REVIEW OF NEW MUSIC.
- ANTHEM, ‘Turn Thee again, O Lord!’ the GRESHAM PRIZE COMPOSITION (No. 2), composed by KELLOW J. PYE, of Exeter, Member of the Royal Academy of Music. (J. A. Novello.)
- CANTATA, The Orphan’s Ode to the Patriots, arranged, with accompaniments for the Piano-forte and Harp, by the LADY DUNSTAFFNAGE. The Music by HUMMEL.
- THE MONTHLY SACRED MINSTREL, edited by JOHN GOSS. Nos. 6 and 7. (Cramer, Addison, and Beale.)
- A COLLECTION OF TUNES, &c., adapted to the Hymns in use by the Wesleyan Methodist Societies, arranged in Classes, and designed for Choirs and Congregations, by THOMAS HAWKES, of Williton, Somerset, Land Agent. (Mason, Paternoster Row.)
Mr. Pye’s work is, in choir language, a full anthem with verse, for soprano, alto, two tenors, and a base, in three movements: the first, full, in D minor; the second verse, five voices, in F; and the third, a fugue in D major, full, for four voices. The whole, both design and execution, is in the orthodox style of the latter end of the seventeenth and beginning of the eighteenth centuries. Weldon and Croft have been the composer’s models, but only so far as regards manner; he has borrowed nothing, for though we cannot ascribe any positive originality to this anthem—not any absolutely new thought,—yet the author has made himself debtor to no one for a single passage that we can recognise. The first movement is decidedly the best, it evinces much musical learning without any of its pedantry: the fugue style is adopted for effect, not for display; the harmony is rich without being loaded, and the modulations are of that grave and becoming kind which characterises the works of the composers whom we have just named; but throughout the whole we feel a want of their melody. There is, however, more of this essential ingredient in the verse, though it is not over-abundant even here. The last movement is a fugue of two subjects, sufficiently worked to satisfy those who delight in composition that smells of the lamp, and not so laboured as to offend such as think music an art to be addressed to the ear, rather than the eye.
Mr. Pye, a very young artist, has done himself much honour by this composition. Will our choirs second his efforts, and encourage others to proceed in the same course, by immediately adopting his anthem? They ought, if they have any respect for talent, or if they consult the interests of cathedral establishments.
Neither the title-page nor an advertisement, added to a large list of subscribers, enable us to penetrate deep into the history of the Cantata No. 2, which we at first took for a sacred composition, but afterwards found to be an abominable mésalliance of religion and politics, beginning with a part of the fortieth chapter of the prophet Isaiah, and ending with such profitless lines as the following:—
‘A Cumberland, Eldon, pillars of the nation,
Newcastle, and a Mansfield, who nobly filled their station,
As stars at midnight shone those orbs,’ &c. &c.
But the music, by Hummel, and in his best manner, is worthy of so much of the poetry as is borrowed from the inspired writer, and far too good for the uninspired verses that follow. The promoters of this work, however, it seems, intend to make some provision for two orphans out of the proceeds, and we hope that success will attend their benevolent endeavours; wishing at the same time that they had been as fortunate in their choice of words as in their music and number of subscribers.
No. 3 is a continuation of a work noticed before. In this appears the Lord’s prayer, set to music by Mr. T. Cooke, who—we are sure very unintentionally, but very unluckily—has, by his manner of setting, turned it almost into burlesque, e. g.
Then we have a rest after ‘earth,’ but none after ‘heaven,’ so that the reading is thus,—‘As it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread;’ and ‘daily’ is made emphatic, (with a certain jerk,) instead of the word ‘bread;’ thus—
After this comes ‘trespasses,’ with a strong accent on the third syllable. The last fifteen words are so often repeated as to fill two closely engraved pages, and the phrase, ‘for ever and ever,’ is reiterated no less than ten times, the movement being marked allegro moderato! Let us hope that but few, if any, will be found to misemploy this fine, comprehensive, universal prayer, by singing it as thus set. Indeed, we never wish to hear it sung at all. The other pieces in these numbers are, a very pleasing duet from Marcello’s Psalms; the first stanza of Sir Walter Scott’s translation of Dies Iræ, well set, particularly the first movement, by Mr. M’Murdie; and Millico’s beautiful arietta, ‘Ho sparso tante lagrime,’ with English words adapted to it.
No. 4 includes the greatest number of hymns we ever met with in one collection. The volume, which takes a shape we can only describe by its dimensions, is twelve inches wide by rather more than six deep, consisting of nearly four hundred pages, which contain at least five hundred tunes. These are selected from various works, and are all in score, in four parts, for soprano, alto, tenor, and base; and as no accompaniment is given, the want of a figured base will be felt by the organist. For the middle parts a new character is used—something in the form of a treble clef, and giving the same names to the staff; the intention of which is, to save the trouble of directing the alto and tenor to sing the notes an octave lower. The inventor of this is a Mr. Gay, who disapproves the employment of the base clef for the tenor voice, preferring the treble, or his own character. He assigns no reason for this, and most probably has none to offer, unless he can defend prejudice. But he is bound to show cause why such harmony as the subjoined is to be allowed:—
Such consecutive fifths, though false fifths, are much worse to the ear than some successions of perfect ones. The crotchet A ought to have fallen to G. But the same gentleman—who it appears has ‘revised and corrected’ this work—is answerable for a very extraordinary error, in calling certain keys by their wrong names. For instance, he denominates the key of B flat, ‘B major;’ E flat, ‘E major;’ and, mirabile dictu! gives the right name to the real key of E major; thus making the keys of E three flats and E four sharps, &c., the same in denomination.
Of these numerous tunes, only the notes are inserted, we therefore cannot tell how the words are adapted to them, or how accented; but, with an exception or two, the harmony of such few as we have examined is correct, and the parts sing well. The compiler, Mr. Hawkes, has inserted some few of his own compositions, which show great taste, and afford another proof of the progress making in musical knowledge by amateurs. The work is printed in a remarkably neat, small, but clear type, and we doubt not will prove of considerable utility to the large class of persons for whose use it is published.
THE PASSIONS, being SIX SONGS, each with a descriptive Proem, and Graphic Illustrations: the Poetry by JOS. LUNN; the Music by G. F. STANSBURY, T. COOKE, J. PARRY, F. W. HORNCASTLE, J. C. CLIFTON, and E. TAYLOR. The Illustrations by R. J. HAMERTON. (Goulding and D’Almaine.)
THE Passions are hazardous matters for poets, painters, and musicians to meddle with in the way of art. Collins succeeded in them well; Le Brun tolerably. Dr. Cooke set Collins’ Ode, but reaped no laurels from his labours; and we are not aware that any other attempt to describe, in musical language, these powerful emotions of the mind was ever made till now; for those choruses called ‘The Passions,’ in Handel’s Solomon, are improperly designated.
But what are the passions? Metaphysicians are by no means agreed on this point. Nay, a distinguished writer goes so far as to allow but one, self-love! and asserts that all the others are but modifications of this. Mr. Lunn well observes, that ‘there are many affections, attributes, &c., usually denominated passions, which have no claim to that definite appellation.’ And he afterwards adds, ‘I am induced to consider the six which I have chosen for my task,—namely, Love, Joy, and Hope, and their opposites, Hate, Grief, and Despair, as the roots, or bases; or, if the expression be admissible, the Cardinal Passions, of which all the rest are ramifications, modifications, or combinations.’ (Introduction.)
It appears from the Preface to this volume, that two composers were severally invited by Mr. Lunn to set his poetry to music, but that one, after requiring many months to consider the subject, declined; and the other was bound by engagements which prevented his undertaking the task. The probability is, that the latter, Mr. Bishop, well knew the difficulty of such an enterprise, and was not very willing to risk his reputation in it. The other was blessed with more intrepidity, and embarked in a work of a similar kind[87], though he had, in a modest excuse, declared his incompetency to set the poetry of his friend.
Mr. Lunn, being thus deserted and disappointed, at length presented his manuscript to the Melodists’ Club, six of whose members undertaking to set the words, the volume under notice was produced.
The first, LOVE, is an elegant composition in A flat, but much too grave for the words, which, we should imagine, the author meant to be set in a light, playful manner.
The second portrays HATE in the proem or exordium, but in the song launches out into certain moral reflections on valour, and the generosity springing from this, describing the passion by its contraries; which we cannot but consider as injudicious, because at variance with what was, or what ought to have been, the general design of the poet, who, when he ceased to depict, should at least have illustrated by resemblances, not opposites. Hence the composer, who has well expressed the deadly passion, has been driven into a trumpety, military style in his air, which, we must add, is quite of the common theatrical kind.
Joy is the third, and, with the exception of a pastoral movement, which certainly is anything but suited to so active, so almost riotous a passion, the composer has well designed his work, but wanted vigour in the execution.
No. 4, GRIEF, is evidently the work of a thinking composer, and of a very good musician. There are some excellent points in this; but the want of unity in the poem has necessarily influenced the composer. We conceive that each passion should have stood alone, unweakened by any adjunct. Here we have the pleasure of memory added to the pangs of grief; thus both poetry and music are enfeebled.
The fifth, HOPE, is not lyrical poetry—the composer therefore must not be blamed for having made little of it. He does not seem to have spared effort, but his labour has been bestowed on an unfruitful soil.
Mr. Lunn’s DESPAIR is nearly of the same cast as Virgil’s—
——Moriamur, et in media arma ruamus.
We much prefer Spenser’s, who is found in
‘——darksome cave——
———low sitting on the ground,
Musing full sadly in his sullen mind;
His greasy locks, long growen, and unbound,
Disorder’d hung, about his shoulders round,
And hid his face; through which his hollow eyne
Look’d deadly dull, and stared as astound.’
The ‘proem’ to this, the actual description of the passion, is graphic; and, if we may use the expression, is graphically set. A modulation here is worth quoting:—
But the rest of the song, though ably composed, is neither more nor less than a moral to the tale, therefore objectionable in our eyes, because abandoning that which ought to have been the sole object,—the passion itself.
The lithographed illustrations have all considerable merit, that of Joy excepted: the work is very well brought out, and proves the liberal views of the society.