In the Testament of Cresseid Henryson supplements Chaucer’s tale of Troilus with the story of the tragedy of Cresseid. Here again his literary craftsmanship saves him from the disaster which must have overcome another poet in undertaking to continue the part of the story which Chaucer had intentionally left untold. The description of Cresseid’s leprosy, of her meeting with Troilus, of his sorrow and charity, and of her death, give the poem a high place in writings of this genre.
The poem entitled Orpheus and Eurydice, which is drawn from Boethius, contains some good passages, especially the lyrical lament of Orpheus, with the refrains “Quhar art thow gane, my luf Erudices?” and “My lady quene and luf, Erudices.” It is followed by a long moralitas, in the manner of the Fables.
Thirteen shorter poems have been ascribed to Henryson. Of these the pastoral dialogue “Robene and Makyne,” perhaps the best known of his work, is the most successful. Its model may perhaps be found in the pastourelles, but it stands safely on its own merits. Unlike most of the minor poems it is independent of Chaucerian tradition. The other pieces deal with the conventional 15th-century topics: Age, Death, Hasty Credence, Want of Wise Men and the like. The verses entitled “Sum Practysis of Medecyne,” in which some have failed to see Henryson’s hand, is an example of that boisterous alliterative burlesque which is represented by a single specimen in the work of the greatest makers, Dunbar, Douglas and Lyndsay. For this reason, if not for others, the difference of its manner is no argument against its authenticity.
The MS. authorities for the text are the Asloan, Bannatyne, Maitland Folio, Makculloch, Gray and Riddell. Chepman and Myllar’s Prints (1508) have preserved two of the minor poems and a fragment of Orpheus and Eurydice. The first complete edition was prepared by David Laing (1 vol., Edinburgh, 1865). A more exhaustive edition in three volumes, containing all the texts, was undertaken by the Scottish Text Society (ed. G. Gregory Smith), the first volume of the text (vol. ii. of the work) appearing in 1907. For a critical account of Henryson, see Irving’s History of Scottish Poetry, Henderson’s Vernacular Scottish Literature, Gregory Smith’s Transition Period, J. H. Millar’s Literary History of Scotland, and the second volume of the Cambridge History of English Literature (1908).
(G. G. S.)
HENSCHEL, GEORGE [Isidor Georg] (1850- ), English musician (naturalized 1890), of German family, was born at Breslau, and educated as a pianist, making his first public appearance in Berlin in 1862. He subsequently, however, took up singing, having developed a fine baritone voice; and in 1868 he sang the part of Hans Sachs in Meistersinger at Munich. In 1877 he began a successful career in England, singing at the principal concerts; and in 1881 he married the American soprano, Lilian Bailey (d. 1901), who was associated with him in a number of vocal recitals. He was also prominent as a conductor, starting the London symphony concerts in 1886, and both in England and America (where he was the first conductor of the Boston symphony concerts, 1881) he took a leading part in advancing his art. He composed a number of instrumental works, a fine Stabat Mater (Birmingham festival, 1894), &c., and an opera, Nubia (Dresden, 1899).
HENSELT, ADOLF VON (1814-1889), German composer, was born at Schwabach, in Bavaria, on the 12th of May 1814. At three years old he began to learn the violin, and at five the pianoforte under Frau v. Fladt. On obtaining financial help from King Louis I. he went to study under Hummel in Weimar, and thence in 1832 to Vienna, where, besides studying composition under Simon Sechter, he made a great success as a concert pianist. In order to recruit his health he made a prolonged tour in 1836 through the chief German towns. In 1837 he settled at Breslau, where he had married, but in the following year he migrated to St Petersburg, where previous visits had made him persona grata at Court. He then became court pianist and inspector of musical studies in the Imperial Institute of Female Education, and was ennobled. In 1852 and again in 1867 he visited England, though in the latter year he made no public appearance. St Petersburg was his home practically until his death, which took place at Warmbrunn on the 10th of October 1889. The characteristic of Henselt’s playing was a combination of Liszt’s sonority with Hummel’s smoothness. It was full of poetry, remarkable for the great use he made of extended chords, and for his perfect technique. He excelled in his own works and in those of Weber and Chopin. His concerto in F minor is frequently played on the continent; and of his many valuable studies, Si oiseau j’étais is very familiar. His A minor trio deserves to be better known. At one time Henselt was second to Rubinstein in the direction of the St Petersburg Conservatorium.