Scan 41
GROVE'S DICTIONARY OF MUSIC AND MUSICIANS IN FIVE VOLUMES, 1908
8 lines. Read by computer on 5 September 2026. Printed page 17. See the scan on archive.org.
1Cappella at St. Peter's; a post for which, if knowledge, experience, and ceaseless labour of production in all departments of his art could qualify him, he was amply fitted. Shortly before this, in 1848, he had after four years of toil completed three oratorios, 'Potiphar,' 'Pharaoh,' and 'Jacob,' which were not only designed to be performed in the usual manner, but to be played all three in combination as one work, under the name of 'Joseph.' On August 7, 1852, the new Maestro brought out this stupendous work at the Teatro Argentina. The success of the three single oratorios was moderate, but when they were united on the following day—the three orchestras and the three troupes forming an ensemble of nearly 400 musicians—the excitement and applause of the spectators knew no bounds, and so great was his emotion that Raimondi fainted away. He did not long survive this triumph, but died at Rome, Oct. 30, 1853.
3The list of his works is astonishing, and embraces 62 operas; 21 grand ballets, composed for San Carlo between 1812 and 1828; 8 oratorios; 4 masses with full orchestra; 2 ditto with 2 choirs a cappella; 2 requiems with full orchestra; 1 ditto for 8 and 16 voices; a Credo for 16 voices; the whole Book of Psalms, for 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 voices; many Te Deums, Stabats, Misereres, Tantum ergos, psalms, and litanies; two books of 90 partimenti, each on a separate bass, with three different accompaniments; a collection of figured basses with fugued accompaniments as a school of accompaniment; 4 fugues for 4 voices, each independent but capable of being united and sung together as a quadruple fugue in 16 parts; 6 fugues for 4 voices capable of combination into 1 fugue for 24 voices; a fugue for 16 choirs; 16 fugues for 4 voices; 24 fugues for 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 voices, of which 4 and 5 separate fugues will combine into one. A fugue in 64 parts, for 16 four-part choirs, is said to exist. Besides the above feat with the three oratorios he composed an opera seria and an opera buffa which went equally well separately and in combination. Such stupendous labours are, as Fétis remarked, enough to give the reader the headache: what must they have done to the persevering artist who accomplished them? But they also give one the heartache at the thought of their utter futility. Raimondi's compositions, with all their ingenuity, belong to a past age, and we may safely say that they will never be revived. G.
5RAINFORTH, ELIZABETH, born Nov. 23, 1814, studied singing under George Perry and T. Cooke, and acting under Mrs. Davison, the eminent comedian. After having gained experience at minor concerts, she appeared upon the stage at the St. James's Theatre, Oct. 27, 1836, as Mandane, in Arne's 'Artaxerxes,' with complete success. She performed there for the remainder of the season, and then removed to the English Opera-House. Subsequently to her public appearance she took lessons from Crivelli. In 1837 she sang in oratorio at the Sacred Harmonic Society, and continued to do so for several years. She made her first appearance at the Philharmonic, March 18, 1839. In 1840 she sang at the Antient Concerts, and in 1843 at the Birmingham Festival. After performing at Covent Garden from 1838 to 1843 she transferred her services to Drury Lane, where she made a great hit by her performance of Arline, in Balfe's 'Bohemian Girl,' on its production, Nov. 27, 1843. In the previous year she had a most successful season in Dublin, and repeated her visits to Ireland in 1844 and 1849. She was engaged as prima donna at the Worcester Festival of 1845. She continued to perform in the metropolis until about 1852, when she removed to Edinburgh, where she remained until about 1856. She then retired, and in 1858 went to live at Old Windsor, and taught music in the neighbourhood until her complete retirement in March 1871, when she removed to her father's at Bristol. Her voice was a high soprano, even and sweet in quality, but deficient in power, and she possessed great judgment and much dramatic feeling. Although her limited power prevented her from becoming a great singer, her attainments were such as enabled her to fill the first place with credit to herself, and satisfaction to her auditors. Shedied at Redland, Bristol, Sept. 22, 1877. W. H. H.
7RALLENTANDO, RITARDANDO, RITENENTE, RITENUTO—'Becoming slow again,' 'Slackening,' 'Holding back,' 'Held back.' The first two of these words are used quite indifferently to express a gradual diminution of the rate of speed in a composition, and although the last is commonly used in exactly the same way, it seems originally and in a strict sense to have meant a uniform rate of slower time, so that the whole passage marked ritenuo would be taken at the same time, while each bar and each phrase in a passage marked rallentando would be a little slower than the one before it. That there exists a difference in their uses is conclusively proved by a passage in the Quartet op. 131 of Beethoven, where in the 7th movement (allegro) a phrase of three recurring minims, which is repeated in all five times, has the direction 'Espressivo, poco ritenuo' for its first three appearances, which are separated by two bars a tempo, and for the last two times has ritardando, which at length leads into the real a tempo, of which the former separating fragments were but a presage. This is one of the very rare instances of the use of the word ritenuo by Beethoven. The conclusion from it is confirmed by a passage in Chopin's Rondo, op. 16, consisting of the four bars which immediately precede the entry of the second subject. Here the first two bars consist of a fragment of a preceding figure which is repeated,
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