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.)