M. Siqueira, the artist who executed the beautiful paintings in the new Lisbon Palace of the Ajuda, the designs for the elegant service of plate presented to the Duke of Wellington, and several other master-pieces of the modern school, has, we understand, taken up his residence in London, being compelled to leave Portugal on account of his political opinions.

A large cast-iron statue of a man has been landed at Waterford, from Dublin, and has been sent to be placed upon the middle tower of the three towers lately built at Newtown Head, the western point of Tramorebay, in that county, with the left hand akimbo, and the right extended out, as a warning to vessels to keep off from that dangerous shore.

Mr. Flaxman is employed at present in designing a statue for a monument to the memory of Robert Burns, which, when sculptured, is intended to be erected in a conspicuous situation in the northern metropolis.

At a late sale of old lumber at Mr. Whitgreave's house, of Moseley, in the neighbourhood of Wolverhampton, a full-length portrait of Queen Elizabeth was knocked down by the hammer at 68. 9d., to a respectable tradesman of that town. The same picture has been cleaned and varnished, and sold by the purchaser for 451.

The Venus de Medicis.-It is generally known that one of the fingers of the Venus de Medicis has been supplied by a modern artist. The Giornale Enciclopedico, published at Florence, gives the following curious account of the fact:-In the time of Cosmo III., Lord Ossory, being in Florence, was one day in the company of the Grand Duke, contemplating this wonderful statue, and offered him 100,000 livres for it, if he could be induced to part with it; asking two months' time to procure the money from England, and adding that a ship should be sent from thence expressly for the purpose of conveying it. The Grand Duke smiled at the proposal, but, without making any reply, turned

towards the Marquis Malaspina, and desired him to note down his Lordship's name, and the affair ended as a piece of pleasantry. Lord Ossory had a red cornelian ring representing a cupid, which the Grand Duke having seen some days before, had admired so much, that his Lordship wished to make him a present of it. His Highness, however, would not accept of it; and upon this occasion the Englishman, with a delicate generosity, requested Cosmo, though he would not consent to part with the Venus, at least to permit him to marry her; to which the Grand Duke, having smilingly consented, his Lordship put the ring on the finger of the goddess, and fixed it as firmly as possible; thus finding means to gratify the Duke with the cornelian, without wounding his self-love. Cosmo, thinking the representative of cupid agreeable to the subject of the statue, suffered the ring to remain; and the statue would still have been adorned with it, had not a certain personage (the Italian journalist says a foreigner of distinction) wisely resolved to remove from the finger of Venus this heterogeneous addition, clandestinely entered the gallery one day, and attempted to appropriate the ring to himself. Being obliged to force it off, and fearful, perhaps, that he might be surprised, he, in his haste, broke the finger! He, however, failed in his attempt, although in what manner is not stated, since the ring is still preserved, appended to a little gold chain, in the crystal cabinet of the Royal Gallery.

Mr. J. De Ville having purchased the original moulds of busts, from the models made by the late Mr. Nollekin, of all the distinguished characters who honoured that artist with sittings for the same, has prepared casts from them, and also of the original busts (models by Roubiliac), of Hampden, Sydney, Cromwell, and other eminent men, which may now be had by the public. His large collection of busts and casts from nature, for the illustration of Phrenology, cannot fail to gratify every visitor of this establishment.

La Perse, &c. Persia, with the History, Manners, and Customs, of the Inhabitants; translated and extracted from the most recent accounts. By M. Nascisse Perrin.

THIS work is an interesting description of Persia; it is compiled from the travels of the most celebrated authors ancient and modern, who have visited this country and given descriptions of it, as Chardin, Tavernier, Monier, Scott Waring, Macdonald, Kinier, Malcomb, Jaubert, Ker Porter, Drouville, and others. The first volume contains situations of Persia, its climates and divisions; descriptions of the principal towns, ruins of Chapour, ruins, of Nachti, Ronstau, Persepolis; account of the climate of the different provinces; character of the people who inhabit them; ancient history; dynasties of the Peychdadians, of the Kaïanians, Arsacides, Sassanides. The second volume contains the modern history, with the' dynasties of the Traherites, Soffarides, Gaznevides, &c. Volume third, the dynasty of the Cadjars; of the king, of the harem, and the princes of the blood. Volume four treats of the great dignitaries of the state; on the administration of the finances; on the different religions of Persia. Volume five, of the army; character of the different classes of society; on the construction of their buildings; on caravansaries; on coffee and calioun; on divorces and widows. The sixth and seventh volumes are in the press.

Essay on the History of Music in Italy. By M. Gregoire Orloff.

COUNT ORLOFF, who formerly wrote Memoires sur le royaume de Naples, now presents us with the Histoire de la Musique en Italie. All those who have once lived in this fine country can never forget it, and must participate in his recollections. "It is there," says he, “that this enchanting art was felt by me in all its power and beauty, and induced me to pay it a sort of homage by writing its history, and sketching its revolutions and progress."

The author begins with a learned introduction, of which the work may be considered as a commentary. He commences the history of music by endeavouring to give some idea of that of the Greeks, Etruscans, and ancient Romans. But as it would

be useless to dwell long on this subject, after the sterile and tiresome discussions of his predecessors, he hastens on and takes up the history of the period when, deprived of the favours of the Pagan Gods, music seeks refuge under the shadow of the Christian religion; and, following its vicissitudes and progress, he finds it taken up by Constantine, then reformed by Saint Ambrose and Saint Gregory. Its progress was but slow till the 11th century, when the celebrated Benedictine Guido d'Arezzo invented or perfected the gamut.

From that time music took a rapid flight, and great advantages resulted from this fertile invention. The Italians were the first to profit by it; and stangers hastened to imitate

Eur. Mag. Oct. 1823.

developed more and more by the

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labours of Marchetto of Padua, was in the 13th century established and spread all over Europe. This period may be assigned for the foundation of the musical schools in the other nations of Europe.

The author thinks that these new schools were in a state of prosperity whilst the ancient Italian school remained stationary or retrogade; this is also the general opinion, But if it be true that foreign schools eclipsed for a time the Italian school, their common mother rose from the declining state she had fallen into in the 15th century, and which has been often too much exaggerated. Being the first to disengage herself from the trammels, which the doctrine and authority of the ancients had consecrated, if we may so speak, he employed every effort to find out new methods, and she made such progress that all others were obliged to acknowledge her superiority and observe her laws.

M. Orloff, after having mentioned the different kinds of vocal and instrumental music, invented in the 16th and 17th centuries, carries us back to those happy days when the art, purified from the rust of the preceding centuries, shone in all its splendour on the theatres of Europe. Six periods seem to mark the birth, the progress, and the perfection of theatrical music: the first is the invention of recitative, under the composers Peri and Monteverde; the second, the air, under Cavall and Cesti; the third, recitative obligato, under Scarlatti and Perti; the fourth, expression and truth, carried to the highest degree of perfection by Vinei, Porpora, and Pergolese; the fifth, force and depth, under the greatest masters of the German school; and the sixth, under Haydn and Chambini, introduced the effect of symphony called dramatic.

In examining these periods, the author undertakes to give the biography of those authors, who, by their didactic works or musical compositions, have deserved such notice. He seems to wander from his object in giving us an idea of the French, Dutch, English, German, and Spanish schoois. But how could we dispense with these excursions, as all European music is closely connected with that of Italy? How

could we form a first and complete idea of the latter, without examining the influence it exercised over all the rest of Europe?

On entering the Italian school our author regards, with pity and indignation, those artificial voices called soprano. It is not the first time that despotism and barbarity have sought to multiply unnatural pleasures. It is painful to see religion itself contaminated by such criminal abuses.

But turning away from these remains of barbarity, alike disgraceful to the nation and the religion that tolerates it, let us console ourselves with the thought, that the Italians themselves cry out against this outrage of humanity.

The Italian school is so rich in masters, composers, and chefs d'œuvres of art, that it was neces sary to make several divisions into particular schools. These schools might be characterised by the manner and taste of the masters who founded them, and by the number and merit of their pupils; but, as most of the Italian composers have so much originality that each is distinguished by a particular and individual character, there would be as many schools as composers. And if the history of the art was confined to a certain species of originality, and a certain degree of perfection, many artists would have been excluded, who have a right to figure in M. Orloff's history. He thought it, then, better to be a plain historian than seek to establish a system attended with so many inconveniences. He has taken notice of all those who, more or less, deserve it, comparing them and marking the difference between them.

The schools, which the author distinguishes in Italy, take the name of the place, town, or state where they flourished, and the number of the composers and their productions. Such as the Neapolitan, Roman, Bolognese, Venetian, Lombard, Florentine, and Piedmontese.

Either through the influence of local circumstances, or other motives, the Lombards seem more inclined to reason on the art than listen to the music; they have more taste for harmony than melody. They have more didactic than mu

sical compositions, and, among the latter, more church music than operas. The Roman School, though it appears destined more than any other to the service of religion, is more famous, according to our historian, for the style of accompaniment. In the same manner the author attributes the Madrigal style to the Venetian, and that of the Concert to the Neapolitan School. But what may be precisely said on the local character of these schools, is, that they seem more disposed to dramatic music, and a preference to melody rather than harmony, as they approach the South.

The Florentine School first discovered the modern Mellopeia; but only gave the example and first direction to the other schools, leav. ing them the honour of bringing the invention to perfection.

The Roman, Venetian and Neapolitan Schools have disputed which should have the glory of it. By their productions it would appear, that they were equal in excellence. But the Neapolitan School, in num ber of composers, richness, and ori ginality in their chefs d'oeuvres, their principles and method of teaching, has gained such glory as to eclipse all the others; and, now, to speak of the Italian School is to speak of the Neapolitan School. Therefore it is not surprising that M. Orloff has devoted to it the greatest part of his work.

Though not able to enter into all the details of this work, we can at least assure our readers, that they will find in it all the elements indispensable to the history of the art; that the author has spared no pains to procure the necessary documents for his undertaking; and as he cites writers of acknowledged cele brity on the subject he treats of, we may presume, that what he ad vances is correct, although some faults may be detected inevitable in a work composed of such minute details; the mistakes, in truth, belong to those authors who have preceded M. Orloff, and who, strangers to the country and often to the art they treat of, have neglected to rectify faults derived from uncertain tradition.

We think the Italians themselves may be reproached for their uncon

cern towards the history of their music, for they have not even paid the homage of gratitude to the manes of the celebrated artists who have done honour to their country. Since J. B. Doni, no one but P. Martini has undertaken the history of music.

It must be sought amongst the English, German, and French. We can only cite "The Elegy on Jomelli," written by a Neapolitan advocate, Mattei; the "Life of Correlli," by Maroncelli, the " Elegy on Tartini," by Camillo Ugoni; and some others. Piccini would have obtained the like honour if it had not been for Ginguenè. M. Quartremére has done the same justice to Paesiello, of whom little mention is made at Naples. But Durante, Guglielmi, Cimarosa!— Ought we then to receive from strangers this tribute of justice and gratitude? And is it wonderful that the biography of these artists is so little known?

We will make some observations on the state of Italian music in the 15th and 16th centuries, and on the origin of the modern Mellopeia. Count Orloff himself furnishes us with the means of sketching a part of this history, which has not always been treated with such precision.

An observation of Louis Gueeciardini, the nephew of the celebrated historian of that name, relative to the latter part of the 16th century, has been often repeated; he said, that "from this period music only flourished in the low countries, and that it was the Flemings who practised it, and taught it in most of the states of Europe and even in Italy." It has also been remarked that Lionel, Duke of Ferrara, and Galeazzo Sforza, Duke of Milan, entertained foreign singers at their courts. It is an incontestable fact, that Tinctoris and Villaert, both Flemings, taught music, one at Naples and the other at Venice. But is this sufficient to prove that the Italians had forgotten the doctrines of Guido and Marchetto, and that they no longer knew an art of which they felt the want, and knew the value of, more than any other nation? The concourse of foreign did not exclude the co-existence of national artists; it may even prove that they