the Woman with the incidents of her past life, the contralto +voice has an exquisite solo ("O Lord, Thou hast searched me out"), full +of tenderness and expression, in which the opening phrase is repeated in +the finale and gains intensity by a change of harmony. The dialogue, in +which the divine character of Jesus becomes apparent to the Woman, is +resumed, and leads to a beautifully constructed chorus in six parts +("Therefore they shall come and sing"), followed by an impressive and +deeply devotional quartet for the principals, unaccompanied ("God is a +Spirit"),--to which an additional interest is lent from the fact that it +was sung in Westminster Abbey upon the occasion of the composer's +funeral. A few bars of recitative lead to a chorus in close, solid +harmony ("Who is the Image of the Invisible God"), with organ +accompaniment only, which in turn, after a few more bars of recitative +for contralto and soprano, is followed by the chorus ("Come, O Israel"), +sung pianissimo and accompanied by entire orchestra. The next number, as +the oratorio is now performed, is one which has been introduced. It is a +soprano aria, "I will love Thee, O Lord," which was found among the +composer's manuscripts after his death. The preface to the revised +edition of the oratorio has the following reference to this number:-- + + "In justification of so bold a step as the introduction of a new + number, it is interesting to point out that the composer felt the Woman + of Samaria ought to sing a song of conversion in the portion of the + cantata in which the new air is placed. It is clear from the original + preface[2] that he thought of her as an impulsive woman who would + naturally be carried from worldliness into the opposite extreme of + religious devotion." + +The introduction of the air also gives more importance to the soprano +part and relieves the succession of choral movements in the close of the +work. The remaining numbers are the beautiful chorale, "Abide with me, +fast falls the Eventide;" the chorus, "Now we believe," one of the most +finished in the whole work; a short tenor solo ("His Salvation is nigh +them that fear Him"),--the only one in the oratorio for that voice; the +chorus, "I will call upon the Lord;" and the final imposing fugue, +"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel." The last number is a fitting close +to a work which is not only highly descriptive of its subject throughout, +but also full of feeling and devotional reverence. + +[2] "With regard to the Woman of Samaria herself, it will be plainly seen + that the composer has treated her as a secular and worldly character, + though not without indications here and there of that strong intuitive + religious feeling which has never been denied to her. This feeling is + especially shown when she says: 'I know that Messias cometh; when He is + come He will tell us all things.' Also, towards the end of the + narrative, where she passionately exclaims to the Samaritans: 'Come, + see a man who told me all the things that ever I did: is not this the + Christ?'"--_Original Preface_. + + + + + BERLIOZ. + + +Hector Berlioz, one of the most renowned of modern French composers, and +an acute critic and skilful conductor as well, was born, Dec. 11, 1803, +at La Cote St. Andre, in France. His father was a physician, and intended +him for the same profession. He reluctantly went to Paris and began the +study of medicine; but music became his engrossing passion, and medicine +was abandoned. He entered the Conservatory as a pupil of Lesueur, and +soon showed himself superior to all his masters, except Cherubini,--which +aroused a strong opposition to him and his compositions. It was only +after repeated trials that he took the first prize, with his cantata, +"Sardanapale," which entitled him to go to Italy for three years. On his +return to Paris he encountered renewed antipathy. His music was not well +received, and he was obliged to support himself by conducting at concerts +and writing articles for the press. As a final resort he organized a +concert tour through Germany and Russia, the details of which are +contained in his extremely interesting Autobiography. At these concerts +his own music was the staple of the programmes, and it met with great +success, though not always played by the best of orchestras, and not +always well by the best, as his own testimony shows; for his compositions +are very exacting, and call for every resource known to the modern +orchestra. The Germans were quick in appreciating his music, but it was +not until after his death that his ability was conceded in France. In +1839 he was appointed librarian of the Conservatory, and in 1856 was made +a member of the French Academy. These were the only honors he received, +though he long sought to obtain a professorship in the Conservatory. A +romantic but sad incident in his life was his violent passion for Miss +Smithson, an Irish actress, whom he saw upon the Paris stage in the +_role_ of Ophelia, at a time when Victor Hugo had revived an admiration +for Shakspeare among the French. He married her, but did not live with +her long, owing to her bad temper and ungovernable jealousy; though after +the separation he honorably contributed to her support out of the +pittance he was earning. Among his great works are the opera, "Benvenuto +Cellini;" the symphony with chorus, "Romeo and Juliet;" "Beatrice and +Benedict;" "Les Troyens," the text from Virgil's "AEneid;" the symphony, +"Harold in Italy;" the symphony, "Funebre et Triomphale;" the "Damnation +of Faust;" a double chorused "Te Deum;" the "Symphony Fantastique;" the +"Requiem;" and the sacred trilogy, "L'Enfance du Christ." Berlioz stands +among all other composers as the foremost representative of "programme +music," and has left explicit and very detailed explanations of the +meaning of his works, so that the hearer may listen intelligently by +seeing the external objects his music is intended to picture. In the +knowledge of individual instruments and the grouping of them for effect, +in warmth of imagination and brilliancy of color, and in his daring +combinations and fantastic moods, which are sometimes carried to the very +verge of eccentricity, he is a colossus among modern musicians. He died +in Paris, March 8, 1869. + + + + + The Requiem. + + +Ferdinand Hiller writes in his "Kuenstlerleben:" "Hector Berlioz does not +belong to our musical solar system; he does not belong to the planets, +neither to the large nor to the small. He was a comet, shining far, +somewhat eerie to look at, soon again disappearing; but his appearance +will remain unforgotten." The Requiem ("Messe des Morts") exemplifies +Hiller's words. It is colossal, phenomenal, and altogether unique. It is +not sacred, for it never came from the heart. It is not solemn, though it +is a drama of death. It is a combination of the picturesque, fantastic, +and sublime, in a tone-poem dedicated to the dead. + +In 1836 Berlioz was requested by M. de Gasparin, Minister of the +Interior, to write a requiem commemorating the victims of the July +Revolution; but the work was not given to the public until 1837, when it +was sung at the Invalides in memory of General Damremont and the soldiers +killed at the siege of Constantina. It was subsequently asserted by +Berlioz that Cherubini had conspired with others in the Conservatory to +prevent its performance and to secure that of his own, by virtue of the +precedence which his position gave him. The charge, however, must have +been a mere fancy on his part, as he had already written a letter to +Cherubini, saying:-- + + "I am deeply touched by the noble abnegation which leads you to refuse + your admirable Requiem for the ceremony of the Invalides. Be convinced + of my heartiest gratitude." + +The work embraced ten numbers: I. Requiem and Kyrie ("Requiem aeternam +dona eis"); II., III., IV., V., and VI., including different motives +taken from the hymn, "Dies Irae;" VII. "Offertorium;" VIII. "Hostias et +Preces;" IX. "Sanctus;" X. "Agnus Dei." It will be observed that the +composer has not followed the formal sequences of the Mass, and that he +has not only omitted some of the parts, but has also frequently taken +license with those which he uses. This may be accounted for in two ways. +First, he was not of a religious nature. Hiller, in the work already +quoted, says of him: + + "Of his Catholic education every trace had disappeared. Doubts of all + sorts had possession of him, and the contempt of what he called + 'prejudice' bordered on the monstrous. Berlioz believed neither in a + God nor in Bach." + +Second, it is evident from the construction of the work throughout that +it was his purpose simply to give free rein to his fancy and to express, +even at the risk of being theatrical, the emotions of sublimity, terror, +and awe called up by the associations of the subject. This he could not +have done with a free hand had he been bound down to the set forms of the +Mass. + +After a brief but majestic instrumental introduction, the voices enter +upon the "Requiem,"--a beautiful and solemn strain. The movement is built +upon three melodies set to the words, "Requiem aeternam," "Tu decet +Hymnus," and the "Kyrie," the accompaniment of which is very descriptive +and characteristic. The "Kyrie" is specially impressive, the chant of the +sopranos being answered by the tenors and basses in unison, and the whole +closing with a dirge-like movement by the orchestra. + +The "Dies Irae" is the most spirited as well as impressive number of the +work. It is intensely dramatic in its effects, indeed it might be called +theatrical. Berlioz seems to have fairly exhausted the resources of +instruments to produce the feeling of awful sublimity and overwhelming +power, even to the verge of the most daring eccentricity and, as one +prominent critic expressed it, "terrible cataclysms." The first part of +the "Dies Irae" will always be remarkable for the orchestral arrangement. +After the climax of the motive, "Quantus tremor est futurus," there is a +pause which is significant by its very silence; it is the hush before the +storm. Suddenly from either angle of the stage or hall, in addition to +the principal orchestra in front, four smaller bands of trombones, +trumpets, and tubas crash in with overwhelming power in the announcement +of the terrors of the day of judgment. The effect is like that of peal +upon peal of thunder. At its culmination the bass voices enter in unison +upon the words, "Tuba mirum," in the midst of another orchestral storm, +which is still further heightened by an unusual number of kettledrums. +From the beginning to the close, this part of the "Dies Irae" is simply +cyclopean; words cannot describe its overwhelming power. It is a relief +when the storm has passed over, and we come to the next verse ("Quid sum +miser"), for the basses and tenors, though mostly for the first tenors. +It is a breathing spell of quiet delight. It is given in the softest of +tone, and is marked in the score to be sung with "an expression of +humility and awe." It leads to the andante number ("Rex tremendae +majestatis"), which is sung fortissimo throughout, and accompanied with +another tremendous outburst of harmonious thunder in crashing chords, +which continues up to the last eight bars, when the voices drop suddenly +from the furious fortissimo to an almost inaudible pianissimo on the +words "Salve me." The next verse ("Quaerens me") is an unaccompanied +six-part chorus in imitative style, of very close harmony. The "Dies Irae" +ends with the "Lachrymosa," the longest and most interesting number in +the work. It is thoroughly melodic, and is peculiarly strengthened by a +pathetic and sentimental accompaniment, which, taken in connection with +the choral part against which it is set, presents an almost inexhaustible +variety of rhythms and an originality of technical effects which are +astonishing. Its general character is broad and solemn, and it closes +with a return to the "Dies Irae," with full chorus and all the orchestras. +This finishes the "Dies Irae" section of the work. + +The next number is the "Offertorium," in which the voices are limited to +a simple phrase of two notes, A alternating with B flat, which is never +varied throughout the somewhat long movement. It never becomes +monotonous, however, so rich and varied is the instrumentation. The +"Hostias et Preces,"--sustained by the tenors and basses, a very solemn +and majestic movement,--displays another of Berlioz's eccentricities, the +accompaniment at the close of the first phrase being furnished by three +flutes and eight tenor trombones, which one enemy of the composer says +represents the distance from the sublime to the ridiculous. The +"Sanctus," a tenor solo with responses by the sopranos and altos, is full +of poetical, almost sensuous beauty, and is the most popular number in +the work. It closes with a fugue on the words "Hosanna in Excelsis." The +final number is the "Agnus Dei," a chorus for male voices, in which the +composer once more employs the peculiar combination of flutes and tenor +trombones. In this number he also returns to the music of the opening +number, "Requiem aeternam," and closes it with an "Amen" softly dying +away. Thus ends the Requiem,--a work which will always be the subject of +critical dispute, owing to its numerous innovations on existing musical +forms and the daring manner in which the composer has treated it. + +The following sketch of the first performance of the Requiem, taken from +Berlioz's Autobiography, will be found interesting in this connection. It +is necessary to preface it with the statement that the director of the +Beaux-Arts had insisted that Habeneck should conduct the work. As Berlioz +had quarrelled with the old conductor, and had not been on speaking terms +with him for three years, he at first refused; but subsequently +consented, on condition that he should conduct at one full rehearsal. +Berlioz says:-- + + "The day of the performance arrived in the Church of the Invalides, + before all the princes, peers, and deputies, the French press, the + correspondents of foreign papers, and an immense crowd. It was + absolutely essential for me to have a great success; a moderate one + would have been fatal, and a failure would have annihilated me + altogether. + + "Now, listen attentively. + + "The various groups of instruments in the orchestra were tolerably + widely separated, especially the four brass bands introduced in the + 'Tuba mirum,' each of which occupied a corner of the entire orchestra. + There is no pause between the 'Dies Irae' and 'Tuba mirum,' but the pace + of the latter movement is reduced to half what it was before. At this + point the whole of the brass enters, first altogether, and then in + passages, answering and interrupting, each a third higher than the + last. It is obvious that it is of the greatest importance that the four + beats of the new tempo should be distinctly marked, or else the + terrible explosion which I had so carefully prepared, with combinations + and proportions never attempted before or since, and which, rightly + performed, gives such a picture of the Last Judgment as I believe is + destined to live, would be a mere enormous and hideous confusion. + + "With my habitual mistrust, I had stationed myself behind Habeneck, + and, turning my back on him, overlooked the group of kettledrums, which + he could not see, when the moment approached for them to take part in + the general _melee_. There are perhaps one thousand bars in my Requiem. + Precisely in that of which I have just been speaking, when the movement + is retarded and the wind instruments burst in with their terrible + flourish of trumpets; in fact, just in _the_ one bar where the + conductor's motion is absolutely indispensable,--Habeneck _puts down + his baton, quietly takes out his snuffbox_, and proceeds to take a + pinch of snuff. I always had my eye in his direction, and instantly + turned rapidly on one heel, and, springing before him, I stretched out + my arm and marked the four great beats of the new movement. The + orchestras followed me each in order. I conducted the piece to the end, + and the effect which I had longed for was produced. When, at the last + words of the chorus, Habeneck saw that the 'Tuba Mirum' was saved, he + said: 'What a cold perspiration I have been in! Without you we should + have been lost.' 'Yes, I know,' I answered, looking fixedly at him. I + did not add another word.... Had he done it on purpose?... Could it be + possible that this man had dared to join my enemy, the director, and + Cherubini's friends, in plotting and attempting such rascality? I don't + wish to believe it ... but I cannot doubt it. God forgive me if I am + doing the man injustice! + + "The success of the 'Requiem' was complete, in spite of all the + conspiracies--cowardly, atrocious, officious, and official--which would + fain have hindered it." + + + + + BRAHMS. + + +Johannes Brahms, one of the most eminent of living German composers, was +born at Hamburg, May 7, 1833. His father was a double-bass player in the +orchestra in that city, and devoted his son at a very early age to his +own profession. His first piano teacher was Cossell; but to Eduard +Marxsen, the Royal Music Director, he owes his real success as a +composer. Brahms remained in Hamburg until 1853, when he went upon a +concert-tour with Remenyi, the eccentric and somewhat sensational +Hungarian, who has been a familiar figure upon the American +concert-stage. He remained with him, however, but a very short time, for +in October of that year they parted company. Brahms had attracted the +notice of Liszt and Joachim; and it may have been through their advice +that the musical partnership was dissolved. In any event, soon after +leaving Remenyi he went to Duesseldorf and visited Schumann. It was the +latter who announced him to the world in such strong words as these:-- + + "In following with the greatest interest the paths of these elect + [Joachim, Naumann, Norman, Bargiel, Kirchner, Schaeffer, Dietrich, and + Wilsing], I thought that after such forerunners there would, and must + at last, all on a sudden appear one whose mission it would be to utter + the highest expression of his time in an ideal manner,--one who would + attain mastery, not by degrees, but, like Minerva, would at once spring + completely armed from the head of Cronion.... May the highest genius + give him strength for that of which there is hope, as in him dwells + also another genius, that of modesty! We bid him welcome as a strong + champion." + +The next year (1854) appeared his first works,--three sonatas, a trio, +scherzo for piano, and three books of songs. After a visit to Liszt at +Weimar, he settled down as chorus-conductor and music-teacher at the +court of Lippe-Detmold, where he remained a few years. During this period +he devoted himself assiduously to composition. After leaving Detmold, he +successively resided in Hamburg, Zuerich, and Baden-Baden, though most of +his time has been spent in Vienna, where he has directed the Singakademie +and the concerts of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde. Schumann's +prophecy has been made good; Brahms is to-day one of the most eminent of +living musicians. Among his most famous compositions are a Funeral Hymn +for chorus and wind-band; the "German Requiem;" "Triumphlied," for +double-chorus and orchestra; "Schicksallied," for chorus and orchestra; +five symphonies; variations on a theme of Haydn, for orchestra; the +Tragic and Academic overtures; and several trios, quartets, quintets, +sextets, concertos, and sonatas. + + + + + The German Requiem. + + +The "German Requiem," so called, is not a requiem in its sentiment, nor +in any sense a religious service. The poem is full of consolation for the +mourner, of assurances of joy hereafter, of warnings against the pomps +and vanities of the world, and closes with the victory of the saints over +death and the grave. It might with more propriety be called "a sacred +cantata." The work has seven numbers,--two baritone solos and chorus, +soprano solo and chorus, and four separate choruses. It was first +performed at Bremen on Good Friday, 1868, and in 1873 was first heard in +England. It was also given at the Cincinnati festival of 1884, under Mr. +Thomas's direction. + +The opening chorus ("Blessed are they that go mourning") is beautifully +written, and is particularly noticeable for the richness of its +accompaniment. In the Funeral March, which follows, a very graphic +resemblance to the measured tread of the cortege is accomplished by the +use of triple time. In this, as well as in numerous other instances, the +composer cuts loose from ordinary methods, and in pure classical form and +by the use of legitimate musical processes achieves what others seek to +effect by sensuous or purely imitative music. The third number ("Lord, +make me to know the Measure of my Days on Earth") opens with a baritone +solo, followed by two choral fugues, which are solidly constructed, +though they are extremely difficult to sing, and call for a chorus of +unusual discipline and intelligence. The fourth, for chorus ("How lovely +is Thy Dwelling-place, O Lord of Hosts"), is in striking contrast with +its predecessor, being a slow movement, and very melodious in style. The +fifth ("Ye now are sorrowful, grieve not"), for soprano solo and chorus, +shows the composer's unusual power as a song-writer, as well as his +melodious attractiveness when melody answers his purpose. In the next +number, set for chorus with baritone solo responses ("Here on Earth we +have no continuing Place, we seek now a heavenly one"), the character of +the music changes again, and the resurrection of the dead is pictured in +fugal passages of tremendous power and difficulty. After the storm comes +the calm again in the finale ("Blessed are the Faithful who in the Lord +are sleeping"), which contains a reminiscence of the opening number, and +closes the work in a gentle, but deeply serious strain. It was the +"German Requiem" which first made Brahms famous; it confirmed all that +Schumann had said of him. Its great difficulties require an extraordinary +chorus and orchestra; but when these can be had, the power and beauty of +the work will always be conceded. + + + + + COSTA. + + +Michael Costa, the eminent conductor and composer, was born at Naples, +Feb. 4, 1810. Having displayed musical aptitude at a very early age, he +was placed in the Royal Academy of Music. Before his twenty-first year he +had composed several works, among them a mass for four voices, a "Dixit +Dominus," three symphonies, an oratorio, "La Passione," the ballet music +to "Kenilworth," and the operas, "Il Delitto punito," "Il Sospetto +funesto," "Il carcere d' Ildegonda," and "Malvina,"--the last for the San +Carlo at Naples. In 1829 he was sent to England by his master Zingarelli +to conduct one of the latter's compositions at Birmingham; and that +country thereafter became his home. The next year he was engaged at the +King's Theatre, now known as Her Majesty's, as piano-master, and two +years later became the musical director. He was the first to bring the +band to its proper place, though he had to make a hard fight against the +ballet, which at that time threatened to absorb both singers and +orchestra, and to sweep the musical drama from the stage. He succeeded, +however, and did much also to improve the composition of the orchestra. +While holding this position he wrote the ballets, "Une heure a Naples" +and "Sir Huon" for Taglioni, and "Alma" for Cerito, the beautiful +quartet, "Ecco quel fiero istante," and the operas "Malek Adhel" for +Paris in 1837, and "Don Carlos" for London in 1844. He remained at Her +Majesty's Theatre for fifteen years, during which time he did a great +work for singers and band, and reduced the ballet to its proper rank. In +1846 he left his position and went to the new Italian opera at Covent +Garden, where he remained for a quarter of a century, absolute in his +musical supremacy and free to deal with all works as he pleased, among +them those of Meyerbeer, at that time the most prominent composer in the +operatic world; for Wagner as yet was scarcely known. It is to Costa that +Meyerbeer owes his English reputation. In the same year (1846) he took +the direction of the Philharmonic orchestra, and two years later that of +the Sacred Harmonic Society, which he held until his death, and as +conductor of which he also directed the Handel festivals. In 1849 he was +engaged for the Birmingham festivals, and also conducted them until his +death. In 1854 he resigned his position with the Philharmonic, and his +successor, for a brief time only, was Richard Wagner. His oratorio, +"Eli," was composed for the Birmingham Festival of 1855, and his second +oratorio, "Naaman," for the same festival in 1864. In 1869 he was +knighted, and shortly afterwards, when his "Eli" was produced at +Stuttgart, it won for him the royal order of Frederick from the King of +Wuertemberg. He also had decorations from the sovereigns of Germany, +Turkey, Italy, and the Netherlands, in recognition of his musical +accomplishments. In 1871 he returned again to Her Majesty's Opera in the +capacity of "director of the music, composer, and conductor;" but a few +years ago he again dissolved his connection with it, and devoted himself +entirely to the private management and public direction of the Sacred +Harmonic Society, with which he was identified for over thirty years. He +died in April, 1884. + + + + + Eli. + + +The oratorio of "Eli," the text taken from the first book of Samuel, and +adapted by William Bartholomew, was first performed at the Birmingham +Festival, Aug. 29, 1855, under Costa's own direction, with Mesdames +Viardot and Novello and Messrs. Sims Reeves and Carl Formes in the +principal parts. The characters are Eli, Elkanah, Hannah, Samuel, the Man +of God, Saph the Philistine warrior, Hophni and Phinehas the sons of Eli, +and the Priests and Philistines as chorus. The story is not very +consistent in its outlines, and is fragmentary withal, the narrative of +the child Samuel being the central theme, around which are grouped the +tribulations of Elkanah and Hannah, the service of Eli the priest, the +revels of his profligate sons, and the martial deeds of the Philistines. + +The overture opens with a pianissimo prelude for organ in chorale form, +followed by an orchestral fugue well worked up, but very quiet in +character. Indeed, the whole overture is mostly pianissimo. In striking +contrast follows the opening recitative for bass ("Blow ye the Trumpet"), +which is the signal for those instruments, and introduces the first +chorus ("Let us go to pray before the Lord"), beginning with a soft +staccato which gradually works up to a jubilant climax on the words "Make +a joyful Noise." A tenor solo for Elkanah is interwoven with the chorus, +which closes with broad, flowing harmony. The next number, a bass air +with chorus ("Let the People praise Thee"), is somewhat peculiar in its +construction. It begins with the air, which is slow and tender, and at +the close the chorus takes it in canon form. Then Eli intones +benedictions in chorale style, and the chorus responds with "Amens" in +full harmony at the end of each, making a very impressive effect. It is +followed by a very elaborate chorus ("Blessed be the Lord"), closing with +a fugue on the word "Amen," which is very clear and well worked up. The +next number is the sorrowful prayer of the barren and grieving Hannah +("Turn Thee unto me"), which is very expressive in its mournful +supplication, and splendidly contrasted with her joyous song after the +birth of Samuel, of which mention will be made in its proper connection. +Eli rebukes her, and a dialogue ensues, interrupted by the tender chorus, +"The Lord is good." The dialogue form is again renewed, this time by +Elkanah and Hannah, leading to a beautiful duet between them ("Wherefore +is thy Soul cast down?"). + +The character of the music now changes as we enter upon a long +drinking-chorus, with solos by the two revellers, Hophni and Phinehas +("For everything there is a Season"). The change from the seriousness of +the preceding numbers is very abrupt, and the music of the chorus is +decidedly of the conventional Italian drinking-song character. Eli +appears and rebukes them, and after a cantabile aria ("Thou shouldst mark +Iniquities"), a short chorus of Levites, for tenors and basses, ensues, +introducing a simple, but well-sustained chorale for full chorus ("How +mighty is Thy Name"). At this point the "Man of God" appears, rebuking +the Levites for their polluted offerings. His denunciations are declaimed +in strong, spirited phrases, accompanied by the chorus of the people +("They have profaned it"), beginning in unison. The scene now changes to +the camp of the Philistines, where Saph, their man of war, shouts out his +angry and boisterous defiance in his solo ("Philistines, hark, the +Trumpet sounding"). It is followed by a choral response from the +Philistines ("Speed us on to fight"), which is in the same robust and +stirring style, though the general effect is theatrical and somewhat +commonplace. Combined with it is a choral response by the priests of +Dagon, of an Oriental character. After this clash of sound follows an air +of a sombre style by Eli ("Hear my Prayer, O Lord"), the introduction and +accompaniment of which are very striking. The "Man of God" once more +appears, announcing the approaching death of Eli's sons to a weird, +sepulchral accompaniment of the reeds and trombones, and leading up to a +very effective duet between them ("Lord, cause Thy Face to shine upon Thy +Servant"). Another chorale ensues ("O make a joyful Noise"), and after a +brief recitative Hannah has a most exultant song, overflowing with love +and gratitude at the birth of Samuel ("I will extol Thee, O Lord"). The +first part closes with a brief recitative between Hannah and Eli, +preluding a fugued chorus ("Hosanna in the highest"), built up on two +motives and one of the most elaborate numbers in the oratorio. + +The second part opens with a chaste and lovely melody, the morning prayer +of the child Samuel ("Lord, from my Bed again I rise"), followed with +some pretty recitative between the child and his parents, and an +unaccompanied quartet, set to the same choral theme that was heard in the +organ prelude to the overture. The next number is the long and showy +instrumental march of the Israelites, followed by two very striking +choruses,--the first ("Hold not Thy Peace and be not still, O God") of +which appeals for divine help against the enemy, and the second, an +allegro ("O God, make them like a Wheel"), leads into a fugue ("So +persecute them"), which is very energetic in character, and closes with +the martial hymn, "God and King of Jacob's Nation," sung to the melody of +the preceding march. + +The oratorio abounds in contrasts, and here occurs another, the evening +prayer of Samuel ("This Night I lift my Heart to Thee"),--a pure, quiet +melody, gradually dying away as he drops asleep, and followed by an angel +chorus for female voices with harp accompaniment ("No Evil shall befall +thee"), the effect of which is very beautiful, especially in the +decrescendo at the close. A messenger suddenly arrives, announcing the +defeat of Israel by the Philistines, upon which the chorus bursts out +with one of the most telling numbers, both in the voice parts and the +descriptiveness of the accompaniment ("Woe unto us, we are spoiled!"). +Some very dramatic recitative between Samuel and Eli follows, after which +the Levites join in the chorus, "Bless ye the Lord," opening with the +tenors and closing in four parts, with the call of Eli intervening +("Watchmen, what of the Night?"). A long recitative by Samuel ("The Lord +said"), foreshadowing the disasters to the house of Eli; an air by Eli +("Although my House be not with God"); a funeral chorus by the Israelites +("Lament with a doleful Lamentation"); further phrases of recitative +announcing more defeats of Israel, the capture of the ark, the death of +Eli and his sons, and an appeal by Samuel to blow the trumpet, calling a +solemn assembly to implore the pity of the Lord,--prepare the way for the +final chorus ("Blessed be the Lord"), closing with a fugue on the word +"Hallelujah." + +The oratorio was first given in this country by the Boston Handel and +Haydn Society, Feb. 15, 1857, under the direction of Carl Zerrahn, with +Mr. Thomas Ball as Eli and also as Saph, Mr. Wilde as the Man of God, Mr. +C. R. Adams as Elkanah, Mrs. Long as Hannah, and Miss Hawley in the +contralto part of Samuel. Writing of that performance, Mr. Dwight, the +careful and discriminating critic, summed up the work as follows: "As a +whole, 'Eli' is a noble and impressive oratorio. The composition is +learned and musician-like, and generally appropriate, tasteful, +dignified, often beautiful, and occasionally grand. It is by no means a +work of genius, but it is a work of high musical culture, and indicates a +mind imbued with the best traditions and familiar with the best masters +of the art, and a masterly command of all the modern musical resources, +except the 'faculty divine,'"--which, we may be permitted to say, is not +included in "modern musical resources." The characterization of the +oratorio, however, is thoroughly pertinent and complete. It is somewhat +remarkable that a work so excellent and having so many elements of +popularity should not be given more frequently in this country. + + + + + ANTON DVORAK. + + +Anton Dvorak, the Bohemian composer who has risen so suddenly into +prominence, was born at Muelhausen, near Prague, Sept. 8, 1841. His father +combined the businesses of tavern-keeper and butcher, and young Dvorak +assisted him in waiting upon customers, as well as in the slaughtering +business. As the laws of Bohemia stipulate that music shall be a part of +common-school education, Dvorak learned the rudiments in the village +school, and also received violin instruction. At the age of thirteen he +went to work for an uncle who resided in a village where the schoolmaster +was a proficient musician. The latter, recognizing his ability, gave him +lessons on the organ, and allowed him to copy music. Piano-lessons +followed, and he had soon grounded himself quite thoroughly in +counterpoint. At the age of sixteen he was admitted to the organ-school +at Prague, of which Joseph Pitsch was the principal. Pitsch died shortly +after, and was succeeded by Kreyci, who made Dvorak acquainted with the +music of Mozart, Beethoven, and Mendelssohn. The first orchestral work +which he heard was Beethoven's "Ninth Symphony," during its rehearsal +under Spohr's direction. In 1860, being then in his nineteenth year, he +obtained an engagement, with the meagre salary of $125 a year, as +violinist in a band that played at cafes and dances. Two years later he +secured a position in the Bohemian Opera-House at Prague, then under the +direction of Mayer, where he remained until 1871, in which year he left +the theatre and devoted himself to teaching, with the prospect of earning +$250 a year. These were hard days for the young musician; but while he +was thus struggling for a bare subsistence he continued writing +compositions, though he had no prospect of selling them or of having them +played. One writer remarks on this point: "It is far from difficult to +compare him in this respect with that marvellous embodiment of patience +and enthusiasm, Franz Schubert; only, more fortunate than the Viennese +master, the Bohemian has lived to receive his reward. Between these two +men another point of resemblance appears. Neither can be charged with +pushing or intriguing himself into prominence. Schubert had plenty of +artistic ambition, but of personal ambition none; while the quality he so +entirely lacked cannot be accredited to Dvorak, who spent the best part +of his life in the enjoyment of merely local fame." About this time he +wrote his "Patriotic Hymn" and the opera "Koenig und Koehler." The latter +was rejected after an orchestral trial; but he continued his work, +undaunted by failure. Shortly after this he received the appointment of +organist at the Adelbert Church, Prague, and fortune began to smile upon +him. His symphony in F was laid before the Minister of Instruction in +Vienna, and upon the recommendation of Herbeck secured him a grant of +$200. When Brahms replaced Herbeck on the committee which reported upon +artists' stipends, he fully recognized Dvorak's ability, and not only +encouraged him, but also brought him before the world by securing him a +publisher and commending him to Joachim, who still further advanced his +interests by securing performances of his works in Germany and England. +Since that time he has risen rapidly, and is now recognized as one of the +most promising of living composers. Among his works which have been +produced during the past few years are the "Stabat Mater," the cantata +"The Spectre Bride," three operas in the Czechist dialect, three +orchestral symphonies, several Slavonic rhapsodies, overtures, violin and +piano concertos, an exceedingly beautiful sextet, and numerous songs. + + + + + The Stabat Mater. + + +Dvorak's "Stabat Mater" was written in 1875. It was sent to the Austrian +Minister of Instruction, but was not deemed worthy of the grant of $200 +which the composer had expected. Its merit was subsequently recognized by +Brahms and Joachim, and the latter secured a hearing of it in London in +1883. It immediately made its composer famous. The Philharmonic Society +invited him to London, and the work was given with great success at the +Albert Hall, and later at the Worcester and Hereford festivals. It was in +England indeed that his celebrity was established, and for that country +all his new works are now written. + +The "Stabat Mater" is written for soli, chorus, and orchestra, and +comprises ten numbers. The first is the quartet and chorus, "Stabat Mater +dolorosa," and carries the old Latin hymn as far as the "Quis est homo." +After an orchestral introduction which gives out the principal motives on +which the number is based, the vocal quartet begins. The materials of +which it is composed are very simple, but they are worked up with great +technical skill. The general effect is tragic rather than pathetic, as if +the composer were contemplating not so much the grief of the Virgin +Mother at the foot of the Cross as the awful nature of the tragedy itself +and its far-reaching consequences. + +The second number is the quartet "Quis est homo." After a short +introduction, the theme is taken by the alto, followed by the tenor and +bass, and lastly by the soprano, the general structure growing more +elaborate at each entrance. After the second subject is introduced a +splendid climax is reached, and in the coda the voices whisper the words +"vidit suum" to an accompaniment of wind instruments in sustained and +impressive chords. + +The third number, "Eia Mater," is built up on an exceedingly brief +motive, which is augmented with surprising power in choral form. It is a +work of scholarly skill, and yet is full of charm and grace, and will +always commend itself even to the untutored hearer by its tenderness and +pathetic beauty. + +The fourth number, "Fac ut ardeat cor meum," for bass solo and chorus, +like the third is most skilfully constructed out of small materials, and +has a fine contrast between the solo and the chorus, which at its +entrance is assigned to the female voices only, with organ accompaniment. + +The fifth number is the chorus "Tui nati vulnerati," which is remarkable +for the smooth and flowing manner in which its two subjects are treated. + +The sixth number, "Fac me vere tecum flere," for tenor solo and chorus, +is very elaborate in its construction. A stately theme is given out by +the tenor, repeated in three-part harmony by male voices, the +accompaniment being independent in form; the subject then returns, first +for solo, and then for male voices, in varying harmonies. After a brief +vocal episode the subject reappears in still different form, and, +followed by the episode worked up at length in a coda, brings the number +to its close. + +The seventh number, "Virgo, virgonum praeclara," for full chorus, is +marked by great simplicity and tenderness, and will always be one of the +most popular sections of the work. + +The eighth number, "Fac ut portem," is a duet for soprano and tenor, +responsive in character, and constructed on very simple phrases presented +in varying forms both by the voices and orchestra. + +The ninth number, "Inflammatus et accensus," is one of the most masterly +in the whole work. It is an alto solo composed of two subjects, the first +very majestic, and the second pathetic in character, forming a contrast +of great power and beauty. + +The tenth and closing number, "Quando corpus morietur," for quartet and +chorus, is constructed substantially upon the same themes which appeared +in the "Stabat Mater," and closes with an "Amen" of a massive character, +exhibiting astonishing contrapuntal skill. One of the best English +critics says of the whole work:-- + + "The 'Stabat Mater' approaches as near to greatness as possible, if it + be not actually destined to rank among world-renowned masterpieces. It + is fresh and new, while in harmony with the established canons of art; + and though apparently labored and over-developed in places, speaks with + the force and directness of genius." + + + + + GOUNOD. + + +Charles Francois Gounod was born in Paris, June 17, 1818. His fame has +been made world-wide by the extraordinary success of his opera "Faust," +and yet more than almost any other operatic composer of modern times he +has devoted himself to sacred music. His earlier studies were pursued in +Paris at the Conservatory, under the tuition of Paer and Lesueur, and in +1839 the receipt of the Grand Prix gave him the coveted opportunity to go +to Italy. In the atmosphere of Rome religious influences made a strong +impression upon him. He devoted himself assiduously to the study of +Palestrina, and among his first important compositions were a mass +performed at the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi in 1841, and a second, +written without accompaniment, which was given in Vienna two years later. +On his return to Paris, religious ideas still retained their sway over +him, and he became organist and conductor at the Missions etrangeres. He +even contemplated taking orders, and attended a theological course for +two years. In 1846 he became a pupil at the Seminaire; but at last he +gave up his priestly intentions and devoted himself wholly to musical +composition, though he has been, if not a devotee, a religious enthusiast +all his life, and that too in the midst of a peculiarly worldly career. +It was about this period that he wrote his "Messe Solenelle" in G,--the +first of his compositions that was ever produced in England. It was +cordially received, and he was universally recognized as a promising +musician. For many years succeeding this event he devoted himself mainly +to secular music, and opera after opera rapidly came from his +pen,--"Sappho" (1851); "Nonne Sanglante" (1854); "Le Medecin malgre lui" +(1858); "Faust," his greatest work, and one of the most successful of +modern operas (1859); "Philemon et Baucis" (1860); "Reine de Saba" +(1862); "Mireille" (1864); "La Colombe" (1866); "Romeo et Juliette" +(1867); "Cinq Mars" (1877), and "Polyeucte" (1878). Notwithstanding the +attention he gave to opera and to much other secular music, he found +ample time for the composition of sacred works. In 1852, while in Paris, +he became conductor of the Orpheon, and for the pupils of that +institution he composed two masses. He has also written a great number of +pieces for choir use which are very popular, and deservedly so, +particularly the beautiful song "Nazareth." Among his larger works are a +"Stabat Mater," with orchestral accompaniment; the oratorio "Tobie;" a +"De Profundis" and an "Ave Verum;" and the two oratorios, "The +Redemption," performed at Birmingham in 1882, and "Mors et Vita," brought +out at the same place in 1885. The composer is now engaged upon the +scheme of a new oratorio, the career of Joan of Arc being its subject. It +may be said in closing this sketch, which has been mainly confined to a +consideration of his sacred compositions, as his operatic career has been +fully treated in "Standard Operas," that in 1873 he wrote the incidental +music to Jules Barbier's tragedy, "Jeanne d'Arc," which may have inspired +his determination to write an oratorio on the same subject. + + + + + The Redemption. + + +"The Redemption, a Sacred Trilogy," is the title which Gounod gave to +this work, and on its opening page he wrote: "The work of my life." In a +note appended to his description of its contents he says:-- + + "It was during the autumn of the year 1867 that I first thought of + composing a musical work on the Redemption. I wrote the words at Rome, + where I passed two months of the winter 1867-68 with my friend Hebert, + the celebrated painter, at that time director of the Academy of France. + Of the music I then composed only two fragments: first, 'The March to + Calvary' in its entirety; second, the opening of the first division of + the third part, 'The Pentecost.' Twelve years afterwards I finished the + work, which had so long been interrupted, with a view to its being + performed at the festival at Birmingham in 1882." + +It was brought out, as he contemplated, in August of that year, and the +production was a memorable one. It was first heard in this country in the +winter of 1883-84 under Mr. Theodore Thomas's direction, and was one of +the prominent works in his series of festivals in the latter year. + +Gounod himself has prefaced the music with an admirably concise +description of the text and its various subjects. Of its general contents +he says: + + "This work is a lyrical setting forth of the three great facts on which + depends the existence of the Christian Church. These facts are,--first, + the passion and the death of the Saviour; second, his glorious life on + earth from his resurrection to his ascension; third, the spread of + Christianity in the world through the mission of the Apostles. These + three parts of the present trilogy are preceded by a prologue on the + creation, the fall of our first parents, and the promise of a + redeemer." + +The divisions of the work are as follows:-- + + Prologue.--The Creation. + Part I.--Calvary. + Part II.--From the Resurrection to the Ascension. + Part III.--The Pentecost. + +The prologue comprises the Mosaic account of the creation and fall of +man, involving the necessity of divine mediation, the promise of +redemption, and the annunciation of the mystery of the incarnation of the +Holy Virgin. After a brief instrumental introduction, descriptive of +chaos, the tenor Narrator announces the completion of creation in +recitative, followed by a similar declamation from the bass Narrator +announcing the fall of man, the tenor Narrator answering with the +announcement of the Redeemer's advent ("But of the Spotless Lamb"), in +which we have for the first time a genuine Wagnerian _leit motif_, which +runs through the music of the oratorio whenever allusion is made to the +divine atonement. This typical melody is heard nine times,--three times +in the prologue, twice in the scene of the crucifixion, once in our +Saviour's promise to the thieves on the cross, once in his appearance to +the holy women, and twice in the ascension. It is first given out as a +violin solo, and at the close of the tenor recitative is repeated by all +the strings, leading to the mystic chorale, "The Earth is my Possession," +to be sung by a celestial choir of twenty-eight voices. At its close the +typical melody is introduced in responsive form between flute and +clarinet. To the first, the angelic message of the annunciation, Gounod +has affixed the title, "Ave, gratia plena;" and to the second, the reply +of Mary, "Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum." + +The first part includes the march to Calvary, which is divided into six +separate numbers, yet so connected as to make a single musical +series,--the crucifixion, Mary at the foot of the cross, the dying +thieves, the death of Jesus, and the confession of his divinity by the +centurion. It opens with the story of the condemnation of the Man of +Sorrows by Pilate, told by the bass Narrator, the words of Jesus himself, +however, being used invariably in the first person, and sung by the +baritone voice, as when he says, "If my Deeds have been evil," +immediately following the bass recitative. After another monologue by the +Narrator, ensues the march to the cross,--an instrumental number which is +brilliant in its color effects and somewhat barbaric in tone. Without any +break, the sopranos enter with the words, "Forth the Royal Banners go," +set to a melody from the Roman Catholic liturgy; after which the march is +resumed. The bass Narrator tells the story of the women who followed +lamenting, interrupted by a semi-chorus of sopranos singing the lament, +and by the words of Jesus, "Ye Daughters of Israel, weep not for me." +Again the march is heard, and the sopranos resume ("Forth the Royal +Banners go"). The tenor Narrator recites the preparation for the +crucifixion, accompanied by very descriptive music, and followed by a +stormy chorus of the People ("Ha! thou that didst declare"), and the +mocking cries of the priests ("Can he now save himself?"), sung by a male +chorus. In a pathetic monologue Jesus appeals for their pardon, which +leads to an elaborate concerted number for chorus or quartet, called "The +Reproaches." A conversation ensues between Jesus and Mary, followed by +the quartet, "Beside the Cross remaining," in canon form, preluding the +chorale, "While my Watch I am keeping," at first sung by Mary, and then +taken up by the full chorus, accompanied by organ, trombones, and +trumpets. The next scene is that between Jesus and the two Thieves, which +also leads to a chorale ("Lord Jesus, thou to all bringest Light and +Salvation"). This number contains the last touch of brightness in the +first part. Immediately the bass Narrator announces the approach of the +awful tragedy. The gathering darkness is pictured by a vivid passage for +strings and clarinet, succeeded by the agonizing cries of the Saviour. +The bass Narrator declares the consummation of the tragedy, and then with +the tenor Narrator describes the throes of Nature ("And then the Air was +filled with a Murmur unwonted"), the rending of the veil of the Temple, +the breaking of the rocks, the earthquake, and the visions of the saintly +apparitions. The last number is the conviction of the centurion, followed +by a short chorale ("For us the Christ is made a Victim availing"). + +The second part includes the announcement of the doctrine of the +resurrection by the mystic chorus, the appearance of the Angel to the +Holy Women at the sepulchre, that of Jesus to them while on the way to +Galilee, the consternation of the Sanhedrim when it is learned that the +tomb is empty, the meeting of the Holy Women and the Apostles, the +appearance of Jesus to the latter, and his final ascension. It opens with +a chorus for the mystic choir ("Saviour of Men"), followed by a short +pastorale with muted strings and leading to a trio for the three Women +("How shall we by ourselves have Strength to roll away the Stone?"). +Their apprehensions are removed by the tenor Narrator and the message of +the Angel interwoven with the harp and conveyed in the beautiful aria, +"Why seek ye the Living among the Dead?" Jesus at last reveals himself to +the Women with the words, "All hail! Blessed are ye Women," accompanied +by the typical melody, of which mention has already been made. The three +Women disappear on the way to convey his message to the Disciples, and +the scene changes to the Sanhedrim, where, in a tumultuous and agitated +chorus for male voices ("Christ is risen again"), the story of the empty +tomb is told by the Watchers. The bass Narrator relates the amazement of +the priests and elders, and their plot to bribe the guard, leading to the +chorus for male voices ("Say ye that in the Night his Disciples have come +and stolen him away"), at the close of which ensues a full, massive +chorus ("Now, behold ye the Guard, this, your Sleep-vanquished Guard"), +closing with the denunciation in unison ("For Ages on your Heads shall +Contempt be outpoured"). The tenor and bass Narrators in duet tell of the +sorrow of the Disciples, which prepares the way for a lovely trio for +first and second soprano and alto ("The Lord he has risen again"). The +next number is one of the most effective in the whole work,--a soprano +obligato solo, accompanied by the full strength of chorus and orchestra, +to the words: + + "From thy love as a Father, + O Lord, teach us to gather + That life will conquer death. + They who seek things eternal + Shall rise to light supernal + On wings of lovely faith." + +In the close the effect is sublime, the climax reaching to C in alt with +the full power of the accompanying forces. Then follows a dialogue +between the Saviour and his Apostles, in which he gives them their +mission to the world. The finale then begins with a massive chorus +("Unfold, ye Portals everlasting"). The celestial chorus above, +accompanied by harps and trumpets, inquire, "But who is he, the King of +Glory?" The answer comes in a stately unison by the terrestrial chorus, +"He who Death overcame." Again the question is asked, and again it is +answered; whereupon the two choirs are massed in the jubilant chorus, +"Unfold! for lo the King comes nigh!" the full orchestra and organ +sounding the Redemption melody, and the whole closing with a fanfare of +trumpets. + +The third part includes the prophecy of the millennium, the descent of +the Holy Ghost to the Apostles, the Pentecostal manifestations, and the +Hymn of the Apostles. The latter is so important that the composer's own +analysis is appended:-- + + "This division of the third part of the work, the last and one of the + most highly developed of the trilogy, comprises seven numbers, and + gives a summary of the Christian faith. + + "1. The Apostles first proclaim the three great doctrines of the + Incarnation of the Word, his eternal generation, and his continual + presence with his Church. This first number is written in a style which + is intended to recall the form and rhythm of the chants called 'Proses' + in the Catholic liturgy. + + "2. Quartet and Chorus. 'By faith salvation comes, and by peace + consolation.' + + "3. Chorus. His power manifested by miracles. + + "4. Quartet. 'O come to me, all ye that are sad and that weep.' + + "5. Semi-Chorus. The Beatitudes. + + "6. Repetition of the theme of No. 1, with the whole choir, the + orchestra, and the great organ. + + "7. Final Coda. Glorification of the Most Holy Trinity throughout all + ages." + +This part of the oratorio, after a short instrumental prelude, opens with +a brief chorus ("Lovely appear over the Mountains"), followed by a +soprano solo, the only distinct number of that kind in the work, set to +the words, "Over the barren Wastes shall Flowers have possession," at its +close the chorus resuming in unison, "Lovely appear over the Mountains." +The next number is "The Apostles in Prayer," an instrumental sketch, +followed by the Narrators relating the descent of the Holy Spirit. +Without break, the Apostles' Hymn begins, tenors and basses in unison +("The Word is Flesh become") leading into the quartet of solo voices ("By +Faith Salvation comes, and by Peace, Consolation"). The chorus responds +antiphonally, and again the solo voices are heard in a lovely quartet +("He has said to all the Unhappy"), followed by a small choir of thirty +voices ("Blessed are the poor in Spirit"), at the end of which all the +voices are massed on the Apostles' Hymn, which closes in fugal form on +the words, "He like the Holy Ghost is one with the Father, an everlasting +Trinity," the whole ending in massive chords. + + + + + Mors et Vita. + + +The oratorio "Mors et Vita" ("Death and Life") is the continuation of +"The Redemption," and, like that work also, is a trilogy. It was first +performed at the Birmingham Festival, Aug. 26, 1885, under the direction +of Herr Hans Richter, the principal parts being sung by Mesdames Albani +and Patey and Messrs. Santley and Lloyd. Its companion oratorio, "The +Redemption," was dedicated to Queen Victoria, and itself to His Holiness +Pope Leo XIII. In his preface to the work, Gounod says:-- + + "It will perhaps be asked why, in the title, I have placed death before + life, although in the order of temporal things life precedes death. + Death is only the end of that existence which dies each day; it is only + the end of a continual 'dying.' But it is the first moment, and, as it + were, the birth of that which dies no more. I cannot here enter into a + detailed analysis of the different musical forms which express the + meaning and idea of this work. I do not wish to expose myself to the + reproach either of pretension or subtlety. I shall therefore confine + myself to pointing out the essential features of the ideas I have + wished to express,--that is to say, the tears which death causes us to + shed here below; the hope of a better life; the solemn dread of + unerring justice; the tender and filial trust in eternal love." + +The composer further calls attention in his preface to the use of +representative themes, an illustration of which was also noted in "The +Redemption." The first one, consisting of four notes, presenting a +sequence of three major seconds, is intended to express "the terror +inspired by the sense of the inflexibility of justice and, in +consequence, by that of the anguish of punishment. Its sternness gives +expression both to the sentences of divine justice and the sufferings of +the condemned, and is found in combination throughout the whole work, +with melodic forms which express sentiments altogether different, as in +the 'Sanctus' and the 'Pie Jesu' in the 'Requiem,' which forms the first +part." It is first heard in the opening chorus, and for the last time in +the quartet of the third part. The second melodic form, expressive of +sorrow and tears, by the change of a single note and the use of the major +key is made to express consolation and joy. "The third," says Gounod, "by +means of threefold superposition, results in the interval of an augmented +fifth, and announces the awakening of the dead at the terrifying call of +the angelic trumpets, of which Saint Paul speaks in one of his epistles +to the Corinthians." + +The oratorio is divided into a prologue and three parts, the Latin text +being used throughout. The first part is entitled "Mors," and opens with +the prologue, which is brief, followed by the "Requiem," interspersed +with texts of a reflective character commenting upon the sentiment. The +second part is entitled "Judicium" ("Judgment"), and includes (1) The +Sleep of the Dead; (2) The Trumpets at the Last Judgment; (3) The +Resurrection of the Dead; (4) The Judge; (5) The Judgment of the Elect; +(6) The Judgment of the Rejected. The third part is entitled "Vita," and +includes the vision of Saint John, the text being taken from the +Apocalypse; the work closing with an "Hosanna in Excelsis," exulting in +the glorious vision of the heavenly Jerusalem. + +The prologue, which is sustained by the chorus and baritone solo, +declares the terrors of death and the judgment. The chorus intones the +words, "It is a Fearful Thing to fall into the Hands of the Living God," +and in this phrase is heard the chief motive, heavily accented by the +percussion instruments,--the motive which typifies death both of the body +and of the unredeemed soul. Immediately after follows the baritone voice, +that of Jesus, in the familiar words, "I am the Resurrection and the +Life." The chorus repeats the declaration, and the Requiem Mass then +begins, divided into various sections, of which the "Dies Irae" is the +most important; this in turn subdivided in the conventional form. After +an adagio prelude and the intonation of the "Requiem aeternam," an +interpolated text occurs ("From the Morning Watch till the Evening"), set +as a double chorus without accompaniment, in the genuine Church style of +the old masters. It leads directly to the "Dies Irae," in which the death +motive already referred to frequently occurs. It is laid out in duets, +quartets, and arias, with and without chorus, very much in the same tempo +and of the same character of melody. The verse, "Ah! what shall we then +be pleading?" for quartet and chorus, is remarkable for its attractive +melody. It is followed by a soprano solo and chorus ("Happy are we, with +such a Saviour") of a reflective character, which gives out still another +very tuneful melody. The hymn is then resumed with the verse, "Faint and +worn, thou yet hast sought us," for duet and chorus, which is of the same +general character. The next verse, "Lord, for Anguish hear us moaning," +for quartet and chorus, is very effective and elaborate in its +construction, particularly as compared with that immediately following +("With the Faithful deign to place us"), a tenor solo of a quaint and +pastoral character. The next number for chorus ("While the wicked are +confounded") affords still another striking contrast, being in the +grandiose style and very dramatic, closing with phrases for the solo +voices expressive of submission and contrition. Up to this point the +"Dies Irae" has been monotonous in its sameness of general style; but the +next verse ("Day of Weeping, Day of Mourning") is a beautiful and +thoroughly original number of very striking effect. It leads directly to +the offertory ("O Lord Jesus Christ, King of Glory"), which is composed +of a chorus for eight parts, a soprano solo ("But, Lord, do thou bring +them evermore"), a chorus ("Which once to Abraham"), and a second chorus +("Sacrifice of Prayer and Praise"). The soprano solo is a delightful +melody, sung to a delicate accompaniment of the strings, with occasional +chords on the harp, and based upon the beautiful second typical motive, +which the composer styles "The Motive of Happiness." The chorus, "Which +once to Abraham," is set in fugue form, which is the conventional style +among composers with this number; but, as in "The Redemption," whenever +Gounod employs the fugue form, he drops it as soon as the four voices +have fairly launched themselves. + +The next number is the "Sanctus,"--a beautiful tenor aria with chorus, +full of that sweetness which is so characteristic of Gounod. It is +followed by the quartet, "Mighty Saviour, Jesus blest," which is deeply +religious in character; the lovely soprano solo and chorus, "Agnus Dei;" +and the chorus, "Lord, forever let Light Eternal." The first part is +rounded off with an epilogue, an interlude for full orchestra and organ, +based upon the first and second typical melodies, forming a consistent +and stately finale to this part of the work. + +The second part is peculiar for the prominence which the composer assigns +to the orchestra. It opens with a well-sustained, gentle adagio movement, +entitled "The Sleep of the Dead," which at times is somewhat harshly +interrupted by the third typical melody, announcing the awakening of the +dead at the terrifying call of the angelic trumpets. This is specially +noticeable in that part of the prelude called "The Trumpet of the Last +Judgment," in which the trombones, trumpets, and tubas are employed with +extraordinary effect. Still a third phrase of the prelude occurs,--"The +Resurrection of the Dead,"--which is smooth and flowing in its style, and +peculiarly rich in harmony. A brief recitative by baritone ("But when the +Son of Man") intervenes, immediately followed by another instrumental +number, entitled "Judex" ("The Judge"),--one of the most effective pieces +of orchestration in the oratorio, based upon the motive which indicates +the tempering of justice with mercy, given out by the strings in unison. +It preludes a short chorus ("Sitting upon the Throne"), the previous +melody still continuing in the orchestra. The "Judgment of the Elect" +follows, pronounced by the baritone voice in recitative, and leading +directly to the soprano solo, "The Righteous shall enter into Glory +eternal,"--the most exquisite solo number in the work,--followed by an +effective chorale ("In Remembrance everlasting"). Then follows "The +Judgment of the Rejected," consisting of baritone solos and chorus, +closing the second part. + +The third part celebrates the delights of the celestial city as pictured +in the apocalyptic vision of Saint John, and is in marked contrast to the +gloom and sombreness of the Requiem music, as well as the terrors of the +Judgment. It is bright, jubilant, and exultant throughout. The title of +the prelude is "New Heaven, New Earth." The baritone intones the +recitative ("And I saw the New Heaven"), which is followed by another +delightful sketch for the orchestra ("Celestial Jerusalem"),--a most +vivid and graphic picture of the subject it describes. The remaining +prominent numbers are the "Sanctus" chorus, the celestial chorus ("I am +Alpha and Omega"), and the final chorus ("Hosanna in Excelsis"), which +closes this remarkable work. + +The weakest part of the oratorio is the "Requiem," which suffers from the +monotony of its divisions, especially when compared with the treatment of +requiems by the great composers who have made them a special study. As +compared with the "Redemption," however, it is more interesting, because +it is more melodious and less cumbered with recitative. It is also +peculiarly noticeable for the free manner in which the composer uses the +orchestra, and the skill with which the typical melodies are employed, as +compared with which the solitary "Redemption" motive seems weak and thin. +Both works are full of genuine religious sentiment, and taken together +cover almost the entire scope of human aspiration so far as it relates to +the other world. No composer has conceived a broader scheme for oratorio. +Though Gounod does not always reach the sublime and majestic heights of +the old masters in sacred music, yet the feeling manifested in these +works is never anything but religious; the hearer is always surrounded by +an atmosphere of devotion. + + + + + HANDEL. + + +George Frederick Handel was born at Halle, in Lower Saxony, Feb. 23, +1685, and, like many another composer, revealed his musical promise at a +very early age, only to encounter parental opposition. His father +intended him to be a lawyer; but Nature had her way, and in spite of +domestic antagonism triumphed. The Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels recognized +his ability and overcame the father's determination. Handel began his +studies with Zachau, organist of the Halle cathedral. After the death of +his father, in 1697, he went to Hamburg, and for a time played in the +orchestra of the German opera. It was during his residence in that city +that he wrote his first opera, "Almira" (1705). In the following year he +went to Italy, where he remained several months under the patronage of +the Grand Duke of Florence. During the next two years he visited Venice, +Rome, and Naples, and wrote several operas and minor oratorios. In 1709 +he returned to Germany, and the Elector of Hanover, subsequently George +I. of England, offered him the position of Capellmeister, which he +accepted upon the condition that he might visit England, having received +many invitations from that country. The next year he arrived in London +and brought out his opera of "Rinaldo," which proved a great success. At +the end of six months he was obliged to return to his position in +Hanover; but his English success made him impatient of the dulness of the +court. In 1712 he was in London again, little dreaming that the Elector +would soon follow him as king. Incensed with him for leaving Hanover, the +King at first refused to receive him; but some music which Handel +composed for an aquatic fete in his honor brought about the royal +reconciliation. In 1718 he accepted the position of chapel-master to the +Duke of Chandos, for whom he wrote the famous Chandos Te Deum and +Anthems, the serenata "Acis and Galatea," and "Esther," his first English +oratorio. In 1720 he was engaged as director of Italian opera by the +society of noblemen known as the Royal Academy of Music, and from that +time until 1740 his career was entirely of an operatic character. Opera +after opera came from his pen. Some were successful, others failed. At +first composer, then director, he finally became _impresario_, only to +find himself confronted with bitter rivalry, especially at the hands of +Buononcini and Porpora. Cabals were instituted against him. Unable to +contend with them alone, he formed a partnership with Heidegger, +proprietor of the King's Theatre, in 1729. It was broken in 1734, and he +took the management of Covent Garden. The Italian conspiracies against +him broke out afresh. He failed in his undertaking, and became a +bankrupt. In eight years he had lost $51,000 in Italian opera. Slanders +of all sorts were circulated against him, and his works were no longer +well received. In the midst of his adversity sickness overtook him, +ending with a partial stroke of paralysis. When sufficiently recovered, +he went to the Continent, where he remained for a few months. On his +return to London he brought out some new works, but they were not +favorably received. A few friends who had remained faithful to him +persuaded him to give a benefit concert, which was a great success. It +inspired him with fresh courage; but he did not again return to the +operatic world. Thenceforward he devoted himself to oratorio, in which he +made his name famous for all time. He himself said: "Sacred music is best +suited to a man descending in the vale of years." "Saul" and the colossal +"Israel in Egypt," written in 1740, head the list of his wonderful +oratorios. In 1741 he was invited to visit Ireland. He went there in +November, and many of his works were produced during the winter and +received with great enthusiasm. In April, 1742, his immortal "Messiah" +was brought out at Dublin. It was followed by "Samson," "Joseph," +"Semele," "Belshazzar," and "Hercules," which were also successful; but +even in the midst of his oratorio work his rivals did not cease their +conspiracies against him, and in 1744 he was once more a bankrupt. For +over a year his pen was idle. In 1746 the "Occasional Oratorio" and +"Judas Maccabaeus" appeared, and these were speedily followed by "Joshua," +"Solomon," "Susanna," "Theodora," and "Jephtha." It was during the +composition of the last-named work that he was attacked with the illness +which finally proved fatal. He died April 14, 1759, and was buried in +Westminster Abbey. During the last few days of his life he was heard to +express the wish that he "might breathe his last on Good Friday, in hopes +of meeting his good God, his sweet Lord and Saviour, on the day of his +resurrection." The wish was granted him; for it was on Good Friday that +he passed away, leaving behind him a name and fame that will be cherished +so long as music retains its power over the human heart. + + + + + Israel in Egypt. + + +"Israel in Egypt," the fifth of the nineteen oratorios which Handel +composed in England, was written in 1738. The Exodus, which is now the +second part, was written between the 1st and the 11th of October, and was +superscribed, "Moses' Song, Exodus, Chap. xv., begun Oct. 1, 1738;" and +at the close was written, "Fine, Oct. 11, 1738." It is evident from this +that the work was at first written as a cantata, but that Handel on +reflection decided that the plagues of Egypt would not only be a good +subject, but would also prove a logical historical introduction to the +second part. Four days later he began the first part, and finished it on +the 1st of November,--the composition of the whole of this colossal work +thus occupying but twenty-seven days. It was first performed as "Israel +in Egypt," April 4, 1739, at the King's Theatre, of which Handel was then +manager. It was given the second time April 11, "with alterations and +additions," the alterations having been made in order to admit of the +introduction of songs. The third performance took place April 17, upon +which occasion the "Funeral Anthem," which he had written for Queen +Caroline, was used as a first part and entitled, "Lamentations of the +Israelites for the Death of Joseph." During the lifetime of Handel the +oratorio was only performed nine times, for in spite of its excellence, +it was a failure. For many years after his death it was produced in +mutilated form; but in 1849 the Sacred Harmonic Society of London gave it +as it was originally written and as we know it now, without the Funeral +Anthem or any of the songs which had been introduced. + +The text of the oratorio is supposed to have been written by Handel +himself, though the words are taken literally from the Bible. Schoelcher +says: + + "The manuscript does not contain any of the names of the personages. + Nevertheless, the handbook, which includes the extracts from Solomon + for the first parts, has in this part the names of personages (High + Priest, Joseph, Israelite woman, Israelite man), as if the composer + wished to throw it into a dramatic form. The words in their Biblical + simplicity form a poem eminently dramatic." + +The first part opens with the wail of the Israelites over the burdens +imposed upon them by their Egyptian taskmasters, and then in rapid +succession follow the plagues,--the water of the Nile turned to blood, +the reptiles swarming even into the king's chambers, the pestilence +scourging man and beast, the insect-cloud heralding the locusts, the +pelting hail and the fire running along the ground, the thick darkness, +and the smiting of the first-born. Then come the passage of the Red Sea +and the escape from bondage, closing the first part. The second part +opens with the triumphant song of Moses and the Children of Israel +rejoicing over the destruction of Pharaoh's host, and closes with the +exultant strain of Miriam the prophetess, "Sing ye to the Lord, for He +hath triumphed gloriously; the Horse and his Rider hath He thrown into +the Sea." + +"Israel in Egypt" is essentially a choral oratorio. It comprises no less +than twenty-eight massive double choruses, linked together by a few bars +of recitative, with five arias and three duets interspersed among them. +Unlike Handel's other oratorios, there is no overture or even prelude to +the work. Six bars of recitative for tenor ("Now there arose a new King +over Egypt which knew not Joseph") suffice to introduce it, and lead +directly to the first double chorus ("And the Children of Israel +sighed"), the theme of which is first given out by the altos of one choir +with impressive pathos. The chorus works up to a climax of great force on +the phrase, "And their Cry came up unto God," the two choruses developing +with consummate power the two principal subjects,--first, the cry for +relief, and second, the burden of oppression; and closing with the phrase +above mentioned, upon which they unite in simple but majestic harmony. +Then follow eight more bars of recitative for tenor, and the long series +of descriptive choruses begins, in which Handel employs the imitative +power of music in the boldest manner. The first is the plague of the +water turned to blood, "They loathed to drink of the River,"--a single +chorus in fugue form, based upon a theme which is closely suggestive of +the sickening sensations of the Egyptians, and increases in loathsomeness +to the close, as the theme is variously treated. The next number is an +aria for mezzo soprano voice ("Their Land brought forth Frogs"), the air +itself serious and dignified, but the accompaniment imitative throughout +of the hopping of these lively animals. It is followed by the plague of +insects, whose afflictions are described by the double chorus. The tenors +and basses in powerful unison declare, "He spake the Word," and the reply +comes at once from the sopranos and altos, "And there came all Manner of +Flies," set to a shrill, buzzing, whirring accompaniment, which increases +in volume and energy as the locusts appear, but bound together solidly +with the phrase of the tenors and basses frequently repeated, and +presenting a sonorous background to this fancy of the composer in insect +imitation. From this remarkable chorus we pass to another still more +remarkable, the familiar Hailstone Chorus ("He gave them Hailstones for +Rain"), which, like the former, is closely imitative. Before the two +choirs begin, the orchestra prepares the way for the on-coming storm. +Drop by drop, spattering, dashing, and at last crashing, comes the storm, +the gathering gloom rent with the lightning, the "fire that ran along +upon the ground," and the music fairly quivering and crackling with the +wrath of the elements. But the storm passes, the gloom deepens, and we +are lost in that vague, uncertain combination of tones where voices and +instruments seem to be groping about, comprised in the marvellously +expressive chorus, "He sent a Thick Darkness over all the Land." From the +oppression of this choral gloom we emerge, only to encounter a chorus of +savage, unrelenting retribution ("He smote all the First-born of Egypt"). +Chorley admirably describes the motive of this great fugue:-- + + "It is fiercely Jewish. There is a touch of Judith, of Jael, of Deborah + in it,--no quarter, no delay, no mercy for the enemies of the Most + High; 'He smote.' And when for variety's sake the scimitar-phrase is + transferred from orchestra to voices, it is admirable to see how the + same character of the falchion--of hip-and-thigh warfare, of victory + predominant--is sustained in the music till the last bar. If we have + from Handel a scorn-chorus in the 'Messiah,' and here a disgust-chorus, + referred to a little while since,[3] this is the execution, or revenge + chorus,--the chorus of the unflinching, inflexible, commissioned Angels + of the Sword." + +After their savage mission is accomplished, we come to a chorus in +pastoral style ("But as for His People, He led them forth like Sheep"), +slow, tender, serene, and lovely in its movement, and grateful to the ear +both in its quiet opening and animated, happy close, after the terrors +which have preceded it. The following chorus ("Egypt was glad"), usually +omitted in performance, is a fugue, both strange and intricate, which it +is claimed Handel appropriated from an Italian canzonet by Kerl. The next +two numbers are really one. The two choruses intone the words, "He +rebuked the Red Sea," in a majestic manner, accompanied by a few massive +chords, and then pass to the glorious march of the Israelites, "He led +them through the Deep,"--a very elaborate and complicated number, but +strong, forcible, and harmonious throughout, and held together by the +stately opening theme with which the basses ascend. It is succeeded by +another graphic chorus ("But the Waters overwhelmed their Enemies"), in +which the roll and dash of the billows closing over Pharaoh's hosts are +closely imitated by the instruments, and through which in the close is +heard the victorious shout of the Israelites, "There was not one of them +left." Two more short choruses,--the first, "And Israel saw that Great +Work," which by many critics is not believed to be a pure Handel number, +and its continuation, "And believed the Lord," written in church style, +close this extraordinary chain of choral pictures. + +The second part, "The Song of Moses,"--which, it will be remembered, was +written first,--opens with a brief but forcible orchestral prelude, +leading directly to the declaration by the chorus, "Moses and the +Children of Israel sang this Song," which, taken together with the +instrumental prelude, serves as a stately introduction to the stupendous +fugued chorus which follows ("I will sing unto the Lord, for He hath +triumphed gloriously; the Horse and his Rider hath He thrown into the +Sea"). It is followed by a duet for two sopranos ("The Lord is my +Strength and my Song") in the minor key,--an intricate but melodious +number, usually omitted. Once more the chorus resumes with a brief +announcement, "He is my God," followed by a fugued movement in the old +church style ("And I will exalt Him"). Next follows the great duet for +two basses, "The Lord is a Man of War,"--a piece of superb declamatory +effect, full of vigor and stately assertion. The triumphant announcement +in its closing measures, "His chosen Captains also are drowned in the Red +Sea," is answered by a brief chorus, "The Depths have covered them," +which is followed by four choruses of triumph,--"Thy Right Hand, O Lord," +an elaborate and brilliant number; "And in the Greatness of Thine +Excellency," a brief but powerful bit; "Thou sendest forth Thy Wrath;" +and the single chorus, "And with the Blast of Thy Nostrils," in the last +two of which Handel again returns to the imitative style with wonderful +effect, especially in the declaration of the basses, "The Floods stood +upright as an Heap, and the Depths were congealed." The only tenor aria +in the oratorio follows these choruses, a bravura song, "The Enemy said, +I will pursue," and this is followed by the only soprano aria, "Thou +didst blow with the Wind." Two short double choruses ("Who is like unto +Thee, O Lord," and "The Earth swallowed them") lead to the duet for +contralto and tenor, "Thou in Thy Mercy," which is in the minor, and very +pathetic in character. It is followed by the massive and extremely +difficult chorus, "The People shall hear and be afraid." Once more, after +this majestic display, comes the solo voice, this time the contralto, in +a simple, lovely song, "Thou shalt bring them in." A short double chorus +("The Lord shall reign for ever and ever"), a few bars of recitative +referring to the escape of Israel, the choral outburst once more +repeated, and then the solo voice declaring, "Miriam the prophetess took +a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels +and with dances; and Miriam answered them," lead to the final song of +triumph,--that grand, jubilant, overpowering expression of victory which, +beginning with the exultant strain of Miriam, "Sing ye to the Lord, for +He hath triumphed gloriously," is amplified by voice upon voice in the +great eight-part choir, and by instrument upon instrument, until it +becomes a tempest of harmony, interwoven with the triumph of Miriam's cry +and the exultation of the great host over the enemy's discomfiture, and +closing with the combined power of voices and instruments in harmonious +accord as they once more repeat Miriam's words, "The Horse and his Rider +hath He thrown into the Sea." + +[3] The second chorus, "The Plague of the Water turned to Blood," and the + loathing of the Egyptians. + + + + + Saul. + + +The oratorio of "Saul" was written by Handel in 1738. He began it, says +Schoelcher, on the 3d of July, and finished it on the 27th of September; +thus occupying eighty-six days. This, however, is evidently an error, as +Rockstro says: "The score, written in a thick quarto volume, on paper +quite different from that used for the operas, is dated at the beginning +of the first chorus, July 23, 1738." The next date is August 28, at the +end of the second part, and the last, at the end of the work, September +27,--which would give two months and four days as the time in which it +was written. But even this period, short as it is, seems brief when +compared with that devoted to the composition of "Israel in Egypt," which +Handel began four days after "Saul" was completed, and finished in +twenty-seven days. + +It has already been said, in the analysis of the last named-work, that in +January, 1739, Handel took the King's Theatre in the Haymarket, his +purpose being to give oratorios twice a week. "Saul" was the first of the +series; and in this connection the following advertisement, which +Schoelcher reprints from the London "Daily Post" of Jan. 3, 1739, will be +of interest:-- + + "We hear that on Tuesday se'en night the King's Theatre will be opened + with a new oratorio composed by Mr. Handel, called 'Saul.' The pit and + boxes will be put together, the tickets delivered on Monday the 15th + and Tuesday 16th (the day of performance), at half a guinea each. + Gallery 5_s._ The gallery will be opened at 4; the pit and boxes at 5. + To begin at 6." + +The first performance took place as announced, and the second on the 23d, +"with several new concertos on the organ,"--which instrument also plays a +conspicuous part in the oratorio itself, not only in amplifying the +accompaniment, but also in solo work. In 1740 it was performed by the +Academy of Ancient Music in London, and in 1742 in Dublin. Selections +were also given from it in the great Handel Commemoration at Westminster +Abbey in 1784, and in 1840 it was revived by the Sacred Harmonic Society +of London, since which time it has occupied an important place in the +oratorio repertory. + +The story closely follows the Biblical narrative of the relations between +David and Saul. The words have been attributed both to Jennens and +Marell; but the balance of evidence favors the former,--a poet who lived +at Gopsall. The overture, marked "Symfonie" in the original manuscript, +is the longest of all the Handel introductions. It is in four movements, +the first an allegro, the second a largo (in which the organ is used as a +solo instrument), the third an allegro, and the fourth a minuetto. It is +an exceedingly graceful and delicate prelude, and makes a fitting +introduction to the dramatic story which follows. The characters +introduced are Saul, king of Israel; Jonathan, his son; Abner, captain of +the host; David; the apparition of Samuel; Doeg, a messenger; an +Amalekite; Abiathar, Merab, and Michal, daughters of Saul; the Witch of +Endor; and the Israelites. The very dramatic character of the narrative +admirably adapts it to its division into acts and scenes. + +The first act is triumphant in its tone and expressive of the exultation +of the Israelites at their victory over the Philistines. The second gives +a story of the passions,--Saul's jealousy of David, the love of Michal, +and the ardent friendship between David and Jonathan. The last act is +sombre in its character, opening with the weird incantations of the +Witch, and closing with David's grief over Saul and Jonathan. + +The first scene opens in the Israelitish camp by the valley of Elah, +where the people join in an Epinicion, or Song of Triumph, over Goliah +and the Philistines. It is made up of a chorus ("How excellent Thy Name, +O Lord"), which is a stirring tribute of praise; an aria ("An Infant +raised by Thy Command"), describing the meeting of David and Goliah; a +trio, in which the Giant is pictured as the "monster atheist," striding +along to the vigorous and expressive music; and three closing choruses +("The Youth inspired by Thee," "How excellent Thy Name," and a jubilant +"Hallelujah"), ending in plain but massive harmony. + +The second scene is in Saul's tent. Two bars of recitative prelude an +aria by Michal, Saul's daughter, who reveals her love for David ("O +godlike Youth!"). Abner presents David to Saul, and a dialogue ensues +between them, in which the conqueror announces his origin and Saul pleads +with him to remain, offering the hand of his daughter Merab as an +inducement. David (whose part is sung by a contralto) replies in a +beautiful aria, in which he attributes his success to the help of the +Lord alone. In the next four numbers the friendship of Jonathan and David +is cemented, which is followed by a three-verse hymn ("While yet thy Tide +of Blood runs high"), of a very stately character, sung by the High +Priest. In a few bars of recitative Saul betroths his daughter Merab to +David; but the girl replies in a very powerful aria ("My Soul rejects the +Thought with Scorn"), in which she declares her intention of frustrating +the scheme to unite a plebeian with the royal line. It is followed by a +plaintive but vigorous aria ("See with what a scornful Air"), sung by +Michal, who again gives expression to her love for David. + +The next scene is entitled "Before an Israelitish City," and is prefaced +with a short symphony of a jubilant character. A brief recitative +introduces the maidens of the land singing and dancing in praise of the +victor, leading up to one of Handel's finest choruses, "Welcome, welcome, +Mighty King,"--a fresh, vigorous semi-chorus accompanied by the +carillons, in which Saul's jealousy is aroused by the superiority of +prowess attributed to David. It is followed by a furious aria, "With Rage +I shall burst, his Praises to hear." Jonathan laments the imprudence of +the women in making comparisons, and Michal suggests to David that it is +an old malady which may be assuaged by music, and in the aria, "Fell Rage +and black Despair passest," expresses her belief that the monarch can be +cured by David's "persuasive lyre." + +The next scene is in the King's house. David sings an aria ("O Lord, +whose Mercies numberless"), followed by a harp solo; but it is in vain. +Jonathan is in despair, and Saul, in an aria ("A Serpent in my Bosom +warmed"), gives vent to his fury and hurls his javelin at David. The +latter escapes; and in furious recitative Saul charges his son to destroy +him. The next number is an aria for Merab ("Capricious Man, in Humor +lost"), lamenting Saul's temper; and Jonathan follows with a very +dramatic recitative and aria, in which he refuses to obey his father's +behest. The High Priest appeals to Heaven ("O Lord, whose Providence") to +protect David, and the first part closes with a powerful chorus, +"Preserve him for the Glory of Thy Name." + +The second act is laid in the palace, and opens with a powerfully +descriptive chorus ("Envy, Eldest-born of Hell!"). In a noble song ("But +sooner Jordan's Stream, I swear") Jonathan assures David he will never +injure him. In a colloquy between them, David is informed that Saul has +bestowed the hand of the haughty Merab on Adriel, and Jonathan pleads the +cause of the lovely Michal. Saul approaches, and David retires. Saul +inquires of Jonathan whether he has obeyed his commands, and in a simple, +sweet, and flowing melody ("Sin not, O King, against the Youth") he seems +to overcome the wrath of the monarch, who dissembles and welcomes David, +bidding him to repel the insults of the Philistines, and offering him his +daughter Michal as a proof of his sincerity. + +In the second scene Michal declares her love for David, and they join in +a rapturous duet ("O fairest of ten thousand fair"), which is followed by +a chorus in simple harmony ("Is there a Man who all his Ways"). A long +symphony follows, preparing the way for the attempt on David's life. +After an agitated duet with Michal ("At Persecution I can laugh"), David +makes his escape just as Doeg, the messenger, enters with instructions to +bring David to the King's chamber. He is shown the image in David's bed, +which he says will only enrage the King still more. Michal sings an +exultant aria, "No, let the Guilty tremble," and even Merab, won over by +David's qualities, pleads for him in a beautiful aria, "Author of peace." +Another symphony intervenes, preluding the celebration of the feast of +the new moon in the palace, to which David has been invited. Jonathan +again interposes with an effort to save David's life, whereupon Saul, in +a fresh outburst of indignation, hurls his javelin at his son, and the +chorus bursts out in horror, "Oh, fatal Consequence of Rage." + +The third act opens with the intensely dramatic scene with the Witch of +Endor, the interview being preluded by the powerful recitative, "Wretch +that I am!" The second scene is laid in the Witch's abode, where the +incantation is practised that brings up the Apparition of Samuel. The +whole scene is very dramatic, and the instrumentation powerful, although +the effect, vigorous as it is, is made simply by oboes, bassoons, and +strings, instead of by the brass instruments which other composers employ +so vigorously in similar scenes. This scene closes with an elegy +foreboding the coming tragedy. + +The third scene opens with the interview between David and the Amalekite +who brings the tidings of the death of Saul and Jonathan. It is followed +by that magnificent dirge, the "Dead March," whose simple yet solemn and +majestic strains are familiar to every one. The trumpets and trombones +with their sonorous pomp and the wailing oboes and clarinets make an +instrumental pageant which is the very apotheosis of grief. The effect of +the march is all the more remarkable when it is considered that, in +contradistinction to all other dirges, it is written in the major key. +The chorus, "Mourn, Israel, mourn thy Beauty lost," and the three arias +of lament sung by David, which follow, are all characterized by feelings +of the deepest gloom. A short chorus ("Eagles were not so swift as they") +follows, and then David gives voice to his lament over Jonathan in an +aria of exquisite tenderness ("In sweetest Harmony they lived"), at the +close of which he joins with the chorus in an obligato of sorrowful +grandeur ("O fatal Day, how low the Mighty lie!"). In an exultant strain +Abner bids the "Men of Judah weep no more," and the animated martial +chorus, "Gird on thy Sword, thou Man of Might," closes this great +dramatic oratorio. + + + + + Samson. + + +The oratorio of "Samson" was written in 1741, and begun immediately after +the completion of "The Messiah," which was finished September 14 of that +year. The last chorus was dated October 29; but in the following year +Handel added to it "Let the bright Seraphim" and the chorus, "Let their +celestial Concerts." The text was compiled by Newburgh Hamilton from +Milton's "Samson Agonistes," "Hymn on the Nativity," and "Lines on a +Solemn Musick." The oratorio was first sung at Covent Garden, Feb. 18, +1743, the principal parts being assigned as follows: Samson, Mr. +Beard;[4] Manoah, Mr. Savage; Micah, Mrs. Cibber; Delilah, Mrs. Clive. +The aria, "Let the bright Seraphim," was sung by Signora Avolio, for whom +it was written, and the trumpet obligato was played by Valentine Snow, a +virtuoso of that period. The performance of "Samson" was thus announced +in the London "Daily Advertiser" of Feb. 17, 1743:-- + + "By subscription. At the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden, to-morrow, the + 18th inst., will be performed a new oratorio, called _Sampson_. Tickets + will be delivered to subscribers (on paying their subscription money) + at Mr. Handel's house in Brooke Street, Hanover Square. Attendance will + be given from nine o'clock in the morning till three in the afternoon. + Pit and boxes to be put together, and no person to be admitted without + tickets, which will be delivered that day at the office in Covent + Garden Theatre at half a guinea each; first gallery 5_s._; upper + gallery, 3_s._ 6_d._" + +The representation was greeted with extraordinary enthusiasm, and +"Samson" soon became so popular that many had to be turned away; +notwithstanding which, the ill-natured Horace Walpole could write, in a +letter dated Feb. 24, 1743:-- + + "Handel has set up an oratorio against the opera, and succeeds. He has + hired all the goddesses from the farces, and the singers of roast beef + from between the acts at both theatres, with a man with one note in his + voice, and a girl without ever an one; and so they sing and make brave + hallelujahs, and the good company encore the recitative if it happens + to have any cadence like what they call a tune." + +The text, as we have said, was adapted from Milton by Hamilton, who says +in his preface to the handbook, or libretto:-- + + "That poem indeed was never divided by Milton into acts or scenes, nor + designed for the stage, but given only as the plan of a tragedy with + choruses, after the manner of the ancients. But as Mr. Handel had so + happily introduced here oratorios, a musical drama, whose subject must + be scriptural, and in which the solemnity of church music is agreeably + united with the most pleasing airs of the stage, it would have been an + irretrievable loss to have neglected the opportunity of that great + master's doing justice to this work; he having already added new life + and spirit to some of the finest things in the English language, + particularly that inimitable ode[5] of Dryden's which no age nor nation + ever excelled." + +The characters introduced are Samson; Micah, his friend; Manoah, his +father; Delilah, his wife; Harapha, a giant of Gath; Israelitish woman; +priests of Dagon; virgins attendant upon Delilah; Israelites, friends of +Samson; Israelitish virgins; and Philistines. After a brilliant overture, +closing, like that to "Saul," with a minuet movement, the scene opens +before the prison in Gaza, with Samson blind and in chains. His opening +recitative, setting forth his release from toil on account of the feast +to Dagon, introduces a brilliant and effective chorus by the priests with +trumpets ("Awake the Trumpet's lofty Sound"), after which a Philistine +woman in a bright, playful melody invites the men of Gaza to bring "The +merry Pipe and pleasing String;" whereupon the trumpet chorus is +repeated. After the tenor aria ("Loud is the Thunder's awful Voice"), the +chorus recurs again, showing Handel's evident partiality for it. The +Philistine Woman has another solo ("Then free from Sorrow"), whereupon in +a pathetic song ("Torments, alas!") Samson bewails his piteous condition. +His friend Micah appears, and in the aria, "O Mirror of our fickle +State," condoles with him. In answer to his question, "Which shall we +first bewail, thy Bondage, or lost Sight?" Samson replies in a short, but +exquisitely tender aria, "Total Eclipse: no Sun, no Moon, all dark amidst +the Blaze of Noon,"--a song which brought tears to the eyes of the blind +Handel himself when he listened to it long afterwards. The next chorus +("O first-created Beam") is of more than ordinary interest, as it treats +the same subject which Haydn afterwards used in "The Creation." It begins +in a soft and quiet manner, in ordinary time, develops into a strong +allegro on the words, "Let there be Light," and closes with a spirited +fugue on the words, "To Thy dark Servant Life by Light afford." A +dialogue follows between Manoah and Micah, leading up to an intricate +bravura aria for bass ("Thy glorious Deeds inspired my Tongue"), closing +with an exquisite slow movement in broad contrast to its first part. +Though comforted by his friends, Samson breaks out in furious +denunciation of his enemies in the powerfully dramatic aria, "Why does +the God of Israel sleep?" It is followed up in the same spirit by the +chorus, "Then shall they know,"--a fugue on two vigorous subjects, the +first given out by the altos, and the second by the tenors. Samson's +wrath subsides in the recitative, "My genial Spirits droop," and the +first act closes with the beautifully constructed chorus, "Then round +about the starry Throne," in which his friends console him with the joys +he will find in another life. + +The second act, after a brief recitative, opens with an aria by Manoah +("Just are the Ways of God to Man"), in which he conjures Samson to +repose his trust in God. It is followed by the beautiful prayer of Micah +("Return, return, O God of Hosts"), emphasized by the chorus to which it +leads ("To Dust his Glory they would tread"), with which the prayer is +interwoven in obligato form. From this point, as Delilah appears, the +music is full of bright color, and loses it sombre tone. In a short +recitative, she excuses her misdeed, and then breaks out in an aria of +sensuous sweetness, "With plaintive Notes and am'rous Moan, thus coos the +Turtle left alone." Its bewitching grace, however, makes little +impression upon Samson, who replies with the aria, "Your Charms to Ruin +led the Way." In another enticing melody, "My Faith and Truth, O Samson, +prove," she seeks to induce his return to her house, and a chorus of +Virgins add their entreaties. A last effort is made in the tasteful and +elegant aria, "To fleeting Pleasures make your Court;" but when that also +fails, Delilah reveals her true self. Samson rebukes her "warbling +charms," her "trains and wiles," and counts "this prison-house the house +of liberty to thine;" whereupon a highly characteristic duet ensues +("Traitor to Love"). An aria for Micah follows ("It is nor Virtue, Valor, +Wit"), leading up to a powerful dissertation on masculine supremacy in a +fugued chorus which is treated in a spirited manner, and in which we may +well fancy that the woman-hating composer gave free rein to his spite:-- + + "To man God's universal law + Gave power to keep his wife in awe. + Thus shall his life be ne'er dismayed, + By female usurpation swayed." + +The giant Harapha now appears, and mocks Samson with the taunt that had +he met him before he was blind, he would have left him dead on the field +of death, "where thou wrought'st wonders with an ass' jaw." His first +number ("Honor and Arms scorn such a Foe") is one of the most spirited +and dashing bass solos ever written. Samson replies with the majestic +aria, "My Strength is from the living God." The two solos reach their +climax in the energetic duet between the giants, "Go, baffled Coward, +go." Micah then suggests to Harapha that he shall call upon Dagon to +dissolve "those magic spells that gave our hero strength," as a test of +his power. The recitative is followed by an impressive six-part chorus +("Hear, Jacob's God") in the true church style. Its smooth, quiet flow of +harmony is refreshing as compared with the tumult of the giants' music +which precedes, and the sensuousness of the chorus ("To Song and Dance we +give the Day") which follows it. The act closes with the massive double +chorus ("Fixed in His everlasting Seat") in which the Israelites and +Philistines celebrate the attributes of their respective deities and +invoke their protection, and in which also the composer brings out with +overwhelming effect the majesty and grandeur of God as compared with the +nothingness of Dagon. + +The third act opens with a dialogue in which Harapha brings the message +to Samson that he must repair to the feast of Dagon to delight the +Philistines with some of his feats of strength. Upon Samson's refusal, +Harapha sings the threatening aria, "Presuming Slave!" The Israelites +invoke the protection of God in the spirited chorus, "With Thunder +armed," closing with a prayer which changes to wild and supplicating +entreaty. Samson at last yields in a tender, pathetic aria ("Thus when +the Sun"), which seems to anticipate his fate. In a song of solemn +parting ("The Holy One of Israel be thy Guide"), accompanied by the +chorus ("To Fame immortal go"), his friends bid him farewell. The +festivities begin, and in an exultant chorus ("Great Dagon has subdued +our Foe") the Philistines are heard exulting over Samson's discomfiture. +Micah and Manoah, hearing the sounds, are filled with anxiety, and the +latter expresses his solicitude in the tender aria, "How willing my +paternal Love." But the scene suddenly changes. In a short, crashing +presto the coming destruction is anticipated. The trembling Israelites +express their alarm in the chorus, "Hear us, our God," and appeal to +Heaven for protection. A Messenger rushes upon the scene and announces +that Samson is dead and has involved the destruction of his enemies in +the general calamity. Micah gives expression to his grief in the touching +aria, "Ye Sons of Israel, now lament," followed by the Israelites in a +sorrowful wail, "Weep, Israel, weep." A funeral march, in the major key, +intervenes, full of tender expression of sorrow,--for which, after the +first two representations Handel substituted the Dead March from "Saul;" +and both marches are now printed in the scores for general use. As at +first written, the oratorio closed with the effective chorus and solo, +"Bring the Laurels;" but, as has been already said, a year afterwards +Handel made a different ending. Manoah calls upon the people to cease +their lamentation, and the funeral pageant is followed by the magnificent +trumpet aria, "Let the bright Seraphim,"--a song worthy only of the +greatest artists, both with voice and instrument,--and the equally +magnificent chorus, "Let their celestial Concerts," which closes the +great oratorio with triumphant exultation. + +[4] "John Beard, a quondam chorister of the Chapel Royal, under Bernard + Gates, and afterwards the greatest English tenor singer of his day, + achieved one of his brightest triumphs in the part of Samson. His + history was romantic. In 1732 he married the Lady Henrietta, daughter + of James, Earl of Waldegrave, and widow of Lord Edward Herbert, second + son of the Marquis of Powis. In 1759 he took as his second wife + Charlotte, daughter of John Rich, the harlequin."--_Rockstro._ + +[5] Alexander's Feast; or, the Power of Music. + + + + + The Messiah. + + +The "Messiah" represents the ripened product of Handel's genius, and +reflects the noblest aspirations and most exalted devotion of mankind. +Among all his oratorios it retains its original freshness, vigor, and +beauty in the highest degree, in that it appeals to the loftiest +sentiment and to universal religious devotion, and is based upon the most +harmonious, symmetrical, and enduring forms of the art. + +It was begun on the 22d day of August, 1741. The first part was concluded +August 28, the second, September 6, the third, September 12, and the +instrumentation, September 14. It is an illustration of Handel's almost +superhuman capacity for work, that at the age of fifty-six he should have +written his masterpiece in twenty-three days. The text was taken from the +literal words of Scripture, and the libretto arranged by Charles Jennens, +who, singularly enough, was not satisfied with the music which has +satisfied the world. In a letter written at that time, he says:-- + + "I shall show you a collection I gave Handel, called 'Messiah,' which I + value highly. He has made a fine entertainment of it, though not near + so good as he might and ought to have done. I have with great + difficulty made him correct some of the grossest faults in the + composition; but he retained his overture obstinately, in which there + are some passages far unworthy of Handel, but much more unworthy of the + 'Messiah.'" + +For two or three years prior to the appearance of the "Messiah," Handel +had been harassed by cabals set on foot by rival opera-managers in +London, who, by importing Italian singers, drew off the patronage of the +nobility, and ultimately succeeded in reducing him to the condition of an +insolvent debtor. While in this wretched plight an invitation came to him +from the Duke of Devonshire, then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, to visit +Dublin. He eagerly accepted it, and in the correspondence which passed +between them promised to contribute a portion of whatever might accrue +from his music to charitable institutions, and also agreed to give an +oratorio "for the benefit and enlargement of poor distressed prisoners +for debt in the several marshalseas of the city of Dublin." He left +London early in November, arriving in that city, after many delays, on +the 18th. On the 23d of December he began a series of six musical +entertainments, which was completed February 10. His success was so great +that he was induced to begin a second series February 17, a fortnight +before the close of which appeared the following advertisement:-- + + "For the Relief of the Prisoners in the several Gaols, and for the + Support of Mercer's Hospital, in Stephen's Street, and of the + Charitable Infirmary on the Inn's Quay, on Monday, the 12th of April, + will be performed at the Musick Hall in Fishamble-street, _Mr. + Handel's_ new Grand _Oratorio, called the Messiah_, in which the + Gentlemen of the Choirs of both Cathedrals will assist, with some + Concertos on the Organ by Mr. Handel." + +The first rehearsal took place on the 8th of April, in the presence of "a +most Grand, Polite, and Crowded Audience," as we are informed by +"Faulkner's Journal." The same paper, referring to the first public +performance, which took place on Tuesday, April 13, 1742, says:-- + + "At the desire of several persons of distinction, the above performance + is put off to Tuesday next. The doors will be opened at eleven, and the + performance begins at twelve. Many ladies and gentlemen who are + well-wishers to this noble and grand charity, for which this oratorio + was composed, request it as a favor that the ladies who honor this + performance with their presence would be pleased to come without hoops, + as it would greatly increase the charity by making room for more + company." + +Gentlemen were also requested to come without their swords. "In this +way," it is said, "the stewards" were able to seat seven hundred persons +in the room instead of six hundred. The principal parts in the +performance were assigned to Signora Avolio, Mrs. Cibber, and Messrs. +Church and Ralph Roseingrane; and Mrs. Cibber's delivery of the aria "He +was despised" is said to have been so touching that Dr. Delany, the +companion of Swift, exclaimed, as she closed: "Woman, for this be all thy +sins forgiven." + +The "Messiah" was performed thirty-four times during the composer's life, +but never upon a scale commensurate with its merits until the Handel +Commemoration at Westminster Abbey in 1784, when the largest choir and +band that had ever assembled before, with the renowned Madame Mara at the +head of the soloists, first gave the "Messiah" to the world in accordance +with the grand ideal of the composer. The orchestra was composed as +follows: First violins, 40; second violins, 47; tenors, 26; first oboes, +13; second oboes, 13; flutes, 6; violoncellos, 21; double-basses, 15; +bassoons, 26; double-bassoon, 1; trumpets, 12; trombones, 6; horns, 12; +kettledrums, 3; double-kettledrum, 1: total, 242. The choir was made up +as follows: Sopranos, 60, of whom 45 were choir-boys; counter-tenors +(altos), 40; tenors, 83; basses, 84: making the entire number of singers +267. Of the performance of the band upon this occasion, Burney quaintly +says:-- + + "Dante in his _Paradiso_ imagines nine circles, or choirs, of cherubs, + seraphs, patriarchs, prophets, martyrs, saints, angels, and archangels, + who with hand and voice are eternally praising and glorifying the + Supreme Being, whom he places in the centre, taking the idea from _Te + Deum laudamus_, where it is said: 'To Thee Cherubim and Seraphim + continually do cry,' etc. Now, as the orchestra in Westminster Abbey + seemed to ascend into the clouds and unite with the saints and martyrs + represented on the painted glass in the west window, which had all the + appearance of a continuation of the Orchestra, I could hardly refrain, + during the performance of the Allelujah, to imagine that this + Orchestra, so admirably constructed, filled, and employed, was a point + or segment of one of these celestial circles. And perhaps no band of + mortal musicians ever exhibited a more respectable appearance to the + eye, or afforded a more ecstatic and affecting sound to the ear, than + this." + +He is equally enthusiastic over the chorus; and of Madame Mara's singing +of the aria, "I know that my Redeemer liveth," he says:-- + + "Her power over the sensibility of the audience seemed equal to that of + Mrs. Siddons. There was no eye within my view which did not 'silently a + gentle tear let fall,' nor, though long hackneyed in music, did I find + myself made of stronger earth than others." + +The oratorio is divided into three parts. The first illustrates the +longing of the world for the Messiah, prophesies his coming, and +announces his birth; the second part is devoted to the sufferings, death, +and exaltation of Christ, and develops the spread and ultimate triumph of +the Gospel; while the third is occupied with the declaration of the +highest truths of doctrine,--faith in the existence of God, the surety of +immortal life, the resurrection, and the attainment of an eternity of +happiness. + +The first part opens with an overture, or rather orchestral prelude, of +majestic chords, leading to a short fugue, developed with severe +simplicity and preparing the way for the accompanied recitative, "Comfort +ye My People," and the aria for tenor, "Every Valley shall be exalted," +which in turn leads to the full, strong chorus, "And the Glory of the +Lord shall be revealed,"--the three numbers in reality forming one. The +prophecy is announced, only to be followed by the human apprehension in +the great aria for bass ("But who may abide the Day of His coming"), +written in the Sicilian pastoral style,--a form of which, Burney affirms, +Handel was very fond. The aria leads to the exquisitely constructed +number, "And He shall purify," a fugued chorus closing in simple harmony. +Once more the prophet announces, "Behold, a Virgin shall conceive," +followed by the alto solo, "O Thou that tellest," which preludes a chorus +in the same tempo. The next aria ("The People that walked in Darkness"), +with its curious but characteristic modulations, leads to one of the most +graphic fugued choruses in the whole work ("For unto us a Child is +born"), elegantly interwoven with the violin parts, and emphasized with +sublime announcements of the names of the Messiah in full harmony and +with the strongest choral power. The grand burst of sound dies away, +there is a significant pause, and then follows a short but exquisite +Pastoral Symphony for the strings, which with the four succeeding bits of +recitative tells the message of the Angels to the Shepherds on the plains +of Bethlehem. Suddenly follows the chorus of the heavenly hosts ("Glory +to God"), which is remarkably expressive, and affords sharp contrasts in +the successive clear responses to the fugue. The difficult but very +brilliant aria for soprano, "Rejoice greatly," the lovely aria, "He shall +feed His Flock," originally written entire for soprano, in which Handel +returns again to the pastoral style, and a short chorus ("His Yoke is +easy"), close the first part. + +The second part is the most impressive portion of the work. It begins +with a majestic and solemn chorus ("Behold the Lamb of God"), which is +followed by the aria for alto, "He was despised,"--one of the most +pathetic and deeply expressive songs ever written, in which the very +key-note of sorrow is struck. Two choruses--"Surely He hath borne our +Griefs," rather intricate in harmony, and "With His Stripes we are +healed," a fugued chorus written _a capella_ upon an admirable +subject--lead to the spirited and thoroughly interesting chorus, "All we +like Sheep have gone astray," closing with an adagio of great beauty +("And the Lord hath laid on Him the Iniquity of us all"). This is +followed by several short numbers,--a choral fugue ("He trusted in God"), +the accompanied recitative ("Thy Rebuke hath broken His Heart"), a short +but very pathetic aria for tenor ("Behold and see if there be any +Sorrow"), and an aria for soprano ("But Thou didst not leave His Soul in +Hell"),--all of which are remarkable instances of the musical expression +of sorrow and pity. These numbers lead to a triumphal shout in the chorus +and semi-choruses, "Lift up your Heads, O ye Gates," which reach a climax +of magnificent power and strongly contrasted effects. After the chorus, +"Let all the Angels of God worship Him," a fugue constructed upon two +subjects, the aria, "Thou art gone up on high," and the chorus, "The Lord +gave the Word," we reach another pastoral aria of great beauty, "How +beautiful are the Feet." This is followed by a powerfully descriptive +chorus ("Their Sound is gone out into all Lands"), a massive aria for +bass ("Why do the Nations"), the chorus, "Let us break their Bonds +asunder," and the aria, "Thou shalt break them," leading directly to the +great Hallelujah Chorus, which is the triumph of the work and its real +climax. It opens with exultant shouts of "Hallelujah." Then ensue three +simple phrases, the middle one in plain counterpoint, which form the +groundwork for the "Hallelujah." These phrases, seemingly growing out of +each other, and reiterated with constantly increasing power, interweaving +with and sustaining the "Hallelujah" with wonderful harmonic effects, +make up a chorus that has never been excelled, not only in musical +skill, but also in grandeur and sublimity. After listening to its +performance, one can understand Handel's words: "I did think I did see +all heaven before me, and the great God himself." This number closes the +second part. It is worthy of note in this connection that when the +oratorio was first performed at Covent Garden, London, in 1743, the whole +audience, with the King at its head, arose during the singing of the +"Hallelujah" and remained standing until it was finished,--a custom which +is still observed, not only in England, but also in this country. + +If the oratorio had closed at this point it would not have disturbed the +unities; but Handel carried it into a third part with undiminished +interest, opening it with that sublime confession of faith, "I know that +my Redeemer liveth,"--an aria which will never be lost. It is followed by +two quartets in plain counterpoint with choral responses, "Since by Man +came Death," and "For as in Adam all die," in which the effects of +contrast are very forcibly brought out. The last important aria in the +work ("The Trumpet shall sound"), for bass with trumpet obligato, will +always be admired for its beauty and stirring effect. The oratorio closes +with three choruses, all in the same key and of the same general +sentiment,--"Worthy is the Lamb," a piece of smooth, flowing harmony; +"Blessing and Honor," a fugue led off by the tenors and bassos in unison, +and repeated by the sopranos and altos on the octave, closing with full +harmony on the words "for ever and ever" several times reiterated; and +the final, "Amen" chorus, which is treated in the severest style, and in +which the composer evidently gave free rein to his genius, not being +hampered with the trammels of words. + +Other oratorios may be compared one with another; the "Messiah" stands +alone, a majestic monument to the memory of the composer, an imperishable +record of the noblest sentiments of human nature and the highest +aspirations of man. + + + + + Judas Maccabaeus. + + +The oratorio of "Judas Maccabaeus" was written in thirty-two days, between +July 9 and Aug. 11, 1746, upon the commission of Frederic, Prince of +Wales, to celebrate the return of the Duke of Cumberland from Scotland +after the decisive victory of Culloden, April 16, 1746. The words were +written by the Rev. Thomas Morell, D.D., a learned Greek scholar of that +time, the plot being taken from the narrative of the exploits of the +Jewish deliverer contained in the first book of Maccabees and in the +twelfth book of Josephus' "Antiquities of the Jews." In his dedication, +Dr. Morell says:-- + + "To His Royal Highness Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, this faint + portraiture of a truly wise, valiant, and virtuous commander as the + possessor of the like noble qualities is, with the most profound + respect and veneration, inscribed by His Royal Highness' most obedient + and most devoted servant the author." + +To what extremes of adulation even a doctor of divinity may go, is well +shown in Schoelcher's pithy comment: "This is addressed to a man who +pitilessly murdered as many prisoners after the battle as his courage had +slain enemies during the combat." It is but just to the composer, +however, to say that the great success of this oratorio had little to do +with the political causes which led to its composition. It was first +performed at Covent Garden, April 1, 1747, and was repeated six times +that year. Handel himself conducted it thirty-eight times with ever +growing popularity, to which the Jews contributed greatly, as it +glorified an episode in their national history. + +The characters represented are Judas Maccabaeus; Simon, his brother; an +Israelitish Messenger; and Israelitish Men and Women. The story may be +gathered from the following summary of the plot as prepared for the +Birmingham Festival of 1861:-- + + Part I.--Lamentations for the death of Mattathias (the father of Judas + Maccabaeus and Simon), by whom the Jewish people had been roused to + resist the cruelties and oppressions of Antiochus Epiphanes, the Syrian + king, in his attempt to suppress their religion and liberties.--The + divine favor invoked.--Judas recognized as leader.--Appeal to the + patriotism of the people, and their response.--The value of + liberty.--Preparations for war.--Pious trust in God, and heroic resolve + to conquer or die. + + Part II.--Celebration of the victories gained over the armies of + Apollonius, the governor of Samaria and Seron, the Deputy Governor of + Coelesyria, and the valor of Judas.--Renewal of war by a division of + the Syrian array from Egypt, under Gorgias, and the despondency it + occasions among the Israelites.--Judas again arouses the failing + courage of the people, and they set out to meet the enemy.--Those who + remain behind utter their detestation of the heathen idolatries, by + which the sanctuary at Jerusalem had been desecrated, and their + determination only to worship the God of Israel. + + Part III.--Feast of the dedication at Jerusalem, after Judas and his + followers had recovered and restored the sanctuary, and re-established + the liberties of his country.--Return of Judas from his final victory + over Nicanor and his confederates.--Celebration of peace, and national + thanksgiving. + +The first scene introduces the Israelitish Men and Women lamenting the +death of the father of Judas in the sorrowful chorus, "Mourn, ye +afflicted Children," which, after a duet for soprano and tenor, is +followed by still another chorus in a similar strain ("For Zion +Lamentation make"), but much more impressive, and rising to a more +powerful climax. After a brief and simple soprano solo ("Pious Orgies"), +the chorus sings the prayer, "O Father, whose Almighty Power," closing +with a characteristic fugue on the words, "And grant a Leader." After a +short recitative, Simon (bass) breaks out in the heroic and sonorous +aria, "Arm, arm, ye brave," which has always retained its popularity, +notwithstanding its antique bravura. It is followed by the chorus in the +brief, but stirring number, "We come in bright array." Five arias, a +duet, and two choruses, nearly all of which are now omitted in +performances, being of the same general character, and mainly apostrophes +to liberty, lead to the great chorus closing the first part, "Hear us, O +Lord." It is intricate in its construction, but when properly sung +resolves itself into one of the most vigorous and impressive choruses +Handel has written. + +The second part opens with the Israelites celebrating the return of Judas +from the victories over Apollonius and Seron. An instrumental prelude, +picturing the scenes of battle, leads directly to the great chorus, the +best in the work, "Fallen is the Foe." The triumphant declaration is made +over and over with constantly increasing energy, finally leading to a +brilliant fugue on the words, "Where warlike Judas wields his righteous +Sword;" but interwoven with it are still heard those notes of victory, +"Fallen is the Foe," and the response, "So fall Thy Foes." The +Israelitish Man sings a vigorous tribute to Judas ("So rapid thy Course +is"). The triumphant strain, "Zion now her Head shall raise," is taken by +two voices, closing with the soprano alone; but before her part ends, the +whole chorus takes it and joins in the paean, "Tune your Harps," and the +double number ends in broad, flowing harmony. In a florid number ("From +mighty Kings he took the Spoil") the Israelitish Woman once more sings +Judas's praise. The two voices unite in a welcome ("Hail Judaea, happy +Land"), and finally the whole chorus join in a simple but jubilant +acclaim to the same words. The rejoicings soon change to expressions of +alarm and apprehension as a Messenger enters and announces that Gorgias +has been sent by Antiochus to attack the Israelites, and is already near +at hand. They join in a chorus expressive of deep despondency ("Oh, +wretched Israel"); but Simon, in a spirited aria ("The Lord worketh +Wonders"), bids them put their trust in Heaven, and Judas rouses their +courage with the martial trumpet song, "Sound an Alarm," which, though +very brief, is full of vigor and fire. After the departure of Judas to +meet the foe, Simon, the Israelitish Man, and the Israelitish Woman +follow each other in denunciation of the idolatries which have been +practised by the heathen among them, and close with the splendid chorus, +"We never will bow down to the rude Stock or sculptured Stone," in which +vigorous repetitions of the opening phrase lead to a chorale in broad, +impressive harmony, with which is interwoven equally vigorous repetitions +of the phrase, "We worship God alone." + +The third part opens with the impressive prayer, "Father of Heaven, from +Thy eternal Throne," sung by the Priest. As the fire ascends from the +altar, the sanctuary having been purified of its heathen defilement, the +Israelites look upon it as an omen of victory and take courage. A +Messenger enters with tidings of Judas's triumph over all their enemies. +The Israelitish Maidens and Youths go out to meet him, singing the +exultant march chorus, "See the Conquering Hero comes," which is familiar +to every one by its common use on all occasions, from Handel's time to +this, where tribute has been paid to martial success and heroes have been +welcomed. It is the universal accompaniment of victory, as the Dead March +in "Saul" is of the pageantry of death. It is very simple in its +construction, like many others of Handel's most effective numbers. It is +first sung as a three-part chorus, then as a duet or chorus of Virgins, +again by the full power of all the voices, and gradually dies away in the +form of an instrumental march. The chorus did not originally belong to +"Judas Maccabaeus," but to "Joshua," in which oratorio it is addressed to +Othniel when he returns from the capture of Debir. Handel frequently made +transfers of that kind, and this was a permanent one; for the celebrated +chorus is now unalterably identified with the work in which he placed it, +and in which also the setting is still more imposing. A very elaborate +chorus ("Sing unto God"), a florid aria with trumpet solo for Judas +("With Honor let Desert be crowned"), the chorus, "To our Great God," a +pastoral duet with exquisite accompaniment ("O Lovely Peace"), and a +Hallelujah in the composer's customary exultant style, close this very +brilliant and dramatic oratorio. + + + + + The Dettingen Te Deum. + + +On the 27th of June, 1743, the British army and its allies, under the +command of King George II. and Lord Stair, won a victory at Dettingen, in +Bavaria, over the French army, commanded by the Marechal de Noailles and +the Duc de Grammont. It was a victory plucked from an expected defeat, +and aroused great enthusiasm in England. On the King's return, a day of +public thanksgiving was appointed, and Handel, who was at that time +"Composer of Musick to the Chapel Royal," was commissioned to write a Te +Deum and an anthem for the occasion. The original score, a large folio +volume in the Royal Collection, is headed "Angefangen Juli 17, 1743." +There is no date at the end; but as the beginning of the Dettingen Anthem +is dated July 30, it is probable that the Te Deum was finished between +the 17th and 30th. Both works were publicly rehearsed at the Chapel +Royal, Whitehall, on the 18th and 25th of the ensuing November, and +formed part of the thanksgiving services on the 27th at the Chapel Royal +of St. James, in the presence of the King and royal family. + +The Dettingen Te Deum has been universally considered as one of the +masterpieces among Handel's later works. Never was a victory more +enthusiastically commemorated in music. It is not a Te Deum in the strict +sense, but a grand martial panegyric, and, as Rockstro says:-- + + "It needs no great stretch of the imagination to picture every drum and + trumpet in the realm taking part in the gorgeous fanfare of its opening + chorus, while the whole army, with the King at its head, joins the + assembled nation in a shout of praise for the escape which was so + unexpectedly changed into a memorable victory." + +Schoelcher, in his reference to this work, notes that Handel set the hymn +of St. Ambrose to music five different times in thirty years, and always +with new beauty and fresh color, though it is somewhat remarkable that he +gave each time a plaintive character to the verse, "To Thee all angels +cry aloud,"--a fact also observed by Burney, who says:-- + + "There is some reason to suspect that Handel, in setting his grand Te + Deum for the peace of Utrecht, as well as in this, confined the meaning + of the word 'cry' to a sorrowful sense, as both the movements to the + words 'To Thee all angels cry aloud' are not only in a minor key, but + slow and plaintive." + +Burney further says, speaking of its performance at the great Handel +Commemoration in Westminster Abbey in 1784:-- + + "As it was composed for a military triumph, the fourteen trumpets, two + pairs of common kettledrums, two pairs of double drums from the Tower, + and a pair of double-bass drums made expressly for this occasion, were + introduced with great propriety; indeed, these last drums, except the + destruction, had all the effect of the most powerful artillery." + +The Te Deum contains eighteen short solos and choruses, mostly of a +brilliant, martial character, the solos being divided between the alto, +baritone, and bass. After a brief instrumental prelude, the work opens +with the triumphant, jubilant chorus with trumpets and drums, "We praise +Thee, O God," written for five parts, the sopranos being divided into +firsts and seconds, containing also a short alto solo leading to a +closing fugue. The second number ("All the Earth doth worship Thee") is +also an alto solo with five-part chorus of the same general character. It +is followed by a semi-chorus in three parts ("To Thee all Angels cry +aloud"), plaintive in style, as has already been observed, and leading to +the full chorus ("To Thee Cherubim and Seraphim"), which is majestic in +its movement and rich in harmony. The fifth number is a quartet and +chorus ("The glorious Company of the Apostles praise Thee"), dominated by +the bass, with responses from the other parts, and followed by a short +full chorus ("Thine adorable, true, and only Son"). The seventh number is +a stirring bass solo with trumpets ("Thou art the King of Glory"), +leading without break into a stately choral enunciation of the same +words. The eighth is a slow and plaintive bass solo, usually sung by a +tenor ("When Thou tookest upon Thee to deliver Man"), followed by a grave +and impressive chorus ("When Thou hadst overcome the Sharpness of +Death"). The next number is a trio for alto, tenor, and bass ("Thou +sittest at the Right Hand of God"), closing with a beautiful adagio +effect. A fanfare of trumpets introduces the next four numbers, all +choruses, set to four verses of the hymn:-- + + "We therefore pray Thee, help Thy servants: Whom Thou hast redeemed + with Thy precious blood. + "Make them to be numbered with Thy Saints: in glory everlasting. + "O Lord, save Thy people: and bless Thine heritage. + "Govern them: and lift them up forever. + "Day by day: we magnify Thee: + "And we worship Thy Name! ever, world without end." + +In this group of choruses the art of fugue and counterpoint is splendidly +illustrated, but never to the sacrifice of brilliant effect, which is +also heightened by the trumpets in the accompaniments. An impressive bass +solo ("Vouchsafe, O Lord") intervenes, and then the trumpets sound the +stately symphony to the final chorus, "O Lord, in Thee have I trusted." +It begins with a long alto solo with delicate oboe accompaniment that +makes the effect very impressive when voices and instruments take up the +phrase in a magnificent outburst of power and rich harmony, and carry it +to the close. + + + + + HAYDN. + + +Joseph Haydn, the creator of the symphony and the stringed quartet, was +born at Rohrau, a little Austrian village on the river Leitha, March 31, +1732. His father was a wheelwright and his mother a cook, in service with +Count Harrach. Both the parents were fond of music, and both sang, the +father accompanying himself upon the harp, which he played by ear. The +child displayed a voice so beautiful that in his sixth year he was +allowed to study music, and was also given a place in the village +church-choir. Reutter, the capellmeister of St. Stephen's, Vienna, having +heard him, was so impressed with the beauty of his voice that he offered +him a position as chorister. Haydn eagerly accepted it, as it gave him +opportunities for study. While in the service of St. Stephen's he had +lessons on the violin and piano, as well as in composition. When his +voice broke, and his singing was of no further value, he was thrown upon +the tender mercies of the world. Fortune favored him, however. He +obtained a few pupils, and gave himself up to composition. He made the +acquaintance of Metastasio, Porpora, and Gluck. His trios began to +attract attention, and he soon found himself rising into prominence. In +1759, through the influence of a wealthy friend and amateur, he was +appointed to the post of musical director and composer in the service of +Count Morzin, and about this time wrote his first symphony. When the +Count dismissed his band, Prince Paul Anton Esterhazy received him as his +second capellmeister, under Werner. When the latter died, in 1766, Haydn +took his place as sole director. His patron, meanwhile, had died, and was +succeeded by his brother Nicolaus, between whom and Haydn there was the +utmost good feeling. Up to this time Haydn had written thirty symphonies, +a large number of trios, quartets, and several vocal pieces. His +connection with the Prince lasted until 1790, and was only terminated by +the latter's death. But during this period of twenty-eight years his +musical activity was unceasing; and as he had an orchestra of his own, +and his patron was ardently devoted to music, the incentive to +composition was never lacking. Anton succeeded Nicolaus, and was generous +enough to increase Haydn's pension; but he dismissed the entire chapel, +and the composer took up his abode in Vienna. He was hardly established +before he received a flattering proposition from Salomon, the manager, to +go to England. He had already had many pressing invitations from others, +but could not accept them, owing to his engagement at Esterhazy. Now that +he was free, he decided to make the journey. On New Year's Day, 1791, he +arrived in London. Success greeted him at once. He became universally +popular. Musicians and musical societies paid him devoted attention. He +gave a series of symphony concerts which aroused the greatest enthusiasm. +He was treated with distinguished courtesy by the royal family. Oxford +gave him the honorary degree of Doctor of Music. The nobility entertained +him sumptuously. After a year of continuous fetes, he returned to +Germany, where he remained two years, during a portion of which time +Beethoven was his pupil. In 1794 he made his second journey to England, +where his former successes were repeated, and fresh honors were showered +upon him. In 1804 he was notified by Prince Esterhazy that he was about +to reorganize his chapel, and wished him for its conductor again. Haydn +accordingly returned to his old position, where he remained during the +rest of his life. He was already an old man, but it was during this +period that his most remarkable works were produced, among them the +Austrian National Hymn ("Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser"), the "Seven +Words," the "Creation," the "Seasons," and many of his best trios and +quartets. He died May 31, 1809, a few days after the occupation of Vienna +by the French, and among the mourners at his funeral were many French +officers. Funeral services were held in all the principal European +cities. Honored and respected all over Europe, he was most deeply loved +by his own countrymen, who still affectionately speak of him as "Papa" +Haydn. + + + + + The Creation. + + +Haydn was sixty-five years of age when he undertook the great work of his +life. It was begun in 1796, and finished in 1798. When urged to bring it +to a conclusion more rapidly, he replied, "I spend much time over it, +because I intend it to last a long time." Shortly before his final +departure from London, Salomon, his manager, brought him a poem for music +which had been compiled by Lydley from Milton's "Paradise Lost," for use +by Handel, though the latter had not availed himself of it. Haydn took it +with him to Vienna, and submitted it to the Baron van Swieten, the +Emperor's librarian, who was not only a very learned scholar, but also +something of a musician and composer. The Baron suggested that he should +make an oratorio of it, and to encourage him, not only translated the +text into German, but added a number of arias, duets, and choruses, +particularly those of the descriptive kind. Several of the nobility also +guaranteed the expenses of preparation and performance. His friend +Griesinger writes:-- + + "Haydn wrote 'The Creation' in his sixty-fifth year with all the spirit + that usually dwells in the breast of youth. I had the good fortune to + be a witness of the deep emotions and joyous enthusiasm which several + performances of it under Haydn's own direction aroused in all + listeners. Haydn also confessed to me that it was not possible for him + to describe the emotions with which he was filled as the performance + met his entire expectation, and his audience listened to every note. + 'One moment I was as cold as ice, and the next I seemed on fire, and + more than once I feared I should have a stroke.'" + +On another occasion Haydn remarked: "Never was I so pious as when +composing 'The Creation.' I knelt down every day and prayed God to +strengthen me for the work." That he sought this inspiration in his old +age more than once, we may infer from another remark to Griesinger: "When +composition does not get on well, I go to my chamber, and with rosary in +hand say a few _aves_, and then the ideas return." It was first performed +in private at the Schwartzenberg Palace, April 29, 1798; and Bombet, the +celebrated French critic, who was present, says in one of his letters: + + "Who can describe the applause, the delight, the enthusiasm of this + society? I was present, and I can assure you I never witnessed such a + scene. The flower of the literary and musical society of Vienna were + assembled in the room, which was well adapted to the purpose, and Haydn + himself directed the orchestra. The most profound silence, the most + scrupulous attention, a sentiment, I might almost say, of religious + respect, were the dispositions which prevailed when the first stroke of + the bow was given. The general expectation was not disappointed. A long + train of beauties, to that moment unknown, unfolded themselves before + us; our minds, overcome with pleasure and admiration, experienced + during two successive hours what they had rarely felt,--a happy + existence, produced by desires, ever lively, ever renewed, and never + disappointed." + +The first public performance was given at the National Theatre, March 19, +1799, Haydn's name-day, and the next by the Tonkuenstler Societaet. On the +9th of March he conducted it at the palace of Ofen before the Archduke +Palatine Joseph of Hungary. Its success was immediate, and rivalled that +of "The Messiah." It was performed all over Europe, and societies were +organized for the express purpose of producing it. In London rival +performances of it were given at Covent Garden and the King's Theatre +during the year 1800. + +The oratorio opens with an overture representing chaos. Its effect is at +first dull and indefinite, its utterances inarticulate, and its notes +destitute of perceptible melody. It is Nature in her chaotic state, +struggling into definite form. Gradually instrument after instrument +makes an effort to extricate itself, and as the clarinets and flutes +struggle out of the confusion, the feeling of order begins to make itself +apparent. The resolutions indicate harmony. At last the wonderful +discordances settle, leaving a misty effect that vividly illustrates "the +Spirit of God moving upon the face of the waters." Then, at the fiat of +the Creator, "Let there be Light," the whole orchestra and chorus burst +forth in the sonorous response, "And there was Light." A brief passage by +Uriel (tenor) describes the division of light from darkness, and the end +of chaos, introducing a fugued chorus, in which the rage of Satan and his +hellish spirits, as they are precipitated into the abyss, is described +with tremendous discords and strange modulations; but before it closes, +the music relates the beauties of the newly created earth springing up +"at God's command." Raphael describes the making of the firmament, the +raging of the storms, the flashing lightning and rolling thunders, the +showers of rain and hail, and the gently falling snow, to an +accompaniment which is closely imitative in character. The work of the +second day forms the theme of "The Marvellous Work," for soprano obligato +with chorus,--a number characterized by great joyousness and spirit. This +leads to the number, "Rolling in foaming Billows," in which the music is +employed to represent the effect of water, from the roaring billows of +the "boisterous seas," and the rivers flowing in "serpent error," to "the +limpid brook," whose murmuring ripple is set to one of the sweetest and +most delicious of melodies. This leads the way to the well-known aria, +"With Verdure clad," of which Haydn himself was very fond, and which he +recast three times before he was satisfied with it. It is followed by a +fugued chorus ("Awake the Harp"), in which the Angels praise the Creator. +We next pass to the creation of the planets. The instrumental prelude is +a wonderful bit of constantly developing color, which increases "in +splendor bright," until the sun appears. It is followed by the rising of +the moon, to an accompaniment as tender as its own radiance; and as the +stars appear, "the Sons of God" announce the fourth day, and the first +part closes with the great chorus, "The Heavens are telling," in which +the entire force of band and singers is employed in full, broad harmony +and sonorous chords, leading to a cadence of magnificent power. + +The second part opens with the aria, "On mighty Pens," describing in a +majestic manner the flight of the eagle, and then blithely passes to the +gayety of the lark, the tenderness of the cooing doves, and the +plaintiveness of the nightingale, in which the singing of the birds is +imitated as closely as the resources of music will allow. A beautiful +terzetto describes with inimitable grace the gently sloping hills covered +with their verdure, the leaping of the fountain into the light, and the +flights of birds, and a bass solo in sonorous manner takes up the +swimming fish, closing with "the upheaval of Leviathan from the deep," +who disports himself among the double-basses. This leads to a powerful +chorus, "The Lord is great." The next number describes the creation of +various animals; and perhaps nothing that art contains can vie with it in +varied and vivid description. It begins with the lion, whose deep roar is +heard among the wind-instruments. The alertness of the "flexible tiger" +is shown in rapid flights by the strings. A presto ingeniously represents +the quick movements of the stag. The horse is accompanied by music which +prances and neighs. A quiet pastoral movement, in strong contrast with +the preceding abrupt transitions, pictures the cattle seeking their food +"on fields and meadows green." A flutter of sounds describes the swarms +of insects in the air, and from this we pass to a long, undulating thread +of harmony, representing "the sinuous trace" of the worm. This +masterpiece of imitative music is contained in a single recitative. A +powerful and dignified aria, sung by Raphael ("Now Heaven in fullest +Glory shone"), introduces the creation of man, which is completed in an +exquisitely beautiful aria ("In Native Worth ") by Uriel, the second part +of which is full of tender beauty in its description of the creation of +Eve, and closes with a picture of the happiness of the newly created +pair. A brief recitative ("And God saw everything that He had made") +leads to the chorus, "Achieved is the glorious Work,"--a fugue of great +power, superbly accompanied. It is interrupted by a trio ("On Thee each +living Soul awaits"), but soon returns with still greater power and +grandeur, closing with a Gloria and Hallelujah of magnificent +proportions. + +The third part opens with a symphonic introduction descriptive of the +first morning of creation, in which the flutes and horns, combined with +the strings, are used with exquisite effect. In a brief recitative ("In +rosy Mantle appears") Uriel pictures the joy of Adam and Eve, and bids +them sing the praise of God with the angelic choir, which forms the theme +of the succeeding duet and chorus ("By Thee with Bliss"); to which the +answering choir replies with a gentle and distant effect, as if from the +celestial heights, "Forever blessed be His Power." Again Adam and Eve in +successive solos, finally uniting, join with the choir in extolling the +goodness of God; and as they close, all take up the beautiful and +majestic paean, "Hail, bounteous Lord! Almighty, hail!" As the angelic +shout dies away, a tender, loving dialogue ensues between Adam and Eve, +leading to the beautiful duet, "Graceful Consort," which is not only the +most delightful number in the work, but in freshness, sweetness, and +tenderness stands almost unsurpassed among compositions of its kind. +After a short bit of recitative by Uriel ("O happy Pair"), the chorus +enters upon the closing number ("Sing the Lord, ye Voices all"), +beginning slowly and majestically, then developing into a masterly fugue +("Jehovah's Praise forever shall endure"), and closing with a Laudamus of +matchless beauty, in which the principal voices in solo parts are set off +against the choral and orchestral masses with powerful effect. + +Haydn's last appearance in public was at a performance of the "Creation," +which took place in 1808, when it was given in Italian under the +direction of Salieri. Dies says of this remarkable scene:-- + + "On alighting from the Prince's carriage, he was received by + distinguished personages of the nobility and by his scholar, Beethoven. + The crowd was so great that the military had to keep order. He was + carried, sitting in his arm-chair, into the hall, and was greeted upon + his entrance with a flourish of trumpets and joyous shouts of 'Long + live Haydn!' He occupied a seat next his Princess, the Prince being at + court that day; and on the other side sat his favorite scholar, + Fraeulein Kurzbeck. The highest people of rank in Vienna selected seats + in his vicinity. The French ambassador noticed that he wore the medal + of the Paris Concert des Amateurs. 'Not only this, but all the medals + which have been awarded in France, you ought to have received,' said + he. Haydn thought he felt a little draught; the Princess threw her + shawl about him, many ladies following her example, and in a few + moments he was completely wrapped in shawls. Poems by Collin and + Carpani, the adapter of the text, were presented to him. He could no + longer conceal his feelings. His overburdened heart sought and found + relief in tears. When the passage, 'And there was Light,' came, and the + audience broke out into tumultuous applause, he made a motion of his + hands towards heaven, and said, 'It came from thence.' He remained in + such an agitated condition that he was obliged to take his leave at the + close of the first part. As he went out, the audience thronged about + him to take leave of him, and Beethoven kissed his hand and forehead + devoutly. His departure completely overcame him. He could not address + the audience, and could only give expression to his heartfelt gratitude + with broken, feeble utterances and blessings. Upon every countenance + there was deep pity, and tearful eyes followed him as he was taken to + his carriage." + +He lived but a short time longer, but long enough to witness the success +of his scholar, Beethoven, in the same year. + + + + + The Seasons. + + +"The Seasons," written two years after "The Creation," was Haydn's last +oratorio. The music was composed between April, 1798, and April, 1801. It +is not an oratorio in the strict sense of the term, as it partakes of the +form and qualities, not only of the oratorio, but also of the opera and +cantata. The words were compiled by Baron van Swieten from Thomson's +well-known poem of "The Seasons," but it was a long time before he could +persuade Haydn to undertake the task of composing an oratorio on the +subject. His old age and infirmities made him averse to the work. He was +greatly annoyed by the text, and still more so by its compiler, who +insisted upon changes in the music which Haydn testily declined to make. +He was frequently irritated over the many imitative passages, and it was +to relieve his own feelings and vary the monotony of the sentiment that +he introduced the rollicking bacchanal chorus in the third part. He +expressed his feelings to a friend in the remark: "My head was so full of +the nonsensical stuff that it all went topsy-turvy, and I therefore +called the closing fugue the 'drunken fugue.'" Notwithstanding his many +objections, when once he started, he worked hard,--so hard, indeed, that +this continuous labor induced brain-fever and intense suffering, and he +never entirely rallied from its effects. A weakness followed, which +constantly increased. To one friend he remarked: "The 'Seasons' have +brought this trouble upon me. I ought not to have written it. I have +overdone;" and to another: "I have done; my head is no longer what it +was. Formerly ideas came to me unsought: I am now obliged to seek for +them; and for this I feel I am not formed." It is a sad picture, that of +the old composer sitting down to work in his seventieth year, distrustful +of his own powers, with an uncongenial text before him; but no +indications of age or weakness are to be found in this music, which from +its first note to the last is fresh, original, bright, and graceful,--a +treasure-house of ideas to which subsequent composers have gone time +after time when they would write of Nature or attempt to picture her +moods. + +The "Seasons" was first performed at the Schwartzenberg Palace, Vienna, +April 24, 1801, and was repeated on the 27th and on the 1st of May. On +the 29th of May Haydn himself conducted it in public at the Redoutensaal, +for his own benefit. Though some of the critics disparaged it, and +Beethoven was not overpleased with it, it met with a great popular +success, and Haydn himself was delighted with the work that had cost him +so much trouble. Bombet, the French critic, who was present at the first +performance, says of it:-- + + "The best critique that has been given of the work is that which Haydn + himself addressed to me when I went to give him an account of the + performance of it in the Palace Schwartzenberg. The applause had been + universal, and I hastened out to congratulate the author. Scarcely had + I opened my lips when the honest composer stopped me: 'I am happy to + find that my music pleases the public; but I can receive no compliment + on this work from you. I am convinced that you feel yourself that it is + not the "Creation;" and the reason is this: in the "Creation" the + actors are angels; here they are peasants.'" + +The work is divided into four parts,--Spring, Summer, Autumn, and +Winter,--and the characters introduced are Simon, a farmer; Jane, his +daughter; Lucas, a young countryman and shepherd; and a chorus of Country +People and Hunters. A vivacious overture, expressing the passage from +winter to spring, and recitatives by Simon, Lucas, and Jane, who in turn +express their delight at the close of the one season and the approach of +the other, lead to the opening chorus ("Come, gentle Spring, ethereal +Mildness, come"),--a fresh and animated number, which is familiar to +every one. Simon trolls out a pastoral aria ("With Joy the impatient +Husbandman"), full of the very spirit of quiet, peace, and happiness,--a +quaint melody which will inevitably recall to opera-goers the "Zitti, +Zitti" from Rossini's "Barber of Seville," the essential difference +between the two pieces being that in the latter the time is greatly +accelerated. This aria is followed by a trio and chorus ("Be propitious, +bounteous Heaven"), a free fugue, in which all beseech a blessing upon +the sowing of the seed. The next number is a duet for Jane and Lucas, +with chorus ("Spring her lovely Charms unfolding"), which is fairly +permeated with the delicate suggestions of opening buds and the delights +of the balmy air and young verdure of spring. As its strains die away, +all join in the cheerful fugued chorus, "God of Light," which closes the +first part. + +After a brief adagio prelude, the second part, "Summer," opens with a +charming aria by Simon ("From out the Fold the Shepherd drives"), which +gives us a delightful picture of the shepherd driving his flock along the +verdant hillside, then leaning upon his staff to watch the rising sun. As +it appears, it is welcomed by trio and chorus with the exultant shout, +"Hail, O glorious Sun!" As noon approaches, the music fairly becomes +radiant. A series of recitatives and arias follow, bringing out in a +vivid and picturesque manner the oppressive, exhaustive heat and the +longing for rest and shade, leading at last to an ominous silence as the +clouds begin to gather and the sky darkens. A short recitative prepares +the way. A crash of thunder is heard upon the drums: it is the prelude to +the storm-chorus ("Hark! the deep tremendous Voice"), which has been the +model for nearly all the storm-descriptions written since Haydn's time. +It is worked up to a tremendous climax of tumult and terror, of pouring +rain, flashing lightning, and pealing thunder. At last the tempest dies +away, and in the trio and chorus, "Now cease the Conflicts," night comes +on, with its song of the quail,--which Beethoven subsequently utilized in +his Pastoral Symphony,--the chirp of the crickets, the croaking of the +frogs, the distant chime of the evening bells, and the invocation to +sleep. Of the frog episode, Nohl says:-- + + "He particularly disliked the croaking of the frogs, and realized how + much it lowered his art. Swieten showed him an old piece of Gretry's in + which the croak was imitated with striking effect. Haydn contended that + it would be better if the entire croak were omitted, though he yielded + to Swieten's importunities. He declared afterwards, however, that the + frog passage was not his own. 'It was urged upon me,' he said, 'to + write this French croak. In the orchestral setting it is very brief, + and it cannot be done on the piano. I trust the critics will not treat + me with severity for it. I am an old man, and liable to make + mistakes.'" + +After a quaintly melodious prelude the third part opens with a terzetto +and chorus ("Thus Nature ever kind rewards"), an invocation to virtue and +industry, and a quaintly sentimental duet ("Ye gay and painted Fair"). +The next number, an aria by Simon ("Behold along the dewy Grass"),--which +gives us a picture of the hunter and his dog pursuing a bird,--prepares +the way for the great hunting chorus ("Hark! the Mountains resound"), one +of the most graphic and stirring choruses of this description ever +written. The whole scene,--the vales and forests resounding with the +music of the horns, the finding of the quarry, the flying stag +outstripping the wind, the pack at fault, but starting in again as they +find the scent, the tally-ho of the hunters, the noble animal at bay, his +death, and the shouts of the crowd,--are all pictured with a freshness +and genuine out-door feeling which seem almost incredible considering +Haydn's age. This remarkable number is separated from its natural +companion, the bacchanalian chorus, by a recitative extolling the wealth +of the vintage. This chorus ("Joyful the Liquor flows") is in two +parts,--first a hymn in praise of wine, sung by the tippling revellers, +and second, a dance tempo, full of life and beauty, with imitations of +the bagpipe and rustic fiddles, the melody being a favorite Austrian +dance-air. With this rollicking combination, for the two movements are +interwoven, the third part closes. + +A slow orchestral prelude, "expressing the thick fogs at the approach of +winter," introduces the closing part. In recitative Simon describes the +on-coming of the dreary season, and Jane reiterates the sentiment in the +cavatina, "Light and Life dejected languish." In Lucas's recitative we +see the snow covering the fields, and in his following aria, "The +Traveller stands perplexed," a graphic tone-picture of the wanderer lost +in the snow is presented. At last he espies the friendly light in the +cottage. "Melodious voices greet his ears," and as he enters he beholds +the friendly circle, the old father telling over his stories of the past, +the mother plying the distaff, the girls spinning, and the young people +making the night merry with jest and sport. At last they join in a +characteristic imitative chorus ("Let the Wheel move gayly"). After the +spinning they gather about the fire, and Jane sings a charming love-story +("A wealthy Lord who long had loved"), accompanied by chorus. Simon +improves the occasion to moralize on the sentiment of the seasons in the +aria, "In this, O vain, misguided Man," impressing upon us the lesson +that "Nought but Truth remains;" and with a general appeal to Heaven for +guidance through life, this quaint and peaceful pastoral poem in music +draws to its close. It was the last important work of the aged Haydn, but +it has all the charm and freshness of youth. + + + + + LISZT. + + +Franz Liszt, the most eminent pianist of his time, who also obtained +world-wide celebrity as a composer and orchestral conductor, was born at +Raiding, Hungary, Oct. 22, 1811. His father was an accomplished amateur, +and played the piano and violoncello with more than ordinary skill. He +was In his ninth year Liszt played for the first noblemen encouraged him +to continue his studies, and guaranteed him sufficient to defray the +expenses of six years' tuition. He went to Vienna at once and studied the +piano with Czerny, besides taking lessons in composition from Salieri and +Randhartinger. It was while in that city that his first composition, a +variation on a waltz of Diabelli, appeared. In 1823 he went to Paris, +hoping to secure admission to the Conservatory; but Cherubini refused it +on account of his foreign origin, though Cherubini himself was a +foreigner. Nothing daunted, young Liszt continued his studies with Reicha +and Paer, and two years afterwards brought out a one-act opera entitled +"Don Sancho," which met with a very cordial reception. The slight he had +received from Cherubini aroused popular sympathy for him. His wonderful +playing attracted universal attention and gained him admission into the +most brilliant Parisian salons. He soon became known as the +"wonder-child," and was a favorite with every one, especially with the +ladies. For two or three years he made artistic tours through France, +Switzerland, and England, accompanied by his father, and everywhere met +with the most brilliant success. In 1827 the father died, leaving him +alone in the world; but good fortune was on his side. During his stay in +Paris he had made the friendship of Victor Hugo, George Sand, Lamartine, +and other great lights in literature and music, and their influence +prepared the way for his permanent success. Notwithstanding that he was +in many senses a Bohemian and a man of the world, he had a strong +religious tendency. For a time he became deeply interested in the +doctrines of Saint-Simon; but his adherence to that system did not last +long. He speedily returned to the Roman Church, and some years afterwards +went to Rome, at the suggestion of the Pontiff took orders, and set +himself about the work of reforming the church music,--a task, however, +which he soon abandoned; too many obstacles stood in his way. He expected +to become Capellmeister at the Sistine Chapel; but, as he himself said: +"I was thwarted by the lack of culture among the cardinals; and besides, +most of the princes of the Church were Italian." The Abbe was soon in +Germany again, where he resided until the close of his life. From 1839 to +1847 he travelled from one city to another, arousing the most +extraordinary enthusiasm; his progress was one continued ovation. In 1849 +he went to Weimar and accepted the post of conductor at the Court +Theatre. He made Weimar the musical centre of Europe. It was there that +his greatest compositions were written, that the school of the music of +the future was founded, and that Wagner's operas first gained an +unprejudiced hearing; and it is from Weimar that his distinguished +pupils, like Von Buelow, Tausig, Bendel, Bronsart, Klindworth, +Winterberger, Reubke, and many others date their success. In 1859 he +resigned his position, and after that time resided at Rome, Pesth, and +Weimar, working for the best interests of his beloved art, and +encouraging young musicians to reach the highest standards. Few men of +this century have had such a powerful influence upon music, or have done +so much to elevate and purify it. His most important works were the +"Divina Commedia" and "Faust" symphonies, the twelve symphonic poems, the +six Hungarian rhapsodies, the "Graner Mass," the "Hungarian Coronation +Mass," and the oratorios "Christus" and "The Legend of the Holy +Elizabeth." Besides these he wrote a large number of orchestral pieces, +songs, and cantatas, and a rich and varied collection of pianoforte +solos, transcriptions, and arrangements. He died July 31, 1886. + + + + + The Legend of the Holy Elizabeth. + + +The oratorio, "Legend of the Holy Elizabeth," was written in 1864, and +first produced Aug. 15, 1865, upon the occasion of the twenty-fifth +anniversary of the Conservatory of Pesth-Ofen. The text is by Otto +Roquette, and was inspired by Moritz von Schwind's frescos at the +Wartburg representing scenes in the life of the saint. A brief allusion +to her history will still further elucidate the story which Liszt has +treated so powerfully. She was the daughter of King Andreas II. of +Hungary, and was born in 1207. At the age of four she was betrothed to +Ludwig, son of the Landgrave Hermann of Thuringia, whom she married in +1220. After his death, in 1227, she was driven from the Wartburg and +forced to give up the regency by her cruel and ambitious mother-in-law. +After long wanderings and many privations she retired to Bamberg, where +her uncle, the bishop, dwelt; but shortly afterwards her rights were +restored to her. She renounced them in favor of her son, Hermann II., and +died in 1231. Four years later she was canonized at Marpurg by order of +Pope Gregory IX. Her life was devoted to the relief of the poor and +suffering. + +The characters introduced in the oratorio are Saint Elizabeth, Landgrave +Ludwig, Landgrave Hermann, Landgravine Sophie, a Hungarian Magnate, the +Seneschal, and the Emperor Frederick II. The last three _roles_ are +usually assigned to Ludwig, thus reducing the number of solo-singers to +four. The work is laid out in two parts, each having three scenes +corresponding in subjects with Von Schwind's six frescos. The first +describes the arrival of Elizabeth at the Wartburg, and the welcome she +receives. In the second she is married, and her husband, Ludwig, has +succeeded to the throne. His devotion to knight-errantry leads him from +home. During his absence a famine breaks out, and Elizabeth in her +devotion to the sufferers impoverishes herself and incurs the wrath of +her mother-in-law, the Landgravine Sophie. While carrying a basket of +bread and wine one day to the victims of the scourge, she is met by her +husband, who has unexpectedly returned. Amazed at the absence of her +attendants, he questions her, and she excuses herself with the plea that +she has been gathering flowers. Doubting the truth of her statement, he +snatches the basket from her. She confesses her falsehood; but upon +examining the basket it is found to be full of roses. The Lord has +performed a miracle. Overcome with remorse for doubting her, Ludwig begs +her forgiveness, and the two join in prayer that the Lord may continue +His goodness to them. The third scene opens at Schmalkald, on the borders +of Thuringia, where Ludwig has assembled his knights and nobles who are +to accompany him to the Holy Land. They declare their allegiance to +Ludwig as their leader, and he calls upon them also to swear fealty to +his wife. After a sad farewell Ludwig rides away at the head of his +Crusaders. The fourth scene opens with the news of Ludwig's death. The +Landgravine claims the castle as her inheritance, compels Elizabeth to +abandon the regency, and drives her out in the midst of a furious storm. +In the fifth scene we find her at a hospital which she has founded, and +notwithstanding her own troubles and sufferings still ministering to +others in like affliction. This scene closes with her death, and in the +last we have the ceremonies of her canonization at Marpurg. + +The first scene opens with a long orchestral introduction, working up to +a powerful climax, and based mainly upon a theme from the old church +service, which is Elizabeth's motive, and is frequently heard throughout +the work. An animated prelude which follows it introduces the opening +chorus ("Welcome the Bride"). A brief solo by Landgrave Hermann +("Welcome, my little Daughter") and another of a national character by +the Hungarian Magnate attending the bride intervene, and again the chorus +break out in noisy welcome. After a dignified solo by Hermann and a brief +dialogue between Ludwig and Elizabeth, a light, graceful allegretto +ensues, leading up to a children's chorus ("Merriest Games with thee +would we play"), which is delightfully fresh and joyous in its character. +At its close the chorus of welcome resumes, and the scene ends with a +ritornelle of a plaintive kind, foreboding the sorrow which is fast +approaching. + +The second scene, after a short prelude, opens with Ludwig's hunting-song +("From the Mists of the Valleys"), which is written in the conventional +style of songs of this class, although it has two distinct movements in +strong contrast. As he meets Elizabeth, a dialogue ensues, including the +scene of the rose miracle, leading up to a brief chorus ("The Lord has +done a Wonder"), and followed by an impressive duet in church style ("Him +we worship and praise this Day"). The scene closes with an ensemble, a +duet with full choral harmony, worked up with constantly increasing power +and set to an accompaniment full of rich color and brilliant effect. + +The third scene opens with the song of the Crusaders, an impetuous and +brilliant chorus ("In Palestine, the Holy Land"), the accompaniment to +which is an independent march movement. The stately rhythm is followed by +a solo by the Landgrave, bidding farewell to Elizabeth and appealing to +his subjects to be loyal to her. The chorus replies in a short number, +based upon the Hungarian melody which has already been heard. Elizabeth +follows with a tender but passionate appeal to her husband ("Oh, tarry! +oh, shorten not the Hour"), leading to a solo ("With Grief my Spirit +wrestles"), which is full of the pain of parting. A long dialogue follows +between them, interrupted here and there by the strains of the Crusaders, +in which finally the whole chorus join with great power in a martial but +sorrowful style. As it comes to a close, the orchestra breaks out into +the Crusaders' march,--a brilliant picture of the knightly pageant, the +time gradually accelerating as well as the force, until it reaches a +tremendous climax. The trio of the march is based upon a religious melody +which was sung in the time of the Crusaders; but the remainder follows +the Gregorian intonation. The chorus once more resumes its shout of +jubilee, and the brilliant scene comes to an end. So vividly colored is +this music that one can well fancy the sorrowful Elizabeth as she stands +gazing at the band of knights, with Ludwig at their head, slowly riding +away, pennons fluttering in the breeze, and lances and mail glittering in +the sunlight. + +In the fourth scene a slow and mournful movement, followed by an allegro +ominous and agitated in style, introduces the Landgravine Sophie, the +evil genius of the Wartburg. The tidings of the death of Ludwig have +come, and with fierce declamation she orders Elizabeth away from the +castle. The latter replies in an aria ("O Day of Mourning, Day of +Sorrow") marked by sorrowful lamentation. Sophie again hurls her +imprecations, and a very dramatic dialogue ensues, which takes the trio +form as the reluctant Seneschal consents to enforce the cruel order. Once +more Elizabeth tenderly appeals to her in the aria, "Thou too art a +Mother." Sophie impatiently and fiercely exclaims, "No longer tarry!" The +scene comes to an end with Elizabeth's lament as she goes out into the +storm, which is vividly described in an orchestral movement, interspersed +with vocal solos. These have little bearing upon the subject-matter, +however, which is mainly described by the band with overwhelming power. + +The fifth scene opens with a long declamatory solo by Elizabeth,--full of +tenderness and pathos, in which she recalls the dream of +childhood,--closing with an orchestral movement of the same general +character. It is followed by the full chorus ("Here 'neath the Roof of +Want"), which after a few bars is taken by the sopranos and altos +separately, closing with chorus again and soprano solo ("Elizabeth, thou +holy one"). The death-scene follows ("This is no earthly Night"). Her +last words, "Unto mine End Thy Love has led me," are set to music full of +pathos, and as she expires, the instrumentation dies away in peaceful, +tranquil strains. A semi-chorus, which can also be sung by three solo +voices ("The Pain is over"), closes the sad scene, the ritornelle at the +end being made still more effective by the harps, which give it a +celestial character. + +The last scene opens with an interlude which gathers up all the motives +of the oratorio,--the Pilgrim's Song, the Crusaders' March, the Church +Song, and the Hungarian Air, and weaves them into a rich and varied +texture for full orchestra, bells, and drums, forming the funeral song of +the sainted Elizabeth,--the same effect, and produced in the same manner, +which Wagner subsequently used with such magnificent power in the dirge +of Siegfried. It is followed by a solo from the Emperor, "I see assembled +round the Throne,"--a slow and dignified air, leading to the great +ensemble closing the work, and descriptive of the canonization of +Elizabeth. It begins as an antiphonal chorus ("Mid Tears and Solemn +Mourning"), the female chorus answering the male and closing in unison. +Once more the Crusaders' March is heard in the orchestra as the knights +sing, "O Thou whose Life-blood streamed." The church choir sings the +chorale, "Decorata novo flore," the Hungarian and German bishops intone +their benedictions, and then all join in the powerful and broadly +harmonious hymn, "Tu pro nobis Mater pia," closing with a sonorous and +majestic "Amen." + + + + + Christus. + + +"Christus, oratorio, with texts from the Holy Scriptures and the Catholic +Liturgy," as Liszt entitles his work, was finished in 1866. At the outset +the composer selected the "Hymn of Praise" and "Pater Noster" from +Ruechert's "Evangelical Harmony;" and upon these and one or two other +detached numbers for a background, he built up a series of religious +events connected with the offices of the Church according to the Vulgate +and its Liturgy. These events are laid out in three divisions,--"The +Christmas Oratorio," "After Epiphany," and "The Passion and +Resurrection;" the separate parts of which are as follows: (1) The +Introduction. (2) Pastoral and Vision of the Angels. (3) Stabat Mater +speciosa. (4) Song of the Shepherds in the Manger. (5) The Anointing of +the three Kings. (6) Hymn of Praise. (7) Pater Noster. (8) The +Establishment or Foundation of the Christian Church. (9) The Storm on the +Lake. (10) The Entry into Jerusalem. (11) Tristis est anima mea. (12) +Stabat Mater dolorosa. (13) Easter Hymn. (14) Resurrection of Christ. The +motive of the work is announced in Saint Paul's words to the Ephesians: +"But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, +which is the head, even Christ." + +The long instrumental introduction is constructed upon a theme +representative of a text from Isaiah, "Resound, ye Heavens above," many +times repeated, and leading to a pastoral which prepares the way for the +angelic announcement to the shepherds. This announcement is made in the +simple collect music by a soprano solo, and replied to by a female +chorus, first accompanied by string quartet, and then by full orchestra, +and leading to the full chorus, "Gloria in excelsis," a series of mighty +shouts, closing with a stately Hallelujah and a return of the orchestra +to the pastoral movement. The next division is the old Latin hymn, +"Stabat Mater speciosa," the Virgin at the cradle of our Lord,--a +six-part chorus in church style, accompanied by the organ, with solo +variations interspersed through it, and characterized by a lofty feeling +of devotion, especially in the "Inflammatus" and the majestic final +"Amen." The remaining numbers of the first part are entirely +instrumental, including the "Shepherd's Song at the Manger," a pastoral +full of beautiful effects, and "the Three Holy Kings," a march which is +majestic in its style and broad in its rhythm, and full of characteristic +color. The two numbers close the part in a brilliant and jubilant manner. + +The second part opens with the "Seligkeiten" ("Hymn of Praise"), a grand +declamatory solo for baritone, accompanied by a six-part chorus, which, +like the next number, was written by Liszt in his younger days and +utilized in its present setting. The hymn is accompanied by organ +throughout, and is followed by the "Pater Noster," also with organ,--a +fervent, almost passionate, offering of prayer by the precentors and +congregation, closing with a mighty "Amen." In the next number--the +founding of the Church ("Tu es Petrus"), beginning with male chorus--the +orchestra resumes its work. The voices move on in stately manner until +the words, "Simon, son of Jona, lovest thou me?" are reached, when the +full chorus comes in with imposing effect. Of this number, Nohl says in +his fine analysis of "Christus:"-- + + "The perishable, sinful world in all its aspects is here contrasted + with an undoubting faith in an everlastingly constant higher ideal, to + give it this name. That it is the spirit of the subject, not its mere + perishable husk, is shown by the nature of the melody, which rises to + the most powerful expression of the final victory of this spirit of + love. Now again the full orchestra joins the double chorus; for the + world, the whole world, is meant." + +The next scene, entitled "The Wonder," is purely instrumental, and is a +marvellous picture of the storm upon the lake, which Nohl also +characterizes with reference to its inner meanings:-- + + "The ninth scene is a marvel. 'The storms rage in contention,'--not the + storms of the sea, but the storm of desires to which the weak of faith + are exposed. It is not the outward marvel or superstition that is to be + strengthened, but the faith of human nature in itself and its higher + power and destiny. Hence the actual inner tranquillity when, after the + raging orchestral tumult, 'a great stillness' succeeds Christ's words, + which is ingeniously introduced with the motive of the 'Seligkeit,' + because such inner purity alone bestows upon mankind effective power + over the savage forces of the world." + +"The Entrance into Jerusalem," a graphic instrumental prelude, introduces +a "Hosanna" for full chorus, followed by a "Benedictus" for mezzo-soprano +with chorus,--a splendidly constructed number, which closes the second +part in a style full of beauty and majesty. + +The third part opens with the sorrowful scene, "Tristis est anima mea," +Christ's sad words in the walk to Gethsemane,--an unutterably pathetic +solo, with an accompaniment which is a marvel of expressive +instrumentation. The next number is the old Middle-Age hymn, "Stabat +Mater dolorosa," in which Liszt has combined voices and instruments in a +manner, particularly in the "Inflammatus," almost overpowering. Solos, +duets, quartets, choruses, orchestra, and organ are all handled with +consummate skill. It has been aptly characterized as having the +dimensions of the "Last Judgment" in the Sistine Chapel. After the great +hymn is ended, another begins. It is the old Easter song, "O Filii et +Filiae," written to be sung by boys with harmonium,--a joyous, sunny +chorus, dispersing the gloom of the "Stabat Mater." The last scene, "The +Resurrection," is a powerful and massive chorus, full of mighty accords, +typical of the final triumph of Christianity, and closing with a majestic +"Amen" built up on the opening motive of the original introduction. "It +is," says Nohl, "a cycle of scenes such as only the victorious mastery of +the subject by inward perception can give, and such as only the artist +can draw who dominates all the conditions apart like a king, and has +reconciled his soul with the absolute truth and power of the Eternal." + + + + + MACFARREN. + + +George Alexander Macfarren, one of the most prominent of modern English +composers, was born in London, March 2, 1813. He began the study of music +in 1827 under the tuition of Charles Lucas. Two year's later he entered +the Royal Academy of Music, and in 1834 became one of its professors. The +latter year dates the beginning of his career as a composer, his first +work having been a symphony in F minor. During the next thirty years his +important works were as follows: overture "Chevy Chase" (1836); "Devil's +Opera," produced at the Lyceum (1838); "Emblematical Tribute on the +Queen's Marriage" and an arrangement of Purcell's "Dido and AEneas" +(1840); editions of "Belshazzar," "Judas Maccabaeus," and "Jephthah," for +the Handel Society (1843); opera "Don Quixote" (1846); opera "Charles +II." (1849); serenata "The Sleeper Awakened," and the cantata "Lenora" +(1851); the cantata "May Day," for the Bradford Festival (1856); the +cantata "Christmas" (1859); the opera "Robin Hood" (1860); the masque +"Freya's Gift" and opera "Jessy Lea" (1863); and the operas "She Stoops +to Conquer," "The Soldier's Legacy," and "Helvellyn" (1864). About the +last year his sight, which had been impaired for many years, failed. His +blindness did not however diminish his activity. He still served as +professor in the Royal Academy, and dictated compositions,--indeed some +of his best works were composed during this time of affliction. In 1873 +appeared his oratorio, "St. John the Baptist," which met with an +enthusiastic reception at the Bristol Festival of that year. In 1875 he +was elected professor of music at Cambridge, to fill the vacancy +occasioned by the death of Sterndale Bennett, and in the same year was +also appointed principal of the Royal Academy of Music. In 1876 his +oratorio "The Resurrection" was performed at the Birmingham Festival, and +in 1877 the oratorio "Joseph" at Leeds, besides the cantata "The Lady of +the Lake" at Glasgow. Grove catalogues his other compositions as follows: +a cathedral service, anthems, chants, psalm-tunes, and introits for the +Holy Days and Seasons of the English Church (1866); "Songs in a +Cornfield" (1868); "Shakspeare Songs for Four Voices" (1860-64); songs +from Lane's "Arabian Nights," and Kingsley's and Tennyson's poems; +overtures to "The Merchant of Venice," "Romeo and Juliet," "Hamlet," and +"Don Carlos;" symphonies, string quartets, and a quintet; a concerto for +violin and orchestra; and sonatas for pianoforte alone, and in +combination with other instruments. As lecturer, writer, and critic, Sir +George Macfarren also holds a high place, among his important works being +"Rudiments of Harmony" (1860), and six Lectures on Harmony (1867); also +Analyses of Oratorios for the Sacred Harmonic Society (1853-57), and of +orchestral works for the Philharmonic Society (1869-71), besides numerous +articles in the musical dictionaries. + + + + + St. John the Baptist. + + +The oratorio "St. John the Baptist" was first produced at the Bristol +Musical Festival in 1873. The libretto was written by Dr. E. G. Monk, and +is divided into two parts,--the first styled "The Desert," and the second +"Machaerus," to correspond with the localities where the action is +supposed to take place. The incidents described are John's preaching to +the people, the baptism of Christ, and the events which begin with +Herod's feast and close with the execution of the Prophet. One of the +best of the English critics, speaking of the libretto, says:-- + + "John is thus shown in his threefold capacity, as the herald of the + Kingdom of Heaven, as the uncompromising champion of righteousness, and + as the witness of truth even unto death. Nothing could be more simple + or more definite than this, and the discreetness it evinces is shown + also by the manner in which the characters are treated. John, of + course, is the central figure. He stands out clothed with all the noble + attributes accredited to him in the Bible,--'stern and inflexible in + his teaching, yet bowing before him whose message he had to + promulgate.' A halo of grandeur surrounds the ascetic of the desert as + he hurls anathemas upon the corruptors of Israel; or as, in the true + spirit of the ancient prophets of his race, he rebukes Herod under the + roof of that monarch's palace. No greater hero could a musician wish + for as a source of inspiration, or as a means of exciting interest. + Next to John stands the weak and voluptuous King,--a contrast as marked + in character as in outward circumstance. The impulsive temperament of + Herod is well brought out. One instant he resents John's boldness, and + significantly exclaims, 'If I command to kill, they kill;' the next he + trembles before his rebuker, and promises to amend his life. The + rashness of the fatal vow to Salome, and the bitter but unavailing + repentance to which it led, are also put well forward, while in matters + of detail extreme care is taken to make the contrast of Prophet and + King as great as circumstances permit. The part of Salome, who is the + only other dramatic person, contains no more amplification of the Bible + narrative than was exacted by the necessities of musical treatment. In + structure, the libretto is partly dramatic, partly narrational, the + dramatic form being employed in all the chief scenes; and as little use + is made of 'Greek chorus,' the story marches without the halting + rendered necessary by efforts to 'improve' its incidents as they + arise." + +The overture, which is very dramatic in character, is followed by a +powerful fugued chorus ("Behold! I will send My Messenger"), a part of +which is set to organ accompaniment. The Narrator (contralto) recites the +coming of the Prophet, in the orchestral prelude to which is a phrase +borrowed from an old church melody which Mendelssohn also used in his +Reformation Symphony, and which serves throughout the work as the motive +for the Prophet, in the genuine Wagner style. Saint John is introduced in +a rugged and massive baritone solo ("Repent ye, the Kingdom of Heaven is +at hand"), accompanied by very descriptive instrumentation. A dramatic +scene ensues, composed of inquiries as to the Prophet's mission by the +People, a short chorus by the latter ("What shall we do then?") which is +very melodic in style, and the resumption of the dialogue form, set to a +very skilful accompaniment. This scene is followed by a characteristic +aria for the Prophet, "I indeed baptize you with Water." The story is +once more taken up by the Narrator, who describes the baptism of Christ. +The words, "This is My Beloved Son," are given to a female choir, with +exquisite accompaniment by the violins and harps. A song for the Narrator +("In the Beginning was the Word") follows, and leads to the chorus, which +closes the first part, the words taken from the first verse of Psalm +civ., and the melody borrowed from the familiar old tune "Hanover," which +the composer has worked up with great skill and effect. + +The second part opens in Herod's palace with the rebuke of the Monarch by +the Prophet. In this scene, as well as in others, the composer draws a +strong contrast in the music assigned to the two, the one being strong +and stern, the other sensuous, in style. In the duet, where Herod +confesses the error of his ways, the voices unite in a genuine religious +strain. The Narrator is once more introduced, and describes the feast +given by the Monarch to the Galilee estates, followed by a jubilant +chorus of Nobles ("O King, live forever!"), set to a brilliant +accompaniment, calling for the most ample orchestral resources. The next +number is a chorus for male voices ("Lo! the Daughter of Herodias cometh +in, she danceth!"), set to a dance rhythm with tambourines, the themes +being bits of Oriental melodies skilfully treated. We then have the +banquet-scene, the admiration of the Nobles for Salome's beauty, Herod's +oath, and Salome's joy expressed in a showy song ("I rejoice in my +youth"). Then follows the dramatic scene of Salome's request,--a +concerted number of great force in its treatment. Herod sings a mournful +aria ("Alas! my Daughter, thou hast brought us very low"). The Narrator +explains how the King was compelled to keep his word, and is followed by +the Nobles in a stirring chorus ("Lo! the Wrath of the King is as a +Messenger of Death"). The scene now changes to the dungeon, where the +Prophet sings his farewell song ("A Man can receive nothing"), +accompanied by orchestra and organ. The final tragedy is told by the +Narrator, and the work closes with two reflective numbers,--the beautiful +unaccompanied quartet, "Blessed are they which are persecuted," and the +chorus, "What went ye out into the Wilderness for to see?" The +above-mentioned critic, who was present at its first performance, says of +the work:-- + + "It is a strange thing that John the Baptist has not often attracted + the notice of musical composers in search of a subject. No more + remarkable personage, with one great exception, figures in Bible + history than he whom the Master described as 'more than a prophet.' His + striking appearance, stern asceticism, wrathful denunciation of + 'wickedness in high places,' and tragic fate,--not to speak of his + relation to One whose shoes he professed himself unworthy to + loose,--throw his form into bold relief, and mark him as of heroic + proportions. Yet, save that he holds a subordinate place in a very + limited number of works, among which is Sir Julius Benedict's 'St. + Peter,' the great forerunner has been passed over till now. At length, + however, in that 'fulness of time' which ever brings forth the best + results, the Man and his Life have found a musical illustrator. There + is now an oratorio of 'John the Baptist,'--a work worthy its theme, and + to which the stamp of enthusiastic approval has been affixed by the + unanimous verdict of an audience competent to judge." + + + + + MACKENZIE. + + +Alexander C. Mackenzie, one of the very few successful Scotch composers, +was born at Edinburgh in 1847. His father was a musician; and recognizing +his son's talent, sent him to Germany at the age of ten. He began his +studies with Ulrich Eduard Stein at Schwartzburg-Sonderhausen, and four +years later entered the ducal orchestra as violinist. He remained there +until 1862, when he went to England to study the violin with M. Sainton. +In the same year he was elected king's scholar of the Royal Academy of +Music. Three years later he returned to Edinburgh and established himself +as a piano-teacher. The main work of his life, however, has been +composition, and to this he has devoted himself with assiduity and +remarkable success. Grove catalogues among his works: "Cervantes, an +overture for orchestra;" a scherzo for ditto; overture to a comedy; a +string quintet and many other pieces in MS.; pianoforte quartet in B, op. +11; Trois Morceaux pour Piano, op. 15; two songs, op. 12; besides songs, +part-songs, anthems, and pieces for the piano. This catalogue, however, +does not include his two most important works,--a Scotch Rhapsody, +introduced into this country by the Theodore Thomas orchestra, a +composition of great merit, and the oratorio, "The Rose of Sharon," which +has been received with extraordinary favor wherever it has been +performed. + + + + + The Rose of Sharon. + + +"The Rose of Sharon," a dramatic oratorio founded on the Song of Solomon, +the words selected from the Scriptures and arranged by Joseph Bennett, +was first brought out at the Norwich Festival, England, Oct. 16, 1884, +under the direction of the composer, and was subsequently performed in +London by the Sacred Harmonic Society. Its first performance in Scotland +took place at Glasgow, Dec. 8, 1885, under the auspices of the Glasgow +Choral Union, Madame Albani, Miss Hilda Wilson, Mr. Edward Lloyd, and Mr. +Watkins Mills being the principal vocalists. One notice of this +performance says: "The enthusiastic reception of the work on this +occasion was beyond all description; the composer was recalled after each +part with cheers that must have made his heart leap with delight." At the +first performance at Norwich he was showered with flowers by the chorus, +while the whole audience rose and greeted him with prolonged cheering. In +speaking of the text, its compiler says:-- + + "In adopting for the purposes of this oratorio a reading of the 'Song + of Songs' upon which Ewald and Renan substantially agree, the compiler + of the libretto favored no controversial opinion. He simply saw in the + ingenious commentaries of the learned Hebraists suggestions for a story + of unconquerable love, capable of expression in the language of the + Bible. + + "For the arrangement of incident the compiler is alone responsible. In + some respects it departs widely from the original poem,--which opens, + for example, in Jerusalem,--and gives only in narrative the events that + occupy part one of the oratorio. + + "In taking a story from a canonical book of Holy Scripture, the + compiler could not ignore its spiritual significance. He has, + therefore, introduced a prologue suggesting the parabolic character of + the drama, and an epilogue which points its moral." + +The characters are the Rose of Sharon, designated throughout the work as +the Sulamite (soprano); a Woman (contralto); the Beloved (tenor); and +Solomon (baritone); the chorus representing Officers of the Court, +Princes, Nobles, Villagers, Elders, and Soldiers. The story, briefly +told, is one of the power of love. The Beloved and Solomon are both in +love with the Sulamite, and the king tears her from the former to be the +favorite among the women of the harem. Amid all the splendors of the +palace and the luxuries heaped upon her by her passionate admirer she +remains true to the Beloved, is ultimately restored to him, and returns +to the vineyards of Sulam. The work is divided as follows: Prologue; Part +I. Separation; II. Temptation; III. Victory; IV. Reunion; V. Epilogue. +The motto of the oratorio is "Love is strong as death, and unconquerable +as the grave." This motto has its musical theme as well as each of the +three principal characters, and they are invariably used with great skill +and effect. The Woman acts the part of Narrator, and after a brief +orchestral prelude she is heard declaring the meaning and spiritual +significance of the story in the prologue: + + "We will open our mouth in a parable; + We will utter dark sayings of old, + Which we have heard and known, + Which our fathers have told us; + We will not hide them from our children, + That the generation to come may know them, + Who shall declare them to their children. + + This is a great mystery; but we speak concerning Christ and his +Church." + +The oratorio opens in the vineyard of Sulam as the Vine-dressers come +forth to their labor. The orchestral part begins with the melody of the +Vineyard Song ("We will take the Foxes"), and serves to introduce their +chorus, a joyous pastoral ("Come, let us go forth into the Field"). As +they disappear, the voice of the Beloved is heard singing a tender and +passionate appeal beneath the Sulamite's lattice ("Rise up, rise up, my +Love") as he urges her to join him, "For lo! the winter is past; the rain +is over and gone." Her reply follows from within her chamber, full of +love and adoration, and closing with the Vineyard Song ("We will take the +Foxes, the little Foxes that ravage the Vines"). She descends from her +chamber and joins the Beloved, and their voices unite in a delightful +duet ("Come, Beloved, into the Garden of Nuts"). Once more the chorus of +the Vine-dressers is heard, and at its close, after an intermezzo +descriptive of the joys of a spring morning, the scene changes to +Lebanon. A short alto solo announces the coming of Solomon, and the +pastoral music is followed by a brilliant and stately processional march, +accompanied by chorus ("God save the King!"). Solomon beholds the +Sulamite, and pours forth his admiration in a rapturous song ("Thou art +lovely, O my Friend, as Thirza"). The Princes and Nobles also testify to +their admiration of her beauty. A very dramatic scene ensues, in which +the Beloved and the Sulamite seek to escape "out of the caves of the lion +and from the haunt of the leopard." She is brought back by an elder, and +again Solomon pleads his cause in a passionate declamation ("Unto my +charger in Pharaoh's stud I would compare thee, O my friend"). She +replies, "My Beloved is to me a nosegay of myrrh," and clings to her +lover, who once more seeks to escape with her; whereupon she is seized +and placed in one of the king's chariots, and the cavalcade moves off to +the brilliant strains of the cortege music, accompanied by the chorus. + +The second part, "Temptation," introduces us to Solomon's palace, where +the Sulamite is alone, pining for her lover. The scene opens with the +psalm, "The Lord is my Shepherd," set to a simple, charming melody, full +of the spirit of devotion, but entirely disconnected with the general +texture of the work. As the touching strain comes to an end, the Women of +the court enter, insidiously plead the cause of Solomon, tempt her with +his luxuries, and seek to shame her love for the Beloved. "Kings' +daughters shall be among thine honorable women; thy clothing shall be of +wrought gold; thou shalt be brought unto the king in raiment of +needlework, with gladness and rejoicing shalt thou be brought and enter +into the king's palace," sings one of the Women; but the Sulamite remains +loyal, and only answers: "My Beloved pastures his flocks among the +lilies. My Beloved is mine, and I am his." The temptation is interrupted +by the procession of the ark passing in the street below to the glad +acclaim of the people ("Make a joyful Noise unto the Lord, all ye +Lands"), and a brilliant march. Successively the Maidens of Jerusalem +with timbrels, the Elders, the Shepherds and Vine-dressers, the Soldiers, +the Priests bearing the sacred vessels pass by, singing tributes of +praise to the Lord; and as the Levites appear bearing the ark, and +Solomon comes in sight with all his retinue, the entire chorus +triumphantly repeat "God save the King!" The brilliant procession passes +from view. The Women once more appeal to the Sulamite; but she still +loyally declares: "My Beloved pastures his flocks among the lilies; lo! +Solomon in all his glory is not arrayed like one of these." + +The third part, "Victory," opens with an orchestral prelude picturing the +sleep of the Sulamite, with her women watching about her. The voice of +the Beloved is heard without the chamber, "Open to me, my Sister, my +Bride." It reaches her in a dream, and in fancy she replies to him, +clothes herself, and searches for him in the streets; but when she +accosts the watchmen, they are so rude that her fright awakes her. She is +still a prisoner in the palace, and the Women about her announce the +coming of Solomon. He pleads his cause in a passionate song ("Ere the Day +cool and the Shadows flee away"); and she replies with another +protestation of her constancy in the solo, "Lo! a Vineyard hath Solomon +at Baal-hamon." The situation, which is very dramatic in its treatment, +is heightened by a duet and by the mocking chorus of Women; but above +them all still sings the brave Sulamite, "My Beloved is mine, and I am +his." + +The fourth part brings us back again to the vineyards of Sulam. It opens +with a melancholy chorus of the Vine-dressers ("O Lord, be gracious unto +us"), lamenting her absence. It is followed by a bass solo ("Thus saith +the Lord") and a chorale in full broad harmony. At last the victorious +Sulamite is seen coming up from the valley leaning on the arm of the +Beloved. All join in a powerful and exultant chorus of gratitude and joy +("Sing, O Heavens, and be joyful, O Earth"). A rapturous duet ensues +between the Sulamite and the Beloved, and then all join in the spirited +finale:-- + + "For the flame of Love is as fire, + Even the fire of God. + Many waters cannot quench it, + Neither can floods drown it. + Yea, Love is strong as death, + And unconquerable as the grave." + + + + + MENDELSSOHN. + + +Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, the son of a Berlin banker, was born at +Hamburg, Feb. 3, 1809, and, unlike almost all other composers, was reared +in the lap of luxury. Every advantage which wealth could procure he +enjoyed, with the result that he became highly educated in the other arts +as well as in music. His teachers in music were Zelter and Ludwig Berger, +and he made such progress that in his ninth year he appeared in public as +a pianist in Berlin, and afterwards in Paris. The first of his +compositions to attract general notice were the overture to Shakspeare's +"Midsummer Night's Dream" and the little opera "The Marriage of Camacho," +which were brought out in Berlin in 1827. After several concert tours, in +which he met with great success, he resided for some time in Duesseldorf. +In 1835 he went to Leipsic as director of the famous Gewandhaus +concerts,--which are still given in that city. Two years later he married +Cecile Jeanrenaud, the beautiful daughter of a minister of the Reformed +Church in Frankfort, and shortly afterwards went to Berlin as general +director of church music. In 1843 he returned to his former post in +Leipsic, and also took a position in the newly established Conservatory, +where he spent the remainder of his days in company with his family, to +whom he was closely attached. He has left a large and rich collection of +musical works, which are favorites the world over. His three great +oratorios are the "Hymn of Praise," catalogued as a symphony-cantata, +"St. Paul," and "Elijah." The last is specially interesting, as it marked +a new departure from the conventional forms of oratorio, and gave the +widest scope to the dramatic elements,--to such a degree, in fact, that +it might with propriety be styled a sacred opera. Besides these +oratorios, his exquisite music to the "Midsummer Night's Dream," which is +familiar the world over, and his stately dramatic music to "Antigone," he +has left five symphonies, of which the "Scotch," the "Italian," and the +"Reformation" are best known; four exquisite overtures, "Ruy Blas," "Calm +Sea and Prosperous Voyage," "Hebrides," and "Melusina;" the very dramatic +cantata, "The Walpurgis Night;" a long list of beautiful songs for one or +more voices; the incidental music to Racine's "Athalia;" a very large +collection of sacred music, such as psalms, hymns, anthems, and cantatas; +several beautiful trios and other specimens of chamber-music; and the +lovely "Songs without Words," which are to be found upon almost every +piano, the beauty and freshness of which time has not impaired. +Mendelssohn never wrote a grand opera, owing to his fastidiousness as to +a libretto; though he finally obtained one from Geibel, on the subject of +the "Loreley," which suited him. He had begun to write it, and had +finished the finale to the first act, when death interrupted his work, +Nov. 4, 1847. Mendelssohn was a man of remarkable beauty, and his +character corresponded to his charm of person. He had a liberal +education, was a man of broad culture, a clever artist, and a very +skilful writer, as is shown by his volumes of letters from Italy and +Switzerland. Possessed of these graces of mind and person, and having all +the advantages that wealth could bestow, he lacked those incentives which +in other composers have brought out the deepest, highest, and most +majestic forms of musical expression. His music is a reflex of his life; +grace, elegance, culture, and finish are its characteristics. + + + + + St. Paul. + + +"St. Paul," the first of Mendelssohn's oratorios, was begun in Duesseldorf +and finished in Leipsic in the winter of 1835, the composer being then in +his twenty-sixth year. He first applied to Marx to write the text; but +the invitation was declined, on the ground that the chorales were +unsuited to the period of the narrative. Mendelssohn then consulted with +his friends Fuerst and Schubring, and the libretto as it now stands +represents their joint compilation. Its three principal themes are the +martyrdom of Saint Stephen, the conversion of Saint Paul, and the +apostle's subsequent career. One of the clearest statements of the +general character of the work is that given by Lampadius; he says:-- + + "The main thought which runs through the whole work is too high and + broad to be linked by the tie of a personal interest to any single man. + It is the glorification of Christianity, with its humility, its joy in + living and dying for the Lord, in contrast with the blind + self-righteousness of Judaism and the mere sensuous morality of the + heathen schools. It is the contrast, or rather the struggle, of the + last two with the former, and the victory of the light and love of the + Gospel,--the light eternal, the love divine. This thought is made + incarnate in the persons of Stephen, Paul, and Barnabas, and it is + concentrated at that point which is really the central point of + interest to the oratorio,--the conversion of Saint Paul." + +The work was written upon a commission given by the Cecilien Verein of +Frankfort in 1831; but it was not produced until May 22, 1836, on the +occasion of the Lower Rhine Festival at Duesseldorf. The principal parts +were sung by Madame Fischer-Achten, Mademoiselle Grabau, Herren Schmetzer +and Wersing, the latter artist taking the part of Paul. The second +performance was given at Liverpool, Oct. 3, 1836; and between the two +performances Mendelssohn revised the work and cut out fourteen numbers. + +After a long and expressive overture for orchestra and organ, the first +part opens with a strong and exultant chorus ("Lord! Thou alone art +God"). It is massively constructed, and in its middle part runs into a +restless, agitated theme ("The Heathen furiously rage"). It closes, +however, in the same energetic and jubilant manner which characterizes +its opening, and leads directly to a chorale ("To God on High"), set to a +famous old German hymn-book tune, "Allein Gott in der Hoeh' sei Ehr," +which is serenely beautiful in its clearly flowing harmony. The martyrdom +of Stephen follows. The basses in vigorous recitative accuse him of +blasphemy, and the people break out in an angry chorus ("Now this Man +ceaseth not to utter blasphemous Words"). At its close Stephen sings a +brief but beautiful solo ("Men, Brethren, and Fathers!"); and as the calm +protest dies away, again the full chorus gives vent to a tumultuous shout +of indignation ("Take him away"). A note of warning is heard in the +fervent soprano solo, "Jerusalem, thou that killest the Prophets;" but it +is of no avail. Again the chorus hurls its imprecations more furiously +than before ("Stone him to death"). The tragedy occurs. A few bars of +recitative for tenor, full of pathos, tell the sad story, and then +follows another beautiful chorale of submission ("To Thee, O Lord, I +yield my Spirit"). Saul's participation in the tragedy is barely touched +upon. The lament for Stephen is followed by the chorus, "Happy and blest +are they," which is beautifully melodious in character. Saul now appears, +"breathing out threatenings and slaughter" against the apostles. His +first aria ("Consume them all") is a bass solo which is fiery in its +energy. It is followed by the lovely arioso for alto, "But the Lord is +mindful of His own,"--fitting companion to the equally beautiful "O rest +in the Lord" from "Elijah," and much resembling it in general style. Then +occurs the conversion. The voice from heaven ("Saul, Saul, why +persecutest thou Me?") is represented, as was often done in the +passion-music, by the soprano choir, which gives it peculiar significance +and makes it stand out in striking contrast with the rest of the work. A +forcible orchestral interlude, worked up in a strong crescendo, leads to +the vigorous chorus, "Rise up! arise!" in which the powerful orchestral +climax adds great strength to the vocal part. It is a vigorously +constructed chorus, and is followed by a chorale ("Sleepers, wake! a +Voice is calling"), which still further heightens the effect by its +trumpet notes between the lines. At the close of the imposing harmony the +music grows deeper and more serious in character as Saul breathes out his +prayer, "O God, have Mercy upon me;" and again, after the message of +forgiveness and mercy delivered by Ananias, more joyful and exultant in +the bass solo with chorus ("I praise Thee, O Lord, my God"), Saul +receives his sight, and straightway begins his ministrations. A grand +reflective chorus ("O great is the Depth of the Riches of Wisdom"), +strong and jubilant in character, and rising to a powerful climax, closes +the first part. + +The second part opens with the five-part chorus, "The Nations are now the +Lord's,"--a clear fugue, very stately and dignified in its style, +leading, after a tenor and bass duet ("Now all are Ambassadors in the +Name of Christ"), to the beautifully melodious chorus, "How lovely are +the Messengers that preach us the Gospel of Peace," and the equally +beautiful soprano arioso, "I will sing of Thy great Mercies." After the +chorus, "Thus saith the Lord," and a second tumultuous chorus expressive +of rage and scorn ("Is this He who in Jerusalem"), another chorale occurs +("O Thou, the true and only Light"), in which the Church prays for +direction. The tenor recitative announcing the departure of Paul and +Barnabas to the Gentiles, followed by the tenor and bass duet, "For so +hath the Lord Himself commanded," bring us to the scene of the sacrifice +at Lystra, in which the two choruses, "The Gods themselves as Mortals," +and "O be gracious, ye Immortals," are full of genuine Greek sensuousness +and in striking contrast with the seriousness and majestic character of +the harmony in the Christian chorus ("But our God abideth in Heaven") +which follows. Once more the Jews interfere, in the raging, wrathful +chorus, "This is Jehovah's Temple." In a pathetic tenor aria ("Be thou +faithful unto Death") Paul takes a sorrowful leave of his brethren, and +in response comes an equally tender chorus, "Far be it from thy Path." +Two stately choruses ("See what Love hath the Father," and "Now only unto +Him") close the work. + + + + + Hymn of Praise. + + +The "Lobgesang" ("Hymn of Praise") was written at Leipsic in 1840, the +occasion which gave birth to it being the fourth centennial celebration +of the art of printing. The musical features of the festival were +intrusted to Mendelssohn, the ceremonies occupying two days, June 24 and +25 of the above year. On the evening of the 23d there was a performance +of Lortzing's opera, "Hans Sachs," written for the occasion. On the +morning of the 24th there was a service in the church, followed by the +unveiling of the statue of Guttenberg in the public square, and an +open-air performance of the composer's "Festgesang" for two choirs, with +trombone accompaniment, David conducting one choir, and Mendelssohn the +other. In the afternoon of the 25th the "Hymn of Praise" was given for +the first time in St. Thomas's Church, preceded by Weber's "Jubilee +Overture" and Handel's "Dettingen Te Deum." Lampadius, who was present at +the performance, says:-- + + "The work called out the greatest enthusiasm, which could hardly be + repressed within bounds even by the fact that the audience were seated + within the walls of a church. After the first duet a subdued whisper of + applause ran through the edifice and betrayed the suppressed delight of + the listeners. On one of the evenings following, a torchlight + procession was made in honor of the great composer. Mendelssohn, who + then lived in Lurgenstein's Garden, appeared at the window, his face + lighted up with joy. 'Gentlemen,' he said in his neat, quiet way, with + a sensible trembling of the voice, 'you know that it is not my manner + to make many words; but I heartily thank you.' A loud 'Hoch!' three + times shouted, was our reply." + +Its next performance was at Birmingham, Sept. 23, 1840, Mendelssohn +himself conducting. After this performance it was considerably changed, +and the whole scene of the watchman was added. The idea occurred to him +after a sleepless night, during which, as he informed a friend, the +words, "Will the night soon pass?" incessantly came into his mind. + +The title given to the "Hymn of Praise," "a symphony-cantata," was first +suggested by his friend Carl Klingemann, of London, as will be seen by +the following interesting extract from a letter written by Mendelssohn to +him, Nov. 18, 1840:-- + + "My 'Hymn of Praise' is to be performed the end of this month for the + benefit of old invalided musicians. I am determined, however, that it + shall not be produced in the imperfect form in which, owing to my + illness, it was given in Birmingham; so that makes me work hard. Four + new pieces are to be added, and I have also much improved the three + sets of symphonies, which are now in the hands of the copyist. As an + introduction to the chorus, 'The Night is passed,' I have found far + finer words in the Bible, and admirably adapted to the music. By the + by, you have much to answer for in the admirable title you hit on so + cleverly; for not only have I sent forth the piece into the world as a + symphony-cantata, but I have serious thoughts of resuming the first + 'Walpurgis Night' (which has been so long lying by me) under the same + cognomen, and finishing and getting rid of it at last. It is singular + enough that at the very first suggestion of this idea I should have + written to Berlin that I was resolved to compose a symphony with a + chorus. Subsequently I had not courage to begin, because the three + movements were too long for an introduction; and yet I never could + divest myself of the impression that something was wanting in the shape + of an introduction. Now the symphony is to be inserted according to my + original intention, and the piece brought out at once." + +The text to the "Hymn of Praise" is not in narrative form, nor has it any +particular dramatic significance. It is what its name indicates,--a +tribute of praise. Lampadius says the composer undertook to show "the +triumph at the creation of light over darkness. With his pious and +believing heart he could easily enter into that theme, and show with +matchless power and skill the closing-in of those ancient foes, and the +victory of light when darkness cowered and ignobly shrank away." The +expression of delight over this victory is very well brought out, not +only in the music, but also in the arrangement of the Scriptural texts, +which begin with exhortations of praise, and appeals to those who have +been in distress and affliction to trust the Lord. The tenor, who may be +regarded as the Narrator, calls upon the Watchman, "What of the night?" +The response comes that the night has passed. In exultation over the +victory, once more the text ascribes praise to the Lord. "All that has +life and breath" sings to His name. + +The symphony is in three parts, beginning with a maestoso movement, in +which the trombones at once give out the choral motive, "All that has +life and breath sing to the Lord,"--a favorite theme of Mendelssohn. This +movement, which is strong and energetic in character, is followed by an +allegretto based upon a beautiful melody, and to this in turn succeeds an +adagio religioso rich in harmony. The symphony clearly reflects the +spirit of the cantata, which follows. The opening chorus ("All that has +Life and Breath") is based upon the choral motive, and enunciates the +real hymn of praise. It moves along in a stately manner, and finally +leads without break into a semi-chorus, "Praise thou the Lord, O my +Spirit," a soprano solo with accompaniment of female voices. The tenor in +a long dramatic recitative ("Sing ye Praise, all ye redeemed of the +Lord") urges the faithful to join in praise and extol His goodness, and +the chorus responds, first, the tenors, and then all the parts, in a +beautiful number, "All ye that cried unto the Lord." The next number is +an exquisite duet for soprano and alto with chorus ("I waited for the +Lord"). It is thoroughly devotional in style, and in its general color +and effect reminds one of the arias, "O Rest in the Lord" from "Elijah," +and "The Lord is mindful of His own" from "St. Paul." This duet is +followed by a sorrowful, almost wailing tenor solo, "The Sorrows of Death +had closed all around me," ending with the piercing, anxious cry in +recitative, "Watchman! will the Night soon pass?" set to a restless, +agitated accompaniment and thrice repeated. Like a flash from a cloud +comes the quick response of the chorus, "The Night is departing," which +forms the climax of the work. The chorus is beautifully constructed, and +very impressive in its effect. At first the full chorus proclaims the +night's departure; it then takes the fugal form on the words, "Therefore +let us cast off the works of darkness," which is most effectively worked +out. + +In the finale the male voices are massed on the declaration, "The Night +is departing," and the female voices on the response, "The Day is +approaching;" and after alternating repetitions all close in broad, +flowing harmony. This chorus leads directly to the chorale, "Let all Men +praise the Lord," sung first without accompaniment, and then in unison +with orchestra. Another beautiful duet, "My Song shall alway be Thy +Mercy," this time for soprano and tenor, follows, and prepares the way +for the final fugued chorus, "Ye Nations, offer to the Lord," a massive +number, stately in its proportions and impressive in its effect, and +closing with a fortissimo delivery of the splendid choral motive, "All +that has Life and Breath." + +Notwithstanding that the choral part is brief as compared with the "St. +Paul" and "Elijah," there are many critics who are inclined to pronounce +the "Hymn of Praise" Mendelssohn's greatest work. In its combination of +the symphony and the voice parts, the one growing out of the other and +both so intimately connected, it stands almost alone. Some critics have +condemned Mendelssohn for imitating Beethoven's Choral Symphony, though +in that colossal work the chorus is not only subordinate to the symphony, +but is even trifling in length as compared with it, and very inferior in +style. While in Mendelssohn's work the symphony is subordinated to the +choral part, and serves only as an introduction to it, they are yet +conventionally connected; but in Beethoven's work the chorus was the +product of necessity, as the idea could not have been developed without +it. The instruments had gone as far as possible; the voices _must_ speak. + + + + + Elijah. + + +"Elijah," the most admired of all Mendelssohn's compositions, was +finished in 1846. The plan of the work was first considered in 1837, and +was discussed with his friend Klingemann in London. During the next year +he had frequent consultations with another friend, Schubring, as to the +preparation of the book, and many of the passages were selected and +scenes sketched out; but it was not until 1840 that he really began to +put it into shape. We learn by a letter that in 1842 he was still at work +upon the book itself. Two years later he received an invitation to +conduct the Birmingham Festival of 1846; and it was evidently at that +time he decided to prepare the work for that occasion. We learn by +another letter that on the 23d of May, 1846, the entire first part and +six or eight numbers of the second part were sent to London to a Mr. +Bartholomew, who was engaged translating the text into English. That +Mendelssohn himself was pleased with his work is evident from his own +words, written to a friend after he had finished the first part: "I am +jumping about my room for joy. If it only turns out half as good as I +fancy, how pleased I shall be!" By the latter part of July the entire +oratorio was in the hands of Mr. Bartholomew, and on August 18 +Mendelssohn himself arrived in London and immediately began the +rehearsals. The work was first performed on the 26th at Birmingham, +coming between Haydn's "Creation" on the 25th, and Handel's "Messiah" on +the 27th, the latter oratorio being followed by Beethoven's Mass in D. A +correspondent who was present writes:-- + + "How shall I describe what to-day has been in the Music Hall? After + such an intense enjoyment it is a hard task to express one's feelings + in cold words. It was a great day for the festival, a great day for the + performers, a great day for Mendelssohn, a great day for art. Four + da-capos in the first part, four in the second, making eight encores, + and at the close the calling out of the composer,--are significant + facts when one considers that it was the rigid injunction of the + Committee that the public should not testify its approval by applause. + But the enthusiasm would be checked by no rules; when the heart is + full, regulations must stand aside. It was a noble scene, the hall + filled with men, the galleries gay with ladies, like so many + tulip-beds, added to the princely music and their thundering bravas." + +Mendelssohn himself on the day after the performance writes to his +brother in Berlin:-- + + "No work of mine ever went so admirably the first time of execution, or + was received with such enthusiasm by both the musicians and the + audience, as this oratorio. It was quite evident at the first rehearsal + in London that they liked it, and liked to sing and play it; but I own + I was far from anticipating that it would acquire such fresh vigor and + impetus at the performance. Had you only been there! During the whole + two hours and a half that it lasted, the large hall, with its two + thousand people, and the large orchestra were all so fully intent on + the one object in question that not the slightest sound was to be heard + among the whole audience, so that I could sway at pleasure the enormous + orchestra and choir, and also the organ accompaniments. How often I + thought of you during the time! more especially, however, when 'the + sound of abundance of rain' came, and when they sang and played the + final chorus with _furore_, and when, after the close of the first + part, we were obliged to repeat the whole movement. Not less than four + choruses and four airs were encored, and not one single mistake + occurred in the first part; there were some afterwards in the second + part, but even these were but trifling. A young English tenor[6] sang + the last air with such wonderful sweetness that I was obliged to + collect all my energies, not to be affected, and to continue beating + time steadily." + +Notwithstanding his delight with the performance, he was not satisfied +with the oratorio as a whole. He made numerous changes and re-wrote +portions of the work,--indeed there was scarcely a movement that was not +retouched. It is interesting to note in this connection that the +beautiful trio, "Lift thine Eyes," was originally a duet, and very +different in character. The first performance of the work in London took +place April 16, 1847, when it was given by the Sacred Harmonic Society. +Her Majesty and Prince Albert were in attendance; and after the +performance the Prince sent to Mendelssohn the score which he had used in +following the music, with the following tribute written in it:-- + + To the noble artist who, surrounded by the Baal-worship of corrupted + art, has been able by his genius and science to preserve faithfully, + like another Elijah, the worship of true art, and once more to accustom + our ear, lost in the whirl of an empty play of sounds, to the pure + notes of expressive composition and legitimate harmony; to the great + master who makes us conscious of the unity of his conception through + the whole maze of his creation, from the soft whispering to the mighty + raging of the elements. + + Written in token of grateful remembrance by + + Albert. + + Buckingham Palace, April 24, 1847. + +The text was mainly compiled from the First Book of Kings, and was +translated, as has been said, by Mr. Bartholomew. Hiller says that the +idea of the oratorio was first suggested by the verse in the nineteenth +chapter, "Behold, the Lord passed by," and that Mendelssohn, while +reading it, remarked to him, "Would not that be splendid for an +oratorio?" The prominent scenes treated are the drought prophecy, the +raising of the widow's son, the rival sacrifices, the appearance of the +rain in answer to Elijah's appeal, Jezebel's persecution of Elijah, the +sojourn in the desert, his return, his disappearance in the fiery +chariot, and the finale, which reflects upon the meaning of the sacred +narrative. The scenes themselves indicate the dramatic character of the +oratorio. In this respect, indeed, Mendelssohn may almost be said to have +created a new school of oratorio construction. "Elijah" could be placed +upon the stage with scenery, costume, and properties as a sacred opera, +and make a powerful impression,--almost as much so, indeed, as Rossini's +"Moses." Mendelssohn's own testimony on this point is interesting. In a +letter written Nov. 2, 1838, to Pastor Julius Schubring, who was +assisting him in the preparation of the book, he says:-- + + "I figured to myself Elijah as a grand, mighty prophet, such as we + might again require in our own day,--energetic and zealous, but also + stern, wrathful, and gloomy; a striking contrast to the court myrmidons + and popular rabble,--in fact, in opposition to the whole world, and yet + borne on angel's wings.... I am anxious to do justice to the dramatic + element, and, as you say, no epic narrative must be introduced.... I + would fain see the dramatic element more prominent, as well as more + exuberant and defined,--appeal and rejoinder, question and answer, + sudden interruptions, etc." + +Again, on the 6th of December, he writes:-- + + "In such a character as that of Elijah, like every one in the Old + Testament (except, perhaps, Moses), it appears to me that the dramatic + should predominate, the personages should be introduced as acting and + speaking with fervor,--not, however, for Heaven's sake, to become mere + musical pictures, but inhabitants of a positive, practical world such + as we see in every chapter of the Old Testament; and the contemplative + and pathetic element, which you desire, must be entirely conveyed to + our apprehension by the words and the mood of the acting personages." + +The introduction to the oratorio is prefaced by a brief but very +impressive recitative,--Elijah's prophecy of the drought; leading +directly to the overture, a sombre, despairing prelude, picturing the +distress which is to follow as the curse settles down upon the streams +and valleys. At last the suffering is voiced in the opening chorus +("Help, Lord"), which, after three passionate appeals, moves along in +plaintive beauty, developing phrase after phrase of touching appeal, and +leading to a second chorus, with duet for two sopranos ("Lord, bow Thine +Ear to our Prayer"), the choral part of which is an old Jewish chant, +sung alternately by the male and female voices in unison. It is followed +by Obadiah's lovely tenor aria, "If with all your Hearts," full of +tenderness and consolation. Again the People break out into a chorus of +lamentation ("Yet doth the Lord see it not"), which at the close develops +into a chorale of graceful and serene beauty ("For He the Lord our God"). +Then follows the voice of an Angel summoning Elijah to the brook of +Cherith, leading to the beautiful double quartet, "For He shall give His +Angels Charge over thee," the melody of which is simple, but full of +animation, and worked up with a skilful effect. Again the Angel summons +Elijah to go to the Widow's house at Zarephath. The dramatic scene of the +raising of her son ensues, comprising a passionate song by the mother +("What have I to do with thee?") and the noble declaration of the +prophet, "Give me thy Son," and closing with the reflective chorus, +"Blessed are the Men who fear Him." + +In the next scene we have the appearance of Elijah before Ahab, and the +challenge of the Priests of Baal to the sacrifice on Mount Carmel, set +forth in vigorous recitative, accompanied by short choral outbursts. At +the words of Elijah, "Invoke your forest gods and mountain deities," the +Priests of Baal break out into the stirring double-chorus, "Baal, we cry +to thee," which is fairly sensual and heathenish in its rugged, abrupt +melodies, as compared with the Christian music. At its close Elijah bids +them "call him louder, for he is a god; he talketh, or he is pursuing." +Again they break out into a chorus of barbaric energy ("Hear our Cry, O +Baal"), in the intervals of which Elijah taunts them again and again with +the appeal, "Call him louder." The Priests renew their shouts, each time +with increasing force, "pausing in vain for the reply, and closing with a +rapid, almost angry expostulation ("Hear and answer"). Then follows the +calm, dignified prayer of the prophet ("Lord God of Abraham"), succeeded +by a simple, but beautiful chorale ("Cast thy Burden upon the Lord"). It +is the moment of quiet before the storm which is to come. He calls for +the fire to descend upon the altar, and a chorus of passionate energy +replies, "The Fire descends from Heaven," accompanied by imitative music, +and closing with a brief movement in broad harmony. In fierce recitative +Elijah dooms the Priests of Baal to destruction, and after a short choral +reply sings the bass aria, "Is not His Word like a Fire?"--a song of +extraordinary difficulty, and requiring a voice of exceptional accuracy +and power for its proper performance. A lovely arioso for alto ("Woe unto +them") follows Elijah's vigorous declamation. These two arias are +connecting links between the fire chorus and the rain scene which ensues. +Obadiah summons Elijah to help the People, and Elijah replies in an +exquisite little andante passage, repeated by the chorus ("Open the +Heavens and send us Relief"). Then follows a dialogue-passage between the +prophet, the People, and the Youth, whom he bids "look toward the +sea,"--the most striking features of which are the responses of the Youth +and the orchestral climax as the heavens grow black and "the storm rushes +louder and louder." As the deluge of rain descends, the thankful People +break out into a passionate shout of delight ("Thanks be to God"), heard +above the tempest in the orchestra. At first it is a brief expression of +gratitude. The voices come to a pause, and Elijah repeats the tribute of +praise. Then all join in a surging tumult of harmony, as fresh and +delightful as was the pouring rain to the thirsty land, voices and +instruments vying with each other in joyful acclamations, until the end +is reached and the first part closes. + +The second part opens with a brilliant soprano solo ("Hear ye, Israel"), +beginning with a note of warning, and then with trumpet obligato +developing into another melody of an impetuous and animated description +("I, I am He that comforteth"). The solo leads to the magnificent chorus, +"Be not afraid," in which, after a short pause, the entire force of +voices, orchestra, and organ join in the sublime strain, sweeping on in +broad, full harmony. There is a pause of the voices for two bars, then +they move on in a strong fugue ("Though Thousands languish and fall"). At +its close they are all merged again in the grand announcement, "Be not +afraid," delivered with impetuosity, and ending with the same subject in +powerful chorale form. The scene which follows is intensely dramatic. The +prophet rebukes Ahab and condemns the Baal worship. Jezebel fiercely +accuses Elijah of conspiring against Israel, and the People in sharp, +impetuous phrases declare, "He shall perish," leading to the chorus, "Woe +to him!" After a few bars for the instruments, Obadiah, in an exquisite +recitative, counsels him to fly to the wilderness. In the next scene we +behold Elijah alone, and in a feeble but infinitely tender plaint he +resigns himself. It is hard to conceive anything grander and yet more +pathetic than this aria, "It is enough," in which the prophet prays for +death. A few bars of tenor recitative tell us that, wearied out, he has +fallen asleep ("See, now he sleepeth beneath a juniper-tree in the +wilderness, and there the angels of the Lord encamp round about all them +that fear Him"). It introduces the trio of the Angels, "Lift thine Eyes +to the Mountains," sung without accompaniment,--one of the purest, +loveliest, and most delightful of all vocal trios. An exquisite chorus +("He watching over Israel") follows, in which the second theme, +introduced by the tenors ("Shouldst thou, walking in Grief"), is full of +tender beauty; the trio and chorus are the perfection of dream-music. At +its close the Angel awakes Elijah, and once more we hear his pathetic +complaint, "O Lord, I have labored in vain; oh, that I now might die!" In +response comes an aria of celestial beauty, sung by the Angel ("Oh, rest +in the Lord"), breathing the very spirit of heavenly peace and +consolation,--an aria of almost matchless purity, beauty, and grace. +Firmly and with a certain sort of majestic severity follows the chorus, +"He that shall endure to the end." The next scene is one of the most +impressive and dramatic in the oratorio. Elijah no longer prays for +death; he longs for the divine presence. He hears the voice of the Angel: +"Arise now, get thee without, stand on the mount before the Lord; for +there His glory will appear and shine on thee. Thy face must be veiled, +for He draweth near." With great and sudden strength the chorus +announces: "Behold! God the Lord passed by." With equal suddenness it +drops to a pianissimo, gradually worked up in a crescendo movement, and +we hear the winds "rending the mountains around;" but once more in +pianissimo it tells us "the Lord was not in the tempest." The earthquake +and the fire pass by, each treated in a similar manner; but the Lord was +not in those elements. Then, in gentle tones of ineffable sweetness, it +declares, "After the fire there came a still, small voice, ... and in +that still, small voice onward came the Lord;" and onward sings the +chorus in low, sweet, ravishing tones to the end: "The Seraphim above Him +cried one to the other, Holy, holy, holy, is God the Lord!"--a double +chorus of majestic proportions. Once more Elijah goes on his way, no +longer dejected, but clothed with "the strength of the Lord." His aria, +"For the Mountains shall depart," prepares us for the final climax. In +strong accents the chorus announce, "Then did Elijah the prophet break +forth like a fire;" his words were like "burning torches;" he overthrew +kings; he stood on Sinai and heard the vengeance of the future on Horeb. +Then comes a significant pause. The basses begin, "And when the Lord +would take him away;" another brief pause, and the full chorus pictures +in vivid color the coming of the fiery chariot and the whirlwind by which +he was caught up into heaven. The picturesqueness and dramatic intensity +of this splendid chorus can hardly be described in words. One more tenor +aria ("Then, then shall the Righteous shine") and a brief soprano solo +introduce the chorus, "Behold My servant." A beautiful quartet ("Oh! +come, every one that thirsteth") follows, and the massive fugue, "And +then shall your Light break forth as the Light of the Morning," closes +this great masterpiece. + +[6] Mr. Lockey was the tenor on this occasion; the part of Elijah was + sung by Standigl. + + + + + Christus. + + +"Christus," which Mendelssohn intended as the third in the series with +"Elijah" and "St. Paul," was left unfinished. The words were written by +the Chevalier Bunsen and given to the composer in 1844, before he began +"Elijah." With his customary fastidiousness, he altered and rearranged +the text, and it was not until 1847, after "Elijah" was finished, that he +touched the music. At this time he was in delicate health, and had not +recovered from the shock of his sister's death. He sought consolation for +his troubles and relief for his ailments among the mountains of +Switzerland. Part of his time was devoted to mountain-rambling, and the +remainder to work upon "Christus" and the opera "Loreley," neither of +which he lived to finish. + +It is interesting to note in this connection that before Mendelssohn +settled upon "Christus," the subject of Saint Peter occupied his +attention, although he still had the former in view for later +consideration. In a letter to his friend Schubring, written at +Bingen-on-the-Rhine, July 14, 1837, he says:-- + + "I wish to ask your advice in a matter which is of importance to me, + and I feel it will therefore not be indifferent to you either, having + received so many proofs to the contrary from you. It concerns the + selection of a subject of an oratorio which I intend to begin next + winter. I am most anxious to have your counsels, as the best + suggestions and contributions for the text of my 'St. Paul' came from + you. Many very apparent reasons are in favor of choosing St. Peter as + the subject,--I mean its being intended for the Duesseldorf Musical + Festival at Whitsuntide, and the prominent position the feast of Whit + Sunday would occupy in this subject. In addition to these grounds, I + may add my wish (in connection with a greater plan for a later + oratorio) to bring the two chief apostles and pillars of the Christian + Church side by side in oratorios,--in short, that I should have a 'St. + Peter' as well as a 'St. Paul.'" + +Another extract from the same letter will show the keenness with which he +analyzed his themes. He writes:-- + + "I need not tell you that there are sufficient internal grounds to make + me prize the subject; and far above all else stands the outpouring of + the Holy Ghost, which must form the central point or chief object. The + question, therefore, is whether the place that Peter assumes in the + Bible, divested of the dignity which he enjoys in the Catholic or + Protestant Churches as a martyr, or the first Pope, etc.,--whether what + is said of him in the Bible is alone and in itself sufficiently + important to form the basis of a symbolical oratorio. For, according to + my feeling, the subject must not be treated historically, however + indispensable this was in the case of 'St. Paul.' In historic handling, + Christ must appear in the earlier part of St. Peter's career; and where + he appears, St. Peter could not lay claim to the chief interest. I + think, therefore, it must be symbolical; though all the historical + points might probably be introduced,--the betrayal and repentance, the + keys of Heaven given him by Christ, his preaching at Pentecost,--not in + an historical, but prophetic light, if I may so express myself, in + close connection." + +The project was never carried out; but the deep earnestness with which +Mendelssohn considered it shows how thoughtfully he must have devoted +himself to the scheme which took its place. Neither his letters nor his +biographers throw much light upon the history of "Christus." Lampadius +says: "The oratorio was laid out upon a grand scale. It was to be in +three parts,--the career on earth, the descent into hell, the ascent to +heaven." This plan must have been subsequently changed, for the fragments +of the oratorio are included in two parts, though they entirely pertain +to the earthly career. There are in all eight complete numbers,--three +from the first part, and five from the second. The first part opens with +a soprano recitative ("When Jesus our Lord was born in Bethlehem"), +leading to a strong trio for tenor and two basses ("Say, where is he +born?"), the question of the Wise Men from the East. The chorus replies, +"Then shall a Star from Jacob come forth," closing with the old German +chorale, "Wie schoen leuchtet der Morgenstern" ("How brightly shines the +Morning Star!"), in plain, flowing harmony. + +The fragments of the second part are in the form of the passion-music, +and include five tenor recitatives, narrating the dialogue between +Pilate, the Elders and the People, and his final order, "Take ye him and +crucify him, for I cannot find a fault in him," and several short, angry +choruses of the Jews, accusing Jesus and calling for his death, leading +to a beautiful chorus for mixed voices ("Daughters of Zion, weep"), and +closing with an effective chorale for male voices in the genuine Bach +style:-- + + "He leaves his heavenly portals, + Endures the grief of mortals, + To raise our fallen race. + O love beyond expressing! + He gains for us a blessing, + He saves us by redeeming grace. + + "When thou, O sun, art shrouded, + By night or tempest clouded, + Thy rays no longer dart; + Though earth be dark and dreary, + If, Jesus, thou art near me, + 'Tis cloudless day within my heart." + + + + + MOZART. + + +Johann Chrysostomus Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the most remarkable +musical geniuses the world has produced, and the only one of his +contemporaries whose operas still hold the stage with unimpaired +freshness, was born at Salzburg, Jan. 27, 1756. He was the son of Leopold +Mozart, the Salzburgian Vice-Capellmeister, who gave him and his sister +Nannerl their earliest instructions in music, and with such good results +that the children travelled and gave concerts with great success. Before +he was seven years of age, he had composed several pieces for piano and +violin, his earliest having been written at the age of five! At twelve he +became court capellmeister in Salzburg. After his musical travels he went +to Vienna, and there began his real period of classic activity, which +commenced with "Idomeneus," reached its culmination in "Don Giovanni," +and closed with the "Requiem,"--the "swan-song" of his wonderful life. In +his brief life Mozart composed more than fifty great works, besides +hundreds of minor ones in every possible form of musical writing. His +greatest compositions may be classed in the following order: "Idomeneus" +(1780); "Entfuehrung aus dem Serail" (1781); "Figaro's Hochzeit" ("The +Marriage of Figaro"), (1785); "Don Giovanni" (1787); "Cosi fan tutti," +"Zauberfloete" ("The Magic Flute"), and "Titus" (1790); and the "Requiem" +(1791, the year of his death). The catalogue of Mozart's works is an +immense one, for his period of productivity was unusually long. From the +age of five to his death, there was not a year that was not crowded with +his music. Besides his numerous operas, of which only the more famous are +given above, he wrote a large number of symphonies (of which the +"Jupiter" is now the best known), sonatas, concertos for all kinds of +instruments, even to musical-glasses, trios, quartets, quintets, and +sextets for all possible combinations of instruments, marches, fugues, +masses, hymns, arias of extraordinary brilliancy,--many of them written +for his sister-in-law, Aloysia Weber, to whom at one time he was +engaged,--liturgies, cantatas, songs, and ballads, and indeed every form +of music that is now known. His style was studied by Beethoven, and so +closely imitated that the music of his first period, if published without +autograph, would readily be attributed to Mozart. His style was so +spontaneous and so characteristic that it has been well said there is but +one Mozart. The distinguishing trait of his music is its rich melodic +beauty and its almost ravishing sweetness. His melody pours along in a +bright, unbroken stream that sometimes even overflows its banks, so +abundant is it. It is peculiarly the music of youth and spring-time, +exquisite in form, graceful in technique, and delightful in expression. +It was the source where all his immediate successors went for their +inspiration, though it lacked the maturity, majesty, and emotional depths +which were reached by such a Titan as Beethoven. Old as it is, and +antiquated in form, especially as compared with the work of the new +schools, its perennial freshness, grace, and beauty have made it +immortal. + + + + + The Requiem. + + +Mozart's "Requiem" was written in Vienna in 1791 and was left in an +unfinished state by the composer, who made suggestions and gave +instructions as to its completion even upon his death-bed; it was +literally his swan-song. No work by any composer has given rise to more +romantic stories or more bitter discussion. It was long the popular +belief that the "Requiem" was commissioned by a dark, mysterious +stranger, whose appearance impressed Mozart with the conviction that he +was a messenger of death; more than this, that he himself had been +poisoned, and that he was writing his own death-song, upon the order of +some supernatural power. There was some foundation for the belief, as the +commission was given in a very mysterious manner, and Mozart's health at +that time was so delicate that he had had several premonitions of death. +In his gloomy spirits he even said to his wife that he was writing his +own requiem. The actual circumstances attending the commission, though +they do not bear out the romantic versions of the story-tellers, are yet +of extraordinary interest. + +The author of the commission was one Count von Walsegg, living in the +village of Stuppach, whose wife had died early in 1791. He was an amateur +musician of vast ambitions and small accomplishments, and had conceived +the idea of purchasing a requiem anonymously from Mozart and passing it +off as his own work. In pursuance of his scheme he despatched his +steward, named Leutgeb, a tall, solemn, mysterious looking person, with +an anonymous letter to Mozart, who at that time was in absolute poverty, +asking for the music and requesting him to name his own +price,--stipulating, however, that he should make no effort to discover +the identity of his patron. The unsuspicious Mozart accepted the +proposition, after consulting with his wife. He was about to begin work +upon it at once, when he received a commission to write the opera of +"Clemenza de Tito," in honor of the Emperor Leopold's coronation. This +occupied him several weeks, and when it was completed he decided upon a +visit to Baden. At the moment he was about to get into the carriage, the +mysterious stranger again appeared and inquired about the progress of the +"Requiem." Mozart excused himself, and replied that as soon as he +returned he would begin the work; and the stranger went away satisfied. + +Mozart came back to Vienna in September; and after the completion of the +"Magic Flute," and its first performance, Nov. 30, 1791, he devoted +himself assiduously to the "Requiem," though it served only to increase +his gloom. One day he remarked to his wife: "I well know that I am +writing this requiem for myself. My own feelings tell me that I shall not +last long. No doubt some one has given me poison; I cannot get rid of the +thought." It is now known that this suspicion was only the result of his +morbid thoughts; but when it was publicly uttered, most unjust +accusations were made against his rival, Salieri, embittering the old +composer's life until its close. As the work progressed, his gloom +increased. "The day before his death," Nohl says, "he desired the score +to be brought to him in bed, and he sang his part, taking the alto voice. +Benedict Shack took the soprano, his brother-in-law, Hofer, the tenor, +and Gerl the bass. They had got through the various parts to the first +bars of the 'Lacrymosa,' when Mozart suddenly burst into tears and laid +aside the score." His sister-in-law has left an account of his last +moments. She writes: + + "As I approached his bed, he called to me: 'It is well you are here; + you must stay to-night and see me die.' I tried as far as I was able to + banish this impression; but he replied: 'The taste of death is already + on my tongue, I taste death; and who will be near to support my + Constance if you go away?' Suessmayer [his favorite pupil] was standing + by the bedside, and on the counterpane lay the 'Requiem,' concerning + which Mozart was still speaking and giving directions. He now called + his wife and made her promise to keep his death secret for a time from + every one but Albrechtsberger, that he might thus have an advantage + over other candidates for the vacant office of capellmeister to St. + Stephen's. His desire in this respect was gratified, for + Albrechtsberger received the appointment. As he looked over the pages + of the 'Requiem' for the last time, he said, with tears in his eyes: + 'Did I not tell you I was writing this for myself?'" + +Mozart's widow, after his death, fearing that she might have to refund +the money advanced for the work, induced Suessmayer, who was thoroughly +familiar with Mozart's ideas, to complete it. He did so, and the copy was +delivered to Count von Walsegg, who did not hesitate to publish it as his +own. Suessmayer, however, had kept a copy, and after completion published +it; and in a letter to the publishers set up a claim to the +instrumentation of the "Requiem," "Kyrie," "Dies Irae," and "Domine," and +to the whole of the "Sanctus," "Benedictus," and "Agnus Dei." The +publication of Suessmayer's letter provoked a controversy which has raged +from that day to this. The ablest critics and musicians in Europe have +taken part in it. Nearly all of them have defended Mozart's authorship; +but after half a century's discussion it still remains in doubt how far +Suessmayer participated in the completion of the work as it now stands. +The bulk of the evidence, however, favors the theory that Suessmayer only +played the part of a skilful copyist, in writing out the figurings which +Mozart had indicated, carrying out ideas which had been suggested to him, +and writing parts from the sketches which the composer had made. One of +the most pertinent suggestions made in the course of this controversy is +that of Rockstro, who says:-- + + "Some passages, though they may perhaps strengthen Suessmayer's claim to + have filled in certain parts of the instrumentation, stand on a very + different ground to those which concern the composition of whole + movements. The 'Lacrymosa' is quite certainly one of the most beautiful + movements in the whole 'Requiem'--and Mozart is credited with having + only finished the first eight bars of it! Yet it is impossible to study + this movement carefully without arriving at Professor Macfarren's + conclusion that 'the whole was the work of one mind, which mind was + Mozart's.' Suessmayer may have written it out, perhaps; but it must have + been from the recollection of what Mozart had played or sung to him, + for we know that this very movement occupied the dying composer's + attention almost to the last moment of his life. In like manner Mozart + may have left no _Urschriften_ (sketches) of the 'Sanctus,' + 'Benedictus,' and 'Agnus Dei,'--though the fact that they have never + been discovered does not prove that they never existed,--and yet he may + have played and sung these movements often enough to have given + Suessmayer a very clear idea of what he intended to write. We must + either believe that he did this, or that Suessmayer was as great a + genius as he; for not one of Mozart's acknowledged masses will bear + comparison with the 'Requiem,' either as a work of art or the + expression of a devout religious feeling. In this respect it stands + almost alone among instrumental masses, which nearly always sacrifice + religious feeling to technical display." + +After an introduction, which gives out the subject of the opening +movement,--a slow, mournful, solemn theme,--the first number begins with +the impressive strain, "Requiem aeternam dona eis," which gradually +brightens in the phrase, "Et Lux perpetua," and reaches a splendid burst +of exultation in the "Te decet hymnus," of which Oublichieff, the Russian +critic, says: "One seems to hear the voice of an archangel, and Saint +Cecilia herself with her organ sounding a fugued accompaniment which the +most laborious efforts of mortals never could have power to reach." After +a repetition of the "Requiem aeternam," the number closes with the "Kyrie +eleison," a slow and complicated fugue, which is sublime in its effect, +though very sombre in color, as befits the subject. + +The next number is the "Dies Irae," written for chorus in simple +counterpoint, and very dramatic in its character, the orchestral part +being constantly vigorous, impetuous, and agitated, and reaching intense +energy on the verse, "Quantus tremor est futurus," the whole presenting a +vivid picture in tones of the terrors of the last judgment. In the "Tuba +mirum" the spirit of the music changes from the church form to the +secular. It is written for solo voices, ending in a quartet. The bass +begins with the "Tuba mirum," set to a portentous trombone accompaniment; +then follow the tenor ("Mors stupebit"), the alto ("Judex ergo"), and the +soprano ("Quid sum miser"). This number is particularly remarkable for +the manner in which the music is shaded down from the almost supernatural +character of the opening bass solo to the beauty and sweetness of the +soprano solo. From this extraordinary group we pass to the sublime +chorus, "Rex tremendae majestatis," once more in the church style, which +closes with the prayer, "Salva me," in canonical form. With rare skill is +this last appeal of humanity woven out of the thunder-crashes of sound in +the judgment-music. + +The "Dies Irae" is followed by the "Recordare," written, like the "Tuba +mirum," as a quartet for solo voices. The vocal parts are in canon form +and are combined with marvellous skill, relieved here and there with +solos in purely melodic style, as in the "Quaerens me," while the +orchestral part is an independent fugue, with several subjects worked up +with every form of instrumental embellishment, the fugue itself sometimes +relieved by plain accompaniment. The whole is an astonishing piece of +contrapuntal skill, apparently inexhaustible in its scientific +combinations, and yet never for an instant losing its deep religious +significance. Once more the orchestral part is full of agitation and even +savage energy in the "Confutatis maledictis," as it accompanies a +powerful double chorus, closing at last in a majestic prayer ("Oro +supplex et acclinis"), in which all the voices join in magnificent +harmony. + +The "Lacrymosa" is the most elegant and poetically conceived movement in +the "Requiem." It begins in a delicate, graceful, and even sensuous +manner, which gradually broadens and strengthens, and at last develops +into a crescendo of immense power, reaching its climax on the words +"Judicandus homo reus." Then it changes to a plaintive prayer ("Huic ergo +parce Deus"), and closes in a cloud of gloom in the "Dona eis requiem." +The next number ("Domine Jesu Christe") is in pure church form, beginning +with a motet by chorus in solid harmony, which runs into a fugue on the +words "Ne absorbeat eas Tartarus," followed by a quartet of voices +regularly fugued, leading to another great fugue on the passage, "Quam +olim Abrahae," which closes the number in a burst of sacred inspiration. +The "Domine" is followed by the "Hostias," a lovely choral melody which +leads to the "Sanctus," a sublime piece of harmony closing with a fugued +"Hosanna." The "Benedictus," which follows it, is a solo quartet +plaintive and solemn in character, but full of sweet and rich melodies +magnificently accompanied. + +The "Agnus Dei" closes the work, a composition of profound beauty, with +an accompaniment of mournful majesty, developing into a solemn, almost +funereal strain on the words "Dona eis requiem," and closing with the +fugue of the opening "Kyrie" on the words "Lux aeterna." "Written under +the inspiration of death" might well be inscribed on this great monument +of musical skill, this matchless requiem of awful majesty and divine +beauty. In its own unity, its perfection of form and design, its +astonishing skill, from the opening fugue of the "Kyrie" to its +repetition in the finale, may be found the proof that Mozart and no other +wrote the entire score, and that every thought and idea in it are the +inspired work of the dying master. + + + + + PAINE. + + +John K. Paine, one of the very few really eminent American composers, was +born at Portland, Me., Jan. 9, 1839. He studied the piano, organ, and +composition with Kotzschmar in that city, and made his first public +appearance as an organist, June 25, 1857. During the following year he +went to Germany and studied the organ, composition, and instrumentation +with Haupt and other masters in Berlin. He returned to this country in +1861 and gave several concerts, in which he played many of the organ +works of the best writers for the first time in the United States. +Shortly after his return he was appointed instructor of music in Harvard +University, and in 1876 was honored with the elevation to a professorship +and given a regular chair. He is best known as a composer, and several of +his works have been paid the rare compliment of performance in Germany, +among them his Mass in D and all his symphonies. The former was given at +the Berlin Singakademie in 1867, under his own direction. Among his +principal compositions are the oratorio "St. Peter;" the Mass in D; the +Centennial Hymn, set to Whittier's poem and sung at the opening of the +Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition; the overture to "As You Like It;" +"The Tempest," in the style of a symphonic poem; the symphony in C minor +and "Spring" symphony; besides numerous sonatas, fantasies, preludes, +songs, and arrangements for organ and piano. His larger orchestral works +have been made familiar to American audiences by Mr. Theodore Thomas's +band, and have invariably met with success. His style of composition is +large, broad, and dignified, based upon the best classic models, and +evinces a high degree of musical scholarship. + + + + + St. Peter. + + +"St. Peter," Mr. Paine's only oratorio,--and from the highest standpoint +it may be said the only oratorio yet produced in this country,--was +written in 1872-73, and first performed at Portland, Me., in June of the +latter year, under the composer's own direction. The solos were sung by +Mrs. Wetherbee, Miss Adelaide Phillipps, Mr. George L. Osgood, and Mr. +Rudolphsen. It was again produced with great success at the third +Triennial Festival of the Boston Handel and Haydn Society, May 9, 1874, +with Mrs. J. Houston West, Mr. Nelson Varley, Miss Phillipps, and Mr. +Rudolphsen in the principal parts. + +The establishment of Christianity, illustrated by the four principal +scenes in the life of St. Peter, forms the subject of the oratorio. It is +divided into two parts, and these are subdivided as follows: Part I. The +Divine Call; The Denial and Repentance. Part II. The Ascension; +Pentecost. The overture, a short adagio movement expressive of the +unsettled spiritual condition of the world prior to the advent of +Christianity, leads directly to the opening chorus, "The Time is +fulfilled," which develops not only this subject, but also a second, +"Repent, and believe the glad Tidings of God," in a masterly manner. The +chorus, written in a very noble style, is followed by the tenor +recitative, which describes the divine call of our Lord to Simon and +Andrew as "He walked by the Sea of Galilee." It prepares the way for a +soprano aria ("The Spirit of the Lord is upon me") which announces the +glad tidings they are commissioned to deliver. Twelve male voices, +representing the Disciples, accept the call in the chorus, "We go before +the Face of the Lord," which is beautifully accompanied by and interwoven +with the full chorus, closing with the smoothly flowing chorale, "How +lovely shines the Morning Star." Then ensues the first dramatic scene. To +the question of the Saviour, "Who do men say that I am," the twelve male +voices first reply, followed by Peter in a few bars of very effective +recitative, "Thou art the Christ." A tenor arioso, declaring the +foundation of the Church "upon this rock," is followed by a noble and +exquisitely chaste bass aria for Peter ("My Heart is glad and my Spirit +rejoiceth"), the scene ending with the powerful chorus, "The Church is +built upon the Foundation of the Apostles and Prophets." The next scene, +"The Denial and Repentance," opens with the warning to Peter that he will +deny his Lord, and his remonstrance, "Though I should die with thee," +which is repeated by the Apostles. These brief passages are followed by a +very pathetic aria for tenor ("Let not your Heart be troubled") and a +beautifully worked-up quartet and chorus ("Sanctify us through Thy +Truth"). A contralto solo announces the coming of "Judas with a great +multitude," leading Jesus away to the High Priest, and is followed by the +very expressive chorus, "We hid our Faces from him." The scene of the +denial is very dramatic, the alternating accusations of the servants and +the denials of Peter being treated with great skill; it closes with a +very effective contralto recitative, illustrating the sad words: "And +while he yet spake, the cock crew. And the Lord turned, and looked on +Peter; and he remembered the word of the Lord, and he went out and wept +bitterly." An orchestral interlude follows, in the nature of a lament, a +minor adagio full of deep feeling. It is followed by an aria for Peter +("O God, my God, forsake me not"), which is cast in the same strain of +lamentation as the orchestral number which precedes and really introduces +it. At its close a chorus of Angels, sopranos, and altos, with harp +accompaniment ("Remember, remember from whence thou art fallen"), is +heard warning Peter, augmented on the introduction of the second subject +("And he that overcometh shall receive a Crown of Life") by the full +chorus. This chorus is followed by a beautiful aria for alto ("The Lord +is faithful and righteous to forgive our Sins"); and then a massive +chorus, which is fairly majestic ("Awake, thou that sleepest"), closes +the first part. + +The second part opens with a chorus ("The Son of Man was delivered into +the Hands of sinful Men"), which tells the story of the crucifixion, not +only with great power, but also with intense pathos, ending with the +chorale, "Jesus my Redeemer lives," which invests the sad narrative with +tender and consolatory feeling. The ascension scene is accompanied by +graceful and expressive recitatives for tenor and bass, followed by a +tenor arioso ("Go ye and teach") and a short soprano recitative ("And he +lifted up his Hands"), leading to the full melodious chorus, "If ye then +be risen." The next number is an impressive soprano solo ("O Man of +God"), in which Peter is admonished "to put on the whole armor of God and +fight the good fight." A beautifully written quartet ("Feed the Flock of +God") closes the scene of the ascension. The last scene opens with a +tenor solo describing the miracle of Pentecost, set to an extremely +vigorous and descriptive accompaniment. It is followed by the chorus, +"The Voice of the Lord," which is one of the most effective in the whole +work, though not constructed in the massive style of those which close +the two parts. A contralto recitative links this chorus to its successor, +"Behold! are not all these who speak Galileans?" After a brief soprano +recitative, Peter has another vigorous solo ("Ye Men of Judaea"), which is +as dramatic in its style and almost as descriptive in its accompaniment +as the opening tenor solo of this scene. A reflective aria for alto ("As +for Man") follows it, and bass and tenor recitatives lead up to the +eagerly questioning chorus of the people, "Men and Brethren." The answer +comes from Peter and the Apostles, "For the Promise is to you." An +intricate chorus ("This is the Witness of God"), closing with a chorale +("Praise to the Father"), leads to the finale, which comprises the +chorus, "Beloved, let us love one another," written for bass solo, +tenors, and basses (the Disciples), and full chorus; an effective duet +for soprano and tenor ("Sing unto God"); and the final majestic chorus +("Great and marvellous are thy Works"). + + + + + ROSSINI. + + +Gioachino Antonio Rossini, the father of the modern Italian school of +opera, was born Feb. 29, 1792, at Pesaro, in the Romagna. His father was +an accomplished musician, and his mother a professional singer, so that +he was brought up in a musical atmosphere. Even as a boy he sang with his +mother in the theatre. He first studied with Mattei, and later with +Martini. His first opera, "Demetrio e Polibio," was brought out at Rome +in 1812, and before he had concluded his life-work, more than forty of +his operas had been given in almost every part of Europe,--a crowning +result of labor and contemporaneous fame not often enjoyed by composers. +His "Tancredi," which was produced for the first time at Venice in 1813, +was the opera which made him famous, and its remarkable success spread +his reputation far and wide. In 1815 appeared "L' Italiana in Algeri" and +"Aureliano in Palmira;" in 1816, "Elisabetta," "Otello," and his splendid +work "The Barber of Seville," which, though his masterpiece, is said to +have been written in fourteen days; in 1817, "La Cenerentola," "La Gazza +Ladra," and "Armida;" and in 1819, "Ricciardo e Zoraide," "La Donna del +Lago," and many others. From 1815 to 1822 Rossini was under the +"management" of the _impresario_ Barbaja in Naples, who had much +difficulty in keeping him to the work of composition, his facility in +writing often leading him to defer work until it was the very eve of +performance. In 1823, under the auspices of Barbaja, and with the +assistance of the prima donna, Colbran, whom Rossini married about this +time, his opera "Zelmira" and others of his works were given with such +brilliant success as to raise his aspirations for a wider and more +promising field of labor. In the year 1823 he went to Paris and London, +finally settling in the former city, where he not only began a new grand +opera, but also gave himself to the study and development of orchestral +music and the encouragement of artists. His home was the Mecca of +singers, and, like Liszt's at Weimar, the centre of art influences. The +new work was "William Tell," which was first brought out in Paris in +1829. It was his last important effort. It met with only temporary +success, though it enjoys to-day a reputation almost equal to that of the +"Barber." His most celebrated work in sacred music is the "Stabat Mater," +which, though written in operatic style and very brilliant in coloring, +has retained its place in popular favor, and is to-day as eagerly sought +for by artists and the public as it was in his own day. Among his other +sacred works is "Moses in Egypt,"--originally written as an oratorio for +the San Carlo in Naples, and brought out there in 1818, though +subsequently recast and provided with a revised libretto for the Paris +Grand Opera in 1827. The "Prayer" from this work has a world-wide +popularity. During the latter years of his life Rossini gave up +composition entirely,--in part because of the eventual failure of his +"William Tell,"--and enjoyed the fruits of his labors at his beautiful +villa in Passy. He died Nov. 14, 1868. His sacred works, besides those +already mentioned, are a few Italian oratorios, now unknown, three +choruses, "Faith, Hope, and Charity," the "Petite Messe Solenelle," a +"Tantum Ergo," a "Quoniam," and an "O Salutaris." + + + + + Stabat Mater. + + +The great Stabat Maters in the musical world are those of Palestrina, +Pergolesi, Haydn, Steffani, Clari, Astorga, Winter, Neukomm, Rossini, and +the one recently written by the Bohemian composer, Dvorak. Of all these +no one has been so popular as that of Rossini, nor made the world so +familiar with the text of the Virgin's Lamentation. After the failure of +"William Tell," Rossini abandoned opera-writing, though he had a contract +with the Grand Opera at Paris for four more works, and contemplated +taking up the subject of Faust. "William Tell" was his last work for the +stage; but before his absolute retirement he was to produce a work +destined to add to his fame. In 1832 his friend Aguado induced him to +compose a "Stabat Mater" for the Spanish minister, Don Valera, which was +not intended to be made public. Before its completion he fell ill, and +Tadolini wrote the last four numbers. The work was dedicated to Valera, +with the understanding that it should always be retained by him. Nine +years afterwards Valera died, and Rossini learned that his heirs had sold +the work to a Paris publisher for two thousand francs. He at once claimed +the copyright and brought an action, in which he was successful. He then +composed four new numbers in place of those written by Tadolini, and sold +the work complete to the publisher, Troupenas, for six thousand francs. +The latter sold the right of performance for a limited time to the +Escudiers for eight thousand francs, and they in turn sold it to the +Theatre Italien for twenty thousand. Its first complete performance was +at the Salle Ventadour, Jan. 7, 1842, Grisi, Albertazzi, Mario, and +Tamburini taking the principal parts. + +A brief but brilliant orchestral prelude leads to the opening chorus, +"Stabat Mater dolorosa," arranged for solos and chorus, and very dramatic +in style, especially in its broad, melodious contrasts. It is followed by +the tenor solo, "Cujus Animam," which is familiar to every +concert-goer,--a clear-cut melody free of embellishment, but very +brilliant and even jubilant in character, considering the nature of the +text. The next number ("Quis est Homo"), for two sopranos, is equally +familiar. It is based upon a lovely melody, first given out by the first +soprano, and then by the second, after which the two voices carry the +theme through measure after measure of mere vocal embroidery, closing +with an extremely brilliant cadenza in genuine operatic style. The fourth +number is the bass aria "Pro peccatis," the two themes in which are very +earnest and even serious in character, and come nearer to the church +style than any other parts of the work. It is followed by a beautifully +constructed number ("Eia Mater"), a bass recitative with chorus, which is +very strong in its effect. The sixth number is a lovely quartet ("Sancta +Mater"), full of variety in its treatment, and closing with full, broad +harmony. After a short solo for soprano ("Fac ut Portem"), the climax is +reached in the "Inflammatus,"--a brilliant soprano obligato with powerful +choral accompaniment. The solo number requires a voice of exceptional +range, power, and flexibility; with this condition satisfied, the effect +is intensely dramatic, and particularly fascinating by the manner in +which the solo is set off against the choral background. A beautiful +unaccompanied quartet in broad, plain harmony, "Quando Corpus," leads to +the showy fugued "Amen" which closes the work. + +Unquestionably the "Stabat Mater" is one of the most popular of all the +minor sacred compositions; and the secret lies on the surface: it is to +be found in the delightful and fascinating melodies, which are strewn so +thickly through it, as well as in the graceful bravura, which was so +characteristic of Rossini, and which when delivered by accomplished +artists is very captivating to a popular audience. As to its sacred form, +it is as far from the accepted style of church music as Berlioz's or +Verdi's requiems. Indeed, Rossini himself remarked to Hiller that he +wrote it in the "mezzo serio" style. In connection with this matter one +or two criticisms will be of interest. Rossini's biographer, Sutherland +Edwards, says: "The 'Stabat Mater' was composed, as Raphael's Virgins +were painted, for the Roman Catholic Church, which at once accepted it, +without ever suspecting that Rossini's music was not religious." The +remark, however, would be more pertinent were it not for the fact that +the Church itself has not always been a good critic of its own music, or +a good judge of what its music should be, as Liszt discovered when he +went to Rome full of his purposes of reform in the musical service. +Heine, in a letter to the "Allgemeine Zeitung" in 1842, replying to +certain German criticisms, went so far as to say,-- + + "The true character of Christian art does not reside in thinness and + paleness of the body, but in a certain effervescence of the soul, which + neither the musician nor the painter can appropriate to himself either + by baptism or study; and in this respect I find in the 'Stabat' of + Rossini a more truly Christian character than in the 'Paulus' ['St. + Paul'] of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy,--an oratorio which the + adversaries of Rossini point to as a model of Christian style." + +It will hardly be claimed, however, even by Heine's friends, that this +sweeping statement is either just to Mendelssohn or true of Rossini. +Perhaps they will also concede that Heine was not a very good judge of +Christianity in any of its aspects, musical or otherwise. The veteran +Moscheles in one of his letters criticizes the work very pertinently. He +says,-- + + "It is, as you may imagine, a model of 'singableness' (if I may say + so); but it is not sufficiently church music to my taste. His solitary + fugue is clumsy. The criticisms on the work are very various. Some + agree with me; but the majority delight in the captivating Italian + phrases, which I admire too, but which I cannot think are in the right + place." + +He might have added, "Because they are the phrases of 'Semiramide,' +'Tancredi,' and the 'Barber.'" There is scarcely a number of the "Stabat +Mater" which might not be detached from it and reset in one of Rossini's +operas without doing violence to whatever of the real religious style it +may be supposed, or was intended, to have. The "Stabat Mater" music would +be captivatingly beautiful in any setting. + + + + + RUBINSTEIN. + + +Anton Gregor Rubinstein was born, Nov. 30, 1829, at the village of +Wechwotynetz, in Russia. His parents, who were in moderate circumstances, +moved to Moscow during his infancy, and in that city he received his +first musical instruction. His mother gave him lessons at the age of +four, with the result that by the time he was six she was unable to teach +him anything more. He then studied the piano with Alexander Villoing, a +pupil of John Field. His first composition appeared in his twelfth year, +and soon his songs and two and four hand piano-pieces began to attract +the attention of musicians. In 1840 Villoing took him to Paris and placed +him in the Conservatory, where he attracted the attention of Liszt, +Chopin, and Thalberg. He remained in that city eighteen months, devoting +himself to unremitting study, and then made some professional tours, in +which he met with extraordinary success, particularly in England. From +that country he went to Holland and Sweden, everywhere meeting with an +enthusiastic reception. In 1844 his parents removed to Berlin, and he was +placed under Dehn, the famous contrapuntist, to study composition, his +brother Nicholas being a companion in his work. The father dying in 1846, +the mother and Nicholas returned to Russia, leaving Anton alone. During +the next two years he taught music in Pressburg and Vienna, and in the +latter part of 1848 went back to Russia. About this time he received an +honorary musical appointment from the Grand-Duchess Helene. For eight +years he studied and wrote in St. Petersburg, and at the end of that time +had accumulated a mass of manuscripts destined to make his name famous +all over Europe, while his reputation as a skilful pianist was already +world-wide. He visited England again in 1857, and the next year returned +home and settled in St. Petersburg, about which time he was made Imperial +Concert Director, with a life-pension. At this period in his career he +devoted himself to the cause of music in Russia. His first great work was +the foundation of the Conservatory in the above city in 1862, of which he +remained principal until 1867. He also founded the Russian Musical +Society in 1861, and in 1869 was decorated by the Czar. In 1870 he +directed the Philharmonic and Choral Societies of Vienna, and shortly +afterwards made another tour, during which, in 1872, he came to this +country with the eminent violinist Wieniawsky, as will be well +remembered. His visit here was marked by a succession of ovations. No +other pianist ever achieved such a wonderful success, not only among +musicians, but among the people of all classes. Musicians were astounded +at his remarkable knowledge, while musical and unmusical people alike +were carried off their feet by the whirlwind-style of his playing. It was +full of grace, nobility, breadth, and dignity; but it combined with these +qualities a fire, an intensity, and a passion which sometimes invested +the piano with orchestral effects, and again transformed it into an +instrument that wept, laughed, sang, and danced. His power was +irresistible and electric. As a composer he ranks very high. His greatest +works are the Ocean Symphony, Dramatic Symphony, and a character sketch +for grand orchestra called "Ivan the Terrible;" his operas, "Children of +the Heath," "Feramors," "Nero," "The Maccabees," "Dimitri Donskoi," and +the "Demon;" the oratorios "Paradise Lost" and "Tower of Babel;" and a +long and splendid catalogue of chamber, salon, and concert music, besides +some beautiful songs which are great favorites in the concert-room. + + + + + The Tower of Babel. + + +"The Tower of Babel," a sacred opera, as Rubinstein entitles it, was +written in 1870, the text, which is somewhat of a travesty on sacred +history, by Julius Rodenberg. An English critic very pertinently says: +"One item alone in all the multitude of details crowded by Herr Rodenberg +into his canvas has any foundation in fact. He adopts the theory that +there really was a tower of Babel, and all the rest he founds on +conjecture." In point of fact, the anachronisms are numerous enough to +make the text almost a burlesque. Nimrod, the mighty hunter, is made the +chief builder of the tower, which is supposed to be in process of +erection as an insult to the Deity. Abraham appears upon the scene (many +years before he was born), and rebukes Nimrod for his presumption; +whereupon the hunter-king orders "the shepherd," as he is called, to be +thrown into a fiery furnace, after the manner of Shadrach, Meshach, and +Abednego. The angels watch over the patriarch, and he comes out of the +fire unharmed. Some of the people standing by ascribe the miracle to +Baal, some to Dagon, some to Ashtaroth, and a few to Jehovah, and at last +get into a quarrel with each other. Nimrod interposes his authority, and +orders them to their work on the tower again. Soon the heavens cloud +over, and a storm is seen approaching. Abraham prophesies destruction, +and Nimrod orders him to be seized and hurled from the summit of the +tower; but before his commands can be executed, a thunderbolt strikes it +and crumbles it into a heap of shapeless stones. While Abraham exults +over the destruction, the dispersion of the three races, the Shemites, +Hamites, and Japthides, occurs. Nimrod laments over the result of his +folly, and at last acknowledges the authority of the Divine Power, and +thus the story ends. + +The _dramatis personae_ are Nimrod (bass), Abraham (tenor), Master Workman +(baritone), four Angels (boys' voices), the choruses by Nimrod's +followers, the People, Angels, and Demons. The overture is a confused, +formless number, indicating the darkness. In the beginning there is no +clear musical idea; but at last the subject assumes definite form as the +dawn breaks and the Master Workman announces the sunrise and calls the +People to their work, in the recitative, "Awake! ye Workers, awake!" The +summons is followed by the chorus, "To work," in which the vocal part is +noisy, broken, and somewhat discordant, representing the hurry and bustle +of a crowd of working-men,--with which, however, the orchestra and organ +build up a powerful theme. The song of the Master Workman is also +interwoven, and the chorus is finally developed with great vigor and +splendid dramatic effect. Nimrod now appears, and in a triumphant +outburst ("Stately rises our Work on high") contemplates the monument to +his greatness now approaching completion. Abraham rebukes him ("How, +Mortal, canst thou reach His Presence?"). The scene at this point is full +of dramatic vigor. Nimrod hurls imprecations at Abraham, followed by +strongly contrasting choruses of the angry People and protecting Angels, +which lead up to the mixed chorus of the People, indicating the confusion +of tongues as they severally ascribe the escape of Abraham from the +furnace-fire to Baal, Dagon, Ashtaroth, and Jehovah, and closing with +tumultuous dissension, which is quelled by Nimrod. The effect of the +Angels' voices in the hurlyburly is exceedingly beautiful, and the +accompaniments, particularly those of the fire-scene, are very vivid. +Nimrod's order to resume work on the tower is followed by the angelic +strain, "Come on! let us down to Earth now hasten." Once more the +Builders break out in their barbaric chorus, "To work," followed by the +portentous outburst of the People, "How the Face of Heaven is +o'ershadowed!" In a vigorous solo Abraham replies, "No! 'tis not Vapor +nor Storm-clouds that gather." There is a final controversy between +Abraham and Nimrod, and as the latter orders the patriarch to be thrown +from the tower, the storm breaks, and amid the shrieks of the chorus +("Horror! horror") and the tremendous clangor of organ and orchestra on +the theme already developed in the opening, the tower is destroyed. + +The tumultuous scene is followed by Nimrod's lament ("The Tower whose +lofty Height was like my State"), a bass aria of great power, and +reaching a splendid climax. Abraham, in an exultant strain ("The Lord is +strong in Might"), proclaims God's purpose to scatter the people. The +most picturesque scene in the work now occurs,--the dispersal of the +Shemites, Hamites, and Japthides, typified by orchestral marches and +choruses of a barbaric cast. The stage directions at this point indicate +that the three choruses "must be sung behind the scenes, while dissolving +views present to the audience the emigration of the three great human +races,"--an effect which is also made in the last act of Goldmark's +"Queen of Sheba." The first chorus, that of the Shemites, which is sung +in unison, is taken from some of the ancient music in the ritual of the +Jewish Synagogue, that used on the eve of the Day of Atonement. The other +two choruses are also Oriental in color and rhythm, and give a very +striking effect to this part of the work. The chorus of Angels ("Thus by +Almighty Power of God") proclaims the completion of the work, and two +long solos by Abraham and Nimrod lead up to the final choruses of the +Angels, People, and Demons, worked up in very powerful style, and in the +finale uniting the themes which originally introduced the chorus of the +People and the Angels, and the subject of the darkness in the overture. +The tableau is thus described in the stage directions: "The stage is +divided into three horizontal compartments. In the middle is the earth; +in the upper is the throne of the Almighty, surrounded by all the +heavenly powers; in the lower, hell, Satan seated on his throne, +surrounded by all the infernal deities." + + + + + Paradise Lost. + + +The oratorio "Paradise Lost" was first produced in Vienna in 1859 by the +Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, a choral organization conducted by +Rubinstein during his stay in that city. Like "The Tower of Babel," it is +entitled by the composer "a sacred opera," though it is in genuine +oratorio form, and usually classed as such. The text is a very free +transcription from Milton. The work is divided into three parts; but as +the second is usually the only part given by oratorio societies, our +sketch will be principally confined to that. The first part mainly +concerns the defeat of Satan's forces by the legions of Heaven, and is +remarkable for its vigorous instrumental treatment. + +The second part is devoted to the creation, and is composed principally +of choruses introduced by a few bars of recitative, invariably for the +tenor, who acts the part of narrator. The first seven of these describe +the creation of the earth. After a characteristic introduction, the tenor +declares "Chaos, be ended!" whereupon the Angels sing a glowing tribute +to light ("Upspringing, the darkened Air broke forth into radiant +Brightness"). Again the tenor and chorus in a brief number describe the +firmament. The third chorus ("Fierce raged the Billows") pictures the +division of land and water with great vigor, accompanied by imitative +instrumentation which indicates Rubinstein's skill as a water-painter +quite as clearly as his great Ocean Symphony. In the fourth and fifth +choruses the music vividly tells the story of the creation of the trees +and plants and the appearance of the stars in the firmament. The sixth +("Gently beaming, softly streaming"), in which the Angels rejoice in the +soft radiance of the moon, is short, but exceedingly tender and +beautiful. In the seventh ("All around rose the Sound of the Strife of +Life"), we have a description of the awakening of life characterized by +extraordinary descriptive power. This group of choruses, each one +thoroughly fresh, original, and picturesque in its description, brings us +up to the creation of man, which is the finest portion of the whole +work. It begins with a long tenor recitative, "In all her Majesty shines +on high the Heaven," reaching a fine crescendo at the close ("And lo! it +was Man"). The Angels reply with their heavenly greeting, "Hail to Thee, +O Man." A short dialogue follows between Adam and the Narrator, and the +Angels renew their greeting, this time to Eve. This leads up to a lovely +duet between Adam and Eve ("Teach us then to come before Thee"), which is +very gracefully constructed, and tenderly melodious in character. The +final number is a chorus of the Angels ("Clear resounded the Trumpets of +Heaven"), beginning in broad, flowing, jubilant harmony, then developing +into a fugue on the words "Praise the Almighty One," built up on a +subject full of exultation and grandeur, and closing with a Hallelujah +delivered with mighty outbursts of power. + +The third part is devoted to the fall of Adam and Eve and their +banishment from Eden, closing with the announcement of the ultimate +salvation of mankind. Both the Almighty and Satan appear in this part, +the former's music being sung by the tenor voice; though, curiously +enough, the latter's music is much the more attractive. + + + + + SAINT-SAENS. + + +Charles Camille Saint-Saens, famous as composer, pianist, and critic, was +born in Paris, Oct. 9, 1835. He began his musical studies at a very early +age. In his seventh year he took piano lessons of Stamaty and studied +harmony, and in his twelfth was a student at the Conservatory, where he +took two organ prizes; though he failed on two occasions in his +competition for the Prix de Rome. His first symphony appeared in 1851, +and was performed with success. In 1853 he was appointed organist of the +Church of St. Merri, and five years later secured a like position at the +Madeleine, which he filled with high honor for nineteen years, finally +resigning in favor of Theodore Dubois. In 1867 he was awarded a prize for +his cantata "Les Noces de Promethee" by the Paris International +Exhibition, and the next year he was received with distinguished honor at +the Artists' Meeting in Weimar, both as pianist and composer. His +operatic career began about this time. "La Princesse jeune" appeared in +1872, and "Le Timbre d'Argent" in 1877; but neither was successful. His +next work was the sacred drama "Samson et Dalila," produced at Weimar in +the latter part of 1877; followed by "Etienne Marcel" at Lyons in 1879. +In addition to his operas he has written several cantatas, among them +"The Deluge" and "La Lyre et la Harpe," composed for the Birmingham +Festival of 1879; three symphonies; four symphonic poems, "La Rouet +d'Omphale," "Phaethon," "Danse Macabre," and "La Jeunesse d'Hercule;" a +large number of concerted pieces with orchestra, songs and romances, as +well as chamber-music and compositions for piano and organ. His sacred +music includes the following works: mass for four voices, Requiem Mass, +"Oratorio de Noel," "Tantum Ergo," the Nineteenth Psalm for solos, +chorus, and orchestra, and many minor pieces for choir use. He has been a +prolific writer, but his fame thus far rests upon his instrumental music. +He has travelled much as a virtuoso in Russia, Spain, Germany, and +England, conducting his own compositions, and also giving piano and organ +recitals, in which he has met with great success. He also ranks high as a +musical critic, and many of his contributions to the Parisian press have +been collected, with a view to publication in a separate volume. Of late +he has obtained considerable notoriety by his controversial articles on +the Wagner question,--in which, however, national prejudice sometimes has +been more apparent than cosmopolitan judgment. As a composer, he is +unquestionably more learned than are any of his native contemporaries, +and he has made a closer study of Bach than even Gounod has. His +descriptive powers are very strong, as is evidenced by the symphonic +poems which Mr. Thomas has introduced into this country. They even go to +the verge of the sensational; but, on the other hand, the study of his +"Oratorio de Noel" and of his transcriptions from Bach will show that he +is a master of counterpoint and thematic treatment. + + + + + Christmas Oratorio. + + +"Noel," Saint-Saens' Christmas oratorio, in dimensions hardly exceeds the +limits of a cantata, but musically is constructed in oratorio style. Its +subject is the nativity, combined with ascriptions of praise and a final +exultant hallelujah. The work is short, but very effective, and is +written for five solo voices and chorus, with accompaniment of strings +and organ, and the harp in one number. It opens with a pastoral symphony +of a very melodious character. The first number is the recitative, "And +there were Shepherds," including the angelic message and the appearance +of the heavenly hosts, the subject being divided among the tenor, alto, +soprano, and baritone, and leading up to the first chorus ("Glory now +unto God in the highest"), which is quite short, but beautifully written. +The next number is an aria for mezzo-soprano ("Firm in Faith"), which is +very simple, but graceful in its melody. The fourth number is a tenor +solo and chorus ("God of all"), written in the church style, followed by +a soprano and baritone duet ("Blessed, ever blessed"), which is very +elaborate in its construction, and highly colored. The next number is the +chorus, "Wherefore are the Nations raging," which is intensely dramatic +in its effect, especially for the manner in which the voice-parts are set +off against the agitated accompaniment. The contrasts also are very +striking, particularly that between the tumultuous opening of the chorus +and its tranquil close in full harmony on the words, "As it was in the +Beginning." The next number is a lovely trio for tenor, soprano, and +baritone ("Thou art from first to last"), with harp accompaniment +throughout, which gives to it an extremely graceful and elegant effect. +It is followed by a quartet ("Alleluia"), in which the theme is +introduced by the alto. The Alleluia is then taken up by all four parts +(soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, and baritone), in full, rich harmony, the +alto closing the number alone in a very effective adagio passage. The +next number is a quintet and chorus, the prelude to which is a repetition +of parts of the opening pastoral. It is also utilized in the voice parts. +The number is very elaborate in its construction and development, and is +followed by a short final chorus ("Raise now your Song on high") in +simple church style. Short as the work is, it is very beautiful, and full +not only of genuine service music, but also of graceful conceits and +delicate fancies, both in the voice parts and the accompaniments. + + + + + SCHUMANN. + + +Robert Schumann, one of the greatest of musicians, and one who, had his +life been spared, would probably have stood at the head of all composers +since Beethoven and Schubert, was the son of a bookseller, and was born +at Zwickau, in Saxony, June 8, 1810. In his earliest youth he was +recognized as a child of genius. His first teacher in music was +Baccalaureus Kuntzsch, who gave him piano instructions. It was while +taking these lessons that he attended a concert given by Moscheles. The +playing of the great teacher aroused his musical ambition, and first +inspired him to become a musician. His father recognized his talent very +early, but his mother was opposed to his ambition. In deference to her +wishes, he began the study of law,--with the full determination, however, +to make music his vocation; and in this he ultimately succeeded, through +the influence of Wieck, whose daughter, Clara, he subsequently married, +and who is still a skilful pianist and famous teacher. He studied the +piano with Wieck until his right hand was injured. In 1830, in which year +his artistic career really opened, he began the theoretical study of +music in its groundwork, first with Director Kupsch in Leipsic, and later +with Heinrich Dorn, and at the same time entered upon the work of +composition. His opus No. 1 was the so-called "Abegg Variations," +dedicated to a young lady, Meta Abegg, whom he had met at a ball in +Mannheim. In the same year, 1830, he composed a toccata. In 1831 his +famous "Papillons" and other piano works appeared. Schumann was not only +a musician, but an able critic and graceful writer; and in 1834, with +Schunke, Knorr, and Wieck, he founded the "Neue Zeitschrift fuer Musik," +which had an important influence upon musical progress in Germany, and in +which the great promise of such musicians as Chopin and Brahms was first +recognized. He married Clara Wieck in 1840, after much opposition from +her father; and in this year appeared some of his best songs, including +the three famous cycluses, "Liederkreis," "Woman's Life and Love," and +"Poet's Love," which now have a world-wide fame. In the following year +larger works came from his pen, among them his B major symphony, +overture, scherzo, and finale in E major, and the symphony in D minor. +During this period in his career he also made many artistic journeys with +his wife, which largely increased the reputation of each. In 1843 he +completed his great "romantic oratorio," "Paradise and the Peri," set to +Moore's text, and many favorite songs and piano compositions, among them +the "Phantasiestuecke" and "Kinderscenen," and his elegant piano quintet +in E flat. In 1844, in company with his wife, he visited St. Petersburg +and Moscow, and their reception was a royal one. The same year he +abandoned his "Zeitschrift," in which "Florestan," "Master Raro," +"Eusebius," and the other pseudonyms had become familiar all over +Germany, and took the post of director in Duesseldorf, in the place of +Ferdinand Hiller. During the last few years of his life he was the victim +of profound melancholy, owing to an affection of the brain, and he even +attempted suicide by throwing himself into the Rhine. He was then removed +to an asylum at Endenich, where he died July 20, 1856. The two men who +exercised most influence upon Schumann were Jean Paul and Franz Schubert. +He was deeply pervaded with the romance of the one and the emotional +feeling of the other. His work is characterized by genial humor, a rich +and warm imagination, wonderfully beautiful instrumentation, especially +in his accompaniments, the loftiest form of expression, and a rigid +adherence to the canons of art. + + + + + Paradise and the Peri. + + +Schumann's secular oratorio, "Paradise and the Peri," was written in +1843, and first performed at the Gewandhaus, Leipsic, December 4th of +that year, under the composer's own direction. Its first performance in +England was given June 23, 1856, with Madame Jenny Lind-Goldschmidt in +the part of the Peri, Sterndale Bennett conducting. The text is taken +from the second poem in Moore's "Lalla Rookh," and was suggested to +Schumann by his friend Emil Flechsig, who had translated the poem. This +was in 1841; but he did not set it to music until two years later. The +text required many changes, and these he made himself. The principal +additions are a chorus for "The Spirits of the Nile," the chorus of +Houris, the Peri's solo, "Banished," the quartet, "Peri, 'tis true," the +solo, "Sunken was the Golden Orb," and the final chorus. It has also been +suggested that he availed himself of still another translation, that of +Ollker's, as many of the changes agree with his text. + +It is difficult to define the exact form of the work, though it is nearly +always classed as a secular oratorio, principally because of the +introduction of the narrator, after the style of the passion-music. In +other respects it resembles the cantata. Reissmann, in his Life of +Schumann, says on this point,-- + + "It seems right that he should have retained the most primitive form of + the oratorio, that of the passion-music. The poem has no genuinely + dramatic course; there was not the smallest intrinsic or extrinsic + reason to dramatize it more fully. Even with treatment such as that of + the 'Walpurgisnacht,' it must have lost much of its picturesque + development The only proper way to treat the subject, therefore, was to + retain the original epic form, and to introduce a narrator in the style + of antique oratorio, who should relate the facts in a few simple words + up to the point where they seem to demand a more dramatic setting." + +Von Wasielewski also discusses the same point: + + "The narrator is evidently copied from the evangelist in Bach's + passion-music; but by no means with a like necessity. Unquestionably + the latter shared the conviction of his day, that not only the + substance, but the words, of the biblical dogma were sacred. Schumann's + case was not at all similar. He had before him, in the poem to be set + to music, a work of art which, although once remodelled, would still + permit every formal change required by aesthetic considerations. How + easy, for example, it would have been to abolish the narrator, as + destructive of unity!" + +Had the narrative passages been omitted, it would unquestionably have +enhanced the interest and perhaps relieved the monotony and wearisomeness +of some parts of the work. Unlike the usual manner in which the +narrator's part is treated,--as a mere recitative link between +numbers,--Schumann invests it with the same importance as the acts and +events themselves, and treats it melodically, so that the relief which +comes from contrast is lacking. + +The oratorio is written in three parts, for solo voices, chorus, and +orchestra, the principals being the Peri (soprano); the Angel (alto); the +King of Gazna (bass); a Youth (tenor); the Horseman (baritone); and the +Maiden (soprano). The choruses are sung by Indians, Angels, Houris, and +Genii of the Nile, and the part of Narrator is divided among the various +voices. The story follows that of the original poem. The Peri, expelled +from Paradise, stands at its gate weeping to think + + "her recreant race + Should e'er have lost that sacred place." + +The angel who keeps the gate of light promises she shall be re-admitted +if she brings "the gift that is most dear to Heaven." The Peri goes in +quest of the gift, first to India, where she procures the last drop of +blood shed by the hero who resisted the tyrant Mahmoud, and takes it with +her to the gate; but the crystal bar moves not. She continues her quest, +and from the pestilential plains of Egypt she takes back the last sigh of +the maiden who sacrificed herself to her love for the youth who stole out +to die alone. But still the crystal bar moves not. At last, in the vale +of Baalbec, she finds the gift,--the tear of a repentant sinner,--which +secures her admission. + +After a brief orchestral introduction, the Narrator (alto) tells the +story of the disconsolate Peri at the gate, and introduces her in the +first solo ("How blest seem to me, vanished Child of Air"), a tender, +beautiful melody, characterized by romantic sentiment. The Narrator +(tenor) introduces the Angel, who delivers her message to the Peri ("One +Hope is thine"), to which the latter replies in a sensuous melody, full +of Oriental color ("I know the Wealth hidden in every Urn"). The tenor +Narrator introduces at this point a quartet ("O beauteous Land"), in +which the two trebles, tenor, and bass alternate, followed by the full, +powerful chorus, "But crimson now her Rivers ran." A weird march, fairly +barbaric in its effect, indicates the approach of the tyrant of Gazna, +and introduces the stirring chorus of the Indians and Conquerors ("Hail +to Mahmoud"). The tenor Narrator describes the youthful warrior standing +alone beside his native river and defying the tyrant. Once more the +chorus shouts its greeting to Mahmoud, and then ensues a dialogue in +recitative between the two, leading up to the youth's death and a double +chorus of lamentation ("Woe, for false flew the Shaft"). The tenor +Narrator describes the flight of the Peri to catch the last drop of blood +shed for liberty; and then all the voices join with the soprano solo in a +broad, strong, exultant finale ("For Blood must holy be"), which is one +of the most effective numbers in the work. + +The second part opens in the most charming manner. The tenor Narrator +pictures the return of the Peri with her gift, leading up to the Angel's +solo ("Sweet is our welcome"), which preludes a brief choral passage for +sixteen female voices. After the Narrator's declaration of her +disappointment, the scene changes to Egypt, and in a dainty, delicate +three-part chorus the Spirits of the Nile are invoked not to disturb the +Peri. Her lament is heard ("O Eden, how longeth for thee my Heart!"), and +the Spirits now weave a gentle, sympathetic strain with her song. A long +tenor narration follows ("Now wanders forth the Peri sighing"), +describing the pestilence brooding over the Egyptian plains, the music to +which is very characteristic. The scene of the maiden dying with her +lover is full of pathos, and contains two exquisite numbers,--the +narrative solo for mezzo-soprano ("Poor Youth, thus deserted"), and the +dying love-song of the Maiden ("O let me only breathe the Air, Love"). +The scene closes with a sweet and gentle lament for the pair ("Sleep +on"), sung by the Peri, followed by the chorus, which joins in the +pathetic farewell. + +The third part opens with a lovely chorus of Houris ("Wreathe ye the +Steps to Great Allah's Throne"), interspersed with solos and Oriental in +its coloring. The tenor narration ("Now Morn is blushing in the Sky"), +which is very melodious in character, introduces the Angel, who in an +alto solo ("Not yet") once more dooms the Peri to wander. Her reply +("Rejected and sent from Eden's Door") is full of despair. The narration +is now taken by the baritone in a flowing, breezy strain ("And now o'er +Syria's rosy Plain"), which is followed by a charming quartet of Peris +("Say, is it so?"). Once more the baritone intervenes, followed by the +Peri; and then the tenor Narrator takes up the theme in a stirring +description of the boy nestling amid the roses, and the "passion-stained" +horseman at the fountain. The alto proclaims the vesper call to prayer, +and the tenor reflects upon the memories of the wretched man as he sees +the child kneeling. The solo baritone announces his repentance, followed +by a quartet and chorus in very broad, full harmony ("O blessed Tears of +true Repentance!"). The next number is a double one, composed of soprano +and tenor solos with chorus ("There falls a Drop on the Land of Egypt"). +In an exultant, triumphant strain ("Joy, joy forever, my Work is done!"), +the Peri sings her happiness, and the chorus brings the work to a close +with the heavenly greeting, "Oh, welcome 'mid the Blessed!" The third +part is unquestionably long and wearisome, and taxes not only the voices +of the singers, but also the patience of the hearers. The first and +second, however, contain some beautiful gems, and the orchestral work is +very rich in its coloring. Taken all in all, however, it is a severe +treatment of a fanciful subject. + + + + + SPOHR. + + +Louis Spohr, one of the world's greatest violinists, and a composer of +world-wide fame, was born at Brunswick, April 25, 1784. Like all great +musical geniuses, his ability was displayed very early. He began to play +the violin in his fifth year, and to compose for that instrument before +he was in his teens. After studying the rudiments with several teachers, +the Duke of Brunswick induced Franz Eck, a recognized master of the +violin, to give him instruction. Spohr remained with him two years, and +accompanied him on his travels to Russia, studying, composing, and +learning much by his observation of Eck's playing. In 1805 he was +appointed leader of the band of the Duke of Gotha, and began writing +orchestral works, his compositions before that time having been mainly +for the violin. His first opera, "Die Pruefung," also appeared about this +time. In 1807 he made a very successful tour through Germany, and another +in 1809, arousing great enthusiasm by his admirable playing. In that year +also occurred the first musical festival in Germany, which was conducted +by Spohr at Frankenhausen, in Thuringia. In 1811 another was held, for +which he wrote his first symphony. In 1812 his first oratorio, "Das +juengste Gericht," appeared; but after two performances of it he was +greatly dissatisfied, and laid it aside. In the fall of that year he made +his first public appearance in Vienna, and achieved such success that he +was offered and accepted the leadership of the band at the +Theater-an-der-Wien. He remained there only three years, however, and +then resumed his professional tours in Switzerland and Italy. In 1818 he +was appointed conductor of the opera at Frankfort, where he remained for +two years, during which time he brought out his operas "Faust" and +"Zemire and Azor." In 1820 he went to England for the first time, and +played many of his compositions in the Philharmonic concerts. His English +visit was a very successful one, and on his journey back to Germany he +stopped in Paris, where also he met with an enthusiastic welcome. He +finally settled down at Dresden, where Weber was then busy with the +preparations for the performance of his "Freischuetz." During his stay +there, Weber had been offered the post of Hofkapellmeister to the Elector +of Cassel; but not being in a position to accept it, he recommended +Spohr, and the latter obtained the appointment Jan. 1, 1822, where he +remained the rest of his days, as it was a life-office. During this year +he finished his opera "Jessonda," one of the most successful of all his +vocal works. Four years later he conducted the Rhenish Festival at +Duesseldorf and brought out his second oratorio, "Die letzten Dinge" ("The +Last Things"). In 1831 he completed his "Violin School," which has ever +since been a standard work. His most important symphony, "Die Weihe der +Toene" ("The Consecration of Sound"), was produced at Cassel in 1832, and +his third oratorio, "Des Heiland's letzte Stunden" ("Calvary"), at the +same place in 1835. Four years later he went to England again, and +produced his "Calvary" at the Norwich Festival with immense success, +which led to his reception of a commission to produce "The Fall of +Babylon" for the Festival of 1842. His last opera, "The Crusaders," was +written in 1844, but did not meet with a permanent success. From this +time until 1857 he was engaged in making tours and producing the works of +other composers, among them those of Wagner, whose "Tannhaeuser" he +brought out in 1853, in spite of the Elector's opposition. In 1857 he was +pensioned, and two years later died. He was born a musician and died one, +and in his long and honorable life he was always true to his art and did +much to ennoble and dignify it, notwithstanding the curious combinations +in his musical texture. He never could understand or appreciate +Beethoven. He proclaimed himself a disciple of Mozart, though he had +little in common with him, and he declared Wagner the greatest of all +living composers, on the strength of his "Flying Dutchman" alone. As a +performer, he was one of the best of any period. + + + + + The Last Judgment. + + +Spohr wrote two oratorios upon the same subject,--"Das juengste Gericht" +("The Last Judgment") and "Die letzten Dinge" ("The Last Things"); but +the latter is now universally entitled "The Last Judgment," and the +former was shelved by the composer himself shortly after its performance. +His autobiography gives us some interesting details of each. After a +concert-tour to Hamburg, Spohr returned to Gotha, and found there a +letter from Bischoff, the Precentor of Frankenhausen, informing him that +he had been commanded by the Governor of Erfurt to arrange a musical +festival there in celebration of the birthday of Napoleon, August 15. He +invited Spohr to assume its direction and to write an oratorio for the +occasion. Previous to this a poet in Erfurt had offered him the text +called "The Last Judgment," and Spohr determined to avail himself of it. +He writes,-- + + "I sent for the libretto and set to work at once. But I soon felt that + for the oratorio style I was yet too deficient in counterpoint and in + fugueing. I therefore suspended my work in order to make the + preliminary studies requisite for the subject. From one of my pupils I + borrowed Marpurg's 'Art of Fugue-writing,' and was soon deeply and + continuously engaged in the study of that work. After I had written + half a dozen fugues according to its instruction, the last of which + seemed to me very successful, I resumed the composition of my oratorio, + and completed it without allowing anything else to intervene. According + to a memorandum I made, it was begun in January, 1812, and finished in + June." + +In this connection Spohr tells the following humorous story:-- + + "One of the solo-singers alone, who sang the part of Satan, did not + give me satisfaction. The part, which was written with a powerful + instrumentation, I gave, by the advice of Bischoff, to a village + schoolmaster in the neighborhood of Gotha who was celebrated throughout + the whole district for his colossal bass voice. In power of voice he + had indeed quite sufficient to outroar a whole orchestra; but in + science and in music he could by no means execute the part in a + satisfactory manner. I taught and practised him in the part myself, and + took great pains to assist him a little. But without much success; for + when the day of public trial came, he had totally forgotten every + instruction and admonition, and gave such loose to his barbarian voice + that he first of all frightened the auditory, and then set it in roars + of laughter." + +It is clear from Spohr's remarks that he was satisfied with the choruses +and fugues, but not with the solo parts of Jesus and Mary, which were in +the florid cantata style of that day. He subsequently determined to +re-write them; but "when about to begin," he says, "it seemed to me as +though I could no longer enter into the spirit of the subject, and so it +remained undone. To publish the work as it was, I could not make up my +mind. Thus in later years it has lain by without any use being made of +it." + +Thirteen years afterwards he wrote "Die letzten Dinge," now so well known +as "The Last Judgment." He says in one of his letters,-- + + "In the same year [1825] Councillor Rochlitz, the editor of the + 'Leipsic Musical Journal,' offered me the text of an oratorio, 'Die + letzten Dinge,' to compose for, which I received with great pleasure, + as my previous attempt in that style of art, 'Das juengste Gericht,' by + no means pleased me any longer, and therefore I had not once been + disposed to perform a single number of it at the meeting of our + Society.... The whole work was finished by Good Friday [1826], and then + first performed complete in the Lutheran Church. It was in the evening, + and the church was lighted up. My son-in-law, Wolff, who had been long + in Rome, proposed to illuminate the church as at Rome on Good Friday, + with lights disposed overhead in the form of a cross, and carried out + his idea. A cross fourteen feet long, covered with silver-foil and hung + with six hundred glass lamps, was suspended overhead in the middle of + the church, and diffused so bright a light that one could everywhere + clearly read the text-books. The musicians and singers, nearly two + hundred in number, were placed in the gallery of the church, arranged + in rows one above the other, and for the most part unseen by the + auditory, which, amounting to nearly two thousand persons, observed a + solemn stillness. My two daughters, Messrs. Wild, Albert, and Foeppel, + together with an amateur, sang the soli, and the performance was + faultless. The effect was, I must myself say, extraordinary." + +The title of the work is clearly a misnomer, as well as a mistranslation, +for it contains nothing of the terrors of the Last Judgment, but, on the +other hand, is graceful and elegant in style. The affixing of this title +to it is said to have been the work of Professor Taylor, who arranged it +for the Norwich festival of 1830, and supposed he was preparing the +earlier oratorio, "Das juengste Gericht." The title has now become so +indissolubly connected with it that no effort has been made to change it. +In the first part the text is confined to ascriptions of praise. The +solo, "Blessing, honor, glory, and power be unto him that sitteth upon +the throne, and unto the Lamb forever," conveys the meaning of the whole +first part; while the second part is confined to those portions of the +Apocalypse which describe the terrible signs of the last day, concluding +with visions of the new heaven and a hallelujah. And yet Malibran, in her +biography of Spohr, calls the oratorio a musical copy of Michael Angelo's +"Last Judgment,"--showing that more than one person has confounded the +two oratorios. + +The work opens with a very long overture of a grave and majestic +character, in limits far beyond those usually found in oratorio. It is +followed by the striking chorus, "Praise His awful Name," which is +beautifully written, and contains impressive soprano and bass solos. Some +brief tenor and bass recitatives lead to the second number, a short +chorus ("Holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts"), in which the voices have no +accompaniment except the horns. Three phrases of recitative for soprano +and tenor lead to the next chorus ("All Glory to the Lamb that died"), a +grand number, which is familiar to nearly every lover of oratorio music. +The next number is one of the most striking in the work. A short tenor +recitative introduces the tenor solo and chorus, "Blessing, honor, glory, +and power," beginning with a tranquil and smoothly flowing solo, the +chorus opening in the same manner, then developing into an admirably +written fugue, and closing in the same serene style as it opened. A very +dramatic and picturesque scene follows, comprising the tenor recitative +("And lo! a mighty Host"), with a very striking accompaniment descriptive +of "the mighty host of all nations and people that stood before the +throne and the Lamb," and the exquisite quartet and chorus ("Lord God of +Heaven and Earth") which close the first part. + +The second part opens with an orchestral symphony which heralds the signs +and portents of the Day of Judgment in graphic style. It is followed by a +long bass recitative with intensely dramatic accompaniment:-- + + "The day of wrath is near. + The Almighty shall reveal His power. + The reaper's song is silent in the field, + And the shepherd's voice on the mountain. + The valleys then shall shake with fear, + With dread the hills shall tremble. + It comes, the day of terror comes! + The awful morning dawns! + Thy mighty arm, O God, is uplifted. + Thou shalt shake the earth and heavens. + They shall shrivel as a scroll + When Thou in wrath appearest." + +The text indicates the dramatic nature of the subject, and it is treated +with a force and vigor that are in striking contrast with the tenderness +and serenity, at times rising to exultation, that characterize the +remainder of the work. This recitative leads to the very pathetic duet +for soprano and tenor, "Forsake me not in this dread hour," which is a +gem of beautiful melody, followed by the response of the chorus in +unison, "If with your whole Hearts." After a short tenor recitative, +another strong chorus ensues ("Destroyed is Babylon"), with an agitated +and powerful accompaniment, which continues for some time after the +voices cease, once interrupted by the tenor proclaiming "It is ended," +and then coming to a close in a gentle pianissimo effect. A tender, +melodious quartet and chorus ("Blest are the Departed") follows. The +soprano voice announces the new heaven and earth. A short tenor +recitative ("Behold! He soon shall come") and the quartet response ("Then +come, Lord Jesus") prepare the way for the final massive chorus ("Great +and wonderful are all Thy Works"), which begins with a few bars of full +harmony, then develops into a vigorous fugue, which, after choral +announcements of hallelujah, is followed by another fugue ("Thine is the +Kingdom"), closing with a tumultuous ascription of praise, and Amen. The +solo parts in the oratorio are always short and of a reflective +character. It is peculiarly a choral work, of which, with one or two +exceptions, the predominant traits are sweetness, tenderness, and grace. +In these exceptions, like the great chorus, "Destroyed is Babylon," with +its wonderful accompaniments, it reaches a high strain of sublimity. + + + + + SULLIVAN. + + +The great popularity which Arthur Seymour Sullivan has enjoyed for a few +years past, growing out of his extraordinarily successful series of comic +operettas, beginning with "The Sorcerer" (1877), which first caught the +public fancy, and ending with "The Mikado" (1885), has almost +overshadowed the permanent foundations upon which his reputation must +rest; namely, his serious and sacred music. He was born in London, May +13, 1842. His father, a band-master and clarinet-player of distinction, +intrusted his musical education at first to the Rev. Thomas Hilmore, +master of the children of the Chapel Royal. He entered the Chapel in 1854 +and remained there three years, and also studied in the Royal Academy of +Music under Goss and Sterndale Bennett during this period, leaving the +latter institution in 1858, in which year he went to Leipsic. He remained +in the Conservatory there until 1861, when he returned to London and +introduced himself to its musical public with his music to Shakspeare's +"Tempest," which made a great success. The enthusiasm with which this was +received and the favors he gained at the hands of Chorley, at that time +musical critic of the "Athenaeum," gave him a secure footing. The cantata +"Kenilworth," written for the Birmingham Festival, the music to the +ballet "L'Ile enchantee," and an opera, "The Sapphire Necklace," were +produced in 1864. In 1866 appeared his first symphony, which has been +played not only in England, but also in Germany, and an overture, "In +Memoriam,"--a tribute to his father, who died that year. The next year +his overture "Marmion" was first performed. In 1869 he wrote his first +oratorio, "The Prodigal Son," in 1873 "The Light of the World," and in +1880 "The Martyr of Antioch;" the first for the Worcester, the second for +the Birmingham, and the third for the Leeds festivals. The beautiful +"Overture di Ballo," so frequently played in this country by the Thomas +orchestra, was written for Birmingham in 1870, and the next year appeared +his brilliant cantata "On Shore and Sea." On the 11th of May, 1867, was +first heard in public his little comic operetta "Cox and Box." It was the +first in that series of extraordinary successes, really dating from "The +Sorcerer," which are almost without parallel in the operatic world, and +which have made his name and that of his collaborator, Gilbert, household +words. He has done much for sacred as well as for secular music. In +addition to his oratorios he has written numerous anthems, forty-seven +hymn-tunes, two Te Deums, several carols, part-songs, and choruses, and +in 1872 edited the collection of "Church Hymns with Tunes" for the +Christian Knowledge Society. + +He received the honorary degree of Doctor of Music from Cambridge in +1876, and from Oxford in 1879, and in 1883 was knighted by the Queen. + + + + + The Prodigal Son. + + +"The Prodigal Son," the first of Sullivan's oratorios, was written for +the Worcester Festival in England, and performed for the first time Sept. +8, 1869. It is a short work, comprising but eighteen numbers, and very +melodious in character. In his preface to the work the composer says,-- + + "It is a remarkable fact that the parable of the Prodigal Son should + never before have been chosen as the text of a sacred musical + composition. The story is so natural and pathetic, and forms so + complete a whole; its lesson is so thoroughly Christian; the + characters, though few, are so perfectly contrasted; and the + opportunity for the employment of local color is so obvious,--that it + is indeed astonishing to find the subject so long overlooked. + + "The only drawback is the shortness of the narrative, and the + consequent necessity for filling it out with material drawn from + elsewhere. In the present case this has been done as sparingly as + possible, and entirely from the Scriptures. In so doing, the Prodigal + himself has been conceived, not as of a naturally brutish and depraved + disposition,--a view taken by many commentators, with apparently little + knowledge of human nature, and no recollection of their own youthful + impulses,--but rather as a buoyant, restless youth, tired of the + monotony of home, and anxious to see what lay beyond the narrow + confines of his father's farm, going forth in the confidence of his own + simplicity and ardor, and led gradually away into follies and sins + which at the outset would have been as distasteful as they were strange + to him. The episode with which the parable concludes has no dramatic + connection with the former and principal portion, and has therefore not + been treated." + +In reality there are but six of the eighteen numbers concerned with the +narration of the parable. The remainder moralize upon the story and +illustrate its teaching. After a short, simple orchestral prelude, an +opening chorus, beginning with soprano solo ("There is Joy in the +Presence of the Angels of God"), and containing also alto and bass solos, +gives the key to the whole work in reflective style, as it proclaims the +rejoicing in heaven over the "one sinner that repenteth." At its +conclusion the parable begins with tenor recitative and solo, "A certain +man had two sons," in which the Prodigal asks for his portion of goods. +In a bass aria preceded by recitative, the father gives him good advice, +"Honor the Lord," and presumably his portion also, as the soprano recites +in the next number that "he took his journey into a far country, and +there wasted his substance in riotous living." Thereupon follows a very +melodious and vivacious chorus ("Let us eat and drink; to-morrow we +die"), in which the tenor has an important part. The response to the +bacchanal comes in the next number, a brief chorus beginning with the +alto recitative, "Woe unto them." One of the gems of the work, a pretty +alto song, "Love not the World," intervenes at this point. At its +conclusion the narrative is resumed. + +After an effective prelude by orchestra, the soprano recitative relates +the famine and the experiences of the Prodigal among the swine, leading +up to a pretty aria ("O that thou hadst hearkened"). The tenor follows +with an expressive aria ("How many hired Servants of my Father's"). The +narrative again halts to give place to a very taking chorus ("The +Sacrifices of God"), after which we have the return and reconciliation +("And he arose and came to his Father"),--a very dramatic duet for tenor +and bass, followed by the vigorous and exultant bass aria ("For this my +Son was dead") of the father. The parable ends here; but the music goes +on moralizing upon and illustrating the theme in four effective +numbers,--the chorus, "O that Men would praise the Lord," which is the +longest and best constructed in the work; the recitative and aria for +tenor, "Come, ye Children;" the unaccompanied quartet, "The Lord is +nigh;" and the final chorus, "Thou, O Lord, art our Father," closing with +a Hallelujah in full, broad harmony. + + + + + The Light of the World. + + +Sir Arthur Sullivan's second oratorio, "The Light of the World," is laid +out upon a much larger scale in every way than "The Prodigal Son." It +was written for the Birmingham Festival of 1873, was given for the first +time on the 27th of August. The purpose of the work, as the composer +explains in his preface, is to set forth the human aspects of the life of +our Lord upon earth, by the use of some of the actual incidents in his +career which bear witness to his attributes as preacher, healer, and +prophet. "To give it dramatic force," he says,-- + + "The work has been laid out in scenes dealing respectively, in the + first part with the nativity, preaching, healing, and prophesying of + our Lord, ending with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem; and in the + second part, with the utterances which, containing the avowal of + himself as the Son of Man, excited to the utmost the wrath of his + enemies, and led the rulers to conspire for his betrayal and death; the + solemn recital by the chorus of his sufferings, and the belief in his + final reward; the grief of Mary Magdalene at the sepulchre; and the + consolation and triumph of the Disciples at the resurrection of their + Lord and Master." + +The first part has four scenes, "Bethlehem," "Nazareth," "Lazarus" (which +might more appropriately have been entitled "Bethany"), and "The Way to +Jerusalem." The scenes of the second part are laid entirely in Jerusalem. +"Bethlehem" includes the message of the angels to the shepherds, their +visit to Mary, the nativity, the warning by the angel to Mary and Joseph +of Herod's design, the lament and consolation of Rachel in Rama, and the +promise of God's blessing upon the child. In "Nazareth" we have a scene +representing Christ in the synagogue reading from Isaiah and declaring +himself the object of the prophecy, his expulsion by the incredulous +crowd of listeners, and his exhortations to his disciples, when left +alone with them, to bear their persecutions with meekness. "Lazarus" +describes the journey to Bethany and our Lord's assurances to the +bereaved sisters that their brother shall rise again. "The Way to +Jerusalem" scene is indicated by its title,--the entry of the Lord into +the city amid the hosannas and exultant acclamations of the people. In +the second part, we have the discourse concerning the sheep and the +goats, the interview between the ruler and the people, and the former's +anger with Nicodemus, the sufferings and death of Christ, and the +resurrection and joy of the disciples as they glorify God and sing the +praises of their risen Master. + +The work opens with a prologue chorus ("There shall come forth a Rod out +of the Stem of Jesse"), at the close of which the "Bethlehem" scene +begins. It is preluded with a quiet but effective pastoral movement for +the orchestra, a tenor recitative ("There were Shepherds abiding in the +Field"), and a contralto solo announcing the heavenly message to the +Shepherds, which lead up to a spirited "Gloria" by the sopranos and +altos, followed by a chorus of the Shepherds ("Let us now go even unto +Bethlehem") for male voices. A Shepherd, in brief recitative passages, +declares to Mary, "Blessed art thou among Women," followed by the soprano +solo, "My Soul doth magnify the Lord." After the Virgin's expression of +thanks, the Shepherds join in the chorus, "The whole Earth is at rest," +which is peculiarly striking in its contrasts. A short recitative by the +Angel, warning Mary to flee into Egypt, is followed by a very sombre +chorus ("In Rama was there a Voice"). At its close, the tenor is heard in +a tender aria ("Refrain thy Voice from weeping"), leading to a chorus +full of spirited harmony, and rising to a very effective climax ("I will +pour My Spirit"), which closes the scene. + +The "Nazareth" scene opens with a baritone solo ("The Spirit of the Lord +is upon me"), in which Jesus declares himself in the synagogue as the +object of the prophecy from Isaiah which he has been reading. The Jews +answer in a very dramatic chorus ("Whence hath this Man his Wisdom?"). +Again Jesus interposes with the declaration, "A prophet is not without +honor save in his own country;" whereupon the people break out in a still +more dramatic chorus ("Is not this Jesus?"), set to a very effective +accompaniment. For the third time Jesus declares himself, followed by the +stirring, furious chorus, "Why hear ye him?" A tender and at times fervid +solo ("Lord, who hath believed our Report?") leads to a very effective +quintet ("Doubtless Thou art our Father"). After another brief baritone +solo ("Blessed are they"), we come to the chorus, "He maketh the Sun to +rise," which is one of the most beautifully written in the work, and +closes the scene. + +The third scene, "Lazarus," begins with the description of the mournful +journey to Bethany, the arrival among the kindred and friends, who are +trying to comfort the bereaved sisters, and closes at the still unopened +grave. It includes a duet between tenor and baritone, the former a +Disciple, the latter Jesus, whose music is invariably sung by the +baritone voice; a solo for alto ("Weep ye not for the Dead"), with a +sombre orchestral prelude, and accompanied by a chorus in its close; a +dialogue between Martha and Jesus ("Lord, if thou hadst been here"); a +short but very beautiful chorus ("Behold how he loved him!"); the +baritone solo, "Said I not unto thee;" and a final chorus of great power +("The Grave cannot praise thee"). + +The last scene of the first part, "The Way to Jerusalem," is very +brilliant throughout, and is in cheerful contrast with the general +sombreness of the preceding numbers. It opens with a brief dialogue +between Jesus and a Disciple ("Master, get thee out, and depart hence"), +which leads to a charming three-part chorus for children's voices +("Hosanna to the Son of David"), with a prominent harp part in the +accompaniment, and worked up to a fine climax. A brilliant soprano solo +("Tell ye the Daughter of Zion") intervenes, followed by a short dialogue +between Jesus and a Pharisee, which leads to the vigorous chorus of the +Disciples, "Blessed be the Kingdom." After another baritone solo ("If +thou hadst known, O Jerusalem") the children's hosanna is repeated,--this +time with the power of the full chorus; and the first part comes to a +close. + +The first part opens with a prelude of a few bars; but the second begins +with a long overture, very effectively written, and intended, as the +composer himself says, to indicate the angry feelings and dissensions +caused by the Lord's presence in Jerusalem. At its close the baritone, in +one of the most forcible solos assigned to this part ("When the Son of +Man shall come in his Glory"), discourses the parable of the sheep and +goats. The wondering chorus of the People, "Is not this he whom they seek +to kill?" follows, and then ensues a somewhat tedious scene. A Ruler +argues with the People, contemptuously asking if Christ shall come out of +Galilee. The People remain unconvinced, however. Nicodemus then strives +to reason with the Ruler, with the natural effect of making him very +angry. All this leads up to an effective female chorus ("The Hour is +come"). In a very tender and pathetic solo ("Daughters of Jerusalem") +Jesus sings his farewell. The incidents of the crucifixion are avoided, +as the work is intended only to illustrate the human career of Jesus. The +rest of the story is told in narrative form; an unaccompanied quartet +("Yea, though I walk") and a powerful, but gloomy chorus, describing +Christ's sufferings ("Men and Brethren"), bring us to the sepulchre. The +scene opens with the plaint of Mary Magdalene, "Where have they laid +him?" and the response of the Angel, who tells her Christ has risen, +which is followed by a six-part unaccompanied chorus ("The Lord is +risen"). A short tenor solo ("If ye be risen with Christ") leads directly +to the final chorus ("Him hath God exalted"), which is worked up in fugal +form with much spirit. + + + + + VERDI. + + +Giuseppe Verdi, the greatest of living Italian opera composers, was born +at Roncale, Oct. 9, 1813. Like many another musician, he sprang from +humble and rude beginnings, his parents having kept a small inn and +notion store in the little Italian village. His musical talent displayed +itself very early. In his tenth year he was appointed organist in the +place of Baistrocchi, the master with whom he had been studying at +Busseto. Through the generosity of his patron, M. Barezzi, he was sent to +Milan, where he was refused admission to the Conservatory, on the ground +that he showed "no special aptitude for music!" Nothing daunted, the +young composer, acting on the suggestions of the conductor of La Scala, +studied composition and orchestration with M. Lavigne, himself a composer +of no mean ability. In 1833 Verdi returned to Busseto, and five years +later went back to Milan, where he began his wonderfully successful +career as an operatic composer. His first opera, "Oberto Conte di S. +Bonifacio," appeared in 1839, and was followed by a series of operatic +works that have achieved world-wide success and placed their composer at +the head of all contemporary Italian writers. The most important of them +are: "Nabucco" (1842); "I Lombardi" (1843); "Ernani" (1844); "Attila" +(1846); "Macbeth" (1847); "I Masnadieri" (1847); "Luisa Miller" (1849); +"Rigoletto" (1851); "Il Trovatore" (1853); "La Traviata" (1853); "The +Sicilian Vespers" (1855); "The Masked Ball" (1857); "The Force of +Destiny" (1862); "Don Carlos" (1867); "Aida" (1871). In the last-named +opera, Verdi departs from the purely Italian school of operatic writing +and shows the unmistakable signs of Wagner's influence upon him. Now, in +his seventy-third year, comes the intelligence that he has completed +still another opera, on the subject of "Othello," which will soon be +placed in rehearsal in Paris. In the interval between "Aida" and +"Othello" he wrote the "Manzoni Requiem," a "Pater Noster" for five +voices, and an "Ave Maria" for soprano solo. He has also written several +marches, short symphonies, concertos for piano, minor church +compositions, a stringed quartet, a "Stabat Mater," the choruses to +Manzoni's tragedies, and numerous songs and romances for the +drawing-room. With his wife, Madame Strepponi, he has spent a very quiet +life in his villa at S. Agato, looking after his farming operations, to +which of late years he has given more attention than to music. In a +letter addressed to the Italian critic, Filippi, he writes: "I know very +well that you are also a most distinguished musician and devoted to your +art: ... but Piave and Mariani must have told you that at S. Agato we +neither make nor talk about music, and you will run the risk of finding a +piano not only out of tune, but very likely without strings." He has been +overwhelmed with decorations and honors, but has studiously avoided +public life and the turmoil of the world. In 1866 he was elected a member +of the Italian Parliament from Busseto, but sent in his resignation +shortly afterwards; and in 1875 was appointed senator by the King, but +never took his seat. His fame is indissolubly connected with his music, +and in the pursuit of that art he has become one of the most admired +composers of his time. + + + + + The Manzoni Requiem. + + +The history of "The Manzoni Requiem" is of more than ordinary interest. +Shortly after Rossini's death, in 1868, Verdi conceived the idea of a +requiem in his memory, to be written by many hands, which should be +performed in the cathedral of Bologna on each centenary of the composer's +death, but upon no other occasion and at no other place. The project met +with favor. The work was laid out in thirteen numbers and assigned to +thirteen Italian composers, Verdi taking the "Libera me," which was to be +the last number in the work. Each of the composers finished his task; but +when the parts were joined in a complete requiem they were found to be so +dissimilar in treatment, and the whole work so incoherent and lacking in +symmetry and unity, that the scheme went no further. M. Mazzucato, of +Milan, who had examined the work, was so impressed with the "Libera me" +that he wrote to Verdi urging him to compose the entire requiem. + +About this time (1873) Alessandro Manzoni, the founder of the romantic +school in Italian literature, died, and was universally mourned by his +countrymen. The requiem which had been intended for Rossini was now +written by Verdi for his friend, the great Italian patriot and poet, the +immortal author of "I promessi Sposi," and the "Libera me" was +transferred to it. It was performed for the first time at Milan, May 22, +1874, the anniversary of Manzoni's death, with Teresa Stolz soprano, +Maria Waldmann alto, Giuseppe Capponi tenor, and Ormondo Maini bass, a +chorus of a hundred and twenty voices, and an orchestra of a hundred and +ten. It was next given in Paris, in the following month, under the +composer's direction and since that time has been frequently given in +Europe and in the United States. + +The mass is divided into seven parts, with solos, choruses, and full +orchestra, as follows: No. 1. "Requiem" and "Kyrie" (quartet and chorus). +2. "Dies Irae;" thus divided: "Dies Irae" (chorus); "Tuba Mirum" (chorus); +"Liber scriptus" (chorus and fugue); "Quid sum miser" (trio for soprano, +alto, and tenor); "Rex tremendae" (quartet and chorus); "Recordare" (duo +for soprano and alto, and chorus); "Ingemisco" (solo for tenor); +"Confutatis" (solo for bass); "Lacrymosa" (quartet and chorus). 3. +"Domine Jesu," offertory, by quartet. 4. "Sanctus" (fugue with double +chorus). 5. "Agnus Dei" (duet for soprano and alto, and chorus). 6. "Lux +aeterna" (trio for alto, tenor, and bass). 7. "Libera me" (solo for +soprano, chorus, and final fugue). + +The "Requiem" opens, after a few measures of prelude, with the chorus +chanting the appeal for rest sotto voce, the effect being carried as +pianissimo as possible until the basses, by an abrupt change of key, give +out the theme of a fugue ("Te decet hymnus"), written in pure religious +style. The introductory "Requiem" is repeated, and leads to the "Kyrie," +the theme of which is stated by the tenor, and in turn taken up by the +other soloists, the chorus shortly joining, a double sextet interwoven +with it, and the whole closing pianissimo, as the "Requiem" opened. + +The second part, the "Dies Irae," is in strong contrast with the first, +and is more broadly and dramatically worked up, and with freer +accompaniment. The opening chorus is one of startling power. The tenors +and basses open the number, immediately followed by the four parts +announcing the Day of Wrath in high, sustained notes, while the second +sopranos, altos, and tenors accompany them with immense sweeps of sound +that rise and fall like the waves. There are nine numbers in this part +which have been already specified, the most effective of them being the +adagio trio ("Quid sum miser") for soprano, alto, and tenor, upon which +Verdi has lavished his melodious inspiration. The trio is continually +interwoven with the chorus shouting fortissimo the "Rex tremendae +majestatis," until it takes another form in the prayer, "Recordare," a +duet for soprano and alto in Verdi's best operatic vein. A very effective +tenor solo, "Ingemisco," followed by a very solemn and majestic bass +solo, "Confutatis," lead to the stirring measures of the Day of Wrath +again, and close this part in an ensemble of immense power, both vocal +and dramatic. + +The offertory ("Domine Jesu") is a quartet with three motives,--the first +andante, the second allegro, and the third adagio in Gregorian form, the +three themes being admirably worked up and accompanied. The "Sanctus" +(the fourth part of the mass) is a very impressive allegro double chorus, +followed by the "Agnus Dei," a duet for soprano and alto which is full of +melodious inspiration, illustrated with charming instrumental color; it +is the gem of the mass, and one of the happiest numbers Verdi has ever +scored. The sixth part is the "Lux aeterna," a trio for alto, tenor, and +bass which is very dramatic in setting; and this leads to the "Libera," +the final division and the climax of the work. It is in its general +effect a soprano obligato with chorus. After a monotone recitative and +solo, the "Dies Irae" is repeated, likewise the "Requiem aeternam" (which +forms the introduction of the mass), and closes with a fugue of majestic +proportions that finally ends in the same pianissimo effect as +characterizes the opening of the work. + +Thus much of the work in detail. It remains to look at this mass as a +whole. The first thought that will strike the listener is its utter +dissimilarity to any other of Verdi's works, except "Aida." Like that +opera, it is in his latest style,--an attempt to show the world that he +can write something besides melodies. Hence we find more decided +contrapuntal effects, the canon and fugue forms, and even the plain, +serious style of the early devotional music of the Church in the days of +Gregory and Palestrina. The second thought is that this mass, although it +has had Papal approval, is not so much a mass as it is a dramatic +threnody in memory of a loved friend. As compared with the masses of +Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, and the other early mass-writers, it has not +their conventional form, their regular sequence of setting, their +coherence of spirit and sentiment. There are wide divergences in it from +the old beaten track. But it may be said, on the other hand, that while +the traditions are violated, Verdi does not so far lose sight of the +devotional character of his work as to descend to the light, tripping, +and sometimes fantastic measures of Rossini in the "Stabat Mater." Von +Buelow very nearly hit the truth in saying that "The Manzoni Requiem" is +an opera in ecclesiastical costume. The dramatic element is its strong +feature, and the inexhaustible resources of the composer's invention +strike the hearer as one of the chief characteristics. The first six +parts seem to have included nearly all that can be done, and you wonder +if the last part, the "Libera me," will not fall tamely; when to your +surprise it proves to be the grand culmination of the work, and presents, +with its solo and chorus and imposing fugue, an ensemble of effect, a +richness of instrumentation, a severe and almost classical form of +composition, and a dramatic intensity and passion that sweep the whole +range of power, from a fortissimo tutte forza, down to the faintest +whisper of a pianissimo. It bursts upon you like the thunder, and dies +away in the still small voice that whispers the requiem of everlasting +rest. + + + + + SACRED MUSIC IN AMERICA. + + +The following sketch of the rise and progress of sacred music in America +may prove of interest to the reader as a supplement to the history of the +Oratorio and of the numerous illustrations of that class of compositions +contained in the body of the book. Ritter, Gould, Hood, and other +church-music historians have been freely consulted to make the sketch as +complete as possible. + +The psalmody of the Protestant church was first arranged and brought into +use in the course of the sixteenth century, through the efforts of the +reformers in Germany and particularly of Martin Luther, who was extremely +fond of music, and wrote a quaint discourse on the art. In 1524 he +published a collection of hymns which also comprised a few versified +psalms. These were set to music in four parts, as he says "for no other +reason than because of my desire that the young, who ought to be educated +in music as well as in other good arts, might have something to take the +place of worldly and amorous songs, and so learn something useful and +practise something virtuous, as becometh the young. I would be glad to +see all arts, and especially music, employed in the service of Him who +created them." Zwingle, Cranmer, Calvin, and Knox were also zealous +advocates of psalm-singing; and during the same century Tye, Tallis, +Bird, and Gibbons did a great work for ecclesiastical music in England. + +At the time of the Reformation in England the Puritans proved themselves +zealous musical reformers. They reduced singing to the severest +simplicity. They had no sympathy with elaborate arrangements. Organs, +choir-books, and choir-singers were objects of their special antipathy. +One of these iconoclasts says: "This singing and saying of mass, matins, +or even-song is but roryng, howling, whisteling, mummying, conjuring and +jogelyng and the playing of orgayns a foolish vanitie." Latimer in 1537 +notified the convent at Worcester: "Whenever there shall be any preaching +in your monastery all manner of singing and other ceremonies shall be +utterly laid aside." In 1562 it was proposed that the psalms should be +sung by the whole congregation, and that organs should be no longer used. +In the Confession of the Puritans (1571) they say: "Concerning the +singing of the psalms, we allow of the people's joining with one voice in +a plain tune, but not in tossing the psalms from one side to the other, +with intermingling of organs." An appeal was made to Parliament against +the singing of the noble cathedral music by "chanting choristers +disguised, as are all the rest, in white surplices, some in corner caps +and silly copes, imitating the fashion and manner of Antichrist the Pope, +that man of sin and child of perdition, with his other rabble of +miscreants and shavelings." + +Sternhold, who was groom of the robes to Henry VIII. and afterwards groom +of the bed-chamber to Edward VI., was one of the most zealous of these +reformers. In connection with Hopkins, a clergyman and schoolmaster, he +versified a large number of the psalms and published them. They were +printed at first without music, but in 1562 they appeared with the notes +of the plain melody under the following title: "The whole Book of Psalms, +collected into English metre by T. Sternhold and J. Hopkins and others, +conferred with the Ebrue, with apt notes to sing them withal. Imprinted +by John Day." In this work there was but one part, the air, and each note +was accompanied by its name; but a few years later the psalms appeared +set to music in four parts. They were the work of William Damon, and his +book bore the title: "The Psalms of David to English Metre, with notes of +Four Parts set unto them, by Wm. Damon, to the Use of the Godly +Christians, for recreating themselves, instead of fond and unseemly +ballads. 1579." In 1599 there appeared a very ambitious work in folio +form, so arranged that four persons might sing from it, and bearing the +title: "The Psalms of David in Metre, the Plain song being the common +Tune, to be sung and played upon the Lute, Orpharion, Citterne, or +Bass-viol, severally or together; the singing Part to be either Tenor or +Treble to the instrument, according to the Nature of the Voice, or for +Four Voices; with Ten Short Tunes in the end, to which, for the most +part, all Psalms may be usually sung; for the Use of such as are of mean +Skill, and whose Leisure least serveth to practice. By Richard Allison, +Gent., Practitioner in the Art of Music." Notwithstanding its formidable +title, the work was not highly esteemed at the time. In 1621, Thomas +Ravenscroft, Bachelor of Music, published an excellent collection of +psalm tunes, many of which are still in use. In his preface he says, by +way of advice: "1. That psalms of tribulation be sung with a low voice +and long measure; 2. That psalms of thanksgiving be sung with a voice +indifferent, neither too loud nor too soft, and neither too swift nor too +slow; 3. That psalms of rejoicing be sung with a loud voice and a swift +and jocund measure." His preface closes with the pious wish that all his +patrons after death may join in the "Quire of Angels in the Heavens." + +The date of the Ravenscroft collection brings us to the time of the +Pilgrims. When they loaded the "Mayflower" with their homely household +furniture, spinning-wheels, and arms of defence, and set out upon their +long and uncertain voyage to find a friendly shore where they might +worship God in their own fashion, the psalm-book was not forgotten. They +brought with them a version made by Henry Ainsworth of Amsterdam, in +which the notes set above the words were of lozenge shape. For twenty +years it was in exclusive use, though the Salem Church did not abandon it +until 1667, and the Plymouth Church retained the old favorite until 1692. +The Sternhold and Hopkins collection had also found its way over, but it +was used only at Ipswich and in its vicinity. In 1640 appeared the Bay +Psalm Book, issued from the Cambridge press. It was prepared by an +association of New England divines, most prominent among whom were Thomas +Welde, Richard Mather of Dorchester, and John Eliot of Roxbury, the +famous Indian missionary. Being new, it was at once regarded as an +innovation. The churches were soon in a wrangle, not only over the +contents of the new collection, but as to the methods of singing. Some +were opposed to singing altogether, while others insisted that only +Christian voices should be heard. At no time were the colonists very +learned in music. In the edition of the Bay Psalm Book printed in 1698, +the following concise directions appear:-- + + "_First_, observe how many note-compass the tune is next the place of + your first note, and how many notes above and below that, so as you may + begin the tune of your first note, as the rest may be sung in the + compass of your and the people's voices, without Squeaking above or + Grumbling below. For the better understanding of which take note of the + following directions: + + "Of the eight short Tunes used to four lines only, whose measure is to + eight syllables on the first line, and six on the next; and may be sung + to any Psalms of that measure. + + Oxford Tune. } + Litchfield Tune. } To Psalms Consolatory. + Low Dutch Tune. } + + York Tune. } + Winsor Tune. } To Psalms of Prayer, Confessions, and Funerals. + + Cambridge Short Tune to peculiar Psalms, as 21, 24, 33, 70, 86, first + metre, 114, 132. + + "Those six short tunes, in tuning the first notes, will bear a cheerful + high pitch; in regard to their whole compass from the lowest note, the + highest is not above five or six notes. + + St. David's Tune. } + Martyrs Tune. } To Psalms of Praise and Thanksgiving. + + "These two tunes are eight notes compass above the first note, and + therefore begin the first note low. + + "Of five long tunes following: + + "Hackney Tune--119 Psalm Tune, second metre. These two tunes begin your + first note low, for the compass is nine notes, and eight above the + first note of the tune. + + "100 Psalm Tune. This one tune begin your note indifferent high, in + regard you are to fall your note lower than your first pitch note. + + "113 Psalm Tune, and 148 Psalm Tune.--These two tunes begin your first + note low, in regard the Tune ascends eight notes above it." + +The turmoil in the churches was settled for a time by Rev. John Cotton, +who issued a tract entitled "Singing of Psalms a Gospel ordinance, or a +Treatise wherein are handled these four Particulars: I. Touching the duty +itself. II. Touching the matter to be sung. III. Touching the singers. +IV. Touching the manner of singing." In this tract the author says:-- + + "For the first Question we lay downe this conclusion for a Doctrine of + Truth: That singing of Psalms with a lively voyce, is an holy duty of + God's worship now in the day of the New Testament. When we say, singing + with lively voyce, we suppose none will so farre misconstrue us as to + thinke we exclude singing with the heart; for God is a Spirit, and to + worship him with the voyce without the spirit, were but lip-labour; + which (being rested in) is but lost labour, or at most profitted but + little. Concerning the second Question we hold and believe that not + only the Psalms of David, but any other spirituall song recorded in the + Scripture, may lawfully be sung in Christian Churches. 2d. We grant + also that any private Christian who hath a gifte to frame a spirituall + song, may both frame it and sing it privately for his own private + comfort, and remembrance of some special benefit or deliverance. Nor do + we forbid the private use of any instrument of Music therewithall, so + that attention to the instrument does not divert the heart from + attention of the matter of song. + + "Whether women may sing as well as men: For in this point there be some + that deale with us as Pharaoh delt with the Israelites, who, though he + was at first utterly unwilling that any should go to sacrifice to the + Lord in the Wilderness, yet being at length convinced that they must + goe, then he was content that the men should goe, but not the women. So + here, some that were altogether against singing of Psalms at all with + lively voyce, yet being convinced that it is a morall worship of God + warranted in Scripture, then if there must be a Singing, one alone must + sing, not all (or if all) the men only, and not the women. And their + reason is: Because it is not permitted to a women to speake in the + Church, how then shall they sing? Much less is it permitted to them to + prophecy in the Church. And singing the Psalms is a kind of + Prophecying." + +Peace, however, was of short duration. Fresh quarrels arose. The early +colonists were good fighters. They quarrelled over the question whether +one should sing or the whole congregation; whether women as well as men +should sing; whether pagans should be allowed to lift up their voices; +and whether the scanty stock of tunes should be enlarged. Learning a tune +by note, without having previously heard it, was almost a mortal offence, +and at last something like a compromise was effected in some of the +churches, where alternate singing by rote and rule satisfied both +parties. The ministers added to the general confusion with a flood of +circulars on the subject. Several of them issued a tract entitled "Cases +of Conscience about singing Psalms," in which they ask:-- + + "Whether you do believe that singing Psalms, Hymns, and Spirituall + Songs is an external part of Divine Worship, to be observed in and by + the assembly of God's people on the Lord's Days, as well as on other + occasional meetings of the Saints for the worshipping of God. + + "Whether you do believe that singing in the worship of God ought to be + done skilfully? + + "Whether you do believe that skilfulness in singing may ordinarily be + gained in the use of outward means by the blessing of God. + + "Is it possible for Fathers of forty years old and upward to learn to + sing by rule; and ought they to attempt at this age to learn? + + "Do you believe that it is Lawful and Laudable for us to change the + customary way of singing the psalms? + + "Whether they who purposely sing a tune different from that which is + appointed by the pastor or elder to be sung are not guilty of acting + disorderly, and of taking God's name in vain also, by disturbing the + order of the sanctuary." + +Rev. Thomas Symmes, of Bradford, Mass., also issued a tract in which he +contended for rule-singing. On this point he says:-- + + "The total neglect of singing psalms by many serious Christians for + want of skill in singing psalm-tunes. There are many who never employ + their tongues in singing God's praises, because they have no skill. It + is with great difficulty that this part of worship is performed, and + with great indecency in some congregations for want of skill; it is to + be feared singing must be wholly omitted in some places for want of + skill if this art is not revived. I was present in a congregation where + singing was for a whole Sabbath omitted for want of a man able to lead + the assembly in singing. + + "The declining from and getting beside the rule was gradual and + insensible. Singing-schools and singing-books being laid aside, there + was no way to learn, but only by hearing of tunes sung or by taking the + run of the tunes, as it is phrased. The rules of singing not being + taught or learnt, every one sang as best pleased himself; and every + leading-singer would take the liberty to raise any note of the tune, or + lower it, as best pleased his ear, and add such notes and flourishes as + were grateful to him; and this was done so gradually as that but few if + any took notice of it. One Clerk or Chorister would alter the tunes a + little in his day, the next a little in his, and so one after another, + till in fifty or sixty years it caused a considerable alteration." + +John Eliot, who was having famous success with the Indians, particularly +in teaching them psalm-singing,--for Dr. Mather says "their singing was +most ravishing,"--made a long contribution to the general discussion, +which contains the following "Lamentation:"-- + + "That musick, which in itself is concord, harmony, melody, sweetness, + charming even to irrational creatures, cheers the spirits of men, and + tends to raise them in devotion, and in the praises of God, and was + instituted by God as a means of divine worship, which is a terrour to + evil spirits, the delight of the holy Angels, and will be everlasting + imployment of those Seraphim and the glorified Saints, should be an + occasion of strife, debate, discord, contention, quarelling, and all + manner of disorder. That men, the only creatures in the lower creation + that are accomplished with reason and apt organs to praise God with, + should improve them so to dishonour him; and that instead of an + angelick temper in man, which they are capable of, and is required of + them, and especially in this matter, there should be rather a cynick + disposition and an improvement of such noble Organ to bark, snarl at, + and bite one another; that instead of one heart and one voice in the + praises of our Glorious Creator and most bountiful Benefactor, there + should be only jangle, discord, and sluring and reviling one another, + etc., this is, and shall be, for a lamentation." + +The essay closes with the following exhortation: + + "Whatever our thoughts are as to the mode or vocal part, whether the + _old_ or the _new way_ (as it is called) be most pleasing to us, it + would be our wisdom and a manifestation of our Christianity to deny + ourselves and our own obstinate wills, which are apparently the chief + cause of our contention in these things, and condescend (at least) so + far one to the other as to keep time, _i.e._ to begin and end the lines + all together, which if we did, there would not in most of the tunes + commonly sung be so wide a difference as is by some imagined, many of + the lines being near alike; if we all sincerely endeavour to exercise + grace in Singing, and to perform the vocal part in the best manner we + could, our service would be accepted of God. And I doubt not but + regular singing would have a better relish with the most of our people + and be comply'd with, and so our differences would end in a good and + lasting union, and our jars and discords in a sweet and delightful + concord and harmony. So let it be: Amen." + +At last harmony was restored, and a serious effort was made to introduce +better singing, in which the college at Cambridge took a leading part. In +1712, Rev. John Tufts, of Newbury, issued a book of twenty-eight tunes, +so arranged by appending letters to the notes, as F for Fa, S for Sol, +etc., "that the learner may attain the skill of singing them with the +greatest ease and speed imaginable." These tunes were reprinted in three +parts from Playford's "Book of Psalms." In 1721, Rev. Thomas Walter, of +Roxbury, Mass., issued a new book, also compiled from Playford, which was +highly commended by the clergy. The English singing-books by Tansur and +Williams were reprinted by Thomas Bailey, at Newburyport, Mass., and had +a large circulation. In 1761, James Lyon, of Philadelphia, published a +very ambitious work, called "Urania, or a choice collection of Psalm +Tunes, Anthems, and Hymns," which was compiled from the English books. +The edition, however, was a small one, and was issued in such an +expensive manner that it ruined the unfortunate author. In 1764 appeared +another collection, made by Josiah Flagg, who was a composer himself as +well as band-master. Its title reads: "A Collection of the best Psalm +Tunes in two, three, and four parts, from the most approved authors, +fitted to all measures and approved by the best masters in Boston, New +England; the greater part of them never before printed in America. +Engraved by Paul Revere, printed and sold by him and Jos. Flagg." About +the same time Daniel Bailey, of Newburyport, Mass., published "A new and +complete Introduction to the Grounds and Rules of Music, in two Books;" +and in 1769, "the American Harmony," reprinted from English collections. + +Up to this period, or, more strictly, to the year 1770, no American +composers had contributed to New England psalmody. Though numerous +singing-books had appeared, they were compiled from the English +collections and reprinted. The first composer of church music in America +was William Billings, born at Boston, Oct. 7, 1747. He was the son of +poor parents, and followed tanning for an occupation. Gould, in his +"History of Church Music," says of him:-- + + "Billings was somewhat deformed in person, blind in one eye, one leg + shorter than the other, one arm somewhat withered, with a mind as + eccentric as his person was deformed. To say nothing of the deformity + of his habits, suffice it, he had a propensity for taking snuff that + may seem almost incredible, when in these days those who use it are not + very much inclined to expose the article. He used to carry it in his + coat-pocket, which was made of leather; and every few minutes, instead + of taking it in the usual manner, with thumb and finger, would take out + a handful and snuff it from between his thumb and clenched hand. We + might infer from this circumstance that his voice could not have been + very pleasant and delicate." + +This uncouth and eccentric tanner was the father of American church +music, and of American choirs, concerts, and singing-schools as well. He +wrote his first tunes on the boards of the tannery as he tended the +bark-mill. He was a zealous patriot; and as Governor Samuel Adams was not +only a still more zealous patriot, but devotedly attached to music, the +two became warm friends and at one time sang together in a choir, +evidently much to the distress of Adams, as his companion had a +stentorian voice. His association with Adams led him to the composition +of songs of a patriotic and religious character, one of which, set to the +tune known as "Chester," played an important part in rousing the martial +spirit of the colonists. It runs as follows:-- + + "Let tyrants shake their iron rod, + And slavery clank her galling chains; + We'll fear them not, we'll trust in God; + New England's God forever reigns. + + "The foe comes on with haughty stride, + Our troops advance with martial noise; + Their veterans flee before our arms, + And generals yield to beardless boys." + +That the tanner had a sly humor of his own is demonstrated by the +following instructions appended to one of his anthems which was performed +in a concert:-- + + "We've met for a concert of modern invention; + To tickle the ear is our present intention; + The audience seated, expect to be treated + With a piece of the best. + + "And since we all agree + To set the key on E, + The author's darling key + He prefers to the rest, + The bass take the lead, + And firmly proceed; + Let the tenor succeed," etc. + +In 1770 his first compositions appeared in a work of one hundred and +eight pages entitled "The New England Psalm Singer; or American +Chorister. Containing a number of Psalm Tunes, Anthems, and Canons. In +four and five parts. (Never before published.) Composed by William +Billings, a native of Boston, in New England. Matt. xii. 16, 'Out of the +mouth of Babes and Sucklings hast thou perfected Praise;' James v. 13, +'Is any merry, let him sing Psalms.' + + 'O, praise the Lord with one consent, + And in this grand design + Let Britain and the Colonies + Unanimously join.' + +Boston: New England. Printed by Edes and Gill." + +In the preface to this work he quaintly says:-- + + "_To all Musical Practitioners._ + + "Perhaps it may be expected by some, that I could say something + concerning rules for composition; to these I answer that _Nature is the + best Dictator_, for all the hard dry studied rules that ever were + prescribed will not enable any person to form an Air any more than the + four and twenty letters, and strict Grammatical rules will qualify a + scholar for composing a piece of Poetry, or properly adjusting a + Tragedy without a Genius. It must be Nature; Nature must lay the + Foundation, Nature must give the Thought. But perhaps some may think I + mean and intend to throw Art entirely out of Question. I answer by no + Means, for the more Art is displayed, the more Art is decorated. And in + some sorts of composition there is dry Study requir'd, and Art very + requisite. For instance, in a Fuge. But even there Art is subservient + to Genius, for Fancy goes first, and strikes out the Work roughly, and + Art comes after and polishes it over. But to return to my Text: I have + read several Authors' Rules on Composition, and find the strictest of + them make some Exceptions, as thus, they say that two 8vos or two 5ths + may not be taken together rising or falling, unless one be Major and + the other Minor; but rather than spoil the Air, they will allow that + Breach to be made, and this Allowance gives great Latitude to young + Composers, for they may always make that Plea, and say, if I am not + allowed to transgress the Rules of composition I shall certainly spoil + the Air, and cross the Strain that Fancy dictated. And indeed this is + without dispute, a very just Plea, for I am sure I have often and + sensibly felt the disagreeable and slavish Effect of such Restraint as + is here pointed out, and so I believe every Composer of Poetry as well + as Musick, for I presume there are strict Rules for Poetry, as for + Musick. But as I have often heard of a Poetical License I don't see why + with the same propriety there may not be a musical License, for Poetry + and Musick are in close Connection, and nearly allied besides they are + often assistants to each other, and like a true friend often hide each + other's feelings. For I have known a Piece of Poetry that hath neither + Rhime nor Reason in it, pass for tolerable good sense because it + happened to be set to an excellent Piece of Musick, and to get Respect + rather for its good Fortune in falling into such respectable company + than for any Merit in itself: so likewise I have known and heard a very + indifferent Tune often sung and much caress'd, only because it was set + to a fine Piece of Poetry, without this recommendation, perhaps it + would not be sung twice over by one Person, and would be deemed to be + dearly bought only at the expense of Breath requisite to perform it. + + "For my own part, as I don't think myself confined to any Rules for + Composition laid down by any that went before me, neither should I + think (were I to pretend to lay down rules) that any who comes after me + were any ways obligated to adhere to them any further than they should + think proper; so in fact I think it is best for every composer to be + his own learner. Therefore upon this consideration, for me to dictate, + or pretend to prescribe Rules of this Nature for others, would not only + be very unnecessary but also a very great piece of Vanity." + +His second work was the "Singing Master's Assistant," an abridgment and +revision of his first. His humor again crops out in the following extract +from its preface:-- + + "Kind reader, no doubt you remember that about ten years ago I + published a book entitled 'The New England Psalm-Singer;' and truly a + most masterly performance I then thought it to be. How lavish was I of + encomium on this my infant production! 'Welcome, thrice Welcome, thou + legitimate Offspring of my brain, go forth my little book, go forth and + immortalize the name of your Author: may your sale be rapid and may you + speedily run through ten thousand Editions,' said I, 'Thou art my + Reuben, my first born; the beginning of my Strength, the Excellency of + my Dignity, and the Excellency of my power.' But to my great + mortification I soon discovered it was Reuben in the sequel, and Reuben + all over; I have discovered that many pieces were never worth my + printing or your inspection. + + "It is the duty of Christians to praise God publicly by singing of + psalms together in the congregation, and also privately in the family. + In singing of psalms the voice is to be audible and gravely ordered; + but the chief care must be to sing with understanding and with grace in + the heart, making melody unto the Lord. That the whole congregation may + join therein, every one that can read is to have a psalm-book, and all + others not disabled by age or otherwise are to be exhorted to learn to + read. But for the present, where many in the congregation cannot read, + it is convenient that the minister or some fit person to be appinted by + him and the other ruling officers, do read the psalms line by line, + before the singing thereof." + +Billings's other publications were "Music in Miniature," "Psalm Singers' +Amusement," "Suffolk Harmony," and "Continental Harmony." Though the +crudest of musical works, for he was entirely unacquainted with harmony +and musical rules, they had an immense influence. He was the pioneer, and +the path he cleared was soon crowded with his successors. The most +prominent of these were Andrew Law, born at Cheshire, Conn., in 1748, who +published many books and taught in most of the New England States; Jacob +Kimball, born at Topsfield, Mass., in 1761, who published the "Rural +Harmony;" Oliver Holden, of Charlestown, Mass., who published the +"American Harmony," "Union Harmony," and "Worcester Collection," and +wrote the favorite tune "Coronation;" Samuel Holyoke, born at Boxford, +Mass., in 1771, author of the "Harmonia Americana" and "Columbian +Repository;" Daniel Reed, born at Rehoboth, Mass., in 1757, who published +the "American Singing-Book" and "Columbian Harmony;" Jacob French, born +at Stoughton, Mass., in 1754, who issued a work entitled "Harmony of +Harmony;" Timothy Swan, born at Suffield, Conn., in 1757, who published +"Federal Harmony" and "New England Harmony," and wrote the familiar tunes +"Poland" and "China;" John Hubbard, who wrote many anthems and treatises +on music; Dutton, of Hartford, Conn., who issued the "Hartford +Collection," and wrote the tune of "Woodstock;" Oliver Shaw, born at +Middleborough, Mass., in 1799, who was totally blind, but became a very +successful teacher and composer. Gould says that his compositions were +"truly original," and one of them, "There's Nothing True but Heaven," was +repeated night after night by the Boston Handel and Haydn Society. + + +The era of psalm composers was followed by that of the singing-school +teachers, who exerted a mighty influence upon sacred music and musical +taste. At the same time numerous societies were organized, among them the +Handel and Haydn Society of Boston, which was born April 20, 1815, and +still exists,--a vigorous growth from the little gathering which gave its +first concert on Christmas, Dec. 25, 1815, singing the first part of "The +Creation" and selections from Handel's works, and was pronounced by an +enthusiastic critic of that time "the wonder of the nation." The great +singing-teachers were Thomas Hastings of Washington, Conn., Lowell Mason +of Mansfield, Mass., Nathaniel D. Gould of Chelmsford, Mass. Still later +came George F. Root, Woodbury, Dyer, Bradbury, Ives, Johnson, and others, +whose labors, both as composers and teachers, are familiar to all lovers +of sacred music even at this day. The old-fashioned singing-school, +however, has disappeared. The musical convention still survives in rural +places. The great festivals, oratorio societies, the modern concert +stage, even the opera, have all had their effect upon sacred music. The +paid choir of professional musicians marks a long departure from the +robust Puritan psalm-singers; its music is equally remote from the +jingling tunes of Billings which "tickled the ears" of the colonists. + + + + + APPENDIX. + + +The following chronological list is intended to present to the reader a +statement of the more important sacred music which has been written +during the last two centuries, with its composers and dates, for the +purposes of reference. + + Allegri + Miserere (1630). + Arne + Abel (1755); + Judith (1764). + Bach + St. John Passion (1720); + Magnificat in D (1723); + St. Matthew Passion (1729); + Christmas Oratorio (1734). + Barnby + Rebekah (1870). + Beethoven + Mount of Olives (1799-1801); + Mass in C (1807); + Mass in D (1822). + Benedict + St. Cecilia (1866); + St. Peter (1870). + Bennett + Woman of Samaria (1867). + Berlioz + Grande Messe des Morts (1837); + L'Enfance du Christ (1854). + Brahms + German Requiem (1868). + Costa + Eli (1855); + Naaman (1864). + Cusins + Gideon (1871). + Crotch + Palestine (1812); + Captivity of Judah (1834). + David + Moses on Sinai (1846). + Dvorak + Stabat Mater (1875). + Goldschmidt + Ruth (1867). + Gounod + Messe Solenelle (1850); + Tobie (1870); + Redemption (1883); + Mors et Vita (1885). + Graun + The Death of Jesus (1755); + Prague Te Deum (1756). + Handel + First Passion Oratorio (1704); + La Resurrezione (1708); + Il trionfo del Tempo (1708); + Utrecht Te Deum (1713); + Second Passion Oratorio (1716); + Esther (1720); + Deborah (1733); + Athalia (1733); + Saul (1738); + Israel in Egypt (1738); + Messiah (1741); + Samson (1742); + Joseph (1743); + Dettingen Te Deum (1743); + Belshazzar (1744); + Occasional Oratorio (1745); + Judas Maccabaeus (1746); + Alexander Balus (1747); + Joshua (1747); + Solomon (1748); + Susanna (1748); + Theodora (1749); + Jephtha (1751). + Haydn + Stabat Mater (1771); + Return of Tobias (1774); + Mariazeller Mass (1782); + Imperial Mass (1797); + The Creation (1796-98); + Te Deum (1800); + The Seasons (1800); + The Seven Words (1801). + Hiller + The Destruction of Jerusalem (1839). + Horsley + Gideon (1860). + Kiel + Requiem (1862); + Christus (1866). + Klein + Job (1820); + Jephthah (1828); + David (1830). + Lassus + Penitential Psalms (1565); + Vigiliae Mortuorum (1565). + Leslie + Immanuel (1853); + Judith (1858). + Liszt + Graner Mass (1854); + Hungarian Coronation Mass (1856); + Legend of Saint Elizabeth (1864); + Christus (1866). + Macfarren + John the Baptist (1873); + The Resurrection (1876); + Joseph (1877). + Mackenzie + Rose of Sharon (1884). + Marx + Moses (1850). + Massenet + Mary Magdalen (1873); + Eve (1875); + The Virgin (1879). + Mendelssohn + Psalm cxv (1830); + Psalm xcv (1835); + St. Paul (1836); + Hymn of Praise (1840); + Elijah (1838-46); + Christus (1844-47); + Lauda Sion (1846). + Meyerbeer + God and Nature (1811). + Mozart + Coronation Mass (1779); + Mass in C (1780); + Mass in G (1785); + Mass in B (1791); + Ave Verum (1791); + Requiem (1791). + Neukomm + Mount Sinai (1830); + David (1834). + Ouseley + St. Polycarp (1854); + Hagar (1873). + Paine + St. Peter (1873). + Palestrina + Papae Marcelli Mass (1563); + Stabat Mater (1589); + Requiem (1591). + Pergolesi + Stabat Mater (1736). + Pierson + Jerusalem (1852). + Randegger + Psalm cl (1872). + Reinthaler + Jephta (1856). + Rossini + Moses in Egypt (1818); + Stabat Mater (1832-41); + Messe Solenelle (1864). + Rubinstein + Tower of Babel (1870); + Paradise Lost (1876). + Schneider (Fr.) + The Judgement of the World (1819); + Paradise Lost (1824); + Pharaoh (1828); + Christ the Child (1829); + Gideon (1829); + Gethsemane and Golgotha (1838). + Schubert + Lazarus (1820). + Schumann + Paradise and the Peri (1843); + Advent Hymn (1848); + Mass and Requiem (1852). + Schutz + Passions' Music (1665). + Spohr + The Last Judgment (1812); + The Last Things (1826); + Calvary (1833); + Fall of Babylon (1840). + Stanford + The Three Holy Children (1885). + Sullivan + The Prodigal Son (1869); + Light of the World (1873); + Martyr of Antioch (1880). + Verdi + Manzoni Requiem (1874); + Pater Noster and Ave Maria (1880). + Vogler + Magnificat and Stabat Mater (1777). + Wagner + Das Liebesmahl der Apostel (1843). + Winter + Pilgrimage to Calvary (1792); + Stabat Mater (1805). + + + + + INDEX. + + + Ainsworth, Henry, 313. + Albrechtsberger, 239. + Allison, Richard, 312. + Appendix, 329. + Astorga, 253. + Athalia, 21. + + Bach, 19-21, 24, 26, 30, 61, 65, 269, 275; + life of, 31. + Bailey, Daniel, 320. + Bailey, Thomas, 320. + Bay Psalm Book, 313, 314. + Beethoven, 23, 91, 161, 174, 218, 219, 235, 236, 282, 307; + life of, 51. + Belshazzar, 22. + Benedict, 205. + Bennett, Sterndale, 26, 200, 274, 290; + life of, 60. + Berlioz, 27, 30, 259; + life of, 68. + Billings, William, 321-326. + Blow, Dr., 30. + Bononcini, 17, 115. + Bradbury, 328. + Brahms, 27, 92, 272; + life of, 78. + + Caldara, 17. + Carissimi, 15. + Cherubini, 27, 68, 71, 178. + Chopin, 258, 272. + Christmas Oratorio (Bach), 20, 33. + Christmas Oratorio (Saint-Saens), 269. + Christus (Liszt), 186. + Christus (Mendelssohn), 25, 229. + Cimarosa, 23. + Colonna, 17, 27. + Costa, 82. + Cotton, John, 314. + Creation, 136, 162. + Croft, Dr., 30. + + Damon, William, 311. + Das juengste Gericht, 23, 283, 286. + Deborah, 21. + Der Tod Jesu, 20. + Des Heilands letzte Stunden, 24. + Dettingen Te Deum, 155. + Die Auferstehung Christi, 19. + Die Sieben Woerte Christi, 19. + Dutton, 327. + Dvorak, 253; + life of, 90. + Dyer, 328. + + Eli, 84. + Elijah, 25, 218. + Eliot, John, 313, 318. + Emilio del Cavaliere, 14, 15. + Engedi, 58. + Esther, 21. + + Fall of Babylon, 24. + Federici, 17. + Flagg, Josiah, 320. + French, Jacob, 327. + Fux, 22. + + Gabrielli, 18. + German Requiem, 27, 80. + Gluck, 160. + Gould, Nathaniel D., 328. + Gounod, 15, 20, 26; + life of, 96. + Graun, 20, 30. + Gretry, 174. + + Habeneck, 75, 76, 77. + Handel, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 26, 30; + life of, 114. + Handel and Haydn Society, 327. + Hasse, 22. + Hastings, Thomas, 328. + Haydn, 19, 22, 23, 26, 28, 80, 136, 253, 307; + life of, 159. + Heine, 256, 257. + Hiller, 26, 70, 222, 256, 273. + Himmel, 23. + Holden, Oliver, 326. + Holyoke, Samuel, 326. + Hubbard, John, 327. + Hymn of Praise, 25, 213. + + Israel in Egypt, 21, 23, 117. + Italian oratorio composers, 15 + Ives, 328. + + Joachim, 78, 92. + Johnson, 328. + Joseph, 22. + Joshua, 22, 154. + Judas Maccabaeus, 22, 149. + + Keiser, Reinhard, 19, 20. + + Kimball, Jacob, 326. + + La Rappresentazione dell' Anima e del Corpo, 14. + Last Judgment, 23, 283. + Latimer, 310. + Law, Andrew, 326. + Legend of the Holy Elizabeth, 180. + Light of the World, 294. + Liszt, 78, 256, 258; + life of, 177. + Lyon, James, 320. + + Macfarren, George A., 30; + life of, 199. + Mackenzie, 191. + Magnificat (Bach), 48. + Magnificats, 26, 30. + Martin Luther, 309. + Mason, Lowell, 328. + Massenet, 26. + Mattheson, 20. + Mazzocchi, 17. + Mendelssohn, 24, 25, 26, 30, 60, 256, 257; + life of, 206. + Messe des Morts, 27, 71. + Messiah, 21, 23, 25, 39, 140. + Meyerbeer, 83. + Mors et Vita, 26, 106. + Moscheles, 257, 271. + Mount of Olives, 23, 53. + Mozart, 30, 60, 282, 307; + life of, 234. + Mysteries and miracle-plays, 10, 11, 12. + + Neukomm, 253. + + Oratorio, its origin, 9; + in England, 21; + in Germany, 22; + oratorios of the present century, 23-26. + + Paine, 26, 245. + Palestrina, 27, 28, 96, 253, 307. + Paradise and the Peri, 25, 273. + Paradise Lost, 26, 264. + Passion Music, 18, 19, 20. + Pistocchi, 17. + Playford's Psalms, 320. + Porpora, 22, 115, 160. + Prodigal Son, 292. + Protestant Psalmody, 309. + Psalmody in England, 310. + Puritan reforms, 310. + + Ravenscroft Collection, 312. + Redemption, 26, 98. + Reed, Daniel, 327. + Remenyi, 78. + Requiem (Manzoni), 27, 303. + Requiem (Mozart), 236. + Requiems, 26, 27. + Rheinthaler, 26. + Richter, Jean Paul, 273. + Root, George F., 328. + Rose of Sharon, 192. + Rossini, 222, 303, 307; + life of, 251. + Rubinstein, 26; + life of, 258. + + Sacred dramas, 13, 14. + Sacred Music in America, 309. + Saint-Saens, 26, 267. + Salieri, 23, 168, 177. + Samson, 22, 131. + Sarti, 30. + Saul, 21, 125. + Scarlatti, 16. + Schneider, 24. + Schubert, 23, 91, 273. + Schumann, 25, 60, 78, 79, 81; + life of, 271. + Schuetz, 18. + Seasons, 22, 170. + Sebastiani, 19. + Shaw, Oliver, 327. + Spohr, 23, 26, 52, 91; + life of, 280. + St. John Passion, 20. + St. John the Baptist, 201. + St. Matthew Passion, 20, 24, 39. + St. Paul, 25, 208. + St. Peter, 26, 246. + Stabat Mater (Dvorak), 28, 92. + Stabat Mater (Rossini), 28, 253. + Stabat Maters, 27. + Stephani, 18. + Sternhold and Hopkins, 311, 313. + Stradella, 16, 17. + Sullivan, 30, 290. + Swan, Timothy, 327. + Symmes, Thomas, 317. + + Tansur and Williams, 320. + Te Deums, 28, 29. + Telemann, 20. + Thalberg, 258. + The Bleeding and Dying Jesus, 19. + Theile, 19. + Theodora, 22. + Thomas, Theodore, 80, 99, 192, 246, 269, 291. + Tower of Babel, 26, 260. + Tufts, John, 319. + + Verdi, 256; + life of, 301. + Victor Hugo, 69, 178. + Vittoria, 27. + Von Buelow, 179, 307. + + Wagner, 65, 83, 179, 186, 268, 282. + Walter, Thomas, 320. + Weber, 281. + Weniawski, 259. + Winter, 23. + Woman of Samaria, 26, 62. + Woodbury, 328. + + Zingarelli, 23. + + + + + UPTON'S MUSICAL HANDBOOKS. + + + UNIFORM IN STYLE. + + + I. + +The Standard Operas. Their Plots, their Music, and their Composers. A +Handbook. 12mo, yellow edges, $1.50; extra gilt, gilt edges, $2.00. + + + II. + +The Standard Oratorios. Their Stories, their Music, and their Composers. +A Handbook. 12mo, yellow edges, $1.50; extra gilt, gilt edges, $2.00. + + + III. + +The Standard Cantatas. Their Stories, their Music, and their Composers. A +Handbook. 12mo, yellow edges, $1.50; extra gilt, gilt edges, $2.00. + + + IV. + +The Standard Symphonies. Their History, their Music, and their Composers. +A Handbook. 12mo, yellow edges, $1.50; extra gilt, gilt edges, $2.00. + + +THE STANDARD OPERAS. Their Plots, their Music, and their Composers. By +George P. Upton, author of "Woman in Music," etc., etc. + + 12mo, flexible cloth, yellow edges $1.50 + The same, extra gilt, gilt edges $2.00 + + + "Mr. Upton has performed a service that can hardly be too highly + appreciated, in collecting the plots, music, and the composers of the + standard operas, to the number of sixty-four, and bringing them + together in one perfectly arranged volume.... His work is one simply + invaluable to the general reading public. Technicalities are avoided, + the aim being to give to musically uneducated lovers of the opera a + clear understanding of the works they hear. It is description, not + criticism, and calculated to greatly increase the intelligent enjoyment + of music."--_Boston Traveller._ + + "Among the multitude of handbooks which are published every year, and + are described by easy-going writers of book-notices as supplying a + long-felt want, we know of none which so completely carries out the + intention of the writer as 'The Standard Operas,' by Mr. George P. + Upton, whose object is to present to his readers a comprehensive sketch + of each of the operas contained in the modern repertory.... There are + thousands of music-loving people who will be glad to have the kind of + knowledge which Mr. Upton has collected for their benefit, and has cast + in a clear and compact form."--_R. H. Stoddard, in "Evening Mail and + Express" (New York)._ + + "The summaries of the plots are so clear, logical, and well written, + that one can read them with real pleasure, which cannot be said of the + ordinary operatic synopses. But the most important circumstance is that + Mr. Upton's book is fully abreast of the times."--_The Nation (New + York)._ + + + _Sold by all booksellers, or mailed, post-paid, on receipt of price, + by_ + + A.C. McCLURG & CO., Publishers, + Cor. Wabash Ave. and Madison St., Chicago. + +THE STANDARD CANTATAS. Their Stories, their Music, and their Composers. A +Handbook. By George P. Upton. 12mo, 367 pages, yellow edges, price, +$1.50; extra gilt, gilt edges, $2.00. + + In half calf, gilt top $3.25 + In half morocco, gilt edges 3.75 + In tree calf, gilt edges 5.50 + + + The "Standard Cantatas" forms the third volume in the uniform series + which already includes the now well known "Standard Operas" and the + "Standard Oratorios." This latest work deals with a class of musical + compositions, midway between the opera and the oratorio, which is + growing rapidly in favor both with composers and audiences. + + As in the two former works, the subject is treated, so far as possible, + in an untechnical manner, so that it may satisfy the needs of musically + uneducated music lovers, and add to their enjoyment by a plain + statement of the story of the cantata and a popular analysis of its + music, with brief pertinent selections from its poetical text. + + The book includes a comprehensive essay on the origin of the cantata, + and its development from rude beginnings; biographical sketches of the + composers; carefully prepared descriptions of the plots and the music; + and an appendix containing the names and dates of composition of all + the best known cantatas from the earliest times. + + This series of works on popular music has steadily grown in favor since + the appearance of the first volume on the Operas. When the series is + completed, as it will be next year by a volume on the Standard + Symphonies, it will be, as the New York 'Nation' has said, + indispensable to every musical library. + + + _Sold by all booksellers, or mailed, post-paid, on receipt of price, + by_ + + A.C. McCLURG & CO., Publishers, + Cor. Wabash Ave. and Madison St., Chicago. + + + + + BIOGRAPHIES OF MUSICIANS. + + + LIFE OF LISZT. With Portrait. + LIFE OF HAYDN. With Portrait. + LIFE OF MOZART. With Portrait. + LIFE OF WAGNER. With Portrait. + LIFE OF BEETHOVEN. With Portrait. + +_From the German of Dr. Louis Nohl._ + + In cloth, per volume $ .75 + The same, in neat box, per set 3.75 + In half calf, per set 12.00 + + Of the "Life of Liszt," the _Herald_ (Boston) says: "It is written in + great simplicity and perfect taste, and is wholly successful in all + that it undertakes to portray." + + Of the "Life of Haydn," the _Gazette_ (Boston) says: "No fuller history + of Haydn's career, the society in which he moved, and of his personal + life can be found than is given in this work." + + Of the "Life of Mozart," the _Standard_ says: "Mozart supplies a + fascinating subject for biographical treatment. He lives in these pages + somewhat as the world saw him, from his marvellous boyhood till his + untimely death." + + Of the "Life of Wagner," the _American_ (Baltimore) says: "It gives in + vigorous outlines those events of the life of the tone poet which + exercised the greatest influences upon his artistic career.... It is a + story of a strange life devoted to lofty aims." + + Of the "Life of Beethoven," the _National Journal of Education_ says: + "Beethoven was great and noble as a man, and his artistic creations + were in harmony with his great nature. The story of his life, outlined + in this volume, is of the deepest interest." + + +_Sold by all booksellers, or mailed, on receipt of price, by_ + + A.C. McCLURG & CO., Publishers, + Cor. Wabash Ave. and Madison St., Chicago. + +MUSIC-STUDY IN GERMANY. By Amy Fay. Eighth edition. 12mo, 352 pages. +Price, $1.25. + + + "One of the brightest small books we have seen is Amy Fay's + 'Music-Study in Germany.' These letters were written home by a young + lady who went to Germany to perfect her piano-playing. They are full of + simple, artless, yet sharp and intelligent sayings concerning the ways + and tastes of the fatherland.... Her observation is close and accurate, + and the sketches of Tausig, Liszt, and other musical celebrities are + capitally done."--_Christian Advocate (New York)._ + + "It is bright and entertaining, being filled with descriptions, + opinions, and facts in regard to the many distinguished musicians and + artists of the present day. A little insight into the home life of the + German people is presented to the reader, and the atmosphere of art + seems to give a brightness and worth to the picture, which imparts + pleasure with the interest it creates."--_Dwight's Journal of Music._ + + "The intrinsic value of the work is great; its simplicity, its minute + details, its freedom from every kind of affectation, constitute in + themselves most admirable qualities. The remarkably intimate and open + picture we get of Liszt surpasses any picture of him heretofore + afforded. It is a charming picture, strong, simple, gracious, noble, + and sincere."--_Times (Chicago)._ + + "In delicacy of touch, vivacity and ease of expression, and general + charm of style, these letters are models in their way. The pictures + which she gives of the various masters under whom she studied have the + value that all such representations possess when they are drawn from + life and with fidelity."--_Graphic (New York)._ + + +_Sold by all booksellers, or mailed, post-paid, on receipt of price, by_ + + A.C. McCLURG & CO., Publishers, + Cor. Wabash Ave. and Madison St., Chicago. + + + + + THE SURGEON'S STORIES + + +By Z. Topelius, Professor of History, University of Finland. Translated +from the original Swedish, comprising-- + + Times of Gustaf Adolf, + Times of Battle and Rest, + Times of Charles XII., + Times of Frederick I., + Times of Linnaeus, + Times of Alchemy. + + In cloth, per volume, 75 cents. + The same, in box, per set, $4.50. + + + These stories have been everywhere received with the greatest favor. + They cover the most interesting and exciting periods of Swedish and + Finnish history. They combine history and romance, and the two are + woven together in so skilful and attractive a manner that the reader of + one volume is rarely satisfied until he has read all. Of their + distinguished author the _Saturday Review_, London, says, "He enjoys + the greatest celebrity among living Swedish writers;" and R. H. + Stoddard has styled them "the most important and certainly the most + readable series of foreign fiction that has been translated into + English for many years." They should stand on the shelves of every + library, public and private, beside the works of Sir Walter Scott. + + The Graphic, New York, says: + + "Topelius is evidently a great romancer,--a great romancer in the + manner of Walter Scott. At moments in his writing there is positive + inspiration, a truth and vivid reality that are startling." + + The Sun, Philadelphia, says: + + "We would much prefer teaching a youth Swedish history from the novels + of Topelius than from any book of strict historical narrative." + + The Standard, Chicago, says: + + "The series as a whole deserves a place with the very best fiction of + the present time. The scenery is new to most readers; the historical + period covered one of transcendent interest; the characters, the + incidents, the narrative style in each story are of the sort to carry + the reader straight through, from beginning to end, unwearied, and + ready, as each volume closes, to open the next in order." + + +_Sold by all booksellers, or mailed, post-paid, on receipt of price, by_ + + A.C. McCLURG & CO., Publishers, + Cor. Wabash Ave. and Madison St., Chicago. + +FAMILIAR TALKS ON ENGLISH LITERATURE. A Manual embracing the Great Epochs +of English Literature, from the English conquest of Britain, 449, to the +death of Walter Scott, 1832. By Abby Sage Richardson, Fourth edition, +revised. Price $1.50. + + + The Boston Transcript says: + + "The work shows thorough study and excellent judgment, and we can + warmly recommend it to schools and private classes for reading as an + admirable text-book." + + The New York Evening Mail says: + + "What the author proposed to do was to convey to her readers a clear + idea of the variety, extent, and richness of English literature.... She + has done just what she intended to do, and done it well." + + The New York Nation says: + + "It is refreshing to find a book designed for young readers which seeks + to give only what will accomplish the real aim of the study; namely, to + excite an interest in English literature, cultivate a taste for what is + best in it, and thus lay a foundation on which they can build after + reading." + + Prof. Moses Coit Tyler says: + + "I have had real satisfaction in looking over the book. There are some + opinions with which I do not agree; but the main thing about the book + is a good thing; namely, its hearty, wholesome love of English + literature, and the honest, unpretending, but genial and + conversational, manner in which that love is uttered. It is a charming + book to read, and it will breed in its readers the appetite to read + English literature for themselves." + + +_Sold by all booksellers, or mailed, post-paid, on receipt of price, by_ + + A.C. McCLURG & CO., Publishers, + Cor. Wabash Ave. and Madison St., Chicago. + +TALES OF ANCIENT GREECE. By the Rev. Sir G. W. Cox, Bart., M.A., Trinity +College, Oxford. + +12mo, cloth, price, $1.25. + + + "Written apparently for young readers, it yet possesses a charm of + manner which will recommend it to all."--_The Examiner, London._ + + "It is only when we take up such a book as this that we realize how + rich in interest is the mythology of Greece."--_Inquirer, + Philadelphia._ + + "Admirable in style, and level with a child's comprehension. These + versions might well find a place in every family."--_The Nation, New + York._ + + "The author invests these stories with a charm of narrative entirely + peculiar. The book is a rich one in every way."--_Standard, Chicago._ + + "In Mr. Cox will be found yet another name to be enrolled among those + English writers who have vindicated for this country an honorable rank + in the investigation of Greek history."--_Edinburgh Review._ + + "It is doubtful if these tales--antedating history in their origin, and + yet fresh with all the charms of youth to all who read them for the + first time--were ever before presented in so chaste and popular + form."--_Golden Rule, Boston._ + + "The grace with which these old tales of the mythology are re-told + makes them as enchanting to the young as familiar fairy tales or the + 'Arabian Nights.'... We do not know of a Christmas book which promises + more lasting pleasures."--_Publishers' Weekly._ + + "Its exterior fits it to adorn the drawing-room table, while its + contents are adapted to the entertainment of the most cultivated + intelligence.... The book is a scholarly production, and a welcome + addition to a department of literature that is thus far quite too + scantily furnished."--_Tribune, Chicago._ + + +_Sold by all booksellers, or mailed, on receipt of price, by_ + + A.C. McCLURG & CO., Publishers, + Cor. Wabash Ave. and Madison St., Chicago. + +SHORT HISTORY OF FRANCE, FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. By Miss E. S. Kirkland, author +of "Six Little Cooks," "Dora's House-keeping," &c. + +12mo, cloth, price, $1.25. + + + "A very ably written sketch of French history, from the earliest times + to the foundation of the existing Republic."--_Cincinnati Gazette._ + + "The narrative is not dry on a single page, and the little history may + be commended as the best of its kind that has yet + appeared."--_Bulletin, Philadelphia._ + + "A book both instructive and entertaining. It is not a dry compendium + of dates and facts, but a charmingly written history."--_Christian + Union, New York._ + + "After a careful examination of its contents, we are able to + conscientiously give it our heartiest commendation. We know no + elementary history of France that can at all be compared with + it."--_Living Church._ + + "A spirited and entertaining sketch of the French people and + nation,--one that will seize and hold the attention of all bright boys + and girls who have a chance to read it."--_Sunday Afternoon, + Springfield (Mass.)._ + + "We find its descriptions universally good, that it is admirably simple + and direct in style, without waste of words or timidity of opinion. The + book represents a great deal of patient labor and conscientious + study."--_Courant, Hartford (Conn.)._ + + "Miss Kirkland has composed her 'Short History of France' in the way in + which a history for young people ought to be written; that is, she has + aimed to present a consecutive and agreeable story, from which the + reader can not only learn the names of kings and the succession of + events, but can also receive a vivid and permanent impression as to the + characters, modes of life, and the spirit of different periods."--_The + Nation, New York._ + + +_Sold by all booksellers, or mailed, on receipt of price, by_ + + A.C. McCLURG & CO., Publishers, + Cor. Wabash Ave. and Madison St., Chicago. + + + + + LAUREL-CROWNED TALES. + + +Abdallah; or, The Four-Leaved Shamrock. By Edouard Laboulaye. Translated +by Mary L. Booth. + +Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia. By Samuel Johnson. + +Raphael; or, Pages of the Book of Life at Twenty. From the French of +Alphonse de Lamartine. + +The Vicar of Wakefield. By Oliver Goldsmith. + +The Epicurean. By Thomas Moore. + +Picciola. By X. B. Saintine. + +An Iceland Fisherman. By Pierre Loti. + + _Other volumes in preparation._ + + Handsomely printed from new plates, on fine laid paper, 12mo, cloth, + with gilt tops, price per volume, $1.00. + + In half calf or half morocco, $2.50. + + + In planning this series, the publishers have aimed at a form which + should combine an unpretentious elegance suited to the fastidious + book-lover with an inexpensiveness that must appeal to the most + moderate buyer. + + It is the intent to admit to the series only such tales as have for + years or for generations commended themselves not only to the + fastidious and the critical, but also to the great multitude of the + refined reading public,--tales, in short, which combine purity and + classical beauty of style with perennial popularity. + + +_Sold by all booksellers, or mailed, on receipt of price, by_ + + A.C. McCLURG & CO., Publishers, + Cor. Wabash Ave. and Madison St., Chicago. + +THE BOOK-LOVER. A Guide to the Best Reading. By James Baldwin, Ph.D. +Sixth edition, 16mo, cloth, gilt top, 201 pages. Price, $1.00. + + In half calf or half morocco, $2.75. + + + Of this book, on the best in English Literature, which has already been + declared of the highest value by the testimony of the best critics in + this country, an edition of one thousand copies has just been ordered + for London, the home of English Literature,--a compliment of which its + scholarly western author may justly be proud. + + We know of no work of the kind which gives so much useful information + in so small a space.--_Evening Telegram, New York._ + + Sound in theory and in a practical point of view. The courses of + reading laid down are made of good books, and in general, of the + best.--_Independent, New York._ + + Mr. Baldwin has written in this monograph a delightful eulogium of + books and their manifold influence, and has gained therein two classes + of readers,--the scholarly class, to which he belongs, and the + receptive class, which he has benefited.--_Evening Mail and Express, + New York._ + + If a man needs that the love of books be cultivated within him, such a + gem of a book as Dr. Baldwin's ought to do the work. Perfect and + inviting in all that a book ought outwardly to be, its contents are + such as to instruct the mind at the same time that they answer the + taste, and the reader who goes carefully through its two hundred pages + ought not only to love books in general better than he ever did before, + but to love them more wisely, more intelligently, more + discriminatingly, and with more profit to his own soul.--_Literary + World, Boston._ + + +_Sold by all booksellers, or mailed, on receipt of price, by_ + + A.C. McCLURG & CO., Publishers, + Cor. Wabash Ave. and Madison St., Chicago. + +WE TWO ALONE IN EUROPE. By Mary L. Ninde. Illustrated from Original +Designs. + + 12mo, 348 pages, price, $1.50. + + + The foreign travels which gave rise to this volume were of a novel and + perhaps unprecedented kind. Two young American girls started for "the + grand tour" with the father of one of them, and he being compelled to + return home from London they were courageous enough to continue their + journeyings alone. They spent two years in travel,--going as far north + as the North Cape and south to the Nile, and including in their + itinerary St. Petersburg and Moscow. Miss Ninde's narrative is written + in a fresh and sprightly but unsensational style, which, with the + unusual experiences portrayed, renders the work quite unlike the + ordinary books of travel. + + It is a narrative told so naturally and so vividly that the two gentle + travellers do not seem to be "alone," but to have taken at least the + reader along with them.... It is filled with so many interesting + glimpses of sights and scenes in many lands as to render it thoroughly + entertaining.--_The Congregationalist, Boston._ + + As the work of a bright American girl, the book is sure to command wide + attention. The volume is handsomely bound and copiously illustrated + with views drawn, if we mistake not, by the author's own fair hands, so + well do they accord with the vivacious spirit of her + narrative.--_Times, Troy, New York._ + + In these days when letters and books about travels in Europe have + become generally monotonous, to say the least, it is absolutely + refreshing to get hold of a bright, original book like "We Two alone in + Europe."... The book is especially interesting for its fresh, bright + observations on manners, customs, and objects of interest as viewed + through these young girls' eyes, and the charming spice of adventure + running through it.--_Home Journal, Boston._ + + +_Sold by all booksellers, or mailed, on receipt of price, by_ + + A.C. McCLURG & CO., Publishers, + Cor. Wabash Ave. and Madison St., Chicago. + +THE HUMBLER POETS. A Collection of Newspaper and Periodical Verse. 1870 +to 1885. By Slason Thompson. Crown 8vo, 459 pages, cloth, gilt top. +Price, $2.00. + + In half calf or half morocco, $4.00. + + + The publishers have done well in issuing this volume in a style of + literary and artistic excellence, such as is given to the works of the + poets of name and fame, because the contents richly entitle it to such + distinction.--_Home Journal, Boston._ + + The high poetic character of these poems, as a whole, is surprising. As + a unit, the collection makes an impression which even a genius of the + highest order would not be adequate to produce.... Measured by poetic + richness, variety, and merit of the selections contained, the + collection is a rarely good one flavored with the freshness and aroma + of the present time.--_Independent, New York._ + + Mr. Thompson winnowed out the chaff from the heap, and has given us the + golden grain in this volume. Many old newspaper favorites will be + recognized in this collection,--many of those song-waifs which have + been drifting up and down the newspaper world for years, and which + nobody owns but everybody loves. We are glad for ourselves that some + one has been kind and tender-hearted enough to take in these fugitive + children of the Muses and give them a safe and permanent home. The + selection has been made with rare taste and discrimination, and the + result is a delightful volume.--_Observer, New York._ + + +_Sold by all booksellers, or mailed, on receipt of price, by_ + + A.C. McCLURG & CO., Publishers, + Cor. Wabash Ave. and Madison St., Chicago. + +LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, By the Hon. Isaac N. Arnold. With Steel +Portrait. 8vo, cloth, 471 pages. Price, $1.50. + + In half calf or half morocco, $3.50. + + + It is decidedly the best and most complete Life of Lincoln that has yet + appeared.--_Contemporary Review, London._ + + Mr. Arnold succeeded to a singular extent in assuming the broad view + and judicious voice of posterity and exhibiting the greatest figure of + our time in its true perspective.--_The Tribune, New York._ + + It is the only Life of Lincoln thus far published that is likely to + live,--the only one that has any serious pretensions to depict him with + adequate veracity, completeness, and dignity.--_The Sun, New York._ + + The author knew Mr. Lincoln long and intimately, and no one was better + fitted for the task of preparing his biography. He has written with + tenderness and fidelity, with keen discrimination, and with graphic + powers of description and analysis.--_The Interior, Chicago._ + + Mr. Arnold's "Life of President Lincoln" is excellent in almost every + respect.... The author has painted a graphic and life-like portrait of + the remarkable man who was called to decide on the destinies of his + country at the crisis of its fate.--_The Times, London._ + + The book is particularly rich in incidents connected with the early + career of Mr. Lincoln; and it is without exception the most + satisfactory record of his life that has yet been written. Readers will + also find that in its entirety it is a work of absorbing and enduring + interest that will enchain the attention more effectually than any + novel.--_Magazine of American History, New York._ + + +_Sold by all booksellers, or mailed, on receipt of price, by_ + + A.C. McCLURG & CO., Publishers, + Cor. Wabash Ave. and Madison St., Chicago. + +THE AZTECS. Their History, Manners, and Customs. From the French of +Lucien Biart. Authorized translation by J. L. Garner. + + Illustrated, 8vo, 340 pages, price, $2.00. + + + The author has travelled through the country of whose former glories + his book is a recital, and his studies and discoveries leaven the book + throughout. The volume is absorbingly interesting, and is as attractive + in style as it is in material.--_Saturday Evening Gazette, Boston._ + + Nowhere has this subject been more fully and intelligently treated than + in this volume, now placed within reach of American readers. The + mythology of the Aztecs receives special attention, and all that is + known of their lives, their hopes, their fears, and aspirations finds + record here.--_The Tribune, Chicago._ + + The man who can rise from the study of Lucien Biart's invaluable work, + "The Aztecs," without feelings of amazement and admiration for the + history and the government, and for the arts cultivated by these Romans + of the New World is not to be envied.--_The Advance, Chicago._ + + The twilight origin of the present race is graphically presented: those + strange people whose traces have almost vanished from off the face of + the earth again live before us. Their taxes and tributes, their + marriage ceremonies, their burial customs, laws, medicines, food, + poetry, and dances are described.... The book is a very interesting + one, and is brought out with copious illustrations.--_The Traveller, + Boston._ + + M. Biart is the most competent authority living on the subject of the + Aztecs. He spent many years in Mexico, studied his subject carefully + through all means of information, and wrote his book from the + view-point of a scientist. His style is very attractive, and it has + been very successfully translated. The general reader, as well as all + scholars, will be much taken with the work.--_Chronicle Telegraph, + Pittsburg._ + + +_Sold by all booksellers, or mailed, on receipt of price, by_ + + A.C. McCLURG & CO., Publishers, + Cor. Wabash Ave. and Madison St., Chicago. + + + + + Transcriber's Notes to the Electronic Edition + + + In the name "Dvorak", the caron over the "R" and the diacrit over the +"V" have been omitted. On the other hand, an accent has been consistently +applied to the "a". + The publisher's catalog and ads were moved to the back of the book, +and assigned arbitrary page numbers. In the original, they were not +numbered. + The (few) footnotes were moved to chapter ends; in the original they +were in page footers. + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Standard Oratorios, by George P. Upton + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STANDARD ORATORIOS *** + +***** This file should be named 22793.txt or 22793.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/2/7/9/22793/ + +Produced by David Newman, Stephen Hutcheson and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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