Scan 16
Musical Courier 1895-12-25: Vol 31 Iss 825, 1895
38 lines. Read by computer on 26 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 17. See the scan on archive.org.
1side the liberties which later composers, especially Richard Wagner, have taken with traditional roles; but the title of classical composer would not be refused to Purcell even in our days. His splendid Te Deum and his Jubilate in D, composed for the feast of St. Cecilia in 1694, will remain as monuments of Purcell's genius. He was the first to substitute an orchestra for an organ as accompaniment to the voices, and to give to sacred music the elements of new forms and a new style.
3In a more limited region, but with a clearness no less luminous, the genius of Purcell shines among the clavecinists. His lessons and pieces for the clavecin and his sonatas for two violins with continuous bass present a real charm by their melodic invention, their deep sense of rhythm and their truth of expression, which never passes beyond the limits of this branch. The simplicity of most of these little compositions is very great, and their charm consists in the details of the expression designed by the composer. Amédée Méréaux, in his remarkable work on the clavecinists, justly says that "the clavecin music of Purcell exhibits a tendency toward novelty of ideas, their easy expression and their significant value. We see this in the frequent and often happy bursts of imitative and expressive music in his smaller pieces, such as the Minuet, the Trumpet air, the March, the Allemande and the Chaconne."
5The ardor with which Purcell delivered himself to his artistic duties and to composition could not but be fatal. He never spared himself, and the old child of the chapel, even when he had become the greatest and most flattered composer of his country, did not disdain on occasion to lend his voice to the interpretation of his works.
7On November 22, 1692, Purcell sang a verse of his Ode to St. Cecilia with such charm that his success as a singer almost surpassed his success as a composer. On March 5, 1695, he played the organ on the occasion of the obsequies of Queen Mary, and directed the execution of the expressive and superb music he had written for the event. It was a cold day, the snow fell in heavy flakes, and the dampness penetrated into the church. Purcell, who had just recovered from a long indisposition, went home chilled through and soon fell sick. Phthisis declared itself and made such progress that he succumbed on November 21, 1695, scarcely thirty-seven years old.
9The music he had composed for Queen Mary served for his own obsequies. The composer was interred in Westminster Abbey, that is consecrated to all the glories of England, nearly beneath the organ which his fingers had so often manipulated. His tomb bears the inscription which we reproduce at the head of this article. In spite of his great reputation, his many employments and his activity in composing, Purcell was far from gaining enormous sums. As the chapter of Westminster could not furnish him with the house to which he had a right, it paid him the modest indemnity of 40 shillings a quarter, for which we reproduce one of the receipts in autograph.
11Purcell resided with his wife in a house the rent of which was at first 14 shillings and afterward 21 shillings a year. We may see by this that the greatest composer of his country and his time must have been lodged very simply. But that did not prevent him from standing well at court and being appreciated at his proper value. His countenance has been reproduced by various artists of talent. The beautiful portrait of his youth, which we present to our readers, is attributed to Godfrey Kneller, the brilliant court painter. We find, too, his characteristic traits in the portrait lithographed for Le Ménestrel by Alfred Lemoine; it seems to be one or two years earlier than the portrait by Closterman, which is now in the possession of the Royal Society of Musicians in London.
13Young as he was when he had to abandon his task, Henry Purcell could say on his deathbed Non omnis moriar. A good part of his work has remained alive, and his name has become inseparable from the very history of music. For England he remains a radiant phenomenon, an irresistible refutation of the widespread opinion that the genius of the British race is repugnant to the art of music. In this sense, Purcell's librettist, "glorious John," as Dryden was styled, had just reason to evoke in his celebrated ode on Purcell's death the choir of cherubim and to say that at the death of the master the angels let down a ladder—the word scale means ladder—for Purcell to ascend, and during his ascent sang his compositions. Many in England will recall these verses of Dryden:
15The heavenly choir who heard his notes from high,
16Let down the scale of music from the sky,
17They handed him along
18And all the way he taught and all the way he sang.
19—O. Berggruen, in Le Ménestrel.
21Music in Milan.
22MILAN, November 28, 1895.
24FOR the student in Milan the hours of daylight pass by with great rapidity. The routine of each day has to be so closely observed that an hour given away for this or that breaks the link, and application for the thousand of other ambitious composers that swarm in Italy and then, perhaps, she foresaw that it might be more réclame for our lions that, as it were, she would be the direct means of bringing him to the front a most favored individual, and so she played the "Furta" and saved her stitch in time. However, she promised to be present at its first production, hence the author has chosen Rome for his patron. By the way, this opera was written when he was eighteen years of age, and sold to a publisher at Bologna for a small sum—about 300 lire. Now that his reputation is made this clever publisher takes his jewel and is ready to show it to the public, when Leoncavallo takes it from his grasp and resets it, with his more matured genius of instrumentation and experience of past successes; otherwise he would be harshly criticised for his labor of youth. This was taking advantage of the musician, but such is fate, if one does not burn his bridges behind him.
26The Berlin group of artists, those unfortunate individuals that Sonzogno placed his soldi on (perhaps more, even, on his opinion of them than on the beings themselves), have been singing a series of ten operas at the Lirico; and let us say at once to their credit that more success and applause have been forthcoming than during their unhappy sojourn at Berlin.
28This is due to the change of principals, introducing Pauline Joran, Signora Garulli, Pini-Corsi, Barbierie and one or two tenors who sing rather than shout. Manon, of Massenet, was performed with Dufriche, Maestro di Capello with Pini-Corsi (a composition 110 years old), Claudia, of Caronaro's, which never had one hand throughout the performance; also a new one of Samara's, which did not go, interspersed with the regular Sonzogno repertory, at reduced prices. It is still an unanswered question "Why did Sonzogno take such an inferior troupe to Germany?" They don't go in Milan except when well mixed among strong casts at rare intervals, for Milan has a very difficult public to please, and has little forbearance.
30If an artist sings badly, as did a poor German tenor in Pagliacci at the Lirico this season, the house hoots, yells, throws things on the stage, and makes such a pandemonium that the "povero disgraziato" is obliged to retire, and if no one is at hand to replace him the curtain drops. Many an old artist who stands firm on the boards in other cities trembles like a reed in a gale when he meets a Milanese audience face to face for the first time—they are the lion or the lamb, beauty or the beast.
32The Dal Verne has just produced La Favorita "tutto storto." Leonora was one of the most buxom women I have ever seen, especially her arms, which she always bares for inspection. Her voice is agreeable, but one does not want to sit the evening through with closed eyes. The tenor was again Oxilia, who sang in Il Spirito Gentil with a fine mezzo voce, all he has; when he sings forte it's very distressing, but as he sings for love, and not for soldi, we will probably be favored as suits the interests of the impresario. one of two readings
33The Dal Verne has just produced La Favorita "tutto starto." Leonora was one of the most buxom women I have ever seen, especially her arms, which she always bares for inspection. Her voice is agreeable, but one does not want to sit the evening through with closed eyes. The tenor was again Oxilia, who sang in Il Spirito Gentil with a fine mezzo voce, all he has; when he sings forte it's very distressing, but as he sings for love, and not for soldi, we will probably be favored as suits the interests of the impresario. one of two readings
35Otello, with the dramatic Grani, and soprano Mendieros, was very acceptable. Grani has made this his specialty, not for his singing, which is very bad, but for his acting, which, on the contrary, is powerful and artistic. Mendieros sang the Salci and Ave Maria of the last act inimitably. She is beautiful to look upon, and has a voice of velvet, but a cold, stiff organism, with little of the temperament of Spanish blood that courses her veins. Aida was bad. It is seldom one hears such badly chosen artists; imagine a light lyric soprano as Aida, this same stout mezzo for Amneris! It taxes my patience to see the public so imposed upon. So far the great success has been Franchetti's Asrael, staged by the author, whose mother was a Rothschild, at his own expense, and all the artists chosen were perfectly adapted to their parts. The tenor Mariacher as Asrael, Mendieros as Nefta, filled the house each night, and a special performance, in addition to the fifteen already performed, was given to accommodate the public's desire "for more."
37This opera was written eight years ago and given at the time at the Scala, where it had a fair success. But inasmuch as the school is Wagnerian, with little of the
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