Books › Dictionary of music and musicians, 1908 › scan 83
Scan 83
Dictionary of music and musicians, 1908
16 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 57. See the scan on archive.org.
1After several engagements in different theatres in Italy, Mariani was appointed, in 1847, conductor of the Court Theatre at Copenhagen. While there he wrote a Requiem Mass for the funeral of Christian VIII. At the beginning of 1848 he left Denmark and went to Italy to fight in the ranks of the volunteers for the freedom of his country. At the end of the war he was called to Constantinople, where his ability won him the admiration of the Sultan, who made him many valuable presents; and Mariani, as a mark of gratitude, composed a hymn which he dedicated to him. In Constantinople also he wrote two grand cantatas, 'La Fidanzata del guerriero' and 'Gli Esuli,' both works reflecting the aspirations and attempts of the Italian movement. He returned to Italy in 1852, landing at Genoa, where he was at once invited to be the conductor of the Carlo Felice. In a short time he reorganised that orchestra so as to make it the first in Italy. His fame soon filled the country and spread abroad; he had offers of engagements from London, St. Petersburg, and Paris, but he would never accept them; he had fixed his headquarters in Genoa, and only absented himself for short periods at a time, to conduct at Bologna, at Venice, and other important Italian towns. Mariani exercised an extraordinary personal fascination on all those who were under his direction. He was esteemed and loved by all who knew him. For him, no matter the name of the composer, the music he conducted at the moment was always the most beautiful, and he threw himself into it with all his soul. Great masters as well as young composers were happy to receive his advice, and he gave it in the interest of art and for the improvement of the work. At rehearsal nothing escaped him in the orchestra or on the stage.
3In 1864 Mariani was the director of the grand fêtes celebrated at Pesaro in honour of Rossini, and was himself greeted enthusiastically by the public, which was in great part composed of the most eminent musicians of the world. On Nov. 1, 1871, he introduced 'Lohengrin' at the Comunale of Bologna, and, thanks to his efforts, the opera was such a success that it was performed through the season several times a week—and he had only nine orchestral rehearsals for it! On this occasion Richard Wagner sent him a large photograph of himself, under which he wrote Evviva Mariani.
5A cruel illness terminated the life of this great musician on Oct. 13, 1873, at Genoa, the town which had seen the first dawn of his world-wide celebrity. The day of Mariani's funeral was a day of mourning for the whole of Genoa. His body was transported to Ravenna at the request of the latter city. The Genoese municipality ordered a bust of him to be placed in the vestibule of the Carlo Felice; all the letters written to him by the leading composers and literary men of the day to be preserved in the town library; the portrait sent by Wagner hung in one of the rooms of the Palazzo Civico; and his last baton placed by the side of Paganini's violin in the civic museum.
7Besides the works already named, and other orchestral pieces, he published several collections of songs, all of which are charmingly melodious:—'Rimembranze del Bosforo,' 'Il Trovatore nella Liguria,' 'Liete e tristi rimembranze,' 'Otto pezzi vocali,' 'Nuovo Album vocale.'
9Mariani was the prince of Italian conductors; out of Italy he might have found his equal, but not his superior. F. RZ.
11MARIMBA, THE, a curious instrument (said to possess great musical capabilities) in use in the southern parts of Mexico. In type it is of the wooden harmonica species, but is much larger, of more extended range, and has a sound-box to each note. Its compass is five octaves extending upwards from A. A large table-like frame, five or six feet in length, on legs supports a graduated series of strips of hard and well-seasoned wood. Below each of these is fixed an oblong cedar box equally graduated in size. The box, which serves as a resonator, is entirely closed except at the top, but has a small hole covered with thin bladder at the lower end. The wooden note being struck with a drumstick has its vibrations increased by the resonator with the addition of a peculiar buzzing sound. The instrument, which also bears another name, 'Zapotecano,' is to be played by four performers, each armed with a pair of drumsticks varying in size and weight, the heads generally of soft crude indiarubber. A description, with illustrations from photographs, is to be seen in the Musical Times for May 1901.
13The marimba is also known in Africa, where it is formed in a similar, but rather more primitive fashion, gourds taking the place of the wooden sound-boxes. F. K.
15MARIMON, MARIE, born about 1835 in Paris (Grande Encyclopédie), was taught singing by Duprez, and made her début at the Lyrique as Hélène on the production of Semet's 'Demoiselle d'Honneur,' Dec. 30, 1857; as Zora in 'La Perle du Brésil,' and Fatima in 'Abu Hassan,' May 11, 1859. She next played at the Opéra-Comique, Catarina in 'Les Diamans de la Couronne,' July 30, 1860; Maïma in Offenbach's unsuccessful 'Barkouf,' Dec. 24, 1860; Zerline in 'La Sirène' with Roger, Nov. 4, 1861, and Giralda in 1862. She returned to the Lyrique, and afterwards played at Brussels. On her return to Paris in 1869 she made a very great success at the Athénée in French versions of Ricci's 'Follia a Roma' and 'Crispino,' and Verdi's 'Masnadieri,' Feb. 3, 1870. She played at Drury Lane in Italian in 1871-72, and at Covent Garden, in the autumn of the first year, Amina, wherein she made her début; May 4,
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.