Books › Grove's dictionary of music and musicians, 1904 › scan 99
Scan 99
Grove's dictionary of music and musicians, 1904
15 lines. Read by computer on 6 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 78. See the scan on archive.org.
1his intention of opening a school of singing in London, and appeared there on June 13.
3His brother, JEAN (more correctly JAN MECZISLAW) born at Warsaw, Jan. 14, 1850,1 was the eldest son of the controller of the government railways, was taught singing by his mother, a distinguished amateur, and at the age of twelve sang solos in the Cathedral there. He was taught later by Ciaffei, Cotogni, and Sbriglia. Under the name 'De Reschi' he made his début at Venice as Alfonso ('Favorita') in Jan. 1874, according to an eye-witness with success.2 He made his début at Drury Lane on April 11 of the same year, and in the same part, and played there two seasons as Don Giovanni, Almaviva, De Nevers, and Valentine. A contemporary3 spoke of him as one of whom the highest expectations might be entertained, having a voice of delicious quality; he phrased artistically and possessed sensibility, but lacked experience such as would enable him to turn his vocal gifts to greater account and to become an effective actor. It is interesting to find that the quality of the organ was even then considered to be more of the robust tenor timbre than a baritone. Under his own name he made his début at the Italiens as Fra Melitone ('Forzadel Destino'), Oct. 31, 1876, with some success, and as Severo (Donizetti's 'Poliuto') Dec. 5, Figaro ('Barbiere') Dec. 19. He made his tenor début as 'Robert' at Madrid in 1879 with great success, and was engaged at the Théâtre des Nations in 1884. He played there the part of St. John the Baptist on the production of 'Hérodiade' so much to the satisfaction of Massenet, that he procured him an engagement at the Académie to create the title-part of 'Le Cid,' in which he made his début on its production, Nov. 30, 1885. He was engaged there for four years, and sang the usual tenor parts, notably Don Ottavio ('Don Juan' centenary) and Romeo (in 1888, on the production of Gounod's opera at the Grand Opéra). On June 13, 1887, he reappeared at Drury Lane as Radames, and sang as Lohengrin, Faust, and Raoul. He worthily fulfilled his early promise by the marked improvement both in his singing and acting, and by his ease and gentlemanly bearing, the improvements being almost entirely due to his own hard work and exertions. On June 4, 1888, as Vasco de Gama, he made his first appearance at Covent Garden, and from that season dates the revival of opera as a fashionable amusement in London. Till 1900 inclusive, he sang nearly every year here, his parts including John of Leyden, the Duke in 'Un Ballo,' Don José, Phoebus in Goring Thomas's 'Esmeralda,' Lancelot in Bemberg's 'Elaine,' Werther (in Massenet's opera). In the great parts of Wagner, such as Walther, Tristan, and Siegfried, he was unrivalled, throwing new light upon the music by his wonderful power of interpreting the dramatic side, without losing sight of vocal purity. He sang for several seasons in America with his brother, and at Warsaw and St. Petersburg. On Dec. 11, 1890, he assisted gratuitously in the performance of 'Carmen' at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, where Mme. Galli-Marié reappeared in her original part, and Melba and Lassalle were in the cast. He reappeared at intervals at the Paris Opéra, singing in 'Siegfried' and 'Pagliacci' on the Paris production of those operas. He was announced in Reyer's 'Sigurd' in 1904, but was unable to appear through illness. He is living in Paris, and devotes himself to teaching.
5Their sister, JOSEPHINE, educated at the Conservatorium of St. Petersburg, attracted the notice of M. Halanzier at Venice, and was engaged by him at the Académie, where she made her début as Ophelia, June 21, 1875. She sang there with success for some time, where she was the original Sita ('Roi de Lahore'), April 27, 1877. Later she was very successful at Madrid, Lisbon, etc.; sang at Covent Garden as Aïda, April 18, 1881, and again in Paris at the Th. des Nations as Salome ('Hérodiade'), March 13, 1884. She retired from public on her marriage with M. Leopold de Kronenburg of Warsaw; she died there Feb. 22, 1891.
7RETARDATION is a word used by some theorists to distinguish a small group of discords which are similar in nature to suspensions, but resolve upwards, as in Ex. 1.
9Ex. 1. Ex. 2. one of two readings
10Ex. 1. Ex. 2. one of two readings
12The ground for making this sub-class is that it appears inaccurate to describe as suspensions notes which are delayed or retarded in ascending. A comparison of Ex. 2, which would be distinguished as a suspension, with Ex. 1, will show the identity of principle which underlies the two discords; while the fact of their ascending or descending is clearly not an attribute but an accident. So in this case there is no other ostensible reason for breaking up a well-defined class but the fact that the common designation in use is supposed, perhaps erroneously, to be insufficient to denote all that ought to come under it. On the other hand it requires to be noted that as all discords of this class are discords of retardation, and as those which rise are very much less common than those which descend in resolution, the name which might describe the whole class is reserved for the smallest and least conspicuous group in that class.
14REUTTER, GEORG, born 1656 at Vienna, became in 1686 organist of St. Stephen's, and in 1700 Hof- and Kammer-organist. He also played the theorbo in the Hofkapelle from
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