CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 MUSIC 
 
ML 410.C52B43"'"""* '""'"^ 
 ^''uiHinini'""'^'^'^ illustrative of his 
 
 3 1924 022 167 344" 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tliis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924022167344 
 
CHERUBINI: 
 
 MEMORIALS ILLbSTRATIVE OF HIS LIIE. 
 
hosnos : 
 BOBSON AND SOBS, pbintehs, pasobas nOAD, H.W 
 
AET 81 
 
 I r INGRES 
 
 ('♦^,.,^.^^^-t^C. 
 
CHERUBINI: 
 
 Umaxmh 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE OF HIS LIFE. 
 
 By EDWARD BELLASIS, 
 
 _ EAKRISTBB-AT-LA"W. 
 
 LONDOIT: BTJENS AJ^D GATES, 
 
 Portman Street and Paternoster Eow. 
 1874. 
 
PEEFACE. 
 
 XHE idea oi undertaking this work was suggested 
 to me by the circumstance that the information 
 hitherto published about Cherubini lies for the 
 most part scattered in pamphlets, periodicals, and 
 dictionaries. My main object, therefore, has been to 
 bring together the facts of his life. I hope that in 
 quoting from the various criticisms that have been 
 from time to time made upon the composer's pro- 
 ductions, as well as in venturing to express some 
 opinions of my own, chiefly where others have not 
 spoken, I have adopted a course that will commend 
 itself to the judgment of my musical readers. They 
 must not expect to find in the present memoir that 
 fulness of description and that scientific treatment 
 in detail which are essential to any thoroughly ade- 
 quate review of compositions so elaborate and mag- 
 nificent as are those of Cherubini. 1 may add, that 
 where I am not strictly biographical it has been my 
 aim to be brief, the continuity of the narrative being 
 
vi Preface. 
 
 necessarily more or less interrupted by the discus- 
 sion of Operas and Masses. 
 
 I proceed to subjoin in chronological order a list 
 of my principal authorities : 
 
 L. Gheruhini. Published by E. W; Fritzsch, Leipsic, in 13mo. 
 Containing a lengthened critique on Les Deux Journees, and 
 forwarded to me as the anonymous work entitled Luigi Oheru- 
 hini: Seine Kurze Biografie und dsthetische Darstellung seiner 
 Werke. (Erfurt, 1809, Lu 8vo, by T. E. F. Arnold, who died in 
 1812.) I have therefore referred to the work published at Leipsic 
 as Arnold's, but I have since seen the Kurze Biografie in time to 
 correct in this place my mistaken references to the latter work, 
 which contains notices of the Medea, Elisa, Les Deux Journees, 
 Loddisha, Anaoreon, Fanisha, and the Ointura d'Armida. 
 
 Choron and FayoUe's Diotionnaire Historique des Musidens. 
 1810-11-17, Paris. The information concerning Cherubini in this 
 work was furnished by the composer himself. 
 
 Biographie des Hommes vivants. 1816-17, Paris. With a 
 notice of Cherubini signed A. 
 
 Biographie Nouvelle des Oontemporains. Paris, 1821-22. 
 Tlte Harmonieon for 1825. London. Containing a notice, 
 and list of Cherubini's operas, &c. 
 
 Diotionnaire de la Conversation. 1834, Paris. With a notice 
 of Cherubini by Castil-Blaze. 
 
 Biographie Universelle et Portative des Oontemporains. 1834, 
 Paris. 
 
 Encyohpedie des Gens du Monde. 1885, Paris. With a notice 
 of Cherubini by Edme Fran9ois Antoine Miel, of the Institute. 
 
 Louis de Lomenie's Oontemporains lllustres, which contains a 
 notice of Cherubini identical, I believe, with that published sepa- 
 rately by the author under the title of Oheruhini, par un Homme 
 de Rien. 1841, Paris, in 12mo. 
 
 Miel's Notice sur la Vie et les Ouvrages de Oherubini. 1842, 
 Paris, in 8vo. This was first of all published in the Moniteur TJni- 
 versel for August 24th, 25th, and 29th, 1842, the author afterwards 
 consenting to its pubKoation in a separate form at the request of 
 a number of artistes, who had heard him deliver it as a lecture. 
 It also forms part of a history of French art, closing a chapter 
 on the Conservatoire. 
 
Preface. vii 
 
 Charles Place's Essai sur la Composition Musicale. Biographie 
 et Analyse Phrenologique de Ohernhini, aveo notes et plan cranio- 
 scopique. 1842, Paris, in 8vo. This was read at the seance of the 
 Phrenological Society of Paris on the 37th May 1842 . Place was 
 a phrenoiogical doctor, exiled at Brussels after the Coup d'Etat 
 of 1851, and is so taken up with his examination of Cherubioi's 
 cranium^ that he leaves little room for his biography, which, he 
 informs us, is in great measure derived from that of M. Adam, in 
 the journal La France Musicale, while, for several communica- 
 tions, he is indebted to MM. A. Gotirdin, Boieldieu the younger, 
 and PUsiti. 
 
 Luigi Picchianti's Notizie sulla Vita e sidle Opere di Luigi 
 Cherubimi. 1843, Milano, and 1844, Firenze. This is, perhaps, 
 the most trustworthy account of our composer. The author, the 
 celebrated guitarist, says, in his advertisement, that he obtained 
 his facts from lives issued, in France and Italy, during the life- 
 time, and after the deaiih of Oherubini, through persons con- 
 nected with the composer's family ; and, also, by means of per- 
 sonal investigations at Florence. > 
 
 Oherubini's Notice des Manuscrits Aatographes de la Musique 
 composee par feu M. L. G. Z. 8. Oherubini, ex-surintendant de la 
 Musique du Hoi, Direoteur dm, Conservatoire de Musique, Oom- 
 mandeur de I'Ordre Royale de la Legion d'Honneur, Membre de 
 Vlnstitut de France, etc. etc. etc. ; Catalogue Oeneral par ordre 
 chronologique des ovmrages composes par moi Marie-Louis-Charles- 
 Zenobi^-Salvador-Cherubvni, ne a Florence le 14 Septembre de 
 I'annee 1760. 1843, Paris, 8vo. Edited by Bottee de Toulmon, 
 librarian of the Conservatoire, and published with the sanction of 
 Cherubini's family, who were about to dispose of the composer's 
 manuscripts. Here we have a faithful record, by Cherubini him- 
 self, of nearly all his compositions, dating from 1773 to 1841. A 
 supplement is added of works not in the catalogue, of duplicate 
 Mss. mostly ru the composer's own handwriting, and of copies by 
 
 ' Place endeavours to show that the organs of veneration, affec- 
 tion, courage, breadth, melody, order, firmness, construction, esteem 
 of oneself, &o. were strongly developed in Cherubim ; those of colour, 
 form, language, deBtrnctiveness, love of country, &c. less .bo ; whilst 
 there was an almost total absence of idealism, justice, and benevo- 
 lence ! 
 
 2 This name is spelt ' Zanobi' in the certificates of birth and bap- 
 tism independently procured by Picchianti and Gamuoci. 
 
viii Preface. 
 
 him of works of various composers. Following upon the men- 
 tion of many pieces are notes by their author, the worth of which, 
 as of the. whole catalogue, must be great to any biographer of 
 Cherubini. 
 
 Michaud's Biographie Universelle Aneienne et Moderne. Paris, 
 
 1844. Contains a notice of Cherubini, and list of his chief works, 
 by J. A. de Lafage, "of the Institute. 
 
 Halmjs Etudes sur la Vieet les Travaux de Oheruhini. Paris, 
 of which I have seen large extracts only, principally in Pougin's 
 notice of Halevy. Halevy's work first appeared in the Moniteur 
 des Arts, of the 23d and 30th of March, and the 18th of May 
 
 1845, under the title of Etudes sur Oheruhini. Halevy, who 
 divides Cherubini's life into four unequal parts, never lived to 
 complete his work. M. Leon Halevy remarks that this is the 
 less to be regretted, since, while the first portion throws a vivid 
 light on the least-known phase of Cherubuii's life, viz. his early 
 career iu his native country, the other intended parts, in giving 
 the later facts, would only have been teUiag us what we akeady 
 know. Still Pougin teUs us that, for his part, he deplores not hav- 
 ing the disciple's opinion on the great works of the master. 'It 
 is certain,' says he, ' that the pages of HaMvy which we possess, 
 touching Cherubini, are precious in more than one respect ; . . 
 they are an eloquent pleading in favour of the master's genius, 
 which was at times misunderstood.' 
 
 Castil-Blaze's Theatres Lyriques de Paris. L'Aoademie Im- 
 periale de Musique. Histoire Litteravre, musicale, choregraphique 
 . . . de 1645 a 1855. 2 vols., Paris, 1855, in 8vo. 
 
 M. Girod, S. J., De la Musique Beligieuse. 1855, Namur, in 8vo ; 
 the last chapter of which is devoted to Cherubini. 
 
 Nouvelle Biographie Oenerale. 1856, Parii With a notice of 
 Cherubini by Dieudonne Denne-Baron, at the end of which is 
 mentioned, as an authority, Raoul Rochette's Notice sur la Vie et 
 les Ouvrages de Oheruhini, which is nothing less than the ' floge' 
 of Cherubini delivered at the Institute. 
 
 Adolphe Adam's Derniers Souvenirs d'un Musioien. 1859, 
 Paris, in 12mo ; containing a sketch of Cherubini. 
 
 Elwart's Histoire de la Societe des Concerts. Paris, 1860. 
 
 T>ieuiomie'Demie-Ba,xoii.'sMemoiresHistoriques d'un Musicien. 
 Oheruhini, sa Vie, ses Travaux, leur Influence sur VArt. 1862, Paris 
 in Svo. To some extent taken from Miel. 
 
 The Musical World for 1862, London ; which contains the 
 
Preface. ix 
 
 most important acoomit in English, of Cherubini, being princi- 
 pally a translation from the German, by Mr. J. V. Bridgeman, 
 of a notice in the Niederrheinisehe-Musih-Zeitung. 
 
 Theodore Nisard's Notice of Cherubini. 186T, Paris, LeMans, 
 in 4to. 
 
 Fetis' Biogrwphie Universelle des Musioiens. 1867, Paris, in 
 8vo, 8 vols. Much of the notice of Cheryibini in this well-known 
 work is to be found in some previous 'etudes,' published by 
 Ffitis. 
 
 Clement's Musidens Oelebres. 1868, Paris, in 8vo. 'With a 
 portrait and notice of Cherubini. 
 
 BaldassarreGamucci's/raJorno alia Vita edalle OperediLuigi 
 Cherubini, Fiorentino, ed al monumento ad esse innahato in Santa 
 Crooe. Cenni biografici. 1869, Firenze, in 8vo. Gamuoci was 
 a pupU of Picchianti, and gives us a minute account of the raising 
 of the monument to Cherubini at Florence. 
 
 Berlioz's Memoires. 1870, Paris. 
 
 In the course of the narrative, reference is made 
 to more recent notices of Cherubini, and to other 
 various works from which I have been able to gather 
 interesting facts and observations. From some 
 writings, ^ however, I have received such special as- 
 sistance as seems to call for corresponding acknow- 
 ledgment — I refer gratefully to the late Henry F. 
 Chorley's Modern German Music, Professor Ella's Musi- 
 cal Sketches, the Letters of Mendelssohn, the Life of 
 Moscheles, the Autobiography of Spohr, and the Monthly 
 Musical Record. 
 
 In the collection of funeral orations by members 
 of the French Institute two speeches of Cherubini 
 have been found, one of which has been partly given 
 in English in Mainzer's Musical Times. Some hitherto 
 
X Preface. 
 
 unpubliehed letters of Cherubini have been also in- 
 sei-ted, as to which my only regret is that they are 
 not more numerous and important. It is, however, 
 obvious that anything like a collection of Cheru- 
 bim's letters, if ever published at all, should emanate 
 from France. 
 
 In conclusion, I desire to thank those friends who 
 have not only encouraged me in my task, but have 
 supplied me with some information which I could 
 not otherwise have obtained. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PART I. THEATEICAL MUSIC. 
 1760-1808. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 1760-1780. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Cherubini's birth and parentage — He is taught music by his father, 
 and, subsequently, by the two Peliois — His early compositions 
 — He is placed under Bizzarri and Castrucci — ReceiTes a pen- 
 sion from Leopold II., Grand-Duke of Tuscany, to study under 
 Sarti at Bologna — Sarti's method of teaching — Cherubim has 
 to compose anthems in Palestrina's style — He inserts airs in 
 Sarti's operas — Removes with his master to Milan, and inter- 
 mits his regular studies 3 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 1780-1788. 
 
 II Quinto Fabio, Cherubini's first opera, produced at Alessandria, 
 and followed by Armida at Florence, Adriano at Leghorn, II 
 Messenzio at Florence, Quinto Fabio at Rome, Lo Sposo di 
 Tre at Venice, L' Idalide at Florence, and L' Alessandro at 
 Mantua — He goes to London and brings out La Finta Frin- 
 cipessa and GiuUo Sabino — Is introduced to the Prince of 
 ■Wales— Visits Paris— Is presented by Viotti to Queen Marie 
 Antoinette— Returns to England— Proceeds to Turin- Pro- 
 duces Ifigenia — Leaves Italy for good, and finally settles in 
 Paris 16 
 
xii Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 1788-1781. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Gherubini's and Vogel's DSmophons — Marmontel's Hbretto — The 
 Loge Olympique — Circe — The Bouflfons — Chenibini is made 
 Director of Italian Opera at the TuUeriee — Inserts pieces of 
 his own in the works pnt on the stage — His trials during the 
 EeTolution — He is forced to leave the Tnileries — Chembini's 
 and Kreutzer'B Lodoiskas ... . . 31 
 
 CHAPTER lY. 
 
 1791-1795. 
 
 The theatres at Paris — FUght of Viotti and the Bouffons — Cheru- 
 bini takes refuge at La Chartreuse de Gaillon, in Normandy 
 — La Liberti et la Palinodie a Nice — Kowrkowgi — Lesueur 
 and Cherubini — La GaVeme — Death of Chembini's father — 
 Elisa — Foundation of the Conservatoire — Cherubini appointed 
 one of the inspectors . ... .61 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 1795-1797. 
 
 Solfeggi — Cherubini's pupils — His republican hymns — Founda- 
 tion of the Institute — Cherubini's mamage — Notice of his 
 children — The Medea ...'... . .75 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 1797-1800. 
 
 Napoleon and Cherubini — Their mutual antagonism — L'Hdtellerie 
 Portugaise — La Pwaition — The pasticcio La Prisonniire, by 
 Boieldieu and Chenibini — The latter becomes one of the jury 
 for examining works for the Grand Opera — Les Deux Joumies 
 — Opinions on the opera — The Escapes, by Attwood . . 102 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 1800-1805. 
 
 The pasticcio Epicwre, by M6hul and Cherubini— Visit to Chartres 
 — Napoleon again — EstabUshment of a Consular chapel Pai- 
 
Contents. xiii 
 
 siello made chapel-master -^^wacreon — The overture — The 
 ballet of Achille a Scyros — Oheruhini visits Vienna with his 
 wife and youngest daughter — Sees Haydn — Brings out Lodo- 
 iska and Les Deux Jownees — Napoleon makes his entry into 
 Vienna, and Cherubini conducts concerts for him there and at 
 Schonbrunn — Commercial speculation of Steibelt and Cheru- 
 biaiT-Napoleon leaves for Paris ...... 130 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 1805-1808. 
 
 Beethoven's Fidelia and Cherubini's Faniska — Cherubioi's rela- 
 tions with Beethoven and Hummel — His parting with Haydn 
 — ^Beturns to Paris — Spontini's La Vestale — M§hul's Joseph 
 — Cherubini's canons — He becomes ill, and goes for his health 
 to the Castle of Chimay, in Belgium 149 
 
 PART 11. ECCLESIASTICAL MUSIC. 
 1808-1842. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 1808-1809. 
 
 ipose at Chimay— Origin of the Mass in F — Performance of 
 the Kyrie and Gloria on St. Cecilia's Day— The whole work 
 executed on Cherubini's return to Paris at the H6tel du 
 Babylon- The later school of Church music . . . .173 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 1809-1811. 
 
 Pimmalione at the Tmleries — Napoleon — Le Chant sw le mart de 
 Haj/dn— Ode for the Emperor's marriage— Litanies for Prince 
 Esterhazy — Le Crescendo— The seoon,d Mass in D minor— Its 
 construction and character .....•• 191 
 
xiv Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 1811-1816. 
 
 PAOE 
 
 Cherubini's ies Abencerages — The pastiooios Bayard a MezUres 
 and L'Oriflamme — -He visits London a second time, and oom- 
 poses for the Philharmonic Society ^ Returns to Paris — 
 Honours received on the restoration of the Bourbona— Becomes 
 the king's chapel-master on the death of Martini-^The Mass 
 in C — Requiem in C minor ....... 206 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 1816-1822. 
 
 The Iste Dies and Regina Coeli — The Hymn to Bacchus — The 
 Coronation Mass in G — Spohr in Paris : his intercourse with 
 Cherubini — Mosoheles — Blanche de Provence for the Duke of 
 Bordeaux's baptism at Notre Dame — Its performance at the 
 Court Theatre — Cantata at the H6tel de VOle — Resignation of 
 Feme as Director of the Conservatoire — Cherubini appointed 
 in his stead — His rule — His character 235 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 1822-1825. 
 
 The Pensionnat — The Sooigtl des Concerts — Their origin^Cheru- 
 bini's cooperation — The smaller concerts — The luclina Domiue 
 — Beethoven's Mass in D, and letter to Cherubini — Cherubini 
 and Liszt — The Coronation Mass in A, at Rheims, for the 
 crowning of Charles X 275 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 1825-1830. 
 
 Cherubini and Mendelssohn — Berlioz enters the Conservatoire 
 
 Antagonism between him and Cherubini^Their first interview 
 and subsequent relations — Salutaris for Boieldieu's mar- 
 riage — Cherubini's quartets — BaiUot and the one in E flat 
 
 Abolition of the King's chapel ••.... 296 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 1830-1836. 
 
 Cherubini at Catel's funeral — The pasticcio La Marquise de Brin- 
 villien — Choron, Reioha — Ali Baba, Cherubini's last opera 
 
Contents. xv 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Intended visit to Italy — At Boieldieu's funeral — Treatise on 
 Counterpoint and Fugue — The second EecLuiem in D minor, 
 CheruMoi's last Mass 322 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 1836-1842. 
 
 Berlioz's Bequiem — Cherubiui's Quintet in E minor — Ingres' 
 Portrait — M. Turoas — Death of Cherubini — His obsequies — 
 Honours paid to his memory — Monument at Florence — Con- 
 clusion 353 
 
 A Cheonolooical CATALOGnB or Chekubini's Wobks . . . 879 
 
 Appendix , 414 
 
 Index 417 
 
 CORRIGENDA. 
 
 Page 5, line 7 from top, for Adolph read Adolphe. 
 ,, 11, ,, 18 „ „ Austria ,, Germany. 
 ,, 22, ,, 15 ,, ,, depende „ dipende. 
 ,, 24, note „ Turin „ Italy. 
 
 „ 64, line 23 ,, „ 10th of August read anniyersary 
 
 of the 10th of August. 
 „ 389, note (Catalogue) „ 207 r'.ad 210. 
 
PAET I. 
 
 THEATRICAL MUSIC. 
 1760-1808. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 3760-1780. 
 
 Cheruljini's birth and parentage — He is taught music by his father, 
 and, subsequently, by the two Felicis — His early compositions — 
 He is placed under Bizzarri and Castrucci — Receives a pension 
 from Leopold II., Grand-Duke of Tuscany, to study under Sarti at 
 Bologna — Sarti's method of teaching — Cherubiui has to compose 
 anthems in Palestrina's styles-He inserts airs in Sarti's operas — 
 Removes with his master to Milan, and intermits his regular 
 studies. 
 
 LuiGi Carlo Zanobi Salvadore Maria Cherubini, 
 ' the last and noblest Roman in the purely classical 
 style of art'^— 'the most accomplished musician, if 
 not the greatest genius, of the nineteenth century'^ 
 — was born at Florence, in the early morniag of the 
 14th day of September 1760 — one year and a half 
 after Handel's death, when Mozart was a child of 
 four years, and ten years before the birth of Beet- 
 hoven. On the following day he was baptised at 
 the Basilica of St. John the Baptist. Such are the 
 dates of birth and baptism as recorded by the official 
 certificates from Florence.^ Cherubini, therefore, was 
 •right' in the date of his birth as he himself inserted 
 ■ BaiUot. « Oulibiscbeff. ' See Appendix I. 
 
Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 it on the title-page of his catalogue ; and wrong in 
 the date, September the 8th, which he sent to Cho- 
 ron, in 1809, for the latter's Diotionnaire Historique. 
 Cherubini's error has naturally misled his biogra- 
 phers. In 1834, Castil-Blaze invented a solution of 
 the problem. The 8th of September was the day of 
 birth ; the 14th that of baptism. This postponement 
 of baptism, so unusual in Italy, was accounted for 
 by Cherubini's extreme weakliness, his life being de- 
 spaired of, a circumstance which would be a reason 
 for hastening the ceremony. Miel — not in 1835, but in 
 1842 — adopts Castil-Blaze's theory. Picchianti says 
 that many of the biographers followed Gervasoni, a 
 Milanese professor, who, according to Gamucci, ori- 
 ginated the error, which was corrected by the Rivista 
 Musicale of Florence appealing to the registers. Pic- 
 chianti further states that he himself corrected 
 Miel's error by adding a note, among others, to the 
 translation in tlie number of the Rivista for April the 
 11th, 1842, of a life ofCherubini that originally ap- 
 peared in the Revue et Gazette de Paris for the 11th of 
 March 1842. In 1842, Picchianti cleared up the diffi- 
 culty, as he tells us, by paying a franc for copies of two 
 certificates ; yet Denne-Baron, in 1862, gives us the 
 wrong date, as well as Castil-Blaze's theory, and 
 adds that Cherubini corrected the mistake of the 
 catalogue date in some notes which the composer ; 
 
Cherubim s Parents. 
 
 left behind him! Nisard cannot explain to what 
 notes Denne-Baron alludes; nor, it is to be feared, 
 any one else. All that we know is, that the cata- 
 logue date is correct, in conformity with the certifi- 
 cate of birth. Lafage also informs us that the 14th 
 is an error. Arnold, writing in 1809, Place in 1842, 
 Adolph Adam in 1859, Clement in 1868, and many 
 others, give the wrong date. F^tis, writing in 1867, 
 twenty-five years after Picchianti's correction, men- 
 tions both dates, without saying which is the true 
 one. In his Lexicon der Tonkwnstler, Gerber is four 
 years wrong, assigning Cherubini's birth to the year 
 1764. 
 
 Cherubini's father, Bartolomeo Cherubini, son of 
 Mark Cherubini, was maestro al olanicemialo, or harpsi- 
 chord accompanist at -the Pergola Theatre, Florence, 
 and lived in a modest cottage on the Via Fiesolana, 
 in the quarter of San Pier Maggiore, which bears on 
 its door the street number of 22, and formerly had 
 the district number of 6886. The name of Cheru- 
 bini's mother was Verdiana; she was the daughter 
 of one Philippo Bosi. Both of his parents were by 
 birth Florentines^ and he himself was the tenth child 
 out of a family of twelve, all of whom he survived. 
 From his earliest childhood he is said to have shown 
 a quick and superior inteUigence ; but nothing spe- 
 cific is known about him until his seventh year, so 
 
Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 that whether he distinguished discords from his 
 cradle, or sang beautifully at the age of three, can- 
 not be clearly ascertained. In the notice at the head 
 of his catalogue, he says ; ' J'ai commence k ap- 
 prendre la musique h. six ans, et la composition a 
 neuf ans ; la premiere m'a 6te apprise par Barth^- 
 lemi Cherubiai, mon pSre, professeur de musique; 
 mes deux premiers maitres de la seeonde farent Bar- 
 th^lemi Felici et Alexandre Felici, son fils. Aprte 
 leur mort, j'eus pour maitres Pierre Bizzarri et Jo- 
 seph Castrucci.* Vers I'ann^e 1777 ou 1778, j'obtins 
 une pension du Grand-Due Leopold pour continuer 
 mes Etudes, et me perfectionuer sous le c^lfebre Jo- 
 seph Sarti, avec lequel j'ai travailM pendant trois ou 
 quatre ans. C'est par les conseils et les le9ons de 
 ce grand maitre que je me suis form4 dans le contre- 
 point, et dans la musique dramatique. Etant auprfes 
 de lui, il me faisait composer pom- m'exercer, et le 
 soulager dans ses travaux, tous les airs des seconds 
 roles dans les operas qu'il eomposait. Ces morceaux, 
 qui n'ont point paru sous mon nom, ne se trouvent 
 point dans le present catalogue, et je n'en poss^de 
 aucun ; ils se trouvent ^pars dans les difKrentes par- 
 titions de mon maitre.' F^tis, Clement, and others 
 say that Cherubim learnt music from his father 
 
 » The Musical World, in translating this notice, omite this sentence. 
 Vide vol. xl. 
 
His early Musical Instruction. 
 
 before lie was six. Cherubini does not say so. Re- 
 marking on Cherubini's uncertainty as to the year 
 in which he went to Bologna, F^tis adds, in opposi- 
 tion to many of the biographers, that Cherubini really 
 left for that city towards the end of 1777. A little 
 further on, he says that our composer obtained his pen- 
 sion in 1778.^ If so, the latter year would seem more 
 likely to be the one in which Cherubini went to Bo- 
 logna. Moreover, all his works up to 1778, exclu- 
 sively, are marked in the catalogue ' Florence ;' and 
 in a note to the section for 1778 (not 1777) he says, 
 ' At this time I was at Bologna,' 
 
 In his musical teaching, Bartolomeo Cherubini, 
 according to Picchianti, was much attached to old 
 forms, and a rigid observer of the ancient scholastic 
 discipline. Yet, in spite of any disadvantages thence 
 accruing, young Cherubini was able in three years, 
 from the age of six to that of nine, to. acquire a fair 
 knowledge of solfeggi and accompaniment of figm-ed 
 basses, as well as of playing the harpsichord ; and 
 it is also recorded how that he found at home a 
 wretched old violin, and amused himself with scrap- 
 ing on it, until one evening at the Pergola Theatre, 
 a violinist being absent from the orchestra, Cheru- 
 bini quietly took his place, and played the part 
 throughout so well, that all that Nardino, the con- 
 ' Biog. Univ. vol. ii. p. 204. 
 
Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 ductor, had to find fault with was a certain timidity 
 and hesitation, only natural at first under the cir- 
 cumstances. In the mean time Cherubini did not 
 neglect the higher studies of mathematics and lan- 
 guages. At length, being considerably advanced, for 
 his age, in his musical studies, he was placed by his 
 father under ' old Felici,' so called to distinguish him 
 from his son Alessandro, also an artist of merit. Old 
 Felici's works were a model of clearness and inge- 
 nuity; he himself was deemed the best 'Tuscan pro- 
 fessor of his day, while his school enjoyed no mean 
 reputation. 'At this time,' observes, however, Pic- 
 chianti, ' the art of counterpoint was lost in a multi- 
 tude of rules and observations, each of which, being 
 drawn firom particular cases, and not from general 
 principles, gave rise to a thousand exceptions. To 
 master all these rules, and their innumerable limita- 
 tions, long and wearisome labour had to be under- 
 gone.' Thus we can appreciate Cherubini's rapid 
 intelligence, which in four years under the Felicis 
 could master, in boyhood, those contrapuntal studies 
 in which it was not given to every one to succeed, 
 though he employed double the time. 'But this,' 
 continues Picchianti, 'is not the only point worth 
 commending in Cherubini; there is one still more 
 worthy of consideration, viz. that he knew through 
 a just criterion— through his genius and exquisite 
 
yuvenile Compositions. 9 
 
 taste — how to draw fi-om those dry exercises the 
 greatest profit which a composer can derive from 
 bis studies, i. e. how to form his artistic individuahty. 
 And, in fact, besides the elegant and original forms, 
 the clearness and purity of style, always employed 
 by him even in his most 'trifling and least important 
 pieces, there ever appeared, something of an antique 
 cast, whence he derives an absolute specialty, which 
 may be considered .as the most precious result of his 
 early scholastic studies.'^ 
 
 After frequenting Eelici's school. ;for .four years, 
 Cherubini began to .compose. In. 1773,- heading his 
 catalogue, comes a mass,<the performance of which ex- 
 cited some interest,^^and 'this, so pleased his father 
 that the latter often adopted it for his own use, — and 
 then an intermezzo for a ' th^^tre de . soci^t^' in Flo- 
 rence. These worts were followed, in 1774, by a 
 second mass ; a-cantata, Xa Puhhlica ^e&iia,-ex.ecuted 
 in a side chapel of the Duomo, on occasion of a f^te 
 in honour of the Gi-and-Duke; andapsalm. In 1775 
 come a third mass, a psalm, an .intermezzo entitled 
 // Giiwcatove, aa.6. a Magnificat; in 1776, two La- 
 mentations jof Jeremiah, a Miserere, a rondeau, a duet, 
 and an ariahuffa-; in 1777, a motet, an oratorio, the 
 name of which is not known, but which was executed 
 in St. Peter's Church, Florence, and a Te Deum. 
 » Picchianti, p. 14. 
 
1 o Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 These -works are here mentioned, not for the sake 
 of inserting in the narrative a catalogue, which comes 
 better in an appendix, but because they distinctly 
 form what may be called Cherubini'e juvenile works. 
 Picchianti tells us that the Florentine composer's 
 force of intellect might be seen in his early works. 
 As regards many of them, we must take his word for 
 it, since in the catalogue they have the cross before 
 them, signifying the loss of the MS. Cherubini con- 
 cealed with great cafe all his works written when 
 he was thirteen; but when he was dead, his pupil 
 HaMvy could not resist the desire of perusing them. 
 He did so : he glanced at these timid essays, and 
 tells us, 'In going over them, I understood how it 
 was from a sort of self-respect and caution as to 
 his first works that he withdrew them from all eyes. 
 Everything there announced the intelligent child, 
 brought up in a good school, reared on good pre- 
 cepts ; but there was nothing to indicate the genius 
 which was to reVeal itself later on.' 
 
 A composer in Italy first learns to sing himself 
 before writing for the voice, and Cherubini now pro- 
 ceeded to acquire the art under Bizzarri. But Che- 
 tubini's lessons in singing had not the efiect of induc- 
 ing him in his compositions to show much mercy to the 
 voice. Eventually he took to singing bass, and often 
 spared neither soprano nor contralto. From Bizzarri 
 
Cherubini under Sartu 1 1 
 
 it 
 
 he went to Castrucci, under whom he mastered the 
 organ and harpsichord. His progress was rapid. 
 His compositions pleased both the pubHc and the 
 connoisseur. He was pointed at in the streets of 
 Florence as a prodigy, but no flattery could turn his 
 head. He wanted to travel through Italy, so as to 
 perfect himself in his art, and become personally 
 known to musicians -^ a wish which his father's 
 friends advised should be acceded to. 
 
 Lafage says,- that from information which he 
 obtained at Florence, he belifeves that Cherubini 
 travelled with one Disma TJgolini; although^ he 
 adds, the latter is not mentioned among Cherubini's 
 masters. What the other biographers tell us is that 
 Bartolomeo Cherubini had' no means of maintaining 
 away from home a lad between fifteen and sixteen 
 years of age. Peter Leopold H., Grand -Duke of 
 Tuscany, and afterwards Emperor of Austria, had, 
 however, noticed young Cherubini, and admired his 
 talent; and now offered,- at his own expense, to 
 send him to study at Bologna. This Leopold did 
 the more willingly on hearing that Cherubini was 
 the son of poor but respec;table parents. Such was 
 the generosity that enabled Cherubini to seek out 
 the great Giuseppe Sarti de Faenza, whose reputa-, 
 tion at this time throughout Italy was immense, by 
 whom he was cordially welcomed, and who on ex- 
 
12 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 amining him, perceived that he needed but practice 
 to be able to compose dramatic music. Cherubini's 
 quickness of intelligence soon made him the favour- 
 ite pupil of all. Under Sarti, Cherubini had to aban- 
 don Leo and Durante for Palestrina ; of whom Sarti 
 was an enthusiastic disciple, but for whom, says 
 Girod, Cherubini had little liking. Indeed, it was 
 not till after many years that the latter realised 
 how important ■ io all composers of church-music 
 was the study of Palestrina. Of course, he now 
 obeyed his master in everything, even writing 
 twenty anthems in . the style of the old Roman 
 composer. , Sarti had a great notion about the 
 ideal style in -music, -as Palestrina had before him, 
 and, to further- this among his pupils, made them 
 imitate him in composing at night in a large unfurn- 
 ished room, with a lamp suspended from the ceiling, 
 that shed only a glimmering light ; though how this 
 could also -avail ibr teaching dramatic music does 
 not appear. Another feature inSarti's teaching was 
 writing out works of the old coniposers, a practice 
 which Cherubim kept up throughout his life, leaving 
 at his death 3166 pages of MS. of this nature. 
 Sarti soon reposed such confidence in Cherubini's 
 ability as to allow him to practise hirhself in dra- 
 matic music by writing the secondary airs, ©r in- 
 terpolating recitatives, in Le Sirol, Achille in Sciro, 
 
Cherubini under Sarti. 1 3 
 
 Giulio Sahino, and other operas, -which were repre- 
 sented Tinder their author's direction, with the as- 
 sistance of Cherubini, at Bologna, Venice, Florence, 
 Milan, and Turin. Sarti often made his pupils com- 
 pose thus in his operas, so that they obtained expe- 
 rience in writing for the public,' and under cover of 
 their master's name, gained an applause which was 
 as encouraging as it was useful. ' These scores,' 
 says Denne-Baron, ' contain a crowd of beauties by 
 Cherubini.' The insertion of these airs, however, 
 was the beginning of a custom which became ha- 
 bitual with Cherubini up to 1792, viz. of putting 
 music of his own into the Italian operas and pas- 
 ticcios of Paisiello and his school ; thus many fine 
 pieces became allied to works that no longer live. 
 If a work proved too heavy for the public taste, 
 Cherubini had to make it light, but if a work cannot 
 stand by itself on its own merits, the sooner it falls, 
 perhaps, the better. 
 
 In 1779, Fioroni, chapel-master of Milan Cathe- 
 dral, died, and Sarti, being chosen for the vacant 
 post, moved with Cherubini to Milan, where, in the 
 following year, the latter wrote his sonata for two 
 organs, and intermitted, some say ended, his regular 
 studies, which, in the course of eleven years, had 
 now succeeded in making him, at the age of nine- 
 teen, one of the most learned musicians of Italy. 
 
1 4 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 For years had he worked on, before there were short 
 roads to proficiency, to acquire that thorough know- 
 ledge of music, which he, if any one, possessed. Yet 
 it is rather his industry than the length of his studies 
 which is remarkable, for an Italian musical education 
 in the middle of the eighteenth century was natur- 
 ally a slow process. Eleven years would not be 
 necessary at the present day for a clever pupil to 
 gain all the knowledge that Cherubiai acquired in 
 that time. F^ds reckons that, what with the method 
 of analysis, and with progressive exercises, half that 
 time would now be sufficient. The same writer ob- 
 serves that the method of analysis has always been 
 unknown in the musical schools of Italy. The mas- 
 ters furnished the pupil with model compositions, 
 but they could not explain the origin of, or the 
 reasons for, the rules which they prescribed. ' To 
 the questions and objections of their pupils,' says 
 Fdtis, 'they knew but one reply: the authority of 
 
 the school Taught by them Cherubini was 
 
 only able, to acquire, after long practice, his mar- 
 vellous knowledge of all the points relating to forms 
 of style, tonality, rhythm, and modulation. Himself 
 a perfect master, when it came to showing by an 
 example the application of a precept, he could hardly 
 ever find an explanation of the precept itself. Woe 
 to the pupil who did not understand him by a half- 
 
Italian Method of Teaching. 1 5 
 
 word, for the whole word rarely came. This diffi- 
 culty of speech couceming matters with which he 
 was so familiar became painful to him : it put him 
 in a bad humour with the pupil who occasioned him 
 this embarrassment.'^ In fact, in teaching, neither 
 Cherubini nor his masters could explain why this 
 or that was so ; all they knew was that it ought 
 to be so, a knowledge which satisfied them, if not 
 their pupils. 
 
 ' Biog. Univ. vol. ii. p. 263. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 1780-1788. 
 
 II Quinto Fahio, Chernbini's first opera, produced at Alessandria, and 
 followed by Armida at Florence, Adriano at Leghorn, II Mes- 
 semio at Florence, Quinto Fahio at Rome, Lo Sposo di Tre at 
 Venice, L' Idalide at Florence, a,ni V Alessandro at Mantua — He 
 goes to London and brings out La Finta Principessa and Giulio 
 Sabino — Is introduced to the Prince of Wales — ^Visits Paris — Is 
 presented by Viotti to Queen Marie Antoinette — Returns to England 
 — Proceeds to Tuiin — Produces Ifigenia — ^Leaves Italy for good, 
 and finally settles in Paris. 
 
 In 1780, Sarti procured for Cherubini a commissioii 
 to write an opera at Alessandria della Paglia, where, 
 at the autumnal fair, he brought out II Quinto Fahio, in 
 three acts, of which he says with some pride : ' C'est 
 mon premier op^ra, j'avais alors dix-neuf ans accom- 
 plis.' Fetis, and the NiederrJieinische-Musik-Zeitung 
 ' see a mistake here, thinking that ' dix-neuf ought 
 to be ' vingt,' but unless it can be shown (which has 
 not been so much as attempted) that Quinto Fahio 
 was produced on or after the 14th of September 
 1780, Cherubini may be right. His twentieth year 
 would not be completed till that date. II Quinto Fahio 
 had no particular success, and Cherubini returned to 
 Milan, to write five au-s for an opera given there, as 
 
A rmida — 'A driano. \ *j 
 
 well aa a motet for Marches!, a celebrated singer, 
 and another entitled ' Nemo gaudeat' for two choirs 
 and two organs. From Milan he proceeded to 
 Venice, where he was to have wiitten another 
 opera, but on his arrival found that the manager 
 who' had engaged him had become bankrupt. For- 
 tunately for Cherubim two numbers only of the in- 
 tended work had been composed. He now returned 
 to Florence, and in 1782 produced there Armida, a 
 three-act opera, which was given during the carnival 
 at the Pergola. Cherubim's powerful style, his stu- 
 died and complicated harmonies as displayed in his 
 operas, were not to the taste of the Italians, who 
 were only accustomed to light melodies and simple 
 accompaniments. People were afraid of him, for the 
 evidence of originality displayed in his compositions 
 might do considerable harm to their beloved canti- 
 lenas and fioriture.-^ 
 
 In the spring, closely following upon Armida, 
 another three-act opera, Adriano in Siria, appeared 
 from him, performed at the opening of a new con- 
 cert-hall at Leghorn, to which an air was added for 
 Crescentini, who sang in the work. F6tis, in his 
 account of Crescentini, says that that vocalist sang 
 in Cherubini's Artaserse? Cherubini wrote no opera 
 of that name; Fetis means Adriano in Siria; and the 
 
 1 Ignaz Arnold, p. 6. ^ Biog. Univ. vol. ii. p. 390. 
 
Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 judgment of the people of Leghorn was, that the 
 music was 'too learned.' Returning to Florence, 
 Cherubini wrote ten nqpturns, six of which, curi- 
 ously enough, were first printed in London, in 1786, 
 with a dedication, in Italian, to Signer Corsi, a Flo- 
 rentine nobleman. Marquis of Caiazzo, Lord of Du-- 
 genta, Millazzano, and Eaiano of Castelle, and Cham- 
 berlain to the Grand Duke and Duchess of Tuscany, 
 which runs as follows : ' In case this slight work of 
 mine, which I take the liberty of offering to you, 
 should possess sufficient merit to be kindly received 
 by your generous mind, and, farther, to meet with 
 sincere approval from your most refined taste, I shall 
 have reason to flatter myself that it may appear not 
 wholly unpleasing in the eyes of the public, which 
 knows too well your mastery of the fine arts, espe- 
 cially of music, not to conform its judgment to 
 yours. But howsoever it may please you, noble sir, 
 to judge me, I shall at least have the satisfaction 
 afforded me by my work of a favourable opportunity 
 for showing you, so far as I can, the sincere and 
 most just esteem which I entertain for the amiable 
 qualities that render you very dear to all, and at the 
 same time be able, in the face of the world, to glory 
 in being, with all the respect which I profess, your 
 devoted servant, L. Cherubini.' Such was the 
 dedicatory style of the period. 
 
// Messenzio. 1 9 
 
 Some solo pieces were also set to verses of Tasso 
 and Marino, and another three-act opera, II Messenzio, 
 given -with success on the 8th of September. Two 
 duets remind us that Cherubini was known at this 
 early period to our countryman. Lord Cowper, 
 for whom he wrote them, with accompaniment for 
 two ' cors d'amour,' otherwise called * amorshorn,' 
 and 'amorschair — a kind of horn, invented about 
 1760, -by Kolb9,l, a Kussian musician, the improve- 
 ments in which consisted of valves, and a semicir- 
 cular cover upon the opening. This idea of a valve- 
 horn was not pursued further, because the 'iven- 
 tions-hornes' (sic), introduced shortly afterwards, 
 were a step towards the end obtained in the ventil- 
 horner.* The above-onentioned nobleman must have 
 been George Nassau Clavering, third Earl Cowper, 
 who appears to have lived many years in Italy, and to 
 have been a great lover of music. He is represented, 
 in a picture by Zoffany (exhibited at South Kensing- 
 ton in 1867), as listening with evident enjoyment £0 
 a musical performance by members of his family, one 
 of whom, a lady, plays the harpsichord, whUe his 
 father-in-law, Mr. Gore, leads or accompanies on the 
 violoncello. An air for Babini, the singer, in a pas- 
 ticcio called Semiramide, and performed at Florence, 
 closes the list of Cherubini's noteworthy works in 
 » Musical World, 1862, p. 500. 
 
20 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 I . 
 
 1782 — with the single exception of 1816, the busiest 
 year for him as a composer. In January 1783, he 
 tells us that he 'composed' at Rome a second Quinto 
 Fabio, which was brought out there at the Argentina 
 Theatre. This does not favour F^tis' notion, that this 
 Quinto Fabio was merely an improved version of the 
 first one ; nor Arnold's statement, that Quinto Fabio 
 was 'repeated' in Rome. Denne-Baron says that 
 Cherubini, after his engagement at Rome, returned 
 to Florence to give L' Idalide there, and then went 
 to Venice for Lo Sposo di Tre; but L' Idalide was not 
 brought out till after Lo Sposo. Quinto Fabio was 
 now followed by the canon or madrigal of ' Ninfa 
 Crudele,' which owed its origin to the jealousy of 
 several learned musicians, who were foolish enough 
 to doubt whether Cherubini could solve a musical 
 problem. This, however, at their request, he did, 
 and so well that, as we are told, the piece assured 
 to Cherubini the reputation of being one of the first 
 harmonists of his time. Some say that Cherubini 
 wrote 'Ninfa Crudele' on his way to Florence from 
 Venice, or after arriving there from Venice ; in both 
 cases after the production of Lo Sposo di Tre ; but it 
 is mentioned in Cherubini's catalogue before that 
 opera ; hence it may be concluded that it was com- 
 posed at Florence, before Lo Sposo di Tre and the 
 visit to Venice. Lo Sposo di Tre, Marito di Nessuna, a 
 
Cherubini and the Venetians. 1 1 
 
 two-act opera-buffa, was represented in the autumn 
 at St. Samuel's Theatre, Venice, The Venetians 
 thought highly of Cherubini, and the Indice Teatrale 
 for 1784 advised them to call him 'il cherubino,' add- 
 ing, ' Toccante meno al suo nome, dalla dolcezza de' 
 suoi canti,' less as in any allusion to his name than 
 because of the sweetness of his songs. But CMment 
 says that the Venetians called him ' il cherubino,' ' in 
 allusion to his handsome face and frizzly hair, more 
 than to the angelic grace of his songs ;' and goes on 
 to say, 'We have known charming portraits of Che- 
 rubini when young ; his features were delicate and 
 pleasing. Later on, intense application, the habit 
 of study, and, it must be said, the cares of strife, 
 profoundly modified the expression of his counte- 
 nance.'* 
 
 From Venice, Cherubini, in 1784, made his last 
 journey to Florence, A patched-up oratorio, made 
 up of sundry pieces out of his operas, with a new 
 tenor air and two choruses, was there performed for 
 the benefit of the Jesuits at their church in Florence. 
 So we are told ; but the Jesuits could not exist as 
 such between 1769 and 1814. Perhaps they were 
 allowed to live together at Florence as secular 
 priests. I have also been informed that Cherubim 
 was their chapel-master at Naples and Palermo ; but 
 * Mmiciem Celeires, p. 249. 
 
2 2 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 when could he, busy as he was, have found time 
 to be practically such? Perhaps it was merely an 
 honorary post in each case. No biographer men- 
 tions Cherubim's visit at any time either to Naples 
 or Palermo. The oratorio was quickly followed by 
 two operas, L'Idalide, the last work that Cherubini 
 wrote for his native city, and which was given with 
 success at the Pergola; and If Alessandro nelt Indie 
 represented during the spring fair at Mantua. He 
 wrote also, says Arnold, the comic opera of / Viag- 
 giatori Felici. Perhaps this was the title of the 
 unfinished comic opera begun at Venice in 1781. 
 Arnold is the only authority for Cherubini having 
 written any such work. Moreover, when he men- 
 tions the quartet ' Cara da voi depende,' which was 
 inserted in Anfossi's / Viaggiatori Felici, he again calls 
 that work Cherubini's, which leads me to suppose his 
 whole statement an error.* 
 
 From Mantua, Cherubini went to Milan to see 
 Sarti again, to whom he ascribed whatever successes 
 he had achieved, and under whom, according to 
 Denne-Baron, he once more placed himself, writing 
 excellent fragments of religious music, which are to 
 be found among Sarti's works, but not in Cherubini's 
 catalogue. That Cherubini rejoined Sarti whenever 
 he could do so is asserted by one or two biographers, 
 • Arnold, pp. 6, 11. 
 
Invitation to London. 23 
 
 and may be believed. Thus we have the positive 
 assertions of Castil-Blaze and Miel, that Gherubini 
 had not broken with Sarti when producing his first 
 opera — a statement which is supported by the fact 
 of Gherubini returning to Milan after Quinto Fahio 
 had been brought out, though studies, during such 
 snatch visits as he may have made, must have been 
 prosecuted but desultorily. Both Gherubini and 
 Sarti at this time simultaneously quitted Italy, Sarti 
 proceeding to Russia. By means of the latter's con- 
 nection with England, where his operas at this period 
 found acceptance, and thanks also to the reputation 
 our composer had acquired, Gherubini received an 
 invitation to visit London professionally. 'I left 
 for London,' he says, ' about the autumn of this year' 
 (1784). On his way thither he passed through Turin, 
 and received a visit from the committee of the Eoyal 
 Theatre, who asked him to write an opera for them, 
 which he promised to do as soon as his engagement 
 in England was over. 
 
 Passing through Paris, where the excitement of 
 the late contest between Gliick and Piccinni had 
 scarcely calmed down, he there made the acquaint- 
 ance of Viotti, one of the bell; friends whom he ever 
 had, and with whom he kept up a correspondence while 
 in England. Some say that this acquaintance sprang 
 up a little later, on Gherubini's second visit to Paris. 
 
24 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 On arriving in London as composer for the Italian 
 Theatre, Cherubini assisted at the Handel Comme- 
 moration in Westminster Abbey,^ in July 1784 ; and 
 after writing four pieces for a pasticcio entitled // 
 Demetrio, and two more pieces as a contribution to 
 some opera, all of which, sung by Babini and Cres- 
 centini, were well received, he brought out La Finta 
 Principessa, an opera in two acts, at the Haymarket, 
 with applause. 
 
 The state of music in England at this time was, 
 apparently, not very reassuring. Handel had been 
 dead some twenty-five years ; and while he had nobly 
 striven to hold his own against Buononcini and the 
 Italians in his operas, and beaten them off the field 
 in his oratorios, yet his influence quickly declined 
 after his death ; and though at last people bethought 
 themselves of a Handel Commemoration, it was left 
 to more recent times to set a just store on many of 
 his grandest inspirations. Italian music, when Han- 
 del was no more, continued to flourish in England 
 as though it had never known defeat, just as it did 
 in Paris when Gliick left. No doubt Paisiello and 
 Cimarosa were far better than Buononcini and Por- 
 pora ; but native talent was not encouraged by the 
 
 " I give this on Mr. G. Grove's authority (An. Progr. Overt. Medea), 
 though CheiTibini, as we have seen (p. 23), writes that he left Tui-iii 
 about the autumn. 
 
Giulio Sabino. 25 
 
 preeminence of Italian opera any more than it is at 
 the present day. 
 
 In 1786, Cherubim inserted six airs into Paisiello's 
 II Marchese Tulipano, besides others ; and Lafage thus 
 remarks upon then^^ ' The greatest praise thaft can be 
 given to these piece.sjris to say that the vpieces inter- 
 polated sustained without any loss th&-:vicinity of the 
 admirable njelodies of Paigiello.' Gherubini became 
 also, it is said, director of a Philharmonic society, and 
 superintended the representation of -various works of 
 Cimarosa and Paisiello. According to.Picchianti, he 
 was king's musician fpr two years ; .but Dr. Burney 
 only mentions him as nominal composerifor the year 
 1787. His reputation .admitted him to the society 
 of the Prince of Wales, afterwards Geprge IV., who 
 was delighted with his -talent and agreeable voice. 
 The prince was fond of singing, and Gherubini sang 
 at the royal amateur's reunions, as well ,as at those 
 of William, fourth Duke of Queengberry, who had a 
 particular affection for qur composer. 
 
 Of the second work produced at the Hg,ymarket — 
 the libretto of which wasiby Metastasio, and in which, 
 according to the Harmomcon, Marchesi made his Lon- 
 don di6but — Dr. Burney^ remarks : ' His opera of Giulio 
 Sabino was murdered in its birth, for want of the 
 necessary support of the capital singers in the prin- 
 ' History of Music, ed. 1789, vol. iv. p. 527. 
 
26 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 cipal parts. Babini, the tenor, being elevated to first 
 man, and the Ferraresi to first -woman, were circum- 
 stances not likely to prejudice the public in favour 
 of the composer.' Cherubini was much annoyed at 
 the failure of his serious opera, and writes : ' I quitted 
 England about the period of the month of July in 
 this year (1786); I came to Paris,' — accompanied 
 by the singer Babini, — ' and established myself 
 there.' Still he haid not yet finished with England. 
 The theatrical season' for 1786 being over, he took 
 his holiday, and crossed over to the Continent. 
 
 At Paris he now composed the cantata Amphion, 
 written for the 'Loge Olympique,' but never per- 
 formed. He had rtiealnt, eventually, to rejoin his 
 family in Italy, but being strongly urged by Viotti 
 to remain at Paris, and persuaded into the belief 
 that artists had there a higher position and a better 
 field for action, he gave up his first idea. Viotti 
 presented him to Queen Marie Antoinette, who 
 wished to hear some of our composer's music at the 
 concerts which she gave at Versailles, and who was 
 struck by his superior manner and bearing. Speak- 
 ing 'of Cherubiai about this time, Hal^vy says : ' It 
 was a happy era for him, for success flattered him. 
 He had then seen twenty-eight years. A portrait, 
 painted a little after this period, shows him to us 
 graceful and studious in his person, gifted with a 
 
Cherubini in Paris. 37 
 
 noble and expressive countenance^ and with a per- 
 suasive air. The world liked him, and he liked the 
 world. He was for a moment all the rage, and be 
 came a lion.' After the presentation to the Queen, 
 Viotti introduced Cherubini to the hi'ghest society 
 of the capital; to M-ada/me de Polignae, Madame 
 D'Etioles, Madame de Richelieu, and so to those 
 bright assemblies where Garat and Azevedo sang; 
 to Flo?ian the author, on whose romance of Estella 
 Cherubini, in 1787, wrote eighteen' romanzas; to 
 the Abb^ Morellet, the brilliant Piccinifit ; and, lastly, 
 to Marmontel, with whom he firat became acquainted 
 at Morellet's- house, and who gav-e him his poem of 
 DSmophon to set to music. Viotti, further, intro- 
 duced him iato ther ' Societe Academique des Enfans 
 d'ApoUon,' an association for concerts, founded in 
 1741, which, I believe, still exists. Especially, and 
 above all the other associations to which he ulti- 
 mately belonged, did Cherubini prize in his heart, 
 when Viotti was no more, his membership in that 
 society, as reminding him of- the kindness of his 
 truest friend of all, in days that had long gone by. 
 At one of the ' Concerts des Amateurs' he heard a 
 symphony of Haydn, which pleased him so much 
 that on the same evening he began to study that 
 master's works. In him,, we are told, he recognised 
 his own power. 'He learned from Haydn how to 
 
28 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 combine depth witla lightness, gi-ace with power, 
 jest with earnestness, toying with dignity.'* 
 
 The vacation being over, Cherubini returned to 
 England ■■to fulfil his engagement as king's musician 
 for 1787.' Dr. Burney says,: 'Cherubini, the nomi- 
 nal composer in this y-ear- (1787) at the opera, was a 
 young man of genius, who had no opportunity while 
 he was here of displaying his abilities, but previous | 
 to his. arrival he had frequently been noticed in his 
 own country, where he is now travelling fast to the 
 Temple of Fame.' ' Gn the 13th of January 1787,' 
 adds Dr. Busney, ' was first performed a comic opera 
 called Giannina e 'Bernardoni, originally composed by 
 Cimarosa, but in which many songs were now intro- 
 duced of Cherubini.' Paisiello's -Gli Schiavi per amore 
 was also brought out. 
 
 On returning to Paris, Cherubini took up his 
 abode with Yiottr, ^and for more than three years the 
 
 ' Arnold, p. 19. 
 
 " De Lemerjie aiid the Nmmelle .Biogr<iphie Genirale mention 
 distinctly Cherubini^s return to i^ngland in 1787. Denne-Baron speaks 
 of Cherutini'B return from London to Paris in that year, and Nisard 
 confronts him, saying,: ' For this circumstance to he exact. the illus- 
 trious composer must have ab-eady come to the French capital.' Well, ' 
 in any case, he had come once before to Paris, while passing through 
 to England for the first time ; CastU-Blaze's speaking of Cheruhini'a 
 several visits to Pari* while in England implies a return to Englamd. 
 The eighteen romanzas, too, apart from Dr. Bumey'e testimony, are 
 significant of Cherubini having been busy in England in 1787, being 
 the only compositions, in the catalogue, for that year. 
 
Ifigenia. 29 
 
 two friends lived under the same voof. Cherubini 
 now bethought hini< of his promise at Turin -so, at 
 the camiTal of 17&8'; he went there and' composed 
 and produced his brilliant" three-act opera^ of TJ^gfenw 
 in AuMcHe, the last work he wrote in Itkly." The suc- 
 cess of the opera was- so great that Marchesi, the 
 celebrated ginger, made choice of it for singing in, 
 during the autumjQ seasouj at La Scala, Milan, where 
 he made no little effect with the air ' A voi torno 
 Sponde amate.' I/lgenia was also performed at 
 Florence and Parma, and always, if we are to be- 
 lieve the journals of the day, with success. We 
 may be glad that it was so, and that Cherubini left 
 Italy for good and all, in sunshine. Yet, although 
 he had nearly reached the number of years allotted 
 to Schubert, he had hitherto done little or nothing 
 really great. Had he died at this period he might 
 now be a rather obscure name in F^tis' immense 
 dictionary. His genius, like that of Gliick, deve- 
 loped slowly. A short life would have been fatal to 
 the renown of both. Yet, in the last opera written 
 for Italy by Cherubini, Hal6vy detects something 
 auguring future greatness. ' This opera,' he says, 
 ' differs in style from Cherubini's preceding works. 
 
 i« De Lomenie supposes that Ifigenia was brought out at Turin 
 before Cherubini went to London a second time in 1787, but the 
 catalogue would hare set him right on this point. 
 
30 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 He is already more nervous ; there peeps out, I 
 know not exactly how much of force and virility, of 
 which the Italian musicians of his day did not know, 
 or did not seek the secret. It is the dawn of 
 a new day. Cherubini was preparing himself for 
 the combat. Gliick had accustomed France to the 
 sublime energy of his masterpieces. Mozart had 
 just written Le Nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni, 
 He must not lag behind ; he must not be conquered ; 
 in that career which he was about to dare to enter, 
 he met two giants. Like the athlete who descends 
 into the arena, he anointed his limbs ; he girded his 
 loins, like the warrior who goes forth to fight.' 
 
 Cherubini returned definitively to Paris, where 
 he lived and died, where he was to influence, as the 
 author oi Alcestis had done before him, the taste of 
 a people, and pass through a brilliant, if somewhat 
 chequered career. 
 
CHAPTER III; 
 1788-1791. 
 
 CheiTibini's and Vogel's Demopfto«s— Marmontel's libretto — The Loge 
 Olympique — Circe — The Bouffons — Chernbiai is made Director of 
 Italian Opera at the Tuileries — Inserts pieces of his own in the 
 works put on the stage — His trials during the Revolution — He is 
 forced to leave the TuUeries — Cheruhini's and Kreutzer's Lo- 
 
 When Cherubini arri-ved in Paris from Turin in 1788, 
 two operas called DSmophon were close upon com- 
 pletion, one by Vogel, tlie other by Cherubini Kim- 
 self, who had begun to work on Marmontel's story 
 while in England. Vogel was already known to the 
 public as the composer of the Toison cf Or, and had 
 previously been offered Marmontel's libretto, but, 
 being a dilatory man, had kept the managers of 
 the opera waiting two years without finishing the 
 music, for which reason the poem was given to Che- 
 rubini. Vogel, in all probability, now transferred 
 what music he had already written for Marmontel's 
 BSmophon to a libretto on a similar subject by Des- 
 riaux. His great fault was his preferring to fill his 
 wine-glass to keeping his engagements; that was 
 
32 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 all. But on the 28tli of June 1788 he died, ft may- 
 be saidi bottle in hand, with a fever besides,. Both- 
 operas had been written for the Royal Academy of 
 Music, but, wisely enough, were not brought' out' at' 
 the same time. Lays; the singer, wished* Vogel's- 
 Dimophon to eome first, but Cherubini contrived' to 
 obtain for his opera the priorfty of performance. 
 This preference excited some emnity againS't Che- 
 rubini, so that when Vogel's work did appear it was 
 cried up with much energy. Desriaux's libretto was 
 better than Marmontel's, who had followed Metas- 
 tasio too servilely, and brought in the two pairs of 
 lovers, always so essential, says Castil -Blaze, in ~ 
 Italian opera. He adds : ' There was then a mania 
 at the Opera for doubling these lovers, and for bring- 
 ing forward two works in succession, composed on 
 one given subject. By this means a saving was 
 made in cloth, and the make-up of a collection of 
 costumes ; and the same decorations served for both 
 dramas.' Cherubini's Dimophon first appeared De- 
 cember 5th, 1788, conducted by the composer himself ; 
 that of Vogel not till the 22d of September 1789. 
 Neither was successful, though Vogel's overture 
 became popular. Cherubini's overture, which be- 
 gins in C minor, then goes into the key of G, then 
 returns to the original key, and concludes in C 
 major, is a vigorous composition, and would be 
 
D'emophon. 2)Z 
 
 an effective piece for our concerts. -Nearly all the 
 subsequent overtures of Cherubini are familiar to us ; 
 but this, which may be called the first of his known 
 ones in order of time, has never, I think, been given 
 in England. 
 
 Oi BSmophon itself F^tis observes: 'It produced 
 little effect, and the public received it with coldness. 
 It is a curious subject for historical study to compare 
 the score of this opera with Ifigenia, which Cherubini 
 had written at Turin at the beginning of the same 
 year (1788). In this latter score melody abounds, 
 and among several pieces full of charm you remark 
 a trio of the greatest beauty. DimopJion, on the 
 other hand, offers us nothing but a dryness in the airs, 
 a number of faults as regards rhythm and symmetry 
 of phrasing, and, what is worse than all, a languid 
 monotony in the general tone of the work. There is 
 nothing remarkable even in the harmony ; and you 
 regret to recognise in this feeble production the 
 labour of a man who soon afterwards came to be 
 justly thought a great master. Whence did an 
 embarrassment that so cramped Cherubini's genius 
 arise ? It was clearly produced by the requirements 
 of the French stage, hitherto unknown to the com- 
 poser, and which he had not yet had time to study; 
 besides the exigencies of an unmusical language, 
 which did not afford him the cadenced rhythms of 
 
 D 
 
3-* Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 his native tongue — rhythms so favourable to the 
 forms of melody. The constraint and anticipation 
 of these difficulties become everywhere apparent in 
 BSmophon, and talent exerted under such unfavour- 
 able circumstances could only bring forth what is 
 second-rate. From time to time you perceive the- 
 beginning of a felicitous melody — for instance, in 
 the air, "Faut-il enfin que je declare?" and in this one, 
 " Au plaisir de voir tant de charmes," &c. ; but the de- 
 testable sham lyric verses of Marmontel soon come 
 to dissipate the melodious essence that seemed will- 
 ing to exhale itself. Poor Cherubini did not know 
 what to do with these verses of every dimension, 
 which sometimes forced him to make his phrase of 
 five measures, and at other times allowed him only 
 one of two, or made him increase the value of the 
 musical time, so as to make two measures with one. 
 The composition of this opera must have been for 
 him a prolonged torture.'^ 
 
 Picchianti observes, that in Dimophon Cherubini 
 ' exhibited a more elaborate workmanship, more 
 grandeur of form, and so suddenly perfected his 
 style, that he rose above the ordinary and popular 
 intelligence of the time. And only to those,' he 
 adds, ' who thoroughly understood him was it given 
 to foresee what a brilliant future for the French 
 ' Biog. Univ. vol. ii. p. 265. 
 
D'emophon. 
 
 iS 
 
 lyric stage the new composer was preparing; so 
 great were the masculine beauties that appeared in 
 -this Spartan; but these, from some other cause, 
 were not thought suflScient to compensate for the 
 want of colour and dramatic interest — faults per- 
 vading the whole opera, and which are to be as- 
 signed more to the poet than to the musician.' He 
 continues : ' Among various pieces, the chorug, " Ah ! 
 vous rendez la vie," especially, by the merit of the 
 
 Allegretto. 
 
 EEE 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 fif>'9 con grazia. 
 
 i^cpi' 
 
 p:ft 
 
 -n- 
 
 ;^:t 
 
 ^1 
 
 ^S 
 
 
 1^ J I I m 
 
 :sat 
 
 Sit 
 
 f=lf: 
 
 ls< Sop. 
 dolce. 
 
 2nd Sop. 
 
 I 
 
 K >» 
 
 -g'-g^- 
 
 rS ,:^ 
 
 i^czprpqc 
 
 iE 
 
 erp: 
 
 :t2=t2=tif=^! 
 
 -^- 
 
 :p?= 
 
 Ab ! TOUB ren - dez la 
 
 I I r 
 
 Ah ! T0U3 ren - dez la vie, 
 vie, a dea meree, 
 
 
 T- 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ■-E — r 
 
 zwMz 
 
 ^.^c. 
 
 •^semprepp e legg. ^ I 
 
 instrumentation, the texture of the vocal portion, 
 and the robustness of the style, might have been 
 called, when it appeared, a conception of a new crea- 
 tion, the announcement of a new school.' Fetis has 
 
3 S Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 expressed himself in almost identical terms. The 
 chorus for men's voices, 'Le plus beau sang,' may 
 also be mentioned. 'There was certainly a great 
 merit,' says Hal6vy, ' in the instrumentation in B&- 
 mophon ; there were beautiful choruses. Already in 
 this work the composer was laying the foundations 
 • of a new school and a new style. But these quali- 
 ties could not be appreciated by the public; and 
 then inspiration was wanting. I could have wished 
 Cherubini had been counselled not to. break away 
 brusquely and entirely from his beautiful Italian 
 school.' Again he says : ' All hitherto had gone 
 well. Fortune came before the young composer. 
 The world, the poet, the theatre, seconded his dear- 
 est wishes. Marmontel had handed him the poem 
 for the opera; it was a Ddmophon. Everything 
 smiled on Cherubini ; everything henceforth seemed 
 likely to succeed with him. In fact, everything did 
 succeed — except Dimophon' Hal^vy goes on to 
 deplore that Cherubini took Marmontel as his li- 
 brettist. ' I regret,' he exclaims, ' that Cherubini, on 
 arriving in Paris, should have fallen into the hands 
 of Morellet and Marmontel. I could have wished 
 that his good genius had applied to Sedaitie. The 
 aged author of Richard Cosur de Lion would have 
 understood what the young artist, a stranger, rest- 
 less in the road he had to follow, wanted. He would 
 
Demophon. 37 
 
 have made him a good drama, a very musical one, 
 in which Cherubini would have found noble and 
 grand inspirations. He would not have thus failed 
 in the eclat of his debut, and we should have had one 
 beautiful work the more. That had occurred to 
 Cherubini which happens to a traveller who, thrown 
 into the heart of a great city with which he is not 
 acquainted, asks his way from great lords and the 
 like — men only accustomed to go out in carriages. 
 With the best faith in the world, they give him false 
 directions, and lead him astray. An honest bour- 
 geois, who plods the streets on foot, would be worth 
 a hundred times as much.' Cherubini's first French 
 opera, however, brought him into much notice, and 
 some drawing-rooms even ventured at applause. 
 Among the small fry of Italian composers, the tra- 
 gedy oiDSmophon must have fallen like a bombshell. 
 Such a work, at once scientific and noisy, was some- 
 thing perfectly new; and what must have been the 
 disgust of Marmontel? He was a Piccinnist. Clearly 
 he had not caught hold of the right man to con- 
 tinue Piccinni's school; and had he known the re- 
 mark of a wag who had just heard his new lyric 
 production, he would have been no better pleased : 
 ' Si des mots font un op&a, Dimophon est un op6ra.' 
 For the present, Cherubini determined to write no 
 more tragic music. 
 
38 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 The concerts of the Loge Olympique, for which 
 Cherubini wrote the cantatas AfnpJiion and Circe, 
 were, at this time, patronised by Queen Marie An- 
 toinette, who granted the Loge an apartment for its 
 performances at the Tuileries. Here, in 1789, Ma- 
 dame Todi, the rival of Mara, sang the scena, 'Sa- 
 rete alfin contenti,' written expressly for her by 
 Cherubini. Miel calls Circe one of the masterpieces 
 of the French lyric drama. He seems to mean Che- 
 rubim's work ; but he is surely thinking of Kous- 
 seau's cantata of that name. But if Cherubini put 
 to music the woi;k of Rousseau, it is to be hoped 
 that he was fully equal to the occasion; for unless 
 a composer were thoroughly in the vein, it would 
 be no easy matter to set the following verses, to be 
 found in Rousseau's libretto : 
 
 ' Sa Toix redoutable 
 TrouWe les Enf era : 
 Un bruit formidable 
 Groude dans les airs. 
 TJne voile effroyable • 
 
 Couvre I'uniTers : 
 La terre tremblante 
 Frfiinit de terreur ; 
 L'onde turbnlente 
 Miigit de fm-eur : 
 La lune sanglante 
 Eecule d'horreur !'• 
 
 In 1789 Leonard, perfumer to the Queen, and a 
 
 ' Framery and Ginguene'a ' Mnsique' in the Encyclopidie Mitho- 
 dique. 
 
The Bouffons. , 39 
 
 man of great wealth, obtained, througli her influ- 
 ence, a license to open a theatre for Italian opera, 
 and thereupon sent Viotti to Italy to obtain the best 
 singers. Viotti returned, after having engagd'd Vi- 
 ganoni, Mandini, Mengozzi, Kevedino, the fine actor 
 EaiTanelli, and Mesdames Morichelli and Banti. Ma- 
 dame Baletti, already in Paris,, was also engaged. 
 For the latter, who made her debut at one of the 
 Concerts Spirituals in the November of 1788, Cheru- 
 bini wrote the scena and air, 'Ma che vi fece, oh stelle,' 
 mentioned by De Toulmon in his supplement to 
 Cherubim's Catalogue. ' Her voice,' says F6tis, ' was 
 sweet, her vocalisation perfect, her expression touch- 
 ing.' The whole company was placed under the 
 patronage of Monsieur, Comte de Provence, after- 
 wards King Louis XVIII. The Theatre de Monsieur 
 was temporarily opened in the hall of the Tuileries 
 on the 26th January 1789; and the ' Troupe de Mon- 
 sieur,' or the ' Bouffons,' as they were more generally 
 called, began a series of such performances of the best 
 operas of Cimarosa and his school as could not be 
 excelled in any other part of Europe. F^tis says : 
 'The troupe made its debut in a kind of booth, which 
 was called " Le Theatre de la Foire St. Germain," ' 
 forgetting that it was not till afterwards that they 
 removed thither. Elsewhere he speaks differently : 
 'Cette compagnie d^buta en 1789 aux Tuileries;' thus 
 
40 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 confirming HaMvy's statement, wliicli is my authority, 
 and contradicting his own.^ Cherubini had been 
 made director of the company, and had the deli- 
 cate duty to discharge of assigning the parts to the 
 singers, and arranging the works for Representa- 
 tion ; and so untiring was his zeal, so much did he 
 exert himself in his new undertaking, that his friends 
 feared for his health. He strictly required from 
 others the saipe exactitude which he practised him- 
 self, and often lost patience and became severe, says 
 Picchianti, if any of the singers were deficient in 
 attention at rehearsal, or in ability in their respective 
 parts. The Harmonicon remarks, on the other hand : 
 ' He had the happy art of gaiuuig over the singers 
 to his views by a suavity of manner and a concilia- 
 tory mode of address, not always possessed by one 
 of his talent and profession.' Cherubini sometimes, 
 but Mestrino generally, led in the orchestra; and 
 the latter, dying in the September of 1790, was suc- 
 ceeded by Puppo the violinist. To bring out farther 
 the talent of the singers, Cherubini inserted thirty- 
 seven airs in the Italian operas which he put on the 
 stage, all of which excited on their appearance ge- 
 neral attention, and among them must be noticed 
 the trio, ' Son tre, sei, nove,' in Cimarosa's Italiana 
 in Londra; the quartet, 'Non ti fidar,' in Gazzaniga's 
 • See Biog. Univ. toI. ii. p. 265, and vol. viii. p. 362. 
 
His Airs in the Italian Operas. 41 
 
 Don Giovanni; the superb quartet, 'Cara da voi di- 
 pende,' which was much applauded, in Anfossi's Viag- 
 giatori Felici ; and the nine airs in V easieWo' 8 La MoK- 
 nara ; these last were greatly admired by King Louis 
 XVI., who attended some of the performances : 
 
 1789. Paisiello's La Molinara, nine pieces contributed. 
 
 1789. Gnglielmi's La Pastorella Nobile, one piece, represented Dec. 12. 
 
 1790. Paisiello's La Grotta di Trofonio, two pieces. 
 1790. Desaugier's (?) Les Deux Jumeaux, two ditto. 
 1790. Paisiello's La Frascatana, two ditto. 
 
 1790. Anfossi's I Viaggiatori Felici, three ditto. 
 
 1790. Cimarosa's L'ltaliana in Londra, six ditto. 
 
 1791. Paisiello's II Taniburo Nottumo, two ditto. 
 
 1791. Martini's II Burbero di Buoncore, one piece, represented Feb. 22. 
 1791. Gazzaniga's Le Vendemmie, one ditto. 
 
 1791. Paisiello's La Pazza d' Amove, one ditto. 
 
 1792. Gazzaniga's II Don Giovanni Tenario, one ditto. 
 1792. Martini's La Cosa Bara, one ditto. 
 
 1792. Basili's (?) La Locandiera, five pieces. 
 
 ' It has been remarked,' says Lafage, ' that at this 
 period Cherubini had two distinct styles, one of 
 which was allied to Paisiello and Cimarosa by the 
 grace, elegance, and purity of the melodic forms ; 
 the other, which attached itself to the school of 
 Gliick and Mozart, more harmonic than melodious, 
 rich in instrumental details. This manner was, as 
 M. F6tis says, the then unappreciated type of a new 
 school, destined to change all the forms of art.' Che- 
 rubim's popularity, however, was owing to his first 
 style. ' The Italian melody,' observes Picchianti, ' had 
 always a great many admirers among persons of 
 
42 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 education and good taste ; and Cherubim, by his 
 beautiful compositions, the grace of his songs, and 
 the delightful manner of his pianoforte playing, was 
 everywhere welcomed and admired.' Not, however, 
 till the ' Bouffons' left Paris was Cherubini freed from 
 Italian influences, and left to follow his own bent. 
 
 In 1790 he began an opera — Marguerite cCAnjou — 
 for Louis XVI., at the Tuileries; but the march of 
 the Revolution stopped its progress, and he retired 
 for a short time to Breuilpont in Normandy, return- 
 ing to Paris shortly before the King's dreadful journey 
 from Versailles. 
 
 When the Revolution broke out, Cherubini's hopes 
 became almost as clouded as those of the monarchy. 
 Hitherto his connection had distinctly been with the 
 aristocracy, and now they were fleeing in all direc- 
 tions or mounting the scaffold. His livelihood be- 
 came precarious, and he suffered in many ways, 
 especially during the first five years of anarchy. 
 Forced to live in seclusion, he passed his time in 
 studying music, the physical sciences, drawing, and 
 botany, and, wisely enough, limited his circle of ac- 
 quaintances to a few trustworthy friends, musicians 
 like himself. His having learnt the violin when a 
 child was the means of saving his life in the hour of 
 danger. To stir out of doors was more or less of a 
 risk, because numerous and reckless mobs paraded 
 
His Troubles during the Revolution. 43 
 
 the streets night and day. Once, during an occasion 
 of more than ordinary excitement, Cherubini fell into 
 the hands of a band of sansculottes, who were roving 
 about the city seeking musicians to conduct their 
 chants. To them it was a special satisfaction to com- 
 pel the talent that had formerly delighted royalty 
 and nobility to administer now to their own gratifi- 
 cation. On Cherubini firmly refusing to lead them, 
 a low murmur ran through the crowd, and the fatal 
 words, 'The Royalist! the Royalist!' resounded on 
 all sides. At this critical juncture, one of Cherubini's 
 friends, a kidnapped musician too, seeing his immi- 
 nent danger, thrust a violin into his unwilling hands, 
 and succeeded in persuading him to head the mob. 
 The whole day these two musicians accompanied the 
 hoarse and overpowering yells of that revolutionary 
 assemblage; and when at last a halt was made in a 
 public square, where a banquet took place, Cherubini 
 and his friend had to mount some empty barrels and 
 play till the feasting was over. 
 
 Another annoyance for Cherubim was his enrol- 
 ment as a member of the National Guard, which 
 entailed the custody of prisoners, and escorting them 
 to the scaffold. He would gladly have quitted such 
 scenes of horror ; but there were difficulties in the 
 way. In the first place, he was engaged as leader 
 of the Italian Theatre till 1792 ; secondly, it was no 
 
44 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 easy task to elude the vigilance of officials in any 
 attempt at escape from French territory; thirdly, 
 the value of French notes, reduced in France to a 
 fifteenth of their proper value, was almost nominal 
 in other countries, and of gold Cherubini had little ; 
 lastly, he had promised his hand to C6cile, the beau- 
 tiful and accomplished daughter of Signor Tourette, 
 a musician of the old Chapelle Royale, and husband 
 of one of the ladies-in-waiting to the Princesses Ade- 
 laide, and Victoria, aunts to the king. 
 
 When Louis XVI. arrived in Paris from Versailles, 
 the ' Bouffons' had to leave their quarters in the Tuil- 
 eries, and take refuge in the Nicolet Hall, near the 
 fair of St. Germain, until Leonard's new opera-house 
 was ready for them in the Rue Feydeau. This ex- 
 plains the Catalogue, where Cherubini, speaking first 
 of the Th^^tre des Tuileries as the place where the 
 Italian operas were brought out (which was no other 
 than the hall of the Tuileries, otherwise called — 
 though never by Cherubini — the ' Theatre de Mon- 
 sieur'), subsequently alludes to the ' Th^eltre de la 
 Foire St. Germain.' 
 
 A French company now joined the Italian troupe, 
 already strengthened by the acquisition of Garat; 
 and on the opening of the Th^^tre Feydeau, the first 
 work performed there was Persuis' Nuit EspagnoU; 
 the second was Cherubini's Lodoisha, which our com- 
 
Lodoiska. 45 
 
 poser had been preparing a long time, and which was 
 received, especially in Germany, with ever-increasing 
 applause. We are now afforded the unusual spec- 
 tacle of an Italian upsetting the popularity of Italian 
 operas. The mio-tesoro style was ill-fitted for stirring 
 times. For about 1789, as in politics, so in music 
 and literature, a new spirit was rising. The dramas 
 of Racine and the operas of LuUi were much akin 
 to one another ; and the genius of Schiller had its 
 counterpart in that of a Beethoven. ' We can easily 
 understand,' observes OulibischefF, 'how Mozart's 
 popularity must have thrown the Italian masters of 
 the transition period into the background. But 
 there was another rival element still more terrible 
 and destructive to them, viz. the contemporaneous 
 rise of the true dramatic music of the nineteenth 
 century — the music founded by the great masters 
 of the French school, Cherubini, M^hul, and Spon- 
 tini. What could composers who continued to work 
 on a worn-out system do against such works as 
 Lodoislta, Les Deux JournSes, Faniska, Joseph, and Die 
 Vestalin, which Europe received with enthusiasm, 
 and in which it recognised itself? .... If, on the 
 one hand, Gluck's calm and plastic grandeur, and, 
 on the other, the tender and voluptuous charm of 
 the melodies of Pinini and Zacchini, had suited the 
 circumstances of a state of society sunk in luxury. 
 
4-6 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 and nourished -witli classical exhibitions, this could 
 not satisfy a society shaken to the very foundations 
 of its faith and organisation. The whole of the 
 dramatic music of the eighteenth century must na- 
 turally have appeared cold and languid to men 
 whose minds were profoundly moved with troubles 
 and wars ; and even at the present day the word 
 "languor" will, perhaps, best express generally that 
 which no longer touches us in the operas of the last 
 century, without excepting even those of Mozart him- 
 self. "What we require for the pictures of dramatic 
 music is larger frames, including more figures, more 
 passionate and moving song, more sharply marked 
 rhythms, greater fulness in the vocal masses, and 
 more sonorous .brilliancy in the instrumentation. All 
 these qualities are to be found in Lodoisha and Les 
 Deux Journies, and Cherubini may be regarded not 
 only as the founder of modern French opera, but also 
 as that musician who, after Mozart, has exerted the 
 greatest influence on the general tendency of the art. 
 An Italian by birth and the excellence of his educa- 
 tion, which was conducted by Sarti, the great teacher 
 of composition, — a German by his musical sympathies, 
 as well as by the variety and profundity of his know- 
 ledge, — and a Frenchman by the school and prin- 
 ciples to which we owe his finest dramatic works, — 
 Cherubini strikes me as being the most accomplished 
 
Lodo'iska. 47 
 
 musician, if not the greatest genius, of the nineteenth 
 century.'* 
 
 'Doubtless it is true,' says the NiederrheiniscJie- 
 Musih-Zeitung, 'that Cherubini's services as the re- 
 former of French, or modern, opera are appreciated, 
 especially in Germany, but by no means suiSciently 
 so J because they date from the same period as 
 Mozart's transformation of opera, which came more 
 directly under the notice of the Germans. People 
 still talked and wrote a great deal about Gliick, and 
 the principles which he laid down for the musical 
 drama, but meanwhile they forgot that Cherubini 
 effected just as much as Gliick, in the blending of 
 the music with the poetry, and the characteristic re- 
 presentation of the dramatic situation, though with 
 far greater richness of musical fancy, because he em- 
 ployed in his harmonic combinations a much richer 
 store of instrumental resources and kno.wledge, and 
 raised'the music above the nervous interpretation of 
 the words without sacrificing the psychical truth of 
 expression in the melody. At the same time he de- 
 veloped the received forms, and created, especially 
 for the so-called concerted pieces, perfectly new ones, 
 distinguished for a scope never before known, and 
 for an amount of work previously unattempted. 
 Such a finale as that in Lodoiska, and that in Les 
 < Musical World for 1862. 
 
48 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 ' Deux Jmim&es, was without parallel upon the French 
 operatic stage; and if Spontini subsequently stu'- 
 passed Cherubini in these graiid points, he enjoyed 
 the advantages of Mozart's example, which he could 
 follow, while it was impossible that Cherubini could 
 have known anything about Mozart's masterpieces 
 when composing Lodoislea, Elisa, Medea, and Les 
 Deux Joumiesl 
 
 The historical proofs of this last statement are 
 satisfactory as regards Lodoisha. Mozart's Figaro 
 was first brought out on the 28th of April 1786; 
 his Don Juan on the 4th of November 1787; the 
 Zauherflote on the 30th of September 1791. An 
 unsuccessful attempt was made to introduce the 
 Figaro at Paris on the 20th of March 1793, The 
 libretto was absurdly translated by Notaris, and the 
 music was ill-executed. On the fifth night the piece 
 was withdrawn. Figaro, therefore, was not known 
 to France at all till after Lodoisha had appeared. 
 The Zauherfiote came out after Lodoisha, and a man- 
 gled version of Don Juan was given at Paris in 
 1805, after all Cherubini's operatic masterpieces had 
 appeared. Its first performance there in its en- 
 tirety was not till 1811. But 'there is no doubt,' 
 observes F^tis, 'that Cherubini followed his own 
 inspirations in the new style which he introdiiced 
 into France; a comparison of his style with that 
 
Loddiska. 49 
 
 of his illustriotis predecessor proves it to demon- 
 stration.' 
 
 ' Two men of genius,' observes a critic, ' Gliick 
 and Gretry, had formed the taste of the public, in 
 being faithful to the accents of nature. The idea of 
 reconciling this taste, founded on strict truth, with 
 the seductive charm of the Italian forms, to which the 
 French were beginning to be sensible, suggested to 
 Cherubini a system of lyric drama capable of satisfy- 
 ing this double condition.' All, however, had not been 
 accomplished in Cherubini. ' The career of Gliick,' 
 says Gr6try, ' could be followed out more easily than 
 mine ; we also see Mehul, Cherubini, and Lesueiu* 
 more vigorous than Gliick ; for it is in the spring- 
 time of their life that they are carrying on what 
 Gliick only discovered after a fifty years' experience. 
 What will come after themi In thought I see a 
 charming being endowed with melodious instinct, 
 replete above all, both head and heart, with musical 
 ideas, yet not daring to infringe dramatic rules, 
 known nowadays to all musicians.'* 
 
 Lastly M. Dannreuther remarks : ' All that can by 
 any possibility be accomplished in the musical drama 
 from the musician's specific point of view, and with- 
 out taking the poet into consideration, was accom- 
 plished by Gliick's successors, Cherubini, Mehul, and 
 < GrStry's MSmoires, vol. iii. p. 43. 
 
 E 
 
50 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 Spontini. They have widened, without destroying, 
 the musical forms to the utmost; they maintained 
 the traditional arrangement of the aria ; they ren- 
 dered the recitative, and the connecting links be- 
 tween it and the aria, more expressive; and, what 
 is of especial importance, they allotted the execution 
 of the airs to more than one person, according to 
 dramatic necessities, so that the character of mono- 
 logue, hitherto essential to all operas, was got rid 
 of. Of course duetti and terzetti had been in use 
 long before their time, but the fact that they ren- 
 dered these, which had formerly been mere slight 
 modifications of the solo aria, subservient to the 
 higher purpose of dramatic musical ensemble, — this 
 was the progress which those great men realised;^ 
 "and it would be difficult," remarks Wagner, "to 
 answer them, if they now perchance came amongst 
 us, and asked in what respect we had improved on 
 their mode of musical procedure." Cherubini and his 
 friends had allowed the poet to develop his art in 
 the exact ratio of their own increase of musical free- 
 dom and strength; but with them also he never rose 
 above the position of a subordinate.'" In fact Che- 
 
 = This is, donttleBS, true in the main, tut it may be queBtioned 
 whether Handel's trio, ' The flocks shall leave their mountains,' and the 
 chorus, ' Wretched Lovers,' in Acis and Galatea, have ever been sur- 
 passed for dramatic force and contrast. 
 
 " Eichard Wagner; Ms Tendencies and Theories, p. 28. 
 
Loddiska. 5 1 
 
 rubini anticipated many of Wagner's innovations. 
 To mention but one instance — if not in Lodoiska, at 
 any rate in Les Deux Journ^es — we find indicated 
 Wagner's device of giving certain set musical phrases 
 to each characte'r, by this means individualising it. 
 Thus I remember an observation of Castil-Blaze to 
 the effect, that he knew that Armand was concealed 
 in Mikeli's water-cart, through the playing of a flute. 
 Lodoiska originated in France what has been 
 called musique d'effet, which found numberless fol- 
 lowers, but notably in Mdhul, Steibelt, Lesueur, Ber- 
 ton, Boieldieu, Auber, Meyerbeer, and Rossini; but, 
 says the Niederrlieinisclie-Musik-Zeitung, speaking of 
 Cherubini, ' we must not hold him responsible for the 
 direction which " effect-music" pursued, especially in 
 our own time, through the instrumentality of Meyer- 
 beer.' No, nor for the din of cymbal and gong of 
 Rossini; that padding which is surely the worst 
 musique d!effet possible. What effect-music really was, 
 the NiederrJieinische-Musik-Zeituhg tells us in one sen- 
 tence : ' While Cherubini carried out, in the melody, 
 the fundamental law of dramatic truth, the agree- 
 ment of the music with the situations in the drama, 
 and their poetic expression, as laid down by Gliick, 
 he exhibited greater depth of intention, fuller and 
 bolder harmony, and a style of instrumentation 
 which, by its richness, and the characteristic employ- 
 
52 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 ment of the wind instruments especially, in con- 
 formity with the peculiar quality of their sound, 
 introduced the orchestra in a brilliarit manner, not 
 only as the foundation for the vocal portion, but 
 also as its necessary adjunct, and its equal in bring- 
 ing about the theatrical effect as a whole.' 
 
 Lodoisha cast the old Italian operas into that shade 
 of oblivion from which, with a few exceptions, they 
 have never since emerged. But there was another 
 cause which of itself would have been fatal to their 
 permanent hold of the stage — the composer's defec- 
 tive musical education. Thus while Cherubini went 
 through a thorough training, we have had in melan- 
 choly contrast to him even the gifted Rossini df our 
 own day ignorant of double counterpoint, and de- 
 claring that he wanted no more lessons. And so, 
 though the old struggle, which was going on in Han- 
 del's time, still continues ; though the musical world 
 is yet divided into two camps ; though there are still 
 Gliickists and Piccinnists, lovers of German, lovers 
 of Italian music, Italy is no longer, as once she was, 
 the home of classical music. And she now consoles 
 herself for the loss of such a distinction, by the re- 
 flection that classical music is but another name for 
 what is dull. If Palestrina and Pergolesi could rise 
 up again, they would not conctir in that judgment. 
 
 As there had been two DSmoplwns that came out 
 
Loddiska. 5j 
 
 almost simultaneously, so were there two Lodoiskm. 
 That of Kreutzer, partially known in the ballroom, 
 appeared on the 1st of August 1791 at the Theatre 
 Favart ; that of Cherubini at the TheEitre Feydeau 
 nearly a month earlier, on the 18th of July, with 
 Madarne Scio as prima donna ; and thus about a 
 month after the flight of the king and hjs arrest at 
 Varennes. ^ Lodoisha,' observes F. W. N., a critic 
 (who speaks of the overture, in the Quarterly Musical 
 Magazine), ' has to contend with disadvantage against 
 the showy and beautifal overture to that opera by 
 Kreutzer, which all the amateurs have been accus- 
 tomed to applaud ; but yet, in many respects, it must 
 be owned, comes out from the contest with credit 
 and reputation. There is something of mannerism 
 in the second movement of this piece, compared with 
 the second movement of Anacreon — rnot in the notes, 
 but in the style of the passage — but which may be 
 excused from the peculiar novel effect. Good modu- 
 lations are to be found in the movement to which 
 I allude, particularly the passage begun in A minor, 
 after repeated in A major; and that part where a 
 succession of chords begins upon D, in which the 
 composer has altered the usually received rules for 
 accent, by placing it for bars in succession upon the 
 second part of the bar. Our author's tact appears 
 to lie in that ingenious distribution of particular 
 
54 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 detached passages to the several instruments he_ 
 employs, which so much distinguished the great 
 Mozart ; and to write these with a perfect knowledge 
 of the effects which the mechanical capacity of each 
 is found to produce will be acknowledged as a 
 considerable difficulty by all those who attempt the 
 task.' 
 
 The subject of the libretto_. somewhat similar to 
 those of Fidelio and Gr^try's Caeur de Lion combined, 
 was taken from a romance of Faiblas by Fillette 
 Loraux. The plot is briefly this : Lodoiska is im- 
 prisoned in the castle of a tyrant, Dourlinski, who 
 endeavours in vain to obtain her acceptance of his 
 hand. Her lover Floreski gains admittance to the 
 castle, and, under the pretence of being her brother, 
 comes to claim her on the part of her mother. Flo- 
 reski, having obtained Dourlinski's leave to stay the 
 night previous to his return to Warsaw, is subse- 
 quently discovered attempting to effect Lodoiska's 
 escape by giving the guards drugged wine. At this 
 point, however, the castle is stormed by Titzikan, 
 the leader of the Tartars, and Lodoiska is rescued. 
 The success of Lodoiska was immense, the whole 
 audience (such is the tradition) going through the 
 somewhat wearisome process of rising to their feet 
 and applauding each successive piece. One journal, 
 after speaking of the triumphs of the decorators and 
 
Lodoiska. 55 
 
 machinists, all of whom were demanded at the end of 
 the performance, adds: 'We also called for the author 
 of the music. It is Monsieur Cherubini, a young artist 
 known by several works that have already placed him 
 in the first rank of composers. If we have a reproach 
 to utter about the music of this work, it is this : it is 
 too beautiful; and this is a real reproach. All the 
 pieces, worked out with infinite care, and all equally 
 worked out, do not give the listener time to breathe ; 
 by being forced to admire, you end by being fatigued 
 with this too-continued beauty; you would prefer 
 from time to time simpler pieces, on which to take 
 your repose. You understand that it is difficult for 
 us to single out for remark the best' pieces, where 
 there is not one that is not superb. We distinguish, 
 however, the two pieces that closed the second act, 
 not perhaps as being more beautiful than the rest, 
 but because they offer more contrast.' 
 
 The two pieces here alluded to are in the famous 
 finale of the second act, where Floreski and his ser- 
 vant Varbel are going to drug the guards. Floreski is 
 afraid, since the guards are watching him attentively. 
 ' Us ont tons les regards sur nous,' he exclaims. Var- 
 bel adds: ' La chose est claire.' The first guard whis- 
 pers, 'L'un est maitre, Tautrcest valet;' the second, 
 ' Je pense moi que c'est un traitre ;' the third, ' Si 
 j'en juge par I'apparence, ils me semblent fort in- 
 
S6 Memorials ofCherubini. 
 
 quiets.' Nothing can be more masterly than the 
 music, which, without being disjointed, has to bring 
 out all the different ' asides.' The guards are now 
 asked to retire a little ; the drug is mix,ed with the 
 wine, and the guards are iavited to drink. The in- 
 strumentation here assumes a most brilliant cha- 
 racter. The guards cannot resist an offer of wine, 
 and sing 'Bon, bon,' even when they have fallen 
 down with giddiness. At this instant the grand 
 climax is reached by the appearance of Dourlinski, 
 exclaiming ' Traitres I' Floreski replies, ' Tyran !' 
 'Fr6mis,' shouts Dpm-linski, while the chorus come 
 in, warning Floreski of ' tourmens les plus affreux,' 
 Among the other numbers may be noticed the duet 
 between Titzikan and Floreski, before their fight in 
 the first act, when they do not know each other as 
 friends ; the chorus of Tartars, ' Jurons ;' the bril- 
 liant polonaise, which opens with the violins, and 
 
 ViiMnX. 
 
 P 
 
 :SitS 
 
 -wr\ r-F- r 
 
 ^ 
 
 preludes Varbel's celebrated air, 'Souvent pr^s 
 d'une belle;' Floreski following in a more subdued 
 
Loddiska. ^J 
 
 strain, since he is sad at the loss of Lodoiska. In 
 the second act there is the duet between Lodoiska 
 and Dom-linski, 'A ces traits je connois ta rage,' sub- 
 sequently altered by Cherubini; the scena where 
 Dourlinski orders Lodoiska to be separated from her 
 attendant Lysinka, and where the chorus come in sotto 
 voce, sympathising with Lodoiska, and entreating 
 Dourlinski ' Laissez-lui ce foible recours,' and where, 
 when the tyrant orders Lysinka to be forcibly sepa- 
 rated from her mistress, they sing sorrowfully, ' Fear 
 his anger ;' and lastly, Varbel's air, ' Rien n'6gale sa 
 
 I 
 
 d L ^ .^ J 
 
 T-^-^J^jTi^^^ 
 
 ^0. 
 
 barbaric,' with a brilliant accompaniment given only 
 to the violins (themselves accompanied by the other 
 instruments), which precedes the finale of the second 
 act already noticed. 
 
 In the third act, Lodoiska, after hearing from 
 Dourlinski that Floreski is captured, sings the beau- 
 tiful air, ' Tournez sur moi votre colore.' Then we 
 have the highly effective scene where Floreski be- 
 gins the air, ' Quoi t'unir a ce barbare,' and is fol- 
 lowed by Lodoiska, both subsequently singing to- 
 gether, ' Oui, jurons de mourir ensemble,' while the 
 enraged Dourlinski exclaims, ' Outrage I' The finale 
 begins just where Dourlinski's poniard is turned 
 aside by Titzikan from Floreski, and is preluded by 
 
58 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 a long symphony, occupying sixteen pages of the 
 score. Floreski calls upon the apparently lifeless 
 Lodoiska, and she answers, 'Ah je respire.' To 
 the prisoner Dourlihski's question as to what ran- 
 som is required for him, Titzikan's replies, 'Cap- 
 tivity ;' and here the Poles and Tartars join in with 
 the fine chorus, ' Votre fureur est legitime.' Such is 
 a cursory and necessarily inadequate notice of this 
 great work, of which Clement well observes : ' On 
 trouve dans tout I'ouvrage un style noble et soutenu, 
 des masses admirables et profondes, des modulations 
 riches et varices, qui I'empechent de viellir.' 
 
 In one year Lodoiska was performed two hundred 
 times, and at short intervals two hundred more 
 representations took place. Yet, in spite of these 
 facts, some persons have asserted that its success 
 was impeded by Kreutzer's Lodo'isha. Cherubini, in- 
 deed, did not escape opposition. Some said, 'He 
 enchains the actor to the orchestra.' He and his 
 followers were stigmatised as the mathematical 
 composers, because they worked out their ideas on 
 a principle, carefully and systematically. It will 
 be better, however, to let those opponents who de- 
 preciated Cherubini's operas speak for themselves ; 
 and the following observations, written in Che- 
 rubini's lifetime, will perhaps answer the purpose: 
 'He (Cherubini) excited enthusiasm by his mag-. 
 
Loddi^ka. 59 
 
 nificent quartet, "Cara da voi dipende," in the 
 Viaggiatori Felici ; and yet lie has not become "worthy 
 of being placed beside the PaisieUos, the Guglielmis, 
 and the Cimarosas, his contemporaries; for, though 
 often directing the orchestra of this theatre (de 
 Monsieur), he never dared to risk there any whole 
 opera in his own style — not even one of those which 
 he had composed in Italy. Since it is easier to pro- 
 duce harmonies and noise, effects of purely theo- 
 retical calculation, than to create song, M. Cherubini, 
 renouncing the Italian method, which requires ima- 
 gination and fecundity, allies himself to the German 
 manner, in substituting for an expressive melody the 
 noisy and often unnatural effects of instrumental 
 profusion. The success and vogue which his opera 
 oiLodoiska obtained in 1791 at the Feydeau Theatre 
 made an epoch in that style of which it would be 
 possible to regard him as the inventor, had not M6hul 
 already made use of it {ly but with more reserve, 
 taste, and felicity. It was at that time thought the 
 proper thing to prefer the learned Lodoisha of the 
 Feydeau to that of M. Kreutzer at the Favart The- 
 atre, which was more interesting and less pretentious. 
 This last, however, since the union of the two the- 
 atres, has kept the stage ; the other has disappeared 
 ' There is every evidence to show that Cherubini, in writing the 
 operas of D&mophon and Lodoislca, opened the way for M6hiil, Lesueur, 
 and Spontini.' Clement, Dictionnaire Lyrique, p. 406. 
 
6o Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 from the repertoire even before the musical revolution 
 effected in France by Delia Maria. . . . The other works 
 of M. Cherubini, in spite of the ephemeral success of 
 some of them — in spite of the scientific merit which 
 dilettanti can recognise in various portions of his com- 
 positions — are nearly forgotten nowadays ; they lack 
 essentially verve, variety, and originality(?). Les 
 Deux JournSes is an exception — the only one of his 
 operas which will perhaps survive him — the only one 
 which, since 1800, has remained in the r^pertoire.'^ 
 
 Much of this is very like the old charges which 
 were urged against Gliick, Mozart, Beethoven, and 
 Weber ; in fact, against every innovator. Cherubini 
 was more fortunate than they; opposition to him, 
 in 1791, was vain. The tide had for the moment 
 completely turned against the Italian composers. 
 .Lodo'iska, it has been said, came to console people for 
 Mozart's pren^ature death, and marks the commence- 
 ment of the brightest era in the annals of French 
 opera. 
 
 * Biog. Univ. et Port. 1834. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 1791-1795. 
 
 The theatres at Paris — Flight of Viotti and the Bonffons — Cherubiui 
 takes refuge at La Chartreuse de Gaillon, in Normandy — La 
 Liberie et la Falinodie a Nice — Kourkourgi — Lesueur and Cheru- 
 hini — La Gaveme — Death of Cherubim's father — Elisa — Founda- 
 tion of the Conservatoire — Cheruhini appointed one of the inspec- 
 tors. 
 
 The number and variety of works produced at 
 Paris between 1790 and 1800 is astonisbing. For 
 order, autbority, and religion tbat decade was ter- 
 rible; for music it was glorious. At tbis time twenty- 
 five tbeatres, as tbe foUowiDg list will sbow, existed 
 in Paris, many of tbem time-bonoured buildings, 
 wbere a century and more before bad been beard 
 tbe quiet music of LuUi and tbe stronger strains of 
 Eameau : 
 
 1. OpSra National (Grand Opera), at the Porte St. Martin, which has 
 
 changed its name so often, according to the different goTern- 
 ments that succeeded each other in France, at one time being 
 called Theatre des Arts, at another time ThgStre de la Egpub- 
 lique et des Arts, Theatre Imperial de I'Opfira, Acadgmie Impg- 
 riale, Acadfimie Boyale, &c. 
 
 2. Theatre Fran9ais, at this period Theatre de la ESpublique, at the 
 
 Palais Eoyale. 
 
 3. Another Theatre Fran^ais, at this time Theatre de la Nation, at 
 
 the OdSou. 
 
 4. Op€ra Comique National, at the Salle Favart. 
 
62 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 5. Th64tre Teydeau. 
 
 6. Theatre de la Montagne, or Montaneier, at the Palais EoyaJe. 
 
 7. Theatre National, Rue Richelieu. 
 
 8. Thfisttre du Marais. 
 
 9. Theatre des Amis de la Patrie, at the SaUe Louvois. 
 
 10. Theatre du Lycfie des Ai-ts, Rue St. Honors. 
 
 11. Thfifitre de PAmbigu Comique, Boulevard du Temple. 
 
 12. Theatre du Vaudeville, Rue de Chartres. 
 
 13. Theatre des Varifitfis Amusantes, Boulevard du Temple. 
 
 14. Thfi^tre de la Gaite, Boulevard du Temple. 
 
 15. Theatre des Dflassements Comiques, Boulevai-d du Temple. 
 
 16. Theatre Patriotique, Boulevard du Temple. 
 
 17. Thfitoe sans Prgtentiou, Boulevard du Temple. 
 
 18. Theatre MoliSre, Rue St. Martin. 
 
 19. Theatre de la Cite. 
 
 20. Theatre Lyrique et Comique, afterwards des Jeunes Artistes, 'at 
 
 the comer of the Boulevard and Rue de Lancry. 
 
 21. Theatre de Sans-Culottes. 
 
 22. Theatre de la Rue St. Antoine. 
 
 23. Theatre de Doyen, Rue de Nazareth. 
 
 24. Theatre des Jeunes BlSves, Rue Dauphine. 
 
 25. Theatre des Viotoires Nationales, Rue du Bac. 
 
 During the Republic, Consulate, and Empire, the 
 number of theatres never rose higher than forty-four. 
 In 1807 there vs^ere thirty-three ; an imperial decree 
 reduced them to eight. At the Restoration there 
 vfere fourteen theatres, and in 1847 thirty- three.^ 
 At the period which we are now considering Che- 
 rubini was installed with Viotti and the famous 
 Troupe de Monsieur at the Feydeau Theatre. Mehul 
 reigned supreme at the Favart Theatre.'' The veteran 
 
 ' Aioard's Patria, p. 2350. 
 
 ' It has been remarked by Arnold how strange it is that so few of 
 the operatic masterpieces of Cherubini and Mehul, the leaders in opera 
 at Paris, were brought out for the fii'st time at the great theati'es. 
 
La Palinodie a Nice. 63 
 
 Gr^try, belonging to the old order of things, and fol- 
 lowing in the new movement which had been set in 
 motion against the Italians; the venerable Gossec, 
 Monsigny, and Philidor ; Steibelt, who should be 
 better known; Boieldieu,then beginning to be known, 
 and the persevering Dalayrac — all these aided in 
 making bright the Parisian musical world. The year 
 1792, however, witnessed the departure of the Troupe 
 de Monsieur now thoroughly alarmed at the turn 
 political events were taking, and the disheartened 
 Viotti fled to England.^ 
 
 The crisis came in 1793; the storm burst in all 
 its fury, and when the king mounted the scaffold 
 Cherubini had already taken refuge at La Chartreuse 
 de Gaillon, near Rouen, once a Carthusian monastery, 
 but at this time the country residence of his friend 
 Louis, an architect, whose wife was a good musician 
 and composed dramatic music. Here, living in tran- 
 quillity and safety, he wrote his pieces called La 
 LiberU, et la Palinodie a Nice, canzoni di Metastasio, 
 of which the Quarterly Musical Review observes : 
 ' These duets of one of the most able of our 
 modern composers are in the same style as those of 
 Clari, Steffani, and Handel, but have little to mark 
 them as the work of a modern composer. The 
 characteristics are the same in each movement, vjz. 
 ' Vide here Michaud's Biog. Univ. vol. i. p. 97. 
 
64 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 in the answers and imitations between the parts, and 
 in the modulations and frequent use of chromatics. 
 The melodies are generally of a grave and sedate 
 character, those in the triple time being frequently 
 elegant. The slow movements are, perhaps, the 
 best, and these have frequently much tenderness and 
 pathos. We may name the first and eighth as in- 
 stances. The ninth is a very happy adaptation of 
 the words, but requiring great delicacy of execution. 
 Indeed, the duets are not easy. We consider, then, 
 these > compositions in the light of antidotes to the 
 disorders of the modern school, and capable of giving 
 such a training to the mind as will prepare it for the 
 relish of the beauties of that severe but true style in 
 which passion, not surprise, is the object. They re- 
 quire, and therefore will lead to, musical knowledge 
 and judgment ; but their graceful elegance will very 
 soon reconcile even a vitiated appetite to the ad- 
 miration of their true beauties.' 
 
 The three-act opera of Kourkourgi, composed at 
 this period, 1793, would have been ready for repre- 
 sentation in 1794, but it could not be executed owing 
 to the disorders of the 10th of August, and thus the 
 overture was never written, nor the last part of the 
 finale. The opera, thrust aside into a portfolio, was 
 long afterwards brought out again and to some ex- 
 tent incorporated in ^K Baba, and, according to Place, 
 
Kourkourgi. 65 
 
 in Fanisha. All that I have been able to ascertain 
 about the libretto is that it was a very poor one, by 
 Duveyrier M^lesville the elder, and that Kourkourgi, 
 the hero, was a mandarin, a miser, and a coward. 
 
 Cherubini's visit to Normandy suggests the men- 
 tion of his first recorded connection with Lesueur. 
 In 1793 the latter was in trouble with his opera of 
 La Caveme. Kehearsing it at the Feydeau Theatre, 
 he experienced all kinds of ill-will and annoyance on 
 the part of the artists in the 'orchestra, who styled 
 him 'Monsieur I'Abb^,' because, previous to 1789, he 
 had worn the ecclesiastical collar at Notre Dame 
 when chapel-master there. Shy novice as he was, 
 he feared to estrange both singers and instrumen- 
 talists by making any observations at the rehearsal, 
 and only dared to address compliments. Besides, 
 Lesueur being a bad conductor, the performance, 
 taking everything together, could not have gone 
 worse. Cherubini, who was present, said: 'You 
 know how to compose music well, but not how to 
 execute it well ;' and there and then he took the 
 baton, and led a repetition of the work, with immense 
 success, crowning his proceedings by hissing the 
 actors during the three representations of the work 
 that followed. Further, on going into Normandy 
 he had La Caveme put upon the boards at Rouen, 
 without telling Lesueur, and its success thfere was as 
 
66 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 great as it had been at the rehearsal. Such was 
 Cherubim's elaborate revenge on the singers at Paris, 
 and his vindication of his friend's talent. 
 
 In relating the above circumstances, in his Hxs- 
 toire de la Soci^tS des Concerts, Elwart says that 
 they took place after Cherubini's ' recent success 
 with Les Deux Journeh ; if so, in or after 1800. But 
 La Caverne appeared in 1793, when the incidents at 
 the rehearsal are by several other writers said to 
 have taken place, and when we know for certain 
 that Cherubini paid a visit to Normandy. 
 
 It was at Chartreuse de Gaillon that the news of 
 his father's death reached Cherubini. The funeral 
 expenses necessitated the sale, at Florence, of a little 
 cottage, poorly furnished, which had belonged to the 
 Cherubinis. His paternal inheritance, therefore, only 
 consisted of the small house on the Fiesole road, 
 where he had been born, the rent of which, added to 
 other sums of money, &c., for a long time suflficed to 
 support one of his younger sisters till her death, when 
 the property reverted to the generous brother. But 
 Cherubini, having fallen into want himself, Jiad at 
 last to part with even this small estate. It was 
 when suffering under this blow from the news of his 
 father's death that he wrote the two-act opera of 
 Eliaa, with words by St. Cyr. 
 
 Cherubini returned to Paris in 1794, and on the 
 
Elisa. 
 
 67 
 
 13tli of December in the same year JEli&a appeared 
 at the Feydeau Theatre, with Madame Scio as Elisa. 
 The general judgment on the work was, that it was 
 'too learned, too German,' which, in the opinion ot 
 many, was really a compliment. I proceed to give 
 a short sketch of the dramatic action in Elisa. 
 
 In both the first and second acts the scene is the 
 same, representing a part of the Mont St. Bernard 
 Pass. After the beautiful overture, now rarely it 
 ever performed in England, the scene opens with 
 the celebrated introduction, where the Prior of the 
 monastery and his attendant monks, bearing lanterns 
 and pickaxes, are seen searching in the early morning 
 for any travellers lost in the snow. This picturesque 
 
 g 
 
 Andante eon moto. 
 
 ^ 
 
 Violin 1. 
 
 
 i&E£ 
 
 ^ 
 
 Stac. Violin 2. ^a 
 Viole. r 
 
 Celli. 
 
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 ^ 
 
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 ^^ 
 
 i 
 
 
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 'y 1 r'Vi- i^ r^r^ 
 
 m 
 
 
 8^0. 
 
 -q— 1 / ' V ^ 
 
 movement begins with the strings alone. Then soon 
 
68 
 
 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 succeeds, in striking contrast, a dramatic passage, 
 which, it may be presumed, Denne-Baron chiefly had 
 in his mind when, speaking of the present introduc- 
 
 Ywlm 2. 
 
 EE 
 
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 Coniixn G. 
 
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 i^ufe 1. 
 
 Flute 2. 
 
 -^-i ^,^.S^:^ 
 
 StBI 
 
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 S^s^ 
 
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 Clarineti I S^ 2. y w ft 
 
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 i2rV«t 
 
 tion, he said, ' This music makes me shiver.' Subse- 
 
Eiisa. 69 
 
 quently the chorus come in, but only as an accom- 
 paniment to the violins in the first subject, and ex- 
 claiming, ' ciel, daigne exaucer nos vceux;' and on 
 the entry of the second subject, ' S'il est au fond de ces 
 abimes quelques malheureuses victimes des frimats, 
 des Tents d^sastreux ;' and finally, on the repetition 
 of the first subject, 'Daigne exaucer nos voeux.' No- 
 thing can exceed the force and reality of this chorus, 
 which, written in 1794, has an originality that is un- 
 mistakable. We are next introduced to Florindo, the 
 hero of the piece, and his servant Germain. Florindo 
 sings the fine air (Larghetto, |), 'Lieux sauvages, 
 tristes climats.' To this succeeds a recitative, 
 'L'horreur sombre de ce glacier.' Scenes 3 and 4: 
 Michel the letter-carrier comes by. There is a letter 
 for Florindo, in which he is informed that Elisa has 
 been betrothed to his rival, Sarti. In a long and 
 impassioned scena Florindo gives vent to his feel- 
 ings of sorrow and despair. Sc. 5 : the Prior enters, 
 and seeing Florindo in such distress of mind, endea- 
 vours to console him. Here there is a duet, in which 
 the Prior entreats Florindo to come to the hospice, 
 as night is coming on; while Florindo is not to be 
 consoled or persuaded. The effect of this dramatic 
 piece is heightened by the bell of the monastery be- 
 ginnmg to toll. Here, as Denne-Baron observes, 
 'the celebrated master has shown all that he pos- 
 
70 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 sessed of harmonic resources, and his xmcommon 
 skill in uniting modulations.' The horns sound G 
 
 ^ in octaves on the first and third 
 
 ^ y-(-7- ^— r~^ i* -1 beats in every bar to the end of 
 * ' the piece, and the bell tolls with 
 
 the horns. Meanwhile dusk has set in ; and all the 
 time the Prior is singing, ' Vous entendez la cloche qui 
 rappelle les voyageurs ;' and the scene ends by his 
 persuading Florindo to accompany him. Scene 6: 
 Elisa and Laura, her servant, appear with a guide. 
 Elisa faints with fatigue. The attendants of the 
 hospice are at hand, and she is carried off thither; 
 and so ends the first act, of which Miel observes : 
 'C'est peut-6tre ce que la sc^ne a du plus pathe- 
 tique.' 
 
 The second act, which, it is generally said, is in 
 no way to be compared with the first, opens with a 
 chorus of Savoyards exclaiming, ' Vive la France !' 
 and ' Partons, aliens pour Paris ;' and allusion is evid- 
 ently intended to the passage of the French over 
 the Mont St. Bernard. All this is disenchantment. 
 Scene 2 : the Prior and Elisa converse. The latter 
 discovers from him that Florindo is at the hospice. 
 Here Elisa sings an expressive cantabile air (f ) : ' Je 
 vais revoir tout ce que j'aime.' In the third scene 
 Germain enters, and Elisa asks him what has become 
 of Florindo. Germain replies that Florindo left a let- 
 
Eiisa. 7 1 
 
 ter that morning, saying that, haying been betrayed, 
 he knows how to die. A grand trio (|), ' II vent p6rir,' 
 now succeeds, in which dismay at last gives way to 
 blank speechless despair. The voices of Elisa, Laura, 
 and the Prior die away; the instruments also, the 
 violas alone showing any sign of life up to the close. 
 Scenes 4 and 5 : a storm ; lightning ; Florindo is seen 
 descending the path, followed by Michel. The tem- 
 pest redoubles its fury; a bridge over which they 
 had crossed gives way. Scene 6 : Elisa hurries in with 
 Laura, and approaches the precipice. She sees Flo- 
 rindo : ' Grands dieux {sic), c'est Florindo.' Florindo 
 replies, most unheroically : ' Sauve-moi.' An ava- 
 lanche now hastens the denouement, and Florindo 
 is lost to sight. A chorus above, and one below in 
 the chasm, answer each other. Florindo is disco- 
 vered buried in the snow, and appears. The usual 
 raptures are succeeded by a general chorus. 
 
 Such is a brief sketch of Elisa, with a libretto by 
 no means worthy of the music. If it is really such 
 a poem that has banished so beautiful a work from 
 the stage, it affords but another out of the many 
 illustrations of the truth that the doggerel of a li- 
 brettist can damn an opera from the first. But, 
 putting aside the libretto, we see that, whereas the 
 prevailing character of Cherubini's operas is intel- 
 lectual rather than emotional beauty, Elisa ib an ex- 
 
72 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 ception to the rule, for it touches the heart. In his 
 attempt to unite the Italian melody with the solid 
 harmonies of the German school, he had not yet left 
 that sweet melody so completely as he did in his 
 next opera. Composed under the sorrow of bereave- 
 ment, Elisa, were it not for Les Deux JoumSes, would 
 be unique for its tenderness among Cherubini's 
 operas. 
 
 It was in 1795 that the Paris Conservatoire was 
 founded. After the 14th of July 1789, Sarrette, cap- 
 tain on the staff of the National Guard at Paris, had 
 collected together forty-five musicians, as a nucleus 
 for the performance of the music of the Guard. In 
 the May of 1790, the municipality took this body 
 under their charge, and raised the number of musicians 
 to seventy. On the 9th of June in the same year, a de- 
 cree was issued for the formation of an ' Ecole gratuite 
 de Musique de la Garde Nationale.' By his zeal, Sar- 
 rette came more immediately under the notice of the 
 governriient; and on the 8th of November 1793 (18th 
 Brumaire, an 2) a decree of the Convention created 
 an Institut National de Musique, consisting of 115 
 artists and 600 students, for the purpose of ' cele- 
 brating musically the national festivals.' The place 
 for the Institute was situated in the Rue St. Joseph, 
 the site being now occupied by baths. By a law of 
 the 16th Thermidor, an 3 (August 3, 1795), the Na- 
 
Foundation of the Conservatoire. 73 
 
 tional Convention suppressed the Musique de la Garde 
 Nationale, The same day, however, on the report 
 of one Joseph Chenier, measures were taken for 
 founding a Conservatoire of Music, which at length 
 resulted in its establishment on the 25th of October 
 1795. Sarrette was appointed director, with five in- 
 spectors, Lesueur, Gretry, Gossec, Mehul, and Cheru- 
 bini, the three latter teaching counterpoint. The 
 classes were opened for students a little more than 
 a year afterwards, on the 30th of October 1796. The 
 Conservatoire engaged correspondents abroad, such 
 as Salieri and Haydn at Vienna, Paisiello at Naples, 
 Winter at Munich, and Zingarelli at Rome. A spe- 
 cial commission, consisting of Berton, Catel, Cheru- 
 bini, Eler, Framery, Gossec, La'cep^de, Langle, Le- 
 sueur, Martini, M6hul, Provy, Rey, and Rodolphe, was 
 ultimately appointed for compiling a treatise on 
 harmony for the school, and assembled on the 2d 
 Mvose, an 9 (22d December 1801). Several meet- 
 ings having been dedicated to the consideration of 
 various systems of harmony, the commission finally 
 agreed to accept that of Catel on the 10th Ventose 
 (29th February 1802). Mdhul 'reported progress,' 
 and the resolutions passed by the Conservatoire de 
 Musique with respect to the adoption of Catel's 
 Treatise on Harmony were drawn up and signed by 
 Sarrette as president. Prizes were eventually given 
 
74 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 to successful pupils, who were even sent to Italy for 
 purposes of study at the expense of the state. In 
 1806, a separate department of 'declamation' was 
 formed, composed of eighteen of the most talented 
 pupils, twelve being men and six women ; and for 
 each man there was a gift of 1000 francs, and for 
 each woman 900 francs. Such an institution as the 
 Conservatoire soon brought out a number of distin- 
 guished instrumentalists and vocalists. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 1795-1797. 
 
 Solfeggi — Cherubini's pupils — Hia republican hymns — Foundation of 
 the Institute — Cherubini's marriage — Notice of his children — The 
 Medea. 
 
 In the year of his appointment as an inspector of the 
 Conservatoire Cherubini commenced writing solfeggi, 
 the manuscripts of which are now in the Conserva- 
 toire Library. His labours as a teacher also now be- 
 gan, and he who had been the assiduous pupil of 
 Sarti ultimately became the master of Kuhn, Tariot, 
 Auber, Berton, Baillot, Batton, Carafa, Leborne, Ha- 
 Mvy, Boieldieu, and Zimmermann, to more than one 
 of whom he imparted that nobility of style so pecu- 
 liarly his own. Of these, Batton in 1817 carried off 
 the grand prias for composition, given by the Institute. 
 Hal^vy, for five years Cherubini's pupil, took it in 
 1819, and Leborne in 1820. Cherubini made his 
 pupils do what he had done himself under Sarti, viz. 
 copy out, at times, works by other composers ; for 
 he said that although such works might be mediocre, 
 yet they served this purpose, ' pour apprendre d'eux 
 a ne pas donner dans le travers.' 
 
 F^tis denies that Boieldieu ever was Cherubini's 
 pupil, but Hal^vy writes : ' Boieldieu went and placed 
 
76 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 himself under Cherubini's direction, . . . and asked 
 him the secret of rendering the musical idea more 
 copious, the thought more complete, the form mOre 
 living and salient. The disciple, worthy of the mas- 
 ter, returned strengthened and animated with a more 
 powerful inspiration ; the beautiful works which he 
 has written since are a testimony to that.'^ This was 
 shortly after the production of the Calife, and when 
 Boieldieu had gone through few studies in his art. 
 
 Cherubini being now a government ofScial, we 
 can see how it was that he came to write some of 
 his eight republican hymns. Though the composi- 
 tion of these does not begin to date, as Cherubini 
 states, from 1795, but from 1792, yet three of them 
 were written after the year of his appointment as 
 one of the inspectors of the Conservatoire ; while 
 Denne-Baron states that as early as the June of 1794 
 Cherubini was called to fulfil official functions as 
 professor at the Ecole de Musique de la Garde 
 Nationale. This was the time for patriotic songs, 
 and Cherubini, forced by straitened circumstances 
 to accept more than one civic post, could hardly 
 avoid writing something for the Mountain. Clement 
 deems the composition of the republican hymns far 
 more excusable in a foreigner like Cherubini, who 
 had no special tie binding him to the French 
 • Notice aur A. Adam, p. 15. 
 
Republican Hymns. 77 
 
 monarchy, than in his French fellow composers ; but 
 when, according to the Moniteur of the 26th of 
 January 1796, De Lom^nie finds Cherubini, ' the an- 
 cient prot^g^ of Marie Antoinette,' presiding at a 
 musical party to celebrate the anniversary of the 
 death of Louis XVI. and directing the execution of a 
 chorus, in which may be heard ' the oath of hatred 
 to royalty,' such proceeding is less defensible. But 
 is the tale true ? Of his eight republican compo- 
 sitions Cherubini says, 'These pieces, of each of which 
 I have not the exact date, were composed at different 
 periods of the revolution, counting from this year 
 (1795) up to the year 1798.' Clement, who tells us 
 more about these hymns than Cherubini himself, 
 omits the ' Hymn to the Pantheon,' which Cherubini 
 mentions first in his catalogue, and marks as pub- 
 lished. The Ode for the 10th of August 1792, the 
 words by Lebrun of the Institute, made some stir, 
 and has called forth from Clement the following re- 
 marks : ' The expression of the most violent pas- 
 sions in the text contrasts with the harmonious 
 charm of this composition. The accompaniment is 
 formed by clarinets, horns, and bassoons, which play 
 during the burden of the song an interesting march.' 
 The ' Hymn to Fraternity' (the words by Th. Des- 
 orgues) was sung in the gardens of theTuileries on the 
 1st Vend^miaire, an 2 (Sept. 22d, 1793). Then we 
 
78 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 have the 'Ode on the 18th Fructidor,' the day of the 
 conspiracy of the poniards ; the ' Salp^tre R^puhli- 
 cain,' sung in Pluviose, an 2 (Jan. 1794), at the f^te 
 for the opening of the works for the extraction of 
 saltpetre. The 'Hymn and Funeral March for the 
 Death of General Hoche' (the words by M. J. Chenier) 
 was sung in the Champ de Mars on the 10th Vende- 
 miaire, an 6 (Oct. 1st, 1797), in the state funeral cele- 
 brated in honour of that distinguished soldier : 
 
 ' Du haut de la vofite fiternelle, 
 Jeune hSros, repois noB plenrs I' 
 
 ' This composition,' says CMment, ' which the key of 
 
 G minor renders so mournful, has every beauty.' It 
 
 was subsequently represented at the Grand Op^ra as 
 
 a one-act piece, under the title of Pompe Fwnkhre, 
 
 with additional instrumentation, on the 11th of 
 
 October 1797, and, according to Arnold, in 1798. 
 
 Then comes the ' Hymn for the F^te de la Jeunesse' 
 
 on the 10th Germinal, an 6 (March 30th, 1798) ; and 
 
 lastly, the ' Hymn for the F^te de la Reconnaissance' 
 
 on the 10th Prairial, an 6 (May 29th, 1798). Clement 
 
 remarks that the accompaniment of the latter is 
 
 treated in the most melodious manner. It is curious . 
 
 that in the face of these eight republican hymns 
 
 the Niederrheinische-Musih-Zeitung should assert, that 
 
 ' although . . . the change produced in men's ideas by 
 
 the revolution exerted a deep influence on his (Che- 
 
Foundation of the Institute. 79 
 
 rubini's) style, it is a characteristic fact that the 
 patriotic enthusiasm, which at that period seized 
 even upon musicians, and impelled them to compose 
 revolutionary songs, &c., did not affect Cherubini. 
 He wrote nothing of the kind; while, after Eouget 
 deLisle's "Chant de I'Arm^e du Rhin" (the 'Marseil- 
 laise'), Mdhul composed "Le Chant du Depart," "Le 
 Chant de Victoire," and "Le Chant de Retour;" 
 Gossec, "LaRonde du Camp," the "Hymn to Reason," 
 the " Hymn for the Festival of the Supreme Being ;" 
 Gaveaux, " Le Reveil du Peuple," &c.' Castil-Blaze 
 in his Acadimie mentions a ' Hymne fun^bre sur la 
 Mort du General Joubert' (the words by Chaussard), 
 and a ' Hymne a la Victoire' (the words by Flins), as 
 compositions of Cherubini, which were performed on 
 the stage at the Op^ra National (as well as the 
 ' Hymne k la Fraternity,' and the ' Ode sur le 18 
 Fructidor), but Cherubini makes no mention of these 
 two hymns. There was, as we see above, a 'Chant 
 de Victoire' by Mehul. 
 
 On the 25th of October 1795 the Institute was 
 founded, and the three places assigned to musicians 
 were bestowed on M^hul, Gossec, and Gr^try ; thus ex- 
 cluding Cherubini, who, however, was an Italian, and 
 so could hardly be placed before three famous French 
 composers. In 1816, Louis XVIII. increased to six 
 the number of places reserved for musicians. 
 
8o Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 It was in 1795 t]iat Cherubini married C6cile Tour- 
 ette, already mentioned, who was a faithful com- 
 panion to him through life, and bore him three 
 children — a son and twp daughters: Salvador, an 
 artist of repute, and inspector of the ' beaux-arts,' who 
 died just before the late war between France and 
 Germany ; Victoire, the elder daughter, who married 
 M. Turcas, military commissary of Paris; Z6nobie, 
 the younger daughter, who married the celebrated 
 artist Hippolyte Kossellini. A granddaughter of Che- 
 rubini married M. Duret, a sculptor and member of 
 the Institute. Madame Cherubini died at Neuilly on 
 the 1st of July 1864. 
 
 n Perruchiero is mentioned by the writer in the 
 Niederrheinische-Musik-Zeitung as appearing in 1796, 
 and which he supposes to be an old intermezzo of 
 Cherubini's arranged for the stage. There is no 
 mention of this work in the catalogue. 
 
 Lodoiska had been somewhat gay. After a three 
 years' interval appeared Elisa, a work of a graver 
 cast. Before the composition of these works there 
 had been a struggle going on in Cherubini's mind 
 between two styles. A perfect education, a natural 
 bias, made him lean towards what was strictly classi- 
 cal. As an Italian he might feel some patriotic 
 love for the popular music of his native land. But 
 he might suspect the fate of the Italian music of that 
 
Medde. 
 
 8i 
 
 age, and he therefore chose the path which Grliick 
 had taken, and into which Beethoven was hurry- 
 ing. The profound solemnity of a true dramatic 
 school was to be attained by him in the delineation 
 of a tragedy. Lodoiska and Elisa were but steps on to 
 the Medea, the severest of all Cherubini's works, and 
 where, among his operas, he is most in earnest. 
 Alas that the librettist should not have done his 
 duty ! Had Hoffman written a proper book, Medea 
 would now perhaps be everywhere known. A few 
 words as to the overture. It is perfect, foreshadowing 
 the whole sad story in an awful and pathetic manner. 
 Mark the breadth, the momentum of the opening, 
 the rolling as it were of the tide of human passion. 
 
 Auefivii. 
 
 i 
 
 M 
 
 ^?±g 
 
 i"— r^i j.-->fe 
 
 
 * g^ris 
 
 s: i* w-'0~^m- 
 
 ^ 
 
 \\i3^'J^^0 
 
 ^e. 
 
 ^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 FFf 
 
 *l *!-<H *l 
 
 What a contrast to this subject is the second 
 
 G 
 
82 
 
 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 motive, so simple and unobtrusive, yet so full of 
 
 violin 1, 
 
 m 
 
 SSE 
 
 IP Violin 2. 
 
 —— 1^ 
 
 - r ^- 1 * 
 
 ?2=S= 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 t=t 
 
 f^i 
 
 ^^ 
 
 . Fagotti, fi 
 Vwla. - 
 
 I 1 
 
 ^^m 
 
 s — 1 — — *- 
 
 ^ 
 
 g"^ . -g',^ - 
 
 fe. 
 
 t2= 
 
 «S 
 
 :t: 
 
 FP2: 
 
 ^^^^^ 
 
 t=p 
 
 feeling, vs^ith its pendant a little further on where 
 the emotion would seem to swell with the intensity 
 
 W- 
 
 fc^= 
 
 -J — I- 
 
 4^ 
 
 ?^ 
 
 zt 
 
 .>— 15- 
 
 P^ 
 
 
 f^ 
 
 i:^i¥PP 
 
 «7 FioZ. 2. -i 
 Fioto. 
 
 ttr^ 
 
 
 r 
 
 r f"r 
 
 rter^-^ 
 
 PH ^-^i^,: 
 
 
 r i 
 
 ^■-; 
 
 ka^ 
 
 -j-^-. 
 
 ^c. 
 
 ra»:r 
 
 SSE=^±^ 
 
 I 
 
 -JB- I- 
 
 of grief, and then that sorrowful passage, with its 
 haunting melody for the violins, until the silence of 
 
 Viol. 1. Stacc. 1^^ , -*^ 1^^ I^^ 
 
 m 
 
 to 
 
 ±z±z. 
 
 1 1 
 
 -a.» \ rJ- 
 
 ^=^ 
 
 ^«t 
 
 Viol. 2. - 
 
 ■jS'Fwfa. 
 
 mio:^*---^---^%-^--^- 
 
 tb5^ 
 
 jfe- 
 
 -t 
 
 ffi 
 
 'J.*-;! 
 
 tl 
 
 -P3= 
 
 
 
 fp=^ 
 
 - — p- 
 
 settled despair has come, broken only by the sobs of 
 the instruments ! 
 
Medde. 
 
 83 
 
 rio,.\. ^-S: I 
 
 Flute. 
 
 Ob. 
 
 Pp-i 
 
 !=t: 
 
 — . «ri 
 
 325 
 
 d 
 
 Pf 
 
 Viol. 2. 1 
 
 ^C. 
 
 m^t 
 
 ¥z 
 
 ?2= 
 
 ?2= 
 
 ^ 
 
 ZZ 
 
 pcc, 
 
 Cc/to. 
 
 W 
 
 But I am speaking of an incomparable poem 
 known to most lovers of classical music. Mr. George 
 Grove says of it : ' The intention of the overture — 
 doubtless designed to reflect the story, though quite 
 independent of the opera itself— every hearer may 
 fcest interpret for himself. Though a most effective 
 composition, and as an orchestral piece of music full 
 ■of beauties, it appears to the writer to belong more 
 to the region of pure music — of the overtures to the 
 Zauberflote and Cosi fan Tutti — than to those more 
 romantic and picturesque compositions of which 
 Beethoven gave the world the earliest examples 
 in his Coriolan and Leonora, and which Mendelssohn 
 continued in the Hebrides and Melusina, and other 
 grand and delightful compositions of this class. With 
 all its power and skill, Cherubini's mind was too con- 
 servative and classical to permit of his entering on 
 "this path in the orchestra. But his overtures are so 
 pure, so free from everything petty or commonplace, 
 and so abounding in beauty, that while listening 
 
84 Memorials of Ckerubini. 
 
 to them one may well be pardoned for forgetting 
 that any school of music ever existed but that of 
 which they form so bright and enduring an orna- 
 ment.' 
 
 And now I hope to be excused for indulging in 
 rather a long quotation. The admirable criticism of 
 the late Mr. Chorley on the Medea says all that I 
 could wish to say, and better than I could express it 
 in my own words.^ 
 
 In 1844 the repertoire of the Frankfort theatre 'was 
 tolerably rich and wide, including such works as the 
 Unterhrochene Opferfest of Winter, the Fernand Cortez 
 of -Spontini, and (greatest rarity of all) the Medea 
 of Cherubini. Though that fine composer, by birth 
 Italian, has always been more thoroughly relished 
 as a composer in Germany than in his native coun- 
 try, or in the city of his adoption, Paris; — though 
 his Les Deux Journhs still keeps the stage there (an 
 opera of which it seems impossible to procure a 
 hearing in England),^ his greatest tragical drama 
 in music can hardly be said to exist anywhere. It 
 was only retained on the Frankfort list possibly for 
 the pm'pose of maintaining the dignified and classi- 
 cal character of the theatre. Seldom were the dig- 
 nity and classicality oi Medea, I suspect, allowed a 
 
 ^ I have Tentured to add a few simple musical illustrationB. 
 " This was wiitten in 1854. 
 
Medde. 85 
 
 ■cliance of vindicating themselves to the sprightly 
 audience of men of business and passing tourists 
 that attends the Frankfort theatre. And the per- 
 formance of the opera, that I heard in August 1844, 
 was notoriously a piece of complaisance on the part 
 •of Herr Gulir, then the musical director, to Dr. Men- 
 delssohn ; being in this respect, too, worthy of com- 
 memoration among the pleasant illustrations of ar- 
 tistic intercourse and courtesy in Germany. ' I believe 
 that no niusician or amateur, who then heard Cheru- 
 bim's Medea for the first time, left the Frankfort 
 theatre without enthusiastic admiration of the music, 
 .and without deep regret that an opera so sublime 
 should so soon have passed into the rank of those 
 poems written in a dead language, which, though 
 from time to time disinterred and interpreted for 
 the benefit of the scholar, have no longer a popular 
 existence or acceptance. The music to Medea, in 
 obedience to the arrangement of the drama, is sin- 
 gular in construction. The opera might be objected ' 
 to as one too largely made up of solos aUd duets, 
 were it not for the ingenuity with which the chorus 
 is employed, to heighten and work up several of the 
 movements, so as to conceal the monotony which 
 ■else must have resulted from such a general want 
 of complication. After the wild and fiery overture 
 in F minor, known to the frequenters of our classical 
 
86 
 
 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 concerts, the music commences with a chorus of the 
 'female attendants ofDh-ce, on a gracefully delicate 
 motivo, and deliciously instrumented — the viole di- 
 vided, and the bassoons supporting the second vio- 
 lins in the airy /triplets with which they bear up and 
 connect, as it were, the disjecta membra of a subject 
 thus broken : 
 
 L '■■—■""" I I . . 
 
 _1Z ■ Ma a I M ! 1. 
 
 l^gj^ S^ rrrr f-r h^ ^ 
 
 -^-» — ■ 
 
 ZJ 
 
 This is followed by an air of parade for the chosen 
 bride of Jason, which, though brilliantly and buoy- 
 antly accompanied, is not ' effective, owing to the 
 dryness and insufficient interest of the vocal part.* 
 
 Allegro, , 
 
 :p2=q'=: 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ r^rw^. 
 
 ^ 
 
 :^ 
 
 i 
 
 r-' ' 0f » - r - ' r* 
 
 ?2= 
 
 -^ ** 
 
 ^S 
 
 H 
 
 -I— f- 
 
 ^^S-9- 
 
 JSt 
 
 ■p m » : 
 
 ^c. 
 
 ^-^»-f3_ 
 
 :*=?(= 
 
 Uz 
 
 -I — I — t 
 
 t=t 
 
 ' The Grand March — which introduces Creon (the 
 basso), Jason (the tenor), and the full chorus — is 
 
 ' Thia is surely deemed one of the teautiful airs in the work ? 
 
Medde. 
 
 87 
 
 one of Cherubim's stateliest marches, almost ap- 
 proaching the stateliness of Handel. 
 
 -^ %.A I ,^.f=--^ - I ! , I 
 
 E 
 
 =¥4: 
 
 3-B 
 
 3p:^ 
 
 ;^ 
 
 W^ 
 
 ■Z L cJ A. 
 
 
 ■ Mr M — I — 
 
 ^C. 
 
 ■i*-S^»- 
 
 ^ 
 
 -i»-l* 
 
 J^^ * J- 
 
 nrt 
 
 ' Its dignity and vigour will be best appreciated by- 
 comparing it with such a classical march as that by 
 Spontini in La Vestale. The solo of Jason addressed 
 to Dirce is weak: what composer is there, indeed, 
 who has been able to make the false lover in opera 
 interesting? There are few things, however, finer 
 in music of any age than the following solo, with 
 chorus and principal voices, in which Creon invokes 
 a blessing on the coming nuptials. Here, again, the 
 orchestral portion is rich and sonorous in no com- 
 mon degree ; having that well-nourished substance 
 in its tenor, or central part, which the modern race 
 of effect -mongers too largely disdain ; rising and 
 swelling into a serene and noble grandeur, befitting 
 a prayer, which was supposed to reach the divinities 
 of Olympus on their thrones of" eternal tranquillity." 
 This solo offers almost the last moment of repose 
 and happiness which is to be found in the opera. 
 The next scene abruptly introduces the Colchian 
 
88 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 sorceress, to upbraid and threaten, and in turn to be 
 warned and menaced by Creon, who fancies that' he 
 has power strong enough to drive the evil influence 
 forth. This is done in a piece of declamatory music 
 so full of force and judicial terror, that any mortal 
 woman must quail before it, were she even among 
 queens imperious as Athalia's self. Not so, however, 
 Medea, the sorceress -sovereign. She allows the 
 storm to break on her head, but it does not bow or 
 bend her. Retaining Jason when the rest are gone, 
 she endeavours once again to cast her enchantments 
 round him; at first by ths tale of her sorrow. Her air 
 in F major | — virtually the sortita of the prima donna, 
 and a fine specimen of Cherubini's cantabile style — 
 has still its singularities. The abrupt cry, not to 
 call it jerk, on the word " ingrat !" which finishes 
 many of the phrases, and which unexpectedly starts 
 out simultaneously vnth the last notes of the closing 
 
 3z:|±?zt: 
 
 In-grat, 
 
 symphony, falls on English ears as one of those bit- 
 by-bit settings of single words, which, however spe- 
 cious, are so false in point of art, whenever, as here, 
 they interfere with the general spirit of the compo- 
 sition. 
 
Medde. 
 
 89 
 
 i 
 
 Larghetto, 
 
 j\r^ r 
 
 ^=^ 
 
 J=5- 
 
 ^=s= 
 
 
 3t=SZ 
 
 =^ 
 
 i 
 
 ^^ 
 
 g 
 
 ^ 
 
 =f3^ 
 
 ,r rTte^ 
 
 
 S=^j£fe 
 
 i 
 
 fc: 
 
 
 
 ^c. 
 
 In-grat, in-grat, in - grat. 
 
 ' But were this blemish fifty times as great as it 
 is, it would be forgiven and forgotten for the sake 
 of the duet (in E minor) betwixt Medea and Jason, 
 "Perfides ennemis," which . closes the first act — one 
 of the most highly wrought and thoroughly sus- 
 tained explosions of passion existing in opera. The 
 vocal parts are in the most forceful declamatory 
 style, grand and simple, generally broken; yet, 
 where relief is needed, subsiding into large con- 
 tinuous phrases, as on the first introduction of the 
 
 words, 
 
 Medea, ^-^ > ,,-^ ^c. 
 
 fcS=^ 
 
 r - * ! *•. 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 O Pa- ta - le 
 
 toi - son, 
 
 The orchestra is treated with a fire, an amplitude, an 
 ever-increasing animation and interest, the remem- 
 
Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 brance of which arrests the breath. The scene may- 
 be, perhaps, too long for the possibility of its being 
 adequately supported by the pair who are in dia- 
 logue ; but who can wonder if the composer, con- 
 scious of such riches of resource, was seduced into 
 excess ? On considering it without reference to this 
 practical difficulty, admiration is unbounded ; and 
 even with the faltering, exhausted Medea and Jason 
 before us, whom the Frankfort theatre afforded, the 
 ear was so borne along, and the attention was so 
 fascinated by that wondrous and brilliant orchestra, 
 as to be incapable for the moment of cavil, question, 
 or regret. The close of this- first act of Medea is, I 
 repeat, one of the marvels of music ; almost in opera 
 what one of Lear's great scenes is in tragedy. After 
 such a scene, it was impossible to raise the excite- 
 ment higher — difficult even to recommence. But 
 the force and fervour of Cherubini throughout his 
 Medea are remarkable. The instrumental introduc- 
 tion to the second act has an importance and a cha- 
 racter which at once compel the ear to listen; and 
 after three short scenes of spoken dialogue comes 
 the first of two further duets, in which Medea en- 
 treats from Creon permission to tarry a while longer. 
 To this some variety is given by fragments of dia- 
 logue and chorus being skilfully inwrought with an 
 excellent courage; heightening the probability of the 
 
Medde. pt 
 
 effect, and animating the scene. Next succeeds an 
 arietta for Neris, the attendant of Medea, deliciously 
 scored, yet felt to be an interruption rather than a 
 repose — a fruitless lull in the storm, which is driving- 
 en with its current of wreck and ruin, however mu- 
 sically necessary to give the principal singer a mo- 
 ment's breathing-time. Then comes the last duet 
 between Medea and Jason, in which the tempest 
 breaks out with a yet wilder fury than before. In 
 this will be observed one of the earliest and finest 
 specimens of the tremolando — that expedient since 
 so vulgarised by misuse — hei-e called into play to- 
 picture the fever of wretchedness, suspense, dismay, 
 in the deserted Medea, and of cowardly shrinking in 
 her false lover. As a whole, however, this duet can 
 in no respect be said to surpass the duet of the first 
 act, as was demanded by the sentiment and 1;he 
 situation. We are now at the grand bridal scene,: 
 which sets a seal on th& wretched woman's agony. 
 The important portion of this is the religious march 
 and chorus, to which the procession moves, since th& 
 central slow movement, or concerted piece, intro- 
 duced according to canonical usage, is weak, save 
 at the moment of interruption, when Medea's ejacu- 
 lation (this, strangely enough, is spoken, the or- 
 chestra alone giving the sinister contrast required)^ 
 " Eooutez ausBi ma yois, Hymfenfie !" 
 
92 
 
 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 i 
 
 sqft 
 
 S 
 
 rM-^ f 1,^ i^i 1 
 
 un poeo piu moto. 1^ 
 
 3^ 
 
 -Cr 
 
 reminds us that there is present at the banquet a 
 Fury, who has come thither unbidden. But the 
 march is worthy of all honour and study. 
 
 Tempo di marcta. 
 /-: P~ 
 
 f ,Pt 
 
 
 ' i« ::, / . 
 
 iE 
 
 t; 
 
 fci= 
 
 ^ lJJ-< 
 
 ¥^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 -g # i g yi 
 
 ^ 
 
 -^ 
 
 
 'All that is known and conjectured of the Greek 
 modes was obviously familiar to Cherubini, as must 
 
 wrr^- 
 
 ?=^=^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 S2: 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ■m 
 
 =p: 
 
 be felt in the unisonal choral hymn, "Fils de Bac- 
 chus," and in the ordinance of the instrumental strain 
 which moves in antiphony, contrast, and lastly in 
 
Medde. 95 
 
 support of it.^ Those who are curious in the matter 
 will find much interest in comparing this movement 
 with the Greek religious marches of Gliick. In them 
 the sentiment of beauty is far stronger and sweeter. 
 Cherubini is comparatively antique, remote, in some 
 measure cold. I have heard this ingeniously ac- 
 counted for on the hypothesis that the trouble in 
 the rite caused by the presence of Medea had en- 
 tered his mind ; that he wished to paiat the bridal 
 torches dimmed, and the garlands withered, and the 
 flutes and recorders turned to unconscious wailing, 
 by the spell of her ill-boding presence. But to me 
 this is a far-fetched solution — a theory made after 
 the fact. These impressions of coming gloom and 
 ruin should be projected (^o to say) across the scene 
 from Medea's self, but not mingle with it ; or, if the 
 voices of the singers should be afraid, on seeing that 
 pale witness of their praise and prayer, the hymn 
 itself should have no fear. A right conception of 
 the moment would vividly contrast the jubilation of 
 the people and the pent-up wrath of the avenger, 
 not fuse them together. But this again, as Sir Tho- 
 mas Browne says, " is philosophy ;" and the rationale 
 of the character of this music I imagine to lie in no 
 
 = ' Greek art,' says HalSvy, ' seems to be seated in the study- 
 rooms of Mehul and Cherutini, as well as in the studios of David' 
 (Derniers Souvenirs, p. 212). 
 
94 Memorials of Ckerubini. 
 
 sucL. subtle distinctions and conception as the above 
 considerations embrace, so much as in the individual 
 nature of Cherubini, to which sweetness, as distin- 
 guished from dryness, seems to have been sparingly- 
 given. The impression of beauty produced by his 
 works is, comparatively speaking, faint and rare ; in 
 Gliick's operas it is everywhere. Yet the scene is, 
 to the close of the act, of very high quality; and the 
 final burst with which Medea rushes to the altar, and 
 snatches thence a blazing brand, besides being dra- 
 matically fine, as carrying expectation forward, makes 
 another of those declamatory moments of which this 
 great part is only too full. When I saw it on the 
 stage, it brought back to me those lines from Barry 
 Cornwall's poem to Pasta : 
 
 " Now thou art like some -winged thing that cries 
 Above some city, flaming fast to death." 
 
 ' There still remains the consummation of Medea's 
 vengeance, the triumph of her power, which tramples 
 beneath its feet her own remorse, in its fiendish reso- 
 lution to immolate and to destroy. This would seem 
 to have been the favourite portion of the opera -n-ith 
 its composer. The " death and wild despair" with 
 which it is filled are " lengthened out" with a ven- 
 geance. The storm-prelude with which it opens 
 
 one of the finest storms in music which exist, Beet- 
 hoven's Pastoral Symphony not forgotten — has almost 
 
Medie. 95 
 
 the development of a grand overture, occupying 
 twenty pages of the score. From the time that 
 Medea appears on the scene, in the midst of this 
 tumult of the elements, she is never again allowed 
 to quit the stage. The remainder of the opera con- 
 sists of two scenas for her, both on the grandest 
 :Bcale; the first with her children, the second as the 
 triumphant Nemesis, dealing destruction round her. 
 'To point out all the noble passages with which these 
 tremendous scenes are filled, and the manner in 
 which the composer's inspiration was always present 
 to himself, always equal to the moment, is not pos- 
 •sible. The examples of declamatory music Which 
 they contain are only exceeded by Gliick, inasmuch 
 as he could render force as violent and frenzy as 
 tempestuous, with a larger admixture of beauty. 
 But, on the other hand, the instrumental portion has 
 & verve, a variety, and a might which, at the period 
 when Gliick wrote, were undiscovered. There is 
 nothing in Beethoven's Fidelia worthier of close 
 study and fervent admiration. One hundred years 
 hence it will remain to 'be as new as the organ- 
 m.usic of Bach, as the choral fugues' of Handel, as 
 the melodies of Mozart are now. Perhaps then it 
 miay be, like them, resorted to as a frequent object 
 of delight, comparison, and instruction. The prac- 
 ticability of the work may then be laid out of con- 
 
96 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 sideration, and the countless examples it contains 
 of skill, grandeur, and freedom of vigour may be 
 relished and considered as they deserve. 
 
 ' Such being a few among the excellences of this 
 noble work— the one classical opera of more recent 
 date than Gliick's in which the grandeur of Gliick 
 is approached — the universal indifference, if not posi- 
 tive oblivion, into which it has fallen, is worth cout 
 sidering with reference to its cause. It cannot be 
 said that Medea has passed from the stage, because 
 of the world's resolution to have no more Grecian 
 stories. Long after it had vanished thence, Simone 
 Mayer's weaker music on the same fable, ill-arranged 
 enough, drew crowds to eveiy opera-house in Eu- 
 rope, to see the Colchian Queen and Sorceress pre- 
 sented by Pasta. More lately still have we seen the 
 life of old French classical tragedy asserted by Ma- 
 demoiselle Rachel. Nay, to take the strongest and 
 most conclusive instance possible, can it be for- 
 gotten how, when a translation of the Antigone was 
 played a few years since in a London theatre, for 
 the sole purpose of introducing Mendelssohn's cho- 
 ruses to the tragedy, which were then a novelty, 
 though the music failed to please, owing to ineffi- 
 cient execution, the drama attracted delighted 
 crowds, night after night, to witness its representa- 
 tion 1 For every genuine creation of which a rea- 
 
Medee. 97 
 
 sonably good interpretation is possible, there is 
 always, I firmly and increasingly believe, a public 
 to be found' — a public willing to allow for the taste 
 of an olden time, to be patient with some tedious- 
 ness, to show humility in accepting that which is 
 stralnge. But Cherubim's ilfe^ea hardly comes within 
 the circle of works thus described. It is an opera of 
 which the fair execution (as we now understand 
 the word) is hardly possible. I have never seen or 
 heard on the stage an actress who, supposing her 
 to command the tragical requisites for the part of 
 Medea, had physical power to execute Cherubini's 
 music, — with the exception of Madame Stockl Heine- 
 fetter, and, possibly, Mademoiselle Cruvelli. I am 
 told by old German opera-goers that this Medea was 
 one of Madame MUder's grand parts; but no one — 
 not even Madame Schroder Devrient in her best day 
 — seems precisely to have replaced Madame Milder.* 
 Even before the tremendous third act commenced, the 
 zealous young lady (Fraulein Neuther) to whom the 
 part was allotted at Frankfort sank into a state of 
 utter impotent weariness, which, however justifiable, 
 was totally fatal to the closing portion of the tragedy. 
 From this there is no deliverance by strong wUI— 
 none by the most exquisite musical culture. Once ia 
 
 ° What would Mr. Chorley have said had he heard Mdlle. Tietiens 
 la the part ? 
 
 H 
 
98 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 a century may come a Catalani, with a voice, as it 
 were, of adamant and gold — of everything that is 
 most enduriag and precious — capable of undergoing 
 the strain and fatigue of such a long display of un- 
 measured emotion ; but after Catalani's compass and 
 lungs are found, we must then ask for Pasta's gran- 
 deur of expression, and delicacy of reading, and 
 statuesque sublimity of attitude, and withering scorn, 
 and fearful vengeance, and maternal remorse, ere 
 
 ft 
 
 the creation of the musician can be rightly filled 
 up. 
 
 ' The charmiag songstress and capital actress to 
 whom the part of Medea was confided on the pro- 
 duction of that work at the Opera Comique in Paris, 
 in 1797 — Madame Scio — died in the prime of her 
 glory of a pulmonary affection, which, it has been 
 said, was exasperated, if not brought on, by her 
 singing in this very opera. It must be further owned 
 that the entire part is written most ungraciously for 
 the voice — that besides its merciless length and de- 
 mand upon the energies, it perpetually claims quali- 
 ties which are not vocal;— in this how different it is 
 from the music of Handel, of Gliick, of Mozart, of all 
 the great Germans, in short, who have thoroughly 
 imderstood the means which they have had to em- 
 ploy, and who have known that greatness bends to 
 its materials— does not break them! That a man 
 
Medee. 99 
 
 who, like Cherubim, was bom in Italy, and who had 
 commenced his career not merely by patching Italian 
 operas, but by composing in the modish Italian style, 
 should have ever arrived at so murderous a dis- 
 regard of his- singers,, seems at first sight curious. 
 Yet his is not a solitary phenomenon. A like cruelty 
 to the voices (though less in its degree) may be 
 complained of in Spontini's operas. The want of 
 sweetness in the nature of the artist, which imi- 
 versal testimony ascribes to Oherubini, may have 
 caused this want of concession and charm in his 
 music ; and if it rendered himself moody, sarcastic, 
 unsympathising with the young and harsh among 
 his contemporaries, it has done him the greater 
 wrong of interposing a fatal barrier betwixt his great 
 and magnificent ideas, and the world that is in no 
 wise averse to anything great or magnificent. It 
 was sad, on leaviag the Frankfort opera-house — 
 after an evening so signally to be marked with a 
 white stone in the calendar of holidays — to be satis- 
 fied that there were few reasonable chances of ever 
 hearing Cherubini's Medea agaia, and fewer chances 
 still of ever hearing it executed in anything like ac- 
 cordance with -the power and poetry of the com- 
 poser.'' 
 
 ' It has been performed several times in England. 
 
 ' Modem German Music, Tol. ii. p. 222. 
 
loo Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 The last performance was on the 3d December in 
 1870 at Covent Garden. Mdlle. Tietjens was ad- 
 mirable as Medea, otherwise the performance was 
 not satisfactory. In Germany, Herr Lachner has put 
 the dialogue to recitative, and Moscheles wrote 
 shortly before his own death : ' It was a gi-eat under- 
 taking, but I have at last realised my desire to hear 
 Cherubini's Medea with Franz Lachner's Recitatives; 
 but the intense interest with which I followed every 
 note was too much for me.'* 
 
 The first representation of Medee took place at 
 the theatre Feydeau on the 13th of March 1797, and 
 a journal called the Censeur made the following re- 
 mark on it: 'Cherubini's music is often melodious, 
 and sometimes manly, but you find reminiscences 
 and imitations of M^hul's manner.' To this Mehul 
 himself replied: '0 censor,' he said, 'you do not 
 know this great artist. But I, who know him, and 
 who admire him because I know him well, — I say, and 
 can prove to all Europe that the inimitable author 
 of BSmophon, of Lodoiska, of Elisa, and of the Medea, 
 has never had need of imitating in order to be by 
 turns elegant or full of feeling, graceful or tragic— to 
 be, in a word, this Cherubini that some persons would 
 accuse of being an imitator, but whom, unfortunately, 
 
 » The Life of Moscheles, adapted from the German ty A. D. Cole- 
 ridge, Esq., end of vol. ii. 
 
Me dee. lot 
 
 they do not fail to imitate on every possible occasion. 
 This artist, justly celebrated, can find one censor to 
 attack him ; but he will have for defenders, all who 
 admire him, that is to say, all those who are made 
 for feeling and appreciating grand talent.' 
 
 On the 17th of April 1800, the Medea with trans- 
 lated text by Herklotz, was performed at Berlin 
 with Mme. Schick as Medea. In 1814, Mme. Milder- 
 Hauptmann undertook the part in Vienna. The 
 opera was a favourite with Schubert. M. Clement 
 tells us that on asking Auber what his opinion was 
 of Medea he received the curt answer, ' C'est la mu- 
 sique bien faite.' For more than a year Cherubini now 
 comparatively rested from composition, as though 
 exhausted with the effort of producing the grandest 
 of all his operas. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 1797-1800. 
 
 Napoleon and Cherubini — Their mutual antagoniBm — L^Hdtellerie 
 Portugaise — La Punition — The pasticcio La Prisonniere, by Boiel- 
 dieu and Chembini — The latter becomes one of the jury for exam- 
 ining works for the Grand Opera — Les Deux Journees — Opinions 
 on the opera — The Escapes, by Attwood. 
 
 Before Napoleon became First Consul, he had been 
 on familiar terms with Cherubini. One evening, when 
 an opera of Cherubini was being performed, and 
 he and Napoleon were present in the same box, 
 Napoleon turned to Cherubini and said : ' My dear 
 Cherubini, you are certainly an excellent musician ; 
 but really your music is so noisy and complicated, 
 that I can make nothing of it;' to which Cherubini 
 replied: 'My dear general, you are certainly an ex- 
 cellent soldier; but, in regard to music, you must 
 excuse me if I don't think it necessary to adapt my 
 compositions to your comprehension.' This is said 
 to have been the beginning of their estrangement. 
 The biographers state that if Napoleon wanted 
 Cherubini, he had always to go in search of him, 
 
Napoleon and Cherubini. 1 03 
 
 tlbe composer showing his indifiference to the con- 
 queror by never taking the initiative and seeking 
 out Napoleon. 
 
 In 1797, Napoleon returned from Italy and di- 
 rected the musical taste of the capital by his admira>- 
 tion of the Italian composers to the depreciation of 
 the German. He had brought with him from Italy 
 a march of Paisiello composed expressly for him, 
 and wished it to be performed. He accordingly 
 sent it to the Conservatoire. Sarrette, the director, 
 thought this occasion a good opportunity for letting 
 Napoleon hear something really first-rate as well as 
 Paisiello's poor march; and also for showing him 
 what the newly-founded Conservatoire could do in 
 the way of a performance, and the progress made by 
 the students. Accordingly, Cherubini'g; hymn and 
 funeral march for the death of General Hoche were 
 settled upon for performance on the 28th of Decem- 
 ber, before the Conservatoire, Napoleon, and his 
 ministers. Every one about Napoleon highly praised 
 it. But, whether vexed at a performance which, it 
 is said, did not go off well, or at another hero besides 
 himself being praised, or at the originality of the music 
 which had so little in common with Paisiello, Napoi- 
 leon came up to Cherubini after the concert, and withs- 
 out saying a word about the latter's work, launched 
 forth into exaggerated praises of Paisiello, whom he 
 
1 04 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 styled the best composer of the age; and in order to 
 deprive Cherubini of taking the honour of a second 
 place among living composers, asserted that, after 
 'Paisiello, Zingarelli was the only one who knew how 
 to compose beautiful music, whereupon Cherubini 
 replied disdainfully, 'Passe encore pour Paisiello, 
 mais Zingarelli I' This said in a low tone somewhat 
 startled Napoleon, and it seems likely that he did not 
 forget Cherubini's reply. Picchianti says that Cheru- 
 bini did not reply to Napoleon at all, but on this 
 point nearly all the biographers are against him. In 
 the account of the above performance, before Napo- 
 leon, F^tis first of all says : ' General Bonaparte on 
 returning from his brilliant campaign in Italy, asked 
 the Conservatoire to play before him a very poor 
 march composed for him by Paisiello, Advantage 
 was taken of this circumstance for letting him hear 
 a cantata and funeral march, written by Cherubini 
 for the obsequies of General Hoche. Whether the 
 hero was displeased at another military glory being 
 sung before him; whether he was hurt, that they 
 had not confined themselves to what he had desired 
 to hear, he showed ill-temper.' Compare this with 
 his statement in another place : ' In 1797, General 
 Bonaparte put to competition the composition of a 
 funeral march on occasion of the death of General 
 Hoche ; Paisiello and Cherubini each sent the piece 
 
Napoleon and Cherubini. 1 05 
 
 demanded.'^ This latter version agrees with Arnold 
 as to Cherubini's work, and with Lafage, who says 
 that Cherubini and Paisiello each sent in a march, and 
 that Napoleon, against the opinion of those around 
 him, gave the preference to Paisiello's. Napoleon, 
 after this, continues Lafage, wished to hear Pai- 
 siello's march again at a smaller concert, and it was 
 at this second performance that Cherubiai's funeral 
 march for General Hoche was performed.^ It is, pro- 
 bably,- the first of these two occasions to which El- 
 warfc alludes, when he says that Napoleon heard at 
 the Conservatoire laudatory pieces on himself, by 
 Lesueur, M6hul, and Cherubini, and that when the 
 General made critical remarks on the latter's work, 
 Cherubini replied, 'General, lorsque vous faites un 
 plan de bataille vous ne consultez que votre genie.' 
 If there were two performances, the conflicting state- 
 ments can easily be adjusted. The only difficulty is 
 that Cherubini mentions composing no march in 
 honour of Napoleon. This, however, is pretty clearly 
 a mistake of Elwart. 
 
 On the eve of Napoleon's departure for Egypt in 
 the beginning of the summer of 1798, he happened 
 to be with Cherubini, and at once began bestowing 
 high prdises on the Italian composers, adding, as well, 
 
 > Biog. Univ. vol. ii. p. 266, vol. vi. p. 464. 
 ' Michaud's Biog. Univ. vol. i. p. 97. 
 
io6 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 some strange remarks on Clierubini'e own works, 
 whereupon the latter indignantly replied : ' Citizeji- 
 general, occupy yourself with battles and victories, 
 and allow me to treat according to my own talent 
 an art of which you know nothing.' Napoleon was 
 at that time only a military chief, and turned away. 
 A year and a half later, when he had become First 
 Consul, such words would have been dangerous ; yet 
 Cherubini, as we shall see, had some collisions with 
 Napoleon even when the republic and equality had 
 passed away. 
 
 In 1798, he wrote the one-act opera ofVHotellerie 
 Portugaise (the libretto by Aignan), which appeared 
 at the Feydeau Theatre on the 25th of July. This 
 little work is now only remembered for a trio," ' Que 
 faire 6 ciel,' and the gay overture which, though 
 less elevated and artistic than the other great over- 
 tures of Cherubini, is yet a pleasing composition. 
 One of the finest parts is the introduction, which is 
 extremely quaint and mysterious — something too, 
 perhaps, in the manner of Spohr. Yet any one ac- 
 quainted with Cherubini would hardly mistake it. 
 After a few grand chords, reminding us of some old 
 ecclesiastical chant, this subject enters softly, given 
 out in a low register by the first violins, and subse- 
 quently rising in the scale as one by one the instru- 
 ments join in : 
 
U Hotellerie Portugaise. 107 
 
 i 
 
 Larghetto. 
 
 Violin 1. 
 
 
 -^p- 
 
 i 
 
 ^5=S 
 
 "irrf 
 
 ?^^^ 
 
 ^c. 
 
 FWiit 2. 
 
 It is, doubtless, this portion to which Lafage al- 
 ludes when he speaks of the counterpoint in the 
 present overture founded upon Les FoKes d'Espagne, 
 whatever work that may be. 'It is impossible to im- 
 agine,' he, says, 'anything where the artifices of 
 science have been employed with more taste, grace, 
 and felicity.' The allegro, on the other hand, is com- 
 posed of a number of themes, the effect of which is 
 a certain patchiness rarely seen in Cherubini's works. 
 No one liked the very poor libretto, and in 1803 it 
 was performed in Vienna with as little applause as 
 it met with afterwards in Berlin.^ The words Were 
 altogether unworthy of the music. 
 
 On the 23d of February 1799, Cherubini brought 
 otit another one-act opera, La Punition (the libretto 
 by Desfaucherets), at the Feydeau Theatre, and 
 wrote La Prisonniere, in conjunction with Boieldieu, 
 which was performed on the 12th of September 1799, 
 at the Montansier Theatre. This one-act comedy in 
 prose by Jouy, Longchamps, and St. Just, with 
 » Arnold. 
 
io8 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 ft 
 ariettas interspersed, had no success. Picchianti 
 
 e!n.-s in saying that Boieldieu and Cherubini worked 
 
 together both in La Punition and La Prisonniere. 
 
 The first was the composition of Cherubini solely. 
 
 In 1799, Cherubini became one of the 'Jury de 
 Lecture de I'Op^ra,' and continued an effective mem- 
 ber of the jury established in 1808 for the examina- 
 tion of works presented to the Grand Opera, as also 
 a member, up to April 1824, of the ' Conseil litt^raire 
 et musicale,' remodelled in 1816, and reestablished 
 soon afterwards under the title of ' Jury for the Ex- 
 amination of Musical Works.' 
 
 On the 16th of January 1800 (8th Nivose, an 8), 
 Les Deux Journe.es, known as the Wassertrager in 
 Germany, Cherubini's masterjiiece in opera, was re- 
 presented for the first time at the Feydeau Theatre, 
 before all the connoisseurs of Paris, with the follow- 
 ing cast : 
 
 Armand, president a mortier du Parlement de 
 
 I'fi^s Citoyen Gaveaux. 
 
 Constance, Spouse d' Armand .... Madame Scio. 
 Mikeli, Savoyard d'origine fitatli a Paris, por- 
 
 tenrd'eau Citoyen Juliet. 
 
 Daniel, son pSre vieillard infirme . . . Citoyen Platel. 
 Antonio, fils de MikeU, gar^on de ferme an. 
 
 Tillage de Gonesse Citoyen Jansserand. 
 
 Marcelina, fille de Mikeli et soeur d' Antonio . Mdlle. Eosette (ga- 
 
 vaudan). 
 
 S6mos, riche fermier de Gonesse . . . Citoyen Prfivost. 
 Angelina, fiUe unique de Sfimos, aooordSe avec 
 
 •'^toiiio MdUe. Desmares. 
 
Les Deux yournees. 1 09 
 
 Premier Commandant, ) desTroupesItaliennes ( Citoyen Dessanlea. 
 DenxiSme Commandant, f 3, la solde de Mazarin 1 Citoyen Georget. 
 
 Un Officier des Gardes, personnage muet . . 
 
 Premier Soldat Italien Citoyen Darconrt. 
 
 Deuxi§me Soldat Italien Citoyen Garnier. 
 
 Une sentinelle. HaMtans de Gonesse. Gardes et soldats. 
 La scSne se passe S Paris pendant les deux premiers actes et pen- 
 dant le troisiSme dans le village de Gonesse en I'annge 1647. 
 
 As at Lodoiska, the audience rose and applauded 
 every number. Two hundred representations did 
 not satiate the enthusiasm of the Parisians. In Ger- 
 many, and especially at Berlin and Frankfort, it was 
 hailed with acclamation. Riehl calls this opera 
 ' emotion dramatised.' The melody is charming, yet 
 Tonited with all the highest contrapuntal science, 
 while the' richness of the instrumentation may be 
 compared to the colouring of a Paul Veronese. As 
 Arnold says of it, ' It always creates fresh interest. . . 
 Certainly it is perhaps one of the best of the class of 
 eemi-serious opera that ever was written. The sub- 
 ject is interesting, the treatment good, and the music 
 incomparable.' Some of Cherubim's friends wished 
 the author to dedicate the score to Haydn, but with 
 characteristic modesty he replied, ' No, as yet I have 
 wi-itten nothing worthy of such a master.' The work 
 was dedicated to Gossec, and printed, we are told, 
 ' at the express desire of Cherubini's friends.' The 
 escapes of the persecuted Count Armand, who is be- 
 friended by the water-carrier, form the groundwork 
 of the plot. 
 
no 
 
 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 ' Bouilly,' says Picchianti, ' was the author of the 
 libretto, suggested by the generous action of a water- 
 carrier towards a magistrate who was related to the 
 author. , The spirit of this dramatic conception per- 
 fectly suited the feeling and the tendencies of the 
 public at that time, since, after witnessing so many 
 acts of cruelty, they felt the need for returning to 
 the pleasures of kindness and sensibility of heart. 
 The libretto was so well devised, and so interesting, 
 that Goethe considered it a true model in the style 
 of comic opera. The musical composition, too, pre- 
 sented so many particular beauties, such great per- 
 fection, that from that time it took its rank as a 
 classical work. And in Germany the work was re- 
 ceived with such admiration that the most famous 
 composers did not hesitate to study it, and Beethoven 
 especially, who always used to keep it ready at hand 
 on his table. The old systems of the time in which 
 the dramas used to be composed almost exclusively 
 of airs were beginning to be destroyed, whilst in this 
 opera, with the exception of a duet and a canzonet, 
 the whole was composed of concerted pieces and 
 choruses, in a new style, full of vigour and charm. 
 The ensemble of the harmony and the instrumenta- 
 tion is disposed and conducted in such a masterly 
 manner, and with such a spontaneousness, force, and 
 clearness, that it need not fear comparison with the 
 compositions of the present day, when errors and 
 
Les Deux yournees. 1 1 1 
 
 negligence often remain concealed under the noise 
 of an orchestra that deafens the audience. Among 
 the grandest musical conceptions is counted the mag- 
 nificent finale of the first act, which possesses a truth 
 of dramatic expression, and an entrancing variety 
 of appropriate colour, which it seems impossible to 
 surpass. The same may be said of the second act, 
 especially for the rhythmical movements of the in- 
 struments, so happily suited to the situation in the 
 drama, as for instance when the two officers pro- 
 nounce the words, " Executez les ordres du celebre 
 Mazarin ;" a kind of plain chant worked out in the 
 form of a march, and supported by chords of a re- 
 ligious character, seems to recall the grave func- 
 tions of the Cardinal minister. There is also some- 
 thing singularly mysterious and fascinating in the 
 movements of the violas at the moment of the 
 count's escape. Lastly, the chorus that is united 
 with the brilliant march presents, on account oi 
 the originality of the invention, the conduct, and 
 exquisite taste of the harmony, a true musical beauty. 
 Almost the whole of the third act is composed of 
 choruses, and is not inferior to the rest of the opera; 
 the refrains that alternate with the recitatives seem 
 beautifully worked out. When the subKme transi- 
 tion that is found on the words " celeste providence" 
 was heard for the first time in the finale of the first 
 
1 1 2 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 act, the enthusiasm of the public knew no bounds, 
 and the acclamations resounded throughout the 
 theatre. As soon as the curtain fell, the pupils of 
 the Conservatoire, moyed by the love and admira- 
 tion which they felt for their master, scaled the 
 orchestra and congratulated him with transports of 
 joy. And Gretry himself, who had been wont to 
 love no other music but his own, having put him- 
 self at the head of the chief composers who hap- 
 pened to be then in Paris (viz. Martini, D'Alayrac, 
 €rossec, Lesueur, and Mdhul), went' with them, as 
 soon as the opera was over, to congratulate Cheru- 
 bini.' So much for Picchianti, and what says Denne- 
 Baron ? ' The finale of the second act of Lodouha 
 was a production without example on the French 
 stage. That of Les Deux Journees, in which the 
 composer elevates himself to the highest degree of 
 dramatic expression, by ingenious combinations of 
 the happiest song, sustained by all the brilliancy of 
 the orchestra, remains one of the models of its class. 
 You admire the marvellous art with which, in making 
 use of the effects ofinstrumentation, he gives to each 
 situation the tone and cast suited to it.' He then 
 instances examples of this from the opera of Elisa, 
 and I have already quoted his words apropos of 
 that work. He proceeds to say : ' In the new system ' 
 which Cherubini. brought in, his melodies, grave and 
 
Les Deux yournees. 113 
 
 severe in Medea, lively and piquant in the Portuguese 
 Inn, naive and touching in the Deux Journees, were 
 always perfectly suited to the subject, and written 
 within the compass of the human voice ("?). In the 
 orchestra he assigned a part to each instrument, as 
 to a personage who has his own language and accent, 
 at times establishing between them intelligent dia- 
 logues, or combining their different tones in harmo- 
 nious groups, as far as 'to unite them in energetic 
 masses. In short, everywhere, on the stage as in the 
 orchestra, amplitude and power of development, and 
 agreeably to the necessities ■ of the drama, delicacy 
 and elegance in the outlines, vigour in the ensemble, 
 effect as a whole, and ever purity and elevation of 
 style, nobility in the choice of ideas, and sagacious 
 and judicious disposition of all the parts.' 
 
 Spohr, in his autobiography, says : ' I recollect 
 when the Deux Journees was performed for the first 
 time, how, intoxicated with delight and the power- 
 ful impression that the work had made on me, I 
 asked on that very evening to have the score given 
 to me, and sat over it the whole night, and that it 
 was that opera chiefly that gave me the first impulse 
 to composition,' Nbw hear Weber : Les Deux Jour- 
 nSes was his favourite opera; and he writes from 
 Munich, in a letter to a friend, dated June 30th, 1812 : 
 'Fancy my delight when I beheld lying upon the 
 
 I 
 
1 1 4 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 table of the hotel the playbill with the magic name 
 Armand. I was the first person in the theatre, and 
 planted myself in the middle of the pit, where I 
 waited most anxiously for the tones which I knew 
 beforehand would again elevate and inspire me. I 
 think I may boldly assert that Les Deux JournSes is 
 a really dramatic and classical work. Everything 
 is calculated so as to produce the greatest effect; 
 all the various pieces are so much in their proper 
 place, that you can neither omit one nor make any 
 addition to them. The opera displays a pleasing 
 richness of melody, vigorous declamation, and aU- 
 striking truth in the treatment of the situations, ever 
 new, ever heard and retained with pleasure. Trum- 
 pets have been introduced in the overture, and I 
 think they might produce a good effect in the al- 
 legro ; but in -the introductory adagio, the single 
 blasts on the horn alone are indisputably better in 
 the last all-powerful crescendo, more effective, and 
 more appropriate to lead up to the grand climax, 
 especially if the trumpets do not come in before the 
 E major. A part of the duet between Armand and 
 Constance was excellently given, but the commence- 
 ment completely spoilt. I was most disagreeably sur- 
 prised by an attempt to improve the composition in 
 the finale. One of the most heavenly passages was, 
 for reasons which to me are perfectly incomprehen- 
 
L es Deux Journees. 115 
 
 sible, deprived of all its effect. After the quarrel of 
 the water-carrier with Marcelline, whose opposition 
 makes him angry, and when she bursts into tears, 
 the fortissimo ought to be followed by a clarinet 
 quite alone, which should play the melody till iirst the 
 bassoon and then the violoncello take it up, while 
 the brother, consoling and supplicating his sister, 
 begins to sing. This invariably produces the great- 
 est effect. Here not only did the oboe play it, but 
 an accompaniment had been added! The very 
 difficult choruses in the second act went admirably. 
 They Avere sung and played with precision and fire. 
 Indeed, the second act was more rounded and spi- 
 rited than the first. In the third act I had again 
 occasion to regret some beautiful passages which 
 had been left out, especially the two or three words 
 pronounced by the farmer's daughter, " Ah, Antonio 
 does not return ;" by the omission of which the mu- 
 sical passages clash with a total absence of plan. 
 If I have chattered, my dear friend, so much about 
 this opera, remember that we can never say enough 
 of such masterpieces, and so ardent a lover of art 
 as myself can count upon your indulgence.'^ 
 
 * Mendelssohn, writing to his fathei- describing a performance of 
 Les Deux Jownees, ' speaks of the enthusiasm of the audience as ex- 
 treme, as well as of his own pleasure as surpassing anything he had 
 ever experienced before in a theatre.' Monthly Musical Record, 1872. 
 Writing to Devrient from Dusseldorf, February 5th, 1834, he Bk.ys, 
 
1 1 6 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 'So great,' remarks Gamucci, 'are the beauties 
 which the genius and science of Cherubini have 
 scattered over this score, that to enumerate them 
 one after another, and pass them in review, you 
 would want a whole volume.'^ 
 
 Lastly, Schluter says of the opera : ' The music is 
 perfect, being equally distinguished for tenderness 
 and expressiveness, and for noble simplicity and purity 
 of form.'^ Criticism seems almost disarmed in speak- 
 ing of Ties Deux Journies. No subsequent opera had 
 such success in Paris. Henceforth Cherubini became 
 more and more careless about making his music tally 
 with the poem. No wonder ; given wretched libret- 
 tos, he could not but despise them; but a libretto has 
 great power over the fate of an opera, often burying 
 it in a half oblivion, or causing its total banishment 
 from the stage. 
 
 Cherubini's operas have been accused of want of 
 
 ' We are now rehearsing the Wassertrager, and eveiy note calls to 
 my mind Edonard Devrient ; for it is just as if written expressly for 
 you. Tell me why you have never sung it. Is it hecause he has a son 
 who gets married ? In that case, I quote Eokljo. Or is the music out 
 of fashion ? Jesting apart, you should think over the part and adapt 
 it, of course retranslating it for performance ; get up the choruses and 
 action, and take the credit of ha'ring done a good thing. The first 
 three hars of the overture are worth more than your entire rgpertoire, 
 Prince Eiguet included in the bargain. Why, you must remain in the 
 opera, if only for the sake of having a piece of fun such as this eveiy 
 once and a while, and of letting others share in it' (Devi-ient's Becol- 
 lections of Mendelssohn, p. 171). 
 
 » Gamucci, p. 24. « History of Music. 
 
Les Deux yournees. 117 
 
 melody, to which charge Fetis replies as follows: 
 ' There is a copiousness of melody in Cherubini, espe- 
 cially in the Deux Journees ; but such is the richness 
 of the accompanying harmony, and the brilliant 
 colouring of the instrumentation considering the pe- 
 riod when the work appeared; such, above all, was 
 the inability of the leaders of the public taste to ap- 
 preciate at that time the combination of all these 
 beauties, that the merit of the melody was not appre- 
 ciated at its just value ; this merit was lost sight of 
 beneath all those things for which the French pos- 
 sessed no intelligence.' He continues : ' The same 
 critics and the same biographers, who hardly know 
 what they are talking about, assert that the author 
 of Elisa and Medea wants originality, while origin- 
 ality is precisely one of the most remarkable qualities 
 of the melodies that have been cited (viz. the duet 
 in the Epicure, the grand scena in Pimmalione, the 
 air " Suspendez k ce mur," in the Abencerages, that of 
 Anacreon, " Jeunes fiUes," and the chorus "Dors, noble 
 enfant," in Blanche de Provence) ; since, although full 
 of charm, the forms are absolutely new.' 
 
 The writer in the Niederrheinische-MusikrZeitung, 
 after saying that 'in nothing that Cherubini wrote 
 do we come across aught that is not noble, far less 
 upon aught that is low — the noblest feeling per- 
 vades his style' — adds, ' mere sensuous charm in his 
 
1 1 8 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 melodies he despises. The melodies frequently flow- 
 on in astonishing simplicity, but are mostly sustained 
 by artistic harmonies, in the combinations of which 
 he equals the greatest composers. The musical ideas 
 and motivi, moreover, are characterised by wonder- 
 ful sharpness ; nothing is vague or obscure ; every- 
 thing is clear, distinct, and firmly drawn.' 
 
 F^tis adds to what I have already quoted from 
 him above : ' There is a fault which can be remarked 
 upon in Cherubini's dramatic works with more jiis- 
 tice, and which has, more than any other thing, stood 
 in the way of their success : I mean a certain ab- 
 sence of scenic instinct, which makes itself conspi- 
 cuous in the most beautiful works of his genius. 
 Almost always the first inspiration is happy; but 
 Cherubini, too much prone to develop his idea by 
 the merit of an admirable workmanship, forgets the 
 requirements of the action ; the scene extends under 
 his hand ; music alone preoccupies the musician, and 
 the situations become tedious. If you examine with 
 care all the full scores of Cherubini, you will see that 
 all, more or less, reproduce this fault.' 
 
 To many it may seem that poor librettos are the 
 real cause of any defects in Cherubini's operas. Thus 
 the Medea, with a bad book, is at times dry and 
 heavy, while the Z>eM« Jowr-nees, with a poem of which 
 Goethe and Mendelssohn approved, is faultless. Miel 
 
Les Deux yournees. 119 
 
 in speaking of the strange fact that nearly all the 
 
 I 
 operas of Cherubini have disappeared from the 
 
 stage, admits the bad librettos, but adds : ' The true 
 cause of this abandonment was a mediocre execution, 
 which ill suited compositions so full and crowded.' 
 He concludes with what all will agree to : ' For con- 
 noisseurs attached to their studies, all these scores 
 (of Cherubini) are objects of a sustained, or rather 
 increasing admiration.' The difficulty, however, of 
 performing any work nowadays is little or no- 
 thing. All the appliances of the orchestra have been 
 wrought to perfection, and the human voice can be 
 trained to attack anything. There is reason to be- 
 lieve that Cherubini's operas will make their way. 
 At any rate, if they do not, it will be the fault neither 
 of orchestra nor of singer. 
 
 The following criticism on the overture to Les 
 Deux Journhs, signed 'F. W. H.,' appeared in the 
 Quarterly Musical Magazine : ' In the first movement 
 there are some peculiarly felicitous passages, such 
 as the first six bars ; at the seventh bar, where 
 the basses take a solo passage leading down to G 
 natural ; and the passage marked crescendo poco apoco, 
 leading into the allegro. There are some uncom- 
 mon modulations, brought about with simplicity, from 
 A minor to G with one sharp ; at the twenty-sixth 
 bar of this movement from B to D (by the seventh 
 
1 20 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 upon A) ; and towards the end, where the octave 
 passage occurs, beginning upon B. He has managed 
 the conclusion very ably, by accelerating the time 
 (marked piu stretto) upon that passage, whieh was 
 heard in the first instance in allegi'O — a mode of 
 producing effect in which I perceive he has been 
 imitated by other composers. There is a great por- 
 tion of musical colouring observed throughout Les 
 Deux Journees, to which the natural brilliance of the 
 key in which it is set (E sharp) in no slight degree 
 contributes.' 
 
 Professor Ella has lately said of the overture, ' It 
 is thoroughly independent of any motivi in the opera, 
 and is one of his best and most original. To my 
 mind, there is no more striking effect of powerful 
 imagination, suggestive of the darkest imagery of 
 tragic incidents, than the whole of the introduction. 
 After the opening, slow lovely cadences of serene 
 
 Andante molto sostenuto. 
 
 £asao,[ 
 
 placid harmony, come the double basses, in a grand 
 
Les Deux Journees. 
 
 121 
 
 figure of a vague character, reposing on a deep pedal 
 
 ^fe^ 
 
 P 
 
 ffljE 
 
 t=^- 
 
 
 Ce^/i e bassi. 
 
 U* !a-&- 
 
 note. How touching are the Bewailing short melodic 
 phrases, so tenderfy expressed, with the penetrating 
 chord of the augment'ed'fifth in its simpje structure! 
 
 i: 
 
 ^% 
 
 Violin 1. 
 
 s 
 
 lti*3*E 
 
 =t):i; 
 
 Violin 2. 
 
 Viola^ 
 
 The mysterious tremolo of the violins, the wailing 
 effect of the flutes, the tragic responses of the basses. 
 
 Flattti. 
 Oboe. 
 
 CliABIKETTl. 
 
 Fagotti 
 
 O p < sf > p 
 
 I Viola. 
 
 1st VlolDf. 
 
 2nd Yioi^iN. 
 
 Celli. 
 Bassi. 
 
 i 
 
 ■^^ 
 
 ^c. 
 
 ^ 
 
 Pj^W 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 w^ 
 
 r 1 -ajw - 
 
 and the terrific utterance of the horns on the fifth of 
 
 =p--=g^SEg 
 
 ?£EiEt 
 
 It 
 
 ff 
 
 the dominant, until the grand climax of the allegro, 
 
122 
 
 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 are in the highest degree suggestive, and have served 
 Weber and Mendelssohn to good purpose. I have 
 dwelt upon these details because they form in com- 
 bination one of the most powerfully-grand creations 
 of a poetical mind. The rest of the overture, of a 
 highly imaginative description, symmetrical, varied 
 in effects, with subjects in bold contrast, is not easy, 
 and demands a vigorous execution. As the chief • 
 incidents of the drama are neither tragic nor very 
 impassioned, but rather of a sentimental, pastoral 
 character, I am inclined to think that this grand 
 heroic inspiration was not, as is usually the case, 
 suggested by the libretto of the drama.'^ 
 
 There is one part of the introduction which I may 
 here venture to notice. I allude to the mournful 
 passage which occurs three times before the begin- 
 ning of that climax announced to us by the tremolo 
 of the violins and violas : 
 
 , Violin 1. 
 
 ViOLIH 2. 
 
 Viola 
 
 Crllo. 
 
 P. 
 
 L^ytt I |-^ J II I ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 rt=F 
 
 « 
 
 't^ 
 
 P 
 
 u 
 
 r df \ 
 
 n 
 
 fc^ 
 
 Lecture on Les Deux Joumies at the London Institution. 
 
Les Deux yournees. 123 
 
 And in the allegro what a contrast to the opening in 
 its burst of triumph, what a rhythm and melody ! 
 
 ' The overtures of Lodoisha, Les Deiue Joumees, 
 Fanisha, and Medea, to which we must add M^hul's 
 Chasse du Jeune Henri, are models of our modern 
 instrumental music, so picturesque, so poetic, so full 
 of warmth and effect.' So speaks Oulibischeff; and 
 Mr. G. A. Macfarren observes that the overture to Les 
 Deux Joumees alone, ' by the power of its ideas, their 
 admu-able development, the peculiarity of its form, 
 and the vigour of its orchestration, gives Cherubini ' 
 a foremost rank among musicians in the estimation 
 of all who set the highest value on the greatest 
 order of artistic productions.'* 
 
 The performance of Les Deux Journies, which 
 took place at Drury Lane in 1872, for the first time in 
 England, contrasts favourably enough with the ver- 
 sion of it (?) given many years ago under the title of 
 the Escapes. The dialogue was set to recitative by 
 Sir Michael Costa, who led the performance with a 
 spirit and fire that left nothing to be desired. It is 
 
 ' Imperial Biography, vol. i. p. 1012. Towards the close of his 
 notice, Mr. Macfarren, to whose opinion weight must necessarily at- 
 tach, expresses himself less fayoTirably with regard to Cherubini's 
 overtures. He says, ' Notwithstanding the great merit of his over- 
 tures, this appears to have been the result of momentary inspiration 
 rather than of mastery in that style of writing ; for he was manifestly 
 deficient in the principles of construction, and instrumental music was 
 therefore a department in which he was unqualifiedf or success' (p. 1013) . 
 
124 Memorials' of Cherubmi, 
 
 deeply to be regretted'that the work was only once 
 performed, for one hearing iS not sufficient for that 
 fall appreciation of any classical work which famili- 
 arity alone can bring. It was not enoilgh for Mozart's 
 operas, nor for Weber's Der Freischutzj nor for Beet- 
 hoven's Fidelio,- nor for Meyerbeer's JRohert le Diable, 
 nor is it enough for Chernbihr's operas. The cast 
 was as follows: Armand, Sig. Vizzani; Michael, Sig. 
 Agnesi ; Daniel, Sig. Zoboli ; Antony, Sig. Rinal- 
 dini ; Samos ; Ist officer, Sig. Foli ; 2d officer, Sig. 
 Casaboni'; 1st- soldier,' Sig.- Smigaglia; 2d soldier, 
 Sig. Balesca ; Constance, Mdlle. Tietjens ; Marcelline, 
 Mdlle. Marie Roze ; Angeline, Mdlle. Bauermeister ; 
 a peasant, Mdlle. Rita.' The Itali-an translation was 
 by Signer Zaffia,- 
 
 On the 14th of October 1801 the Escapes was 
 performed as a ' Musical Entertainment,' the cast 
 compi-ising the Misses Dixon, Howells, and Wheat- 
 ley, as Constantia, Angelina, and Marcellina respec- 
 tively, with Mr. Fawcett as Michello, Mr. Incledon 
 as Armand, Mr. Townsend as Antonio,, and Mr. Sim- 
 mons as Daniel.^ It has been said that not a note of 
 Cherubini's music was brought in. On an inspection, 
 however, of the score, which claims to be that of 
 the piece ' as now performing with the greatest ap- 
 plause at Covent Garden, composed by Thomas Att- 
 ' Athemeum, 1872. 
 
Les Deux Journees. 
 
 125 
 
 wood,' I come at last upon the theme of Cherubini's 
 beaiitiful chorus, ' Jeunes filles et bergerettes' (in the 
 3d act of Les Deux Journees), which is set to words 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ?H^ 
 
 3i5t 
 
 i^ 
 
 SE 
 
 *p 
 
 y^ 
 
 i 
 
 ■m 
 
 ff\rA*f^\f \ 
 
 t-yri 
 
 IhFS: 
 
 Sii^ 
 
 iriirri 
 
 F»t:5t 
 
 ^ 
 
 :i* 
 
 beginning, 'Flowers around -strewing, hair loosely 
 flowing,' and followed by the march, with words, 
 
 ' Towards the green I see thee marching,' sung by 
 Samos. The terzetto, ' mon liberateur,' succeeds. 
 Cherubini's music, however, is everywhere altered 
 and mangled. 
 
 Much has been said of late about the plot of Les 
 Deux Journees and its excessive simplicity. Cle- 
 ment thinks it too complicated: 'The scene takes 
 place in Cardinal Mazarin's time, and the little Sa- 
 voyard is the hero of it. The author of the libretto 
 has so multiplied the incidents that the interest is 
 divided, and cannot be centered on any one charac- 
 ter of the piece. There is neither unity of time, nor 
 of place, nor of action. The beautiful music of the 
 
126 Memorials of Cherzibtni. 
 
 Florentine master could not save sucji a poem. Mean- 
 while fine fragments of the opera have been pre- 
 served. We will cite the air of the little Savoyard, 
 the couplets of Mikely : "A leurs yeiix je d^robe ma- 
 dame," a fine soldiers' chorus on these absurd words, 
 
 " Meritons la bienveillance 
 Du cSlSbre Mazarin ; 
 Surveillons et servons Men 
 Son Eminence." 
 
 It will be agreed that Cherubini might have em- 
 ployed better his admirable talent.'^" As to the 
 simplicity of the plot, the Athenwum remarks : ' The 
 tale is not more simple than that of Fidelia. In 
 the two books tlje persecution and adventures of 
 a married couple form the mainspring of interest; 
 the escapes* of the French count and countess are as 
 exciting as those of Leonora and Florestan — in both 
 the devotion of a wife is vividly exemplified.' I 
 now venture to call attention to Mendelssohn's corre- 
 spondence in reference to a libretto for himself, to be 
 written by Mr. Planche, Every one knows how fas- 
 tidious that composer was about a libretto. Speak- 
 ing to Mr. Planch^ on the subject, he says : 'As you 
 ask me to name a model, I should say a siibject be- 
 tween Fidelia and Les Deux Journees of Cherubini 
 would suit me most — more like the first with regard 
 to the internal plot — to the development of passion ; 
 '° Dictionnaire Lyrique. 
 
Les Deux yournees. 127 
 
 and like the second in the historical basis — the ac- 
 tivity of the choruses and the serene atmosphere 
 which breathes throughout the whole, notwithstand- 
 ing all the perils and the narrow escapes which 
 occur in it. In short, could you find me a subject in 
 which some virtuous heroical deed was celebrated, 
 which represented the triumph of some noble striv- 
 ing feeling equally known to every one of the hearers, 
 who knows at all any feeling, and who could then see 
 his own internal life on the stage, but more concen- 
 trated — in short, translat^ed into poetry ; and if that 
 same story happened in a country, or time, and a 
 people which could give a lively background to the 
 whole (be it dark or not), which, in reminding us of 
 history, could in the same time remind us of our pre- 
 sent time (as, for instance, the dark figure of Cardinal 
 Mazarin forms a background in the Deux Journees ; 
 but it could be more prominent still), and if every act 
 of the opera had its own effects, its own poetical 
 point which comes to issue in the finale (as also in 
 Les Deux Journees, at least in the first and second 
 acts) — if you could find such a subject, that would 
 be the one I wish for ; and if ever I can succeed, I 
 should be sure to do it with such a subject.'" 
 
 ' As to the Deux Joumies,' says Miel, ' the words 
 and the music are in perfect accord.' In fact, the 
 " J. B. Planch6'B Becollections and Reflections, vol. ii. 
 
128 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 real grievance last year against Cherubini's libretto 
 was that it was not sensational enough. There was, 
 also, a further grievance against the opera. To use 
 the words of the Athenceum, 'Cherubini has evidently 
 created the new Wagnerian theories of operatic 
 treatment. In the Deux Journ&es there is no aria 
 cHentrata for prima donna, tenor, baritone, or bass ; 
 there are no solos interrupting the action of the 
 drama ; every character is individualised, and has a 
 marted type, — each one contributing to the con- 
 certed pieces faithfully, consistently, and coherently.' 
 .... Herr Wagner's proposed annihilation of the 
 tyranny of leading singers in operas is to be found in 
 Les Deux Journees.' Cherubini disdains to write for 
 a mere display of the voice ; hence the discontent of 
 a section of the public, unwilling to be deprived of 
 their shakes and roulades. A new classical work 
 does not ' draw' at /the Italian Opera. ' If such be 
 the case,' says the same journal from which I have 
 been quoting, 'it only shows how pressing is the 
 need of a National Opera-House, where at moderate 
 prices grand and classical opera can be rendered a 
 paying investment.' And again, ' The production of 
 new works, which shall be successful both financially 
 and artistically, can now only be expected from a 
 National Opera-House.' It should be added that 
 from the work being advertised as a comic opera 
 
Les beux Journdes. 129 
 
 many persons expected sometMng like II Barbiere, 
 whereas in Les Deux JournSes there is nothing comic. 
 In calling it a comic opera it is only meant that the 
 story ends happily. 
 
 Descriptions of Les Deux Jcmrn&es have appeared 
 from Castil-Blaze, Arnold, and Emilio Cianchi ; that 
 of the latter being, according to Gamucci, a well- 
 worked-OTit analysis, which was read at the annual 
 public assembly of the ' Corpo Accademico del Regie 
 Institute' musicale'. of Florence, in the hall of the 
 'Buon Umore,' on the 17th of May 1863, and subse- 
 quently printed in the minutes of the Academy. 
 
 K 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 1800-1805. 
 
 The pasticcio Epicwe, by MSbal and Chernbini — ^Visit to Chartres — 
 Napoleon again — Establishment of a Consular chapel — PaJBieUo 
 made chapel-master — Anacreon — The overture— The ballet of 
 Achille a Scyros — Cherubini visits Vienna with his wife and young- 
 est daughter — Sees Haydn| — Brings out Lodoiska and Les Deux 
 Journies — Napoleon makes his entry intd Vienna, and Cherubini 
 conducts concerts for him there and at Schonbrunn — Commercial 
 speculation of Steibelt and Cherubini — Napoleon leaves for Paris. 
 
 While Cherubini was effecting his operatic reforms 
 at the Feydeau Theatre by his Lodoiska, Elisa, Medie, 
 and Les Deux Journies he was being ably seconded at 
 the Favart Theatre (the company of which, about 
 1802, merged 'into that of the Feydeau) by Mehul, 
 who produced there his MSlidor, and elsewhere his 
 Ewphrosine and Stratonice. Shortly after the appear- 
 ance of Les Deux Joum6es the two rival composers 
 wrote a work together. This was the three-act 
 pasticcio of Epicure, words by Demoustier, given at 
 the Favart Theatre on the 14th of March 1800, and 
 now chiefly remembered for an exquisitely beautiful 
 duet of Cherubini, entitled ' Ah, mon ami, de notre 
 asUe,' and the overture, which, according to Picchi- 
 
Overture to Epicure. 131 
 
 anti, ' came to be considered in Germany as one of 
 Cherubiai's classical works, and whicli was imbued 
 with such extravagance tbat it is said to have in- 
 fluenced the characteristics of the style of Beethoven, 
 who did not cease to study the compositions of our 
 Italian, whom he justly held in great esteem.'^ 
 Epicure, with a cold libretto, was not a success, being 
 performed only three times, and it caused a quarrel 
 between its composers, each attributing to the other 
 the failure of the work. They were reconciled a 
 little later through the good offices of Plantade.^ 
 
 In this year, 1800, Cherubini visited Chartres by 
 invitation, and there wrote a march 'du pr^fet 
 d'Eure-et-Loir.' On retm-ning to Paris, he wrote a 
 second march, 'pour le retour du pr^fet apres sa 
 tourn^e dans le departement.' 
 
 On the 12th of December 1800, a grand perform- 
 ance of the Creation took place in Paris. Napoleon, 
 while on his way to attend it, was near being killed 
 by the explosion of the infernal machine. It was 
 after this crisis that a deputation, composed of the 
 various societies and corporations at Paris, waited 
 on the First Consul to offer their congratulations on 
 his escape. Cherubini, as a representative of the 
 Conservatoire, was among the deputation, but kept 
 in the background, wishing to avoid any unpleasant 
 » PiocHanti, p. 36. ' Lafage. 
 
132 Memorials of Chertibini. 
 
 meeting with Napoleon; who, however, ironically 
 exclaimed : ' I do not see Monsieur Ch^rubin,' pro- 
 nouncing the name in this French way, in order to 
 indicate, it is said, that Cherubini was not worthy 
 of being deemed an Italian composer. When the 
 composer came forward, neither said one word. 
 Yet crowds were still rushing nightly to see and 
 hear Les Deux Journiis. Shortly after the above 
 incident, Napoleon invited him to a banquet at the 
 Tuileries, given to a number of the distinguished 
 men at Paris. After a frugal repast the company ad- 
 journed to the salon, where the Fu-st Consul entered 
 into conversation with Cherubini, both of them walk- 
 ing up and down the room. ' Well,' said Napoleon, 
 ' the French are in Italy.' ' Where would they not 
 go,' rejoined Cherubini, ' led by such a hero as you.' 
 Napoleon seemed pleased, but talked now in Italian 
 now in French, which so confused Cherubini that he 
 could scarcely make out what the Consul was saying. 
 At length the latter began on the old topic : ' I tell 
 you,' he said, ' I like Paisiello's music immensely ; it 
 is soft and tranquil. You have much talent, but 
 there is too much accompaniment,' and he instanced 
 the celebrated air of Zingarelli, ' Ombra adorata,' as 
 being the sort of thing he liked. Cherubini quietly 
 rejoined : 'Citizen Consul, I conform myself to French 
 taste; "paese che vai usanza che trovi," says the 
 
Paisiello arrives in Paris. 133 
 
 Italian proverb.' ' Your music,' continued Napoleon, 
 * makes too much noise ; speak to me in that of 
 Paisiello, that is what lulls me gently.' ' I under- 
 stand,' replied Cherubini ; ' you like music which does 
 not stop you from thinking of state affairs.' At 
 this witty answer Napoleon frowned, and the talk' 
 ended.^ 
 
 Cherubini now found himself persistently ignored 
 and ill-treated by the First Consul, and though pro- 
 ducing masterpieces worth a fortune to the musical 
 world, yet he received no honours as a composer, 
 and hardly any income save the pay received as 
 inspector of the Conservatoire, which scarcely suf- 
 ficed for his maintenance. How significant of his 
 downcast state of mind is the catalogue of his 
 works at this period I Hardly anything was written 
 during 1801 and 1802 ; and as a distraction Cheru- 
 bini occupied himself with his botanical pursuits. 
 
 When the concordat with the Pope had been 
 signed, Napoleon, who loved to return to the old 
 ways of the monarchy, determined to reestablish a 
 consular chapel; and, at the close of 1802, invited 
 Paisiello, then at Naples, to come to Paris, and be 
 director of the music. Paisiello came, and received 
 12,000 francs a year, besides lodging and a carriage. 
 = Arnold somewhat amusingly says that to Napoleon's charge of 
 ' too many notes,' Cheruhini gave ' the ever-memorahle reply:' ' Not 
 one too many.' 
 
134 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 The number of singers for the chapel was eight, 
 besides twenty -seven instrumentalists under Pai- 
 siello. As the old Tuileries chapel had been de- 
 stroyed, the services took place in the Hall of the 
 Council of State. All this gave great umbrage to 
 the Conservatoire. That institution, with its famous 
 teachers, supported French taste, and Napoleon 
 passed them all over for an Italian stranger. They 
 resented being placed beneath a foreigner. At the 
 same time, as Cherubim stood foremost among them, 
 they disliked him as well as Paisiello. Cherubiai, 
 indeed, might now be considered one of themselves, 
 but was he not an Italian born, and yet thought the 
 first representative of the new French music ? The 
 intrigues and petty jealousies of the French mu- 
 sicians deprive them of the just excuse that might 
 be made for them, in their indignation at Paisiello's 
 preferment. Paisiello, however, pleased none but 
 the First Consul. The public, stimulated by beau- 
 ties of a higher order, listened with indifference to 
 his opera oi Proserpine, his masses, his psalms, and 
 his hymns. Nor did Paisiello like his position; ac- 
 customed at Naples to be courted by artists, and 
 admired by the public, he found Paris a decided 
 change for the worse. After the grand solemnity 
 of the coronation of the French Emperor, he asked 
 to be released from his engagement with Napo- 
 
Anacrdon. 
 
 ^ZS 
 
 leon, pleading as Ms excuse the ill - health of his 
 wife. With difficulty he obtained his request, and 
 returned to Naples towards the end of 1804. Napo- 
 leon tried to get Zingarelli in his stead, but Zin- 
 garelli refused all offers, wisely preferring his post 
 at the Vatican. Such was the petty contention that 
 made Cherubini, disgusted with that divine art of 
 which he was so consummate a master, seek a dis- 
 traction in the cultivation of flowers. However, 
 in 1803, his Anacr'eon, ou V Amour fugitif, a ponder- 
 ous, original, but unequal work in two acts, with a 
 poor libretto by Mendouze, was performed at the 
 Grand Opera, on the 4th of October, with the fol- 
 lowing cast : 
 
 Anaorgon 
 
 . M. Lays. 
 
 L'Amour 
 
 . MdUe. Hymm. 
 
 Corinne .... 
 
 . Madame Branchu 
 
 Premiere Esolave . 
 
 . MdLe. Cholet. 
 
 Deuxifime Esclave . 
 
 . MdUePelet. 
 
 Y6nus .... 
 
 . Madame Jannard. 
 
 BathdUe. 
 
 . M. Eloy. 
 
 GlycSre .... 
 
 . Mdlle. Laoombe. 
 
 Athanais (personnage chanta 
 
 nt et 
 
 dansant) . 
 
 . Madame Gardei. 
 
 Esclaves males (personnages muets), troupe de ohanteurs et joueurs 
 d'inBtrumens des deux sexes. 
 
 The libretto was a tiresome one, though much 
 merriment was caused by some scenes, especially, 
 where Anacr^on, asking his favourite attendant 
 whether he will take anything to drink, addressed 
 
136 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 him as ' Esclave int&essant.' We are told that the 
 shouts of laughter stopped the actors for five painutes, 
 from proceeding. Lays, crowned with ivy, vine- 
 branches, and flowers, was delighted with his r61e of 
 poet and musician. Anacr'eon for a time kept the stage, 
 and, out of respect for the composer, a magnificent 
 edition of the work was printed, and eagerly bought 
 up by connoisseurs. Cherubini, in a private letter, 
 attributed the failure of the work- ' h, la clique in- 
 fernale acharnee centre tous ceux qui font partie du 
 Conservatoire.' Anacr'eon was not much known in 
 Vienna; the libretto was disliked, and with reason. 
 The choruses were thought the best part, but people 
 said that the music was generally heavy. It was 
 performed once only in the Austrian capital. To 
 those, however, who criticised Anacr'eon, Cherubini 
 replied : ' Either I write everything as I choose, or 
 not at all.' And he did write, regardless of Parisian 
 trivialities.* 
 
 Among many scenes of great splendour must be 
 noticed Corinne's air, 'Jeunes fiUes aux regards 
 doux ;' the harmonious quartet, ' Des nos coeurs purs;' 
 the brilliant, picturesque trio, 'Dans ma verte et 
 belle jeunesse;' the Bacchanalian chorus, 'Hon- 
 neur au Dieu do la vendange,' the chorus 'Pfere 
 d'0rph6e ;' and the storm scene at the end of the 
 * Arnold. 
 
Anacrdon. i;^j 
 
 first act, of which Castil-Blaze says: 'L'orage 
 d.'Anacreon a pris rang parmi les tempetes les plus 
 renommees qu'on fait tonner sur nos theatres de- 
 puis YAlcione de Marais (1706), jusqTi'k Guillaume Tell 
 (1829).' Then there is the well-known overture, 
 equalled only by those to Medea and the Deux 
 Journees, and which on its first appearance in this 
 country was played three tinaes in succession. A 
 double encore is a rare triumph indeed. The Phil- 
 harmonic Society began their first concert in 1815 
 with the overture, which, however, as Mr. G. A. Mac- 
 farren observes, has been far from justly admired 
 more than any other of Cherubini's works.® 
 
 F. W. H,, in the Quarterly Musical Magazine, writes : 
 ' In the overture to Anacreon (certainly one of the 
 finest instrumental pieces that have been written 
 since the days of Haydn), there are perhaps fewer 
 attempts at continual imitation, fewer passages in 
 the fugue style, and fewer laborious or abstruse ' 
 modulations than may be found in the symphonies 
 and overtures of Cherubini's admired predecessors; 
 but to compensate for the absence of these, there is a 
 novelty of melody, an elegance and brilliancy of effect 
 
 « A grumbler in the Revue des Deux Mondes, 1862, alluding to 
 some performances by the Sooigtg des Concert's, observes that the 
 overture scarcely merits, as a symphonic piece, the reputation it has 
 so long enjoyed. The developments of the principal subject are ex- 
 cessive, and the theme itself, not a marked one (pen saiUant), recurs 
 too often. Musical Standard, vol. i. p. 59. 
 
138 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 prevailing throughout this piece which cannot fail, 
 to rivet the attention of all who possess the least 
 taste in our art. The first horns, by sustaining A 
 and E, then moving to the chord of D, prepare the 
 way for a very singular and effective passage, which 
 is taken up alternately by the flute, violin, and vio- 
 loncello, between each preparatory sounding of the 
 corni, until the movement ends with the dominant 
 seventh in full harmony by the whole band. Nothing 
 (to look at the score) can possibly be more simple, 
 and certainly nothing can be more effective; it is 
 the harbinger of good things to the allegro move- 
 ment that follows, commencing on one note only by 
 the bass. At the end of two bars there arises a very 
 simple passage, which may be called the subject of 
 the overture, as it is heard throughout until nearly 
 the close, alternating from one insti-ument to another 
 in a very extraordinary manner. The long continu- 
 ation of the piano, and the gradual accumulation of 
 the crescendo, are strikingly displayed in the first 
 fifty bars ; and when the climax arrives, by the full 
 burst of the orchestra, no doubt can possibly remain 
 on the mind of the scientific hearer that our author 
 is a man of superior abilities. I would point out to 
 the student a beautiful passage towards the end 
 marked in Bruguier's adapted duet Lentando, as a 
 delightful contrast to the brilliant ones that precede 
 
A chille a Scyros. 139 
 
 and follow it. The educated musician would dis- 
 cover a great similarity to Mozart's style in this 
 part : it is tender, graceful, and in the true chiaros- 
 curo of harmony, a passage bearing strong indication 
 of the elegant mind of its author.' 
 
 Unfortunate with Anacreon, Cherubini was still 
 more unlucky with the ballet of Aohille a Scyros 
 (words by Gardel the younger), three-fourths of the 
 •music of which was his, and which was performed at 
 the Grand Opera on the 18th December 1804. Here, 
 as with Anacreon, the music was wonderful, espe- 
 cially a Bacchanalian scene (imitated in 1817 by 
 Spontini, in a piece inserted in Salieri's Les Danaides) ; 
 but the nature of the subject, with Achilles, accord- 
 ing to the well-known legend, dressed up in woman's 
 clothes, was unsuitable for representation. Duport 
 might succeed in his acting of the role of Achilles, 
 but the French feeling in the matter was well ex- 
 pressed by Fetis : ' Achille est une grande figure 
 antique qui n'est pas tolerable dans une situation 
 grotesque.' The twentieth performance of the work 
 took place on the 15th September 1807, with Mdlle. 
 Clotilde as Achilles. 
 
 "When Paisiello left Paris in 1804, the post of 
 chapel-master to Napoleon became vacant. Napoleon 
 offered Mehul the place, who, although the rival, 
 was yet the friend of Cherubini, and who proposed 
 
14° Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 to share the o£Bce with the latter. But Napoleon 
 would not hear of the proposal. 'Do not speak to 
 me,' said he, 'about that man. I want a maestro 
 who will make music, not noise.' In asking for his 
 friend, Mehul lost the place himself.* Napoleon told 
 Paisiello to name his successor, who fixed on Lesueur, 
 who accordingly became chapel-master. 
 
 In 1804, Cherubini began Les Arrets, but never 
 went on with it, chiefly because he left the French 
 capital the following year. Miel, noticing the cir- 
 cumstance oi Les Arr&ts not being completed, says: 
 ' A resolution astonishing on the part of a man who 
 left nothing unachieved or unfinished.'^ M. Miel 
 
 ' The Musical Standard, on what authority I know not, has lately 
 given the following account of Mfihul's conversation with Napoleon on 
 this suhject (vol. iii. no. 416) : • I can only accept the place on con- 
 dition that yon will allow me to share it with my friend Cheruhini,' 
 says M6hnl. ' Don't mention him,' says Napoleon ; ' he is a man of 
 snappish disposition, and I have an utter aversion to him.' ' It is cer- 
 tainly his misfortune,' replies M^hul, ' to have failed in securing your 
 good opinion ; hut in point of sacred music he is superior to us all ; he 
 is straitened iu his circumstances, has a numerous family, and I 
 should feel happy in reconciUng you to him.' ' I repeat,' says the 
 emperor, 'I will not have him.' 'Well then,' answers M^ul, 'I 
 must positively decline ; nothing can alter my determination. I be- 
 long to the Institute ; he does not. I will not aUow it to be said that 
 I take advantage of the kindness you show me in order to secure every 
 place for myself, and deprive a celebrated man of what he is so justly 
 entitled to claim at your hands.' CastU-Blaze assures us (Chapelle- 
 Musique des Eois de France, p. 170) that Mfehul's refusal of the office 
 because he esteemed himself less worthy of it than Cherubini is an 
 invention of the biographers. 
 
 ' Miel's Notice sur Cherubini, p. 12. 
 
Cherubini and Mozart 's Requiem. 1 4 1 
 
 had forgotten Marguerite d!Anjou, the other fragment- 
 ary opera of 1802, the name of which Cherubini does 
 not give ns; the Kourhourgi opera, the fragments 
 of cantatas in 1796, for the inauguration of a statue 
 of Apollo, and in 1811, for the opening of a new 
 concert hall at the Conservatoire ; and the unfinished 
 opera Selico. In 1805, Cherubini, to calm his mind 
 and dissipate his cares, undertook a labour of love in 
 getting up a performance of Mozart's Requiem, which 
 the Parisians had never yet heard. 'Despite the 
 disinclination of the Parisians for German music,' 
 said German journals of the time, ' and despite the 
 repugnance of Parisian artistes to such a difficult 
 task, Cherubini's zeal and love for this work of Mo- 
 zart enabled him to get it performed by two hundred 
 of the best singers and instrumentalists ; and per- 
 formed too, in such a manner, that on the very same 
 day he received a request to repeat it.^ The work, 
 in fact, made a deep sensation ; and it is interest- 
 ing to know that he who led the first performance 
 of it in Paris, was destined himself to write two 
 Requiems, which, in the opinion of a great many, can- 
 not be deemed inferior to that of Mozart. Cherubini 
 also brought out some of Haydn's works. 
 
 It may be imagined that, after all his recent 
 failures, Cherubini was not in high spirits. To cheer 
 ' Gerber'B Lexicon der Tonkiinstler, vol. i. p. 698. 
 
142 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 him, however, there came to him in 1805 an invita- 
 tion to compose for the managers of the opera at 
 Vienna ; and, as the terms were liberal, he left Paris 
 on the 26th June, accompanied by his wife and 
 youngest daughter, and arrived at the Austrian 
 capital in July. His advent produced a profound sen- 
 sation. The outpost of classical music, after guard- 
 ing its interest in uncongenial Paris, had come at 
 last to the city which was in many respects for him 
 a truer home ; and Arnold naively remarks that the 
 chief Parisian musicians were glad to see Cherubini 
 go to Vienna. 
 
 Cherubini first of all visited Haydn, then about 
 seventy-three years old. Gamucci says that Cheru- 
 bini presented Haydn with the medal, struck at Paris 
 for the latter, by the impresario of the Opera Theatre, 
 as a token of admiration for the Creation ; but the 
 medal in question was presented two or three years 
 previously, in 1801 ; and a mistake to the effect that 
 Cherubini had himself given it in person to Haydn 
 in 1801 was refuted by the circumstance that he did 
 not go to Vienna till 1805. Subsequently, Cherubini 
 entered into a warm friendship with Beethoven and 
 Hummel. The cordial reception given him, and the 
 esteem of the great German artists in the city, greatly 
 encouraged him. 
 
 Among the first works represented at Vienna 
 
Cherubini at Vienna. .143" 
 
 tinder Cherubim's direction VfereLesDeuxJournees and 
 Lodoisha. Fetis says that Lodoiska was performed, 
 others say Les Deux Journies; Arnold, the German, 
 says both. Two new entr'actes were written for 
 Lodoisha, as well as a new air, expressly for Madame 
 Campi. Arnold states that a quartet, with chorus, 
 was also added to Les Deux Joum&es in the second 
 act, where the pretended daughter of the water- 
 carrier is in the water-cart. But Constance never 
 does get into the cart. 
 
 When the Deux Journees was given the Viennese, 
 as might have been anticipated, became enthusiastic. 
 As conductor, Cherubini made some changes in the 
 tempi. Thus, he took the allegro of the stupendous 
 overture slower than was usual, whereby 'this difficult 
 piece of mufeic gained in clearness.' Cherubini made 
 the acquaintance of a Baron de Braun, for whom he 
 wrote a march for wind instruments, as well as a sonata 
 for an organ ' a cylindre.' In the mean time, owing 
 to the victory of Elchingen, and the capitulation 
 of Ulm, the war, which had broken out since Cheru- 
 bim's arrival, resulted in Murat entering the Austrian 
 oapital, and in the French Emperor taking up, his 
 residence at Schonbrunn. But when dictating in 
 Vienna the terms of the peace of Presburg, Napo- 
 leon, on hearing of Cherubini' s presence in the city, 
 expressed a wish to see him. When the com- 
 
144 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 poser came, the Emperor asked him what cause had 
 brought him to Vienna, and whether he had obtained 
 the necessary permission to leave France. Having 
 satisfied himself on this point, the Emperor, whUe 
 not forgetting his usual praises of Paisiello and Zin- 
 garelli, said in a kindly tone, ' Ah, Monsieur Cheru- 
 bini, I am glad you are here, and since you are here, 
 we'll have some music together. You shall direct 
 my concerts.' Thus charged with the direction of 
 the court-music during Napoleon's stay in Austria,, 
 Cherubini gave twelve musical soirees alternately at 
 Vienna and Schonbrunn, he presiding at the piano 
 and Crescentini singing; and each time occasions 
 were opportunely afforded for lively discussions on 
 music between Napoleon and Cherubini. First of 
 all, Napoleon became angry because, as he thought, 
 there was too much noise in the orchestra. The 
 patient Cherubini, to remedy this, contrived that all 
 passages should be executed pianissimo, which pro- 
 ceeding quite satisfied Napoleon. The latter even 
 showed an interest in Cherubim's future movements, 
 saying to him one day, ' I very much hope that you 
 are here only for a holiday, and that you will return to 
 Paris.' At another time when Napoleon spoke about 
 Faniska, the representation of which had been post- 
 poned on account of the troubles of the time, Cheru- 
 bini at once took the position of assailant by saying 
 
Two Emperors and his Music. 1 45 
 
 'This opera will not please you.' ' And why not f 
 exclaimed Napoleon. 'Because,' said Cherubini (using 
 the same expression employed by Napoleon in their 
 passage of arms atthe Tuileries in 1800), ' because it 
 has too much accompaniment.' The charge of ' too 
 many notes' was preferred against Cherubini both by 
 the Emperor Joseph II. and by Napoleon.' Alluding 
 to this Gerber says : ' When such could be the 
 opinion of two of the most accomplished dilettanti (?) 
 in Vienna and Paris, what can be the opinion of 
 others in places where art is immeasurably less 
 flourishing and practised? Unfortunately, I fear that, 
 with all the extraordinary progress of instrumental 
 compositions, this would at present be the unanimous 
 opinion of the majority of connoisseurs on hearing 
 such music, supposing them capable of saying what 
 they thought with the freedom of a Joseph II. or a 
 Bonaparte. For how is it, how can it be, possible for 
 them, unprepared, to follow the artist in the expres- 
 sion of his multifarious ideas entwined into a-whole? 
 Who will choose, and who will be ready to thank 
 him for the great but unappreciated art he has em- 
 ployed ?' All this only shows how much Cherubini 
 was in advance of his time. 
 
 ' Vide Gerber, under ' Cherutini' in the (later ?) Lexicon der Ton- 
 kumtler. Musical World, 1862. Tlie Emperor Joseph died in 1790, 
 so that he could not have heard very much of Cherubini's music. 
 
 L 
 
1 46 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 For the twelve soirees Cherubini received a large 
 sum from Napoleon. On the other hand Cherubini 
 was involved with Steibelt in a commercial specu- 
 lation, which proved a failure.- They opened a 
 new music -printing establishment at Vienna, but 
 owing to want of sufficient capital, soon found them- 
 selves embarrassed ; and Cherubini, like a man of 
 honour, sold his inheritance to pay to the last 
 farthing his share of the debts.^" 
 
 On the signing of the treaty of Presburg, De- 
 cember 26, 1805, Napoleon prepared for his return to 
 Paris. At the moment of his departure he called 
 for Cherubini, and, while pronouncing his name in 
 the Italian and not in the French fashion, invited 
 him to accompany him to Paris. But Cherubini 
 would not break his word with the Viennese, who 
 expected at least one work from him, and he excused 
 himself as well as he could. On Napoleon's return 
 to Paris, Paer became court-musician, a post which 
 would probably have been given to Cherubini, had 
 he retm-ned with the Emperor, who seemed at this 
 time favourably disposed towards our composer. No 
 doubt he wanted to lead Cherubini to ask a favour of 
 him, but as both were proud men, neither would Na- 
 poleon take the initiative, by offering, nor Cherubini, 
 by asking. 'It may easily be perceived,' observes 
 " Pioohianti, p. 64. 
 
Cause of Napoleon's Antipathy. 147 
 
 Picchianti, ' that Napoleon did not bear any hatred 
 towards Cherubini, but rather to that new kind of 
 music introduced by the latter into France ; had he 
 been averse to him personally, there were but too 
 many ways of getting rid of him, as of other persons 
 whom he disliked. The pretended reasons as to the 
 excessive noise of the instruments do not seem suf- 
 ficient for depreciating Cherubini's beautiful compo- 
 sitions, since it cannot be supposed that the acoustic 
 nerves of the hero of battles were so delicate as to be 
 unable to bear the fortes of the orchestra, which Che- 
 rubini used to employ -in a masterly way, and which 
 were much softer and more moderate than those now 
 in vogue in Italy. Brought up in the midst of arms, 
 Napoleon's hearing must have become well accus- 
 tomed to endure the greater noise of the beating of 
 drums, the booming of artillery, and the sharp cries 
 of the wounded. It is rather to be believed that in 
 Cherubini's music, whose style was formed and de- 
 veloped in the first days of the revolution, Napoleon 
 discovered the impress of an exalted spirit, and a 
 certain repu|)lican austerity, which he did not at all 
 relish, and would have been glad even to eradicate. 
 And judging from his own feelings, which would pro- 
 bably be those of the public, there perhaps arose in 
 him some fear lest such music should produce results 
 such as clashed with his chief objects, which were 
 
1 48 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 to extinguish in the French people all excitement, 
 opposed, as he thought, to his own particular aims; 
 and, for that very reason, he wished on the other hand 
 to maintain, by means of Paisiello's and Zingarelli's 
 compositions, the reputation of the old school of 
 Italian music, the quiet and suave style of which 
 seemed to him calculated to lull the popular mind. 
 If this was not the true reason of the dislike felt by 
 the great conqueror for Cherubini's music, I do not 
 know a better.'" Doubtless Napoleon was accus- 
 tomed to noise, but for the Very reason that he had so 
 much of it in battles, it was natural that he should 
 prefer to have none of it in music. Speaking of 
 Napoleon's feeling towards Cherubini, the Nieder- 
 rheinisclie-Musih-Zeitung observes : ' Even as Emperor, 
 Bonaparte was unable to suppress this prejudice; 
 and Cherubini, in accordance with his natural dis- 
 position, did nothing to remove it. It seemed as 
 though the mighty ruler, warlike hero, and man of 
 iron will, sometimes experienced an inward necessity 
 of divesting himself for a period of everything great, 
 and, consequently, of the impression produced by a 
 grand style of art; for which reason he preferred 
 lighter and more catching music, perhaps consider- 
 ing all excitement of the mind by means of art as 
 unworthy a statesman and a general.''' 
 
 " PiooMauti, p. 45. '« Musical World, 1862, p. 531. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 1805-1808. 
 
 Beethoven's Fidelia and Chembiid's J'aMisfta— Cherubim's relations 
 with Beethoven and Humnlel — His parting with Haydn — Returns 
 to Paris — Spontiai's La F'esfaZe — ^ Mfihul's Joseph — Cherahini's 
 canons — He becomes ill, aitd goes for his health to the Castle of 
 Chimay, in Belgium. 
 
 On the 20th of December 1805 appeared Beet- 
 hoven's Fidelio; and little more than two months 
 later Cherubini's I^aniska, with German text by 
 Tonnleithner, was produced for the first time at 
 the Imperial Karnthnerthor Theatre, on the 25th 
 of February 1806, before the Emperor Francis II. 
 and all his court. Both at the beginning and end 
 of the opera Cherubini was received with accla- 
 mations. By this work his credit was immensely 
 increased, and all the famous artistes at Vienna vied 
 with one another in fating him. ' The magnificent 
 music,' eayg the writer in the Niederrheinische-Musih- 
 Zeitun^, ' excited the admiration of all competent 
 judges ; Beethoven and, it is asserted, Haydn per- 
 fectly agreeing with the opinion of the public' An- 
 
150 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 other account speaks of the ' depth, force, and rare 
 perfection in the details — many of those surprises 
 that move you forcibly' — in Fanisha. It would seem 
 doubtful whether Haydn, at his advanced age, still 
 visited the theatre; but, according to the general 
 account, both he and Beethoven were present at the 
 first performance; Cherubini, on his part, going to 
 hear Fidelia twice. Haydn embraced Cherubini after- 
 wards, saying, ' I am very old, but I am your son.' 
 Poor Haydn has been made to utter a considerable 
 variety of remarks, many of which he probably never 
 made. Miel has been followed in the present in- 
 stance ; but some accounts speak of Haydn saying, 
 ' You are my son, worthy of my love.' Here, to say 
 the least of it, he would be paying a compliment to 
 himself, as well as conferring one. There is also, 
 owing to various versions, a little doubt as to what 
 Beethoven and Haydn actually styled Cherubini. La- 
 fage says that the expression made use of was ' the 
 first musician of the century ;' according to others 
 Haydn called him ' the greatest of living musicians ;' 
 and Beethoven, 'the greatest dramatic composer of 
 the age ;' while the German journals and Beethoven 
 together undoubtedly called Cherubini 'the first 
 dramatic composer of his time.' As for the critics, 
 they are credited with praising him as 'the most 
 learned of dramatic composers.' Whatever were the 
 
Faniska. 151 
 
 exact words, and they may all of them be correct, 
 there is no doubt about the general opinion meant 
 to be conveyed. The French composers concurred 
 in the praise of Cherubini at Vienna ; but Fetis says, 
 ' Mehul, who up to this time had been considered his 
 rival and competitor, subscribed to these praises; 
 but any one who was acquainted with him knows 
 how much such an avowal cost him ; he only made 
 it out of an ostentatiousness of generosity, and in 
 order to hide his despair.'^ G-liick and Mozart were 
 dead; Weber was yet in obscurity. There was no 
 one to compare with Cherubini, unless it were Beet- 
 hoven himself. ' It is a very remarkable fact,' says 
 the writer in the Niederrheinische-Musik-Zeitung, ' that 
 two such important dramatic compositions as Beet- 
 hoven's Fidelio and Cherubini's Faniska should have 
 been written at the same time independently of one 
 another; that both works should have been in ad- 
 vance of their age ; that both should display a strik- 
 ing similarity of style, especially in the treatment of 
 the orchestra; and that both should have suffered 
 from th,e reproach of the music being too learned for 
 the public of the period. With regard to Fidelio, we 
 know that even the subsequent representations in 
 Vienna did not take with the public, and that it was 
 reserved for our own time to see this magnificent 
 ' Eiog. Univ. vol. vi. p. 60, art. ' Mfiliul.' 
 
152 ) Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 work appreciated in all countries. Fanisha. en- 
 joyed at first a better fate. It is true that in Vienna 
 it was not often repeated, but it was performed at 
 other German theatres. The writer of the present 
 article recollects its being performed when he was a 
 youth, at the theatres of Dresden and Dessau. It 
 produced a deep impression, and its merits were 
 readily allowed by the critics, although, owing to the 
 unsatisfactory libretto, it did not become firmly esta- 
 blished in public favour. Yet the music is some of 
 the best and most dramatic which this style of com- 
 position can boast ; and it might be well worth while, 
 after modifying the book, to reproduce the opera on 
 the stage, just as the same composer's Medea has 
 been successfully revived at Frankfort-on-the-Maine 
 and Munich.'^ The above allusion to the modification 
 of the libretto reminds me that, about twenty years 
 after the first representation of Fardsha, Cherubini 
 began to meditate about having the work repre- 
 sented in Paris at the Opera Comique, with another 
 libretto. This doubtless explains the mention in 1831 
 of a march to be substituted for that of the night 
 patrol in the third act oiFaniska. Guilbert de Pixe- 
 recourt, a playwright, began to adapt it to the Mines 
 de Pologne ; but Cherubini suddenly changed his mind 
 about the matter, thinking that what pleased the 
 ' Musical World. 
 
Faniska. 153 
 
 Viennese would never suit the Parisians ; and accord- 
 ingly took up Kourhourgi and wrote AliBaha instead. 
 As to the similarity of operatic style between Beet- 
 hoven and CheruBini, it has been recognised by 
 Mendelssohn, whoj speaking oi' Fidelia, observes: 
 ' On -looking into the score, as well as on listening to 
 the performance, I everywhere perceive Cherubini's 
 dramatic style of composition. It is true that Beet- 
 hoven did not ape tliat style, but' it was before his 
 mind as his most cherished pattern.'®' 
 
 The overture to Faniska is considered one of its 
 author's most finished works.- While the opening is 
 surprising and beautiful, and the allegro exceedingly 
 gay, the most striking pOrtiori. is a strange, weird, 
 yet lovely subject, for the violoncellos and bassoons, 
 that occurs later on, and is repeated' with a delightful 
 
 Alleffro. PP'^ "'^'fT' - >,' ^ ''A. 
 
 Violin 1. m ^ ^ -**- N jj, 1^ • I — -^.xL _, 
 
 1-* iJtS^^-i — ! . I ^ - 
 
 gE - ' ^- ^f riwf^;^ ^^S 
 
 -^JWW^W^. 
 
 IE 
 
 nolm 2.1^ 
 
 Fagoia. ,| i Viola p 
 
 ^^■^^ui^ 
 
 s 
 
 ' Ella's Musical Sketches. What is this tut a clear suppoi-t to 
 the opinion expressed by the Athenaum in 1872, that hut for LesDeux 
 Jownees we should never have had Fidelia at aU ? 
 
154 Memorials of Cherubini. \ 
 
 persistency, and with an airy accompaniment for the 
 violins, to use the phrase of Mr. Macfarren, ' hover- 
 ing' over it. Of the opera itself, the account in the 
 Harmonicon for 1830 is the only one I have been able 
 to find, fi-om which I extract -the following : 
 
 -'The story is shortly -as follows. In some one of 
 the convulsions which desolated Poland, Faniska 
 and her infant- daughter are seized and imprisoned 
 in the ^castle . of Count Zamoski. The fortunate 
 gaoler is of course^ eelon. les rhgles, deeply enamoured 
 of his captive, and also of course finds her deaf 
 to his most earnest .entreaties. As a last resource, 
 he determines to impress her with the belief that 
 her husband, -Count iRasinski, is dead. Rasinski, 
 who in disguise is hanging about his rival's castle, 
 offers to become .himself the messenger of his own 
 decease, and is introduced for that purpose to the 
 lady- .He meets his wife with .firmness, and de- 
 livers to her' hie own- poTtrait as the proof of his 
 veracity, when the infantiae caresses of his daugh- 
 ter cause, him to betray, himself, and he is forthwith 
 consigned to .a,dungeoQ, with the comfortable assur- 
 ance of meeting, on the morrow, the fate of a traitor. 
 This ends the first act. The second and third are 
 occupied by the usual intrigues and expedients to 
 wvort liis liberation, which is at length effected ; his 
 party storm the castle, Zamoski falls, and the bus- 
 
Faniska, 155 
 
 band and wife are again united. It will be seen, by 
 this short sketch, that the story offers many good 
 and even affecting dramatic situations, of which the 
 composer has not been slow to take advantage. We 
 proceed to a more detailed programme of the music. 
 The overtm-e to Fanisha is too well known to all 
 who have attended either -the Philharmonic or any 
 other concerts where classical music is performed to 
 need description here. The introduction opens with 
 a presto movement in B flat, f'time. For the first ten 
 or twelve bars, the violins, and basses move in oc- 
 taves; afterwardsthe subject is .continued in octaves 
 by the stringed instruments,, and accompanied by 
 chords filled in by the, wind instruments. Zamoski, 
 in great agitation,- is awaiting -the result of the at- 
 tempt to seize Faniska, and rapidly interrogating 
 the Cossacks who form his -guard. At length his 
 agent Oranski arrives, aaid aunaunees that his plan 
 has succeeded, so far as regards -the captivity of 
 Faniska and • her . ^hild, 'though her husband has 
 escaped. The satisfaction of Zamoski is expressed 
 in an elegant and lively .andante in f, accompanied 
 by a chorus. No. 2. A scena and aria for Zamoski, 
 a bass. TJie o-eoitative is short, but marked by much 
 beautiful 'modulation, of whiehthe following example 
 is as deligh-tful to the ear as it is bold in the concep- 
 tion: 
 
^56 
 
 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 53 
 
 ^ 
 
 te::^ 
 
 
 ' The aria in E flat commences with an andan- 
 tino movement in eom-mon time, in which Zamoski 
 expresses the extent of his passion for Faniska. He 
 then charges Oi-anSki, an oiHcer of his guards, and 
 Moska, a Waiting-woman, to be most careful of her 
 safety, and (aside) encourages each to be a spy upon 
 the other's fidelity*. The •^p'hole of this movement, 
 more particularly the' parts spoken aside, is highly 
 characteristic. The stringed instruments throughout 
 are chiefly in oetaVes to a moving bass ; while the 
 wind instruments are used to mark and fill up the 
 harmonies: It is stiidied with beauti'fal points of 
 imitation and' singing phrases for the wind instru- 
 ments.' This song requires vast pow-ers* of voice, and 
 also great compaeS, ranging frbm ' the low F to E 
 flat on the s&cond' leger line of the b&ss staff; but 
 we venture to predict that it would well reward any 
 bass singer who w'ould introduce it t6 a da^si^al 
 audience, tt will be found, with' Italian words, in 
 an abridged copy of the opera, published by Breit- 
 kopf and Haertel. No. 3 introduces Faniska in a re- 
 
Faniska. 
 
 ^57 
 
 citative obbligato of which it is hardly too much to ' 
 say that, for variety of modulation and just expres- 
 sion, it yields only to the gi;eat scene in Don Gio- 
 vanni, where Donna Anna mourns over the dead body 
 of her murdered parent, and incites her lover to re- 
 venge his death. To this succeeds a preghiera in 
 G, molto sostenuto ("Eterno iddio"). The principal 
 feature is an accompaniment of three violoncellos ob- 
 bligati ; but occasional phrases for the wind instru- 
 ments are interspersed.* 
 
 I 
 
 * 
 
 ± 
 
 =SF! 
 
 ^i 
 
 221 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ J.. J 
 
 i=^ 
 
 MoUo sostenuto. 
 
 g^ 
 
 :^ 
 
 dd=. 
 
 ^c. 
 
 m 
 
 'E± 
 
 ^ 
 
 :^ 
 
 3 Violcmcelli, 
 
 ^i^:f=^:M 
 
 ^c. 
 
 ^=fti: 
 
 No. 4. is a terzetto in A, between Faniska and 
 her two guards, Moska and Oranski, The latter pre- 
 tends the greatest devotion to his captive's wishes, 
 while the former assumes, at first, an air of total 
 indifference, declaring that she neither pities nor 
 hates her, and is only determined to do her duty. 
 She soon after, however, cautions Faniska (aside) 
 ' The whole of this air is given in the Harmonicon. 
 
1 5 8 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 against trusting Oranski, and recommends her to 
 prove him by demanding an interview with her child. 
 In this trio, as in all the other pieCes of the opera, 
 a marked motion runs through the whole, and is 
 
 both original and beautiful 
 
 ' No. 5 is a chorus of villagers on a very simple 
 vocal subject ; but the repetitions abound in varia- 
 tions of instrumental accompaniment, which evince 
 the command Cherubini has over this branch of 
 
 his art The chorus is followed by a short 
 
 melodrama and polonaise, which form Nos. 6 and 
 7. The finale to the first act commences with a 
 larghetto in D, rather in a recitative style. Easinski, 
 disguised, is introduced by Zamoski to announce the 
 news of his own death to Faniska. In proof of his 
 veracity, Rasinski delivers a miniature of himself, 
 which Faniska apostrophises in a beautifully flowing 
 and pathetic andante in A. She shows the portrait 
 to her child, whose infantine raptures, on recognising 
 the hkeness of her father, lead Easinski to betray 
 himself. The moment when the father seizes and 
 bathes with involuntary tears his daughter's hand, 
 the instantaneous burst of rage from Zamoski, is ac- 
 companied by the following bold and effective tran- 
 sition : 
 
Faniska. 
 
 159 
 
 Larghetto. 
 
 A combat STicceeds, and the finale ends with a spi- 
 rited allegro molto in D. We have been unconsciously 
 led to -extend our extracts from the first act of this 
 opera so far as to leave but little space in which to 
 notice the second and third acts. The second act 
 opens with a scena in F for Faniska, consisting of a 
 recitative, andante, and allegro, all of great beauty, 
 but requiring too much compass of voice and execu- 
 tion for amateurs. To this succeeds an animated 
 duet between her and Easiuski ; a romance in G 
 minor, very similar, but at the same time superior, 
 to that in the same author's DeiMc Joumies, which 
 was sung in the English version of that opera {The 
 'Escapes, or the Water-carrier) to the words " A little 
 boy, a Savoyard;" and the well-known exquisite 
 canon " Non mi negate," published here along with 
 the " Perfida Clori." In the third act, the music, with 
 
i6o Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 the exception of one quartet of action, is chiefly 
 military. There are three marches, two of which 
 are superior to the general run of such compositions, 
 though certainly not at all equal to Mozart's march 
 in Figaro. The finale consists of a vaudeville air, 
 sung alternately by the principal characters, and 
 interspersed with a simple chorus.' 
 
 Now to touch upon the relations between Beet- 
 hoven and Cherubini. Schindler informs us^ that 
 Cherubini's criticisms on Beethoven were harsh ; that 
 Beethoven did not always take them well; that he 
 found a champion, even as late as the years 1841 and 
 1842, in Cherubini's wife ; that when Cherubini spoke 
 of Beethoven, he always ended by saying, ' mais il 
 est toujours brusque ;' that on his return to Paris his 
 communications® about Fidelia showed ' the slight 
 opinion he had of it ;' that he ' was present at the 
 earliest representation of Fidelio in 1805, and also ia 
 1806,' and ' told the musicians of Paris, when speak- 
 ing to them about the overture to Leonora, No. 3, 
 that on account of the medley of modulations in it, 
 he was unable to recognise the original key ;' that, 
 ' after hearing Fidelio, Cherubini arrived at the con- 
 clusion that Beethoven had not devoted sufficient 
 
 " Beethoven's Biography, vol. i. p. 114. Vide Musical World, 1862. 
 
 " Wlat communications ? A friend of the wiiter in the Nieder- 
 rheinische-Musik-Zeitung searcEed for them in vain among the Paris 
 papers. 
 
Beethoven and Cherubini. i6i 
 
 attention and study to the art of singing, and there- 
 fore *'took the liberty" of recommending it strongly 
 to kis attention, for which purpose he sent for the 
 Method of the Paris Conservatoire, in order to make 
 nim a present of it ;' and that Beethoven ' preserved 
 in his Kttle library, to the last days of his existence, 
 the book he received from Cherubini.' The writer in 
 the JViederrheiniscJie- Musik- Zeitung, speaking of the 
 statement about the overture to Leonora, No. 3, says : 
 ' For this decidedly remarkable assertion, Schindler 
 gives no authority. What reliance ought to be placed 
 on anecdotes and statements of this kind, related of 
 eminent composers, and propagated by mere report, 
 Schindler himself has found out, often enough, in the 
 case of Beethoven.' That Cherubini should say that 
 -Beethoven was brusque was only the truth, whilst 
 Beethoven's keeping the book on singing, which was 
 a gift of Cherubini, shows how he valued the friend- 
 ship and counsel of one more learned in music than 
 himself, and ten years his senior. But even supposing 
 it were true that, as is reported, Cherubini said of 
 Beethoven's symphonies, ' It is impossible to under- 
 stand all this ; it is a mere dSvergondage ; and that 
 Mendelssohn had been well informed in saying that 
 Cherubini remarked of Beethoven's later style, ' This 
 makes me yawn ;' what do these mere conversational 
 observations weigh in contrast with deeds % Cheru- 
 
 M 
 
1 6 2 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 bini, a warm admirer of Beethoven, in whom he 
 recognised a genius that had something in common 
 -with his own/ is seen actively forwarding, in the face 
 of prejudices hardly credible and which have now 
 long since vanished, performances at Paris of Beet- 
 hoven's works. That is enough. Besides the friend- 
 ship of Haydn and Beethoven, Cherubini gained 
 Hummel's as well, and on returning to Paris took 
 one of the latter's great sonatas with him, thus being 
 the very first to introduce some of Hummel's music 
 to the Parisians. 
 
 The Haydn-verein, a fund founded by Gassmann 
 in 1771, for the widows and orphans of musicians 
 (previous to 1862 called Tonkiinstler-Societat) has 
 Cherubini on its list of subscribers.* No doubt he 
 became one during his stay in Vienna. 
 
 Cherubini would have willingly written some- 
 thing more for the Germans, but the late war had 
 ruined so many things, that he settled upon return- 
 ing to Paris. Before quitting Vienna, he went to 
 take leave of Haydn, and asked him as a parting 
 favour for the original MS. of one of his scores. 
 Haydn gave him an unpublished symphony, and is 
 said to have remarked, 'Allow me to call myself 
 
 ' There is a well-known saying of, I think, one of our oriticB 
 touching Beethoven : ' He unites the joyfulness of Haydn with the 
 melancholy of Mozart, while his music mostly resembles ChenibinVs.' 
 
 ' Monthly Musical Record, 1872, vol. i. p. 63. 
 
Return to Paris. 163 
 
 your musical father, and to greet you by the title of 
 my son.' It is recorded that Cherubini sought Mo- 
 zart's tomb, but that, on being unable to find thd 
 resting-place of him for whom he had so strong an 
 affection, he felt that Vienna was not the place for 
 him. Such neglect of honour and love for this 
 mighty genius struck him forcibly. At Paris he was 
 facile princeps among musicians ; at Vienna he would 
 be confronting Beethoven, Hummel, Albrechtsberger, 
 Preindl, Weigl, Gyrowetz, Salieri, and others. A 
 permanent residence would have brought him into 
 conflict with all these men ; it would have been too 
 hot for him.' Then, too, the fickle Parisians were 
 already wishing him back again, and saying that they 
 could not do without him. On the 9th of March, 
 Cherubini, with his wife and daughter, left Vienna, 
 and reached Paris on the 1st of April 1806. At a 
 fSte improvised for him at the Conservatoire, his 
 entrance into the great hall was the signal for trans- 
 ports of enthusiasm. Some pieces out of his operas 
 were executed, and the welcome from ardent youth 
 (though unpleasing to Napoleon) could not but en- 
 courage him. He now finished his great Credo for 
 eight voices begun in Italy in 1778 or 1779, and 
 which Thibaut, the severe critic, calls 'incomparable.' 
 Two years later, in 1808, Reicha returned from 
 » Arnold. 
 
1 64 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 Vienna, and caused some stir at tlie Conservatoire 
 by dedicating to Cherubini a fugal treatment of the 
 march in Les Deux Journees. ' He developed in this, 
 work,' says Miel, in his Annals of the Institute, ' not 
 only all the science which was characteristic of him, 
 but also a charm which it was not usual to find in 
 the fugal style.' With a symphony of Reicha, the 
 piece was performed at the Conservatoire. 
 
 In 1807 Spontini's great opera oi La Vestale ap- 
 peared with success, the libretto of which, by Jouy, 
 had been first of all successively offered to and re- 
 fused by Cherubini, Mehul, Boieldieu, Paer, and 
 others, until, in despair, Jouy offered it to Spontini. 
 The work, in some respects closely allied to Cheru- 
 bim's school of opera, had, in competing successfully 
 for the decennial prize instituted by Napoleon, to 
 contend with Cherubini, Lesueur, Mehul, Gossec, 
 Gretry, Berton, and Catel; Les Deux Journees and 
 Mehul's Joseph, however, gained honourable mention. 
 But such were the strife and ill-feeling aroused by 
 the decisions of the jury that Spontini never received 
 his 10,000 francs nor Jouy his 5000, the Emperor 
 thinking it advisable to avoid giving further offence 
 to all the other discontented musicians. It is a 
 noticeable fact that the jury, of which Cherubini was 
 a member, for examining works for the Grand Opera, 
 were against La Vestale being put on the stage, an 
 
Sponiini's La Vestale. 165 
 
 opera since performed for thirty years with immense 
 success, thanks in a measure to the Empress Jose- 
 phine, who ordered the work to be represented, not- 
 withstanding the jury's decision. The enemies of 
 Spontini haf e called his operas ' elephants ;' but no 
 one can deny that he is a most original composer. 
 ' It is a very difficult thing,' says Henry Chorley, ' to 
 give to a composer, having a history like Spontini, 
 a fair and fit pedestal in the musical Pantheon — and 
 one neither too high nor too low. Partisanship is 
 sure to enlist itself in the matter. . . . What if he be 
 classed among the Germanised Italians, of whom 
 Cherubini was one, and Clementi another, and who 
 have lost with their nationality their national dolcezza 
 as entirely as certain Italianised Germans — Hesse, 
 Mayer, Winter — have gained it % This will, in part, 
 help us towards a definition ; but, it must be added, 
 that while Spontini had the dryness which, I fancy, 
 distinguishes the pianoforte music of Clementi, and 
 even (in a less degree) the magnificent compositions 
 of the greater Cherubini, he has nowhere shown a 
 science in any respect analogous to theirs. He wrote 
 only opera. ... A certain temperate eclecticism per- 
 vades Spontini's operas, which is often insipid, rarely 
 beautiful, never deep ; and because of this, it may 
 justly he feared, they will sink into oblivion, with all 
 the fine things and brilliant movements which they 
 
1 66 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 comprise ; whereas Les Deux Journees of Cherubini, 
 and the Didone Abbandonata of Clementi, though less 
 brilliant and less conciliatory of popular suffrage, 
 and, like Spontini's music, rather dry, will not soon 
 be forgotten.'^" It was after the public had given 
 such a blow to the chief Parisian composers by ex- 
 tolling to the skies whaf they had judged as alto- 
 gether unworthy of musical treatment, that M6hul 
 and Cherubini deigned to accept from poor Jouy, the 
 one Les Amazones, and the other Les Abencerages. Of 
 M^hul's masterpiece, Professor Ella observes : ' Whe- 
 ther owing to the sacred subject of the drama, which 
 admits of no very strikingly impassioned music, or 
 otherwise, the opera of Joseph, produced in Paris in 
 1807, was not received with very great enthusiasm. 
 At the present time, Joseph is occasionally performed 
 in Vienna and at Paris. Cherubini, the contemporary 
 of M^hul, having produced his opera Faniska at Vi- 
 enna with success,^ and being proclaimed by the 
 German critics the most learned of dramatic com- 
 posers, M6hul unwisely abandoned his natural style, 
 and encumbered the score of Joseph with bald imita- 
 tions of his classical rival, which gave to his music a 
 certain effect of mannerism. Notwithstanding this 
 defect in Joseph, there are beautiful melodies, a grand 
 dramatic sentiment, and a local colour which is excel- 
 •• Modem German Music, vol. i. p. 204. 
 
Me hup s Joseph. 1 67 
 
 lent. Often as 1 have perused the touching narra- 
 tive of Joseph and his brethren, its performance at 
 the Opera Comique in 1829, in Paris, produced a more 
 deep and lasting impression on my feelings. The 
 scenery and costumes historically correct; the sing- 
 ing, acting, and orchestra perfection. I do not envy 
 the man who could witness, the affecting interview 
 of Joseph and his father, sung and acted as I wit- 
 nessed it, without being moved to tears.'^^ 
 
 Cherubini meanwhile did little or nothing in the 
 way of composing. Some say that he had refused 
 in vexation the poem oi La Vestale; for he saw that 
 his popularity annoyed Napoleon, a popularity which 
 showed that people had the boldness to esteem one 
 whom the great man did not favour. Set aside as he 
 was, while Mehul, Gossec, Gretry, and Lesueur had 
 received honours, it is not to be' wondered at if Che- 
 rubini became disheartened. He ceased to compose 
 almost altogether. One air for Crescentini was writ- 
 ten in 1806 at Paris; and a chorus and 'melodrame' 
 (for an opera begun only) were composed in 1807, 
 when also was finished a collection of canons for 
 two, three, and four Voices, composed at different 
 times, counting from the year 1779 to 1807. In this 
 difficult form of music, Cherubini excelled and de- 
 lighted. AH know Perjida Clori, printed in London 
 
 " Lectures at the London Inst. p. 20. 
 
1 68 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 as early as 1810, the popularity of which in this 
 country may be gathered from the fact that it has 
 been set to God save Vieteria, and other English 
 ■words. Ten canons of Cherubini, including Perfida 
 Clori, were published by Clementi in. 1821, In 1807, 
 according to Arnold, Cherubini led the earliest per- 
 formance in Paris of Beethoven's first symphony. 
 In 1808, he set music to a romance by Bernard, 
 called Le Mystlre, for the Austrian ambassador. Count 
 Metternich ; but for eighteen months he lay in a state 
 of nervous depression. It was even- reported in Vienna 
 that he was dead.^^ For eight hours a day he would 
 occupy himself with drawing and botany. ' His ex- 
 quisite organisation as an artist,,' says Miel, 'would 
 probably have made him a great painter, as it made 
 him a great musician. Before now, we have seen 
 him amuse himself with drawing^ flowers on playing 
 cards taken up haphazard ; mastering with an un- 
 common skill the distribution of the different points, 
 figures, and colours, he found means adapting all 
 sorts of subjects.' The clubs, spades, hearts, and 
 diamonds formed the nucleus of the devices. 'But,' 
 continues Miel, ' it is, above all, in a set of figures 
 drawn with the pencil, and with the hard contour of 
 the old Florentine masters, in the profiles, that the 
 native force of his talent is recognised.' One day, 
 '2 Arnold. 
 
Departure for Chimay. 169 
 
 David tte pamter, Cherufcini's friend, came in upon 
 him while he was doing in erayon on a common 
 piece of paper a landscape after Salvator Eosa, with 
 many rocks,, and traversed by a torrent that made a 
 way for itself 'through a narrow mountain-pass. So 
 pleased was David, that' he cried out, ' In truth, ad- 
 mirable, courage !' The drawing, subsequently came 
 into the possession of Salvador Cherubini^ the com- 
 poser's son. Music-being abandoned, Cberubini took 
 to studying with assiduity, the science of Linnaeus, 
 Jussieu, and Tom-nefort, and placed himself under 
 Des Fontaines.- He also made a herbal^ ' a sad and 
 interesting memorial of this phase- of his life, which 
 remains in the family.'^* ' These pursuits somewhat 
 improved his health, but he needed complete rest. 
 He had become aequaiated with M. de Caraman, 
 Prince of Chimay, and the Princess, well known for 
 her beauty and amiability- They beth invited him 
 to their country seat? in Belgium ; and so, im 1808, he 
 set out, accompanied by Auber,- for the castle of 
 
 Chimay. 
 
 '"- Deime-Baj:onJ- 
 
PAKT ir. 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL MUSIC. 
 1508-1842, 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 1808-1809. 
 
 Eepose at Ckimay — Origin of the Mass in F— Performance of the 
 Kyrie and Gloria on St. Cecilia's Day — The whole work executed 
 on Cherubini'a return to Paris at the Hatel du Babylon— The later 
 school of Church music. 
 
 Chertjbini arrived safely at the castle of Chimay. 
 Bent on regaining his health and strength, he dis- 
 carded laborious pursuits, and contented himself 
 with studying botany and taking walks in the 
 park. Music, almost abandoned, was purposely not 
 mentioned in his presence, and he was left undis- 
 turbed to himself. It so happened, however, that 
 St. Cecilia's Day, the 22d of November, was coming 
 roimd ; and the little musical society in the village 
 of Chimay made bold to send a deputation, at the 
 suggestion of its president, to Cherubini at the castle, 
 to ask him to write for them a mass that could be 
 performed in the Chimay church on the day of the 
 feast. The deputation being introduced, the presi- 
 dent, with some trepidation, explained their object 
 in coming. ' No, it's impossible,' curtly replied Che- 
 
1 74 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 rubini ; and he went on busying himself with his 
 flowers, paying no further attention whatever to the 
 deputation, which stood for a moment irresolute, and 
 then withdrew in confusion. The sympathies of the 
 inmates of the castle were with it ; but what could be 
 done ? Nothing was said about what had occurred ; 
 but next day it was remarked that Cherubini, evid- 
 ently preoccupied, took an unusually long walk alone 
 in the park ; and Madame de Chimay, perceiving that 
 he had not made his usual botanical excursion, placed 
 some music-paper on his table covered with speci- 
 mens of plants. Returning from his solitary walk, 
 Cherubini began to trace out in full score the Kyrie 
 of his renowned Mass in F. He wrote it without 
 apparent thought or labour, in a corner of his room, 
 in the intervals of repose from his labours, playing 
 at pool in the billiard-room. 
 
 Miel states that the Kyrie of the Mass in F was 
 entirely written in the billiard-room during a single 
 game of pool, the composer only laying his pen 
 down when told that it was his turn to play, and 
 not being in the least disturbed by the talking that 
 was going on around him. What a long game of 
 pool it must have been! Others speak of Cheru- 
 bim's writing the Kyrie in his room, and play- 
 ing at pool, or billiards, in the intervals of rest 
 from his work; and I have followed this less sen- 
 
Mass in F. 175 
 
 sational account as being more probably the true 
 one. 
 
 In the above account of the origin of the Mass in F, 
 all the biographers have been followed except Denne- 
 Baron, who makes a statement to the effect that 
 Cherubini took a fancy to having a mass sung in 
 the castle chapel ; that the Princess de Chimay, after 
 every preparation had been made, had recourse to 
 him for the music, and that he refused her; but 
 that at length, overcome by entreaty, he began a 
 mass. 
 
 Eventually Cherubini finished writing, and going 
 up to Auber showed him the manuscript, a piece for 
 three voices, with instrumental accompaniments. 
 Auber wished it to be tried, a proposal to which 
 Cherubini assented; and that very evening Auber 
 seated himself at the piano, Madame Duchambge, a 
 visitor, taking the soprano, and the Prince of Chimay 
 the tenor. They could hardly wait till 'the end of 
 the piece to express their admiration to Cherubini, 
 who himself sang the bass. A Gloria was soon 
 added. Meanwhile St. Cecilia's Day was close at 
 hand, and it was clear that the whole mass could 
 not be completed in time. Yet it was agreed that 
 the Kyrie and Gloria should be performed. The 
 village was ransacked for instruments, and it turned 
 out that all the resources amounted to only two 
 
1 7 6 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 horns, two clarinets, a quartet of strings, a flute, 
 and a bassoon. With such simple appliances, united 
 to the voices of the village choir, were the Kyrie 
 and Gloria executed: in truth, that St. Cecilia's 
 Day was marked with a white stone in the annals of 
 Chimay. Cherubini, after this effort, began to take 
 to music again more kindly, without, however, in any 
 way neglecting botany, the study of which was pro- 
 secuted with greater zeal than ever. He began a 
 herbal, which he preserved with care, and which 
 eventually came into the possession of his son-in-law, 
 Rossellini. 
 
 Remaining at Chimay some short while longer, 
 Cherubini, restored to health and art, returned to 
 Paris, where he completed the rest of the Mass in F, 
 of which the first grand performance, from the manu- 
 script score, took place in 1809, at the Hotel de 
 Babylon, the town residence of the Prince of Chi- 
 may. Among the violinists present were Baillot, 
 Kreutzer, Rode, Habeneck, Libon, Mazas, and Gras- 
 set; the violoncellists included Lamare, Levasseur, 
 Duport, Baudiot, and Norblin;'the clarinet-players, 
 Lefebvre and Dacosta ; the horns-players, Duvernoy 
 and Dominick; the flutists, Tulou; and the bas- 
 soon-players, Delcambre. Indeed the instrumental- 
 ists mustered stronger than the vocalists. The Mass 
 in F was received with enthusiasm, and, being pub- 
 
Mass in F. 177 
 
 lished in 1810, soon made its way ovei- all Europe. 
 F^tis, who was present at this first performance, 
 speaks of it in his Ehides sur Cherubini: 'Never shall 
 I forget,' he exclaims, ' the effect produced by this 
 Mass confided to such interpreters. All the celebrities 
 of Paris, of whatsoever rank they might be, attended 
 the performance, where the glory of the great com- 
 poser shone forth with a living lustre. During the 
 interval between the performance of the Gloria and 
 that of the Credo, groups everywhere formed them- 
 selves, and all expressed an unreserved admiration 
 for this composition of a new order, whereby Cheru- 
 bini has placed himself above all musicians who have 
 as yet written in the concerted style of church-music. 
 Superior to the masses of Haydn, Mozart, and Beet- 
 hoven, and the masters of the Neapolitan school, that 
 of Cherubini is as much remarkable for originality of 
 idea as for perfection of art.' 
 
 'At this time,' says Picchianti, 'he (Cherubini) 
 brought out the celebrated Mass in F for three voices, 
 which alone would suffice to immortalise the name 
 of Luigi Cherubini, and by which he created a new 
 kind of religious music which had nothing in 
 common with anything that had been produced 
 before. 
 
 ' All the musical science of the good age of re- 
 ligious music, the sixteenth century of the Christian 
 
 N 
 
178 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 era, was summed up in Palestrina, who flourished at 
 that time, and by its aid he put into form noble 
 and sublime conceptions. With the grave Gregorian 
 melody, learnedly elaborated in rigorous counter- 
 point, and reduced to greater clearness and elegance 
 without any instrumental aid, Palestrina knew how 
 to awaken among his hearers mysterious, grand, deep, 
 vague sensations that seemed caused by the objects 
 of an unknown world, or by superior powers in the 
 human imagination. With the same profound thought- 
 fulness of the old Catholic music, enriched by the per- 
 fection which art has attained in two centuries, and 
 with all the means which a composer can nowadays 
 make use of, Cherubini perfected another conception, 
 and this consisted in utilising the style adapted to 
 dramatic expression when narrating the sacred text, 
 by which means he was able to succeed in depict- 
 ing man in his various vicissitudes, now rising to 
 the praises of Divinity, now gazing on the Supreme 
 Power, now suppliant and prostrate. So that while 
 Palestrina's music places God before man, that of 
 Cherubini places man before God. 
 
 ' The Mass of which we have just spoken and from 
 which we must date our estimation of Cherubini as the 
 most sublime composer of church-music of his time, 
 was conceived on a grand scale, and constructed on 
 a well-distributed and calculated plan. The Kyrie 
 
Mass in F. 
 
 179 
 
 (220. bars), of a terse and artificial style, but of a 
 rather mundane cast, presents an. almost continual 
 undulation from crescendo to decrescendo, as though 
 the composer wished' tp express the heart-fluctuation 
 of a sinner who is praying. Nothing simpler and more 
 ingenious could be imagined than the melody of the 
 subject that the soprano gives out in the " Christe." 
 
 AMegretto, 
 
 I . . - ^ . _ 
 
 i 
 
 ^ 
 
 r^§^ 
 
 t^^ 
 
 iati: 
 
 
 ■w^*'^- -g- 
 
 :^-i:^ 
 
 tj Sop. Ten. I 
 
 Chri - ste e - le - i-son, &b. Chri 
 
 r-f-frr 
 
 Bte e • leison, &c. 
 
 r'^mrw. 
 
 ^e. 
 
 Bass. Chri - 
 
 This seems the prayer of a pure and innocent virgin, 
 that comes forth from the innermost depths of the 
 heart, and rises to the throne of the Almighty. 
 The light and delicate accompaniment ohbligato of 
 the orchestra, which sustains the same movement up 
 to the end, perfectly preserves, from beginning to 
 end, the character of the fugue ; which, on account 
 of the learned art with which it is elaborated, the 
 beauty of the counterpoint, and the general effect 
 produced, must be reputed a perfect model in this 
 kind of composition, just as all the other fugues in 
 this and any other Mass that Cherubini has written. 
 
1 80 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 There is a most beautiful contrast between the bril- 
 liant idea of the opening of the Gloria and the 
 
 Allegro vivace, f P . m - 
 
 ^^^^^ 
 
 1^— gsc 
 
 t=t= 
 
 -^ 
 
 other tender and subdued ideas which are expressed 
 in the words "et in terra pax." After which the 
 music, returning to the movement of the Grloria, 
 passes to an andante con moto of superb art, in which 
 are included all the words, beginning with " laudamus 
 te" down to the three " Domine."^ 
 
 'Here reappears in its entirety the first subject of 
 the Gloria, succeeded by a tempo sostenuto, worked 
 out in a masterly manner, and leading us from the 
 " qui toUis" to the " cum Sancto Spiritu," together with 
 which it forms a short prelude to the superb fugue, 
 developed on the words " in gloria Dei." The accom- 
 paniments of simple rinforzo, employed by the or- 
 chestra from the beginning of the fugue, are suddenly 
 changed on the last stretti into accompaniments 
 obbligati, and then, in a long pedal point on the 
 dominant, the chief melody of the opening Gloria is 
 stealthily introduced, which unites with the subject 
 in the fugue and comes to prepare us for the grand 
 
 ' This, it will te noticed, is quite a novel arrangement ; ' laudamus 
 te, benedicimus te, adoramuB te, glorificamns te,' being almost inTari- 
 ably included in tlie strain of triumpli at the ' gloria in exoelsis. ' 
 
Mass in F. 1 8 1 
 
 final cadence. The Credo (435 bars) begins with the 
 intonation of canto-fermo, which the three vocal parts 
 repeat in imitation of the motivo and answer of a 
 fugue. And at the end' of each verse, mostly worked 
 out by contrapuntal devices con attacchi, and with 
 imitations, all the voices in unison or at octaves for- 
 cibly bi-ing out, with the word " credo," the notes 
 essential to the perfect cadence, which starts a new 
 tone with which the next verse is connected. This 
 same procedure, repeated some seven times before 
 we come to the " incarnatus," presents us with a con- 
 tinual assertion of full faith in all those articles which 
 are put forth, and which the Christian must profess 
 and believe. A certain persistent phrase in the basses 
 of the orchestra, perfectly supported by that of the 
 Aaolins and other instruments, forms a most beauti- 
 ful accompaniment to a movement rather moderato. 
 
 Allegro moderato, ' 
 
 ^ fe l"^, J. tr 
 
 Ee 
 
 =f?^^ 
 
 -S-i- 
 
 ^ — r*1 — I — l ai*. - 
 
 ^te^^g£^ ZlJlT^^ 
 
 y u ^-^ :^ 
 
 ^i^ 
 
 After a slow movement with two tem.'pi, in which the 
 incarnation and crucifixion of the Man-God' are pa- 
 thetically described (the violins in the latter portion 
 
1 8 2 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 wailing in arpeggio accompaniment), we come to the 
 allegro, where His resurrection is depicted, and, with 
 the usual formula " credo," already employed in the 
 first movement, the composer returns to emphasise the 
 remaining articles of the Catholic Faith till he reaches 
 the words, " et vitam venturi sseculi," to which a fine 
 fugue is allied, which forms the magnificent finale of 
 the Credo. Most learned harmonies and exquisite 
 melodies are met with in the Sanctus (105 bars), and 
 in the Agnus Dei (61 bars), which concludes with a 
 very beautiful tempo fugato of excellent art, on the 
 words "dona nobis pacem.'"^ 
 
 We have now to consider Cherubim in a new 
 light. 'Up to this time,' observes Fetis, 'church- 
 music, as Palestrina and the other great masters of 
 the old Roman school had conceived it, had been 
 treated as an emanation of pure sentiment, stripped 
 of all human passion. Cherubini, on the contrary, 
 wished his music to express the dramatic sense of 
 the words, and in the reaKsation of his idea, he has 
 been able to blend the severe beauties of cou.nter- 
 point and fugue with dramatic expression, sustained 
 by every wealth of instrumentation. Here, as in the 
 theatre, and without ' laying aside in anything the 
 rigour of rules, he has revealed a new art, the de- 
 velopments of which, brought about some year& 
 '' Picohianti, p. 48. 
 
The later School of Church-Music. 183 
 
 later, characterise the third epoch of the artistic life 
 of the great musician.' 
 
 As a composer for the church, then, Cherubini 
 was opposed to Palestrina's notion that ecclesiastical 
 music must always be something" ideal, and in main- 
 taining, on the contrary, that it might also express 
 dramatically the sense of the text, he pretty well 
 agreed with Haydn and Mozart : but those masters 
 are at times trivial and undevotional ; they often 
 thought of their singers first, and their subjects second, 
 and from being dramatic fell into the snare of being 
 theatrical. Certainly their masses have been of late 
 too niuch decried, for many of them are the most 
 beautiful in the world. Let these masters yield the 
 penitential seasons of Lent and Advent to Palestrina 
 and his school. It is theirs to celebrate the joys, not 
 the sorrows, of the Liturgical year. Still their de- 
 fects left room for a more earnest, profound, devo- 
 tional music, fit to represent a theory, which, though 
 true, was liable to abuse. 
 
 In 1809 appeared Cherubini's Mass in F, eventu- 
 ally followed by those four colossal Masses in D, the 
 glory of the later school of church-music, by Che- 
 rubini, Niedermeyer, Beethoven, and Hummel re- 
 spectively. But while these last were lengthy, care- 
 fully elaborated, and suitable for grand occasions 
 rather than for ordinary use, there was no remissness 
 
1 84 Memorials of Chertibini. 
 
 in creating others of the same order of architecture, 
 though on a less extended scale. To this thought- 
 fulness we owe the splendid Mass in C of Beethoven 
 (1810), the melodious Mass in C of Cherubini (1816), 
 his Coronation Masses in Gr (1819) and A (1825), 
 Reissiger's fine Mass in E flat, and Hummel's Masses 
 in B flat and E flat. Nor were the Hymn and the 
 Eequiem neglected by Cherubini, and Hummel be- 
 queathed a new masterpiece to sacred music in his 
 ' Quodquod in orbe.' 
 
 All these later writers of church-music have solved 
 the problem, whether to be dramatic it is necessary 
 to be theatrical. They have come to their task with 
 seriousness, well knowing that the mass need not 
 be one strain of triumph, as Haydn makes it; and 
 with the occasional exception of Hummel, they have 
 always placed their theme, not the singer, in the 
 foreground. They disagree with Palestrina in one 
 important point ; they go with him hand-in-hand in 
 every other. Seeing what modern times require, 
 they nevertheless lean towards antiquity; with all 
 the marvellous development which musical science 
 has undergone in the last century, they centre in 
 themselves the spirit of the old Roman master, 
 searching as they did for the secret of his solemn 
 and devotional feeling in a deep study of his works. 
 'If Palestrina had lived in our own times,' eay^ 
 
Spohr on Cherubini^s Sacred Works. 1 85 
 
 Adolphe Adam, 'he would have been Cherubim ;' in 
 other -words, a dramatic Palestrina. As Palestrina 
 saved the reputation of ideal concerted chwrch^nusic, 
 so has Cherubini rescued that of dvq,mMio concerted 
 church-music. I am awaare that Qherubini's ichurch- 
 music has been deemed theatrical by a fewjoritics ; 
 and this was almost inevitable, seeing that he is so 
 dramatic. None, however, ha,ve gQjie'the length of 
 M. Viellard, who, in his notice of .Mehul, after praising 
 Lesueur's church-music, Batjn, 'The jnusic of Cheru- 
 bini, otherwise fall of chaum and harmonic power, 
 hardly ever exhibits a religious, character.' Spohr, 
 after abusing a mass of Lesueur, /which he heard at 
 Paris, as frivolous and theatrical, and without even 
 a four-part management' of the, voices, proceeds to 
 say, ' But will you believe it when I assure you that 
 even the worthy master Cherubini has allowed him- 
 self to be led away by thia bad example, ,and that his 
 masses exhibit in many places a:theatrical style ? It 
 is true that he makes. amends .for it in those places 
 with superior music, full of effect ; ,but who. can .enjoj 
 it, if he cannot wholly forget the .place jn which he 
 hears it f He adds, ' It would be less regrettable that , 
 Cherubini also should deviate from the true ecclesi- 
 astical style, if in some individual parts he did not 
 show in what a dignified manner he can move in it. 
 Several separate subjects in his masses — particularly 
 
1 86 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 the scientifically-conducted fugues, and, above all, 
 his Pater noster up to the profane conclusion — 
 afford the grandest proofs of this. But when you 
 have once overcome the inclination to feel annoyed 
 at this frequent extremely digressive style, ypu then 
 feel the highest enjoyment of art. By richness of 
 invention, well-chosen and frequently quite novel 
 sequences of harmony, and a sagacious use of the 
 material resources of art, directed by the experience 
 of many years, he knows how to produce such 
 powerful effects, that, carried away by them in spite 
 of yourself, you soon forget all pedantic cavil to give 
 yourself wholly up to your feelings, and to enjoy- 
 ment. What would not this man have contributed to 
 art if instead of writing for Frenehmen he had always 
 written for Germans !'^' 
 
 Schliiter too, in his Higfory of Musie, observes : 
 'What was wanting in Cherubini's operas was 
 only too prevalent in his sacred musie ; his masses, 
 especially wherever the text afforded the slightest 
 opening, are too dramatic ; some of the pieces are 
 quite operatic, nay theatrical, in style.' After saying 
 that modern church-music comes from the concert- 
 room, he adds : ' If (in opposition to the one-sided 
 views of critics) we admit the lawfulness of this ten- 
 dency of modern church-music, in consideration of 
 ' Autobiography, vol. ii. p. 125. 
 
Disparagement of Beethoven and Cherubini. 187 
 
 the circumstanoes of the age, we must allow that 
 Cherubini's expressive as well as brilliant Mass in D 
 minor, and especially his Requiem in C minoi-, are 
 noble and sublime conceptions. Notwithstanding 
 the most lavish employment of orchestral and choral 
 resources, these works are characterised by lofty 
 simplicity, exquisite proportion, distinctness of form, 
 and powerful, imagination.' Clement, in his Histoire 
 de la Musique Religieuse, disposes both of Beethoven 
 and Cherubini in the following few sentences : ' Beet- 
 hoven had not a religious soul. You would search 
 in vain for the accents of prayer in the two masses 
 which he composed, and even in his one oratorio, 
 Christ on the Mount of Olives. He astonishes, he 
 transports ; he overwhelms the soul. He commands 
 admiration, but he does not excite sensibility.' 
 Again : ' Cherubini's church-music is imprinted with 
 an elevated character, and, in an artistic point of 
 view, is full of beauties so exquisite, with such an 
 amount of science and taste, that it cannot but excite 
 the admiration of artists. But Cherubini's works are 
 wanting in one precious quality — simplicity. The 
 Coronation Mass, the Ave Maria, the Ecce Panis, 
 reveal the author of thirty operas.' Now, not to 
 go further than just to notice that Schluter most 
 unfortunately brings in the Requiem in C minor 
 (one of Cherubini's works which, as we shall see. 
 
1 8 8 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 have no dramatic treatment at all) as a theatrical 
 work, and that while he admits that Cherubim 
 has simplicity, Clement says that our composer 
 has none, let me say that by theatrical church-music 
 I mean always ' what is oifensively operatic and 
 frivolous. Cherubini, as an ecclesiastical composer, 
 is never either the one or the other. Neither does 
 his nor does Beethoven's music appear to me to owe 
 its origin to the concert-room. Dramatic music is 
 generally theatrical; these masters proved that it 
 need not be so, and, by studying Palestrina, escaped 
 from being undevotional.* They, indeed, made cer- 
 tain effects of instrumentation, which may be found in 
 their operas, subservient to their subject. But even 
 this only occasionally, and with solemnity, sweetness, 
 and unction ever present. For no other reason but 
 this can Cherubini ever be called theatrical. One or 
 two of his motets may possibly be open to slight 
 animadversion ; but taken as a whole, if he is to be 
 called theatrical, then has he made theatrical music 
 devotional. But who wotild wish to be driven to 
 this ground of defence? Music, like the other 
 arts, having an end of its own, there is always more 
 or less danger when it sejzes hold of the offices of 
 the church for its own illustration; but Cherubini's 
 
 ■* Petis tells iia' that he realised the importance of studying the old 
 Italian masters and their traditions, after some conversations which he 
 had with Chemhini in 1804. 
 
Great Praise. 1 89 
 
 whole spirit and style are perfectly in conformity 
 with the instructions of the Holy See. Pope Benedict 
 XIV. says : ^ Where the religions song is accom- 
 panied by musical instrumen'ts, these must serve 
 solely for" adding to its force, so that the sense of the 
 words penetrate deeper into the hearts of the faithful, 
 and their spirit, being roused to the contemplation of 
 spiritual things, be elevated toward's God and the love 
 of divine objects.' Such is the effect on most minds of 
 Cherubini's> orchestration in the church. It aids us in 
 realising the meaning of the sacred text. ' Magnifique, 
 61ev6, dramatique,' exclaims Father Girod of Che- 
 rubini ; ' il n' outre rien, il n'exag^re jamais. II ne 
 blesse en aucun eas les convenances religieuses, et 
 jamais par sa musique il ne vous transporte au th6- 
 &tre.' The praise becomes greater : ' He can be power- 
 ful or pathetic, severe or graceful, gay or grave, in a 
 variety always new. . . He could adapt his talent 
 to the minutest exigencies, the most complicated of 
 scenes, of expressions, of prophecies, of sorrows, of 
 hopes, of holy feelings found in the Bible and the 
 Liturgy. He possessed a remarkable aptitude for 
 rendering sensible, for interpreting religious truths ; 
 and when we hear his music, we understand that 
 this harmonious language, so sublime, so persuasive, 
 is not made for the holy temples, but for our inter- 
 course with heaven.' 
 
1 90 Memorials of Cherttbini. 
 
 Thus writes Miel: 'Nothing more tender, more 
 soothing is there than the accents of the prayer, 
 mote touching than the cry of suffering humanity, 
 in the Kyrie of the Mass in F, in his Agnus Deis, 
 and in the first strophes of his Requiem. If he repre- 
 sents the Passion and Death of Christ, the heart feels 
 itself wounded with the most sublime emotion ; and 
 when he recounts the Last Judgment, the blood 
 freezes with dread at the redoubled and menacing 
 calls of the exterminating angel. All those admirable 
 pictures that the Raphaels and Michael Angelos have 
 painted with colours and the brush, Cherubini brings 
 forth with the voice and the orchestra.' 
 
 Doubtless, no small part of his triumph, in that 
 sacred music where he unrolls before us what Place 
 well styles those ' sublime visions,' was owing to the 
 profound religiousness of his character; and when 
 we read that he put the words ' Laus Deo' at the 
 beginning and end of his church pieces, we can un- 
 derstand that an ardfent faith contributed, in no in- 
 considerable degree, to the sweetness and devotion, 
 the purity and lofty inspiration which so eminently 
 distinguish them. In brief, if Cherubini is the chief 
 of a later school of opera, no less is he the chief of a 
 later, and hj common consent the grandest, school 
 of modern church-music. 
 
CHAPTER II, 
 1809-1811. 
 
 Fimmalione at tlie Tuileriea— Napoleon— ic Chant swr le mart de 
 Haydn — Ode for the Emperor's marriage — Litaniea for Prince 
 Esterhazy — Le Crescendo — The eecond Mass in D minor — Its con- 
 struction and character. 
 
 When Napoleon left Vienna in 1805, he brought 
 Crescentini to Paris, and it was agreed that an opera 
 should be written for that singer, without any men- 
 tion of the name of the author. In 1809, therefore, 
 some of Cherubini's friends, who had tried to over- 
 come Napoleon's aversion towards the Florentine, 
 now persuaded Cherubini to write an opera anonym- 
 ously for the theatre. Pimmalione, in one act, was 
 the result. The first performance took place on the 
 30th November 1809, at the Theatre du Chateau des 
 Tuileries. 'Pimmalione,' exclaims Fetis enthusiastic- 
 ally, 'ouvrage charmant d'un genre absolument dif- 
 ferent des autres productions de Ch6rubini, et dans 
 lequel on trouvait quelques scenes de la plus heureuse 
 conception.' At the grand scena in the work, Napo- 
 leon was affected to tears; he eagerly asked the 
 name of its composer, yet when told, showed more 
 surprise than satisfaction, and said nothing; but 
 
1^2 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 afterwards sent Cherubini a sum of money, and re- 
 quested him to write the music for an ode on his 
 approaching marriage, which Cherubini did in the 
 May of 1810. The latter also had the score of Fim- 
 malione handsomely bound, and given to the Grand 
 Chamberlain, who was charged to present it to the 
 Emperor; but Cherubini heard nothing afterwards 
 of the expected audience, the presentation, or the 
 book. In the January of 1810, Cherubini wrote his 
 beautiful little organ fantasia, published in 1867, in 
 the first volume of his posthumous works. 
 
 In the winter of 1810 (Arnold says April 1811), 
 a Chant sur la mort de Haydn, composed, according 
 to Cherubini, in 1805, was performed at the Conser- 
 vatoire, and later on, in Vienna. But Haydn died in 
 1809. The probable explanation is that in 1805 Che- 
 rubini wrote a hymn in honour of Haydn, which, 
 being laid by till after the latter's death, was, as I 
 think Denne-Baron hints, put to new words on its 
 performance in 1810. An affecting trait in this chant 
 is noticed by Miel. This is a motivo, which, without 
 being actually taken from any in the Creation, yet 
 recalls that work in such a way as to make it impos- 
 sible to mistake Cherubini's intention of reflecting 
 Haydn's inspiration through his own. Elaborate in 
 some respects as a composer, yet Cherubini valued 
 highly the perfect naturalness and breadth of Haydn's 
 
Le Crescendo. 193 
 
 music. For though that music is not on the whole 
 deep, yet it is like an old friend whose voice sounds 
 pleasantly. There is nothing unintelligible in it; 
 you cannot fancy it other than it is ; you wonder it 
 was not, so to speak, found out before. According 
 to Reichardt's statement in the 'Briefe aus Paris,' 
 Cherubini's own breadth of treatment, where intricacy 
 does not overmaster him, is owing to his appreciation 
 and study of Haydn's symphonies. In July 1810, 
 Cherubini wrote his lovely 'Litanie della Vergi]|e' 
 for Prince Esterhazy, who, leaving Paris in that year, 
 after having lived some years there, sent Cherubini 
 a ring worth four thousand dollars. It was in this 
 year that Cherubini, Eler, Mehul, Pradher, and Catel 
 were constituted commissioners to report on St. 
 Pern's new instrument called the ' Organon Lyricoiu' 
 A favom-able report was sent by the commission to 
 the Minister of the Interior on the 12th August 1810. 
 This was not the only time that our composer formed 
 one of a commissioU of this kind. Thus, he reported 
 with Leffevre, Eler, Duvernoy, Mehul, Gossec, and 
 Catel on Miiller's clarinet ; and with Sarrette, Mehul, 
 Gossec, Catel, Rose, Jadin, Baillot, Adam, and Prad- 
 her on Grenie'a organ.^ 
 
 On the 1st September, Cherubini brought out his 
 he Crescendo at the Opera Comique, of which F^tis 
 » Castil-Blaze's Dictionnaire de la Miisique Modems. 
 
1 94 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 says : 'For a light piece in one act he had written a 
 score of 522 pages in small notes. These long de- 
 velopments destroyed the scenic action. There was 
 however, in this work, an air sung by Martin, the 
 originahty of which was very remarkable, the sub- 
 ject being the description of a combat, given by a 
 man who hates noise of any kind. The air is sung 
 sotto voce, and the orchestra accompanies pianissimo. 
 There is nothing more piquant than this creation of 
 Cherubini's genius.'^ The work is said to, have failed 
 because of the din which the music made. Castil- 
 Blaze says : ' Then it was found too noisy ; now- 
 adays it would not be thought noisy enough.' 
 
 The Biograpliie Nouvelle des Contemporains and 
 the Ilarmonicon mention Les Courses de JVewmarket as 
 an opera composed by Cherubini in 1810, whereas 
 Struntz was the real author of that work, which 
 was first represented at the Feydeau Theatre in 
 1818. 
 
 Such other works as Cherubini wrote in 1810 
 were composed at Chimay, to which he paid a second 
 visit in the autumn. 
 
 It was in 1810 that some evilly-disposed persons 
 spread a report about M^hul being jealous of Che- 
 rubini, whereupon M6hul wrote a letter, that ap- 
 peared in the public journals, in which he contented 
 . ' Biog. Univ. art. ' Cherubini.' 
 
Mass in D minor. 195 
 
 himself with stating that he deemed Cherubini the 
 greatest composer in Europe. 
 
 Among the many pieces written by Cherubini in 
 1811 were some for Neukomm and Guerin the painter 
 respectively. Towards the end of March he began, 
 and on the 7th of October finished, his stupendous 
 second Mass in B minor. Thus he spent somewhat 
 more than six months in its composition; yet how 
 short a time was that for undoubtedly the longest 
 Mass that has ever been written !^ I have not suc- 
 ceeded in finding any description of the Mass in D 
 minor, and yet, though I cannot here do it justice 
 within any reasonable limits, I am unwilling to pass 
 over the Mass without some specific notice, and 
 therefore I venture to point out some of the more 
 prominent peculiarities and beauties in a work now, 
 I believe, regarded by many as the composer's great- 
 est achievement in the field of sacred music. In the 
 Mass in D minor, Cherubini would seem to have 
 made up his mind to forestall any attempt on the 
 part of his followers to outstrip him in developing 
 the pidnciples of his own school. In largeness of 
 design and complication of detail, sublimity of con- 
 ception and dramatic intensity, two works of its class 
 certainly approach it — Beethoven's Mass in D, and 
 Niedermeyer's Mass in D minor.* 
 
 ' See Appendix II. 
 
 « Both Beethoven and Chernhini haye the reputation of heing hard 
 
I ^6 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 Tte appearance caused a division of opinion at 
 Paris among Cherubini's admirers, with reference to 
 its merits, as compared with the Mass in F. But 
 its forms and ideas are more novel than those of 
 the Mass in F. Its enormous length makes it useless 
 for ecclesiastical purposes, except on occasions of 
 great solemnity. It must be remarked, however,, 
 that this length, in great measure arises from repe- 
 tition, so that curtailment does not necessitate the 
 alteration of a note of Cherubini. Again, each por- 
 tion in the various divisions of the Mass in D minor 
 stands bo independently that whole passages can be 
 left out without changing a bar. Here we have a 
 number of concerted pieces, each complete in itself;; 
 the pauses being very numerous. Take, for instance,, 
 the Gloria, which is divided into five parts with ten 
 changes of time. 
 
 The Kyrie (437 bars) is divided into no lesS' 
 than three portions, quite distinct from each other 
 in idea ; and, beyond a few bars for the instruments, 
 there is not the usual strict return to the first sub- 
 ject. It opens with a majestic introduction in D 
 minor, the subject of which is first given out by the 
 
 upon the voice ; but while Beethoven's gi-eat MasB is found difficult of 
 execution, Cherubini's Mass in D minor 'is written throughout s» 
 agi-eeaWy for the voice, that it is always a pleasure to sing in it. ' Sa 
 a bass singer once informed me. 
 
Mass in D minor. 
 
 197 
 
 Larghetto. 
 Viol. 
 
 inetruments alone. A number of grand chords in 
 ,syncopation soon ensue, which, descending, lead to 
 -the voices, which enter on a repetition of the open- 
 ing subject. The tone subsequently- becomes agi- 
 tated, reaching a climax in a short passage, re- 
 
 sq^B ^^Qs^ Bsn M— t— I 
 
 ■i:3T5.-5--.j- jg 1^. ij. !j. U5. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 I I I 
 
 ■rr 
 
 I I 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 #: 
 
 -P — g- 
 
 peated once, and to this succeed the descending 
 (harmonies leading to the opening phrase as before, 
 
' 1 98 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 but here, without pause, we suddenly enter the 
 second movement in f time, which concludes with 
 the above passage and an added bar and a half. 
 After a rest, the third movement, allegro moderator 
 in common time begins. It is a fugue, and, once 
 known, is a thing not to be forgotten ; the gorgeous' 
 subject with its soft refrain, the undulation of sound,, 
 the pause in the middle of the movement, the solitary- 
 recommencement of the alto, the rising of the strains' 
 up to that thrilling, fearful, almost despairing cry,, 
 
 Alkyro moderatu. 
 
 e lei eon, e lei eon, e lei - 
 
 
 J , ^ I / 
 
 S 
 
 
 Ten.\ s_^| 
 
 -It-^ 
 
 I ^ £iS-te- -&-X — — — -pi-T-P 
 
 and then the heavenly calm that succeeds, express- 
 ing, if music can speak, a hope and trust in the mercy 
 of God. After the beautiful refrain which has so- 
 often recurred, the violins alone are heard, descend- 
 ing chiefly at intervals of thirds, and then rising; 
 the low murmur of 'Kyrie' succeeds unaccompanied; 
 again the vioKns enter, and' as the voices whisper 
 a second time ' Kyrie,' the opening bar of the Kyrie 
 is heard, and the orchestra is left to finish the move- 
 ment, which ends characteristically, after a marked 
 pause, with the common chord of D major. 
 
 In most composers' hands a fugue has been ia- 
 
Mass in D minor. 199 
 
 appropriate for a Kyrie. Cherubini either employs 
 none at all, or else one of a character that will ex- 
 press the feeling of supplication ; for he never lost 
 sight of the fact that the Kyrie is a prayer for 
 mercy. He has adapted the fugue to his purpose ; 
 whereas Mozart, Haydn, and even Hummel often 
 give us joyful, triumphant strains, which appear to 
 me somewhat out of place. Yet this almost per- 
 petual joyfulness in Haydn and Mozart has a de- 
 fence. It is their very fulness of heart that makes 
 them see nothing but gladness in the Christian sacri- 
 fice. Cherubini, however, took a stricter view of what 
 was appropriate. 
 
 The Gloria (895 bars) opens very brilliantly. In 
 
 ■ striking contrast to the sombre ' et in terra pax' is 
 
 the exulting 'adoramus,' which is repeated again 
 
 and again with electrifying effect. At this part of 
 
 Sop- Allegro, 
 
 
 Bass. ^'1^ ]_j I 1^ U» k I? ' I** y &r 
 
 a-do - ra - mus be-ne-di - ci-muB, a - do, - ra- ^e, . 
 
 /nsir. 
 
 
 :fc±ttr;tbfcr- 
 
 &ve 8ve 
 
 the work there are many repetitions; curiously 
 
 enough the ' laudamus' first occurring before the ' et 
 
200 Memorials of Chericbini. 
 
 in terra pax' which precedes it in the text. The 
 beauty of the ' Gratias agimus' steals upon the soul 
 as it were by surprise. The tone is more elevated 
 and pathetic at the ' Jesu Christe.' Then comes 
 the very stately march of the 'qui tollis,' with its roar 
 of accompaniment, in contrast to which is the expres- 
 sive ' miserere :' 
 
 A-ndantino largo. 
 
 SopraTW. 1 ^_ 
 
 -^^-f^—^ " — «^ — «-■ -^ — _«»§«>— 
 
 % 
 
 ^^^^^^^S^S_ 
 
 i 
 
 Mi - se - re - re no bis, rf-c. 
 
 „ Alto. ^ 
 
 i^^^^glil 
 
 i«»: 
 
 Mi se - re re no bis. 
 
 This exactly expresses in sound the sense of the 
 words ; no one can regret its recurrence. The me- 
 lodious 'Quoniam' is succeeded by a slow affirmation 
 of the closing words ' of the Gloria, before the final 
 fugue on those words. This unusual device was 
 anticipated by Haydn in the beautiful Gloria to his 
 Fifth Mass; but here the theme is the subject of the 
 final fugue, solemnly chanted. 
 
 The Credo (668 bars) opens hurriedly with the 
 instruments in a chromatic passage, and then the 
 word ' credo' breaks suddenly upon the ear, and is 
 repeated at various intervals, a plan which Beet- 
 hoven adopted eight years later in his Mass in D, not, 
 
Mass in D minor. 201 
 
 perhaps, very successfully. The danger here lies in 
 upsetting the rhythm and flow of the music. Coming 
 to the ' incarnatus,' it may be remarked, that both Mo- 
 zart and Weber each in his Mass in G have set a good 
 example to Haydn, Hummel, Beethoven, and Che- 
 rubini, in not repeating the words, ' et incarnatus est 
 de Spiritu Sancto ex Mari^ virgine, et Homo factus 
 est,' over and over again. The 'incarnatus' is the 
 most solemn part of the Credo, and while the above 
 words are being sung every one kneels except the 
 nainisters, who bow with head uncovered. Accord- 
 ing to strict rule, this outward adoration lasts only 
 during a single recitation of the above words. Thus 
 either the adoration is over while soloists and chorus 
 are takipg their turn in successive repetitions of the 
 sacred words, or else worshippers continue to kneel 
 long after the proper time. 
 
 The ' Crucifixus' is a bold piece of workmanship, 
 the voices" singing in unison on one note E for 53 
 bars, while the violins, muted, wail in flowing accom- 
 paniment, llhe effect, with a ponderous bass, is 
 terrible. At the 'Et in Spiritum' is the usual air, 
 taken up by the voices in succession ; but, contrary 
 to custom, continued down to the fln^l fugue. 
 Hence a striking effect arises from the contrast be- 
 tween the tumultuous character of the first half of 
 the, Credo and the serene beauty of the second. 
 
202 
 
 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 harglietto. 
 
 7) 
 
 l=g=>^P^ 
 
 Bt.. 
 
 X^.- 
 
 in - spi - ri-lum 
 
 
 ^53E 
 
 ^-'^ 
 
 Banc - turn do-minum 
 
 ^^ 
 
 J*i; 
 
 iS 
 
 et vi vi - fi can - tern, ^c. 
 
 Towards the close of this most sweet strain, at the 
 ' et vitam venturi,' the tone becomes more touch- 
 ing. The tearful eifect of the tremolando in the ac- 
 companiment will be noticed. The masterly fague 
 ' Amen,' not, as usual, on the additional words ' et 
 vitam venturi saeculi,' closes the Credo. 
 
 In the Sanctus, mentioned separately in Cheru- 
 bini's catalogue, as having been composed in 1822, 
 and substituted for the original Sanctus in the work, 
 (66 bars), one of the most striking things in modern 
 church-music, the ear is surprised, after the impres- 
 sive opening, by the two high notes for the soprano 
 heralded by the instruments. 
 
 pie n i sunt 
 
 Sbiprano. 
 
 Maestoso. 
 
 
 Then succeeds the vigorous ' hosanna,' reaching its 
 climax at the jubilant cry. 
 
 ^i£ 
 
 
 AlUgro vivace. 
 
 acKiacii^rf: 
 
 S[o. 
 
 =*=5t£ 
 
 it?:!^ 
 
 gn^ 
 
 =^?c 
 
 ^ 
 
 ho- san-na, ho- ean-na in ex - oel- ais, in ex- oel-Bis, ho-sanna 
 
Mass in D miTwr. 
 
 203 
 
 followed on its repetition by a fine effect, the f time 
 of the movement being changed to the accent of 
 common time : 
 
 
 .«_Jf_J:Sj^ 
 
 -S 
 
 
 ho - san 
 
 The Benedictus (130 bars) is a well-known and 
 admired movement, with fine contrasts between solo 
 and chorus with and without accompaniment, as in 
 Beethoven's Benedictus in his Mass in C. After a short 
 prelude, Cherubini makes the soprano enter alone on 
 an inspiring phrase which forms the leading idea of 
 the whole movement. 
 
 Larghetto. 
 
 i 
 
 .(=2-ff^ 
 
 ~^- w\rif - 
 
 :?2; 
 
 zUst^p 
 
 Be 
 
 die 
 
 tus. 
 
 The Agnus Dei begins with a triumphant instru- 
 mental strain, but the beautiful replies between the 
 voices are full of the most mournful pathos ;the words 
 expressing thoughts both of joy and sorrow. At 
 the word ' miserere,' the voices glide away one after 
 the other in imitation down the scale, suggesting the 
 idea of a sinner's fear in the presence of his God, the 
 whole part closing with a passage most expressive 
 
204 
 
 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 of earnest supplication. Later on a striking effect is 
 
 mi-Be - re - re, mi - se - 
 
 Allegro Moderato. Mi-se - re - re, 
 Sop. 
 
 m 
 
 WW- 
 
 r~i 
 
 :^:* 
 
 Alto?V ^ I I 
 Mi-Be - re- re. 
 
 ^■■ 
 
 fi=5F 
 
 ^i=^- 
 
 -4- 
 
 
 .th^ 
 
 [-se - re- re, mi-Be- 
 
 mi-Be- re- re. 
 
 
 - re - re, 
 
 I- J 
 
 ifcdift^ 
 
 S 
 
 Mi- se - re- re, 
 in mi- Be - re - re 
 
 mi-ae - re- re, 
 no 
 
 bis, 
 
 -P^Vv^V 
 
 / 
 
 '(• — ^ » — w 
 
 t^:i= 
 
 -1- 
 
 :i:: 
 
 ==t3=:g5t 
 
 ^ 
 
 g 
 
 bis. 
 
 mi- Be - re - re no - bis. 
 
 * 
 
 -P? 
 
 ^ 
 
 -^-F- 
 
 *T-^ 
 
 tt^L|« f=SZ 
 
 t^t 
 
 ^^ 
 
 :t=t=t 
 
 / 
 
 re, mi-se - re - re no - bis, 
 
 produced by the reiterated burst of the words ' Ag- 
 nus Dei,' which dies away to a whisper in the same 
 bar; the weird tone of the instruments will be noticed. 
 
 
 -9-^ — P»- 
 
 instT. n 
 
 4^- 
 
 
 7^t-*r~^r 
 
 — e, ^-= — i-^»V i. : 
 
 
 1/ ^ \ 
 
 r" : 1 1 .1 
 
 
 V-> 1 J 
 
 1 .1 
 
 
 Ag - nus 
 
 De - ... 
 
 - i. 
 
 Tdnoe. . 
 Bass. 
 
 
 Instr. ^ ;>. 
 
 ^-4 
 
 This, repeated twice a third lower, is but another of 
 
Jkfass in D minor. 205 
 
 those wonderful effects by the simple means o{ piano 
 and forte with which this great Mass is so full. 
 
 The ' dona nobis pacem' is a gentle melody, taken 
 up by the voices in s^lCcession, until the ' Agnus Dei' 
 breaks out, an example of intrusion on the 'dona' 
 which is now almost invariably seen. But surely 
 such intrusion is uncalled for, while unnecessarily 
 detaining the service. However, Cherubini and some 
 others may be defended. The prayer for peace 
 begins in subdued tones, and then, as the emotion 
 increases, the strain becomes more intense in the 
 expressive earnestness of its supplication. But the 
 plea for bringing in the drum, as in Beethoven's 
 Mass in D, in order to contrast the horrors of war 
 with the blessings of peace, is surely worth little. 
 
 In his Mass in C, Cherubiai has left the 'dona 
 nobis pacem' in undisturbed possession of the close of 
 the Mass ; a close which at any rate should be tran- 
 quil, and so it would be in the Mass in D minor, did 
 not the instruments rush in fortissimo after the voices 
 have died away. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 3811-1816. 
 
 ■Clierubmi's Les Abencirages—Ihe pasticcios Bayard a Mezieres and 
 L'Oriflamme — He visits London a second time, and composes for 
 the Philharmonic Society — Returns to Paris — Honours received on 
 the restoration of the Bourbons — Becomes the king's chapel-master 
 on the death of Martini — The Mass in C — Eequiem in C minor. 
 
 About this time (1811) HaMvy became Cherubini's 
 pupil for composition, obtaining from his master that 
 grandeur and breadth which may be seen in 'La 
 Juive.' He was taught by M^hul for a few months 
 when Cherubini was temporarily absent. 
 
 Little is reported of Cherubini in 1812. He wrote 
 his cantata, ' Pour la Goguette,' which was executed 
 on the 16th December. He began, in January 1813, 
 Les AhencSrages, and which, on the 6th of April 
 appeared at the Grand Opera. The bon-mots of the 
 talkers somewhat damaged its reputation, and an 
 impression seemed to prevail that the composer had 
 not done himself justice. Yet men of weight and 
 influence in the Parisian musical world pronounced 
 the work solid, and even finer and more laboured 
 
Les Abencerages. 207 
 
 than the Medea; in brief, that there was nothing 
 wanting. One Geoffiroy spoke a good deal on the 
 occasion, freely distributing both praise and blame. 
 
 Napoleon and the Empress were present at the 
 performance, although it was the night before that 
 departure for Germany which was to result in en- 
 counters with the Kussians at Liitzen and Baut- 
 zen. 
 
 Lafage states that Xes Abencerages appeared in 
 1810 ! The action of the piece, written by Jouy, 
 being uninteresting, the work did not succeed. Yet 
 the overture, though at first it may seem hardly 
 equal to Cherubini's high standard, has many fea- 
 tures which render it deserving of admiration. The 
 opening subject of the allegro is certainly not very 
 striking, but we may note as characteristics worthy 
 of the master the use made of it afterwards, and of 
 the phrase : 
 
 ff^ -. 
 
 which occurs first of all in the second bar, the vigor- 
 ous theme that modulates into B flat, and subse- 
 quently into F and A minor, the wild weird effect of 
 the chromatic passage that succeeds, and, above all, 
 the beautiful melody heralded by the contest for 
 supremacy between D sharp and D natural. 
 
208 
 
 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 AUegro apir itoso. 
 
 ~f^fW 
 
 'His (Cherubini's) overture to Les AhencSrages,' 
 says F. W. H., in the Quarterly Musical Magazine, ' the 
 least attractive of any he has written, still contains 
 many indubitable proofs of the ability which may be 
 found more fully displayed in the others. . . . There 
 are several detached passages of sound modulation, 
 several melodious streaks of light, the efforts of the 
 sun endeavouring to emerge from the somewhat 
 cloudy atmosphere in which it is involved; but yet, as 
 a whole, it will satisfy neither the critic nor the ama- 
 teur, who expect from the author of Anacrion some- 
 thing superior to those ephemeral productions which 
 are performed in England, called English operas, and 
 to which a very considerable portion of scraping and 
 blowing is often appended by way of overture.' 
 
 But Schliiter justly says of this very overture, and 
 those to Anacreon, LodoisJca, and Medee, that they 
 ' are replete with vigour and character ; their admir- 
 ably drawn outline, exquisite finish and instrument- 
 
Les Abencdrages. 209 
 
 ation cause them to be reckoned models of their 
 kind.' Then, in the opera, there is the scena for 
 Almanza, ' Suspendez k ces murs mes armes, ma ban- 
 nifere,' sung with such success at concerts, by Ponchard 
 and Delsarte ; and the two airs, ' Enfin j'ai vu naitre 
 I'aurore,' and ' Poursuis tes belles destinies ;' the first 
 of which three Denne-Baron considers ' one of the 
 most beautiful things which dramatic music has to 
 be proud of since Gluck.' Many years afterwards 
 Mendelssohn, in a letter to Moscheles, dated from 
 Leipsic, Nov. 30, 1837, asked : ' Has Onslow written 
 anything new % and old Cherubini % There^s a match- 
 less fellow ! I've got his Abene^rages, and cannot suf- 
 ficiently admire the sparkling fire, the clever, original 
 phrasing, the extraordinary delicacy and refinement 
 with which the whole is written, or feel grateful 
 enough to the grand old man for it. Besides, it is 
 all so free, and bold, and spirited.' The success of 
 the opera was marred in some degree by the dis- 
 astrous tidings from Russia of the burning of Mos- 
 cow, and the retreat of the French pursued by the 
 Cossacks, when famine and disease did their work, — 
 scenes that recall the poet's words on the lost tra- 
 veller whom 
 
 ' The deadly winter seizes ; shuts np senses, 
 And o'er his inmost vitals creeping cold, 
 Lays him along the snows a stiffen'd corse, 
 Btretch'd out and bleaching in the northern blast. ' 
 
2 1 o Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 The French Government saw the necessity of rous- 
 ing the spirits and courage of the people in so much 
 calamity, and the pasticcio of Bayard a Mesieres 
 appeared by order of the Duke of Rovigo on the 
 12th February 1813. 
 
 Cherubini, in his catalogue, gives this account of 
 it : ' Get op6ra a ^te compose par ordre de la police ; 
 la musique est de MM. Catel, Boieldieu, Nicolo, et 
 moi. Je n'ai compost pour ma part dans cet op6ra 
 qu'un trio, un morceau d'ensemble et le chant guer- 
 rier de la fin.' 
 
 Picchianti and Gamucci mention a chorus in the 
 pasticcio oi L' Oriflamme, as the work of Cherubini; 
 but L' Oriflamme was composed by M^hul, Paer, Ber- 
 ton, and Kreutzer, and the chorus in question is 
 not mentioned by Cherubini or Bottle de Toulman. 
 Picchianti tells us that it is the only piece now re- 
 membered out oi Bayard a,ndi I! Oriflamme, and that 
 it contains surprising effects by means of pianos and 
 fortes. 
 
 Subsequently, by special request, Cherubini wrote 
 an air to couplets called a ' Chant guerrier,' inserted in 
 a piece entitled La Rangon de Duguesclin, represented 
 either in March or April, at the Th^S.tre Fran9ais. 
 Then, very soon afterwards, we find him speaking ot 
 eight military compositions : ' All these pieces were 
 composed for the use of the music of the Prussian 
 
Second Visit to London. 211 
 
 regiment commanded by Colonel Witzleben.' How 
 plainly this tells of the unsettled period between 
 1814 and 1815 ! Then Cherubini wrote, in quick suc- 
 cession, two cantatas, one of which, given at a City 
 of Paris f^te, was performed before Napoleon, who 
 at last, during the hundred days, conferred an honour 
 on our composer in making him Chevalier of the 
 Legion of Honour — -not, however, as a composer, but 
 as leader of the National Guards' band. ' Thus,' said 
 Raoul Eochette, in his dloge on Cherubini before 
 the Institute, — ' thus did Napoleon still find means 
 of being unjust towards M. Cherubini, even in doing 
 him an act of justice.' Clement says that Louis 
 XVIII. conferred this distinction on Cherubini; 
 others give the date when it was conferred, 5th 
 December 1814, which, if accurate, would make Cle- 
 ment's statement correct, for Napoleon was in Elba 
 from May 1814 to March 1815 ; and although the 
 Legion of Honour was a creation of his own, the 
 order was confirmed by Louis XVIII. in April 1814. 
 Best work of all in this year, Cherubini wrote his 
 splendid Quartet in E flat. No. 1, which, however, was 
 stowed away on the shelf until it was irescued fi:om 
 the dust and cobwebs by Baillot, '\x\ 1829. 
 
 In the March of 1815, Cherubini, whose reputation 
 was second only to that of Beethoven, was again 
 invited to London; this time by the Philharmonic 
 
2 1 2 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 Society, then in the third year of its existence. He 
 accepted the offer, and remained in England during 
 nearly the whole of the hundred days. He directed 
 the performance of his own compositions, receiving 
 from the Society a liberal remuneration for his ser- 
 vices. These compositions were : 
 
 1. An overture in G, begun in February at Paris, and finiBhed in 
 
 March in London. 
 
 2. A symphony in D, begun in March in London, and finished on the 
 
 24th of Api-il. 
 8. A pastoral cantata for four voices, Imio alia Primavera, with full 
 instrumental accompaniment, begun on the 8th of May in Lon- 
 don, and finished on the 19th. 
 
 I have a letter in Italian from Cherubini with- 
 out date, addressed to Mr. S. Vestri, 6 Rupert-street, 
 Haymarket, and clearly written in 1815 in London 
 — the subject-matter of which seems to refer to the 
 above piece, set to Italian words : 
 
 ' Friday. — Most-esteemed Signer Vestri, — Well, I 
 shall expect your work to-morrow morning without 
 fail. I hope you will do me the favour of coming to 
 me, or of letting me know whether I am to go to 
 you. I warn you that I shall be unable to wait 
 longer for those words, as the Philharmonic concerts 
 are going to conclude, and this piece must be ready 
 for the last, which will be shortly. Believe me, as I 
 have the pleasure of signing myself, your affectionate 
 friend and servant, L. Cherubini.' 
 
Return to Paris. 213 
 
 As for the overture and symphony, they failed, 
 and were not again performed, giving also little 
 satisfaction at Vienna. The symphony, as we shall 
 see, was afterwards turned into a quartet, with a 
 change of key to C, and a new adagio. "There 
 are few things more strange in musical history 
 than that Cherubini, so great a master, in the or- 
 chestra, should have failed in his one symphony. 
 Some, however, may find consolation in a German 
 opinion, thus expressed : ' The symphony is rich, 
 well worked out, and nowhere marred by too much 
 art, and recalls Haydn more than any one else, 
 only that it is not so humorous, and is more imagi- 
 native.'^ 
 
 On Cherubini's return in the end of the summer to 
 Paris, the turn political events had taken is strikingly 
 shown by his writing in August a chorus and couplets 
 to St. Louis, and the couplets, ' Vive le Roi.' It is 
 stated that one of these pieces in honour of the Bom-- 
 bons was brought out in Germany, with translated 
 text. The permanent restoration of the Bourbons, 
 though depriving Cherubini for a time of his post at 
 the Conservatoire, saved him from further injustice 
 at Napoleon's hands. Honours flowed in upon him. 
 In raising from three to six the number of musicians 
 eligible for the Institute Louis XVIII. made him an 
 ' i. Cherubini, p. 31. 
 
2 1 4 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 Academician, while the chief Academies of Europe 
 addressed him with the title of associate or corre- 
 spondent. 'The walls of his office,' says Miel, 
 ' were covered with honorary diplomas, which came 
 to him from all parts.' He was member of the 
 Musical Academy of Stockholm and of the Institute 
 of Holland. And although the Conservatoire was 
 at first suppressed as a creation of the Empire, it was 
 reestablished as the ' Ecole Royale de Musique' with 
 Perne as inspector-general, and Cherubini, in April 
 1816, as professor of composition, simple inspector- 
 ships having been abolished. When, on the death 
 of Martini in 1816, the post of musician and super- 
 intendent of the King's chapel, was offered by the 
 King, through his first gentleman-in-waiting, to Che- 
 rubini, the latter, seeing that his acceptance of it 
 would naturally entail the dismissal of Lesueur, who 
 had held it with Martini under the former regime; 
 replied, ' Monseigneur, Lesueur my friend is more 
 Avorthy than I am of this high position. If I had 
 not a young family to bring up, if I Avere rich, I 
 should refuse it altogether; but if his Majesty is 
 willing to allow me to share with Lesueur the 
 superintendence of his music, I will accept it with 
 thankfulness.' So Cherubini shared the office with 
 Lesueur at a salary for himself of three thousand 
 francs. Thus it was not till he was fifty-five years 
 
The King's Chapel. 215 
 
 of age that this great man ceased to be anxious 
 about his livelihood. He and Lesueur took their 
 turn at superintending the music every alternate 
 three months, Lesueur's first term beginning in April 
 1816 ; Cherubini's on the 1st of July. The con- 
 ductors, or ' maitres,' as they were called, were 
 Plantade and Valentino ; the ' inspector' was Gre- 
 goire, the librarian Lefebvre, and the secretary 
 Durais. In the choir there were three first and 
 three second soprani; three tenors, among whom 
 was Ponchard ; three basses, including Levasseur. 
 All these were solo singers ; and for the chorus there 
 were seven first and six second soprani, besides six 
 boys for both first and second, twelve tenors, and 
 ten basses. For the orchestra there were seven 
 first violins, among whom were Baillot, leader, 
 and Habeneck; seven second violins (Kreutzer, 
 leader, and C. Habeneck), four violas (Tariot, 
 leader), six violoncellos, four double basses, two 
 flutes, two hautboys (Brod one of them), two 
 clarinets, two trombones, two bassoons, three ' cors,' 
 two harps, and one drum. There were also two 
 pianists and two organists. Such is a brief ac- 
 count of this perfect choir, whose equal perhaps no 
 other place in Europe could then show. I have for- 
 gotten, however, the organ-blower, whose name was 
 Hottin, and who, I suspect, is the same individual 
 
2 1 6 * Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 whom we shall come across at a later period of the 
 narrative, in connection with Berlioz. 
 
 Of the music of the King's chapel, F6tis^ says : 
 'The ordinary service of the chapel of W^. Kings 
 Louis XVIII. and Charles X. consisted qjF w Mass 
 
 occupying at most half an hourj,<^i^j|E^ } mu- 
 
 sicians sang various pieces, th^ whole dureiSon of 
 which was not allowed to be longer than tha^Mass 
 said by the priest. This necessity was new to Che- 
 rubini, whose genius was prone to long develop- 
 ments. It was not without effort that he contrived to 
 compress his ideas within such straitened limits; 
 but his prodigious skill came in to surmount all ob- 
 stacles, and each of the pieces that issued from his 
 pen for the service of the chapel during the succeed- 
 ing fourteen years excited the admiration of artists. 
 ' The conditions of which I- have just spoken 
 explain the shortness of the Masses Nos. 174, 196, 
 202, 211 in the catalogue of his works, and No. 8 
 in the supplement, on comparing them with the 
 solemn Masses in F and D minor. An entire Mass 
 was rarely executed at the King's chapel ; often the 
 whole duration of the service was taken up by a 
 Kyrie, followed by a motet. It is thus that you re- 
 mark thirteen Kyries which do not appertain to the 
 scores of whole Masses, two Glorias, a Credo, nine 
 Salutaris, two Sanctuses, two Agnus Deis, two 
 
Mass inC. 217 
 
 complete Litanies of the Virgin, two 'Pater nosters, 
 two Tantum ergos, lastly, seventeen different motets 
 more or less developed;'^ Miel -says, speaking of 
 Cherubini and the King's chapel, '. Ses messes ont 
 triompbe, mais .^ion eoi'dini, dang la ohapeUe de Louis 
 XVIII et de Charles' X, rdduit^troit oil se pressaient 
 les courtisans, et dont on fermait les portes sur une 
 trentaine de provincianx qui avaient lou6 d«s culottes 
 de pfere-noble chez Babin, pour profiter de la carte 
 d'^ntree qu'un depute leur avait fait obtenir.'^ 
 
 The year 1816 was quite the busiest of Cheru- 
 bim's life, and he studied deeply Palestrina as well 
 as Clari, Marcello,- and Jomelli's works. Qn the 29th 
 of January he began, and on the 30th finished, a 
 cantata with soli, chorus, and grand orchestra, for 
 the banquet given by the Royal Guard to the Na- 
 tional Guards and Body Guards at the Louvre Gal- 
 lery, and which was executed in the presence of the 
 King and the Royal Family. In January also was 
 begun, and on tlie 4th March -following finished, the 
 third Mass in C, for four, five, and six voices and 
 chorus, planned- indeed on a lessrcxtended scale than 
 the first and second Masses in F and B minor, yet 
 not less effective and captivating, and more suitable 
 for ordinary ecclesiastical purposes, Girod states that 
 
 ' Biog. Univ. vol. ii. p, 270. 
 
 ' Dietionnaire de la Conversation, vol. xiii. p. 543. 
 
2lJ 
 
 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 he knows some musicians who prefer it to the other 
 Masses of Cherubini. ' We find in it,' he says, ' strik- 
 ing contrasts in the Gloria and Credo between the 
 quartet and the general chorus, and the two quartets 
 of soprani and men's voices. Less grand than the 
 Coronation Mass, there is more unction felt in it ; it 
 is a tissue of melodic Ijeauties united to a consum- 
 mate perfection in the details of the vocal and in- 
 strumental parts. It is a music full of life, of piety 
 and learning.' Little further has been said of this 
 Mass, and as I have frequently availed myself of op- 
 portunities of hearing parts of it, I would wish, in no 
 presumptuous spirit, to offer upon it a few remarks. 
 
 In Cherubini's Mass in C we seem to trace the in- 
 fluence of Beethoven's Mass in C, written six years 
 previously. At times the form is almost identical. 
 
 The Kyrie (133 bars), in one movement only, after 
 a short introduction and recitative, usually, I be- 
 lieve, left out, opens with the following melodious 
 theme, taken up by the voices, and carried forward 
 by the instruments. 
 
Mass in C. 
 
 2I( 
 
 ^i^ 
 
 s g- 
 
 Ey-rie, Ky - ri - e, 
 
 Alto. Sop. m w 
 
 =P 
 
 ^:^iiS 
 
 - BOH, , e 
 
 le 
 
 -gel-' — *-^*s- 
 
 m 
 
 ^■J-Js 
 
 ?2 
 
 ^ 
 
 * *> I »*— * 
 
 fct=fel 
 
 XP^^ 
 
 
 The figure in the accompaniment that follows 
 
 is the first appearance of what is made so much of 
 in this Kyrie ; it is almost as prominent as that 
 phrase 
 
 r" 
 
 ^ 
 
 in the Pastoral Symphony of Beethoven. Much 
 is made out of little. Thus, after the simple yet 
 grand subject beginning in canon at the 'Christe,' 
 the soprano takes up that figure (before half hidden 
 te e - le 
 
 i 
 
 Chris - 
 
 Tenori, tuttt. 
 
 ,m — 
 
 i- Bon, Chris - te e 
 
 Soprani, tutti. 
 
 5 
 
 fc^^ 
 
 
 i3ftB-£ 
 
 Sassi, tutti. 
 
 Alti, tutti} r l^ "iy 
 
 Chris - te e - le 
 
 ^ 
 
 m 
 
 ^-j^.j'.jj. 
 
 i- son, ^e. 
 
 P^ 
 
 ^S 
 
 Christe e - Je i - son. 
 
 Chris - 
 
 te. 
 
220 
 
 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 in the instKumentation), and, supported by the full 
 
 chorus and bass solo, brings it forth with enthralling 
 
 effect, the orchestra persistently repeating the phrase 
 
 Ky - ri - e, Ky - ri . e e - 
 
 in advance on the first beat of the bar. The move- 
 ment ends on a pedal point C, with the subject in 
 canon already noticed. When the voices have died 
 away, a few solemn chords are heard, and then the 
 orchestra subsides into silence. 
 
 Of the Gloria (279 bars), I am not in a position 
 to speak at any length. A second bass part, which 
 here and there occurs, makes it an inconvenient piece 
 for many choirs. 
 
 The Credo for five voices (348 bars) opens as 
 
 spontaneously and melodiously as possible ; but not 
 Allegro maestoio. ^ ^^ I 
 
 Sb^^ 
 
 ■^Lg^^ ^ia^ 
 
 *:P:f;? ^. 
 
 Pa - trem om - ni- po ten - 
 
 22: 
 
 =1= 
 
 Pa - trem om - ni- po - ten 
 
Mass in C. 
 
 221 
 
 5 
 
 i 
 
 ,i£JTIl 
 
 ^e. 
 
 
 '^ 
 
 ^5=^ 
 
 tem, 
 
 fac- to-rum cob - li, ^o. 
 
 ^-1 "* = - 
 
 tSr?b 
 
 tem, fac -to-rum c(B - li, ^i, 
 
 repeating th« words intoned by the celebrant. After 
 a movement of wond-erful freedom and power, we 
 arrive at the ' incarnatus,' which opens with a strain 
 of exquisite beauty for soprani and alto, and, after 
 
 LargJieCto. 
 
 Soprani. 
 
 
 Viol, 
 dolce assai. 
 
 Et in-car-na-tuB est, ^o. 
 
 -±z 
 
 =^5^ 
 
 - j i-^-^- ^z 
 
 Alto. 
 
 Et iu-car- na-tus 
 
 est, ^e. 
 
 the reply of the bass and tenor, becomes still more 
 
 et in-car-na-tus eet, et in - oarnatus est, 
 
 elevated. The light and airy tones of the soprano 
 and alto are thrown into strong relief by the sombre 
 responses of the bass and tenor, which being pitched 
 low have a somewhat heavy eifect. It might be 
 thought that so heavenly a theme would have been 
 at no disadvantage if it hali been entirely given to 
 the soprano and alto. The severe taste, however, 
 
222 
 
 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 of Cherubini no doubt approved of the balance i of 
 the pairts, and the contrast thereby effected. The 
 ' Crucifixus,' from the first entry of tenor and bass in 
 contrary motion, is awe-striking in its depth of gloom. 
 
 oru - oi fi XU8, cru - oi - 
 
 w 
 
 1 -- 
 
 WW 
 
 5 
 
 2^ 
 
 •^ 
 
 -725- 
 
 -to- 
 
 a=* 
 
 r 
 
 & - 
 
 ^J2rc2ie 
 
 \!^=^^'TZ.\l<=Z 
 
 Ltt=r:t 
 
 1^^ 
 
 l^z 
 
 rrrr 
 
 oi - B 
 
 fe^; 
 
 - - - XUB, ^C. 
 
 W- 
 
 ^ii^Ei; 
 
 V 
 
 ■S> — ■, :- 
 
 =1= 
 
 ±g: 
 
 XUS, ^0. 
 
 - • - - - XUS, ^0. 
 
 with the mysterious passage first sung by the bass, 
 
 Bass. 1 
 
 )i-b-'S'- 
 
 ±h=-J3;l 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ■A- 
 
 6?= 
 
 efc - i - am pro no - ^ 
 
 eventually succeeded by the low murmur of the * se- 
 pultus est.' Then follows the triumphant ' et resur- 
 rexit,' and after the ' cujus regni non erit finis' is 
 chanted for eight bars in unison on the notp G, 
 the violins sound G sharp, and the ' et in spiritum,' 
 sweetly preluded by the instruments, follows, with- 
 
Mass in C. 
 
 223 
 
 out there being any pause or change of time from 
 the ' et resurrexit.' This portion will deserve at- 
 tention, not only for its intrinsic merits, but also 
 as a signal illustration of the general character of 
 solos among the later writers of church-music, in 
 being neither lengthy nor monopblised by one voice. 
 Mozart's Masses tend to excite a jealousy in the 
 choir ; Cherubini's please all the singers. With a 
 flowing accompaniment in the character of the above 
 extract, the soprano begins, 
 
 
 -•.-•11 
 
 W 
 
 Et in Spi- ri-tum Sane - turn DomiDum et... vi-ri-fi- 
 
 
 can-tern, ^c. 
 
 and then the bass takes up the air, followed by the 
 tenor. 
 
 Tenor. 
 
 Hi 
 
 fe 
 
 -h 
 
 :?=: 
 
 t^-f 
 
 ■I — i- 
 
 
 M= 
 
 ;at3^z 
 
 &c. 
 
 Jui ex Fa-tre Fi - li - o-quepro-oe - dit, Qui cum, ^e. 
 
224 
 
 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 So is it with ' et in Spiritum' of the Mass in C of 
 Beethoven, the alto leading. 
 
 Alto. 
 
 I^SZK 
 
 -V-^ 
 
 M^3t3ti: 
 
 -'S'-i-g-- 
 
 ^=3-1^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 i*zi: 
 
 Kt in 9piritum Sanctam !i&6miiium et. .. vi- vi- fi - can-tem 
 lenor. Bass. 
 
 ^: 
 
 \ M- 
 
 fT=l= 
 
 ->,->. 
 
 ^g^^ 
 
 :i.~S=*- 
 
 i^^ 
 
 lir^ 
 
 qui cum Pa- tre Pi - li - o-que pro - oe 
 
 dit, qui cum 
 
 I S ^ 
 
 m 
 
 =fs^- 
 
 ±z.it:-^. 
 
 ztcMz 
 
 ■^ *«. 
 
 Pa-tre et Fi - li - o - que, ^e. 
 Haydn and Mozart generally go through the whole 
 part, from the ' et resurrexit' to the ' et vitam,' in 
 chorus ; but the later writers often treat the portion 
 with solos and chorus intermingled, for the sake of 
 contrast. The words ' et unam sanctam,' &c., in 
 Cherubini's Mass, are sung in unison, as in Beetho- 
 ven's, the harmony here bursting forth at • eccle- 
 siam,' and with Beethoven at ' confiteor.' Very 
 natural is the ' in remissionem ;' 
 
 •■Q fiifei=^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 
 -J- 
 
 ro-mis - si - o- nem pco - ca 
 
 to-rum, ^e. 
 
 succeeded by the melodious ' et vitam ;' which is at 
 Allegro. i 
 
 :sl=afe:S: 
 
 Et vi - tam ven - tur - i 
 
 ou - li, ^ 
 
Mass in C. 
 
 225 
 
 once followed by a short subject in fugue, skilfully' 
 
 A - men, A - ... men, ^c. 
 
 contrasted with the calm 'et vitam.' But at the 
 close of the Credo a magnificent passage suddenly 
 appears to surprise and delight the ear, while to 
 
 /Q Soli. 
 
 ^ C?u>rus^ 
 
 ) Soli. 
 
 A-men, A - men, A men, A.men, A - men, A - 
 
 Tutti.f] ,1 
 
 
 P 
 
 Soprano, 
 
 i 
 
 =F=^ 
 
 ^ bJ ^ 'it:^- 
 
 zz^z 
 
 men, A 
 
 ^E^ 
 
 :^t^ 
 
 men,. 
 Tenor. 
 
 A^Sr^ 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 men, 
 
 -Sass,- 
 A 
 
 
 
 =^=i; 
 
 m 
 
 m--^ 
 
 Ar 
 
 ^ 
 
 men, A-men, A. men, ^c. 
 
 ^3E 
 
 - men, 
 
 men, A-men, A - men, ^ 
 
226 
 
 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 the close there is no flagging of spirit. The fugue 
 returns, and to avoid the sudden Amen and stop (so 
 to speak) so common in Haydn and Mozart, Cheru- 
 bini ends, as often elsewhere, with a descent of the 
 gamut. The whole of this Credo is hardly a less free 
 and bold setting of the words than Beethoven's first 
 Credo for the instruments. Unwillingly I pass over 
 the offertory, Laudate Dominum, the Sanctus, and 
 Salutaris, and come to the Agnus Dei (158 bars), 
 where, if the expression may be used, the beautiful 
 surprise at the seventh bar of the instrumental intro- 
 
 Andantino. 
 
 1 ^^f* 1—^ I , 
 
 UK 
 
 ^Sgg 
 
 td: 
 
 :g::«:Tr"ft^-|' 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 Sfc. 
 
 ductionwill never be forgotten after having been once 
 heard. All the voices now enter in unison on a 
 
 P 
 
 
 :i2r^r:*: 
 
 1—1—' ^rk- 
 
 -^-fi. 
 
 'T-"=i: 
 
 ;& 
 
 il^ 
 
 stately subject ; in mairked contrast to this is the 
 Miserere. It is noticeable that the present Agnus Dei 
 
Mass in C. 
 
 227 
 
 Mi - se - re- re, 
 P Sof. I 
 
 ^ 
 
 Mto. I I ^ ^ 
 
 Mi- Be - re - ra, mi- Be - re 
 
 ^- 
 
 ■ft* 
 
 J !»L>J.- 
 
 3tX^=3= 
 
 ^E 
 
 liS 
 
 Mi - Be - re- re, 
 
 mi - se - re- re no-bie, 
 
 ^fe^^ 
 
 Ten. 
 
 ,8fc. 
 
 t*; 
 
 re, ^c. 
 
 is a kind of miniature in form of that in the D minor 
 Mass, since in both there is an opening instrumental 
 prelude which is repeated between each enunciation 
 of Agnus Dei, &c., as well as a descent of the voices 
 in imitation, at the words 'miserere nobis.' Quite 
 dififerent, however, is the ' dona nobis pacem' in the 
 present Mass, which is left in undisturbed beauty, 
 with all its delightful imitative passages. How 
 sweet and fresh it is, and how solemn and calm the 
 close! The whole work is a unique creation of its 
 
 AUegretto. 
 
 do - na no - bis pa- cem do • 
 
 Sa - na 
 
 bis pa- cem, 
 
228 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 na no- bis pa- oem 
 
 i^^ 
 
 do - na no bis pa - cem, do • • . 
 
 author. Cherubini never wrote anything more tho- 
 roughly spontaneous. 
 
 Next to the Mass in C must be mentioned the 
 well-known Pater noster for four voices. M. Girod 
 says : ' The Pater noster is a grave supplication, 
 where the melody is severe and expressive ; its 
 beauty is heightened by ingenious details. It ends 
 with a dramatic " libera nos," of a rhythm vigorous 
 and full of energy.' Of the Salutaris for contralto 
 solo he says, that the melody 'is highly censured, 
 though its musical texture is concise.' Of two other 
 works of this period, he remarks : ' The Lauda Sion 
 for two soprani has a very pronounced rhythm; it 
 has some amenity and charm, except in one or 
 two melodies of rather an antiquated style. The 
 same can be said of the Sanctus Salutaris, writ- 
 ten for a tenor solo; it is holy and contempla- 
 tive, but its melody is at times too spiritless, or 
 a little common. The Ecce Panis, a solo for tenor 
 or soprano, is more novel and more melodious. In 
 these three pieces, as in all Cherubini's works, there 
 
Ave Maria. 229 
 
 are always remarkable beauties that reveal tbe great 
 master's genius. You are especially impressed by 
 tbe charm of transitions which constantly bring back 
 with felicity the chief motivo.^ Of the well-known 
 Ave M&ria, also written at this time, Girod observes : 
 ' There is everything that is touching, lovely, and 
 loving in the prayer.' Schliiter calls it 'a piece of 
 vanity and affectation ;' but an instance is recorded 
 how its merits can grow upon its hearers. It was 
 performed three times at St. Michael's College, Fri- 
 bourg. At the first performance it made little or no 
 impression. At the second, aTew months later, it was 
 generally admired. At the third, the emotion of every 
 listener might be discerned. An interesting story is 
 told by Professor Ella, either of one of these pieces 
 or some Offertory by Cherubini, written for a grand 
 religious festival. On the eve of its performance, 
 Gherubini was informed that the chief tenor who 
 was to sing in it was ill ; so, early the next morning 
 Begrez, a Belgian, then only a violinist, received 
 the music of the tenor's part with a request that he 
 would learn it, so as to be able to sing it before 
 noon at the festival. The violinist besought to be 
 dispensed from this heavy responsibility, for at the 
 most he was but an amateur singer. Cherubini, 
 however, was peremptory, and assured Begrez that 
 he had the highest trust in his musical intelligence. 
 
2;\o Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 Begrez sang in the part, and so well, as to make a 
 deep impression on his hearers. When the service 
 ■was over, Cherubini ran to the front of the choir and 
 embraced Begrez. This unexpected success led the 
 latter to abandon the violin and take to singing, and 
 he became first tenor at her Majesty's Theatre in this 
 country,* Besides the foregoing sacred works' of 
 Cherubini, there appeared, in 1816, the second Can- 
 tata, entitled ' The Marriage of Solomon,' performed 
 for the first time on the 17th of June at the royal 
 banquet at the Tuileries that celebrated the marriage 
 of the Due de Berri and Princess Charlotte of Naples. 
 And then, lastly, in this eventful year of 1816 the first 
 Kequiem in C minor was written for the anniver- 
 sary of King Louis XVI.'s death, and first performed 
 on the 21st of January 1817, at the Abbey Church of 
 St. Denis. It was repeated on the 14th of Febru- 
 ary (not, as Castil-Blaze states, March) 1820, at St. 
 Denis, for the obsequies of the Duke of Berri, mm-- 
 dered on the 13th of the same month.® On this 
 occasion sixteen singers and seventeen instrument- 
 alists joined the dhapel choir, and Castil-Blaze tells 
 us that he never knew the work produce such 
 effect as it did on this occasion. Arnold errs in 
 
 ' Ella's Musical Sketches. 
 
 ' MendelBSolm, in a letter to Eebecoa Dirichlet, Berlin, dated from 
 Dusseldorf, Nov. 23, 1834, speaks of conducting Cherubini's Eequiem 
 in C minor himself. 
 
Requiem in C minor. 23 1 
 
 stating that the Requiem was brought out in 1818 
 at the Abbey of St. Denis for M^hul's obsequies. 
 M6hul died in 1817 at Hyferes. Arnold adds that 
 the work was printed in Paris in 1819. Elsewhere 
 he falls into the error of supposing that it was 
 brought out by subscription in 1809. Hal^vy wrote 
 a De Profandis, for full orchestra, for the occa- 
 sion of the anniversary, and dedicated it to Cheru- 
 bini. L^on Hal^vy, in his memoir of his brother, 
 mentions a De Profandis as having been dedicated 
 by Halevy to Cherubini in 1827. 
 
 ' The Requiem Mass in C minor,' says Berlioz, 
 ' is on the whole, to my mind, the greatest work 
 of its author. No other production of this grand 
 master can bear any comparison with it, for abund- 
 ance of idea, fulness of form, and sustained sub- 
 limity of style. The Agnus Dei in decrescendo sur- 
 passes everything that has ever been written of the 
 kind. The workmanship of this portion, too, has an 
 inestimable value ; the vocal style is sharp and clear, 
 the instrumentation coloured and powerful, yet ever 
 worthy of its object,' 
 
 The Monthly Musical Record, speaking of Bach's 
 Matthaus - Passion, and Cherubini's C minor Re- 
 quiem, obsei-ves : ' Both works are incomparable 
 master-works; both have been produced by, and 
 are filled with, true faithful religious feeling, and 
 
232 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 yet they are thorouglily different in character. 
 Whilst to us the Matthaus -Passion has always 
 appeared as the most deeply felt and most im- 
 portant communication of true German art in the 
 field of Protestant church-music, we may call Che- 
 rubini's Requiem the greatest work of Italian Ca- 
 ■tholicism. It is impossible to compare the two 
 works with each other. Produced in different pe- 
 riods of the art, they show in style and expression 
 the greatest difference; and only in one thing are 
 they alike — that both will make the deepest im- 
 pression on every mind. Both works are treated 
 in the polyphonic style, but how different is the 
 counterpoint ! Bach's, in its many harshnesses, ex- 
 pressing the severe ascetic devotion of the Pro- 
 testant religion of his time, compared to the soft 
 Italian, always well-sounding, flowing melodies of 
 Cherubini. ... If we first consider the colouring 
 which is given to the Requiem by the orchestral 
 accompaniment, the few accompanying instruments 
 give an almost invariable tone of mourning, which 
 is only changed' in the Dies Iras, and in the 
 Sanctus. Bach, on the other hand, makes use, be- 
 sides the orchestra, of the obbligato organ, as well 
 with its soft stops as with its full power, according 
 to secondary purpose or else for mighty effects. The 
 manifold dramatic element given by the text of 
 
Requiem in C minor. ^2>Z 
 
 Bach's choruses, which is to be found not only in 
 short choruses, but also in more extended move- 
 ments, is missing in Cherubini altogether. Even 
 in the Dies Irge, the broadest movement of the 
 Requiem, it is not to be found, although the 
 words might have offered the idea of it. Through- 
 out the work,- only the four-part chorus appears 
 as the sole supporter of the whole contents, to 
 which the instruments are almost always entirely 
 subordiaate. Nowhere does a solo voice or an instru- 
 ment appear with any particular individuality. At 
 the same time, every movement is built up in broad 
 forms, and gives in large traits the character pf the 
 whole. The contrapuntal style in the Requiem pro- 
 duces many peculiar effects ; for instance, the .two- 
 part canonic leading of the voices in the beginning 
 of the Dies L-ae creates the impression of the deepest 
 fear, the most frightful consternation, whilst the old 
 Itahan manner of the appearance of the four voices 
 one after another in every bar — as, for instance, in 
 the first movement at the words " te decet hymnus," 
 " exaudi et lux perpetua," — produces charming and 
 expressive harmonic changes. Quite wonderful is 
 the variety and the acceleration in expression of the 
 most devotional praying, the prostration full of pain 
 at the words " salva me fons pietatis," and " voca me 
 cum benedictis." The touching expression of the 
 
234 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 deepest abasement at the words "oro supplex et 
 acclinis" is followed by " lacrymosa dies ilia." Still 
 more -elevated is the feeling in the touching prayer 
 in the "Pie Jesu," and at the last "dona eis re- 
 quiem." ' 
 
 ' Though the style of the whole work, as above 
 remarked, is throughout polyphonic, the Kequiem 
 contains only one fugue ; this also is, in its way, 
 quite unlike the style of Bach's fugue-writing. The 
 fugue in the Eequiem to the words ' quam olim 
 Abrahae promisisti, et semini ejus,' is founded on 
 three themes which always fit in the purest con- 
 sonance. In a very peculiar manner the impression 
 of the fullest confidence in the Atonement is pro- 
 duced by the repeated entrance of the parts in con- 
 
 5.'« 
 • Monthly Musical Record, vol. ii. 1872, p. 71. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 1816-1822. 
 
 The Iste Dies and Begina Gfxli — The Symn to Bacchus — The Coro- 
 nation Mass in G — Spohr in Paris : his intercourse with Chem- 
 bini — MoBcheles — Blanche de Provence for the Duke of Bordeaux's 
 baptism at Notre Dame — Its performance at the Court Theatre- 
 Cantata at the H6tel de Ville — Eesiguation of Peme as Director 
 of the Conservatoire — Cheruhini appointed in his stead — His rule 
 — His character. 
 
 Cheeubini's labours in the composition of clmrcli- 
 music had been well begun in 1816 by the creation 
 of so many works now famous. His post as the 
 King's chapel-master drew his attention almost en- 
 tirely to sacred music, and his genius sutely found 
 in the liturgy a nobler subject for illustration than 
 the libretto, and especially such librettos as he had 
 generally been given. 
 
 Of the Iste Dies, composed in 1817, and added 
 to the Sacrum Convivium, written in 1816, Girod 
 observes: 'The solemnity of this music renders it 
 well fit for a grand Benediction, such as that on 
 Easter-day ; after a grand opening comes a very ex- 
 
236 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 pressive bass solo, followed by the refrain of the 
 chorus, " Buccinate tuba." What with the calmness 
 and suavity of the march, the Sacrum in C minor 
 contrasts admirably with what precedes and follows 
 it. The close is a tuneful fugue, full of brilliancy. 
 To this piece is joined an Ave verum for three 
 equal voices, of a soothing character, concise and 
 graceful.' And, speaking of another work of this 
 year, the same author adds: 'The Tantum ergo 
 for five voices is original and poetical, but it has not 
 the character of fervour and solemnity which the 
 last piece for Benediction usually requires. On the 
 whole it produces little effect.' And of a famous work 
 of the year 1818 he remarks : ' The Regina Coeli 
 has not been published in France, where the com- 
 poser has printed his other religious pieces ; yet, apart 
 from the style, which has the touch of the illustrious 
 artist, the origin of this beautiful piece is not doubt- 
 fiil. Cherubini mentions it in a note printed at the 
 end of one of his motets. It is incontestibly the 
 most beautiful piece of its kind, and a magnificent 
 ovation to the Queen of Heaven. It has its diffi- 
 culties, like all the author's music, but it demands 
 special attention to obtain an ensemble and proper 
 precision.' A Mass in E, as yet unpublished, was 
 also written in 1818. 
 
 ' There is only praise,' says Girod, ' to be awarded 
 
Coronation Mass in G. i.^y 
 
 tO' that essentially religious piece, the delicious quar- 
 tet of Adjutor et Sueceptor; it is felicitously tinge(J 
 with a sweet gravity and a firm and well-marked 
 vigour. The 'Benedicta tu in mulieres,' written 
 for soprano, tenor, and bass, with organ accompani- 
 ment, is a charming trio, in which you distinguish 
 a melody full of unction, and fresh and novel modu- 
 lation.'^ 
 
 In 1818 Cherubini visited Malabri. Of his Hymn 
 to Bacchus, composed April 21st in this year, Miel 
 observes : ' It becomes, on his lyre, the noblest of 
 drinking songs. In this same year, 1819, we have the 
 first Coronation Mass in Gr, for four voices, written 
 for and executed at the crowning of Louis XVIII,, 
 who now conferred on Cherubim, the title of Che- 
 valier of the Order of St. MichaeL' 
 
 To the best of my belief this Mass is little, if at all, 
 known in England, having been seemingly eclipsed 
 by its rival, the second- Coronation Mass. Yet it is 
 written in the same broad free style as that master- 
 piece, a style which has little in common with that 
 of the D minor Mass, reminding us more of Haydn 
 than of Beethoven. But how different from Haydn ! 
 
 The Kyrie (101 bars) opens withavigorous subgect, 
 
 ' De la Musigue Beligieuse. 
 
238 
 
 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 f 
 
 Moderato, 
 
 3?= 
 
 -^:fi 
 
 ^^^^S^ 
 
 ^-P 
 
 =^= 
 
 _i»^^- 
 
 strays, f f 
 
 =5P^ 
 
 l^--^J- 
 
 ^1 
 
 ^1^^" 
 
 ^rf 
 
 e - le - 1 - Bon, ^e. 
 
 Ky- rie e - le - i - son, fe. 
 
 which affords a striking contrast to the melodious 
 
 theme at the ' Christe,' given out by the soprano, 
 ^dohe. 
 
 Chris - - te, 
 
 accompanied in unison by the flutes, hautboys, and 
 bassoons. The whole movement is well-nigh en- 
 tirely the working out of these two motivi. To- 
 wards the close a pedal point is reached, with a 
 reminiscence of the second subject. 
 
 Flute, Haufb. *-> 
 
 i 
 
 :^z 
 
 W^ 
 
 i^a^ 
 
 :fl?3= 
 
 Oyrs, Bassoons, Strings. 
 
Coronation Mass in G. 239 
 
 -while voices and instruments blend together in this 
 sweet subdued strain of hope ; the tenor, with the 
 violoncellos and bassoons, on a repetition, taking up 
 the melody, while the voices sing the sustained har- 
 monies with enchanting effect. Who, indeed, will 
 have the heart to say that Cherubini is dry, in face 
 of the Kyrie of the Coronation Mass in G ? 
 
 The Gloria (503 bars) opens with the wind in- 
 struments ( ' majestueusement mais sans lenteur'), 
 which sound forth in succession the notes of the 
 common chord of C, and a few bars on we come to 
 a brilliant passage. 
 
 which heralds in the basses chanting the opening 
 bars of the Gloria, and subsequently plays a con- 
 spicuous part throughout the piece. The jubilant 
 'laudamus' is a simple but striking feature in the 
 movement; then succeeds the 'adoramus,' ushered 
 in by the violoncellos pianissimo. There are the 
 usual repetitions, followed' by the 'qui toUis,' which 
 is short ; while the ' Quoniam,' after the example 
 of many of Haydn's and Mozart's Masses, is the same 
 as the opening of the Gloria. A novel procedure 
 in the final fugue, ' cum Sancto Spiritu,' is the intro- 
 
240 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 duction of the 'Quoniam.' It is common enough 
 with Cherubini to bring in the opening motivo and 
 words of the Gloria in his codas, as he does in the 
 Mass in F, but I remember ilo other instance of the 
 ' Quoniam tu solus' being introduced. 
 
 The whole of the first part of the Credo (435 
 bars) down to the ' incarnatus' is sung piano in two- 
 part unisonal canon, while at the ' et in Spiritum' we 
 have, I suppose, the almost unexampled procedure 
 of the repetition of nearly the whole of the opening 
 of the Credo. The ' incarnatus' has hardly any repe- 
 titions, which is commendable, for reasons already 
 given. A masterly fugue ' et vitam,' with a sublime 
 coda, closes the Credo. 
 
 The Sanctus (105 bars) is remarkable as having 
 no pause or break before either the ' pleni sunt' or 
 the 'Hosanna.' The words 'benedictus qui venit,' 
 &c., and the Salutaris, which last so often takes 
 the place of the separate movement Benedictus, are 
 all included in the Sanctus, so that the piece must 
 go on through the Elevation, the most solemn part 
 of the Mass, when all is generally silence, except in 
 France and Italy, where the organ is often played. 
 To the elevated beauties of the Agnus Dei (61 bars), 
 with its flowing accompaniments, every musician 
 will bear testimony. 
 
 In 1820, Arnold states, Cherubini betook himself 
 
Spohr in Paris. 241 
 
 to one Biolti for a new opera — ^what opei'a we are 
 not told. In the same year Spohr came to Paris, 
 In a letter to a friend, dated from Paris, Dec. 15, 
 1820, he writes: 'With a beating heart I drove 
 through the Barri^re of Paris. The thought that I 
 should at length have the pleasure of making the 
 personal acquaintance of the artistes whose works 
 had inspired me in my early childhood excited the 
 emotion which I then felt. In fancy I reverted to 
 the days of my boyhood, in which my idol was Che- 
 rubini, whose works I had had an earlier opportunity of 
 becoming acquainted with in Brunswick, at the then 
 permanent French theatre there, than even the works 
 of Mozart. . . . The author, and many other men 
 whose wprks had exercised the most decided in- 
 fluence on my development as a composer and vio- 
 linist, I was now soon to behold. ... I was told of 
 Cherubini, that he was at first very reserved toward 
 strangers, even repulsive. I did not find him so. He 
 received me without any letter of introduction, in the 
 most friendly manner, and invited me to repeat my 
 visit as often as I pleased.'^ Kreutzer takes Spohr 
 on the evening of his arrival in Paris to the Grand 
 Opera, which leads Spohr to exclaim: ' Is it a subject 
 for praise or blame, that the French, notwithstanding 
 the many excellent things with which their operatic 
 ' Spohr'B Autobiography, toI. ii. p. 107. 
 
 B 
 
242 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 repertoire has been enriched during the last twenty 
 years, still give the oldest things of all ? And is it 
 indeed a proof of an advanced cultivated taste for 
 art, when one sees them give as enthusiastic a recep- 
 tion (if not more so) to the oldest operas of Gr^try, 
 with their poverty of harmony and incorrectness, as 
 to the masterpieces of Cherubini and M6hul ? I think 
 not.' Again he says, in a second letter dated from 
 Paris, Dec. 31 : ' The masses, the leaders of the fashion 
 here, positively know not how to distinguish the 
 worst from the best ; they hear Le Jugement de Midas 
 with the same rapture that they listen to Les Deux 
 Journies or Joseph. It requires no long residence 
 here, to adopt the frequently expressed opinion, that 
 the French are not a musical nation.' Altogether 
 Spohr seems to have liked Paris as little as Gliick, 
 Mozart, or Mendelssohn. In a third letter, dated from 
 Paris, Jan. 12, 1821, he says: 'You are, doubtless, 
 astonished that I have as yet said nothing of the 
 music of the royal chapel, but I delayed doing so in- 
 tentionally, until I had first heard some of Cheru- 
 bini's Masses. Lesueur and Cherubini, the two di- 
 rectors of the music of the royal chapel, assume the 
 duties of their office every three months alternately; 
 our arrival took place during the time of Lesueur's 
 directorship, and Cherubim's did not begin till the 
 1st January. But the musical directors of the royal 
 
Spohr and CherubinL 24^ 
 
 chapel do not conduct the music themselves, and 
 preside only in their court uniform at the head of the 
 vocal personnelfl'wit'hout taking any active part in the 
 performance. The director de facto is Plantade; 
 Kreutzer, the leading player of the first violin; and 
 Baillot, of the second. The orchestra is composed 
 of the first artistes in Paris, the chorus is powerful 
 and good. Every Mass is rehearsed once or twice, 
 and under Plantade's sure and spirited direction 
 ev,ery thing goes exceedingly well. To these letters 
 regarding my sojourn in Paris,' adds Spohr, 'I have 
 yet to add some few things from recollection. From 
 the fi-equent opportunities I had of playing before 
 Cherubini, at private parties, I conceived a very 
 ardent desire to have all my quartets and quintets, 
 so far as I thought them worthy of it, heard by that 
 master so highly esteemed by me, and to introduce 
 them by degrees to his notice, in order to ask his 
 opinion of them. But in this I succeeded with very 
 few only; for when Cherubini had heard the first 
 quartet (No. 1 of the Op. 45, written at Frankfoi't), 
 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 so foreign to me, that I cannot find myself im- 
 mediately at home with it, nor follow it properly ; I 
 would therefore much prefer that you repeated the 
 
244 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 quartet yoti have just played." I "was very much 
 astonished at this remark, and did not understand it 
 until I afterwards ascertained that Cherubini was 
 quite unacquainted with the German masterpieces of 
 this kind — of Mozart and Beethoven — and, at the 
 utmost, had once heard a quartet by Haydn at Bail- 
 'lot's soirees. As the other persons present coincided 
 with Cherubini's wish, I consented the more readily, 
 as in the first execution of it some things had not 
 gone altogether well. He now spoke very favour- 
 ably of my composition, praised its form, its thematic 
 working out, the rich change in the harmonies, and 
 particularly the fugato in the last subject. But as 
 there were still many things not quite clear to him 
 in the music, he begged me to repeat it again when 
 we should next meet. I hoped he would think no- 
 thing more about it, and therefore at the next music 
 party brought forward another quartet. Before I 
 could begin, however, Cherubini renewed his request, 
 and I was therefore obliged to play the same quartet 
 a third time. The same thing occurred also with 
 No. 2 of Op. 45, excepting that he spoke of it with 
 more decisive praise, and said of the adagio : " It is 
 the finest I ever heard." He was equally pleased 
 with my pianoforte quintet, with the concerted ac- 
 companiment of wind instruments, and I was fre- 
 quently obhged to play it on that account. The first 
 
Moscheles. 245 
 
 time, my wife played the piano part ; but -when Mo- 
 scheles subsequently requested permission to study 
 and to play it once, she had not the courage to play 
 it any more in Paris after him. He remained, there- 
 fore, in possession, and entered more and more into 
 the spirit of the composition. He executed the two 
 allegro subjects, especially, with far more energy and 
 style, which certainly increased their effect. As the 
 wind instruments of Reicha's quintet were excellent, 
 I never recollect to have heard that quintet so per- 
 fectly rendered as then.' How it raises our estimation 
 of Cherubini's quartet in E flat, written in 1819, to be 
 told that in 1821 he knew nothing of the quartets 
 of Mozart and Beethoven ! Moscheles was in Paris 
 at this time, and tells us that he met Spohr there. 
 He says : ' At Baillot's house, who had got up for 
 Spohr and myself a genuine soiree of artistes, he was 
 greeted with real enthusiasm. I also played and im- 
 provised. He played, I played, and we each shared in 
 a brotherly way the applause of this select audience.' 
 Mdme. Moscheles adds : ' Applause in this instance 
 means no ordinary recognition.' It appears that there 
 were present Cherubini, Boieldieu, Auber, Harold, 
 Adam, Lesueur, Pacini, Paer, Mazas, Habeneck, Plan- 
 tade, Blangini, Lafont, Pleyel, Ivan, Miiller, Struntz, 
 Viotti, Ponchard, Pellegrini, Nadermann, Garcia, Mar- 
 tiaville, Mangin, Bertia, Schlesinger, Lemoine, Pape, 
 
246 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 Petzold, Erard, Freudenthaler, the brothers Bohrer, 
 and others. 
 
 Moscheles writes in his diary for the 2,8th January 
 1821 : ' At 11 A.M. I rehearsed at Paer's with Bail- 
 lot for this evening; then I went, or rather ran, 
 with him, at full speed, to the court chapel in 
 the Tuileries, where we heard a glorious Mass by 
 Cherubini, admirably performed, as might be ex- 
 pected with the cooperation of such men as Kreutzer, 
 Baillot, Habeneck. Plantade directed, and Cherubini, 
 who talked to me, was among the audience.' On 
 the 20th March, he writes: 'I spent the evening at 
 Ciceri's, son-in-law of Isabey, the famous painter, 
 where I was introduced to one of the most interest- 
 ing circles of artists. In the first room were as- 
 sembled the most famous painters, engaged in draw- 
 'ing several things for their own amusement. In the 
 midst of these was Cherubini, also drawing. I had 
 the honour, like every one newly introduced, of hav- 
 ing my portrait taken in caricature. Begasse took 
 me in hand, and succeeded well. In an adjoining 
 room were musicians and actors, amongst them Pon- 
 chard, Levasseur, Dugazon, Panseron, Mdlle. de 
 Munk, and Madame Liv^re, of the The§.tre Fran9ais. 
 The most interesting of their performances, which 1 
 attended merely as a listener, was a vocal quartet by 
 Cherubini, performed under his direction. Later in 
 
Blanche de Provence. 247 
 
 the evening, the whole party artoed itself with larger 
 or smaller mirlitons (reed-pipe whistles), and on these 
 small monotonous instruments, sometimes made of 
 sugar, they played, after the fashion of Russian horn 
 music, the overture to Dimophon, two frying-pans 
 representing the drums. On the 27th March there 
 was another mirliton concert at Ciceri's, in which 
 Cherubini took an active part.'* ^ 
 
 In 1821 appeared the one-act allegorical opera 
 of Blanche de Provence^ divided into three parts, and 
 written by Berton, Boieldieu, Kreutzer, Paer, and 
 Cherubini, the latter composing all the third part. 
 He tells us, ' This opera was ordered by the Minister 
 of the King's Household, on the occasion of the 
 baptism of the Duke of Bordeaux, which took place 
 the 1st May 1821, at Notre Dame. The first repre- 
 sentation of Blanche took place in the evening at the 
 court theatre; the second on the 3d of the same 
 month at the Royal Academy of Music, for which 
 this opera had been composed.' On May 21st it was 
 again performed at the Grand Opera. The libretto 
 ' was by Th6aulon and Ranc^. All that has survived 
 of this work^s Cherubini's chorus, the lovely Cradle 
 Song (the words by Berquin, beginning ' Dors, noble 
 enfant'), which much affected the King when he heard 
 it. Blanche de Provence was followed by a cantata 
 ' lAfe of Moscheles, vol. i. p. 45. 
 
248 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 for many voices, with choruses, the -words of which 
 were by Baour Lormian, and which was executed 
 on the 2d May at the fete that took place at the 
 H6tel de Ville, on occasion of the Duke's baptism. 
 
 Moscheles writes, in his diary, that he attended 
 the rehearsals both of Blanche de Provence and of 
 this cantata : ' I drove,' he says, ' early with Lafont 
 to the Hotel de ViUe, where Cherubini's new cantata, 
 and the intermfede by Boieldieu and Bertgn, written 
 for the christening of the Duke of Bordeaux, were 
 rehearsed. The first of these works was under the 
 direction of the great master himself. His squeaky 
 sharp little voice was sometimes heard in the midst 
 of his conducting, and interrupted my state of ec- 
 stasy, caused by his presence and composition. The 
 whole of the magnificent and far-famed court band 
 was in attendance. The Prefect, Count Giabrol, 
 and his wife, whom I met at this rehearsal, of- 
 fered me, in the most friendly manner, a ticket for 
 the grand ball to be given in honour of the christen- 
 ing. In the evening I attended the general re- 
 hearsal of an opera which Cherubini, Paer, Berton, 
 Boieldieu, and Kreutzer had jointly composed in 
 honour of this same christeniag. The final chorus, 
 by Cherubini, made an indelible impression on my 
 mind. Each master conducted his own pieces, and 
 Cherubini was loudly cheered,' On the following 
 
Mass in B fiat. 249 
 
 9tli May lie writes : ' To-day I played in the Hotel 
 de Ville, where the city of Paris gave a grand ban- 
 quet to the Provincial Deputies. Cherubini, Boiel- 
 dieii, and Berton directed the music' 
 
 In October and November 1821, Cherubini wrote 
 a short but lovely Mass in B flat, now published 
 in the first volume of his posthumous works. It 
 was in this year that F^tis was nominated pro- 
 fessor of composition at the Conservatoire in the 
 place of Eler, Eight months after he had entered 
 upon his functions, his pupils were examiaed by 
 the committee of education over which Cherubini 
 presided, with Paer, Lesueur, Berton, Reicha, and 
 Boieldieu associated with our composer as members 
 of the committee ; and F^tis was much gratified 
 at Cherubini addressing him as follows : ' Monsiem-, 
 c'est avec beaucoup d'int&^t que le comite a passe 
 I'examen de votre classe, et qu'il a trouv^ chez vos 
 elfeves I'art de faire chanter les parties d'une mani^re 
 Elegante et naturelle; art difficile, si bien connu 
 des anciens maitres, et qui se perd aujourd'hui; 
 c'est avec une vive satisfaction que nous voyons 
 que vous travaillez k le faire revivre.' Some years 
 later Cherubini expressed himself more explicitly as 
 to F^tis' merits, in the report which he made to the 
 Acad^mie des Beaux Arts, on F^tis' Treatise on 
 Counterpoint and Fugue, written for the Conserva- 
 
35° Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 toire. Cherubini observed of that work, that it was 
 the only one of its kind in which the rules for scien- 
 tific compositions, especially those for the fague, were 
 put forward with method and clearness.* 
 
 In 1822 (not, as F^tis says, in 1821) Cherubini be- 
 came director of the reestablished Conservatoire, one 
 of the most important events in his life. Since the 
 Restoration of the Bourbons, that Institution, under 
 the title of ' Ecole Royale,' which it retained till 1830, 
 had fallen into decay. When Sarrette, after successive 
 recalls and dismissals, according as Napoleon or the 
 Bourbons were in power, had finally been dismissed. 
 Feme succeeded him with the title of Inspector- 
 General. Perne was an able musician, but the Go- 
 vernment gave him no help. The few teachers there 
 received only five hundred francs as salary. There 
 were no instruments for some of the classes. Owing 
 to the scarcity of firewood, furniture, and espe- 
 cially old pianofortes, had actually been burnt for 
 fael. In January 1822, Perne in despair sent in 
 his resignation. This event roused the attention 
 of the Marquis de Lauriston, Minister of the Eoyal 
 Household. He saw that the Conservatoire must 
 be reformed, if it were to be kept up at all; and 
 that this could only be done by able management 
 and plenty of money. For the furtherance of his 
 
 * Biog. XJniv. vol. iii. p. 232. 
 
Director of the Conservatoire. 251 
 
 sclieiiie lie fixed on Cherubini, who, on the 1st 
 April was named Director of the Conservatoire, 
 with a salary of 8000 francs, and a further 1500 
 francs instead of a residence. It was afterwards 
 altogether raised to 10,000 francs ; but this was not 
 tUl 1841, a year before Cherubini's death. Thus, 
 in his 61st year, Cherubini received a tardy justice 
 in being intrusted with the important task of 
 governing the first musical Academy in France. 
 No sooner did his reign begin than it was felt. 
 His administrative ability shone forth. His experi- 
 ence was immense, and he reformed the system of 
 all the classes. Never was there a greater transfor- 
 mation in the conduct of an institution. Cherubini 
 was now to show that he could be a distinguished 
 administrator. Many can shut themselves up in the 
 study-room, and address the world from their writing- 
 tables. Cherubini could do that, but he could govern 
 also. Under his rule the Conservatoire rose to its 
 present high position; and as long as that Institution 
 exists, the influence of Cherubini, once dominant in 
 the French capital, cannot be said to have departed 
 fi:om it. Cherubini, first of all, engaged the ser- 
 vices of the best men in the various branches of 
 the musical art; and thus his efforts came to be 
 seconded by an able staff of professionals. Under 
 him were Lesueur, Berton, Boieidieu, Keicha, F^tis, 
 
252 Memorials of Cherubtni. 
 
 Dourlen, and Daussoigne, for the theory of composi- 
 tion; Lays, Garat, Plantade, Ponchard, Blangini, 
 Bordogni, and Garaud^, for singing ; Benoist, Prad- 
 her, Zimmermann, Kreutzer, Baillot, Habeneck, Bau- 
 diot, Levasseur, Lefebvre, Delcambre, Guillou, Vogt, 
 and Dauprat, for instrumental teaching. The man- 
 agement of the library was given over to Perne, who 
 sent in his resignation after a year, and was succeeded 
 in the post by Eler. The spirit of Cherubini com- 
 municated itself to masters and pupils. The Marquis 
 de Lauriston thought he had found the right man in 
 choosing Cherubini as Conservatory director, and he 
 was right. Every professor, before opening his class 
 each day, had to sign a book called ' le registre de 
 pr&ence,' to show that he had attended to his duties 
 that day ; and this register of ' the house,' as Cheru- 
 bini called the Conservatoire, the composer never 
 failed to examine. He had also to see that all h^is 
 pupils were there. But what Cherubini exacted of 
 others, he also exacted from himself. Strictness was 
 the best rule in managing so large an institution, 
 and Cherubini set a good example in being strict 
 with himself. There he was at ten o'clock every 
 morning, regularly at his bureau, writing, answering 
 correspondence, hearing the professors or pupUs who 
 had anything to say to him. He was never un- 
 punctual. As he was never behind his time, so was 
 
His Rule. 253 
 
 he never before it. Regularity was with him a car- 
 dinal virtue, the contrary a deadly sin. He was al- 
 ways looking at his watch, and counting the number 
 of minutes in which everything must be done. If 
 his pupils were at all unpunctual, he lost his temper 
 at once. Thus it is recorded that when the Marquis 
 de Lauriston came to distribute some prizes at the 
 Conservatoire, and was rather late, Cherubini greeted 
 him with, 'Vous arrivez bien tard, monseigneur.' 
 Order was no less insisted on. Cherubini could not 
 bear anything like untidiness. He loved method in 
 doing his work. He was never seen to laugh or 
 even to smile in his intercourse with his pupils. He 
 was always in earnest, and had no time for frivolity, 
 
 ' To his new functions,' says Fetis, ' he brought the 
 most scrupulous exactitude of duty, that spirit of order 
 which he had possessed during his whole life, and 
 an entire devotion to the prosperity of the establish- 
 ment. Severe, exacting towards the professors and 
 servants, as he was with himself, he brought with 
 him little love, in his connections with the artistes 
 placed under his authority.' 
 
 ' All his care,' says Lafage less justly, ' was con- 
 fined to a minute superintendence and a rigorous 
 demand for exactitude; he did not know how to 
 accelerate progress, and encourage rising talent ; his 
 whole character is depicted in this sentence, spoken 
 
254 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 after a rehearsal of a piece in which every executant 
 took the greatest pains. As chagrin and ill-humour, 
 constantly expressed in his face, had not yet ceased 
 to show itself, he was asked if he was satisfied: 
 " Des que je ne dis rien," he replied, " c'est que 
 je suis content." . . His harshness was habitual, and 
 appeared ever so disagreeable, because of his blunt- 
 ness of speech and his Italian accent, of which not 
 even a fifty years' sojourn in France deprived him. 
 He was equally stern in all his relations with the 
 professors. It was not that he had a bad nature ; 
 but the nervous maladies from which ho had suf- 
 fered, and the vexations to which for twenty years 
 he had been subjected, with but little to counter- 
 balance them, had left in him, now in a good and 
 well-merited position, a certain irritability, which 
 deprived his society of a part of the charm which 
 it was capable of exercising, and made approach to 
 him unpleasant. His character manifested itself to 
 all the world, even to the authorities on whom he 
 was dependent.'*' 
 
 That Cherubim's admiaistration was not free 
 from annoyances is probable enough. Several times 
 he sent in his resignation, but fortunately difficulties 
 were smoothed down. The results of his adminis- 
 tration, in a musical point, no one disputes. 'Al- 
 " Michaud's Biog. Univ. vol. i. p. 98. 
 
His Rule. 255 
 
 though,' says F^tis, ' he may be reproached for having 
 been too minute in the details of his direction of the 
 Conservatoire, it is not less true that he raised that 
 school, fallen from its ancient splendour when it 
 was in M. Papillon de la Ferte's province, as super- 
 intendent of the King's Menus-Plaisirs. The respect 
 "which the great talent of Cherubini inspired exer- 
 cised its influence on the professors and pupils ; the 
 glory of his name was reflected on the establishment 
 which he directed.' 
 
 "When Cherubini wished to send off a letter or 
 message of any kind at the' Conservatoire, he always 
 rang a little belj. close by ; and a servant, who was 
 regularly stationed at the door of his room, entered 
 to perform at once what was required. Our com- 
 poser was never idle. When his duties were over, 
 he would occupy himself with writing out his own 
 scores for publication, or those of other masters, as 
 a study for himself. To one who asked him why he 
 gave himself this trouble, he replied, ' There is al- 
 ways something to learn.' His wife one day asked 
 him the same question, and he answered, ' I learn, 
 and were I to live a thousand years, I should still 
 find something to learn.' He also said to her, 
 ' There is good to be got from them (the works of 
 others), which remains in your mind.' His patience 
 in writing out his scores, the pains he took, were 
 
256 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 remarkable. If a Uot fell on his paper, lie cut round 
 it witli his pen-knife, and fitted another piece of 
 paper so neatly on to the place, that you could with 
 difficulty see where the blot had been. His manu- 
 script scores were so beautifully written, that they 
 rivalled printing. In this respect how different from 
 Beethoven! In his leisure hours Cherubini's favourite 
 amusements were drawing and cutting flowers, or 
 classifying plants. He was a thorough botanist, and 
 a master of etching. At twelve o'clock, he left his 
 office, and proceeded on his round through the classes, 
 inspecting the establishment. This reminds me of a 
 story told of him. A child of great talent, handsome 
 in person, of a gentle disposition, and the son of a 
 musician, wished very much to be a pupil at the 
 Conservatoire. On the day appelated for applica- 
 tions, his father took him to the Institution. The 
 two attracted attention, as the father was six feet 
 high, the son but a little fellow. After a friendly in- 
 terview with an official, they were placed in a pass- 
 age where those applying for admittance would meet 
 the director, who passed through at twelve o'clock on 
 his way to the class-rooms. At that hour, in came 
 Cherubini, evidently astonished at encountering a 
 tall man, who awkwardly held out one hand to him, 
 and had hold of his little son in the other. Confused 
 at the contrast which the two presented, and not 
 
A young Musical Aspirant. 257 
 
 knowing whicli was the applicant — for the father 
 seemed too old, and the son too young — Cherubini 
 put on a stern face, and said, rather severely, 'What 
 do you want here V adding, ' I do not put infants 
 out to nurse ;' and he passed on. The poor father 
 was intensely chagrined at such a reception,- but 
 was told to keep up his courage. As a final chance 
 for the son, he was taken, accompanied by the father, 
 to the last class-room, placed before a piano, and 
 told to play anything he could think of, and not to 
 stop in case any one should enter the room. Cheru- 
 bini, on finishing the round of the classes, must cer- 
 tainly enter this room. He soon came in, and was 
 struck by the extempore playing of the child; stopped, 
 sat down, and listened attentively. The age, the 
 beauty, the talent of the performer astonished him. 
 When the playing was over, Cherubini caressed and 
 encouraged the child. He asked him some questions 
 on the principles of his art, which were answered. 
 At last, unable to contain his admiration, he ex- 
 claimed : ' Bravo, my little friend ; but why are you 
 here, and what can I do for you"?' 'A thing that is 
 very easy,' was the reply, ' and which would make 
 me very happy : put me into the Conservatoire.' , 
 * It's a thing done,' said Cherubini ; ' you are one of 
 us.' After this he left the hall, telling the story 
 good-humouredly to his friends, saying, ' I had to be 
 
258 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 carefal about pushing the questions too far, for the 
 baby was beginning to prove to me that he knew 
 more about music than I do myself.' 
 
 Cherubini seems to have been somewhat popular, 
 in spite of his strictness and the fear he inspired. 
 His favom-ites looked upon him as a father as well 
 as a teacher and a friend. He was not above en- 
 couraging the efforts of youth, and did not spare 
 himself trouble in helping and -interesting himself in 
 others, as the following letters may serve to show. 
 One is dated June 14th, 1821, and addressed to 
 M. le Baron De Bruy^re St. Michel, and shows his 
 kind feelings towards a young musician whom, how- 
 ever, he was unable to assist. ' En reponse,' he says, 
 'k la lettre que vous m'avez fait I'honnem- de m'a- 
 dresser, Monsieur le Baron, j'ai I'avantage de vous 
 assurer que je prends h, M. Henry, votre recom- 
 mand4 autant d'interet que vous, mais malheureuse- 
 ment il n'est plus en mon pouvoir de revoquer ce 
 qui a kik prononc^ a son sujet, non par' moi parti- 
 culi^rement, mais par le conseil assembM du Corps 
 de Musique que je commande. Ce Corps a ^te der- 
 nierement reduit et fixe k cinquante-quatre executants 
 par ordre positif de Monsieur le Mardchal ; vous 
 pouvez vous en assurer facilement par vous-m^me. 
 Monsieur, &, I'dtat major. Le travail op6r^ par le 
 conseil de ma compagnie, afin d'arrcter la nouvelle 
 
He interests himself in others. 259 
 
 organization, est actuellement entre les mains de M. 
 le Marechal; je ne suis plus le maitre d'y faire le 
 moindre cliangement : ce n'est que lui qui le peut, et 
 creer una place de plus fixe s'il le veut, pour re- 
 integrer M. Henry dans le Corps dont il faisait partie 
 avant la r^forme. Je regrette done infiniment, Mon- 
 sieur le Baron, de ne pouvoir obtemperer a vos dd- 
 sirs, en ^tant utile en mSme temps a M. Henry, que 
 j'aime beaucoup, et voudrais satisfaire si j'en avals 
 les moyens. Je pense que vous pouvez tout en sa 
 faveur, et je puis vous assurer qu'en cela vous secon- 
 derez parfaitement mes desirs. Je suis tr^s flatt^ que 
 cette circonstance m'ait procure I'avantage d'etre 
 en relation avec vous, Monsieur le Baron, pour vous 
 prier d'agreer I'assurance de la consideration trfes dis- 
 tingu^e avec laquelle j'ai I'honneur d'etre votre trfes 
 humble et tr^s obeissant serviteur, L. Cherubini.' 
 
 To this letter, written in a beautiful band, neat 
 and small, I may add another, in which we find 
 him interesting himself in a Mdlle. David, a pupil 
 of the Conservatoire. It is addressed from the 
 Conservatoire to a Parisian impresario, and dated 
 Paris, December 8, 1832. ' Monsieur, Mdlle. David, h. 
 laquelle je porte infiniment d'interet comme a tons 
 les el^ves du Conservatoire, m'a fait part de la pro- 
 position qu'elle vous a faite de faire partie de votre 
 th^^tre, sans recevoir d'appointement, jusqu'au mois 
 
26o Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 d'Avril prochain, et vous lui avez promis une reponse 
 definitive pour la semaine dans laquelle nous aliens 
 entrer. J'ai I'honneur done, Monsieur, de reiterer la 
 demande ,qu'elle vous a faite, esp&ant que vous y 
 consentirez sans peine : m^me je vous en prie. Je 
 puis vous assurer que vous serez satisfait sous tou» 
 les rapports de Mdlle. David, car c'est une eleve zelee, 
 et que lorsqu'elle aura un peu plus d'habitude des 
 planches, elle pourra se rendre trfes utile dans votre 
 administi-ation. Je vous la recommande, et vous- 
 prie de croire a ma reconnaissance pour tout ce que 
 vous ferez pour elle. Agr^ez, Monsieur, la nouvelle 
 assurance de la consideration tres distingu^e avec 
 laquelle j'ai I'honneur d'etre votre trfes devout servi- 
 teur, L. Cherubini.' This letter is in a very unsteady 
 hand. Cherubini was seventy-two at the time. 
 
 I have also seen a letter from Cherubini (without 
 date) to the Due de Richelieu, asking for his son-in- 
 law, M. Turcas, the post of military commissary at 
 Paris, which I insert; though it exhibits only a 
 natural instance of kindness, seeing that the object 
 of it was his son-in-law. The letter, written in a 
 most beautiful hand on a quarto sheet, runs as follows : 
 
 'A S.E. Monsieur le Due de Riehelieu. 
 'Monseigneur, — Votre excellence n'ayant pasjug6 
 k propos de m'accorder sa pilissante recommandation 
 
Application for M. Turcas. 261 
 
 «n faveur de mon gendre, M. Turcas, sous-inspecteur 
 aux revenues, dans tine affaire dont elle pensait elle- 
 meme qu'il etait desormais superflu de s'occuper 
 puisque les nominations dtaient faites, voulut bien 
 rae faire esperer qu'elle ne me la refuserait pas, si 
 une autre occasion se presentait; permettez moi 
 done, Monseignexir, d' avoir recours a votre bienveil- 
 lance. 
 
 'M. Turcas a passe la plus grande partie de sa 
 jeunesse dans le commerce, toute sa famille suit 
 cette carriere, et le peu d'espoir qu'il a d'entrer dans 
 le nouveau Corps des Intendans Militaires k cause du 
 .trte petit nombre de vacances, et de la grande quan- 
 tite de concurrens, I'a decide a reprendre la carriere 
 -oil il a acquis les connoissances n^cessaires ; il s'est 
 done attach^ k une maison de banque, et a adress6 h, 
 S. E. le Ministre des Finances une demande tendant 
 h, obtenir une des deux places d'agent de change qui 
 restent a nommer pour Paris. Le ministre a renvoye 
 cette demande k la chambre Syndicale, dont les mem- 
 bres sont bien disposes en faveur de mon gendre, et 
 se proposent de le porter sur la nouvelle liste de pre- 
 -sentation. Oserais-je esperer, Monseigneur, que vous 
 •daignerez nous honorer de votre haute protection 
 dans une affaire bien importante pour nous, puisque 
 «a r^ussite assurera le sort de mon gendre et de ma 
 ffUe : je vous la demande avec instance, et je serai 
 
262 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 trfes heureux si votre Excellence veut accueillir avec 
 quelque int^ret la demande que je prends la liberty 
 de lui adresser, 
 
 ' J'ai rhonneur d'etre avec un profond respect, 
 Monseigneur, de votre Excellence le tres humble et 
 tres ob^issant serviteur, 
 
 'L. Cherubini.' 
 
 The application was successful. 
 
 Though merciless in criticism, Cherubini's ac- 
 knowledged popularity among his pupils is not sur- 
 prising if we only consider his unaffected modesty 
 and even diffidence about himself. At a concert at 
 which he was present when a piece of Beethoven 
 was followed by his own overture to UHotellerie 
 Portugaise, he remarked quite naturally, ' I am now 
 going to appear a very small boy.' 
 
 At two o'clock it was Cherubini's custom to go 
 home, and then his day's work at the Conservatoire 
 was over. He lived in an unpretending set of rooms 
 on the third floor of the house No. 19 Faubom-g 
 Poissonni^re. Before a window was his writing- 
 table. Opposite the fireplace in his bedroom was a 
 small piano (happy instrument !) of five and a half 
 octaves, which he had used for many years whilst 
 composing. The piano was from the workshops of 
 old Sebastian Erard. Cherubini greatly prized it. 
 
Cherubinis Pianoforte. 263 
 
 and always took it with him when visiting his friends 
 OTit of Paris, at Chimay, Chartres, Gaillon, Breuilpont, 
 Malabri, Montlignon, &c. After his death his widow 
 gave it to Pierre Erard, for the latter's collection of 
 historically interesting instruments. It now stands 
 by the side of the pianos of Piccinni and Gliick.^ 
 
 It has been regretted that Cherubini was so much 
 occupied in the administration of the Conservatoire, 
 since he was a great composer, who should rather 
 have enjoyed much leisure for bringing out his grand 
 ideas. Thus, even as early as 1795, when the Con- 
 servatoire was established, Gr^try expressed a hope 
 that Sarrette would occupy himself in all those duties 
 which it was not the part of talented ^artistes to 
 undertake. 'The moments of men of genius,' he 
 says, ' are too precious to be lost in a multiplicity 
 of duties; Mehul, Lesueur, and Cherubini are the 
 hope of lyric theatres ; to turn them aside from 
 their talent in order to occupy them with matters 
 of routine, would be an unpardonable fault.'^ On his 
 becoming director Cherubini's compositions for the 
 King's chapel certainly decreased in number; yet, 
 otherwise, is there anything now to regret? Sub- 
 ordinates might, as Miel observes, have undertaken 
 much that Cherubini insisted on doing himself, but 
 what have we lost? It would be hard to imagine 
 
 « Musical World, 1862. ' MSmoires, vol. iii. p. 372. 
 
264 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 more beautiful works from him than those we possess, 
 and we see the versatility of his powers, in his being 
 able, amidst increasing distractions and occupations, 
 to compose as well as, if not better than, ever, be- 
 sides that conscientiousness in the discharge of his 
 public duties which confers greater honour on him 
 than all the orders and decorations that he ever 
 received. 
 
 Speaking of Cherubini's character, which came 
 out strongly in his rule at the Conservatoire, Adolphe 
 Adam says: 'As a man Cherubini has been differently, 
 and perhaps unjustly appreciated. Extremely ner- 
 vous, brusque, irritable, absolutely independent, his 
 first movements almost always appeared unfavour- 
 able. He easily returned to his natural disposition, 
 which was excellent, and which he was forced to 
 conceal, under appearances the least flattering. 
 Moreover, in spite of the unevenness of his temper 
 (no one pretends that he had an equable temper, for 
 he was always passionate), he was worshipped by 
 those around him. The veneration in which his 
 pupils held him reached to fanaticism. MM. HaMvy 
 and Batton lavished on him in his last moments a 
 truly filial care. Boieldieu never spoke of him but 
 with respect and tenderness, and Cherubini bestowed 
 on his pupils all the affection that they had for him. 
 There was one of them, Haldvy, whom he con- 
 
His Character. 265 
 
 sidered as one of his children; hardly a month has 
 yet passed since, when speaking to me of that 
 cherished pupil, he put forth so much earnestness in 
 describing to me the love he bore him, that I was 
 moved to tears. The sensations experienced in ap- 
 proaching Oherubini were so strange, that it would 
 be hard to define them, and much more to under- 
 stand them. The veneration that you had for his 
 great age and fine talent was suddenly altered by 
 ridicule aroused by little trifles to which he climg 
 with a persevering obstinacy. Then at the end of a 
 few minutes, as though he had understood that it 
 was too long a time to act the disagreeable to no 
 pm'pose, his face relaxed, that smile so refined and 
 shrewd came to animate the fine head of the old 
 man, good nature resumed the ascendant, little by 
 Kttle the faults of a spoilt child disappeared, he be- 
 came a good man in spite of himself; his heart 
 opened out to yours, and then you could resist him 
 no more ; you left him, charmed and altogether sur- 
 prised to have felt towards this extraordinary man, 
 in so short a time, sentiments so different — repulsion, 
 admiration, enthusiasm.'* 
 
 ' As a man,' says Miel, ' he has been differently 
 judged; which is explained by his uneven temper 
 and th^ anomalies of his character. Punctual, re- 
 
 « Derniers Souvenirs. 
 
266 Memorials of Ckerubini. 
 
 gular, methodical in all his deliberate acts, he was 
 order personified ; but only let an insect come and 
 buzz about his ear, there and then he lost his equi- 
 librium, and the artiste's nerves were in revolt; he 
 was no longer his own master; now look out for 
 roughnesses ! We do not approach the subject with- 
 out trembling. Otherwise this irritability did not last 
 long. It left too little traces for it to be ascribed to- 
 a result of organisation, and you are led to attribute 
 it to some accidental cause. The phantasmagoria of 
 Sarti : might it have over-excited that youthful im- 
 agination, and impressed on delicate organs a too 
 durable shock % Or must we descend to the super- 
 stition of names, and accord to that of Professor 
 Bizzarri a mysterious ibfluence on the pupil's future ? 
 Or was it not rather a transient return of that 
 splenetic nervous affection of which we have spoken. 
 Whatever it was, Cherubini was only rough out- 
 wardly; his servants knew and understood him, 
 and said among themselves: "Leave him/ alone; 
 when he has acted enough of the wicked man, he 
 will become good again. It is the good-natured 
 churl." '* Arnold gives us another picture of him : 
 ' Cherubini in society was outwardly silent, mo- 
 dest, unassuming, pleasing, and obliging, and pos- 
 sessed the finest and most engaging manners. At 
 ' Miel, p. 24. 
 
His personal Appearance. 'i-^T 
 
 tlie same time lie who did not know that lie was 
 with Cherubini would think him stern and reserved, 
 so well did the composer know how to conceal every- 
 thing, if only to avoid ostentation. He truly shunned 
 brag or speaking of himself. Cherubini's voice was 
 feeble, probably from narrow-chestedness, and some- 
 what hoarse, but was otherwise soft and agreeable. 
 His French was Italianised. . . His head was bent 
 forward, his nose was large and aquiline; his eye- 
 brows were thick, black, and somewhat bushy, over- 
 shadowing his eyes. His eyes were dark, and glit- 
 tered with an extraordinary brilliancy that animated 
 in a wonderful way the whole face. A thin lock of 
 hair came over the centre of his forehead, and some- 
 how gave to his countenance a peculiar softness.' 
 One who knew Cherubini writes to me : ' My own 
 recollections of him are anything but pleasant. He 
 looked a dry, screwed-up little man. Ingres' portrait 
 gives the most accurate conception of his outward 
 appearance. He had a finely-shaped head, with thin 
 lips, keen eyes, and gray locks. His remarks were 
 generally satirical.' 
 
 Cherubini's love for Halevy, his adopted son,. 
 was well reciprocated. We see the latter's affection 
 even in his critical writings on his master, sometimes, 
 it is conspicuous on his page, sometimes it lurks be- 
 neath, as though restrained by a fierce reserve. 
 
368 Memorials of Cherubini, 
 
 'Whether it is devotion, fiKal affection, or artistic 
 •conviction, I avow that Cherubini's renown is dear 
 to me, and I would preserve it from all attack.' 
 Again he says, with a certain bitterness, with the 
 thought of Cherubini doubtless in his miad : ' Men 
 •do not easily accord their admiration ; you are not 
 inscribed without a contest on the golden book of 
 posterity. The mere lustre of a name is, then, for an 
 •artiste, one of the most glorious of testimonies, a 
 •certain indication of a high influence, the proof of an 
 eminent position. It is a noble and beautiful herit- 
 age to leave after you, often acquired at the expense 
 of a whole life's repose, by works and incessant com- 
 bats, — the right to the respect of all. It is nowadays 
 most especially that this right is often contested; 
 nowadays that strong hands, pulling off the mantle of 
 purple, effacing those acquired suffrages, ruffle, tear, 
 and trample it to tatters, at the will of caprice 
 and passion. It is even this peril especially which 
 makes the possession of a blessing, though won with 
 •difficulty, and however precious it may be, in one mo- 
 ment or at another, liable to be attacked by a whole 
 •army.' Lastly, before beginning that torso which he 
 meant to be a monument to his mastei-, that fine bio- 
 graphical fragment from which I have been quoting, 
 he says : ' Whatever opinion you may have of Che- 
 rubini's genius, whatever may be the degree of sym- 
 
Halevy on his Master. 269 
 
 pathy that you feel with his works, you cannot deny 
 that his name is great and illustrious. Among the 
 names written in the sanctuary of the arts, his is one 
 of the most venerated. He took little care of it 
 when he was alive ; it is only a pious duty to seek to- 
 make it popular after his death. We shall strive ta 
 follow him in his works, to set store by their im- 
 portance, to measure the influence which they have 
 exercised on contemporary works; we shall se& 
 what place they are worthy of occupying in the 
 history of art.' I have dwelt upon Halevy for 
 Cherubini's sake. A man who is loved by no one 
 is undoubtedly a disagreeable character. Cherubini 
 clearly was not such a man. To his fellow-musicians 
 he was nearly always well-disposed. He treated 
 them as brothers. His relations with Haydn, Beet- 
 hoven, Hummel, Spohr, M^hul, Lesueur, Boieldieu, 
 Halevy, and others are not otherwise than highly 
 gratifying, and prove that, under however rough an 
 exterior, Cherubini had a heart; and showed deep 
 sympathy with his fellow-labourers. Little idiosyn- 
 crasies could not hide for ever the real worth of 
 the man. Cherubini's character must be taken as a 
 whole, and not some isolated facts be seized upon 
 to prove indubitably that he was always harsh and 
 cold. The characters of great men, from not being 
 commonplace, are seldom truly understood. 
 
270 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 Chembini was fond of smart Bayings, and of be- 
 ing rude, nor did he spare his friends. Thus Hal^vy ' 
 once took Cherubini to hear one of his operas. At 
 the end of the first act he asked his master how he 
 liked it. Cherubini made no reply. At the end of 
 the second act Halevy repeated his question. Again 
 no answer. ' Vous ne me repondez point,' exclaimed 
 Halevy. 'Que vous repondre,' replied the inexor- 
 able maestro, 'voici deux heures que vous ne me 
 dites rien.' 
 
 Again, when Beethoven's Mass in D was being 
 •one day given, Berlioz spoke against the fugue ' et 
 vitam.' Cherubini entering the corridor, and hearing 
 something was going on, said , ' What is it f Some 
 one replied, pointing to Berlioz, 'This fellow does 
 not like the fugue.' ' That is because the fugue does 
 not like him,' said Cherubini. At another time, when 
 Cherubim was venting his rage against the parents 
 of precocious children, a lady came in on an ap- 
 pointed interview, bringing with her her child, whom 
 she began to praise as a wonderful genius, ' a perfect 
 child of nature.' ' Madame,' said the maestro, ' leave 
 him with us ; we will adopt him. Quel bonheur de 
 trouver un enfant de la Nature, tomb^ sur la terre, 
 sans p^re, sans tahxe, sans soeur, sans frere.''^" At an- 
 other time, he silenced one who was complaining of 
 " Ella's Musical Sketches. 
 
The Child of Nature. 271 
 
 the chromatic progression fromF sharp to F natural in 
 Eossini's Prayer from Moses. ' What do you say,' said 
 the pedant, 'to this flagrant transgression of that 
 libertine, Kossini?' 'What do I sayf replied Che- 
 rubini : ' I only wish I had committed, it.'"^^ On another 
 occasion, a work was brought him, generally reputed 
 to be Mehul's. ' Show it me, then,' said Cherubini to 
 the person who brought it. At last he said, ' It is not 
 Mehul's ; it is too bad to be his.' ' It is mine,' said 
 the other. ' I tell you it is not yours.' ' Why, dear 
 master f ' Because it's too good to be yours.' 
 
 His son-in-law, M. Turcas, had composed a sym- 
 phony, the minuet of which was performed at the 
 ■Conservatoire concert of 22d April 1838, and on 
 his informing Cherubini that he had written the 
 symphony, the latter said brusquely : ' Ce sera 
 mauvais.' ' Et pourquoi f said Turcas, to his cruel 
 father-in-law. ' Pourquoi ? parceque j'en ai fait, et 
 Mehul aussi, et que je m'y connais.'^^ 
 
 When he went to see Adolphe Adam's son at 
 school, he said bluntly enough': ' How ugly he is !' 
 When some friends told him that they had not yet 
 been to see Boieldieu's La JDame Blanche, though it 
 had already been performed ten times, Cherubini 
 said: 'Perhaps you are waiting for her to change 
 colour.' His vigorous remark, when asked why 
 " Ella's Musical Sketches. " Elwart. 
 
272 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 he no longer brought out works at the Op6ra 
 Comique, has been preserved in a letter of Men- 
 delssohn from Paris, dated Feb. 21, 1832: 'lam 
 not going to give my operas without chorus, with- 
 out orchestra, without singers, and without deco- 
 rations.' 
 
 Brod, the oboe-player, died on the 5th of April 
 1839. Tulou, the flute-playei-, returning from Brod's- 
 fimeral, met Cherubini and said : 'Ah, maestro, we 
 have lost our dear friend, Brod.' ' What ! what ! !' 
 what ! ! !' exclaimed the aged Cherubini, who was 
 then deaf. With a loud voice Tulou repeated, ' Brod 
 is dead.' ' Ah,' replied the stoical Florentine, turning 
 away, ' Petit son, petit son' (little tone).^^ The one 
 vindictive saying that Cherubini, as far as I know, 
 ever uttered was not aimed at an individual, ' The 
 only thing worse than one flute is two.' If any of 
 my readers play that instrument, I fear that Cheru- 
 bini will have made himself their enemy for ever.. 
 Cherubini eventually made a point of never lending 
 his umbrella, for if he did he found that he never got 
 it back again. One day he was walking along the 
 boulevards when it began to rain. A gentleman,, 
 driving by, recognised the maestro, and, alighting, 
 placed his vehicle at Cherubini's disposal, who got 
 in. The gentleman, who was going a different way^ 
 " Ella's Musical Sketches. 
 
Cherubini s Umbrella. 273 
 
 said, ' M. Cherubini, will you lend me your umbrellaf 
 'No; I never lend my umbrella,' was Cherubini's 
 reply; and he drove offl^* 
 
 A somewhat pleasanter tale remains to be told. 
 In 1824, Adolphe Adam, to his disgiist, was called 
 to serve as a soldier. He went in search of Che- 
 rubini, found him, and after much beating about 
 the bush, told him that a certificate from him, at- 
 testing his (Adam's) aptitude for musical composi- 
 tion, would insure a release from the conscription. 
 Cherubini was fond of Adolphe Adam, and was un- 
 willing to refuse him any request, but did not wish 
 to run any risks himself in the matter. He gave 
 him a certificate thus expressed : ' J'atteste que 
 I'^lfeve Adolphe Adam suit exactement les classes du 
 Conservatoire.' Adam saw that this would be of no 
 use whatever as an excuse to the military autho- 
 rities. Remembering a finger which had been dis- 
 abled for two years, and from which he still fancied 
 that he suffered, he went to a certain celebrated 
 surgeon, who had treated the finger, and asked him 
 to aid him in his object. The surgeon was as honest 
 as the musician, and wrote a certificate as follows : 
 = Je certifie avoir op&d M. Adolphe Adam d'une 
 tumeur au doigt, dont il est- parfaitement gueri!' 
 Happily, Adolphe's short stature and bad eyesight 
 
 " Once a Week. 
 
274 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 served him in better stead, and he was enabled to 
 continue his musical studies in peace.-'' 
 
 I have all along had some fear lest my readers 
 should be disappointed at not finding more abundant 
 and minute details of Cherubini himself. The fact 
 is, that those who knew him best have told us little 
 about him. But I hope that enough has been said 
 to demonstrate that, after all, Cherubini was not so 
 bad as he has been painted. Englishmen, at any 
 rate, will be able to appreciate 'his stern reserve 
 and force of character.'^^ 
 
 " Notice sur A. Adam. " Schumann. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 1822-1825. 
 
 The Pensiounat — The Sooietg des Concerts— Their origin— Cherubini's 
 cooperation — The smaller concerts — The Inclina Domine — Beet- 
 hoven's Mass in D, and letter to Chembini — Cheruhini and Liszt 
 — The Coronation Mass in A, at Eheims, for the crowning of 
 Charles X. 
 
 As early as tlie August of 1822, Cherubini reestab- 
 lislied the Pensiounat of the Conservatoire, which 
 had been abolished, together with the public compe- 
 titions in vocal and orchestral works by the pupils, 
 in which all who had gained the first prize since 
 1816 could be candidates. This course was but a 
 step towards the subsequent foundation of the So- 
 ciety des Concerts du Conservatoire, established by 
 a decree of the 15th of February 1828, and which 
 originated as follows : 
 
 Habeneck invited his musical friends to dinner on 
 St. Cecilia's day, telling them to bring their instru- 
 ments with - them. Among those who responded 
 were GuUlou, Tulou, Vogt, Brod, Dacosta, Buteux, 
 Dauvern^, Bulk, Dauprat, Blangy, Meifred, Mengal, 
 
276 Memorials of Chernbini, 
 
 Dossiou, Henri, Barizel, Tilmant (ain^), Battu, Tol- 
 becque, St. Laurent, Amed^e, Seuriot, Claudel, Gue- 
 rin. Urban, Norblin, Vastin, and Chafft. The Eroica 
 symphony was tried, but not liked. After several 
 essays, in 1827, at Duport's manufactory. Rue Neuve 
 des Petits Champs, and at Habeneck's house, in the 
 Rue des Filles St. Thomas, disgust at the symphony 
 was succeeded by admiration. Cherubini being in- 
 formed of this, and of Habeneck's idea of having 
 concerts, agreed that they should take place in the 
 great hall of the Conservatoire. Since 1815, the 
 public exercises of the pupils had not been resumed. 
 Through his desire of restoring these, Cherubini 
 agreed to ask the king's minister, M. Sosthfene de La- 
 rochefoucault, for the authorisation desired by Habe- 
 neck, who himself agreed to find the funds for the 
 expenses. 
 
 The government, however, granted 2000 francs 
 a year towards the expenses, and the decree found- 
 ing the society was communicated by Cherubini to 
 the professors and a number of the chief pupils. 
 Amidst general approbation an engagement to abide 
 by the decree was signed by those present on the 
 24th of March. A provisionary committee of the 
 new society, composed of -Cherubini (president), Ha- 
 beneck (vice-president), Guillou (secretary), Dauprat, 
 Brod, F. HaMvy, Kuhn (chef- du- chant), Meifred, 
 
The Societe des Concerts. 277 
 
 Amed^e, Albert Bonet, A. Dupont, and Tajan Eog6, 
 convoked an assembly of all those who had signed 
 the adhesion to the regulations of the decree ; and 
 Gttillou, in the name of the committee, Inade known 
 the proposed rules of the committee, and an adhesion 
 to these latter was also signed. 
 
 On Cherubini's and Mehul'e recommendation, Ha- 
 beneck was chosen conductor of the concerts, among 
 the chief objects of which was the performance of 
 Beethoven's works. Let us see how this object was 
 falfilled from 1828 to 1862. The first symphony 
 was performed thirteen times; the second, twenty- 
 six ; the third (Eroica). twenty-eight ; the fourth, 
 twenty-four ; the fifth (C minor), fifty-three ; the 
 sixth, (pastoral), fifty-one ; the seventh, fifty-two ; the 
 eighth, fourteen ; the ninth (choral), nineteen : total, 
 two hundred and eighty performances. The over- 
 ture to Fidelia, seven times; to Leonora, four; to 
 Coriolanus, nine ; to the Ruins of Athens, twice ; 
 to Egmont, ' six times ; to King Stephen, once ; to 
 Prometheus, seven times ; overture in C, twice : total, 
 thirty-eight performances. Chamber-music quartets, 
 op. 18, three times; trio in E flat, op. 38, once; the 
 quartets, op. 59, four times; fugue of ninth quartet, 
 twice; septet, twenty-seven times; trio for two haut- 
 boys and cors anglais, four times: total, forty-one 
 performances. Cherubini's action as director of the 
 
278 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 Societe des Concerts, exhibits his regard for Beet- 
 hoven, yet Berlioz, when saying that the great mu- 
 sicians of Paris at this time were indifferent to 
 Beethoven, dares to include Cherubini in that class. 
 At the same time he speaks of the Florentine as 
 one ' qui concentrait sa bile et n'osait la r^pandre 
 sur un maitre (Beethoven) dont les succ^s I'irri- 
 taient profondement, et sapaient I'^difice de ses 
 theories les plus chores ;'^ but then, according to 
 Berlioz, Berton was one who pitied German music ; 
 Boieldieu, one who was ignorantly surprised at the 
 least harmonic combinations ; Paer, one who told 
 unfavourable anecdotes of Beethoven ; ' Catel, one 
 who cared more about his rose-trees than music ; 
 Kreutzer, one who disdained all that came from the 
 other side of the Rhine ; Lesueur, one who was deaf, 
 and not attending the Conservatoire concerts. All 
 these, according to Berlioz, were enemies to Beet- 
 hoven. But it is intolerable to find him making this 
 charge against the very man who, in the teeth of 
 opposition, had Beethoven's symphonies performed. 
 
 ' Berlioz's Mimoires, p. 74. ProfesBor Ella, in his interesting 
 Musical Union papers, relates an anecdote which may be set off 
 against Berlioz's statement here. Cherubini, becoming impatient 
 ■with a pupil who, while desoribiag to him the performance of one of 
 Beethoven's symphomes, said nothing on the merits of the composition, 
 spoke thus: ' Young man, let your sympathies be first wedded to the 
 creative, and be you less fastidious of the executive ; accept the inter- 
 pretation, and think more of the creation of those musical works 
 which are wiitten for all time, and all nations — models for imitation, 
 and above all criticism.' 
 
Cherubini s Cooperation. 279 
 
 For what, according to Elwart, are the facts ? 'When 
 Cherubini was informed of Habeneck's plan, he agreed 
 to the request that the latter should obtain the au- 
 thority of the minister with a degree of warmth that 
 does honoiir to his memory.' Again: ' The minister, 
 M. de Larochefoucault, assented to Cherubini's pro- 
 posals.' The very decree begins : ' At the request of ' 
 the Directors of the Ecole Eoyal de Musique we have 
 resolved,' &c. ; and art. 9 charges Cherubini with the 
 execution of the decree. The statutes of the Society 
 des Concerts begin thus : 'With the agreement of the 
 Director of the Ecole de Musique.' Lastly, Cherubini 
 was chairman of the administrative and executive 
 committee. 'Cherubini knew very well,' remarks the 
 Niederrheinische-Musih-Zeitung, 'that Habeneck's ob- 
 ject was the performance of the works of Beethoven. 
 Had he entertained so mean an opinion of the latter 
 as he is reported to have held, he certainly would 
 not have promoted and arranged the whole affair 
 with the zeal he did.'^ 
 
 A number of concerts took place every year, for 
 which, as we have said, the government eventually 
 gave an annual grant of two thousand francs. No solos 
 were allowed, and at Cherubini's order the movable 
 platform, rising step by step, just as it now stands, 
 was built. At the first concert, March 9th, 1828, the 
 « Musical World, 1862, p. 559. 
 
2 8o Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 Eroica symphony was performed, and found great 
 favonr Among the pupils. The ordinary concerts 
 took place on Sundays at two o'clock ; others that 
 might now and then take place on week-days were 
 called ' concerts spirituels.' At the first concert for 
 1829 (Feb. 15), Cherubim's Chant sur la Mort de Haydn 
 was sung by Ponchard, Nourrit, and Maillard,; at the 
 fourth concert In 1830 (4th April), the celebrated 
 introductory chorus from Elisa — the solos being 
 Sling by Prevot and Hurteaux; and on Feb. 1, 1835, 
 Clapisson's Void la Nuit — recommended to Habe- 
 neck for performance by Cherubini himself. At the 
 extra concert at the Conservatoire on the 30th May 
 1830, a rather unfortunate circumstance occui'red. 
 Cherubini, before beginning, always waited for roy- 
 alty; the only royal princess who loved and patronised 
 music came ten minutes late, and some hissing, fore- 
 runner of the storm in July, began, which was not 
 sufficiently drowned by the voices, then just begin- 
 ning to sing, to prevent her hearing the salute from 
 the pit that did not respect a mark of deference 
 on Cherubini's part. Besides the great concerts 
 there were also the smaller ones called the ' Concerts 
 d'Emulation,' given by the pupils themselves, at which 
 Cherubini did not allow the young ladies of the Con- 
 servatoire to take any part either in the solos or cho- 
 ruses, they being solely allowed to perform in public 
 
O Fans amoris. 281 
 
 on the harp or the piano, while the orchestra only 
 played the compositions of the pupils. In spite of 
 all the representations of the most eminent profes- 
 sors, Cherubini adhered strictly to these rules. The 
 chief box was reseryed for Cherubini, D'Henneville, 
 Delavigne, and Lambert, and .emulation was espe- 
 cially excited among the pupils at these smaller con- 
 certs by the presence of their director. These, of 
 which Elwart was conductor, Cherubini no less 
 warmly encouraged than the great concerts.^ 
 
 We must now return to the record of Cherubini's 
 labours in church-music. Of^he Fens amoris, writ- 
 ten in 1822, Grirod observes: 'The motet Fons 
 amoris spiritus is only published- in Germany ; for this 
 reason, and because- it possesses a workmanship quite 
 different from Cherubini's ■ other religious works, some 
 persons hav& thought that it was not composed by 
 the author for- the Church nor for' these words, but 
 that it was taken from some of his abandoned operas. 
 We believe that the manuscript score of this piece, 
 as with the Regiaa Ceeli, was 'delivered to a German 
 publisher. What confirms us in this idea is that the 
 words are not extracted from the Roman liturgy, nor 
 from those which' are used in- Germany, but entirely 
 from one of the French liturgies. This piece is writ- 
 ten for soprano concevtante, with choral accompani- 
 " Elwart's Hutoire de la Societe des Goneerts. 
 
0. 8 2 Memorials of Cheruhm. 
 
 ment of men's voices. The allegro at the commence- 
 ment and conclusion is replete with new and bril- 
 liant ideas ; the unison of men's voices preparing 
 the soloist's creseendo has a beautiful eifect. The 
 larghetto is sweet, but too full of organ points.' 
 
 Stanzas for the Duke of Angouleme's 'return' 
 were composed by Oherubini on the 27th November 
 1823, and the Inoliaa Domine, a four-part introit 
 with full orchestra, on the 16th December. 'The 
 Inclina Domine,' says Girod, 'is a sort of little drama 
 of charming and varied workmanship. It com- 
 prises three parts ; the first is a, choral prayer of 
 a solemn and touching effect, followed by a tenor 
 solo of a graceful character ; the answer of the 
 chorus ends it. The second is a magnificent plain 
 chant executed in unison by the tenors and basses, 
 and accompanied with energy and spirit by the 
 strings. A fugal Amen forms the third part, and 
 closes the piece in a brilliant manner.' This hymn has 
 been given in London by. Mr. Henry LesUe's choir. 
 
 It was in 1823 that Beethoven finished his Mass 
 in D, a copy of which he offered to each of the Euro- 
 pean sovereigns for fifty ducats> The Emperor of 
 Russia, and the Kings of France, Prussia, and Saxony 
 accepted the offer. In offering a copy to the French 
 monarch, Beethoven wrote a letter to Cherubini from 
 his country seat, which was first sent on to Moscheles 
 
BeethoverHs Letter to Pheru^ini. 383 
 
 with instructions what to do with it. A French 
 translation of the letter was .sent to Cherubini, if 
 sent at all, which .seems doubtful; far the latter 
 never received the letter, nor did he ever hear of its 
 existence till after Beethoven's death, as he told 
 Schindler in 1841, The letter runs, as follows : 
 
 ' March Ig, 1823, Vienna. 
 
 'Highly-esteemed Sir,^--I joyfully take advantage 
 of this opportunity to address you. 
 
 ' I have done so often in . spirit, as I prize your 
 theatrical works beyond, others. The artistic world 
 has only to lament that in Germany, at least, no new 
 dramatic work of youi's has appeared. Highly as all 
 your works are valued.by true connoisseurs, still it is 
 a great loss to art not to possess any fresh produc- 
 tion of your great genius for the theatre. 
 
 ' True art is imperishable and the true artist feels 
 heartfelt pleasure in grand, works of genias, and that 
 is what enchants me when I hear a new composition 
 of yours; in fact,I take greater . interest in it than 
 in my own ; in shprt, I Igve and honour you. Were 
 it not that my continued bad health stops my 
 coming to see you in Paris, .with what exceeding 
 delight would I discuss questions of art with you ! 
 Do not think that this is merely meant to serve 
 as an introduction to the favour I am about to ask 
 of you. I hope and feel sure that you do not for 
 
284 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 a moment sUspeet me of such base sentiments. I 
 recently completed a grand solemn Mass, and have 
 resolved to offer it to the various European courts, 
 as it is not my intention to publish it at pre- 
 sent. I have therefore asked the King of France, 
 through the French embassy here, to subscribe to 
 this work, and I feel certain that his Majesty would 
 at your recommendation' agree to do so. 
 
 ' My critical situation demands that I should not 
 solely fix my eyes upon Heaven, as is my wont; on 
 the contrary it would- have m« fix them, also upon 
 earth, here below, for the necessities of life. 
 
 ' Whatever may be the fate of my request to 
 you, I shall for ever continue to love and esteem 
 you; and you for ever remain of all my contempo- 
 raries that one whom I esteem the most. 
 
 ' If you should wish to do me a very great fa- 
 vour, you would effect this by writing to me a few 
 lines, which would solace me much. Art unites all ; 
 how much more, then, true artistes! and perhaps you 
 may deem me worthy of being included in that 
 number. 
 
 'With the highest esteem, your friend and servant, 
 ' LuDwiG VAN Beethoven. 
 
 ' Ludwig Cherubini.' 
 
 The King of France not only accepted a copy of 
 the Mass, but sent Beethoven a heavy gold medal, 
 
Liszt, 285 
 
 with the inscription, ' Donn^ par le roi k M. Beet' 
 hoven,' who was highly gratified, and thought 
 himself indebted to Cherubini in the whole affair. 
 
 In the following year, 1824, Cherubini came across 
 the gifted Liszt, then a mere lad, whose father, writ- 
 ing to Carl Czerny, in a letter dated from Paris, Sep- 
 tember 3, 1824, says, speaking of his son: 'With his 
 opera, at which he works industriously, I am sure 
 you will be pleased ; and I hope that it will be the 
 greatest "success of our travels. I must tell you a 
 story -relating to it. When the programme came 
 before the censorship, it was asked who was going 
 to write the music; and the poet answered, laugh- 
 ing, " Young Liszt." " What !" exclaimed Cheru- 
 bini ; " do you think that to compose an opera is as 
 easy as performing a piece on the piano % That 
 cannot be passed." Some others held the same view; 
 Paer alone gave it as his opinion that a trial should 
 be made. This happened while we were in London, 
 and when we came back we knew nothing further 
 about the matter. We went to the director of the 
 opera to inform him that the opera was finished, 
 and that Liszt was now beginning to score it. Kow 
 picture to yourself the thunderbolt when we heard 
 what had occm-red. My boy, who in his imagi- 
 nation was already conducting his opera, lost all 
 hope ; but I was philosopher enough to remain un- 
 
286 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 concerned. Still, on the same day, I looked out for 
 an opportunity for my boy to play something before 
 the Minister of the Royal house. I gained my object, 
 and we are now content, having the assurance of his 
 high protection. There will doubtless still be some 
 difficulties, but they will only serve to increase the 
 glory. Cherubini and a few others do not care to 
 see a younger man in their circle, but that is of no 
 consequence.' 
 
 Young Liszt to be in Chembini's circle ! Could 
 it be expected that a boy should enter, as a matter 
 of course, at once on equal terms into the society 
 of some of the most distinguished musicians of 
 Europe % 
 
 From a letter of Liszt's father to Czerny, dated 
 from Paris, August 14, 1825, we learn that Cherubini, 
 Berton, Catel, Boieldieu, and Lesueur at length met 
 as a jury to decide upon Liszt's opera, which after 
 all was accepted.* 
 
 In 1825, Charles X. ascended the throne of 
 France, and Lesueur and Cherubini, as king's musi- 
 cians, had to write the music for the ceremony of 
 the coronation, but the latter agreed to compose 
 the Mass only, leaving the rest to Lesueur. The 
 cathedral choir consisted on the occasion of 20 first 
 and 20 second soprani, 28 tenors, 28 basses, making 
 < Monthly Musical Record, vol. i. 
 
Coronation Mass in A, 287 
 
 in all 96 singers. The instruments were 36 violins, 
 30 violas, violoncellos, and, contrabasses, 28 wind and 
 8 percussion instruments ; in all 102 instruments, and 
 a grand total of 198 artistes. The king-elect entered 
 the cathedral of Rheims at eight o'clock on the morn- 
 ing of the 29th of May to the strains of a march by 
 Lesueur.' Approaching the officiating archbishop in 
 the sanctuary, he kissed the prelate's ring, and then 
 the latter handed him the sword. Here Lesueur's 
 anthem, ' Confortare,' was sung, and, during the 
 preparation for the anointing, his anthem, ' Gentem 
 Francorum.' During the seven stages of the anoint- 
 ing, the choruses, ' Unxerunt .Salamonem' and ' Vivat 
 rex, vivat in seternum,' were heard. Then came the 
 Coronation March ; while, as soon as the crown was 
 placed on the head of the newly-made king, the 
 ' Vivat rex' was again sung, accompanied by the full 
 organ ; a number of doves and other birds were let 
 loose in the cathedral; three discharges of musketry 
 followed; the cathedral doors were opened; the 
 people poured in; the infantry and cavalry bands 
 struck up outside ; and then a short ' Te Deum' was 
 sung, written by Lesueur. Then followed Cheru- 
 bim's Mass. 
 
 ' This work,' says the writer in the Niederrheinische- 
 Musik-Zeitung, ' is endowed with such a character of 
 grandeur, that it will evermore remain a lasting 
 
288 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 monument of art, on account of the greatness and 
 loftiness of its ideas, the depth of its conception, the 
 nobleness of its expression, the richness and mag- 
 niiicence of its harmony and tone, and its brilliant 
 clearness in all that relates to polyphony and har- 
 monics.' 
 
 Girod in his treatise De la Musique Eeligieuse 
 describes it as follows : 
 
 ' The Mass written for the crowning of Charles X. 
 is the most known, and to my mind the most beau- 
 tiful, of Cherubini's Masses. Written for the large 
 area of Eheims cathedral, the acoustic power of 
 which was enfeebled by hangings and decorations, 
 as well as by the immense concourse of all classes of 
 people, it required a vast increase of executive power ; 
 and it was for this reason that Cherubini availed 
 himself of the modern full orchestra, with four horns, 
 three trombones, the ophicleide, &c., and wrote for 
 three voices, since he despaired of finding enough 
 contralti for the formidable choir which such an or- 
 chestra requhed, and, moreover, did not wish for any 
 vocal or instrumental solo.* Such are the elements 
 of this colossal Mass in the grandest style. What is so 
 
 ' The Mass in A had a fourth (alto) part added to it by one Haydn 
 Corri, I believe, in Iieland. In this state it was published by Messrs. 
 NoveUo of London, and is still sold as a Mass for four voices by that 
 firm. Cherubini, I am informed, was much annoyed at this tampering 
 with his masterpiece. The fourth part of course gives the Mass when 
 performed fuller effect. 
 
Coronation Mass in A- 289 
 
 extremely remarkable in this work is tliat all of it is 
 novel, inspired, created out of the ideas, the style, 
 the manner, down to the instrumental effects. -We 
 think that it will be useful to give an analysis of it. 
 In the Kyrie, the melody of which, at once simple 
 and touching, is well characterised, the strains are 
 at first calm and soothing ; then, in modulating from 
 A major into C major and E, the orchestra becomes 
 animated, the tone of supplication becomes more 
 pressing, more energetic ; after which the calm re- 
 turns with the resumption of the first theme, while 
 the predominating sentiment seems to become more 
 loving and confiding. The Kyrie is an admirable 
 model of prayer, quite different, however, from that 
 which closes the Mass in the Agnus Dei. The Gloria 
 is designed in large and salient forms ; you find in it 
 the triumphal hymn which is first heard at the com- 
 mencement of the piece, and then at the close; it 
 opens withr an andante in unison for the voices, and 
 is continued by the grand allegi-o of the Laudamus te, 
 in which a crescendo, admirably introduced, seems 
 to rouse the faithful to redouble their transports, of 
 praise and adoration. The andante on the words, 
 " Gratias agimus," admirably depicts the Christian 
 soul in ecstasy before the presence of divine great- 
 ness. In the slow movement which succeeds it, the 
 sense of the " qui tollis" is given in all its reality, and 
 
 U 
 
29° Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 in a way such as we have discovered ia no other 
 Mass. Most composers take here the tone of sorrow 
 and repentance, while in truth the subject is the 
 triumph of the Lamb over sin ; this glorious victory- 
 is celebrated in a chant both severe and forcible, 
 followed by the grave supplication, full of hope, " mi- 
 serere nobis." On hearing this music, you secretly 
 acknowledge that the author must be a Catholic by 
 conviction, to be able to compose in a style so truth- 
 ful and feeling. The Credo is a creation apart, so 
 original that you would search in vain elsewhere 
 for any traits of resemblance to it. It forms a com- 
 plete and varied whole ; more than once it has been 
 proposed to young composers as a model of truthful- 
 ness, of grandeur, and dramatic interest. In it every 
 mystery has, so to speak, its appropriate colouring. 
 Those which precede the centuries are expressed al- 
 ternately by the basses and tenors, in a solemn me- 
 lody that resembles plain-chant. Each mystery is 
 in a different tone, but diatonic to the one that has 
 preceded it ; as soon as a mystery is announced, 
 some wind instruments summon the whole choir to 
 the profession of faith, and the word " credo" is given 
 twice with new energy. The touching mystery of 
 the Incarnation is confided to the soprani. It is the 
 outburst of the purest faith and charity. The cruci- 
 fixion is, in truth, admirable ; the pathetic tone in it 
 
Coronation Mass in A. 291 
 
 is very expressive. A delicious harmony, T^hich gra- 
 dually dies away, conveys the idea of" sepultus est;" 
 and to show that death has but a transient empire 
 over the Body of its Conqueror, the phrase of " se- 
 pultus" does not, finish ; it is intercepted by the entry 
 of the horns and trumpets, which announce the sur- 
 prise of all nature, and proclaim the miracle of the 
 Resurrection. The style takes here a new character of 
 elevation and magnificence, which it sustains to the 
 end. Throughout the entire piece, the composer's 
 idea of making the chorus renew its profession of 
 faith is carried out at each mystery. Among the 
 most noticeable passages must be cited the decre- 
 scendo, so striking in its realism, on the words " cujus 
 regni non erit finis ;" the broad strain of the " et unam 
 sanctum," the crescendo at the "expecto," which brings 
 back the triumphal theme for the " et vitam." The 
 offertory, " Propter veritatem," is a perfect type of its 
 kind ; and soft melodies, relieved by imitation, are 
 found in it, as well as felicitous modulations. The 
 Sanctus is a short but magnificent hymn of praise, 
 both majestic and animated. The 0, Salutaris re- 
 quires more care and precision in execution than the 
 rest of the Mass. It is a fresh and delicate composition. 
 It would have been better to give it as a trio than in 
 chorus, although the author equally allows both me- 
 thods. The prayer in it assumes quite a celestial 
 
292 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 tone, well suitable to the awful mysteiy that at that 
 moment takes place ; you will remark in it the 
 moaning and touching plaint of the accompaniment 
 in the " bella premunt." The Agnus Dei, at first in 
 A minor, is the soothing expression of humble and 
 resigned supplication ; when it goes into the major 
 it indicates, by the sweetness of its music, peace and 
 repose — " dona pacem." ' " 
 
 Of the celebrated Communion March in this Mass 
 Berlioz says: 'It is mystical expression in all its 
 purity, contemplation, and Catholic ecstasy. . . Cheru- 
 bini, by his veiled imperceptible melody, has known 
 how to reach the most mysterious depths of Chris- 
 tian meditation. This piece breathes only of Divine 
 Love, of faith without doubt, of calm, of the serenity 
 of a soul in presence of its Creator; no earthly sound 
 comes to mar its heavenly quiet, and it brings tears 
 to the eyes of those who listen to it ; tears that flow 
 so gently, that the hearer of this seraphic song, carried 
 away beyond mere ideas of art and a remembrance 
 of the actual world, is unaware of his own emotion. 
 If ever the word " sublime" has had a true and just 
 application, it is apropos of Cherubiui's Communion 
 March.' 
 
 In another place, when complaining that the 
 orchestral works were played on a pianoforte be- 
 " De la Musique Religieusc, p. 245. 
 
Coronation Mass in A. 293 
 
 fore the Academy, previous to its being decided 
 which had gained the prize, he says : ' Play on the 
 piano the Communion March from the Coronation 
 Mass of Cherubini ; what becomes of those delicious 
 holding notes for the wind instruments, which plunge 
 you into a mystic ecstasy ; that ravishing interlacing 
 of flutes and clarinets, whence results nearly all the 
 effect f 
 
 ' The Confii-ma hoc Deus,' says M. Girod, ' for 
 three voices, is a dependent of the Coronation Mass : 
 it is written for the same orchestra ; it is rich and 
 grand, but in the fugal style, and consequently it is 
 less acceptable to the ordinary public, in spite of its 
 brilliancy and spirit.' 
 
 M. Adolphe G-ueroult, in an article in the Eevue 
 EncychpMique, wrote as follows : ' During Cherubini's 
 Mass you will listen as a connoisseur, and be alto- 
 gether in a dream. After hearing the Credo of 
 the Coronation Mass you will say : There is a power- 
 ful composer ! How he handles the vocal and in- 
 strumental forces! What felicity in the return of 
 the word " credo," which recurs incessantly after 
 each musical period ! how energetic and how solemn 
 an afBrmation ! what force, what meaning in effects ! 
 Meanwhile you have had time to remark that the 
 chorus has slackened, and a trombone sent forth a 
 blast of questionable appropriateness. . , -As to the 
 
294 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 symbol of Nicsea, the Sacrifice of the Mass, and the 
 great eTent it recalls, you hardly think of it more 
 than after a representation of William Tell. You go 
 out a dilettante, and not a Christian.' 
 
 M. Girod quotes this passage, and refutes M. 
 Gueroult in a long and able reply ; he ends by say- 
 ing that the Credo of Cherubini's Coronation Mass 
 'has called forth from more than one auditory tender 
 emotions that have almost brought tears. . . Let only 
 this music,' he adds, 'be executed under the condi- 
 tions which we have established in the body of this 
 work, and it will be impossible not to draw from it 
 effects that are profoundly religious.' As to M. 
 Gueroult himself, Girod does not hesitate to say 
 that ' of all the theorists who have striven to elevate 
 plain-chant at the expense of concerted music, he is the 
 most adroit, and the one whose arguing is the most 
 captious.' 
 
 At one of the performances of the Mass in a hall of 
 the Menu-Plaisirs, Paris, Hummel was present, who 
 at this period in the French capital had been wel- 
 comed with open arms by Cherubini. At the end 
 of the concert, that great master of church - music 
 turned to Cherubini in a transport of enthusiasm, 
 and said, ' C'est de Tor que votre messe.'' At another 
 time, when it was given in the same place, the entire 
 ' Ffitis,. Bioj. Univ. vol, i. art. ' Cherubini.' 
 
Coronation Mass in A. 295 
 
 hall resounded with universal acclamation. As a 
 mark of his appreciation of this, the eleventh and 
 (if the second Reljuiem be excluded) the last Mass 
 of Cherubini, Charles X. raised him to the grade of 
 Officer in the Legion of Honour. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 1825-1830. 
 
 Chembini and Mendelssohn — Berlioz enters the Conservatoire — An- 
 tagonism between him and Cherubini — Theii- first interview and 
 subsequent relations — Salutaris for Boieldieu's marriage — 
 Cberubini's quartets — Baillot and the one in E flat — Abolition of 
 the King's chapel. 
 
 In the autumn of 1825 — not, as has been sometimes 
 stated, in 1824 — Mendelssohn, at this time a boy of 
 fifteen, came with his father to Paris, with the view 
 of seeing Cherubini. The father particularly wished 
 to ask advice as to his son taking up music as a pro- 
 fession. Cherubini read over some of Mendelssohn's 
 works, and, with many other Parisian artistes, heard 
 him play the pianoforte part in one of his quartets. 
 Then the stern oracle spoke : ' Ce garfon est riche, 
 il fera bien, il fait meme dejk bien ; mais il d^pense 
 trop k son argent, il met trop d'^toffe dans son habit.' 
 He added, by way of advice against the over- tailor- 
 ing, and as further encouragement in a musical 
 career : ' Je lui parlerai, alors il fera bien.' Cheru- 
 bim's criticism was not generally favourable to rising 
 talent, so that his praise for Mendelssohn was espe- 
 
Mendelssohn. 297 
 
 cially gratifying. Auber and Halevy were less for- 
 tunate than the young German in getting their 
 master's approval. Mendelssohn, however, very 
 rudely compared Cherubini to a ' burnt-out volcano, 
 which flashes forth flame occasionally, but is com- 
 pletely covered with ashes and stones.'^ The only 
 other record of further intercourse between the two 
 is contained in a letter of Mendelssohn from Paris, 
 dated Dec. 20, 1831. ' The day before yesterday I 
 paid two musical visits to the grumbling Cherubini 
 and the kind Herz.' 
 
 In September 1825, the King of Prussia, says the 
 BiograpMe Universelle des Contemporains, sent Cheru- 
 bini a diamond ring, accompanied by an autograph 
 letter, in token of satisfaction at a Mass composed 
 for him by the latter. I do not know what Mass this 
 could be, unless the Petite Messe de la Ste. Trinite, of 
 which there is no mention in Cherubini's catalogue. 
 
 In 1826, Cherubini was further gratified by the 
 Grand Diike of, Hesse Darmstadt sending him his 
 Order of Merit. 
 
 It was in 1826 that Berlioz entered the Conserva- 
 toire and found a friend in Lesueur, but far from one 
 in Cherubini, who seems to have had a special dis- 
 like to him. Berlioz has told us a good deal about 
 
 ' Devrient's Beeollections of Mendelssohn, and Gothe and Mendels- 
 sohn. 
 
298 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 his relations -with Cherubim ; but if he throws alight 
 on the weak side of the latter's character, he himself 
 does not shine as a pattern of discretion and good 
 sense. ' Another feather in the cap of this turbulent 
 youngster,' says the Edinburgh Review, speaking of 
 Berlioz and his memoirs, ' here set forth with great 
 complacency^ by himself, was his quarrel with Cheru- 
 bini, who had just entered on his duties as Director of' 
 the Conservatoire, and had there established a system 
 of order eminently necessary to the well-being of that 
 school, which conduced in great measure to its value 
 and excellence as a great European establishment. 
 The Italian was not the most amiable of men ; but 
 an enthusiastic neophyte might have endured the 
 strictness in authority of a musician who could write 
 Les Deux Journees, and that grandest of modern clas- 
 sical operas, Medie. The anecdote here told only 
 makes the scholar's insolence, not the master's punc- 
 tiliousness, ridiculous. Berlioz rejoices in detailing 
 the revenges with which, in after-life, he was able to 
 commemorate this petty quarrel. But, from first to 
 last, he was more willing to provoke than disarm 
 opposition. His father, who bore his absurdities and 
 violences with wonderful patience, was in the end 
 disappointed, and wearied into leaving him to his 
 own resources.'^ 
 
 ^ January No., 1870, p. 47. 
 
First Interview with the Director. 299 
 
 Cherubini was aware that Berlioz had not fol- 
 lowed the usual routine at the Conservatoire before 
 entering Lesueur's class for composition, and so 
 made him first of all enter that of Countei-point and 
 Fugue under Reicha, which in the Conservatoire 
 studies preceded the class of composition.* Berlioz 
 did not wait long before he had his first interview 
 with Cherubini. ' Scarcely come to the direction of 
 the Conservatoire,' says Berlioz, ' Cherubini, in taking 
 Perne's place, who had just died, wished to mark his 
 accession by an unknown rigour in the interior or- 
 ganisation of the school, where puritanical strictness 
 was not exactly the order of the day. In order to 
 make the intercourse between the pupils of both 
 sexes impossible outside the surveillance of the pro- 
 fessors, he gave orders that the men should enter by 
 the door in the Faubourg Poissonni^re, and the women 
 by that in the Eue Berg^re, these different entrances 
 being placed at the two opposite extremities of the 
 building. In betaking myself one morning to the 
 library, ignorant of the moral decree, that had just 
 been promulgated, I entered, according to my custom, 
 by the door in the Rue Bergfere, the feminine door, 
 and was about arriving at the library, when a ser- 
 vant, stopping me in the middle of the court, wished 
 to make me go out, to return to the same point 
 
 » Berlioz's Memoires, p. 38. 
 
300 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 where I now was, by entering at the masculine gate. 
 I considered this so ridiculous that I sent the livery 
 Argus about his business, and pursued my way. The 
 rogue wished to pay his court to his new master by 
 showing himself as strict as the latter was. He did 
 not, therefore, consider himself beaten, but ran to 
 tell the circumstance to the director. For a quarter 
 of an hour I was absorbed in reading Alceste, not 
 thinking any more about this incident, when Cheru- 
 bini, followed by my denouncer, entered the reading- 
 room, his countenance more cadaverous, his hair 
 more erect, his eyes more malicious^ his step more 
 abrupt than usual. > He made the tour of the table 
 on which several readers were leaning their elbows ; 
 after successively scrutinising them all, the servant, 
 stopping before me, cried out, " Le voil4 !" Cherubini 
 Was in such a rage that he remained for a moment 
 without articulating a word : " Ah, ah, ah, ah ! c'est 
 vous," he said at length with his Italian accent, which 
 made his fury the more comical ; " c'est vous qui 
 entrez par la porte, qu4-qu6-qu6 ze ne veux pas 
 qu'on passe !" " Sir, I did not know of yom- prohibi- 
 tion ; another time I will conform myself to it." " Une 
 autre fois ! une autre fois ! Que-que-que v^nez-vous 
 faire ici f " You see, sir, for what ; I come here to 
 study Gluck's scores." " Et qu'est-ce qu6, qu'est ce 
 que-qu6-qu6 vous regardent les partitions de Gluck % 
 
A Scene. 301 
 
 et qui vous a permis d^ v&ir a-^a la biblioth^quef 
 " Sir" (I began to lose my sang-froid), " Gliick's scores 
 are the most beautiful I know of in dramatic music, 
 and I have no need of anybody's leave to come and 
 study here. The library of the Conservatoire is open 
 to the public from ten o'clock till three. I have the 
 right to make use of it." " Le-M-l^-le droit V " Yes, 
 sir." " Ze vous defends d'y revenir, moi !" " I shall 
 return to it nevertheless." " Co-comme — comment— r- 
 comment vous appelez-vous f cried he, trembling 
 with rage ; and I, in my turn, turning pale : " Sir ! 
 perhaps my name will be known to you some of these 
 days, but as for to-day. . . you sha'n't know it!" 
 " Arrete, a-a-arr^te-le, Hottin" (the servant was so 
 called), '• qu6-qu6-qu^ ze M fasse zeter en prison !" The 
 two of them thereupon proceeded, to the great con- 
 sternation of the assistants, to pursue me round the 
 table, upsetting stools and desks, without, however, 
 being able to reach me, and I finished by taking to 
 flight in my race, while shouting out these words, 
 with a burst of laughter, to my persecutor : " You 
 shall neither have me nor my name, and I will soon 
 return here to study again Gliick's scores." There,' 
 continues Berlioz, 'that is how my, first interview 
 passed with Cherubiui. I do not know whether he 
 remembered it when I was afterwards presented to 
 him in, a more official manner. In any case he was 
 
302 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 pleasant enough twelve years afterwards, and in 
 spite of him I became custodian, and at last librarian, 
 of that, very library from which he had wished to 
 chase me. . . As to Hottin, he is now my garden 
 d'orchestre, and most devoted, and the most furious 
 partisan for my music; he even pretended, during 
 the last few years of Cherubini's life, that there was 
 only myself fit to take the place of the illustrious 
 master in the direction of the Conservatoire. On 
 this point, however, M. Auber was not of his way 
 of thinking. I shall have other similar anecdotes to 
 tell of Cherubini, in which it will be seen that if he 
 made me swallow small snakes,* I have thrown at 
 him some rattle-snakes in return, whose sting has 
 made him smart.'® A year after this, Berlioz tells us, 
 he entered Lesueur's class. ' Lesueur,' says Berlioz, 
 ' seeing that my studies in harmony were enough 
 advanced, wished to set my position right in the 
 Conservatoire. He spoke about it to Cherubini, 
 then director of that establishment, and I was 
 admitted. Very fortunately he did not propose on 
 this occasion to present me to the terrible author of 
 Medee: 
 
 Many times, says Fetis, Berlioz went through the 
 preparatory examination for the ' concours' or com- 
 
 * ' Avaler des oouleuvres,' i.e. to have vexations thrust upon you 
 without your dai-ing to complain, to be forced to pocket affronts. 
 
 ' Memoires, p. 82. 
 
Competitions at the Instittite. 303 
 
 petitions among the pupils, whicli were under the 
 
 direction of the Institute, without being admitted to 
 
 them. On one occasion the following subject for 
 
 illustration was given fromTasso : Hermione, leaving 
 
 Clorinda, but disguised in the latter's dress, goes out 
 
 from Jerusalem, to carry to the wounded Tancred 
 
 the care and attention of her faithful but unfortunate 
 
 love. Berlioz essayed this subject, and at the 
 
 words, 
 
 ' Dieu des Chr6tiens, toi j'ignore, 
 
 Toi que j'outrageais autrefois, 
 Aujourd'hui mon respect t'implore ; 
 Daigne gcouter ma faible Toix,' 
 
 which were marked, to be set to music as an 'air agite,' 
 he thought that the music should be like a solemn 
 prayer, and composed it accordingly. On the day 
 of the decision as to the successful candidates, Ber- 
 lioz went down to the Institute, anxious to know 
 what had been the fate of his composition, or, as he 
 expresses it, 'to know whether the painters, sculp- 
 tors, engravers of medals, and engravers on copper- 
 plate had declared me a good or a bad musician. 
 Berlioz happened to come upon Pingard, the porter, 
 who informed him that he (Berlioz) had got the 
 second prize. They conversed further. Berlioz 
 asked him how the stance passed off, to which Pin- 
 gard replied, ' 0, stop, don't speak of it ; it's always 
 the same thing. If I had thirty children, may the 
 
304 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 devil take me if I would put one into the arts ! For 
 I see through it all myself. You don't know what a 
 cursed shop it is. For instance, they give, they 
 even sell their votes among themselves.' Pingard 
 then proceeded to say how once, at the compe- 
 tition of the painters at the Institute, he heard 
 M. Lethiere beg Cherubini's vote for one of his 
 friends. ' We are old friends,' said M. Lethike; 'you 
 won't refuse me this. Besides, my friend has talent ; 
 his painting is very good.' ' Non, non, non, je ne veux 
 pas, je ne veux pas,' replied Cherubini ; ' ton 61eve 
 m'avait promis un album que d^sirait ma femme, et 
 il n'a pas seulement dessine un arbre pour elle. Je ' 
 ne lui donne pas ma voix.' ' Ah, it's very wrong of 
 you,' rejoined M. Lethiere. ' I vote for yours, you 
 know, and you don't wish to vote for mine.' 'Non, 
 je ne veux pas.' ' Then I will do your album my- 
 self, there ; I can say nothing better than that.' 
 ' Ah, c'est different. Comment I'appelles-tu ton ^leve % 
 J'oublie toujours son nom ; donne-moi aussi son 
 prenom, et le num&o du tableau, pour que je ne con- 
 fondepas. Je vais dcrire tout cela.' 'Pingard.' 'Mon- 
 sieur.' ' Un papier et un crayon.' ' Voilk, monsieur.' 
 Pingard went on to tell Berlioz that Cherubini and 
 Lethiere then went to the window, wrote down three 
 words, and that he heard Cherubini say : ' C'est bon ! 
 il a ma voix.' Betlioz remarked on what Pingard had 
 
Competitions at the Institute. 305 
 
 told him, that it was abominable ; but proceeded to 
 question Pingard more closely as to the fate of his 
 own work and what passed. Pingard repeated that 
 he (Berlioz) had taken the second prize, and continues 
 as follows : ' When M. Dupont had sung your can- 
 tata, they began to write down their bulletins for 
 voting, and I carried the voting humd (Pingard will 
 put an ' h' to ' urn'). ' There was a musician at my 
 side, who spoke in a low tone to an architect, and 
 said to him, " Look here ; that fellow there will never 
 do anything; don't give him your vote, c'est un 
 jeune homme perdu. He only admires the dever- 
 gondage of Beethoven. They'll never make him re- 
 enter the right path." " But do you think so f said 
 the architect. " 0, it's very certain ; besides, ask 
 our illustrious Cherubini. You do not doubt his ex- 
 perience, I hope ; he will tell you just what I have 
 said, that this young man is mad, that Beethoven 
 has troubled his brains." When I presented the 
 liurne to the architect, I saw that he gave his vote 
 to No. 4 instead of giving it you, et voilk — all of 
 a sudden one of the musicians got up and said, 
 " Gentlemen, before going on further, I ought to 
 remind you that, in the second piece of the score we 
 have just heard" sung, there is a very ingenious piece 
 of workmanship in the instrumentation, which the 
 piano cannot render, and which would produce a 
 
 X 
 
3o6 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 gi-eat effect." It is well to be told of this." " What 
 the devil do you come bawling out to us for !" replied 
 another musician. " Your pupil has not conformed 
 himself to the programme; instead of an air agite, 
 he has written two, and in the middle he has added 
 a prayer which he ought not to have done. The 
 instructions cannot be thus despised ; an example 
 must be made of him." " 0, that's too strong— 
 what does M. le Secretaire perp^tuel sayf "I 
 think it's a little severe, and that your pupil should 
 be forgiven the license he has allowed himself. But 
 it is important that the jury be enlightened on this 
 species of merit you have signalised, and which the 
 execution on the piano prevents us from perceiving." 
 " Non, non, ce n'est pas vrai," said Chenibini ; " ce 
 pr^tendu effet d'instrumentation n'existe pas; ce n'est 
 qu'un fouillis auquel on ne comprend rien, et qui 
 serait detestable a I'orchestre." " Ma foi ! do you hear 
 that?" cried the painters, sculptors, architects, and 
 engravers. " We cannot appreciate what we hear, and 
 as for the rest, if you are not agreed — " "Ah, oui!" 
 "Ah, non!" " Mais, mon Dieu !" " Eh, que diable !" 
 "Jevous dis que!" "AUons done!" At last they 
 
 " It is Berlioz's complaint, that for giving the orchestral accom- 
 paniments a piano only was used by the academicians. All this story 
 seems to me incredible on the face of it. I cannot believe that Pin- 
 gard could remember accurately the talk of scientific musicians, or 
 understand the point of their praise or blame. 
 
Competitions at the Institute. 307 
 
 all called out at once, and thus tired themselves out. 
 M. Regnault and two other painters hurried oiF, say- 
 ing they declined to give an opinion, and would 
 not vote. Then the bulletins in the hurne were 
 counted, and you were short of two votes. Voilk, 
 pourquoi vous n'avez que le second prix." 
 
 As regards this account of the Academy's pro- 
 ceedings, of course it depends on how much credence 
 should be given to the porter Pingard; and that, 
 probably, ought to be very little. In any case it is 
 ridifculous that any others than the musical members 
 should give their votes on the merits of musical com- 
 positions. Castil-Blaze comments severely on the 
 ignorance even of a director of the Beaux-Arts, who, 
 addressing the author of Demophon, Lodoiska, Elisa, 
 MedSe, Les Deux Journee's, Anacreon, Faniska, and 
 Les Abencerages, said : ' Monsieur Cherubini, vous qui 
 faites si bien les messes, les vepres, ne devriez-vous 
 pas essayer enfin de composer un opera?' 
 
 Berlioz says of his own attacks on the Academy : 
 ' The liberty I have used on this subject has led 
 Cherubini — the most academic of academicians, past, 
 present, and future, and the one who was most vio- 
 lently hurt at my remarks— to say that, in attacking 
 the Academy, / was^ beating my nurse. Had I not 
 
 ' MSmoires, p. 86. Two or three years after this Berlioz got the 
 first prize. 
 
3o8 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 obtained the prize, he could not have taxed me with 
 this ingratitude, but I should have passed with him 
 and many others for an unsuccessful candidate tak- 
 ing vengeance for his defeat.'* 
 
 As for the above instrumental effect, perhaps it 
 was a pretended one. Cherubini knew best about 
 that. Berlioz at another time tells us that he deter- 
 mined to give a concert entirely of his own compo- 
 sitions. There was no diiSculty in procuring instru- 
 mentalists, since so many of them were his personal 
 friends, and it was agreed on all hands that the best 
 place for holding the concert was the chief concert- 
 hall of the Conservatoire. The authorisation of the 
 superintendent of the Fine Arts, M. Sosthene de 
 Larochefoucault, minister of the king's household, 
 had to be obtained, and also, as a matter of cour- 
 tesy, the concurrence of Cherubini. The one was 
 obtained without difficulty, not so the other. ' Vous 
 voulez donner un concert "^ Cherubini said softly to 
 Berlioz. ' Oui, monsieur.' ' H faut la permission 
 du surintendant des Beaux-Arts pour cela.' ' I have 
 it.' 'M. de Larossefoucault y consent?' 'Oui, 
 monsieur.' ' Mais - mais - mais z6 n'y consens ^as 
 moi; k-k-k ze m'oppose k ce qu'on vous pr^te la 
 salle.' 'Yet you have not any reason, sir, for re- 
 fusing it me, as the Conservatoire is not using it 
 • M^oires, p. 80. 
 
opposition to Berlioz's Concert. 309 
 
 ( 
 
 now, and for fifteen days it will be quite free.' 
 ' Mais qu6 ze vous dis qu^ ze ne veux pas que vous 
 donniez ce concert. Tout le monde est k la cam- 
 pagne, et vous ne ferez pas de recette.' ' I do not 
 count upon gaining by it. The only object of this 
 concert is to make me known.' ' II n'y a pas de 
 necessite qu'on vous connaisse ! D'ailleurs pour les 
 frais il faut de I'arzent ! Vous en avez done %' . . . 
 ' Oui, monsieur.' ' A-a-ah ! Et que-que-que vou- 
 lez-vous faire entendre dans ce concert V ' Two 
 overtures, fragments of an opera, my cantata, the 
 Death of OrplieusJ 'Cette cantate du concours que 
 ze ne veux pas ! elle est mauvaise, elle-elle-elle ne 
 pent pas s'executer.' ' You have so judged it, sir, 
 but I am very glad to judge of it in my turn. 
 If a bad pianist cannot accompany it, that does not 
 prove that it would be unplayable for a good or- 
 chestra.' ' C'est une insulte alors, que-que-que vous 
 voulez faire a I'Academief 'It is simply an ex- 
 perience, sir. If, as is probable, the Academy had 
 reason for declaring my score unplayable, it is clear 
 they will not play it. If, on the contrary, it should 
 be deceived in this respect, it will be said that I 
 profited by its airs, and that, after the competition, 
 I corrected the work.' 'Vous ne pouvez donner 
 votre concert qu'un Dima^sse.' ' I will give it on a 
 Sunday.' 'Mais les employes de la salle, les con- 
 
3 1 o Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 tr61eurs, les ouvreuses qui sont tous attasses au Con- 
 servatoire, n'ont que ce zour-la pour se reposer, vous 
 voulez done, les faire mourir de fatigue, ces pauvres 
 zens, les-les-les faire mourir?' 'Doubtless you are 
 joking, sir; these poor people, who inspire you with 
 such pity, are enchanted, on the contrary, to find an 
 occasion to gain some money, and you would do 
 wrong in taking it away from them,' ' Ze ne veux 
 pas ! ze ne veux pas ! et ze vais ecrire au surintendant 
 pour qu'il vous retire son autorisation.' ' You are 
 very kind, sir ; but M. de Larochefoucault will not fail 
 to keep his word. Besides, I mean to write to him, 
 too, for my own part, in order to send him an exact 
 reproduction of the conversation I have just had the 
 honour to hold with you. He will thus be able to 
 appreciate your reasons and mine.' 
 
 Berlioz then says in his Memoirs : ' I sent in fact 
 what has just been read here. I knew several years 
 afterwards, through one of the secretaries of the 
 office of the Beaux-Arts, that my dialogue-letter had 
 made the superintendent laugh even to tears. The 
 tenderness of Cherubini for the poor employes of the 
 Conservatoire, whom "je voulais faire mourir de 
 fatigue," by my concert, appeared to him altogether 
 as touching as could be. He also answered me at 
 once, as every man of good sense would do, and in 
 giving me a renewal of his authorisation, added 
 
Berlioz's Discourtesy. 3 1 r 
 
 these words, " I commission you to show this letter 
 to M. Cherubini, who has received, as regards you, 
 the necessary orders." Without losing a minute, 
 after receiving the official mandate, I ran to the Con- 
 servatoire, and in presenting it to the director said : 
 " Sir, do you wish to read this %" Cherubini takes 
 the paper, reads it attentively, reads it over again, 
 and pale as he was, becomes even sallower, and re- 
 turns it to me without saying a single word. This 
 was the first rattlesnake that reached him from my 
 hand, as an answer to the serpent he had made me 
 swallow in hunting me out of the library at the time 
 of our first interview. I left him with a certain 
 amount of satisfaction, on my part, murmuring, and, 
 irreverently enough, mimicking, his soft language: 
 "AUons, monsieur le directeur, ce n'est qu'un petit 
 serpent bien zentil, avalez-le agreablement ; e de la 
 douceur, de la douceur! Nous en verrons bien 
 d'autres, peut-^tre si vous ne me laissez pas tran- 
 quille,"* The poor pianist alluded to had to play the 
 accompaniment to Orpliee dechire par les Bacchantes 
 at the rehearsal when there was of coiu-se no band, 
 and as he could not struggle through the music, Che- 
 rubini, Paer, Lesueur, Berton, Boieldieu, and Catel 
 put Berlioz out of the competition by declaring his 
 work unplayable.'^" Cherubini was much annoyed at 
 » Mimoires, p. 68. '• lb. p. 47. 
 
3 1 2 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 this time, 1830, with the talk and controversy excited 
 by Berlioz in Paris, his startling theories, extrava- 
 gant adulation of Beethoven, and bold independent 
 virritings. His works were often unintelligible both 
 to those who played them and those who heard 
 them. As autocrat at the French capital in musical 
 matters, Cherubini looked upon the heretic as an in- 
 truder upon his kingdom, and -it perhaps aroused 
 his envy to see so much made of a youth who only 
 dated his existence from 1803. ' It is obvious,' says 
 Berlioz, 'how these heterodox questions, raised 
 apropos of myself, and all the noise > of which I was 
 the cause, must have vexed Cherubini. His allies 
 had conveyed him an account of the last repetition 
 of the abominable symphony ; the next day he passed 
 before the door of the concert-hall at the moment 
 when the public were entering it, when some one 
 stopped him and said, " Eh bien. Monsieur Cheru- 
 bini, are you not coming to hear Berlioz's new 
 composition 1" " Je n'ai pas besoin d'aller savoir 
 comment il ne faut pas faire," he replied, avec I'air 
 d'un chat auquel on veut faire avaler la moutarde. 
 Ce fut bien pis, aprfes le succes du concert ; il sem- 
 blait qu'il eut aval6 la moutarde. He spoke no more, 
 he yawned. At the end of a few days he sent for 
 me: "Vous allez partir pour I'ltalie'?" he said. 
 " Yes, sir." — " On va vous effacer des rezistres du Con- 
 
Berlioz's Return from Italy. 313 
 
 servatoire, vos etudes sont finis. Mais il me semble 
 -que-que-que vous deviez venir me faire une visite. 
 On-on-on-on-ne sort pas d'ici comme d'une ecurie!" 
 ... I was on the point of replying, " Why not, since 
 we are treated here like horses;" but I had the good 
 sense to contain myself, and even to assure our 
 amiable director that I had never dreamt- of leav- 
 ing Paris without coming to say good-bye, and to 
 thank him for all his kindness.'^^ Berlioz proceeded , 
 to Kome (1830), where, he says, he had leisure to 
 forget the graciousness of the good Chertibini, as 
 well as ' the sharp iron lance-thrusts' of the Chevalier 
 Franfois Boieldieu. 
 
 In 1832, Berlioz returned from Italy, having 
 been away but eighteen months. 'On arriving 
 in Paris,' he says, ' one of my first visits was to 
 Cherubini. I found him excessively aged and en- 
 feebled. He received me with an affection which I 
 had never remarked in his character. This contrast 
 to his former sentiments towards myself sadly moved 
 me ; I felt disarmed. " Ah, mon Dieu," I said to my- 
 self, on finding a Cherubini so different fi-om the 
 one I had known, " the poor man is going to die." 
 As will soon be seen, I did not wait long before I re- 
 ceived from him signs of life which completely reas- 
 sured me on this point.'^' Berlioz speaks farther on 
 " Mgmoires, p. 111. « lb. p. 183. 
 
314 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 of his Eequiem being a little innocent shake for Che- 
 rubini, the latter making him swallow 'its twin 
 sister' in the following circumstance. A place as 
 professor of harmony at the Conservatoire was 
 vacant; and one of Berlioz's friends, without deluding 
 himself with the notion that he would be sure to suc- 
 ceed, managed to get Berlioz on the list of candidates 
 for the appointment. 'Berlioz also wrote himself to 
 Cherubini, who, on receiving his letter, sent for him : 
 'Vous vous presentez pour la classe d'harmonief 
 said Cherubini, as amicably and gently as he could. 
 ' Yes, sir,' said Berlioz. ' Ah,' said Cherubini, ' c-c'est 
 qu6 . . . vous I'aurez cette classe . . . votre reputa- 
 tion maintenant . . . vos relations . . .' 'All the 
 better,' replied Berlioz; ' I have asked for it in order 
 to get it.' 'Qui, mais . . . mais c'est que 9a me 
 tracasse. . . . C'est que ze voudrais la donner a 
 un autre.' ' In that case, sir, I proceed to withdraw 
 my demand.' ' Non, non ze ne veux pas, parce qu6, 
 voyez-vous Ton dirait, que c'est moi qu6 ze souis 
 la cause que vous etes retire.' ' Then I remain in 
 the ranks,' ' Mais qu^ ze vous dis que vous I'aurez 
 la place, si vous persistez et . . . ze ne vous la des- 
 tinais pas.' ' What, however, am I to do f 'Vous 
 savez qu'il faut . . . il faut . . . il faut etre pianiste 
 pour enseigner I'harmonie au Conservatoire; vous 
 le savez, mon ser.' ' You must be a pianist '?' said 
 
Bienaime. 315 
 
 Berlioz. ' Ah, I was far from doubting it. Very- 
 well, there's an excellent reason. I will write to 
 yon that, not being a pianist, I. cannot aspire to 
 be professor of harmony at the Conservatoire, and 
 that I withdraw my demand.' — ' Oui, mon ser. 
 Mais-mais-mais ze ne souis par la cause de votre. . .' 
 ' No, sir, far from it ; I must retire altogether, 
 naturally, having had the stupidity to forget that 
 to teach harmony you must be a pianist.' 'Oui, 
 mon ser. Venez m'embrassez ; vous savez comme ze 
 vous aime.' *Ah, yes, sir, I know it.' 'And,' says 
 Berlioz, ' he embraced me, in fact, with a tenderness 
 truly paternal. I went away ; I addressed to him my 
 notice of withdrawal, and, eight days afterwards, he 
 gave the place to one called Bienaim^ who does not 
 play the piano a bit more than I do. There, that is 
 what is called a trick well executed, and I was the 
 first to laugh at it heartily. The reader must admire 
 my reticence for not having replied to Cherubini, 
 " You ought not then to be able to teach harmony 
 yourself, sir;" for neither was the great master 
 himself a pianist at all.'" ' I regret,' adds Berlioz, 
 'to have soon afterwards, and quite involuntarily, 
 wounded my illustrious friend in the most cruel 
 manner.' But more of this later. 
 
 Such is the record afforded us by Berlioz of his 
 immediate relations with Cherubini, which is to be 
 " Mimoires, p. 204. 
 
3 1 6 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 taken cum grano salis. I confess to a great distrust 
 of his statements, for he almost confesses his passion 
 for revenge on Cherubini. Being a truly great 
 man, Cherubini could certainly have afforded to be 
 above any jealousy ; if, indeed, the author of Les 
 Deux Journies and the Mass in D minor really was 
 jealous of Berlioz, which the latter delights in sup- 
 posing, although it seems highly improbable. 
 
 It was in 1827 that Halevy's Pygmalion received 
 Cherubini's commendation, though the work was 
 never finished, the composer losing heart at the idea 
 of bringing it before the public. In the same year 
 an salutaris, without accompaniment, composed by 
 Cherubini on the 9th of January, as he tells us, ' ex- 
 pressly for the marriage of Boieldieti at the church, 
 celebrated on the 23d of the same month, was after- 
 wards executed at the chapel with accompaniments.' 
 Cherubini was on very familiar terms with Boieldieu, 
 as the following letter shows, referring to the libretto 
 of some intended opera to be composed by Boieldieu: 
 
 ' Le Vendredi (no date). 
 
 'Monsieur Boieldieu, — ' J'avais forme le projet 
 ce matin vous voir en sortant du Conservatoire, mon 
 bon ami, mais la pluie, k mon regret, m'en a empSch^. 
 Je voulais d'abord savoir pour moi-mSme comment 
 vous vous portez, et vous parler ensuite du poems 
 qu'on a lu hier au jury. Je profits de mon fils, qui va ce 
 
Letter of Cherubini to Boieldieu. 317 
 
 soir vous voir, pour vous ecrire, et vous faire remettre 
 ma lettre par lui, Je I'ai charge de me donner de vos 
 nouvelles que j'espere ^tre encore meilleures que 
 celles que vous m'avez donnees vous-meme hier. Je 
 vais a present vous entretenir de La Cour d^ amour du 
 Hoi Rene. C'est une tr^s jolie pifece, que nous avons 
 ecoute avec beaucoup de plaisir, par lui; elle gagnera 
 beaucoup avec quelques legeres corrections que Lub- 
 bard se chargera de faire connaitre k I'auteur. Le 
 sujet est musical, et procurera a faire briller votre 
 charmant et beau talent. Tout ce que je crains, et 
 ce doute est le seul que j'ai, c'est que le genre ne 
 soit pas dans le gout actuel qui n'est plus accou- 
 tume aux Troubadours, et a leurs amours, au surplus 
 ma crainte n'est peut-etre assez fondee. Car votre 
 aimable musique pent re chauffer et vivifier ce qu'il y 
 aurait de trop mielleux dans le caractere de la piece. 
 C'est a vous, cher ami, a faire vos reflexions ; je vous 
 repute encore que le poeme est joli, et le denoue- 
 ment est heureux. Bon jour; ma femme vous dit 
 bien des choses, ainsi qu'a la votre. J' en fait au- 
 tant, et en vous embrassant je suis tout a vous, L. 
 Chekubini. , 
 
 'Attendu que pour la seance de la section qui 
 devait avoir lieu hier il n'y avait de presents que 
 Lesueur, Berton, M. Pastorel et moi, nous avons cru 
 devoir la remettre, et nous n'avons rien fait. J'es- 
 pere vous voir demain k I'lnstitut.' 
 
3 1 8 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 Baillot about this time was famous for his quartet 
 parties; amongst those who assisted at them we 
 find Guynemer (second violin), Tariot, St. Laurent 
 (tenors), Lamare, Norblin (violoncelli), as well as 
 Vidal, Mendelssohn, Lipinski, Kummer, Bohrei*, Schu- 
 mann, Sauzay, Urban, Mialle, and Vaslin. He now 
 drew out from the shelf Cherubini's wonderful quar- 
 tet in E flat, composed some years before, but never 
 performed. It was universally admired. In Ger- 
 many quartet parties were formed, and Cherubini's 
 work was performed with applause before a dis- 
 tinguished audience of connoisseurs. Mendelssohn 
 took to it immensely, playing the tenor part in it. 
 The quartet in E flat was the signal of Cheru- 
 bini's entrance upon a new ■ field of composition. 
 Speaking of Cherubini's six quartets, F^tis observes : 
 ' These compositions are of a very high order ; Che- 
 rubini has here a style of his own, as in all his 
 works ; he imitates neither the manner of Haydn 
 nor that of Mozart, nor that of Beethoven.' We 
 learn from Spohr that Cherubini knew nothing of 
 those masters' quartets when writing the quartet in 
 E flat. Schumann remarks : ' Now comes Cherubini, 
 an artiste who has grown gray in the highest aristo- 
 cracy of art ; and even now, at his advanced age, 
 the greatest contrapuntist of the day — the refined, 
 learned, and interesting Italian, whom I often feel 
 tempted to compare with Dante for his stern reserve 
 
Quartet in E flat. 
 
 319 
 
 and force of character.' The quartet in E flat is 
 long, but every movement is full of life. Schumann 
 goes on to speak of the ' scherzo with its fanciful 
 Spanish subject, , 
 
 .#^,^jf3-. 
 
 the extraordinary trio, 
 
 '-^-^^ 
 
 v^^^ 
 
 I n ! ^*S^ :^ fH -JJJ^ i j . 
 
 :<%W-*^ 
 
 
 .III PPR ^^--^ -^^-ie^jg-|g^i» ' l *' g ' P' 
 
320 
 
 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 and lastly the finale, sparkling like a diamond when 
 you shake it.'^^ 
 
 Allegro assai. 
 
 Ul J J 
 
 3tSi 
 
 g^^ 
 
 rz^i; 
 
 ww ^ 
 
 si 
 
 The reception of the quartet in E flat induced 
 Cherubini to turn to his symphony in D, written in 
 London, which was altered in this year into a 
 quartet, with a new adagio, written in the March of 
 1829. Of this work the well-known quartet in C, 
 the second of its author's works of that class, Schu- 
 mann says : ' A few dry bars, the work of the intel- 
 lect alone, there are, as in most of Cherubini's works ; 
 but even in these there is always something interest- 
 ing in the passage, some ingenious contrivance or 
 
 1' Mr. G. A. Macfarren has an unfavouratle opinion of the quartets. 
 He says : ' These quartets (in E flat and C) were published with a 
 third, and dedicated to the eminent violinist to whose playing is due 
 the good eifect they made. Their merit entitles them to no dis- 
 tinction, and it is scarcely to he supposed that his several subsequent 
 works of the same class which have not been printed can possess any 
 greater interest, since these prove the author's entire want of feeling 
 for the style, and aptitude for the form of instrumental chamber 
 music' Imperial Dictionary, p. 1013. 
 
 The quartet in E flat was last publicly performed in London on 
 the 11th of January 1869, at a Monday Popular Concert, with Herr 
 Jo&chim, Herr L. Eies, Mr. Zerbiui, and Signor Piatti as executants. 
 
Quartet in C. ^21 
 
 imitation, sometHng to think about. There is most 
 spirit in the scherzo and last movement, which are 
 both full of wonderful life. The adagio has a strik- 
 ing individual A minor character, something romantic 
 and Provenfalish. After hearing it several times, its 
 charms grow, and it closes in such a manner as to 
 make you begin listening again, though knowing 
 that the end is near at hand.' 
 
 These two quartets, together with the third in D 
 minor, were published and dedicated to Baillot in 
 1835. There still remain three unpublished. 
 
 On the 25th of July 1830, the Royal Chapel 
 choir sang its last Mass, and at St. Cloud its last 
 vespers ; and aU the artistes belonging to it were 
 discharged on reduced pensions. Truly, as Castil- 
 Blaze observes, the cannon of the 27th of July was 
 as sad for music as that of the 10th of August had 
 been ; for it was in the July revolution of 1830 that 
 the King's Chapel was abolished. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 1830-1836. 
 
 CheiTiKni at Catel's frmeral — The pasticcio La Marquise de Erin- 
 viUiers — Choron, Reieha — Ali JBaba, Chembini'B last opera — In- 
 tended Tisit to Italy — At Boieldieu's funeral — Treatise on Counter- 
 point and Fugue — The second Eequiem in D minor, Cherubini's 
 last Mass. 
 
 With the abolition of the King's Chapel, Cherubini 
 lost his post there as composer, and now Avrote but 
 little. 
 
 On the 29th of November 1830, Catel died, and at 
 his funeral, after Berton^ had spoken, Cherubini fol- 
 lowed in these words : ' Lorsque la mort enleve h, la 
 society et aux arts un homme de talent, dont la car- 
 riere a et6 poussee jusqu'&. un &ge tres-avance, on doit, 
 sans doute, le regretter et s'en afEliger ; mais quand 
 une fin prematuree frappe dans la force de I'^ge 
 celui qui possede un talent distingue, et qui est doue 
 d'ailleurs des Tertus morales qui caracterisent le 
 meilleur des hommes, on doit le regretter et le 
 
 ' Hal6vy, in his Demiers Souvenirs, says that Cheruhini was pre- 
 sent at Berton's funeral on Friday, 26th April 1830. As Berton died 
 on the 22d of April 1844, this could not be so. If the son is meant, he 
 died in July 1831. 
 
Discourse at CateV s Funeral. 323 
 
 pleurer davantage : tel est M. Catel, notre aime con- 
 frere, dont nous deplorons la parte. Sa carriere 
 musicals, remarquable par les ouvrages qu'il a com- 
 poses, dignes de servir de modeles aux jeunes com- 
 positeurs sont k coup sur des titres qui font honneur 
 k son siecle, et qui ne seront point oublies ; mais ce 
 qui honorera le plus sa memoire, ce sont les qualites 
 de son coeur et de son caractere. , II est impossible 
 de pousser plus loin qu'il ne I'a fait, sans calcul et 
 sans ostentation, I'attachement pour ses amis et les 
 sentiments de la reconnaissance qu'il a constamment 
 conserves particulierement pour I'uu' d'entre eux, 
 duquel il ne s'est jamais s^par^, de cet ami qui I'avait 
 recueilli et assists dans sa jeunesse, et qui, comme 
 en agirait un pere k I'egard de son propre fils, lui a 
 ouvert I'honorable carriere musicals qu'il a parcourue 
 et dans laquelle il s'est toujours dignement conduit ; 
 car, modeste pour son compte, admirant le talent de 
 ses rivaux, jamais il n'a ^t6 domine par un sentiment 
 de jalousie pour leurs succes. Apres avoir pay6 un 
 juste tribut au talent et aux excellentes qualites de 
 notre cber confrere, il ne me reste plus qu'k adresser 
 mes derniers adieux k mon ancien ami. Adieu done, 
 Catel! Je ne te verrai plus, mais ne t'oublierai 
 jamais ! Je me rappellerai sans cesse les douces re- 
 lations que nous avons cues ensemble, ciment^es 
 par I'amitie inalterable que tu m'avais inspir^e, et que 
 
3^4 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 je t'avais vou6e ! Adieu pour la derniere fois, mon 
 bien aime Catel ! Tinstant n'est peut-etre pas 61oign6 
 ou j'irai te rejoindre.'^ 
 
 In 1831 Cherubini wrote the Introduction to the 
 opera entitled La Marquise de Brinvilliers, finished on 
 the 29th of September, and ' which,' observes Castil- 
 Blaze, 'is distinguished by a vigour of colour, an 
 elegance of style, and a flower of melody, which does 
 Cherubini great honour.' But although Batton, 
 Berton, Carafa, Auber, Cherubini, Blangini, Boieldieu, 
 Herold, and Paer coalesced to write the Marquise de 
 Brinvilliers, which was represented at the Op6ra 
 Comique, this extraordinary assemblage of talent 
 could not write a popular work. The public, since 
 Handel's time, has generally set its mind against 
 pasticcios, and after this essay no one will be so 
 bold as to try the experiment again. Fortunately, 
 there is nothing to tempt composers to it, who very 
 justly prefer to be independent in their work. Che- 
 rubini had brought in the study of Palestrina, and 
 at this time he was ably seconded by Choron, with 
 whom, as well as Reicha, he often carried on lively 
 discussions on music, and at whose academy ad- 
 mirable performances of works rarely heard in France 
 took place ; such as Marcello's Psalms, various works 
 of Jomelli, Mozart, Durante, Haydn, and Gliick, the 
 ' Collection of Funeral Speeches by members of the French Institute. 
 
Alt Baba. 325 
 
 oratorios of Handel, the Miserere of AUegri, and the 
 Stabat Mater of Palestrina. It was a noble attempt 
 in the cause of classical music ; but the Parisians, 
 like the Athenians of old, are pleased with anything 
 new, and what is new soon becomes old, and is laid 
 aside on the shelf. 
 
 Cherubini gives us the following account oi Ali 
 Baha, his last opera : ' An opera which I began long 
 ago, in three acts, and which I finished in four acts, 
 with a prologue, for the Royal Academy of Music. 
 It was represented at that theatre on the 22d of 
 .July in this year (1833).' It will be remembered 
 that during the revolution he had written an opera 
 in three acts called Kourkourgi, but the libretto by 
 Duveyrier M^lesville the elder was ridiculous, and 
 the work was never performed. His friends, know- 
 ing the many beauties that the music contained, 
 urged him to set it in order. Scribe and M^les- 
 ville the younger had both heard a very original 
 trio of sleepers in the work, and had wished to make 
 it known to the public. But through Auber's media- 
 tion, an entire new libretto from the tale in the 
 Arabian Nights was now written by the two authors 
 for All Baba. So vigorously did Cherubini set himself 
 to work that in a short time the score reached a thou- 
 sand pages, and little of the original work remained ; 
 but he had not mujch confidence in its success, in 
 
326 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 its remodelled state, and suspected tliat M. V&on, 
 the manager of the Grand Op^ra, had only accepted 
 it out of respect and deference to himself. His feel- 
 ings of impatience and anxiety were clearly seen ; 
 for after the last general rehearsal he left for Versailles, 
 having carefully calculated beforehand the duration 
 of the acts and entr'actes. When the clock of the 
 palace at Versailles struck eight o'clock in the even- 
 ing of the day of Ali Bahas first representation, 
 Cherubini pulled out his watch, and said, ' Mainte- 
 nant on commence I'ouverture.' Every hour, or 
 rather at every act, he looked at his watch. At 
 half-past eleven Ali Baba was over, according to 
 his watch, ' which,' said he, ' allait tres bien et mar- 
 quait I'heure de I'op^ra.' The old man then went to 
 bed and slept peacefully, but did not return to 
 Paris until he had received a reassuring despatch, 
 and never once went to see Ali Baba performed — 
 never even spoke of it, except in order to say, 'II 
 est trop vieux pour vivre longtemps. II avait qua- 
 rante ans en venant au monde.'^ Some said : ' Che- 
 rubini has outlived himself;' and Arnold tells us that 
 hundreds of people were driven away by the big 
 drum and cymbals, which drowned all the beauties of 
 the piece. ' I assisted in the pit of the Opera- 
 house,' says Berlioz, ' at the first representation of 
 ' Hal6vy'B Derniers Souvenirs, p. 166. 
 
AH Baba. 3 27 
 
 his (Cherubini's) work, AUBaba. This score, all the 
 world then agreed, is one of Cherubini's tamest and 
 emptiest. Towards the end of the first act, fatigued 
 at having heard nothing striking, I could not re- 
 strain myself from saying loud enough to be heard 
 by my neighbours: "I give twenty francs for an 
 idea !" In the middle of the second act, always be- 
 guiled by the same musical " mirage," I went on "w^th 
 my bidding by saying : " Forty francs for an idea !" 
 The finale began : " Eighty francs for an idea !" The 
 finale over, I got up, exclaiming these last words : 
 " Ah, ma foi, I'm not rich enough — I give itup !' and 
 I went away. Two or three young people, sitting 
 near me on the same bench, looked at me indignantly. 
 They were Conservatoire pupils, who had places 
 there in order to admire profitably their director. 
 They did not fail — I knew a little later — to go the 
 very next day and tell him of my insolent bidding 
 at a price, and my discouragement, still more in- 
 solent. Cherubini was so much the more outraged 
 that, after having said to me, 'Vous savez comme 
 ze vous aime,' he should, without doubt, have to find 
 me, as was to be expected, horribly ungrateful. 
 This time it was not a question of snakes ; I tallied 
 more with one of those venomous asps whose bites 
 are so cruel to self-love. He avoided me.'* 
 * Mgmoires, p. 111. 
 
328 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 The success of the work in Paris, indeed, was not 
 great ; in Germany, fair. F^tis, who heard it, assures 
 us that it is full of beauty, and that many pieces are 
 worthy of the composer. Cherubini introduced into 
 the work a march from Fanishx, and the fine bac- 
 chanalian scene fi-om his ballet oiAcMUe. Clement 
 tells us that one verse in the libretto excited scandal 
 among the purists. The verse was 
 
 ' An moka Burtout je songeais !' 
 
 The chief parts in Ali Bdba were sustained by Nour- 
 rit, Levasseur, Madame Falcon, and Madame Damo- 
 reau. 
 
 'All competent judges,' says the writer in the 
 NiederrJieinische-Musik-Zeitung, 'were lost in astonish- 
 ment at the fact of a composer, whose first works 
 bore the date of 1771, being able, sixty years later, 
 to produce another of such extraordinary freshness 
 and such glowing fancy. Cherubini was seventy- 
 three years of age, but both his head and his heart 
 had remained young, and his latest dramatic pro- 
 duction displayed, in conjimction with the maturest 
 knowledge and the most beautiful form, the loveliest 
 blossoms of profound feeling and youthful passion. 
 That the work did not retain its place in the reper- 
 tory was not astonishing, in the case of a public who 
 were intoxicated by the perfumes arising from the 
 
Ali Baba. 329 
 
 flowery path -which Eossini and his imitators had 
 forced the opera to take.' 
 
 M. de Boigne, in his Petits Memoires de P Opera, 
 gives us an amusing account of it. ' The represen- 
 tations of Ali Baba were less gay. In Ali Baba every- 
 thing was wearisome and soporific — poem, music, and 
 hallet; the airs of which, however, were composed by ■ 
 Halevy. Those fastidious forty thieves had better 
 rested eternally buried in their jars, and in the works 
 of Galland. Cherubini, demanding hospitality at the 
 opera for Ali Baba, has the same effect with me as 
 Belisarius holding out his helmet to the passers-by. 
 Ali Baba is one of those fossilised operas which a 
 director only accepts when they are thrust down his 
 throat by illustrious old age ; and for fear of being 
 declared a Vandal, the director had to pass it off for 
 a chef-d'oeuvre, and with a loss of fifty to sixty thou- 
 sand francs. But the public, who were not bound by 
 the same considerations as M. V^ron, yawned so much 
 and so widely, under Ali Baba's very nose, that real 
 hissing would have spoken less eloquently. The 
 public condemned without appeal, and executed piti- 
 lessly those forty thieves who had not stolen any- 
 thing. Cherubim could not recover from his sur- 
 prise ; he sought everywhere for the cause of Ali 
 Babds failure, everywhere except in his music, and 
 he finished by discovering the key to this mystery 
 
^^o Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 full of horror. " Avec des mis^rables choeurs comme 
 ceux de I'opera," said he, " il n'y a pas de succes pos- 
 sible. Jamais je n'ai pu parvenir a faire chanter, ni 
 m^me h, faire marcher en mestire, un seul de mes 
 quarante volem-s." In fact, during the rehearsals 
 the march of the forty thieves had completely ab- 
 sorbed him. He did not cease to tap the floor with 
 his baton, and to cry: "En mesure, messieurs! . . . 
 messieurs, en mesure I" ' 
 
 Mendelssohn says in a letter from Dusseldorf, 
 dated Feb. 7th, 1834 : ' I have just looked through 
 Cherubini's new opera (Ali Babd); and though I was 
 quite enchanted with many parts of it, still I cannot 
 but deeply lament that he so often adopts that new 
 Parisian fashion, as if the instruments were nothing, 
 and the effect everything, flinging about three or 
 four trombones, as if it were the audience who had 
 sMns of parchment, instead of the drums; and then, 
 in his finales, he winds up with hideous chords, and 
 a tumult and crash most grievous to listen to. Com- 
 pare with these, some of his earlier pieces, such as 
 Lodoisha and Medea, &c. &c., where there is as much 
 difference between brightness and genius, as between 
 a living man and a scarecrow ; so I am not surprised 
 that the opera did not please. Those who like the 
 original Cherubini cannot fail to be provoked at the 
 way iij which he yields to the fashion of the day, 
 
AH Baba. 331 
 
 and to the taste of the public ; and those who do not 
 like the original Cherubini find far too much of his 
 own style still left to satisfy them either, no matter 
 what pains he may take to do so-^-he always peeps 
 forth, the very first three notes. Then they call this 
 "perruque rococo." In a letter to Devrient, inten- 
 dant of the Berlin Opera, dated February 5, 1834, he 
 says : ' If I were you, I would push forward just now 
 the Ali Baba of the old gentleman, and tease the 
 directors till they put it on the stage, where it would 
 fail, as it has done in Paris.' 
 
 ' This opera,' says Lafage, of Ali Baba, ' affords 
 the spectacle full of interest of an old man of seventy- 
 three letting an astonished public hear songs full of 
 grace and freshness, choruses above all praise, in- 
 strumental details new and ingenious, and showing 
 everywhere a verve of talent which is rarely found 
 in youth. However, Ali Baba had only five repre- 
 sentations ; the subject was cold, and beneath the 
 reputation of its authors, and the nature of the beau- 
 ties of the score made it, like all those of Cherubini, 
 more worthy of esteem in the eyes of connoisseurs 
 than those of the public, who found it beyond their 
 capacity to understand it.' 
 
 ' On the production of Gherubiai's last opera,' says 
 Eiehl, ' people in France regretted that the old 
 master came two hundred years too late, while Ger- 
 
33^ Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 man musicians glanced with a holy feeling of bash- 
 fulness at the finely-written score, as though they 
 had a presentiment that the creations of such a man 
 as Cherubini would first be neglected as unfashion- 
 able, to rise up again, at the expiration of a few 
 years, as imperishable works of art.'° The theme of 
 HaMvy's first article in the Gazette Musicale de Paris 
 was an ingenious fiction entitled Ali Bala et Sainte 
 Cdcile, which seryed to show the thoughtlessness and 
 injustice of the musical editors of Paris, not one of 
 whom would consent to pubhshthe score oiAUBaba. 
 ' This article,' says Pougin, ' in turn felicitous and ele- 
 gant, depicts well the sentiments of devotion, admira- 
 tion, and almost filial affection with which the author 
 was animated for his illustrious master ; sentiments 
 which he preserved for him during his whole life.'® 
 
 The overture to Ali Baba has always appeared to 
 me almost one of the finest examples of Cherubini's 
 mastery of orchestral effects ; in this respect ranking . 
 with the overture to Medea, Les Deux Journies, and 
 Anacreon. It is scored for the fullest band; a cir- 
 cumstance which alone gives it a unique distinction 
 among the overtures of the composer. But it is full 
 of genius. The opening subject is vigorous and 
 broad; the clash of cymbals and pause has something 
 
 ' Musical World, 1862. Musikalische Characterkopfe, Stuttgart, 
 1860, p. 90, second Beries. « Life of HaUoy. 
 
Projected Visit to Italy. •^t^^ 
 
 Turkish in it, the triplet passages for the violias are 
 striking, and the melody of the second subject per- 
 fectly captivating. The whole is skilfully worked 
 up to an eifective, if somewhat noisy climax. To- 
 wards the close, a long coda begins with accelerated 
 tempo in a pianissimo passage for the strings, which 
 never fails of effect. 
 
 Cherubini had a great wish to see his country 
 once more. He was to have gone to bring out AM 
 Baba at Marseilles, and this would have been his 
 opportunity for sailing to Italy, seeing at Pisa his 
 younger daughter Zenobia, affianced to Hippolyte 
 Kosellini, revisiting at Florence the familiar scenes 
 of his childhood — the street, the house, where more 
 .than seventy years before he had been born — and 
 calling upon Dr. Philip Nesti, professor of mineralogy 
 at the Royal Italian Museum, and son of one of Che- 
 rubini's sisters. All this Cherubini planned to do, 
 but it was not fated that he should ever see Italy 
 again ;' for just as he was on the point of leaving 
 Paris, cholera broke out at Marseilles, and so frus- 
 trated, to his disappointment, all his designs. 
 
 In the Gazette Musicale of the 9th March 1834, 
 Halevy published some lines which served to accom- 
 
 ' F6tis, when mentioning Cherubini's leaving Italy in 1788, says 
 that he never savr Italy again, except once, in a voyage made long 
 afterwards. Ffitie, I infer, thought that Cherubini carried out his 
 project in 1834. 
 
334 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 pany the autographic reproduction of three of Cheru- 
 bim's canons, and which were followed in the number 
 of the same journal for the 5th June 1836, by some 
 interesting remarks on the eiTata in Cherubini's 
 Treatise of Counterpoint and Fugue. 
 
 On 31st July 1834, Cherubini finished his third 
 quartet in D, which was followed in 1835 by two 
 othersy in the keys of E and F respectively. When 
 Baillot in 1834 edited Les Methodes de Violon et Violon- 
 cello, Cherubini added bass parts to the various musi- 
 cal examples, which are admirable studies for young 
 virtuosi on those instruments. Cherubini had in- 
 terested himself at a much earlier period in a some-' 
 what similar undertaking, the Singing School Tutor of 
 Mengozzi, Garat, Gossec, and Mehul, aiding those 
 musicians in their work. A medal with Cherubini's 
 effigy, by M. Prudhomme, made its appearance in the 
 July of 1834. 
 
 It was in 1834 that Boieldieu died. Cherubini's 
 C minor Requiem was to have been performed at the 
 obsequies ; but the Archbishop of Paris interposed, 
 because women would have had to sing it, contrary to 
 the rubrics. 'I shall do one for myself,' Cherubini is 
 reported to have said, half vexed, half in raillery, 
 ' which will play them a good turn, and to which 
 there will be no objection.'* Boieldieu's funeral took 
 " Miel, p. 21. 
 
Discourse at Boieldieu's Funeral. 2>'hS 
 
 place in October at the church of the Invalides, and, 
 according to Fetis, Cherubini's Requiem was given 
 after all. At the grave, when Gamier and Berton 
 had spoken, Cherubini said : , 
 
 ' Messieurs, il n'y a pas longtemps que nous avons 
 accompagne ici les reetes de notre confrere Catel ; 
 aujourd'hui nous avons k pleurer la mort prema- 
 tur6e de Boieldieu, mon ami tres-cher, dont le beau 
 talent et I'excellent caractere seront pour nous tous 
 une source intarissable de regrets. L'amitie me liait 
 depuis longtemps a cet homme aimable, k ce com- 
 positeur distipgue; j'ai vu commencer sa carriere 
 musicale qu'il a parcourue dignement en marchant 
 de succes en succes. Je ne nommerai pas ici tous les 
 ouvrages qu'il a composes, car tout le monde les con- 
 nait et ne les oubliera pas. C'est la reputation que 
 ses productions lui ont value, qui I'ont conduit a St. 
 Petersbourg au service de I'empereur de toutes les 
 Russies ; ce sont ces memes succes qui lui ont ouvert 
 les'portes de I'lnstitut. II avait ete professeur de 
 composition au Conservatoire de musique, place qu'il 
 avait quittee pendant quelque temps, et h, laquelle il 
 avait ete de nouveau appele ; mais il etait dejk frappe 
 de la maladie qui nous I'a enleve. Je n'ai pas besoin 
 de m'^tendre ici sur les eloges qu'il merite, car qui 
 n'aimait Boieldieu"? qui n'admirait et ch^rissait son 
 talent? Mais je ne puis m'empecher de marquer tout 
 
23^ Meptorials of Cherubini. 
 
 ce que sa mort me fait eprouver. Mon chagrin est 
 inexprimable ! J'ai perdu un ami, un frere, Je n'ai 
 plus de lui qu'un douloureux souvenir ! . . . Moi qui le 
 pleure, je devrais consoler sa compagne, son fils I 
 Helas ! leurs soins affectueux ont adouci ses souf- 
 frances, mais ils n'ont pu prolonger ses jours! Adieu, 
 Boieldieu, adieu ! . . . Je t'ai precede dans la vie, 
 dans la carriere que tu as si noblement parcourue, et 
 c'est moi qui te regrette, moi qui pleure aujourd'hui 
 sur la terre qui va se refermer sur toi! car Dieu a 
 voulu que tu arrivasses avant moi au but 1 . .' 
 
 In 1835, the Juive of Halevy appeared, and re- 
 flected credit on the 'composer and his master Cheru- 
 bini. Halevy about this time suffered from an excit- 
 ability and nervousness which alarmed both himself 
 and his fi'iends. Cherubini, in order to reassure him, 
 reminded him how he himself had been for many 
 years a prey to the same malady. It was in 1835 
 that the Treatise on Counterpoint and Fugue by Cheru- 
 bini, published by Schlesinger, appeared, the letter- 
 press being written by Halevy. As has been already 
 noticed, it appears that Cherubini was not good at 
 oral teaching, being unable to explain himself with a 
 fulness equal to his knowledge. He had never meant 
 to publish a regular treatise, and had his exercises 
 thus placed in a regular form, only by the special 
 desire of his friends. In support of these facts we 
 
Reqtiiem in D minor. 337 
 
 have the express and reiterated assertion of Fetis. 
 Speaking of Cherubini's Treatise on Counterpoint and 
 Fugue, before it was generally known that Halevy 
 had written the letter-press, Mr. G. A. Macfarren 
 writes : ' Admirable as are its rules, and lucid as is 
 then- explanation, there is not one of them which 
 is not violated in some or other of the illustrative 
 examples — a fact to induce the supposition that the 
 principles may have been taken from his oral teach- 
 ing, and examples supplied by one of his pupils, who 
 had a better memory for the rules than capacity for 
 their application ; and this at a period when the 
 infirmity of advancing age disinclined the master for 
 his strict revision of the work.' 
 
 On the 24th September 1836, Cherubini's second 
 Requiem in D minor for three male voices, which had 
 only been begun in January or February, lay com- 
 pleted at Montlignon. Handel wrote his Jephtha 
 when sixty-six years old, and Haydn his Seasons 
 when he was sixty- eight ; but the production of such 
 a work as this, from a man of seventy-six years of 
 age, is, I take it, a circumstance without a parallel 
 in the annals of musical art.^ The Dies L-se was first 
 executed at the fifth concert of the Conservatoh-e, 
 
 ^ HalSyy wrote a review of the Requiem in the numher of the 
 Gazette Mtisicale de Paris for the 7th of May 1837. I have not teen 
 able to see it. See Appendix III. 
 
 Z 
 
;i2^ Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 March 19, 1837. On the 24th following, it was re- 
 peated by desire. On the 25th March 1838, the 
 -whole work, with Beethoven's fourth symphony and 
 Weber's Euryanthe overture, was done in two parts, 
 strangely enough with a violin solo between, com- 
 posed by Habeneck, and played by Lecointe, one of 
 his pupils.-'" 
 
 Mendelssohn writes to the Hon. Committee of the 
 Lower Rhine Musical Festival, in a letter dated from 
 Leipsic, Jan. 18, 1838 : ' With regard to the second 
 day, I may first inquire whether you intend to apply 
 to Cherubini for his grand Requiem ; it must be trans- 
 lated, and is entirely for men's voices ; but as it will 
 only last an hour, even less, that would not much 
 matter, and, according to the universal verdict, it is 
 a splendid work.' 
 
 'Cherubini,' says another, 'was endowed with 
 manly genius ; his strain is broad, round, and soaring 
 heavenward, leaving the earth at an immeasurable 
 distance. This manliness of style and freshness of 
 creation did not abandon him even when near to his 
 grave. His second Requiem, which was his last great 
 work, ranks among his masterpieces, though com- 
 posed in the seventy-ninth or eightieth year,' It 
 
 '• It was first executed in this country in 1872,' and also at the 
 BequiemforMr. Hope Scott, Q.C., inthe spring of 1873 ; on both occa- 
 sions at the Catholic church, Form-street, Loudon. 
 
Requiem in D minor. 339 
 
 was begun in his seventy-sixth and finished in 
 his seventy-seventh year, he having completed his 
 seventy-sixth year a few days before ending his 
 labours. Cherubini, indeed, reminds us of Zingarelli, 
 who, living till his eighty-sixth year, wrote music 
 three days before his death. 
 
 It is impossible to hear or study this almost un- 
 approachable composition without feeling how inti- 
 mately impressed the author must have been with 
 the whole spirit of prayerful, earnest, mournful sup- 
 plication implied in the idea of the Christian sacrifice 
 for the dead. The first notes he employs have 
 been consecrated by the usage of centuries to the 
 word ' Requiem.' 
 
 JJn poco lento. 
 
 Cello. I 1 Cor. 
 
 _l 1_^ — 1. 
 
 ES 
 
 a=izr.i&ii 
 
 These notes have breathed a prayer of rest for 
 the departed ever since the day when the first Gre- 
 gorian Mass for the dead was sung. The succession 
 of the four openiag notes cannot fail to recall a host 
 of associated memories to all who have become fami- 
 liarised with the grand strains of the older music. 
 Thus there is a kind of awe-inspiring solemnity in 
 the way in which Cherubim opens the Mass. After 
 twelve bars of symphony the deep bass voices supply 
 
34° 
 
 Memorials of Chertibini. 
 
 the subject, which is taken up in fugue by each of 
 the succeeding parts, and what may be called the 
 first period ends with a long swelling chord on A, 
 the instruments piling up arpeggio upon arpeggio 
 till the close. Then the light of hope breathes gra- 
 dually upon the subject, the words ' et lux perpetua' 
 being heralded in by the second tenor, and, as it 
 were, reflected and intensified by the other voices 
 in succession. 
 
 i 
 
 p 
 
 1st Ten, et 
 
 _ r r _L 
 
 lux.. 
 
 I±i2^. 
 
 per 
 
 I, ! 
 
 pe 
 
 :^^=^«^= 
 
 '?:^Sm:- 
 
 -^-z 
 
 1~^- 
 
 --f^^ 
 
 :& 
 
 5 
 
 A I I 
 
 2nd Ten. 
 et 
 
 lux.. 
 
 per pe 
 
 tu 
 
 l-c. 
 
 m. 
 
 -t 
 
 %-- 
 
 et 
 
 lux per-pe- 
 
 ' Te decet hymnus' is a prayerful subject in which 
 the meaning of the words is as nearly represented 
 by the music as music is capable of representing the 
 meaning of words. ' Exaudi orationem meam ;' the 
 passionate intensity of" this cry is well expressed by 
 the short sharp demi-semiquaver which initiates 
 each repetition, and the minim and quaver leave 
 room for — nay, almost force — the deep-drawn sigh 
 from the singer between each repetition. 
 
Requiem in D minor. 
 
 341 
 
 imH Ten. 
 ex - au 
 Sass. 
 
 fff:#^^_J ^ 4 
 
 * 
 
 I 
 
 zi: 
 
 -^- 
 
 :^ 
 
 _^e. 
 
 In the Kyrie each of the parts comes as it were 
 in turn before the Lord to supplicate for mercy, 
 the way being led by the first tenor. Towards the 
 close of this movement the hearer cannot fail to be 
 struck by the emphasised repetition of the word 
 ' Kyrie' by all the voices. 
 
 ^5 
 
 •ife^ 
 
 Ky 
 
 m 
 
 fp 
 
 ^^. 
 
 Ky 
 
 e, dfc- 
 
 ^- 
 
 ^^- 
 
 
 6= 
 
 Ky - - ri - e, Ky - - ri ri, #e. 
 
 No, 2. The Gradual is a lovely movement in 
 f time, the voices unaccompanied, full of flowing 
 melody, intended doubtless as a foil and contrast 
 to the whirlwind of sound with which the Dies Irse, 
 No. 3, commences. 
 
342 
 
 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 t^ ./aP.!: *^ j^ 
 
 :t=tz=tSii 
 
 ff. 
 
 ^-g-gj- 
 
 si3 
 
 fc 
 
 m 
 
 :5paf^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 I 
 
 f 
 
 ^ 
 
 3^ ^ B^ 
 
 :1:^=t 
 
 ^ TS a^-'^ ' 
 
 ^ 
 
 Di - es i - MB, ^e. 
 
 #, ! J 
 
 ^ 
 
 :^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 iJ 11 ^ #^ 
 
 ^^P 
 
 Di - es i - riE, ^«. 
 If this sublime sequence had never found a 
 worthy interpreter until Cherubini's time he would 
 most certainly have removed the stigma from his art. 
 Perhaps of all worthy interpreters he has proved 
 himself by this matchless piece the worthiest of all. 
 The three bars of symphony, beginning as they do 
 piano, end in a very hurricane of sound as all the 
 voices crash forth the words 'Dies irse' in almost 
 despaii'ing cry. 'Solvet SEeclum' is sung by the 
 bass, and immediately followed by the tenors, who 
 repeat every foiu- syllables after they have been pro- 
 nounced by the bass in ascending scale, till the ' tuba 
 mirum.' 
 
 iWrat 
 
 X 
 
 Bol-vet KEolum, 
 
 
 &0. 
 
 -J- 
 
 Bol-ret sdeolum, in fa - yil - la, 
 
 Here> too, the whirlwind of sound reappears, and 
 
Requiem in D minor. 
 
 343 
 
 the same artifice of short and sharp repetition be- 
 tween tenor and bass, this time in the key of B flat, 
 occurs in the words ' cum resurget,' &c., almost pre- 
 senting to the eye the opening of the graves and the 
 rising of their dead to judgment. A lovely pass- 
 age of melodious symphony, beginning in unison for 
 the violin and violoncello, and taken up by the oboe. 
 
 prepares the way for the wonderful piece of declama- 
 tion confided to the bass, 'judex ergo cum sedebit.' 
 Almost the same phrase occurs before the words 
 ' nil inultum remanebit,' which are followed by that 
 cry of agony ' quid sum miser>tunc dicturus.' The 
 movement, ' Rex tremend^ majestatis,' maestoso, is 
 very descriptive ; it opens with three arpeggio notes 
 by all the stringed instruments, which prepare the 
 ear for the opening chord of A, sustained by all the 
 
344 
 
 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 voices, who, after pronouncing the word 'Rex' j^, 
 as it wercj give place to the basses to proclaim the 
 advent of the King of immense majesty, whose Pre- 
 sence is acknowledged and done homage to by all 
 in a passage of great power and grandeur. The act 
 of faith is first proclaimed by the leading tenors, and 
 then taken up with the shouts of acclamation by 
 all the other parts, ' Qui salvandos salvas gratis,' 
 
 / the Oboe, Ctar, Ft, S^ Sassoons. 
 
 Ten. 1 4- 9, Ace. I 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^^=«^tti 
 
 g.-| J_p-_ 1^ 
 
 ^P 
 
 'Srt 
 
 sal - Ta me, 
 
 -|- 
 
 
 sf^p 
 sal - Ta me, 
 
 W^- 
 
 8/>U-nI 
 
 ■p----- 
 
 •p — -- 
 
 ffcti-fr: 
 
 sal va me, 
 
 sal va me, 
 
 mB 
 
 
 =P 
 
 m^-^ 
 
 ?«=P: 
 
 
 itt^ 
 
 :?=;?? 
 
 ^: 
 
 re^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 va me fons pi - e - ta - tis, fons pi 
 
 q=1= 
 
 a= ^^-:^- 
 
 X 
 
 -frrj- 
 
 :^ 
 
 sal - va me ions pi - e - ta - tis, fons., 
 
 
 ta 
 
 m 
 
 ;4-J-i— »#i 
 
 ^ 
 
 pi 
 
 e - ta 
 
 tis. 
 
 tis. 
 
Requiem in D minor. 345 
 
 and the supplication -whicli naturally follows as its 
 logical outcome, ' Salva me, fons pietatis,' is one 
 of the loveliest pieces of modulation in the whole 
 work. 
 
 In the next movement, f time, one of inde- 
 scribable pathos, the parts each take a separate 
 verSe as if each had its own petition to present, 
 its own plea for pardon to urge. The first tenors 
 sing, ' Quserens recordare, Jesu pie;" the second 
 tenors, ' Juste judex ;" the basses, ' Quserens me.' 
 And, curiously enough, with such consummate art is 
 this managed, that they seem not to interfere with 
 each other ; each succeeds the other at short inter- 
 vals, one beginning its petition whilst the other parts 
 take breathing time, and are silent. The whole 
 is sustained by a flowing melody of surpassing 
 grace, given chiefly to the violoncellos and basses. 
 All unite in praying to be on that dreadful day ad- 
 mitted into the fold of Christ ; ' inter oves locum 
 prsesta, statuens in parte dextra,' ends the move- 
 ment, each of the parts ceasing in turn, the bass 
 being the last to leave off with those wonderful four 
 notes. 
 
 m 
 
 1-1 
 
 d=i 
 
 -I- 
 
 iS= 
 
 dex tra. 
 
 Then, as if the consummation of all had come 
 
346 
 
 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 upon the world, the presto begins with a violin 
 passage which brings before the eyes of the imagina- 
 tion the surging flames springing up from the abyss, 
 and forms a prelude to the raging, despairing cry, 
 in unison, of all the parts, ' Confutatis maledictis,' 
 which breaks off and is again repeated in unison, 
 first by the tenors, then taken up by the bass, mount- 
 ing at every repetition by a major third ; the whole 
 
 Freslo. 
 
 Tenors 8f Bass. 
 
 fe^^^ 
 
 .Jf 
 
 Tenors. 
 
 Bass. ^ 1^ 
 
 m 
 
 ii^SSt 
 
 ^ s 1 
 
 Con-fu 
 
 ta-tis ma 
 
 m 
 
 di-otis, 
 
 ^ 
 
 di-ctis, con-fu - ta - tia 
 
 ma-Ie - 
 
 E^ 
 
 =k=t= 
 
 ma-le - di-otie, 
 
 ma-le - di-ctia. 
 
 sentiment culminating in a climax of descriptive 
 writing with the words ' flammis acribus,' the tor- 
 turing, searching nature of the flames being brought 
 home to the sense of hearing in a way which baffles 
 description. Agonised rage, despair, confusion, are 
 
 ■ff 1»« Tm. 
 flam-mis 
 
 a - cri - bus,. , 
 
 i 
 
 j;=jw^^^ 
 
 flam - mil 
 
 - 1^ N 
 
 ^g^^^ 
 
 indTm. ^ ^ . , „ 
 
 nam-mia a - cri - bua, nam 
 
 li^ 
 
 :fl3t 
 
 li 
 
 -P- 
 
 flam-mia a - cri - bua, flam - - 
 
Requiem in D minor. 
 
 347 
 
 cri-bus ad - di - ctis, flam-mis a - cri-bus, As. 
 
 1/ ^ t* * 
 
 mis, a - cri-bus ad - di - otis, 
 
 h h h ^ 
 
 m 
 
 ~»-»-^ 
 
 l»-N. 
 
 ^ 
 
 fe: 
 
 =^=F 
 
 - - - mis a - ori-buB ad - di-ctis. 
 all concentrated in those few bars. The word 
 ' maledictis ' is repeated thrice, as the self-pro- 
 nounced doom of those who are without hope. 
 
 ma-le di-ctis, ma-le di-ctis, ma-le di-ctis. 
 
 After a pause the saved are heard to pray — to 
 rise, as it were, before the throne of the Judge in 
 prayer — ^in an unaccompanied song of lovely calm 
 and peace, ' Voca me cum benedictis.' The andan- 
 tino, which follows the old figure, noticed ia the 
 last andantino, ' quserens,' &c., is again introduced, 
 the movement being given to the violoncellos ; it 
 is the heart-broken wailing of a crushed and con- 
 trite supplication, ' Oro supples, cor contritum quasi 
 cinis,' and presents a most striking piece of modu- 
 lation, most expressive of the sentiment intended 
 to be conveyed. 
 
348 
 
 Memorials of Ckerubini. 
 
 Andantino. J^66. p 
 
 A 
 
 
 O - ro 8up-plex, o - ro sup-plex et ac 
 ^Bass. fz 
 
 -J ji ■ 
 
 cli - nia, 4o. 
 
 O - ro Bup-plex et aq - cli 
 
 nis, 
 
 The 'lacrymosa dies ilia' is a most plaintive 
 melody, ending with a moving supplication for 
 mercy to be shown to the departed. The ' pie Jesu,' 
 which concludes this masterpiece, is full of calm 
 hope that the prayer for the absent one shall be 
 heard. The sorrow of the bereaved, however, is 
 abiding to the end. 
 
 No. 4. The Offertory. The march-like triumph 
 of the opening is quite in keeping with the senti- 
 ment conveyed in the prayer. This is addressed 
 
 Andante con moto. n. i ^ iw 
 
 ^^ — 4i*l 
 
 fl 
 
 iT*=*a 
 
 «!=^i 
 
 i^§^ 
 
 ■^^^^-, 
 
 f_ 
 
 iii 
 
 &?^:^^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 3t3E: 
 
 :S=t2i 
 
 4-c. 
 
 to Jesus Christ the conqueror, the 'Rex gloriae,' 
 the King of Glory, who triumphed over death ; its 
 import is to obtain the deliverance of captives from 
 the prison-house of flame. The prayer that the 
 
Requiem in D minor. 
 
 349 
 
 standard-bearer, Michael, may take them into the 
 holy light is accompanied by clarinets, oboes, and 
 flutes, treble instruments, in a strain of wonder- 
 ful beauty, which continues for twenty-three bars. 
 
 Flute. ' 
 
 $ 
 
 B^: 
 
 il»«^ 
 
 'M>^ 
 
 -<•': 
 
 I- I 
 
 I I I I 
 
 ^^ 
 
 =t=f: 
 
 :m 
 
 Clar. 
 
 sed BJg - ni - fer san-ctus Mi 
 1st Ten. dotcissimo. i i I L I 
 
 Ob. I dolcissimq. 
 2nd Ten. 
 Eed sig-ni - 
 
 ^f^F^r- z^z^ 
 
 t—r 
 
 f^ 
 
 ^e. 
 
 - fer san - - otuB Mi - 
 The allegro moderato, which immediately succeeds, 
 is a specimen of earnest passionate pleading, ' Quam 
 olim Abrahse promisisti' being repeated in fugue by 
 all the voices ; the idea is dwelt upon and expanded 
 still further in the movement which succeeds the 
 interveaing peaceful larglietto, 'Hostias et preces.' 
 Each group of voices seems to vie with all the rest 
 in enforcing its claim for mercy for the departed. 
 ' Promisisti ' — God is held, so to speak, to His word 
 — ' Thou hast promised,' being repeated over and over 
 again, as though in literal fulfilment of the injunc- 
 tion of our Lord that we were to succeed by our 
 importunity in prayer. 
 
 No. 5. Sanctus. No one who has ever heard the 
 
35° 
 
 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 melodious phrase of symphony which ushers in the 
 voices in the Sanctus can ever forget it. Its value 
 
 ff San-otui, 
 
 and beauty seem to be enhanced as it is repeated 
 in various forms, while the voices have their own 
 independent work in a passage of great power and 
 majesty. The ' Hosanna,' the first syllable of which 
 is Bimg to a demi-semiquaver, and the second to 
 a minim, is an outburst which never fails to electrify 
 the hearer. 
 
 The words of the Benedictus having been already 
 sung in this movement, the piece after the Elevation 
 is set to the concluding words of the Dies Iree, 
 ' pie Jesu ;' this (No. 6) is a charming movement 
 in |-, written for voices without accompaniment, 
 except here and there, where the clarinet and 
 other wind instruments are introduced between the 
 various phrases to support the intonation of the 
 voices and keep them up to the proper pitch. 
 
 No. 7. The Agnus Dei. The introduction which 
 
Requiem in D minor. 2)S ' 
 
 prepares the way for the voices consists, here as 
 elsewhere in other parts, especially in the Dies 
 Iree, in a piling up of sound, as it were, which 
 reaches its climax on the fifth bar, the bar during 
 which the voices are pronouncing the holy name of 
 God. The intensity of sound gradually subsides, 
 leaving the voices quite to themselves in the exqui- 
 sitely tender passage, ' Dona eis requiem.' This 
 ■ treatment of the wor^s occurs three times ; the 
 long-drawn-out sweetness of the notes in which 
 ' sempitemam' is sung is very striking. The Com- 
 munion, ' Lux sterna,' immediately succeeds, and 
 is ushered in by the bass with three notes at the 
 end of the bar. It is a passage of wonderful force. 
 The light which seems to burst in upon the eye 
 is almost too dazzling to bear. Then the motive 
 for hope is beautifully given, ' Quia pius es,' by the 
 three parts in succession, accompanied severally by 
 the oboe, clarinet, and bassoon, each singing the 
 notes of the common chord of B flat, the first tenor 
 commencing on F and ending on D, the second tenor 
 taking up the D and descending to B flat, the basses 
 beginning with B flat and concluding on A. The 
 whole terminates with the words, ' Eequiem eeter- 
 nam, dona eis, Domine,' slowly and solemnly chanted 
 by tenors and bass, the bass leading on D, the tenors 
 answering on A. 
 
35'^ 
 
 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 i 
 
 Tmors. PP 
 
 X 
 
 IZZ 
 
 zi: 
 
 f 
 
 Ee - qui - em 
 Boss. PP I I 
 
 Ke-qui - em se - ter 
 ter nam do 
 
 m 
 
 =^=^ 
 
 ^r r r f 
 
 H^-P- 
 
 ■j^i^Mz 
 
 Timp. 
 
 *ir 
 
 lYmp.'P" 
 
 I • [ I li I I 
 
 The persistence of the open fifth for eighteen 
 bars, accompanied as it is at intervals by the roUing 
 of muffled drums, has an inexpressibly mournful and 
 solemn character. On the nineteenth bar the major 
 chord is heard once more, and the tenors, with the 
 cheerfal ringing tones of hope and anticipation 
 of answered prayer', once more implore light for 
 the departed spirit. The bass in contrary motion 
 repeats the chord — the cadence lengthens out, 
 swells, and dies away — and then the last notes are 
 heard like the subsidence of a great storm; the 
 descending chromatic passage, with D for the pedal 
 note, may be almost said to be sobbed out by the 
 instruments ; one more prolonged roll of the mufled 
 drums ; a flute in an ascending arpeggio is answered 
 by a bassoon with descending arpeggio ; and all is 
 at rest. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 1836-1842. 
 
 Berlioz's Eeqniem — Cherutini's Quintet in E minor — Ingres' Portrait 
 — M. TurcaB — Death of Cherubini — His obsequies — Honours paid 
 to his memory — Monument at Florence — Conclusion. 
 
 Each year three thousand francs were given out to 
 the French composer, who in competition should be 
 most successful in a musical work. M. Gasparin, 
 Minister of the Interior, secured the performance of 
 Berlioz's Requiem, written for the obsequies of Gene- 
 ral Damremont, which was eventually executed in the 
 church of the Hotel des Invalides on the 5th Decem- 
 ber 1837. ' No sooner,' says Berlioz, ' had the news of 
 the approaching execution of my Requiem in a cere- 
 mony grand and official, such as the one in question, 
 been conveyed to Cherubini, than it put him in a fever. 
 It had been for a long time the custom, on similar 
 occasions, to execute one of his two funeral Masses. 
 Such a blow, struck at what he regarded as his right, 
 at his dignity, at his incontestible worth, and at his 
 just claim to its manifestation, in favour of a young 
 man scarcely at the "debut" of his career, and who 
 was reputed to have introduced heresy in the school, 
 irritated him deeply. AU his friends and pupils, 
 with Hal6vy at their head, sharing his spite, aimed 
 
 AA 
 
2S4 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 respectively at raising the storm, and directing it 
 against me ; that is, at dispossessing the young man 
 in favour of the old man. The same evening, I was 
 at the office of the Journal des Debate — to the staff of 
 which I had been attached for some little time, and 
 the director of which, M. Bertin, showed me the most 
 active kindness — when Halevy presented himself 
 there. I divined at once the object of his visit. He 
 came to have recourse to the powerful influence of 
 M. Bertin, to aid in the realisation of Cherubini's 
 projects. Meanwhile, a little disconcerted at finding 
 me there, and still more so at the cold air with which 
 M. Bertin and his son Armand received him, he at 
 once altered the direction of his battery. Halevy hav- 
 ing followed M. Bertin, the father, into the next room, 
 the door of which remained open, I heard him say 
 that Cherubini was " extraordinarily affected at what 
 had happened, so much so, that he was confined to his 
 bed ;" that he, Halevy, came to beg M. Bertin to use 
 his influence to obtain, as a consolation, the Cross of 
 the Legion of Honour, for the illustrious master. The 
 severe voice of M. Bertin then interrupted him with 
 these words : " Yes, my dear Halevy, we will do what 
 you wish, that Cherubini may be accorded a distinc- 
 tion well merited. But if the question is about the 
 Requiem, if some compromise is proposed to Berlioz 
 as to his, and if he has the weakness to yield a hair's 
 
Berlioz's Requiem. ^^^ 
 
 breadth, I will not speak to him again as long as I 
 live." Halevy had to retire with this response, more 
 confused than ever. So the good Cherubini, who had 
 already wished to make me swallow so many small 
 snakes, had to resign himself to receive at my hands 
 a boa-constrictor, which he will never digest.' A little 
 farther on he says : ' And now another intrigue, more 
 skilfully plotted, and of which I do not dare to fathom 
 the dark depth. I accuse no one ; I sturdily recount 
 the facts without the least commentary, but with the 
 most scrupulous exactitude.' It seems that Berlioz 
 was informed by General Bernand of the approach- 
 ing performance 'of his Eequiem, and that M. XX 
 (name not given), who was director of the Beaux- Arts, 
 told Berlioz that Habeneck always directed the of- 
 ficial musical festivals; so Berlioz agreed to cede the 
 bS,ton to Habeneck, though it was the first perform- 
 ance of the Requiem in public. At the concert, Ber- 
 lioz was seated behind Habeneck. The music com- 
 menced, but just as the movement began to expand 
 and enlarge, just when the conductor ,is everything, 
 Habeneck. put down his baton, took out his snuff-box, 
 and proceeded leisurely to take a pinch of snuff. Ber- 
 lioz rushed forward at that instant and saved the 
 movement by marking the time with his arm. When 
 the movement was over, Habeneck, who had seen 
 the 'Tuba mirum' thus rescued, remarked to Berlioz : 
 
25^ Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 ' What a cold perspiration I was in! Without you we 
 should have been lost.' ' Yes,' said Berlioz, looking 
 at him fixedly, 'I know it well;' and spoke no more. 
 Berlioz asks whether all this was done purposely. 
 'Could it be possible that this man, in connivance 
 with M. XX, who detested me, and the friends of 
 Cherubini, had dared to meditate and strive to com- 
 mit so base a wickedness 1 I do not wish to think 
 it; . . . but I have no doubt about it. God forgive 
 me if I do him an injury.'^ 
 
 Berlioz has not a shred of evidence of any con- 
 spiracy for so mean a trick having been made by 
 Cherubini's friends. Therfe is an unamiable preten- 
 tiousness in his assumption that it would be worth 
 their while to trouble themselves about the great 
 work of the mighty Berlioz. 
 
 Some years after this the first musical festival at 
 Lille took place, Habeneck being conductor, who 
 chose for a portion of the programme the ' Lacry- 
 mosa,' of Berlioz's Requiem, and a Credo of one of 
 Cherubini's great Masses. Habeneck, taking great 
 pains this time, wrote thus to Berlioz : ' I cannot resist 
 the pleasure of telling you that your "Lacrymosa," 
 perfectly executed, has produced an immense eflfect. 
 Tout k vouB, Habeneck.' This letter was published 
 at Paris by the Gazette Musicale. On his return Ha- 
 ' Berlioz's Mimoires, pp. 199, 200. 
 
Quintet in E minor. ^^y 
 
 beneck went to see Cherubim, and assured him that 
 his Credo also had been ' bien rendu.' ' Yes,' said Che- 
 rubini drily, ' but you did not write to me.' 
 
 Cherubini must have been close upon his last 
 days, if this circumstance occurred, as Berlioz says, 
 after the previous incidents which took place in 
 1837. Berlioz is not strong in chronology. His 
 Memoirs have few or no dates. Thus he relates all 
 the above circumstances about the first execution 
 of his Requiem before telling us of his having ap- 
 plied for the vacant post for harmony, after which 
 last application, he says, he heard Cherubini's Ali 
 Bala at its first performance. Now Ali Baba first 
 appeared in 1833, and his own Requiem not till the 
 end of 1837. Again, how could Cherubini refuse 
 Berlioz a post at the Conservatoire in 1833, because 
 he wished to show his spite on account of the per- 
 formance of a work in preference to his own in 1837? 
 And this is what Berlioz leads us to suppose.^ Ber- 
 lioz will not admit that it was owing to incapacity 
 that he was refused, and so, forsooth, it was owing 
 to Cherubini's spite I 
 
 ' In the winter of 1838,' writes F^tis, ' Cherubini 
 invited a few musicians to his house, and laid be- 
 fore them the quintet which he had just completed. 
 Though the composition was admitted to bear signs 
 ' Memoires, p. 205. 
 
2S^ Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 of his very advanced age, yet all acknowledged it 
 to be characterised by a freshness of ideas which no 
 person could possibly have believed to be possessed 
 by a man who stood, so to speak, with one foot 
 already in the grave.' 
 
 This quintet in E minor, the only one Cherubini 
 ever wrote, was begun on the 30th of July 1837, and 
 finished the 28th of October following. It was pre- 
 ceded by his sixth quartet in A minor, which, though 
 begun on the 4th of July 1835, was not finished until 
 the 22d of July 1837. 
 
 Cherubini now retired more and more to the 
 peace of a happy home, where the loviag care of his 
 wife, son, and eldest daughter lightened his last 
 years, Moscheles, who saw him in 1839, writes: 
 ' Cherubim, usually not the most courteous of men, 
 was very friendly; we had a good hour's earnest 
 conversation on art matters.^ He said that, with the 
 exception of his Directorship at the ConserA'^atoire, 
 he had nothing more to do with music ; he couldn't 
 write another note ; he wasn't strong enough to hear 
 and enjoy musical impressions. I think ' I might 
 have assured him, without fiattery, that he belongs 
 
 ' I am told by Mme. Moscheles that Cherubini was always par- 
 ticularly kind to her husband, at whose house in Paris he heard for 
 the first time the latter's pianoforte ' Senate Symphonique' (dedicated 
 to Louis Philippe) for four hands, and bestowed the greatest enco- 
 miums upon it. 
 
Ingres' Portrait. 359 
 
 to the few who even in their lifetime have already 
 earned immortality.' Moscheles adds: 'As for my 
 poor Lafont, I saw him lying in his coffin whilst the 
 funeral service was being held in the church of St. 
 Roch ; the music was Cherubini's, but without organ 
 accompaniment, to my taste an indispensable ad- 
 junct.' I am not aware of any Mass by Cherubini 
 without accompaniment. 
 
 The following pleasing incident, which occurred 
 at this time, is told of Cherubini by Elwart. I give 
 it in the latter's own words : 
 
 ' En 1841 un professeur ayant 6te nomme an Con- 
 servatoire par le ministre de I'interieur sans avoir 
 ^te prealablement present^ par le directeur, assist^ du 
 conseil d'administration, Cherubini fit venir, , dans 
 son cabinet, I'artiste, qui, par des services gratuits 
 anterieurement rendus, etait digne de I'emploi nou- 
 veau, et lui declara que, si, dans les 24 heures il 
 n'etait pas nomme titulaire d'une classe semblable ^ 
 celle creee pour X, il donnerait sa demission. Le pro- 
 fesseur adjoint, touche de ce precede le supplia de ' 
 ne rien faire. Mais iCherubini ecrivit au ministre, et 
 le surlendemain le Conservatoire comptait un pro- 
 fesseur titulaire de plus, et eut une injustice de 
 moins k deplorer.' 
 
 Towards the close of 1841, Ingres, the celebrated 
 artist, painted Cherubini's portrait, which was bought 
 by the king, and is now in the Luxembourg gallery. 
 
360 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 It is a beautiful and faithful likeness of the com- 
 poser, who sent Ingres with his thanks a beautiful 
 canon, set to words of his own, the last piece Che- 
 rubini ever wrote. 
 
 Miel thus describes the picture of Ingres': ' While 
 seated on a fauteuil, and dressed in the modem 
 fashion, Cherubini directs a glance forwards — that is, 
 a preoccupied one, but in which genius shines. Po- 
 lymnia, invisible to him, standing upright behind 
 the seat, robed in the severe majesty of ancient cos- 
 tume, with a crown of laurel on her brow, the fingers 
 of the left-hand resting on the strings of the lyre, 
 is stretching out the right-hand over her favourite, 
 and overshadowing him with her protection, express- 
 ing by her authoritative mien that this man belongs 
 to her.' Miel adds, ' Composition originale, et myste- 
 rieuse, contraste inattendu mais naturel, entre le 
 monde reel et le monde ideal, portrait individuel 
 devenu un sublime tableau d'histoire.'* 
 
 Cherubini is thus described by one who saw him 
 at this time : ' Although his body was bent under so 
 great a weight of years, his eye. was full of fire, his 
 face full of majesty, his forehead full of brightness. 
 It was delightful to behold his waving silvery hair, 
 which thickly covered his head, and played beauti- 
 tifuUy round his ears and temples.' 
 
 A blow came to Cherubini in the death of M. 
 • Miel, p. 28. 
 
Death of Cherubini. 361 
 
 Turcas, his son-in-law. It was some time before he . 
 regained his cheerfulness. One day Halevy paid a 
 visit to him, when laid up in his room by some slight 
 illness, and complimented the octogenarian, who 
 thought he could prolong his life, on his looks, 
 ' Oh !' he replied, ' I have not ten years more to 
 live.' On the 3d of February Gherubini tendered his 
 resignation as director of the Conservatoire. It was 
 accepted, and Louis Philippe, bent on bestowing a 
 signal mark of his appreciation of such lengthened 
 services in the cause of music, for- the first time 
 made a musician Commander of the Legion of 
 Honour. On the 12th March Cherubini grew weaker. 
 On the 15th, surrounded by his wife, son, and 
 daughter, Halevy,Batton^ -and other intimate friends, 
 and whilst muttering, some words which were un- 
 intelligible to those about him, he expired, in the 
 eighty-second year of his age. 
 
 As Cherubini was a Commander of the Legion of 
 Honour, the faneral took place with much solemnity 
 and with military honours. The procession, joined 
 by no less than three thousand persons,, started from 
 the gates of the Conservatoire, and passing along 
 the Boulevards, amidst the grand strains of Cheru- 
 bim's own funeral march for General Hoche, directed 
 its solemn course to the church of St. Roeh. Here 
 Cherubini's second Requiem was performed, by his 
 own dying wish. 'We shall never forget,' says a 
 
362 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 writer 'in the AthencBum, speaking of the Mass lately 
 noticed, ' the thrilling effect of his Eequiem for three 
 men's voices, executed at his own obsequies at St. 
 Koch in 1842.' When the ceremonial was over, the 
 cortege proceeded to the cemetery of P^re la Chaise. 
 Here M. Raoul Rochette, in the name of the Insti- 
 tute, of which Cherubini was a member, Lafont the 
 younger, Halevy, and another from the Conservatoire, 
 representing Cherubini's friends, said successively a 
 few touching words over the .deceased ; a deluge of 
 rain and hail happened to fall at the time, but so 
 absorbed was ea,ch person in listening with religious 
 silence to the various addresses that no one left the 
 scene.® 
 
 Under the presiding care of the Due de Coigny 
 a commission was instituted, with the object of 
 raising a rich sepulchral monument to the prince 
 of modern composers for the Church, and, by means 
 of subscriptions received by the Conservatoire, the 
 present handsome tomb, by Leclerc the architect, 
 with a marble medallion and a bas-relief of the head 
 of the Florentine master by Dumont, was erected at 
 Pfere la Chaise. The Muse is crowning his head 
 with a wreath, and on the pedestal is inscribed, un- 
 der the heads of ' Musique Religieuse' and ' Musique 
 Dramatique,' Cherubini's chief works, such as the 
 Messes de Requiem, Messe du sacre de Charles X, Lodo- 
 ' Ficchianti, p. 69 ; Gamucci, p. 49. 
 
Tablet at Florence. 'y,^'^ 
 
 iska, Elisa, Medee, Les Deux Journies, Fanisha, Les 
 Abenc^rages, &c. ; followed by ' Musique Instrumen- 
 tale' and ' (Euvres Theoretiques.' 
 
 On the morning of the 22d' April 1842, the 
 faithful saw suspended, on the chief door of the 
 church of St. Gaetan and St. Michael at Florence, 
 the following inscription: 'His fellow -citizens to 
 Luigi Cherubim, Florentine, Commander of the Legion 
 of Honour, director of the Conservatoire of Music at 
 Paris, where — an octogenarian — he terminated his 
 laborious and illustrious career — a man of antique 
 virtue and spotless character, most profound in the 
 mysteries of harmony — in the art of which he was 
 a master, and especially in sacred music, displaying 
 a powerful genius — in majesty of conception and 
 sublimity of style second to none — the upholder 
 among strangers of the glory of Italy.' The original 
 Italian runs as follows : 
 
 LUIGI CHEBUBINI 
 
 PIOBEHTINO 
 
 COMMENDATOEE BELLA LEGION d' ONOBE 
 
 DIEETTOBE DEL CON SEETATOBIO MUSIOALE DI PAEIGI 
 
 OVE OTTCAGENABIO IL 15 MAEZO 1842 
 
 TEBMINd LA SUA LAEOKIOSA ED ILLUSTBE CAEEIEEA 
 
 UOMO DI ANTICHE VIETl) ED INTEMEBATI COSTUMI 
 
 PEOrONDISSIMO NEI MISTEEI DELL' ABMONIA 
 
 IL QUALE NELL' AETE DI CHE EU MAESTBO 
 
 E MASSIMAMENTE NELLA MUSICA SACBA 
 
 SPIEGATO GENIO POTENTB 
 
 PEE MAESTOSI CONCETTI E SUBLIMITA DI STILE 
 
 A NESSUNO SEOONDO 
 
 PBESSO GLI SIEANIEEI LA GLOBIA ITALIANA SOSTENHE 
 
 BUOI OONCITIADINI 
 
364 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 ' While,' says Picchianti, ' the faithful were invited 
 thither by the church-bells to pray for the repose of 
 the illustrious deceased, two to three hundred mem- 
 bers of the Musical College made the vaulted roof of 
 the magnificent temple resound with the last in- 
 spired strains of music in which this perfect com- 
 poser had depicted the terrible day of tremendous 
 wrath, and had earnestly begged of the Divine 
 Judge to number him among the blest. And of that 
 immense crowd assembled together, perhaps there 
 was not one man old enough to remember having 
 seen him amongst us, or in a position to recall the 
 affectionate acclamation he had received from his 
 fellow-countrymen, more especially on the occasion 
 of the representation of his opera of Idalide, at the 
 great theatre in 1784, with which, without its being 
 foreseen, he bade a last farewell to his native place. 
 From that period Cherubini was but an historical 
 name for Florence, a title of glory that will endure 
 for ages.'* 
 
 No sooner did the news of Cherubini's death be- 
 come known than a general anxiety prevailed to do 
 him honour. The municipality of Paris bestowed his 
 name on a new street leading to the great opera- 
 house, and that of Florence did the same with a 
 street in the new quarter of Maglio f while the name 
 ' Picchianti, p. 5. ' Gamncci. 
 
Letter from Baillot. ^6^ 
 
 of Chefubini was conferred on tlie large and elegant 
 ' Teatro Pagliano' in his native city.® 
 
 Bartolini some time back had executed a bust of 
 Cherubini, which is an acknowledged masterpiece. 
 Pierre J. David also executed a bust or medallion of 
 him ; and a bronze statue was raised to his memory 
 at Florence, with the inscription that was affixed to 
 the door of St. Michael and St. Gaetan. A brilliant re- 
 vival of JLes Deux JournSes at Paris no less honoured 
 its composer ; and, by a strange coincidence, Bouilly, 
 the writer of the book, also an octogenarian, died a 
 month after Cherubini ; so that Emile Vanderburch 
 — who, with both of them, was member of the Society 
 d'Enfants d'ApoUon, and in the name of that society 
 now offered homage to Cherubini — could saiy in his 
 elegy that the authors of Les Deux Journies had 
 died hand in hand. 
 
 The Athenceum also mentipns some lines of tribute 
 to Cherubini by M. Emile Deschamps, and Kalk- 
 brenner .wrote a piece in our composer's honour. 
 Baillot wrote to hie brother-in-law, M. Guynemer, in 
 a letter from Paris, dated April 9, 1842 : ' 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 : 
 " Gamncci. 
 
3 66 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 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, per- 
 haps, the " last and noj^lest Roman" in the purely 
 classical style of art. All the principal artistes of 
 Paris attended his funeral, and it was not without 
 considerable emotion that I beheld amongst them M. 
 Ingres, to whom we are indebted for the 'faithful 
 portrait of our lost friend, a work which is the .chef- 
 d'oeuvre of his pencil, because inspired by his 
 heart. 
 
 ' We followed him to his last abode — ^but no ! his 
 abode is no longer on this earth ; heaven has, ere 
 this, received him whose sacred compositions seemed 
 to forestall the harmonies of a better world, and to 
 invite us to render ourselves worthy of being ad- 
 mitted into it. 
 
 ' Two days ago, April 7, Les Deux Journies was 
 performed at the theatre. It was only announced by 
 the bills in the morning, yet the house was crowded. 
 I could not withhold my assistance. The success — 
 a strange expression after forty years of success— «■ 
 was perfect. It was very well acted, and the music 
 was executed with that ensemble which cannot be 
 equalled when it proceeds from the unanimity of 
 sentiment and respect, of which we find so few in- 
 
Funeral Service at Pisa. 367 
 
 stances in social life. Nothing languished ; the actors 
 and the musicians excelled themselves, and the three 
 acts were finished in two hours and twenty minutes. 
 The curtain was afterwards raised to exhibit the 
 bust of Cherubini* upon an elevated pedestal, with 
 the actors from the principal theatres ranged around 
 it in costume. The two principal performers of the 
 evening recited, some appropriate and very touching 
 verses from the pen of the octogenarian author of 
 Les Deux Journies, M. Bouilly. The whole passed off 
 in a style worthy of the occasion, and must have 
 interested even those most indifferent to the beauties 
 of the art, or the triumph of genius. And what 
 music ! I longed for you beside me, even while the 
 pleasure, regret, and a tumult of deep emotions had 
 taken such total possession of my poor heart that 
 I tried in vain to stifle them; and you, I know, 
 would have felt as acutely. 
 
 ' On the same day, April 7, a faneral service for 
 the illustrious dead was to be performed at Pisa. 
 Now all is said ; and what remains of this wonderful 
 genius "? The admiration of the many, and the affec- 
 tionate remembrance of the few who loved the man 
 for himself as much as for his great works.'^" 
 
 » The well-known masterpiece by Bartolini. 
 
 '» This letter was sent by M. Guynemer for insertion into Mainzer's 
 Musical Times : see vol. i. p. 26. 
 
368 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 Rossini felt deeply the loss of his great country- 
 man, and by kindness and sympathy strove tp assuage 
 the grief of those who felt the most keenly their 
 bereavement.' Writing to Cherubini's widow, he 
 sent her a portrait of the Florentine, as he looked 
 when young, accompanying the gift with the remark: 
 ' Here, my dear madam, is the portrait of a great 
 man, who is as young in your heart as he is ia my 
 mind.' On the 7th of October 1843, Raoul Rochette 
 read Cherubini's '61oge' at the Institute. Lastly, 
 must be mentioned the raising of the monument to 
 Cherubini, quite recently, in the church of Sta. Croce, 
 Florence. Ferdinand Morini seems to have taken 
 the initiative in this matter with zeal and energy. 
 A committee was formed, with the Marquis Pofti- 
 peo Azzolino as President, and the Duke di San 
 Clemente, Professors Aw. Cav. L. F. Casamorata, 
 Olimpo Mariotti, Antonio Marini, Cav. Odoardo Fan- 
 tachiotti (sculptor), Luigi Picchianti, Cav. Teodulo 
 Mabellini, Cav. Giovacchino Maglioni, Cav. Gere- 
 mia Sbolci, Alamanno Biagi, Vincenzo Meini, and 
 Cav. Ferdinando Morini as members. In Italy 3000 
 lire were subscribed, of which King Victor Em- 
 manuel gave 500 lire. Prince Carignano 200, and 
 the Minister of Public Instruction 200. The munici- 
 pality of Florence gave 500 lire towards the com- 
 pletion of the work. Through the death of the 
 
Concert at the Conservatoire. 369 
 
 Marquis Azzolino and Professors Marini and Biagi, 
 the committee underwent some changes ; Morini was 
 made president, and nominated Professor Abramo 
 Basevi to the committee; and subsequently, the 
 Marquis Lorenzo Niccolini, the Marquis Luigi Tor- 
 rigiani, and Professors Cav. Cesare Mussini and 
 Alessandro Biagi. Morini as president, however, 
 found he had too much on his hands, and more par- 
 ticularly associating with himself the Duke di San 
 Clemente and Casamorata, thus formed an execu- 
 tive committee, of which Morini of course was presi- 
 dent, while the duke was treasurer, and Casamorata 
 collector. Meini was secretary. Lists of the subscrip- 
 tions already received were issued to show that no 
 offerings had been less than three lire, and to induce 
 others to come forward with their aid. A sub-com- 
 mittee was formed, with the concurrence of Morini, 
 by Prince Giuseppe Poniatowski at Paris, of which 
 Auber was president; and the Prince and HaMvy 
 were vice-presidents ; and Berlioz, Carafa, Clapisson, 
 Kastner, Meyerbeer, Eeber, Rossi, Ambroise Thomas, 
 and Odoardo Monnais (secretary), members. Two 
 concerts were given respectively at Florence and 
 Paris. 
 
 On the 22d of December 1861, the great hall of 
 the Conservatoire was crowded with artists ' and 
 amateurs to hear one of these concerts, which was 
 
 BB 
 
3 7 o Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 conducted by Tilmant. The programme was as 
 follows : 
 
 Overture to ^nacr&ra Cherubmi. 
 
 Chorus, Blanche de Provence, ' Dors, noMe enfant' . Cherubini, 
 
 Chant des Titans Bossini. 
 
 Fragment from Prometheus . . . . ■ Beethoven; 
 
 Introduction and Chorus from Elisa . . ■ Cherubini. 
 
 Symphony in C minor Beethoven. 
 
 The Chant des Titans was written by Kossini 
 expressly for this concert, as a homage to Cherubini, 
 and this at a time when he had given up musical 
 composition. 
 
 On the 8th of December 1865, the second concert 
 
 took place at Florence. The programme was as 
 
 follows : 
 
 Overture to Faniska .... Cherubini. 
 
 ' Da nobis pacem' .... Mendelssohn. 
 
 Symphony in G minor . . . Mozart. 
 
 Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Mass in D . . Beethoven. 
 
 Monnais, the French treasurer, in a letter of the 
 6th of March 1862, announced the result of the 
 French subscriptions, which came to 5212 lire. In 
 the mean time Cesare Ciardi, the flutist, had collected 
 a further sum at St. Petersburg. 
 
 The sums collected by the treasm-er of the Duke 
 di San Clemente's committee were already paid in 
 the central deposit and savings-bank at Florence. 
 Meanwhile Fantacchiotti, who was to execute the 
 monument, declined receiving any sum for his ser- 
 
Inscription. 371 
 
 vices, and 200 lire were received from the King of 
 Portugal, besides other subscriptions from distin- 
 guished persons in Italy, England, France, Russia, 
 and Germany. Morini now placed on the exterior 
 wall of the house in the Via Fiesolana, where Cheru- 
 bim was born, the following inscription, by Luigi 
 Venturi : 
 
 QUI NACQUE IL XIV SETTEMBEE MDCCLX 
 
 LUIGI CHERUBINI 
 
 CHE SOMMO NEL MAGISTEKO DELL* ARMONIA 
 
 CEEATOBE DI SUBLIMI MELODIE BELIGIOSE 
 
 EESIAUnd OQNI MANIEEA DI MUSICO STILE 
 
 E NELLE EAGIONI DELl' ARTE 
 
 SERBS PEEBGRINO ERA GLI BIEANIERI LA GLORIA 
 
 DEL PEIMATO ITALIANO 
 
 ' Here was born, on the 14th of September 1760, 
 Luigi Cherubini, who, supreme in the mastery of 
 harmony, creator of sublime religious melodies, re- 
 stored every kind of musical style, and, though a 
 wanderer among strangers, preserved in all that 
 concerned his art the glory of Italian primacy. 
 
 Fantacchiotti meanwhile was tracing on marble 
 the form' of the monument of which he had already 
 made a sketch in xhalk, and at his own risk and 
 expense modelled in plaster the grouping. The 
 monument was - generally approved of, and Casamo- 
 rata, in October 1869, stipulated with Fantacchiotti 
 for the contract. The inscription by Venturi ran as 
 follows : 
 
2)']'i- Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 LUIGI CHEBUBINI 
 
 N. IN riKENZB IL Di XIT SETT. MDCCLX. 
 
 M. IN PABIGI IL XV MAB. MDOCCXLII. 
 
 SCKITTOEE IN8CPEEAT0 DI MELODIE EELIGIOSE 
 
 AEKIOOHi DI NUOVE BELLEZZE OGNI MANIEEA DI MUSICO STILE 
 
 E SALUTATO DA T0TTA EUEOPA 
 
 SOHMO NEL MAGISTEEO DELL* AEIE 
 
 EBBE A PABIGI 
 
 OTE EES3E IL CONSEEVATOEIO MCSIOALB 
 
 6L1 ONOEI, DOVUTI ALL' IMGEGNO ED ALLA TIBTU 
 
 .E DA' SUOI CITTADINI 
 
 QUESIO MONUMENTO PEA LE GLOBIE ITALIANE 
 
 NELL' ANNO MDOCCLXIX. 
 
 ' Luigi Chenibini, born in Florence the 14th of Sep- 
 tember 1760, died in Paris, 15th of March 1842 ; 
 unsurpassed writer of religious melodies, he enriched 
 ■with new beauties every kind of musical style, and, 
 hailed by all Europe as supreme in the mastery of the 
 art, received at Paris, where he directed the Musical 
 Conservatoire, the honours due to genius and virtue, 
 and from his fellow-citizens this monument, amidst 
 the glories of Italy, in the year 1869.' 
 
 Gamucci, to whom I am indebted for nearly all 
 the foregoing details, thus describes the monument, 
 which, after so much zeal and energy, -was at length 
 raised to Cherubini, and is now to be seen in the 
 great church of Sta. Croce. Over the inscription, ' on 
 a ribbon entwined with a crown of lam-el is seen 
 sculptured the first musical phrase of his famous 
 Ave Maria, for soprano. Above the base of the 
 monument is placed the urn of ashes, on which are 
 
Momiment at Florence. 373 
 
 two figures, larger than life, representing Music, or 
 its presiding Muse, who is placing a crown on 
 the head of Genius, personified as the winged youth, 
 and who is gently leaning on a column, with 
 his right hand holding a medallion, on which, in 
 bas-relief, is sculptured the eflSgy of Cherubini. 
 Beautiful, noble, yet sad is the figure at the 
 base representing Music, which, while quietly hold- 
 ing the lyre in her right hand, with the left crowns 
 Genius The bashful and modest expres- 
 sion of the countenances, which have nothing earthly 
 or pagan about them, the quiet demeanour of the 
 figures, symbolise, undoubtedly, religious music, in 
 which Cherubini was unapproached. The idea of 
 Fantacchiotti in this beautiful group is clearly dis- 
 played. In avoiding that pedantry which desires 
 too much subtlety in the productions of art, and 
 chains the imagination to preestablished forms, there 
 can be no hesitation in affirming that the concep- 
 tion of Professor Fantacchiotti is beautiful, delicate, 
 tender, and bearing the imprint of novelty, for 
 which the idea he has imagined and drawn with 
 such exquisite art is worthy of sincere praise. The 
 larger figure, representing Music, wears a simple 
 tunic, to which is added a cloak crossed and falling 
 over the left shoulder, disposed with a few folds 
 and with admirable naturalness. The beauty of 
 
374 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 the design, the softness of the flesh, the repose, 
 order, and harmony that reign in every portion, 
 mate this work worthy of admiration, and ranks 
 Professor Fantacchiotti among the~ number of the 
 most illustrious sculptors of our time.'^^ 
 
 ' Cherubini,' exclaims M. Adolphe Adam, ' has just 
 breathed his last ! He whose works have been the 
 admiration of all Europe is no more ! Immortality 
 has commenced for this illustrious man. Few careers 
 of musicians have been so admirable, so well falfilled. 
 During the second half of the last century, and, 
 the first of this, his name has ever been pronounced 
 with respect, his works have been cited as models, 
 and accepted as such by all composers, of whatever 
 school they were ; their purity, their classicism, has 
 placed them outside and beyond all the frivolities of 
 fashion, all the concessions made to the taste of the 
 public. Rossini, Auber, and Meyerbeer, those three 
 representatives of the Italian, French, and German 
 schools, bow down equally before this great name, 
 before the celebrated man whose works they have 
 studied; before him whose career had preceded 
 those of all three, perhaps marked out for them their 
 track; before him whose science had shown from 
 afar to genius the road it had to follow. Although 
 
 " Gamuooi, Alcune Notizie storiche sul Monumento in S. Croce a 
 L. Cherubini. 
 
Conchision. 375 
 
 Cherubini's style appertains ratter vto the German 
 school than to the Italian, yet you cannot rank him 
 among the composers of the first of these schools. 
 His manner is less Italian than that of Mozart ; it is 
 purer than that of Beethoven ; it is rather the re- 
 surrection of the old Italian school enriched by the 
 discoveries of modern hai-mony. I believe that if 
 Palestrina had lived in our own time he would have 
 been a Cherubini ; there is the same purity, the same 
 moderation in resource, the same result obtained by 
 causes, so to speak, mysterious, . . . The works of this 
 master will always serve as models, because composed 
 in an exact and almost mathematical plan ; exempt 
 therefore from the affected regulations of fashion, 
 they undergo less depreciation than many works 
 otherwise to be recommended on many accounts, but 
 whose forms become antiquated so much the more 
 quickly as they have been received with favour on 
 their first appearance. In fact, compare the first 
 works of Mozart with those of Cherubini, composed 
 nearly at the same period — for the one was born at 
 four years' interval from the other — and you will 
 be surprised to see how much certain passages of 
 Mozart will appear to you old-fashioned, while no- 
 thing in Cherubini's works will betray the period at 
 which they were written. It is not astonishing if, 
 with this strictness of form, Cherubini has rarely ob- 
 
37^ Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 tained popular success ; in music, successes too great 
 often cost future fame, and posterity knows how to 
 reward us for having refused concessions to the 
 taste of the day ; thus it wants great courage to 
 resist such easy conditions for success; it wants 
 a great faith in your art; you must look it full 
 in the face to dare to cultivate it for its own sake.' 
 
 'Cherubini,' says M. Kastner,^^ 'has given proof of 
 a fecundity and a universality indeed surprising. It is 
 true to say that during his long career he never knew 
 repose. And why repose when science and inspiration 
 are your humble slaves, and at every hour await your 
 commands 1' ' On the other hand,' adds F. Girod, 'it 
 is certain that the great artiste never worked hur- 
 riedly or negligently. If all his works are imprinted 
 with the mark of genius, they are none the less re- 
 markable for the pains with which they are elabo- 
 i:ated.' ■ 
 
 ' Cherubini's position,' observes Mr. G. A. Macfarren, 
 ' is unique in the history of his art ; actively before 
 the world as a composer for threescore years and ten, 
 his career spans over more vicissitudes in the pro- 
 gress of music than that of any other man. Begin- 
 ning to write in the same year with Cimarosa, and 
 even earlier than Mozart, and being the contempo- 
 rary of Verdi and of Wagner, he witnessed almost the 
 " Sur let Manuscrits Autographes de Cherubini. 
 
Conclusion, 377 
 
 origin of the two modern classic schools of France 
 and Germany, their rise to perfection, and, if not their 
 decline, the arrival of a time when criticism woidd 
 usurp the place of creation, and when, to propound 
 new rules for art, claims higher consideration than 
 to act according to its ever-unalterable principles. 
 His artistic life was indeed a rainbow based upon the 
 two extremes of modern music, which shed Kght and 
 glory on the great art-cycle over which it arched. . . 
 His excellence consists in his unswerving earnestness 
 of purpose, in the individuality of his manner, in the 
 vigour of his ideas, in the fluency of his melody, and 
 in the purity of his harmony.' 
 
 ' Such,' says M. Miel, ' was Cherubini ; a colossal 
 and exceptional nature, an incommensurable genius, 
 an existence full of days, of masterpieces, and of 
 glory. Among his rivals he found his most sincere 
 appreciators. The Chevalier Seyfried has recorded 
 in a notice on Beethoven, that that grand musician 
 looked upon Cherubini as the first of his contempo- 
 rary composers. We will add nothing to this praise ; 
 'the judgment of such a rival is for Cherubini the 
 voice itself of posterity.' 
 
 Bright as was Cherubini's fame during his life- 
 time, it has been growing steadily and rapidly since 
 his death, and more especially of late years. The 
 place he holds in the history of his art has never 
 
^';^8 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 been disputed, and his admirers may justly claim for 
 him the distinction of being not only the greatest 
 contrapuntist of his time, but also of being one, the 
 originality, depth, and pathos of whose inspiration 
 well entitled him to rank amongst the foremost of 
 composers in what may perhaps hereafter shine in 
 history as the golden age of music. 
 
A CHRONOLOGICAL CATALOGUE OF 
 CHERUBINI'S WORKS. 
 
 This has, of course, been compiled almost entirely 
 from Cherubini's own Catalogue of bis compositions. 
 Twenty works mentioned in a supplement by the 
 editor of that publication, Bottee de Toulmon, as 
 well as the pieces which Cherubini contributed to 
 Sarti's operas, have been inserted, as far as possible, 
 in their proper places. In an addendum will be 
 found recorded such other works as have various 
 authorities for their existence, though not the aii- 
 thority either of Cherubini himself or that of De 
 Toulmon. The numbering in the original Catalogue, 
 which merely goes according to the amount and 
 distribution of the MSS. about to be disposed of into 
 lots (those works of which the MSS. had been lost 
 not being numbered), has not been followed in the 
 present list. A cross before any work signifies the 
 of the MS. at the time of the sale, or that it 
 
380 Memorials of Cl^erubini. 
 
 was included in a sale made by Cherubini's father 
 of all his music ; an asterisk, that such work has 
 been published. Some additional information likely 
 to be useful has been furnished, in a great measure 
 derived from the varied and, laborious researches of 
 Clement. 
 
 Year. No. Title and Description of the Work. ^'';,? 
 
 pp. MS. 
 
 1773. 1. Mass in D, for four voices, with ace. ; full score, 
 
 Florence 146 
 
 2.] Intermezzo, name unknown, for a 'theatre de 
 
 societe' . . ... — 
 
 1774., 3. Mass in C, for four voices, with ace. ; fuU score .166 
 
 4.fLa Pubblioa Fehcita, cantata for several voices, 
 executed in a side-ohapel of the Duomo on oc- 
 casion of a fete in honour of Peter Leopold II. 
 Grand-Duke of Tuscany, afterwards Emperor 
 of Germany 
 
 5. jDixit, psahn for four voices, witli ace. . 
 
 1775. 6. Mass in C, for four voices, with ace. ; fall score . 143 
 7. Dixit, psahn for solo and chorus, with organ aec 
 
 fuU score^ 19 
 
 8.fll Giuocatore, intermezzo for a 'theatre de so- 
 ciete' 
 
 9.fMagniiicat, for four voices, with ace. . 
 
 1776. 10. ) -j-Two Lamentations of Jeremiah, for two voices 
 
 11. J with aec 
 
 IS-fMiserere for four voices, with ace. 
 
 13.fRondeau . .... 
 
 I4.|-Duet 
 
 15. 1 Comic air . ... 
 
 1777. 16. Motet for four voices, with ace. ; fuU score, taken 
 
 from No. 1 36 
 
 ' Chembini says, ' See No 1, year 1773.' On turning to No. 1, 
 the Mass in D, we are referred to No. 4 (the present psalm is bo 
 numbered) . These-cross references are very numerouB in the original 
 Catalogue. 
 
Catalogue of Works. 3 8 \ 
 
 Year. No. Title and Description of the Work. ^°- "' 
 
 pp. MS. 
 
 1777. 17.fOratorio, name unknown, executed in St. Peter's 
 
 Church — 
 
 IS.fTe Deum, for four voices, with aco. . . — 
 
 1778. 19. Montes et Colles, for four voices, Bologna . . 3 
 
 2 
 2 
 1 
 
 20. Angelus ad patrem, for five voices 
 
 21. Venit Domine, for six voices . 
 
 22. Lauda Jerusalem, for four voices 
 
 23. Lauda Jerusalem, the same, but treated diiferently 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 4 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 24. Beati. omnes, for four voices 
 ^ 25. A viro iniquo libera me, for four voices . 
 
 26. Expectabo Dominum, for four voices . 
 
 27. Petrus Apostolus, for six voices . 
 
 1779. 28. Vox clamantis, for four voices, MUan . 
 
 29. Non conftmdetur, for four voices 
 
 30. Salva nos, Domine, for four voices 
 
 31. Lumen, for four voices .... 
 82. Ipse invocabit me, for four voices . 
 
 33. Leva, Jerusalem, for four voices , 
 
 34. Venit et Dominus, for four voices . 
 
 35. Expectabo Dominum, for five voices 
 Kos. 19 to 35 are antiplions on plain chant, d, la Falestrlna, without ace, 
 
 3 6. f Litanies for.four voices, number unknown 
 
 1780. 37. Sonata for two organs ; copy^ . . . . Vt 
 
 38. Ad cultum fidei, for four voices .... 1 
 
 39. Eegnavit, exultet, for four voices .... 1 
 
 40. Parasti, for two choirs 3 
 
 Nos. 38 to 40 are antlphons without ace, taken from Nos. 22 to 35. 
 41-6. jSix Sonatas for clavichord, printed at Florence — 
 47.f Airs in Sartis' operas, mentioned by Cherubim in 
 
 the notice at the head of his Catalogue ; names, 
 amount, and dates unknown . . . — 
 48.tlL QuiNTO Fabio, first opera, in three acts, re- 
 presented for the autumn fair at Alessandria 
 della PagUa^ — 
 
 ' Cherubim, aU through his Catalogue, makes a clear diatiuotion 
 between ' MS.' and ' copie,' of which the first no doubt means his own 
 autograph ms., otherwise there is no reason why the copy should not 
 be called ms. also. 
 
 ^ It has been suggested that by ' Alexandrie-de-la-PaUle' the name 
 
382 Memorials of Cherubinu 
 
 Year. No. Title and Description of the Work. ^"'^^ 
 
 1780. 49. Tu quella vita in dono, air ; full score . . 18 
 
 50. Vado a moiir, ben mio, rondeau ; fuU Score . . 24 
 
 51. Padre, deh! resta, recitative and air; full score . 23 
 
 Nos. 49 and 51 are pieces in Quinto Fabio, 
 
 1781. 52. Amato padre, addio, recitative and air for a lady; 
 
 full score, MUan . . .42 
 
 53. Se vj giunge U tristo awiso ; fuU score. . . 24 
 
 54. Caro consorte amato ; full score . . . .22 
 
 55. Distaccati al primo cenno ; full score . . .27 
 
 56. Questa e causa d' onore ; fuU score . . .34 
 
 57. Agitata tutta io sono ; full score . . . .28 
 
 Nos. 53 to 57 are comic airs placed in an opera giTen at MUan. 
 
 58.-j-Motet, for solo, with aco. for Marchesi the singer . — 
 
 59. Nemo gaudeat, motet for two choirs, with ace. for 
 
 two organs ; organ copy 41 
 
 60. Caro padre, air in an opera began, but not com- 
 
 pleted, for Venice ; fuU score . . . .27 
 01. Morte, morte iaMl, recit. and duet in the same; 
 
 full score 52 
 
 1782. 62. Abmida, second opera, in three acts, represented 
 
 during the carnival at Florence ; fuU score . 456 
 
 63. Admano in Sima, third opera, in three acts, repre- 
 
 sented in the spring for the opening of a new 
 hall at Leghorn ; full score ; erroneously entitled 
 ' Artaserse' by Fetis, and also ' Adriano in Serva' 400 
 
 64. Sapro scordarmi ingrata, air added to the above 
 opera for Crescentini the singer : full score . 29 
 
 65. SoHtario bosco ombroso, bass ; Florence 
 
 66. Compagni, amor lasciate, bass 
 
 67. H pastor se torna aprile, bass 
 
 68. Io rivedro sovente, piano 
 
 Nos. 65 to G8 are noctums for two voices. 
 09-74.*Six Nocturns, printed by Longman and Bro- 
 derip (26 Cheapside and 13 Haymarket, price 
 10s. 6(1.) in 1780, and dedicated to Signer Corsi, 
 Grand Chamberlain to Leopold II.; piano; 
 printed 12 p. ; also Frey, Paris . . . . 
 
 of some theatre at Milan is intended, just as Cherubim speaks of ' Fey- 
 deau,' meaning the ' Feydeau Theatre;' but the composer's biographers 
 are surely right in taking him to mean the city of Alessandria. 
 
Catalogue of Works. 383 
 
 No. of 
 
 pp. MS. 
 
 Year. No. Title and Desoription of the Work. 
 
 1782. 75. lo che languir, for solo ; piano .... 2 
 
 76. E mentre dolcemente, for solo ; piano . . 2 
 No5. 75 and 76 are noctums set to oUava rima of Marino ; piano. 
 
 77. EUa dinanzi al petto, for solo, set to ottava rima 
 
 of Tasso for solo ; piano .... 2 
 
 78. Bella rosa porporina, canzonet for solo ; piano . 1 
 
 Nos. 75 to 7S are taken from Nob. 65 to 68. 
 
 79. Il Messenzio, fourth opera, in three acts, repre- 
 
 sented in the autumn at the Pergola, Florence, 
 Septemher 8 ; full score 540 
 
 80. Duet in the ahove opera not executed as here; fuU 
 
 score 24 
 
 81-2. fTwo duets, with ace. for two ' cors d'attiour' for 
 George Nassau Clavering, third Lord Cowper, 
 
 Florence — ■ 
 
 83. Non bramo il merito, air for Babini the singer, 
 
 added to the pasticcio of Semiramide ; fuU score 12 
 
 1783. 84. Il Quinto Fabio, fifth opera, in tliree acts, com- 
 
 posed in January, and represented at the Ar- 
 gentina Theatre, Rome ; full score . . . 520 
 
 85. Forza e pur beU' idol mio, comic ter(or air ; fuU 
 
 score ; Florence 20 
 
 86. Pensate che la femmina, comic tenor air, full 
 
 score 16 
 
 87.f Comic bass air — 
 
 88. Ninfa crudel, madrigal for five voices, ' avec la 
 
 basse continue,' taken from Nos. 22-33, figured 
 bass copy 24 
 
 89. Lo Sposo di tbe Mariio di Nessuna, sixth opera 
 
 (buffa), in two acts, entitled by Piccliianti 'Lo 
 Sposo di tre Donne,' and by the Harmonioon, 
 ' Lo Sposo di tre Femmine,' composed and repre- 
 sented in the autumn (at St. Samuels Theatre), 
 Venice ; fuU score 658 
 
 1784. 90-1. Two new choruses, placed in an oratorio made up 
 
 of pieces out of Cherubini's operas, executed in 
 the winter aj; the Jesuits' Church, Florence; 
 
 full scare copy . 69 
 
 92. Tenor air, inserted in an oratorio maide up at 
 Florence, doubtless the same as above, men- 
 
384 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 Tear. No. Title and Description of the Work. pp°5is 
 
 1784. tioned by De Toulmon in his supplement to 
 Cherubini's Catalogue ; full score copy . 45 
 
 93. L'Idalide, seventh opera, in two acts, represented 
 
 in the winter at the Pergola Theatre; fuU score 400 
 
 94. L'Alessahdro nell' Indie, eighth opera, in two 
 
 acts, represented at Mantua for the spring fair; 
 full score 420 
 
 1785. 95. In questa guisa, oh Dio ! recit and duet ; London ; 
 
 full score copy "51 
 
 96. Non fidi al mar che freme, air ; full score . 10 
 
 97. Va cediamo al destin, recit. ; full score . 15 
 
 98. Che mai feci! finale; fuU score . . . .28 
 Noa. 95 to 98, placed in a pasticcio, called // DeTnetrio, given in London. 
 
 99. Se tutti i mali miei, air ; full score copy 20 
 
 100. Fra cento afianni e cento, air ; full score copy . 24 
 
 Nofl. 99 and 100, placed in an opera given in London. 
 
 101. La Finta Pbincipessa, ninth opera (buffa), in 
 
 two acts, represented at the King's Theatre, 
 Haymarket ; full score . . . . 528 
 
 102. Chaoonne ; full score copy . ... 60 
 
 1786. 103. Al mio bene, al mio tesoro, tenor air ; full score 
 
 copy 27 
 
 104. NobUe al par che beUa, duet ; fuU score copy . 10 
 
 105. Per salvarti, oh mio tesoro ! rondeau ; fuU score 
 
 copy 20 
 
 106. Madamina, siete beUa, tenor air ; fuU score copy 23 
 1Q7. Assediato e GibUtera, bass air ; fuU score copy . 30 
 108. Cosa vuole il marchesino, addition to the first 
 
 finale ; full score copy 40 
 
 Nos. 103 to 108, placed in Paisiello's Jl Marcltese TuKpano, given in London. 
 
 109. f A tanto amore, air . . .... — 
 
 llO.fAnother air — 
 
 Nos. 109 and 110, inserted in another opera, 
 
 111. Il Giulio Sabino, tenth opera, in two acts, repre- 
 
 sented at the King's Theatre, Haymarket ; fuU 
 score ; librettist, Metastasio 4:17 
 
 112. Amphion, second cantata for the concert of the 
 
 ' Logo Olympique,' Paris, but never executed ; 
 full score copy 153 
 
 1787. 113-30.*Eighteen Komanzas, on Florian's tale of ' Es- 
 
Catalogue of Works. 385 
 
 Year. No. Title and Description o£ tlie Work. p?°jis* 
 
 1787. tella,' printed at Paris in two pari;s, piano; in 
 
 print forty-five pages ; taken from. Nos. 65-68 . — 
 ^788. 131. Ifiqenia in Aulide, eleventh opera, in three acts, 
 composed and represented during the winter 
 (at the Eoyal Theatre), Turin. The au- ' A voi 
 tomo' was printed in London in 1789, witli 
 the parts for piccolo, flute, ohoe, viola, horns in 
 A and D, and tromhone in D ; full score . . 502 
 
 132. Misera Ifigenia, recit. obbligato in the above 
 
 opera, but not executed as here ; fuU score . 21 
 
 133. Sarete alfin contenti, recit. and air for Mdme. 
 
 Todi, sung by her at a concert of tlie ' Loge 
 Olympique,' Paris; full score copy . . . 82 
 184. Ma die vi fece, oh stelle, scena and air for MdUe. 
 BaUetti; mentioned by Bottee de Toulmon; 
 exact date of composition unknown ; copy . 50 
 135.*D^MOPHON, twelfth opera, in three acts, repre- 
 sented at the Grand Opera (Academie Royale 
 de Musique) Deo. 5th ; fall score copy ; libret- 
 tist, Marmontel . .... 770 
 1780. 136. Circe, third cantata executed at a concert of the 
 
 ' Loge Olympique ;' fuU score copy . 76 
 
 137. Ti lascio, adorato mio ben, recit. and rondeau; fuU 
 
 . 56 
 . 41 
 . ;i8 
 . 16 
 . 11 
 . 35 
 . 34 
 . 31 
 . 24 
 . 23 
 . 23 
 . 34 
 
 138. Non so piii dove io sia, recit. and air copy 
 
 139. Capriocio, or pianoforte study ; piano copy 
 
 140. D' un alma incostante, air; full score . 
 
 141. Mi sta neU' anima, air ; full score 
 
 142. Vedrai nel suo bel viso, air ; fuU score 
 
 143. Piano, piano, air ; full score 
 
 144. Scritti addio, air ; full score 
 
 145. AM ! ho male al core, air; full score 
 
 146. Del caro ben che adoro, air; full score 
 
 147. Or m' acoorgo deU' errore, air ; fuU score 
 
 148. Viva amor, last finale ; full score copy 
 
 Nos. 140 to 148, inserted in Paisiello's La Molinarella (MoUnara?), given by tlie 
 ' Boufflons' at tlie luileriea. 
 
 149. Se del duol che il cor m' affanna, air placed in 
 
 Guglielmi's La Pastorella uobile, given at the • 
 Tuileries ; full score cojiy . . . .36 
 
 CC 
 
386 
 
 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 Year. No. 
 
 Title and Description of the Work. 
 
 for three voices, bass; 
 
 No. of 
 pp. us. 
 
 1790. 130. Tlie first act of Marguerite d'Anjou, an opera 
 
 begun for Louis XVI. and his Court, at tlie 
 
 Tuileries, hut never completed, and consisting 
 
 of the following eight pieces, all in full score : 
 
 Respires-tu? air 
 
 Tout doucement, trio 
 
 O reine infortunee ! air 
 
 Couplets, air 
 
 Non, ce n'est pas, air 
 
 Piinces et rois, air 
 
 Ne jugez pas, chorus 
 
 Finale 
 
 151. O Salutaris, hymn 
 
 Breuilpont .... 
 
 152. Domine salvum, hymn for three voices, bass 
 
 153. Adoremus, hymn for three voices, bass 
 
 154. Regina Coeli, hymn for three voices, bass 
 
 155. O Filii, hymn for three voices, bass . 
 
 156. D' un dolce amor la face, air; full score; Paris 
 
 157. Cheavenne! chefu! duet; full score 
 Xos. 15G ana 157, placed in Paisiello'a La GroUa di Trofonio, given at the Tuileries. 
 
 158. Di valore armato il petto, air; full score . . 16 
 
 159. Mirate ! oh Dio, mirate ! au- ; full score . . 24 
 
 Nos. 158 and 159, placed in Les Deux Jumelles (Desau^er's Les Deux Jumeaux de 
 BergaTue ?), given at the Theatre de la Foire St. Germain. 
 
 100. Fa ch' io veda il dolce aspetto, air ; full score copy 32 
 
 161. Perdonate mio signore, air; full score copy . 16 
 
 Nos. IGO and 161, placed in Paisiello's Za Frascatana, given at the Th6atre de la 
 Foire St, Germain. 
 
 162. Volgi, cara, amorosetto, air ; fuU score . . 32 
 
 163. Cara da voi dipende, quartet ; full score . . 48 
 
 164. Evviva amore, finale ; full score . . 20 
 
 Nos. 1C2 to 164, placed in the ViaggiatoH Felici (probably Anfossi's, though Leo, 
 Piccinni, and Parent! have -written works similarly entitled), given at the 
 Theatre de la J?oire St. Germain. 
 
 165. Al par deU' onda infida, air ; full score . . H 
 
 106. Senza il caro mio tesoro, air ; full score . . 20 
 
 107. Lungi dal caro bene, air ; full score . . .15 
 
 168. Son tre, sei, nove, terzetto, full score . . .36 
 
 169. Van girando per la testa, air; fuU score . . 43 
 
 26 
 
 31 
 
 26 
 
 3 
 
 32 
 32 
 14 
 51 
 
 5 
 9 
 
 7 
 29 
 42 
 
Catalogue of Works. 387 
 
 Year. No. Title and Description of the Work. „'?°;.^* 
 
 pp. MS. 
 
 1790. 170. Ah generoso amioo, recit. obblig. ; full score . 17 
 
 Nos. 165 to 170, placed in Cimarosa's Italimm in Londra, griven at tlie TtlSatre de la 
 Foire St. Germain. ' 
 
 1701. 171-6.*Six Romanzas, printed at Paris, piano ; in print 
 
 fifteen pages — 
 
 177.*Dors, mon enfant, romanza, printed at Paris, piano 3 
 178.*Le portrait de Themire, rom., printed at Paris, 
 
 piano copy 2 
 
 179.*Le veuf inconsolable, rom., printed at Paris, piano 
 
 copy 2 
 
 Nos. 171 to 179 are taken from Nos. 65 to 68. 
 
 180. Moro, manco, air ; full score . . . . 50 
 
 181. Fuggite, donne, amore, air ; full score . . 23 
 Nos. 180 and 181, placed in Paisiello's /( Tamburo NoUwno, giTen at the 
 
 Feydeau Theatre. 
 
 182. t ?*LoDoisKA, thirteenth, opera, in three acts, repre- 
 sented at the Feydeau Theatre, July 18th ; li- 
 brettist, Fillette Loraux; Imbault, Paris, with 
 a curious old frontispiece, with cherubs playing 
 the overture on harps; overture full score, 
 Breitkopf and Hartel, Leipsic . . . — 
 
 183. A ces traits je connais ta rage, duet in the above 
 
 opera, but not executed as here ; full score . 28 
 
 184. Cette indigne barbarie, air in the above opera, but 
 
 not used; full score .34 
 
 185. Penso, rifletto, air placed in 11 Burhero di boncore 
 
 (Vincent Martini's ' IlBurbefo di Buoncore' ?); 
 full score ; given by the ' Bouffons' at the Fey- 
 deau Theatre 16 
 
 186. Ti rasserena oh cara, addition to a sextet in Le 
 
 Vendemmie (probably Gazzaniga's, though 
 there is an opera by Parenti similarly entitled), 
 given at the Feydeau Theatre ; full score . 44 
 
 187. Quest'.el'ora, recit. obblig., placed in Paisiello's 
 
 La Pazza d' Amore, given at the Feydeau The- 
 atre ; full score .... .20 
 
 188-90. Tliree choruses, placed in a piece called La 
 
 Mart de Mirabeau ; full score . .- . . 48 
 179!i. 191.1 ?L'Amitie, aii- for MdUe. 0. T. (OecUe Tourette) — 
 
 192. Non ti fidar, o misera, quartet, placed in II Bon 
 Giovanni (Gazzaniga's B Bon Qiovanni tena- 
 
388 Memorials of Chertibini. 
 
 Tear. No. Title and Desoription of the Work. ^°'^s 
 
 1T92. rio), given at the Feydeau Theatre; full score 
 
 copy ... .... 64 
 
 193. Di qual rigido marmo.recit. and duet in (Martini's) 
 
 La Gosa Rara, given at the Feydeau Theatre . — 
 
 194. Le Dolci sue maniere, air; full score . . .38 
 
 195. Ma se tu fossi amore, air ; full score . . .17 
 
 196. lo mi sento un non so che, air; full score . . 18 
 
 197. II core col pensiero, trio ; full score . . 47 
 
 198. Compassione ad una donna, duet ; full score . Sfi 
 
 Kos. 194 to 198, placed in La Locandiera (probably Basili's, thougli Sarti and 
 • Bondineri have written operas similarly entitled). 
 
 179.3. 199.*La Liberta (Liberte?) et laPalinodie a Nice can- 
 zoni di Metastasio ; or should the title be alto- 
 gether Itahan, i.e. La Liberta et le Pahnodie, 
 &c.? Duets for Mme. E.; bass; Chartreuse 
 de GaiUon ; Clementi, Collard, London . . 114 
 200-1. Two trios, with viohn and pianoforte, for the 
 
 fete of M. L. (Louis), architect, piano . . B 
 
 202. Berenice che fai, recit. and air for Mme. E. ; fuU 
 
 score copy .... . . 78 
 
 203. L'Exil, romanza for the same ; piano copy . 2 
 
 204. Kouekouhgi, fourteentli opera, in three acts, with- 
 
 out an overture, and wanting a portion of the 
 last finale, never performed as here ; hbrettist, 
 Duveyrier-Melesville the elder; full score 497 
 
 205. Hymne a la Fratemite, Paris, sung in the gai'- 
 
 dens of the Tuileries on the 1st Vendemiake, 
 an 2 (Sept. 22, 1793); and, according toCastU- 
 Blaze, at the Grand Opera ; full score copy . 13 
 1704. 206. Le Salpetre Eepublicain, chorus, sung in Pluviose, 
 an 2 (Jan. 1794), at the fete for the opening 
 of the works for the extraction of saltpetre ; 
 full score copy ... . . 3 
 
 207. Clytemnestre, fourth cantata, for solo, with ace, 
 
 for Mme. B. of Havre ; full score . . .31 
 
 208. Romanza in Selico, an opera begun but never 
 
 finished; full score 30 
 
 209.*Elisa, fifteenth opera, in two acts, otherwise styled 
 ' EUsa, ou le Metz,' ' EUsa, ou le Mont St. Ber- 
 nard,' and, in the old full score printed by Le 
 
Catalogue of Works. 389 
 
 Tear. No. Title and Description of tJie Worli:. pp?US 
 
 1794. Roy, Paris, ' Elisa, ou le Voyage aux Glaciers 
 du Mont St. Beroard ;' represented at the Pey- 
 deau Theatre, Dec. 13 ; librettist, Keveroni 
 
 , St. Cyr ; overture full score, Breitkopf and 
 
 Hartel, Leipsic ; full score .... 520 
 
 1795. S10.*Hymne du Pantheon, for full chorus ; fuU score, in 
 
 print 45 pages ; exa-ct date of -composition un- 
 known ; composed, according to Cherubini, at 
 some period between this year and 1798 . . — 
 
 ■211. Chant pour leDixAout (1792), chorus ; full score 
 
 copy ; words by Lebrun, of the Institute* . 13 
 
 212- Sixty-five solfeggi for all the keys, for one, two, 
 three, and four voices, begun in this year, and 
 -■composed progressively up to the editing of the 
 complete edition of the -two parts of the Conser- 
 •vatoire solfeggi, which appeared in 1802, under 
 ■flie title of ' Prineipes elementaires de Musique, 
 suivis de Solfege, pour servir I'Etude au Con- 
 servatoire de Musio[ue,' 4to. ; figured basses^ . 2ti2 
 
 1796. -213. Fragment of a cantata for inaugurating a statue of 
 
 Apollo, to be placed in a concert-hall ; full score 25 
 
 1797. -214. ■]■ ?*Medce, sixteenth -opera, in three acts, repre- 
 
 sented at the Feydeau Theatre, March 13; full 
 score, in print 300 pages, with alterations in , 
 the author's handwrittag ; librettist, Hoffman ; 
 overture full score,Breitkopf and Hartel, Leipsic — 
 •215. Ode on the 18th Fructidor (the day of the con- 
 spiracy of poignards, Sept. 4, 1797) ; full score 
 
 « CheruMni mentions this and seven other Eepubliean pieces, Nos. 
 206 207, 211, 215, 216, 222, and 223, all together in the section 
 of Ms Catalogue for 1795, and after saying that he cannot remember 
 the exact dates of then- composition, adds that they were all written 
 between the years 1795 and 1798. E historioal dates and Clement's 
 dates of performances are correct, this cannot he accurate as regards 
 some of the pieces, and in placing them I have foUowed Clement. 
 Arnold and Clgment more correctly call the above a piece for the 
 anniversary of the 10th of August. . . , ^ „ , ■ , 
 
 ' Jn the edition that appeared in 1865, by Baptiste, I find sixty- 
 seven solfeggi by Cherubini, besides those wi-itten for all the keys and 
 changes of key iu the seventh and eighth books. 
 
39° Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 Tear. No. Title and Description of the Worls. „ J? 
 
 pp. MS. 
 
 1797. copy; sung, according to Castil-Blaze, at the 
 Grand Opera 54 
 
 216. Hymne et Marche funebre pour la mort du Ge- 
 
 neral Hoche, sung in the Champ de Mars on 
 the 10th Vendendaire, an 6 {Oct. 1st, 1797), 
 at the state funeral, and also represented at the 
 Grand Opera as a one-act piece, iinder the 
 title of Pompe funebre du General Hoche, on 
 the 11th of October, 1797; words by M. J. 
 Chenier; full score copy 65 
 
 217. Viens voir sur I'ecorce legere, romanza, piano . 2 
 
 1798. 218. Blesse par noire perfidie, romanza, piano . . 2 
 
 219. TJne chanson pour une fete, romanza, piano 2 
 
 220. Voyez cette naissante rose, romanza, piano 1 
 
 No3. 217 to 220 are taken from Nos. 66 to 68. 
 
 221.*A collection of 39 figured bass compositions, 
 
 piano^ . . 73 
 
 222. Hymn for the Fete de la Jeunesse, on the 10th 
 Germinal, an 6 (March 30, 1798) ; full score 
 copy . . 6 
 
 228. Hymn for the Fete de la Reconnaissance, on the 
 10th Prairial, an 6 (May 29, 1798) ; full score 
 copy 7 
 
 224. L'HoTELLEKiE PoBTOGAisE, Seventeenth opera, in 
 one act ; in Germany, ' Der Portugiesische Gast- 
 hof;' represented at the Feydeau Theatre, July 
 25th; full score; librettist, Aignan; overture full 
 score, Breitkopf and Hartel, and trio, 'Que 
 faire, O ciel,' published . . . 334 
 
 1799. 225.*La Punition, eighteenth opera, in one act, re- 
 
 presented at the Feydeau Theatre, February 
 23d ; full score ; librettist, Desfaucherets . 374 
 
 226. La Prisonniere, pasticcio, in one act, by Cherubini 
 and Boieldieu, and represented at the Montan- 
 sier Theatre, September 12 ; full score ; libret- 
 tists, Jouy, Longohamps, and St. Just . . 56 
 
 227-8.f Two Odes of Anacreon, for solo, set to the 
 
 Greek — 
 
 • These are, perhaps, the base parts contributed by Cherubini to 
 Baillot's Mithodes de Violon et Violoncelle in 1835. 
 
Catalogue of Works. 391 
 
 Year. No. Title and Deaoription of the Work. pp M° 
 
 1800. 229.*Lbs Deux Joukn^es, nineteenth opera, in three acts, 
 styled in Germany the ' Wassertrager,' ' Graf 
 Amiand,' and 'Die Tage der Gefahr;' in Italy, ' H 
 Portator d'aoqua' and ' Le Due Giornate ;' re- 
 presented at the Feydeaii Theatre, 26th Nivose, 
 an 8 (Jan. 16), dedicated to Gossec; librettist, 
 Jouy ; full score ; Gaveaux freres, Paris. With 
 curious old frontispiece (Armand is about to 
 get into the water-cart, the soldier looking the 
 other way); overture fuU score, Breitkopf and 
 
 Hartel, Leipsic 411 
 
 230. Epicure, pasticcio, in three acts, by Mehul and 
 Cherubini, represented at the Favart Theatre, 
 14th March; full score; hbrettist, Demoustier ; 
 overture by Cherubini pubhshed . . .305 
 231-2. Marche du prefet d'Eure-et-Loir, Chartres; 
 Marche pour le retour du prefet apres sa tour, 
 nee dans le departement ; taken from Nos. 
 199, 206, 207, 211, 215, 216, 222, 323, viz. 
 KepubUcan Hymns ; Paris ... 9 
 
 1801. 233. Morceau d'ensemble, chorus added to the second 
 
 act of the Deux Journees ; full score copy 
 234. L'Echo, romanza, piano .... 
 235.*Un jour echappe de Cythere, romanza, piano 
 236.*Tu les brisas, ces noeuds charmants, romanza. 
 
 piano ..... 
 
 237.*Solitario bosco ombroso, noctum, for two voices, 
 
 divided into four couplets, piano 
 238.*La ciatura d'Armida, noctum ottava rima of 
 
 Tasso; piano . . . . . . ! 
 
 Nos. 234 to 238 taken from Nos. 65 to 68 ; Nos. 235 to 238 placed sncoessively in a 
 musical journal. 
 
 1802. 239-40. Duet and chorus of a comic opera, name 
 
 unknown, begun but never completed ; fuU 
 ' score 
 
 1803. 241.*Anaoe^on, ou L' Amour fugitie, twentieth opera, 
 
 in two acts, represented at the Grand Opera, 
 October 4th,- called by Fetis ' Anaoreon chez 
 lui,' and by Picchianti in Italian ' Anacreonte 
 in sua Casa ;' fuU score ; hbrettist, Mendouze. 
 
 33 
 
392 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 Year. No. Title and Description of the Work. pp°Ma. 
 
 1803. Published at the Magazin de Musique, Rue de 
 la Loi, Paris ; Gamier, Lyons ; overture full 
 score, Breitkopf and Hartel, Leipsic . 607 
 
 242. Fragment of the above opera not used ; full score 36 
 
 1804. 243. Air with couplets, treated in two ways, belonging 
 
 to the unfinished opera of Les Arrets ; full score 13 
 244-5. Two sonatas or studies for the ' cor.,' with ace, 
 
 ' cor.' and piano 16 
 
 246. Achille a Scyros, pantomimic ballet, three-fourths 
 of the music by Cherubini ; arranged by him 
 for the piano ; represented at the Grand 
 Opera, Deo. 18th, librettist, Gardel the 
 younger ; full score ... . . 383 
 
 1805. 247.*0hant sur la mort d'Haydn, for three voices, 
 
 with ace. ; originally set to words in honour of 
 Haydn, according to Denne-Baron, and if this 
 is a correct statement, a piece for Haydn's 
 death, four years before that event, is explained; 
 executed in the winter of 1810 at the exercises 
 of the Paris Conservatoire, and subsequently 
 printed. Frey, Paris ; full score . . .63 
 248. Solfeggi for different voices ; fig. bass . . .36 
 249-50. Two entr'actes added to Lodoisha, Vienna; 
 
 full score .18 
 
 251. Air for Mme. Campi added to the same; fuU 
 
 score ... ... 34 
 
 252. March for wind instruments, for M. le Baron de 
 
 Braun's private music ; full score copy . . 14 
 
 253. A sonata for a cyUnder organ belonging to the 
 
 Baron de Braun; organ copy . . .8 
 
 1806. 254.*Faniska, twenty-first opera, in three acts, re- 
 
 presented at the Imperial Theatre of the ItaUan 
 or Carinthian Gate (Karnthnerthor) , Feb. 35 ; 
 Troupenas, Paris ; overture fuU score, Breit- 
 kopf and Hartel, Leipsic ; full score . . 468 
 255.*Credo for eight voices and organ, finished in 
 this year at Paris, begun in Italy in 1778 and 
 1779; the fugue at the end is also in the 
 Treatise on Counterpoint and Fugue. Peters, 
 Leipsic — 
 
Catalogue ^of'-Wofks. -393 
 
 Tear. No. Title and Desoription of the Work. to'iis 
 
 1806. 356. Air to EclLO,Jor a great .cylinder, organ called the 
 
 Panharmonicon, quatuor . '. . . .6 
 257. Credimi simio sole, reeit. and -air for-Crescentini, 
 
 quatuer . . .10 
 
 1807. 258. Chorus and melodrama- for an opera begun Iwit 
 
 never, completed 12 
 
 259. *A collection of canons for two, three, and four 
 voices, without ace, composed at various periods 
 between 1779 and this year. Cherubini says 
 that it would be- difficult,- if not impossible,- to 
 give the exact date of any of his canons prior 
 to 1811. ■ dementi; Twelve canons published 
 by Frey, Paris .76 
 
 1808. 260. Le Mystere, romanza'by Bernard, set to music, 
 
 June 17th, for Count Mettemich, Aufitiian,am- 
 
 bassador; piano 
 261. March for wind instruments ; full score. 
 262-7. Six Country Dances; full score. 
 
 268. Minuet ; fuU score. 
 
 269. A dance air ; full score. 
 270-1. Two romanzas, piano ; ftdl score. . . . — 
 
 Nos. 261 to 270, composed at the castle of Chimay. 
 
 273.*-)- ?Mass in P, No. 4, for three voices, with aco. ; 
 Kyrie and Gloria at Chimay, the rest finished 
 at Paris in J809 ; .pubUshed in 1810 at.the Con- 
 servatoire ; also by Frey, Paris''' . . . — 
 
 1809. 273. March for wind instruments ; July 12th, Chimay; 
 
 full ^eore .... .17 
 
 274. La Rose, romanza; July 12th . . .3 
 
 375. Romanza ; July 16th . 2 
 
 276-8. Three country dances; Sept. 21st, 23d, and 
 
 Oct. 1st ; full score . . . , . . .6 
 
 ' The numbering of Cheruhini's masses has been incorrect. Grant- 
 ing that the fii^t three masses, written in 1773 and 1774, may be left 
 out of reckoning as.being juvenile works, there is no reason for making 
 jthe Coronation Mass in A No. 3, and the Mass in No. 4, since the 
 latter, mass was written in 1816, the former long afterwards, m 1825. 
 Besides, many masses, such as the first Coronation Mass in G, ifco., are 
 pompletely passed over, AH the masses have been numbered here in 
 then' proper order. 
 
3 94 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 Tear. No. Title and Description of the Work. ^"'^ff 
 
 pp. MS, 
 
 1809. 279. PiMMALioNE, twenty-second opera, in one act, re- 
 
 presented before the Emperor Napoleon I. and 
 Empress, at the Chateau des Tuileries Theatre, 
 Paris ; full score 424 
 
 1810. 280.*Pianoforte fantasia, January ;■ piano. Taken 
 
 from No. 260 ; pub. for the organ by Salvador 
 Cherubini. S. Eichault, Paris ... 4 
 
 281. Ode for the Emperor Napoleon's Marriage, written 
 
 in May ; fuU score copy 21 
 
 282.*Litanie deUa vergine, for four voices, with in- 
 struments, July, for his Highness Prince 
 Esterhazy de Galanta, in the first volume of 
 posthumous works, taken from the repertoire 
 of the ancient ChapeUe Royale. Eichault, 
 Paris, pianoforte score ; full score . 47 
 
 283. Le Ceesoendo, twenty-third opera, in one act, re- 
 
 presented at the Opera Comique, Sept. 1 (the 
 overture is copied); full score . . .57 
 
 284. March for wind instuments, Sept. 32, Chimay; 2 
 
 full score 2 
 
 285. Dance air, Sept. 24th ; full score ... 4 
 286-7. Two country dances, Oct. 6th and 13th, copy; 
 
 full score. The second of these is copied . 4 
 288-9. Two trios for a fete, Oct, ffth and 12th; full 
 
 score 27 
 
 1811. 290. Eomanza of M. de Nivemois, March 6th, Paris ; 
 
 piano . . 2 
 
 291. Stanzas for Isabey's album ; piano . . 2 
 
 292. Romanza on a child, by Mme. de Genlis, to put 
 
 in her album, May 14th ; copy ... 4 
 Nos. 290 to 292 taken from No. 260. 
 
 293. Fragment of a Cantata for the opening of the new 
 
 Conservatoire Concert- hall ; finished May 27 ; 
 fuU score . , 60 
 
 294. Le Mystere, romanza, for the album of M. 
 
 Gueriu, the painter, June 12th; taken from 
 
 No. 60 2 
 
 295.*Mass in D minok. No. 5, for four voices and 
 fuU orchestra, begun towards the end of March, 
 finished Oct. 7th ; Frey, Paris ; ' fuU score . 263 
 
Catalogue of Works. 395 
 
 Year. No. Title and Description of the 'Work. iro°MS 
 
 1811. 296. Madrigal for four yoices, Nov. ; fig. bass . . 27 
 297. Eight-part canon for Neukomm's album, men- 
 tioned by De Toulmon 2 
 
 1812. 298. Fifth Cantata, ' Pour la Goguette,' executed at the 
 
 reunion of Deo. 16th ; quatuor . . .55 
 
 1813. 299.*Les AbenciSbages, twenty-fourth opera, in three 
 
 acts, represented at the Grand Opera, April 
 6th ; librettist, Jouy. Begun towards the end 
 of January. Many pieces of the work, says 
 Cherubini, have been printed, but the whole 
 has been published. Thus Mendelssohn says, 
 'I have got his Ahenceragea.' Overture full 
 score, Breitkopf and Hartel, Leipsic; fuU score 357 
 300. La Ressemblanoe, romanza, for Mme. L., May 
 
 9th; piano 2 
 
 1814. 301. March for the National Guard music, Feb. 8th; 
 
 full score 4 
 
 302:4. A trio, 'morceau d'ensemble,' and ' chant guer- 
 rier,' in Bayard a Mezieres, comic pasticcio in 
 one act by Cherubini, Catel, Boieldieu, and 
 Nicololsouard; ordered by the Duke ofRovigo 
 on the part of the government. Cherubini says, 
 'by the pohce.' Represented at the Opera 
 Comique,'in the Rue Feydeau, Saturday, Feb. 
 12th •- — 
 
 305. Pas redouble for the National Guard music, Feb. 
 
 13th ; full score 4 
 
 306. ' Chant guerrier,' air, with couplets, inserted in a 
 
 three-act piece called La Banqon de Dugues- 
 clin, represented at the Theatre Fran9ais in 
 March or April ; fuU score .... 6 
 
 307-14. Eight pieces for wind instruments, for the 
 music of the Prussian Regiment under Colonel 
 Witzleben, viz. pas redouble. May 24th ; do.. 
 May 27th ; do., do., do., May 30th ; do. and two 
 marches. May 31, aU for wiad instruments; 
 full score .16, 
 
 815. Sixth Cantata, for three voices, with ace, July 
 20th, for the fete given by the Etat-Major and 
 tbe superior ofaoers of the Paris garrison to 
 
S-p^ Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 Year. No. Title and Deaotiption ol the Work. ot°mb 
 
 lfll4. -the National and Body Guards of King Louis 
 
 XVIII.; fuU score 4^ 
 
 , 316. Seventh Cantata, for several voices, with choruses 
 interspersed, and with ace, executed before 
 his Majesty during the fete given by the City 
 of Paris, Aug. 29th ; full scor« . . .81 
 317.*First' Quartet, in E ilat, -for two voices, viola, 
 and violoncello ; quartet. Kistner, Leipsic ; 
 Pacini, Paris, dedicated- to Baillot . . 28 
 1815i 318. Overture in G, tegun in February-at Paris, 
 finished in Mareh in London forathe Phil- 
 harmonic Society's concert ; full score . .39 
 -319. Symphony for the same, begun in March, finished 
 
 April 24 ; full score . . . . .102 
 
 -p20.*Eighth Cantata, ' Inno alia Primavera,' for four 
 
 - voices, With instr. for the same, begun 8th May, 
 finished 19th; words by Vestri; A. Petit, Paris; 
 fttU score 32 
 
 321. English air for Mme. C, composed towards the 
 
 end of May ; fuU score 2 
 
 - 322. Chorus and couplets for St. Louis, August, Paris ; 
 
 full score ...... 35 
 
 323. Vive le Roi ! air, couplets, Aug. ; piano . 2 
 
 1816. 324. . Ninth Cantata, for several-voices, with choruses 
 interspersed, and with grand orchestra, com- 
 
 - posed for the banqiiet given by the Royal Guard 
 to the National and Body Guards in the Mu- 
 seum Gallery, and executed in the presence 
 ■of the King and the royal famUy. Begun Jan. 
 
 29th, finished 30th; fuU score. ... 62 
 325.*Mass in C, No! 6, for four voices, and with grand 
 orchestra for the King's Chapel, begun in 
 January, finished March 14th; full score; in- 
 
 - eludes an ofiertory, Laudate Dominum, and 
 Salutaris, instead of a Benedictus. Frey, 
 Paris ...... .65 
 
 326-8.*Three short Kyries ; fuU score . . .38 
 
 329. Laudate, recit. and chorus; full score . . . — 
 
 330. Short Sanotus ; full score . ... — 
 
 Nob. 326 to 880, tor the King's Obapel, and interpolated ia fragments of ChemWni's 
 old moasea. 
 
Catalogue of Works. 397 
 
 Year. No. Title and Description of the Work. pp MS 
 
 181C. 331.*0 Salutaris, for solo second soprano, -with, ace, 
 for King's Chapel ; quatuor and organ ; Petit, 
 
 Paris 3 
 
 332-3.*Kyrie for two parts, in chorus, another in four 
 
 parts, both short, for King's Chapel; full score 3 
 
 334. Kyrie for three voices (and Gloria, same as that 
 
 in Mass in F, No. 4) ; full score ; mentioned 
 
 by De Toulmon ; for King's Chapel . . — 
 
 335. Kyrie for four voices (and Gloria, same as that 
 
 in the Mass in D minor. No. 5) ; full score ; 
 mentioned by De Toulmon ; for the King's 
 Chapel ....... .44 
 
 336. Kyrie for four voices (and Credo, same as that 
 
 in the Mass in C, No. (i, No. 325 ; mentioned 
 by De Touhnon) ;^ for the King's Chapel ; fuU 
 score 36 
 
 337. Kyrie for four voices (and Agnus Dei, the same 
 
 as that in the Mass in D minor. No. 5) ; men- 
 tioned by De Toulmon. By the ' deuxieme 
 messe a 4 voix' he has been taken to mean the 
 D minor Mass. For the King's Chapel ; full 
 score 1* 
 
 338. Mass in E flat, No. 7 ; mentioned by De Toul- 
 
 mon; for the King's Chapel; full score. Gloria 
 same as No. 347 . . . ■ . • .02 
 
 339. Kyrie for tenors and basses, forthe King's Chapel; 
 
 full score '^>' 
 
 340. Crux alma veneranda, hymn, trio in Fanislea, 
 
 arranged for two soprani and a tenor; full 
 score ; mentioned by De Toulmon ... 7 
 « The Credo,. he says, was published in the fourth 'Messe Solen- 
 nelle' for four voices. This is Bomewhat ambiguous, but De Toulmon,- 
 (loubtlees following the incorrect enumeration, means the Mass in C. 
 The term ' messe solennelle' is used so indifferently by Cherubmi (as, 
 for instance, when he speaks of the gi-eat Mass in D minor, only ono& 
 casuaUy aUudhig to it as a ' messe solennelle'), that it has been dis- 
 carded in the present Catalogue. The 'Missa Solemnis,' m ecolesi- 
 astical terminology, is such a Mass as, on account of the fulness of 
 its ceremonial (including, of course, music), is speoiaUy appropriate 
 to the more solemn festivals of the Church, and requires the celebrant- 
 to be assisted by a deacon and subdeaoon. 
 
39^ Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 Tear. No. Title and Description oi the Work. ?°'Mg 
 
 1816. 341.'*Pater Noster for four parts; full score; 11301121. 
 
 For the King's Chapel. Petit, Paris (organ and 
 orchestra) ; Schott, Mayence. One of the col- 
 lection of six known as the ' Hymnes Sacrees' % 
 
 342. O Salutaris, for three voices; hymn, solo, with 
 
 ace. ; full score. For the King's Chapel . . 3 
 
 343.*Ecoe Panis angelorum, hymn, for tenor solo, 
 Avith ace. ; full score. For the King's Chapel. 
 Petit, Paris. One of the collection of six pieces 
 Imown as the ' HjTiines Sacrees' ... 3 
 
 344.* Ave Maria, for solo first soprano, with ' cor Ang- 
 lais;' for the King's Chapel; full score. Petit, 
 Paris. One of the collection of six known as 
 the ' Hymnes Sacrees' 4 
 
 346.''=Lauda Sion, for two soprani soli, with ace. ; full 
 score. For the King's Chapel. Petit, Paris. 
 One of the coUection of six known as the 
 'Hymnes Sacrees' 11 
 
 346, Le Mariage de Salomon, tenth cantata, for solo, 
 
 with chorus and ace, executed 17th Jime at 
 the Tuileries, at the royal banquet on occa- 
 sion of the marriage of the Due de Berri with 
 Princess Caroline of Naples ; fuU score . . 38 
 
 347. Gloria in B flat, for four parts, with ace. ; for the 
 
 King's Chapel — 
 
 348. '''Credo in D, for four parts, with ace; fuU score. 
 
 For the King's Chapel 36 
 
 349.'''Requiem in C minok. No. 1, for four parts in 
 chorus, written for the anniversary of Louis 
 XVI.'s death, first performed on the 21st of 
 Jan. 1817, at the Abbey Church of St. Denis ; 
 full score. For the King's Chapel. Frey, Paris 
 (also chez I'auteur, Eue du Faubourg Pois- 
 sonniere ; en depot chez Boieldieu, No. 7 Rue 
 de Eichelieu) ; Breitkopf and Hartel, Leipsic . 81 
 350-51.* Ave Verum, trio for three soprani, followed 
 by O Sacrum Convivium in chorus, both witli 
 ace, taken from the opera of Elim. For the 
 King's Chapel. Petit, Paris (full orchestra, 
 with cornet solo) -*- 
 
 1817. 352.*Iste Dies, four-part chorus, with ace. ; fragment 
 
Catalogue of Works. 399 
 
 Tear. No. Title and Description of tlie Work. No. of 
 
 pp. MS. 
 
 18lr. added to No. 350 to make a motet of tlie length 
 
 customary for a Mass in the King's Chapel, 
 viz. half an hour ; full score. Petit, Paris . 29 
 
 353.*Tantum Ergo, for five parts, with ace. ; for the 
 King's Chapel; full score. Petit, Paris (organ 
 ace.) ; Sohott, Mayence. One of the collection 
 of six known as the ' Hymaes Sacrees' . . 8 
 
 354.*Tantum Ergo, for four parts, with ace. ;. for the 
 
 King's Chapel ; full score ; S. Richault, Paris 6 
 
 355.*Kyrie for three parts, without soprano, ia chorus 
 
 with aoc. For the King's ChapeP ... 4 
 
 356. Salutaris, trio for two tenors and bass, with ace; 
 
 for the King's Chapel; bassoon and violoncello 3 
 
 357. Agnus Dei, for four parts, with ace. ; full score. 
 
 For the King's Chapel 7 
 
 358.*Sanctus and Salutaris, for solo tenor, with ace; 
 fuU score. For the King's Chapel. Petit, Paris 
 (organ ace); Schott, Mayenoe. One of the col- 
 lection of six known as the ' Hymnes Sacrees' 5 
 
 359. Gloria in F, for solo, with choruses interspersed, 
 
 with ace. ; for the King's Chapel ; full score . 18 
 
 360. Amour, amour, new air, not yet executed, for Lo- 
 
 ddiska ; fuU. score 8 
 
 1818. 361.*E,egina Coeh, for four parts, with ace. ; fuU score. 
 
 For the King's Chapel 16 
 
 362. Fihi, hymn, for four parts; fuU score. For 
 
 the King's Chapel 37 
 
 363. Mass in E, No. 8, for four parts, with ace.; for 
 
 the King's Chapel ; full score . . .73 
 
 364. O Salutaris, for four voices, soli and chorus, with 
 
 ace. ; full score. For the King's Chapel . 8 
 365-6. Two pieces for the Conservatoire competition, 
 i.e. for the hautboy and the bassoon respec- 
 tively — 
 
 367. ' Je ne t'aime plus,' romanza for two voices, Oct. 
 
 29; piano; Malabri 3 
 
 ' To be found, says Cherubini, in the Messe SolenneUe for three 
 voices (Mass in ^1 or in A? neither of which he calls solennelle when 
 recording them) ; hence it may be presumed that this is a new work 
 substituted for the former Kyrie, otherwise Cherubini would not have 
 recorded it, and numbered it 188 in original catalogue. 
 
400 Memorials of Cherti,bini. 
 
 Year. No. Title and Description of tlie "Work. ^"'^^ 
 
 pp. lis. 
 
 1818. 368.*Adjutor, motet for Septuagesima Sunday, Paris ; 
 full score. For the King's Chapel. Hasslinger, 
 Vienna ..... .42 
 
 300. Kyiie for four parts; full score; mentioned hy 
 
 De Toulmon 8 
 
 1810. 370. Kyrie, chorus (Christe quartet), and Kyrie, chorus 
 for foiu- voices; for the King's Chapel; full 
 
 score . 19 
 
 371. Prayer to Bacchus, chant de table, for three voices, 
 
 without ace. ; April 21 2 
 
 372.*Mass in G (Coronation), No. 9, for four parts in 
 chorus, for the crowning of Louis XVIII.; foil 
 score. Published in pianoforte score by Sal- 
 vador Cherubini. Frey, Paris . . . 104 
 1820. 373. Scene de table, for two voices, with pianoforte 
 
 aoc. ad libitum, January ; piano . . 3 
 
 374. Marche funebre for grand orchestra, March ; fuU 
 
 score ; for the King's Chapel .... 7 
 
 375.*In paradisiun, chorus in four parts, ace. for grand 
 orchestra; published in pianoforte score by Sal- 
 vador Cherubini ; for the King's Chapel; full 
 score ... .... 10 
 
 370. Litanies of our Lady in C, for four voices, Dec; 
 aco. for grand orchestra ; for the King's 
 Chapel ; full score. S. Eichault, Paris . . 47 
 377.*Solfeggo for the vocalisation competition at the 
 
 Conservatoire^" . ... — 
 
 378. Thirty-eight solfeggi lessons, fig. bass ; in print, 
 seventy -two pages ; mentioned by De Toulmon ; 
 
 no date given — 
 
 370. Domine, Dominus noster, gradual soprano air, 
 with hautboy aco. ; obbligato au- from Elua, 
 with alterations ; for the King's Chapel ; full 
 
 score 10 
 
 380. Canon for two voices, for Cherubini's own album, 
 
 Dec. 10th — 
 
 '» This and the subsequent solfeggi mentioned separately form the 
 collection in the seventh and eighth books of the ConseiTatoire solfeggi, 
 BO they will not individually be numbered here, not even those marked 
 by Cherubini as unpublished, which, being of the same class, have 
 been, or should have been, since included in the published collection. 
 
Catalogue of Works. 40 1 
 
 Tear. No. Title and Description of the Work. No. of 
 
 pp. MS. 
 
 1821. 381. The third and last part oi Blanche de Provence, 
 
 a one-act pasticcio by CheruMni, Berton, Boiel- 
 dieu, Kreutzer, and Paer; ordered by the 
 Minister of the King's Household, on occasion 
 of the Duke of Bordeaux's baptism, on the 1st 
 of May 1821, at Notre Dame. Blanche de Pro- 
 vence was first performed in the evening at 
 the Court Theatre, and on the 3d of May at 
 the Grand Opera, for which the work had been 
 composed ; full score 83 
 
 382. Eleventh Cantata,for several voices, with choruses 
 interspersed and ace; executed May 2d at the 
 fete at the Hotel de VOle, on occasion of the 
 Duke of Bordeaux's baptism; words by Baour- 
 Lormian ; full score . ... 90 
 
 383.*0 Salutaris in D, for four voices in chorus, with 
 ace, August; for the King's Chapel; full score, 
 published by S. Cherubim, in pianoforte score ; 
 S. Eichault, Paris 71 
 
 384. Agnus Dei in Gr, for foiu- parts in chorus, with 
 
 ace, August. For the King's Chapel . . 13 
 
 385.*Mass in B flat, No. 10, short, and for four voices 
 in chorus, Oct.-Nov. ; for the King's Chapel ; 
 full score ; pianoforte score, S. Eichault, Paris 50 
 
 1822. 386. Litanies of Our Lady in E flat, for four parts; full 
 
 score. For the King's Chapel ; mentioned by 
 De Toulmon ' . .35 
 
 387.*0 Fons amoris, hymn for tenor solo, with choruses 
 interspersed, January ; for the King's Chapel ; 
 full score ; Hasslinger, Vienna . . . 20 
 
 388.*Sanctus in A major, with the Hosanna in ^ 
 time, to be substituted for that in the D 
 minor Mass; fall score. The present grand 
 Sanctus ? (marked by Cherubini as published) 6 
 
 389-91.*Pieces for the Conservatoire competition, i.e. 
 two solfeggi on all the keys and for singing 
 respectively; (389) a chant pour le concours 
 d'harmonie mis en partition; (390) an air for 
 the hautboy; and (391) one for the clarinet; 
 piano 18 
 
402 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 Tear. No. Title and Description of the Work. TO°ias 
 
 1822. Solfeggo in all the keys, for the examination of 
 
 the Conservatoire students in July ; fig. hass . % 
 
 1823. Solfeggo in several keys, for the examination of 
 
 the Conservatoire students in January; iig. bass 2 
 Solfeggo with changes of key, for the examina- 
 tion of Conservatoire pupils on June 12th ; fig. 
 
 hass a' 
 
 393.fL'Amant trompe, romanza for Mdlle. C.'s album, 
 
 July 10th — 
 
 Solfeggo with changes of key, for competition of 
 
 Conservatoire pupils on July 11th ; fig. bass . 2 
 Solfeggo for Conservatoire singing competition on 
 
 Jvdy 13th; fig. bass . . . . % 
 
 Solfeggo for the Conservatoire competition for 
 
 vocalisation on July 14th ; fig. bass . . 3 
 
 393. Bassoon piece, for the competition on July 18th; 
 
 fig. bass, with the above solfeggi taken from the 
 first two solfeggi in this section ; misprint in 
 catalogue, for 1825 read 1843 ... .3 
 
 394. Le bon Medor, romanza for M. Berat's album, 
 
 September 2d ; piano^i 2 
 
 395. Kyrie in C minor, for four parts, for grand orches- 
 
 tra ; for the King's Chapel ; full score . 15 
 
 396. Lsetare Jenasalem, motet for Lsetare Sunday, 
 
 recits. and choruses for grand orchestra, Nov. 
 16 ; fuU score ; for the King's Chapel . . 62 
 . 397., Stanzas for the Duke of Angouleme's return, with 
 accompaniment, Nov. 27 ; taken from No. 48 ; 
 
 piano 2 
 
 398.*Inclina Domine, introit for four parts, with grand 
 
 orchestra, Dec. 16 ; for the King's Chapel . 21 
 
 1824. 399. Exaudi Domine, introit for four parts, recit. and 
 
 chorus; for the King's Chapel; fuU score; men- 
 tioned by De Toulmon 17 
 
 400.*Adjutor et susceptor meus, chorus; mentioned by 
 
 De Toulmon; full score 10 
 
 401. Adoremus, hymn for three tenors soli, in print 
 
 five pages — 
 
 " There is some miepiint here in the original Catalogue. We read 
 'forme recueil avec le No. 276: ' there is no such number. 
 
Catalogue of Works. 403 
 
 Year. No. Title and Description of the Work. '^a.at 
 
 *^ pp. MS. 
 
 1824. Solfeggo on all the keys, for examination of Con- 
 
 servatoire pupils on Jan. 14 ; fig. bass . 3 
 
 Solfeggo, Tvitli changes of key, for ditto, on June 
 
 11; fig. bass 2 
 
 Solfeggo, with ditto, for the Conservatoire eompe- 
 
 petitionon July 17; fig. bass . ... 2 
 402. Clarinet piece for the competition, July 20 ; fig. 
 
 bass 2 
 
 1825. *SoIfeggo, with changes of key, for the examina- 
 
 tion of the Conservatoire classes, Jan. 13th ; 
 
 full score 2 
 
 403.*Mass in a (Coeonation), No. 11, for three parts, 
 for the crowning of Charles X. at Rheims, 
 May 29, finished April 29. Besides the usual 
 portions of a musical Mass, i.e. Kyrie, Gloria, 
 Credo, Sanctus, Salutaris (for Benediotus, 
 according to the French custom, the words of 
 the Benedictus being sung with the Sanctus 
 before,not after, the Elevation), and AgnusBei, 
 there is an ofiertory, including the Christum 
 sempitemum in F ; Propter veritatem in C ; 
 and the Confirma hoc Deus in F ; the whole 
 work, with accompaniments for grand orchestra, 
 full score, as also the Communion (instru- 
 mental) March; published as a four-part Mass 
 byNoveUo ... ... 80 
 
 404. Christum sempitemum, offertory; mentioned by 
 
 De Toulmon, oilertory for three voices ; not, 
 however, as being the same as that in the above 
 Mass ; full score 17 
 
 *Solfeggo, with changes of key, for the examination 
 of the Conservatoire classes, July ; fig. bass . 2 
 
 *Solfeggo, with changes of key, for the competition 
 of Prizes at the Conservatoire, composed 
 , July 19 ; fig. bass 2 
 
 405. Trio for Mme. M. fete, St. Charles's Day, com- 
 
 posed Nov. 4, without accompaniment . . 2 
 
 1826. *Solfeggo, with changes of key, for the examina- 
 
 tion of the Conservatoire classes ; fig. bass . 2 
 No. 405 and above three solfeggi taieu from 1st solfeggo in 1836. 
 
404 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 Tear. No. Title and Description of the 'Work. ™ '^t 
 
 pp. Mg« 
 
 1827. 406. *0 Salutaris, for bass solo, with accompaniment; 
 for the King's Chapel; ftill score. Published 
 by Salvador Cherubini. S. Bichault, Paris, 
 pianoforte score . .... 6 
 407.*O Salutaris, for four voices soli, two tenors and 
 two basses, without accompaniments, finished 
 March 30 ; published by the same ; full score. 
 S. Richault, Paris, pianoforte score . . 3 
 *Solfeggo, with changes of key, for examination of 
 classes, on June 12 ; fig. bass ; taken from 1st 
 solfeggo in 1825 2 
 
 1827. *Solfeggo, with changes of key, for ditto, in January; 
 
 taken from No. 494 2 
 
 408. O Salutaris, for three voices soli, two tenors and a 
 
 bass, without accompaniment, composed Jan. 9, 
 for Boieldieu's marriage, celebrated at the 
 church on the 23d. This hymn was subse- 
 quently executed, with accompaniments, at the 
 
 Royal Chapel 4 
 
 *Solfeggo, with changes of key, for examination of 
 classes, composed 13th June . . . . — 
 
 1828. *Solfeggo, with changes of key, for the examination 
 
 of classes, composed 22d May ; fig. bass . 3 
 *Solfeggo for the Solfege competition, composed 
 
 16th June; fig. bass 2 
 
 *Solfeggo for the singing competition, composed 
 
 3d July ; fig. bass 2 
 
 409. Piece for BaiUot's album, 9th Sept. ; quatuor . 6 
 *Solfeggo, vrith changes of key, for examination of 
 
 classes, on Nov. 30 ; fig. bass .... 2 
 No. 409 and the atove five solfeggi taken from lat Bolfeggo In 1825. 
 
 410. O rUii, hymn arranged for solo and chorus ; 
 
 mentioned by De Toulmon .... 2 
 
 1829. 411*New Adagio, composed in March, to complete 
 
 the second quartet in C, composed upon the 
 symphony in G, written in London ; quartet. 
 Kistner, Leipsio ; Pacini, Paris ; dedicated to 
 
 BaiUot 26 
 
 *Solfeggo, with changes of key, for the examination 
 of classes, June 5 ; fig. bass .... 2 
 
Catalogue of Works. 405 
 
 Tear. No. Title and Desciriptioii of the Work. ^"^ff 
 
 pp. MS. 
 
 1829. *Solfeggo, with changes of key, for the Solfege 
 
 competition, composed in July ; fig. bass . 2 
 
 412. Canon for three voices, composed July 4, for 
 
 Dr. C. of Bologna (given him on the 4th 
 August) — 
 
 413. Sciant g^ntes, motet for Sexagesima Sunday, for 
 
 four voices, with accompaniment; full score. 
 
 For the King's Chapel 36 
 
 *Solfeggo, with changes of key, for the examina- 
 tion of classes, Dec. 7 ; taken from the two sol- 
 feggi of 1829 ; the reference in the original 
 catalogue '127' -should be ' 227;' fig. bass 2 
 
 414. Esto mibi, motet for Quinquagesima Sunday, for 
 
 four voices, with accompaniment; for the 
 King's Chapel; full score . . . .42 
 
 1830. *Solfeggo, with changes of key, for the examina- 
 
 tion of classes. May 25 ; fig. bass copy . 2 
 
 *SoKeggo, with changes of key, for the Solfege 
 
 competition, June 20 ; fig. bass copy . . 2 
 *Ditto, with ditto, for the examiuation of classes, 
 
 Nov. 19 ; fig. bass copy 3 
 
 1831. 415. New March, substituted for that of the Night 
 
 Patrol in the third act of Faniska, May 15 ; 
 
 quat ... 2 
 
 *Solfeggo, with changes of key, for examination of 
 classes, May 13 ; fig. bass copy ; and *ditto, 
 with ditto, for the Solfege competition, 33d 
 June ; both taken from the solfeggi of 1830 ; 
 fig. bass copy ... ... 2 
 
 416. Introduction to La Marquise de BrinvilUers, a 
 pasticcio (words by Scribe and Castil-Blaze) , by 
 Cherubini, Auber, Batten, Berton, Boieldieu, 
 Blangini, Carafa, Herold, and Paer, repre- 
 sented at the Opera Comique, 31st October. 
 Introduction finished 29th September . ' — 
 
 1832. *Solfeggo, with changes of key, for the examina- 
 
 tion of classes in December; fig. bass; taken 
 from the solfeggi of 1830 .... 2 
 
 1833. 417. AliBaba, twenty-fifth opera, in four acts, also en- 
 
 titled ' Hali Baba; ou les QuaranteVoleurs,' an 
 
4o6 Memorials of Cherubim. 
 
 Tear. No. Title and Desci iptlon of the 'Work. pp" MS 
 
 1833. opera, in three acts, begun, says Cherubim, long 
 ago, now completed in four, with a prologue. 
 The work is to some extent founded on Kour- 
 hourgi, and was represented at the Grand Opera, 
 for which it was written, July 22 ; fuU scor6 ; 
 overture fuU score, Breitkopf and Hartel, 
 Leipsio. The publishers in Paris refused to 
 print the whole opera .... .1000 
 
 *Solfeggo, with changes of key, for the half- 
 yearly examination in December ; fig. bass . 2 
 
 1834. 418. Chansonette for M. A. de B.'s album, Jan. 20 — 
 
 *Solfeggo, with changes of key, for half-yearly ex- 
 amination of June ; fig. bass ... 2 
 Ditto, with ditto, for the competition of July; the 
 above, Nos. 531-2, taken from Nos. 520-22 ; fig. 
 bass . ...... 2 
 
 419.*Third quartet in D minor, finished July 31 ; 
 quartet. Kistner, Leipsic; Pacini, Paris. 
 Dedicated to BaUlot . . .39 
 
 1835. 420. Vive le bric-a-brac, canon for two voices, for 
 
 Sauvageot, Jan. 15 . . . . . — 
 
 421. Fourth quartet in E, begun Sept. 1834, finished 
 
 12th February, 1835 ; quartet . . .32 
 *Solfeggo, with changes of key, composed March 
 26, for half-yearly examination in June; fig. 
 bass ; and *ditto, with ditto, composed 30th 
 March, for- the prize competition in August ; 
 fig. bass; both taken from the solfeggi of 
 1830 2 
 
 422. Marches reguherfes d'harmonie pratique dans la 
 
 composition ; mentioned by De Toulmon ; no 
 date given, probably part or whole of Treatise 
 on Counterpoint and Fugue ; letter-press by 
 'Halevy ; published in this year. M. Schlesin- 
 ger, Paris . . . . . .90 
 
 423. Itahan arietta, for an album, April 16; piano . 2 
 
 424. Fifth quartet in F, begun Feb. 25, finished 28ih 
 
 June; quartet ...... 23 
 
 425. Italian arietta for Mme. B.'s album, 20th Sept ; 
 
 fig. bass copy, Montiignon .... 2 
 
Catalogtie of Works. ^oy 
 
 Yeaa-. No. Title and Description of the Work. f^'-as. 
 
 1835. *Solfeggo, with changes of key, composed in Nov. 
 
 for the Dec. examination. Paris . . . i 
 1830. *Solfeggo, with changes of key, composed May 15, 
 
 for the half-yearly examination ; fig. bass . 3 
 *Ditto, with ditto, composed June 23, for the prize 
 
 competition; fig. bass .... 3 
 
 The above three solfeggi taken from the solfeggi of 1830. 
 426.*Eequieji in D minor, No. 2, for three men's 
 voices (two tenors and one bass), begun in Jan. 
 or Feb., finished at MontUgnon, Sept. 24; full 
 score. Dies Irae, ex. 19th March 1837, at 
 the fifth Conservatoire concert; the whole 
 work, on 2oth March 1838. Prey, Paris . 88 
 
 1837. 427. Sixth quartet in A minor, begun 4th July 1835, 
 
 finished22d July 1837; quartet. Paris . 30 
 
 *Solfeggo for half-yearly examination of classes in 
 
 June, composed May 5 ; , fig. bass . . . -1 
 
 *Solfeggo for prize competitions in July ; fig. bass 2 
 The above two solfeggi taken from the solfeggi of 1830. 
 428. Quintet ia E minor, begun July 30, finished 
 
 October 28 ; quintet . . . . .50 
 
 " *Solfeggo for half-yearly examination of classes in 
 
 December; fig. bass . . .2 
 
 1838. *SoKeggo for half-yearly exUmiaation of classes in 
 
 June ; fig. bass .... .2 
 
 ■*Ditto, for the competition of July ; fig. bass . 3 
 *Ditto, for half-yearly examination of December ; 
 
 fig. bass ....... 2 
 
 The three solfeggi of this year taken from the solfeggi of 1830. 
 
 1839. 429. Arietta for an album, 1st Jan. . . . — 
 
 [Here Cherubini's own record ends, but De Toul- 
 mon adds the rest that he composed.] 
 
 *Solfeggo, with changes of key, for examination in 
 June; fig. bass ...... 2 
 
 "Ditto, with ditto, for the competition; fig. bass . 3 
 *Ditto, TOth ditto, for the Dec. examination ; fig. 
 
 1840. '"'Ditto, with ditto, for the June examination; fig. 
 
4° 8 Memorials of Cherzibini. 
 
 Tear. No. Title and Description of the Work. pp MS 
 
 1840. *Solfeggo, witli changes of key, for the competi 
 
 tion; iig. bass 
 
 *Ditto, with ditto, for the Nov. examuiation ; fig, 
 bass ...... 
 
 1841. '"Ditto, with ditto, for the May examination ; fig. 
 
 bass ...... 
 
 ■"Ditto, with ditto, for the competition; fig. bass 
 *Ditto, with ditto, for the Dec. examination ; fig. 
 
 184i2. 430. Canon, words and music, composed by Cherubini 
 early in January, for Ingres, who had painted 
 Cherubini's portrait, now in the Luxemburg. 
 
 Analysis of the Catalogue. 
 
 The above 430^ works, or sets of works, may be 
 divided into the two great divisions of secular and 
 sacred music, of which the first division takes 316 
 pieces and the second 114. Out of all the .works 
 only about 80 have been published. Cherubini 
 composed 62 detached Airs, 48 Romanzas, 36 
 Hymns, 25 Operas, 20 Antiphons, 15 Nocturns, 14 
 detached Kyries, 14 Choruses, 14 Duets, 11 Masses, 
 11 Cantatas, 11 Marches, 11 Dances, 10 Sonatas, 9 
 Terzettos, 7 Motets, 7 Pas redoubles, 6 instrumental 
 Quartets, 5 detached Canons, 4 Litanies, 4 detached 
 operatic Finales, 4 Recitatives, 4 sets of Solfeggi (in 
 all over 160), 4 Rondos, 4 Odes, 3 detached Sanctus, 
 3 .Psalms, 3 contributions to Pasticcios (not counting 
 here small contributions to works), 3 fragmentary 
 
 ' The numbers in Cherubini's Catalogue reach to 230. 
 
Catalogue of Works. 409 
 
 compositions, 3 Ariettas, 2 Intermezzos, 2 Lament- 
 ations, 2 Madrigals, 2 vocal Quartets, 2 detached 
 Credos, 2 Entr'actes, 2 Eequiems, 2 Agnus Dei, 2 
 Glorias, 2 Album pieces, 2 War-songs, 2 Hautboy- 
 pieces, 2 Bassoon pieces, 2 Table pieces, 2 Introits, 
 2 Clarinet pieces, 1 Oratorio, 1 vocal Sextet, 1 Cha- 
 conne, 1 Canzonet, 1 Pianoforte capriccio, 1 Gradual, 
 1 Offertory, 1 Operatic introduction, 1 Chansonette, 
 1 instrumental Quintet, 1 Overture, 1 Symphony, 1 
 Ballet, !• Minuet, 1 Pianoforte fantasia, a set of 
 Canons, a set of Canzonets, a Course of Harmony, 
 a chant for the Conservatoire vocalisation, a Collec- 
 tion of figured basses. Airs in Sarti's operas, the 
 first Act of an unfinished opera, and Stanzas for 
 the Duke of Angoul^me. Total, 430. , 
 
 Addendum. 
 
 Some works have been wrongly ascribed to Che- 
 rubini, such as Struntz's Les Courses de Newmarket, 
 and an opera called Isabelle, lately spoken of in 
 connection with some performances of Les Deux 
 Joum6es to take place in Paris. Gr^try, Pacini, Pro- 
 piac, .Champein, Blaise, Mengozzi, Anfossi, Fontana, 
 Gandini, Kaimondi, Eicci, Pedrotti, Generali, and 
 Arieta have each written a work so entitled; but Cle- 
 ment (see Dictionnaire Lynque) makes no mention of 
 an Isabelle by Cherubini. Other works are so vaguely 
 
4 1 o Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 alluded to as to raise a doubt as to their existence. 
 Thus Fetis speaks of several operas' among Cheru- 
 bini's juvenile works, and Denne-Baron says that 
 Cherubini added ' religious pieces' to some of Sarti's 
 works ; this too in the year (1784) when both master 
 and pupil almost simultaneously quitted Italy, the 
 one for Russia, the other for England. The follow- 
 ing compositions distinctly mentioned as Cherubini's 
 are here recorded, with authorities : 
 
 1795? Hymne a la Victoire, words by Plins, sung at the Grand 
 
 Opera. Castil-Blaze, L'Academie Imperiale. 
 1790 II Perruoliiero, stated to be probably an adaptation fi'offl 
 
 some old intermezzo. Niederrheinisclie-Musilc-Zeituruj 
 
 notice. Musical World for 1862. 
 1799? Hymne funebre sur la mort du General Joubert, words 
 
 by Chaussard, sung at the Grand Opera. Castil-Blaze, 
 
 L'Academie Imperiale. The general died in 1799. 
 1813 Chorus in L'Oriflainme, a pasticcio, in one act, by Meliul, 
 
 Paer, Berton, and Kreutzer, performed at the Grand 
 
 Opera, January 31, 1814. Picchianti and Gamuoci. 
 
 See Notizie and Intorno. 
 1616? Laudate Dominum, for four voices and orchestra. Hass- 
 
 linger, Vienna. Denne-Baron, Nouvelle Biograplde 
 
 Generah, 1856. The Offertory of the Mass in C ? 
 1810? Lauda, anima mea, Domimim, for soprano and orchestra. 
 
 DiabeUi (now Spina), Vienna. The same. 
 1810 ? Deus, ego amo te, solo for alto, quartet, double bass. 
 
 The same. 
 1816? Offertory in E flat. The same. 
 1816? Pater noster in G. DiabeUi (now Spina), Vienna. The 
 
 same as the weU-lmown one, transposed? The same 
 
 authority. 
 1816? Petite Messe de la Sainte Trinite sur les chants de 
 
 I'EgUse, mesuree a trois voix avec orgue. Published by 
 
 Simrock, Bonn. 
 
Catalogue of Works. 411 
 
 Music copied by Cherubini's own hand, composed 
 BY various Composers. 
 
 1. Marcello's Psalms, vol. i. pp. 446 ; vol. ii. pp. 336 ; vol. iii. 
 
 pp. 420 ; vol. iv. pp. 338. 
 
 2. Collection of Antonio Lotti's madrigals, with Tantum Ergo by 
 
 Sacchini, and a Salve Regina for solo by Francesco Majo. 
 
 3. Latin pieces by various authors, with explanatory table, 
 
 pp. 446. 
 
 4. Pergolese's Salve Regina and Cantata, pp. 120. 
 
 5- Three motets, by Pergolese, Jomelli, and Durante, pp, 172. 
 
 6. Clari's Duets and Trios, vol. i. pp. 92; vol. ii. pp. 102; 
 
 vol. iu. pp. 124. 
 
 7. Pieces by Handel, Leo, Palestrina, and oth«r religious com- 
 
 posers, with a biographical notice of Handel at the begin 
 ning, by Cherubini, pp. 198. 
 
 8. Three pieces of JomeUi, and two of Durante. One of the 
 
 last, pp. 24, is certainly copied; by Cherubini, but the others 
 are doubtful. 
 
 9. An oblong manuscript, with table; of Pere Martini's canons, 
 
 pp. 90. 
 
 10. Jomelli's Miserere, for two voices, pp. 104. 
 
 11. Giuseppe Sarti^s ' Saggio superfieiale sopra U prihcipio deUa 
 
 musica,' pp. 24. 
 
 12. Giuseppe Sarti's ' Compendio scientifico del canto fermo, o sia 
 
 de' toni ecdesiastiei,' pp. 17'. 
 
 13. Another oblong manuscript, entitled 'Esempii di Contrap-- 
 
 punto rigoroso di varii autori,' pp. 61. 
 
 Duplicate Ms. 
 
 Tear. 
 
 Overture to Crescendo ; full score, manuscript, pp. 25 . — 
 
 Overture to Fanislta, manuscript — 
 
 Separate parts of the sixth quartet in A minor, manuscript, 
 pp.43 ... 1811 
 
 1. Gradual, ' Propter veritatem,' the offertory in th« Corona- 
 
 tion Mass in A, pp. 11, for three voices ; ftfll score . 1825 
 
 2. Confirma hoc Deus, Mass in A, for chorus, pp. 21 printed „ 
 
 3. Marche "ReUgieuse, with instruments, Mass in A „ „ 
 
412 Memorials of Cherubini. 
 
 Note. 
 
 In connection -with the sale of Cherubini's manu- 
 scripts, I venture to insert the following from the 
 Mudoal World, 1860),vol. xxxviii. p. 172 : 
 
 ' Those artistes and amateurs who have a -passion 
 for works, not printed, or published, of a great mastet 
 will learn with pleasure that the coinpositions of the 
 renowned composer Gherubini, the greatest contra- 
 puntal writer that ever lived, are now for sale at Paris, 
 by his widow, in manuscript, consisting, in his own 
 handwriting, of overtures in score, masses, operas, 
 sacred pieces, cantatas, orchestral pieces, quartets, 
 quintets, solfeggi, &c. &c., comprising nearly three 
 hundred works, composed between the year 1773 and 
 1841. Here is a field, for musical societies, students, 
 and directors of music, to produce novelties, and 
 study one whose works, hitherto known and printed, 
 are patterns of excellence in every point of view, 
 and held up as models of perfection to the student. 
 The directors of the Philharmonic Societies, Musical 
 Unions, and Sacred Harmonics, &c., should look after 
 the works. They will find overtures, chamber-mugic, 
 oratorios (1) 'never produced before the public, and 
 what better name could they have than the renowned 
 one of Cherubini to grace f &c. &c. 
 
Note. 413 
 
 We read in Cherubini's Catalogue, 'Les per- 
 sonnes qta desirent devenir acqu^reurs pourront 
 s'adresser h. M, Petit, ancien ^diteur, demeurant Rue 
 St. Thomas du Louvi-e No.- 13.'^ 
 
 A iiotice from Cherubini's widow also appeared 
 in the Musical Times with reference to the sale. 
 M. Girod expresses his regret at the dispersion of 
 the MSS. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 I. 
 
 The following are copies of tlie official certificates of Cherubim's 
 birth and baptism, for which I am indebted to Picchianti : 
 
 ' Certificasi da me infrascritto ministro delle fedi di nascita 
 che si conservano nel reggio iificio dell' Opera di Santa Maria 
 del Fiore, deUa citta di Firenze, come nei registri di battezzati 
 dell' Insigne Oratorio di San Giovan Battista, deUa sudetta citta 
 fra gli altri nomi apparisce 1' appresso Luigi Carlo Zanobi Salva- 
 dore Maria, del signor Bartolomeo di Marco Cherubim, e deUa 
 signora Verdiana di Filippo Bosi, nato il di quattordici settembri 
 miUe setteoento sessanta, U primo minuto della mattina,' &c. ' 
 
 ' lo infrascritto battezziere dell' insigne Basilica di San Gio- 
 van Battista di Firenze attesto essere stato battezzato a questo 
 sacro fonte, il di quindici settembre mille settecento sessanta, un 
 bambino figho del sig. Bartolomeo di Marco Cherubini, e della 
 signora Verdiana di Filippo Bosi, del popolo di San Pier mag- 
 giore, con i nomi di Luigi Carlo Zanobi Salvadore Maria,' &c. 
 
 More recently Gamucci obtained the following certificate, 
 which confirms the above : 
 
 ' Opera di S. M. del Flore, Firenze, 
 30 Giugno 1869. 
 ' Fede per me Ministro nell' Uffizio dell' Opera suddetta qual- 
 mente ai Kegistri dei Battezzati neU' Insigne Basilica di San 
 Giovan Battista di questa citta, che si conservano in questo 
 Uffizio : apparisce essere stato battezzato a quel fonte, il di 15 
 settembre miUe settecento sessanta, un bambino figho del signor 
 Bartolomeo di Marco Cherubini, e deUa signora Verdiana di 
 Filippo Bosi, nato il di 14 settembre detto 1760, al primo minuto 
 deUa mattina, nel popolo di San Pier Maggiore, a cui sono stati 
 imposti i nomi di Luigi Carlo Zanobi Salvadore Maria. 
 
 Bollo a seeco.) ' II ministro, L. Bocoi.' 
 
Appendix. 
 
 415 
 
 II. 
 
 The enormous length of the Mass in D minor will be seen at 
 once by comparing it with some other masses of his own, and 
 with Beethoven's : 
 
 
 
 Beethoven's 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mass in 
 
 Mass 
 
 Mass 
 
 Mass 
 
 Mass in d 
 
 Mass in A 
 
 Mass 
 
 Mi^ssin 
 
 D minor 
 
 inF 
 
 inD 
 
 inC 
 
 (Oorunation) 
 
 (Coronation) 
 
 inO 
 
 Bflat 
 
 (1811) 
 
 (1808) 
 
 (1819) 
 
 (1810) 
 
 (1819) 
 
 (1826) 
 
 (1816) 
 
 (1821) 
 
 Bars 
 
 Bars 
 
 Bars 
 
 Bars 
 
 Bars 
 
 Bars 
 
 Bars 
 
 Bars 
 
 Kyrie . . 437 
 
 220 
 
 225 
 
 131 
 
 Kyrie . . 101 
 
 117 
 
 133 
 
 67 
 
 Gloria . . «93 
 
 602 
 
 667 
 
 380 
 
 Gloria . . 603 
 
 339 
 
 279 
 
 145 
 
 Credo . . (iOS 
 
 632 
 
 463 
 
 370 
 
 Credo . . 435 
 
 400 
 
 348 
 
 193 
 
 Sanctus . I!6 
 
 £3 
 
 78 
 
 4S 
 
 Sanctus &■ 
 Salu- ^105 
 
 74 
 
 51 
 
 38 
 
 Benedictas 130 
 
 151 
 
 158 
 
 145 
 
 taris . 
 
 79 
 
 64 
 
 80 
 
 Agnus Dei. 367 
 Total 2563 
 
 371 
 
 433 
 
 182 
 
 Agnus Dei . 61 
 1205 
 
 92 
 1101 
 
 158 
 
 111 
 
 524 
 
 2033 
 
 1929 
 
 1256 
 
 1033 
 
 It may be remarked from this table that Cherubini has writ- 
 ten the longest Kyrie, Gloria, and Credo ; Beethoven the longest 
 Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei. Cherubiiii's Coronation 
 Mass in A and Mass in C include offertories ; but I have not 
 included these, because the Offertory, being a prayer which varies 
 in different masses, is left open for any composer, forming no 
 part of most musical masses. 
 
 III. 
 
 Note of Cherubini relating to Copies of Ids second Requiem. 
 
 ' Je, soussigne, reconnais avoir re9U la somme de mille francs 
 pour le prix de cinquante exemplaires, a vingt francs chaque, de 
 ma deuxieme Messe de Requiem pourvoix d'hommes [here follow 
 some words scratched out] . 
 
 'Paris, ce 12 Octobre 1837, pour acquit, L. Cherubini, 
 
 ' CompoBitenr, membre de I'Institnt, &o.' 
 
 The following letter was written by Cherubini to some friend 
 about this time : 
 
 ' Mon cher et ancien Ami, — J'avais ete quelque temps sans 
 
4 1 6 Memorials of Cheriibini. 
 
 vous envoyer ce que je re9ois a I'Institut, comme j'avais fait 
 jusqu'd present, pour faire un 6change des annales des voyages 
 que vous avez eu la complaisance de m'envoyer. Or comme j'ai 
 line bonne recolte de piece de I'Institut, je m'empresse de vous les 
 adresser. Agreez, mon cher ami, la nouveUfi assurance des senti- 
 ments d'estime et d'attachement de votre devout 
 
 ' L. Chbeubini. 
 ' Paris, 10 Aug. 1836.' 
 
INDEX. 
 
 * A eel 1;raits je connols ta rage,' duet 
 
 ia. Lodois&a, 56. 
 ' A leurs yeux je derobe, madame !' 
 
 couplets in Jjes Deux JoumSes, 
 
 126. 
 ' A little boy, a Savoyard,' romanza in 
 
 the Escapes, 159. 
 'A Toi torno Sponde amate,' air in 
 
 Ifigmia, 29. 
 Abincirages, Les, 117, 166; account 
 
 of, 206 ; 362. 
 AcaiUmie Impinale, Gastil-Blaze's, 
 
 79, 309. 
 Academy of Stockholm, 214. 
 Academy of Music, Eoyal, see Grand 
 
 Opfira. 
 AtMlle d, Seyros, account of, 139; 
 
 328 ; Catalogue, 392, No. 246. 
 AchiUe im Sciro, Sartis, 12, 
 Ads and Galatea, Handel's, 57 note. 
 Adam, Adolphe, 5, 76 note, 185, 193, 
 
 245 ; on Cherubini's character, 264 ; 
 
 anecdote, 273-4 ; 374. 
 Adelaide, Princess, 44. 
 Adjutor, 237. 
 
 AdJriaim in Sh-ia, 17 ; Catalogue, 382. 
 Agnesi, Signer, 124. 
 'Ah, mon ami, de notreasile,' duet 
 
 in Epioiire, 130. 
 ' Ah, vous rendez la vie,' chorus in 
 
 Dermphon, 35. 
 Aignan, 106. 
 Albreohtsberger, 163. 
 Akestis, Cluck's, 30. 300. 
 AlcUme, Marais', 137. 
 Aleune Notizie, Gamucci's, 374. 
 Alessand/ro nell' Indie, 22 ; Catalogue, 
 
 384. 
 Ali Baba, 64, 153 ; account of, 325, 
 
 357, 369 ; Catalogue, 405, 
 AH Baba et Ste. V6cile, article by 
 
 Halevy, o32. 
 
 AUegri, 325. 
 
 Almanzor, character in Zes Abend- 
 
 rages, 209. 
 Amazones, Mehul's lies, 166. 
 Ambigu Comique, Th6toe de 1', 62. 
 Amedee, 277. 
 
 Amis de la Patrie, Th6toe des, 62. 
 Amour Fugitif, L', see Anacrion. 
 Amphion, 26 ; Catalogue, 384. 
 Anacrion; 53, 117 ; account of, 135, 
 
 139, 208, 307, 332; Catalogue, 391, 
 
 No. 241. 
 Anfossi, 22, 41, 409. 
 Angelina, character in lies Deux 
 
 Joumies, 108, 124. 
 AngouUme, Duke of, 282. 
 Annais of the Institute, Miel's, 164. 
 Antigone, Meudelssohn's, 96. 
 Antoinette, Marie, 26-7, 38, 77. 
 Antonio, character in Les Deux Jour- 
 
 nies, 108, 115, 124. 
 Apollo, 141. 
 Arabian Nights, 325. 
 Argentina Theatre, Home, 20. 
 Arieta, 409. 
 Armand, character in Les Deux Jour- 
 
 nies, 51, 108, 114, 124-5. 
 Armida, 17 ; Catalogue, 382. 
 Arrm, Les, 140; Catalogue, 392. 
 Artaserse, 17. 
 
 Artistes, Thea,tre des Jeunes, 62. 
 Arts, Theatre des, 61. 
 Athanais, character in .dnacr^ore, 135. 
 AthencEum, on Les Deux Journies, 
 
 126, 128 ; 2d Requiem, 361 ; 36.- 
 Attwood, 124. 
 ' Au plaisir de voir tant de charines, 
 
 air in Dimophxtn, 34. 
 Auber, 51 ; Cherubini's pupil, 75 ; 
 
 on Medie, 101 ; 169 ; Mass in F, 
 
 175: 245, 297, 302 .S09, 324-5. 374. 
 Autobiography, Spobr s, 186, 241. 
 
 EE 
 
4i8 
 
 Index. 
 
 Ave Maria, 187, 229, 372; Catalogue, 
 
 398, No. 344. 
 Azevedo, 27. 
 Azzoliuo, 368-9. 
 
 Babini, 19, 24, 26, 217. 
 
 Babjlon, Masa in F at Hdtel de, 176. 
 
 Bac, B.ue du, 62. 
 
 Bacchanalian chorus in Anaerlion, 
 137. 
 
 Bacchus, Hymn to, 237. 
 
 Bach, 95 ; 231, 232 ; Passion, 234. 
 
 BaiUot, 3 ; Cherubini's pupil, 75 ; 176, 
 193, 211, 215, 252, 321-2, 334; let- 
 ter on Cherubini's death, 365. 
 
 Balesca, Signer, 124. 
 
 Balletti, Mdme., 39. 
 
 Banti, Mdme,, 39. 
 
 Baour Lormian, 248. 
 
 £a/rbiere, II, Rossini's, 129. 
 
 Barizel, 276. 
 
 Bartolini, 365, 367. 
 
 Basevi, 369. 
 
 BasUi, 41. 
 
 Bathille, character in Anaiyrion, 135. 
 
 Batton, Cherubini's pupil, 75, 264, 
 324, 361. 
 
 Batttt, 276. 
 
 Baudiot, 176, 252. 
 
 Bauermeister, Mdlle., 124. 
 
 Bayard A Meziires, 210 ; Catalogue, 
 395. 
 
 Beaux-Arts, 307-8, 310, 365. 
 
 Beethoven, 3, 45, 60, 81, 94, 110,124, 
 131, 140, 142, 149, 150-1, 153; Che- 
 rubini's relations with, 160-3 ; 168, 
 183-4, 188, 196, 200-1, 203, 205, 
 211, 219, 224, 226, 237, 244-6, 262, 
 277-8 ; letter to Cherubini, 282-4 ; 
 285, 305, 318, 338, 370, 375, 378. 
 
 Begasse, 246. 
 
 Begrez, 229-30. 
 
 Belisarius, 329. 
 
 Benedict XIV., 189. 
 
 Benoist, 252. 
 
 Berg^re, Rue, 299. 
 
 Berlioz and Cherubini, 215, 231, 278, 
 292, 297-9, 301-3, 305-7, 311-16, 326, 
 353, 355-7, 369. 
 
 Bernand, 355. 
 
 Bernard, 168. 
 
 Berquin, 247. 
 
 Berri, Due de, 230, 
 
 Bertin, 245, 354. 
 
 Berton, 51, 73; Cherubini's pupil, 
 75 ; 164, 210, 247-9, 251, '^Th, 286 
 311, 317, 322, 324, Sib. 
 
 Biagi, 368-9. 
 
 Bienaime, 315. 
 
 Bwgraphie Nouvdle des Contempif- 
 rains, 194. 
 
 Biographic Universelle d*s Goniempo- 
 rams, 297. 
 
 BiograpMe VmverseHe det Mimdent, 
 194, 217, 250, 294. 
 
 BiograpMe J/niverselle, Hichaud'i, 
 65, 105. 
 
 Sioffraphie Vniverselle et Portative, 
 60, 397. 
 
 Biolti, 241. 
 
 Bizzarri, Cherubini's master, 6, 10, 
 266. 
 
 Blaise, 409. 
 
 Blanche de Provence, 117, 247, 350 ; 
 Catalogue, 401. 
 
 Blangini, 245, 262, 324. 
 
 Blangy, 275. 
 
 Body Guard, Royal, 217. 
 
 Bohrer, 246, 318. 
 
 Boieldieu, 51, 63 ; Cherubini's pupil, 
 75-6 ; 107-8, 164, 210, 245, 247-8, 
 251, 26^ 269, 271, 286, 311, 313; 
 O Salutaris for marriage of, and 
 letter of Cherubini to, 316 ; Che- 
 rubini's discourse at the funeral of, 
 334-6. 
 
 Boigne, De, on J U Baha, 329. 
 
 Bonaparte, see Napoleon. 
 
 Bonet, 277. 
 
 Bordeaux, baptism of Duke of, 247-8. 
 
 Bordogni, 262. 
 
 Bosi, 5. 
 
 Bouffons, the, 39, 42. 
 
 Bouilly, librettist, 110, 367. 
 
 Braun, Baron de, 145. 
 
 Breitkopf & Hartel, 156. 
 
 Brief e aus Paris, Reiohardt's, 193. 
 
 Brod, 215, 272, 275-6. 
 
 Browne, Sir Thomas, 93. 
 
 Bruguier, 138. 
 
 Brunswick, 241. 
 
 Bruydre, St. Michel, Baron de, let- 
 ter of Cherubini to, 258. 
 
 Bulk, 276. 
 
 Buononcini, 24. 
 
 Buon-Umore, account of Les Deux 
 Journies read in Hall of the, Flo- 
 rence, 129. 
 
 Bv/riero di Buoncore, H, 41. 
 
 Burney, Dr., 25, 28 note. 
 
 Bttteux, 275. 
 
 Calife de Bagdad 76. 
 tampi, i\. dme. 143. 
 
Index. 
 
 419 
 
 'Oara da vol dipende,' quartet, 22, 
 58 ; Catalogue, 386, No. 163. 
 
 Oarafa, Cherubiui's pupil, 76; 324, 
 369. 
 
 Oaraman, M. de, 169, 
 
 Garignan, Prince de, 368. 
 
 Casaboni, Signor, 124. 
 
 Casamorata, 368-9, 371. 
 
 Castil-Blaze, 4, 23, 28 noU, 32, 51, 
 79, 129, 193-4, 140, 230, 307, 321, 324. 
 
 Oastrucci, Cherubini's master, 6, 11. 
 
 Catalani, Mdme., 98. 
 
 Catel, 73, 164, 193, 210, 278, 285; 
 Cherubini's discourse at the funeral 
 of, 322-4. 
 
 Cmeme, Lesueur's La, 65-6. 
 
 Genseur, Le, on Medie, 100. 
 
 Chabrol, Count, 248. 
 
 Chafft, 276. 
 
 Champein, 409. 
 
 ChapeUe-Musique dts Sois de France, 
 CastU-Blaze's, 140. 
 
 Charles X. , 216-7 ; Mass for the coro- 
 nationof,286-7, 295;Cata]ogue,403. 
 
 Charlotte of Kaples, Princess, 230. 
 
 Chasse duJevme Henri, Mehul's over- 
 ture to La, 123. 
 
 Chaussard, 79. 
 
 Chenier, 73, 78. 
 
 Cherubini, Bartolomeo, 6-7, 11, 66. 
 
 Cherubini, Mark, 5. 
 
 Cherubini, Mdme., 80, 413. 
 
 Cherubini, Salvador, 80, 169. 
 
 Cherubini, Terdiana, 5. 
 
 Cherubini, Viotoire, 80. 
 
 Cherubini, Zenobie, 80, 333. 
 
 Ohimay, Mdme. de, 169, 174-5. 
 
 Chimay, Prince de, 169, 175-6. 
 
 Cholet, Mdlle., 135. 
 
 Ohorley, Mr., critique on Medie 
 quoted, 84, 99 ; on Spontini, 166. 
 
 Choron, 4 ; Cherubini's discussion 
 with, 324 
 
 Cianchi, 129. 
 
 Ciardi, 370. 
 
 Cioeri, 246-7. 
 
 Cimarosa, 24-5, 28, 40-1, 59, 377. 
 
 Circe, 38 ; Catalogue, 385. 
 
 Citg, Theatre de la, 62. 
 
 Clapisson, 280, 369. 
 
 Clari, 63, 217. 
 
 Claudel, 270. 
 
 Clement, 5, 6, 21, 77-8, 101 ; on Lea 
 Deux Journies, 125; on Cheru- 
 bini's sacred music, 187-8; 211, 
 380, 409. 
 
 dementi, 165. 
 
 Olorinda, 303. 
 
 ClotUde, MdUe., 139. 
 
 Goeur de Lion, GrStry's, 36, 54. 
 
 Coleridge, Mr. A. D., Life of Mo- 
 scheles, 100 note. 
 
 ' Confortare,' Lesueur's, 287. 
 
 Conservatoire, 72-3, 75, 112, 133-4, 
 136, 141, 163-4, 214, 249 ; Cheru- 
 bini director of, 250; 256, 262, 
 264, 273, 280, 297-9, 301, 308, 310, 
 314, 327, 335, 337, 357-9, 361. 
 
 Constance, character in Les Deux 
 Jownies, 108-114, 124 5. 
 
 Corinne, character in Anaerhn, 
 135-6. 
 
 Goriolan overture, 83, 277. 
 
 Coronation Mass in A, 184, 187, 217 ; 
 Girod on the, 286-7; Catalogue, 
 403, No. 403. 
 
 Coronation Mass in G, 218 ; Cata- 
 logue, 400, No. 371. 
 
 Corri, Haydn,- 288. 
 
 Gosa Mara, Martini's La, 41. 
 
 Gov/r d' amour du Eoi Beni, La, 317. 
 
 Gowrses de Newmarket, Struntz's, 194. 
 
 Covent Garden, Medea at, 124. 
 
 GreaUon, The, 131, 142, 192. 
 
 Credo for eight voices, 163; Cata- 
 logue, 392, No. 253. 
 
 Creon, character in Medie, 87-8, 90. 
 
 Crescendo, Fetis on Le, 193 ; Cata- 
 logue, 394, No. 283. 
 
 Crescentini, 17, 24, 167, 191. 
 
 Cruvelli, Mdlle., 97. 
 
 Ozemy, 285-6. 
 
 Dacosta, 176, 275. 
 
 Dalayrac, 63, 112. 
 
 Dame Blanche, Boieldieu's La, 272. 
 
 Damoreau, Mdme., 328. 
 
 Damremont, General, .353. 
 
 Daniel, character in Les Deux Jow- 
 
 nies, 108-124. 
 Darmreuther, M., on Cherubini, 4f. 
 'Dans ma verte et belle jeunesse,' 
 
 trio in Anacreon, 136. 
 Dante, 318. 
 Darcourt, 109. 
 Dauphine, Etie, 62. 
 Dauprat, 252, 275-6. 
 Daussoigne, 252. 
 Dauveme, 275. 
 David, 93, 168-9. 
 David, Mdlle., letter of Cherubini, 
 
 259. 
 David, Pierre, 365. 
 De Profundis, Halgvy's, 231. 
 
420 
 
 Index. 
 
 D^Iassements Oomiqnes, Theatre des, 
 62. 
 
 Delavigne, 281. 
 
 Deloambre, 176, 252. 
 
 Delia Maria, 59. 
 
 Delaarte, 209. 
 
 Demetrio, II, 24; Catalogue, 384, 
 Nob. 95-8. 
 
 Dimophon, Vogel's, 31-2. 
 
 Dimophon, 27, 31 ; Fetis on, 33, 52, 
 100; overture with frying-pans, 
 247 ; 307 ; Catalogue, 385, No. 135. 
 
 DemouBtier, 130. 
 
 Denne-Baron, 4, 5, 13, 20, 22, 28 
 note, 68-9 ; on Les Deux Jowrnies, 
 112; 1,39, 169, 175, 192, 209, 410. 
 
 Depart, Chant du, Mehul's, 108. 
 
 Derniers Souvenirs, A. Adam's, quo- 
 ted, 265 ; Halfivy'B, 322 ; AKBaha, 
 327. 
 
 'Des nos cceurs purs,' quartet in 
 AnacrSon, 136. 
 
 Desaugier, 41. 
 
 DeBchamps, 365. 
 
 Desfaucherets, 107. 
 
 Deamares, MdUe., 108. 
 
 Desorgues, 77. 
 
 Desriaux, 31-2. 
 
 Dessaules, 109. 
 
 Deux Joumies, Les, 45-6, 48-9 ; ac- 
 count of, 108 ; 130, 132, 137, 159, 
 242, 260, 264-6, 272, 298, 307. 316, 
 332, 362 ; a performanoe of, 365-7 ; 
 Catalogue, 391, No. 229. 
 
 Deux Jumeaux, Les, 41. 
 
 Devrient, Mdme. Schroder, 97. 
 
 Devrient, M. B., 297, 115 note, 331. 
 
 Dictimmavre Historique, 4. 
 
 Dietionnaire Lyrique, 126. 
 
 Didone Abbandonata, La, 165. 
 
 Dirce, character in Medie, 86-7. 
 
 Diriohlet, 230. 
 
 Dixon, MiBB, 124. 
 
 Dominick, 176. 
 
 Don Cfiovanni Tena/no, II, 41. 
 
 Don Giovanni, Mozart's II, 30, 48. 
 
 'Dors, noble enfant, tendre fleur d'es- 
 p6rance,' chorus in Blanche de 
 Provence, 117, 247-8. 
 
 DoBsiou, 276. 
 
 Dourlen, 252. 
 
 Douriinaki, character in Lodolska, 
 54, 56-8. 
 
 Doyen, Th6atre de, 62. 
 
 DmTyIjiiiie,LesDeuxJourn6ea at, 123. 
 
 Dachambge, Mdme., 175. 
 
 Dugazon, 246. 
 
 Dumont, 362. 
 
 Duomo, Florence, cantata in the, 9. 
 
 Dupont, 277, 305. 
 
 Duport, 139, 176, 276. 
 
 Durais, 215. 
 
 Durante, 12, 324. 
 
 Duret, 80. 
 
 Duvemoy, 176, 193. 
 
 Duyeyrier-Melesville, 65. 
 
 EccePanis, 186; Girod on the, 228; 
 
 Catalogue, 398, No. 343. 
 Edinburgh Review, on Berlioz, 298. 
 Bgmiowt oveiture, Beethoven's, 277. 
 Eighteenth of Fructidor, Ode on the, 
 
 78 ; Catalogue, 389, No. 215. 
 Eler, 73, 93, 249, 252. 
 MUsa, 48 ; account of, 66 ; 80-1, 100, 
 
 112, 117, 130, 280, 307, 362, 370; 
 
 Catalogue, 388, No. 209. 
 Ella, Professor, on ies DeuxJomnies 
 
 overture, 120; 229, 153, 166. 
 Eloy, 135. 
 
 Elwart, 66, 105, 279, 281, 359. 
 Encyelopidie Mithodique, 38 note. 
 ' Bnfin j'ai vu naltre I'aurore,' air in 
 
 Les Abencirages, 209. 
 Epicure, 117; account of, 130; Cata- 
 logue, 391, No. 230. . 
 Erard, 246, 262-3. 
 Eroica Symphony, 276-7, 280. 
 Escapes, Attwood's, 123-4, 159. 
 'Etemoiddio,'prayerinjFamste,157. 
 Etlolea, Mdme. D', 27. 
 Etudes sw Cherubini, FStis', 177, 
 Ewphrosine, Mehul's, 130. 
 Ewyanthe overture, Weber's, 338. 
 
 Faiblas, 54. 
 
 Falcon, Mdme., 328. 
 
 Fanisha, 45, 65, 123, 144, 149 ; ac- 
 count of, from the Hwrmoniixm, 
 quoted, 154; 166, 307, 328, 362; 
 Catalogue, 392, No. 254. 
 
 Fantacchiotti, 368, 371, 373-4. 
 
 Farm-st. Church, 2d Requiem at, 338. 
 
 Favart Theatre, 52-3, 59, 61, 130. 
 
 Fawoett, Mr., 124. 
 
 Felici, Cherubini's master, 6, 8, 9. 
 
 Felici, Alessandro, Cherubini's mas- 
 ter, 6 ; bis school, 8. 
 
 Fernand Cortez, Spontini's, 84. 
 
 Fgtis, 3, 5-7, 14, 16-7; on Dim- 
 phon, 33 ; 39, 41, 48, 104 ; on Che- 
 rubini's melody, 117 ; on his opera- 
 tic defects, 118 ; on Achille, 139, 
 151 ; on Mass in F, 177 ; 182, 188 ; 
 
Index. 
 
 421 
 
 on ie Crescendo, 193 ; 217, 249, 250, 
 253-4, 294, 302, 410; on Cheru- 
 bini's quartets, 318 ; 333, 335, 337. 
 
 Feydeau Theatre, 44, 53, 59, 62, 65, 
 67, 107-8, 194. 
 
 Piddio, 54, 95, 124, 149, 151 ; Che- 
 lubini's style to be seen in, 153, 160. 
 
 Fiesolana, Via, 5. 66, 371. 
 
 Figa/ro, 30, 48, 160. 
 
 FUles St. Thomas, Ene des, 276. 
 
 Fils de Bacchus, hymn in Medie, 92. 
 
 Finta Principessa, La, 24. 
 
 Fioroni, 13. 
 
 Flins, 79. 
 
 Floreski, character in IiOdoisJca, 54-7. 
 
 Florestan, character in Fidelia, 126. 
 
 Florian, 27. 
 
 Florindo, character in EUsa, 69, 70-1. 
 
 ' Flowers around thee strewing,' cho- 
 rus in The Escapes, 125. 
 
 Foli, Signer, 124. 
 
 Folies d'Espagne, Les, 107. 
 
 Fontaines, Des, 169. 
 
 Fontana, 409. 
 
 Framery, 38 note, 73. 
 
 Fran^ais, Theatre, 61, 210, 246. 
 
 Francis II., 149. 
 
 Frascatana, Faisiello's Jja, 41. 
 
 Fraternity, Hymn to, 77 ; Catalogue 
 388, No. 206. 
 
 Freudenthaler, 245. 
 
 FnHschutx, Der, Weber's, 124. 
 
 Funeral speeches by members of the 
 French Institute, 324 note; Che- 
 rubini at Catel's funeral, 322-4; at 
 Boieldieu's funeral, 334-6. 
 
 Galt6, Theatre de la, 62. 
 
 Galland, 329. 
 
 Gamucoi, 4, 116, 129, 142, 210, 362, 
 
 364-5, 374. 
 Garat, 27, 2.52, 334. 
 Gandini, 409. 
 Garaude, 252. 
 Garcia, 245. 
 Gardei, Mdme., 135. 
 Gardel, 139. 
 Gamier, 109, 335. 
 Gasparin, 353. 
 Gassmann, 162. 
 Gaveaux, 108. 
 Oaaette Muskale de Paris, 332-4, 337, 
 
 356. 
 Gazzaniga, 40-1. 
 General!, 409. 
 
 ' Gentem Franoorum,' Lesueur's, 287. 
 Geoffrey, 207. 
 
 George IV., 25. 
 
 Georget, 109. 
 
 Gerber, 5, 141, 145. 
 
 Germain, character in EUsa, 69, 70. 
 
 Gervasoni, 4. 
 
 Giannina e Semardoni, Faisiello's, 
 
 28. 
 Ginguene, 38 note. 
 Girod, S. J., on Cherubini's sacred 
 
 music, 189, 228-9, 235-6, 281-2 ; on 
 
 Coronation Mass in A, 288, 293-4 ; 
 
 413. 
 Gvidio Sdbimo, H, 25 ; Catalogue, 384, 
 
 No. 111. 
 Cfiulio Sdbino, Sartrs, 12. 
 GHuocalore, II, 9. 
 Gliiok, 23-4, 30, 41, 45, 47, 49, 51, 60, 
 
 81,93-6, 98, 151, 209, 242,263,300-1, 
 
 324. ■ 
 Gllickists, 52. 
 
 GlycSre, character in Anac/i'ion, 135. 
 'God save Victoria,' Perfida Clori 
 
 set to, 110, 119. 
 Goethe, on Deux Jownies libretto, 
 
 110, 119. 
 GogvMe, La, 206. 
 Gonesse, 109. 
 Gore, Mr., 19. 
 Gossec, 63, 73, 79 ; Les Deux Joumics 
 
 dedicated to, 109 ; 112, 164, 167, 193, 
 
 334. 
 Grand Opera, 32, 61, 108, 135, 164, 
 
 206, 241, 247, 325-6. 
 Grasset, 176. 
 Grenie, 193. 
 Gregoire, 215. 
 Gr^try, 49, 54, 63, 73, 79, 112, 164, 
 
 167, 242, 263, 409. 
 Grotta di Trofonio, Faisiello's La, 41. 
 Grore, Mr. G., 24 note; onihe Medie 
 
 overture, 83. 
 Gugrin, 195, 276. 
 
 Gueroult, on the Mass in A, 293-4. 
 GugUelmi, 41, 59. 
 Guhr, 85. 
 
 Guillaume Tell, Eossini's, 137. 
 GulUou, 275-7. 
 Guynemer, letter of Baillot to, 365, 
 
 367. 
 Gyrowetz, 163. 
 
 Habeneck, 176, 215, 245-6, 252 ; So- 
 ciete des Concerts, 275-6 ; 279, 280, 
 338, 355-6. 
 
 Hal6vy and Cherubini's juvenile 
 compositions, 10 ; 26, 29, 39 ; Che- 
 rubini's pupU, 75; 76, 93, 206, 
 
422 
 
 Index. 
 
 224, 226, 237, 239, 264, 270, 276, 
 
 231; onCherubini. 267-9; 297, 326, 
 
 329, 332, 3367. 360 2. ' 
 HaUvy, L^on, 231. 
 Handel, 24 ; Aois and, Galatea, 60 
 
 note; 63, 95, 98, 324-5. 
 Ha/rmonicon, 25, 40 ; acconnt of Fa- 
 
 niaka in, quoted, 154 ; 194. 
 Hauptmann, Mdme. Milder, 101. 
 Haydn, 27, 73, 109, 137 ; Chenibini 
 
 and, 141-2, 149, 150;- 162, 183-4, 
 
 177 ; Chant av/r la mart de, 192 ; 
 
 199, 200-1. 269, 280, 318, 324. 
 Haydn- Verein, 162. 
 Haymarket, 24-5, 212. 
 Hebrides bverture, Mendelssohn's, 83. 
 Henri, 276. 
 
 Henry, M., letter of Cherubini, 258-9. 
 Heinefetter, Mdme. Steckl, 97- 
 HenneviUe, D', 281. 
 Herklotz, 101. 
 Hermione, 303. 
 Herold, 245, 324. 
 Herz, 297. 
 Hesse, 16.5. 
 
 Sistoire de la MuaiqueReligieuse, 187. 
 History of Music, Sohliiter's, 186. 
 Hoche, General, Dirge for, 78, 103-5, 
 
 361 ; Catalogue, 390, No. 216. 
 Hoffmann, 81. 
 Holy See, 189. 
 ' Honneur an Dieu de la Tendange,' 
 
 Bacchanalian chorus in Anacrion, 
 
 137. 
 Hope-Scott, Mr., 338 note. 
 Hdtellerie Portugaise, V, 106, 113, 
 
 262 ; Catalogue, 390, No. 224. 
 Hottin, 215, 301-2. 
 Howells, Miss, 124. 
 Hummel, 142, 162, 183-4, 199, 201, 
 
 269 ; on Mass in A, 294. 
 Hurteaux, 280. 
 Hymm, MdUe., 135. 
 
 Idalide, L\ 20, 364 ; Catalogue, 384, 
 No. 93. 
 
 IJlgenia in Aulide, 29, 33; Cata- 
 logue, 385, No, 131. 
 
 ' n veut p6rir,' trio in EHsa, 71. 
 
 Imperial Dictionary of Biography, 
 Mr. G. A. Macfarren quoted, 123, 
 320. 
 
 Incledon, 124. 
 
 Inolina Domine, 282 ; Catalogue, 
 402, No. 398. 
 
 Indice Teatrale of Venice, 21. 
 
 Ingres, 356, 359. 
 
 Inno alia Primavera, 212 ; Cata- 
 logue, 396, No. 320. 
 
 Institut National de Musiqne, 73. 
 
 Institute, French, 75, 79, 211, 213, 
 249, 303-7, 317 ; funeral speeches, 
 324,335,362,568-9. 
 
 Institute of Holland, 214. 
 
 Instituto Mmicale of Florence, 129. 
 
 Invalides, H6tel des, 335, 353. 
 
 IsahelU, 409-10. 
 
 Isabey, 246. 
 
 Iste Dies, 235 ; Catalogue, 398, No. 
 351. 
 
 Italiana in Londra, Cimarosa'sX', 40. 
 
 Ivan, 245. 
 
 Jadin, 193. 
 
 Jannard, Mdme., 135. 
 
 Jason, character in Medic, 86-9, 90-1. 
 
 JauBserand, 108. 
 
 ' Je Tais voir tout ce que j'aime,' air 
 in Elisa, 70. 
 
 Jeremiah, Lamentations of, 9; Cata- 
 logue, 380, Nos. 10-11. 
 
 Jesuits, The, 21. 
 
 Jeunes Eldves, Theatre des, 62. 
 
 ' Jeunes filles aux regards doux,' air 
 in Anacrioni 117, 136. 
 
 ' Jeunes fiUes et bergerettes,' chorus 
 in LesDeMxJowmies, 124. 
 
 Jeunesse, F6te de la, 78. 
 
 Joachim, Herr, 320 note. 
 
 JomelU, 217, 324. 
 
 Joseph II., 145. 
 
 Joseph, 45, 164, 166, 242. 
 
 Josephine, Empress, 164. 
 
 Joubert, Dirge for General, 79 ; Ad- 
 dendum, 410. 
 
 Jouy, 107, 164, 166. 
 
 Jugeraent de Midas, Le, 242. 
 
 Juive, La, ECalevy's, 206, 336. 
 
 Juliet. 108. 
 
 July Revolution, 321. 
 
 ' Jurons,' chorus in Lodolaka, 56. 
 
 Jury de lecture de I'Opera, 108. 
 
 Jussieu, 169. 
 
 Kalkbrenner, 365. 
 
 Kastuer, 369 ; on Cherubini, 376. 
 
 King Stephen overture, 277. 
 
 King's Chapel, 216, 263, 321, 324. 
 
 Kolbal, 19. 
 
 Kourkourgi, 64-5, 141, 153; Cata- 
 logue, 388, No. 204. 
 
 Kreutzer, Lod&iska, 51-3 ; 68-9. 
 
 Kreutzer, 170, 210, 215, 241, 243, 
 246-8, 252, 278. 
 
Index. 
 
 4^3 
 
 Kuhn, Cherubini's pupil, 75. 
 Kummer, 318. 
 
 LacSp^de, 73. 
 Lachner, 100. 
 Lacombe, Mdlle. 135. 
 Lafage, 5, 11, 25, 41, 77, 105, 
 107, 150, 207 ; on Cherubim's Con- 
 servatoire directorship, 253 ; on 
 AlA Boha, 331. 
 
 Lafont, 245, 248, 358, 362. 
 Lamare, 176, 318. 
 Lambert, 281. 
 Lancrj, Kae de, 62. 
 
 LangM, 73. 
 
 Larochefoncault, Sosthene de, 276, 
 279, 308, 310. 
 
 LaudaSion,228; Catalogue, 398, No. 
 345. 
 
 Landate Dominum, offertory, 226; 
 Catalogue, 396, No. 325. 
 
 Laura, character in Misa, 70-1. 
 
 Lauriston, Marquis de, 250, 252-3. 
 
 Lays, 32, 135-6, 252. 
 
 Lear, 90. 
 
 Lebome, Cherubini's pupU, 75. 
 
 Lebnin,77. 
 
 Leclero, 362. 
 
 Lecointe, 338. 
 
 Lectures, Professor Ella's, 167. 
 
 Lefebvre, 176, 193, 215, 252. 
 
 Legion of Honour, 211, 295, 361. 
 
 Lemoiue, 24.5. 
 
 Leo, 12. 
 
 Leonard, 38-44. 
 
 Leonora, character in Fidelia, 126. 
 
 Leonora overture No. 3, 83 ; Cheru- 
 bini's remark on, 160-1, 277. 
 
 Leopold II., 6, 9, 11. 
 
 Leslie, Mr. Henry, 282. 
 
 Lesueur, 49, 51 ; La Gaveme, 65, 73, 
 105, 112, 140, 164, 167, 185, 214-15, 
 242, 245, 249, 251, 263, 269, 278, 
 286-7, 297, 299, 302, 311. * 
 
 Lethi^re, 304. 
 
 Levasseur, 176, 215, 246, 252, 328. 
 
 Lexicon der TonMmstler, Gerber's, 5, 
 141,145. ■ 
 
 Libon, 176. 
 
 Linnaeus, 169. 
 
 Lipinski, 318. 
 
 Liszt and Cherubini, 285-6. 
 
 Livero, 246. 
 
 Locandiera, La, 41. 
 
 LodMska, account of, 44 ; 80-1, 100, 
 123, 130, 143, 208, 307, 339, 362; 
 Catalogue, 387, No. 182. 
 
 Lodmska, Kreutzer's, 52, 58-9. 
 
 Loge Olympique, 26, 38. 
 
 LomSnie, De, 28 note, 29, 77. 
 
 London, Cherubini in, 24, 211. 
 
 Longchamps, 107. 
 
 Loraux, FUlette, 54. 
 
 Louis, 63. 
 
 Louis XVI., 41-2, 44, 63, 77, 230. 
 
 Louis XVIII., 79, 211, 213 ; Cheru- 
 bini chapel-master to, 214; Mass 
 for the coronation of, 237; 247, 
 282, 284. 
 
 Louis Philippe, 3.58 iiote, 361. 
 
 LouVois, Salle, 62. 
 
 Louvre, 217. 
 
 LuUi, 45, 61. 
 
 Luxembourg Palace, 359. 
 
 Lycee des Arts, Th6Mre du, 62. 
 
 Lyrique et Comique, TheStre, 62. 
 
 ' Ma che vi feoe, oh stelle,' scena, 39 ; 
 
 Catalogue, 385, No. 134. 
 Mabellini, 368. ■ 
 Macfarren, Mr. 6. A., on Les Deux 
 
 Jowmies overture, 123, 137 moJe, 
 
 154 ; on quartets, 320, 337, 377. 
 Maglio, Florence, quarter of, 364. 
 Maglioni, 368. ' 
 Magnificat, 9. 
 MaiUard, 280. 
 
 Mainzer's Mmiml Times, 367. 
 Mandini, 39. 
 Mangin, 245. 
 Mara, 38. 
 Marais, 137. 
 Marais, Th^9,tre du, 62. 
 Marcelina, character in Les Deux 
 
 Journies, 108, 115, 124. 
 Maroello, 217, 324. 
 Marchese TuHpano, Paisiello's H, 25. 
 Marchesi, 17, 25, 29. 
 Matrguerite d'Anjou, 42, 140. 
 Marini, 368-9. 
 Marino, 19. 
 Mariotti, 368. 
 Marriage of Solomon, cantata, 230 ; 
 
 Catalogue, 398, No. 345. 
 Ma/rseiUaAse, The. 79. 
 Marmontel, 27, 31-2, .34, 37. 
 Marquise de BrinviUiers, La, 324. 
 Martin, 194. 
 
 Martini, 41, 73, 112, 214. 
 Martinville, 245. 
 
 No. i, in D, 9 ; Catalogue, 380, 
 
 No. V 
 No. 2, in C, 9; Cat. 380, No. 3. 
 
424 
 
 Index. 
 
 Masses {confirmed) : 
 
 No. 3, in C, 9 ; Oat. 380, No. 6. 
 No. 4, in F, 174, 176; Pioohianti's 
 account of, 177 ; 183, 190, 196, 
 216-17, 240; Catalogue, 393, No. 
 272. 
 No. 5, in D minor, 183, 187 ; ac- 
 count of, 195 ; Cat. 394, No. 295. 
 No. 6, in C, 184, 265 ; account of, 
 
 195; Cat. 396, No. 325. 
 No. 7, in B flat ; Cat. 397, No. 338. 
 No. 1, Eequiem in C minor, 187, 
 190 ; Berlioz and Monthly Musi- 
 cal Record on, 230, 334-5, 362; 
 Cat. 398, No. 348. 
 No. 8, in E, 236 ; Cat. 399, No. 
 
 362. 
 Jfo. 9 (Coronation), in G, 184 ; ac- 
 count of, 237 ; Cat. 400. No. 371. 
 No. 10, in B flat, 249 ; Cat. 401, 
 
 No. 384. 
 No. 11 (Coronation), in A, 184, 187, 
 217 ; Girod'B account of, 286-7 ; 
 Cat. 403, No. 403. 
 No. 2, Eequiem in D minor, ac- 
 count of, 337, 361-2; Cat. 407, 
 No. 426. 
 Mayer, 96, 165. 
 
 Mazarin, Cardinal, 111, 125, 127. 
 Mazas, 176, 245. 
 
 Medie, 48 ; Mr. Chorley's critique on, 
 84 ; 113, 117-18, 123, 130, 137, 152, 
 207-8, 298, 307, 330, 332, 362 ; Ca- 
 talogue, <i^. No. 214. 
 Mfihul, 45, 49, 51, 59, 73, 93 ; reply 
 to Le Censewr, 100, 105, 112, 139, 
 140 note, 151, 164; Joseph, 164, 
 166 ; 185, 193-4, 210, 231, 277, 334. 
 Meifred, 275-6. 
 Meine, 368. 
 Maesville, 325. 
 Melidor, Mehul's, 130. 
 Mdusina overture, Mendelssohn's, 83. 
 Mimoires, Berlioz's relations with 
 Cherubini, 278, 299, 302, 307-8, 
 310-11, 313, 315 ; Ali Baba, 327 ; 
 356-7. 
 Mimoires, Gr^try's, 263. 
 Mendelssohn, 83, 85, 96, 122-3, 126, 
 130, 137 ; Cherubini's style in Pi- 
 deUo, 153 ; 161 ; on Les Abendrages, 
 209; 230, 242, 272; Cherubini 
 and, 296-7, 318 ; on Ali Baba,, 330. 
 Mendouze, 135, 
 Mengal, 275. 
 Mengozzi, 39, 334. 
 Menu-Plaisirs, 294, 409. 
 
 'Meritons le bienveillance,' chorus 
 in Les Deux Jov/m(es, 126. 
 
 Mesaenzio, II, 19 ; Catalogue, 383, 
 No. 79. 
 
 Mestrino, 40. 
 
 Metastasio, 25, 32, 63. 
 
 MUhodes, Baillot's, 334. 
 
 Mithodes dm, Oonservatoire, 161. 
 
 Metternioh, Count, 168. 
 
 Meyerbeer, 51, 124, 369, 374. 
 
 Mialle, 318. 
 
 Michaud, 62, 253. 
 
 Michel, character in Elisa, 69, 71. 
 
 Miel, 4, 38, 119, 127, 140, 168, 174; 
 on Cherubini's sacred music, 190; 
 192, 203, 214, 217, 237, on Cheru- 
 bini's character, 265-6; 334; on 
 Ingres' portrait of Cherubini, 359- 
 360 377. 
 
 Mikgu, character in Les Deux Jour- 
 n6es, 61, 108, 124-6. 
 
 Mines dePologne, Les, 152. 
 
 Miserere, 9 ; AUegri's, 325. 
 
 MoliSre, Thetee, 62. 
 
 MoUnara, Paisiello's La, 41. 
 
 Modem German Music, H. F. Chor- 
 ley's critique on Medie quoted, 
 84-99 ; on Spontini, 166. 
 
 Monday Popular Concert, 320. 
 
 Monitev/r, T7. 
 
 Monnais, 369, 370-1. 
 
 Monsieur, Troupe de, 62-3. 
 
 Monsieur, Theatre de, 39, 44, 59. 
 
 Monsigny, 63. 
 
 Montague, TheS,tre de la, 62. 
 
 Montansier, Theatre, 62, 107. 
 
 Monthly Musical Record, 115 note, 
 162 ; on the C minor Eequiem, 231, 
 286. 
 
 Morellet, Abbg, 27. 
 
 Morichelli, Mdme., 39. 
 
 Morini, 368-9, 371. 
 
 Moscheles, 100, 209, 245-8, 282, '358. 
 
 Moska, character in Faniska, 156-7. 
 
 Mount of Olives, Beethoven's, 187. 
 
 Mozart, 3, 30, 41, 46-8, 53, 63, 95, 98, 
 119, 139; Eequiem conducted by 
 Cherubini, 141; 160; tomb of, 162-3; 
 177, 183, 223-4, 226, 239, 241-2, 
 244.5. 318, 324, 376^7. 
 
 Miiller, 193, 245. 
 
 Munk, Mdlle. de, 246. 
 
 Murat, 143. 
 
 Musical Academy of Florence, 129. 
 
 Musical Academy of Stockholm, 214. 
 
 Musical Sketches, Ella's, 153, 230. 
 
 Musical Standard, 137, 140. 
 
Index, 
 
 425 
 
 Muncal Times, 413. 
 
 Mudcal WorJd, 6, 19, 148, 152, 160, 
 
 263, 332 notes ; notice of the sale of 
 
 Cherubini's MSS. in, 412. 
 Mudkalische Characterkop/e, 332, 
 Mussini, 369. 
 MysUre, Le, 168; Catalogue, 393, 
 
 No. 260. 
 
 Nadermann, 245. 
 
 Napoleon and Chenibini, 102 - 6, 
 131-3, 139, 140, 143-6; cause of 
 antipathy of, towards Cherubini, 
 147 ; 163-4, 207, 211, 213, 250. 
 
 Nardino, 7. 
 
 Nation, Th6S,tre de la, 61. 
 
 National Guard, 43, 72, 211, 217. 
 
 National Opera, 61, 128. 
 
 National, Theatre, 62. 
 
 Nazareth, Eue de, 62. 
 
 Nemo gaudeat, motet, 17; Catalogue, 
 382, No. 59. 
 
 Neris, character in Medde, 91. 
 
 Nesti, 333. 
 
 Neukomm, 195. 
 
 Neuther, MdUe., 97. 
 
 Neuve dea Petits Champs, Kue, 276. 
 
 Nicolet HaU, 44. 
 
 NiooUni, 369. 
 
 Nicolo, 210. 
 
 Niedermeyer, 183, 196. 
 
 Xfiederrheinische-Musik-^eittm(/, no- 
 tice in the Musical World, 16, 47, 
 51, 78, 80 ; on Cherubini's melody, 
 117 ; on cause of Napoleon's anti- 
 pathy to Cherubini, 148 ; on Fan- 
 iska, 149-151 ; 160-1, 279 ; on Mass 
 in A, 287 ; on Ali Baha, 328. 
 
 Nvafa crudek, 20; Catalogue, 383, 
 No. 88. 
 
 Nisard, 5, 28. 
 
 Ifon mi negaie, canon, 159. 
 
 Norblin, 176, 276, 318. 
 
 Notaris, 48. 
 
 Notre Dame, Paris, 65, 247. 
 
 Nonrrit, 280, 328. 
 
 NaavdUBiographie OHiraU, 28 note. 
 
 NoveUo, 288. 
 
 Nuit Espagnole, La, 44. 
 
 ' oiel, daigne exauoer nos vceux,' 
 chorus in Misa, 67. 
 
 Fons Amoria, 281 ; Catalogue, 401, 
 No. 386. 
 
 O Sacrum ConTivium, 235-6 ; Cata- 
 logue 398, No. 350. 
 
 Salntaris, 228, 291 ; for Boieldien, 
 
 316 ; Catalogue, 386, 397, 398, .'^99, 
 401, 403, 404 ; Nos. 151, 331, 342, 
 355, 363, 382, 403, 406-7. 
 
 Odeou, The, 61. 
 
 Operas : 
 
 1. II Qrnnto FaUo, 16 ; Catalogue, 
 
 381, No. 48. 
 
 2. Armida, 17; Cat. 382, No. 62. 
 
 3. Adricmoin Sina,n ; Cat. 382, 
 
 No. 63. 
 
 4. n Messeasio, 19 ; Cat. 383, No. 
 79. 
 
 5. II Quinto Faiio, 20-23 ; Oat. 
 
 383, No. 84. 
 
 6. Le Sposo di Tre Marito di Nes- 
 
 SM»a, 20; Cat. 383, No. 89. 
 
 7. L'ldaUde, 20, 364 ; Oat. 384, 
 
 No. 93. 
 
 8. L'Alessandro nelV Indie, 22 ; 
 
 Cat. 384, No. 93. 
 
 9. La Fianta Principessa, 24 ; Cat. 
 
 384, No. 101. 
 
 10. II Giulio Sabimo, 25 ; Cat. 384, 
 No. 111. 
 
 11. Ifigenia in Aulide, 29, 33 ; Cat. 
 
 385, No. 131. 
 
 12. B&mophdn, 27, 31; Fetia on, 33 ; 
 
 32, 100, 247, 307; Cat. 385, 
 No. 135. 
 
 13. Lodoiska, 44 ; 80-1, 100, 123, 130, 
 
 143, 208, 307, 330, 362; Oat. 
 387, No. 182. 
 
 14. TCourhourgi, 64-5, 141, 143; 
 Cat. 388, No. 204. 
 
 15. EliSa, 48 ; account of, 66 ; 80-1, 
 
 100, 112, 117, 130, 280, 307, 
 362, 372 ; Cat. 388, No. 209. 
 
 16. ilfe(i^e,48; Mr.Chorley's critique 
 
 on, 84; 113, 117-18, 123,130, 
 137, 153, 207-8, 298, 307, 330, 
 332, 362 ; Cat. 389, No. 214. 
 
 17. L'Sdtellerie Partugaise, 106, 
 113, 262 ;Oat. 390, No. 224. 
 
 18. La PuniUon, 107 ; Oat. 390, 
 
 No. 225. 
 
 19. Les Deux Jov/rnSes, 45-6, 48-9 ; 
 
 account of, 108 ; 130, 132, 137, 
 159, 242, 260, 264-6, 272, 298, 
 307, 316, 332, 362, 365-7; Cat. 
 391, No. 229. 
 
 20. Anacrion, 53, 117; account of, 
 
 135 ; 139, 208, 307, 332; Cat. 
 391, No. 241. 
 
 21. Faniska, 45, 65, 123, 144, 149 ; 
 
 Sarmonicon's critique on, 153': 
 166, 307, 328, 362; Cat. 392, 
 No. 254. 
 
426 
 
 Index. 
 
 Operas 
 
 22. PvmmaMoni,Va, 191 ; Cat. 394, 
 
 No. 279. 
 
 23. Le. Crescendo, 193 ; Cat. 394, 
 
 No. 283. 
 
 24. ies Abenciraffes, 117, 166 ; ac- 
 
 count of, 206 ; 362 ; Cat. 395, 
 No. 299. 
 
 25. AH Baba, 64, 153, 357; account 
 
 of, 325 ; Cat. 405, No. 417. 
 
 Opgra Comique, 61, 98, 152, 166, 193, 
 272. 324. 
 
 ' Ombra adorata' of Zingarelli, 132. 
 
 Onslow, 209. 
 
 Oranski, character in Faniska, 155-7. 
 
 Organon Lyricon, 193. 
 
 Oriflamme, V, 210 ; Addendnm, 410. 
 
 OrpM^, 309, 311. 
 
 OulibisohefE, 3 ; on Cherubini's oper- 
 atic influence, 45. 
 
 Pacini, 245, 409. 
 
 Paer, 146, 164, 210, 245-1, 285, 311, 
 
 324. 
 Fagliano Teatro, 365. 
 PaisieUo, 13, 24-5, 28, 4], 59; 103-5, 
 
 132-4, 139, 140, 144. 
 Palais Eoyal, 61-2. 
 Palestrina, 12, 52, 177-8; his ideal 
 
 style, 182-5; 188, 217, 324-5, 375. 
 Palmodie d, Nios, 63. 
 Panseron, 246; Catalogue, 388; No. 
 
 199. 
 Pantheon, Hymn to the, 77. 
 Pape, 245. 
 
 Papillon de la Ferte, 255. 
 Pasta, Mdme., 96, 98. 
 Pastoral Symphony, 94. 
 Pater Noster, 186, 228; Catalogue, 
 
 398, No. 341. 
 Pastordla TfobUe, GrUglielmi'sTja, 41. 
 Patriotique, Th^atroj 62. 
 Pazza cKAmori, Paisiello's La, 41. 
 Pedrotti, 409. 
 Pelet, Mdlle., 135. 
 Pellegrini, 245. 
 Pensionnat, the, 275 ; P^re la Chaise, 
 
 361.a. 
 ' Pdre d'Orphfie,' chorus mAnacrion, 
 
 137. 
 Perfida Clori, canon, 159, 167-8. 
 'Per&des ennemis,' duet in Medie, 
 
 89. 
 Pergola Theatre, Florence, 5, 17, 22. 
 Pergolesi, 53. 
 Persuis, 44. 
 PeHU Mimoinea de VOpSra, 329'< 
 
 Petzold, 246. 
 
 Philharmonic Society of London, 211. 
 
 PhiUdor, 63. 
 
 Piatti, Signer, 320. 
 
 Picchianti, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 25, 34, 40-1, 
 
 108 ; on Zes Dewx Jowmtts, 110 ; 
 
 on the overture to Epimre, 130-1 ; 
 
 on Napoleon's antipathy towards 
 
 Cherubini, 146 ; on the Mass in F, 
 
 177; 182, 210, 356, 362-4, 368. 
 Piccinni, 23, 263. 
 Piccinnists, 52. 
 Pimmalione, 117, 121 ; Catalogue, 
 
 394, No. 279. 
 Pingard, Institute - Competitions, 
 
 303-7. 
 Pinini, 45. 
 Pixferecourt, 152. 
 Place, 64. 
 
 Planch^, Mr., letter from Mendels- 
 sohn, 126. 
 Plantade, 131, 215, 243, 245-6, 252. 
 Platel, 108. 
 Pleyel, 245. 
 
 FoisBonnidre, Faubourg, 262, 299. 
 Folignac, Mdme. de, 27. 
 Polymnia, in Ingres' portrait, 359. 
 Poniatowski, Prince, 369. 
 Ponchard, 209, 215, 245-6, 252, 280. 
 Porpora, 24. 
 Pougin, 332. 
 ' Foursuis tes belles destinies,' air in 
 
 Les Abencirages, 209. 
 Pradher, 193, 252. 
 Preindl, 163. 
 Prfevost, 108, 280. 
 Pretention, Thefttre sans, 62. 
 Prince Riguet, 116 note. 
 Prisonniire, La, 107 ; Catalogue, 390, 
 
 No. 226. 
 Prometheus OTOrture, Beethoven's 
 
 277 ; fragment, 370. 
 Projiy, 73. 
 Propiao, 409. 
 ' Propter veritatem,' offertory, 291 ; 
 
 Catalogue, 403, No. 403. 
 Proserpine, Paisiello's, 134. 
 Prud'homme, 334. 
 PiihbUca FelidtA, La, 9 ; Catalogue, 
 
 380, No. 4. 
 Punition, La, 107; Catalogue, 390, 
 
 No. 225. 
 Puppo, 40. 
 Pygmalion, Hal6vy's, 316. 
 
 Quarterly MmicalMeview, 53, 63, 
 119, 137, 208. 
 
Index. 
 
 427 
 
 Quartets : 
 In B flat, No. 1, 211, 245 ; Schu- 
 mann on the, 318; Catalogue, 
 396, No. 317. 
 In C, No. 2, 213; Schumann on 
 
 the, 320-1 ; Cat, 404, No. 411. 
 In D minor, No. 3, 334; Cat. 406, 
 
 No. 419. 
 
 In E, No. 4, 334 ; Cat. 406, No. 421. 
 
 In F, No. 5, 334; Cat. 406, No. 424. 
 
 In A minor, No. 6, 358; Cat. 407, 
 
 No. 427. 
 
 ' Que faire 6 ciel,' trio in VHCtellerie 
 
 Portugaise, 106. 
 Queensberry, Duke of, 25. 
 Quintet in E minor, 35-8; Catalogue, 
 
 407, No. 428. 
 Qumto FaJbio, XI, 16 ; Catalogue, 381, 
 
 No. 48. 
 Quinto Fabio, II, No. 2, 20, 23 ; Cata- 
 logue, 383, No. 84. 
 Quodquod in orbe,JB[ummel'S, 184. 
 ' Quoi t'unir S. ce barbare,' piece in 
 Lod(Aska, 57. 
 
 Rachel, Mdlle., 96. 
 
 Kacine, 45. 
 
 RaffaneUi, 39. 
 
 Biiimondi, 409. 
 
 Bamean, 60. 
 
 Banfon de Dugueselim,, La, 210; Cata- 
 logue, 395, No. 306. 
 
 BasinsM, character in Faniska, 1S4, 
 158. 
 
 Reber, 369. 
 
 Recollections ofMe/ndeUsohn, 116, 297. 
 
 Recollections a/nd Refflectwns,!^ . 
 
 Reason, Hymn to,. 79. 
 
 Beconnaissaiice, the FSte de la, 79 ; 
 Catalogue, 390, No. 223. 
 
 Begina Cceli, 236,^ 281 ; Catalogue, 
 ■ 390, No. 360; and 386, No. 154. 
 
 Begnault, 306. 
 
 Beicha, 163-4, 245, 249, 2^1, 299, 
 324. 
 
 Reichardt, 193. 
 
 Beissiger's Mass in E flat, 184. 
 
 Republique, Thetoe de la, 61. 
 
 Requiem, Mozart's, 141. 
 
 Requiem in C minor, 187, 190 ; Ber- 
 lioz and Monthly Musical Record 
 on, 230; 334-5, 362; Catalogue, 
 398, No. 348. 
 
 Requiem in D minor, 295 ; account 
 of, 337, 361-2 ; Catalogue, 407, No. 
 426. 
 
 Requiem, Berlioz's, 313, 353. 
 
 Retour, Ghant de, 79. 
 
 Bevedino, 39. 
 
 Reveil du Peuple, 79. 
 
 Revue des Deux Mondes, 137. 
 
 Revue et Gazette de Paris, 4. 
 
 Bey, 73. 
 
 Bicci,, 409. 
 
 Richelieu, Due de, 260. 
 
 Rue Richelieu, 62. 
 
 Riehl, 109 ; on Ali Bala, 331. 
 
 Ries, HerrL., 320. 
 
 Rinaldini, Signor, 124. 
 
 'Rien n'^gale sa barbaric,' air in 
 
 LodoisJea, 57. 
 Rita, Mdlle., 124. 
 Rivista Musicaie, of Florence, 4. 
 Bobert le DiaMe, Meyerbeer's, 124. 
 Rochette, 211, 362, 368. 
 Rode, 176. 
 Rodolphe, 73. 
 Bog^, Taj an, 277. 
 Ronde du Gamp, La, 79. 
 Rose, 193. 
 
 Rosette, Mdlle., 108. 
 Rossellini, 80, 133, 176. 
 Rossi, 369. 
 
 Rossini, 51-2, 287, 328, 368, 370, 374. 
 Rouget de L'Isle, 79. 
 Rovigo, Due de, 210. 
 Boyal Guard, 217. 
 Roze, Mdlle. Marie, 124. 
 Rupert-street,. 212. 
 
 Salieri, 73. 
 
 Sartre R^uhUcaim, 78 ; Catalogue, 
 
 388, No. 206. 
 Salvator Rosa, 168. 
 Sanctus O Salutaris, 228 ; Catalogue, 
 
 399, No. 357. 
 San Clemente, Duke di, 368-70. 
 San Pier Maggiore, 5. 
 Sans Culottes, Theatre des, 62. 
 ' Sarete alfin contenti,' scena, 38 ; 
 
 Catalogue, 385, No. 133. 
 Sarti, Cherubini's master, 6, 11, 12, 
 
 13,16, 22-3, 46, 76. 
 Sarrette, 72-4, 103,vl93, 250, 263. 
 Sauzay, 318. 
 Sbolci, 368. 
 
 Schiavi pfr amore, Paisiello's QU, 28. 
 Schick, Mdme., 101. 
 Schiller, 45. 
 Sohindler, 160-1, 283. 
 Schlesinger, 245, 336. 
 Sohliiter, 116, 186, 1?8. 
 ' Schroder-Devrient, Mdme., 97. 
 Schubert, 29, 101. 
 
428 
 
 Inaex. 
 
 Sohuinann, 274 ; on Cherubini's quar- 
 tets, 318, 320-1. 
 Scio, Mdme., 53, 67, 98, 107. 
 Soribe, 325. 
 
 Selico, 141; Catalogue, 388, No. 208. 
 Semiramide, 19. 
 SemoB, character in Les Deux Joiir- 
 
 nies, 108, 124-5. 
 Seuriot, 276. 
 Seyfried, 378. 
 SimmonB, Mr., 124. 
 Singing School Tutor, 334. 
 Sinigaglia, Signor, 124, 
 Sirol, Sarti'B Le, 12. 
 Soci^te Acad^mique des Enfans 
 
 d'Apollon, 27. 
 Society des CottcertB, 137, 275. 
 ' Son tre, sei, nove,' trio, 58 ; Cata- 
 logue, 386, No. 168. 
 'Souvent prSa d'une belle,' air in 
 
 Loddiska, 56. 
 Spohr on Les Dmx Jomm6es, 113; 
 
 on Cherubini's sacred works, 185; 
 
 at Paris, 241-3, 245 ; 269, 318. 
 Spontini, 45, 48-9, 84, 87, 99, 164-5. 
 Spo3o di Tre Mcmto di Nesswna, Lo, 
 
 20 ; Catalogue, 383, No. 89. 
 St. Antdine, Rue, 62. 
 St. Cecilia's Day, 173, 176, 275. 
 St. Cyr, Eeveroni, 66. 
 St. Gaetan, Florence, 363, 365. 
 St. Germain, Tb^&tre de la Foire, 
 
 39 44. 
 St. Honors, Rue, 62. 
 St. John the Baptist, Florence, 3. 
 St. Joseph, Rue, 72. 
 St. JuBt, 107. 
 St. Laurent, 276, 318. 
 St. Louis, chorus to, 213. 
 St. Martin, Porte, 61 ; Rue, 62. 
 St. Michael's College, Freibourg, 
 
 229. 
 St. Michel, Order of, 237. 
 St. Pern, '193. 
 
 St. Peter's Church, Florence, 9. 
 St. Roch, Cherubini's obBequies at, 
 
 358-361. 
 St. Samuel's Theatre, Venice, 21. 
 Sta. Croce, Florence, Cherubini's 
 
 monument at, 368, 374. 
 Stabat Mater, 325. 
 Ste. Trinit6, Petite Mesae de la, '297; 
 
 Addendum, 410. 
 SteSani, 63. 
 Steibelt, 51, 63, 146. 
 Struntz, 194, 245. 
 Stratontce, M^hul's, 130. 
 
 Sur les manmcrits autographes de 
 Cheiiibini, Kastner's, 376. 
 
 ' Suspendez ^ ce mur, scena in Les 
 Alencirages. 117, 209. 
 
 Symphony in D, 320 ; Catalogue, 396, 
 No. 319. 
 
 Tamburo Nottumo, Paisiello's II, 41. 
 Tanored, 303. 
 Tantum Ergo, 236. 
 Tariot, Cherubini's pupil, 75, 215, 
 318 * *^ ' » J 
 
 Tassoj 19, 303. 
 Te Deum, 9. 
 
 Temple, Boulevard du, 62. 
 ' The flacks shall leave their moun- 
 tains,' Handel's trio, 57. 
 Thibaut, 163. 
 Thomas, Ambroise, 369, 
 Thomson, the poet, quoted, 209, 
 Tietjens, Mdlle., 97 note, 100, 124. 
 Tilmant, 276. 
 
 Titans, Rossini's Chant des, 370. 
 Titzikan, character in Lodoiska, 54, 
 
 56-8. 
 Todi, Mdme,, 38. 
 Toison d'Or, Vogel's, 31. 
 Tolbeoque, 276. 
 Tonktlpstler-Societat, 162, 
 Tonnleithner, 149, 
 Tourette, 44. 
 Tonrette, CecUe, 44, 80. 
 Tournefort, 169. 
 'Tournez sur moi Totre coUre,' air 
 
 iu Lodoiska, 57. 
 ' Towards the green,' march in the 
 
 Scapes, 125. 
 Townsend, Mr., 124. 
 Treatise on Harmony, Catel's, 73. 
 Treatise on Counterpoint and Fugue, 
 
 249, 334, 336-7. 
 TuUeries, 39, 42, 44, 132, 134, 145, 
 
 Ml, 230. 
 Tulou, 176, 272, 275. 
 Tnrcas, M., 80, 260-1, 271; death of, 
 
 360. 
 
 TJgolini, Disma, 11. 
 Unterbradiene Opferfesl, 84. 
 'Unxerunt Salaraonem,' Lesueur's, 
 
 287. 
 TJrhan, 276, 318. 
 
 Valentino, 215. 
 
 Varbel, character'in Lodoiska, 66-7. 
 VariStfis, Thfetre des, 62, 
 Vaslin, 318. 
 
Index. 
 
 429 
 
 Vastin, 276. 
 
 Vatican, 135, 191. 
 
 Vaudeville, Theatre du, 62. 
 
 VendKtiimm, Le, 41. 
 
 V6nus, character in Anaorion, 135. 
 
 Veron, 326, 339. 
 
 Verdi, 377. 
 
 Venturi, 371. 
 
 Veronese, 109. 
 
 Vestale, Spontini's Za, 45, 87, 164, 
 167. 
 
 Vestri, Letter of Cherubini to, 212. 
 
 ViaggicUori Felici, Anfossi's I, 41, 
 59. 
 
 Victoire, Mehul's Ghcmt de, 79. 
 
 Victoire, Symne A la, 79. 
 
 Victoria, Frincess, 44. 
 
 Victoiies Nationales, Theatre des, 62. 
 
 Victor Emmanuel, 368. 
 
 Vidal, 318. 
 
 VieUard, onCherubini'ssacredmusic, 
 185. 
 
 Vienna, Cherubini at, 142, 
 
 Viganoni, 39. 
 
 Viotti, 23, 26-8, 39, 62-3, 245. 
 
 ' Vivat Eex,' Lesueur'a, 287. 
 
 ' Vive la France,' chorus in Elisa, 70. 
 
 'Vive le Roi,' coupleta, 213; Cata- 
 logue, 396, No. 323. 
 
 Vizzani, Signer, 124. 
 
 Vogel, 31-2. 
 Vogt, 252, 275. 
 
 ' Voiei la nuit,' Clapisson's, 280. 
 ' Voire fureur est legitime,' chorus in 
 Lodoiska, 58. 
 
 ■Wagner, 50, 128*, 377. 
 Wassertrager, 108-116 ; see Les Deux 
 
 Joumies. 
 Water-earrier, 159; see Les Deux 
 
 Weber, 60 ; on Les Deux Joumies, 
 
 113 ; 122, 124, 338. 
 "VTeigl, 163. 
 
 Westminster Abbey, 24. 
 Wheatley, Miss, 124. 
 Winter, 73, 84, 165. 
 Witzleben, 210. 
 
 Zacchini, 45. 
 Zaffia, Signer, 124. 
 Zamoski, character intaniska, 154.6, 
 158. 
 
 Zerbini, Mr., 320. 
 
 Zimmermann, Oherubini's pupil, 75, 
 
 252. 
 Zingarelli, 73, 104, 132, 135, 144, 148. 
 Zoboli, Signer, 124. 
 ZofEany, picture by, 19. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 lOHlJON : 
 
 BOBSCN ASB BOSS, PEIHTEKS, PANCRAfl KOAC, ».W.