Henry Smart, one of the most prominent of the modern English composers, was born in London, Oct. 26, 1813. Though almost entirely self-taught, he soon made his mark as a musician of more than ordinary ability. For many years he was principally known as an organist and organ-writer. He wrote numerous compositions for that instrument, which are still largely in use, and from 1836 to 1864 was famous in London for his contributions to the church service. In 1855 his opera, “Bertha, or the Gnome of Hartzburg,” was produced with success in that city. Among his festival works were the cantatas, “The Bride of Dunkerron,” for Birmingham (1864); “King René’s Daughter” and “The Fishermaidens,” for female voices (1871); the sacred cantata “Jacob,” for Glasgow (1873); and two anthems for solos, chorus, and organ, for the London Choral Choirs’ Association Festivals of 1876 and 1878. As a writer of part-songs he has also achieved a wide reputation. Grove states that he also was “a very accomplished mechanic, and had he taken up engineering instead of music, would no doubt have been successful. As a designer of organs he was often employed.” Shortly after 1864 he lost his sight and thereafter composed entirely by dictation. His services for music secured him a government pension in June, 1879, but he did not live to enjoy it, dying July 6 of the same year.
The Bride of Dunkerron.
“The Bride of Dunkerron,” words by Frederick Enoch, was written for the Birmingham Festival of 1864, and is based upon a tradition, the scene located at the Castle of Dunkerron, on the coast of Kerry, which has also been made the subject of a ballad by Crofton Croker. The story is a very simple one. The Lord of Dunkerron becomes enamoured of a sea-maiden, and as she is unable to leave her element he follows her to her abode. She seeks the Sea-King to obtain his consent to their union, but returns to her lover with the sad message that she is doomed to death for loving a mortal. He in turn is driven from the Sea-King’s realm, and is cast back by the tempest to the shores of the upper world; and the work closes with the laments of the sea-spirits for the maiden, and of the serfs for their master.
After an expressive orchestral introduction the cantata opens with a chorus of the serfs (tenors and basses) (“Ere the Wine-cup is dry”), followed by a very romantic chorus of sea-maidens, the two at times interwoven and responsive,—the one describing Lord Dunkerron’s nightly vigils on the seashore, and the other the melody of the maidens which tempts him. A charming orchestral intermezzo, full of the feeling of the sea, ensues, and is followed by recitative and aria (“The full Moon is beaming”) for Dunkerron, which is very simple in style but effective as a song, even apart from its setting. It leads up to another chorus of the sea-maidens (“Let us sing, the moonlit Shores along”) and a long love dialogue between Dunkerron and the Maiden. The next number is a very spirited and picturesque chorus (“Down through the Deep”) describing the passage of the lovers to the Maiden’s home, which is followed by a sturdy, sonorous recitative and aria for bass voice (“Oh, the Earth is fair in Plain and Glade”) sung by the Sea-King. Two very attractive choruses follow, the first (“O Storm King, hear us”) with a solo for the Sea-King, and the second (“Hail to thee, Child of the Earth”) by the sea-maidens. Another graceful melody, “Our Home shall be on this bright Isle,” is assigned to the Maiden, leading to a duet with Dunkerron, in which she announces her departure to obtain the Sea-King’s consent to their union. A chorus of the storm-spirits (“Roar, Wind of the Tempest, roar”) indicates her doom and leads up to the finale. A powerful trio for the Maiden, Dunkerron, and Sea-King, followed by the angry commands of the latter (“Hurl him back!”), tells of the death of the lovers, and the work closes as it opened, with the intermingled choruses of serfs and sea-maidens, this time, however, full of lamentation over the sad tragedy.
King René’s Daughter.
“King René’s Daughter,” a cantata for female voices only, the poem by Frederick Enoch, was written in 1871. The story is freely adapted from Henrik Hertz’s lyric drama. Iolanthe, the daughter of King René, Count of Provence, was betrothed in her infancy to the son of the Count of Vaudemont. When but a year old she was stricken with blindness. She has been reared in ignorance of her affliction by a strict concealment from her of all knowledge of the blessings of sight. A wandering magician agrees to cure her by the use of an amulet, provided she is first informed of the existence of the missing sense; but her father refuses permission. Her betrothed has never seen her, but wandering one day through the valley of Vaucluse, singing his troubadour lays, he beholds her, and is captivated by her beauty. His song reveals to her the faculty of which she has been kept in ignorance, and the magician, his condition thus having been fulfilled, restores her to sight.
The work is divided into thirteen numbers, the solo parts being Iolanthe (soprano), Martha (mezzo-soprano), and Beatrice (contralto). In the third number another soprano voice is required in a trio and chorus of vintagers; and in the sixth number, a soprano and contralto in the quartet, which acts the part of narrator, and tells of the troubadour’s rose song to Iolanthe. It is unnecessary to specify the numbers in detail, as they are of the same general character,—smooth, flowing, and graceful in melody throughout. The most striking of them are No. 3, trio and chorus (“See how gay the Valley shines”); No. 5, arietta for Martha (“Listening to the Nightingales”); No. 6, quartet (“Who hath seen the Troubadour?”); No. 8, Iolanthe’s song (“I love the Rose”); No. 11, duet and chorus (“Sweet the Angelus is ringing”); and the finale, with the jubilant chorus:—
“René the king will ride forth from the gate
With his horsemen and banners in state;
And the trumpets shall fanfaron ring