Mm ::;'.;"-:■ "W® Bi HP Him asHsisI Wm m&& BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF Henrg W. Sage 1S91 A • **%.!. 'i ..? jA?/6//p*3 Cornell University Library ML 850.H32 1885 The violin and its music / 3 1924 022 421 139 DATE DUE • lrtkiafl mn GAYLORD PRINTED IN U.SA 1 CL^ft m Ml RECENTLY PUBLISHED. NEW AND ENLARGED EDITION, QUARTO, ABOUT 500 PAGES, PRICE, 25/- WITH UPWARDS OF SIXTY ENGRAVINGS. Cjrr SJinliii: ITS FAMOUS MAKERS AND THEIR IMITATORS, BY GEORGE HART. Opinions of the Press on the Original Edition, 1875. "Mr. Haft is an authority on this subject who commands general respect, and the volume in which he has embodied the results of his experience and researches will be gratefully received by all who take an interest in what he justly calls the leading instrument. ... In the history of the instrument, as well of the strange adventures of some famous makers and specimens of it, there is moreover a touch of seductive romance. . . . Mr. Hart takes the various' schools in turn, analysing the characteristics of the chief makers." — Saturday Review. " The title of this book does not fairly indicate its interesting contents. The volume is valuable to the violinist ; it is instructive for the amateur ; and miscellaneous matter may be found in it to fix the attention of the general reader. " — Athenaum. "The book is as nearly exhaustive as possible, far exceeding any previous attempt of the kind." — Academy. "Mr. Hart possesses a rare knowledge of Italian Violins, and the practical parts of his book are for the most part interesting and original. . . . The special feature of Mr. Hart's volume is the combined application of photography and wood-engraving to his illustrations." — Times. "Mr. Hart's book is enjoyable not only to the professional but to the amateur, and it is a most exhaustive account of an extensive subject." — New York Herald. "We must award the highest praise to Mr. Hart for this very satisfactory result of what must evidently have been the labour of many years." — Musical Times. The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924022421139 A R CA N G E LO COME ILL *tfe *c **b C|p f iilio AND ITS MUSIC, GEORGE HART. " There is nothing in which the power of art is shown so much as in playing the Fiddle. In all other things we can do something at first. Any man will forge a bar of iron if you give him a hammer, not so well as a smith, but tolerably ; and make a box, though a clumsy one ; but give him a Fiddle and a Fiddle-stick, and he can do nothing. " Dr. Johnson. Jonumt : DULAU AND CO., 37, SOHO SQUARE, W. 1885. [all rights reserved.] PREFACE. oX«o T T is now six years since' my work on "The Violin and its Famous Makers " was received with so much indulgence by my friends and admirers of the leading instrument. The signs of approval which have from time to time been brought under my notice with regard to the publication of that book, prompted me to again occupy some portion of my leisure hours in the preparation of another volume, treating of the remaining branch of the same subject, namely : " The Violin and its Music." I need scarcely remark, that I am not unmindful of the distinctive character of the two undertakings, and of the wholly different knowledge necessary to be brought to bear upon each. In entering^ however, upon a task so distinct from my former one, it is, I feel, unnecessary to IV PREFACE. state that I should not have contemptated touching the subject of the Music of the Violin had I not in some degree a practical acquaintance with its theme. Whether that knowledge has been made use of in the preparation of the following pages in a manner likely to instruct and amuse — and at the same time to manifest that judgment which is deferential without servility, and critical without impertinence — is for the reader to decide. 14, Princes Street, Leicester Square, May, 1881. CONTENTS. Page Section I. — The Viol Gothic. Chapter I. — Roger North's Early History of the Viol, the " Memoires of Music" — The Gothic Viol-germ in France, Italy and Spain — The Anglo-Saxons and their Music — The Spanish Violars ; The Troubadours ; The Minnesingers and Mastersingers I Chapter II. — Influence of the Mastersingers on Western Civilization ; their home in Nuremberg ; Hans Sachs ; Paul Hof haimer ; Albert , Durer ; Hans Frey ; Fritz Gerles — The Germans earliest in practical Composition — Franco's Time Table, nth century — Luscinius' estimate of Hofhaimer — Heinrich Isaac — Emperor Maximilian — Albert V. Duke of Bavaria, his Music Establishment in Munich — Montaigne on the use of Viols in Churches — Earliest Book on the Viol, by Carmine Angurelli, 1491 — Earliest Instru- mental Music in Parts — Hans Syngriner, 1523 — The German Fretted Geige, the Basis of the Viol 9 Chapter III. — Bowed Instruments among the Anglo-Saxons in France, Spain, and Italy at the fall of the Roman Empire — The Fithell, the Rebec, and the Geige — The Modern Violin, first traces of, by Brescian and Cremonese Makers, and its connection with Viols — Gaspard di Salp, Dardelli, and Andrew Amati — The Madrigal, its Cradle in the Netherlands — The Nebulous Period of the Musical Art — Earliest Makers of the Viol in Italy ; Joan Kerlin ; Duiffoprugcar — Italy and Germany's early claims compared 17 Section II. — The Viol in the Netherlands. Chapter I.— Flemish Skill in the Fine Arts — Progress of the Arts in the Low Countries in the 15th century — The Van Eycks, Okeghem, and Josquin Despres — Jean de Muris and Notation by Points — Early Associations and Guilds of Rhetoric — A Musical Society at Louvain, 15th century — Okeghem and the New School of Flemish Music ; his Canons, Masses, and Motetts ... 27 VI CONTENTS. Page Chapter II, — Comparative Progress of Vocal and Instrumental Music in the 16th century — The Early Contrapuntists mainly Vocal — Earliest indication of Instrumental Music in Church Service — Flemish Ecclesiastical Music, 1 6th century — Magnificence of Gothic Churches in the Netherlands prior to the Reformation — Position of the Viol at this Period, and its relation to the Madrigal — Immigration of Flemish Musicians into Italy — John Tinctor, and his first Book on Music ever printed — Josquin at Rome and in Florence — Adrian Willaert, the "Father of the Madrigal," and the Pioneer of Domestic Music — Doni, and his "Dialogue on Music," — The Viol in Venice 35 Section III. — The Viol in France. Chapter I. — Earliest indications of Bow Instruments in Spain- Provence, the " Mother of Troubadours and Minstrels " — High Civilisation of Provence in the 12th century— Connection of the Troubadours with the earliest French Musical History — The Troubadour, Trouvere, and Jongleur — The Rhymed Romance of Charlemagne ; connection of the Viol therewith 50 Chapter II.— Romance Poetry of the Troubadours— The King of Navarre, the Lord of Courcy, the Count d'Anjou, and the Duke of Brabant -The Tale of "The Two Minstrels "—The Geige and the Rebec in France — The Minstrels' Royal Charter, 1321— The Charivari or Masquerade 36 Chapter III.— King Rene and the Troubadours— Louis XL, his grovelling disposition ; "no music in his soul ''—Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, composer of Songs and Motetts— Francis I. the " King of Culture," and Cellini and Leonardo da Vinci— He founds the Royal College— His meeting with Leo X. at Bologna— The King's Orchestra and Duiffoprugcar .66 Section IV. — The Viol in England. Chapter I.— The Viol in England's Baronial Halls— Visit of Henry V. to France ; his Minstrels and Snyth Fydeler— Minstrels at the Battle of Agincourt ; earliest English Song in Gregorian Notation relating thereto— Visit of Henry V. to the City of London- England's first Minstrels' Charter, 1469— England's Musicians in the time of Edward IV. ; the King's Household Establishment ; CONTENTS. Vll Page the Minstrels' Duties ; the Waits — The "Master of Songe," and the Children of the Chapel — Instruments of the Minstrels, 15th century : Sauterie, Rebec, Rote, Vielle, Fyddyl, Viol', Violin, Rebelle, Ribible, Crwth, Crowd, Shalm, Sackbut — Early appear- ance of the Bow in England— The " Beverley Minstrels " ... 70 Chapter II. — Political relation of Edward IV. and Charles the Bold, its influence on Music in England — Commission for a Commercial Treaty with the Duke of Burgundy, William Caxton's connection therewith — Introduction of Printing, and Wynkyn de Worde's first Musical Works, 1530 — Reign of Henry VII. and Musical Development — The " Stryng Minstrels " at Westminster — Henry VIII. and his Musical Accomplishments — His State Band — Invention of the Lute ascribed by Galileo to England : its earliest appearance — Earliest mention thereof by Chaucer — Isaak Walton on the Lute and Enharmonic Symphony — The Lute and Viol in Barbers' Shops — Thomas Mace and his ' ' Musick's Monument " — Cost of a Lute and its Maintenance ... ... ... ... 84 CHAPTER III. — Development of Instrumental Music in England — First Appearance of Viols in the Reign of Henry VIII. — Caxton's Mission to the Netherlands, 1464 — Charles V.'s love of Music — The Masque at Greenwich, 1512 — Observations of Lord Bacon — Musical Establishment of Henry VI. — Orlando Lassus and the Venetian Madrigal — Byrde's "Songs of Sadnes and Pietie"— Netherlanders in England under Queen Elizabeth — Sir Thomas Gresham's Music Professorship 96 Chapter IV. — Nicholas Yonge, and Italian Madrigals — The Palace of Nonesuch at Greenwich — Dowland's " First Book of Songes or Ayres," 1597 — Thomas Morley's Canzonets — Dowland's " Lacry- mae " — Evidence of Drayton and Roger North — James I. and his Court Masques — John Coperario's "Fancies" for the Viol da Gamba — Scipione Cerreto, " Delia Prattica Musica " — The , " Musurgia '' of Ottomarus Luscinius — Simpson's "Division Viol," and his Instructions for Playing 105 Chapter V. — Playford's "Introduction to the Skill of Music "—His Stringing of Viols — Mace's "Musick's Monument " — The " Chest of Viols," "An Howre's Recreation in Musicke," by Richard Alison — Sir Roger L'Estrange and Oliver Cromwell — Sir Henry Wotton and Isaak Walton — Pepys a Violist 120 Vlll CONTENTS. Pags Section V. — The Viol in Italy. Chapter I. — Italy and the Renaissance— Observations of Sir William Temple, Hallam, Burckhardt, and Macaulay— Petrarch and Boc- caccio — Illustrations from early Italian Painters 130 Chapter II. — Lorenzo de Medici and his School of Harmony^Heinrich Isaac and his "San Giovanni e San Paolo" — Michael Angelo and Poliziano in Lorenzo's Gardens at Florence — Leonardo da Vinci — The Court of Duke Hercules at Ferrara, and Josquin's Masses — Instruments there used — The Court of Gonzaga at Mantua, and Jacques Berchem and Dardelli — Claude Monteverde at Cremona and Mantua — His Opera, " L' Orfeo " — Presumed Italian origin of the modern Violin, 16th century — Cardinal Medici (Leo X.), his visit to the German Court of Maximilian — Music in the Venetian States, l6th and 17th centuries 138 Chapter III. — Music in Venice (continued) — "Coriat's Crudities" — Petrucci's Music-Printing, and Venetian Tablature — Development of Italian Viol Manufacture — The large Italian Double Bass — The Viol da Gamba — Silvestro Ganassi's "Art of Playing, the Viol," 1543 — Andrea and Giovanni Gabrielli ... ... ... ... 156 Chapter IV. — The Sack of Rome, and the Reformation of Luther and Calvin — Luther's Love of Music — Goudimel's School of Music at .Rome — Palestro, Nanini, and Alessandro Romano — Tinctor's School of Music at Naples — The Prince of Venosa, and his Madri- gals— Salvator Rosa — Scipione Cerreto, " Delia Prattica Musica" 165 Section VI. — The Violin in Italy. Chapter I.— Paoli Quagliati, 17th century; first Solo for the Violin — Bagio Marini— Carlo Faririi— Giovanni B. Fontana— Giovanni Legrenzi— Giovanni B. Vitali and his Compositions— Tomasso Antonio Vitali— Gregorio Allegri— Giuseppe Colombi and his Sonatas— Giovanni Nicolai— Bassini, his Sonate da Camera- Giuseppe Torelli — Anthony Veracini ,gj Chapter II.— Corelli ; sketch of his History and Work— His Sonatas— His Patrons, Cardinals Panfilio and Ottoboni— First appearance of Corelli's Solos— His Visit to Naples— His Performances with Scarlatti — Sir John Hawkins, Dr. Bumey, George Hogarth, and ' others, on Corelli and his Works — His Death and Burial His Compositions ; their Introduction into England by Henry Needier 177 CONTENTS. IX Page Chapter III.— Alessandro Scarlatti and Corelli at Rome— Porpora and Haydn at Vienna — Pergolesi's Ecclesiastical Music — Vivaldi and his " Cuckoo Solo" — Vivaldi, Albinoni, J. M. Ruggeri, and other contem- poraries of Corelli — Veracini ; his reception in England ; his alleged " Combat " with Pisendel — Tartini and his Compositions ; his " Devil's Trill " — Locatelli and his Works — Valentini — Castrucci — Lorenzo Somis and Giardini — Pietro Nardini — Pugnani — Barbella — Antonio Lolli — Mestrino — Jarnowick — Bononcini, and his Rivalry with Handel — Fiorillo and his Works 199 Chapter IV. — Boccherini and his Works ; Baillot, Spohr, and Mendels- sohn's observations thereon — Brunetti — Cimarosa — Campagnoli ; importance of his Works — Borghi, Bruni, and Rolla 236 Chapter V.— The Modern School of -Instrumental Music— Viotti ; his Performance and his Composition — His appearance in Paris before Louis XVI. at Versailles ; his appearance at Salomon's Concerts in London ; his Expulsion from England — His Return and Death in . London — Cherubini and his Work ; Napoleon, Mehul, Baillot, and Spohr's estimates thereof 246 Chapter VI.— Nicolo Paganini; Sketch of his Career — The Phrenetical or Revolutionary School of Violin Playing — His Reception in Milan — His "Witches' Dance" — Visit to Louis Spohr — His Con- tinental Triumphs — Personal Appearance — His Performance in London — Extraordinary Prices — Contemporary Opinions on his Merits — List of his Compositions — Camillo Sivori — Bazzini — Bottesini — Arditi — Rossini and Verdi 257- Section VII. — The Violin in France. Chapter I. — The Subject resumed, time of Francis I. — Excerpt from Rabelais — Charles IX. and the Royal Chapel at Versailles — French Composers of the Period — Goudimel and his "Psalmes de David" — Baltazarini — Cordier — Henri IV. and his Violin Band — Louis XIV. and his Court — Jean Baptiste Lulli : his exquisite Skill and Taste ; his band of "Petite Violons" — Joseph Marchand — Francois Duval— Jean Baptiste Senaille 274. Chapter II. — The "Concerts Spirituels,'' or Lenten Concerts — Philidor and Le Clair — Pierre Gavinies, "The French Tartini" — Pagin — Barthelemon; his Work with Garrick — Francois Gossec and the "Concert des Amateurs;" his versatility — La Houssaye — Blasius — Michael Woldemar ; his " Labyrinth of Harmony " 283. X CONTENTS. Page Chapter III. — Formation of the "Conservatoire de Musique "— Com- mittee for formation of a Violin Instruction Book — Rodolphe Kreutzer; his "Forty Studies," and other important Works — Pierre Baillot ; his " New Violin Method ; " Spohr and Mendels- sohn's diverse appreciation of his Abilities ; his visit to England — Pierre Rode ; Solo Violinist to Napoleon, and to Emperor Alexan- der; Teacher of Spohr— Jean Baptiste Cartier; his "L'Art du Violon "— Habeneck, Pupil of Baillot ; his Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire " — Hector Berlioz ; his Requiem, his Reverie, and Mendelssohn — George Onslow and his Chamber Music — Lafont — Mazas — Massart — Sainton — Deldevez — Alard — Dancla ... ... 293 Chapter IV. — Belgium and its Violinists — Francois Joseph Gossec — Francois Cupis — Chartiani — Vander Plancken — Francois Snel — The Blumenthals — Francois Joseph Fetis ; his " Biographie Universelle des Musiciens " — Andre Robberechts — Lambert Joseph Meerts ; his "Mecanisme du Violon,'' &c. — Nicholas Lambert Wery — Theodore Hauman — Artot, "The Belgian Ernst" — Fran- cois Hubert Prume — Charles Auguste De Beriot ; his " Ecole Transcendant du Violon" — Henri Vieuxtemps ; his Compositions ; his "Etudes de Concert "—Hubert Leonard— The Great Nor- wegian Musician, Ole Bull— Polish Violinists : Chopin, Lipinski, Wieniawski 316 Section VIII. ■ — The Violin in Germany. Chapter I.— Seventeenth Century — Thomas Baltzar ; excerpt from Evelyn's Diary -Johann J. Walther— Schiitz ("Sagittarius")— Johann Schopp— Krieger — Nicolaus Hasse — Gottfried Finger, James II. 's Chapel-master— Biber— The Emperor Leopold and Frederick the Great— The Brothers Benda— John Sebastian Bach at Frederick the Great's Court— J. S. Bach's Works 328 Chapter II.— Frederick the Great at Potsdam— Benda and Quantz— Emanuel Bach — The Court of Maximilian Joseph III. of Bavaria —The Hanover Court of Elector George Louis (George I. of England)— George Frederick Handel and his Works ; Jealousy of Addison and Steele; Handel's "Harmonious Blacksmith;" his Performances in London— The "Water Music" of King George— The "Concerto Grosso "—Hasse— Vanhall— Stamitz— Leopold Mozart and his " Violin School " 340 CONTENTS. XI Page Chapter III. — The Palace of Prince Esterhazy — Joseph Haydn and his Works ; his Visit to London, and the Lord Mayor's Banquet ; The Prince of Wales ; " The Emperor's Hymn "' — Ignatius Pleyel — Johann Ludwig Dussek — Franz Krommer ... ... ... 358 Chapter IV.— Wolfgang Mozart ; his Patron, Count Colloredo, Arch- bishop of Salzburg ; Early Difficulties ; Mozart and Haydn ; List of his Works ; His Death and Burial — Johann N. Hummel, Pupil of Mozart ; Chapel-master to Prince Esterhazy ; his Works ... 372 Chapter V. — Ludwig van Beethoven ; his mighty Genius ; Residence in Vienna ; Intercourse with Haydn ; The London Philharmonic Society ; his Sonatas, &c. ; the "Bridgetower Sonata" ; his Deaf- ness and Affliction ; his Method of Conducting ; List of Works ; his Death and Funeral ... .. ... ... .. ... 389 Chapter VI. — Franz Schubert and his Works — Ferdinand Ries — Von Weber — Joseph Mayseder — Kalliwoda — Louis Spohr and his Works ; his Style of Playing ; German Criticism — Bernhard Molique 412 Chapter VII. — Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy ; his Precocity; Early Life ; Visit to Goethe at Weimar ; Visit to London and the Philhar- monic Society ; Judgments of Spohr, Moscheles, and of Prince Albert, as to his Powers; the " Elijah " at Exeter Hall — Herr David and Mendelssohn — Andreas Romberg — Joseph Boehm — Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst — Hellmesberger — Joseph Joachim — Herr Lauterbach — Ferdinand Laub — Schumann — Johannes Brahms ... 424 Section IX. — The Violin in England. Chapter I. — A Cursory Glance at its History from the Stuart Period to the Present Time 442 Chapter II. — John Jenkins — Playford's "Skill of Music" — The Puritan Iconoclastic Craze — Charles II. 's Twenty-four Violins 453 Chapter III. — Henry Purcell, the Father of Modern Musical Art — John Bannister; his " Parley of Instruments " — Britton, the "Musical Small -coal Man" — William Corbett — HenryNeedler— Johnlmmyns, and the Academy of Ancient Music — John Young 1 — Richard Clarke — The Madrigal Society in Bride Lane — The Concerts of Ancient Music 461' EUitstrztiixnts. FRONTISPIECE— Arcangelo Corelli. Page Viol Tablature of the 15TH Century . .. 158 Tartini's Dream 214 Paganini's "Joseph Guarnerius" 259 Paganini at Drury Lane 268 The Violin and its Music. Section L—Wxz ^Biol Gothic. CHAPTER I. " IVfOTHING made so great a denovement in musick as the invention of horse-hair, with rozin, and the gutts of animals twisted and dryed. I scarce think that the strings of the old Lyra used in either the Jewish or Greek times, which in latine are termed nerves, were such, becaus it was more or less piacular to deal in that manner with the entra of dead animalls. Nor is it anywhere, as I know, intimated of what materiall these strings were made, but I guess they were metalline, as most sonorous, or of twisted silk ; nor is there any hint when the Violl kind came first in use. Had the Greeks known it, some deity, for certain, had bin the inventor, and more worthily than Apollo of the Harp, for it draws a continuing sound, exactly tune- able to all occasions and compass, w.jth small labour B 2 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. and no expense of breath. But as to the invention, which is so perfectly novel as not to have bin ever heard of before Augustulus, the last of the Roman Emperors, I cannot but esteem it perfectly Gothick, and entered with those barbarous nations setled in Italy, and from thence spread into all the neighbour nations round about, and now is in possession, and like to hold it, as a principall squadron in the instrumentall navy." These, then, were the opinions of King James the Second's Attorney General, the Hon. Roger North, relative to the early history of the Viol, and contained in a manuscript entitled, " The Memoires of Musick," a work Dr. Rimbault rightly describes as an exceedingly lucid and well-drawn sketch of the progress of the art,, from the period of the ancient Greeks down to the commencement of the eighteenth century. In ignoring Nero's fiddling and the bow of Orpheus, our author has given us evidence of his ability to separate fact from fiction in his pursuit of truth; but let us follow him a little further, keeping intact his diction and orthography, the quaintness of which seems to be in harmony with its Gothic subject. " I doe suppose that at first it was like its native country, rude and gross, And that at the early importation it was of the lesser kind, which they called Viola da Bracchia, and since the Violin ; and no better then as a rushy Zampogna used to stirr up the vulgar to dancing, or perhaps to solemnize their THE VIOL GOTHIC. 3 idolatrous sacrifices. These people made no scruple of handling gutts and garbages, and were so free with humane bodys as to make drinking cupps of their sculls. And when the discovery of the vertue of the bow was made, and understood, the vertiiosi went to work and model'd the use of it, and its subject the Viol, with great improvement, to all purposes of musick, and brought it to a parallel state with the Organ itself. And by adapting sizes to the severall diapasons as well above E la as the doubles below, severall persons take their parts, and consorts are performed with small trouble, and in all perfection. The invention needs no encomium to recomend it to posterity ; for altho' it hath bin in practise many hundred years, no considerable altera- tions of it in forme or application have bin made which any memoriall can account for. And now no improvement is thought of or desired, but in the choice of the materiall, and curiosity of the work- manship. I shall take leave of the Violl with a remembrance onely of a merry discovery of Kir- cher's in one of his windy volumes,* which is a note added to the picture of a Lute and a Guittarre, that the old Hebrews used to sound them with the scratch of an horse tail bow." ! ! With this scornful allusion to Kircher's know- ledge of the bow, we will close North's Memoires of Musick, staying but to call the reader's attention to what appears to be a singularly correct estimate * Musurgia Universalis, 165a B 2 4 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. of early bowed instrument history, and far-seeing views of the excellencies of the Viol as a mechani- cal contrivance.. That the Goths possessed a bowed instrument which in succeeding ages gave rise to the Viol is a supposition strengthened by evidence which has accrued since the publication of North's Memoires. Whether the original of the true Viol "entered with those barbarous nations settled in Italy, and ultimately passed to other states," is to my mind a doubtful question, since it is almost certain that the Viol in form and character nearest to that of the sixteenth century was chiefly developed where the Teutonic language predominated. What- ever the Viol-germ may have been which the Goths carried to Italy, that which they sowed in Germany and in Spain was productive of results far in advance of those of its Italian prototype, to the period when the musicians of the Low Countries immigrated thence. The value of this view of Viol-history may be tested by simply comparing the bowed instruments depicted in the paintings and on the architectural monuments of the German and Gallic nations, as far as the middle of the fifteenth century with those of Italy- Evidence of much weight bearing on the German development of the Viol is found in the Anglo-Saxon's love of music. The minstrel's art was .cultivated by this people with extra- ordinary zeal, and they played bowed instru- THE VIOL GOTHIC. ments of various kinds ; among these was one of oval shape having four strings, which they called a Fithele. This love of minstrelsy and knowledge of rude Fiddles, surely belonged not to the Roman- ized Britons, and if not, the Anglo-Saxons must necessarily either have invented this minstrelsy and Fiddling, or brought these arts from their German homes. In taking the latter view we follow Thomas Percy, who asks in his celebrated Essay on the Ancient Minstrels, " For if these popular bards were confessedly revered and admired in those very countries which the Anglo-Saxons inhabited, before their removal into Britain, and if they were after- wards common and numerous among the other descendants of the same Teutonic ancestors, can we do otherwise than conclude, that men of this order accompanied such tribes as migrated hither, that they afterwards subsisted here, though perhaps with less splendour than in the North ; and that there never was wanting a succession of them to hand down the art, though some particular conjunc- tures may have rendered it more respectable at one time than another ?" Though I have named the Goths as the possessors of a bowed instrument which gave rise to the Viol, I have done so for the sake of simplicity, rather than from conviction ; inasmuch as at this distance of time, it would be impossible to decide which tribe of adventurers from the North first bowed a musical instrument. This, however, is of 6 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. small consequence, since they were but different tribes of the same common Teutonic stock, and spoke only different dialects of the same Gothic language. All bowed instruments down to the eleventh or twelfth centuries must have been of the rudest kind.- > It was not until minstrelsy, which the Northmen Introduced, became greatly extended and varied in its character, that attention was bestowed upon bowed instruments. That the Spanish Violars and the Troubadours of Provence* contributed in some measure towards the advancement of instru- mental music is possible enough, but the chief work appears to have been accomplished in Germany, where Grimm tells us " Far back towards the thirteenth century, until which time nothing but the long-drawn strains of old heroic poems had been sung and heard, a wondrous throng of tones and melodies resounds at once, as if arising from the earth. From afar we fancy we hear the same key-note, but, if we come nearer, no tune is like another. One strives to * Macaulay has written of "The region where the beautiful language of the Oc was spoken, that country, singularly favoured by nature, was in the twelfth century, the most nourishing and civilised portion of Western Europe. It was in nowise a part of France. It had a distirict political existence, a distinct national character, distinct usages, and a. distinct speech. The soil was fruitful and well-culti- .vated ; and amidst the corn-fields and vineyards rose many rich cities each of which contained a miniature of an imperial court. It was there that the spirit of chivalry first laid aside its terrors, first took a humane and graceful" forfn, first appeared as the inseparable associate of art and literature." «' Essays" Vol. III. p. 107. THE VIOL GOTHIC. 7 rise above the rest, another to fall back and softly to modulate the strain; what the one repeats the other but half expresses. If we think, too, of the accompanying music, we feel that this, on account of the multitude of voices, for which the instruments would not have been enough, must have been simple in the highest degree. These poets called them- selves Nightingales, and certainly no comparison can express more strikingly than that of the song of birds, their rich and unattainable notes, in which, at every moment, the ancient warblings recur always with new modulations. In the fresh and youthful Minnepoesy, all art has acquired the appearance of nature, and is, too, in a certain sense, purely natural." Such were the Minnesingers, the predecessors of those mechanics in toil, and poets in repose, the Mastersingers. " As the weaver plied the shuttle, wove he too the mystic rhyme, And the smith his iron measures hammer 1 d, to the anvil's chime ; Thanking God, whose boundless wisdom makes the flower of poesy bloom, In the forge's dust and cinders, in the tissues of the loom.'' Following the example of the Masons, who had formed themselves into a corporation, — the same which gave to Europe its sublime Gothic temples, — the artizans of all trades divided themselves into different societies. These incorporated mechanics met together, and, after the disposal of civic business, either read the chronicles of their country, or the ancient Nordic poems and erotic ballads. Such 8 1HE , VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. meetings could hardly fail to suggest the idea of entertaining the company with some composition of their own, and thus was awakened the dormant spirit of poetry in that unlettered age. The practical lovers of music and poetry belonging to these bodies, formed the poetic corporation of the fourteenth century, to which was given the name of the Master- singers. The birth-place of this poetic phenomenon was Mentz, thence it passed into the other cities of Germany, particularly Augsburg and Nuremburg. Section i.—Wxi licrl ©othic. CHAPTER II. " I "'HE Mastersingers link in the chain of musical history is indeed a most important one, and rightly has it been said, "music and metre constituted its essential elements, and civilization felt her march quickened by their influence."* It was they who rescued music from its wanderings over the earth in a state of semi-barbarism, and clothed it in the dress of civilization. The Gothic Viol, which had roamed with the Saxons to Britain, with the Goths to Spain and Italy, under the influence of the Mastersingers assumed a more definite shape, and became detached from its companions, the Pipes and Shalmes, with which it had been more or less connected for centuries. It no longer attended the minstrel in his perambulations amid courts and revels, but became .the associate of honest burghers in peaceful cities. Augsburg and Nuremburg have been mentioned as the strongholds of the Mastersingers, and it is in the annals of these cities we discover evidence of extraordinary musical progress. At Augsburg lived Hans FrQschauer, he who first gave to the world music printed from wood blocks, which Petrucci, at Venice, at the end of the fifteenth century; improved * Retrospective Review, Vol. X. IO THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. upon, by using moveable type : which system was imitated first in Germany, by Ernard Oglin, of Augsburg, in the year 1507. Turning to the City of Nuremburg in the heyday of the Mastersingers, we find it was one of the most flourishing centres of commerce in Europe ; from its trade and manufactures it derived enormous wealth, which, as usual, caused art to wait on affluence. Poets, Musi- cians, and Painters flocked thither, to give play to their genius, by sharing in its prosperity ; within its walls lived Hans Sachs — the friend of Martin Luther — the son of a barber, and himself a cobbler ; whose prolific pen produced upwards of four thou- sand master-songs ! more than two hundred comedies and tragedies ! and nearly two thousand comic tales ! An herculean labour, though judged by the then existing standard of merit. Amid the musical life of old Nuremburg often dwelt Paul Hofhaimer, the Emperor Maximilian's famous organist, he who figures in the picture of the Triumph of Maximilian, limned by the hand of him whose name is indelibly written in the annals of the Bavarian city — Albert Durer. We have more than a passing interest in this greatest of German painters, since he has left: us several representations of the Viol in his paintings and engravings, which serve as a key to the character and popularity of the instrument in the fifteenth century, and further, if I mistake not, he was himself a Violist ; but there is yet another item of interest THE VIOL GOTHIC. II not to be passed over in connection with Durer arid our subject, in the fact that Hans Frey, the famous maker of Lutes and Viols at Nuremburg, was his father-in-law. Hans Frey is said to have amassed considerable wealth from his manufactures, a circum- stance which points to the extensive use of such instruments in those days ; and yet further shown by his not being alone in his trade; Fritz, Gerle, and others whose names and works have . long since passed away, had also their Viol and Lute patrons. Turning to the cultivation of practical composition, we find the Germans among the earliest in the field. As far back as the eleventh century, they had their Magister Franco developing the principles of modern rhythm, and planning the time table. Until then no characters existed to distinguish or mark time, and written. music in parts consisted of note against note, or sounds of equal duration. It is needless to follow in these pages the course of German musical history from Franco's time to that of Paul Hofhaimer, a period of some five hundred years ; it is sufficient to know that Hofhaimer was Germany's first great musical genius, and honoured as such, as the following estimate of his abilities . from the pen of Luscinius shows : — " Nor is he more remarkable for skill in his profession, than for the extensiveness Of his genius, and the greatness of his mind ; Rome owes not in ore to Romulus or Camillus, than the musical world does to Paulus Hofhaimer. His style is not only learned, but pleasant, florid, and & I 2 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC K amazingly copious, and withal correct; and this great man, during thirty years, has suffered no one to exceed, or even equal him. In a word, what Quintilian says of Cicero, I think is now come to pass, and a person may judge of his own proficiency, according as he approves of the compositions of Paul, and labours day and night to imitate them." * Possessed of such transcendent abilities, Hofhaimer was indeed worthy of Durer's portrayal, and of being regarded as a corner-stone in the structure of early German music. Contemporary with Paul Hofhaimer was another great German contributor to the furtherance of the musical art, whose labours perhaps bore more directly on its progress than those of any musician of his time. It is to Heinrich Isaac I refer, since it was he who carried his German art among neigh- bouring nations, thus helping to develop the merits of each, by combination with the beauties of others. As evidence of the extent to which music was cultivated and patronized in Germany at this period, we have but to note the interest taken in the art by the Emperor Maximilian, and likewise by Albert the Fifth, Duke of Bavaria, the friend and patron of Orlando Lassus, the famous Netherland composer. The music establishment of the Bavarian Duke was evidently conducted on a grand scale, for it is recorded there were upwards of ninety musicians * Luscinius, " Musurgia seu Praxis Musicoe, Strasbourg, 1536." — See Hawkins' History. THE VIOL GOTHIC. 1 3 engaged, many of them being men of much emi- nence, and so kindly were they treated by the Duke that it is written, " had the heavenly choir been suddenly dismissed, they would straightway have made for the court of Munich, there to find peace and retirement." This establishment furnishes us with some notion of the musical arrangements of the time. It would appear that for general pur- poses the wind and brass instruments were sepa- rated from the strings ; the former accompanying the mass on Sundays and festivals. In the chamber all took part in turn. At a banquet the wind instruments were • used during the earlier courses, and afterwards the stringed instruments were introduced. This description of the use to which the Viols were put would seem to accord with Montaigne's, in his journal, written in 1580, where he says he heard, at Kempster, in Bavaria, one of the ministers preach to a very thin congregation, and " when he had done, a psalm was sung to a melody a little different from ours. At each stave the organ (which had been but lately erected) played admirably, making a kind of response to the singing." Further on Montaigne adds, " As a newly-married couple went out of church, the Violins (?)* and Tabors accompanied them." Though it would appear from these extracts that Viols were not used inside the German churches at this date, * Dr. Burney concludes from this passage that Violins were common in Germany. ■ 14 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. it must riot be forgotten that the Council of Trent had, already been discussing the subject of Church reform in its relation to music, and had probably- banished them from the service. Whether Viols took part in the music of Hofhaimer, Lassus, and other men of the time, I know not, but I am inclined to believe they helped the vocal. Be that as it may, it is certain that Viol tablature existed in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy, and in England. Whether the Viols of these countries were identical is a question to be considered later. The earliest book on the Viol I have met with is that of Carmine Angurelli, published at Verona in 1491, now in the possession of Mr. Bernard Quaritch, which contains a woodcut of a seven-stringed Viol without middle bouts, and having a head with the peg arrangement similar to that of the Spanish Guitar, all of which points to a development inferior to that depicted by Albert Durer in the hands of the Mastersingers. There is no notation of any kind throughout this early Italian book. A few years later, however, we find Viol tablature issued from a Venetian press. In France as early as 1502, Viol tablature existed, and also a book on the Viol, dated 1547. Notwithstanding that no German Viol book is in existence dated so early as that of the Italian Angurelli, published at Verona in 1491, or those published in France, I do not consider we should therefore credit the French and Italians with a greater knowledge of the instrument. The test of THE VIOL GOTHIC. 1 5 superiority turns wholly on shape and form, and there is no question but the Mastersingers' Viol of Durer's time was more highly developed than either that of Italy or France at the same period ; and being so we have every reason to assume that Germany possessed Viol writings earlier than those nations, but that accident has deprived us of them. According to Hawkins, the earliest intimation of instrumental music in parts, is contained in a book written * by a Spanish Dominican in 1570, named Thomas a Sancta Maria, the title of which is " Arte de tanner fantasia para tecla, viguela y tode instru- mendo de tres o quatre ordenes." Later research has brought to light a German work dated half a century earlier. Schmid, in his work on Petrucci, describes this curious book as written by Hans Judenklinig, of Vienna, and pub- lished there in 1523 by Hans Syngriner : the text is in German and Latin, the music consisting of little symphonies, songs, and dances, with tablature for Lute and Violin (Geygen) in separate parts. It has the following title : — " Ain schone Kunstliche Under- weisung in diesem Bucchlein, leychtlich zu be- greyffen, den rechten Grund zu lernen auff der Lautten und Geygen." I regard this book as a key which opens the way to the birthplace of the instrument mainly concerned in these pages — the Violin. On its title-page we have probably the earliest mention of the Geygen 1 6 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. or Geige which time has preserved to us. Now, believing that the family of the German Geige played a far more prominent part in the formation of the Violin than any of the Italian or German families of the Viol, is the cause of the importance I attach to this book as a piece of weighty historical evidence in relation to the birthplace of the leading instrument. In giving this prominent position to these Fiddles, I do not claim for them a more honourable descent than that of the Viols, believing both families owe their existence to a common ancestor, which was none other than that barbarous bowed contrivance which Roger North informs us the rushy Zampogna used " to stir up the vulgar to dancing," and was played upon at idolatrous sacrifices. Whether the descent was lineal or collateral is a question of Fiddle heraldry not easily decided ; but I am inclined to think the transmission was in a direct line, and that the " Chelys " or early German Double Bass of Ottomarus Luscinius, and drawn by Albert Durer, was a branch of the rushy Zampogna in- strument's direct descendants formed by an alliance with the monochords, a family which preserved its lineage down to the Marine Trumpet.* * Mersennes says, " The instrument commonly called the Marine Trumpet, either because it was invented by seamen, or because they make use of it instead of a Trumpet, consists of three boards so joined and glued together, that they are broad at the lower end and narrow at the neck, &c. &c. Of the six divisions marked on the neck of the instrument, the first makes a fifth with the open chord, the second an octave, and so on for the rest, corresponding with the intervals of the Military Trumpet."—" Hawkins' History." THE VIOL GOTHIC. I "J The fretted Geige serving well for the rendering of acute sounds, and giving them in quick succession, the extreme of these qualities would be next sought for rather than attempting to discover a contrivance fitted to produce intermediate sounds. To attain this object, it would appear only necessary to apply frets and extra strings to the monochord, and render its form suitable for carrying additional strings. Judging from the earlier drawings of the Chelys, it seems to have had a flat bridge, thus causing the bow to strike all the strings together. As the knowledge of bowed instruments increased, the disadvantage of this arrangement would naturally present itself, and the curvature of the bridge be introduced to correct it. The arching of the bridge brought about a radical change in the shape of the body of the instrument, which was the introduction of the centre curves or middle bouts, without which the bow could not have command of the outer strings. These centre curves which were introduced from necessity, gave rise to others in the earlier stages of re-formation, for the sake of ornament, and by these successive steps, the box-like bowed instru- ments of early days became the curved and graceful Viols of the sixteenth century. Though the primitive German Geige is here represented as having formed the basis of Viol development, it is not intended to convey the idea that its independence was sacrificed to the Viol. On the contrary, the Geige undoubtedly held its course c 1 8 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. through successive generations of wandering musi- cians with whom it was allied at the period of its own creation, until its strange destiny associated it with the greatest of all conversions in relation to bowed instruments, namely, its own transmutation into the Violin of four strings, tuned in fifths. That an apparently contemptible little instrument — the companion of the juggler, the fool, and the dance — should be looked upon as having paved the way to the absolute dominion which the Viol exer- cised over bowed instruments for centuries, and finally dethroning it, and becoming itself the king of instruments— the Violin — may seem but a flight of fancy, but evidence is not wanting in support of the assumption. §ectirm i.— 'She lioi Gothic. CHAPTER III. ~C" NQUIRY renders it clear that not far removed ^^ from the period of the fall of the Roman Empire, the chief European nations possessed a bowed instrument which, to avoid troubling the reader with a confused nomenclature, we will call a barbarous Fiddle. Among the Anglo-Saxons, in France, Spain, and Italy, such an instrument existed. Its shape often varied with the different nations that fostered it, but its character and the purpose to which it was applied were identical. The Fithele of the Anglo- Saxons, the Rebec of the French, though less savage than their progenitor, were but vulgar Fiddles, and lived in the same company, that of the dance and mirth. It is, however, not until we seek the corre- sponding Fiddle among the Germans that we dis- cover it bearing a title which throws a direct light upon the history of its kind. The Teutonic name Geige apparently carries with it, the meaning of the instrument. In the early ages of mankind dancing or jigging must have been done to the sound of the voice, next to that of the pipe, and when the bow was discovered, to that of a stringed instrument which was named the Geige from its primary association with dancing ; and unless it c 2 20 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. can be shown that fiddling preceded jigging — which surely would be somewhat difficult — the instru- ment found its name in the dance, and not the dance in the instrument. The value of the title Geige as historical evidence of the instrument bearing that name having merged into the perfect Violin, has yet to be noticed. I have already remarked in effect, that the barbarous Fiddle, whether the Geige, Fithele, or Rebec, was not sacrificed at the shrine of the Viol, but went on its way merrily, playing dance and jig, heedless of the grave and superior duties fulfilled by its own creature, the Viol. Long before the time when the Viol's vocation had passed away, the resources of the merry Fiddle were gradually but surely being developed. No longer was its music alone heard amid fools and jugglers, the halls of prince and potentate resounded with its strains. As the sound of the Viol died away, the voices of other instru- ments, the offspring of the merry Fiddle, were heard. It is here we have the chief evidence of Germany's part in the development of the foremost member of the stringed instrument family; for it was the Germans who, in the early years of the sixteenth century, possessed the descant, tenor, and bass Geigen.* It is, however, the retention of the name Geige by the Germans which strikes us as remark- able, and as pointing to the connection of the old three-string .Geige and the modern Violin. An * Martin Agricola mentions these in his work on Music, 1545. THE VIOL GOTHIC. 21 instrument in a perfect state, having the same name and put to the same use, namely, the rendering of dance music, as a rude stringed instrument, centuries earlier, would seem to have had its origin in its rude namesake. Whether the modern Geige or Violin, having four strings tuned in fifths, originated with the Germans or the Italians, is a question not easily an- swered. The Italians have the advantage of existing evidence in Violins by the Brescian and Cremonese makers, whereas no such evidence existing or re- corded can be used for the Germans. In written music for the instrument the Italians possess a similar advantage. Though these facts cannot be disputed, I am disinclined to admit that Italy is entitled to claim the whole merit of perfecting the instrument. It must not be forgotten that the earliest steps in all the arts are for the most part pre-historic. We know much of Corelli, a little of his immediate pre- decessors, and nothing of those beyond. It is pre- cisely the same with the makers of Violins. The names and works of Gaspard di Salo and Andreas Amati are familiar to us, but we are left in compara- tive ignorance of the founders of Italian Viol making. We have nothing but indirect evidence to guide us to a knowledge of this manufacture ; such testimony, however, in its bearings upon the question, is not wanting in interest, and is worthy of our attention. Starting with the direct evidence of the Italians, 22 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. we have Pietro Dardelli making Viols at the end of the fifteenth century* at Mantua. That Dardelli was undoubtedly Italian his name sufficiently shows. At Brescia, a little later, Gaspard di Salo was making Viols. That he made a Violin in 1566 is shown from an instrument sold at Milan in 1807 bearing that date. Andreas Amati made also Violins at Cremona about the same period. Turning to the music of the Italians we have the fact that Gabrielli published at Venice, in 1587, Church madrigals, on the title-page of which the Violin is mentioned. I do not think it is possible to cite earlier reliable evidence of Italian Viol and Violin making, or of Italian music adapted to the leading instrument, than that given above. The manufacture of bowed instruments of a superior kind clearly took root in Italy about the commencement of the sixteenth century. That this manufacture had its rise in the music of the Italians, I am unable to believe. In following the course of musical progress in Italy, the indirect evidence of German Violin creation becomes more valuable. If we seek for the chief cause of the early growth of the Italian Viol manufacture, we shall find it in the madrigal ; the question naturally follows, "Where was this species of composition nursed during its infancy ? " We answer — " In the Netherlands." Upon turning to the musical records of the Low * The Italians made Viols much earlier, but Dardelli seems to have been, the first maker of instruments worthy of the name. THE VIOL GOTHIC. 2$ Countries, we cannot fail to discover the connection between the Germans and the Lowlanders with regard to music, when the art was in what may be called a bulbous state. The progressiveness which manifested itself in Germany about the middle of the fifteenth century, had its counterpart in the Nether- lands,. There was a seeming interchange existing between these musicians, for we find famous Germans lived in the Netherlands, and greater Netherlanders in Germany. Towards the close of the century, however, Germany was left behind, and then it was that the development of the Viol took place, which, the Netherlanders' madrigal gave rise to. Now it is worthy of note, that the people of the Low Countries were much addicted to playing the Viol. We see this in the names of Dutch and Belgic Violists in the lists of different orchestras, but I am unable to discover much evidence of Viol manufacture among them. The major part of the instruments we meet with date from Nuremburg, Konigsburg, and Hamburg, which points to the Germans having had the lead of the trade in their hands. Turning to the earliest makers of Viols in Italy, we find among them names foreign to the language of the Italians. Joan Kerlin, who is said to have worked at Brescia, is one of these. This maker is credited with having made a species of Geige, having four strings, dated 1449.* If this could be authenticated by the production of the instru- * Fe"tis, Notice of Stradiuarius. 24 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. ment, and the maker's home traced to Germany, but little would remain to be done in order to render it clear that the four-string Violin originated in Germany. In the absence of such evidence, it is necessary to search further for German- sounding names in the Italian Viol manufacture of the early part of the sixteenth century. In that of Duiffoprugcar we appear to find that which we seek. In tracing this name to the German one of Tieffenbrucker, I cannot think M. Wasielewski* can be charged with going out of his way in order to connect this early maker with Germany. Though it has been said that we have proof of Duiffoprugcar having made Violins, in certain instruments bearing his name, dated 151 1, 1517, and 1519,! I am quite unable to believe in the genuineness of any reputed specimens brought under my notice ; and I have seen all worthy of attention. At the same time I consider we have good grounds for thinking that Duiffoprugcar played no unimportant part in the transformation of the old Geige into its new namesake. In following the manufacture to Cremona, we discover an item of evidence which, in my opinion, tends to strengthen Germany's part in the formation of the Violin. I refer to the circumstance of Andrew Amati having made a three-string Violin in the year 1546. Here we appear to have conclusive proof of German influence, since this instrument must have * " Die Violme in XVII. Jahrhundert." Bonn, 1874. THE VIOL GOTHIC. 25 been but a modification of the Geige if not actually the instrument itself. This fact, taken together with the German-sounding names of the early Viol makers located in Italy, and the magnitude of Viol manufacture in Nuremburg, KSnigsburg, and Ham- burgh, as compared with that of Italy, seems fully to justify the throwing of these side lights upon the question ; and thus giving to the Germans more credit than their direct evidence entitles them to receive in relation to the part they took in the formation of the leading instrument. It is, however, needless to pursue this branch of our subject further, since, when all has been said, we must admit that whatever shape the Teutonic Fiddle assumed towards the middle of the sixteenth century, it must have been rude and gross when compared with that of the Italians a few years later;' for the art of making Viols and Violins, whether of three or four strings, followed in the march of Paint- ing, Poetry, and all the Arts, to Italy, there to receive that artistic grace and completeness which no other nation but the Italian could bestow. The cursory view we have taken of the progress of Music in Germany, in the preceding pages, may help the reader to a better understanding of the earlier steps in that branch of the Art which mainly interests us ; and enable him to gauge its develop- ment generally among the Germans. Sufficient has been said to show that the progress which made itself felt in Germany with regard to Litera- 26 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. ture, at the close of the fifteenth century, was probably not greater than that of Music at the same period. The Schools and Universities, the formation of Public Libraries, the encouragement of intellectual and liberal Princes, all tended, however indirectly, to give an impulse to the Art, which seems to have been borne rapidly onwards ; when the wars broke forth which devastated the land and checked its course, leaving the Germans to seek advanced musical knowledge in the Schools of Italy, which, in the meantime, had made extraordinary strides under the original guidance of the Musicians of Germany and the Netherlands. It is at this point, therefore, we must leave the Viol Gothic, and follow the course of Viol History among the Netherlanders and Italians, and next take up the German thread of our subject after the period of the Thirty Years' War. tertian II. — ^he licrl in the Uttfarknbjs. CHAPTER I. " XJOLLAND and Flanders, peopled by one race vie with each other in the pursuits of civili- zation. The Flemish skill in the mechanical and in the Fine Arts is unrivalled. Belgian Musicians delight and instruct other nations. Belgian pencils have for a century caused the canvas to glow with colours and combinations never seen before."* Such is the historian's account of the condition of the Arts in the Netherlands at the close of the fifteenth century. With whatever hesitation we may at first feel disposed to accept such an estimate of Belgic progress, enquiry will banish all doubt as to its correctness. To be sceptical is at least par- donable when it is remembered how frequently we have been led to regard Italy as the sole cradle of the Arts. In lifting the veil which has hidden the inner life of the people of the Low Countries, about the period of the Renaissance, merit long denied them has been made theirs beyond all question. That this has been the case with regard to their Music * Motley's " Rise of the Dutch Republic." 28 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. more particularly, the patient enquiries of those interested in the early Flemish Composition suffi- ciently testify. In attempting to measure for ourselves the progress of the Arts in the Low Countries in the fifteenth century, we need not travel the by- paths of their history, nor does it matter which of the Arts — with the exception of poetry — we select for enquiry, since we can scarcely fail to find the Netherlanders in possession of them, if not in a higher state of development at least on a level with their condition among their neighbours, making due allowance for that difference of character which is as marked in the mechanical and Fine Arts of a people as their language. If we take the Art of Paint- ing, we discover that it was in the fifteenth century that those masters of the Flemish School, Hubert and John Van Eyck, were glorifying themselves and their country by giving to the world works painted in oil colours which were destined to revolutionise the principles of Painting throughout Europe. The wondrous colours they produced, together with the genius which guided them in their use, caused the name of Van Eyck to be echoed from end to end of the domain of Art. Their landscapes have been described as " not merely a fruit of the endeavour to reflect the real world in Art, but have, even if expressed conventionally, a certain poetical meaning, in short a soul." * * Burckhardt, "The Renaissance in Italy," Vol. II., p. 28. THE VIOL IN THE NETHERLANDS. 2Q If we examine into the condition of Music among the Netherlanders about the same period, we shall find that much of that which the Van Eycks achieved for their Art, Okeghem, and in a higher degree, Josquin Despres accomplished for theirs. Although Music had been cultivated for more than a century by the people of the Low Countries before the advent of these remarkable Musicians, to an extent which left other nations far behind, yet that which then passed for the Science of Music was in reality a system crippled and cramped with meaningless dogmas, bearing appa- rently about the same relation to Music as Alchemy to Chemistry. With the appearance of Okeghem and his pupil Josquin, the haze which had so long enveloped the Art was at length dispelled. What these Musicians accomplished amounted to little else than a re-creation. The Science and Poetry of the Art were joined. The fame of the Musicians of the Netherlands was European, but particularly that of Josquin Despres. Louis XII. of France, Lorenzo di Medici, and the Emperor of Germany, were among his princely patrons. Luther said of him, " other Musicians do what they can with notes, Josquin does what he likes with them ; " in short, some years before the close of the fifteenth century he was looked upon as the greatest Musician of any time or nation. That a people should have had such men as the brothers Van Eyck, Okeghem, and Josquin in 3<3 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. their midst, born Netherlander dedicating their powers to the cause of Art, throwing light where all was darkness— the idols of other nations — sufficiently demonstrates that the account of the condition of the Arts in the Netherlands which heads this Chapter is in no way overdrawn. The growth of the Arts cannot but be slow during infancy, no matter where they take root. It may therefore be inferred that it must have taken the best part of two centuries to have attained to that degree of excellence which the historian credits the Netherlanders with towards the close of the fifteenth century. It is perhaps not possible to go further back than to the twelfth century for the rudiments of what we term the Science of Music. That the Musicians of the Low Countries made use of these rudiments with greater success than their brethren of other nations, is now generally admitted. It was not, however, until the beginning of the fourteenth century that Counterpoint was introduced. To Jean de Muris, who is said to have flourished about 1330, seemingly belongs the credit of introducing the system of notation by points or pricks. The adding of one set of points to another signified the performance at the same time of various melodies agreeing in harmony^-hence the term Counterpoint. The nationality of Jean de Muris appears to have been a vexed question. He has been claimed as an Englishman, but there is little doubt the claim had no foundation in truth. Apart THE VIOL IN THE NETHERLANDS. 3 1 from his patronymic, the state of music with us in the days of Edward the Black Prince was certainly not sufficiently advanced to admit of the reception of contrapuntal laws. The road opened up by De Muris was soon trodden by William Dufay (the earliest composer of masses written in counterpoint), by Binchois, and others, comprised under the designation of the Old Netherlands School of Music. The people of the Low Countries were at a very early date attached to pursuits of an elevating and humanizing character. They had in the fourteenth century their various trade associations and guilds of rhetoric ; the members of the latter belonging for the most part to the working section of the com- munity; but sometimes they had enrolled among them men at the top of the social scale, as instanced by Philip the Fair having been a member of their body. They were essentially associations instituted for the very laudable purpose of occupying the leisure time of their members with useful and rational amuse- ment, the drama and music receiving much atten- tion. The passion for rhetorical display among the Netherlanders was fed mainly by these associations, and during two centuries their friends and foes were deluged with its showers, whenever an opportunity seemed to present itself. Tritely does Mr. Motley tell us " no unfavourable opinion can be formed as to the culture of a nation whose weavers, smiths, gardeners, and traders found 2,2 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. the favourite amusement of their holy-days in com- posing and enacting tragedies or farces, reciting their own verses, or in personifying moral and aesthetic senti- ments by ingeniously arranged groups or gorgeous habiliments. The cramoisy velvets and yellow satin doublets of the court, the gold brocaded mantles of priests and princes, are often but vulgar drapery of little historic worth. Such costumes thrown around the swart figures of hard-working artisans, for literary and artistic purposes, have a real signi- ficance and are worthy of a closer examination." The taste for the drama and music was thus stimulated among a large and important section of the population, and its effects were not only felt by those brought under its immediate influence, but extended to others at a more distant date. Here we have the body of a people deriving pleasure from pursuits which in other countries failed to enlist often- times the sympathies of the higher classes. When we reflect for a moment upon this evidence of culture we cannot fail to recognise its vast importance. , Associated with these Chambers of Rhetoric was an order that combined Oratory with Music, the original of which is apparently traceable to the Mastersingers of Germany. At Louvain, where the standard of culture was seemingly elevated, the city possessing a University as early as the year 1423, wherein the Law, Medicine, Theology, and the Arts were cultivated, existed at the close of the fifteenth century a " Musical Society " which could THE VIOL IN THE NETHERLANDS. 33 boast of an orchestra — composed of a Harp, a Flute, a Viol, and a Trumpet.* Mention of these instru- ments at this early date is interesting, without staying to enquire whether their tones were ever heard in combination. That this refers to a branch of an Association of Rhetoric seems clear, and it is in these branches we are interested as bearing upon the progress of Music at this period, since to their influence is traceable the extended cultivation of the Art among the Netherlanders during the next cen- tury. From these Chambers emanated the multi- farious arrangements for the conduct of the city processions and entertainments in the management of which the Netherlanders were unequalled, causing them to become the instructors of other nations in these matters. In their plays and pageants, instru- mental music was introduced. At first it was doubt- less of a rude description. Those instruments fitted to make the most noise were selected, such as the Bagpipes, and other wind mediums of sound ; but in course of time, as their pageantry became artistic, these were supplemented or replaced by others, among which were bowed instruments of the kind common in Germany, which was a large Bass instru- ment suited for sustaining the fundamental harmonies. This Bass Viol I cannot but regard as the parent of those ushered into existence with the Motett and Madrigal. It is unnecessary in these pages to trace the * Lavoix Fils, " Histoire de l'lnstrumentation," Paris, 1878. D 34 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. course of musical progress further than is needed to render tolerably clear those parts of it which touch upon instrumental music, and more particu- larly that for stringed instruments. That Okeghem opened up what is called the new school of Flemish Music ; that he carried the art of writing Canons to a lofty height ; that his illustrious pupil Josquin (whom Burney names " The Father of Modern Harmony") took up the standard of musical excellence borne by his master, and planted it at such an altitude as to gain for him the plaudits of the whole musical world, past and present, that he wrote Masses and Motetts of extraordinary excel- lence, form the chief historical facts which may be noticed without becoming tedious. Section H.— Ihc Wiol in thz ftetherlattba. CHAPTER II. T TPON comparing the condition of Instrumental Music at the commencement of the sixteenth century with that of Vocal, it will be seen that they had not progressed in the same ratio. The genius of the early contrapuntists was wholly spent upon Vocal Music, and it was not until considerable strides had been taken towards perfecting this branch of the art, that instruments received attention from com- posers. That it should have been so, is not difficult to understand when we reflect that the voice is Dame Nature's instrument, and in rendering it subject to rules and regulations then laid down, the old masters found therein sufficient occupation without burdening themselves with the Music of instruments, which in their then imperfect state was but an indifferent copy of the original. Much re- mained to be accomplished in the manufacture of musical instruments to permit of their being brought under the civilising influence of the old contrapun- tists; it was therefore necessary for Instrumental Music to follow in the wake of its vocal companion D 2 36 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. until such improvements had been effected as would fit it to pursue a distinct and independent course. The use to which instruments were put in the fifteenth century was that of accompanying the dance, making martial music in processions, and rendering a semi-barbarous accompaniment to the voice. The performers were left free to play upon them as fancy prompted ; in short, their accompaniments were rude improvisations, and their melodies and dances were but the popular ditties of the period rendered in a very free manner. That the Viol was used in the Music of the Church as an adjunct to the voice long before any written music existed for the instrument may be assumed from the variety of forms and sizes we see given to Viols in early prints, which variety evi- dences the aim of the masters of the fifteenth century to assimilate the Viol with the different registers of the human voice, as also the indefinite condition of the instrument in the days of old Flemish masters. Instruments of some kind or other had been pressed into the musical service of the Church from a very early period, for we are told that Saint Thomas Aquinas in the thirteenth century denounced the practice of employing them as " tending to stir up the mind to delight, than frame it to a religious disposition." Notwithstanding, however, this and other anathemas, the custom grew apace, culminating with the Reformation. It happened that the Refor- THE VIOL IN THE NETHERLANDS. 7)7 mers were not alone in their denunciation of the then existing musical arrangements in connection with the Church. Their voices were joined by those of some high dignitaries of the orthodox faith ; since Cardinal Cajetan complained that "With the noise of organs, and the clamorous divisions and absurd repetitions of affected singers, which seem, as it were, devised on purpose to darken the sense, the auditors should be so confounded as that no one should be able to understand what was sung." Erasmus — a votary of Music in his youth — steered a course betwixt that which was deemed orthodox and that which was regarded as heretical, said " What notions have they of Christ who think He is pleased with such a noise ? " These, then, were the opinions that were rife in reference to Ecclesias- tical Music about the period of the Reformation. When we take into account the character of the Flemish Ecclesiastical Music written during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, we are led to believe that the innovations which were so loudly complained of, had their rise in the Netherlands' and passed into Italy with the Flemish musicians. The extraordinary number and magnificence of the. Gothic sacred buildings spread over the Low Coun- tries prior to the Reformation, evidences the Nether- landers' influence in this direction ; and though it may not be wise to gauge the depth of a nation's piety by the number of edifices raised for religious purposes, we can measure the extent and depth of 3# THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC artistic work necessarily attending such erections. The lavishness of architectural ornament, the mar- vellous display of the genius and skill of Flemish painters, was sought to be equalled by the grandeur of the Musical service. " All that opulent devotion could devise in wood, bronze, marble, gold, precious jewellery, or sacramental furniture had been profusely lavished." "The vast and beautifully painted windows glowed with Scriptural scenes, antique portraits, homely allegories, painted in those brilliant and forgotten colours which Art has not ceased to deplore. The daylight melting into gloom, or coloured with fantastic brilliancy, priests in effulgent robes chanting in unknown language the sublime breathing of choral music, the suffocating odours of myrrh and spike^ nard, suggestive of the Oriental scenery and imagery of Holy Writ, all combined to bewilder and exalt the senses." This vivid description of the interior of Antwerp Cathedral serves to convey some idea of the splendour of the sacred buildings in the Netherlands. Such were the churches at Tournay, Ghent, Utrecht — where the youthful voice of Erasmus had been heard in the chorale — and many others throughout the land. It was in these sublime monuments of Gothic Art, raised by the combined efforts of a nation's skilled artizans, prompted by strong religious feelings, that the music of these highly-gifted Belgic composers was heard. No effort was spared to enrich the harmonies, the organ was deemed in^ THE VIOL IN THE NETHERLANDS. 39 sufficient, the voices were supplemented by the nasal sounds of the Viol, secular melodies were introduced of a florid character, with their secular words sung by the chief voice, whilst the other voices were heard singing to the words of the mass. The words, sacred or secular, were not considered, notes alone were esteemed as tending to increase that display which had been gradually developed during two centuries; but the time was at hand when this singularly free mode of conducting the service of the Church was to be abandoned. The school of Church music which arose and flourished in the Netherlands, crumbled and fell, and a portion of its ruins served Palestrina in the construction of his glorious work.* It is hardly possible to imagine that the music of the Church in the Netherlands could have been developed in the manner described without affect- ing that of the chamber ; indeed it is certain that the domestic music of the low countries received similar scientific treatment to that bestowed on sacred music, if such florid writings may be described as sacred. It is also generally admitted that it was the first domestic music allied to musical learning, which * J. R. S. Bennett, in one of his admirable contributions to Grove's " Dictionary of Musicians," remarks, " The simplicity of Lassusj Church music as early as 1565, shows that the story of the causes of Palestrina's revolution must not be accepted too literally," and again, " the simple Church music did not indeed take the place of the older and more elaborate forms of the Josquih period at a few- strokes of Palestrina's pen." 40 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. renders it historically peculiarly interesting. What the position of the Viol was in relation to this music is uncertain ; that it was used in connection with it there is every reason to believe, though in a manner precluding its recognition by the learned composers. The character of the instrument at this important period in the history of chamber music was probably but little changed from that of the Viol of the Mastersingers, and accompanied the voice with the same degree of licence. In this state it most likely remained for a considerable length of time, ultimately ; however, as the home music of the Netherlanders was advanced, certain changes were effected in the form and construction of Viols, rendering them capable of taking parts of more importance in such music. Whatever these variations in form and shape may have been, I am disposed to think that they Were not of a trivial kind, even when thought of beside those effected in Italy after the musicians of the Netherlands had succeeded in making the Madrigal a great power in music. I have before remarked that the earliest steps in Art are for the most part pre-historic, and therefore do not think we should hastily conclude that it was in Italy where Viols were first made — in their relation to the Madrigal — to conform to the tones of the different voices, by dividing and sub-dividing the length of string, until each voice had its representa- tive Viol. It is certain such divisions were rendered complete in Italy, and are traceable to the Italian THE VIOL IN THE NETHERLANDS. 4 1 Madrigal, when for the sake of variety the singers ceased singing their Madrigal parts, and performed them on their Viols. But this most interesting in- novation on the part of the Viol of taking to itself the music of Nature's organ, must surely have been brought about by successive steps in the instrument's development, which are no longer visible ; and I see nothing unreasonable in believing that these early steps were taken in the Low Countries, long prior to the time when the Madrigal was taken to Italy. That a Viol-playing people like that of the Netherlands of the fifteenth century, the originators of scientific domestic music, the creators of the true Madrigal, should have carried their music and their Viols to Italy without having previously con- tributed in some measure to that knowledge which enabled the Italians to perfect the family of the Viol, is difficult to realise. Towards the close of the fifteenth century com- menced that departure of Netherland musicians to Italy, the full effects of which was to fall upon the Musical Art in after ages. These men carried with them the accumulated work of two centuries, ripe for the reception of that adornment which was then being bestowed upon painting and other arts by born Italians, or aliens under the influence of Italy's climate, its people, and surroundings. Their art had been scientifically developed in the Nether- lands to a degree to which no other nation could in any way lay claim. It had reached to its 42 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. full extent of growth in the soil upon which it fed, and needed transplanting to flower afresh ; and no country was better adapted to nurture it than the Italy of the first half of the sixteenth century, where Macaulay tells us "knowledge and public prosperity continued to advance together. Both attained their meridian in the age of Lorenzo the Magnificent." " Restored to supreme peace and tranquillity, cultivated no less in her most mountainous and sterile places than in her plains and more fertile regions, and subject to no other empire than her own, not only was she most abun- dant in inhabitants and wealth, but in the highest degree illustrious by the magnificence of many princes, by the splendour of many most noble and beautiful cities, and by the seat and majesty of religion — she flourished with men pre-eminent in the administration of public affairs, and with genius skilled in all the sciences, and in every elegant and useful art."* Such was the condition of Italy when the musicians of the Netherlands flocked thither, and to its many princes both they and the musicians of after ages owed a debt of lasting gratitude, for the lustre which their munificent patronage caused to be shed upon their art. It was at the invitation of King Ferdinand that John Tinctor went to Naples in 1476, and assisted in establishing the School of Music. It was in Naples that he wrote the first * Essay on Machiavelli, Longfellow's translation of the passages of Thucydides. THE VIOL IN THE NETHERLANDS. 43 book on music ever printed, which assumed the shape of a dictionary. At Rome, about the same period, Josquin was busy with his art at the Chapel of Pope Sixtus IV., and later we hear of him at the Court of Hercules the first Duke of Ferrara. At Florence, Lorenzo the Magnificent was giving every encouragement to promote the advancement of music ; he secured the services of Heinrich Isaac (a Netherlander by education if not by birth) to instruct his children, and thus did his son Giovanni begin to acquire that taste for music for which he was so famous as Pope Leo X. At Mantua Jaques Berchem was appointed to the post of chapel-master in the Duke's chapel. And lastly, at Venice, appeared Adrian Willaert to instruct its people in music, and share in that progress which the Venetians were beginning to make in the fields of art and learning. It would not be difficult to multiply these instances of princely patronage, and of the high positions awarded to the musicians of the Low Countries, but those already given amply suffice to mark the degree of esteem in which they were held by the Italian nation, and the artistic devotion of its many princes. If we desire further evidence of the influence of the musicians of the Low Countries at this period, we have but to turn to the printing press of Petrucci, at Venice, and we discover that nearly the whole of the works printed by it for several years, were those of Netherlander. With the early years of the' sixteenth century 44 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. opens up a period rife with interest relative to our subject. Then it was that the madrigal began to receive the serious attention of the Flemish composers. It had existed among them in a more or less crude shape since about the middle of the fifteenth century, but the time had come when it was to play an important part in musical history, now that it was dressed in much of the learning belonging to the Flemish motett. With it the social element was entered, and the foundation laid of high-class chamber music. The term madrigal originally meant a pastoral song; there were simple and accompanied madrigals ; the former were first intro- duced, and in their character partook greatly of the music composed for the Church. It is not possible to say when or where the Flemish madrigal was first heard in Italy; we are left to form an opinion from a loose collection of dates and the circumstances attending them. Taking into consideration the advanced state of culture at Ferrara, and the world- wide reputation that Court obtained for its art patronage, and that of music more particularly, it would seem highly probable that it was to that city the madrigal was taken from the Netherlands. That the madrigal was sung at Mantua early in the sixteenth century is evidenced by the presence there of Berchem, who composed a great number. It is to the Netherlander Adrian Willaert we must now turn, since it was he who gave to the madrigal a form in which originality was so mani- THE VIOL IN THE NETHERLANDS. 45 fested as to have earned for him the title of father of this species of composition. Willaert was born, at Bruges in the year 1490. At the age of twenty- eight he followed the example of many of his countrymen, and removed to Rome, where he possibly hoped to find a larger field for the exercise of his abilities than his native city afforded him r but at that period Rome must have sheltered quite an army of musicians, the chief part of which was mainly dependent on the patronage of Leo X. and his Cardinals, and it is possible that he discovered the Church and its princes already sufficiently weighted with claimants to favour without casting in his lot with them, and thus resolved to quit the Papal city, and make that of the Venetian Republic the stage for his efforts in Music's cause. In Venice he worked and died, amid the din of its vast commerce, for then the Venetian capital was not only the first commercial city in Italy but of Europe. Its wealth, its churches, and its marble palaces formed a theme of admiration throughout the civilised world. In Venice at the height of its prosperity he found its citizens as eager to encourage and practise music as they were to aid and cherish other arts — furnishing another instance of art follow- ing close upon the heels of successful commerce. Doni, in his Dialogue on Music, published at Venice in 1 544, supplies us with a description of the chamber music of Willaert's time. In the Dialogue, compositions by most of the seventeen composers. 46 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MVSIC. then living at Venice are performed ; in the first conversation the interlocutors are Michele, Hoste, Bago, and Grullone, all performers, who sing madrigals and songs by Claudio Veggio and Vincenzo Russo. In the second conversation, instruments are joined to the voices, Antonio de Lucca first playing a voluntary on the Lute, then Buzzino il Violone* Bosso Battista, Doni, and others play on Viols ; Doni also refers to the superior state of music in his time, compared with that of any former period. " There are musicians now " he remarks, "who, if Josquin were to return to this world, would make him cross himself. In former times people used to dance with their hands in their pockets, and if one could give another a fall, he was thought a wit and a dexterous fellow ; Heinrich Isaac then set the songs, and was thought a master, at present he would hardly be thought a scholar." That great progress in music had been made admits of no doubt whatever, but that Doni was carried away by enthusiasm in making this reference to Isaac was evidently the opinion of Dr. Burney, who supplements it with a quotation. " Hannibal," says Captain Bluff, " was a very pretty fellow in those days it must be granted. But, alas, Sir! were he alive now, he would be nothing ! nothing in the earth!" The difference of conditions under which music * This instrument was a Double Bass haying five or six strings, and had frets like the lute. THE VIOL IN THE NETHERLANDS. ' ,/tf flourished in Rome and Venice accounts for the distinctive character of the work achieved by the musicians of these cities. In the city of the Church, patronage was almost wholly ecclesias- tical, and the music composed there at that period belonged to the church chiefly. In Venice, Music was influenced by both the Church and the people, the effect of which soon manifested itself in an unmistakeable manner. Adrian Willaert could not have failed to observe the essentially different tone of thought and action belonging to the people of these States. He found the Venetians prepared to be led into an untrodden path, namely, that of Domestic Music, and it fell to him to be their pioneer. In Rome he had witnessed the solid foundation upon which the Roman School of Music was raised, to which his countrymen had contributed so much, and he appears to have aimed at estab- lishing in Venice a school equally solid at its base, but which should have a section, in which Domes- tic Music might partake of that high excellence which had hitherto belonged almost exclusively to the Church. That Adrian Willaert succeeded in accomplish- ing this, and that the madrigal was instrumental in the achievement, is made clear by reference to his fifty years' labour in this particular section of vocal music. We shall there discover that during this long period, scarcely a collection of motetts and madrigals was given to the public, to which he did 48 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. not contribute, besides imparting that knowledge to others which for the most part originated with him- self. To mention alone Francesco Viola and Gabrielli as his pupils, amply marks the extent of Willaert's influence over chamber music, when in its infancy, and yet further awakens our interest in the father of the madrigal, since it was his scholar Gabrielli who was one of the chief actors, if not the principal, who rendered that distinguished service to Viols and other instruments, of emancipating them from their long dependence upon vocal music. Henceforth instruments were no longer to follow in the wake of vocal music, they had been made ripe to claim their liberation under the skilful guidance of men whose names and merits are for the most part unrecorded ; when Gabrielli, or a contemporary musician came forth as their liberator and proclaimed them independent. One of their earliest charters — to continue the metaphor — is that composed and attested by this same Gabrielli, the pupil of Willaert, and entitled " Sonate a cinque per i stromenti," printed by Gardane, Venice, 1586 ;* the actual date of com- position may be much earlier. The nephew and pupil of Gabrielli, Giovanni, followed in the steps of his uncle, and left us the earliest record of music for the Italian Violin we have any account of. Thus we find that it occupied more than a century from the period When bowed instruments were connected with the madrigal, to bring them to that state of perfection * Fetis, " Biographie Universelle des Musiciens." THE VIOL IN THE NETHERLANDS. 49 which admitted of their having music specially written for them. Having brought the Netherlander and his mad- rigal to Venice, and lightly sketched their in- fluence on chamber music, in relation to our subject, it is time to close this section, and follow the course of Viol history in France. Section IB..— Ike lie! in Jrance. CHAPTER I. ' I 'HE German Viol and its offspring having already occupied our attention, it now remains to seek in- formation relative to the Viol- germ which the Goths carried to Spain, the fruitfulness of which was singularly great, as we shall presently discover. I am no better able to succeed in placing the reader in possession of indisputable evidence of the Viol having been common to the Goths in Spain, than I have before been with regard to Germany; indeed, I am not so well prepared to give proof of early Spanish cultivation of bowed instrument knowledge, for with the exception of mentioning the Western door-way of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compos- tella — which is said to belong to the eleventh century — upon which a number of instruments of the Viol kind are represented,* I have nothing to show that Spain was in possession of such instruments. It is in the evidence of the following century, namely, the twelfth, which is of importance in con- necting our subject with Spain, although the infor- * See large cast in the South Kensington Museum. THE VIOL IN FRANCE. 5 I mation relates to another and distinct kingdom, viz., Provence, which Nostradamus, in his Lives of the Provencal Poets — published about the middle of the sixteenth century* — describes as the mother of Troubadours and Minstrels. In this now part of France undoubtedly existed from the tenth to the fourteenth centuries minstrelsy of a superior kind, which was deemed worthy of imitation in Germany, England, and Italy. In this sense Nostradamus correctly named Provence the parent of Minstrelsy. Our enquiries, however, extend beyond this parent- age, and in pursuing them we must not lose the Gothic thread, slender though it be, upon reaching the tenth century, for it is all we have to connect the Viol of the Troubadours with the Viol-germ of Spain. The highly developed condition of the people of Provence in the twelfth century can scarcely be regarded as the outcome of an independent civiliza- tion, like that witnessed by the conquerors of Mexico: surrounding influences must have contri- buted something towards it, and if we admit that such was the case, we have to consider which of these predominated. For our purpose it becomes a question, from which side the Viol found its way to Southern France : in short, whether it was the Viol of Italy or that of Spain. Geographically, Italy is nearer Provence than Spain; but there remains the fact that the Provencal language was more cultivated * Burney, vol. 2, p. 230. E 2 52 THE VIOLIN AND IIS MUSIC. in Languedoc and the adjacent provinces than in that which gave the language its name, and these provinces are nearer Spain, which was the last place where the Goths figured as a power in Western Europe. During the dominion of the Goths the Latin language lost much of its original character and degenerated to the Romance, three different dialects of which were spoken in Spain as early as the beginning of the eighth century.* Here, then, we appear to have a link to connect the Romance of Spain with that of Provence, which taken in conjunction with Voltaire's remark as to most of the music heard in France before the time of Louis the Fourteenth (Francis I. ?) having been that of Spain.t strengthens greatly my belief that the Viol associated with the Troubadours of Provence came from the Viol-germ carried to Spain by the Goths. Whatever may have been the condition of music in France prior to the time of the Troubadours, to those minstrels rightly belongs the opening page in all notices of French musical progress. Nay, more, they are entitled to primary notice in the history of the music of Western Europe, since it was they — para- doxical though it may seem — who gave melody to music. The scraping of Viols, the jargon blowings of huntsmens' horns and shepherds' pipes, the crude twangings of minstrels' harps and primitive lutes, was hushed as the music of the Troubadours arose. * Longfellow's " Spanish Language and Poetry.'' + " Age of Louis XIV." THE VIOL IN FRANCE. Henceforth, in the musical language of Thackeray, " their melody overflows into the air richly, like the honey of Hybla ; it wafts down in lazy gusts like the scent of the thyme from that hill."* I have hitherto used the term Troubadour in its broadest sense in reference to the poet minstrels of Provence ; they were, however, divided into distinct orders, and named Troubadours, Trouveres, and Jongleurs: the first were the true Romance poets, the next were the poets of Northern France, and the last the wandering minstrels who sang at the courts and at the houses of the nobility, the heroic achievements of their ancestors, and accompanied themselves on instruments. These Jongleurs have been described by Crescimbeni,+ as men of a merry nature, full of jests and arch sayings, and adopted a kind of fool's costume for the purpose of entertaining in a burlesque manner their patrons, for which reason they were called Jongleurs, quasi Joculatores. To the Jongleurs and Trouveres may be traced the old rhymed romances of Charlemagne and his twelve peers, and those of Arthur and the round table, and it is interesting to follow M. Paulin Paris in relation to these and other early romance poems. He tells us — "After an attentive examination of our ancient literature, it is impossible to doubt for a moment that the old monorhyme romances were set to music * "An Essay without end." + Translation of Nostradamus' " Lives of the Provencal Poets noticed by Hawkins. 54 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. and accompanied by a viol or harp, and yet this seems hitherto to have escaped observation. " In the poem of ' Gerars de Nevers' I find the following passage : — " Then Gerars donn'd a garment old, And round his 'neck a Viol hung, For cunningly he played and sung. * * * * Steed he had none ; so he was fain, To trudge on foot o'er hill and plain, Till Nevers gate he stood before, There many burghers full a score, Staring, exclaimed in pleasant mood, ' This minstrel cometh for little good. I wene, if he singeth all day long, No one will listen to his song.' Whilst at the door he thus did wait, A knight came through the court-yard gate, Who bade the minstrel enter straight And led him to the crowded hall, That he might play before them all." Dr. Burney supplies us with another description of this early minstrelsy, given by a French poet who flourished about 1230. " When the cloth was ta'en away, Minstrels strait began to play, And while harps and Viols join, Raptured bards in strains divine, Loud the trembling arches rung, With the noble deeds we sung." It would be easy to multiply these instances of THE VIOL IN FRANCE. 55 the presence of the Viol in the minstrelsy of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in France, but those already given render it sufficiently clear, that to itinerant musicians may be traced the earliest culti- vation of secular music in France, as indeed it may be in all countries. Station HI— ^hc Wiol in Jraittt. CHAPTER II. T T was in the twelfth century that the wandering musicians and their music began to receive that attention which gave to their art a new and important character. This was accomplished by the Troubadours and Trouveres or poets calling to their aid the Jongleurs or musicians to sing and accompany their lays with harp and viol. These instruments, which had hitherto been heard in conjunction with the chivalric ballads of the Jongleurs, now accom- panied the Romance poetry of the Troubadours. This combination of tuneful poetry with melo- dious music was hailed with delight from court and castle, and so much had this minstrelsy grown in favour during the thirteenth century that kings and nobles aspired to become poets and minstrels. The King of Navarre, the Lord of Coucy, the Comte d' Anjou, and the Duke of Brabant are mentioned as Court Trouveres. An illuminated manuscript of the poems of this King of Navarre and his contem- porary poets supplies us with the figure of a Jongleur represented as playing before the King a three- THE VIOL IN FRANCE. 57 stringed instrument, which has the appearance of a Giege. That this instrument had found its way to France at this early period is evidenced by the tale of the Two Minstrels,* though Dr. Burney, who gives the following interesting remarks upon this tale from the pen of a French author, tells us he had no knowledge of the instrument : — " Two companies of minstrels meeting at a castle, endeavour to amuse its lord by counterfeiting a quarrel. One of them quitting his companions, insults a minstrel of the other troop, calling him a ra gg e d beggar, who never had done anything to deserve a better dress from his patrons ; and, in order to prove his own superiority, says with triumph, that he can tell stories in verse, both in the Romance and Latin tongues ; can sing forty lays and heroic songs, as well as every other kind of songs which may be called for ; that he knew also stories of adventures, particularly those of the Round Table ; and, in short, that he could sing innumerable romances, &c. He finishes the enumeration of his talents by facetiously informing the spectators that he did not choose his present employment for want of knowing others, as he was possessed of several secrets by which he could make a great fortune ; for he knew how to circle an egg, bleed cats, blow beff, and cover houses with omelets. He also knew the art of making goats'-caps, cows' bridles, dogs' gloves, * Dr. Burney states that a copy of this tale is in the Bodleian Library, MS. Digby, 86. 58 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. hares' armour, joint-stool cases, scabbards for hedging-bills ; and if he were furnished with a couple of harps, he would make such music as they never heard before." At length, after some additional abuse, he advises the minstrel whom he attacks to quit the castle without staying to be turned out ; " For I despise you too much," says he, " to disgrace myself and comrades by striking such a pitiful fellow." The other vilifies him in turn, and asks how he dares presume to call himself a minstrel " For my part," says he, " I am not one of your ignorant fellows who can only take off a cat, play the fool, the drunkard, or talk nonsense to my comrades ; but one of those true and genuine Troubadours who invent everything they say, " All the minstrel art I know ; I the Viol well can play, I the pipe and syrinx blow, Harp and Gigue obey." At length he concludes by advising his rival never to be seen in the same place as himself, " and you, my lord," says he, "If I have been more eloquent than he, I entreat you to turn him out of doors, to convince him that he's an ignorant blockhead." The argument of the minstrel's tale, besides informing us as to the presence of the Giege among the Troubadours, contains much that is inte- resting and instructive relative to the minstrel's art. The character of Jongleur and Troubadour or Trouvere is well defined, and it informs us as to the THE VIOL IN FRANCE. 59 poets being sometimes independent of the Jongleur's aid by being themselves instrumentalists ; our chief interest lies, however, in the mention of that Teutonic member of the Fiddle family, the Giege. This instrument having been familiar to "one of those true and genuine Troubadours who invent every- thing they say," I cannot but think adds some weight to the opinion I have already expressed, as to the chief work in relation to the early develop- ment of bowed instruments having been accom- plished in Germany, since it shows that the Germans had at least brought this instrument to a state which rendered it worthy of imitation. That the Germans were famous players upon it we gather from Adenes, the trouvere, who speaks with admiration of the " Gigeours of Germany." * The trouveres apparently were the minstrels who introduced the Giege in France. Apart from their mention of the instrument, they being the minstrel poets of Northern France, their knowledge of German instruments would be greater than that of the Troubadour, and they would be therefore more likely to adopt them. The true Romance poets were, no doubt, early in possession of the Rebec, which we may call an early French Fiddle; but the Giege, or early German Fiddle, would seem to have been unknown to them until their brother minstrels from the North used it. Taking this view of Fiddle history we have the meeting in a foreign country of the direct descen- * Paul Lacroix, " The Arts in the Middle Ages." 6o THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. dant of that " barbarous bowed contrivance," men- tioned by Roger North in connection with the Goths, with a scion bearing a marked family like- ness to its own remote ancestor through another line of Fiddle and Viol. If this view be correctly taken, we may assume that the coming together of Geige and Rebec amid the minstrelsy of France contributed something towards the perfection of the Violin, though we cannot possibly learn, at this distance of time, to what extent. Leaving these speculations, let us pass to the time when the Jongleurs formed themselves into a company, and obtained a charter, in the year 1321. Under this charter they elected a chief, whom they styled the " King of the Minstrels," and laws were made which the members of their body corporate were to observe. They inhabited a building which gave the name to the street in Paris, St. Julien des Menestriers. At these head-quarters all applications for musicians were made and duly attended to. In the reign of Charles VI. the Jongleurs are said to have separated themselves entirely from the art of juggling, and attended only to the art of music, and it is in a charter of Charles, dated 1401, that we discover evidence of much importance relative to the progress of bowed instruments in France. The charter runs : — " Charles, by the grace of God, &c, &c. It having been humbly represented unto us by the King of the Minstrels and other performers on high THE VIOL IN FRANCE. 6 1 and low instruments that since the year 1397,* when they were formed and associated into a company for the free and lawful exercise of their profession of minstrelsy according to certain rules and ordinances by them formerly made and ratified, and by which all minstrels, as well players on high instruments as low, ' having agreed and bound themselves to appear before the aforesaid King of the Minstrels to take oath and swear to the performance of the covenants hereinafter declared, &c, &c." It is the reference to high and low instruments which I have italicized in the above charter that furnishes us with valuable information in relation to early French bowed instruments. Dr. Burney rightly infers from it that it was about this time that treble and bass Rebecs or Viols with three strings began to be in use, either to play in octaves to each other; or, perhaps, in a coarse kind of counterpoint. I cannot agree, however, with the musical historian naming them Rebecs or Viols ; it is this looseness of descrip- tion which has made Viol history so confused. The three strings points to their having been Rebecs and not Viols, and if they were such, I am inclined to regard this development as springing from the meeting of Rebec and Giege already noticed. Though Martin Agricola's reference to the descant tenor and bass Giege belongs to the middle of the sixteenth century, the inclusion of tenor Giege indicates a higher development and does not preclude * This date is apparently incorrectly copied. 62 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. the possibility of there having been treble and bass Gieges of a rude kind in the previous century, which gave rise to the variation of the Rebec. The separation of music from jugglery, and the granting of the minstrels' charter, were not the only interesting events in relation to music belonging to the reign of Charles VI. ; there is yet another which, in its bearings upon the musical world of France, was of far more importance, and one in which the king played an unfortunate and more prominent part. In the year 1392 the king was struck with madness caused by a man starting from behind a tree in the forest of Le Mans clad in a white smock, his head and feet bare, crying " Go no farther ; thou art betrayed !" An appearance so strange and unexpected affected the king's reason. The hopes that were entertained of its recovery were completely frustrated by an accident which occurred in the following year. Music had but recently been associated with a new entertain- ment called Charivari or Masquerade, and at one of these given at the Royal Palace of St. Paul in. Paris, five young noblemen with the king appeared as savages linked together in a dress of linen to which fur was cemented by means of resin. The Duke of Orleans, either from levity or accident, ran a lighted torch against one of the party, which at once set his costume on fire ; the flame was quickly communicated to the others, but the maskers in the midst of their torments cried " Save the king ; Save THE VIOL IN FRANCE, ' 63 the king ;" which was happily done, but left his reason disordered beyond all chance of recovery. To the circumstance which gave rise to this melancholy event is in a great measure traceable the beginning of that light music which the pens of Lully, Rameau, and Phillidor — the father of Phillidor of Chess-gambit fame — a century and a half later brought to such perfection. Our interest in this description of music is heightened, when we re- member that the Violin was. first used in France in connection with it. kctxon III.— %ht liol iit Jraitce. CHAPTER III. "DURSUING our course amid French Royalty in search of information pertinent to our subject, we find ourselves once more among the Troubadours of Provence, with that right kingly minstrel Rene of Angou, who was " endowed with every gift of mind and every noble virtue, the first French Prince on whom fell the inspiration of the Renaissance, poet, painter, musician, the practical man who developed the prosperity of his Provencal domains ; a king, brother of kings, father of kings, he stands alone in this age of ours, combining the culture of Provence with the fresh life of Italy."" 5 ' It is Rene of whom Sir Walter Scott discourses so eloquently, and makes him answer when importuned to resign his kingdom of Provence: "With my Viol and my pencil, Rene the troubadour will be as happy as ever was Rene the king: so saying, with practical philosophy he whistled the burden of his last composed ariette, and signed away the rest of his royal possession without pulling off his glove." Kitchen's " History of France." Vol. ii., p. 1 1. THE VIOL IN FRANCE. 6$ These words serve to convey to the reader some notion of good King Rene's love of art, the intensity of which led him beyond the bounds of prudence, and caused Shakspeare to write : " Unto the poor King Reignier, whose large style, Agrees not with the leanness of his purse.'' " — King of Naples Of both the Sicilies and Jerusalem,* Yet not so wealthy as an English yeoman.' 7 King Henry VI. King Rene's love of music was passionate in the extreme, and he joined to this devotion executive skill of no mean order as a Violist and composer. A sacred composition of his, written in honour of St. Louis, Bishop of Toulouse, was often heard in the Churches down to the time of the Council of Trent, while the profane music which had been employed as subjects for the solo parts was still being played by the minstrels.t The despoiler of poor King Rene's dominions, Louis XL, has but little claim on our notice. His name figures in a minstrels' charter, but music in France was not advanced by the recognition it received from him. Louis' taste for the art seems to have been in complete harmony with his grovelling and, cruel disposition. We have an instance of this in his having upon one occasion commanded the * King Rene", after the seizure of Angou by Louis XL, continued to style himself King of Sicily and Jerusalem. t Lacroix.."The Arts in the Middle Ages." F 66 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. master of the Royal music, the Abbe de Baigfte, to give him a concert of pigs, which entertainment was carried out in the following manner — Swine of mixed age and size were procured — apparently with a view to the production of as many dissonances as possible— and placed in a tent in front of which was a keyboard like that of an organ, every key was furnished with a sticker, though of a very different kind which that technical term implies when con- nected with a pianoforte. These stickers of torture were so arranged that the performer at the key- board in executing his barbarous passages should stick the wretched inmates of the tent, causing them to squeak and grunt with both velocity and vivacity. It has been remarked again and again, there is no accounting for taste, and in music we constantly meet with curious instances of its vagaries ; but Louis XL's must have been unique, and remains a curiosity among such curiosities. Let us, however, quit the ridiculous in, music, and return to the sub- lime with Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, who, we are told, " was in the best sense of the word a gentleman, refined, courteous, polished; was an excellent chess player, a good musician, a composer of songs and motetts." With the opening years of the sixteenth century, we reach the boundary which may be said to sepa- rate the new and the old in music among the French. The brilliant rays of light which beamed upon the art world over which Pope Leo X. reigned supreme, THE VIOL IN FRANCE. 6 J illumined the court of Francis I. The goodwill, which the " King of Culture " bore the arts and learning, secured for his people this inestimable benefaction. It was Francis who obtained the services of Italian architects and artists to guide and instruct his subjects in the building of palaces and public buildings. It was he who filled them with some of the choicest works of the Art World. The cunning hand of Benvenuto Cellini wrought him treasures of priceless worth and wondrous design. The brothers Estienne, by the aid of his munificent patronage, sent forth from their printing press Hebrew, Greek, and Latin works, in type which the Bibliomaniac of to day venerates. It was in his reign that Petrucci's system of printing music was introduced into France. Jean Mouton, the pupil of Adrian Willaert, was his Chapel-master, thus con- necting France with the great musicians of the Netherlands; and, lastly, he gained over to his service that most accomplished of men, Leonardo da Vinci, who died in his arms. The interest Francis I. took in music was evi- dently of no ordinary kind : the frequent mention of his name in connection with the musical life of his time points to a continued association with those engaged in the furtherance of the art. We are told that upon his founding the Royal College in 1530, the third chair was one of music. In the year 15 15, when Francis went to Bologna to meet Leo X. for the purpose of signing the famous , F 2 68 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Concordat, he was accompanied by the choir which his predecessor Louis XII. left him, and which, it is said, had no equal in the world. Under the direction of Guillaume Guinand, formerly Chapel-master to Ludovic Sforza, the last Duke of Milan, the choir of the French King had the honour of singing in the mass which Pope Leo celebrated in the Cathedral of Bologna. A choir accompanying a King on such important business points to Sovereigns and Pontiffs going about their state affairs in moods less serious than those of later times ; in any case we have the satisfaction of citing this particular com- bination of business with pleasure as evidence of Francis I.'s love of music, and the importance of his choir. This visit of the French King to Bologna is associated with yet another event in relation to music, and one which concerns us far more than that already noticed. In Bologna at this time lived Gaspard Duiffoprugcar, and the attention of Francis I. was directed to the Viol-maker's skill. With that intuitive power of detection of exceptional ability, which- belonged to Francis, he resolved to secure the Viol-maker's services, and induce him to accompany him to Paris. These arrangements we are told were duly carried out, and thus it was that the French King's orchestra was enriched with the Viols of Duiffoprugcar. It now remains to notice the early Viol music belonging to France. In the excellent work on the history of instrumentation by H. Lavoix fits we THE VIOL IN FRANCE. 69 find mentioned " Dix-huit basses dances garnies de recoupes et tordions avec dix-neuf branles, quatre sauterelles, quinze gaillardes et neuf pavanes; Paris Attaingant, 1538;" also the curious book on the Viol by Claude Gervaise, by the same publisher, 1547 to 1555, which is in the Bibliotheque Nationale ; it is divided into seven books, written for Viols in four and five parts. In the work are galliardes, pavanes, and popular songs. These are the earliest printed compositions for bowed instruments. From the period of the death of Francis I. to the total suppression of the League in the time of Henry IV., the political condition of France was completely opposed to that tranquility under which the arts can alone flourish. The bigotry and fanaticism which involved the nation in a forty years' civil war checked the further development of music, and makes it necessary to close this section of our subject. kctxon IH— Wxt liol tit (England CHAPTER I. " I ^O seek for knowledge of the character and use of the Viol in times when England's baronial halls and castles were open to the way-worn minstrel, ever ready with his tales of heroic deeds, recounted to the sound of sweet music, is almost a profitless task, since "All — to use the words of Mr. Froude — is gone, like an unsubstantial pageant faded ; and between us and the old English there lies a gulf of mystery which the prose of the historian will never adequately bridge." To render an account of the Viol in England, at all approaching completeness, is not possible : its early history lies buried beneath a vast accumulation of extraneous matter, which even to partially separate is a task beset with difficulty. That it is necessary to delve deep enough into the history of music generally, that we may lay bare a portion of the root of our subject, is sufficiently evident ; but to know where and how far to dig, is certainly perplexing, apart from the confusedness of the material to be sifted. We cannot, perhaps, do better than follow in THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. 7 I the line of our last Section, by commencing with Charles VI. 's son-in-law, our Henry V. When Henry V. went to France in 141 5, he was accompanied by fifteen minstrels, one of whom was named Snyth Fydeler, a name which readily awakens our interest. It is possible that Fydeler may have been his family name ; but in any case we may conclude its origin is traceable to Fiddling. These minstrels played at the , King's head-quarters, morning and evening, and it is said that on the eve of the battle of Agincourt, though the English were fatigued and hungry, and sorely troubled with visions of death on the morrow, yet they played on their trumpets throughout the night, and confessed their sins with tears, many of them taking the sacrament. With the famous battle is associated the earliest English song of which the original music has been preser- ved. This curiosity, written on vellum in Gregorian notes, reposes in that wondrous collection of books and manuscripts which that early book collector Samuel Pepys brought together, and which is now in Magdalen College, Cambridge, in the same book- cases and in the same order as Pepys left them, one hundred and seventy-seven years since. Henry V. is said to have been a devoted admirer of sacred music and proficient in " organ playings." When he entered the city of London on the 23rd of November, 141 5, where the citizens had prepared pageantry of extraordinary splendour in honour of the King and his memorable victory, and verses were J 2 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. sung celebrating the event, he commanded, by a formal edict, that in future no songs should be recited by harpers or others in commemoration of the battle. These orders were, however, given when the King was surfeited with the laudation of a people intoxicated with joy, and must not be attri- buted to a dislike for music and poetry but to dis- gust for slavish adulation. That he delighted in music is shown by his having, in the twenty-third year of his reign, liberally rewarded some foreign minstrels. Five minstrels from the King of Sicily had £\o each, a very considerable amount when the value of money in the fifteenth century is thought of. In passing to the time of Henry VI. we are again reminded of good King Rene, Henry's father- in-law. He does not appear, however, to have imbibed any of his relative's enthusiasm for music, for, beyond a few payments to minstrels and heralds, there is nothing during his reign worthy of our attention. Leaving, therefore, the red rose of Lancaster, and with it the mendicant friars, the harpers, and the pipers of minstrelsy, in a dis- organised state, we will follow the white rose in the Yorkist, King Edward IV., and commence with England's first minstrels' charter. Charters are instruments which have been both abused and misused in their relation to music, as well as to other arts ; yet they have a kind of recognised authority which begets reverence, and in quoting THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. 73 them an air of importance is at least given to a subject. Though the granting of a charter implies some degree of development in relation to the art affected by it, we shall find in this instance that the art of music, as judged at this distance of time, was in a very primitive state ; and in selecting this particular charter, the early progress of instrumental music in connection with the Violin in England will be ren- dered sufficiently clear. "In the year 1469, Edward IV., by his letters patent under the great seal of his realm in England, bearing date the twenty-fourth day of April, in the ninth year of his reign, did for him and his heirs give and grant licence unto Walter Haliday, Marshall, and John Cliff, and others then minstrels of the said King, that they by them- selves should be in deed and name, one body and cominality, perpetual and capable in the law, and should have perpetual succession ; and that as well the minstrels of the said King, which then were, as other minstrels of the said King, and his heires which should be afterwards, might at their pleasure name, choose, ordain and successively constitute from amongst themselves, one Marshall, able and fit to remain in that office during his life and also two wardens every year to govern the said fraternity and guild." Among others Dr. Batman, an English writer of the latter part of the sixteenth century, has afforded us an opportunity of living for the nonce among the 74 THE. VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. musicians of King Edward's time. In his account of the king's household establishment we learn that his majesty had thirteen minstrels, one acting as director, whose duty it was on festival days to place each minstrel in such position that his "blowings and pypings " might be heard by the various attendants occupied in preparing the kings " meats and sDiipers." It thus appears these instrumentalists, armed with trumpets and pipes, were directed to execute divers fanfares or warnings, the meaning of which was perfectly intelligible to the gentlemen of the great kitchen as having reference to the taking or removal of certain dishes between their office and the banqueting chamber. That the state band of the period was put to such base uses appears curious, but nevertheless easily understood when it is remem- bered that feasting occupied a far more prominent place in the business of life than at a much later date.* When the vast extent of building comprised in our old castles is considered, the arrangement is yet easier to understand, for those were not the days of electric bells and telephones ; trumpets therefore performed the parts allotted to modern inventions. Although utility was doubtless an object of consideration, it was not that alone which Mr. Froude states that the guests and servants upon some occasions numbered four thousand persons, and that one thousand sheep, one hundred peacocks, and three hundred quarters of wheat, were consumed, besides other food in proportion. . THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. J$ prompted these musical arrangements ; ornament and effect were highly considered. " Illumining the vaulted roof A thousand torches flamed aloof From many cups with golden gleam Sparkled the red metheglin stream ; To grace the gorgeous festival Along the lofty window'd hall, The storied tapestry was hung ; With minstrelsy the rafters rung." The minstrels ushered in the banquet with their musical strains, they preceded the servants carrying the dishes, among them the famous dish of chivalry, the peacock with his tail displayed, and they remained in the hall to enliven the scene during the progress of the banquet. Sometimes one or more played upon his instrument beside the table, now the croudero, then the harper, making music whilst the juggler performed feats with the tools of his craft. The banquet ended, the King and his " nobley " (nobles) left the table, and adjourned to the great chamber for the dance. " Befoure him goth the loude" minstralcie, Til he come to his chamber of parements,* There as they sounden divers instruments, That it is like an Heaven for to be here."t Sometimes the dance took place in the hall, when the signal from the master of the house was given, " A hall ! a hall ! " the boards and trestles were * Great Chamber. t The Squire's Tale. 76 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. quickly removed, and fifteenth century dancing com- menced to minstrels music* From this brief account of the minstrel's duties we gather that his occupation was one of some importance, and this view is borne out by a few interesting particulars contained in Dr. Batman's edition of Friar Bartholomceu's book, entitled " De Proprietatibus Rarum," — first printed in English by Caxton — relative to the remuneration they received — in the household of Edward IV. A wait, who piped watch within the court of the castle four times on winter nights and three times on summer nights, and made "Bon Gayte" (by playing on his instrument) at every chamber door and office as well, for fear of " pyckeres and pillers " (thieves ?) was allowed to eat in the hall with the minstrels, and had given him a loaf, a gallon of ale, two pitch candles, and a bushel of coals. His salary was either three- pence or fourpence at the discretion of the steward or treasurer. When he was ill he was allowed two loaves, two messes of " great meate," and one gallon of ale. It would therefore appear that sickness, in these days, had the effect of increasing the appetite ; his bedding was carried by a groom waiter; but if he chose to dispense with this attendant's services he received the groom's wages. This " Yeoman " wait, when attending at the making of Knights of the Bath, besides his fee, received the knight's clothing. * Cutt's " Scenes, and Characters of the Middle Ages." THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. yf The chaplains and clerks of the chapel were elected by the dean, and were expected to have a good knowledge of descant, to be " clean voyced and well releshed " in pronunciation, eloquent in reading, and sufficient in "organ playings," modest in their behaviour, and were to eat together at the dean's board, and lodge in one chamber. Dr. Rimbault remarks* — " Minstrels sometimes assisted at divine service, as appears from a record of the 9th of Edward IV. By part of this record it is recited to be their duty ' to pray (exorare, which it is presumed they did by assisting in the chant, and musical accompaniments, &c.) in the King's Chapel, and particularly for the departed souls of the King and Queen when they shall die, &c." The eight children of the chapel were instructed in singing by the " Master of Songe" appointed by x the dean ; they also received tuition on the organs. They ate at the Chapel board next the Yeoman of the Vestry, and had divided amongst them two loaves, one " messe of great meate," two gallons of ale; they were allowed in the winter four pitch candles and litter for their pallets, and to have one servant to truss and bear " their harnesse and lyverey in court." When they reached the age of eighteen, and their voices changed, the king sent them to Oxford or Cambridge, there to be instructed until the king otherwise advanced them. These extracts serve to show that music and musicians in the reign * " North's Memories of Mustek," p. 77. 78 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. of Edward IV. were not neglected ; and there is evidence of even earlier appreciation of the followers of the musical art in the curious, though profane fact that minstrels were better paid than the clergy, since we are told that at the annual feast of the fraternity of the Holy Cross at Abingdon, in 1441, eight priests were hired from Coventry to celebrate an obit in the Church of the neighbouring priory, and six minstrels belonging to the family of Lord Clinton were em- ployed to " sing, harp, and play," in the hall of the monastery during the extraordinary reflection allowed to the monks on that anniversary. Two shillings were given to the priests, and four to the minstrels, and the latter are said to have supped in the painted chamber of the convent with the sub- prior, on which occasion the chamberlain furnished eight massive tapers of wax. The minstrels derived their knowledge from the schools belonging to the monasteries. They learnt something of the theoretical principles of music, the practical part of singing, and the elements of grammar ; including also, perhaps, as much know- ledge of poetry as was sufficient for the composition of a song or ballad. Persons already acquainted with the principles of music, could find little difficulty in acquiring sufficient skill to play on the Viol or some such instrument, a simple melody ; together forming a sufficient body of theoretical science and practical skill, to enable them to compose and play a variety of simple tunes. the viol in England: ■ 79 We will now glance at some of the instruments used by the minstrels of the fifteenth century. The harp being essentially the instrument of the minstrel, takes precedence of the rest I shall mention. The extraordinary popularity of this instrument in the middle ages is shown from the accounts we have of the vast number of harpers brought together upon occasions of festival. Mention is made of upwards of one hundred having been assembled. Con- tinuing with the stringed instruments, the Sauterie (Psaltery), a description of lyre — of which there appears to have been a great variety — may be noticed. Although there is no mention of bowed instruments in connection with the minstrels of Edward IV:, it may be assumed they were numbered with the rest ; but, in any case, we know they were in use in England. It is difficult to know how to describe this class of instrument, so varied are the names applied by different authorities — Rebec, Rote, Vielle, Fiddle, Viol, and Violin — that all these names applied indiscriminately could convey any notion at all approaching correctness of the bowed instruments of the fifteenth century is impossible. To describe the virginals of Queen Elizabeth's time as a grand pianoforte would give a very erroneous notion of that instrument, yet Violinists of the nineteenth century have been told over and over again that Violins were in Elizabeth's state band. Whatever bowed instrument it was, the difference between it and our Violin would be as marked as. that of the 80 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. virginals and a Broadwood trichord grand. That there were instruments in very early times having much in common with the Violin is not to be doubted; but I cannot but think it is necessary to keep them apart from the instrument known to us under that name, if confusion is to be in any way avoided. The attach- ment of different names to one and the same instru- ment arises chiefly from the uncertainty of the meaning of their nomenclature in English poetry and chronicles. The confusion of titles to bowed instruments which appears among the old writers, has been greatly intensified by the laudable endea- vour of the musical historian to reconcile this nomen- clature with divers pieces of sculpture and monu- mental brasses, upon which some rude-shaped bowed instrument has been depicted, without making suffi- cient allowance for the looseness of description on the part of the poet, and the licence indulged in by the sculptor. There are no instruments in existence to my knowledge of fifteenth century work in England of the bowed kind, therefore all knowledge of them rests on this unstable foundation. That a bow was in use in England at a very early date is evident from Saxon Illuminated MSS. in the British Museum, in which musicians are represented playing upon a pear-shaped instrument with sound- holes, resembling a lute, the neck being only sufficiently large to admit of the hand. This instrument appears slightly in advance of one played without a bow, and possibly it was so constructed to be used with or THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. 8 1 without, for no bridge is represented ; now between this instrument and one represented on a Flemish brass in St. Margaret's Church, Lynn, of the time of Edward III., there is no apparent difference except- ing that the neck is longer; but some allowance must be made for the liberties the draughtsman may have taken with the original. This seeming length may have been but slight indeed, and the surmise is strengthened when we turn to the bowed instrument the minstrel is playing in the group called the " Beverley Minstrels " in Beverley Minster, the date of which would be probably, very near the time of Edward IV. Here the sculptor has apparently the same instrument, but the neck shortened. There can be little doubt it was to this instrument and the Crwth the -words Fidel, Fiddyll, and Crowd, met with in old English poetry, applied. Among the bowed instruments at this period was also the Rebec or Rebella ; here again it appears impossible to decide the shape this instrument took. It has been described as a bowed instrument of three strings, shaped like a box, of oblong form, and again we see it drawn with a long neck with four strings, somewhat resembling an old English guitar in shape. That the instrument was distinct from the Fiddyll of the old writers is shown from the following extract : — " Sir Piere called this yonge squier, and saide unto hym and axed hym ' where was his Fedylle or his ribible.'" These bowed instruments I have enumerated G 82 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. appear to be those only in use in England in the fifteenth century, and we are able to form a tolerably correct opinion of their capabilities from the slight and uncertain descriptions afforded us, when joined with historical facts relative to the extent of musical knowledge at the time they were in use. They were frequently bridgeless, and even when that all impor- tant appendage was added, it could have been of little use, the form of the bodies of the instruments making it impossible to use the outer strings singly, from the absence of middle bouts,* therefore the strings must have been sounded together, with what effect the reader may easily imagine. It must be remembered notation had not been applied to musical instruments, and the performer was left to exercise his own judgment as to the form of accompaniment he used. It would be a severe test of executive skill for a Violinist of the present age to have to invent an effective accompaniment with a bridge unarched. That the musicians of King Edward's day succeeded in doing so under the then existing state of music, would be difficult to realise. It now only remains to briefly notice the wind instruments. There were trumpets of many kinds — the Shalm, a pipe with a reed ; the Sackbut — a primitive description of trombone — numbers of which were frequently used together, and other instruments of this class it is unnecessary to men- tion in these pages. That drums were not * Sides or curves in the middle of the instrument. THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. 83 wanting need scarcely be said, both small and kettle. These, then, were the chief instruments belonging to this period; although music was in an infantile state, we cannot conceive it possible that the inhabitants of these islands in the fifteenth century could have derived any pleasure from listening to a combination of the instruments I have enumerated. The mode of use was probably to select sound mediums having something in common. For processions drums and sackbuts ; for the dance the bowed instruments or the pipes ; for the minstrel's song or tale, the harp or psaltery ; but whatever may have been their method of selection the term they applied to a band, namely, a " noise,"* it must be confessed was not in- appropriate from a modern point of view. * In the "History of Jack of Newbury" "a noise {i.e. band) of musicians in townie coats, who, putting off their caps, asked if they would have music." G 2 kction IH.— ^he Uwl in: (Englanb. CHAPTER II. ^pOWARDS the end of the fifteenth century the term minstrel had lost much of its original signi- fication ; it was applied not only to the degenerate minstrels,, poets, and harpers, but to instrumentalists, from the drummer to the performer on the sackbut. This was an innovation upon the integrity of the ancient craft which unmistakably pointed to its deca- dence. In the reign of Edward II. the character of the minstrel had much changed since it was necessary to institute a regulation to prevent " idle persons under colour of minstrelsy going messages or other feigned business, being received in other men's houses to meate and drynke." That it was possible to mistake the counterfeit for the original alone indi- cates the fallen state of the art at that period. Its degradation continued, notwithstanding this regula- tion, down to the date of King Edward I V.'s charter, which was granted to prevent husbandmen and artificers from assuming the title and livery of the king's minstrels. THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. 85 It was, however, too late to attempt to resuscitate the craft by giving it that exclusiveness which had in times past belonged to it. Those who had assumed the title of minstrel were too many and too strong to be extinguished; numbers had been received in the halls of the rich upon an equality with the licensed minstrel ; among others the " wayte," whose duty it was to " pipe watch "* at night in the court- yard of the castle, and at every chamber door at stated intervals. This familiar intercourse with the recognised members of minstrelsy not only bred con- tempt in the mind of the hitherto humble musician, but affected all equally, resulting in complete dis- regard of distinction between minstrels and itine- rants. I shall have occasion to refer to the wan- dering members of minstrelsy, which calling seems to have originated with the men who "piped the watch, and were designated waytes." The political connection that existed between Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and Edward IV. and which led to the triumph of the white rose over the red, I am inclined to regard as having been productive of results of much consequence to music in England. It brought our people into closer relationship with the Lowlanders, among whom the arts had been more developed than elsewhere, and thus an impetus was given to them in England, particularly that of music— the full effects of which fell upon a later generation. Our minstrelsy from * The Wayte used a kind of Oboe. 86 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. the time of the Conquest to the period when Edward IV. held the sceptre in security, must certainly have been more or less influenced by that of France, and doubtless with good results; but our fraternising with the Lowlanders engrafted a new and higher knowledge of music on the sturdy Saxon stem. Five years prior to the date of the minstrels' charter, King Edward sent into the Low Countries a commission to negotiate a commercial treaty with the Duke of Burgundy. One of the members of this commission was William Caxton : whether any treaty was ratified or not we need not stay to enquire. It is sufficient to know that the king in sending the city mercer on this errand secured to his people and their posterity advantages out-weighing all the good derived from the commercial treaties of the whole world, since it was at Bruges where Caxton commenced printing, after having studied the art with great assiduity during his stay abroad. Upon his return to England he started his printing press in the Almonry at Westminster, and printed the first book in England — " The Game and Playe of Chesse," in 1474. It was not long before Caxton had others following in his wake. Among these was Wynkyn de Worde, the earliest printer of musical characters in this country. In a work published by him at Westminster, one year after Caxton printed the book on the game of chess, are the characters alluded to. THE VIQL IN ENGLAND. 87 In order to bring under the notice of the reader the first printer of music in England, I have, perhaps, journeyed away from my subject in re-stating well- worn facts relative to William Caxton. My excuse is simple. The name of Wynkyn de Worde is as familiar to the Bibliomaniac as that of Corelli to Violinists ; but to mention him alone in connection with the art of printing, I felt would leave him but barely clad in the minds of many musical readers: in associating him as a contemporary and follower of Caxton, he is readily invested with a warm covering of interest. When it is remembered that the early printers in England only printed such books as would be likely to appeal to the taste of the general reader, whose knowledge was of a very slender kind, it is unlikely the presses printed much music in type which must have alone found favour with the learned. No musical work is known to have been issued by Wynkyn de Worde until 1530, though he possessed the requisite knowledge thirty- five years previous to this date, as we have seen. It is a small volume of part-songs designed for social recreation, both sacred and secular,* and well marks the state of music at this period. * Dr. Rimbault makes the following reference to this work in his " Musical Bibliography." "This extraordinary Musical Work has escaped the researches of Hawkins, Burney, Ames, Herbert, Dibdin, &c. It was first noticed by Douce. ' Illustrations of Shakspeare,' edit. 1839, p. 262." 88 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. With the reign of Henry VII. we catch a glimpse of a higher development of music in England. Dr. Fayrfax, William of Newark, Cornyshe, and a few others composed music to popular poetry. Dr. Burney tells us these compositions were transcribed with much clearness, though, the time of the musical characters, from the absence of bars, and the use of ligatures with a mixture of red notes for diminution, is difficult to ascertain. Our author proceeds to inform us that the music of these ditties is somewhat uncouth, but it is superior to the poetry. It is at this period that we read of " Stryng Minstrels at Westminster " which must refer to players on Rebecs or Viols. There is also mention of the principal towns having each its own set of Waits, and the payments made to them for their services in making merry music as the king journeyed through the different townships. According to an old chronicler,* Henry VIII. exercised himself daily in shooting, dancing, wrestling, casting of the bar, playing the recorders (a kind of flageolet), flute, virginals, setting of songs, &c, &c. The four first-named diversions we will dismiss as void of interest to the reader, the remaining four on the contrary are worthy of our attention, showing, as they do, the better side of Bluff King Hal's disposi- tion ; but let us hearken to Pasqualigo, an ambas- sador at Henry's Court, who says : " He speaks * Sse Chappell's "Popular Music of the Olden Time." THE VIOL IN ENGLAND, 89 French, English, and Latin, and a little Italian, plays well on the Lute and virginals, sings from book at sight, draws the bow " (archer's, not Fiddler's) " with greater strength than any man in England, and jousts marvellously; believe me he is in every respect a most accomplished prince ; and I who ' have now seen all the sovereigns in Christendom, and last of all these two of France and England, might well rest content."* Opinions contemporary with the subject of them require to be received with caution, a neces- sity which is evidenced by the report of another ambassador, touching Henry VIII., who, in writing to, the Doge of Venice, said, " He (King Henry) plays almost every instrument and composes fairly, is prudent, and sage, and free from every vice." After weighing, however, the several independent judg- ments upon the king's musical abilities, and remem- bering that we have positive proof of his creative musical talent in the existence of a number of his compositions, we may safely come to the conclusion that Henry VIII. both loved and practised music, and in the words of John Playford "did much advance music in the first part of his reign, when his mind was more intent upon the arts and sciences," t * Hall (Chron. An. 2 Henry VIII.) Dr. Rimbault's "North's Memories," p. 75. t Introduction to the "Skill of Music," 1655. 90 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. The state band of Henry VIII. in the year 1526, consisted of the following instruments : — 3 Lutes. 1 Harp. ' 4 Drumslades. 2 Viols. 15 Trumpets. 1 Fife. 3 Rebecks. 3 Tabarets. 10 Sackbuts. It is worthy of note that the performers on the Sackbuts obtained the highest pay, tending to show that noise continued to be chiefly valued. As the Lute and the Viol made their appearance in England about the same period,* and curiously enough departed in company towards the end of the sixteenth century, I am unwilling to pass over some in- teresting particulars relative to the first-named instru- ment, though it has little in common with its bowed companion. Galileo, the father of the illustrious Galileo, writing in 1581 ascribes the invention of the Lute to the English,t and refers to the great per- fection we attained to in its manufacture. I am, however, inclined to think we obtained the instru- ment in the first instance from the Netherlands. The earliest mention of the instrument in the writings of our old authors is that in Chaucer's * The Lute is first mentioned in the List of Instruments belonging to the Earl of Northumberland, 15 12. The Viol in the band of Henry VI 1 1., 1526. t Galileo says the Trumpet was invented by the Netherlanders, we cannot, therefore, place much reliance on his statements as to the birth-place of instruments. THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. 9 1 *' Pardoner's Tale," and there we find it associated with the Flemish people. " In Flanders whilom was a campagnie Of yonge folk, that hauteden folie, As hazard not stewes and tavernes ; Whereas with Harps, Lutes, and Giternes They dance and play." It is somewhat curious that Galileo should have given us the credit of inventing the Lute, in the face of earlier evidence of the instrument's use among his own people than with the English. The famous painter Domenico was a Lutenist, and the fact is associated with his untimely death. It is recorded in the life of Castagno that the skill and reputation of his brother artist Domenico excited his jealousy, Castagno resolved to waylay and murder him. It was the custom of Domenico after his painting hours to stroll along the country roads singing and accom- panying himself with his Lute. Castagno, well knowing the habit of Domenico, followed and killed him, returning immediately afterwards to his own studio. He had not long arrived before he was told of the melancholy fate of Domenico, and returned to the spot where he laid and joined with the bystanders in their lamentations; The date of this occurrence is given as 1462, and therefore half a century earlier than the date of Henry VIII.'s list of instruments. There is, however, earlier evidence of the presence of the Lute in Italy than that above cited. 9 2 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. These references I believe to apply to a type of Lute preceding that in common use among the Germans and Lowlanders of the fifteenth century. I am unable to think otherwise than that the Lute was mainly developed in Germany, and that it passed into the Netherlands in its improved condition, from whence Italy and England obtained it as near as possible at the same period. That the English made Lutes of a superior kind afterwards seems certain, but that the Italians ultimately surpassed them may be assumed from the fact of Stradiuarius having given his attention to their manufacture. Izaak Walton, curiously though not inaptly, cites the Lute as illustrative of that sympathy of thought and vision which in these days is known as spiritual- ism and second sight. After giving an account of a vision that appeared to Dr. John Donne, he proceeds : " This is a relation that will beget some wonder ; and it well may, for most of our world are at present possessed of an opinion that visions and miracles are ceased. And though it is most certain that two Lutes being both strung and tuned to an equal pitch, and then one played upon, the other that is not touched being laid upon a table at a fit distance, will like an echo to a trumpet warble a faint audible harmony in answer to the same tune." The Lute was of several sizes, and of varied con- struction : originally it had eight strings. The small Lute was used frequently for instrumental music, the larger size for accompanying the voice. It occupied THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. 93 as a popular instrument, a position similar to that of the pianoforte of our time. Its practice was culti- vated by the rich and their dependents. Edward VI. played on the Lute, and reference is made thereto by Queen Catherine, in a letter to her daughter Mary, exhorting her to use her Lute. Again, in a com- munication to Thomas Cromwell, afterwards Earl of Essex, from his son's tutor, referring to the course of instruction he is taking, he says, " The residue of the day he doth spend upon the Lute and virginals."* Both the Lute and the Viol were hung on the walls of the barbers' shops in England ; but the latter instrument did not form part of the hairdresser's furniture until long after the Lute had done so. Ben Jonson, in one of his plays, wishes the barber "may draw his own teeth and add them to the Lute-string." The barber's shop in past times was resorted to by persons of all ranks and for many purposes. Here was practised dentistry, surgery,t and " trimming," as hair-cutting and shaving were then denominated. The barber's patrons awaiting their turn, musical instruments were supplied them to wile away the time. Thomas Mace, the author of " Musick's Monument," was a passionate lover of the Lute, and in his most interesting book he gives a very long account of this his favourite instrument. He * Froude's " History of England." Vol. 1, p. 49. f The barber's sign, the pole, represented the staff held by the patient whilst being bled, 94 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. speaks of the Lutes of Laux Mailer as having been most highly valued in his time, "pitiful, old, battered, cracked things valued at one hundred pounds apiece." Whatever the first cost of a Lute might have been, it must have been insignificant to its maintenance in catgut, if we may rely upon the accounts handed down to us relative to Lute-strings. It has been said keeping a Lute must have been on a par with keeping a horse. That the demand for Lute-strings was large is shown from the circumstance of the public being invited in the year 1688, to take shares in a company for the supply of the article, and the pro- jectors held out to the subscribers the hope of immense gains.* Whether the ever-confiding British public responded to the appeal I know not. Whilst on the subject of Lute-strings it may not be uninteresting to Violinists to know that the well- known practice of testing the purity of a gut string by holding it between the fingers of each hand and setting it vibrating is mentioned in probably the earliest book on the Lute, that of Adrian Le Roy, published at Paris in 1570. Although it would be easy to recount much that is entertaining in relation to this once favourite instrument, it is necessary to remember that our subject is the Viol and not the Lute ; but let us stay but a moment more to listen to Thomas Mace * Macaulay's " History of England." Vol. 4, p. 320. THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. 95 talking to his favourite instrument towards the close of its career : — Mace — " What makes thee sit so sad, my noble friend, As if thou wert, with sorrows, near thy end ? What is the cause, my dear renowned lute, Thou art of late so silent, and so mute ? Thou seldom dost in public now appear ; Thou art too melancholy grown, I fear." Lute— " What need you ask these questions why 'tis so ? Since 'tis obvious for all men to know, The world is grown so slight, full of new fangles ; And takes their chief delight in jingle-jangles ; With Fiddle-noises, pipes of Bartholomew, Like those which country wives buy, gay and new, To please their little children when they cry, This makes me sit and sigh thus mournfully." section KB.— "She IBitrl in Crnglani). CHAPTER III. TT is the presence of Viols in the band of Henry VIII. that mainly concerns us. We have become familiar with the mention of rebecks, shalmes, and psalteries in connection with early English music ; but now for the first time we meet with Viols. The advent of these instruments needs more than a passing word or two. Whence they came, and their history in England during some one hundred and fifty years, are questions we should like to be informed upon. In vocal music we had already gained a proud position, considering the infantile state of music throughout Europe, and it now remained to develop the instrumental branch of the art. That the Viol came to us from Italy I am un- able to believe. The respective dates upon which we may, with any semblance of certainty, rely as having any bearing upon the instrument, both in Italy and England, point to its being as early in use with us as with the Italians. The latter, doubtless, became makers of the Viol at a much earlier date than ourselves ; but it is its introduction here, not its THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. 9 J manufacture, we are now considering. In seeking the country whence the Viol came into England, it is necessary to inquire into the condition of the arts among the chief European nations at this period . and next consider the extent of our intercourse with these nations. We need not undertake that exceed- ingly difficult task in its entirety, but content our- selves with the results of the labours of others. We are told, " Italy, long conspicuous for such musical science and skill as the middle ages possessed, had fallen in the first part of the sixteenth century very short of some other countries, and especially of the Netherlands, from which the courts of Europe, and even the Italian princes, borrowed their performers and their instructors."* Again, it is said, in reference to the Low Countries, " The standard of culture in those flourishing cities was elevated, com- pared with those observed in many parts of Europe. The children of the wealthier classes enjoyed great facilities for education in all the great capitals. The classics, music, and the modern languages, particularly the French, were universally cultivated."! I can hardly over-estimate the value of this last extract in its relation to music, when the progress of the art among the different European nations is being- gauged, since it refers to a period a century earlier than that under consideration ; but it yet remains to notice the early cultivation of amusements of a * Motley's " Dutch Republic." t Hallam's " Literature of Europe." Vol. II., p. 252. H 98 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. rational nature among the Netherlanders, which led up to a pastime afterwards much practised by the English, namely, the masque, in which the Viol was not seldom used. As early as the year 1425, the Netherlanders had their tragedies, their charades, and feats of poetic skill. " They dramatised tyranny for public execration." " They ridiculed with their farces and their satires the vices of the clergy." Music had a share in most of these entertainments. In England at the same period we had a rude kind of play — the mystery — which had formerly been per- formed at wakes and fairs, in barns, taverns, and tap-rooms, but was now under the control of particular guilds. And now as to our intercourse with the Low Countries. I have already referred to Caxton's auspicious mission, undertaken in the year 1464, to bring about a commercial relationship between England and the Netherlands. Whatever may have been the result of that mission commercially, does not affect the fact that trade and inter- course between these nations had existed for a long period. Edward III., struck with the flourishing condition of the United Provinces, rightly concluded it was the result of industry and skilfulness among the artisans, and exerted himself to induce many Flemish workers to settle in this country. In the reign of Henry VIII. evidence is not wanting to show that our connections with the people of the Low Countries, both political and THE VIOL IN ENGLAND, 99 commercial, assumed a more important character than had hitherto attached to them. The events which led to the visit of the Emperor Charles V. to England need no mention here. It is sufficient for our purpose to know that he was met at Dover by his confidant, Cardinal Wolsey, and that Henry VIII. welcomed him with all the honours due to his station. That a visit which lasted but a few days, served to enlighten the English people upon the advanced state of music in the Netherlands, is not to be supposed, or that the subject occupied greatly the thoughts of the Emperor, the King, or the Cardinal. We may, however, assume that it led indirectly to musical results beneficial to us, re- membering the attachment to music shown by Henry VIII., Wolsey, and the Emperor. If we accept but a tithe of all that has been said of Charles V.'s love of music, there yet remains enough to give value to his association with the art. Sandoval, in his life of the Emperor, tells us " he was a great' friend to the science of music;" "that he knew if any other singer intruded, and if any one made a mistake ; " and relates that " a composer from Seville presented the Emperor with a book of motets and masses, and when one of these composi- tions had been sung, he called his Chancellor, and said, ' See what a thief ! What a plagiarist ! Why this passage is taken from one composer and this from another,' naming each as he proceeded. This display of musical knowledge on the part of the h 2 IOO THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Emperor reminds us of Napoleon's supposed feats of memory, when, inspecting his men after an engagement, he called them by their names, and praised them for their bravery, thus magnifying their deeds to themselves and their companions. It never occurred to their simple minds that their beloved Sfeneral obtained a list of the soldiers who merited praise and distinction. The Emperor Charles V., like Bonaparte, was a skilful general both in and out of the field, and contrived probably to make a somewhat superficial knowledge pass current as profound. We read of him as the greatest general of his age ; probably the greatest eater ; an all but canonized saint ; and, according to Sandoval, the foremost musical critic of his time. That his deeds entitle him to the two first distinctions, history abundantly shows. The pastime of the masque already referred to as having been popular in the Netherlands and France, was first introduced here at the Palace of Greenwich in 1512. Eight years later, we read of another being given in the same place. Bearing in mind the presence of the Viol in Henry's Court band, it is possible they were used as accompani- ments to the voice in these entertainments. Lord Bacon lightly touches upon the musical . arrange- ments of a masque : he tells us, " These things are but toys to come amongst such serious observations. But yet, since princes will have such things, it is better they should be graced with elegancy than THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. IOI daubed with cost. I understand it, that the song be in quire, placed aloft, and accompanied with some broken music,* and the ditty fitted to the device. Acting in song, especially in dialogues, hath an ex- treme good grace. I say acting, not dancing (for that is a mean and vulgar thing), and the voices of the dialogue should be strong and manly, a bass and a tenor ; no treble, and the ditty high and tragical, not nice or dainty. Several quires placed one over against another, and taking the voice by catches, anthemwise, give great pleasure."t Viols had evidently found their way into the houses of the wealthy, since Sir Thomas More, Wolsey's successor, an ardent lover of music, had the Viol used in his family, and, probably at an earlier date than the year of his succeeding to the Chancellorship in 1530. In the reign of Edward VI. we find the royal musical establishment had increased its Viols to eight, and reduced its sackbuts to six. This points to a reform in the right direction. Our interest in relation to-this state band is awakened by the names of several of its members, such as Philip Van Welder, Peter Van Welder, Bernard de Ponte, John Seuer- nicke, Oliver Rampons, Pier Guye, Anthony de Chounte, pointing directly to the influence of the musicians of the Low Countries ; but there- remains * " Broken music," Mr. Chappell, in his " Popular Music of the Olden Time," tells us, means " a string band." t Bacon's " Essays." 102 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. to notice a Netherlander, who visited our shores about this period, before whom a whole army of such as those mentioned in connection with Edward's musical establishment, sink into utter insignificance. It is to Orlando Lassus I refer. How long this great composer stayed with us, or what he did, is not known; we may, however, assume that the visit of such a truly great musician as Lassus could not have been otherwise than productive of important consequences to the furtherance of music in Eng- land. When it is remembered how much Orlando contributed to the school of Venetian Madrigal writings, it is scarcely possible he could have been in our midst without making us more or less familiar with this style of music, and mention of his name serves to bring under the reader's notice the progress of that delightful branch of musical composition in this country, forming, as it does, an important link in the history of the Viol. I have already referred to the first collection of compositions for social use, published in England by Wynkyn de Worde in 1530. The next collection appears to have been published in 1571, with the following curious title : " Songes of three, fower, and five voyces, composed and made by Thomas Whythorne, gent, the which songes be of sundry sortes, that is to say, some long, some short, some hard, some easie to be songe, and some "between both ; also some solemne, and some pleasant or merry; so that according to the skill of the THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. 103 singers (not being musitians) and disposition or delite of the hearers, they may here finde songes for their contentation and liking. Now newly published, Anno 1571." Both the words and music of this collection are described by Dr. Rimbault as truly barbarous. In 1588 was pub- lished Byrd's " Psalmes, Sonets, and Songes of Sadnes and Pietie." It is convenient in this place to refer to the ex- traordinary number of Netherlanders who made England their home in 1566, unable longer to exist in their native land under the tyrannizing government of Philip. It is said as many as thirty thousand Netherlanders established themselves at Sandwich, Norwich, and other places assigned to them by Queen Elizabeth ; and thus remarks one of their own his- torians, " Have the English built up their own fabrics." " Thus have they drawn over to their own country our skilful artisans to practice their industry." We thus appear to have received similar benefits to those which the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes afforded us with regard to the handicrafts of France more than one hundred years later. That this body of Netherlanders, coming from the home of domestic music, must have largely influenced its progress in England, hardly admits of doubt. As further evidence of our intercourse with the Low Countries, it may be mentioned that the merchant prince, Sir Thomas Gresham, both traded with them and spent much time there. When it 104 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. is remembered that Sir Thomas Gresham was a great patron of music — proved in his founding a Music Professorship— it can scarcely be doubted that he introduced much that was musically new to England from those parts. The information I have given in the foregoing pages relative to the Viol, from the time of its appearance in the band of Henry VIII., points to its progress in England having been similar to that which it made in the Low Countries. The entertainments, long associated with the people of those parts, were numbered with the pastimes of the English. Musicians bearing Dutch-sounding names have been mentioned as having landed on our shores, which, taken together with the evidence of the existence of a political and commercial intercourse, strengthens me in the opinion I have formed, that from the Low Countries we obtained the Viol in ,the shape it took when connected with the madrigal. Section II.— Ihe Biol in (England CHAPTER IV. HPOWARDS the close of the sixteenth century we seem to have completely awoke to a sense of Italian musical art. Our progress towards it had probably been more rapid than that of either France or Germany, and had its recognition been longer delayed it would have appeared unaccountable at this distance of time. In 1588 was issued the first collection of Italian Madrigals translated into English, edited by Nicholas Yonge,* with the following preface, which throws some light upon the state of music in the latter part of the sixteenth century. " Since I first began to keep house in this city, it has been no small comfort to me, that a great number of gentlemen and merchants of good accom- paniment (as well of this realm as of foreign nations), have taken in good part such entertainment of pleasure as poor ability was able to afford them, both by the exercise of Music daily used in my house, and by furnishing them with books of that * Burney describes Yonge as a city merchant. 1 06 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. kind yearly sent me out of Italy and other places ; which being for the most part Italian songs, are for sweetness of air very well liked of all ; but most in account with them that understand that language. As for the rest, they do either not sing them at all, or at the least with little delight. And albeit there be some English songs lately set forth by a great master of music, which for skill and sweetness may content the most curious ; yet because they are not many in number, men delighted with variety, have wished more of the same sort ; for which cause chiefly I have endeavoured to get into my hands all such English songs as were praiseworthy ; and amongst others I had the happiness to guide in the hands of some of my good friends certain Italian madrigals, translated, most of them, five years ago, by a gentleman for his private delight (as not long before certain Napolitans had been Englished by a very honourable personage, and now a Coun- sellor of State, whereof I have seen some, but never possessed any)," &c. We here get a glimpse of the private musical parties in the reign of Elizabeth. In order to obtain additional light we must turn to a foreign source. Doni published at Venice in 1544 his " Dialogue of Music," a work already referred to in the section on the Viol in the Netherlands. In the first part of the Dialogue the voices are unaccompanied. In the second conversation, instruments are joined to the voices. That the Viol was used by the THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. I07 singers of madrigals in England in the latter part of the sixteenth century, may be assumed, and therefore Doni's description serves to inform us as to how they were utilised. Instrumental music for the chamber at this period did not exist. The Viol either accompanied the voice in unison, or the performer played the voice part alone. We have an instance of the use of the Viol at this period which is connected with an important political event, that of the signing of a famous treaty at the Palace of Nonesuch at Greenwich in 1596. Three peers of the realm waited upon the French Ambassador, and escorted him and his suite in seventeen royal coaches to the Tower ; seven splendid barges then conveyed them along the Thames to Greenwich. " In the midsummer twilight the brilliantly decorated barges were again floating on the historic river, the gaily-coloured lanterns lighting the sweep of the oars, and the sound of the Lute and Viol floating merrily across the water."* It was not until 1597 that the titles to madrigals and songs had any reference upon them to the Viol da Gamba. In that year appeared "The First Booke of Songes or Ayres of foure parts, with Tablature for the Lute. So made that all the partes together, or either of them severally, may be song to the Lute, Orpherion, or Viol da Gamba. Com- posed by John Dowland, Lutenist and Batchelor of Musicke in both Universities. Also an invention * Motley's " The United Netherlands." Vol. III., p. 384. 108 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. by the said Author for two to play upon one Lute. Printed by Peter Short, dwelling on Bread Street Hill at the signe of the Starre, 1597. The composer of this book of songs was a musician of considerable reputation. Anthony Wood went so far as to say "He was the rarest musician, that his age did behold," in the utterance of which he over-stepped the bounds of truth by a long way. Dowland, however, lives not alone in the pages of gossiping Wood ; his name is found entwined in Shakspeare's verse : Dowland to thee is dear, whose heav'nly touch, Upon the Lute doth ravish human sense, Spenser to me, whose deep conceit is such, As passing all conceit needs no defence." In another book of songs composed by John Dowland, and printed in the year 1600, is included " An excellent lesson for the Lute and Bass Viol, called Dowland's Adew." To the same year belong Thomas Morley's Canzonets, or short songs to sing and play to the Lute with the Bass Viol. In 1599, Morley edited " Consort lessons made by divers exquisite authors for six different instruments to play together, viz., the treble Lute, pandore, cithern, Bass Viol, flute, and treble Violl." To this period belongs the earliest music for the Viol, published in England without voices, which is that of Anthony Holborne, dated 1599, consisting of pavans, allemands, &c. Between 1603 and 1609, Dowland printed a work THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. 109 in five parts for Lute and Viols, named " Lacrimae ; or, Seven Teares figured in seven passionate Pavans, with divers other Pavans, Galliards, and Almands." The works already mentioned sufficiently evidence the new condition of the Viol in England at this date, without lengthening the list. If the reader wishes to extend his knowledge of such works, he cannot do better than look into Dr. Rimbault's "Bibliotheca Madrigaliana," and Mr. Chappell's " Music of the Olden Time." The following lines of Drayton's, printed in 16 1 3, throw much light upon the instruments in use at the close of the sixteenth century : — " When now the British side scarce finished their song, But th' English, that repin'd to be dela/d so long, All quickly at the hint, as with one free consent, Struck up at once and sung, each to the instrument (Of sundry sorts that were, as the musician likes) On which the practic'd hand with perfect'st fmg'ring strikes, Whereby their height of skill might liveliest be exprest, The trembling Lute some touch, some strain the Viol best, In sets that there were seen, the music wondrous choice Some, likewise, their affect the Gamba with the voice. To shew that England could variety afford, Some that delight to touch the sterner wiry chord, The Cithern, the Pandore, and the Theorbo strike The Gittern and the Kit the wand'ring Fiddlers like, So were there some again, in this their learned strife, Loud instruments that lov'd, the Cornet and the Fife, The Hoboy, Sackbut deep, Recorder, and the Flute ; E'en from the shrillest Shawm into the Cornamute, Some blow the Bagpipe up, that plays the Country Round ; The Tabor and the Pipe some take delight to sound." I IO 1HE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Upon the accession of James I. to the English throne, instrumental music was further developed by the frequent performance of court masques. Roger North tells us, " The music at these masques (as must be supposed) was of the airy kind, with as much variety and novelty as could be contrived to please the Court, and among other conceits there was a consort of twelve Lutes, which must needs be (in our dialect) very fine and pretty. The enter- tainments consisted of consorts, singing machines, short dramas, familiar dialogues, &c, wherein the younger quality had no small share, and taking the whole together, and excepting the advantage of a single voice or two, these diversions were not inferior to our operas." These entertainments at the Court of St. James's, as with the French, were the precursors of opera in England, and belong to the chain of dramas which completed the union of poetrv and music on our stage. Whether James I . gave encouragement to music from any love he himself had for the art matters little ; we have the fact that his children were taught music, and that Prince Charles attained to a considerable degree of pro- ficiency on the Viol da Gamba, under his master, John Coperario, an Englishman, who, having resided in Italy some time, returned to his native land with his name Cooper Italianised. I am inclined to think much of the future development of playing the Viol da Gamba in England had its foundation in Coperario introducing a knowledge THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. 1 1 r of the instrument from abroad, superior to any we then possessed. He composed a set of Fancies for his royal pupil, the original manuscript of which is said to be in existence. It was doubtless to these Fancies that Playford alludes, when speaking of Charles I.'s skill in music : " He could play his part exactly well on the Bass-Viol, especially of those incomparable Fancies of Mr. Coperario to the organ." It is interesting to know, upon the authority of Dr. Rimbault, that this first great English professor of the Viol da Gamba composed the celebrated song, " Mad Tom," erroneously attributed to Purcell. To Coperario is attributed the adaptation of Lute tablature to the Viol, which system was known as " Lyra way," hence Lyra Viol. This is clearly an error, since the Italians used it a hundred years before Coperario's time. That he first applied it in England is possible and probable. To attempt to describe the construction and mode of playing instruments no longer in use, in a manner which shall at once be entertaining and instructive, would end as all such attempts have invariably done, in confusion, when technicalities have to be explained. History in rhyme is curious and, perhaps, entertaining, but terribly misleading, and so are sciences made easy ; nevertheless, to leave the reader without information as to the mode of playing Viols in England at this period, would leave him without any idea at all approach- 112 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. ing correctness as to their merits. I will, therefore, hasten to administer the medicinal information in as agreeable a manner as possible. In an Italian work, entitled " Delia Prattica Musica, vocale et strumentale," by Scipione Cerreto, published in 1601, mention is made of the Viola da Gamba as an instrument proper to accompany the voice in singing. The system of notation, common to the Italians, was by figures, which method had been in use among them certainly more than a century prior to the date of Cerreto's publication. In another place I have given an example of this tablature. The Spaniards also used figures, whilst the French notation was by letters of the alphabet. Galileo explains, in a book published at Venice in 1583, the Italian tablature, which is identical with that of the French as set forth by Adrian Le Roy in his work on the Lute, published at Paris in 1570. This work was translated and published in England in 1574, by John Kingston; earlier information, however, relative to tablature, is found in the Musurgia of Ottomarus Luscinius, published at Strasburgh in 1536. The system, whether by figures or letters, was briefly this ; each string had its stave line, therefore a seven-stringed Viol needed a stave of seven lines, lettered or figured, at the points of which the finger was made to stop the note, the instrument being, of course, tuned in accordance with such fingering. The mode of indicating the time in this notation was by THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. \ I 3 placing above each figure or letter characters answering to our quavers and crotchets, &c, but detached as in the early ordinary notation, for it was not until long after that crotchets and quavers were set forth in groups. Between the time that Coperario applied this notation to the Viol in England, and the date of publication of Simpson's Division Viol, published in 1665, there does not appear to have been issued any book treating at length of the Viol. Roger L'Estrange, the licenser of the period, an ardent lover of the Viol da Gamba — of whom we shall have more to say later — addresses the reader in a second edition of Simpson's book, saying, " It bears for title, " The Division Viol ; or the Art of Playing Extempore upon a Ground ; " and it does certainly answer that pretence, both for matter and method, to the highest point of reasonable expecta- tion. And yet I cannot so properly call it the Best, as (indeed) the only Treatise I find extant upon this argument." As regards actual shape and form there was no difference between a Lyra Viol, a Consort Viol, and a Division Viol, further than that they were increased or diminished in size as fancy dictated. These terms have reference to the music adapted to the instrument : to play the Gamba Lyra- way was simply to apply Lute tablature to the instrument, arranging the strings and frets accord- ingly. A Consort Viol was used with the ordinary notation. To apply the old custom of making divisions (variations on a theme or ground) to a 1 114 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Gamba was to play the Division Viol. For half a century this taste for "Division" had been increasing in England among Violists, and Simpson un- doubtedly did them good service in writing his book ; indeed, it reflects no little credit on their abilities that they should have done without it so long, for the demands of " Division " were not slight. The art of playing upon a ground needed both theoretical and executive skill. That Cavaliers and Roundheads should have met in all seriousness to perform extempore, that feat which Corelli in his Twelfth Solo, and Sebastian Bach in his Chaconne, performed pen in hand, is but again the verification of that time honoured line — " Fools rush in where angels fear to tread." An extract or two from Christopher Simpson's most interesting treatise will serve to show the technicalities of Division, and how much that is thought new is truly venerable. Of the instrument, Simpson says, " A Viol for Division, should be of something a lesser size than a Consort Bass." " It must be accommodated with six strings and with seven frets, like those of a Lute, but something thicker." His instructions as to holding the Viol, and the motion of the bow arm, are both curious and apt, and in some cases have not been departed from in the works of Romberg and Dotzauer : — " Being conveniently seated, place your Viol THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. 1 1 5 between your knees, so that the lower end of it may rest upon the calves of your legs, set the soles of your feet flat on the floor, your toes turned a little outward. When you are to set your fingers upon the strings, you must not grasp the neck of your Viol, but keep your thumb on the back of the neck, opposite to your forefinger, so that your hand may have liberty to remove up and down as occasion shall require. When you set any finger down, hold it on, and play the following notes with other fingers, until some occasion require the taking it off". This is done as well for better order of fingering, that the fingers may pass smoothly from note to note, without lifting them too far from the strings, as also to continue the sound of a note when the bow has left it," This rule Campagnoli made use of in his Violin instruction-book, nearly a century and a half later, and it holds good to the present day. Of the motion of the bow arm he says, " I told you before, you must stretch out your arm straight, in which posture (playing long notes) you will necessarily move your shoulder joint; but if you stir that joint in quick notes, it will cause the whole body to shake, which by all means must be avoided, as also any other indecent gesture. Quick notes, therefore, must be expressed by moving some joint nearer the hand, which is generally agreed upon to be the wrist." Further on, he enters upon the matter of taste in playing the Viol da Gamba. "It now remains, that in directing the 1 2 1 1 6 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. hand, I speak something concerning the gracing of notes, and tho' it depends much upon humour and imitation, yet I will try how far it may be delivered in words and examples : Gracing of notes is per- formed two ways, viz., by the Bow and by the fingers. By the Bow, as when we play loud or soft, according to our fancy, or the humour of the music. Again, this loud or soft is sometimes expressed in one and the same note, as when we make it soft at the beginning, and then (as it were), swell or grow louder towards the middle or ending. Some also affect a Shake or Tremble with the Bow, like the shaking stop of an organ ; but the frequent use thereof is not (in my opinion) much commend- able." Duport, Spohr, or Bailliot never to their pupils uttered words more to the purpose in reference to light and shade and good taste, than Christopher Simpson wrote in his book on the Viol in 1665 ; but let us listen to Simpson on the Shake. " Skaked Graces we call those that are formed by a shake or tremble of -a finger, of which there are two sorts, viz., close and open ; close-shake is that when we shake the finger as close and near the sounding note as possible may be, touching the string with the shaking finger so softly and nicely that it makes no variation of tone." " Open-shake is when a finger is shaked in that distance from whence it was removed, or where it is to be set down ; supposing the distance exceed not the wide- THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. 1 1 7 ness of two frets, for wider than that we never shake. Graces made with open shakes are these — a beat, a backfall, an elevation, a cadent, and a double rellish." It is enough for the reader to know that our author clearly explains his meaning of backfalls and double rellishes, together with beats and elevations, which were appoggiaturas of divers kinds. " Of these forementioned Graces," he pro- ceeds to tell us, " some are more rough and mascu- line, as your Shaked Beats and Backfalls; others more smooth and feminine, as your Close-shake and Plain Graces, which are more natural to the treble or upper parts. Yet when we would express love, courage, or cheerfulness upon the treble, we do frequently use both shaked beats and backfalls, as on the contrary, smooth and swelling notes when we would express sorrow, compassion, or the like." Part the Second of the " Division Viol" teaches the use of concords and discords. His " Reflections upon the Concords of Music " are curious and interesting : he remarks, " And here I cannot but wonder, even to amazement, that from no more than Three Concords (with some intervening dis- cords), there should arise such an infinite variety, as all the music that ever has been or ever shall be composed. And my wonder is increased by a consideration of the seven gradual sounds or tones, from whose various positions and inter- mixtures those concords and discords do arise> 1 1 8 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. The gradual sounds are distinguished in the scale of music by the same seven letters which in the calendar distinguish the seven days of the week ; to either of which, the adding of more is but a repetition of the former over again." " When I further consider the three sounds placed by the interval of a third one above another, do consti- tute one entire Harmony, which governs and com- prises all the sounds which by art or imagination- can, at once, be joined together in musical concor- dance, this I cannot but think a significant emblem of that supreme and incomprehensible Three in One, governing, comprising, and dis- posing the whole machine of the world with all its included parts, in a most perfect and stupendous Harmony." This ingenious and beautiful compari- son serves to display the inner man of the old Violist. To have been moved by such thoughts as these points to a reflective, moral, and religious character. Of Division, and the manner of performing it, Christopher Simpson says, " Diminution or Division to a Ground, is the breaking either of the Bass or of any higher part that is applicable thereto. A Ground, Subject, or Bass (call it which you please) is pricked (written) down in two several papers ; one for him who is to play the Ground upon an Organ, Harpsichord, or what other instrument may be apt for that purpose ; the other for him that plays upon the Viol, who, having the said Ground before his eyes, as his Theme or Subject plays such variety of THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. 1 1 9 Descant or Division in concordance thereto, as his skill and present invention do then suggest unto him. In this manner of play, which is the perfection of the Viol, or any other instrument, if it be exactly performed, a man may show the excellency both of his hand and invention, to the delight and admira- tion of those that hear him." Section F&.—Wxz Dtol in €nglanb. CHAPTER V. TT is to the pages of John Playford's book, -*• " An Introduction to the Skill of Music, we must now turn for further information on Viols. He tells us, " Of the Consort Viol there are three several sizes, one larger than the other, according to the Three Parts of Musick set forth in the gamut, viz., Treble- Viol, Tenor- Viol, and Bass- Viol. The Treble-Viol plays the highest part, and its lessons are pricked by the G clef. The Tenor- Viol or middle part by Mode of Tuning the Treble Viol. m rzl m m -si- Tenor Viol. m Viol da Gamba. m THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. 121 the C clef, and the Bass-Viol, which is the largest, by the F clef." It will here be seen that the Treble- Viol was an octave higher than the Bass-Viol. There must have been, however, intermediate Viols in use at an earlier date, judging from the compositions of several parts adapted to them, for when the practice of singing madrigals declined, Coperario, Jenkins, and others composed fancies (fantasias), in six parts answering to the number of Viols in a chest. Hawkins quotes Dr. Tudway, who describes a chest of Viols as " a large hutch with several apartments and par- titions in it ; each partition was lined with green baize to keep the instruments from being injured by the weather ; every instrument was sized in big- ness according to the part played upon it." In turning to the pages of "Musick's Monument," by Thomas Mace, who was an enthusiastic lover of music, and one of the Clerks of Trinity College, Cambridge, we find many interesting particulars relative to Viols. He records that in the days of his youth, " we had for our grave musick fancies of three, four, five, and six parts to the organs,, interposed now and then with some Pavins, Allmaines, solemn and sweet delightful ayres, all of which were so many pathetical stories, rhetorical and sublime discourses, subtle and acute argumentations, so suitable and agreeing to the inward, secret, and intellectual faculties of the soul and mind, that to set them forth according to their 122 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. true praise, there are no words sufficient in language ; yet what I can best speak of them, shall be only to say, that they have been to myself and many others, as divine raptures powerfully captivating all our unruly faculties and affections for the time, and dis- posing to solidity, gravity, and a good temper, making us capable of heavenly and divine influences. The authors of such like compositions have been divers Englishmen and Italians, some of which, for their very great eminency and worth in that par- ticular faculty I will name here, viz., Mr. Alfonso Ferabosco, Mr. John Ward, Mr. Lupo, Mr. White, Mr. Richard Deering, Mr. William Lawes, Mr. John Jenkins, Mr. Christopher Simpson, Mr. Coperario, and one Monteverde, a famous Italian author." He then proceeds to tell us that these compositions were " performed upon so many equal and truly-sized Viols, and so exactly strung, tuned, and played upon as no one part was any impedi- ment to the other." Our quaint old author later tenders his advice regarding the selecting of Viols. " Your best provision and most com- plete will be a good chest of Viols, six in number, viz., two Basses, two Tenors, and two Trebles, all truly and proportionably suited. Of such there are no better in the world than those of Aldred, Jay, Smith, yet the highest in esteem are Bolles and Ross ; one Bass of Bolles I have known valued at ^"ioo. These were old, but we have now very excellent workmen, who, no doubt, can work as THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. 1 23 well as those, if they be so well paid for their work as they were. Yet we chiefly value old instruments before new ; for by experience they are found to be far the best." " If you cannot procure an entire chest of Viols, suitable, &c, endeavour to pick up, here or there, so many excellent good odd ones, as near suiting you as you can, every way, viz., both for shape, wood, colour, &c, but especially for size. And to be exact in that, take this certain rule, viz., let your Bass be large. Then your Trebles must be just as short again in the string, viz., from bridge to nut, as are your Basses, because they stand eight notes higher than the Basses, therefore as short again ; for the middle of every string is an eighth. The Tenors in the string just so long as from the bridge to F fret, because they stand a fourth higher than your Basses, therefore so long. Let this suffice to put you into complete order for Viols either way ; only note, that the best place for the bridge is to stand just in the three-quarter dividing of the open cuts (sound holes) below, though most, most errone- ously, suffer them to stand too high, which is a fault." " And now to make your store more amply complete, add to these three full-sized Lyra Viols, there being most admirable things made, by our Very best masters for that sort of musick, both consort- wise and peculiarly for two or three Lyres. " Let them be lusty, smart-speaking Viols ; because that in consort they often retort against the Treble, imitating, and often standing instead of that part, I 24 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. viz., second Treble. " They will serve likewise for Division- Viols very properly, and being thus stored, you have a ready entertainment for the greatest prince in the world." This curious account furnishes us with a theoretical knowledge of Viols, and shows our author to have been possessed of an enquiring mind, and fully alive to their merits. Although it would, perhaps, be easy to cite many other interesting references to the English Viol, space and the patience of the reader render it necessary to bring this section to a close with a brief notice of the Viol in social life. From the days of Elizabeth — when, according to Thomas Morley, it was the custom after supper to bring forth the madrigal parts, to fail to read which at sight was sufficient to excite amazement and wonder as to how such (madrigally) ignorant persons could have been " brought up " — to the time of the Restoration, social music continued to advance, excepting when puritanical principles exer- cised their tyrannising influence over the delights and recreations of the people ; and even then it flourished by stealth. When the decline of the madrigal in England began, the practice of the Viol among the gentry became very general. It was not, however, until it was recognised at the Palace of St. James's that we find so many notabilities deriving pleasure from Viol -playing. We get a glimpse of this amateur musical interest in more than one of the sets of compositions, written and THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. I 25 published about this period. In 1606, one Richard Alison, who subscribed himself "gentleman and practitioner'" in music, published a set with the following title: "An H owre's "Recreation in Musicke, apt for instrumentes and voyces, framed for the delight of gentlemen and others which are wel affected to that qualitie ; all for the most part with two trebles, necessarie for such as teach in private families." Then follows an evident allusion to the Gunpowder Plot, " with a prayer for the long pre- servation of the King and his posteritie, and a thanksgiving for the deliverance of the whole estate from the late conspiracie." In 16 14 Sir William Leighton, " one of his Majesty's honourable band of gentlemen pensioners," published " Teares ; or, Lamentations of a Sorrowfull Soule," set for divers instruments and voices. Among the principal amateur performers on the Viol da Gamba, Sir Roger L'Estrange stands out in, bold relief. His character, painted by the historian "as ferocious and ignoble,"* strangely contrasts with that we invariably find belonging to musicians. Ferocity and music, musically speaking, is a false relation barbarously discordant. It is, however, Sir Roger's connection with the Viol with which we have to do, and not with his party spirit. Allusion has already been made to his " Address to the Reader," in Simpson's book on the Viol. This is not the only evidence of his interest in music, for * Macaulay. 126 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. we find him foremost among the admirers of that first of English concert givers, Thomas Britton; and it is even said that to Sir Roger the musical club presided over by the small-coal-man owed its existence. He was also frequently at the music meetings held at the house of John Kingston, organist to Oliver Cromwell, where, upon one occasion, he earned for himself a title which caused him some amount of displeasure. It is scarcely needed to remind the reader that party spirit was above proof at this period, and made even social music gatherings inflammable. This being so, we cannot wonder that a Royalist performing on his Viol de Gamba in the house of Cromwell's organist, should alarm his friends. It happened that while so engaged, Cromwell — who was a great lover of music — entered the room. Cromwell's presence not causing Sir Roger to instantly quit the chamber, the Cavaliers dubbed him Oliver's Fiddler. That he had not shaken off the name in 1683, is shown from a pamphlet printed in that year, entitled, "The Loyal Observator; or, Historical Memoirs of the Life and Actions of Roger the Fidler." In a pamphlet entitled, " Truth and Loyalty Vindicated," published in the year 1662, Sir Roger says : — " Mr. Edward Bagshaw will have it that I frequently solicited a private conference with Oliver, and that I often brought my Fiddle under my cloak to facilitate my entry. Surely this Edward Bagshaw 7 HE VIOL IN ENGLAND, \2J has been pastor to a Gravesend boat ; he has a vein so right ; a Fiddle under my cloak ? Truly my Fiddle is a Bass Viol, and that's somewhat a trouble- some instrument under a cloak. 'Twas a great oversight he did not tell my lord to what company (of Fiddlers) I belonged. Concerning the story of the Fiddle, this I suppose might be the use of it. Being in St. James's Park, I heard an organ touched in a little low room of one Mr. Hickson's. I went in and found a private company of some five or six persons. They desired me to take up a Viol, and bear a part. I did so, and that a part too, not much to advance the reputation of my coming. By-and- bye, without the least colour of a design or expecta- tion, in comes Cromwell. He found us playing, and as I remember, so he left us."* Thus we see Sir Roger, upon his own showing, did not allow his Royalism in any way to interfere with his music which, from a musical point of view, was very commendable. We also recognise his anxiousness to clear his character from the stain of being a votary of the Fiddle, for be it remembered that instrument of instruments was looked upon as essentially vulgar in Cromwellian times, as we shall presently discover. I have now but to add my last note in reference to Sir Roger L'Estrange, which is, according to Jesse's Memoirs of London, that he lies buried in St. Giles's. * Chappell's " Music of the Olden Time." 128 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Church, where, in the middle pillar on the north side of the column may be seen — " Sir Roger L'Estrange, Knt., Born 17th December, 1616, Died nth December, 1704. Anno ^Etatis Suae 89." That worthy notability, Sir Henry Wotton, was a Violist. In his life, by Izaak Walton, we have his will, wherein he says, " To the above-named Dr. Bargrave, Dean of Canterbury, I leave all my Italian books not disposed of in this will. I leave to him likewise my Viol da Gamba, which hath been twice with me in Italy, in which country I first -contracted with him an unremovable affection." Pepys seems to have played both the Fiddle and the Viol, from the references he makes to these instruments in his immortal Diary. On the 3rd of December, 1660, he "rose by candle-light and spent his morning in Fiddling till it was time to go to the office," and on the 21st of November in the same year, he tells us, " At night to my Violl (the first time that I have played on it since I came to this house), in my dining-room, and afterwards to my Lute there, and I took much pleasure to have the neighbours come forth into the yard to hear me." Lord Keeper North, the author of the "Memoirs of Musick," a book I have so frequently noticed, was in his youth a great Violist, besides possessing a theoretical knowledge of Music. Having mentioned a few of the Viol's votaries, I THE VIOL IN ENGLAND. 1 29 •cannot refrain from giving the reader the opinion of a most eminent hater of the instrument, Henry Purcell. An intimate friend of Purcell's, one Subdean Gosling, played on the Viol da Gamba, and, to vex the subdean, Purcell instructed a poetaster to write the following mock eulogium on his friend's favourite instrument, which he set in the form of a round for three voices : — " Of all the instruments that are, None with the Viol can compare : Mark how the strings their order keep With a whet, whet, whet, and a sweep, sweep, sweep. But above all this still abounds With zingle, zingle, zing, and a zit, zat, zounds." X kztxon IB.— ^he ltd tit Italg. CHAPTER I. "TT was in Italy that the essential qualities which distinguish the modern from the mediaeval world was developed. Italy created that new spiritual atmosphere of culture and of intellectual freedom which has been the life-breath of European races ; as the Jews are called the chosen people of Divine Revelation, so may the Italians be called the chosen and peculiar vessels of the prophecy of the Renaissance. In art, in scholarship, in science, in the mediation between antique culture and the modern intellect, they took the lead, handing to Germany, and France, and England the restored humanities complete."* It would be difficult to find, throughout the many volumes which have appeared from time to time, relative to Italy's part among the arts and sciences, a more appropriate passage than the above to illustrate the extent and character of the work achieved by that nation in the art of music. The distinction between mediaeval and modern culture is * Symonds' " Renaissance in Italy," 1875, P- 33- THE VIOL IN ITALY. 131 well marked, and the exact position taken up by the Italians clearly defined. It has often been the endeavour of the musical historian to make Italy the one and sole point from whence all progress emanated, frequently perverting history to give colour to cherished theories and prejudiced opinions : much of this has doubtless arisen from the fact of Italy having taken the lead in the restoration of polite letters. It does not follow, however, that because her people rescued the forgotten and abandoned manuscripts of the Greek and Latin authors, they must necessarily have been alone instrumental in recovering the arts in general. As regards the art of music in particular, it must be remembered that, even though a very Poggio in music manuscripts had unearthed all the notes the Greeks and Romans ever penned, they could not possibly have charmed fifteenth century ears, neither was it practicable to assimilate the ancient and modern systems. This being so, there could not have been a Renaissance in music. The art as found in the fifteenth century was the outcome from a state of barbarism in distant ages, and not a re- creation. Sir William Temple has said, "It is 'agreed by the learned that the science of music so admired of the ancients is wholly lost in the world, and that what we have now is made up out of certain notes that fell into the fancy or observation of a poor friar, in chanting his matins, so as that the divine excellencies of music and poetry are grown, ic 2 I32 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. in a manner, to be little more but the one Fiddling and the other rhyming ; and are indeed very worthy the ignorance of the friar, and the barbarousness of the Goths that introduced them among us." # It is undeniable that the art of music was greatly benefited by the effects and surroundings of the Renaissance in Italy, though prior to the advent of Palestrina it was the advantage of refinement rather than that of creation. The Italians were, perhaps, deeper in the pit of ignorance at the beginning of the fourteenth century than their neighbours, and therefore less likely to concern themselves with the humanities. Hallam tells us, " the manners of the Italians were rude. A man and his wife ate off the same plate ; there were no wooden-handled knives, nor more than one or two drinking cups in a house. The pride of men was to be well provided with arms and horses ; that of the nobility to have lofty towers, of which all the cities of Italy were full." It must also not be for- gotten that when the Italians manifested such extra- ordinary zeal in the cause of art, it sprung from the courts, and not from the people as in the Netherlands and Germany. t * Sir William Temple's " Essay on Ancient and Modern Learning." f Burckhardt, in his " Civilisation of the Period of the Renaissance in Italy" Vol. IL, p. 154, remarks, "Out of Italy it was still hardly allowable for persons of consequence to be musicians ; at the Flemish Court of the young Charles V. a serious dispute took place on the subject. (See Hubert Leod. de Vita Frid. 1 1. , Palat. I., 1 1 1.) Henry VIII. of England is an exception, and also the German Emperor Maximilian, who favoured music as well as as all other arts. John Cuspinian in his 'Life of the Emperor' calls him, 'Musices singulari amator.'" THE VIOL IN ITALY. I 33 There were undoubtedly intances of intense art devotion among the princes of Italy, but on the other hand there was an extraordinary amount of display which fostered rivalry in the number of poets, painters, and musicians employed in connection with their courts, which renders it unsafe to conclude that the patronage bestowed upon the arts indicated exceptional knowledge on the part of all who encouraged them, or that exceptional skill by the nation at large is to be implied therefrom. Macaulay, writing of this period, says, "To collect books and antiques, to found professorships, to patronise men of learning, became almost uni- versal fashions* amongst the great." " Indeed, it would be difficult to mention an Italian of eminence during the period of which we speak, who, whatever may have been his character, did not at least affect a love of letters and of the arts." t Abreast of this craving for culture by the Italian despots was crime of the blackest dye. In their palaces, into which had been gathered the choicest fruits of all that was refined and elevating in art, lived a host of men who made assassination a profession. When we compare this state of social existence with the serene and peaceful lives led by the burgher classes of Germany and the Netherlands, upon which art — however crude — had shed its light for two centuries, we are better able to apportion the merit * The liberty of italicising is mine, f " Essay on Machiavelli." 134 THE VIOLIN AND ITS. MUSIC. belonging to each in the revival of art, and to distinguish antique culture from that " spiritual atmosphere of culture" created by the Italians. It would hardly be possible to over-estimate the marvellous achievements of the Italians in the arts and sciences ; but those nations which contributed to them must not be deprived of their just share of the work. In both music and painting the Italians acquired much from others, both at the dawn of the Renaissance and immediately afterwards. Their courts were teeming with foreign musicians, instruct- ing them in the art they themselves were so soon to ornament. In painting, although not so much dependent on foreign aid as in music, yet there is nevertheless evidence of foreign influence. It is recorded that the Duke of Urbino, one of their earliest art patrons, could not succeed in discovering among his countrymen a master worthy to execute his commissions, and that he sent to Flanders for one to paint the philosophers and poets of the time. This being so, it is well to remember though Italy had its Raphael, its Palestrina, and its Aldus, the Netherlanders had their Van Eycks, their Josquin, and the Germans their Gutenberg and Hofhaimer. In seeking for knowledge of the part played by the Viol in Italy, we need not begin with the Chant of Saint Gregory, but may pass over in silence seven centuries, which brings us to the days of Petrarch and Boccaccio. That the former was both a poet and musician is attested by his having THE VIOL IN ITALY. 1 35 bequeathed his "good Lute to Master Thomas Bambasio of Ferrara, that he may play on it, not for the vanity of a fleeting life, but to the praise and glory of the eternal God." At the coronation of Petrarch, in 1341, in accordance with the custom of honouring great ability, it is related there were " two choirs of music, one vocal and the other instrumental, employed in the procession, which were constantly singing and playing in turns in sweet harmony!'* This slight reference to harmony has been cited as implying progress in counterpoint and singing and playing in concert, t A slight glance at the instru- ments in the hands of the Italians even a century later than the time of the poet's coronation, strengthens me in the opinion that there could not possibly have been "sweet harmony" extracted from such a discordant family, or that counterpoint of the most infantile description could have been applied to such mediums of sound. The paintings of Filippo Lippi, Cosimo Tura, and Fra Giovanni Angelica, all of which belong to the fifteenth century, furnish many instances of the character, use, and manner of combining the instru- ments of that period. Setting aside the technical and confused nomenclature belonging to these instruments among different peoples, and adopting popular names, we find there were Psalteries of *Dr. Burners History, Vol. II., p. 337, quoting account published at Padua in 1549. t Dr. Burney. I36 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. various kinds, instruments which may be likened to a lyre, or a child's abacus without the balls. Tambourines in great variety, side drums, postillion's and huntsmen's horns, the pipes of Pan and other shepherds. Lutes, single, double and triple Flutes, and a rude corded instrument of varied form, played with a bow, from which a sustained droning sound was drawn. Upon comparing these sound-mediums with those in England in the reign of Edward IV., and bearing in mind that Burney has told us, " melody itself, the child of fancy, was still held in Gothic chains " in Italy, I am unable to discover that the Italians were musically less barbarous than ourselves at this period ; indeed it is not improbable that our minstrels from an artistic point of view may have claimed to rank first. The Decamerone of Boccaccio has long been regarded as a work in which the manners and customs of the Italy of his time have been faithfully delineated ; and doubtless this is mainly so ; but a loose description of a musical instrument is most misleading, and there is abundant evidence of the greatest authors and painters having had very misty notions concerning them in general, and of Viols in particular.* * In the Bible the translators have called the Nebel — which was a Hebrew instrument of the Harp kind — a Viol. Dr. Burney has even named the " Lira Grande " a Viol da Gamba ; in fact, with few exceptions, the whole family of corded instruments have answered to the name of Viol at different times among authors. THE VIOL IN ITALY. I 37 Boccaccio mentions in the Decamerone both the Lute and the Viol ; and Dr. Burney decides that the latter instrument was identical with that so much used in England two centuries later, relying evidently on the name alone. The bowed instruments of the Italians at this date were clearly very different to the Viol of the madrigal, whatever name it may have passed under. They were apparently mere boxes or sound chambers, shaped in endless variations of squares and triangles, and consequently deviated much from the curves a century and a half later. Section 1.— lite Wiol in Italy. CHAPTER II. A MONG the Princes of Italy at the time of the Renaissance, none equalled Lorenzo de Medici as an art patron ; his patronage was at once lavish, opportune, and judicious. Truly has it been said, '• everything great and excellent in science and art revolved round Lorenzo de Medici."* Though it does not appear that he was himself a musician, there is ample evidence of his interest in the art. He made himself the centre of an association entitled a School of Harmony ,t consisting of fifteen members, all of whom were men pledged to further music's cause. It was to the songs of Lorenzo that Heinrich Isaac set his music, and thus first joined the arts of poetry and music in a new and loftier sphere. The same early and highly gifted composer wrote the music to his patron's religious drama, "San Giovanni e San Paolo " for performance within the family circle of the Medici, and it was he who was * Burckhardt, "Renaissance of Italy," Vol. II., p. 157. f Roscoe's preface to his " Life of Leo X." THE VIOL m ITALY. 1 39 chosen by Lorenzo as the instructor in music to his children. At the festivals and the processions at Florence, Lorenzo evinced much interest in their organization, exerting himself to make them that which they had never before been, mediums for the education of the populace in much that pertained to art, frequently commissioning Francesco Granacci, the fellow-student of Michael Angelo, to superintend their preparation. Rightly was this accomplished, gifted, and generous art patron named "Magnificent." The gardens of his villa he appropriated for the reception of the long-hidden treasures of past ages collected by his family, and yet further enriched by himself. Here he instituted a School of Art, to which the greatest geniuses of the age flocked. I cannot withhold from the reader the following vivid and beautiful description of this spot and its associations : — " In a villa overhanging the towers of Florence," writes the austere Hallam, moved to more than usual eloquence by the spirit-stirring beauty of his theme, "on the steep slope of that lofty hill crowned by the mother city, the ancient Fiesole, in gardens which Tully might have envied, with Ficino, Landino, and Politian at his side, he delighted his hours of leisure with the beautiful visions of Platonic philosophy, for which the summer stillness of an Italian sky appears the most congenial accompaniment. As we climb the steep slope of Fiesole, or linger beneath the rose- trees that shed their petals from Careggi's garden T40 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. walls, once more in our imagination 'the world's great age begins anew ' ; once more the blossoms of that marvellous spring unclose. While the sun goes down beneath the mountain of Carrara, and the Apennines grow purple golden, and Florence sleeps beside the silvery Arno, and the large Italian stars come forth above, we remember how those mighty master spirits watched the sphering of new planets in the spiritual skies. Savanarola in his cell below once more sits brooding over the servility of Florence, the corrup- tion of a godless Church. Michael Angel o, seated between Ficino and Poliziano, with the voices of the prophets vibrating in his memory, and with the music of Plato sounding in his ears, rests chin on hand, and elbow upon knee, like his own Jeremiah, lost in contemplation, whereof the after-fruit shall be the Sistine Chapel and the Medicean tombs. Then, when the strain of thought, 'unsphering Plato from his skies,' begins to weary, Pulci breaks the silence with a brand-new canto of Morgante, or a singing boy is bidden to tune his mandoline to Messer Angelo's last made ballata!'* In this word-painting we have before us the world-famed gardens of Lorenzo de Medici, towards the close of the fifteenth century, with a few of the illustrious men who studied, and created, and spent there their leisure hours, feasting on refine- ment. It was the art-laden atmosphere of these gardens that Lorenzo's son Giovanni inhaled, and which he breathed anew as Leo X. upon his Roman * Symonds, " Revival of Learning." THE VIOL IN ITALY. 141 court — " a society to which the history of the world offers no parallel."* Before quitting Florence and the associations of the Medici, I must ask the reader to return once more to the descriptive scene of the gardens of Lorenzo, where Poliziano is seen seated beside Michael Angelo, for it was he who wrote the Orfeo in two days, and which forms the subject of the earliest represented drama, not of a religious character, in a modern language, and which has been called the first example of the Italian opera.t There yet remains to notice, in connection with the city of Florence, one of the most accomplished and gifted men of the age — painter, author, scientist, and musician — Leonardo da Vinci, whose extra- ordinary skill in every branch of art excited the admiration of all Italy. That Da Vinci was much interested in music admits of no doubt whatever, and he is said to have possessed great ability as an improvisatore. As at this period improvisation fulfilled all the requirements in connection with instrumental music, it is possible he was as musically learned as any Italian dilettante of his time. We will now turn to Ferrara, and the court of Hercules its Duke. Ferrara has been described as * Burckhardt. f Hallam, with his usual exactness, remarks, " Roscoe has called it the first example of the Musical Drama or Italian Opera ; but though he speaks of this as by general consent, it is certain that the Orfeo was not designed for musical accompaniment, except probably in the songs and chorus."—" Literature of Europe," Vol. I., p. 214. 142 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. the first really modern city in Europe where by the concentration of the official classes and promotion of commerce was formed for the first time a true capital, where wealthy fugitives from all parts of Italy, Florentines especially, settled and built their palaces.* In such a city music could not but be practised and advanced. Borso, Duke of Ferrara, was one of the most distinguished princes of his age : he was a great patron of the arts ; and they progressed rapidly during his rule ; his people being contented politically, they were free to give to them that attention and encouragement which was not always easy where the violence of parties and opinions was strongly felt as in other parts of Italy. It is, however, Hercules I., the successor of Borso, that awakens our interest. Like his predecessor, he was fond of the arts, but the circumstance cf music receiving more of his attention gives his name a foremost place in the musical records of his country. It was the court of Duke Hercules that the great Josquin honoured with his presence, and to that famous musician probably was owing much of its musical fame. A mass of Josquin's bears the title " Hercules dux Ferrariae," in which composition the terior singer has the subject, Re ut re ut re fa mi re, the vowels in these syllables corresponding with those in the words " Hercules dux Ferrariae." The apartments devoted to music in the Ducal Palace are described as having been singularly * Burckhardt. THE VIOL IN ITALY. 1 43 beautiful, and particularly the large hall where the concert was given. The arrangements were evidently of an admirable description ; nothing seems to have been wanting to render the music as perfect as its then infantile state (instrumentally) would permit. The Duke had in his service a great number of musicians, many of whom were foreign, an extensive musical library for that period, and special servants to attend to the music and the instruments. It is in connection with this court that we have probably the earliest instance of a collection of musical instruments being formed, for we are told the Duke had a museum in which was collected the musical contrivances of past ages. Whenever a concert was to take place, letters were despatched to the several performers selected by the Duke himself, to attend a rehearsal, which was repeated again and again until the music was executed to the satisfaction of the Duke and his director, Ippolito Fiorino.* Glancing at the instruments used at this court,, among them we find Flutes, Trumpets, Viols, Rebecs, Lutes, Harps, Cornets, Trombones, Cithares, Dulci- mers, &c, &c. The Viols here mentioned I can- not but think were among the first intsruments of their kind used in Italy, and that they were no other than the type of instrument made by Duiffo- prugcar, Dardelli, and others, and were of an altogether different form to those which have passed * Artusi's Account. 144 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. as Viols among the Italians at an earlier date. These are what I have called madrigal Viols. Now, although Duke Hercules had these instruments mentioned among others, we are not to conclude that they were all played at the same time. No composer or musical director was bold enough to arrange his music for such a medley of instruments in the fifteenth century, nor has such a daring feat been attempted since. There can be no doubt they were used as before described ; each class of instrument had its particular province of accompaniment, and if they ever were used together it could only have been in processions, where noise was needed rather than music. Leaving the court of Hercules, we will pass to that of Gonzaga, at Mantua, where the arts were much cultivated and encouraged. It was here that Jacques- Berchem, the Netherlander, passed thirty years of his life writing masses, motetts, and madrigals. It was here that Dardelli, the Viol- maker, italianised the Viol of the Mastersingers, and at Mantua the first sounds of these instruments were heard in the madrigals of Berchem and a few others. There yet remains to notice the crowning event in the musical history of old Mantua. At Cremona was born Claude Monteverde, in the year 1568, a period when Andrea Amati and his sons Antonius and Hieronymus were busy there with the art of Viol and Violin making. The Viol was the instrument that Monteverde delighted in, and THE VIOL IN ITALY. 1 45 he early became famous as one of the greatest players. The fame of Monteverde reaching the ears of Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, led to the engagement of the Violist by the Duke. This Duke Vincenzo, noted as a lover of music and the arts, is perhaps best remembered as having mur- dered his tutor, the Admirable Crichton, in the streets of Mantua in 1582 ; mention of which serves to remind us of that strange blending of crime and culture, common to the age of the Italian despots. Claude Monteverde appears to have entered the duke's service shortly after Vincenzo succeeded to the dukedom, and he remained until the year 161 2, the date of the duke's death. He was instructed in composition by Ingegneri, the Court Chapel-master, who discovered in his pupil re- markable abilities, which he exerted himself to develope. He succeeded to the position of his master at the Mantuan Court in 1603, when he seems to have fixed his attention upon opening up new ground in relation to composition, which contributed much to the complete transformation of the art. His opera L'Orfeo was the first of its order ever printed with music, and contains the earliest known reference to the Violin as an orchestral instrument. The structure of this infantile Musical Drama, so unlike that of the modern Opera, is well worthy of our attention. Accompaniment, in the sense in which we understand that term, there was L I46 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. none. The airs sung by the different singers were sustained by the following instruments : — Personaggi : Stromenti : La Musica Prologo Duoi Granicembani Orfeo Duoi Contrabassi de Viola Eurydice Dieci Viole da brazzo Choro di Ninfe e Pastori Un Arpa doppia Speranza Duoi Violini piccoli alia Francese Caronte Duoi Chitaroni Chori di Spiriti infernali Duoi Organi di legno Proserpina Tre Bassi da Gamba Plutone Quattro Tromboni Apollo Un Regale The overture consists of eight bars for a trumpet and other instruments. In these eight bars — but they are long ones — are two movements. After the close of this introductory music, the cloth or curtain is drawn aside, and the opera begins. La Musica Prologo, personage number one, who is none other than the Genius of Music, stands forth and makes five speeches in recitative, during the deliverance of which he is accompanied by two primi- tive harpsichords. These speeches, like the move- ments of the overture, are remarkable for their brevity. In them is comprised the arguments and sundry exhor- tations to order, not only addressed to the audience, but to the birds of the air. Then follows a shepherd's speech in recitative, succeeded by a chorus of five parts, sung to the sound of all the instruments. There are Ritornellos, Trios, and Duets, the whole concluding with an instrumental composition in five THE VIOL IN ITALY. H7 parts, termed a Moresca, a kind of Moorish dance. In the list of accompanying instruments we have Contrabassi di Viola, the Viola de brazzo, and Duoi Violini piccoli alia Francese. To Monteverde we owe the introduction of pizzicato in its relation to bowed instruments, and also rapid staccato bowing. He informs us that the novel and formidable appearance of the latter passages in his music so alarmed the members of his orchestra, that they at first declined to attempt to render them. It will readily be seen that this staccato, appor- tioned between four Violists, was singularly juvenile in comparison with De Beriot's tremolo variations oh the Thema in Beethoven's Septuor ! But when we think of a space of upwards of two centuries between the examples, we are well able to under- stand the feeling of alarm the sight of such a passage would create in the minds of Monteverde's Violists. The mention of the two Violins in this opera, with a reference to France, has served to convert them into a bone of contention among Fiddle historians. M. Fetis apparently gathers from it that L 2 148 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. the Violin originated in France. A slight enquiry will, in my opinion, be sufficient to show that this belief has nothing to support it. In a work of Lanfranco's, printed at Brescia in 1533, the name Violino is seen; whether it refers to a four- stringed' instrument tuned in fifths cannot be affirmed. Leaving this an open question we will pass to the makers. Here we have Gaspard di Salo at work during the last half of the sixteenth century; in Brescia also was Matteo Bente, Budiani, and Maggini, all working before its close. Turning to Cremona we find Andrea Amati making Rebecs and Viols prior to 1550, and that he made Violins shortly after that date is evidenced by those made for the court of Charles I X., whose reign dated from 1560 to 1574. Returning again to printed matter relative to the instrument, we see the compass of it given in a work of Zacconi's, printed at Venice in 1596, namely, from open G to B in the first position. What have we to put beside this evidence of use and manufacture in Italy on the part of France ? In manufacture, nothing whatever. As regards use of the instrument there is no lack of evidence. We find it at the courts of Charles IX., Henry III., and Henry IV. ; at the latter the king's band of twenty- four Violins being used for dancing. At a f£te at Bayonne in 1565, dances were introduced with appropriate instruments, among them the Violin; and again in 1 579 at the marriage of the Duke de Joyeuse Violins were introduced to play the dances which THE VIOL IN ITALY. 1 49 were arranged by an Italian, the famous Baltzar. The family connection of these kings of France with the Medici, together with the intercourse between the Courts of Italy and that of France, throws some light upon the passing of the Violin into France. Returning once more to Monteverde's Opera played at Mantua in 1607, an d the Duoi Violini piccoli alia Francese, I am inclined to think the reference to France therein meant nothing more than that Violins were to be used in the fashion of the French, but, in place of accompanying a dance as at Bayonne, the Character indicated in the opera was accompanied by two Violins in a particular part of its music. It is now necessary to refer again to the family of the Medici. The encouragement given to music by Lorenzo's son Giovanni, both as Cardinal de Medici and Pope Leo X., developed the art rapidly. Pietro Aaron, a Florentine musician and writer of Leo's time, says, "though he had acquired knowledge in most arts and sciences, he seemed to love, encourage, and exalt music more than any other." We recognise this desire to encourage music and musicians in his having conferred the title of Count on a Violist named Giovan Maria Sanse- condo. As Cardinal de Medici he had his house filled with singers and musicians. In the year 1499 he determined to leave Italyand pass some time in travel- ling through the chief European kingdoms. This resolve it is said was taken chiefly on account of the 1 50 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. unsuccessful efforts which had been made to effect the restoration of his family to their native city ; but whatever may have been the cause of this journey among foreign nations, the effects of it were certainly felt at Rome, when Giovanni de Medici became, as Leo X., the central and ruling figure in the famous art circle which had formed about him. The Cardinal informed his cousin Giulio of his intention, and it was arranged to form a party of twelve friends for the journey. Throwing aside the insignia of their rank, they passed through the States of Venice, and visited most of the German cities. On their arrival at Ulm their appearance excited the suspicions of the authorities there, and led to their detention ; but when their quality and purpose was made known, they were immediately sent under a guard to the Emperor Maximilian, who received the Cardinal with the attention to which the celebrity of his ancestors and is high position in the Church entitled him. The Emperor furnished him with a passport through the German States, and also with letters to his son Philip, then governor of the Low Countries. In Flanders they were received by Philip with much hospitality and magnificence. The Cardinal and his friends afterwards passed into France, visiting every place deserving of notice, and examining whatever was remarkable. The knowledge he obtained of the manners and customs of the different nations on this journey, from personal observation, could not have been otherwise THE VIOL IN ITALY. 151 than most valuable to him. In passing through the States of Venice it is more than probable he saw- much that was worthy of imitation in relation to art, for it was then the Venetians were proving them- selves able to encourage and appreciate all that the Renaissance had brought with it ; their hitherto apparent indifference to its teachings was then being atoned for in their eagerness to accept them in all their fulness. In music this was singularly so, and Cardinal Medici at Venice doubtless listened often to finished combinations, resulting from those elements with which he was familiar in boyhood, when Isaac, Josquin, and Obrecht visited Florence. The part played by the Venetians in relation to the Viol will be noticed later. It is only necessary to remark here that it was of a character sufficient to strike an observer as superior to anything with regard to it outside the Venetian States. In visiting Germany and the Court of the Emperor Maximilian, the Cardinal was made familiar with the depth and extent of German musical progressiveness : whether it was brought about more by the influence of the musicians of the Netherlands than of Germany, we need not stay to enquire. It is sufficient to know that all that was great in music was more or less associated with the Viennese Court at this period. I have seen it some- where said that the presence at the University of Vienna of the young Duke Francesco Sforza of Milan contributed to the cultivation of music at that I5 2 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. seat of learning.* I am inclined to believe, how- ever, that the young Duke received there more valuable musical knowledge than he himself intro- duced among the Viennese. In taking this view of the condition of German music as compared with that of Italy at this period, the assumption neces- sarily follows that the Cardinal de Medici at Maxi- milian's Court increased his acquaintance with the art. In Flanders again the Cardinal could not have failed to observe the high cultivation of the art, the grouping and use of instruments, its social and ecclesiastical music. In his round of courtly visits it is highly probable he presented himself at the Court of Rene, the second Duke of Lorraine, where Music would seem to have ruled continuously. That his acquaintance with the condition of music throughout the different European Courts must have been greatly increased on this journey, scarcely admits of doubt, and it is reasonable to suppose that he, as an admirer of the art, would take particular note of anything in connection with it he may have deemed worthy of imitation. Upon his return, and immediately after his elevation to the' * The Milanese Court, at this period, over which Francesco's father, Ludovico, ruled, is said to have been the most brilliant in Europe since that of Burgundy had ceased to exist. The presence there of scholars, poets, artists, and musicians, has served perhaps, to . give colour to the assumption that Duke Francesco carried to Vienna much of this culture ; but whatever may have been the condition of the -arts in general at Vienna, I do not think] music was less cultivated there than at Milan. THE VIOL IN ITALY. 1 53 Papal chair, there seems to have been a great addition made to the body of foreign musicians in Italy, and a general stir in musical life there. Unfor- tunately the records of the Pontifical Chapel were destroyed at the burning of the city by the army of Charles V.-; we are thus deprived of much valuable information which these documents would have supplied relative to music of the time of Leo X. ; nevertheless, the information we have — disjointed, and often but slightly bearing upon the art — points to a development in which Leo took nO unimportant part, and also to his journey amid Courts where music flourished having influenced such develop- ment. Leaving the subject of the Papal Court and its music, with the intention of returning to it later, we will travel to Venice, which the historian Sansovina, writing about the middle of the sixteenth century, has rightly described as one of the most musical cities of Italy. Throughout the Venetian States generally at this period music was much cultivated. At Vicenza, some forty miles from Venice, in 1565 there existed a Philharmonic Society, which was later incor- porated with another at Verona, where a sumptuous edifice was raised specially for the meetings of the Society, which were attended by the nobility and gentry of the city. Upon setting foot in the city of the Doges, our first enquiry, like that of most visitors, is for the famous Piazza of St. Mark : there is, however, an 1 54 7 HE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. essential difference of motive between the enquiry of a non-musical and a musical visitor; the one regards the Square as a centre of sights, the other as having on its east side a pile of buildings teeming with historic music-lore, round and about which have moved men whose memories will never die whilst music lives. The palace of the Duke and the Doge, the granite columns of St. Mark and St. Theodore, are all as nothing to him who seeks the basilica of St. Mark, there to muse over the musical worthies who trod the pavement of the sacred edifice, and shed such lustre upon their art. Here it was that Adrian Willaert ruled as Chapel- master, and made his choir envied throughout Italy. It was here that Willaert's pupil Zarlino succeeded to the Chapel-mastership in 1565; and the same post was held by Monteverde in 1613. In and around the edifice must have often wandered Stradella, Lotti, Scarlatti, Vivaldi, and many more whose names it would be easy to recall were it not at the risk of fatiguing the reader : there is, however, one other which must not be omitted, namely, Domenico Dragonetti, who played in the Chapel orchestra, and where at this hour is the Gaspard di Salo Contra-bass, the tones of which men now living remember to have heard frequently sounded by Dragonetti in the sonatas of Corelli, in conjunction with our Robert Lindley. Having quaffed some- what deeply of the cup of sentimentality supplied by the memories of those associated with the interior of THE VIOL IN ITALY. 155 the building, it is full time to continue our course of enquiry outside, in relation to the musical past of Venice. Upon reaching the square of St. Mark, and turning again to look upon the sacred pile, its architectural beauties momentarily deaden our musical ardour, and reminds us of Ruskin's verbal harmonies in which the wondrous building is likened unto a vision rising out of the earth, " and all the great square seems to have opened from it in a kind of awe, that we may see it far away — a multitude of pillars and white domes, clustered into a long, low pyramid of coloured light ; a treasure heap, it seems, partly of gold, and partly of opal and mother-o' -pearl, hollowed beneath into five great vaulted porches ceiled with fair mosaic, and beset with sculpture of alabaster, clear as amber and delicate as ivory."* " Stones of Venice." kztion 19.— ^hc Siri in Italg. CHAPTER III. T N Coriat's Crudities we have an interesting account of music the author heard at Venice in 1608, and therefore five years prior to Monteverde becoming master of the Chapel of St. Mark. At St. Mark's Church, he tells us, he heard " the music of a Treble Viol, so excellent that no man could surpass it." He also relates that he was present at a musical performance in Venice, given in honour of St. Roche, which so delighted him that he would have gone a hundred miles to hear it : he quaintly proceeds to inform us that " This feast consisted principally of music which was both vocal and instrumental, so good, so delectable, so rare, so admirable, so super-excellent, that it did even ravish and stupefy all those strangers that never heard the like. But how others were affected with it I know not ; for my own part I can say this, that I was for the time even rapt up with St. Paul into the third heaven. Sometimes there sung sixteen or twenty men together, having their master or moderator to keep them in order ; and when they sung, the THE VIOL IN ITALY. I 57 instrumental musicians played also. Sometimes six- teen played together upon their instruments, ten sackbuts, four cornets, and Viols da Gamba of a extraordinary greatness ;* sometimes ten, six sack- buts and four cornets ; sometimes two, a cornet and a Treble Viol. Of these Treble Viols I heard three several there, whereof each was so good, especially one that I observed above the rest, that I never heard the like before. Those that played upon the Treble Viols sung and played together, and some- times two singular fellows played together upon Theorboes (a lute with two necks), to which they sung also, who yielded admirable sweet music, but so still that they could scarce be heard but by those that were very near them. These two Theorboists concluded that night's music, which continued three whole hours at the least, for they began about five of the clock, and ended not before eight. Also it continued as long in the morning ; at every time that every several music played, the organs, whereof there are seven fair pair in that room, standing all in a row together, played with them." It was at Venice that the Aldo of music, Petrucci, •set up his press for printing from moveable type, about the year 1495 : the beauty of the work executed by this first of music printers is seen in the masses of Josquin, Obrecht, Isaac, and others, which are preserved in the chief European national libraries. The music bibliographer idolises the * He refers, no doubt, to the full-sized Italian Double-bass. 158 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. editions of Petrucci in the same degree as the bibliographer does those of his contemporary Aldo Manuzio. It is, however, the great impetus this press gave to music which mainly concerns us. The same complaint must have been uttered by the lovers of music as that of the lover of books, before the inven- tion of printing, as to the great cost and inconvenience of manuscript copies. By the aid of Petrucci com- posers reached the multitude, and thus caused a new life to be given to the social branch of the art. The publication of social vocal music, from the pens of eminent composers whose abilities had hitherto been devoted to ecclesiastical works, at once extended the cultivation of this home music. These publications were soon followed by others in con- nection with instruments. In 1507 and 1508 the Venetian press printed four books in tablature on the Lute, and in 1509 vocal music with tablature for Tenors and Double Bass, a fac-simile of which is given in this volume. This tablature appears to me to be of some historical value, since it is the earliest of the kind I have found any account of. The Tenors referred to may be Tenor Viols of the Viol da Gamba form, but I am inclined to believe the instruments indicated were the large tenors with deep sides resembling diminutive Violoncellos.* I am not aware that any of these * In Monteverde's Opera, L'Orfeo, mention is made of Contrabasse de Viola, and may refer to these instruments. Specimen of Tablature Printed by Petrucci, 150Q, G ir -o * <> £ o o AZ. C) z l2 ^ C) C •> -> -0 -0 -> o o c ■c o CO -O Z./ Z. C)CJ C) (jHj o) 'Z CI a- — c -0 > -0 -o o O o c c s -8 > G C) o O oo o O cy (bo C)C) OO CX) Ol M. Fdtis, in his Notice of Petrucci, says :— " Dans l'annee 1 509, on ne trouve qu'un 'seul ouvrage sorti des presses de Petrucci ; il a pour titre : ' Tenori e contrabassi intabulati col sopran' in canto figurato per cantar e sonar col lauto Libro Primo. Fraiicisci Bossinensis Opus;' Ce qui signifie que la partie de soprano est e'crite en notation ordinaire pour Stre chante'e par la voix, tandis que le te'nor et la basse, Merits en caracteres de tablature sont joue's sur le luth; enfin, que l'ouvrage a €t€ compose' par un certain Francois ni dans le Bosnie, et dont le nom de famille n'est pas indiqueV' I am unable to understand the term " Contrabassi " being applied to the voice, and cannot but think the reference is to instrurnents collectively of the type of the Violono and the Accordo. The tablature is interesting as evidence of its application to instruments earlier than noticed in the work of Ganassi, 1543 ; which is nineteen years earlier than Wolf Heckel's book on the Lute, published at Strasburg in 1 562 ; which again is eight years earlier than that of Adrian Le Roy. THE VIOL IN ITALY. 1 59 instruments have come down to us in their original state. Many have been destroyed for the purpose of repairing old Italian Violins, and others have been converted into Violas by reducing their sides and removing their heads, which were made to carry five or even more pegs, but beyond this the head- piece was, in Fiddle physiology, pre-Adamite, and therefore wholly unsuited to pass current with others • of a higher development. Returning to the subject of the tablature, the reference on the title-page to the Double Bass is perfectly clear, and I am inclined to believe relates to an instrument larger than the Violone, which name has long been associated with the Double Bass of the Italians. We have ocular proof of the existence at an early period in Italy of Double Basses of two sizes in the instruments them- selves, the smaller of which I regard as the Violone of the sixteenth century. It is here that our enquiries lead us into a field of Italian Viol history, from which we get more than a glimpse of Italian Viol development. With the opening of the sixteenth century appears to be associated that which, for the want of a better name, I will call the Italian Reformation of bowed instru- ments. The rapid spread of this reformation speedily caused the crop of incongruities which sprung from the Gothic Viol germ to run to seed in museums like that of Hercules, Duke of Ferrara. That this bowed instrument reformation had its rise in the coming to the States of Venice of the Netherlander l6o THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. and his Madrigal, is the opinion I have formed after tracing the course taken by both instruments and music at this date. Very shortly after the madrigal appeared in Italy, the Viol manufacture — which had been chiefly carried on at Mantua, and consisted in reproducing Viols of the class common among Germans and Lowlanders — gave way to the Viols wholly of Italian design. The original of this type of instrument appears to have been the large Italian Double Bass, in which we see clearly the curves afterwards common to the Violin family of instruments. In the upper, lower, and middle bouts,* we observe the lines which have been retained for nearly four centuries. It is rare to see an Italian Double Bass with the upper sides shaped as here indicated, but they were all made so unquestionably, and were altered to the shape we now see them when frets were dispensed with, and the higher positions of the instrument began to be used. In the sound-hole again we discover evidence of new ideas. No longer is its back turned to the bridge — as seen in the Viol da Gamba to the end of its days — but it faces that important member of the body with an air of grace and ease. Neither is it cut like that of the Viol da Gamba, simply as a hole for the emission of sound, regardless of the shape and manner of setting having considerable influence on the quality of tone. It was shaped with a singular power of elegance, utility, and design : a combination Sides. THE VIOL IN ITALY. l6l of greatnesses solely belonging to the Italians at the period of the Renaissance. The next creation appears to have been the Tenor for the knee, of two or more sizes, with deep sides and backs, frequently modelled. The largest of these instruments were reduced to Violas in many ways. ' Next came the averaged-sized Italian Tenor, followed very .shortly after by the Violin in its Italian form. The Viol da Gamba seems to have been the only instrument belonging to what I term the Gothic branch in Italy, not laid aside, since ; it is evident the Viol da Gamba was made in Italy until towards the end of the seventeenth century. This at last gave way to the Violoncello, which was not introduced until long after the smaller Italian Tenors had been in use. It seems to be clear that these were the instruments used by the Italians in their Churches and in their homes, and that they made but little use of the Gothic type of Viol, with the exception of the Viol da Gamba, which was common to the end of the seventeenth century in England, and probably later in France, Germany, and the Low Countries. In seeking for music published in Italy, early in the sixteenth century, relative to Viols, we have mention of a most interesting work, which serves to enlighten us upon the condition and character of these instruments. The book I refer to is that of Silvestro Ganassi on the art of playing the Viol, published at Venice in 1 543. It is divided into two M 1.62 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. parts ; the first treats of the fretted Viola, which at once proves that Violas, like Lutes and Guitars, had frets at this date. The second part teaches how to play the fretted Double Bass, which shows that the notes on "these instruments were also mechanically- divided ; but on the title of this curious work we have yet further interesting information, for it states the book treats of the effect of the false, just, and middle string* which I take to mean the back, natural, and first position on the finger-board. Here we have a distinct indication of progress in the knowledge of positions. It further states that the work teaches how to place the frets in different ways, which points to different methods of tuning the open strings, t but the last few words on the title are even more interesting : these are, that the book is suitable also to those who play the Viola without frets. Here we have a distinct reference to Violas Fiddle-fashion, and therefore an indication of the coming of the Fiddle to the Viol. In the early pages of my book I have remarked in effect that it may seem but a flight of the imagination to regard the juggler's Fiddle as having been instrumental to the domination of the Viol, and likewise as having dethroned it, and becoming itself the king of instruments ; but it is here that we appear to have evidence bearing on this change of fortune. * The words used are corda falsa, giosta, et media, f In England we appear to have had, a century later, a repetition of this variety of tuning, in Viols tuned " Lyra way " and for "consort." THE VIOL IN ITALY. 1 63 The book of Ganassi has reference mainly to fretted Viols, but notices Viols without frets in a manner indicative of their having been but recently used. Now, although the book is dated 1543, we may conclude the adoption of Viols without frets probably took place about the beginning of the century. In taking this view, much weight is given to the opinion that the Italian Violin made its appearance early in the sixteenth century, since the Viol without frets was but the introducer of the wandering Fiddle — from whom it borrowed its finger-board — to the refined society of the Viols. To render association possible, however, it was necessary to re-habilitate the wandering Fiddle, and this was accomplished by giving it the garb of the Italian Viola, and henceforth it took its place beside it as its diminutive, The Violin. In continuing our enquiry relative to early Italian music, the writings of the famous Contrapun- tists, Andrea and Giovanni Gabrielli, next claim our attention. These composers occupy a prominent place in the annals of their art. Andrea was the pupil of Willaert, and became organist of St. Mark's. Giovanni, the nephew and pupil of Andrea, also held the same post. To them appears to belong the honour of having been the earliest Italian composers who gave back to Germany and the Low Countries their music polished with the musical art of Italy, or through themselves and their pupils, Heinrich Schiitz, Michael Prsetorius, and others. M 2 164 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Andrea Gabrielli published at Venice, in 1 565, a collection of sacred songs or motetts for five voices and instruments. This appears to be one of the earliest sets of compositions of this character specially adapted to instruments ; but long prior to this date the madrigals of his master, Adrian Willaert, were used instrumentally in connection with the reformed Viol of the Venetians, though specially written for voices. The same composer published, in 1586, a Sonata for five instruments, and, in conjunction with Giovanni Gabrielli, a collection of nine books for several instruments ; but our interest is chiefly awakened in a composition consisting of Church madrigals of Giovanni Gabrielli's, in which we have mention of the Violin. This collection was pub- lished at Venice in 1587, and it has already been noticed in Section I ; we thus appear to have an earlier reference to the Violin than is furnished in Monteverde's UOrfeo. Besides the works mentioned in connection with instruments, there were others by Marini, Gastoldi, Rovigo, Trussio, and others. §zc&tm $ .— %\it 1ml itt Italg. CHAPTER IV. "\^7"E must now return to Rome, over which a * " sea of troubles " had swept since we left it with Giovanni de Medici in the Papal Chair. The Vatican no longer resounded with song and music, the echoes of which were heard through the city as a call to joy and gladness. Its doors were no longer open to all the poets, scholars, singers, and buffoons of Rome. Raphael was no longer immortalizing his munificent patron and his Cardinals by painting their portraits on its walls. Pomp and pagentry had given place to woe and desolation. Amid the worldliness of Leo's Court insufficient heed was taken of the storm-laden clouds which had been gathering in Germany and Switzer- land. Leo's successor, however, the ship carpenter's son of Utrecht, who ascended the throne as Adrian XL, failed not to observe that they were fast rolling towards the Eternal City, and hoped to avert the threatened danger by reversing the course of his predecessor. Painters, poets, and musicians, together with the vast retinue of servants belonging to the 1 66 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Vatican, were with a stroke of Adrian's pen dismissed. The art galleries of Rome were closed and barred, and thus it was sought to re-kindle that spiritual life of which few embers remained, and silence the roar of Luther's thunder.* Such sweeping reforms, how- ever, were not in conformity with the taste and feelings of the Roman citizens, and when another Medici succeeded Adrian as Clement VII., they looked forward to a return to a court like that of his relative. Meanwhile the storm had been lashed into a tempest, and burst over Rome in the year 1527, when, for more than nine long months the city was abandoned to some thirty thousand brigands bearing arms in the name of the Emperor Charles V. The Pope, a prisoner in the Castle of St. Angelo, from the windows of which he could see the flames shooting high into the air, from some of the grandest monuments of European art. Benvenuto Cellini — artist and musician — a soldier, defending the city walls and killing the Duke of Bourbon in his * Carlyle, in speaking of this period of Italian history, was not likely to do so without saying something indicative of his want of sympathy for the arts. " Italy put up silently with practical lies of all kinds ; and, shrugging its shoulders, preferred going into Dilet- tantism and the Fine Arts. The Italians, instead of the sacred service of Fact and Performance, did music, painting, and the like : — till even that has become impossible for them ; and no noble nation sunk from virtue to virtH, ever offered such a spectacle before. He that will prefer Dilettantism in this world for his outfit, shall have it ; but all the gods will depart from him ; and manful veracity, earnestness of purpose, devout depth of soul, shall no more be his." — " History of Frederick the Great." THE VIOL IN ITALY. \6"J attempt to scale them. Raphael, who had lived, loved, and laboured amid the city churches and palaces, and who fed on the hope of seeing Rome raised again to all its pristine splendour, was happily spared the sight or knowledge of this terrible scene. The Sack of Rome precipitated the counter Reformation, in the heat of which the art of music passed through one of the most critical periods of its history : hence the interest which belongs to this exciting page of history from a musical point of view. The reaction had the effect of shaking the art to its very foundation. The desire of the counter reformers to appease the wrath levelled at their Church by Zwingli, Luther, and Calvin, seemed likely to lead them to extremes in the matter of the reform of their musical service. What might have been the action of the counter reformers at Rome had the German protestant leader been of the same mind as those of Switzerland with regard to music, is not difficult to perceive. With Calvin's model of Church government alone before them, with neither organ nor choral service, they would in all probability have brought about in Rome a return to the barbarous- ness of the music which, as before said, " fell into the fancy or observations of a poor friar, in chanting his matins." Happily Luther regarded music as "one of the fairest and most glorious gifts of God," and near allied to divinity, " and was not ashamed to say that, except theology, no art is comparable to 1 68 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. music," and he adhered to the use of the organ and other instruments in the service ; which not only effectually checked the retrograde steps at Rome in relation to music, but largely influenced the opening up of a new school of Italian musical art. As before remarked, the records of the Pontifical Chapel were lost at the burning of the city ; leaving us therefore in ignorance of much concerning the music of the Papal States at this period. Certain it is, however, that Goudimel, in opening the music school at Rome, about the middle of the sixteenth century, was making ready the cradle for the recep- tion of the wreck of Ecclesiastical Music, launched and manned by Netherlanders in a past age. Right well did he perform his task ! When the wreck was cradled, it fell to the genius of the immortal Palestrina to modify its original design in accord- ance with the spirit of the times. About the period of the Venetian transformation of the Fiddle into the Violin, Palestrina was pursuing his studies in the school of Goudimel, and teaching the choir boys of St. Peter's. Among the fellow-students of Palestrina were Nanini, and Alessandro Romano, surnamed Alessandro della Viola from his great skill upon that instrument. Later he became a member of a monastic order, choosing the martial name of Julius Csesar — surely that of Nero would have been a better selection, since he was both martial and musical, and it is even said played the Fiddle, a statement I am unable to THE VIOL IN, ITALY, 1 69 reconcile with the condition of Roman music in the early years of the Christian Era. Our journey through the cities of Italy in search of information relative to our subject must end at Naples, a city rich in music-lore, but of a character far less interesting to us than that of those we have already visited. It was here that the Netherlander Tinctor came, at the call of King Ferdinand, in 1487, and founded the School of Music. The outcome of this event in the musical history of Naples, during the next hundred years, we need not enter upon, but pass on to the Prince of Venosa, who, though an amateur, was one of the earliest of Neapolitan composers. His madrigals were not only popular in Naples, but throughout. Italy. He was skilled in the use of several instru- ments, but more particularly of the Lute. In his palace he founded an academy, and in many ways contributed to the progressiveness of the art he loved. It was in the neighbourhood of Naples that the painter, poet, satirist, and musician, Salvator Rosa, was born. That this extraordinary man exercised his musical abilities to some purpose is gathered from the popularity of his music, which the "spinners and knitters in the sun did use to chant." This serves to remind us of the reference Evelyn makes to the Neapolitan's love of music. He says, "The country people are so jovial and addicted to music that the very husbandmen almost universally play on the guitar." I 70 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. For information relative to the progress of instrumental music at Naples, the work of Scipione Cerreto, entitled " Delia Prattica Musica, Vocale e Strumentale," published in 1601, contains much that is interesting. This work was issued but six years prior to the production of Monteverde's opera UOrfeo, in which, as already noticed, the Violin is used ; and earlier instances of its use have also been given. Yet Cerreto makes no reference to the instrument, from which it would seem that it had no place in the music of Naples, unless it was in that of street minstrelsy, and therefore beneath the writer's notice. gcction: W— %kt Wiolin in Italp. CHAPTER I. T T ITHERTO our references to the music of the Violin have been but tentative. It is not until we reach the early; years_jofjthe ^seventeenth century that we are able to gather information of the Violin taking a part in any way worthy of the title Solo. It is now that its great future begins to be foreshadowed in the works of men whose names are for the most part unfamiliar to us. How few Violinists have heard the name of _Paolo Quagliati ! Yet to him is traceable probably the first solo for the instrument, which he called a Toccata, having an accompaniment for a large Lute. To describe this Toccata as a Violin solo is, perhaps, not unlike calling the Marquis of Worcester's infantile engine a locomotive, since the disparity is as . marked between Quagliati's Violin composition and the solos of Corelli, as between the machine of the Marquis of Worcester and that of George Stephenson ; yet, withal, the Toccata is the earliest known example of the Violin solo. Biagio Marini, a native of Brescia, appears to have written specially for the Violin, and to have aided the 172 TME VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. development of its music greatly. It is, however, j^arlo F arina , of Mantua, born about 1 580, to whom we \ seem to owe the earliest instance of solo- writing from pen of a Violinist. Farina held the position of solo- Violinist at the Court of Saxony, and in 1627 pub- lished at Dresden a collection of Galliards, Courants, &c.,* the best portion of which is appropriately named " Capriccio Stravagante," wherein the Violin is made to imitate the braying of . an ass and other sounds peculiar to the animal kingdom, as well as the fife of the soldier and the twang- ing of guitars. This, it must be confessed, is not high art, and points to a disposition on the part of the Violin to return to its old companions of the Fiddle. Perhaps we ought not to expect to find at this stage of its independence that punctiliousness associated with its behaviour when in the company of the Viols, and we must also bear in mind that Corelli had not yet taught it to be dignified even though engaged in playing a jig. Giovanni- Ba^tista Fontana supplies us with the earliest indication of the removal of the Violin as a solo instrument to a higher sphere of composition. In 1 64 1 was published at Venice eighteen sonatas with accompaniment for two or three Violins with Bass. This work is noticed by Wasielewski in "Die Violine," Bonn, 1873, as also many others I shall have occasion to refer to. Mauritio Cazzati, a native of Mantua, is mentioned by Roger North as the com- * Copy in the Dresden Library. THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. I 73 poser whose writings were imported into England in Charles II.'s time by "divers societies of a politer sort, inquisitive after foreign consorts." The follow- ing work with others is mentioned by Dr. Rimbault as preserved at Oxford : " II secondo libre delle Sonate a tre, due Violini e Violone, con il sue Basso continuo, Bologna, 1648." Gi ovann i Legrenzi, born at Bergamo, about 1625, Chapel-master of St. Mark's, Venice, com- posed several sonatas in connection with the Violin. It was Legrenzi who remodelled the Chapel orchestra of St. Mark's about 1670, in which he introduced eight Violins, eleven small Violas or Violettes for the second and third parts, two ordinary Tenors, three Viols da Gamba, and Double Bass. Passing to Gi ovanni Battista Vitali, born at Cremona about 1644, we have several compositions for stringed instruments from his pen, fourteen of which are published, and others left in manuscript ; these are chiefly interesting from their early dates and titles. Op. 1, published in 1666, Balletti, Corrente- gighe, Allemando, which is an early mention of such movements. Op. 3 we have besides Balletti- Correnti alia francese ; and again, Op. 10, Varie Sonate alia francese ed all'Itagliana. These references to French music point to the style being popular out of France," and evidence an appre- ciation of that light kind of music which Lulli introduced in his operas to gratify the taste of Louis XIV, Vitali is another of the Italian com- 1 74 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. posers whose writings were introduced here in the reign of Charles II. Tomasso Antonio JVital i^ born at Bergamo about 1650, was the . famous Violinist, and must not be confounded with Giovanni. It was Tomasso who wrote the chaconne which Joachim first played at the Monday Popular Concerts in 1870. It is Gregorio_ Allegri, the pupil of Nanini, who next claims our notice. Nanini was the pupil of Goudimel, and fellow-student with Palestrina, men- tion of which serves to heighten our interest in Allegri, the composer of the earliest string quartett. This composition, Dr. Burney remarks, " does not manifest any great progress which the Violin tribe had made towards perfection. The celebrity and importance which this family has acquired, since it may be said to have got up in the world and made so much noise everywhere, may excite curiosity in its admirers about its manner of going on and passing its time." On this account alone the quartett is valuable. Mr. Hullah, in his published lectures,* has given the Andante in modern notation. __Giuseppe _Colpmbi, of Modena, published Sonatas for two Violins and a Bassetto in 1676, besides other compositions in which the Violin is concerned. This Bassetto I am inclined to regard as the small Violon- cello, which most of the great Italian makers made together with -large ones. It was Colombi who succeeded Bononcini, the father of Bononcini the * " Transition period of Music." THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 1 75 opponent of Handel, as Chapel-master to the Duke of Modena. Another composer for the Violin, who held the same office at Modena, was Marco Uccellini, to whom is given the credit of having developed the powers of the bow in a mariner before unknown. Giovanni Nicolai, an Italian musician, connected with the court of the Duke of Wurtem- burg, published at Augsburg, in 1675, twenty-four caprices for four Violins with thorough-bass, besides other Violin works. Bassani, born at Padua about 1657, was the conductor of the Cathedral music at Bologna for some time, and also at Ferrara. His compositions consist chiefly of operatic and sacred music. Among those for the Violin are " Sonate da Camera, cioe balletti, correnti, gighe e sarabande, a Violino a beneplacito, opera prima, Bologne dodici Sonata a due Violini e Basso op. 5." Giuseppe Torelli, born at Verona, introduced the Concerto da Camera, the form of composition in which Corelli and Handel were so successful. He also published chamber caprices for Violin, Tenor and Lute, and his brother published a year after Torelli's death the famous " Concerti grossi con una pastorale per il Santissimo natale." Anthony Veracini, the uncle of Francesco Veracini, composed a set of sonatas for two Violins, Bass, Organ, or Lute, and others of a similar kind, published about 1662 ; with the mention of which we are brought to the end of our list of patriarchal Violin music. I am aware of the absence, in the preceding pages,. I 76 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. of manynames and particulars not without interest, yet had I noticed them the sections would have been drawn out to an inordinate length, besides sinking my simulated narrative in a dictionary of musical events, to avoid which has been my earnest wish from the commencement of my undertaking. I have endea- voured to follow to the best of my ability the advice •of him who reminds us of " the proverb of old Hesiod, that half is often more than the whole. The policy of the Dutch, who cut down most of the precious trees in the Spice Islands, in order to raise the value of what remained was a policy which poets would do well to imitate." This is, I imagine, equally applicable to prose writings of all kinds. If I have followed too closely the example ■of the Dutch it has not been done with a desire to sacrifice instruction at the shrine of entertainment, but from a wish to combine the advantages of both. Having unbosomed myself of these remarks touching the shortcomings gone before, I have only to add that I wish them to apply to those which follow. §tttton WL—Wkt liolin in 1Mb. CHAPTER II. OIDNEY SMITH was certainly right in saying, " That man is not the discoverer who first says the thing, but he who says it so long, and so loud, and so clearly, that he compels mankind to hear him." It was Corelli who spoke so long, so loud, and so clearly with regard to the Music of the Violin ; it was Galileo who did so for experimental science ; and it was Bacon who did likewise for experimental philo- sophy. Indeed, their utterances were so peculiarly distinct as, if not to drown the voices of their pre- decessors, to at least render them all but inaudible. That this should have been so may seem remarkable when we reflect that the clearing of the ground upon which true genius was to exert itself was the task these all but forgotten men set themselves to perform. Material was at hand ; but the ability to utilize it in forming a foundation upon which their followers might depend, was wanting. It was this skilful work which these master-minds undertook, and succeeded in accomplishing ; and thus it comes N I 78 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. that, although we are unable to say, to Galileo, to Bacon, and to Corelli we are indebted for all that belongs to the early stages of knowledge in science, philosophy, and music, yet we can and do delight in naming them fathers to their respective studies. It happens that the labour needed to make ready for the reception of the impress of genius is not of a character to give distinctive fame to those engaged in the work. Collective efforts are merged into those made by the possessors of minds capable of transforming incongruous atoms into a symmetrical whole, and when this transformation is accomplished, the art, be it useful or ornamental, is rapidly de- veloped — so much so indeed as to often deprive those whose work mainly conduced to this result, of that merit which is rightly theirs. Imitators and followers tread closely on the heels of originators, adapting their chief ideas, and adding to them as fancy dictates, whilst keeping abreast of the period. The productions of originators become antiquated ; their merit is oftentimes miscalculated' in being tested by a false standard, which is that of drawing a comparison between their works and those resulting from them, instead of subjecting them to their own particular gauge ; the result of which is to press them into a state bordering on oblivion, to be now and again sought out by the sage and the antiquary. In listening even to the music of Corelli, how often is astonishment expressed that such primitive writing could give pleasure, forgetting that THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 1 79 its very primitiveness is its charm ; that in short, it is nature in notes, forming the foundation upon which the imposing superstructure of modern instrumental music has been raised. When Roger North said, " if music can be immortal, Corelli's will be so," the oldest note Corelli had penned could scarcely have reached its thirtieth year, but the immortal life fore- shadowed by King James's Attorney- General when the gigs and sarabands of Corelli wore all the freshness of novelty, runs peacefully on, unaffected by the deafening trumpetings proclaiming theories of higher development in the art of music. Happy in the possession of exceptional executive skill, together with creative abilities, Corelli possessed an advantage over his contemporaries and predeces- sors of great importance. As a player, he clearly recognised the possibility of using stringed instru- ments in concert with better results than had hither- to been attained, and successfully accomplished his task of reforming the music of the Violin, and placing the instrument at the head of its race. According to Adami,* Corelli received his early instructions in composition from Matteo Simonelli, the pupil of Allegri. Laurenti of Bologna is also said to have instructed him — a statement resting on a tradition current at Rome many years after Corelli's death. Bassani has likewise been mentioned as a master of the famous Violinist. Whether Corelli was * " Osservationi per ben regolare il coro dei Cantori della Capella pontificia, &c, Rome, 171 1." N 2 l8o THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Bassani's pupil or not is a question impossible to decide ; if so, the pupil was the master's senior ; though an unusual circumstance, it does not prove anything. It is, however, the date of their respec- tive compositions which throws some light upon the matter, and particularly that of Corelli taking Bassani as his model. The date of the first edition of Bassani's sonatas does not appear to be known, and there is no evidence to prove they were issued before Corelli's ; but it is said Corelli took for a model of his graver sonatas the first and third set of those of Bassani ;* and again, that the first and third sonatas of Corelli are apparently formed after the model of Bassani's Op. 5-t That this could not have been so is seen from the date of Corelli's Op. i, 1683, and Bassani's Op. 5, 1700. The information we have of Corelli's life is both meagre and unsatisfactory. As regards the anec- dotal portion, I am inclined to regard it as mainly apocryphal ; but of that later. The earliest recorded event of any interest is Corelli's visit to Germany, about the year 1680, where he is said to have remained two years, during which time he was patronised by the Duke of Bavaria and other German princes. Subsequently we find him settled at Rome, where he published, in 1683, his first twelve sonatas before-mentioned. In 1685 appeared the second set, which gave rise to a controversy between the composer and Giov. Paolo * Burney. f Hawkins. THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. l8l Colonna, Chapel-master at Bologna, touching the vexed question of consecutive fifths — Corelli having committed the then unpardonable sin in his third sonata. According to the learned in the science of music the greatest luminaries in the art have been guilty of this dire offence with wondrous results. Whether the_Jather of Violin-music contrived to extract good from evil I must leave the learned to decide ; but I think it highly probable that Colonna is better remembered from his associa- tion with Corelli in relation to consecutive fifths, than from any musical work he himself left behind him. In the year 1686, we have it from Guidi, an Italian poet, that Corelli led the music of an allegorical opera given at Rome, in honour of the Earl of Castelmaine, the ambassador of King James II., the music of which "was^ composed by Bernardo Pasquino, a celebrated organist, and the words by the poet above-named. Its allegorical nature is seen from its characters : London — Thames and Fame brought under the influence of the inevitable good and evil geniuses. The orchestra which Corelli led is said to have numbered one hundred and fifty bowed instruments ; it must be confessed an extraordinary number, considering the character of the entertainment, and sufficient to throw doubt upon the correctness of the record. John Evelyn describes a similar operatic performance in France in 1 651, where there were "29 Violins 1 82 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSlC. -vested a 1'antique,"* one fifth the number over' which Corelli is said to have been placed in Guidi's opera, but the same as he led at the Church of St. Lorenzo. Anyhow, it would be interesting to know what was the character of the music allotted to this army of Fiddles and Viols. This entertainment took place at the Palace of Christina, the daughter of the great Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, who, Macaulay says, " had finally taken up her abode in Rome, where she busied herself with astrological calcula- tions and with the intrigues of the conclave, and amused herself with pictures, gems, manuscripts, and medals. A splendid assembly met in her palace ; her verses, set to music, were sung with universal applause." Returning again to the music of Corelli, we find that the second set of sonatas, called Balletti da Camera, published in the year 1685, were dedicated to Cardinal Panfilio or Pamphili, from which we infer the composer received some attention from his Eminence, who was a great lover of music and the arts. It was Cardinal Panfilio who became one of * " To the Palais Cardinal, where ye master of ceremonies plac'd me to see ye royal masque, or opera. The first sceane represented a chariot of singers composed of the rarest voices that could be procui J d, representing Cornaro and Temperance ; this was overthrown by Bacchus and his Revellers ; the rest consisted of several entries and pageants of excesse by all the Elements. The conclusion was an Heaven whither all ascended. But the glory of the Masque was the greate persons performing in it, the French King (Louis XIV., age 13), his brother the Duke of Anjou, and others." THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 1 83 the foremost admirers of Handel, and who wrote the poem on the power of time, which the immortal composer of the " Messiah" set to music. Among the patrons of Corelli, however, none equalled Cardinal Ottoboni ; it was he who raised the father of Violinists to the high position he so long held at Rome. The connection of the Cardinal and the Violinist was above that of simple patronage, it was one of sincere friendship. Corelli conducted the music given every Monday evening- at Ottoboni's palace, besides being retained at the Cardinal's expense in connection with the music at the Church of St. Lorenzo. In the pages of Pepys is a letter written in 1699, from the author's nephew, in which both Corelli and Cardinal Ottoboni are mentioned. The letter also contains a description of the cere- monies relative to the Christmas season. " In the meantime, others of the Cardinals, &c. in cavalcade 'went to the Campidoglio, and there divided, to go to the other churches, to open each of the Holy Gates also ; but of this I saw nothing. The chief' English here were my Lord Exeter and Lady, Lord Mountheimer, Mr. Cecil, Mr. Bruce, &c. I afterwards saw the Cardinal's supper in the Vatican Palace, which both for form and substance was very singular ; and from hence went to the midnight devotions at St. Lorenzo, where I heard most ravishing music suited to the occasion ; Paluccio, an admired young performer, singing, and Corelli, the famous Violin, playing in 184 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. concert with above thirty more, all at the charge of Cardinal Ottoboni, who assisted." Some account of the position, tastes, and habits of Corelli's friend and patron, Cardinal Ottoboni, can hardly fail to interest the reader ; I therefore extract the following from the " Gentleman's Magazine," March, 1740 : " Cardinal Olftoboni died on February 17th, aged 72. He was advanced to the purple at the age of 22. He died possessed of nine abbeys in Ecclesiastical States, five in that of Venice, and three in that of France He was Dean of the Sacred College, and in that quality Bishop of Velletri and Ostia, Protector of France, Archpriest of St. John de Lateran, and Secretary of the office of the Inquisition. He had a particular inclination, when young, to music, poetry, and classical learning, composing airs, operas, and oratorios.* He made the greatest figure of any of the Cardinals, or indeed, of any other person in Rome, for he had the soul of an emperor, nor was there any princely nation but what he endeavoured to imitate, enter- taining the people with comedies, operas, puppet shows, oratorios, academies, &c. He was magnificent in his alms, presents, and entertainments at festivals. In the ecclesiastical functions he likewise shewed great piety and generosity, and his palace was the refuge of the poor, as well as the resort of the virtuosi. In his own parish he entertained a * It is doubtful whether his musical knowledge went this length. I have failed to find any account of these compositions. THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 1 85 physician, surgeon, and apothecary for the use of all that wanted their assistance." It was not until the year 1700 that Corelli's famous solos appeared, the work above all others which has influenced the art of Violin playing. They were dedicated to Sophia Charlotte, Electress of Bradenburg, the grandmother of Frederick the Great, and were probably composed during Corelli's stay in Germany, but their publication deferred until he had gained renown. That he played them himself publicly on special occasions is known, and that he regarded them with feelings of satisfaction seems clear from his having taken three years to revise and correct them. Giardini expressed himself to Dr. Burney in the following words, relative to these solos : " That of any two pupils of equal age and disposition, if the one was to begin his studies by Corelli, and the other by Geminiani or any other eminent master whatever, I am sure that the first would become the best performer." That Giardini was correct in his judgment on this point there is not a shadow of doubt. We now reach the period of Corelli's visit to Naples, about the year 1 708 ; it was here that he met Scarlatti. Dr. Burney, upon the authority of a nameless friend, in whose judgment and probity he tells us he had the most perfect reliance, gives an account of Corelli at Naples, which is said to have been furnished to the Doctor's anonymous acquaint- ance by Geminiani five or six years before that 1 86 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. famous Violinist's death. This conversation, together with the whole of the anecdotal portion of Dr. Burney's account of Corelli, has been faithfully- copied into all notices of the master down to the present time, casting a shade over his artistic reputa- tion, which, if not wholly removable, may at least be made less sombre. Mr. Carlyle might well exclaim, " Alas ! go where you will, especially in these irreverent ages, the note-worthy dead is sure to be found lying under infinite dung, no end of calumnies and stupidities accumulated upon him." First noticing the Neapolitan anecdote : it seems the great Violinist was entreated by Scarlatti to play some of his concertos before the King ; this he for some time declined ; at length, however, he consented, and in great fear performed the first of them. Afterwards he was desired to lead in the perform- ance of a masque composed by Scarlatti ; this he undertook ; but from Scarlatti's little knowledge of the Violin, the part was somewhat awkward and difficult ; in one place it went up to F, and when they came to that passage, Corelli failed, and was unable to execute it. A song succeeded this in C minor, which Corelli led off in C major. " Let us commence once more" said Scarlatti, good-naturedly. Still Corelli led off in C major, till Scarlatti was obliged to call out to him and set him right. So mortified was poor Corelli with this disgrace, and the general bad figure he imagined he had made at Naples, that he stole back to Rome in silence. It THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 1 87 was soon after this that a oboe player, whose name Geminiani could not recollect, acquired such applause at Rome, that Corelli, disgusted, would never play- again in public. All these mortifications, joined to the success of Valentini, whose concertos and perform- ances, though infinitely inferior to those of Corelli, were become fashionable, threw him into such a state of melancholy and chagrin as was thought, said Geminiani, to have hastened his death. Further we are told that Corelli " availed himself much of the compositions of other masters, particularly of the Masses in which he played at Rome ; that he acquired much from Lulli, particularly in the method of modulating in the legatura; and from Bononcini's Camilla." I cannot but think anecdotal matter of this flimsy character is out of place in an important " History of Music." In justice to Corelli's pupil Geminiani — who is made the narrator — Dr. Burney's authority should not have been nameless. Turning to the History of Sir John Hawkins, a personal friend of Geminiani's ; we find a more extended and interesting account than Burney gives us, but not a word of these anecdotes, which is at least remarkable, since it may be inferred that Geminiani knew his friend was engaged in writing a history of music, and that he would value any information relative to Corelli coming from a pupil ; but setting aside this as inexplicable, the anecdotes in themselves have not the genuine ring. That Corelli should perform a concerto in great fear ; that 1 88 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. he failed to execute a passage because it extended to F, one note higher than he had been playing in his own solos ; that he was unable to distinguish between C major and C minor, would alone seem sufficient to stamp their character ; but when we see Burney's own estimate of Corelli's executive powers, we can hardly be longer in doubt : he tells us Corelli " was gifted with no uncommon powers of execution. He condescended to aim at difficulty, and manfully did all he could in rapidity of finger and bow in the long unmeaning allegros of his first, third, and sixth solos ; where, for two whole pages together, common , chords are broken into common divisions, all of one kind and colour, which nothing but the playing with great velocity and neatness could ever render toler- able"* " What ? " says a writer on plagiarism, t " the great, the original, the elegant Corelli pilfering much from the compositions of other masters, much from Lulli, much from Bononcini ? And his scholar to stand up with a grave face, and with the most unblushing effrontery to make such a statement! Away, then, with the eulogiums of his learned advocate Burney : well may he say ' the concertos of Corelli seem to have withstood all the attacks of time and fashion with more firmness than any of his other works. The harmony is so pure, so rich, and so graceful ; the parts are so clearly, judiciously, and * Burney's " History," Vol. III., p. 558. t "Quarterly Musical Review," 1822. THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 1 89 ingeniously disposed ; and the effect of the whole from a large band so majestic, solemn, and sublime, that they preclude all criticism, and make us forget that there is any other music of the same kind existing.' " Before leaving the subject of Corelli and his detractors, I cannot withhold from the reader the opinion of a musical critic, who, in his time, com- manded universal respect for sound judgment. I refer to George Hogarth, the father-in-law of the author of " Pickwick." He says, " Dr. Burney, in his estimate of Corelli's character as a musician, hardly does him justice. His praise is somewhat too cold and faint." At the time of Corelli's greatest reputa- tion, Geminiani asked Scarlatti what he thought of him ; he answered that, " he found nothing greatly to admire in his composition, but was extremely struck with the manner in which he played his concertos, and his nice management of his band, the uncommon accuracy of whose performance gave his concertos an amazing effect even to the eye as well as the ear." For, continued Geminiani, '" Corelli regarded it essential to the ensemble of a band, that their bows should all move exactly together, all up or all down ; so that, at his rehearsals, which constantly preceded every public performance of his concertos, he would immediately stop the band if he discovered one irregular bow." It has been well remarked that, " this opinion shows Scarlatti to have been a pre- judiced judge, a trifling critic." None but such a I90 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. critic could have found nothing in Corelli's music or performance worth notice, except his making his band draw their bows in one way. As to Geminiani's opinion, some feeling of jealousy must have warped the judgment of one so well qualified to form a sound one. He hardly allows Corelli to possess fancy or invention ; but ascribes the delightful effect of his music to a nice ear and delicate taste, which led him to select the most pleasing melodies and harmonies. From whence did he select them ? From the stores of melody and harmony contained in the contemporary composers ? To some extent he certainly did so : but no more than other great and most original composers ; not more than Purcell from Carissimi, Haydn from Emanuel Bach, or Mozart from Gluck, and the Italian dramatic com- posers. The best proof of the force and originality of Corelli's genius is, that the appearance of his works forms one of the most remarkable eras in music. All other compositions for the Violin, produced either before or during his time, are either totally forgotten, or remembered as matters of history ; while his simple and natural strains still live, and are still heard with delight. Leaving the reader to judge whether these statements attributed to Geminiani were worthy of Dr. Burney's notice, I will pass to the close of Corelli's life. Corelli died at Rome on the 1 8th of January, 171 3, possessed of about six thousand pounds, a sum of money about equal to twenty THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. It) I thousand in England at the present time, besides leaving a collection of pictures, many of which were presented to him by artists of celebrity with whom he was upon terms of friendship. He made his great friend and patron, Cardinal Ottoboni, his sole legatee, who generously distributed the legacy among the testator's relatives, with the exception of the pictures, which he retained. He was buried in the Church of Santa Maria della Rotunda, (the ancient Pantheon) in the first chapel on the left hand of the entrance ; over the place of burial is a marble bust, erected at the expense of Philip William Count Palatine of the Rhine, near that of Raphael. The bust represents him with a roll of music in his hand, on which is engraven a few notes of what appears to be the famous jig in the fifth sonata : — There is also the following inscription — D. o. M. Archangellio Corellio a Fusignano Philippi Willelmi Comitis Palatini Rheni S.R.I. Principis ac Electoris, Beneficentia, Marchionis de Ladensburg, Quod eximiis animi dotibus, Et incomparabili in musicis modulis peritia, Summis Pontificibus apprime cams, Italiae atque exteris nationibus admirationi fuerit Indulgente Clemente XI. P. O. M. 192 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Petrus Cardinalis Ottobonus S.R.E. Vic. Can., Et Galliarum Protector, Lyristse celeberrimo. Inter familiares sous jam diu adscito, Ejus nomen immortalitati commendaturus, M. P. C. Vixit annos LIX. Mens X. Dies XX. Obiit IV. Id. Januarii Anno Sal. MDCCXIII. For many years a musical performance was held in the Pantheon, on the anniversary of his death, upon which occasion his concertos were performed by a numerous band. Sir John Hawkins mentions a portrait of Corelli, painted by Mr. Hugh Howard for Lord Edgcumbe, who is said to have been a pupil of his. The picture was painted between 1687 and 1700, according to Horace Walpole's Anecdotes of Painting. The engraving by Smith is from this picture. Having marshalled all the information likely to interest the reader relative to Corelli, it is time to turn to his published works ; but stay, I have yet to notice a piece of intelligence of interest to the lovers of Italian Violins, contained in the pages of Roger North, an author you will think I am never tired of quoting ; but I have, at least, good authority for depending upon his authorship, in one opposed to him politically, since it is Macaulay who says, he was " a most intolerant Tory, a most affected and pedantic writer, but a vigilant observer of all those minute circumstances which throw light on the dispositions of men." It is from the pen of this vigilant observer THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 1 93 that we learn that " most of the young nobility and gentry that have travelled into Italy affected to learn of Corelli, and brought home with them such favour for the Italian music, as hath given it possession of our Parnassus. And the best utensil of Apollo, the Violin, is so universally courted, and sought after, to be had of the best sort, that some say England hath dispeopled Italy of Violins. And no wonder, after the great master made that instrument speak as it were a human voice, saying to his scholars, " Non udite lo parlare." We therefore appear to have carried off the Fiddles of the Amatis in the life-time of the makers. Whether we did so to a like extent with the Strads, Josephs, and Bergonzis, matters but little ; certain it is, the majority is with us, and it is as true now as in the days of Roger North, that, " England hath dispeopled Italy of Violins." ( ^RELLl'g LCOMPOSITIONS. Op. 1, XII Suonate a tre, due Violini e Violoncello, col Basso per l'Organo. Rome, 1683. Of these sonatas it may be remarked that the first and third operas consist of fugues and slow move- ments, without any intermixture of airs ; these are termed Suonate da Chiesa, in contradistinction to those in the second and fourth operas, which are styled da Camera. The former, we are told by Mattheson, were usually played in the churches abroad, after divine service, and the whole four operas for many years furnished the second music o 194 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. before the play at both theatres in London.t Mr. Chappell, in his " Popular Music of the Olden Time," explains the meaning of second music. " Down to the time of the 'Beggar's Opera' it had been the custom to perform three movements of instrumental music, termed ' first, second, and third music,' before the commencement of each play. A story is told of Rich, the manager, who, when the customary music was called for by the audience at the first perform- ance of the ' Beggar's Opera,' came forward and said, ' Ladies and gentlemen, there is no music to an opera (setting the house in a roar of laughter) ; I mean, ladies and gentlemen, an opera is all music* " Op. 2, XI I Suonate da Camera a tre, due Violini, Violoncello, e Violone o Cembalo. Rome, 1 685. There were two editions of this work published in Amsterdam, the last under the title of " Balletti da Camera." Op. 3, XII Suonate a tre, due Violini e Archelluto, col Basso per l'Organo. Bologna, 1690. A second edition of this work was engraved at Antwerp, and a third at Amsterdam. The Arch- Lute was an instrument used in common with the Double Bass. Op. 4, XII Suonate da Camera a tre, due Violini e Violone o Cembalo. Bologna, 1694. The following curious advertisement relative to these sonatas, is from the London Gazette, t Drury Lane, and the one in Lincoln's Inn Fields. THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 1 95 1695. " Twelve sonatas (newly come over from Rome), in three parts, composed by Signeur Arch- angelo Corelli, and dedicated to his Highness the Elector of Bavaria, this present year, 1694, are to be had, fairly prick'd (copied) from the true original, at Mr. Ralph Agutter's, musical instrument maker, over against York Buildings, in the Strand, London." The above clearly evidences the interest taken by the English musical public in good music at this period, for the enterprising Mr. Ralph Agutter to have copied the work within twelve months of its being published in Bologna. I am not aware that it is possible to give an earlier instance of the circulation of Corelli's music than this. The earliest mention of Corelli's works in an English catalogue is that of Walsh, 1705. In the catalogue of Britton's sale we see mentioned the MSS. of Corelli's works in Italian writing, and since his concerts were held between 1678 and 1714, it is likely he had them direct from Italy ; at any rate, I think it may be said that at the Small-Coal- Man's music meetings the music of Corelli was first heard in England. Op. 5, XII Suonate a Violino e Violone o Cembalo, parte prima; parte secunda, preludi, alle- mande, correnti, gighe, sarabande, gavotte, e follia. Rome, 1700. T he ninth ^ _sonat a of this set is the general favourite, and the one so often played by Dragonetti and Lindley. The twelfth is the " Follia," being divisions on a ground or air by Farinelli, a musician o 2 I96 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. of the Hanoverian Court, and a friend of Corelli's. M. Alard and Herr Helmsberger have published editions of the^ first sona ta with pianoforte accom- paniment, and the twelve sonatas were arranged as trios by George Piggot. The following remarks from Mr. Chorley's pen are singularly apt in reference to these solos.* "Rococo, this music sounds, no doubt, to ears that prefer the free forms of modern art, yet its proportion and stately beauty are no less remarkable than the variety of the ideas, if they be stripped of their old Italian clothing; such a melody, for instance, as the ^rabajidfi_iri^No. 7, would be fresh in any age of the world's music — must have been little short of daring when it was written." Op. 6, Concerti Grossi, con due Violini e Violon- cello di Concertino obbligati, e due altri Violini, Viola, e Basso di Concerto grosso ad arbitrio, che si potranno radoppiare. Rome, December, 1712. In the list of Tom Britton's collection of music no mention is made of Op. 6, pointing to the correct- ness of the statement that they were first heard in England at Needler's music meetings. This was the last work of Corelli's, and written some years before publication. Thejaastorale from its eighth concerto, written for Christmas Eve, entitled "Fatto per la Notte di Natale," is considered one of the finest of his compositions. " Nothing * " Athenaeum," No. 1607, 1858. THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. igj can exceed in dignity and majesty_th e openin g of the first concerto , nor, for its plaintive sweetness, ^the_wholeof the third_; and he must have no ears, nor feeling of the power of harmony, or the effects of modulation, who can listen to the eighth^ without rapture."* These concertos were frequently performed at the Concerts of Ancient Music as sym- phonies for a large orchestra, and the effect was very great. Recently, a revival has set in, in favour of bringing forth the treasures of the old masters. Corelli's music has not been forgotten in this move- ment, and it is not impossible we may yet hear a modern orchestra perform these grand old composi- tions, and thus carry us back to the days of the Ancient Concerts. It is, however, doubtful whether the performance on a large scale of Corelli's concertos is within their meaning. The introduction into England of these concertos is curious and interesting ; Mr. Henry Needier, an amateur Violinist, a pupil of Purcell for composition, and of John Bannister for his instrument, was in the habit of attending the weekly private music parties held at the houses of the Earls of Burlington and Essex, and others ; upon these occasions he often played the music of Corelli, in the rendering of which he was regarded as superior to any Violinist of his time. It happened that Needier was acquainted with a bookseller in the Strand, who frequently received consignments of books from Amsterdam. * Hawkins' " History of Music." 198 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Upon one occasion Corelli's concertos were included in a parcel of books ; well knowing Mr. Needler's interest in music, the bookseller immediately started in search of him, discovering him at the house of a musical friend, engaged in the performance of chamber music. The sight of the bookseller's newly imported treasure threw Needier into an ecstacy of delight, the parts were at once allotted to the different performers, and not until the whole twelve concertos had been played did they rise from their seats. Admirable enthusiasm ! ! Section $1.— ^hc liolin tit Italg. CHAPTER III. OIX years prior to the performance of the Allegorical Opera, at the Palace of the Queen of Sweden, at Rome, upon which occasion, as before mentioned, Corelli led the orchestra ; Alessandro Scarlatti was superintending the representation of one of his earliest operas in the same palace, and appears to have remained in the service of the Queen as musical director and composer, until the year 1688, when he became master of the Royal Chapel at Naples. It will thus be seen that Corelli and Alessandro Scarlatti, the foremost Italian musicians of their time, and to whom is distinctly traceable that development of instrumental music which gave to it a new and higher life, were often in each other's society. It is said that in the opera of " Laodicea e Berenice," played in 1701, Scarlatti composed an obbligato Violin accompaniment to a charming air allotted to the tenor voice, which he did specially for Corelli. It is clear that Scarlatti was resolved to developfe the Violin in his field of work, as Corelli had done in his. He gave to the instru- 200 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. ment a distinct part to perform as an accompaniment to the voice. His orchestra was composed of Violins, Tenors, Violoncellos, Double Basses, two Hautboys, and two Horns, a combination before unknown. It is unnecessary to make here other than passing reference to the changes effected by Scarlatti in .operatic compositions ; they were of a character and solidity sufficient to make the School of Naples the foremost in Italy, and served in a great measure to give to the works of the immortal Handel that melodious richness which is at once bold and pathetic. Leaving Scarlatti, we will notice his famous _r^piLJ£orpora : although like his master, a prolific composer of operas, he is associated with the history I of the music of the Violin. Had he alone written | the Sonata selected by David, in " Die Hohe I Schule," he would have achieved lasting fame among '■ Violinists ; he left, however, other compositions of the kind, interesting, if not so good. It was Porpora who came to England in the year 1733, to conduct the opera in opposition to that of Handel, and remained here some few years. Frederick, Prince of Wales, for some time was in this opposition camp ; and thus we find Porpora's six Sinfonia da Camera, for two Violins and a Bass, dedicated to his Royal Highness in 1736. These trios, Burney says, " like the' instrumental music of vocal com- posers — except that of Handel and J. C. Bach — are fanciless, and no more fit for one instrument than THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 201 another." Fetis follows in the same tone of criticism. To mention Porppra and omit the traditional anecdote relative to Haydn's menial performances about the person of the Neapolitan singing-master, is like sending a dish to table without the customary- sauce. A Venetian nobleman was at Vienna, as Ambassador for the Venetian Republic;, Porpora was staying at the Embassy, when Haydn resolved to attach himself to the Ambassador's suite, in order to gather musical knowledge from the Maestro. Haydn, indifferent to everybody but Porpora, employed every means to make a favourable impres- sion upon him, and thus gain his patronage. He rose betimes, brushed Porpora' s boots, and arranged, to the best of his ability, the musician's wig. Porpora, frequently in ill humour, acknowledged these little attentions on the part of Haydn by calling him a fool. At length, however, the perse- verance of his young attendant overcame the seeming insurmountable obstacles, and Haydn not only received the instruction he sought, but a pension of three pounds per month. Haydn, now inde- pendent, purchased a black coat and attached himself to the service of the Church of the Fathers of Mercy, as one of the Violinists, and filled up his spare time in the study of composition. Gio3njm__^aUisla_JPergolesi, though chiefly known as a composer of music for the Church, wrote thirty trios for two Violins and a Bass, two-thirds of which were printed in London and Amsterdam. I 202 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. have not met with any critical remarks in reference to these trios, neither am I able to give any clue to the whereabouts of any copies. Judging from the character of Pergolesi's ecclesiastical music, they are doubtless graced with melody in its tenderest mood. Pergolesi gained lasting fame when he composed his " Stabat Mater," and secured for himself a place among the curiosities of musical literature when he sold it for a trifle less than half the pittance Milton received for his " Paradise Lost," some thirty-five shillings ! ! Again it is necessary to turn to Venice. The reader is already acquainted with much of the great work accomplished by the musicians of the Venetian States. Each step we take in our enquiries, Venetian excellence in composition, executive ability, and instrument manufacture, becomes more manifest. In scanning the list of Italian musicians, and glancing at the accounts furnished of their careers, Venice and the Chapel of St. Mark, Brescia, Bergamo, and Mantua recur again and again. Baptista Vivaldi, the father of Antonio Vivaldi, Corelli's famous contem- porary, was a Violinist at St. Mark's; Antonio ViyaLdi, after passing some time in the service of Philip, Elector of Hesse Darmstadt, returned to Venice in 171 3, and obtained the appointment of director of the Musical Academy, which he held to the end of his life in 1743. He is said to have been an excellent Violinist ; the name of Vivaldi is yet green in the memories of our country cousins as THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 203 the composer of the Cuckoo solo — often given the still higher title of Cuckoo concerto — a composition which owes its popularity, like many a book, to its title. I am disposed to think the association of Vivaldi's name with this ornithological composition, has deprived him of the credit which he is entitled to, his abilities having been gauged by this solo, and found wanting ; his meritorious writings are passed over in consequence. To remove all doubt as to Vivaldi's talents, I need only mention that Sebastian Bach admired them sufficiently to arrange two concertos from Vivaldi's third work as a quintet. Besides instrumental music, Vivaldi was the com- poser of twenty-eight operas, all published at Venice. In Venice the Violinist and dramatic composer, Tomasso Alb inpni, was born, and passed his life. Like Vivaldi, he was a prolific operatic composer ; but his chamber music is best appreciated. In his sonatas for the Violin there is much that is historically interesting; the date of their publication is 1700. Sebastian Bach selected some of the themes of this composer for his learned treatment. Carlo AntonioJVIarini, born at Bergamo, Violinist and composer for his instrument. The dates of his compositions were all prior to the close of the seventeenth century. FrancescoJVIancini, a Neapolitan composer, born in 1674, is known chiefly from his operatic works. There is, however, a set of twelve solos for a Violin 204 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. and Bass, dedicated to the English Consul at Naples, (Hon. J. Fleetwood), revised by Geminiani, which were published in London by Walsh. Among these solos were several of no little merit, and not unworthy of being issued in a modern edition. Count Albergati, a distinguished amateur of BolognaTcomposed works for stringed instruments, consisting of sonatas for Violins and Basses, pub- lished in Bologna in 1682, 1683, 1685 and 1687. Francesco Montanari, pupil of Corelli, born at Padua. In 171 7 he was solo Violinist at St. Peter's. He published at Bologna twelve sonatas for his instrument, which were reprinted at Amsterdam. At Naples there flourished about 1700, Pedrillo, said to have held high rank as a Violinist. There also was born Michele Mascitti, who, after travelling through Italy, Holland, and Germany, settled in Paris, where he died about 1750. There were English editions of some of Mascitti's compositions. Another Venetian composer for the Violin, was J. ]VL^Ruggeri ; nearly all his instrumental com- positions were published before the close of the seventeenth century. Scherzi geniali ridotti a regolo armonica in dieci Sonate da Camera a tre, cioe due Violini e Violone o Cembalo, Op. 2, 1690. Sonate da Chiesa, a due Violini e Violone o Tiorbo, con il suo Basso continuo per l'Organo, 1693, Op. 3. Do., do., Op. 4, 1697. 12 Cantate con e soure Violini, Op. 5, 1706. THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 20$ _Tonini was born at Verona about 1668. His Violin compositions were published at Amsterdam and Venice, _Bitti^a Violinist at the Court of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, published twelve sonatas for two Violins and a Bass. When Corelli had reached the topmost stave of Fame's ladder, and in the year when his solos were engraved, Francesco IVtaria Veracini, a Violinist of extraordinary genius, was nearing his twentieth birthday, and presumably pursuing his musical studies at Florence, the place of his birth, under the guidance of his uncle Antonio Veracini, whom I have already noticed as a Violinist and composer of sonatas. It will therefore be seen that Francesco Veracini was not under the direct influence of the writings or playing of Corelli during his early life, however much he may have been at a later period. . It was Veracini whom Tartini heard at Venice in the year 1 714, and with whose abilities he was so impressed. He readily detected the introduction of novel and interesting effects in the writings of Veracini, which convinced him that a new path in Violin music had been taken. In looking over the sonatas of Veracini it is not difficult to discover the effects which pleased Tartini ; \ that in E minor, which David makes use of in " Die Hohe Schule," teems with novel passages. The minuetand gavotte — which, by the way, belongs to a distinct work — cannot fail to leave an impression on 206 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. the listener, of its being wholly original. Again, in the jig of the first sonata, we have the galop and the whip of the postilion admirably portrayed in notes : none but a master of his art could make use of such trivial effects without vulgarity, but with Veracini they are neither vulgar or common-place. In a later sonata he introduces an echo with the same results. Effects like these may seem unworthy of a great musician's notice ; we have, however, to bear in mind the infantile condition of Violin music at the time : in so doing we are better able to appreciate such efforts at giving additional strength, and particularly when accompanied with contrapuntal excellence. In whatever light we view these writings of Francesco Veracini, we can scarcely fail to see in them the heralds of those of Tartini and his Devil's Trille most notably. The year 17 14, besides being associated with the coming of the first of our four Georges to England, figures in musical history as the period of Veracini's appearance before an English audience, which took place at the Opera House, when Veracini played between the acts of the opera, as was then and long after the custom for soloists to do. His reception was marked with singular cordiality. The same year Geminiani came to London, but whether he preceded Veracini I know not, but am inclined to think the visit of Geminiani was owing to the flattering recep- tion accorded to his brother musician and countryman. In 1720 Veracini was at Dresden, where he was THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 207 appointed as solo Violinist to Augustus, at once Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, famous as a great patron of the arts ; indeed, a very German Louis XIV. To this German Prince and Polish King the charming sonatas of Veracini were inscribed. Veracini, like the rest of original-minded men, did not succeed in escaping the attacks of those Mr. Carlyle describes as " flunkies doing saturnalia below stairs." Ostentation, jealousy, and vanity were the sins placed to his account ; all instanced by anecdotes of the average twaddling description. The essence of one only I intend to notice. Pisendel, a native of Carlsburg, magnified for the occasion into the greatest Violinist of his age, is said to have resolved upon lowering Veracini's conceit of his own abilities. I n true Quixotic fashion, Pisendel challenges his brother musician to combat, happily not mortal, but to play a concerto which Pisendel had composed. Veracini, like a true knight, picked up the glove, or rather the bow, and somewhat ^concerted his antagonist by executing the concerto, with, if not as much precision as William Tell with his bow brought to bear on the apple, yet with much skill, considering he did it at first sight. Pisendel, contrary to the laws of chivalrous Fiddling, had previously given the concerto to a mere scraper to conquer by sheer hard labour for days and nights ; Veracini, having fought his battle as described, the scraper was led into the arena to re-attack the already executed concerto, 208 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. which, in. accordance with the spirit of the anecdote, was done in such a masterly manner that Veracini was humbled, and Pisendel of course victorious. Veracini, after this dire event, is represented to have quitted Dresden — the scene of the combat — and was attacked with fever ; the result of the exciting events already noticed. In a fit of delirium he opened his window, from which he leaped and broke his leg. How such musical book-making material as this could be used over and over again, during a century and ,a half, I am at a loss to understand. That Veracini broke his leg by leaping from a window in an unconscious condition, is easily understood ; but that Pisendel and his concerto was the primary cause of the disaster, seems, to say the least, absurd. Veracini was a composer of several operas ; his " Adriano " was performed in London by command of the king in 1735. Dr. Burney tells us he heard Veracini play in 1745 at Hickford's Concert Room, in Brewer Street — the Hanover Square Rooms of the early part of the eighteenth century — Veracini would then be about sixty years of age. According to Dr. Burney he led the band in a bold and masterly manner, such as he had never heard before. Shortly after this, the famous Violinist was ship- wrecked, and lost his two precious Stainer Violins, which he named St. Peter and St. Paul, from which we see that the Continental and British ideas of profanity with regard to Fiddle nomenclature are not quite the same. In 1747 Veracini retired to THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 209 Pisa, where he died in 1750. There are two sets of sonatas by Veracini, Op. 1 and Op. 2. The first set was engraved by Roger, of Amsterdam, and re-published by Walsh. The second set was published in Dresden. The achievements of Giuse ppe Tartini in rela- tion to the Violin and its music next claims our attention, regarding him as a follower in the footsteps of Francesco Veracini. The position of Tartini in the annals of the king of instruments is indeed a proud one ; not only was he a remarkable Violinist and composer for his instrument, but an accomplished and highly cultured man, possessed of that modesty which is rarely absent where exceptional genius reigns. Tartini was born at Pirano on the twelfth of April, 1692. His parents wishing him to follow a monastic life, his early years were passed in a monastery. In his eighteenth year, however, he appears to have been occupied in the study of Italian jurisprudence; but, like his great German- contemporary, George Frederick Handel, he probably discovered the science of the law to be one unresolv- able discord, and therefore unsuited to a musically harmonious temperament. We scarcely require the musical historian to tell us this, since it is written in the " suites " of the German, and the sonatas of the Italian. That Tartini had found his true vocation before the year 1721, is seen from his appointment as solo Violinist and conductor to the church of St. Anthony 2IO THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. at Padua. In 1728 we find him at the head of a Violin school in Padua, where Bini, Nardini, Ferrari Pagin, and other eminent Violinists received instruc- tion, through whom was carried onward the art of Violin playing which Veracini introduced, and Tartini enriched with musical learning and much executive development. Although frequently importuned to leave his Paduan home and visit the chief European capitals, Tartini could not be induced to exchange the peaceful life he led there, acquiring and imparting knowledge of his art, for One of everlasting conten- tion with the famous Violinists of his time. The spirit of rivalry had no place in his amiable and gentle disposition ; to be a successful public performer and avoid contention in some shape or other is difficult, and when it presents itself it needs the quality of combativeness to wrestle with it. Tartini died at Padua in the month of February, 1 7 70, deeply mourned by the citizens among whom he lived nearly half a century. He was buried in the Church of St. Catherine ; a requiem, composed by Valotti, was performed at the Church of St. Anthony. The melody and harmony of Tartini's music reminds us of the words of Campbell on the poetry of Spenser : " beautiful, in its antiquity, and, like the moss and ivy on some majestic building, covers the fabric of his ' music' with romantic and venerable associations." In Mainwaring's Memoirs of the Life of Handel, published in 1760, eighteen years before THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 211 Burney wrote of Tartini, we read of him that " all his melody is so truly vocal in its style and character, that those parts of it which do not exceed the compass and powers of a voice, one would almost imagine were intended to be sung : the most difficult passages bear the same character, which was very apparent when they were executed by himself ; and all the Italians were so strongly sensible of this, that in speaking of his manner of playing, they often made use of the following expression : ' non suona, canta ful Violino! The reason why the compo- sitions of this great master are admired by so few people in England, is that the performers of them neither enter into the true character of the music, nor play it according to the intention of its author. The more any piece of music is delicate and expressive, the more insipid and disagreeable must it appear under a coarse and unmeaning execution : just as the most delicate strokes of humour in comedy, and the most affecting turns, of passion in tragedy, will suffer infinitely more from being improperly read than a common paragraph in a newspaper." It is interesting to find Dr. Burney writing in 1788, "The productions of Boccherini, Haydn, Pleyel, Vanhall, and others, have occasioned such a revolution in Violin music and playing, by the fertility and boldness of their invention, that compositions which were generally thought full of spirit and fire, appear now totally tame and insipid." From these p 2 2 I 2 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. remarks it would seem that the music of Tartini was gradually collecting on the topmost shelves of second- hand book and music sellers. With what amazement would Dr. Burney and his contemporaries view this " tame and insipid " music lying on Chippendale desks and tables in our modern houses of a type of architecture common in England when Tartini gave his works to the world ! How surprised they would be to learn that the original writings of Corelli, Handel, Tartini and others had caused the demand to so far exceed the supply that sarabands, jigs, and bourees were made to order of Brummagem texture ! Their astonishment would be still further heightened when they beheld on the same Chippendale desks and tables the compositions of Brahms, Raff, and Rubinstein; the boldness, if not the fertility of Vanhall and Pleyel would be probably less striking, though better understood. The compositions of Tartini comprise : Op. i, Twelve Concertos, in two books, published by Roger, Amsterdam, in 1734, with accompaniment for two Violins, Tenor, and Violoncello, and Thorough-bass for the Clavecin. Fetis remarks, that " of these Concertos three were published long after in Paris." Op. 2, A set of Six Sonatas for Violin, with Bass, engraved at Rome, 1745. Op. 3, Twelve Sonatas for Violin with Bass. The first six of this set, Fetis remarks, are identical with Op. 2. Op. 4, Six Concertos with accompaniments. Op. 5, Six Sonatas for Violin and Bass, dedicated to Pagin. Op. 6, THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 213 ditto. Op. 7, ditto. Op. 8, ditto. " The Art of Bowing," consisting of fifty variations on Corelli' s Gavotte : — - ■ mr rTr-^t te m « Ferdinand David has edited these Variations with accompaniment for the Pianoforte ; and Leonard has selected Nine Variations, to which he has added a Pianoforte accompaniment. He left, in manuscript, forty-eight Sonatas for Violin and Bass, a Trio for two Violins and Bass, and other works ; among which appears to have been the famous " Sonata du Diable," which we are told was published about 1805. Be that as it may, Michael Kelly relates that he heard Nardini play the " Devil's Sonata " at Florence at the house of Lord Cowper, in 1779; it must have, therefore, been circulated in manuscript. It was upon this occasion that Mr. Jackson, an English gentleman, asked Nardini whether the anecdote relative to this Sonata, which M. de la Lande had assured Burney that Tartini had related to him, was true ? Nardini replied that he had often heard his master mention the circumstance : "He said that one night he dreamed that, he entered into a contract with the devil, in fulfilment of which his Satanic Majesty was bound to perform all his behests ; he placed his Violin in his hands and 2I 4 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. asked him to play, and the devil played a Sonata so exquisite, that in the delirium of applause which he was bestowing, he awoke, and flew to the instrument to retain some of the passages, but in vain ! They had fled ! Yet the Sonata haunted his imagination day and night, and he endeavoured to compose one in imitation which he called ' The Devil's Trill.' " The truth of the anecdote is engraven in the Sonata itself, and needs no confirmation. From beginning to end it evidences the desire of a power- ful musical genius to record the remembrances of sounds heard in a gnomish dream. The wondrous force and spirit which pervades the whole compo- THE VIOL/N IN ITALY. 215 sition is indicative of its being the reflexion, .in notes, of a mind deeply impressed with ghostly- musical recollections : the charming larghetto, with its dreamy, measured, spectre-like utterances, gently whispering, as it were, to the sleeper to hearken unto a demon's music : — Larghetto affettuoso. i^ ^^m. & TTJ- dolce. W fcgjJ^jH^ The exquisite melancholy character of this intro- ductory music is momentarily interrupted with a a demoniacal Ha! or laugh, in the form of tenths, seemingly uttered to remind the dreamer of the Satanic character of his visitor : — J-JL 1 ? 1-^fr- at+z s -1 T\—l These are shortly followed by other unexpected fiendish cachinnations, in thirds, of grating shrill- ness : — - 216 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. With the termination of this graceful movement the demon is apparently satisfied with the spell he has wrought, and gives full vent to his hilarity in a change of movement : — Tempo giusto. The repetition of his fiendish Ha I Ha ! Ha ! a third higher, well marks his delight, and he at once enters upon his spirit-stirring theme, " The Devil's Trill." ==^ Again he laughs ! =51 =*=* P^^f m Ha! Ha! Ha! and trills again and again ! Suddenly, as though fearful of having over- excited the dreamer, in an under-tone and in slow THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 217 measured notes, he gives utterance to music at once melancholy, soothing, and melodious : — Andante. *f- His hiliariousness, however, speedily returns, the change of movement being suggestive of the performer marching to the sound of his Violin, in front of the sleeper : — Allegro assai. fei w=* f -#-#■ t=£ -#-#- LULT fTM And now trill follows upon trill with wondrous speed, until its duration seems interminable ; but again — he marches, with quickened step — to the same subject, a fifth higher than before. Allegro. m ^3 p m The trill is yet once more intensified, but the end is near. All is hushed as the sounds of the trill die away, when the sleeper half awakens, and, with vacant eyes, he looks in vain for his talisman ; he listens! and hears receding sounds of soft muted music, 2l8 THE VIOLIN AN~D ITS MUSIC. and fancies he sees him, enveloped in vapour, retreat- ing, and vanish with the last long-drawn chord, echoing his bewildered thoughts, gone ! gone ! ± mM &- % U- m J^S p&- m. fW^f: B-* ^r F- L^ 3 3 =- — »- wm ■ei sF "pFlNE. We have seen that Francesco Veracini and Geminiani were rivals in London in the year 1714. According to the accounts furnished by musical historians the fame of Veracini soon evaporated in its contact with the genius of Geminiani. This is a phenomenon traceable alone to that fickle element, fashion, since it may be said that Geminiani was the spirit of Corelli much diluted, whilst Veracini was the essence of the great master fortified with I'eau de vie. In music, as in most things, faction and fashion often render dim, genius and ability; but the scythe of Time, as it truly and surely mows its crop of celebrities, destroys all artificial barriers ; and therefore to time we turn for independent judgment. Musicians' works, like books, are often super- seded, but withal the valuable live — though sometimes quiescent — the indifferent linger, the bad die almost as soon as born. Remembering all the pages which have been filled with the fame of Geminiani, it may seem bold criticism to class his writings with THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 219 the indifferent, and therefore of a lingering reputation ; but such, I believe, is their true position. Notwith- standing that they figure in new editions of the works of the old masters, there does not appear to be any eagerness shown to perform them, which is a a sure sign of their failure to satisfy, beside the compositions of Veracini and Tartini. It would seem to be the anomalous place they hold in the music of the instrument that renders them mainly unpopular, coming as they do midway between the old and the new. The Violin compositions of Geminiani consist of solos, sonatas, and concertos, an instruction book, and a treatise on good taste in the art of music. Another and greater pupil of Corelli was Pie tro Locatelli, born at Bergamo about the year 1693. From Rome he went to Amsterdam, where he seems to have passed his life, dying there in the year 1764. His abilities were greatly valued by those around him ; but our Burney evidently failed to appreciate them, since he tells us he was "a voluminous composer of music that excites more surprise than pleasure." This opinion was penned long before Locatelli's peculiarly original style of composition had become a power in the art of Violin playing. Louis Spohr had not made the ear familiar with intricate chromatic passages; the genius of Paganini had not been dedicated to the development of the extraordinary, the embryo of which lay in the studies and sonatas of his famous countryman. In 2 20 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. remembering these things the criticism of Burney is better understood. It is in the works of Locatelli we find instances of raising the pitch of the first string; but this innovation is traceable to another Violinist named Pritsk, the composer of three sonatas, in which the first string is raised.* This practice was very properly discountenanced by Pugnani and Viotti, but adopted by Lolli and Paganini. The first work of Locatelli's was published at Amsterdam in 1721, consisting of Twelve Concertos in the style of those of Corelli. Op. 3 forms the " L'Arte del Violino," comprising Concertos and Caprices for two Violins, Tenor, and Violoncello. The next work consists of Six Concertos, followed shortly after by the Six Sonatas for two Violins and a Bass. Op. 6 forms the Twelve Sonatas for Violin alone. Op. 7, Six Concertos. Op. 9, L'Arte di Nuova Modulazione, known to Violinists as Caprices or Studies, the twenty-third of which is the famous " Le Laby- rinthe de 1' Harmonic" Giuseppe Val entin i, a native of Florence, born about 1690, was a Violinist of considerable renown, and a composer of much stringed instrument music : which Dr. Burney tells us has been " long since consigned to oblivion, without any loss to the public or injustice to the author." The greatest Violoncellist of the present age — Signor Piatti — is evidently not of the same opinion, since he recently adapted * Lavoix fils, " Histoire de l'lnstrumentation,'' p. 50. THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 221 one of Valentini's sonatas for his instrument, and has played it publicly on several occasions. Among his works we find Trios for two Violins and Violon- cello, called sinfonies and fantasias, concertos and sonatas. Alberti of_ _Bologna , born in 1685, pupil of Man- zolini, wrote and published concertos ; also Twelve Sonatas for Violin with an accompaniment for a Bass ; and, lastly, Twelve Symphonies for String Quartett with Organ. We have now to refer to another pupil of Corelli, P ietro Castru cci, born at Rome about the year 1690. In 1 715 Castrucci appears to have entered the service of that great music patron the Earl of Burlington, whose concerts were often directed by Handel, and attended by Pope, Gay, and Arbuthnot, and other celebrities. It was Gay who wrote, in passing the Earl's house in Piccadilly, " There Handel strikes the strings, the melting strain Transports the soul, and thrills through every vein ; There oft I enter." And it was Pope, who, after listening to Handel's exquisite harpsichord playing, declared he had given him no pleasure, that his ears were of that untoward make and reprobate cast to receive his music with as much indifference as a common ballad. But let us leave the poet without an ear for music, and return to the musician. Castrucci was long thought to be the original of Hogarth's 2 22 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. " Enraged Musician," but the idea has no founda- tion in fact, since the portrait is traced to Michael Festing, the immortal friend of British indigent musicians. The "Daily Post" of February the 22nd, 1732, contains a curious announcement with regard to Castrucci, namely that he would play a solo, " in which he engages himself to execute twenty-four notes in one bow." This piece of charlatanism, so misplaced in a truly able musician, was excellently capped on the following day by a fameless Fiddler advertising his intention to play twenty-five notes in one bow. The sonatas of Castrucci, Ops. 1 and 2, published by Walsh, are rich in pathos and originality. Sonatas 5 and 8, Op. 2, are written in imitation of the sounds of a Viol d' Amour, and are particularly interesting and effective. It was Castrucci who played publicly on an instrument which he named the Viola Marina. The sonatas referred to point to an admiration for the sounds of the Viol d'Amour, and in all probability the Viola Marina was but another name for the same instrument. Dr. Busby,* speaking in praise of these sonatas, remarks " from their stamina Handel and Corelli deigned to cull many a blossom," but fails to inform us how they accomplished the botanical musical feat of culling the blossom before it was in bloom, for Corelli's compositions were published long before Castrucci's. * Busby's " History of Music," Vol. 2, p. 508. THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 223 The King of Sardinia's chapel-master, L orenzo Somis,, held a high position among the Violinists of his time. He was born at Piedmont towards the end of the seventeenth century, and was the instruc- tor of his nephew Charbran, and Pugnani, also of Giar dini, t o whom we will now refer. This famous player was born at Turin in the year 1716. He studied music at Milan, where he was a chorister at the Cathedral. Ultimately selecting the Violin as his instrument, he studied the solos of Corelli, under his master, Somis. In the year 1750 Giardini arrived in London, and played at a benefit concert at the " Little Theatre in the Haymarket," a solo by San-Martini ; of this performance Dr. Burney remarks, that " the applause was so long and loud, that I never remember to have heard such hearty and unequivocal marks of approbation at any other musical performance whatever." Received by the British musical public with such warmth, Giardini decided to pursue his art among his ardent admirers. Four years after his arrival he secured the post of leader of the opera orchestra, and shortly after shared the management of the whole undertaking. After remaining in England thirty- four years, Giardini went to Naples, under the patronage of Sir William Hamilton, but returned to this country a few years after, to find the field occupied by others. In ill health, and rendered weaker by disappointment, he was no longer able to compete with talented artists fresh from their studies and full of ambition. 224 THE VI0LIN AND irs MUSIC. It was at this period, when Haydn was in London, monopolising the attention of the musical world, that Giardini is said to have evinced a particular spite against the great German master; when urged to visit Haydn, he remarked, within hearing of the composer, " I don't want to see the German hog ; " Haydn writing afterwards in his diary that " Giardini played like a pig." In turning to the translation of the diary extracts from Greis- singer's " Life of Haydn," we find simply, " On the 21st of May, 1 791, Giardini had a concert at Ranelagh," the simplicity of which harmonises with the character of Haydn, better than the comparison of the playing of an eminent brother artist to a pig. In 1793, he left St. Petersburg, and later visited Moscow, dying there in his eightieth year. Bartolozzi, the famous engraver, executed a portrait of Giardini, a copy of which is seen on the title-page of his Twelve Solos, dedicated to the Duke of Brunswick. His Violin music consists of: Twelve Quartetts, Op. 20 and 29 ; Six Quintetts, Op. 1 1 ; Violin Solos, Op, 1, 7, 8, 16, 19 ; Six Violin Duetts; Six Sonatas for Piano and Violin, Op. 3 ; Twelve Violin Concertos, Op. 4, 5, 15 ; Trios for Stringed Instruments, Op. 6, 14, 20. It is Tartini's greatest s cholar, Pjetro_JN[ardini, whom we must now notice. Nardini was born at the village of Fabiana, in Tuscany, in 1722, and received his earliest instructions in music at Leghorn, where his parents went to reside shortly after his THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 225 birth, ultimately completing his studies with Tartini, at Padua. He entered the service of the Duke of Wurtemburg at Stuttgard ; his patron was an excellent musician, and had in his orchestra three of the foremost Violinists in Europe, Ferrari, Nardini, and Lolli, with Jomelli to conduct, Nardini afterwards returned to Leghorn, which he again left to occupy the post of Solo- Violinist to the Grand Duke of Tuscany, where he died in 1 793. Leopold Mozart says, in a letter written in 1793, the year of Nardini's death: "I have heard a Violin player, named Nardini, who, in beauty, equality, and purity of tone, and in a certain singing taste, is not to be surpassed : he, however, plays no difficulties."* The compositions of Nardini consist, according to Fetis, of Six Concertos, Op. i ; Six Sonatas, Violin and Bass, Op. 2 ; Six Trios for Flute ; Six Violin Solos, Op. 5 ; Six Quartetts, published at Florence ; and Six Duos for two Violins. In David's " Die Hohe Schule des Violinspiels " we have a rare specimen of Nardini's powers as a composer for his instrument. The opening movement is an adagio in D major, full of pathos. This is followed' by an allegro in the same key, of great brilliancy, and of a character much in advance of the Violin music of the period. The larghetto movement here made use of, belongs to a distinct sonata. The editor has, perhaps, given to it a meaning, which, though it must be * "MozarfsLife," p. 24. Q 226 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. admitted is extremely beautiful, appears somewhat beyond the intention of the composer. The masterly manner in which Ferdinand David has transformed the original Basses of the old Violin composers into delightful Pianoforte parts is beyond all praise, but I cannot but think he has* over-edited, in some instances, the solo parts, rendering it difficult to discover where the old master ended and the editor began. Chaucer, in the language of the nineteenth century, might be both readable and instructive, but it is open to doubt whether Master Geoffrey would either know or be pleased with himself in a modern verbal dress. We have now to mention another pupil of Lorenzo Somis — Gaetano_ _Pugnan i— who, besides distinguishing himself as a great executant, founded a school for Violinists at Turin. He was born in that city in the year 1727, according to the account furnished by Fetis. After visiting the chief con- tinental cities, Pugnani came to England, and remained for a long period. It was in the year 1770 that he returned to Turin and became the leader of the orchestra at the chief theatre, and shortly afterwards opened the school which Viotti entered as one of its earliest scholars, and proved himself the greatest. Many of Pugnani's composi- tions are yet in manuscript. He died in 1803. His published works for the Violin consist of : Sonatas, Ops. 1, 3, 6, 11 ; Duetts, Ops. 2, 13; String Trios, three books ; String Quartetts, Op. 7 ; six Sym- THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 227 phonies for strings and wind, and six Quintetts with two Flutes. Emanuele Barbella was a Violinist of the school of Tartini. He commenced the study of his instru- ment in his seventh year, under the guidance of his father, Francesco Barbella, afterwards becoming a pupil of Bini. He was a friend and correspondent of Dr. Burney's, and supplied the musical historian with much interesting information relative to Italian music and musicians. In one of his communications to Burney he gave a short account of his musical life, after naming the eminent masters under whom he had studied he ends with singular modesty, saying, "Yet, notwithstanding these advantages, Barbella is a mere ass, who knows nothing." I Tinna nonna, per f render sonno. Barbella. Sempre legato e sotto voce have before remarked, genius is rarely unaccom- panied with modesty, and Barbella is an instance of its truth. The exquisite "Lullaby," or Cradle Song, an extract from which I have here inserted, helps us to gauge the depth of his musical soul and learning. The French Violinist, Deldevez — he who first directed the attention of Violinists to the forgotten treasures Q 2 228 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. of the old masters — has used this Lullaby in his collection of early and famous Violin writings, trans- forming the Bass into an accompaniment for the Pianoforte. The Violin compositions of Barbella comprise Six Duetts for two Violins, Op. 1,3; and Six Sonatas, an example of which is contained in M. Alard's " Les Maltres Classiques." At Bergamo was born in the year 1728, the clever though eccentric Violinist, Antonio^Lolli, the master of Jarnowick and Waldemar. In 1762 Lolli entered the service of the Duke of Wurtemburg at Stuttgard, where he remained about nine years. His appearance at the court of the Duke has been made to serve the purpose of associating him with one of those seemingly inevitable romantic Fiddle contests which occupy so much of the historical notices of Violinists, that often after subjecting the whole to a gentle sifting, all else but the name and date have escaped through the "interstices between the intersections " of my sieve. This particular contest appears to have had its origin in Lolli's meeting with Nardini, whom the eccentric Violinist discovered to be an antagonist of no slight parts. With commend- able judgment he came to the conclusion that he was not in form to do battle, and requested leave of absence from his patron the Duke. This conceded, he retires to a secluded village — a step in perfect harmony with that in vogue with the professors of the noble art of self-defence — and undergoes a course of training. This concluded, Lolli returns to his post at THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 220. Stuttgard, and challenges Nardini. It is needless to add, that according to his biographers, he defeats him. Poor Nardini, thus stripped of the honours of a life-time, quits the service of his estimable patron, and retires to Italy. That any Violinist, acquainted with the compositions of Nardini, and accepting the judgment of his contemporaries with regard to his executive abilities, could realize his discomfiture as above related, is, in my humble judgment, impossible. Continuing the notice of Lolli, we are told he visited St. Petersburg, Paris, and Madrid, and came to London in the year 1785, where, Burney says, " by a caprice in his conduct equal to his performance, he was seldom heard, and then, so eccentric was his style of composition and execution, that he was regarded as a madman by most of his hearers ; yet I am convinced that in his lucid intervals he was, in a serious style, a very great, expressive, and admirable performer. In his freaks, nothing can be imagined so wild, difficult, grotesque, and even ridiculous as his compositions and performance." The compositions of Mestrino and Locatelli have been cited as having furnished Paganini with effects which that extraordinary Violinist developed so wondrously : undoubtedly this was the case, but the compositions of Lolli should be associated with them as having suggested much in the same direction; indeed, it may be said that with Lolli began the virtuosi of the type of which Paganini became the 23O THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. chief. In the sixth Sonata of Lolli's, Op. 9, we cannot fail to recognise the curious blending of absurdity and sentiment which touches our hearts and excites our risible faculties almost at the same moment, reminding us greatly of the achievements of Paganini of the same character. The compositions of this Violinist are mentioned by Fetis as Six Sonatas, Ops. 1, 3, 9, and 10; Two Concertos, Op. 2, with Orchestra; Concertos 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Ops. 4, 5, and 6 ; Violin School with accom- paniment for Tenor and Violoncello. Mestrino, born at Milan, in 1750, composed some Caprices for the Violin, which are rightly regarded by those artists who have the good fortune to possess them (for they are very rare), as exceptionally clever compositions. He also wrote Twelve Concertos with Orchestra, Op. 1 ; Sonatas, with Bass, Op. 5 ; Duetts for two Violins, Op. 2, 3. It was Mestrino who held the post of first Violin, about 1 767, at Esterhaz, when Haydn was director of the Orchestra. Mestrino and Dragonetti were great friends in their youth, and practised together music outside the province of their instruments, in order that passages of extraordinary difficulty might be encountered. The marvellous executive skill of Dragonetti, and the singularly difficult formation of Mestrino's passages, point to a training of the kind. In the Violin instruction book of Leopold Mozart we have a clever arpeggio movement, from the pen of Mestrino, unpublished by the composer. THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 23 1 From Carlo Te ssarini, of Rome, born about 1690, we appear to have had a work on the art of modulating in the form of Concertos, with accom- paniments, Op. 6, and " A Musical Grammar," dedicated to the Marquis Gabrielli, of Rome, which is a high-sounding title for a small Violin instruction book. Raimondi, a pupil of Barbella, published at Amsterdam three Concertos, six String Quartetts, and three String Trios. Giornovichi, better _known_ as Jarnowick, pupil of Lolli, was a Violinist of much renown, and, prior to Viatti's appearance in Paris, he was the principal artist there ; the superior style of the former, however, caused him to leave the French capital, and accept a position in the Royal Orchestra at Potsdam ; he was at a later period in England for some time. He published in Paris a few Sonatas, Duetts, Concertos, and Quartetts. Lucchesi, a pupil of Nardini, published some Duetts for two Violins, Op. i, which passed through two editions. Another set comprises Op. 2 and Op. 4, Six Sonatas for Violin and Piano. Andrea Lucchesi, the composer of several large works, also wrote six Sonatas for Piano and Violin, and also a Trio with Piano. Traver sa, a pupil of Pugnani, published six String Quartetts ; six Sonatas for Violin and Bass, Op. 2 ; and a Concerto, Op. 5. The highly sentimental player Joseph Puppo, 232 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. born in 1749, published two Concertos, with Orchestra; eight Fantasias, or Studies; and three Duetts for Two Violins. Johannes Bapjista^Noneri, of whom but little appears to be known, published several Violin compositions in Amsterdam, Berlin, and London. Deldevez gives an extract from the Seventh Sonata, published in 1763. Tomasini, a Violinist in the Orchestra of Prince Esterhazy, published three Violin Duetts, and Variations for Violin alone, and left in manuscript several other compositions. Anthony and Bernardo Lorenziti published several Sonatas, Duetts, Trios, and Quartetts. Anthony was a pupil of Locatelli. Tomaso_GJordani, of Naples, published Quintetts, Quartetts, and Trios in London and in Offenbach. Jose ph Mosel, of Florence, born in 1754, belonged to the school of Tartini, published at Paris and Venice, Violin Duetts, and String Quartetts. Polledro, born in 1776, was a pupil of Pugnani. His works consist of three Violin Concertos, Airs, and Variations, Op. 3, 5, 8 ; String Trios, Op. 2, 4, 9 ; Violin Studies and Duetts, for two Violins, Op. 11. Francesco Vaccari, of Modena, pupil of Nardini, composed Duetts for two Violins, Op. 1 and 2, Paris; " God Save the King," with variations and Piano accompaniment, and other pieces of a similar character. THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 233 R?4icati, of Bologna, pupil of Pugnani, published several Quintetts, Quartetts, Trios, etc. Jjiovanm..Jkmoiicjni, born at Modena, in 1672, was admitted as a Violoncello player in the Emperor Leopold's band at Vienna at the age of 23. The fame of Bononcini, as an operatic composer, spread far and wide, after the production of his opera Camilla; the Duke of Marlborough and his party, at the Royal Academy of Music,* invited him to England, when began the rivalry which gave rise to the epigram attributed to Dean Swift : — " Some say that Signor Bononcini, Compared to Handel, is a ninny ; Whilst other say, that to him, Handel Is hardly fit to hold a candle ; Strange that such difference should be, 'Twixt Tweedledum and Tweedledee." As the Dean of St. Patrick's had no ear for music his opinion musically is valueless ; we must therefore turn to the musical historian for an estimate of the difference noted by the Dean. Sir John Hawkins says : " the merits of Bononcini were very great, and it must, be thought no diminution of his character to say that he had no superior but Handel, though, as the talents which each possessed were very different in kind, it is almost a question whether * In 1730 a plan was formed for patronising and supporting Italian Operas in England ; a fund of £50,000 was raised, to which King George I. subscribed ,£1,000. This establishment was named the Royal Academy of Music. 234 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. any comparison can justly be made between them. Handel's excellence consisted in the grandeur and sublimity of his conceptions;" " Bononcini's genius was adapted to the expression of tender and pathetic sentiments." Dr. Burney,* in noticing his " Divertimenti di Camera," remarks : " The Adagios are the best movements in them, and have notes of taste, and passages of expression, which must have been new to English ears. Bononcini, however, like other composers of his time, is very sparing of his passages, and indulges idleness and want of invention by frequent Rosalias,t which Handel seems always to avoid, more than any other com- poser of this period." Bononcini retired upon a pension of five hundred pounds, granted him by the Marlborough family. His compositions in connection with the Violin include : Twelve Sonatas or Chamber Airs for two Violins and a Bass, London, 1732; "Diverti- menti di Camera," dedicated to the Duke of Rutland, London, 1722; and four Symphonies, published at Bologna, between 1685, and 1687; and Duetti da Camera, Op. 9, 1691. With the notice of Fiorillo, the composer of the famous Violin Studies or Caprices, we reach the last representative of th e Old -Italian^ School. Though born at Brunswick, Fiorillo's parentage was Italian, and his style of composition distinctly so. His father * Vol. IV., p. 322. t Repetition of a phrase or passage with the pitch raised each repeat. THE VIOLTN IN ITALY. 235 was a Neapolitan musician of some celebrity, and became chapel-master at Cassel in 1762. His son Frederick, the subject of this notice was born in 1753. After visiting Poland, he went to Paris in 1 785, and played with much success at the Concert Spirituel. Three years later he came to England, and remained here many years. He played upon the Tenor very frequently, both in Salomon's quartett party and at the Ancient Concerts ; at the latter he performed a Tenor concerto in 1794. He composed Six Trios for two Violins and Violoncello, Op. 1, published at Berlin and Paris ; Eighteen Duetts for two Violins ; Twelve String Quartetts ; Four Violin Concertos ; Nine Sonatas for Piano and Violin ; the Thirty-Six Caprices or Studies ; and many other works. §ittion $£.— Ihe Violin in ItelB. CHAPTER IV. A BOUT the middle of the eighteenth century we "^^ are brought to the threshold of the School of Instrumental Music, which is named Modern, in contradistinction to that of Corelli and his immediate followers. Joseph Haydn, the musician destined to take the lead in this new departure, had but just come into the world. Luigi Boccherini, who played no un- important part in the work, was a boy of ten years, learning the Violoncello and his musical alphabet at Lucca. Domenico Cimarosa — Italy's Mozart in Opera — was in his cradle, and Viotti followed three years later. In music as with all the arts and sciences there is a period of transition which is often so gradual as to render it impossible to draw a separating line between that which is regarded as ancient, and that which is accepted as modern. The one merges into the other like a dissolving view. We can, however, without difficulty, recognise the foremost men of the time, and among them one whose style is certain to THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 2tf be in advance of the rest. In Italian instrumental music it is San Martini whose style is indicative of advancement. The style of San Martini has been called the father of that of Haydn, and Boccherini has been named the wife of Haydn ; if we accept this musical relationship, Martini must necessarily have been Boccherini's father-in-law in music, and therefore it is the Violoncellist we will next notice. This truly original composer of chamber music studied at Rome both composition and the Violon- cello, and secured there much renown. In 1768 he journeyed in company with Nardini's pupil Manfredi to France, and played at the Concert Spirituel. It was at this period that the Spanish Ambassador induced Boccherini to visit Madrid, promising him high patronage in the Spanish capital, a promise which was not altogether redeemed. After spending some seventeen years there, his patron, the Infanta Don Luigi, died, when he obtained the post of chamber composer to Frederick William II. of Prussia, which he held until the death of Frederick in 1797. Troubles now came thickly upon poor Boccherini ; in those days, when a composer's existence was dependent on having a distinguished patron, he found himself without one, in ill health, and straitened circumstances. At this critical juncture of his career, Lucien Buonaparte, the French Ambassador at Madrid, paid the unfortunate musician some attention, in acknowledgment of which Boccherini dedicated six Pianoforte Quintetts to the 238 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. French Republic ! which is probably unique in the annals of music as an instance of wide-range inscribing. Whether Boccherini, like Beethoven, was an admirer of the First Consul, matters little ; perhaps his inability to retain that monarchical patron- age, which his great ability rendered him entitled to, drove him into the arms of Republicans. It would seem, however, that the Ambassadors of France at this disturbed period were exerting themselves to obtain for their government music title-page immortality. It was but the year before this particular dedication of Boccherini's, that Bernadotte at Vienna suggested to Beethoven the propriety of writing a Bonaparte Symphony. The suggestion met with the illustrious composer's approval, and six years later a manuscript lay on Beethoven's writing table, on the first page of which were the words " Napoleon Buonaparte." On the 18th of May, 1804, Napoleon exchanged the simple title of First Consul for that of Emperor. When the fact was made known to Beethoven, he tore away the title of his glorious manuscript, accompanying the action with a torrent of execration against the "New Tyrant," and re-named his imperishable work " Sin- fonia Eroica." To return to our subject, after this dedicatory digression, the influence Boccherini exercised over his art was of an important kind. His Trios and Quintetts, though lacking the variety which distin- THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 239 guishes the chamber music of his German contem- poraries, mark an era in the History of Music Bailliot, as remarked by Louis Spohr, was an admirer of the Quintetts of Boccherini, which evidently astonished the great German Violinist, since he writes : " I was desirous of hearing Bailliot in these Quintetts, with about a dozen of which I am acquainted, in order to see whether he could make one forget the poverty of the compositions." That Bailliot's judgment differs from Spohr's is perfectly clear, for he says : " There is a species of composition which seems to have been created for the Violoncello ; it is the Quintetto, such as conceived by Boccherini. In the happy idea of making this instrument perform a two-fold part, both as an accompaniment, and as giving the leading melody, he has known how to impart to it a double charm ; herein he has displayed a creative genius, similar to that of Haydn for the Symphony, and Viotti for the Concerto. In point of style, abound- ing as his does with originality, grace, freshness, and purity, and marked by an expression peculiarly its own, this composer may be cited as a model for those who study the Violoncello, and who are desirous of making it speak its true language." After describing the qualities of the quick movements of Boccherini, Bailliot next refers to an Adagio in language rich in expression if excessive in praise : " Nothing can surpass the charm which accompanies this move- ment, in the music of the great master of whom 240 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. we speak. When he allows it to be heard alone, it breathes a sensibility so profound, a simplicity so noble, that all ideas of art and imitation vanish ; and, penetrated with a religious feeling, we imagine some celestial voice is whispering to our bosoms : so far is its expression removed from everything that wounds the heart ; nay, on the contrary, so intimately is it allied to everything that is gentle and soothing to the spirit. When he bids all the five instruments discourse together, it is with a harmony so full, so august and effectual, that our senses are lulled with contemplation and repose, and our imagination is wrapped in a sweet reverie." Mendelssohn, describing a Quartett evening at Bailliot's, says : " They commenced with a Quintett by Boccherini — an old fashioned perruque, but a very amiable old gentleman underneath it." Boccherini was a singularly prolific composer, his works reaching the astonishing number of three hundred and sixty-six, of which seventy-four are unpublished. As a Violoncellist, he must have been in possession of exceptional executive power and knowledge of the finger-board, judging from the character of his writings. Six of his Sonatas have been edited by Signor Piatti, each of which is a monument to the ability of the composer. He died at Madrid, in which city he passed fifty years of his life, May 28th, 1805, aged 65. The list of his pub- lished works is as follows : Six Sonatas for Piano and Violin ; Six Sonatas for Violin and Bass ; Six Duetts THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 2 4 1 for two Violins ; Forty-two Trios for two Violins and Cello ; Twelve Trios for Violin, Viola, and Cello; Ninety-one String Quartetts ; Eighteen Quintetts for Flute or Oboe, Two Violins, Viola and Cello; Twelve Quintetts for Piano, two Violins, Viola, and Cello ; One Hundred and Thirteen Quintetts for two Violins, Viola and Cello ; Twelve Quintetts for two Violins, two Violas and Cello ; Sixteen Sextetts, for various instruments ; Two Octetts, etc. Whilst Boccherini was at Madrid, there lived there a pupil of Nardini's, named Gaetano Brunetti, of whom M. Picquot,* gives some account. It was Brunetti who is said to have supplanted Boccherini in the estimation of the Spanish Court, which M. Fetis truly characterises as base ingratitude towards his benefactor ; well might Mozart call him coarse and mean. He published Six Sextetts for Strings; Thirty-two String Quintetts; Six Quintetts with Bassoon and Strings ; Fifty-eight String Quartetts ; Twenty-two Trios ; Eighteen Sonatas for Violin and Bass, &c. Though Brunetti was singularly fortunate in publishing so much chamber music, it is questionable whether he secured that immortality in his works which an accidental coupling of his name with young Mozart's nether garments brought him. " The breeches belonging to the iron-gray coat," Leopold Mozart wrote to his son in 1777, "have been * " Notice of Boccherini and his Works," Paris, 1851. R 242 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. left behind ; if I find no other opportunity of sending them, I shall give them with some country dances, and the Adagio and Rondos composed by Brunetti to the messenger, &c." But again Brunetti's name is indissolubly connected with that astonishing feat of Mozart's of writing for himself and the Violinist, a sonata in sixty minutes. Though Cimarosa cannot be said to have been a prominent contributor to instrumental progress, yet he certainly had a share in it ; his charming melody alone entitles him to some notice here. The Emperor Napoleon enquired of the witty and brilliant Grdtry, what was the difference between Mozart and Cimarosa. " Sire," said Grdtry, " Cima- rosa places the statue on the stage, and the pedestal in the orchestra ; whilst Mozart puts the statue in the orchestra, and the pedestal on the stage ;" so much of this is true as regards Cimarosa, but no further. Notwithstanding the slightness of Cimarosa's orchestral accompaniments, they sur- pass those of his Italian predecessors and contem- poraries in variety of effects. Bartolomeo Campagnoli was born at Cento, near Bologna, September 10th, 1751. He went to Modena in 1763 in order to receive instruction from a professor there, who had studied in the school of Tartini. He benefited greatly from the teaching he received, and thus laid the foundation upon which he reared the stately pile of instructive works for his instrument. Remaining in Modena THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 243 about three years, he returned to Cento and accepted an engagement to play in the orchestra of the theatre there. After visiting Padua, Venice, and Rome, he decided upon journeying to Florence, that he might hear the great Nardini, who was then at the zenith of his fame. He remained in Florence some years, and became intimately associated with the great master, receiving, if not actual lessons from him, remarks and advice sufficient to influence greatly his executive skill and compositions. We have, here two instances of direct influence brought to bear on the musical education of Campagnoli, namely, that of his earliest instructor, who was a follower in the school of Tartini, and the advice he received from Nardini ; but there remains to mention another valued musician, whose influence was scarcely less than that of those referred to, viz., Cherubini, whose friendship he enjoyed. Between 1775 and 1787 he travelled much, visiting the chief Continental cities. From 1 788 to the time of his death, his time was chiefly spent in Dresden and Leipsic conducting secular and sacred music. He died November 6th, 1827, aged seventy-six. The amount of good the writings of this master have done it would be difficult to over-estimate. As compositions, the chief objection is, doubtless, a mannerism wffich pervades them, not found in the works of the highest genius ; but it is from an educational point of view they deserve consideration, r 2 244 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. and mention of a few of these compositions will be sufficient to call to the minds of those familiar with them their singular merit. First, the Studies on the Positions ; in these the display of ingenuity coupled with effects of modulation, are unsurpassed by any work having a similar aim. The student is at once interested with the numerous devices the composer adopts in order to develop a knowledge of each position, and charmed with the graceful modulation. In the work on the " Art of Improvising Fantasias and Cadences," Op. 17, we find the knowledge of the positions brought into use without restriction to any particular one, but the student is carried through all with great skill. The Thirty Preludes in all the keys, Op. 1 2, a work designed for making the player correct in intonation, is another valuable addition to music of the educational class. The Studies for the Viola, Op. 22, is a work of import- ance in the meagre catalogue of Viola music. The collection of 101 Easy Pieces for two Violins, Op. 20, contains much that is valuable for teaching; and lastly the Instruction Book. Passing to the compositions of Campagnoli of another character, Six Fugues ; Concerto with Orchestra ; Sonatas for Violin and Bass, Ops. 1 and 6, may be mentioned. Luigi Borghi, a pupil of Pugnani, was long in London. We find him mentioned as leader of the Second Violins at the Handel Commemoration, in 1784, at Westminster Abbey. The Duetts and Sonatas of Borghi were long popular among THE VIOUN IN ITALY. 245 English amateurs. His compositions consist of Six Sonatas for Violin and Bass, Op. i ; Three Concertos, with accompaniment, Op. 2 ; Six Solos, Op. 3 ; Twelve Duetts, Op. 4, 5 ; Six Duetts, Violin and Viola, Op. 6 ; Six Duetts for Violin and Violon- cello, Op. 7 ; Six Concertos for Violin Solo. In Bruni, Pugnani had another famous scholar. He was born in Piedmont, in 1759. He passed his life chiefly at Paris, where he became conductor of the Opera Comique, himself composing several light operas. He is known to Violinists chiefly as the composer of many agreeably-written string Trios and Duetts, and as the author of an Instruction Book for the Tenor. Alessandro Rolla composed much interesting and valuable music for the Violin at this period. He made the Viola a special study, and was famous as a soloist on that instrument. He composed Three Violin Concertos with orchestra, and Four Tenor Concertos, also with orchestra ; Several Quartetts, Quintetts, and Trios, besides some Duetts for Violin and Tenor and two Violins. §tc6mt WL— <9Che Violin in Italg. CHAPTER V. "\1[7"ITH Giovanni Battista Viotti begins the Modern school of the Violin. He was born in Piedmont on the 23rd of May, 1753 ; his father was a horn player, and from him he received his early musical knowledge. He ultimately became a pupil of Pugnani at Turin, and entered the orchestra of the Royal Chapel there as a Violinist. In 1780 he left Turin, visiting Germany, Russia, Poland, and this country.* Here he was importuned to remain ; he, however, went to Paris, where he made his debut at the Concert Spirituel in 1782. He played one of his own concertos, the striking originality of which, combined with the composer's splendid tone and elegant style, made an extraordinary impression upon his audience. In most biographies of Viotti, the account of this performance is followed by one of those anecdotes in which the artist figures as vanquished, vain, or contemptible ; in this instance * M. Fe"tis states that Viotti accompanied Pugnani on his tour, tut this must be an error, as Pugnani left London in 1770 for Turin, where he remained afterwards. THE yjOL/JV IN ITALY. 247 it is the offence of contemptuousness with which the artist is associated : " Commanded to play a concerto at the Court of Louis XVI. at Versailles, the virtuoso appeared there in obedience to the summons, and had proceeded about half-way through the composition, when the attention of his distin- guished audience was suddenly taken from the .performer and the concerto, to an illustrious fresh arrival. Noise and confusion ruled where silence and attention before reigned. Viotti, indignant, removed the music from the desk and departed, leaving the concert and their Majesties to the reproaches of the audience." That some slight interruption may have caused Viotti to cease playing during its continuance is both probable and reasonable, but that the admitted possessor of a highly cultivated and refined mind should behave as above related, is, to say the least, unlikely ; and more so, when the same biographer tells us that in his intercourse with those high in social position, he never forgot the dignity of his own character, or of their rank. After spending a short time in Italy, Viotti returned to Paris in 1784, when he became one of the distinguished members of the chief musical circle of the French capital. Viotti seems chiefly to have passed his time in Paris as Tartini did at Padua, ignoring public performances, and benefiting the art of music by conveying to others musical knowledge of inestim- able worth. In 1788 Viotti was induced to accept 248 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. the onerous post of director of an Italian opera company. In a few months he had completed the necessary arrangements, and in 1789 the company made its first appearance at the Tuilleries, achieving great success. It was in connection with this operatic scheme that we first hear of Cherubini in Paris, and his association with Viotti. All went well until 1 792, when the Reign of Terror began ; the members of the company wisely disbanded and escaped from the tumultuous scene. Poor Viotti quitted France for England pecuniarily ruined. In London he appeared at Salomon's Concerts, playing his concertos with marked success. He subsequently became the leader of the Italian Opera, and was apparently steadily recovering from his recent up- heavings, when he was suddenly ordered by the British Government to leave our shores. The anti-Gallic spirit was at this period in a very inflam- mable condition, and Viotti came to be regarded as an agent of the revolutionists, sent here to propagate their tenets under cover of his Violin. It was certainly a wild conclusion to come to on the part of our officials, but the darkened state of the European atmosphere cast a shade over all foreigners, formerly resident in the French capital, from their point of view. The sensitive nature of Viotti must have made him feel deeply this expulsion from England. He went to Holland, and lived in a retired place near Hamburgh, occupying himself with composition. It was here that many of his best works were THE VIOLIN IN ITALY.. 249 written. In 1801 Viotti returned to London, it having been clearly proved that he ought never to have been subjected to the treatment he received from our Government. He ultimately embarked his capital in the purchase of wine in bond, a transaction in his case about on a par with that of Goldsmith's Moses and the gross of green spectacles. That poor Viotti's trading capacity was of a very different character to that of his Violin playing, is not difficult to imagine : to buy wine was one thing, to sell it another. His next step was to rent an office in the neighbourhood of Pali-Mall, which he attended daily for the purpose of submitting his wine samples to the public. His patrons, unfortunately, seem to have been all tasters and no buyers, since he finally closed his ledger all on one side, and that the wrong one. After this commercial calamity, he again went to Paris and received from Louis XVIII. the appointment of manager to the Grand Opera ; from this position he retired with a pension. Again he returned to London, but his failing health prevented his taking any active part in our musical world. He took much interest in the formation of the Philharmonic Society, founded in the year 181 3, and during the opening season shared its leadership with Salomon, Spagnoletti, Yaniewicz, Francois Cramer, and Vaccari. Viotti died in London, 3rd of March, 1824, according to the account given in the Gentleman's 25O THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Magazine, Vol. xciv. p. 280. The " Nouvelle Biogra- phie Universelle," states he died at Brighton, and has often been quoted in the notices of Viotti. I have, however, made every possible enquiry at Brighton as to his burial there without succeeding in learning anything with regard to it. We may therefore conclude the father of the modern school of Violin-playing was interred in some London churchyard, and if discoverable, a tablet would add lustre to the edifice, even though it were the Abbey of Westminster. Of his moral qualities it is written, "There never was a man who attached such great value to the simplest gifts of nature ; there never was a child who more ardently enjoyed them. A violet, found under the grass would transport him with joy ; or the gathering of fresh fruit render him the happiest of mortals ; he found in the one a perfume ever new, in the other a flavour always more and more delicious. His organs thus delicate and sensitive, seemed to have preserved the impressibility of early youth, whilst stretched on the grass he would pass hours in admiring the colour or inhaling the odour of a rose. Everything that belonged to the country was, for this extraordinary man, a new object of amusement, interest, and enjoyment ; all his senses were excited by the slightest impressions ; everything around him affected his imagination ; all nature spoke to his heart, which overflowed with senti- ment." THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 25 1 The style of Viotti's Violin-playing was, in the estimation of Pierre Bailliot, perfection ; and accordingly he made it a model from which to form his own. The impression it made upon him when only twelve years of age, was such as time could never efface. Twenty years later he wrote, after again hearing Viotti, " Je le croyais Achille ; mais c'est Agamemnon." The Violin writings of Viotti include : Twenty- nine Concertos ; Three Quartetts, Books i and 2 ; Three Quartetts, Op. 22 ; Quartetts in the form of Airs with Variations ; String Trios ; Violin Duetts ; and also Sonatas for Violin and Bass. The popu- larity of Viotti's music at the time of its publication and since, is evidenced by the arrangements of some of the Concertos for the Piano, and by Dussek and Cherubini's arrangements of the Trios as Sonatas for Pianoforte and Violin. Although Cherubini's contributions to the music of the Violin had no marked influence on its progress, the high character of his writings generally renders the little he did in the field of Violin music interesting. Reference has already been made to the meeting of Cherubini and Viotti in Paris. The friendship that existed between these artists was of the strongest kind ; Viotti took the greatest interest in the welfare of his friend, and the many services Cherubini received at his hands were gratefully remembered to the end of his life. Cherubini was born at Florence in 1760. He became a pupil of 252 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Giuseppe Sarti at Bologna, with the aid of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, who volunteered to pay the cost of his tuition, so much did he admire the youthful composer's abilities. His first opera, "II Qtiinto Fabia" was played at Alessandria in 1780. In 1784 he assisted at the Handel Commemoration in Westminster Abbey. He remained in England two years, during which time he was often in the society of the Prince of Wales, afterwards George IV., who was delighted with his abilities. Cherubini, however, failed to please the British public with his opera, " Giulio Sabino," which much vexed him, and ultimately led to his taking up his residence in Paris. In the year 1795 the Conserva- toire was founded, and Cherubini was appointed one of the " Inspecteurs des Etudes," and professor of Counterpoint ; amongst his pupils was Bailliot. Passing over references to the production of Cheru- bini's important operatic works, we will notice the marked coolness manifested by Napoleon Buonaparte towards him, an instance of which is furnished by his having declined to appoint him as his Chapel- master. Mehul, to whom the post was offered by Napoleon, generously suggested the propriety of its being filled by his friend Cherubini ; " Do not speak to me about that man, said Napoleon, I want a maestro who will make music, not noise," from which remark it would seem that the First Consul's idea of what constituted noise differed from that of musical men. Certain it is, however, Cherubini's THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 253 noise is both musical and learned, and it is regret- able that he did not make more. In 1805 he went to Vienna, where he made the acquaintance of Beethoven and Haydn, but returned, after a short stay, to France. Spohr, in one of his letters dated from Paris, writes, " From the frequent opportunities I had of playing before Cherubini at private parties, I conceived a very ardent desire to have all my quartetts and quintetts heard by that master, so highly esteemed by me ; but in this I succeeded with very few only ; for when Cherubini had heard the first quartett (No. 1, Op. 45), and I was on the point of producing a second, he protested against, it and said, ' Your music, and indeed the form and style of this kind of music, is as yet foreign to me, that I cannot find myself immediately at home with it. I would, therefore, prefer that you repeated the quartett just played.'" Spohr tells us this re- mark surprised him, but that he afterwards dis- covered that Cherubini was ignorant of the works of Mozart and Beethoven, and that he had heard a Haydn quartett but once. This information seems startling, remembering that Cherubini was often in the company of Viotti and Bailliot, the latter a famous quartett player, and giver of quartett concerts, and that he made the personal acquaintance of Haydn and Beethoven sixteen years before Spohr wrote in his diary of Cherubini's ignorance of Ger- man music. .That he had written a quartett at least 254 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. two years before Spohr visited Paris, is certain, the Quartett in E flat having been composed in 1819. If this work was composed without any knowledge of those of Haydn or Mozart, we must agree with Mr. Bellasis,* who says in effect that our estimation of it is increased thereby. The chamber compositions of Cherubini consist of the Quartett in E flat ; No. 2, in C, from a Sym- phony with a new adagio ; No. 3, in D, composed in 1834 ; No. 4, in E ; No. 5, in F ; No. 6 in A minor ; and a Quintett for Strings in E minor. The Quartett in E flat is referred to by Schumann who speaks of the " Scherzo," with its fanciful Spanish subject, ± p r 1 m 3£ mm the extraordinary trio, m gfotftrcr P^fe and, lastly, the finale, sparkling like a diamond when you shake it. Allegro assai. 3 S 22 =fi*= The reception of the Quartett in E fiat (written in the year 18 19, though not performed until 1827), * " Memorials of Cherubini," 1874. THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 255 induced Cherubini to his Symphony in D, which he arranged as a quartett with a new adagio. Of this work Schumann says, " A few dry bars, the work of the intellect alone, there are, as in most of Cherubini's works ; but even in these there is always something interesting in the passage, some ingenious contrivance or imitation, something to think about. There is most spirit in the Scherzo and last move- ment, which are both full of wonderful life. The adagio has a striking individual A minor character, something romantic and Provencalish. After hearing it several times its charms grow, and it closes in such a manner as to make you begin listening again, though knowing the end is near." These two quartetts, together with the third in D minor, were published and dedicated to Bailliot in 1835. There still remain three unpublished. Bailliot wrote a letter to his brother-in-law, M. Guynemer, dated April 9th, 1842, in which he says, " I was well assured that you would share in our sorrow on the occasion of the loss we have sustained in the venerable Cherubini. I can say nothing in addition to what you already think and feel on this subject; the loss to the musical world is immense ; but it falls yet heavier on those who had the opportunity of knowing, under the somewhat rough exterior, the genuine intrinsic worth of him who was also perhaps the 'last and noblest Roman ' in the purely classical style." It has been said handwriting reflects the disposi- 256 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. tion of the writer. That an orderly man-would make no blots, cross his t's, and dot his i's may be granted,, but little beyond. Music, however, is a far superior reflector of the character of its composer, and Cherubini is an instance of its delineating power. . Mendelssohn, referring to Cherubini, once re- marked to his friend, Ferdinand Hiller, " What an extraordinary creature he is ! You would fancy that a man could not be a great composer without sentiment, heart, feeling, or whatever else you call it ; but I declare I believe that he makes everything out of his head alone." The disposition and manner of Cherubini we find described as stern, reserved, scrupulously observant of duty, every act was performed by rule. If he made a blot he cut round it with his knife, and neatly fitted a new bit of paper in its place. His scores resembled engraving rather than penmanship. Haydn was particularly methodical, and would not even attempt to compose without having donned his wig, and habited himself in full dress, all of which niceties are reflected in his writings ; but in place of the quality of sternness and reserve marked in the bearing of Cherubini, "looking like a dry screwed-up little man, with heavy eyebrows," we have the dark grey eyes of Haydn, beaming with benevolence, and his own estimate of himself, " Any one can see by the look of me I am a good-natured sort of fellow." That the world recognises this portrait in almost every page of his music admits of no doubt. Station W.—%ht Hiriin in Italg. CHAPTER VI. ' I "HE great and essentially legitimate school of Violin playing raised by Viotti, had for its foundation the solid musical masonry of Corelli and his predecessors, and, like all honest work, best withstands the wear and tear of time. Very different are the results when schools rest upon unstable material from designs originating in frenzied fantasy. It was Pietro Locatelli who helped to develope the phrenetical School of Violin-playing ; it was Lolli who made the ridiculous a prominent feature, and it was left to the prince of virtuosi, Nicolo Paganini, to crown the work of both. " So pla/d of late to every passing thought With finest change (might I but half as well So write ! ) the pale magician of the bow, Who brought from Italy the tales, made true, Of Grecian lyres ; and on his sphery hand, Loading the air with dumb expectancy, Suspended, ere it fell, a nation's breath ; " Of witches' dance, ghastly with whinings thin, And palsied nods — mirth, wicked, sad, and weak ; And then with show of skill mechanical, Marvellous as witchcraft he would overthrow That vision with a show'r of notes like hail : 258 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. " Flashing the sharp tones now, In downward leaps like swords ; now rising fine Into some utmost tip of minute sound, From whence he stepp'd into a higher and higher On viewless points, till laugh took leave of him. " Then from one chord of his amazing shell Would he fetch out the voice of quires, and weight Of the built organ ; or some twofold strain Moving before him in sweet-going yoke, Ride like an Eastern conqueror, round whose state Some light Morisco leaps with his guitar ; And ever and anon o'er these he'd throw Jets of small notes like pearl." Leigh Hunt. Paganini was born at Genoa on February 18th, 1784. His father traded on a small scale, and amused himself in playing on the Mandoline ; his knowledge of music was sufficient to make his boy acquainted with its elements, and he knew enough of the Violin to teach him its rudiments. After receiv- ing tuition from Costa, a Violoncello player, at Genoa, his father was advised to place him under Alessandro Rolla. Paganini is said to have received from Rolla several months' tuition ; this, however, Paganini in after years would not acknowledge, and the contra- diction is illustrated with one of those extraordinary anecdotes so frequently met with in his detached Autobiography. The substance of this particular one is, that Paganini, whilst waiting for an inter- view with Rolla relative to taking lessons, took up a Violin and played the professor's last concerto at sight, which so astonished Rolla in the adjoining THE VIOLIN IN IT A IV, 259 room, that he confessed he had nothing to teach him. Paganini, after suffering much from the harsh and cruel treatment of his father, succeeded in releasing himself from his bondage. At this time he was about fifteen years of age, maintaining himself by his public performances. Left to his own resources, with no lack of money, but half educated, with neither parent nor guardian to advise him, he soon fell a prey to gamblers. It was at Leghorn that he sacrificed his Violin to his passion for gaming ; the loss, however, resulted in ultimate gain, since a French merchant, M. Livron, presented him with the Joseph Guarnerius made in 1743, which he publicly used to the end of his career. This world-renowned Violin is now in the Municipal Palace at Genoa, in accordance with Paganini's testamentary directions. In the year 1875, through the kindness of my friend Signor Sacchi, I succeeded in obtaining permission to photograph the instru- ment, which enables me to place before my readers the accompanying impression. Upon one occasion s 2 260 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. even this splendid instrument was all but sacrificed. Paganini being deeply in want of money to pay his debts of honour, and remembering a certain Prince had long wished to possess his Guarnerius, he was on the point of gratifying his desire, when he received an invitation to a card party at a friend's house ; hastening thence with but thirty francs at his disposal, . he risked his all ; resolving, if fortune proved fickle, to sell to the Prince his Violin and travel to St. Petersburg to begin anew. His .venture, however, yielded him some few pounds, and his Guarnerius was saved, to him. From that moment he renounced gambling. About this period .Paganini is said to have composed his first studies, included in the twenty- four published as Op. i, the character of which is similar to those of Locatelli in his " Arte di Nuova Modulazione," but far surpassing them in point of difficulty. These studies were taken to Paris by Andreozzi long before the extraordinary skill of the composer was known to French Violinists. Their appearance there created a deep impression ; the difficulties they presented were so problematical, and under forms so peculiar, that many doubted the possibility of their execution, and looked upon the publication as a work of mystification. The famous French Violinist, Habeneck, endeavoured to solve these musical enigmas, but at length abandoned them, failing to discover their applica- tion to the pure music of the great composers; THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 26 1 an opinion, I am inclined to think, few legitimate Violinists will disagree with. Blangini, on his return from Italy, spoke of the author with enthusiasm, and attested that his art bore no affinity to the manner of playing the Violin that all great masters had propagated until his day ; that all was the inven- tion of his talent, and that he was destined to revolutionize the art of Violin playing. Paganini and revolutionary Violin-playing was for years a subject much dwelt upon ; it was the bogey of the principal Violinists of the day. Mendelssohn, writing to his sister, said, " I don't at all approve of your hearing Lafont, to speak of the revolution in the Violin since Paganini, for I don't admit that any such thing exists in art, but only in people themselves ; and I think that very same style would have displeased you in Lafont if you had heard him before Paganini's appearance." Mendelssohn, in another letter, reverts to the subject : " Reformation is that which I desire to see in all things, in life and in art, in politics and in street pavement. Reformation is entirely negative against abuses, and only removes what obstructs the path ; but a revolution, by means of which all that was formerly good is no longer to continue, is to me the most intolerable of all things, and is in fact only a fashion. Therefore, I would not for a moment hear that Lafont's playing could inspire no further interest since the revolution effected by Paganini ; for if his playing ever had the power to interest me it would still do so, even if 262 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. in the meantime I had heard the angel Gabriel on the Violin." In 1805 Paganini again performed in several Italian cities, after a rest of about four years. It was at this period that he perverted his extraordinary- abilities to uses which gave his detractors good ground for naming him a charlatan. He has recorded that he was induced to extend his discoveries of novel effects upon the Violin. One of these pretended discoveries was to remove the second and third strings and simulate a dialogue between the first and fourth. Paganini was not slow to recognise the sensational advantages this new departure in Violin- playing afforded him. If the retention of but two strings be regarded with such wonder, how much greater the marvel will be if but one is used ; such appears to have been the sum of Paganini's calcula- tions. The excitement produced by Paganini on one string is scarcely hushed in 1881. It was well said at the time, " To effect so much on a single string is truly wonderful ; nevertheless, any good player can extract more from two than one. If Paganini really produces so much effect on his single string, he would certainly obtain more from two. Then why not, therefore, employ them ? We answer, because he is waxing exceedingly wealthy by playing on one." At Milan he met with extraordinary enthusiasm. In 181 3 he gave thirty-seven concerts in that city. It was there that he heard some ballet music of the THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 263 composer Siissmayer, from which he took the theme for his famous " Witches' Dance." In 1 8 14 he became acquainted with Rossini at Bologna. It was Rossini who, upon being asked how he liked the new Violinist, replied, " I have wept but three times in my life ; first, on the failure of my earliest opera ; the second time, when in a boat with some friends, a turkey stuffed with truffles provided for our dinner fell overboard ; and thirdly, on hearing Paganini for the first time." At Milan, in 1816, Lafont imprudently ventured to give a concert in conjunction with Paganini, at the great Theatre La Scala. The suggestion, according to Paganini, met with his disapproval, he remarking " that the public invariably looked upon such matters as duels, in which there was always a victim, and that it would be so in this case." Lafont arranged the programme, which included the " Sym- phonic Concertante " of Kreutzer in F, and a solo for each, of their own composition. For several days they rehearsed the duett together with the greatest care, and it was performed on the day of the concert as it had been rehearsed. Paganini said, " Lafont probably surpassed me in tone, but the applause which followed my efforts convinced me I did not suffer by comparison." That Paganini was regarded as infinitely superior to Lafont is easily understood. Each artist, no doubt, received his share of applause ; however, fourteen years after the event, a pamphlet appeared, purporting to be an 264 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. account of the celebrated Violinst Paganini, written by M. J. Imbert de Laphaleque, on every page of which the .musical ignorance of the author is visible. Herein the author took upon himself to refer to the concert at Milan, given by Paganini and Lafont, and mentioned that all the passages performed by Lafont in tenths were repeated by Paganini in fourteenths and sixteenths ! Lafont wrote, to a journalist, pointing out the erroneous statements, remarking, " I was not beaten by Paganini, nor was he by me." Louis Spohr relates that Paganini paid him a visit when in Venice, in 18 16. He says: "I have at length made the personal acquaintance of this wonderful man, of whom, since I have been in Italy, I have heard some story or other every day. No instrumentalist ever charmed the Italians so much as he." The next day Spohr writes : " Paganini called to compliment me upon my concert ; I urgently solicited him to play some- thing, but he bluntly refused." Several years after this, Spohr had an opportunity of hearing Paganini. He writes : "In June, 1830, Paganini came to Cassel and gave two concerts, which I heard with great interest. His left hand and his constantly pure intonation were, to me, astonishing ; but in his compositions and his execution I found a strange mixture of the highly genial and childishly tasteless, by which one felt alternately charmed and dis- appointed." THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 265 After an uninterrupted series of triumphs in Austria, Prussia, and elsewhere, Paganini reached Paris, and gave his first concert, March 9th, 1831, at the opera. The enthusiasm he created was extraordinary. After spending two months there he came to London. Very shortly after his arrival he called upon Moscheles, having received marked attention from Mr. Emden (Mrs. Moscheles' father), some time before his visit to England, and to whom he was indebted for securing an engagement of importance. " On his first visit to us " — Moscheles writes — " his gratitude found vent in such exagge- rated expressions as are known only to an Italian vocabulary : we were the children of his ' onoratis- simo, etc.', and he took down from the mantel- piece a miniature portrait of his benefactor, covered it with kisses, and addressed it with the most high- flown epithets. Meantime we had leisure to study those olive-tinted, sharply-defined features, the glowing eyes, the scanty but long black hair, and the thin, gaunt figure, upon which the clothes hung loosely ; the deep-sunken cheeks, and those long bony fingers." We read later on : " My assistance is of use to him here, and I am paid as many honeyed epithets as' my father-in-law received. This face of mine is as much kissed as my father- in-law's painted one. We receive him well, although I suspect he is rather too sweet to be genuine." The following is an interesting account of the great artist written at the time : " The sensation 266 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. which the Violinist has caused among all classes in London is so universal that we really feel embarrassed in taking up the pen on the present occasion. The daily and weekly journals have been full of Paganini this fortnight and more. Paganini has been the all-absorbing topic of con- versation in every circle, from the salon to the tap-room, and the speculations upon Reform in the national representation yielded for a time to the universal clamour for reform in the prices of admission at which the most opulent city of the universe was to enjoy the magic of a solitary Fiddle." The prices of admission demanded certainly appear extortionate, amounting to nearly ,£4,000 in the event of all the seats in the opera-house having been taken. This, however, was the manager's affair, and not Paganini's, since he came to England at the invitation of Laporte, fettered by a contract which ensured to the said manager a large proportion of the profits of his performances. Peace was ulti- mately made with the British public, and Paganini was heard at a reduced rate of charges. " His first concert took place on the 3rd of June, 1 83 1. After a symphony by Beethoven had been played, and ' Largo al Factotum ' sung by Lablache, a tall haggard figure, with long black hair strangely falling down to his shoulders, slid forward like a spectral apparition. There was something awful, unearthly, in that countenance ; but his play ! our pen seems involuntarily to evade the difficult task THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 267 of giving utterance to sensations which are beyond the reach of language. If we were to affirm that we have heard many celebrated Violinists of various countries, and that Paganini did everything which their performance had taught us to consider possible on the instrument, we should fall greatly short of the impression we could wish to convey. If we were to declare, as some of our colleagues have maintained, that Paganini has advanced a century beyond the present standard of virtuosity, the assertion would be equally incorrect, for we believe that all the centuries in the womb of time will not produce a master spirit, a musical phenomenon,, organised like Paganini. But what, we have been asked, in the midst of our ecstacies, what are these excellencies, these wonders, so unattainable by the rest of his competitors ? " These excellencies we reply, consist, in the com- bination of absolute mechanical perfection of every imaginable kind, perfection hitherto unknown and unthought of, with the higher attributes of the human mind, inseparable from eminence in the fine arts; intellectual superiority,. sensibility, deep feeling poesy — genius !" * It was upon the occasion of Paganini's memor- able performance on the 3rd of, June, 1831, that John Cramer, of pianoforte-study renown, who is represented sitting in front of the Pianoforte in the accompanying woodcut, exclaimed, after hearing the * "New Monthly Magazine," July, 1831. 268 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. extraordinary performance of the virtuoso, " Thank Heaven I am not a Violin player ! " and Mori held up his Violin and jocularly offered it to the musicians of the orchestra for eighteenpence. ROBERT LINDLEY. MORI. FRANCOIS CRAMER. DRAGONETTI. JOHN CRAMER. PAGANINI. Macready, the tragedian, in his diary, tenders a somewhat different opinion : "July 17th, 1833 — Went to Drury Lane to see Paganini. His power THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 269 over his instrument is surprising ; the tones he draws from it might be thought those of the sweetest flageolet and hautboy, and sometimes of the human voice ; the expression he gives to a common air is quite charming. His playing of ' Patrick's Day/ was the sweetest piece of instrumental music I ever heard — but he is a quack." The poet, Thomas Moore, remarked that. Paganini " abuses his powers. He could play- divinely, and does so sometimes for a minute or two, but then comes his tricks and surprises, his bow in convulsions/and his enharmonics like the mewlings of an expiring cat." Macready and Moore doubtless refer to one of those performances which George Hogarth, the musical critic, described as : " running up and down a single string, from the nut to the bridge, for ten minutes together, or playing with the bow and the fingers of his right hand, mingling pizzicato and arcato notes with the dexterity of an Indian juggler."' "It was not, however," Hogarth continues, "by these tricks, but in spite of them, that he gained the suffrages of those who were charmed by his truly great qualities — his ' soul of fire,' his boundless fancy, his energy, tenderness, and passion : these are the qualities which give him a, claim to a place among the greatest masters of the art." Paganini appeared for the last time in England in 1833, returning to the Continent, in possession of considerable wealth, which he invested in landed 270 THE VIOLIN AXD ITS MUSIC. property. He died at Nice, May 27th, 1840, aged 56. Fetis gives the following list of his compositions : — Op. 1, Ventiquattro Capricci per Violino solo, dedicati agli artisti ; Op. 2, Sei Sonati per Violino •e Chitarra ; Op. 3, Sei Sonati per Violino e Chitarra ; Op. 4 and 5, Tre gran Quartetti a Violino, Viola, Chitarra, e Violoncello. The above are the .compositions published in his lifetime. Op. 6, Concerto in E flat; Op. 7, Concerto in B minor ; Op. 8, Le Streghe (Witches' Dance) ; Op. 9, Variations on "God save the King"; Op. io, Le Carnival de Venise ; Op. 11, Moto Perpetuo ; Op. 1 2, Variations, " Non Piu Mesta"; Op. 13, Variations, " Di Tanti Palpiti"; Op. 14, Sixty Variations in all the keys, on the air, " Barucaba." M. Fetis remarks, " Paganini was aware that the interest which his concerts created would diminish materially if he published the compositions he performed." He only travelled with the orchestral accompaniments, and no one ever saw the solo parts. It may not be generally known to Violinists that a few of the studies of Paganini .were adapted to the Pianoforte by Schumann and Liszt, and that the former has left on record remarks relative to the composer and the adaptors. He tells us " Paganini is said to have rated his merit as a composer more highly than his talent as a virtuoso. If general THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 27 1 opinion has not, until now, agreed with him, it must at least be allowed that his compositions contain many pure and precious qualities, worthy of being firmly fixed in the richer setting required by the Pianoforte. This is especially true of his Violin Caprices, which are imagined and carried out with rare freshness and lightness." Of the arrangement by Liszt, Schumann remarks, "' This collection consists of five numbers from the Caprices. Here there is, of course, no question of any pedantic innovation, or a bare harmonic filling out of the Violin part ; the Pianoforte is effective through other means than those of the Violin. It must be highly interesting to find the composi- tions of the greatest Violin virtuoso of our century in regard to bold bravura — Paganini — illustrated by the boldest of modern Pianoforte virtuosi — Liszt. This collection is probably the most difficult ever written for the Pianoforte, as its original is the most difficult work that exists for the Violin. Paganini knew this well, and expressed it in his short dedica- tion, 'Agli Artisti,' that is to say — I am only accessible to artists." Camillo Sivori, we are told, was a pupil of Paganini. He was born at Genoa in 1815. His first lessons were received from a Violinist named Costa. It is needless to relate in these pages the achievements of this world-renowned Violinist. As a soloist, quartett-player, and composer for his instrument he has been long held in the highest 272 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. esteem. Mention is made of Paganini composing- six sonatas for Sivofi, with accompaniment for Guitar, Tenor, and Violoncello ; and that Paganini played the Guitar part upon several occasions at musical parties, whilst that of the Violin was played by the boy Sivori. Sivori has composed a Taran- telle ; Two Concertante Duetts for Piano and Violin ; .several Fantasias ; and a Duett for Violin and Double Bass, in conjunction with Bottesini. Another famous Italian Violinist and composer is Antonio Bazzini, born at Brescia in 181 8. His compositions are of a marked and effective character. The " Danse des Gn6mes;" Five Concertos, the favourite of which is the " Concerto Militaire," are among his chief works ; he has also written much Violin music of an elegiac kind of great merit. Giovanni Bottesini, one of the most gifted of living musicians, was born in Lombardy in 1823. Though known chiefly to the public as the greatest player on the Double Bass the world has seen since the days of Domenico Dragonetti, he is rightly regarded by musicians as a composer of extra- ordinary ability. In his boyhood the Violin was his instrument, but he relinquished the study of it upon his entering the Milan Conservatoire. His compositions for the Double Bass are numerous, and of exceptional difficulty. His Instruction Book for that instrument is a large work of an ex- , haustive character. The only published composi- tion associated with his name in connection with the THE VIOLIN IN ITALY. 273 Violin — with the exception of two String Quintetts — appears to be the "Grand Duo," for Violin and Double Bass,* which was publicly performed by Wieniawski and the composer. Luigi Arditi, native of Crescentino, in Piedmont, born July 16th, 1825, made the Violin his chief study early in life ; he began to wield the baton in 1843. He has written a Sestett in the bravura style for two Violins, two Tenors, Violoncello, and Double Bass ; Fantasias for the Violin, &c. Both Rossini and Verdi have composed chamber music, though not of a kind likely to live beside the works of the great German masters. It must be admitted that the quartett of Verdi's introduced at the Monday Popular Concerts, (season 1879,) is by no means an unimportant work, but when thought of beside those of Cherubini the truth and force of Bailliot's words are felt, and serve as an apt tailpiece to this Italian section of my work, namely, that Cherubini, in the purely classical school, was the " Last and noblest Roman." * The inclusion of a Duett for these instruments, among the compositions of Sivori, was an inadvertence. T hctxon WI. — ^llxe liolitt iit Jrana. CHAPTER I. ' I V AKING up the thread of stringed instru- merit progress in France, where we left it in the age of Francis I., we cannot do better than begin this new Section with the mention of the most original and most eminent author of the same period, Frangois Rabelais, the jolly Vicar of Meudon. It has been said, there is not a question of importance that has not been touched upon, in " La vie tres-horrifique du grand Gargantua, pere de Pantagruel." Music must be included with these subjects, and his references to it are both curious and valuable. M. Albert de Lasalle, in his notice of Rabelais,* gives much of the information, relative to music, to be met with in the pages of the old French Author. I extract the following reference to the Violin from his notice : " Panurge jette aux avides chats-fourres (aux gens de justice) une bourse pleine d'ecus qui tombe devant eux sur le parquet ; et au son de la bourse commencent tous les chats-fourres Pougin's Complement "Biographie Universelle des Musiciens,' - 1880. THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. 2J$ jouer des gryphes, comme si feussent Violons deman- ches." There is also given a list of instruments, among which is the Rebec, la Vielle, and la Guiterne. It is, however, the mention of Violins which interests us. The reference may only be to the Rebec, and not to the Italian Violin ; however this may be, it is certain that twenty years later than the publica- tion of Rabelais' book, Charles IX. purchased from Cremona, Violins, since in the " Archives Curieuses de 1'Histoire de France" is the following: — "27 Octobre, 1572, A. Nicolas Delinet, jouer de Fluste et Violon dudict Sieur, la somme de 50 livres to urn, pour luy donner moyen d'achepter ung Violon de Cremonne pour le service dudict Sieur." But Charles' Violin buying did not end here, for he ordered from Andrew Amati the famous twenty-four Violins of two sizes, six Violas, and eight Basses, which, it is said, were kept in the Royal Chapel at Versailles until October 1790, when they were dispersed with many other treasures. It is interesting to note that at this period (1570) Charles issued letters patent for a new Academy of Music, the precursor of which was doubtless that held at the house of Jean Antoine de Baif, to which the King resorted and assisted in his own person.* There was, evidently, a great musical movement occurring at this date, since 157 1 is the year given when the King invited Lassus to his Court. Adrian le Roy, the author of the book on the Lute already noticed, appears to have entertained * Hawkins, p. 833. T 2 2 j6 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Lassus, and remarks in a dedication to Charles IX., "When Orlando di Lassus lately entered your- presence to kiss your hand, and modestly and deferentially greet your Majesty, I saw plainly as eyes can see the honour you were conferring on music and musicians."* The influence of Lassus undoubtedly contributed greatly to the development of music in France, and Charles showing his appreciation of the composer's abilities lastingly benefited his people. That the Netherlandefs were the leaders in this onward movement, is gathered from the circumstance of Rabelais mentioning, sixty musicians whom he had heard perform, mostly Netherlanders. The French composers at this period appear to have been chiefly occupied with songs and dances. The earliest known music printed in France for stringed instruments, namely Viols, is a collection of such pieces composed by Claude Gervaise.t D'Etree, an Oboe player in the service of Charles IX., published four books of dances, writing down the common lively tunes which had previously been learned by the ear. The date of this book is given as 1564. Claude Le Jeunne, Goudimel, and Bourgeois were composers of music set to the psalms of the Calvinists ; some of these were used for voices or Viols. The title of the book of Bourgeois is, * J. R. Sterndale Bennett's Notice of Lassus. t See "Histoire de l'lnstrumentation," par H. Lavoix fils, p. 171. THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. 277 " Quatres-vingt-trois Psalmes de David en musique (fort convenable aux instruments) a. quarte, cinq et six parties," dated 1561. The earliest Violinist in France appears to have been Baltazarini, an Italian from Piedmont. He was sent to Henry III. by the Marshal de Brissac, and pleased the Court, not only by his Violin per- formances, but in inventing dances, music shows, and representations. There is every reason to believe that the Violin, when introduced, was only used in connection with dancing in France. Henry IV. had his band of twenty-four Violins, which in all probability only played dance music. Several instruments by Antonius and Hieronymus Amati were made expressly for the band of Henry IV., on the backs of which are the arms of France and Navarre. Jacques Cordier, sometimes called Bocan, dis- tinguished himself as a, performer on the Violin and Rebec, and as a professor of dancing. He lived in the reign of Louis XIII., and came to England, when Charles I. often heard him play with pleasure. Mersenne mentions Cordier in terms of praise: It was, perhaps, this early player who caused Mersenne to prefer the Violin to all other instruments. The preference he gave to it must have appeared curious to many of his readers, the instrument being chiefly in the hands of the vulgar. Remembering how bright appeared the prospect of music in France in the time of Francis I., it is 278 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. disappointing to discover the little progress that was made by the French nation during the wide space of a century. The cause is not difficult to seek ; it is not found in any paucity of musical genius or ability to continue a work so well commenced ; it is discovered amid the ruins occasioned by religious warfare, the worst enemy music has had. Churches and monasteries, in which the art was practised with skill, and where was reverentially kept the rich stores of written and printed music, were made the scenes of destruction and profanation. Musicians were murdered in the open street ;* musicians, deprived of their peaceful avocation, sunk under their load of anxiety, or sought refuge in foreign lands. Remembering these things, we have no cause to wonder that at the threshold of the reign of Louis XIV. we fail to recognise a representative of French music. If Louis XIV. and his Court succeeded to a barren musical heritage, the deficiency was more than counterbalanced by the succession to a nation's intellectual riches, the equivalent of which has rarely fallen to a king and people. To mention Racine and Moliere, Boileau and Fdndlon, La Fontaine and Pascal, at once stamps the character of the mental wealth that surrounded him whom Bolingbroke said, was, "If not the greatest king, the best actor of majesty at least, that ever filled a * Claude Goudimel was killed at Lyons, in the massacre on St. Bartholomew's Day, August 24th, 1572. THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. 2jg throne." Le Brun was his painter, Perrault and Mansard made his palaces, the Louvre and Versailles; and, with excellent judgment, he chose an Italian — Jean Baptiste Lulli — to make his music. Voltaire remarks,* " Lulli astonished the world by his exquisite taste and skill. He was the first in France who regulated music. His compositions, which at present appear so simple and easy, could not be executed at first without some difficulty. There are a thousand persons in France now, who understand music, for one that understood it in the time of Louis XIII. ; and the art, by degrees, has been brought to perfection. There is not a con- siderable city in the kingdom without its public concerts ; whereas, even Paris itself had none at that time. Four-and-twenty Violins belonging to the King was all the music we then had in France." Lulli is frequently associated with the Violin in a manner altogether disproportionate to the part he actually played in connection with its progress. The name of Lulli, in consequence, is often supposed to have belonged to an extraordinary Violinist, and originator of a school of Violin playing; this was certainly not the case. Jean Baptiste Lulli was a musician of great ability, and, as M. Chouquet remarks, " II ecrivit d'inspiration." He acted well and danced admirably, to do which was in no way derogatory in a composer, since " La danse alors occupait une place essentielle dans 1'education d'un * " Steele de Louis XIV." 280 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. gentilhomme ; "* and lastly, he in all probability played the Violin after the manner of a dancing- master, though, be it understood, with superior judgment. Style, in its relation to the Violin, is formed in early youth, and a cook's kitchen is the most unlikely place to engender a good one. When Lulli was at the head of his band, called " Les petits Violons," to distinguish it from the chief band of twenty-four Violins, he appears not to have been competent to render any of its members capable of playing music they had not learned by heart. That this incompetency lasted a considerable time, is shown from it being found impossible to gratify the wish of the Regent Duke of Orleans to hear the sonatas of Corelli.t In justice to Lulli, however, it must not be forgotten that he was compelled to fashion his musicians and his music in accordance with the taste of his royal master, which appears to have been utterly opposed to the music of Corelli, since it is said that Baptiste Anet,| — probably the first good French Violinist — upon his return from Rome was commanded to play to the King, and performed a sonata of Corelli, which Louis listened to without showing any signs of pleasure. * " Histoire de la Musique Dramatique en France," Gustave Chouquet, 1873. This admirable work contains much new and interesting matter relative to Lulli. f Michael Corette, Preface to his " Mdthode d' Accompaniment." t Anet published three sets of Sonatas with Thorough-Bass in 1724. THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. 28 I The sonata ended, Louis sent for a Violinist of his own band, and desired him to play an air from Lulli's opera of " Cadmus et Hermione" which was complied with, from memory : " Que voulez- vous, messieurs," said the King, " voila mon gout, a. moi, voila mon gout." It will therefore be seen that Lulli cannot be looked upon as having contributed much to the progress of the Violin. The celebrity acquired by his band in connection with light French music, and its popularity with Louis XIV., surrounded the then vulgar instrument out of Italy with an amount of interest and attention far exceeding that which arose from the knowledge Lulli brought to bear upon it. Mersennus' description of the band of twenty- four Violins is interesting : he says, " Whoever hears the twenty-four Fidicinists of the King, with six Barbitons to each part, namely, the Bass, Tenor, Contra-Tenor, and Treble, perform all kinds of cantilenas and tunes for dancing, must readily confess that there can be nothing sweeter and pleasanter. If you have a mind to hear the upper part only, what can be more elegant than the play- ing of Constantius ? what more vehement than the enthusiasm of Bocanus* ? what more subtle and delicate than the little percusseans or touches of Laxarinus and Foucardus ? If the Bass of Legerus be joined to the acute sounds of * Noticed previously as Cordier or Bocan. 282 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Constantius, all the harmonical members will be completed."* Among early French Violinists must be men- tioned Joseph Marchand and Francois Duval, both of whom were connected with the music establishment of the King. From the pen of the former came Twelve Sonatas for the same instru- ments for which Handel adapted his Violin Sonatas, namely, Flute, Hautboy, or Violin. Their publica- tion was sufficiently successful to cause them to run to a second edition. Duval also published Seven books of Sonatas. Jean Baptiste Senaille, born in Paris, in 1687, like his predecessor, Anet, turned to the Italian School, rightly regarding it as the true basis of sound Violin playing. After receiving tuition from Queversin, one of the members of Louis XIV.'s band, he went to Modena to continue his studies, returning to Paris in 1719, when he entered the service of the Duke of Orleans. He published two books of Sonatas for Violin and Bass, one of which M. Deldevez has introduced into his collection of early Violin works. * See Note " Hawkins' History," p. 603. Station: IK— 'the Violin in Jraitce. CHAPTER II. "\ li 7TTH the establishment of the Lenten Concerts '* ' in' Paris, to which the name Spirituel Concert was given, music in France entered upon a new and wider field. The abilities of musicians, had hitherto been exercised in connection with the Court, where oftentimes they failed to receive that recognition they merited, in consequence of the influence of officials and others having possession of the royal ear. The Spirituel Concert enabled the musician to appeal to the suffrages of a musical public, which was at once beneficial to him and to his art. It was Anne Danican Philidor, the son of the famous Musician and Chess player, who obtained permis- sion, in 1725, to give these concerts during Lent. The first programme, dated March 18th, 1725, contains Corelli's Eighth Concerto, which admirably marks the earnestness of Philidor's purpose in lead- ing the public taste in the right direction. The concerts were given in the Salle des Suisses of the Tuileries. In the year 1733, the Italian Violinist, 284 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Giambatista Somis, the pupil of Corelli, played at the Concert Spirituel, and met with great success. Le Clair, born at Lyons, in 1697, and who contributed greatly to the development of the study of his instrument in France, had some years previous to the appearance of Somis at the Concert Spirituel received lessons from that master when in Turin. Le Clair returned to Paris in 1728. In 1731 he received an appoint- ment in the Court band : this position he ultimately gave up, and appears to have henceforth centred, all his attention upon composition and giving lessons. Although Le Clair studied under an Italian master, he did not abandon the character- istics belonging to the early French school of Violin playing, or the style of music Lulli had made familiar to French ears ; in short, Le Clair proved himself again and again a composer richly en- dowed with originality and sentiment. The roll of famous French Violinists is a long and glorious one, and the name of Le Clair should head it in letters of gold. His works for the Violin are Op. 1, First Book of Sonatas, with Bass. Op. 2, Second Book of Sonatas, with Bass. Op. 3, Six Sonatas for two Violins. Op. 4, Six Sonatas for two Violins and Bass. Op. 5, Third Book of Sonatas for Violin, with Bass. Op. 6, Easy pieces for two Violins and Bass. Op. 7, Concertos for three Violins, Tenor, Bass, Organ, and Violoncello. Op. 8, Second THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. 285 set of Easy Pieces, for two Violins and Bass. Op. 9, Fourth Book of Sonatas for Violin, with Bass. Op. 10, Six Concertos for three Violins, Tenor, Bass, Organ, and Violoncello. Op. 12, Second Book of Sonatas for two Violins, without Bass. Op. 13, Overtures and Sonatas for two Violins with Bass. Op. 14, Posthumous Sonata, second edition, engraved by Cousineau, Paris. Pierre Gavinies is the next Violinist of the old French school to be noticed. His knowledge of the fingerboard was greater than that of Le Clair, but his predecessor surpassed him in breadth of style — judging from the compositions of each master, without reference to their own par- ticular manner of playing. All the Violin writings of Gavinies are eminently French in style ; they teem with piquant phrases, which, when rendered with the short and light bowing belonging to Gavinies' time, are remarkably pleasing and striking. In playing these early French Violin compositions, as. indeed the works of all periods and nationalities, the mind of the performer must ever be centred in the peculiar style of the period to which the work belongs. To apply the vigour and breadth of style which was developed by Viotti, and still more so by his followers, to the sonatas of Le Clair or Gavinies, affords but a very faint idea of the invention of the composer. Gavinies' bow was a puny, much rounded contrivance, containing about half as many hairs as are found in a modern one, and consequently the tone .286 7 HE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. ■drawn from the instrument must have been so much less. It is, of course, no more possible to convert a modern Violin player into one of Gavinies' age, in order to play his music, than it is to convert a grand Pianoforte into a Clavecin, that we may play the sonatas of Bach and the suites of Handel ; but, notwithstanding delicacy of touch on both, the Violin and Pianforte will take us back a consider- able distance. The naming of Gavinies, the French Tartini, by Viotti, admirably conveys an idea of much that he accomplished in the field of French Violin playing, and the comparison was equally well chosen as it unintentionally happened with regard to his well- informed mind, for, like Tartini, Gavinies was literary as well as musical, and enjoyed the friend- ship of Jean Jacques Rousseau. The chief work of Gavinies is undoubtedly the Twenty-four Studies in all the keys, a plan which Rode followed in his Twenty-four Caprices. The studies of Gavinies are full of ingeniously-constructed passages, needing considerable executive skill to render them ; many forms of passages are given which are never likely to be required, yet the study attending the unravel- ling of them is highly beneficial to the student. The direction of the Concert Spirituel was shared in 1773 by Gavinies and Gossec, and in 1795, u P on the formation of the Conservatoire de Musique by the French Government, Gavinies was appointed Violin professor to the institution, a position he held THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. 287 until his death m 1800. Among his published Violin works are Six Concertos; Six Sonatas for Violin, with Bass ; Six ditto, Op. 3 ; and the Twenty-four Studies. There is also a posthumous set of Three Sonatas, published by Naderman in 1801. Andre Noel Pagin, born in Paris 1 721, was a Violinist of some celebrity. He was a pupil of Tartini's, and was, no doubt, imbued with the style of his great master. That he delighted in Tartini's music is evident from his determination to publicly perform it upon every occasion ; this gave his brother musicians in Paris great offence, and caused them to degrade themselves and their art by hissing Pagin at the next concert at which he appeared. This conduct naturally wounded the feelings of Pagin, and led to his retirement from public playing. I find in Mozart's Violin School, revised by Wolde- mar, an Air with Variations by Pagin, the character of which is in advance of the French music of his time. Among early French Violinists Francois Hippo - lite Barthelemon attained considerable renown, though quite apart from the chief players of France, his artistic life having been chiefly pursued in London.. He was born at Bourdeaux in 1741, paternally French, maternally Irish. In 1765 he came to England and led the Opera Orchestra. The following year he composed a serious Opera, which was played at the King's Theatre. Kelly, 288 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. in his " Musical Memoirs" says, " Barthelemon was recommended to David Garrick to compose music to a piece of his. At their first interview Garrick sat down to write out one of the songs for him to compose by the next day. Barthelemon, looking over Garrick's shoulder whilst he was writing, set the music to it. When Garrick had finished he turned to Barthelemon, saying, ' There, sir, is my song.' ' And there, sir,' said Barthelemon, ' is my music to it,' Dr. Burney, in a summary of the talents of musicians known to him, speaks of the powerful hand and truly vocal adagio of this Violinist. Among his published Violin works is a Concerto ; Six Violin Duetts ; Six String Quartetts. It is now necessary to notice another institution which helped greatly to develop a sound musical taste in France: I refer to the Concert des Amateurs. This institution was founded by the Belgian, Francois Joseph Gossec in 1770. In 1771 a sym- phony of Gossec's was played with stringed instruments, two Oboes, two Clarionets, two Horns, and two Bassoons. The role of artists' names belonging to the orchestra of the Concert des Amateurs was indeed a famous one ; le Chevalier de Saint Georges, Mestrino, La Houssaye, Blasius, were some of the Violinists ; Duport and Crossdill were among the Violoncellists. The notable French Violinists in connection with this early and famous orchestra, deserve more than a passing notice. Le THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. 289 Chevalier de Saint Georges was born in 1745. He was possessed of abilities of a varied and diverse kind ; indeed, he might be described as a Crichton among Violinists. As a fencer he gained the title of L'inimitable ! In athletics he was an Achilles ! In horsemanship he was perfection ! As a dancer, a model ! In bearing and manners, a D'Orsay ! In politics, an intriguer ! And last, a fine Violinist and worthy pupil of Le Clair. Surely no Violinist, before or since, ever cut such a figure ! But stay ! — -in athletics Ole Bull might have entered the arena with many a Cumberland or Westmoreland hero ; his muscular power was, to use Dominie Sampson's well-worn exclamation — prodigious ! — and he knew how to use it scientifically. I remember, upon one occasion, after his having spent several hours in my workshop fitting bridges and sound- posts to his Violins — an occupation he pursued daily, with but few exceptions, during his visits to London — his turning to me and expressing himself somewhat wearied with his task, and that he would continue it later. Returning a few hours after- wards, he remarked that he was in excellent " form," having had some exercise with the proprietor of the gymnastic establishment in Soho Square. Taking up his Violin, and playing with the utmost finish, executing legions of notes without giving the least indication of changing the stroke of his bow, I felt astonished at the command he had over his muscular power, remembering the direction in which u 29O THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. it had but recently been exerted ; I was, however, more convinced than before that great Violin -playing is inseparable from muscular development, and the greatest artists are those who best succeed in rendering it subject to their will ; but let us return to our subject, le Chevalier de Saint Georges, whose athletic propensities led us away from it. He frequently played solos in public with great success, and mention is made of his performance of his own concertos. He published the following composi- tions : — Sonatas for Violin and Bass, Op. 1 ; Four Concertos for Violin with accompaniments ; Sonatas for two Violins and Bass, Op. 5 ; Two Concertante Symphonies for two Violins and Orchestra, Op. 6 ; Concerto Violin and Orchestra, Op. 6 ; and a few other works mentioned by Fetis. Pierre La Houssaye, born in 1735, was a pupil of Pagin, and at a later period received instruction from Tartini. He long occupied a foremost place among the Violinists in Paris. In 1769 he appeared in London, where he remained three years. On his return to Paris he became the leader of the Opera Orchestra, and connected with the Conservatoire. He published a set of Sonatas, and left several com- positions in manuscript. Mathieu Frederic Blasius, born in 1758, was another distinguished Violinist, and published many of his compositions, which include Three Con- certos ; several String Quartetts and Trios. Amongst French Violinists of celebrity prior THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. 2QI to the opening of the Conservatoire, Michael Woldemar held a high position. He was born at Orleans, in 1750, and became a pupil of Lolli, and imbibed from his master his love for the eccentric in Violin-playing ; indeed, he appears to have taken greater liberties with his instrument than Lolli ever contemplated doing, since we are told he added a fifth string to enable the performer to descend five notes lower, and composed a Concerto for his questionably improved Violin. This idea was resuscitated by Chretien Urhan some years later, who played solos upon an instrument he named the Violon-alto at the concerts of the Conservatoire. In passing, it may be mentioned that Urhan was a skilful performer on the Viol d'Amour, and it was for him that Meyerbeer wrote the solo for that instrument in the First Act of The Huguenots. It was Woldemar who edited the Violin Method of Leopold Mozart, published by Pleyel, at the end of which are several rare and ingenious Violin compositions introduced by the editor. Among these is a Scale Fugue by Woldemar, and also a Caprice from the same pen. Here also is found the enigmatic study of Locatelli, known as the Labyrinth of Harmony, with an explanatory guide in notes to instruct the player how to extricate himself from the musical maze, which, if I remember rightly, is the earliest known key to the mystery. Mention of a few of Woldemar's compositions will serve to display his eccentricity in that direction : Op. 8 is u 2 292 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. entitled " Sonates fantomagique" containing four pieces named " The Ghosts of Lolli, Pugnani, Tartini, and Mestrino." I have not seen a copy of this visionary work, but it is doubtless far less repulsive than its title implies. Another work is entitled " Le Nouveau Labyrinthe Harmonique " ; besides these he wrote a Violin Method, and also one for the Tenor, three Violin Concertos, and other compositions. §tctwn UH— Ifte Violin xn Jraitce. CHAPTER III. PHE formation of the Conservatoire de Musique in 1795, has already been passingly referred to ; it now remains to notice the Institution at greater length. The Conservatoire from the begin- ning became the centre of all that was great in French music and musicians. It attracted the musical ability of France in every department, and no section surpassed that of the Violin. When its doors were opened, Gavinies, Guenin, Kreutzer, and La Houssaye became its Violin professors. Some five years later, Bailliot and Rode added their names to its roll of masters. Mention of these half-dozen names is all-sufficient to mark the character of the generalship which was brought to bear upon the Violin classes of the Institution, with- out enumerating the players who acted in subor- dinate capacities. No such leaders in a body, before or since, have been attached to a Violin School, and the beneficial results of their leadership are recognised either directly or indirectly in the performances of the' foremost Violinists of the 294 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. present time, be they French, German, or Italian. It must, however, be borne in mind that the merit of this teaching belongs not wholly to its French exponents. It had its origin in a fortunate set of circumstances, like most good things, the chief of which was undoubtedly the presence of Viotti in Paris. In Viotti were centred all the important results which had accrued from the teachings of the Legitimate School of Italian Violin-playing, and in him was found its last notable native exponent.* Although several French Violinists have already been mentioned, whose style was undoubtedly influenced by Italian tuition, yet none of them succeeded in completely engrafting the salient features of the Italian School on to that of the Old French. This was left to be accomplished by the example Viotti set before Bailliot, Kreutzer, and Cartier, and the direct tuition Rode received from the Italian Violinist. Another circumstance which lent to Viotti's influence such weight, was the wondrous galaxy of French artists ripe to emulate his finished style and manner of playing. Neither Germany nor Italy could have put forward such a trio of Violinists as Rode, Bailliot, and Kreutzer, to imbibe and develop the teachings of the great and legitimate artist, Giovanni Battista Viotti. In 1801 a committee was formed to decide upon * Fiorillo, though born in Brunswick, was Italian in parentage and style, and worthily represented the school of Tartini. THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. 295 the best means of introducing an entirely new method in the form of a Violin Instruction Book. On this notable committee sat Cherubim, Kreutzer, Bailliot, Rode, Blasius, and others. To Bailliot was given the direction and superintendence of the undertaking. The following year brought the now well-known work to which is attached the names of Rode, Bailliot, and Kreutzer ; very shortly after its publication, it was translated into German, English, and Italian, the latter being the work of Rolla, the master of Paganini. The accompaniments to the exercises are the work of Cherubini. Rodolphe Kreutzer was born at Versailles, in 1766. He was a pupil of Anton Stamitz, a Violinist in the Chapel Orchestra at Versailles. His progress had been so rapid, that when but sixteen years of age he was appointed one of the first Violins in the King's Chapel. It was at this period that he often heard Viotti, whose style of playing he wisely made the model to form his own. In the twenty- fourth year of his age he produced his first opera, which was quickly followed by others of more or less merit. Shortly after the opening of the Paris Conservatoire, Kreutzer visited Italy, Germany, and Holland, and gave concerts with much success. In 1798 he was at Vienna, in the service of the French Ambassador, Bernadotte, when it is supposed he made the acquaintance of Beethoven, which led to his being honoured with the dedication of the famous Sonata, Op. 47, a 296 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. few years later. Upon his return to Paris, he took the post of leader at the Italian Opera, succeeding Rode, who had gone to Russia. During this period, namely, 1 801 to 1825, Kreutzer was occupied in Paris composing Operas, Violin Concertos, and the famous Forty Studies, besides attending his class at the Conservatoire, and leading the Opera Orchestra. In 1825 he ceased playing publicly, in conse- quence of an accident which deprived him of the use of his arm ; he died at Geneva in 183 1. His greatest work in connection with the Violin is beyond all question the Forty Studies. No work of the kind has passed through so many editions. Though its age is more than three-score years and ten, it is as fresh and vigorous as when it came into the Fiddling world. What Cramer's Studies have been and are likely to be to the Pianist, Kreutzer's Studies have been and will be to Violinists. There hardly appears more chance of a Violin student dispensing with his Kreutzer, than his mathematical brother shelving his Euclid. These are the only notable Violin Studies, with the exception of Paganini's, to which a Pianoforte accompaniment has been added.* Another important work is found in the Con- certante Symphonies for two Violins : it was one of * Kreutzer's Studies with accompaniment, published by Hofmeister, Leipzig. Paganini's Studies with accompaniment for Piano, by J. L, Hatton, published by Hart & Son, London ; and the David edition published by Breitkopf and Hartel. THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. 297 these which Paganini and Lafont played, as already- noticed. We have also nineteen Violin Concertos from his pen ; that in E minor, No. 19, is regarded as the best. The Concertos of Kreutzer teem with passages of an instructive character, but fail to excite interest in the listener in consequence of a poverty of subject-matter. Fifteen Trios for two Violins and Violoncello'; a Concertante Symphony for the same instruments ; Fifteen String Quartetts, and a few Airs with variations, complete the list of Kreutzer' s Violin music. In allotting to Pierre Bailliot the chief work attending the arrangement and composition of the New Violin Method, the committee expressly organised in reference to it performed an admirable service to all Violinists and at once secured complete success to the undertaking. Bailliot possessed, to a degree far beyond his fellow- workers, the requisites needed for such a task ; for, besides being a com- petent Violinist and musician, he was a man of superior education, and attached to literary pursuits, thus enabling him to give expression to his thoughts through his pen, in a manner which neither Rode nor Kreutzer could have succeeded in doing ; nor indeed has any Violinist, engaged on a similar work equalled him in this department down to the present time. Pierre Bailliot was born at Passy, near Paris, in 1 77 1. His father at one time practised as a lawyer, but at the period of Pierre's birth, he opened a 298 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. school ; a few years later he held a Government appointment, dying shortly after entering upon it. A friend undertook the education of Pierre, sending him to Rome. It was in that city he first received lessons on the Violin worthy of the name. His master was a pupil of Nardini's. Though the tuition was of short duration, yet it could not have been otherwise than valuable to him, connected as it was with the great Italian School of Violin- playing. In 1 79 1 Bailliot returned to Paris, when Viotti, ever ready to aid a brother artist, procured him a place in the orchestra at the opera. This position, however, he soon retired from in order to enter the office of the " Ministere des Finances." For several years he retained this position, occupying much of his leisure time with the practice of music and the Violin. In the year 1795, his passion for the Violin led him to enter the musical profession. About this period he received lessons in composition from Cherubini. In 1802 he entered the private band of Napoleon Buonaparte. In 1 8 1 4 he carried out his long-cherished desire to establish a series of concerts for the performance of the chamber compositions of the great masters. His coadjutors were Guynemer, Tariot, St. Laurent, de Lamare, Norblin (the famous Violoncellist) ; and at a later period Vidal, Sauzay, Urhan, and Vaslin. Spohr, writing from Paris in 1821, mentions Bailliot in that tone which he invariably adopted in reference to the ability of a brother artist, be- THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. 299 ginning by gently touching the notes of praise, and ending by drowning them in censure. He says : " Bailliot is, in the technical scope of his play, almost as perfect as Lafont, and his diversity of manner shows that he is so, without resorting to the same desperate means. Besides his own compositions, he plays almost all those of ancient and modern times. On one occasion he gave us a Quintett of Boccherini, a Quartett of Haydn, and three of his own compositions. He played all with the most perfect purity and with the expression which is peculiar to his manner. His expression nevertheless seemed to me more artificial than natural, and indeed his whole execution has the appearance of manner- ism. His bow-stroke is skilful, and rich in shades of expression, but not so free as Lafont's, and there- fore his tone is not so beautiful, and the mechanical process of the up and down stroke is too audible. His compositions are distinguished above all those of any Parisian Violinist by their correctness, but being somewhat artificial-mannered, and out of date in style, the hearer remains cold and without sense of emotion." It is refreshing to turn to Mendelssohn's enthusiastic admiration, expressed in one of his letters written in' 1832, after wading through Spohr's windy critical estimate of the eminent French artist's abilities. "After the re- hearsal," remarks Mendelssohn, " Bailliot played my Octett in his class, and if any man in the world can play it, he is the man. His -performance was finer 3°° THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. than I ever heard it." In another letter he remarks of Bailliot, " He played beautifully. It was the greatest possible delight to me to hear my Quartett in E flat major performed in Paris by Bailliot's quartett, and they executed it with fire and spirit. The company then asked for a Sonata of Bach's ; we selected the one in A major. We urged each SONATA II. *fe dolce. m w^s ^-^~*f - i i i i ZfrtjL E other on, the affair became animated, and so thoroughly amused both us and our audience that we immediately commenced the one in E major, and SONATA III. M adagio. m ^-» -#o*^ =fqc W- :3b*: P ere next time we mean to introduce the four others." The Sonatas referred to are the Six Grand Sonatas with Violin obbligato, composed between the years 1 718 and 1722, but not published in Bach's lifetime. Besides visiting Holland and Belgium, in 1815 and 1816, Bailliot came to England and performed at the Philharmonic Concerts, acting sometimes as leader of the Orchestra. At the first concert of the season 18 16, he introduced a Concertante of his own, and played in a Quartett of Mozart. His quartett playing was regarded at this period, and THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. 3OI long after, as a model of classical purity, not only in France, but in Germany and England. On Bailliot's return to France he held the post of leader of the Royal Orchestra, and also at the Opera. H e died in 1842. His Violin works as given by Fetis, comprise Twenty-Four Preludes ; a number of Airs with Variations ; Nine Concertos ; Three String Quartetts ; Sonata for Piano and Violin ; Twelve Violin Studies ; Six Duetts for two Violins ; and Fifteen String Trios. Pierre Rode was a native of Bordeaux, where he was born in 1774. He early became a pupil of Viotti. Although Rode was attached to the Conservatoire, his influence over the Violin playing of his time was effected more by the example he set in his public performances than by direct tuition. His professional engagements caused him to be long and frequently away from Paris, giving concerts in all the chief European cities. Teaching under these circumstances was not likely to benefit either master or pupil. His own solo- playing was, however, a most valuable lesson to advanced Violinists, and through them it has left an imperishable impression upon their art. The most notable instance of this is found in Louis Spohr. From Rode the great German Violinist obtained his earliest and best ideas of phrasing and polished playing generally. Remembering this fact, and the development that attended the School of Violin playing which Spohr may be said to have inaugu- 302 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. rated in Germany, the merit belonging to Rode in the work is better understood. The feelings of admiration manifested for each other's abilities by Rode and Bailliot was worthy of the two artists who, by their labours and example, contributed more to the advancement of classical Violin playing than has been accomplished by any Violinist during the present century. Whether their work lay in the Conservatoire, in the " Violin Method," or in the performance of chamber music, it was entered upon with no other desire than the furtherance of their art. Rivalry was unknown to both. Merits denied to one were possessed by the other, and the favourable conditions under which their respective qualities were thus developed, gave to their teaching and example a force which would not otherwise have existed. In 1800 Rode was appointed solo Violinist to Napoleon ; three years later he went to Russia. It was upon the occasion of this journey that Spohr heard him in Brunswick, and we read in his auto- biography : " The more I heard him play the more was I captivated. Yes ! I had no hesitation to place Rode's style (then still reflecting all the brilliancy of that of his great master, Viotti) above that of my instructor Eck, and to apply myself sedulously to acquire it as much as possible by a careful practice of Rode's compositions." At St. Petersburg Rode was appointed solo Violinist to the Emperor Alexander, a post he held for five years, THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. 303 when he returned to Paris. In 1811 he again went to Germany, and shortly afterwards returned to his native Bordeaux. Rode died in 1830. M. Fetis remarks, " There are few living who have heard the talent of Rode in all its beauty, but the artists who have enjoyed that pleasure will never forget the perfection attending it." His compositions include Ten Concertos, the most admired of which is the seventh in A minor, so frequently played by Spohr, and introduced into his Violin School ; Duetts for two Violins, two books, Op. 18; Cavatine and Rondeau, Op. 28 ; Fantasia, Op. 29 ; several Airs with variations, among them the famous one in G, — which Spohr called his hobby-horse — and the varia- tions to the " Harmonious Blacksmith," which are admirable ; a few solo Quartetts ; and the famous Caprices. Rode was a great composer for his instrument, but was deficient in theoretical know- ledge, which caused him to be assisted by Boccherini and others in the orchestral accompaniments. Jean Baptiste Cartier, born at Avignon in 1765, was an excellent Violinist. Early tutored in the the great Italian School of Violin-playing, he manifested the utmost love and admiration for the compositions associated with it, which prompted him to issue new editions of the more important writings of Corelli, Tartini, Nardini, and others, thus placing before his countrymen models of the highest excellence in relation to his art. He is best known by his admirable work, " L/Art du Violin," published 304 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. in 1798 and 1801, wherein he gives examples of famous Violin compositions from the pens of Italian, French, and German masters. His own composi- tions include Airs with variations, Studies, &c. He died in 1851. It is now necessary to notice the famous pupil of Bailliot, Francois Antoine Habeneck, upon whom devolved the duty of maintaining the high character belonging to the Violin classes of the Conservatoire, which his great master and his coadjutors succeeded in giving to them. Habeneck was born in 1781. His first lessons on the Violin were received from his father, a musician in a military band. He entered Bailliot's class in 1801, and obtained the first Violin prize in 1804. Shortly afterwards he was appointed to a sub-professorship, He succeeded Kreutzer as leader of the opera orchestra upon that Violinist's appoint- ment to the conductOrship, becoming himself con- ductor in 1821. In 1828 Habeneck established the Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire," which he conducted for twenty years. Prior to the formation of this society, Habeneck had been conducting an orchestra formed of the best pupils of the Institu- tion. It was here that he introduced the Sympho- nies of Beethoven to the French musical public, a most honourable distinction, and one which, had he achieved nothing more in relation to his art, would have secured him a notable place in the musical annals of his country. THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. 305 Reverting to the foundation of the Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire, it appears Habeneck invited his musical friends to dinner on St. Cecilia's day ; the Eroica Symphony was played, but not appreciated. It was subsequently performed upon several occasions, when at length its wondrous beauties dawned upon the executants, and Habeneck's cherished wish to awaken enthusiasm in France for the . orchestral masterpieces of Beethoven was on the point of being gratified. The news of Habe- neck's proselytizing success reached the ears of Cherubini, who consented to the Concerts in future taking place at the Conservatoire. A govern- ment grant was at length obtained of £Zo per annum towards the expenses of the Society. Cherubini became the President, and Habeneck Vice-President and conductor. That the founder's main object was not lost sight of, namely, the familiarizing the orchestra and audience with the works of Beethoven, is seen from the number of times they were performed. I cannot withhold from the reader the substance of an anecdote related by Berlioz, in his Memoirs, relative to Habeneck, though it necessitates stepping from the sublime to the ridiculous. " At a public performance of the Requiem of Berlioz, the composer had arranged with Habeneck to conduct the music, Berlioz taking his seat close behind the conductor. The work was commenced, and had been proceeded with some little time, when v 306 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Habeneck (presumably taking advantage of what appeared to him a favourable moment) placed his baton on the desk and took out his snuff- box and calmly took a pinch. Berlioz, aware of breakers ahead, rushed to the helm and saved the wreck of his work by beating time with his arm. Habeneck, when the danger was passed, said ' what a cold perspiration I was in ! Without you we should have assuredly been lost.' Yes, said the composer, I know it well," accompanying his words with a facial expression betokening suspicion of Habeneck's honesty of purpose. The Violinist little dreamed that his weakness for snuff-taking would be construed in the pages of Berlioz's Memoires into having been indulged in from base motives. The mention of Berlioz serves to remind me of his claim to be noticed as the composer of a Reverie and Caprice for Violin and Orchestra, which composition partakes largely of that remark- able character belonging to all his works. An anecdote in connection with this Reverie is perhaps worth relating. Some forty years since, Berlioz was in Leipzig, when, at Mendelssohn's suggestion, a concert was given in his honour in the Gewand- haus. Among the works given was the Reverie and Caprice, which was entrusted to one of the greatest German Violinists. After the piece was ended, amid the most enthusiastic applause, the Violinist turned to Mendelssohn and whispered, " I THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. 307 am glad enough I have got through it, for I never had such a task in my life ; I have not the remotest idea what I have been playing, or what the piece can be about." Scarcely were the words out of the bewildered Fiddler's mouth, when Berlioz exclaimed to Mendelssohn, " Never have I heard my composi- tion so divinely rendered ! Never have I heard an artist who has so completely caught my meaning, and so wonderfully interpreted it ! " Now that the music of Hector Berlioz is in the ascendant, the relation of this anecdote may serve to draw the attention of Violinists to his forgotten Reverie. Probably no chamber compositions after those of Boccherini afforded the French musical public greater pleasure than those of George Onslow, at a period when the earliest Quartetts of Beethoven were just beginning to be appreciated by musicians possessing superior judgment. They apparently served the purpose of supplying the lovers of chamber music with singularly clever and interest- ing novelties of a type as different from the pure classic writings of Haydn and Mozart as they were from the later and more majestic works of Beethoven. Although it cannot be said that Onslow's creative power belonged to that high order which interests posterity as much as and often more than it does its immediate admirers, yet it was undoubtedly far above that of the average composers of chamber music. v 2 308 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. \ Onslow was born at- Clermont (Puy-de-D6me) July 27th, 1784. He was a grandson of the first Lord Onslow, and descended maternally from the family of Brantdme. It is at least remarkable, if not wholly exceptional, to find that Onslow in childhood showed no particular love for music, and yet should have manifested such remarkable enthusiasm with regard to it in after life, and com- posed so many meritorious works. In his boyhood he studied the Pianoforte under Dussek and Cramer, and also received lessons on the Violoncello ; but all this was done as part of his education, and not because he desired it. His passion for music was awakened upon hearing an overture of Mehul's ; henceforth he devoted his life to the study and production of music. Having returned to his native Auvergne, he gathered about him a few amateurs of chamber music, and began the long series of Quartetts and Quintetts, works that were played with infinite delight by himself and friends ; Onslow playing the Violoncello, an instrument he was tolerably well acquainted with, judging from the character of the parts he allotted to it. His earlier Quintetts were written for two Violoncellos. The substitution of a Double Bass for the second Violon- cello arose somewhat curiously. Onslow being in England at the time of the performance of one of his Quintetts, upon which occasion the second Bass player failed to put in an appearance, Dragonetti very kindly volunteered to play the part on his THE VIOLIN IJV FRANCE. 309 Double Bass. Onslow positively refused to listen to the proposal, remarking that the effect would be dreadful ; evidently proving that Onslow had either not heard the extraordinary Contrabassist play the Violoncello part of Corelli's Sonatas, or that if he. had done so he completely failed to appreciate the grand effect of the performance. However, Onslow at length consented, and his Quintett was played as proposed, and delighted the composer, causing him to arrange all former Quintetts with Violoncello and Double Bass. The following estimate of Onslow's works, is from the pen of Henry F. Chorley, written in 1853, the year of Onslow's death. " The large mass of chamber music furnished by Onslow well merits the epithet of remarkable. It is thoroughly original without being extraordinarily striking — delicate and interesting, without sickliness, or the absence of occasional vigour — suave in phrases, ingenious in structure — not always, it may be, sufficiently varied by happy strokes of episode, but always thoroughly well reasoned out, and interesting to the players, from the closeness of attention, and readiness in dialogue, reply, and imitation which it demands. During later year — as frequently happens with those whose first thoughts are more pleasing than powerful — Onslow, in straining after novelty and contrast, became only affected and fragmentary. This may have done its part in abating the zeal and sympathy of his admirers ; but enough remains from his pen 3IO THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. to be referred to, to be returned upon, to be per- formed and partaken of with pleasure, so long as music is bound by its present laws, and as those who enjoy it retain their present canons of judg- ment. It would be superfluous to single out any of the well-known Quintetts which have won for Onslow an European celebrity, or to do more than mention his Pianoforte Sextuor ; his Pianoforte Duetts in F minor and E minor ; his Pianoforte Trio in G major (a singularly sweet and gracious specimen of his style) ; his Pianoforte Sonatas with Violin in G minor and E major, and with Violoncello in F major and G minor. The above are all classical works, having a beauty, an intricacy, and an expressiveness totally their own, appealing to the thoughtful, as opposed to the sensuous musician, happily conceived, and carefully finished." In looking at the large number Of published works for the chamber by Onslow, it has probably crossed the mind of many persons that the composer took the risk of publication on his own shoulders, which his independent social position easily per- mitted ; that, however, was probably not the case, judging from a letter of Mendelssohn's, dated Paris, February, 1832, wherein he says, speaking of French publishers, " They have made advances to me here, and proposed to take my music, which they seldom do ; as all the others, even Onslow has been obliged to offer his compositions." These words point to the high position he held in the THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. 3 1 1 French musical world, and as being sought for rather than himself seeking. Mendelssohn seems to have felt interested in his compositions, for we find in another letter, dated November, 1837, addressed to Moscheles, " Has Onslow written anything new ? " The following is given as a list of Onslow's chamber compositions : — Thirty-Four Quintetts for two Violins, Tenor, Violoncello, and Double Bass ; Thirty-Six String Quartetts ; Trios for Pianoforte, Violin, and Violoncello, Op. 3, 14, 20, 24, 26, 27 ; Sextett with Pianoforte, Op. 30 ; Duetts for Piano and Violin, Op. 11, 15, 21, 29, 31; Sonatas for Violoncello and Piano, Op. 16 : these are also adapted for Viola. Although the fame acquired by Lafont as a Violinist is remembered only by a few venerable musicians, it was of a character sufficiently remarkable to call for notice in these pages. He was born in 1781J and received tuition from Rode and Kreutzer. He, however, departed from the path of his in- structors, and entered to some extent upon that which his contemporary Paganini pursued to its end. I am not aware that Lafont went the length of raising the pitch of his strings, or indulged in the freaks which many of Paganini's imitators did ; yet with Lafont there came a new departure in the great French School of Violin playing, to be regretted in some respects, and praised in others. Solidity gave way to lightness and frivolity ; 312 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. cherished melodies were racked to death on tortuous variations, manufactured in pizzicato, staccato, tremolando, and single and double har- monics, all of which is traceable to the influence Paganini exercised over Parisian Violinists. There was, however, much that was novel, graceful, and effective in Lafont's style of playing and compo- sition, which, combined with the influence of the brilliant German School of Mayseder, Maurer, and Kalliwoda, had the effect of opening up a large and important field of composition for the Violin, wherein the greatest French, Belgian, and Polish artists have successfully laboured. Jacques Fereol Mazas was a pupil of Bailliot. As a Violinist and composer for his instrument he proved himself a worthy pupil of his great master. He was born in 1782, and died in 1849. His compositions include many of a highly instruc- tive kind, and are valued as such at the present time ; among these may be noticed his Violin School, followed by a treatise on harmonics ; also a Method for the Tenor. German translations of both these works have been made. He published a Violin Concerto ; a Fantasia on the Fourth String ; " La Babillarde," a clever piece in the style of Paganini's " Moto Perpetuo ; " and several Duetts and brilliant Quartetts. Lambert Joseph Massart was another eminent professor at the Conservatoire. He was born in 1 80 1. From his master, Rodolphe Kreutzer, in THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. 3 1 3 whose family he lived for a long period, he acquired that sound knowledge of Violin playing which admirably fitted him to take a leading position as a teacher. From Massart the famous Violinist Wieniawski obtained that knowledge of his art which helped greatly to make him one of the fore- most artists of his time. The eminent Violinist, Prosper Sainton, was born at Boulogne in 1814. His love of music and the Violin in particular manifested itself — as it rarely fails to do where exceptional ability exists — at an early period : notwithstanding, however, this indica- tion of the bent of his genius, he was sent to the College of Toulouse, to prepare for the study of the law. In the meantime occurred the commercial crisis of 1830, causing the loss of his father's fortune, which was embarked in extensive commercial transactions. His legal studies were relinquished, and his passion for music was given full scope to by sending him to pursue his musical studies at the Conservatoire, where he was at once placed in M. Habeneck's famous class. His progress was singularly rapid, obtaining the second prize in 1833, and the highest in the following year. He then visited the chief Continental cities. In 1844 M. Sainton appeared at the concerts of the Philharmonic Society. This was indeed a remarkable season in the annals, of the famous Society. Herr Ernst, Signor Piatti, Joseph Joachim (then a boy of thirteen years), all appeared for the first time during this 314 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. eventful season. M. Sainton became shortly after- wards leader under Costa, a position he holds, with undiminished vigour, at this date. The post of chief professor of the Violin, at the Royal Academy of Music, has been held by him for more than thirty years. The number of Violinists he has instructed during this long period form quite a little army, throughout which he is held in that esteem which accompanies great talent, sound teaching, and affability of manner. Myself an old pupil, I feel proud to speak thus of a valued master. M. Sainton has composed, among other works, Two Concertos; Solo de Concert; Three Romances; and an effective Tarantelle. Ernest Deldevez, was another famous pupil of Habeneck's, and obtained the first prize at the Conservatoire in 1833, the year before M. Sainton secured the same reward. Deldevez was born in Paris in 181 7. Besides distinguishing himself as a Violinist, he has proved himself a sound theoretical musician. I have had occasion several times to refer to his admirable " GEuvres des Com- positions des Violonistes Celebres," the parent of "Les Maitres Classiques," and "Die Hohe Schuledes Violinspiels." It would be impossible to bestow too much praise on the skill and judgment M. Deldevez' has shown in his treatment of the compositions of the old masters in relation to the Violin. He has approached them with evident feelings of sanctity, and all Violinists disliking restorations of the works THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. 3 1 5 of their beloved old composers, leading inevitably to heterogeneity, have reason to be grateful to him. Mr. Chorley reviewed the work in the Athenceum, at the time of its publication, in terms of the highest praise. We have now to notice another eminent pupil of Habeneck's, in M. Alard, born at, Bayonne in 1815. As a soloist, quartett player, and composer, he has long occupied a distinguished position. Many of his pupils at the Conservatoire have become famous, Sarasate being the greatest. The works of M. Alard in connection with the Violin are many and varied. His " Ecole du Violon" is a valuable work and many of his original compositions are much esteemed. Charles Dancla, born in 181 8, has contributed many works to the list of Violin music ; Solos, Studies, Duetts, &c, numbering upwards of one hundred and forty distinct compositions. His brother Leopold has also written Three Quartetts, Studies, &c. §tttitm HH.— ^he Iwlitt in Jranrc. CHAPTER IV. "DELGIUM and its Violinists next claim our notice. The important character of the part played by the people of Flanders in relation to music has been lightly touched in the second Section of my book, and its vast consequences to the development of the art in Italy, Germany, France, and England, referred to whilst following the history of our subject in those several countries. To draw a separating line between the Violinists of France and those of Belgium may appear need- less. I am not, however, unmindful of the existence of similar ideas and pursuits among the two peoples at this period, which have necessarily resulted from contiguity and past and present political connection, but I am unable to believe this intercourse has wholly deprived a people small in number, compared with their great and powerful neighbour, of that difference of character, which I have before said, is as marked in the Fine Arts of a nation as its language. That the Belgians have been tutored in Violin-playing by means different from the THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. 3 I 7 French, is not to be supposed ; both found their first great master in Italy, and each have been equally influenced by the example of Rode, Bailliot, and Kreutzer ; but, withal, there remains that distinc- tive tone of thought and action which follows upon difference of origin, and which is not without its effects upon the art of Violin-playing and composition. In entering upon this branch of our subject, we cannot do better than begin with Francois Joseph Gossec, he who is so prominent amid the little group of musicians whose labours served to open up the path of modern instrumental music. The part Gossec played in this important work was both curious and unfortunate ; as far as regards the credit it brought him, inasmuch as he found himself in the position of an author who, after dedicating his genius to the composition of a book, and fixing upon its title, discovered that a literary brother had been engaged upon the same undertaking. The reader will recognise the truth of the illus- tration when he is informed that Gossec, in the middle of the last century, held the post of conductor to the private band of the Fermier- general La Popeliniere in Paris, and clearly recog- nising the slight character of French instrumental music, was led to compose symphonies, the first of which was played in 1 754, five years previous to the date assigned to Haydn's first. Again, in the field of quartett writing he was an early contributor; 3 1 8 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. some of his quartetts were published in 1 759, and were received with much delight by the then small section of chamber music lovers in France. The subject of this notice is associated with an orchestral effect of an ingenious kind. At St. Roch, in 1760, at the performance of one of his masses, he employed two orchestras for a particular portion of his work, dividing them into wind and strings, concealing the former outside the church, whilst the latter accompanied sotto voce within. I have not dived into the history of invisible orchestras, but the idea of Gossec's evidently has precedence over that carried out at the Bayreuth Festival. It is needless here to follow Gossec through his important musical career ; it is enough to know that he founded the Concert des Amateurs in 1770, that he gave new life to the Concert Spirituel three years later, and that he was associated with Cherubini in the founda- tion of the Paris Conservatoire in 1795. Gossec was born in 1733, at a village in Belgian Hainault, where his countrymen have raised a monument to his memory in the shape of a fountain, whereon is placed his bust ; this worthy act was accomplished in 1877. He died in 1829, at Passy, at the age of ninety-six. At his funeral M. Fetis delivered an oration. The music of Gossec includes Twenty- Nine Symphonies, several Quartetts, Trios, and Violin Duetts. Among the early Belgian Violinists Francois Cupis is not unworthy of mention. He was born at THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. 319 Brussels in 1719, and published a few Quartetts and Sonatas. Henri Jacques Croes, a native of Brussels, was both a Violinist and composer of chamber music. Mention is made of Six Symphonies for two Violins, Tenor, Bass, and two Oboes ; Six Trios for two Violins and Bass. Chartiani, a Violinist and composer, was born at Liege, and published String Quartetts, Ops. 1, 4, 5, 8 ; Three Violin Concertos ; Symphonies in eight parts ; Six Duetts for Violin and Tenor ; and a few Trios. All these works were published in Paris. Eugene Godecharle, born at Brussels in 1 742, was admitted at an early age to the Royal Chapel as a singer in the choir. Sent to Paris to receive lessons on the Violin, he returned to Brussels, and ultimately held important posts as leader and conductor. He published Sonatas for Violin and Bass, Symphonies in several parts, and other works. His chief pupil appears to have been Vander Plancken. With the Violinist Vander Plancken we approach the period when the style and teaching of Viotti began to be emulated by the Belgian artists. Viotti appears to have had a high opinion of the talent of Vander Plancken. That it was of a superior order may be inferred from the important positions he held at Brussels. Among his pupils was Joseph Francois Snel, Robberechts, and Meerts. He is said to have left several Violin Concertos in manuscript. Francois Snel was born at Brussels in 1793: 2,20 ' THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. after being tutored by Vander Plancken, he was admitted into the class of Pierre Bailliot, at the Paris Conservatoire. As a Violinist and composer he achieved much renown, and was equally cele- brated as a teacher, numbering among his pupils Artot and Haumann. For the former he specially composed a Violin Concerto. His compositions are many and varied, among them several in connection with the Violin. Contemporary with Snel we have mention of the family of Blumenthal, consisting of three brothers, Joseph, Casimer, and Leopold, all composers of more or less ability in the field of Violin music. The prolific and learned musical litterateur, Francois Joseph Fetis, born 1784, must be mentioned as a contributor to the music of the leading instru- ment, although it cannot be said his compositions reach that standard of excellence which serves to render them ever-green in our memories. If he did not succeed in immortalizing himself in musical composition, he has certainly done so as a writer on music. His musical library,* and his " Bio- graphie Universelle des Musiciens," have alone secured him lasting fame, notwithstanding the shortcomings and errors of the last-named great work, of which M. Chouquet has well said, it is " easy to find fault, but impossible to do without." * Purchased by the Belgian Government. An admirable work has been published (1877), which forms a catalogue to this remarkable library. THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. 32 I His published and unpublished works in relation to our subject consist of Sextetts, Quintetts, Trios, &c. Andre Robberechts was a pupil of Vander Plancken, and later of Baillot* and Viotti. He was born at Brussels in 1797. He distinguished himself both as an executant and as a sound teacher. The names of his eminent tutors at once point to his legitimate training, and his artistic career proved his ability to carry onwards the principles his masters had introduced and developed. He published several Violin Solos, Two Concertante Duetts for Violin and Piano, and other works. His composi- tions furnish us with early Belgian examples of those after the style of Lafont, and may be regarded as heralding those of De Beriot. It is said De Beriot received a few lessons from Robberechts. - We must now turn to the important work accomplished by Lambert Joseph Meerts in rela- tion to Violin music. This accomplished artist was a pupil of Lafont, and doubtless acquired from him that elegance of style for which Lafont was so distinguished. Meerts, however, had been made acquainted with the compositions of the Italian Violinists in his early youth, which, together with his studies of the principles of teaching laid down by Baillot and Habeneck, served to give him advantages which he did not fail to make ad- mirable use of, as evidenced in his " Mecanisme du Violon," "Le Mecanisme de l'Archet," and his Studies * Baillot has previously been mis-spelt Bailliot. W 322 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. on Rhythm in its application to the styles of the great masters. M. Meerts has clearly made the student aware of the important fact that no little study is needed to properly interpret a composer's crescendo, and diminuendo, his fortes and pianos ; in short, that light and shade, to be successfully accomplished, is a work of the utmost delicacy, and impossible without sound judgment and exceptional executive skill. Nicholas Lambert Wery, born in 1781, was another famous Belgian professor, and, like Meerts, held the post of Violin-master at the Brussels Conservatoire. He has published much Violin music, among which are Three Concertos, Fifty Variations on the Scales, and Violin Studies. M. Singelee, the well-known and prolific composer of Fantasias, was a pupil of M. Wery. It is now necessary to refer to representative Belgian Violinists whose style seems to have had its origin in the teaching- of Francois Snel. We have mention of a famous pupil of that master in Theodore Hauman, born in 1808. He was highly thought of in Paris as a soloist, and is represented in the well-known lithograph published there many years since of leading Violinists, in company with Habeneck, Baillot, and others. Hauman, however, scarcely merited this distinction as a Violinist. His compositions consist of Fantasias, and Airs with Variations. In Snel's pupil, Artot, we have mention of a Violinist of the highest order as a soloist. I do not THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. 323 know that I could better describe this artist than by naming him the Belgian Ernst. Passion and sentiment he possessed to a degree surpassing that attained by any Violinist of his time in his own school. The instruction he received from Francois Snel was valuable to him, but his subsequent lessons at the Conservatoire, from Kreutzer, per- fected his style. Artot died at the early age of thirty ; had his life been spared, he promised to have become one of the greatest of modern players. He died in 1845. His compositions consist of several Fantasias of an elegant character. Among those unpublished, reference is made to several Quartetts, and a Pianoforte Quintett. Francois Hubert Prume was born in a small town in the Province of Liege. He became a scholar in M. Habeneck's class at the Conserva- toire, where he highly distinguished himself. Prume was another clever artist whose career was a brief one, dying in his thirty- third year, in 1849. His best known Violin composition is that entitled " La Melancolie," so frequently played by Sivori during the past thirty years. He also published Six Grand Studies, Op. 2 ; a Concertino ; and a Polonaise. The eminent Belgian Violinist, Charles Auguste De Beriot, was born at Louvain in 1802. Few composers for the leading instrument have exercised greater influence than De Beriot in his particular field of writing. His Concertos, Fantasias, and Airs with variations, teem with graceful and effec- w 2 324 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. tive passages. Whilst a few of his compositions have been thought not unworthy of being publicly played by great artists, the larger number have furnished amateurs possessing but a moderate amount of executive ability with a store of graceful and pleasing music, well within their compass. De Beriot has published Ten Concertos ; Twelve Airs with Variations, Nos. 5, 6, 7, and 8 having long been the most popular. His Tremolo Variations, Op. 30, is equally famous. He has also published an important Violin School, in three parts, and many excellent Studies, among the latter the collec- tion entitled, " Ecole Transcendante du Violon," Op. 123, containing many well-written exercises, wherein novel forms of passages are introduced. De Beriot died at Louvain in' April, 1870. With M. Henri Vieuxtemps we enter that select circle of Violinists which numbers within it the greatest of modern times in relation to our subject. Not only does he there hold the proud position of being the most eminent representative of the Belgian School of Violinists, but is esteemed as possessing the qualities necessary for composing for the Violin as a solo instrument, equal to his executive abilities. Since the time when Louis Spohr manifested this rare double gift, I am not aware that any artist has achieved so much as Henri Vieuxtemps in the same direction. His composi- tions are very numerous, and of great variety. His Concertos take high rank as works admirably THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. 325 displaying the beauties and effects peculiar to the instrument, and the accompaniments bear the im- press of the musician. His Fantasie- Caprice, the Ballad and Polonaise, and other works of a similar character, are valued by eminent artists as composi- tions of singular merit. His shorter pieces, consist- ing of Romances, Chansons, &c, form a valuable addition to the catalogue of high-class solo Violin music. The Six " Etudes de Concert," with Piano- forte accompaniment, is another esteemed set of compositions. Unfortunately, a few years since, the musical world was deprived of the pleasure of hearing this famous Violinist, in consequence of his health having become enfeebled. He has for some time been living in Algiers, where, happily, he enjoys in retirement his love of composition and the sounds of his Violin. Hubert Leonard is another distinguished Violin- ist and composer for his instrument, belonging to Belgium. He was born in 1819, and long held a professorship at the Brussels Conservatoire. He is now residing in Paris. His compositions and arrangements are numerous and valuable, consisting of Concertos ; Studies ; a Violin School ; the famous Fantasia, " Souvenir de Haydn ; " several light and effective pieces ; and " L'Ancienne Ecole'Italienne," consisting of selections from the works of Corelli, Tartini, and others. It is convenient here to refer to the Norwegian 326 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Violinist, M. Ole Bull, born at Bergen in 18 10. Probably no Violinist since Paganini has succeeded in gaining so much celebrity as a virtuoso as M. Ole Bull. Many romantic and curious anecdotes are recorded of this artist ; the substance of which may be seen in a well-written notice- entitled, a " Norwegian Musician."* Purity of tone, great execution, faultless bowing, and a splendid position, were the attributes belonging to this artist. He was an excellent linguist, the greatest traveller among Violinists, and a passionate admirer of Cremonese Violins, of which he was a thorough connoisseur. Mention of the whereabouts of a rare " Strad " or " Joseph," was sufficient to cause Ole Bull to make a journey expressly to see the instrument. When in England, in 1862, I remember how interested he became upon hearing for the first time of the collection of Mr. Joseph Gillott. Without staying to enquire as to the possibility of seeing the instruments, he journeyed to Birmingham. Arrived there, he found the family of Fiddles reposing at the Steel Pen Works, and that their owner was not willing to remove them from the cases in which they had slumbered so long. After doing all possible to gain the object of his mission, he was at length compelled to abandon the idea and return to London. Ole Bull died at Bergen in 1880. He composed several Violin solos, some of which have been published. * " Cornhill Magazine," Vol. VI. THE VIOLIN IN FRANCE. $ 2 7 With the mention of a few Polish compositions in relation to our subject we are brought to the close of this Section of my book. From the pen of Chopin we have a Trio for Pianoforte, Violin, and Violoncello, in G minor, Op. 8 ; and two Duetts for Violoncello and Pianoforte. Karl Joseph Lipinslci, born at Radzyn, in Poland, in 1790, was an eminent Violinist, and composed much music for his instrument, including Concertos, Fantasias, &c. He was for a long period at Dresden as Concert-master, and obtained there much renown as a teacher and promoter of sound musical taste and principles. Lipinski was an excellent quartett player, and a lover of the works of Bach and Beethoven. Henri Wieniawski, the Prince of Polish Violin- ists, has left a few pieces for the Violin of great merit and wide popularity, the chief of which are the two Polonaises, and the " Legende." He died at Moscow in April, 1880. Station DEE3E.— the Violin in Germans. CHAPTER I. "AT WHEREVER German Art, in those forms of it which need no interpreter, has addressed us immediately, our recognition of it has been prompt and hearty — from Diirer to Mengs, from Handel to Weber and Beethoven. We have welcomed the painters and musicians of Germany, not only to our praise, but to our affection and beneficence." " The horrors of the Thirty Years' War, followed by the conquests and conflagrations of Louis XIV., had desolated the country ; French influence, extending from the courts of princes to the closets of the learned, lay like a doleful incubus over the mind of Germany ; and all true nationality vanished from its literature, or was heard only in faint tones, which lived in the hearts of the people, but could not reach, with any effect, to the ears of foreigners!' "Not that the Germans were idle, or altogether engaged, as we too loosely suppose, in "the work of commentary and lexicography ; on the contrary, they rhymed and romanced with due vigour as to THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 329 quantity, only the quality was bad." Much of what Mr. Carlyle has here said with regard to the state of German literature at the close of the Thirty Years' War, is applicable to German music at the same period. The work of Orlando Lassus at the Bavarian Court of Albert V., of Heinrich Isaac at the court of Maximilian, and the labours of other skilled musicians in the chief German cities, prior to that eventful struggle, were rendered all but abortive. In music, as in literature, the Germans were not idle, but the quality of their work was bad. There appears to have been, however, one musical genius, the character of which serves to render it an exception, and at the same time to take us back to our subject. I refer to Thomas Baltzar, born at Lubeck, in 1632. The information we have relative to him is wholly connected with England. John Evelyn says : *" I was invited by Mr. Roger L'Estrange to hear the incomparable ' Lubicer,' on the Violin. His variety on a few notes and plain ground, with that wonderful dexterity, was admirable. Though a young man, yet so perfect and skilful, that there was nothing, however cross and perplexed, brought to him by our artists, which he did not play off at sight with ravishing sweetness and improvements, to the astonishment of our best masters. In sum he played on a single instrument a full concert, so as the rest flung down their instru- ments, acknowledging the victory. As to my own * Diary, Vol. I., p. 298. 330 THE VIOLIN ANQ ITS MUSIC. particular, I stand to this hour amazed that God should give so great perfection to so young a person. There were at that time as excellent in their profession as any were thought to be in Europe, Paul Wheeler, Mr. Mell and others, till this prodigie appeared." Johann J. Walther was in the service of the Elector of Saxony at the period when Corelli was in Germany, and it is probable the Violinists were personally acquainted with each other. The titles of Walther's compositions* point to their having been curious, and quite opposed to those of his great Italian contemporary. The departure from Hesse Cassel of Henri Schiitz (Sagittarius) for Venice, about the period of the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War, marks the beginning of a new era in the history of German instrumental music. At Venice, Schiitz became the pupil of Giovanni Gabrielli, a circumstance of much interest to us, Gabrielli having been the earliest Italian composer connected with the Violin, accord- ing to our present knowledge. After an absence of three years Schiitz returned to his native country with a system of instrumentation so entirely new to Germany, that his contemporaries named him the father of German instrumental music. When it * " Serenata a un coro di Violini, organo tremolante, chitarrino piva, due trombe e timpani, lira tedesca, e arpa smorzata, per un Violino solo. Scherzi di Violino solo, con il basso continuo per l'organo o cembalo ; accompagnabile anche con una Viola liuto." THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 33 I is remembered that he was conversant with the musical tactics of such men as Gabrielii, Caccini, and above all Monteverde, it is easy to understand how capable he was to engraft a new school of music on the old German stem. Though the Violin, in the form we now have it, was probably used in Germany at the end of the fifteenth century, and certainly a few years after its close,* it was not until after the return from Italy of Schiitz, that the instrument appears to have made way. Johann Schopp, or Schoope, a native of Ham- burg, where he was living in 1642, figures as one of the earliest German Violinists and composers for his instrument. In 1658, Matthias Kelz published little Sonatas, Ballets, Allemandes, Galliards, etc., and also, in 1669, music for Violin and Viol da Gamba. Chapel-master Johann P. Krieger, born at Nuremberg, in 1649, published Twelve Sonatas for two Violins, Tenor, and Bass, in 1687, and others for the same instruments in 1693. It is well to note that Kerl, Kelz, and Krieger studied in Italy, and that the latter was personally acquainted with the most eminent Italian musicians of his time. Nicolaus Hasse, organist of Rostock, published about 1650, "Deliciae Musicae Allemanden, Cour- anten und Sarabanden, auf 2 roder Drei Violinen, * Prastorius, in his " Theatrum Instrumentorum, etc., 1620," gives a drawing of a Violin. 332 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC, Violone, Clavycimbel oder Teorbe zu Musiciren," and other works of a similar character in 1658. Conrad Steneken, of Bremen, an amateur, pub- lished, in 1662, a collection of short pieces for two Violins, Tenor, and Bass. About the year 1657, when the Emperor Leopold was driving the Turks from Moravia, Gottfried Finger came into the world at Olmiitz in that country. He came to England in 1685, and became King James II.'s Chapel-master, better known to us as Mr. Godfrey Finger, the composer of twelve Sonatse " pro diversis Instrumentis, Opus Primum, 1688;" Six Sonatas, three for Violin and three for Flute, 1 690 ; Sonatas, Ayres, etc., for Violins, in conjunction with John Banister 1691 ; and other compositions. After spending about seventeen years here, Mr. Finger quitted our shores, displeased in having been awarded the fourth prize for a compo- sition in which Weldon, Eccles, and Purcell preceded him. We next hear of Finger in the service of Queen Sophie Charlotte at Berlin, our First George's sister. Though — " The surly drums beat terrible afar, With all the dreadful music of the war," the Emperor Leopold's love of Music's harmony was in no way cooled. Early in his reign he interested himself with the art, and, it is said, set to music his own poetry. He retained the services of Draghi, THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 333 the Italian dramatic composer, and Minato, the Italian lyric poet. The famous Violinist, Biber, a "Bohemian, born - abou -fe- 1638, was another of Leo- pold's proteges. Biber, like his contemporary Walther, and the few German Violinists of that period, followed almost entirely a section of the Italian School of playing, and of composition anterior to Corelli. Biber's writings for his instru- ment display no small amount of ingenuity ; double stops are greatly used, and a dexterous right hand is needed to execute the bowings.* Soon after the restoration of peace, the Emperor Leopold again turned his attention to the human- ising arts, and more particularly that of music. Fully alive to the superiority of Italian music at this date, to Italy he looked for that aid which he felt was needed to develope the art among his people. Leaving Leopold, the lover of Italian music, we will turn to its eminent hater, Prince Frederick (afterwards Frederick the Great), in whose time Violin playing in Germany was started on its true national path. Music was regarded by Prince Frederick's father as a most unnecessary appendage * Biber supplies us with an early instance of departure from the usual system of tuning the Violin. In one of his Sonatas the G and D strings are raised to A and E, with the E string lowered to D. His published Violin music comprises, Six Sonatas with Bass, dated 1681 ; a set of Sonata's, 1676 ; " Fidieinium sacro-prafanum," being twelve Sonatas in parts ; " Vesperae longiores ac breviores," for four voices, two Violins, two Tenors, and three Trombones ad lib. 334 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. to general education, and he opposed in every way his son becoming - a musician. The Prince, however, aided by his mother the Queen, contrived to obtain a considerable knowledge of music, and to have much of it about him by stealth. In 1728 he was learning the Flute from Quantz, the greatest flautist of his time, who expressly journeyed from Dresden every year to instruct him. Upon the death of Quantz's patron the King of Poland, he entered the service of Prince Frederick, in which he passed some thirty-two years. At Rheinsberg Prince Frederick passed perhaps the happiest hours of his eventful life. Of his music there, Mr. Carlyle tells us, "Daily, at a fixed hour of the afternoon, there is a concert held." " If the artists entertained here for that function were enumerated (high names not yet forgotten in the Musical world), it would still more astonish readers. I count them to the number of Twenty or Nineteen, and mention only that the two brothers Graun and the two brothers Benda were of the lot, suppressing four other Fiddlers of eminence and a Pianist who is known to everybody. The Prince has a fine sensibility to Music, does himself, with thrilling adagios on the Flute, join in these harmonious acts ; and no doubt, if rightly vigilant against the Non- senses, gets profit now and henceforth, from this part of his resources." It is with one of these brothers Benda, whom Mr. Carlyle associates with four nameless "Fiddlers," THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 335 that we now have to do. The term Fiddler is, I imagine, a good unvarnished word of Saxon origin ; but it is one which nineteenth century instrumentalists connect with a very different type of man to Franz Benda, the founder of a special school of undoubted Violin -playing. > Franz Benda was born in 1709, and received musical instruction from both Graun and Quantz. He became Concert-master to Frederick the Great upon the death of the first-named master. In 1723 he was a chorus singer at Prague. The Concertos of Vivaldi were the compositions he studied, and, like Bach, he learned much from them. Burney remarks, " His style is not that of Tartini, Somis, Veracini, nor that of the head of any one school or musical sect : it is his own." This is high praise, and goes far to prove his title to the foundership of the German School of the Violin. Franz Benda was the instructor of F. W. Rust, born in 1739. Rust was famous as a Violinist, a player on the Harpsichord, and gifted composer. His Violin Sonata in D minor, familiar to many of my readers, together with other Violin compositions, were left in manuscript. Upon the death of Frederick William, in 1740, his son's happy days at Rheinsberg ended. With a powerful army at his command, desirous of military glory, he entered upon that brilliant career which changed the face of Europe, and earned for him the title of Frederick the Great. The thunders of war 2, $6 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. however, did not render him deaf to the concord of sweet sounds, for six years after his accession, and a year after the termination of his second war, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, John Sebastian's third son, was appointed cemballist and director of the Court chamber-music, and special acccompanist to the Great Frederick and his Flute. But of Emanuel Bach later ; it is his father who first claims our notice. In 1747, the year following Emanuel's appointment, Frederick the Great sent John Sebastian Bach an invitation to his court. On the 7th of April, Bach, then in his sixty-second year, reached the palace just as Frederick was about to play a Flute Concerto with his Orchestra. When Bach's arrival was made known to him, putting his Flute aside, he turned to the assembled musicians and said, " Gentleman, Old Bach has come." Bach, who had gone to his son's chambers, was summoned to the music room. Not having had time to exchange his travelling costume, he appeared before his Royal Highness in a condition, to say the least, uncourtly, which gave rise to some slight titterings on the part of the gentlemen of the orchestra, which were speedily silenced by a reproachful look from Frederick. The coming of Bach put an end to the Flute Concert for that evening. The King, anxious to hear the great musician, asked him to play a fugue ; Bach complied by extemporising on a theme chosen by the King. Frederick, amazed at Bach's masterly performance, exclaimed, " Only one Bach ! only one Bach ! " THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 337 In availing myself of the opportunity afforded by the presence of Sebastian Bach at Frederick's Court, to bring under the notice of the reader the information regarding him which bears upon our subject, I have over-stepped the bounds of chrono- logical narration, by referring to an event at the close of the great composer's life before mentioning the facts belonging to his earlier years : I must therefore hasten to remark that John Sebastian Bach was born at Eisenach in the year 1685. He entered upon his musical education by learning from his father the Violin. Becoming an orphan in his tenth year, he lived with his brother the organist at Ohrdruff, and began under his guidance the study of the Clavier. In his fifteenth year Bach entered the " Michaelis" School at Liineburg, where he greatly extended his knowledge of vocal music by singing the soprano part in the Church. At a later period he gave much time to the study of the Organ, gaining renown both as a performer and composer for the instrument. In 1714, when Bach was twenty-nine years of age, he was appointed Sub- Concert-master at Weimar. In 171 7 he became Chapel-master to Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cothen, who was a passionate lover of music. About this period he composed many of his instrumental works. Six years later he received his appointment at the famous Thomas-Schule at Leipsic, which he held to the end of his life, July 1 750. Bach's character may be summarized as x 338 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. modest, kind, and sympathetic, free from preten- tiousness, vanity, and ambition. Had he possessed the last quality in some slight degree, perhaps the world might be richer in musical master-pieces. Pursuing his profession contentedly at small German Courts, where he had not the advantage of an orchestra, he had not the means of giving full play to his mighty genius : could he have commanded one, his Cantatas and large works might have been quad- rupled in number. The Clavichord at home, and the Organ at the Church, were the instruments to which he almost exclusively devoted his genius. Happily, his early knowledge of the Violin led him to enrich the music of the king of stringed instruments. His writings for the Violin consist of Six Clavier Sonatas with an obbligato Violin accompaniment, before mentioned in connection with the notice of Baillot ; several Concertos for Clavier with stringed instruments ; Six Sonatas for Violin alone, including the Chaconne which was first introduced by Ferdinand David at Leipsic in 1839, at one of his Quartett Evenings, when Mendelssohn impro- vised an accompaniment — to which circumstance we owe the masterly arrangement published by Mendelssohn at a later period. These Sonatas will long be remembered, apart from their own imperish- able nature, as having been among the last works upon which Schumann was engaged, namely, that of adding a Pianoforte part in 1853. Fetis mentions Five Violin Duetts published by Haslinger, Vienna ; 7 HE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 339 whether these are' original or adaptations I am unable to state. He also names a Concerto for Violin, Flute, Hautboy, and Trumpet, with accom- paniments for two Violins, Violoncello, and Double Bass. A Concerto for three Violins, three Tenors, and three Violoncellos, with Clavecin Concerto for Violin and two Flutes, with stringed accompani- ments. Concerto in A, for Violin with stringed instruments. A Symphony Concertante for two Violins with accompaniments, in MS. ; and other works. The German Bach Society, published several important Violin works in 1859. It is said that on the autograph manuscript of the Three Violin Sonatas in F, A minor, and C, now in the Berlin Library, is the following note : — " This admirable work, in J. S. Bach's own hand-writing, I found among old papers, intended to be sent to the butter-shop, in the leavings of the Pianist Polchau, at St. Petersburg, 18 14. — George Polchau." When it is remembered that the MS. of the Forty-eight Preludes and Fugues was sold by auction in 1824 for half-a-guinea, and that a score of a Mass is said to have been given to a gardener to bind round grafted fruit-trees, we have every reason to feel grateful that the MS. of the Three Violin Sonatas reposes in the Library at Berlin, far removed from the hands of buttermen and the liners of trunks. x 2 §ation UHEI.— <5Fhc Uiolin in Germans. CHAPTER II. T li 7"E must now return to Frederick the Great at his Potsdam Palace. Around and within that royal residence we shall find much that is histori- cally interesting in relation to music and musicians. Here are apartments appropriated to the use of almost every branch of the Royal Family in suites, in each of which a room is dedicated to music, well supplied with books, desks, and instruments. But let us take a peep at the Great Frederick's concert room. Here are mirrors of immense proportions ; sculpture by Martin of Paris ; Clavier by Silber- mann, beautifully embellished ; a tortoise-shell music desk, richly inlaid with silver, used by the King himself for his Flute performances. On the table is a catalogue of Concertos, and a book of manuscript Solfeggi, or Preludes, which Frederick adapted to his favourite instrument. These implements of music make us curious to learn something of the Royal performances : fortunately we have an emi- nent informant in Dr. Burney, ready to enlighten us. He says, " Visiting the Potsdam Palace to hear THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 34 1 the Royal music, I was carried to one of the interior apartments, in which the gentlemen of the King's band were waiting for his commands. This apartment is contiguous to the Concert room, where I could distinctly hear his Majesty practising Solfeggi on the Flute, and exercising himself in difficult passages previous to his calling in the band. Here I met with M. Benda, who was so obliging as to introduce me to M. Quantz. The figure of this veteran musican is of an uncommon size : The son of Hercules he justly seems, By his broad shoulders and gigantic limbs, and he appears to enjoy an uncommon portion of health and vigour for a person arrived at his seventy- sixth year. He told me that both his Majesty and scholar played no other Concertos than those which he had expressly composed for his use, which amounted to three hundred, and these he performed in rotation. Whilst I was conversing with M. Quantz we were interrupted by the arrival of a messenger from the King, commanding the gentle- men of the band to attend him in the next room. "The Concert began by a German Flute Concerto, in which his Majesty executed the solo parts with great precision : his embouchure was clear, and even his finger brilliant, and his taste pure and simple. M. Quantz bore no other part in the performance of the Concertos of to-night, than to give the time with the motion of his hand at the 342 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. beginning of each movement, except now and then to cry out 'bravo!' to his Royal scholar, which seems to be a privilege allowed to no other musician of the band." Leaving Frederick and his Flute, we will next notice his musical director. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was born at Vienna in 1 714 ; his appointment at the Court of Frederick was held by him until 1767, when he went to Hamburg, where he lived until his death, in 1788. Emanuel Bach, as a composer, stands between his father, John Sebastian Bach, and Joseph Haydn. Though the latter is regarded as the parent of modern instrumental music, Emanuel Bach first gave the Symphony and the Sonata a modern dress, and that an artistic one, which Haydn acknowledged he studied with great profit. Mozart said of him " He is the father, we are his children." Had Emanuel Bach manifested more vigour and earnestness in his work, it would be impossible to withhold from him the title of father of modern instrumental music, as applied to Haydn. The list of his compositions is of remarkable length, and the Violin is much associated with it. Whilst the brothers Benda and the brothers Graun were about the Court of Frederick, several remarkable Italian musicians were Italianising German music at the Court of the Duke of Wurtemburg, at Stuttgard. The Duke, like the Emperor Leopold, was a lover of the music of the THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 343 Italians, and filled his Court with Italian musicians of great renown. At his Summer Palace he established a school for the education of 200 poor children, many of whom received musical instruction. This, together with other musical expenses, much deranged the exchequer of the Duchy of Wurtem- burg, and led to the Court musicians being placed on half-pay. Here was Ferrari, Nardini, and the eccentric Lolli, with the great Jomelli, to compose, and a host of others of less renown. Royal music on such a scale could not but be financially a failure, and loud were the Wurtemburgers' denunciations as to the Duke's lavishness on music ; but viewed at this distance of time we are better able to appraise its artistic worth, and look upon the Duke's investment as having been a sound one for German posterity. Italian influence was doing its work at this period at the Court of Maximilian Joseph III., Elector of Bavaria. The Elector was himself an excellent Violinist, besides possessing some executive skill on the Violoncello and Viol da Gamba. Since German musical genius was fed mainly upon German Court patronage, it is necessary to still further continue our course among these centres of the art. Outside the Palaces and Chapels of Teutonic Grand Dukes and Electors, the musicians of Germany could hope to draw but little nourish- ment. That which they obtained within was of the slenderest kind, and raised them but little above the domestic. The menial chains of servitude, by 344 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. which these at once high, mighty, and petty potentates held the foremost musical men of their or any age, were far stronger than those by which Temple, Chesterfield, and Walpole held our men of letters, but withal there is a striking similarity. If we think of Haydn at Esterhaz and of Swift at Moor Park, we have at once an illustration of this. The man who was destined to " stir the laughter and rage of millions," by giving to the world the " Travels of Gulliver," attended Sir William Temple as an amanuensis, for board and ^20 a year, and dined at the second table. He who possessed the power of leading musicians into new fields of their art, waited on Prince Esterhazy for a pittance little better than that received by Swift, and laboured for his master ten times harder, solacing himself with the satisfaction that he was cut off from the world, and had no one to confuse him, and thus was obliged to be original. It is worthy of note that these patronage manacles in music and book learning were loosened by two remarkable men, possessing strong indepen- dent spirits — Handel and Dr. Johnson. When Handel quitted the service of Elector George at Hanover, that his talents might be exercised with greater freedom, he demonstrated the practi- cability of a highly-gifted musician living on a community in the place of a great patron. When the lexiographer proved to the literary world that a work of merit could live without the approval of THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 345 a Chesterfield, he performed a like service to his brother authors. It must not, however, be forgotten that the service rendered to music and literature by the wealthy was of inestimable value, coming as it did at a time when neither the one nor the other had spread among the people. At the Hanoverian Court of Elector George Louis we are told there was plenty of music, profane and pious ; a round dozen Trumpeters, four French Fiddlers, an Organist, and a Bugler are mentioned as having been in the pay of the Court. This is truly a combination of instrumentalists we might expect in the palace of him who, when he became our First George, confessed he had no admiration for " Boets and Bainters" ; nevertheless I am inclined to think the above list does not give all the instru- mental power of Hanover's Court music : if so, we need not wonder that his Organist accepted the post conditionally, namely, that he might have much leave of absence. That George Frederick Handel — it was none other — could have remained satisfied with the sound of four Fiddles, twelve Trumpets, and a Bugle, was hardly to be expected. Although the compositions of Handel, in relation to our subject, are less important than those of his great contemporary Sebastian Bach, to fail to notice them in any account of the Violin and its Music would be an unpardonable omission. " Remember Handel ! who that was not born Deaf as the dead to harmony, forgets, Or can, the more than Homer of his age ? " 346 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. It is at least remarkable that Bach and Handel, of equal fame, and of whom it may be said, to mention one is to think of the other, should have come into the world in the same year, and within a month of each other. Handel was born at Halle, Lower Saxony, February 23rd, 1685. Though inferior as a prodigy to Mozart, Handel neverthe- less was a musical phenomenon, and, like Mozart, was an exception to prodigies in general, where youthful genius burns with such vitality, that, when manhood is reached, nothing remains for the flame to feed upon. His powers of improvisation on the Organ were extraordinary ; the difficulties of the Harpsichord, the Hautboy, and the Violin, were, to a great extent, overcome in his teens. On the death of Handel's father, the youthful musician suddenly found himself dependent on his own exertions for his maintenance. He decided to quit Halle for Hamburg, where he hoped to obtain some employ- ment in his profession, that would enable him to spend some time among the musicians of Italy. At Hamburg he entered the orchestra of the theatre as a Violinist; three years later he found him- self in possession of means to carry out his long- wished-for visit to Italy. Though importuned long before this by Prince Gaston de Medici, brother of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, to accompany him to Florence, Handel, with that spirit of independence which manifested itself throughout his career, declined, preferring to be neither under restraint THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 347 nor obligation. After spending a short time at Florence, he visited Venice, which he reached at Carnival time. On the evening of his arrival he attended a masked f6te, at which he played the Harpsichord, with his visor on, astonishing his listeners with his bold and majestic style, at once so impressive and new to them. Among his audience was the greatest performer on the Harp- sichord the world had seen— Domenico Scarlatti — who exclaimed, " 'Tis the Devil, or the Saxon of whom every one is talking." The acquaint- ance of these remarkable men, thus formed, early became of a rapturous kind. Mention of Scarlatti brought from Handel expressions of unqualified admiration for the genius of the Italian, and Scarlatti crossed himself when the name of the Saxon was uttered. Upon quitting Venice, Handel visited Rome, where his fame had preceded him. The musical life of the city was then in the (eighteenth century) hey-day of its glory. Virtuosi and dilettanti were giving that aid which love of the art alone could furnish. Here was the Marquis de Ruspoli, at whose palace Handel spent some time; Cardinal Ottoboni, the friend of Corelli ; Cardinal Pamphili, who wrote poetry to which Handel set his notes- Among the virtuosi, immortal names are found : including Alessandro Scarlatti, the father of Domenico, the composer of more than a hundred Operas, of two hundred Masses, and some ten 34§ THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Oratorios ; a musician whose influence on his art was rife with important results. It was at Rome that Handel composed, in 1708, his Oratorio, "II Resurreczione," in which he made use of the follow- ing instruments : Violins, Violas, two Flutes, two German Flutes, two Bassoons, two Trumpets, and a Harpsichord, together with a Viola da Gamba, a Theorba (an Arch- Lute), two Violoncellos, . and two Double Basses. This list marks the progress of instrumentation. In 1709 Handel returned to Germany, and accepted the post of Chapel-master to the Elector George of Brunswick, at a salary of ^300 per annum, conditionally that he should be allowed to visit England. At the close of 1710 he arrived in London, where Opera, after the manner of the Italians, was becoming the fashion for the fashionable. Only three years prior to Handel's coming to England, the British musical public was content to be led into the operatic line by one Clayton, a Violinist and an obscure member of William and Mary's state band, who having passed a short time in Italy, persuaded his countrymen that he was able to perform the astonishing feat of converting rustic English music into finished Italian Opera. Fur- nished with the means to make the attempt, Clayton simply distorted and mangled some Italian melodies almost beyond recognition, and adapted them to the words of an English Drama. Addison, who was associated with Clayton's THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 349 venture, tells us it was the first Opera that gave the English a taste for Italian music. This was probably the case, for having tasted of Clayton's rank Italian decoction, his audience craved for the real article, and its appetite was satisfied by .the production of Bononcini's Opera " Camilla" the success of which caused the introduction of its composer's airs into every Opera, down to the coming of Handel, in 1710. It will thus be seen that the time was in every way opportune for Handel to display his abilities in dramatic music. The musical training he had received in his native country was supplemented with a knowledge of Italian operatic art acquired at Venice, Rome, and Naples. Commissioned to compose an Opera for the new Haymarket Theatre,* Handel, with that wondrous fertility which remained to the end of his days, produced, in two short weeks, " Rinaldo," the first representation of which took place February 24th, 1 7 1 1 . Its success was complete. Addison, smarting under the failure of his Opera,, produced, in 1707, the music of which was the work of the pretentious Clayton, handed to the " Spectator," (then but five days old,) the first poisoned arrow to be directed at "Rinaldo" : " How would the wits of King Charles' time have laughed to have seen Nicolini exposed to a tempest in robes of ermine, and sailing in an open boat upon a sea of pasteboard ! What a field of raillery would they * On the site of the present Opera House. 35° THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. have been led into, had they been entertained with painted dragons spitting wildfire ; enchanted chariots drawn by Flanders mares, and real cascades in artificial landscapes ! " Ten days later, Richard Steele, with his friend Addison's approval, wrote : " I observe that Mr. Powell and the undertakers of the Opera had both the same thought, of introducing animals on their several stages, though indeed with very different success. The sparrows and chaffinches at the Hay market fly, as yet, very irregularly over the stage, and instead of perching on the trees, and performing their parts, those young actors get into the galleries, or put out the candles ! " As to the mechanism and scenery : " I was not a little astonished to see a well-dressed young fellow in a full-bottomed wig appear in the midst of the sea, and without any visible concern taking snuff." The success of " Rinaldo " was, however, com- plete, for it had a run of fifteen nights, about equal to one hundred in these times. It was played in Hamburg, Naples, and elsewhere. Our Life Guards played the March every day upon parade for forty years, and long after the same March figured as the " Robber's Chorus " in the " Beggars Opera" of Pepusch. Walsh, the publisher, realised a little fortune from the sale of the Opera, causing Handel to suggest that Walsh should compose the next Opera, and he be its publisher. It is needless to refer in these pages to Handel's THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 35 I subsequent career in England. It forms the subject of much interesting matter, printed again and again, and is accessible to every musical reader ; we will therefore hasten to notice the music of Handel for the Violin. It is interesting to find that the first work from his pen is that known as " Sonates pour un Traversiere,* un Violon, ou Hautbois." Schcel- cher, in his " Life of Handel," says, " These Violin Sonatas were published in 1732, and not in 1724."! He appears, however, to have mistaken Walsh's edition for the original. I have in my possession a copy published by Roger, Amsterdam, which is undoubtedly the first edition. Over Roger's name was pasted the label of Walsh, and it would there- fore seem that he, without any reference to Handel, reprinted the work from Roger's edition. In all probability Handel published these Sonatas when at Hamburg between 1705 and 1708. The statement that they were composed for the Prince of Wales is therefore as void of truth as that which associates the charming Air in the " Suites de Pieces pour le Clavecin " with the anvil of an Edgware blacksmith,| mention of which reminds me of an * Flute. Bach used the same term to distinguish it from a Flute played with a mouthpiece. t Schcelcher gives the " Suites de Pieces pour le Clavecin " as Op. 1, but these Violin Sonatas preceded them. X It is related that Handel, on his way to Cannons, was overtaken by a shower of rain, and sheltered in the shed of Powell the black- smith ; and that Handel received his idea of the Air from hearing the measured sounds of the anvil. , 352 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. incident perhaps worth recording. In 1879 the veritable anvil from Edgware was sent for sale by auction, together with a large collection of Handel - ian curios. On the morning of sale I strolled into Sir Joshua Reynolds's old picture gallery in Leicester Square, wherein the reminiscences of the mighty composer were on view. Observing a group of people, evidently much interested in a particular object, my curiosity led me to elbow my way among the bystanders to catch a glimpse of it. Whilst thus engaged, a ringing sound, common to a farrier's shop, made me aware that I was in the neighbourhood of the anvil of anvils. Orations, whisperings, and confidential communications seemed to be in full swing, when the blows became measured, and a voice was heard humming : rt§=^rfi=i- ^i h r^ =j^ m ^ 2 S s=2 The performance was interrupted now and again with such observations as, " How like ! How sug- gestive ! " " Since knowledge is but sorrow's spy, It is not safe to know," thought I, and left the group, fortified with another illustration of how " Great floods have flown from simple sources." To have interrupted the palpable pleasure of the little party by venturing to explain that the Air THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 353 known as the " Harmonious Blacksmith " had no connection whatever with Powell's anvil, a shower of rain, or any extraordinary harmonic phenomena — would have been cruel, and more so from the facts surrounding the origin of the title being singularly unromantic. To pull down the idol in Powell, the Edgware blacksmith, and attempt to set up a Bath music publisher in Mr. Lintott, whose father was a blacksmith, and happened to delight in the Air in question, causing his son to publish it years after Handel died as the " Harmonious Blacksmith," in memory of his parent, would, in all probability, have been received , with signs of disapprobation.* Returning to the subject- of Handel's music in relation to the Violin, we have Six Sonatas for two Violins, two Hautboys, or two Flutes, published in 1732, Op. 2. A set of Six Sonatas appears to have been lost. A set of Seven Sonata Trios was published in 1739. In the same year the Twelve Grand Concertos were composed. In the London Daily Post, October 29th, 1739, is the following notice : — "This day are published, pro- posals for printing by subscription, with his Majesty's royal license and protection, Twelve Grand Con- certos, in seven parts, for four Violins, a Tenor, a Violoncello, with a Thorough- Bass for the Harpsichord, composed by Mr. Handel. Price to * I believe we are indebted to Dr. Rimbault for the correction of this popular musical error. Y 354 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. subscribers, two guineas. Subscriptions are taken by the author, at his house in Brook Street, Hanover Square, and by Walsh." Other notices in April, 1740, inform the public of the publication of the Concertos, and that they were performed at the Theatre Royal, Lincoln's Inn Fields, and " played in most public places with the greatest applause." Besides the above-mentioned works must be noticed, a Sonata for Hautboy, Violin, and Tenor ; Sonata for two Violins. The famous "Water Music " was expressly composed for the occasion of a fete given by King George on the Thames. The music consists of twenty-five pieces for the following instruments : four Violins, one Tenor, one Violon- cello, two Hautboys, two Bassoons, two French Horns (first time these instruments were used), two Flageolets, one Flute, and a Trumpet. Turning to another series of elemental music composed for the occasion of the Royal fireworks in 1749, Handel, in place of adding fuel to fire, calls on ^Eolus to aid him with wind. In the Overture he uses -twenty- four Hautboys (a favourite instrument of his), twelve Bassoons, nine Trumpets, nine Horns, a Serpent, three pairs of Kettle Drums, and one Double Bass. What became of this solitary Contra- Bassist or his instrument, wrapt in a cloud of sulphur during a raging tempest, it is impossible to learn ; had he been of the dimensions of Daniel Lambert, and his Double Bass in proportion, he could scarcely have escaped annihilation. THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 355 Handel, in using this powerful wind force, kept steadily in view the character of the entertainment, and that his music-room had no roof or walls but those provided by nature ; but what must have been the effect produced by the performance of a Concerto Grosso, the work of a contemporary of Handel's at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, in 1744, in which were 24 Bassoons, accompanied by Signor Caporale on the Violoncello, with Duetts by four Double Bassoons accompanied by a German Flutel If it was common to use wind instruments with such little judgment, well might Scarlatti say to his pupil Hasse, who was desirous of introducing Quantz — Frederick the Great's Flautist- — to him, "My son, you know I hate wind instruments, they are never in tune." Mention of Hasse serves to remind me of his not only having been a popular composer of Operas, but also of much chamber music for wind and stringed instruments. His music is remarkably melodious, but wants what may be called that bone and sinew without which it cannot live. Dr. Burney appears to have had a somewhat high opinion of his abilities, since he says, " Hasse may be regarded as the Raphael, and Gluck the Michael Angelo of living composers. If the affected French expression of le grand simple can ever mean any- thing, it must be when applied to the productions of such a composer as Hasse, who succeeds better, perhaps, in expressing with clearness and propriety y 2 35^ THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. whatever is graceful, elegant, and tender, than what is boisterous and violent ; whereas, Gluck's genius seems more calculated for exciting terror in painting difficult situations, occasioned by complicated misery and the tempestuous fury of unbridled passions."* Another composer of chamber music living at Vienna at the period when Hasse resided there, was Vanhall. The Symphonies of Vanhall for two Violins, Tenor, Bass, two Hautboys, and two Horns, served to make Burney say that he " should not hesitate to rank them among the most complete and perfect compositions, for many instruments, of which the art of music can boast." Posterity has not been in harmony with the opinion of the musical Doctor, the compositions of Vanhall having been long out of sight, and almost out of mind. Johannes Carl Stamitz, born in 1719, both as a composer and Violinist held high rank among the musicians of his time. His Violin studies, though all but forgotten, testify to his knowledge of the instrument. His Sonatas for Violin and Bass are good, though not great. Stamitz left in manuscript, Twenty-one Concertos for Violin with accompani- ments ; Ten Symphonies — these works were not Concertos or Symphonies in the sense we now use those terms, but as applied to such writings prior to the time of Haydn. Stamitz also left Nine Violin Solos in manuscript. I have now to notice Leopold Mozart, the father * " Present State of Music," Vol. I., p. 353. THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 357 of him who made the name imperishable. Leopold was the son of a bookbinder at Augsburg, born December 14th, 1719. As a composer he is known chiefly by his Violin School, which was a great improvement on that of Geminiani, and for upwards of half a century was the great text-book on Violin playing. It was published at Augsburg in 1756, the year his son Wolfgang was born, and contains a portrait of the author. " A second edition was pub- lished in 1770, much enlarged, and other editions were published at Vienna and Paris. Wolfgang Mozart writing to his father from Paris in 1778, says, " I must not forget to tell you that I had the satisfaction of seeing your ' School for the Violin ' translated into French ; I believe it is about eight years since the translation appeared."* * " Mozart's Letters," Vol. I., p. 209, Longman & Co., 1865. hctian HHf. — %ht liolitt in Sermanp. CHAPTER III. "PAR back in the fifteenth century the Hun- garians were famous for the encouragement they gave to the arts. Painters, goldsmiths, and others flocked to them in great numbers, chiefly from Italy, and luxury of every kind was paramount. Such was the splendour of the King's table that the Pope's nuncio declared it would take no less than fifty carriages to contain the plate of massive gold adorned with precious stones. A century later we meet with the name of Esterhazy, familiar alike to the lovers of diamonds and music. The position of the Esterhazy family in the annals of Hungary, in point of magnificence, may be likened to that of the Medici at Florence. The first musical Esterhazy worthy of note was Prince Paul, who was rewarded by the Emperor Leopold with the consficated estates of his country- men, for the support he gave to the Emperor's cause. With such wealth, we are not surprised that its inheritor, Prince Nicolaus, could build a palace which has been described as second only in magnifi- cence to Versailles. THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 359 This famed palace of Esterhazy was erected in the centre of a marsh, far removed from the paths of humanity. Canals and dykes were necessarily made to render the place habitable. The dense wood behind the castle was transformed into a deer park, flower gardens, summer-houses, grottos, hermitages, and temples. Near the castle was erected a spacious and elegant theatre. The orchestra was formed from the band of the Prince's Chapel. Travelling virtuosi frequently played with the regular members. Special days were, set apart for the performance of chamber music, and for orchestral works, and in the intervals the musicians and singers assembled at the Cafe, and made one harmonious family. Here, at Esterhaz, the recognised father of modern instru- mental music, Joseph Haydn, passed thirty years of his life as Chapel-master. Here Haydn composed nearly all his operas, Thirty Symphonies, Six String Trios, a few of the Piano Trios, the first of which tells its tale of associations in the last movement, known as the Hungarian Rondo : — „ Presto, gtgt ^muz^ m The possession of an orchestra composed of talented musicians, ever ready to follow the instruc- tions of their much-loved conductor, was an advan- tage Haydn appreciated, and failed not to use for the benefit of his art. 360 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Before making reference to Haydn's labours in the field of stringed instrument music, a word or two must be said of his early life. When Handel was in his forty-seventh year, Haydn was in his first : like Handel he played the Violin in his boyhood. Of Haydn's connection with Porpora, the reader has already been informed. His early acquaintance with Herr von Fiirnberg, a rich and enthusiastic amateur, was productive of results of much musical importance, since it was at the instigation of Fiirn- berg that he composed, in 1755, his first quartett, which was followed by seventeen others within twelve months. In 1759 Haydn became Count Morzin's music director at Lukavec, near Pilsen, at the modest salary of £20 per annum with board and lodging. At Lukavec he composed his first Symphony, a work of three movements for two Violins, Tenor, Bass, two Oboes, and two Horns. After remaining in the Count's service nine years, Haydn entered that of Esterhazy in 1761. It was for Prince Nicolaus Esterhazy that he composed so much music for the Baritone — a bowed instrument of a complicated character, and much used in Germany in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Haydn appears to have admired the qualities of this instru- ment, for he practised it with great assiduity , but finding his patron desirous of being left to shine alone, he relinquished altogether all idea of playing it. In 1 78 1 Haydn, with the assistance of General THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 36 I Jerningham, entered into an arrangement with William Forster, the Violin-maker, then living in Duke's Court, St. Martin's Lane, contracting to send him certain Sonatas, Trios, and Symphonies for the sum of seventy pounds. -It is interesting to find that a well-known English maker of Violins was among the earliest publishers of Haydn's works, and thus helped to spread the fame of the illustrious composer in Great Britain. There was, however, one man who conferred greater benefits on Haydn and the whole musical world, than Forster, Artaria, and all Haydn's pub- lishers combined : I refer to Johann Peter Salomon, the Violinist, born at Bonn in 1745. Shortly after his arrival in London he found himself the chief of an influential circle of amateurs and musicians, and resolved to use his position to the advancement of the musical art in England by instituting concerts for the performance of high-class music. The project, boldly conceived, was carried out with proportionate vigour. In December 1790, Salomon went to Vienna, and engaged Haydn to compose and conduct Six Symphonies for his forthcoming concerts. It happened that Haydn's patron, Prince Nicolaus Esterhazy, died a few weeks previous to Salomon's visit to Vienna : the composer was thus free to act as he liked. Haydn, prior to this, had received a pressing invitation to London from W. Cramer, offering to engage him at any cost. Salomon decided upon trying what a special 362 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC, messenger might do, and sent Bland, the music publisher, to Vienna in 1787. When admitted to the presence of Haydn, the great master was in the act of shaving, and exclaimed, " I would give my best quartett for a good razor ; " Bland at once went to his lodging and fetched his own, which he presented to Haydn, and received in exchange the quartett often called the " Rasie- messer."* "The genius of Haydn, in place of being mainly exercised for the benefit of German Courts, was now about to be at the disposal of the whole musical world, and the composer rendered in- dependent of his mercenary and niggardly pub- lishers. By the aid of Salomon's enterprise, and the commercial estimate set upon the composer's abilities, Haydn was about to obtain, in three years, a greater reward than he received from his patron Prince, and his publishers, during a service of thirty years. In a letter of Haydn's, written from London, we read, " I had a kind Prince, but was obliged at times to be dependent on base souls. I often sighed for release, and now I have it in some measure. The consciousness of being no longer a bond-servant sweetens all my toils ; but, dear as liberty is to me, I do hope on my return to enter the service of Prince Esterhazy (this refers to Prince Anton) solely for the sake of my poor * Herr C. F. Pohl's " Notice of Haydn." THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 363 family. I doubt much whether I shall find this desire realised, for in his letter my Prince complains of my long absence, and exacts my speedy return in the most absolute terms, which, however, I cannot comply with." On the day of Haydn's departure for London with Salomon, Mozart dined with the travellers, and saw them seated in the lumbering old German coach that conveyed them on the road to Calais. A' similar engagement was made between Salomon and Mozart to that which had now commenced with Haydn. Twelve months after bidding his master farewell, poor Mozart died, and thus the English nation was deprived of the honour of being associated with the Symphonies of another of Germany's greatest musicians. In the letters of Haydn we read of his stormy passage from Calais to Dover ; of the excitement his arrival in London created throughout the musical world ; of his lodgings in Great Pulteney Street, Golden Square. In his diary he writes of his visit to Dr. Herschel, the great astronomer, but originally a professor of music. Of his presence at the Lord Mayor's banquet on the 9th of November — his description of which strangely contrasts with that all-important city dinner of to-day, on the morrow of which Europe is, in stirring times, on the tip-toe of curiosity to hearken to a British Cabinet's revelations— he writes, "After dinner there was dancing in three rooms. In that set apart for the 364 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. nobility, minuets only were danced. I could scarcely remain here a quarter of an hour, partly on account of the heat, and partly on account of the bad music, for the orchestra consisted of but two Violins and a Violoncello, and the minuets were more like Polish than German or Italian. In another room, which resembled a subterraneous cavern, the music was rather better, owing to the addition of a drum, which drowned the scraping of the wretched Fiddlers. In the great hall the band was more numerous and rather better ; here the gentle- men were sitting at the dinner-table, drinking. One part of the company danced without hearing a note of the music, while the songs were roared out, and healths drank with the greatest clamour, flourishing of glasses, and cries of Hurrah ! hurrah ! hurrah !" On the 24th of November 1791, he tells us he was invited by the Duke of York to his seat at Oatlands, where he met the Prince of Wales, who loaded him with civilities, and expressed a wish to have his portrait.* In a letter reference is made to this par- ticular visit. He says, " No compositions were played but Haydn's," and that he directed the Symphonies at the Pianoforte. The Prince of Wales sat on his right hand, and accompanied him " pretty tolerably " on the Violoncello. He appears to have grown warm over the fourth George's personal appearance, and his musical taste, writing that " The Prince of * Haydn sat to Hoppner, who produced an excellent portait, which is at Hampton Court. THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 365. Wales is the handsomest man on God's earth ; he has an extraordinary love of music and a great deal of feeling, but very little money" taking the precaution to add, in reference to the last piece of information, " Nota bene, this is entre nous." He visited the Prince of Wales at Carlton House a great number of times without receiving any immediate remuneration. Upon his return to Vienna poor Haydn sent in his modest bill of one hundred guineas, which sum divided by the number of his attendances upon his Royal Highness, would be about five pounds each. This, however, was at least a monetary return for musical services, and one which Beethoven wholly failed to obtain from the same Royal Patron, when, in 1813, he dedicated to him his Symphony commemorating Wellington's achievements at Vittoria, an honour which did not even bring an acknowledgment of any kind. During Haydn's stay in London, the Quartetts, Op. 73 and 74, were partly written. The Austrian National Air, the " Emperor's Hymn," which he i»- troduced in his seventy-seventh Quartett, had its origin in Haydn's admiration for our National Air, deciding him to compose one for his own people to sing the praises of their ruler. Dr. Burney, in a letter to Haydn, dated Chelsea College, Aug. 19th, 1799, says, " I had the great pleasure of hearing your new Quartetts, Op. 76, well performed before I went out of town, and never received more pleasure from instrumental music ; they are full of invention, fire, 366 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. good taste, and new effects, and seem the produc- tions, not of a sublime genius who has written so much and so well already, but of one of highly •cultivated talents who had expended none of his fire before. The Divine Hymn, written for your Imperial master, in imitation of our loyal song ' God save the King,' and set so admirably to music by yourself, I have translated and adapted to your melody, which is simple, grave, supplicating, and pleasing." Burney's admiration for the com- positions of Haydn was of the highest kind. He remarks " the admirable and matchless Haydn, from whose productions I have received more pleasure late in my life, when tired of most other music, than I ever received in the most ignorant and rapturous part of my youth, when every- thing was new, and the disposition to be pleased undiminished by criticism or satiety." Another musical authority has said that after listening to the works of Haydn, he always had the pleasurable feeling of wishing to perform a good act. These extracts serve to shew how greatly Haydn's writings were esteemed in his lifetime. That he had his detractors need hardly be said. It is curious to read at this moment when the music-loving public is being invited to ascend higher and higher developments in music, that Papa Haydn's ideas were considered so new and so varied, as to cause the German critics to regard with fear and trembling the serious consequences THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY, 367 to the maintenance of the art within the bounds of reason. One said, "the genius, fine ideas, and fancy of Haydn were praised, but, his mixture of serious and comic was disliked, and as for rules, he knew but little of them." Others said he was " hasty, trivial, and extravagant." It is, however, questionable whether Haydn's detractors honestly believed what they wrote, since Haydn was neither a revolutionist nor a prophet in his art ; his marvellous achievements rested on the foundation of that rule and reason which had taken ages to develope : whilst he steadfastly declined to bind art in theoretical chains, he made it subject to the voice and opinion of those with educated ears; in short, his language in notes, like the language of a people, was regulated by the taste and feelings of the educated. Herr C. F. Pohl, the musical litterateur and biographer of Haydn, tells us that he, "like many creative artists, disliked sestheticism, and all mere talk about art," and that " he was no pedant with regard to rules, and would acknowledge no restriction on genius." Haydn's own opinion of his works he gives in these words — " Some of my children are well-bred, some ill-bred, and here and there there is a change- ling among them." He was perfectly aware of how much he had done for the progress of art; "I know" he- said, " that God has bestowed a talent upon me, and I thank Him for it ; I think I have done my duty, and been of use in my generation by my 368 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. works ; let others do the same." Haydn died May 31st, 1809. Among his compositions in relation to the Violin may be mentioned One Sextett, " Echo," for four Violins and two Violoncellos; Nine Violin Con- certos; Two Trios for Lute, Violin, and Violoncello; Six Duetts for Violin and Tenor ; Twenty Trios for ■two Violins and Bass; One Trio for Violin, principal Tenor, and Bass ; Two Trios for Flute, Violin, and Bass ; Trio for a huntsman's Horn, Violin, and Violoncello ; the collection of Quartetts for two Violins, Tenor, and Violoncello ; Thirty-eight Piano Trios, seven of which are unpublished ; and a few Sonatas for Violin and Pianoforte. Joseph Haydn's brother, Johann Michael, con- tributed a Concerto, three Quartetts, and a Sextett to the music of the Violin. He was in the service of Mozart's tormentor — Archbishop Hieronymus of Salzburg. Upon one occasion, Haydn was suffering from a severe attack of illness, which rendered him unable to attend to his professional duties ; his Prince Archbishop however commanded him to compose some Duetts for Violin and Tenor in a given time, and was threatened with dismissal in case of failure. Mozart, who visited Michael daily, became aware of this, and the amiable soul set to work and com- posed the two' well-known Duetts for Violin and Tenor, on the title-page of which appeared the name of Michael Haydn, and thus silenced the Archbishop. These Duetts, which originated in THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 369 an act of humanity and friendship, were long unclaimed by Mozart. Joseph Haydn's pupil, Ignatius Pleyel, com- posed much interesting music for stringed instru- ments, though now rarely heard. Mozart appears to have admired Pleyel's writings ; he says, in a letter written in 1 784 : — ■" Some Quartetts. have just come out by a certain Pleyel, a pupil of Joseph Haydn's. If you do not yet know them, you ought to try and get them, for they are worth the trouble, being very well composed and pleasing; you will at once recognise his master by the style of the music. It will be a good and happy thing if Pleyel in his day is able to supply Haydn's place for us." Master and pupil came into collision in London in 1792, and the British musical public rightly decided that Pleyel was no match for Haydn. In a letter of Haydn's, dated London, 1792, he says, "At present I am working for Salomon's concerts, and feel bound to take all possible trouble, for our rivals of the Professional Society* have sent for my pupil Pleyel from Strasburg, to direct their concerts. So a bloody harmonious war will now commence between master and scholar. All the newspapers have begun to discuss the subject, but I think an alliance will soon ensue, my reputation here being so firmly established. Pleyel, on his arrival, dis- played so much modesty towards me, that he gained * A series of Concerts called " The Professional," were given at the Hanover Square Rooms in opposition to those of Salomon. Z 370 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. my goodwill afresh. We are often together, which is much to his credit, and he knows how to appre- ciate his ' father.' We will share our laurels fairly, and each go home satisfied." This harmonious war was brought to a termination — not by an alliance, but by the burning of the Pantheon, where the Professional Concerts were held. Ignatius Pleyel was born in the year 1757, at Ruppersthal, in Lower Austria. He resided with Haydn for about five years. In 1776, when Pleyel had nearly completed his musical studies, Gluck returned to Vienna. He paid a visit to Haydn, who played to him his Quartett in F minor, then newly composed, with which Gluck was charmed. Haydn then introduced to his notice a composition of his favourite pupil Pleyel. This also was praised by Gluck, who remarked, " My young friend, you understand very well how to put notes on paper — you have now only to learn how and when to blot them out again." Johann Ludwig Dussek contributed several com- positions to the music of the Violin. His Sonatas and Sonatines for Pianoforte and Violin are his best known compositions in relation to our subject. The Sonata in B flat major, Op. 69, with the charming THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 371 Adagio entitled, " Les Soupirs," is the general favourite. con anima. mm n *^ ^ Franz Krommer, born in 1759, in Moravia, was a prolific composer of chamber music. Although his works are comparatively forgotten — like many- others containing much that is good — they at one period were widely popular. Himself a Violinist, he wrote for stringed instruments with full know- ledge of their powers and effects. He published Four Violin Concertos ; Eighteen String Quintetts ; Sixty-nine Quartetts ; Grand String Trio ; and several Violin Duetts. z 2 Station 1III.— ^hc liolin in Gkrntanp. CHAPTER IV. /^\ U R wanderings among the German Courts of the ^^^ eighteenth century have made us more or less familiar with the position and surroundings of Court musicians. We have seen the Bachs and Haydns leading lives of artistic serfdom, yet withal content with their lot. Their patrons, though often pain- fully exacting and mean, were sincere in their admiration for music and musicians ; and thus a reciprocity of feeling existed between master and servant which undoubtedly served to counterbalance the musicians' weight of humiliation. In Count Colloredo, Archbishop of Salzburg we have an instance of a patron without a particle of musical taste or knowledge of the art, with a disposition haughty and sullen. Unfortunately the tyranny and wretchedness which such an anomalous state of things created, fell upon the greatest musical genius the world had seen. " Mozart ! Immortal Mozart ! how many and what countless images of a brighter and better world hast thou stamped on our souls ! " wrote Franz Schubert in his diary; to which we THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 1>72> might add, — how many more beautiful images he might have given to the world had the character of Hieronymus Archbishop of Salzburg been in harmony with that of his unfortunate youthful dependent ! When we reflect upon the cruel and heartless conduct of this Salzburg governor towards a boy fired with the burnings of a mighty genius, we cannot but marvel that its ardour was not irreparably damped, and his abilities wholly extin- guished. Happily, young Mozart knew his own strength, and that knowledge alone saved him. At the age of nineteen, Mozart was receiving from his Prince Archbishop a sum equivalent to about five pounds per annum, in return for which he composed for the Church and for the chamber, played the Organ, the Violin, and the Clavier ; forfeited his liberty ; and for a time meekly bore the cruel insults of his master, who not only persis- tently refused to be convinced of the wondrous talent of the boy musician, but never lost an oppor- tunity of wounding his pride by telling him that he knew nothing of music. It seems almost in- credible that the primary cause of this fiendish conduct on the part of the Archbishop originated in a wish to prevent Mozart from believing that he was entitled to better remuneration — but such was the case. Poor Mozart made herculean efforts to soften the heart of his patron, by producing in rapid succession, Masses, six Violin Concertos, Clavier Concertos, and other important composi- 374 THE VJOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. tions, but all to no purpose. In the year 1781, the link connecting him with the Archbishop's house- hold was severed. Summoned to Vienna by his tormentor, insult followed injury too rapidly for his highly sensitive nature to patiently bear. He was consigned to the society of his employer's valets, confectioners, and cooks. At the table below stairs his social position was defined as coming midway between the cooks and valets, since he was placed above the former and below the latter at the domestics' board. In the month of May, 1781, he writes to his father : " I am still filled with the gall of bitterness ; and I feel sure that you, my good, kind father, will sympathise with me ; my patience has been so long tried that at last it has given away. Three times already has this — I know not what to call him — said the most insulting and impertinent things to my face, and I only refrained from taking my revenge on the spot because I always had you, my dear father, before my eyes. He called me a knave and a dissolute fellow, and told me to take myself off; and I endured it all." A few days later he appears to have gone to the Archbishop to inform him of his intended departure, when he again abused him, saying, " 'Well ! when are you going, young fellow ? ' I replied, I intended leaving to-night. Then came all in a breath that I was the most dissipated fellow ; no man had served him so badly. At last my blood began to boil, and I said, ' Your Grace does not THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 375 appear satisfied with me.' ' How ! do you dare to threaten me, you rascal ? There is the door, I will have nothing more to do with such a low fellow ! ' And I said, ' Nor I with you.' He answered, ' Be- gone!" This resolute action decided his future career ; freed from the depressing influence of the tyrant Archbishop, his powerful genius breathed anew. Before noticing the results of this new life, the achievements of Mozart's childhood in connection with the leading instrument claims our attention. In the year 1762 Mozart had reached his sixth year. About this period his father was visited by Wenzl, a Violinist, for the purpose of trying some new Trios ; little Wolfgang begged that he might be allowed to play the second Violin part ; his father, at first, declined to gratify his wish, remarking upon the seeming impossibility of the part being rendered by one who had not received instruction. After again and again endeavouring to persuade his parent to allow him to make the attempt, without success, the poor boy cried bitterly, and placing his tiny Fiddle under his arm he turned to leave the room, when Herr Schachtner — who held the post in the Trio the boy musician craved for — pleaded that he and the child might be allowed to play together. " Well then," said Leopold to his son, " you may play with Herr Schachtner, but remember, so softly that nobody can hear you, or I must immediately send you away." Herr Schachtner tells us, " We played, and the little Mozart with me, but I soon remarked, 376 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. to my astonishment, that I was completely super- fluous. I silently laid my Violin aside and looked at the father, who could not suppress his tears. Wolfgang played the whole of the six Trios through with precision and neatness, and our applause at the end so emboldened him that he fancied he could play the first Violin. For amusement we encouraged him to try, and laughed heartily at his manner of getting over the difficulties of the part, with incorrect and ludicrous fingering indeed, but still, in such a manner that he never stuck fast." It is interesting to note that little Mozart had a predilection for a particular Violin, even at this early period of his life. To manifest discrimination in relation to tone so early, is almost as extraordinary as the executive and creative talent he displayed. His favourite Violin was that belonging to his kind friend Schachtner, which, from its smooth and soft quality of tone, the child named " The Butter Fiddle." This Butter Fiddle served to exemplify the wondrous correctness of ear with which the boy was endowed. Mozart was one day working away on his own little Fiddle, when Schachtner presented himself. " What have you done with your Butter Fiddle," asked Mozart, and went on playing ; suddenly he stopped and added, " If you have not altered the tuning of your Violin since I last played upon it, it is a quarter of a tone flatter than mine here." Upon the instrument being examined, it was found to be as the child had stated. To give THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. T>77 place to all that is recorded relative to Mozart's marvellous precocity, would increase the length of this notice far beyond its due limits. In saying that in his eighth year he played publicly the Clavier, the Organ, and the Violin ; that he sang, played, and composed extempore, transposed at sight, accom- panied from the score, and improvised on a given bass, the reader is able to judge of his musical powers without going into the details of the events in connection with these manifestations. It is pleasing to find that the first published works of Mozart had a part assigned to the leading instrument, viz., the Two sets of Sonatas for the Clavier with Violin accompaniment, published in Paris in 1764, Ops. 1, 2 ; Six Sonatas with accom- paniment, Op. 3, were published in London by Bremner, in the Strand, the following year, and another Six, Op. 4, at the Hague in 1766. The works of Mozart besides those already mentioned between his seventh and twelfth year, wherein the Violin figures, are as follows : — a Quodlibet entitled, " Glimathias Musicum," for two Violins, Tenor, Bass, and wind instruments. About the year 1773, Leopold accompanied his son to Vienna, and remained two months. It was at this period that he composed the first six Quartetts, for two Violins, Tenor, and Cello ; in the same year was written his first String Quin- tett at Salzburg. In 1775 he produced many compositions of a new kind for Church purposes, 378 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. which he named " Epistle Sonatas," Violins being associated with the Organ without other instruments in some cases ; in others, the Violoncello and Double Bass together with wind instruments being added. At this date Mozart appears to have studied the Violin with much assiduity to please his father, his own inclination tending rather to its dis- continuance. The Viola became a favourite instru- ment with him.* The charming parts given to the Viola in more than one Quintett of Mozart's, evidence his admiration for the instrument. The year 1 78 1 was truly an auspicious one for music. No longer the slave of Hieronymus, but now breathing the air of freedom, the composer busied himself with the beauties of his art, un- trammeled with the whims and fancies of his late master. His conception of instrumental composi- tion, hitherto manifested in a fragmentary manner, became more and more denned. This is exemplified in the successive steps which led up to that labour of love, the six Ouartetts with which he was occupied in 1782 and 1783, They were completed in January, 1785. The following dedication evi- dences the artistic character of his task, although its tone is pitched somewhat high : — " To my dear friend Haydn. A father, having * Moscheles mentions in his Diary, " On the 27th of January, 1846, the centenary of Mozart's birth was celebrated at the Gewandhaus.'' " Concerto for Violin and Viola, composed in 1778, played by Herr Dreyshock and David." (Doubtless he refers to one of the Violin and Viola Duetts.) THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 2)79 resolved to send forth his children into the wide world, is anxious to confide them to the protection and guidance of a man who enjoys much celebrity there, and who, fortunately, is moreover his best friend. Here, then, are the children I entrust to a man so renowned, and so dear to me as a friend. These are, it is true, the fruits of a long and labori- ous study ; but my hopes, grounded on experience, lead me to anticipate that my labours may, at least in some degree, be compensated ! and they will, I flatter myself, one day prove a source of consolation to me. During your last stay in this capital, you yourself, my dearest friend, expressed your satisfac- tion with regard to them, This suffrage from you above all inspires me with the wish to offer them to you ; and leads me to hope that they will not seem to you wholly unworthy of your favour. Be pleased, then, to receive them kindly, and be to them a father, a guide, a friend, From this moment, I transfer to you all my rights over them ; but I entreat you to look with indulgence on those defects which may have escaped the too partial eye of a father, and, in spite of these, to continue your generous friendship towards one who so highly appreciates it ; and, in the meantime, I am from my heart, your sincere friend, Mozart. " Vienna, Sept. ist, 1785." The reference made above to Haydn having already expressed his high opinion with regard to the Quartetts, relates to the circumstance of Haydn 380 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. meeting Leopold Mozart at a quartett party, Feb. 12, 1785, when three of the Quartetts were played, and Haydn said to him, " I must tell you, before God, and as an honest man, that I think your son the greatest composer I ever heard of ; besides his taste, he has a profound knowledge of composition." The names of the performers on this occasion are not mentioned, but it is conjectured that Haydn, Leopold Mozart, and the composer took parts. We have, however, evidence of Haydn and Mozart playing together in a quartett, at the house of Storace the year before (1784), when Michael Kelly heard them, and refers to the occasion in terms certainly not too enthusiastic. " Storace gave a quartett party to his friends, The players were tolerable ; not one of them excelled on the instru- ment he played, but there was a little science among them, which I dare say will be acknowledged when I name them : — First Violin, Haydn ; Second, Baron Dittersdorf ; Violoncello, Vanhall ; Tenor, Mozart.* In the year 1784 Mozart composed the Sonata for Pianoforte and Violin, in B flat. It was written specially for performance at a concert which took place the day following that of its composition. The composer played the Pianoforte part from memory, not having had time to write it. The Emperor * Mr. Holmes rightly doubts the correctness of Kelly's record, as regards the first Violin and Tenor, thinking it more probable that the positions of Haydn and Mozart were reversed. THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 38 1 was present, and observing Mozart had no notes before him, sent to him for the score. His surprise was great upon seeing the lines of the bars only on the paper. " What! have you ventured that again ?" said the Emperor. " May it please your Majesty," returned Mozart, " there was not a single note lost.'" The following year (1785), was composed the Pianoforte Quintett in G minor. Mozart had arranged with Hofmeister, the music publisher, for a set of this, then new form of chamber music, but the reception of the first was so cold that the contract was not carried out. In 1787 appeared the two Quintetts in C major and G minor, wherein the Violist has given him every opportunity of reflecting his tenderest emotions in the rendering of his part. Poor Mozart, notwithstanding the greatness of his musical successes about this period, failed to receive that substantial encouragement he so richly deserved. " You lucky man " he said to a young musician, about visiting Italy, " and I am still obliged to give lessons to earn a trifle." That he complained not without reason, is evidenced in the fact of his court salary being but ,£80 per annum ; in reference to which we need not wonder that he wrote, " It is too much for what I produce ; too little for what I could produce." In 1788 Mozart arrived at Potsdam, where Frederick William II. (an excellent performer on the Violoncello,) was expecting him. Operatic and 382 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. concert performances were given, resulting in the realization of the King's most favourable anticipa- tions of Mozart's abilities, causing his Majesty to offer the post of Chapel-master to the young composer, with a salary of ^"600 ; after a moment's hesitation, Mozart replied, " how could I leave my good Emperor ? " Later, Mozart was at the Berlin Theatre, when his "Die Entfuhrung" was being performed. Seating himself near the orchestra, he made various remarks in an undertone : when, however, the second Violins played D sharp instead of D natural, he no longer attempted to commune with himself, but called out " Confound it ! do take D ! " Everybody stared, but none more than the musicians, who immediately recognised the com- poser. " Mozart is in the house," was heard again, and again. The singers were agitated, and con- fusion reigned. A few months after Mozart bade adieu to Haydn, upon the occasion of his master's departure for London, Mozart was engaged upon the " Requiem," which he had been commissioned to compose. In failing health, he remarked to his wife, with tears in his eyes, that he felt that he was writing it for himself. By the advice of his physician the score was taken from him. A fortnight after, he entreated to have it returned to him. His wish was grati- fied, though he remained in bed. He essayed to sing the alto part, his brother-in-law taking the tenor, and Schack and Gerl the soprano and bass. THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 383 After singing a few bars of the Lacrimosa, he was seized with the idea that he should never complete his glorious work, and wept like a child.* At one o'clock in the morning of the following day he died, of malignant typhus fever. His body was removed to St. Stephen's. " The service was held in the open air, as was the custom with the poorest class of funeral, and Van Swieten, Sussmayer,t Salieri,J Roser, and Orsler stood round the bier. They followed as far as the city gates, and then turned back, as a violent storm was raging, and the hearse went its way unaccompanied to the churchyard of St. Mark. Thus, without a note of music, forsaken by all he held dear, the remains of this Prince of Harmony was committed to the earth — not even in a grave of his own, but in that of a pauper. "§ I cannot but regard this as the saddest page in the history of music. Mozart ! the giver of pleasure to countless thousands, the worth of which is beyond the power of all human calculation : for who would be bold enough to appraise the work of him who lifts our thoughts away from the cares and turmoil of our earthly existence, and carries them to the heavens ? Mozart, on his deathbed, solicited to compose and earn his reward, causing him to respond amid tears and lamentations, "Now * Holmes's " Life of Mozart." t Referred to in the notice of Paganini. X To whom Beethoven dedicated his Violin and Pianoforte Sonatas, Op. 12. § Herr Pohl's account. 384 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. must I go, just as I should be able to live in peace, now leave my art when no longer the slave of fashion or the tool of speculators ; I must leave my family — my poor children, when I should have been able to provide for them." Mozart ! allowed to die unrewarded and buried in the grave of a pauper, is surely irony as cruel and bitter as can well be conceived. We grieve over the fate of the boy poet, Thomas Chatterton, because he promised well. The musician Mozart performed, and was borne to his grave neglected in life, and all but for- gotten in death ! The compositions of Mozart, published and in manuscript, for Stringed Instruments, include: Sym- phonic Concertante for Violin and Tenor ; Seven Ouintetts for two Violins, two Tenors, and Violon- cello ; a Quintett for Violin, two Tenors, Horn, and Violoncello (or two Violoncellos in place of Horn) ; a Quintett for Violins, Clarionets, &c. ; Twenty-six String Quartetts ; Adagio and Fugue for Strings ; Quartett with Oboe and Strings ; Two Duetts for Violin and Tenor ; One Duett for two Violins ; a Trio for Violin, Tenor, and Violoncello ; Two Piano- forte Quartetts ; Seven Pianoforte Trios ; a Trio Clarionet, Piano, and Tenor ; Forty-two Sonatas, Piano and Violin ; Sonatas for Organ, with accom- paniments for Strings ; Six Violin Concertos, two of which are published.* The Concerto, Op. 76, is * The new Leipsic edition of Mozart's works will include many hitherto unpublished. THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 385 from beginning to end a charming piece of Solo Violin music; the Adagio is one of the most poetic compositions for the king of instruments ever penned, and admirably displays its rich and deep tones. The accompanying short extract will serve to remind the reader of one of its many beauties. 4 e corde. Johann N. Hummel was born at Presburg in 1778. His musical abilities were of an exceptional kind in childhood. Before he reached his seventh year, he had shown such talent as to have attracted the notice of many eminent musicians at Vienna ; among these was Mozart. To teach was most distasteful to Mozart ; he was, however, so pleased with the boy Hummel as to offer to instruct him, provided he could have him in his house. The proposal was accepted, and in two years he made such progress as to delight everyone with his performances. Whilst in the house of Mozart, Hummel made the acquaintance of Haydn, who greatly admired him. They again met in London in 1791, when Haydn wrote a Sonata in A flat, which Master A A 386 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Hummel played at the Hanover Square Rooms in the presence of the composer. Hummel used often to refer to his boyish delight at having received from Haydn on this occasion, his thanks, accom- panied by a guinea.* Mr. Holmes supplies us with the following interesting account of Hummel in the family of Mozart: "The adoption of this child into his family afforded fresh scope for the kindly workings of the musician's nature ; his own childhood, and the anxious solicitude of his good father, must have recurred to his memory. His lessons we can imagine to have been rather desul- tory ; but, upon a mind disposed to learn, and capable in some degree of appreciating the great- ness of the teacher, the fleeting observations of Mozart made permanent impressions. " The master kept an eye on his pupil's progress, by deputing him to play any new music which he was desirous to hear, and which he would else have played himself. The following relation, derived from one of the members of the family, may give a view of the interior of the composer's abode, and at the same time show the manner in which Hummel profited. "At a late hour Mozart and his wife return home from a party. On entering their apartment, the boy is discovered stretched on chairs, fast asleep. Some new pianoforte music has just arrived, which they are both anxious to hear ; Mozart, however, * Holmes's " Life of Mozart." THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 387 will not play it himself, but tells his wife to wake up Hans, give him a glass of wine, and let him play. This is no sooner said than done ; and now, should anything go wrong, there is an opportunity for suggestions. It is in fact a lesson, though given at the rather unusual hour of midnight." Hummel held for some time the post of Chapel- master to Prince Esterhazy ; at a later date he was at Weimar in connection with the Court. Chorley* in 1840 writes, " I allude to Hummel, who had been Chapel-master at Weimar, during the period which makes so brilliant a figure in the annals of Germany. He, too, seems to have been somewhat neglected ; honest, rough, and kind-hearted." " He was totally unable to analyze art in general, or to maintain his own special part in it with that minuteness of observation or rhetorical grace of utterance in which the accomplished circle of Weimar connoisseurs loved to indulge. It is on record that his compositions merely ranged with himself as being ' difficult ' or ' not difficult.' Many men have produced great works of art, who have never cultivated sesthetic conversation ; nay, more who have shrunk with a secretly-entertained dislike from those indefatigable persons whose fancy it is ' to peep and botanize.' " That Hummel gave to the world works of art is beyond all question ; his Septett in D minor, for Pianoforte, wind, and stringed instruments, alone * " Modern German Music." A A 2 388 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. proves his ability as a composer. His Pianoforte Trios are works of merit and effectively written. He also composed Three String Quartetts, Op. 30, and a Grand Quintett, with Piano, Op. 87. Hummel died in 1837, at Weimar. gertion HEBE.— ^hc lialitt in' tomans. CHAPTER V. HP HE annals of Violin music down to this period make us familiar with many great and never- to-be-forgotten names connected with instrumental music ; but the greatest of all has yet to be noticed — Ludwig van Beethoven — whose mighty genius attracted to itself the quintessence of the master- minds gone before, and enriched the whole with the wealth of its own originality. That the highest degree of excellence in instrumental composition was attained by Beethoven, is now all but univers- ally admitted. The time has been, however, when practical musicians regarded him as a madman, with occasional lucid intervals, so great was the stride by which he out-distanced his predecessors and con- temporaries, leaving between a field of unexplored ground in instrumental art, the meaning of which was then incomprehensible to the average musician. Beethoven was born at Bonn in 1770. He commenced the study of music in his fourth year, and the Violin in his tenth. At the age of fifteen he received lessons on the leading instrument from 39o THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Franz Ries, the father of Ferdinand, with whom he was so much associated at a later period. In this, his fifteenth year, he composed the three Pianoforte Quartetts in E flat, D, and C. In 1787 Beethoven visited Vienna for the first time, where he made the acquaintance of Mozart, who was greatly impressed with his abilities, and predicted a great future for him. The E flat Trio, No. 1, Op. 1, s^l SE ^Htft ^ TT* ^a m -F — -- was written in this year, and published with the second in G and third in C minor in 1795, by subscription, and dedicated to his friend and patron, Prince Lichnowsky, in whose house he lived, and from whom he received the quartett of instruments now in the library at Berlin. In 1788 Beethoven frequently played the second Tenor in the Orchestra of the Elector of Cologne ; there also was Andrew and Bernard Romberg, and Franz Ries his Violin- master. Passing to the years 1 791 and 1792, we find among his compositions connected with the Violin, the first String Trio ; the set of Fourteen Variations for Pianoforte, Violin, and Violoncello, in the same key, known as Op. 44 ; and Twelve THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 39 I Variations on " Se vuol ballare," for Pianoforte and Violin, published in 1793. The greatness of Beethoven's abilities appears to have been fully recognised at this period. The Elector was made aware of the desirability of sending him to Vienna, that he might receive instruction from Haydn. The proposition meeting with his approval, at the close of the year 1792 we find Beethoven in the capital of music, lodged in a garret over a printer's shop. From this humble apartment he used to set out for Haydn's house with his composition exercises, which that great master duly corrected for the modest sum of tenpence, according to Beethoven's own note- book. Upon Haydn's departure for England at the beginning of the year 1794, Beethoven sought the assistance of Albrechtsberger, from whom he received lessons in counterpoint At this period Beethoven was wholly dependent upon his own efforts for his maintenance, the Elector being no longer able to aid him ; Napoleon and the war having left Beethoven and his music no place in the exchequer of his patron. Happily Vienna was rich in ardent and wealthy amateurs, ready to help the young composer ; among these was Prince Lich- nowsky. It is interesting to know that it was at one of the musical parties given by this Prince every Friday, that Beethoven's attention was directed to Quartett writing. The suggestion came from Count Apponyi,' who expressed his desire that a Quartett should be 392 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. composed, and that the terms should be Beethoven's, and not his own. Thus was commenced the noblest of all contributions to chamber music — the Seven- teen Quartetts of Beethoven. The publication of the first six was effected early in the present century. That they were being played about this period is attested by Spohr, who tells us he heard them for the first time in Brunswick, and that he " raved " about them no less than he had done over those of Haydn and Mozart. Their reception by the British public some thirty-five years later was the reverse of hearty. At the Concert of the Philharmonic Society, May nth, 1835, upon which occasion Eliason, Watts, Moralt, and Robert Lindley introduced the Quartett in F, the majority of the audience wished that its production had been further delayed, the musical critics condemning it as consisting chiefly of " musical perversities and unproductive labour." It must not be forgotten, however, that in Germany these Quartetts were not at first universally applauded ; on the contrary, those of Fesca and Rode were often preferred. The want of good judgment on our part was therefore not greater than that shown in Germany but a few years earlier, and our sense of shame materially lessens in consequence. The first six Quartetts Op. 18, were published early in 1802, according to the following reference to them in a letter of the composer's, dated April 8th in that year : — " Herr has lately published my Quartetts, THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 393 full of faults and errata, both large and small, which swarm in them like fish in the sea — that is, they are innumerable." " In truth, my skin is a mass of punctures and scratches from this fine edition of my Ouartetts ! " Beethoven's intercourse with Haydn appears to have been void of that mutual regard which it might be supposed would naturally accompany the conti- guity of such minds. It is clear, however, there was no reciprocity of feeling between them from the first. Beethoven was disappointed in the interest his instructor manifested in his exercises ; and probably Haydn was dissatisfied with the independent spirit shown by his pupil. Haydn naming him con- temptuously the " Great Mogul," points to a rifeness of displeasure at this period. The circum- stance of Haydn tendering his advice to Beethoven not to rush into print with his third Trio in C minor but added fuel to fire, for the composer was aware of its merits over the other two. In the year 1796, a subsidence of hostilities apparently took place, since Beethoven played at a concert at which Haydn appeared. In the same year Beethoven went to Berlin, where he probably composed the Sonatas for Pianoforte and Violoncello in F and G minor. Among other compositions of 1796 are the String Quintett Op. 4, arranged from an Octett for wind instruments written at a much, earlier date. The variations on Handel's " See the Conquering Hero Comes " for Pianoforte and 394 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Violoncello ; the Three String Trios Op. 9 — the Rondo of which belongs to the Pathetic Sonata, was originally intended for the last of these Trios; and, finally, the charming Serenade Trio, Op. 8. The three String Trios Op. 9 were published in 1798, and dedicated to Count Browne. To the same year belongs the Trio for Pianoforte, Clarionet, or Violin and Violoncello in B, Op. 11. This Trio gave rise to the following incident : — Steibelt affected to regard Beethoven's abilities as mediocre, and upon the occasion of the first performance of the above-mentioned Trio at the house of Count Fries, Steibelt conducted himself towards Beethoven with marked rudeness. The following week they again met, when Steibelt mounted to the very pinnacle of impertinence by extemporizing on the subject of the last movement of Beethoven's Trio, played a few days before. It happened that a new Quintett of Steibelt's had been played during the evening, Beethoven seized his opportunity to pay Steibelt for his affront with interest. Taking one of the parts of the new Quintett, and placing it upside down on his desk, he manipulated it with such skill and effect as to leave his enemy no choice but to beat a hasty retreat from the company or confess his humiliation. We now approach the time when the three Violin and Pianoforte Sonatas, Op. 12, were pro- bably written — the close of the year 1798. These THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 395 were published in January 1799, and dedicated to Salieri. These Sonatas occupy in point of character much the same place in relation to those Allegro con brio. I =a£ Mfe iftfci S3 P g*r l|^p ^^^ 1 fcfe 5E ^ ^s 5 which followed them, as the first six Quartetts to the succeeding seven. The opening year of the century brought with it that wondrous piece of instrumentation the Septett, with which Beethoven was delighted, calling it his " Creation," referring to the Oratorio of his master : a work it is said Beethoven had at one time spoken of in tones of depreciation, causing Haydn to remark, " That is wrong of him ; what has he written then ? His Septett ? That is cer- tainly beautiful — nay, splendid !" The Septett was first performed at Prince Schwarzenberg's, and next at a concert of Beethoven's on April 2nd, 1800. It was disposed of to the music publisher Hoffmeister for ten pounds, to whom Beethoven wrote, "It 396 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. would be a good thing if you would arrange the Septett you are about to publish as a Quintett, with a Flute part, for instance ; this would be an advantage to amateurs of the Flute, who have already impor- tuned me on the subject, and who would swarm round it like insects, and banquet on it." In 1 80 1, the Sonatas for Pianoforte and Violin in A minor, Presto. ll -&- JP m 323 '/ and in F, were written. Two years later, the charming Romance for Violin and Orchestra in G, Op. 40, 1= Solo. A m -* a *[■' — " 43= Z?23t ~w- w^- was composed. The second one in F belongs to the year 1805. Rode's name has been erroneously associated with this Romance ; it having gone forth that Beethoven composed it expressly for him during the famous Violinist's sojourn at Vienna; but as Rode did not arrive there until January, 181 3, the mistake is evident enough. That Beethoven did THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 2)97 compose something for Rode is seen from a letter written by the composer to the Archduke Rudolph, in January, 1813. He says : " As I am in the mean- time writing several other works, I did not hurry myself much with this last movement, merely for the sake of punctuality, especially as I must write this more deliberately, with a view to Rode's play- ing." The Sonata Op. 96 is given as the com- position referred to in this letter. It was certainly first played by Beethoven and Rode, at the house of Prince Lobkowitz, early in 181 3. Now let us turn to another and more important offspring of Beethoven's mighty genius, belonging to the year 1803 : Op. 47, known as the " Kreutzer Sonata." A comparatively unknown name to the present musical world was within an ace of the splendid immortality secured to that of Kreutzer on the title-page of this Sonata. But for a slight disagreement we should know this work as the " Bridgetower Sonata." Many of my readers may possibly ask, Who was Bridgetower ? George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower was a notability in his palmy days. He was called " The Abyssinian Prince," not that he had blue blood in his veins of the quality of an African Prince, but on account of the colour of his skin. Son of an African father and an European mother, he was a mulatto. Though born in Poland, he was English by name and semi-accepta- tion, and has been described as "a curious 398 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. bombastic half-caste English Violinist." He made himself publicly known as a knight of the bow at Drury Lane Theatre in the year 1790. He went to Dresden in 1802, and to Vienna the following year, where he made the acquaintance of Beethoven, and induced him to compose a Sonata for their joint performance. The opening move- ment was completed in good time. Air and Varia- k I \> '4 T f^ 1 ^^ -1 El~£ ^=F m sf sf tion finished as far as Bridgetower's part was con- cerned ; the composer leaving himself with a sketchy Pianoforte copy. The last movement in A was composed some months before, having belonged to the Sonata in A major, Op. 30, dedi- cated to the Emperor Alexander, but being too brilliant for that work, another was substituted. On the 17th of May 1803, Beethoven and Bridge- tower publicly played the Sonata destined to be known in after time as the " Kreutzer," to whom it was dedicated. Bridgetower used to relate that he suggested to Beethoven the alteration of a particular passage in the Sonata, which so delighted the composer, that he jumped from his seat and embraced him, saying, " Once more, my dear fellow." Though possible, it is scarcely probable, bearing in mind Beethoven's sensitive nature on such points. If anything would THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 399 offend the composer, Beethoven improved by Bridgetower would do so; and the hidden cause of their rupture may possibly lie in this little incident. The publication of the Kreutzer Sonata ap- parently belongs to the year 1804, f° r we find mention of it in his letters to Ries at that period. This Sonata was played by Liszt and Ole Bull, in 1846, at the Philharmonic Society. In the winter of 1805 Beethoven wrote the String Quartetts in E and C, Op. 59. The ex- quisite Adagio of the Quartett in E was composed, tfl Molto adagio. &ZZI&- t a &— L ^z m it is said, "when one night he contemplated the stormy heavens, and thought of the harmonies of the spheres." The Quartett in F, Op. 59, was written at a later date. It was in 1835 that the first of the Rasoumoffsky set was heard publicly in London, and it is interest- ing to find that it was upon the occasion of the opening concert of the " Concerti da Camera" in London, a series of concerts given in imitation of those instituted in Paris by Baillot. The execu- tants were Henry Blagrove, Piggott, Sherrington, and Lucas. It was then said, " These most elaborate compositions have at length won the 400 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. good opinion of all the best judges, though it is more than probable that they will continue ' caviare to the general.' " It therefore appears that we had made considerable progress in our knowledge and appreciation of Beethoven's chamber music within a few months: the first Quartett, Op. 18, having Allegro con brio. tj ^ •• — ' • -0- ^- ' v. y • :F-& been coldly received at the Philharmonic Society, in May of the same year. The Violin Concerto, Op. 61, was played for the first time in England, by Eliason, at the Philhar- monic Concerts, April 9th, 1832. A musical criticthen recorded his opinion — which may be taken as echoing that of the public at the time — that " Beethoven has put forth no strength in his Violin Concerto ; it is a fiddling affair, and might have been written by any third or fourth-rate composer." Seventy-four years have passed away since this "fiddling" affair was composed, and more than a hundred Concertos have been given to the world, but no composer has suc- ceeded in accomplishing another such triumph of fiddling Concerto music. The proper appreciation of this splendid work was reserved to a succeeding generation. The Concerto was first, performed at Vienna, December 23rd, 1806, by Franz Clement, Solo-Violinist to the Emperor of Austria; and for Clement it was specially written, as seen on the THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 40I original manuscript,* in the composer's handwriting : " Concerto par Clemenza pour Clement primo Violino e Direttore al Theatre a Vienne dal L. v. Bthvn., 1806." It was published in 1809, by Breitkopf and H artel, the Leipsic publishers, and was the second work of the composer's published by that house. The Concerto was dedicated to the friend of his youth, Stephan von Breuning. The published cadences to the Beethoven Concerto are those of Ferdinand David, Joachim, and Vieuxtemps. To the year 1806 belongs the publication of the Trio for Two Violins and Tenor, arranged from the Trio for Two Oboes and Horn, Op. 87 ; and also the Pianoforte Trio, No. 12, arranged from the Symphony in D, Op. 36. Passing to the year 1 808 we have the composition for the Pianoforte and Violoncello Sonata in A, dedicated to Baron von Gleichenstein ; and the Pianoforte Trios, Op. 70, in D and E flat. These were published by Breit- kopf and Hartel, in 1809, to which year the compo- sition of the E flat Quartett, Op. 74, is assigned ; and the next Quartett, in F minor, Op. 95, was written in 18 10, published six years later, and dedicated to Zmeskall. The composer's connection with Zmeskall was one of close and familiar friendship. In Beethoven's letters to him we find references to the mending of quill pens, queries as to the cost of servant's livery, and the fair price for fronting a pair of boots ; * In the Library at Vienna. B B 402 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. making together a curious mixture of music and domestic economy. Early in 1810 the B flat Pianoforte Trio was completed. Apart from the sterling worth of this Trio as a composition, much interest is attached to it from the circumstance of its having been the last chamber work he played publicly ; the occasion being at a concert in May, 1814. In the previous April he played the same work at the benefit concert of Herr Schuppanzigh, the Violinist, famous as the greatest exponent of Beethoven's chamber music then living. Moscheles, in his diary, writes, April nth, 1814 : — "At a Matinee in the ' Romischen Kaiser,' I heard a new Trio by Beethoven ; no less than the one in B flat, and Beethoven himself played the Pianoforte part. In how many compositions do we find the little word ' new ' wrongly placed ; but never in Beethoven's ; least of all in this work, which is full of originality." Mendelssohn, writing Andante cantabile semplice. to his sister, from Milan, in 1831, mentions having played this Trio^ at the house of General Ertmann, THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 403 filling in the parts as best he could with his voice, when he reached the deeply pathetic close of the slow movement, every note of which appeals to the heart with an eloquence beyond the power of words to describe ; Mendelssohn acknowledged the truth of a remark made at the moment, "that the amount of expression here is beyond all playing." The B flat Trio was published in 1816, and dedicated to the Archduke Rudolph, the Emperor's brother, a great lover of music, and a pupil of Beethoven's. The one-movement Trio in B flat was composed in 181 2. The following year Louis Spohr arrived in Vienna, and made Beethoven's acquaintance. Spohr tells us he was " a little blunt, not to say uncouth, but a truthful eye beamed from under his bushy eyebrows." Beethoven's deafness at this period was distressing, and alone sufficient to ruffle his temper ; but in addition he had to bear pecuniary troubles of no slight weight. Ten years before Spohr met him, he referred to his sad affliction in words which reflect his character autobiographically, " O ye who consider or declare me to be hostile, obsti- nate, or misanthropic, what injustice ye do me ! " " Consider, for the last six years I have been attacked by an incurable complaint." " Born with a lively, ardent disposition, susceptible to the diversions of society, I was forced to renounce them and pass my life in seclusion. If I strove to set myself above all this, O how cruelly was I driven back ; it was not b B 2 404 THE VIOLIN And its music. possible for me to say to people — ' speak louder ; bawl — for I am deaf!' Oh, how could I proclaim the defect of a sense that I once possessed in the highest perfection ? Forgive me, then, if you see me draw back when I would gladly mingle among you." '' Almost alone in the world," " I am obliged to live as an exile." " O God ! thou lookest down upon my misery ! thou knowest that it is accompanied with love of my fellow creatures, and a disposition to do good ! O men ! when ye shall read this, think that ye have wronged me ; and let the child of affliction take comfort on finding one like himself, who, in spite of all impediments of nature, yet did all that lay in his power to obtain admittance into the rank of worthy artists and men." On the 29th of November, 181 4, the first of the two benefit concerts set on foot by his friends in Vienna took place, the gigantic nature of which, both artistically and numerically, was in keeping with the mighty genius of the recipient. Never before or since has its equal been witnessed in connection with benefit concerts in point of magnitude and high importance. That the greatest musician the world has seen, should have been honoured in a manner at once unique, is indeed gratifying. The hall of the Redouten-Saal was filled with an audience numbering six thousand, and all who could fiddle, blow, or sing, were invited to assist, and not one of the most celebrated artists in Vienna failed to appear. Among them was THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 405 Louis Spohr, Salieri, Mayseder, Schuppanzigh, and Hummel. Spohr relates that this was the first time he had seen Beethoven conduct, and although he had heard much of his power in that direction, he was surprised in a high degree. Beethoven had accus- tomed himself to give the signs of expression by extraordinary motions of his body ; thus, when a sforzando occurred, he tore his arms — which he had previously crossed on his breast — with great vehem- ence asunder ; at a piano he bent down lower and lower according to the degree of softness needed ; with a crescendo he raised himself again ; and with a forte sprang bolt upright. Passing to the year 1815, we have the two Pianoforte and Violoncello Sonatas, Op. . 102. It was at this period that Charles Neate, one of the committee of the London Philharmonic Society, which had then been instituted, but two years, journeyed to Vienna expressly to become personally acquainted with Beethoven, and receive his advice in composition. This led to the interesting corre- spondence which passed between them upon Neate's return to London in the month of September, 181 5, relative to the purchase of the Overtures, " The Ruins of Athens," " King Stephen," and another, by the Philharmonic Society, for the sum of seventy- five guineas, all of which were coldly received at the Society's concerts. Two years later, however, a higher taste prevailed, if we .are to judge from the correspondence which took place between 406 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Beethoven and the committee, from which we gather that an offer of three hundred guineas was made to the illustrious composer, to write two Symphonies, conditional on his coming to England and superintending their production. A difference of one hundred guineas between the committee and the composer, deprived us, in all probability, of two works of art, and the honour of having had Ludwig van Beethoven in our midst. The arrangement of the C minor Trio, Op. i, as a string Quintett, published as Op. 104, was probably made in 1815. About this period poor Beethoven seems to have been immersed in troubles, legal, domestic, and valetudinarian.* The two last are sufficiently calamitous, but when joined to that of the law, but little less than the temperament of Job is needed to bear such a weight of woe. That Beethoven's patience bore any affinity to that of the great Patriarch is sufficiently negatived in the character of much of his music. The spirit of endurance in perfection, or at all approaching it, had no place in the mind of him who introduced Beethovenish music, and the world is richer in consequence. That these vexations increased the quality is possible, but that they diminished the quantity is certain, and necessitate our passing * Beethoven having obtained the legal guardianship over his nephew, to whom he was devotedly attached, an appeal deprived him of his authority, and thus the composer became entangled in the meshes of the law. THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 407 to the year 1824, when Beethoven received a message from Prince Galitzin, a Russian nobleman, to compose three String Quartetts. This commis- sion does not appear to have been accompanied with any remuneration, since the composer disposed of the completed works to the publishers. The first in E flat, , Maestoso. i» 3= mwwm ^^ m -&- -* . >/ -sf ~ " sf was partly written at Baden, towards the end of 1824. The second Quartett, published as Op. 132, was sold to Peters for thirty pounds. In a letter to the publisher, Beethoven mentioned it " as a grand one, too," but drew his pen across the words, as though his love for his own work had caused him to say too much in its praise ! " A work," Moscheles writes, " in which Beethoven storms heaven itself, and yet again what child-like simplicity and passionate grief!" Here we have the composer's "Song of thanksgiving to God for convalescence," which has Molto adagio. E 3*=^ MZ22. & l & &■ sotto voce. been well described as "the full force of the spirit of poetry entering the very marrow of his soul." The third, in B flat, Op. 130, was finished in 408 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. 1825, and performed in its original form the following year ; — the last movement being the fugue, published Adagio ma na n troppo, - AJoLj s d- ^fff W^± 3 P as Op. 133 — it was coldly received, and the com- poser acknowledges the fact in a letter to his nephew, remarking that Schuppanzigh, "on account of his corpulence, requires more time than formerly to decipher a piece at a glance," and continues, " their quartett playing is not what it was when all four were in the habit of " frequently playing together." The present last movement was composed by the wish of Artaria, and forms the last completed work of Beethoven. He was informed of the Quartett not being liked during his last illness, and remarked, " It will please them some day." The C sharp minor Quartett, Op. 131, was written in 1826, and the last, in F, belongs to the same period. Adagio ma non troppo. On the 22nd February, 1827, Beethoven wrote to his friend, Moscheles : — "Some years ago the Philharmonic Society in London made me the handsome offer of arranging a concert for my benefit. At that time, thank God, I was not in such a posi- THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 409 tion as to be obliged to make use of their generous offer. Now, however, I am in a different position ; for nearly three months I have been laid low by a wearisome illness. "As for my writing music, I have long ceased to think of it." "Unfortunately, therefore, I may be so placed as to be obliged to suffer want." " I beg you to use your influence to induce the Philharmonic Society to resuscitate their generous resolution, and carry it out speedily."* With this letter was enclosed another, penned by the author's friend Schindler, in which we read. " On the occasion of your last visit here, I described to you Beethoven's position with regard to money matters ; never suspecting that the moment was so near when we should see this great man draw- ing near his end, under circumstances so peculiarly painful." The writer, after describing the painful sufferings of the composer, continues. " Now, my friend, remembering his impatience, and more than all, his quick temper, picture to yourself Beethoven in such a fearful illness. Think of him, too, brought to this sad state by that wretched creature, his nephew, and partly, too, by his own brother. Should you, my dear Moscheles, succeed, jointly with Sir George Smart, in inducing the Philhar- monic Society to comply with Beethoven's wishes, you would certainly be doing an act of the greatest kindness." Further on, the good and kind Schindler says, " It pains him (Beethoven) to find * " Life of Moscheles," Vol. I., 146. 4IO THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. that not a soul here takes any notice of him, and certainly this lack of sympathy is most surprising. In former times,, if he was slightly indisposed, people used to drive up to his door and enquire for him. Now he is completely forgotten, as though he had never lived in Vienna."* "Just now he speaks' about a journey to London, after his recovery, and is calculating on the cheapest way we can live during our absence from home. Merciful heaven ! I fear his journey will be a further one than to England." "Sick — in necessity — abandoned — a Beethoven!" Moscheles exclaimed, after reading the above correspondence : words rich in pathos and meaning, and such as pages of commentary would weaken rather than strengthen. A few days later Hummel was at the bedside of the forgotten and suffering Beethoven, who turned and said, " My dear Hum- mel, here is a picture of the house where Haydn was born ; it was made a present to me to-day. I take a childish pleasure in it, to think of so great a man being born in so wretched a hovel." Turning from the sick chamber at Vienna to '.the special general meeting of the committee of the Philharmonic Society in London, which was immedi- ately called upon receipt of Beethoven's appeal for aid, we have that glorious Resolution, glistening like a jewel in the records of the time-honoured society, * Beethoven's deafness had gradually brought about his hermit- like existence ; we must not therefore read this too literally. Help may hare been at hand, had his condition been made known. THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 411 " That the sum of one hundred pounds be sent, through the hands of Mr. Moscheles, to some confidential friend of Beethoven, to be applied to his comforts and necessities during his illness." About the 17th of March, the friend to whom Moscheles sent the money was driving post haste to the house of Beethoven to make known to him the glad tidings, and tells us, " It was heart-breaking to see him clasp his hands and shed tears of joy and gratitude." A few days later — March 26th, 1827 — Beethoven was no more. His funeral was truly that of a great man : some thirty thousand persons lined the streets through which passed the bier of the greatest of music's creators. Eight Chapel-masters acted as pall-bearers, and thirty-six eminent musical men carried torches. The Requiem of Mozart was performed in the church of Saint Augustine, and Lablache sang the bass part. hctian HEBE.— "^The Violin in 4l*rmattj). CHAPTER VI. A ROUND the grave of Beethoven stood many famous men in the world of music. There mourned Franz Schubert, then best known as the composer of "The Erl King," "The Wanderer," and an "Ave Maria," but now familiar to us as a composer of chamber and orchestral music of exceptional excellence. Schubert, in returning from the funeral, was accompanied by Franz Lachner and another musician. Schubert filled two glasses with wine : the first he emptied to the memory of Beethoven, and the second to him of the assembled trio who should be the first to follow the illustrious man whose mortal remains they had consigned to the earth. Strange indeed that Franz Schubert should have been that one, and within a few months. Schubert's admiration of the genius of Beethoven was of the loftiest character, and he frequently hoped that his body might be placed beside that of the greatest of musicians, a wish that was remembered and followed. A friend, who was extolling the excel- lence of Schubert's works to the composer himself, THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 413 received answer, " But who can ever do anything after Beethoven ? " Schumann said, " If fertility be a distinguishing mark of genius, then Franz Schubert is a genius of the highest order." The quantity of music penned by Schubert is indeed amazing, and yet more so when we think of its having been accom- plished in less than twenty years, for its composer died before his thirty-first birthday. That genius of the highest order is recognised throughout this mass of music cannot be said, but that it is manifested in much of it, is certain. Mr. Chorley has re- marked, " Setting aside the beautiful and peculiar songs of Schubert, there is little music extant so provoking, at once so rich in fancy, so meritorious in respect of constructive ingenuity, yet so unavail- able, so incomplete, and so likely to remain till doomsday under the cloud of neglect and misunder- standing. There is not one instrumental piece by Schubert, whether it be his Symphony in C major, his Stringed Quartett in D minor, his Pianoforte Trios, his Rondo for Pianoforte and Violin, which does not contain first thoughts, phrases, and melodies, on which Beethoven might have con- sented to work— having, moreover, a wild spirit and sweetness totally unborrowed — but all may be charged with a want of success, which cannot but be felt by the discriminating connoisseur. This is a sad result, when, in addition to the amount of genius flawed, lost, buried, the amount of wasted time, energy, and labour is considered. With 414 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Schubert may be almost said to have ' gone out ' the light of creative genius in Vienna. The temples are still open — the old gods are still in some degree worshipped — but the old priests are gone, and there are no new ones to fill their places."* Ferdinand Ries, the pupil of Beethoven, was an imitator of the style of his master. Since Beet- hoven, like Stradiuarius and Paganini, successfully set imitators at defiance, the labours of Ries have become almost forgotten. He, however, composed some chamber music of a pleasing kind, which is worthy of a better fate than being left on the shelves of second-hand music sellers. Carl Maria von Weber must here be mentioned as a contributor to our subject in the Quartett for Pianoforte, Violin, Tenor, and Violoncello ; a Pianoforte Trio, Op. 10; a Quintett with Clarionet and Strings, and Six Easy Sonatas for Pianoforte and Violin. Joseph Mayseder was Schuppanzigh's famous pupil. He was born in Vienna, in 1789, and took part at his master's quartett meetings. His great talent early brought him under the notice of eminent musicians, and secured him several im- portant appointments, culminating with that of Chamber-Violinist to the Emperor in 1835. He published a vast number of Violin compositions, including Airs with Variations, Duetts, Concertos, five Quintetts, eight Quartetts, Studies, &c. Among * Chorley's " Modern German Music." THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 415 his brilliant Violin compositions may be specially mentioned the Air and Variations, Op. 40, dedicated to Paganini, which was frequently played by Ernst. Weber, writing from Vienna in 1813, mentions having heard Mayseder's Fourth Concerto, pro- nouncing it excellent, " but it left one cold." His works are all of a more or less brilliant character, and would undoubtedly be better appreciated had they been of a warmer nature. He died in 1863. The Violinis.t and composer, Kalliwoda, born at Prague, in 1800, was a prolific writer of brilliant Violin music. Although most of his Solos are now rarely played, they are well written, and abound in passages needing more than ordinary executive skill to render them with due effect. He has composed many Violin Duetts, conceived in a dramatic style, which are played much among amateurs. Kalliwoda died in 1866. The progress of the leading instrument in Germany was hardly less influenced by the genius of Louis Spohr, than its progress in Italy a century earlier was influenced by the teachings of Corelli. These results, though of nearly equal importance, were secured by wholly different means. The school of the German master was a new departure, originating in the labours of a long line of Violinists, from Corelli to Rode. The benefits of this blending of Italian, French, and German art, irt relation to the Violin, are better understood to-day than when Spohr may be said to have effected the union. The 41 6 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. style of composition which Spohr brought to bear upon the Violin as a solo instrument necessitated a special education on the part of the executant. With whatever excellence a player may have ren- dered a concerto of Viotti, Rode, or Kreutzer, he must have early discovered the necessity of applying a different mode of rendering to the music of Louis Spohr; hence, during its infancy, its creator was its only fit exponent. In course of time pupils and followers gave it that special study which its re- quirements demanded ; and thus may be said to have began the serious study of phrasing and light and shade in relation to classical German Violin music. With Spohr himself, with his pupil David, and many of his followers, this important branch of the Violinist's art has perhaps been carried to excess, resulting oftentimes in the composer's individuality being sunk in the executant's mannerism. Be that as it may, it is now well understood that something more is needed than correct time-keeping and perfect mechanism ; in short, that the painter must ally himself with the poet, and not only cover his canvas with truthful lines, hut tone his colours that they may harmonize with the thoughts and fancies of the creator of the subject. Louis Spohr was born in 1 784. When but five years of age, he was happy in the possession of a Violin, and he has related with what delight he hastened to his mother, to play to her the chord of G, which he succeeded in performing as an THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 417 arpeggio, repeating it again and again, until its monotony led to his summary ejectment from the chamber. Passing over some seven years, we find him at Hamburg, seeking his fortune as a Violinist. He however soon awoke from his dream of maintaining himself in that busy commercial city, and set out for Brunswick. On his way he resolved to petition the Duke — who was himself a Violinist — praying that he might receive an appointment in the Ducal Orchestra, which he secured at a salary of fifteen pounds per annum. Thus was Spohr's first essay in self-help crowned with success. Later it was proposed by his patron to send his protege to Viotti, for instruction. The famous master had at the time retired from the profession, and declined to receive pupils. Eck was next applied to, who received Spohr as his scholar. Shortly afterwards they set out on a tour in Russia. On their way, they stayed at Hamburg, where Spohr became acquainted with Dussek. Here the young Violinist commenced his first Concerto, Op. 1, in A major. A little later he composed the first three Violin Duetts, Op. 3 ; and he tells us it was in playing these Duetts with his master Eck, that he observed the restrictive character of the French 'School of Violin-playing, remarking, "how little Eck entered into the spirit of the works of others."* At St. Petersburg, Spohr met * Eck was not brought up in the French School, though he may- have, like his pupil, done his best to profit by its teachings. C C 41 8 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Clementi and Field, the composers of well-known Nocturnes. In his diary we find many critical remarks on Violin-playing, worthy of notice, inas^ much, as they are indicative of that seriousness so manifest in Spohr's style of playing. Of Franzl the Violinist, whom he met at St. Petersburg,- he says, " he holds the Violin still in the old manner, on the right side of the tail-piece, and must there- fore play with his head bent ;* to this must be added, he raises the right arm very high, and has the bad habit of elevating his eyebrows at the expressive passages ; his playing is pure and clear. In the adagio parts he executes runs and shakes with a rare delicacy ; as soon, however, as he plays loud, his tone is rough and unpleasant, because he draws his bow too slowly and too near the bridge, and leans it too much on one side ; he executes the passages with the middle of the bow, and consequently without distinction of piano and forte!' Of the playing of Barwold, he tells us he heard him in Viotti's Concerto in A, and although executed with much ability, the passages were "flat and drawn out." Of the Violinist Fodor, he says his playing lacked warmth, and his taste and frequent use of staccato was unbearable. Hitherto Spohr had derived his chief knowledge of the French School of Violin-playing from his * Spohr's method of holding the Violin : points to the chin rest- ing on the tail-piece, without inclining the head, a system no longer pursued. THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 419 master, Franz Eck. That this early acquaintance had already affected his natural style is certain, but it was left to Rode to create a stronger desire on the part of Spohr to extend his studies in that direction. It happened upon Spohr's return to Brunswick in 1803, that Pierre Rode was staying there, giving concerts. These Spohr attended with pleasure and profit. He tells us, "the more he heard' him play, the greater was his admiration and desire to acquire the same style." This he resolved to accomplish by careful practice of Rode's compo- sitions.- By the time he had formed a style of playing peculiar to himself, he had become in his own estimation the most faithful imitator of Rode among the young Violinists of that day, succeeding best in Rode's famous Air and Variations in G, the Concerto in E minor, and his three first Quartetts. Early in 1804 Spohr applied himself diligently to composition, which resulted in the production of the Concerto in D minor, published as Op. 2, and a Concerto in A major which remains ' in manuscript. In these he informs us Rode's style predominates, remarking also, that at a later period his own style and mode of execution was developed from that of the great French artist. In the spring of 1804 Spohr visited the chief German cities. His stock of music was now considerably enlarged. To Rode was given the place of honour, but others were well represented: among them were Haydn, Mozart, and, above all, Beethoven. The first six Quartetts of c c 2 420 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. the great master were then barely dry from the press, and it is interesting to record that these were the works Spohr was playing at this period, and making known for the first time outside the Rasou- moffsky Quartett party and its audience. Their reception was often the reverse of cordial. Spohr tells us that on one occasion they were not even listened to, which necessitated his bringing the per- formance to an abrupt ending, and substituting one of Rode's, which was heard with breathless atten- tion. We need not wonder at this condition of musical taste on the part of unprofessional musicians, when we are told that Romberg expressed his astonishment that Spohr could bring himself to play " such stuff," and that Spohr should be as much at sea with the later and better compositions of Beethoven, and even expressed himself as finding him "wanting in aesthetical feeling and in a sense of the beautiful : " thus it would seem that the judgment of musicians, like that of artists on canvas, is often strangely erroneous. Returning to Spohr's Violin compositions, the Concertos numbered 3, 4, and 5 were written be- tween the years 1803 and 1806, together with a Concertante Duett for Harp and Violin, Two Pot- pourris, Ops. 22 and 23, for Violin and Orchestra and the Concertante Duett for two Violins, Op. 48. To the year 1808 belong the two Violin Duetts, Op. 9, and the famous Duett for Violin and Tenor. About this time Quartett writing occupied THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 42 1 Spohr's attention more than it had hitherto done, and the Op. 1 5 was published. The Sixth Concerto, Op. 28, in G minor, was completed in 1808-9, tne l ast movement of which is a Rondo founded on Spanish melodies. To the same time belongs the Second Sonata, for Violin and Harp, Op. 115. At the close of the year 181 2, Spohr visited Vienna, which was regarded as the capital of the musical world. A city where Haydn and Mozart had lived, com- posed, and breathed new life into their art ; and where Beethoven was still giving to the world his master-pieces, was rightly looked upon as the seat of musical government in its relation to taste and refinement. The Quartett, Op. 30, and the first Octett were written in 181 3. The idea of com- posing a Double Quartett originated in a suggestion of Andrew Romberg's, but Spohr did not carry it out until some years afterwards. In 1820, Spohr came to England, and played his Dramatic Concerto at the Philharmonic Society, Viotti being present. At this period the orchestra was controlled by the first Violin, a system Spohr did not approve of. At one of the concerts of the season, the conductorship was given to Spohr, who used a separate desk and a baton. Our present mode of conducting an orchestra appears therefore to date no further back than sixty-one years. At Leipsic, in 1846, a concert was given under the conductorship of Mendelssohn, in honour of 42 2 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Spohr, the programme consisting entirely of his compositions. Upon this occasion, Herr Joachim, then in his fifteenth year, played the Concerto in E minor, No. n, Op. 70. Spohr often complained of the press reviews of his compositions, and curiously enough gives in his autobiography the substance of one, with which he naturally disagreed, but which well describes the character of his writing. The contemporary German critic remarks, " The composer seems to have considered his auditors in the light of stupid servants." " The eternal rechewing of the theme in every voice and key, is as though one had given an order to an attendant that he is unable to under- stand, necessitating the repetition of it over and over again in every possible form of expression." In another place Spohr himself tells us, with singular modesty, " I had carried out a subject in the style of Mozart, now in one key and then in another, and in my delight at this scientific interweaving, had not remarked that it at length became monotonous." He adds, " that Reichardt disparaged it, and went so far as to say 'you could not rest until you had worried your motivo to death !' ' If we take the above remarks together with Mr. Chorley's, we have a fair estimate of Spohr's style of com- position. He says, " There is more than a ' set smile' in Dr. Spohr's music. It has its times and places of vitality, individual intelligence, as well as that genial air of swooning, over-luxurious, THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 423 elaborate grace, which conceals its poverty in sig- nificance and variety so well and so long— with some, for ever. The excepted section of Dr. Spohr's compositions is — all that he has produced for the Violin as a Solo instrument, which establishes him among the great German composers, and claims for him high and grateful honour." Whether the whole of Spohr's Violin music is free from reiteration is questionable. Bernhard Molique was born at Nuremburg, in 1803. Like Spohr, he combined the skill of an eminent Violinist with that knowledge of composi- tion which belongs to the thorough musician and composer of works belonging to the highest order of composition. If the "Abraham" of Molique is not so famous as the " Fall of Babylon" it is perhaps hardly less meritorious. That the Con- certos and Violin music of each are of equal merit, cannot be said. Spohr in this branch of the art cannot but live on ; whether Molique will do so is doubtful. He had many pupils — among them our principal English Violinist, John Carrodus. Molique died at Stuttgard, in 1869. Station DUE— ^oThe liolin in dermaitB. CHAPTER VII. T N following the history of the Violin and its music our course may be likened unto a country, oftentimes flat and uninteresting, at others varied and undulating, with now and again heights of vast altitude reaching to the very openings of heaven. With Bach and Handel, with Haydn, Mozart, and Schubert, we ascended these cloud-touching heights ; with Beethoven we mounted their loftiest pinnacle, and 'tis now with Mendelssohn we ascend again, if not so high, to where " fields of light and liquid ether flow, Purg'd from the pond'rous dregs of earth below." DRYDEN. " Where should this music be ? i' th' air or th' earth ?— It sounds no more : — and sure it waits upon some god o' th' island." " This is no mortal business, nor no sound, That the earth owns : — I hear it now above me." " Tempest" Act I., Scene i. Half a century has elapsed since Mendelssohn spoke of that section of the German musical world which has since enlarged into the Philosophico- THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 425 musical public of to-day, as " Miserable shams with their sentimentality and devotion to art." This extended community has long since decided that the music of Mendelssohn is of little or no value, beyond serving as a warning to the musicians of the future, not to pursue the art worn down with the age of centuries, and in the last throes of its exist- ence. Well might Ferdinand Hiller tell us, " I come forward all the more boldly with these pages,* so full of admirable traits of the departed, because he, one of the brightest and most beautiful stars in the firmament of German art, is ex- periencing, in his own country, the attacks of envy, of want of comprehension and judgment, which can only bring dishonour on those from whom they proceed, for they will never succeed in detracting from the glory which surrounds his name." It is pleasing to believe that the music of Mendelssohn, even though its detractors succeeded in shelving it, will not lose the ppwer of its ethereal voice in banishment, but, like the compositions of Corelli, Tartini, and other original-minded men, come forth again and again to utter its own peculiar musical language of the heart. Felix Mendelssohn- Bartholdy was born at Hamburg, February the 3rd, 1809. At the age of seven years he was receiving instructions on the Pianoforte, in Harmony, and on the Violin. In his twelfth year he appears to have begun to seriously * " Mendelssohn's Letters and Recollections." 426 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. compose. Mention is made of several incomplete works connected with the Violin belonging to this year (1820). It was not, however, until 1822, when in Switzerland, / that he began the C minor Piano- forte Quartett, completing it at Berlin three months later. Sir Julius Benedict has recorded some interest- ing circumstances in connection with this Quartett. In 182 1 he and his master Weber were walking in the streets of Berlin, when a youth " with clear eyes and the smile of innocence and candour on his lips," came running towards them ; " 'Tis Felix Mendels- sohn," said Weber, at once introducing his pupil to his little friend. Mendelssohn insisted upon taking them at once to his father's house. " Here is a pupil of Weber's who knows a great deal of the new opera," he exclaims to his mother — referring to " Der Freisclmtz" — " pray ask him to play it for us." With an irresistible impetuosity he led Benedict to " the Pianoforte, where he made him remain until he had exhausted his recollections of the opera. When Benedict next visited the Mendelssohn family, he found Felix seated on a footstool busily writing some music. On being asked what he was writing, he replied, " I am finishing my new Quartett for Piano and stringed instruments." The narrator says he could not resist his own boyish curiosity to examine the composition, and looking over his shoulder, saw as beautiful a score as ever was written by the most skilful copyist. It was the THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 427 Quartett in C minor, Op. i. Moscheles, writing in 1824, says, " Felix, a boy of fifteen, is a pheno- menon. What are all prodigies compared with him ? " Frequently importuned to give lessons to the wondrous youth, he at length consented, though failing to see the necessity ; and writes in his diary : " This afternoon, from two to three o'clock, gave Felix Mendelssohn his first lesson, without losing sight of the fact that I was sitting next to a master, not a pupil. In a letter of Mendelssohn's dated from Leipsic, October 29th, 1837, addressed to his brother, he writes, " Yesterday evening my C minor Quartett was played in public by David, and had great success. They were made to play the Scherzo twice, and the Adagio pleased the audience best of all, which caused me very great astonishment. In a few days I mean to begin a new Quartett, which may please me better. I also intend soon to compose a Sonata for Violoncello and Piano for you — by my beard, I will !" a promise he redeemed in the following year. His second Pianoforte Quartett was composed in 1823, and dedicated to his master Zelter — he who accomplished in Germany what Samuel Wesley did in England, namely, the furtherance of the study of Saint Sebastian, as Wesley delighted in naming Bach. Zelter's admiration for the works of the Great Master was early implanted in the mind of Mendelssohn, and the world's music has 428 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. been enriched with its fruits. To the same year (1823), belongs the Sonata for Violin and Piano- forte, which he dedicated to his Violin-master Rietz, to whom he was much attached. In 1824 was composed the Pianoforte Quartett in B minor. At this period Mendelssohn was in Paris with his father, and Baillot played in the new work. In the spring of the following year, the Mendelssohns left Paris for Berlin. On their way, they visited Goethe at Weimar, and thus arose the dedication of the new Quartett to the poet. Goethe had long previously interested himself in the youthful musician. When Felix was in his thir- teenth year, he wrote, " Every afternoon Goethe would open the Streicher piano, saying, ' I have not heard you at all to-day, so you must make a little noise for me.' Then he sits down by me, and when I have finished (generally improvising), I beg for a kiss, or else I take one." His look, his language, his name, they are imposing. His voice has an enormous sound in it, and he can shout like a thousand fighting men." It was Goethe who said to him, pointing to his unused pianoforte, " Come and awaken for me all the winged spirits which have so long been slumbering here;" and again, " You are my David, and if I am ever ill and sad, you must banish my bad dreams by your playing ; I shall never throw my spear at you as Saul did." Felix, writing from Paris in March, 1832, says, THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 429 " I am indeed delighted, dear father, that my Quartett in B minor pleases you ; it is a favourite of mine, and I like to play it, although the Adagio is much too cloying ; still, the Scherzo that follows has all the more effect." The work was played, probably the first time in England, at the Quartett Concerts instituted by Henry Blagrove, Charles Lucas, and others, April 16th, 1836; the executants were W. Sterndale Bennett, Blagrove, Dando and Lucas. The Sextett for Pianoforte, Violin, two Tenors, and Double Bass, published as Op. no, was written in 1824. Within a few months of his seventeenth birthday, was given to the world the splendid Octett Op. 20, first played in this country in 1835, by Henry Blagrove, Lucas, Griesbach, and others. In a letter dated from Paris, March 31st, 1832, Mendels- sohn says, " My Octett in church, on Monday last, exceeded in absurdity anything the world ever saw or heard of. While the priest was officiating at the altar during the Scherzo, it really sounded like ' Fliegen-schnauz und Muckennas, verfluchte Dilet- tanten.' The people, however, considered it very fine sacred music." It was at this period that his friend Hiller speaks of his hearing him play at Baillot's house, the Sonatas of Bach and Beethoven, and Mozart's Concertos with Quartett accompaniment, remarking, that everything was listened to at the house of the famous Violinist " with a sort of religious devotion." 430 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Hiller, speaking of Felix's marvellous musical memory, says, " when we were together, a small party of musical people, and the conversation flagged, he would sit down to the Piano, play some out-of-the-way piece, and make us guess the com- poser. On one occasion he played an air from Haydn's " Seasons," " The trav'ller stands perplexed, Uncertain, and forlorn — in which, not a note of the elaborate Violin accom- paniment was wanting. It sounded like a regular Pianoforte piece, and we stood there a long time as ' perplexed ' as the traveller himself." In 1826, the String Quintett in A was composed. The following year, he composed the song " 1st es wohr ? " which he used in the String Quartett in A minor : the Quartett was completed at Berlin, in October of the same year. In a letter, long afterwards, addressed to his father, he says, " I can see that you seem rather inclined to deride my A minor Quartett, when you say there is a piece of instrumental music which has made you rack your brains to discover the composer's thoughts ; when in fact he probably had no thoughts at all, I must defend the work, for I love it ; but it certainly depends very much on the way in which it is executed." This reference to thoughts whilst composing, points once more to Mendelssohn's dislike, if not disbelief, in word-painting music. THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 43 I Mendelssohn truly said, " if the composer can only move the imaginative power of his hearers, and call forth some one image, some one thought — it matters not what — he has attained his object." In 1829 Mendelssohn came to London. Mos- cheles secured apartments for his friend in Great Portland Street, and the famous Pianist tells us, "As a friend, he is of untold value." " How delightful it is when he brings some of his new compositions, and waits with childlike modesty for an expression of my opinion." He showed me the manuscript of his sacred Cantata on a Chorale in A minor, and a stringed Quartett in A minor (that already noticed). At the seventh Concert of the Philharmonic Society, May 25th, 1829, "the most remarkable, feature," it was said at the time, "was the Sym- phony of Mendelssohn- Bartholdy. This gentleman, grandson of the distinguished Jewish philosopher, is a native of Berlin, the son of a banker of inde- pendent fortune, and enthusiastically attached to music, for which nature seems to have designed him. He has already produced several works of magni- tude, which, if at all to be compared with the present, ought, without such additional claim, to rank him among the first composers of the age. The author conducted it in person, and it was received with acclamations. The work was dedi- cated to the Society, and the composer elected an honorary member. 432 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. The String Quartett in E flat belongs to this period. Passing over other references to chamber music, we have the Violin Concerto commenced in 1839. Moscheles in 1844 refers to it: "Yesterday I had a quiet evening with Ferdinand 'David, who played me the new Violin Concerto which Felix has expressly written for him. It is most beautiful, the last movement thoroughly Mendels- sohnian." In the same year (1839), Mendelssohn completed his D minor Trio, which was first played in public by the composer, David, and Wittmann. The second Pianoforte Trio in C minor, dedicated to Spohr, was also first publicly performed by the same artists. Mention of Spohr serves to remind me of his words to Hauptmann upon hearing of the sudden death of the composer in November, 1847. " What might Mendelssohn, in the full maturity of his genius, not have written ! His loss to art is much to be lamented, for he was the most gifted of living composers, and his efforts in art were of the noblest." From the tribute of Spohr, let us turn to that of the Prince — himself a musician — whose love of music was passionate, and whose critical judgment was of the soundest and best. Some days after the performance of the ''Elijah" at Exeter Hall, on the 1 6th of April, 1847, Prince Albert sent to Mendels- sohn the printed score which he had used at the performance, on the first page of which was written, "To the noblest artist, who, surrounded by the THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 433 Baal-worship of corrupted art, has been able, by his genius and science, to preserve faithfully, like another Elijah, the worship of true art, and once more to accustom our ear, lost in the whirl of an empty play of sounds, to the pure notes of expres- sive composition and legitimate harmony, to the great master, who makes us conscious of the unity of his conception, through the whole maze of his creation, from the soft whispering to the mighty raging of the elements ! Written in token of grate- ful remembrance by " Albert. "Buckingham Palace, April 24th, 1847.'' We must next refer to Mendelssohn's friend, Fer- dinand David, born at Hamburg, in 1810. David became a pupil of Spohr-'s about his fourteenth year. Moscheles, writing in 1838, says, "this worthy pupil of Spohr played his master's music in grand and noble style," " his Quartett playing " " delighted everyone with any genuine artistic taste." This refers to the period when David visited England. In 1836, he became leader of the Gewandhaus Concerts at Leipsic, which appoint- ment he retained to the end of his days. Mr. Chorley has recorded, " I had never met then — I have never met since — with any executive head of an orchestra, to compare with Herr David : spirit, delicacy, and consummate intelligence, are combined in him in no ordinary measure, and with the crown- ing charm of that good-will and sympathy which D D 434 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. only await citizens as worthy in head and heart as he." Mendelssohn's estimate of David's abili- ties may be gathered from a letter he addressed to him in 1838, when he says, " there are not many musicians, who like yourself, pursue steadily the broad straight road in art." Further on Mendelssohn refers to his intention of writing a Violin Concerto for him, remarking, " one in E minor runs in my head, the beginning of which gives me no peace." It is scarcely necessary to mention that this is the Concerto referred to in the notice of Mendelssohn. David died in July, 1873, and was buried at Leipsic, where his name has recently been perpetuated in the street nomenclature of the city — a worthy tribute to the memory of a great artist. His original compositions for the Violin include many highly valued works. Five Concertos, Violin School, Salonstiick, Kammerstiick, and others. Andreas Romberg (cousin of the famous Vio- loncellist, Bernard Romberg,) was born in 1767; he appeared at the Concert Spirituel, in Paris, in 1784. At Hamburg, in 181 1, Spohr became ac- quainted with Andreas Romberg, and appears to have valued his abilities and judgment. He relates that upon bringing under Romberg's notice two of his Quartetts, he said, " your Quartetts will not do yet ; they are far behind your orchestral pieces ! " Spohr ingenuously confesses that he quite agreed with him, but that he nevertheless, was wounded to hear anybody else express the opinion. Romberg THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 435 died in 1821. His compositions include four Concertos, and several Quartetts and Duetts, &c. ; the latter are still admired. The sectional treatment of our subject having been mainly developed — musically speaking — in semi-chronologic progressions, abrupt topographic transitions, have necessarily been largely used in the modulation. Thus it is we have again to return to Vienna, the city above all others wherein the greatest achievements in modern music have been accomplished. Here the famous Hun- garian, Joseph Boehm, passed fifty years ; he whose name among Violinists is familiar, as the most successful teacher of the Violin of recent times. When it is remembered that he was the master of Ernst, Hellmesberger, and Joachim, his title to the first place among teachers can hardly be questioned. I have already referred to the influence of Rode, through Spohr, on German Violin playing. Spohr did his best to imitate the French artist; Boehm had a great advantage over Spohr, inasmuch as he received direct tuition from Rode, and, manifest- ing so much ability, caused his master to take unusual interest in the lessons. Boehm died in 1876, in his seventy-eighth year. Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst was born in 18 14, in Moravia — that part of Europe already noticed — where James II.'s famous Chapel-master, Mr. Godfrey Finger, first saw the light; he who pub- lished in 1690, six Violin Solos. From Finger to d D 2 436 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Ernst covers a wide space periodically, but if we compare the six Solos with the Concerto in F sharp minor, Op. 23, we shall readily discover a wider one musically. Were we to follow the mode Hummel had of defining the executive character of his music, we should name Finger's Solos simpli- city itself, and the Concerto of Ernst, difficulty un- surpassed. Leaving these extremities, and turning to the subject of our notice, it may be truly said Ernst possessed the quality of sentiment in relation to Violin-playing to a higher degree than any of Germany's long line of Violinists. Nay, more, he possessed it, artistically considered, beyond all the Violinists of modern times in all countries. When we add to this that his executive skill was altogether exceptional, and that he was not less distinguished as a composer for his instrument, the extent of his powers may be imagined. As a man he was most amiable and kind-hearted, beloved alike by his friends and brother artists. Ferdinand Hiller relates that the winter of 1839 at Leipsic " was remarkable for the appearance of some of the most brilliant players. First of all Ernst, then at the summit of his talent, and enchanting the whole world. Mendelssohn was very fond of him. Ernst told me one day, almost with emotion, how, at the time of his concerts in the Konigstadter Theatre at Berlin, he was very much pressed one morning in Mendelssohn's presence to put down his " Elegie " in the programme again, THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY. 437 though he had already played it I don't know how- many times, when Mendelssohn also began urging him to do it ; Ernst answered, in fun, ' If you will accompany me I will,' and Mendelssohn made his appearance on the Konigstadter stage, accompanied the ' Elegie,' and vanished." Further on we read of the friendship of Ernst and David : — " It was not only their beloved Violins which united David and Ernst, but also the game of whist. I certainly believe that neither of them ever played the Violin so late into the night as they did whist." In a letter from Mendelssohn to his brother, dated Leipsic, February, 1840, we have: — "On Sunday evening Ernst played four Quartetts at Hiller's, one of them was the E minor of Beethoven, and mine in E flat major." " Early on Monday the rehearsal took place, and in the evening the Concert, where I accompanied him in his ' Elegie.' " It is needless in these pages to follow Ernst throughout his artistic career : passing therefore to the period of his illness in 1863, it may be mentioned, that he was then under hydropathic treatment, and for some time was the guest of Lord Lytton, at Knebsworth. It was then that his host dedicated to him, the reprint of the series of essays, entitled " Caxtoniana." The following letter, full of tenderness and, artistic respect, was penned by Joachim, on the occasion of his playing the MS. Quartett, which took place May 28th, 1864, at the Monday Popular Concerts : — 43§ THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. " Dear and honoured friend, — " However sorry I am, that, after you were beginning to get better, your patience should be again subjected to so hard a trial, the con- fidence expressed by your physician affords me consolation. I certainly had hoped, from the account my brother has from time to time given me of you, that, on the occasion of our meeting again this spring, I should once more have enjoyed the pleasure of hearing the magnificent tones of your Violin. Providence decrees otherwise. I am not destined, dear master, to hear you ; and thus to me, thanks to your confidence, is entrusted the noble task of making the musical world of London ac- quainted with your newest creation. I need scarcely say with what deep love I shall devote myself to the service of your muse. Command me as you will, and let me soon know on what day your concert is to take place. I am exceedingly anxious to see your Etudes. Your devoted friend, "Joseph Joachim." The Studies referred to in the above letter are those which the composer dedicated to his brother artists : — No. 1. F major, to Laub. 2. A „ „ Sainton. 3. E ,, „ Joachim. 4. C „ „ Vieuxtemps. 5. Eb „ „ Hellmesberger. 6. G „ ,, Bazzini. THE VIOL/N IN GERMANY. 439 Among the best known compositions of Ernst, are, "Hungarian Airs, Op. 22; " Otello Fantasia;" "Rondo Papageno;" " Elegie," to which Spohr wrote an introduction; " Pensees Fugitives," in con- junction with Stephen Heller, among which are charming pieces, notably a Romance, Lied, Agitato, Reverie, and " Inquietude"; two Quartetts (the first of which is published) ; Concerto, Op. 23. Herr Ernst died at Nice in 1865. Boehm's pupil, George Hellmesberger, was born in 1800, and became, like his master, an eminent teacher at Vienna. His son Joseph, born' in 1828, to whom Ernst dedicated the study in E flat, is rightly regarded as an artist of the first rank, and to whom the highest praise is due for the sound artistic judgment he has manifested in relation to Quartett-playing in connection with his concerts at Vienna. It now remains to notice the most eminent of living Violinists, Joseph Joachim, born at Kittsee, in Hungary, June 28th, 1831. After receiving lessons for some years of Boehm, at Vienna, he went to Leipsic, and became intimately associated with Mendelssohn and Ferdinand David, studying with the eminent Violin master the music of Bach and others. > In 1844 he appeared at the fifth Concert of the Philharmonic Society, and performed the Concerto of Beethoven in a manner, Mr. Hogarth relates, - " which astonished and delighted the audience,' and 440 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. justified the splendid reputation which, even at that early age (13), he had achieved throughout Europe." In 1847, Moscheles, writing of the musical parties held at Mendelssohn's, says, " On the last occasion our favourite Joachim was there ; Felix accompanied him in his Violin Concerto, and both played the music by heart." Joachim was then in his sixteenth year. A week or so later we read of him taking part in a charade on the word " Gewandhaus," on the occasion of Mendelssohn's last birthday. " Joachim, adorned with a fantastic wig a la Paga- nini, played a hare-brained impromptu on the fourth string." The whole word " Gewandhaus " was illustrated by an orchestra, Mendelssohn and the children of Moscheles playing on little drums and trumpets, Joachim leading with a toy Violin. But let us return to the serious, with the Monday Popular Concerts, from the opening season of which in 1859, Herr Joachim has been the chief Violinist. In 1877, the subject of our notice received the honorary degree of Doctor of Music at Cambridge, writing for the occasion an Overture. His composi- tions include the Hungarian Concerto, a work needing executive skill of the highest order to render with any effect ; a Concerto in G minor Op, 3; Hebrew Melodies for the Tenor; Orchestral works, &c. Herr Lauterbach the Violinist was born in Bavaria, in 1832. In 1861 he succeeded Lipinski at Dresden. Three years later Lauterbach came THE VIOLIN IN GERMANY, 44 1 to England, and appeared at the Philharmonic Concerts. The Quartett Concerts given at Dresden by Lauterbach, in conjunction with Grutzmacher, have a wide reputation. Ferdinand Laub was born at Prague in 1832. His fame among Violinists was of the highest character. He possessed all the qualities necessary to make a great artist; passion, finished execution, broad style, and large tone. He died in 1875. It would be easy to lengthen my section with references to both musicians and music, relative to our subject, but the number of my page serves to remind me of that Dutch policy in the Spice Islands previously noticed, and, am, therefore, some- what reluctantly obliged to end my section Tempo frettoloso, rather than Tempo comodo. The music of Schumann, in many instances, it is almost needless to remark, belongs to the highest order of musical art ; mention alone of the Quintett in E flat establishes the truth of this. From Schumann we have two Pianoforte Trios, String Quartetts, &c. The contributions of Johannes Brahms to the music of the Violin, include works bf a more or less important kind, including the Sextett in G, Pianoforte Quartetts, String Quartetts, &c, &c. With the mention of Raff, Rubinstein, and Max-Bruch, as eminent contemporary composers of music associated with the leading instrument, my remarks upon the progress of the music of the Violin in Germany must end. Section I<£ — Wxt Violin itt (England. CHAPTER I. "P^HE final section of my book brings with it another and final abrupt transition In passing - from Germany to England it is necessary to take my readers back three centuries to the time of the First of our Stuart Kings. At the commencement of the seventeenth century the Violin in England was alone played by the com- monality. The nobility and landed gentry regarded it with profound contempt. As to the contemp- tuousness of the gentry, it was of slight consequence, since we are told its members often passed their boyhood and youth at their family seats, with no better tutors than grooms and game-keepers, and " examined samples of grain, handled pigs," and " made bargain over a tankard of ale with drovers and hop merchants." The Violin, however, fared no better in the estimation of the foremost musical men of the time. Even though they failed not to observe its superiority over the Viol, its associations were so THE VIOLIN IN ENGLAND. 443 essentially vulgar, that for them to proclaim their opinions would, in all probability, have endangered their professional status. Much courage was there- fore needed to overcome the seeming anomaly of the polite world emulating the mobility in associating itself with a vulgar Fiddle. We have already noticed Sir Roger L'Estrange's sarcastic remarks, " A Fiddle under my cloak ! 'Twas an oversight he did not tell my lord to what company of Fiddlers I belonged ! " — observations conclusively pointing to the instrument's degradation. With these feelings rife, it is easy to understand the emulation of the common Fiddler was all but avoided, and not until the French Court had its Violin band was the way paved for the introduction of the instrument into the higher circles of English society. Since we have seen that the itinerant Fiddler was in possession of the leading instrument before his betters, he is at least deserving of primary notice. That he adopted it from an intuitive knowledge of its surpassing excellencies cannot be said. Its portability was doubtless its chief attraction. Dr. Earle, afterwards Bishop of Worcester, describes a Fiddler of the Stuart times* as *' a man and Fiddle out of case (his cloak bag was its case), and he in worse case than his Fiddle ; one that rubs two sticks together (as the Indians strike fire), and rubs a poor living out of it; partly from this, and partly from your charity, which is more in the hearing than * " Microcosmography, or a Piece of the World." 444 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. giving him, for he sells nothing dearer than to be gone. He is just so many strings above a beggar, though he have but two, and yet he begs too ; only not in the downright for ' God's sake,' but with a shrugging ' God bless you,' and his face is more pin'd than the blind man's. Hunger is the greatest pain he takes, except a broken head sometimes, and the labouring John Dory."* Butler refers to a Fiddler in his usual vein of wit and humour. His " Crowdero," was the por- trait of one Jackson, who lost his leg in the service of the Roundheads, after which misfortune he relin- quished his millinery business in the Strand and became a professional Fiddler. Sir Roger L'Estrahge who was intimate with the poet, and not unfamiliar with the Fiddler, made known this fact — " A squeaking engine he applyM Unto his neck, on north east side, Just where the hangman does dispose, To special friends, the knot or noose ; For 'tis great grace, when statesmen straight Dispatch a friend, let others wait." " His grisly beard was long and thick, With which he strung his fiddle-stick ; For he to horse-tail scorn'd to owe, For what on his own chin did grow.'' " ffudiiras," Part I., Canto i. When Oliver Cromwell's authority was at its greatest height, and nearing its end, the poor Fiddler was deemed of sufficient importance for a * John Dory is the title of a famous song, which Dryden refers to as one of the most hackneyed of his time. THE VIOLIN IN ENGLAND. 445 clause in an enactment to be specially allotted to him. It was a legal instrument of unmistakable character, and if not sufficient to annihilate the itinerant scrapers, or those " goin'-a-buskin,"* it was enough to stop their growth. It now remains to notice the music of these merry men, which consisted of Hornpipes, Jigs, North Country Fisks, Rounds, and Morrises. The Hornpipe derived its name from a little instrument in the form of a pipe with a mouthpiece, used in England as late as the time of Charles II. The genuine Old English Hornpipe was written in triple time, simple or compound. All those in common time are not earlier than the latter part of the last century. The name Jig, as applied to a lively dance, I have already referred to in the Section on the Gothic Viol, and also its connection with the Ger- man Geige or Fiddle. Rounds and North Country Fisks, we call country dances ; Morrises were dances connected with pageants and processions. The Wait who piped watch within the Court of the Castle in the time of Edward IV. has been noticed. It now remains to speak of the Waits of London and Westminster, who were expert musi- cians retained by the municipal authorities to attend * Goin'-a-buskin was an expression used in the time of Edward IV., and presumably gave rise to the term "buskers," as still applied to those musicians who perform outside public houses, by the members of their section of the profession 446 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. at "feasts and solemn meetings." They also played m the streets at night during the winter, and not, as became the custom afterwards, specially at the Christmas season. Their performances were generally in unison, their instruments numbering sometimes six Violins with an equal number of Hautboys. Among their favourite tunes were those entitled, " Green Sleeves," " Yellow Stockings," " Old Simon the King," and " Hedge Lane." This last-mentioned tune was composed by John Bannis- ter, son of one of the Waits of the parish of Saint Giles. The topographical history of the title of this tune is peculiarly interesting to me personally, and is perhaps sufficiently curious to interest the reader. It is rare to be able to point to the name of a once popular melody as indicative of one's birth-place. Hedge Lane, however, enables me to do so, since HEDGE LANE. gO^^ij^ p^ps the Hedge Lane of Charles I.'s time has become the Princes Street of to-day ; and it is at least remarkable that the tune was written by the son of one of England's earliest Fiddlers, and that the Hedge Lane of that period should be now the place where Fiddle-makers mostly do congregate. THE VIOLIN IN ENGLAND. 447 The long residence of King Charles I. and his Court at Oxford during the time of the Civil War brought there a great number of musical men by profession and dilettanti, it being seemingly the only place in the kingdom where they could ply their art with safety, either for subsistence or amusement. Whether Oxford music meetings thus originated with the assembly of musicians, we have no oppor- tunity of discovering, but we learn from their chronicler, Anthony Wood, that about this period they were in full force, and that at the house of William Ellis, the Organist of St. John's College, music meetings were regularly held. Among those who took part in these entertainments is said to have been the best performer on the Lute in England, and servant in ordinary in the faculty of music to the King. In the " Life of Anthony Wood," we are informed that " The Violin had not hitherto (in the year 1653) been used in consort among gentlemen, only by common musicians, who played but two parts. The gentlemen in private meetings, (which Anthony Wood frequented) played three, four, and five parts, with Viols as Treble Viol, Tenor, Counter-Tenor, and Bass, with an Organ, Virginal or Harpsican joined with them, and they esteemed a Violin only belonging to a common Fiddler, and could not endure that it should come among them, for fear of making their meetings to be vain and Fiddling." This account at once clearly establishes the true 44§ THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. position of the Violin in the middle of the seven- teenth century in England. In the year 1657 Matthew Lock published music for the Violin, with the title, " Little Consort of three parts, containing Pavons, Corants, and Sarabands for Viols or Violins." Four years prior to this, however, we have mention of a work which, if correctly described, would be the earliest String Quartett from the pen of an Englishman. I refer to the " Set of Ayres,'' for two Violins, Tenor and Bass, mentioned by Anthony Wood as having been composed by Dr. Benjamin Rogers, and sent as a rarity to the Archduke Leopold.* Anthony Wood, speaking of Rogers, relates, " His compositions for instrumental music, whether in two, three, or four parts, have been highly valued, and were always, thirty years ago or more, first called for, taken out and played, as well in the public music school as in the private chambers ; and Dr. Wilson, the professor, the greatest and most curious judge of music that ever was, usually wept when he heard them well performed, as being wrapt up in an extasy, or if you will, melted down, while others smiled or had their hands and eyes lifted up at the excellency of them." This description is indeed a vivid one of an appreciative audience during the sombre days of the Puritans. Dr. Rogers wrote also, in connection with others, " Court Ayres, * Dr. Burney says, " It does not appear that these pieces wer.e ever printed." THE VIOLIN IN ENGLAND. 449 consisting of Pavans, Allemandes, and Sarabands, of two parts, published by Playford in 1655. He composed in 1662 some Court- Masquing Airs, which were sent into Holland and played before the States General at the conclusion of the treaty of peace, when Lord Hollis was Ambassador there whom it is said, " with others at the playing thereof did drink wine to Minehere Rogers of England." Notwithstanding the Continental reputation en- joyed by Rogers and other English musicians at this date, we became deaf to the goodness of our native music, and looked abroad for much of that we had at home. Matthew Lock, in the preface to his compositions for Viols or Violins, remarks, " For those mountebanks of wit who think it necessary to disparage all they meet with of their own country- men, because there have been, and are, some ex- cellent things done by strangers, I shall make bold to tell them that I never yet saw any foreign instrtimental composition (a few French Corants excepted,) worthy of an Englishman's transcribing." This reference to the excellence of our instrumental compositions appear to have been generally ad- mitted. Roger North says, " The Italian masters, who always did or ought to lead the van in music, printed pieces they called Fantazias, wherein was air and variety enough : and afterwards these were imitated by the English, who, working more elabor- ately, improved upon their pattern, which gave occasion to an observation, ' that in Vocal the £ E 450 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Italians, and in the Instrumental the English ex- celled.'" Unquestionably native musical ability in England was of a very high order down to the period of the Restoration, and probably would have been all-sufficient to have made us as great a nation of music creators, as we are and have been of music lovers ; but, unfortunately, the pith and marrow ' of our musical greatness were lost to us at a critical time by fanatical persecution and the fooleries which followed. It was then that we began to lose confidence in our musical abilities, and it must be confessed have never succeeded in completely regaining them. De Quincey has written,* "John Bull, who piques himself so much and so justly on the useful and the respectable, on British industry, British faith, British hardware," " and generally speaking upon British arts — provided only they are the useful and mechanical arts — this same John Bull has the most sheepish distrust of himself in every accomplishment that professes a purpose of ornament and mere beauty. Here he has a universal superstition in favour of names in ano and ino." " Strange that the nation whose poetry and drama discover by degrees so infinitely the most passion, should in their music discover the least ! " Since De Quincey gave ex- pression to these opinions, we have made great progress in artistic matters ; and let us hope that our advancement in creative and executive musical * Essay on Dr. Parr and his Contemporaries. THE VIOLIN IN ENGLAND. 45 I ability will ere long be in proportion to our passion- ate love of the art. We have long since got beyond patronising artists whose names terminate in ano and ino, for mere fashion's sake, even if we ever did so, to the extent often supposed. We are an essentially practical and commercial people, and our views in relation to Art are . in no way different to those we take of things in general. Our admiration and patronage of British ingenuity and mechanical skill exists because both are excellent, and not obtainable elsewhere. Mendelssohn clearly recognised our views with regard to music. Writing to his friend Devrient from England in 1829, he said, " Here music is treated as a business , it is calculated, paid for, and bargained over." We were not slow to discern the originality of thought and execution in our two greatest musicians, Henry Purcell and Sterndale Bennett (regrettably far removed in time from each other). Neither have we failed to appreciate the merits of the Glees of Bishop and the admirable Part-Songs of Hatton ; nor shall we their equals in the future. Genius and ability in music, whether of foreign or home growth, is not likely to be underrated by a people whose sound judgment is ineffaceably recorded in the annals of the Art from the time of Handel to the coming of Haydn and Mendelssohn, taken together with our commissions to Mozart and Beethoven. In the letter of Mendelssohn containing the E e 2 452 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. reference just noticed, he remarks, " I have no intention to sing the praises of English musicians, but when they eat an apple-pie, at all events they do not talk about the abstract nature of a pie, and of the affinities of its constituent crust and apple ; but they heartily eat it down." I am aware we have made considerable progress (?) in the analy- zation of musical thought and feeling since Men- delssohn paid us this compliment. Fashion has its votaries in music as well as in everything else ; but withal, there remains a large section of the music-loving public deaf to its teachings, and content to be twitted as antiquated and conserva- tive, if it be musical conservatism to admire alone those masters who developed their art untrammeled by visionary emotional formulas. In retaining these old-fashioned tastes, we shall be no less able to welcome and appreciate the equivalent of the masterpieces of Beethoven from the pen of a newly- born composer, than the lovers of literature the equals of the works of Shakspeare or Milton from a nineteenth-century playwright and poet. gtotum Ig.—^kz Violin in (Ertglaitb. CHAPTER II. JOHN JENKINS, the composer of the first set of Sonatas for the Violin from the pen of an Englishman, now claims our notice. We are told, "It was at this time an instance of great condescen- sion for a musician of character to write expressly for so ribald and vulgar an instrument as the Violin was accounted by the lovers of Lutes, Guitars, and all the fretful tribe." In any case this particular set of Sonatas was evidently regarded with favour abroad and at home, since they were re-engraved at Amsterdam, the city from whence the chief musical works of eminent European composers were dis- tributed on the Continent. It is gratifying to know that our first contribution to an important section of Violin music should have been thus honoured, remembering how few English compositions from that day to this have passed through a foreign press. These Sonatas were printed in London in 1660, and four years later at Amsterdam ; the date of publica- tion is of course no key to the date of composition ; in all probability they were written some years before. 454 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Though written, Dr. Burney says, " professedly in the Italian style," he could hardly have been familiar with the few early Italian compositions of the same order, and though he had been, he would not be deprived of praise on the score of originality, his musical knowledge being quite equal, if not superior, to the composers for the Violin at that time in Italy." Corelli, it must be remembered, was but seven years old when Jenkins's Sonatas were engraved ; he had not, therefore, that great master to take as his model. We are indebted for the principal items of information we possess concerning John Jenkins, to Roger North, who tells us he enjoyed both his acquaintance and friendship, and was therefore well-informed concerning him : — "Jenkins was born at Maidstone, in Kent, in the year 1592. He lived in King James's time and flourished in King Charles I.'s. His talents lay in the use of the Lute and Bass, or rather Lyra- Viol. He was one of the Court musicians, and once was brought to play upon the Lyra- Viol before King Charles I. as one that performed somewhat extra- ordinary." Anthony Wood speaks of him as, " the mirror and wonder of his age for music," and Dr. John Wilson, chamber-musician to King Charles, said he was not only admired in England but beyond the seas. From these contemporary opinions we are able to judge of the character and extent of John Jenkins's abilities. It is at least regretable that so eminent a musician entered upon his career THE VIOLIN IN ENGLAND. 455 at a period of our history peculiarly unfortunate for the advancement of the musical art. The nation was then drifting into civil war. The King, a true lover and patron of the art, was too much occupied with personal government to give that attention and encouragement which he had not withheld in quieter times from those less gifted than John Jenkins. But for these events the man who proved himself capable of giving a new life to an instrument then held in contempt, would, in all probability, have brought forward the Violin and its music at a much earlier date, and led to the association of eminent English musicians with the instrument's progress to a degree hardly thought of, for it must not be for- gotten we were well to the front in music when the King and people made war on each other. The total suppression of the Cathedral service in 1643, at once deprived the leading musicians of their chief source of income ; this, together with the followers of music as a profession having taken the King's side,, forced them to seek shelter under the roofs of a few votaries of the art in different parts of the country, there to play and compose with fear and trembling. North tells us, " There was a Society of Gentlemen of good esteem, whom / shall not name, for some of them as I hear are still living, that used to meet often for consort," which clearly shows how dangerous it was to be associated with, or taken in the act of playing the Fiddle. Others retired to Oxford, where they remained 456 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. until the Restoration, when they were called to take their places in the Cathedral cities, to re-kindle the few embers of music remaining to the inhabitants. John Jenkins was fortunate in his retirement, inasmuch as he gained the friendship and esteem of men high in position and ability, in whose homes, he was ever a welcome guest. In more than one of these, a chamber was specially appropriated to his use, and named " Jenkins' Room." He chiefly resided at Hunstanton Hall, Norfolk, the seat of Sir Hamon L'Estrange, the father of Sir Roger L'Estrange, of Royalist fame. Here he composed Instrumental and Vocal music, both serious and humourous, the greater part of which was done without any thought of its being printed, and doubtless, regarded as compositions written to-day and forgotten to-morrow ; many of these were copied and circulated. As an instance of his productive- ness and forgetfulness of his own writings, it is related : " a Spanish Don sent some papers to Sir Peter Lely, the state painter to King Charles II., containing a single part of a concerted piece of music, expressing a wish that Sir Peter should procure the remaining parts. Upon shewing them to Roger North, he suggested Jenkins being con- sulted ; this was accordingly done, who, immediately claimed the composition as his own, but was quite unable to say, when, or where he wrote it. Jenkins died at Kimberley, in Norfolk, (probably at the house of his patron, Sir P. Wodehouse), and was I HE VIOLIN IN ENGLAND. 457 buried there October 29th, 1678. The following curious epitaph is said to have been on his grave- stone : — " Under this stone rare Jenkyns lye The master of the Musick Art, Whom from the Earth, the God on high, Called up to Him, to bear his part. Aged 86, October 27, In Anno '78, he went to Heaven.'' The earliest Violin instruction work published in England, appears to have been the " Introduction to the playing on the Treble-Violin, in Playford's " Skill of Musick," 1655, in which he tells us "the Treble Violin is a cheerful and sprightly instrument, much played of late, some by book, and some without." ' We have here given us, the manner of holding the Violin in times past, in the following words, " First the Violin is usually play'd above hand, the neck thereof being held by the left hand ; the lower part must be rested on the left breast, a little below the shoulder ; the bow between the ends of the thumb and the three fingers, the thumb being stayed upon the hair at the nut, and the three fingers resting upon the wood." The next book of the kind, was, probably that of John Lenton, a member of William and Mary's state band, the title of which runs, " The Gentleman's Diversion, or the Violin explained." A second edition was issued in 1702, under the title of "The Useful Instructor on the Violin ; " in which the learner is cautioned against holding his Fiddle under the chin, 458 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. as against a most unaccountable practice, namely, the holding it so low as the girdle, which he states, "some do in imitation of the Italians." Lenton, therefore, considered the- instrument should rest on the breast as recommended in Playford's book. That the Violin was not held " as low as the girdle," in Italy, by any but street minstrels, need hardly be said. The mode of holding the instrument among good Italian players, differed only from the present manner in placing the chin on the reverse side of the tail -piece. With the middle of the seventeenth century, we reach the period when the Puritans had accom- plished their savage work of destruction among the arts and amusements of the people. Poetry, the Drama, and Music had been attacked with such virulence as to render their very existence doubtful in the future. The players were flogged, their plays and interludes suppressed as having been " con- demned by ancient heathen, and by no means to be tolerated among professors of the Christian religion." Of ecclesiastical music it was said, " One single groan in the spirit is worth the diapason of all the Church music in the. world." ,At Chichester, in 1642, the rebels broke down the organs, and dashing the pipes with their pole-axes scoffingly said, 'Hark! how the organs go.'" At Peter- borough they destroyed the pair of organs, carrying the wreck to the market-place habited in capes and surplices, using the organ bellows to blow the coals THE VIOLIN IN ENGLAND. 459 of a bonfire to burn them. Perhaps it was best the fanatical rage of the Puritans should have been thus manifested, had it been less violent the people in all probability would have longer been submis- sive to their tyranny, until the arts had passed to a cpndition of torpor past re-arousing. We are told that, " Under sober clothing, and under visages composed to the expression of austerity, lay hid during several years the intense desire of license of revenge." At length that desire was gratified. The Restoration emancipated thousands of minds from a yoke which had become insupportable. Though Charles II.'s music was anything but refined, disliking all that he could not "stamp the time to," yet it appears to us, viewed at this distance, that even this vulgar and imperfect knowledge helped greatly to re-kindle the art among his people. To the fact of his appreciating vulgar music is traceable in no slight degree, the practice and study of the Violin in England. During his days of exile and penury he wrote from Bruges to his friend Henry Bennet, afterwards Earl of Arlington, to obtain him as many new Corants, Sarabands, and other dances as possible, for he had a " small Fiddler," who did not play ill on the Fiddle. A year later (1656) he again wrote to Bennet to procure him a second Fiddler to bear him company. We therefore see that the King was particularly interested in the leading instrument, which, it must not be forgotten, was then regarded by Englishmen of culture as 460 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. only fit to be he heard in tap-rooms. John Evelyn recorded in his diary in 1662, " One of his Majesty's chaplains preached, after which, instead of the ancient, grave, and solemn wind music accompanying the organ, was introduced a Concert of twenty-four Violins, after the French fantastical light way, better suiting a tavern or play-house than a church." Charles II. possibly became an admirer of the Violin upon the occasion of his second visit to Paris, about 1 65 1. It was then that he heard the band of twenty-four belonging to the Court of Louis XIV. The music was tuneful and trivial, which served to cover the defective execution of it ; for it must not be forgotten that Lully did not take the band under his guidance until 1655, a year after Charles II. had quitted the French capital. In the same year that King Charles was in- teresting himself in the Violin at Bruges, there were signs at home of the breaking of the cloud which had so long enveloped Music and the Drama, inasmuch as permission was given to Sir William Davenant the poet to open a theatre for the performance of operas in a room at the back of Rutland House, in Aldersgate Street. The "Siege ■of Rhodes" was produced, the vocal music of which was composed by Lawes, Cook, and Matthew Lock. The instrumental portion by Dr. Coleman and George Hudson performed by Webb, Christopher Gibbons — son of Orlando Gibbons — Madge, and Baltzar.* * See Page 329. Section Ig.—^ht liolin in (Bnjjlaitb. CHAPTER III. [N the year 1683, a set of Sonatas was issued for two Violins and a Bass, which may be said to mark an era in music in England. In the preface, the author says he has faithfully en- deavoured a just imitation of the most famed Italian masters, principally to bring the seriousness .and gravity of that sort of music into vogue and reputation among our countrymen, whose humour 'tis time now should begin to loathe the levity and balladry of our neighbours. The attempt he confesses to be bold and daring ; there being pens, and artists of more eminent abilities, much better qualified for the employment than his or himself, which he well hopes these his weak endeavours will in due time provoke and enflame to a more accurate undertaking ; he is not ashamed to own his un'skilfulness in the Italian language, but that is the unhappiness of his education ; which cannot be justly counted his fault; however, he thinks he may warrantably affirm that he is not mistaken in the power of the Italian notes, or elegancy of their compositions." 462 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. This musical reformer was Henry Purcell, English by birth and parentage, spoken of in the same breath with the greatest luminaries of the musical art. Accustomed as we are by frequent reiteration to regard ourselves as a non-composing musical people, the bare mention of the name Purcell at once brings us to a sense of our dignity. Of him we can speak as an Italian of Palestrina, or a German of Bach or Handel ; for although it cannot be said, the English musician left us the imperishable works of a Bach or Handel, yet, when the flimsiness of the material he had to compose with, together with his short career, is thought of, we marvel that he obtained such good results, and are led to think that he even surpassed in genius his great followers. That Purcell was deeply impressed with the beauties of the Italian school of music, and strenuous in his endeavours to reform our own, 'is evidenced in the dedication of his " Diocletian " to the Duke of Somerset, wherein he says, " Poetry and painting have arrived to their perfection in our country ; music .is yet but in its nonage, a forward child, which gives hope of what it may be hereafter in England, when the masters shall find more encouragement. 'Tis now learning Italian, which is its best master, and studying a little of the French air, to give it somewhat more- of gaiety and fashion. Thus being farther from the sun ; we are of later growth than our neighbouring countries, and must be content to shake off our THE VIOLIN IN ENGLAND. 463 barbarity by degrees." We thus see that Purcell occupies a similar position in music to that of Chaucer in poetry : they were fathers to their respective arts. The poet, sensible of the rudeness of his speech — " Learned at Padua of a worthy clerk, Francis Petrarch, the laureat poet ; Hight, this clerk, whose rhetoric sweet, Enlumined all Italy of poetry." " Canterbury Tales." The musician equally sensible of the jerking character of our then national music, turned to Italy to soften its cadences. The poet cast aside the romance poetry of France. The musician, the " balladry " of our neighbours. Both poet and musician raised the standard of excellence in their respective arts, and bid their countrymen rally around it. The father of English poetry had an army in his wake ; the father of English music but a few stragglers. That this should have been so is curious, seeing that both music and poetry were influenced in a ' manner precisely similar. Dr. Burney acutely remarks, " But it has never appeared in the course of my enquiries that poetry and music have advanced with equal pace towards perfection, in any country. Almost every nation of Europe has produced good poetry before it could boast of such an arrangement of musical sounds as constitutes good melody!' Dr. Burney, speaking of Purcell's compositions 464 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. for the Violin, remarks he has, never seen a becoming passage for that instrument in any one of his works ; but if we turn to the composi- tions written for the Violin by the Italian com- posers down to the time of Purcell, the same criticism would almost apply. Until Corelli wrote for the instrument, none had dreamt of its capabilities ; and Arcangelo Corelli himself had but a very faint idea of its unlimited powers as developed even by Tartini. But in another place Dr. Burney's praise compensates for the sweeping character of his former criticism, when he says, " Though his Sonatas discover no great knowledge of the bow, or genius of the instrument, they are infinitely superior in fancy, modulation, design, and contrivance to all the music of that kind anterior to the works of Corelli." That these Sonatas were written in imitation of the Italian masters, the composer acknowledges, but whether he refers to the style of Italian music generally, or in imitation of the compositions of Bassani, we are left to decide for ourselves. It is most probable that he was influenced by his study of the works of Palestrina and others, without refer- ence to Italian Violin compositions. The success attending the production of his first Sonatas induced him to write ten others in four parts, which were not published in his life-time, but printed in the year 1697, two years after his decease ; among these is the Golden Sonata, the ninth of the set, the reputation of which was greater than any ; THE VIOLIN IN ENGLAND. 465 hence the distinctive name it bears. Dr. Tudway, the intimate friend and schoolfellow of Purcell, and an excellent musician, regarded this Sonata as equal, if not superior to any of Corelli's ; but it must be confessed the Doctor's judgment in this instance was blinded by his enthusiasm. It is hardly necessary to remind the reader it is in the ecclesiastical and dramatic styles of music that Purcell is chiefly known to fame. To mention here all his great works in these departments of the art would be foreign to our purpose, but a few of the events of this truly great man's life must not be omitted. Purcell was born in the year 1658. In his eighteenth year he became organist of West- minster Abbey, an appointment which conclusively shows the early development of his musical abilities, standing alone, as it does, in the annals of our Ancient Metropolitan Basilica. At the age of nineteen he turned his attention to dramatic music, which led to his composing the music in the " Tempest" "King Arthtir," and other works. Among his Anthems was one composed as a thanks- giving for the escape of King Charles II. and his brother the Duke of York from shipwreck. The incident is curious : the King had built a yacht named " The Fubbs," and resolved to test its sailing capabilities in a trial trip down the river and round the Kentish shore. It being contrary to his nature to omit anything or anybody conducing to joyous- ness, he shipped on board Mr. Gostling (a public F F 466 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. singer of renown). Upon nearing the North Fore- land, a violent storm arose, when the King and his brother were obliged to sink their dignity and work like common seamen in order to preserve their craft. The horror of the scene made such an impression on the King that upon his return to London he selected the words from the 107th Psalm, " They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters, these men see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep," giving instructions to Purcell to compose the music, which he did to suit the compass of Mr. Gostling's deep Bass voice. The King, however, did not live to hear him sing it. Thus to the providential escape of the Royal yacht, " The Fubbs," we owe the sublime anthem, " They that go down to the sea in ships." " Sometimes a hero in an age appears, But scarce a Purcell in a thousand years." To turn from England's greatest composer to one of Charles II.'s Fiddlers, is like stepping from tragedy to low comedy ; the periodic form of our discourse, however, renders it necessary. John Bannister succeeded the famous Baltzar as leader of the King's band of Violins in 1663. He had been prepared for this musical service by King Charles sending him to France, probably to learn the Violin from one of Louis' Fiddlers. That he heard the renowned band of the French King is THE VIOLIN IN ENGLAND. 467 clear, since he displeased his Royal master in giving expression to his opinion that our English players were superior to the French. Although we had passed through most trying times as regards the preservation of good music, yet, at the Restoration, there were not wanting musicians who possessed the sound and sterling qualities common to the educa- ted musicians of the time of James and Charles. The band of Charles II. contains more than one notable name ; men who were well able to execute, without practice, the light and flimsy music which alone gave pleasure to the King. That Louis' band was inferior in this respect, has been recorded oftentimes. John Bannister was one of the earliest concert givers in this country. An entertainment was advertised in the London Gazette, December 30th, 1672, as follows : "These are to give notice that at Mr. John Bannister's house (now called the musick school), over against the " George Tavern," in Whyte Fryres, this present Monday, will be performed music by excellent masters, beginning precisely at four of the clock in the afternoon, and every afternoon for the future precisely at the same hour." Roger North, after noticing the first public consort meeting, held in a lane behind St. Paul's, where there was a chamber Organ, and some shop- keepers and others went to sing, and " enjoy ale and tobacco," remarks : — F F 2 468 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. " The next essay was of the elder Bannister, who had a good theatrical vein, and in compo- sition had a lively style peculiar to himself. He procured a large room in Whitefriars, near the Temple back gate, and made a large raised box for the musicians, whose modesty required curtains. The room was rounded with seats and small tables, alehouse fashion. One shilling was the price, and call for what you pleased ; there was very good musick, for Bannister found means to procure the best hands in town, and some voices to come and perform there, and there wanted no variety of humour, for Bannister himself (inter alia) did wonders upon a Flageolet to a thro' Bass, and the several masters had their solos. This continued full one winter, and more I remember not." This clearly refers^ to the meetings advertised in the London Gazette. In 1676 we read of another entertainment : "On Thursday next, at the Academy in Little Lincoln's Inn Fields, will begin the first part of the Parley of Instruments, composed by Mr. John Bannister, &c, &c." Bannister died in 1679, and, like King Charles's former leader, Baltzar, was interred in Westminster Abbey. At the period when John Bannister was holding his " Parley of Instruments," in Little Lincoln's Inn Fields, that greatest of coal-vendors, Thomas Britton, "the lover of learning, a performer of THE VIOLIN IN ENGLAND. 469 music, and companion for gentlemen," was going his rounds, crying — 25 Small Coal ! " Tho' doom'd to small coal, yet to arts ally'd, Rich without wealth, and famous without pride ; Music's best patron, judge of books and men, Beloved and honour^ by Apollo's train." At the corner of the passage leading by the Old Jerusalem Tavern under the gateway of the Priory of St. John, Clerkenwell, Britton had his coal-shed, over which was the musical club-room, into which Tom Britton had gathered a wondrous collection of music, rare books, &c, and where, in 1678, was given the first series of high-class concerts or meetings. The Violin as well as the Viol had its part in these performances. Here was often heard Bannister, Needier, John Hughes, and Obadiah Shuttleworth, and other well-known amateurs and professional Violinists. A few years after the estab- lishment of Britton's club (about 1680), the chief professors of music appear to have combined to disconnect their public music meetings with public- house associations, since we read of their taking a room in Villiers Street, York Buildings, for concert' meetings. There are several curious advertisements in the London Gazette relative to concerts there held. We read that in 1703, " Signor Gasparini 470 THE VIOLIN AND IIS MUSIC. and Signor Petto performed together at the Consort in York buildings," and Signor Saggione, "lately arrived from Italy," composes. This was the con- cert-room which Sir Richard Steele leased, and reconstructed in 1710, when Addison and he were interesting themselves in British Opera, reference to which has already been made. There is an amusing anecdote, that when the necessary altera- tions had been made in the building, Steele was anxious to try its acoustical properties. Accordingly he placed himself in the most remote part of the gallery, and begged the chief carpenter to speak up from the stage. The man at first said he was unac- customed to public speaking, and did not know what to say to his honour ; but Steele called out to him to say whatever was uppermost, when the carpenter at once began : " Sir Richard Steele, for three months past, me and my men has been a working in this theatre, and we've never seen the colour of your honour's money ; we will be very much obliged if you'll pay it directly, for until you do, we won't drive in another nail." Sir Richard said that his friend's elocution was perfect, but that he didn't like his subject much. The earliest mention of Violin Solo-playing in England appears to be that in the Daily Courant. "On the 26th of November, 1702, a concert will be given by Signor Saggione, of Venice, at Hickford's Dancing-school, in which the famous Signor Gas- parini, lately arrived from Rome, will play ' singly ' THE VIOLIN IN ENGLAND. 47 I on the Violin." This, doubtless, refers to Gasparini whose compositions both for the chamber and the opera have been highly praised. William Corbett was one of the King's band, and leader of the first opera at the Haymarket. When the Italian Opera properly so called was established in 1710, and Rinaldo was performed, Corbett was permitted to go abroad. He resided in Rome many years, during which time he formed a valuable col- lection of music and musical instruments. By his will he bequeathed his " gallery of Cremonys and Stainers" to Gresham College, but this was not carried out, since they were sold at Mercers' Hall. It is interesting to note his evident appreciation of " Cremonys and Stainers ; " in leaving them to Gresham College, and bequeathing £10 per annum to be given to an attendant for the purpose of show- ing the instruments. I have no doubt their disper- sion has given greater pleasure to the ear than would have been afforded to the eye as seen in a glass-case at the College, but I must confess their presence there at this moment would render a journey to view them a very pleasurable one. When Corbett secured these treasures they were not prized as inimitable, and doubtless fell into the hands of those unable to appreciate their worth; indeed, we are told of the sale at Mercers' Hall, that, " Many curious Violins were sold at prices far beneath their value." Corbett had a very high opinion of his own merits as a composer for the Violin, but, judging alone 472 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. from their titles, I am inclined to think they were below the average of English merit. Here is one : " Concertos, or Universal Bizarres, composed on all the new Gustos during many years residence in Italy, in three books, containing thirty-five Concertos in which the styles of the various kingdoms of Europe are imitated, &c, &c." The sweeping character of this work renders it unlikely that any- thing good came from his pen. An excellent English Violinist of this period was Henry Needier, some account of whom I have already given in connection with the introduction of Corelli's Concertos into England. Needier was a prominent promoter of the Academy of Ancient Music, an institution set on foot in the year 1710 for the purpose of furthering the practice of vocal and instrumental music. The meetings were held at the " Crown and Anchor Tavern," then opposite St. Clement's Church, in the Strand. Needier led the orchestra, one of the members of which was the Earl of Abercorn ; Dr. Pepusch being the director of the Institution — he who held the post of Organist to the Duke of Chandos prior to Handel accepting the appointment. Pepusch's admiration for the compositions of Corelli was of the highest kind. Believing that they contained the perfection of melody and harmony, he formed a series of rules based on the works of the great Violinist, which he made use of in teaching his pupils. He also pub- lished, in score, the Sonatas of Corelli, a work THE VIOLIN IN ENGLAND. 473 admirably engraved, which contains a portrait of his favourite composer. The Academy of Ancient Music further de- veloped the work so admirably begun by Thomas Britton in conjunction with Sir Roger L'Estrange. An institution in correspondence with the most eminent musicians abroad, and to which flocked all the greatest resident professors, could not but result in the furtherance of music in this country. Here Bononcini often played the Violoncello, and Gemin- iani performed and introduced his compositions. In the words of Sir John Hawkins, " The advantages that resulted to music from the exercises of the Academy were evident, in that they tended to the establishment of a true and just notion of the science ; they checked the wanderings of fancy, and restrained the love of novelty within due bounds ; they enabled the students and performers to con- template and compare styles ; to form an idea of classical purity and elegance ; and, in short, to fix the standard of a judicious and rational taste." The subject of the following Catch carries us a step further in our narrative : — " You scrapers that want a good fiddle, well strung, You must go to the man that is old while he's Young ; But if this same Fiddle, you fain would play bold, You must go to his son, who'll be Young when he's old. There's old Young and young Young, both men of renown, Old sells and Young plays the best Fiddle in town, Young and old live together, and may they live long, Young to play an old Fiddle ; old to sell a new song." 474 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. John Young was a Violin-maker, whose estab- lishment was in St. Paul's Churchyard, where his son, "Young Young" organized a series of music meetings. The success that attended these per- formances made it necessary to give them in larger premises than the house of the Fiddle-maker. The " Queen's Head Tavern," in Paternoster Row, was selected as a suitable place. A few years later, in 1724, they were held at the " Castle," in the same locality, hence the name of " Castle Concerts." Woolaston the painter, he who painted Tom Britton in his blue frock, coal-measure in hand,* now painted Young's portrait, which long hung on the walls of the " Castle Inn." These concerts continued to increase in popularity and excellence, and were ultimately held at the Haberdashers' Hall, where performances of Oratorios were given. Another society was formed upon the plan of the Castle Concerts, at the " Swan Tavern." Among the sub- scribers were many merchants and wealthy citizens. Here the Violinist, Obadiah Shuttleworth, led the orchestra. After an existence of about twelve years, a fire occurred, in 1 748, which destroyed the music and instruments, ending the society's career. It was at these concerts that the greatest philan- * The circumstances attending the painting of this picture are curious. It is related that Tom Britton was plying his small coal trade in Warwick Lane, where Woolaston lived, who, upon hearing his cry, " small coal," opened the window and beckoned him in, making known his desire to paint his portrait. THE VIOLIN IN ENGLAND. \7$ thropist among Violinists — Michael Christian Fest- ing — the chief promoter and honorary secretary of the Royal Society of Musicians, played first Violin. Festing was a pupil of Geminiani. He is said to have been a man of superior attainments, and was courted and patronized by the highest in the social scale. Festing's compositions were Concert Solos, Sonatas, Concertos, and Symphonies for stringed and other instruments. Richard Clarke, a Violinist in the orchestra of Drury Lane Theatre, is worthy of notice in these pages as the originator of " Medley Overtures," namely, introductory music made up of passages from popular airs. This class of writing has been mainly developed in the music of the pantomime down to the present time. This same Richard Clarke was the son-in-law of Colley Cibber. An offshoot of the Academy of Ancient Music was the Madrigal Society, which owed its existence to a musical enthusiast in the person of John Immyns, a lawyer by profession. The society's meetings were held at an old ale-house in Bride Lane, Fleet Street. The subscription was five shillings and sixpence per quarter, which entitled the members to beer and tobacco. Many of the subscribers were mechanics and Spitalfields weavers. Here, amid the curling whiffs of the fragrant weed, Immyns often led his little club through the madri- gals of Orlando Lassus, Russo, and those of the Prince of Venosa, and read aloud a chapter of 476 THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Zarlino. His passion for these early and famous madrigal -writers blinded him to the merits of Handel and Bononcini, both of whom he regarded curiously enough as corruptors of the art. A prominent member of this same club was one Samuel Jeacocke, an amateur performer on the Tenor, and who furnishes us with the earliest instance of Fiddle- baking I have met with. Whenever his Fiddles were out of sorts, his plan was to bake them for a week or more in sawdust ! If Jeacocke's curative measures gave rise to the wholesale Fiddle-bakings of the nineteenth century both here and abroad, the players of the coming generation will have no cause to hold in reverence the name of Jeacocke. The exploits of John Clegg, Matthew Dubourg, and others in connection with the Violin need no mention in these pages, their abilities having been of an executive rather than creative character. We will therefore pass on to the establishment of the Concert of Ancient Music, "or King's Concert, in 1776. The band was led by Mr. Hay, and the famous Crossdil was principal Violoncello. The concerts were held in Tottenham Street, on the site of the present theatre. In 1795 the concerts were given in the large room of the King's Theatre, and in 1804 at the Hanover Square Rooms. The Con- cert of Ancient Music, Burney tells us, was " origin- ally suggested by the Earl of Sandwich, in favour of such solid and valuable productions of old masters as an intemperate rage for novelty had too soon THE VIOLIN IN ENGLAND. 477 laid aside as superannuated, and was supported with spirit and dignity by the concurrent zeal and activity of other noblemen and gentlemen who united with his lordship in the undertaking till 1785, when it was honoured with the presence of His Majesty (George III.), whose constant attendance gave to the institution an elevation and splendour which no establishment of the kind enjoyed before." It is worthy of remark, that Lord Darnley, the director in 1824, ventured on the daring innovation of introducing Mozart's music for the first time at these concerts. Henceforth his name figured in most of the programmes down to the termination of the society in 1837. The Duke of Wellington was a frequent visitor, and it is related that a friend once observed to him, " Duke, I cannot understand how you can attend so regularly the Ancient Concerts ? " " Oh," replied his Grace, " there is the best reason for that — there is no place where I can enjoy a sounder nap." The Iron Duke had evidently not inherited the musical taste of his father, the Earl of Mornington, of whom it is said that Geminiani, upon being requested to instruct him, confessed his inability to add to the knowledge he had already acquired. Since we parted company with Purcell, John Jenkins, and Bannister, I must confess my search for veritable Englishmen worthy of mention in connection with the Violin and its music, has been somewhat unsatisfactory. Dr. Pepusch, Festing > 47§ THE VIOLIN AND ITS MUSIC. Abel, Bach, Cramer, and a host of others passed their lives here, but their lineage belongs not to Britain. With the Earl of Mornington I felt I had at length alighted on a true-born Englishman — but enquiry made it clear that his lordship hailed from the Emerald Isle, a discovery not altogether in- opportune, inasmuch it permits me to halt and make my tail-piece with the words of De Foe : — " A true-born Englishman's a contradiction, In speech an irony, in fact a fiction ; A banter made to be a test to fools, Which those that use it justly ridicules. A metaphor invented to express A man a-kin to all the Universe." THE END. INDEX. Page "Abyssinian Prince, The"(Bridge- tower) Academy of Ancient Music, The Addison and Steele's criticism of Handel's " Rinaldo " Agincourt, English Minstrels at Battle of Alard, M Albergati, Count Alberti of Bologna Albert V. Duke of Bavaria, his musical establishment /Albinoni, Tomasso Alison, Richard, and Music in 1606 Allegri, Gregorio Allegorical Opera at Rome, 1686 Amati, Andrew, his three-string Violin (1546) Angelo, Michael, at Florence ... Anglo-Saxons, their love of music and minstrelsy, 4, 5 ; possessed bowed instruments Angurelli, Carmine, his book on the Viol Aquinas, Thomas, on Church Music .. Arditi, Luigi Arditi, Luigi Artot 397 47S 349 71 315 204 220 12 202 124 174 181 24 139 19 14 36 273 273 322 Bach, John Sebastian ... 336 — 341 Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel 336, 342 Bacon, Lord, and the Masques ... 101 Baillot's Judgment of Boccherini's work 239 Baillot, Pierre 297 Baltazarini 277 Baltzar, Thomas 329 Bannister, John 467 Barbella, Emanuele 227 Barthelemon, Francois Hippolite 287 Bass Viol the parent of the Madrigal ancl Motett ... 33 Bassani, his Sonate da Camera ... 175 Page Bazzini, Antonio ... ... .»... 272 Beethoven, Ludwig van ... X&j — 411 Benda, Franz ... ... ... 335 Benedict, Sir Julius, and young Mendelssohn... ... ... 426 Berchem, Jacques, at the Court of Mantua ... ... ... 144 Berlioz, Hector ... ... ... 306 " Beverley Minstrels," temp. Edward IV 81 'Biber 333 Bitti ... ... ... ... 205 Blasius, Mathieu Frederic ... 290 Blumenthal, Joseph, Casimer, and Leopold ... ... ... 320 Bocan ... ... ... ... 277 Boccaccio, his " Decamerone "... 139 Boccherini... ... ... ... 238 Boehm, Joseph .. ... ... 435 Bononcini ... ... ... ... 233 Borghi, Luigi ... ... ... 244 Bottesini, Giovanni ... ... 272 Bourgeois, his Calvinistic ' 'Psalmes de David" 276 Bow, The, used by Anglo-Saxons 80 Brahms, Johannes ... ... 441 Bridgetower, G. A. Polgreen, and Beethoven ... ... 397 Britton, Thomas ... ... ... 469 Brunetti, Gaetano ... ... 241 Bruni ... ... ... ... 245 Bull, Ole 288, 326 " Butter Fiddle," Mozart's ... 376 Byrde, his " Songs of Sadnes and Pietie " ... ... ... 103 Cajetan, Cardinal, on Church Music. 37 Campagnoli, Bartolomeo ... 242 Cartier, Jean Baptiste ... ... 303 Castrucci, Pietro 22» Caxton, his visit to the Duke of Burgundy ; his Printing Press at Westminster ... ... 86 Cerreto, Scipione, "Delia Prattica Musica" 170 Chambers of Rhetoric, at Louvain 32 480 INDEX. Page Charivari, or Masquerade, in Paris, under Charles VI 62 Charlemagne, Rhymed Romances of ■'■ S3 Charles the Bold, his Songs and Motetts ; his patronage of the Arts 66, 67 Charles II. of England, Music in time of 442—468 Chartiani .. ... ... ... 319 Chaucer, his mention of Musical Instruments ... ... ... 91 Chelys, or early German Double Bass 16—18 Cherubini 251 — 256 Chopin ... ... ... ... 327 Church Madrigals, (1587) ... 22 Church Madrigals, origin in the Netherlands ... ... ... 22 Cimarosa ... ... ... ... 242 Clarke, Richard 475 Colombi, Giuseppe ... ... 174 Colloredo, Count, Archbishop of Salzburg, as a "Patron" of Mozart 372, 374 Concert des Amateurs ... ... 288 Concerts of Ancient Music, The 476 Conservatoire de Musique, of Paris ... ... ... ... 293 Coperario, John, and the Viol, no ; his " Fancies " ... in Corbett, William 471 Cordier, Jacques 277 Corelli and his Works, Sketch of 177—198 "Coriat's Crudities " 156 Counterpoint, its introduction ... 30 Counterpoint, earliest Masses in 31 Court Trouveres in France ... 53 Croes, Henri Jacques ... ... 319 Cromwell, Oliver, and Sir Roger L'Estrange 125 Culture and Crime, under the Italian Despotisms 132 Cupis, Francois ... ... ... 318 Dancla, Charles ... Dardelli, Pietro ... Dardelli at Mantua David, Ferdinand De Beriot, Charles Auguste Deldevez, Ernest... 315 22 144 433 323 3H "DellaPratticaMusica,"Cerreto's 170 D'Etree, his four Books of Dances 276 "Devil's Trill," Tartini's ... 213 Page "Dialogue on Music," by Doni (IS44) 45 Divine Service, Minstrels attend- ing at, under Edward IV. ... 77 " Division Viol," Simpson's ... 113 Domenico, the Painter, and Cas- (agno... ... ... ... 91 Double Bass, the large Italian ... 160 Dowland, John, his "First Booke of Songs and Ay res .. . ... 107 Drayton, on Music of 16th cen- tury 109 Dufay, William, his Masses in Counterpoint ... ... 31 Duiffoprugcar, his claims (1511) 24 Dussek, Johann Ludwig 370 Dutch and Belgic Violists in Orchestra ... ... ... 23 Edward IV., his Household Min- strels ... ... ... ... 73 Edward VI's State Band ... 101 " Emperor's Hymn," Haydn's ... 365 England's Baronial Halls, The Viol in ... ... ... 70 Ernst, Heinrich Wilhelm ... 435 Esterhazy, Prince, Paul, as a Musical Patron 358 Farina, Carlo ... ... ... 172 Fetis, Francois Joseph ... ... 320 Fiddle, contemporary with the Viol .. ... ... ... 20 Finger, Gottfried 332 Fiorilli ... 234 Fithele, of the Anglo-Saxons ... 19 Fontana Giovarni ... ... 172 France, early Minstrelsy of, 13th century ... ... ... 54 Francis I., his Choir and Orches- tra ; his Patronage of Duiffo- prugcar 68 Francis!., French Music in time of ... 274—278 Frederick the Great, as a Musi- cian ... ... ... 373 — 342 Frederick William II., and Mozart at Potsdam ... ... ... 381 Froschauer, Hans, first printed Music... ... ... ... 9 Gabrielli, publisher of Church Madrigals ... 22 Gabrielli, Andrea and Giovanni 163 INDEX. 481 Page Ganassi, Silvestro, his "Art of Playing the Viol " 161 Gaspard di Salo ... ... ... 22 Gavinies, Pierre 285 Geige, the Fretted 17 Geige, its transmutation to the Violin 17 Geige, its etymology 19 Geigen, descant, tenor, and bass 20 Geminiani... ... ... ... 218 German earliest work with instru- mental part music 15 Geygen, or Geige, earliest men- tion 15, 17 Giardini ... 223 Giege, The, in France, among the Troubadours 59 Giege, Tenor and Bass, in 16th century 61 Giordani, Tomaso ... ... 232 Giornovichi 231 Godecharle, Eugene 319 . Goethe and Mendelssohn at Weimar 428 Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua ... 144 Gossec, Francois Joseph ... 288, 317 Gothic and German claims con- sidered ... ... ... 1 Gothic Sacred Buildings in the Netherlands, early magnifi- cence of ... 37 Goudimel's School of Music at Rome... 168 Goudimel 276, 278 Gresham, Thomas, a Patron of Music 103 H Habeneck, Francois Antoine ... 304 Handel and Castrucci 221 Handel and Bononcini 233 Handel, George Frederick 346—355 Hanoverian Court of Elector George Louis 345 "Harmonious Blacksmith," The 351 Hasse, Nicholas 331, 355 Hauman, Theodore 322 Haydn, and Porpora, anecdote of 201 Haydn and Giardini ... ... 224 Haydn, Joseph 359—368 Hellmesberger, George 439 Henry V. and Agincourt, Earliest English Song Music extant 71 Henry VIII., and his Musical Tastes ; his State Band 89, 90 Henry VIII. Viols in the Band of 96 Hercules, Duke of Ferrara ... 141 Page High Standard of Music in the Low Countries, 15th century 97 Hofhaimer, Maximilian's organist 10, 1 1 Hummel, Johann 385 — 388 Immyns, John 475 Instrumental Music in parts, ear- liest 15 "Instructions in Viol Playing," Simpson's 113 — 119 Isaac, Heinrich 12 Italy, the Renaissance in ... 130 J James I., and his Court Masques no Jarnowick... ... ... ... 231 Jean de Muris ... ... ... 30 Joachim, Joseph 439 Josquin Despres 29 Josquin at the Court of Pope Sixtus IV., and at Florence 43 Josquin and Duke Hercules ... 142 K Kalliwoda ... 415 Kerlin, Joan, his Geige of four strings (1449) 23 Kreutzer, Rodolphe 295 Krieger, Johann P. 331 Krommer, Franz ... ... ... 371 Lafont 311 La Houssaye, Pierre 290 Lamb, Ferdinand 441 Lassus, Orlando ... ... ... 12 Lassus, Orlando, and his Madrigals 102 Lauterbach, Herr 440 Le Clair 284 ^Legrenzi, Giovanni 173 Lenten Concert or Concert Sprituel 283 Leonard, Hubert 325 Leonardo da Vinci as an Impro- visatore 141 L'Estrange, Sir Roger and the' Roundheads 125—129 Lipinski, Karl Joseph 327 Locatelli 219 Lolli, Antonio 228 Lord Mayor's Banquet, Joseph Haydn at a, in 18th century 363 48? INDEX. .Page Lorenziti, Anthony and Bernardo 232 Lorenzo the Magnificent, Italian prosperity under 42 Lorenzo de Medici, his " School of Art," and his Gardens at Florence ; Michael Angelo, Ficino, and Poliziano 139, 149 "L'Orfeo," Monteverde's ... 145 Louis XL, his grovelling Tastes 65 Louis XIV ... 278 Lucchesi 231 Lulli, Jean Baptiste 279 Luscinius, Ottomarus, his Double Bass 16 Lute, The ; of various sizes and constructions ; Expense of maintenance ... 92 — 95 Luther's Love of Music 167 Lytton, Lord, and Herr Ernst ... 437 M Mace, Thomas, his " Musick's Monument" ... ... ... 121 Mancini, Francesco ... ... 203 Marine Trumpet, The 16 Marini, Carlo Antonio ... ... 203 Mascitti, Michele 204 Mastersingers of Germany ... 7, 9 " Master of Songe," and his Duties, under Edward IV.... 77 Massart, Lambert Joseph ... 312 Mayseder, Joseph 414 Mazas, Jacques Fereol 312 Medici, Lorenzo de (see Lorenzo) Meerts, Lambert Joseph 321 Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix ... 424 Mersennus, on Louis XIV. 's Band 281 Mestrino 230 Minnesingers and Minnepoesy ... 7 Minstrels' Charter, The, in France 6 1 Minstrels' Charter, English, under Edward IV 73 Molique, Bemhard 423 Montanari, Francesco ... ... 204 Monteverde, Claude 144 More, Sir Thomas, and the Viol 101 Morley, Thomas, his Canzonets, and " Consort Lessons " ... 108 Morley, Thomas, and the Madrigal 124 Mosel, Joseph 232 Mozart, Leopold 356 Mozart, Wolfgang ... 372 — 385 "Musical Society," at Louvain, in 15th century ... ... 32 Musical Parties, Private, in Queen Elizabeth's Reign 106 ' Musical Small-coal Man," The 469 Page ' 'Musick's Monument, " by Thomas Mace 93, 121— 124 "Musurgia" of Ottomarus Luscinius, his System of Notation ... 112 N Nardini, Pietro 224 Needier, Henry 472 Netherland Musicians, Immigration of into Italy ... ... ... 41 Nofieri, Johannes Baptista ... 232 Nonesuch, Music and the Masque at 100, 107 Nostradamus, his Lives of the Provencal Poets ... ... 51 Notation by points or pricks ... y> O Okeghem, Van Eyck, and Josquin, their influence on Flemish Music 29 Okegheim, the "Father of Modern Harmony ... ... ... 34 Onslow, George ... ... ... 307 Ottoboni, Cardinal, and Corelli 183 Ottomarus Luscinius, his"Musurgia" 1 12 Paganini, his Character and Works 257 — 271 Pagin, Andre Noel 287 Panfilio, Cardinal, and Corelli ... 182 " Parley of Instruments " ... 468 Pedrillo 204 Pergolesi, Giovanni Battista ... 201 Petrarch and Boccaccio ... ... 134 Petrucci, first . used moveable Music type ... ... ... 9 Petrucci's Music Printing ... 157 Philharmonic Society at Vicenza 153 Philharmonic Society of London, . and Beethoven 405, 409, 411 Plancken Vander 319. Playford, John, his "Skill of Music" 120, 457 Pleyel, Ignatius 369 Polledro 232 Porpora, and his Works 200 ; and Joseph Haydn 201 Prince Albert of England and Mendelssohn 423, Provencal Poets, Nostradamus' Lives of 51 INDEX. 483 Page Provence, the ' ' Mother of Trou- badours and Minstrels ... 5 1 Provence, flourishing condition of in 1 2th century ... ... 5 1 Prume, Francois Hubert... ... 323 Pugnani, Gaetano 226 Puppo, Joseph 231 Purcell, a Hater of the Viol ... 129 Purcell, Henry 462 Quagliata, Paolo ... ... ... 171 Quantz, M., at Potsdam 341 Rabelais, Francois, on the Music and Musicians of his time ... 274 Radicati 233 Raimondi ... ... ... ... 231 Rebec, of the French 19 Rebecs, Treble and Bass, or Viols with three strings ... ... 61 Renaissance, the Italian... ... 130 Rene,, the "Minstrel King," in Provence ... ... ... 64 Ries, Ferdinand ... ... ... 414 Robberechts, Andre 321 Rode, Pierre 301 Rolla, Alessandro 245 Romance Dialects, degeneration from the Latin Tongue ... 52 Romberg, Andreas 434 Rome, the Sack of, and the Re- formation 165 Royalists and Roundheads, and the Viol 125 Ruggeri, J. M 204 Sach, Hans, his Mastersongs ... 10 "Sagittarius," (Schiitz) 330 Sainton, Prosper 313 Salomon, Peter Johann 361 Santiago de Compostello, Cathe- dral of, evidence of the Viol in, nth century 5° Sauterie (or Psaltery) 79 Scarlatti, Alessandro, and his Works 199 Schopp, Johann 331 Schubert, Franz 412 Schumann ... 44 1 Page Schuppanzigh, Herr, and Beet- hoven 402, 407, 408 Schiitz, Henri ("Sagittarius") ... 330 Scipione Cerreto, "Delia Prattica Musica" 112 Senaille, Jean Baptiste ... ... 282 Seven-stringed Viol 14 Simpson's "Division Viol" and his Instructions for Playing 113— 119, Sivori, Camillo ... ... ... 271 " Skill of Music, Introduction to the,' : by John Playford... 120 Snel, Francois 3 Spohr, Louis ... ... ... 41 Somis, Lorenzo' ... ... ... 223 Stamitz ... ... ... ... 356 St. James's Palace, The Viol in... 124 Steneken, Conrad ... ... 332 Stradiuarius a. maker of Lutes 92 Stryng Minstrels at Westminster, under Henry VII. ... ,.. 88 Tartini, Giuseppe, Sketch of his Work and Life ... 209 — 218 Tessarini, Carlo ... ... ... 231 Time-table, The, nth Century... II Tinctor's School of Music at Naples 169- Tomasini ... ... ... ... 232 Tonini 205 Torelli, Giuseppe, his Concertos 175 Traversa ... ... ... ... 231 Troubadours of Provence ... 6 Troubadours and Minstrels, Pro- vence the Mother of .. . ... 5 1 Troubadours, The Pioneers of Musical Progress in France and in Western Europe ... 5 2 Troubadours, Trouveres, and Jongleurs 53 " Tweedledum and Tweedledee " 233 " Two Minstrels," The, in France 57 U Uccellini, Marco V Vaccari, Francesco Valentini, Giuseppe Van Eyck... Vanhall Venetian Music Tablature Venice and St. Mark's Piazza 175 232 220 29 35<> 158 153. 4 8 4 INDEX. Page Venice, Flemish Violists and Church Music in, 15 th and 1 6th centuries 45 Venosa, Prince of, a Musical Composer ... ... ... 169 Veracini, Anthony 175 Veracini, Francesco Maria ... 205 Vieuxtemps, Henri . ... 324 Viol Tablature, in 16th Century 14 Viol, earliest book on the, 1491... 14 Viol, The, earliest use in Church Music 3 s Viol, The, in England 70 Viols in the Band of Henry VIII. 96 Violin, earliest indications of, in Germany and Italy 20 Violin Bridges, Unarched ... 82 Viotti, Giovanni Battista... 246 — 251 Vitali, Giovanni 173 Vitali, Tomasso 174 Vivaldi, Antonio 202 Voltaire, on the Music of Louis XIV's time 279 W Page Walther, Johann J 33° Weber, Carl Maria von 414 Wery, Nicholas Lambert ... 322 Whythorne, Thomas, his " Songes" 102 Wieniawski, Henri 3 2 7 Willaert, Adrian, at Venice, 43 ; his influence on Madrigal Compositions Wind Instruments, the Sackbut and Shalme Woldemar, Michael Wood, Anthony, on Dowland's ■ Music... Wynkyn de Worde, first Printer of Music 44 82 290 108 87 Yonge, Nicholas, Madrigals Young, John and Italian 105 474 G. WHITE, STEAM PRINTER, 396, KING'S ROAD, S.W.