Scan 479
GROVE'S DICTIONARY OF MUSIC AND MUSICIANS IN FIVE VOLUMES, 1908
20 lines. Read by computer on 5 September 2026. Printed page 417. See the scan on archive.org.
1it is called by mediæval writers, 'The Golden Sequence.'
33. For the festival of Corpus Christi, S. Thomas Aquinas wrote the celebrated sequence, 'Lauda Sion,' which is generally believed to date from about the year 1261.
54. To Innocent III. is also attributed the 'Stabat Mater,' sung since 1727 on the 'Feasts of the Seven Dolours of Our Lady' (the Friday in Passion Week, and the third Sunday in September). The authorship, however, has not been certainly ascertained; and many are inclined to attribute it to Jacobus de Benedictis (Jacopone). (See STABAT MATER.)
75. Even more celebrated than any of these is the 'Dies irae' written, during the latter half of the 12th century or beginning of the 13th century, by Thomas of Celano, and sung in the 'Requiem,' or Mass for the Dead. In the triple stanzas of this wonderful poem the rhymed Latin of the Middle Ages attained its highest perfection; and, though the 'Stabat Mater' is frequently said to be second only to it in beauty, the distance between the two is very great.
9The plain-chant melodies of sequences differ from hymn melodies in their structure. The ancient jubilus was divided into sections, each of which was sung twice, and consequently a sequence melody properly consists of a series of phrases each of which is repeated. Similarly a sequence is a series of verses each dual in structure and consisting of strophe and antistrophe. They may be represented by the formula aa': bb': cc', etc. In the early rhythmical proses a, b, c, etc., are usually unlike one another; in the later metrical proses for the most part the same scheme runs throughout the words though the music varies. The 'Dies irae' is irregular and does not conform to the usual type, because it was not originally a sequence at all. All of these, and other sequences besides, are found in use in whole or in part in Anglican services. For 'Dies irae' see Hymns Ancient and Modern (new edition), 302, English Hymnal, 351; 'Lauda Sion,' E. H. 317; 'Stabat Mater,' H. A. and M., 132, E. H. 115, in part; 'Veni sancti Spiritus,' H. A. and M. 184, E. H. 155; 'Victimae paschali,' E. H. 130. Compare an early French rhythmical prose 'Salus Aeterna,' E. H. 10, and contrast it with a late metrical sequence such as 'Sponsa Christi,' H. A. and M. 245, E. H. 253, both as regards text and melody.
11In addition to these plain-song melodies, we possess innumerable settings of all the sequences now in use, by the great masters of the Polyphonic School; and many by the classical composers of the 18th and 19th centuries. For these see DIES IRAE; LAUDA SION; STABAT MATER; VENI SANCTE SPIRITUS; AND VICTIMAE PASCHALI. W. S. R.; revised by W. H. F.
13SERAGLIO, THE. (i.) The English title of an adaptation (produced 1827) of Mozart's ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL. See vol. i. p. 784.
15(ii.) An opera by Charles Dibdin under this title was produced at Covent Garden, Nov. 14, 1776. Dibdin being then in France, Dr. Arnold, composer to the theatre, had some share in the musical part of it, but it contains Dibdin's fine song 'Blow high, blow low' sung in the opera by Reinhold, and afterwards introduced by Bannister into Arne's opera 'Thomas and Sally.' The opera had very little success, but both libretto and the music were published. Harris the Covent Garden manager had altered the piece considerably for acting purposes. F. K.
17SERAPHIN, SANCTUS (or SANTO SERAFIN) and GIORGIO (uncle and nephew), two celebrated violin-makers of Venice. The uncle, as his label informs us ('Sanctus Seraphin Utinensis fecit Venetiis'), was originally of Udine, a town in the Venetian territory towards the mountains of Carinthia, and probably of Jewish extraction. His violins date from about 1710 to 1740. The nephew, if we may judge from the style of his instruments, worked with the uncle many years, and appears to have succeeded him in the business. The instruments of Sanctus Seraphin occupy a middle place between the Italian and the Tyrolese school. As far as external appearance goes, the maker seems to vacillate between the model of Stainer and that of Nicholas Amati. But in the essential particulars of the art, in the selection of wood of the finest and most sonorous quality, in the proper calculation of the proportions, and the solidity and finish of the parts, he worked on the principles of the Cremona makers. Few equalled him as a workman. Those who wish to see how far mechanical perfection can be carried should examine Seraphin's purfling with a magnifying glass. In Seraphin's earlier years the Stainer character predominates in his instruments; in his later years he leaned to the Amati model. His instruments are famous for their perfect finish (reminding forcibly of the style of Stradivarius), their remarkably lustrous deep red varnish, and fine mellow tone.
19[The period of Sanctus Seraphin's activity extends from about 1678 to 1735. He worked in Udine for nearly twenty years, and during that time he employed an engraved label of large dimensions which runs: 'Sanctus Seraphinus Nicolai Amati Cremonensis Allumnus faciebat: Udine A. 16': It is worthy of note that the dates on Seraphin's labels are in accordance with the rest of his work, neatly written in, and not bungled, as is frequently the case with his contemporaries. The Venetian label quoted at the beginning of this article is larger than any label to be found in a Cremona instrument. The legend on Seraphin's ticket is framed by a design composed on three sides
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