mar should be carefully studied, as they furnish a valuable key to the formation of verbs, nouns, &c., into whose composition they enter. A thorough knowledge of their primitive significations, in the first instance, will greatly simplify the meaning of numerous compound words which are of constant recurrence. The Exercises are excellent practical lessons, illustrating the principles of German composition as laid down with great clearness and accuracy in the Grammar. We are compelled to add, however, they are most incorrectly printed; for though Mr. Bernays has given an errata of upwards of sixty errors (!), we can assure him he might have added very considerably to the list.

3.-The first series of Tales of a Physician drew from all quarters testimonials of approbation; chiefly on account of the sentiments which they breathe--the moral lessons they inculcate, while there was just enough of interest to induce one to read. The second series of Tales are more spirited-not less pious; more interestingnot less adapted to answer all the good ends which the author has in view.

4. These two volumes may almost be regarded as "Transactions of the Society" they are written by the Secretary, and beautifully embellished from specimens of animals in the possession of the institution. The first volume contains beasts, the second birds; and, besides bringing before us many new, or little known varieties of the most curious kind, abound in information, bearing at once the stamp of value and authenticity. The literary portion of the work exhibits evident marks of research and observation, while the embellishments are well drawn and finely engraved on wood:-quite gems in their way.

5.-Without entering upon the question of, whether a quarto work is the most portable size for the pocket, or for a book which, we admit, the visitor to a watering-place should have with him, we are quite ready to concede that the Fashionable Directory will be a most agreeable companion. The plates are neatly engraved by Allen, and faithfully represent the places of which they profess to be pictures. The work gives a history of all the remarkable facts connected with each wateringplace, as well as a description of whatever is worth noticing.

6. Another useful publication calculated to enforce the practice of the indefatigable author's system, which, as we have more than once observed, is the reverse of all previous systems of teaching a foreign language.

MUSIC.

1.-Napoleon's Midnight Review. Cantata. Sung by Mr. Parry, Jun. Translated from the German of Baron Zedlitz, by William Ball; the Music by the Chevalier Sigesmund Neukomm. Cramer, Addison, and Beale.

2.-The Sea. A Song. Sung by Mr. Phillips. The Poetry by Barry Cornwall, Esq., the Music by the Chevalier S. Neukomm. Cramer and Co.

3.-If in that breast, so good, so pure. A Song. Composed and inscribed to Mrs. Trafford Southwell, by Miss Eleanor L. Mortlock. Cramer, Addison, and

Beale.

4.-The Bridal is over. A Ballad. The Poetry by F. H. Bayly, Esq., the Music composed by Miss E. L. Mortlock, and inscribed to Her Grace the Duchess of Gordon. Cramer and Co.

5.-The Wind hath sigh'd itself to rest.
Music composed by Miss E. L. Mortlock.
6.-The Letter.-Go still voice of fond
kinson, Esq., the Music by T. Macfarlane.
7.-Gaily we dance. A Cavatina. Written by C. Z. Barnett.

The Poetry by Miss M. L. Beevor, the
Cramer and Co.
affection. A Song.
Clementi and Co.

A. Barnett. Cramer, Addison, and Beale.

Written by T. At

Composed by J.

8.-The Steed in battle prancing. A Bravura. Written by H. J. Bradfield, Esq. Composed by J. A. Busch. T. Boosey and Co.

9.-The Flag that brav'd a thousand years. A National Song. Sung by Mr. Phillips. The Poetry by W. H. Bellamy, Esq., the Music by S. Nelson. Cramer and Co.

10. She's on my Heart. A Cavatina. Sung by Mr. Wilson, at Covent-Garden Theatre. The Poetry by Miss Jewsbury, the Music by J. Macdonald Harris. Payne and Hopkins.

1.-NEUKOMM enjoys a very high and well-earned reputation as a writer of Church music, and is known in this country by his fine oratorio called the Ten Commandments. The Midnight Review is an extraordinary piece of descriptive music. The shade of the emperor is supposed to review the thousands who fell in his various battles. "They start from their graves, and arms again bedeck their glittering bands." The first movement in G minor, describes their appearance at the summons of the spectre drummer, with "his fleshless hands fast rolling in wonted play." During the greater part of this movement the drums are introduced. The modulation is of the most learned description: a beautiful enharmonic change occurs, when the "unnumbered heaps" in "Arabia's sands" are contrasted with those "in the slimy Nile enwrapt." The C sharp which is used as the perfect fifth to F sharp, becomes D flat in the chord of the 5, on F natural, as the fifth of B flat minor. It would be endless to point out the musical beauties they are to be found in every bar. The movement ends in A flat minor, and is followed by a line or two, introducing the trumpet, in the key of E major, ending on the dominant seventh to A. The accompaniment to the voice is admirably conceived at the lines beginning thus: "On their airy steeds, on ev'ry side, the thronging dead, obey." At the appearance of the emperor, who is described as wearing no mark of kingly pride," the accompaniment in G major is of the simplest kind. A pleasing march follows; after which the chieftain is represented as giving their watchword, " France," and again, the password, "Sainte Hélène." Every part of this cantata evinces the most profound knowledge of harmony, a fertile imagination, and a sound judgment.

2.-The Sea is the song which Phillips made such a hit with, at the Oxford Festival. It is a capital song, written in a joyous strain, and in as opposite a style from that of the cantata, as can well be conceived. This versatility proves that Neukomm's genius is of the highest order. With all its joviality, this song is free from the slightest approach to vulgarity.

3, 4, 5.—These songs of Miss Mortlock afford the highest promise of future excellence. They are not merely pretty melodies, but they are cleverly treated, and the accompaniments indicate a knowledge of harmony, which, we are sorry to say, is but rarely met with in the mass of music which is daily put forth by the shops. The chords of the 4, diminished seventh, and extreme sharp sixth, are introduced with admirable effect, at the words, "The grief that on my quiet prays, that rends my heart, that checks my tongue," in the first song. In the last bar but four, page 3, the printer has forgotten to insert the bass clef. The last two songs show that Miss Mortlock possesses a very fine feeling, and good taste, particularly in "The bridal is over," to which we are rather inclined to give the preference; it is written in the charming key of A flat major, and there is a pathos in the air which well accords with the sentiments expressed in the song. The last air, which is in three flats, has more playfulness and simplicity in it. The poetry, as well as the music, is, we perceive, from the pen of a young lady; their united talents have produced a most happy result. The following lines are both pleasing and elegant:

The wind hath sigh'd itself to rest,
The bird hath gain'd her bower,
The wild bee slumbers on the breast
Of some ambrosial flower:

The star of eve, a crystal light
Sheds over land and sea,

Then rise my love! my lady bright!
Then rise and roam with me!

6.—Mr. Macfarlane has not been very happy in his melody, and the accompaniments are very commonplace. In justice we must confess the poet has given the composer but little scope. The following lines make up best part of the song; it will be remembered they are addressed to a Letter:

Go quickly go, thy speed a wish!

Go fondly go, thy home a kiss!

7.-This is one of Barnett's pleasing trifles: it reminds us somewhat of a pretty air which we have occasionally heard sung by the French Company here. The accompaniments are simple and in general appropriate, and there is a nice bit of symphony at the end of the stanzas. We protest, however, against the employment of the chord of the g on B, at the word flower, in page 2. In avoiding to have to resolve the G (in the voice part), if he had used it as a seventh to A, he has made a very unskilful botch of it.

8.-We do not remember to have met with Mr. Busch's name before, although from this bravura we should think he is a man of some experience in his art. It is a very spirited composition, and contains some good modulation: a good voice and some power of lungs will be required to do it justice. We can bestow our commendation on the poetry: there is not much of it, but what there is, is good.

9.-Mr. Nelson has no bad name for the composer of a sea-song. We have been very much pleased with his composition, there is a soul and vigour in it, which show that he has a real gust for his subject. There is nothing out of the common way in his harmonies, but at the same time there is nothing to find fault with. It is the sort of song we should like to hear Braham sing.

10. This song is composed in a style well adapted for dramatic effect; the ornaments are graceful and are judiciously introduced. They displayed the flexible and mellow voice of Mr. Wilson to great advantage, and being in character with the composition, they assist the expression of the sentiment, which the florid execution of the modern school too frequently destroys.

LADIES' OPERA HEAD-DRESSES.-The size of ladies' hats is really a great nuisance at public places, and ought to be abated. At a morning concert I was this week cut off from all view of the orchestra; but, what was much more afflicting, I very lately sat behind a row of ladies who were placed in the stalls at the Opera, and never once caught a glimpse of the Taglioni, except when she now and then by a leap showed herself from behind the cloud of head-dresses that screened her as effectually from my view as if we had been parted by Plinlimmon. This fashion is not only adverse to every thing like taste, but, if even a convenient one to the adopters, which I much doubt, is a proof of selfishness which I should not have expected from a sex who are generally remarkable for every thing the reverse. Gentlemen are not allowed to wear their hats in a theatre; and why?-why for the very reason that ladies should be requested to appear there without theirs. As in the case of spurs, they should be stopped at the doors.-Dilettante, in Harmonicon for June 1.

PAGANINI.

Of all the musical wonders we ever saw or heard of, Paganini is undoubtedly the most wonderful. He has created an era in violin playing, more remarkable than that caused by the appearance of Giardini about eighty years ago, if we take into consideration the relative degree of skilfulness in instrumental performance existing at the two periods. Giardini, who was distinguished for his great hand and powerful tone, excelled by his rapid execution, and the performance of passages till then deemed impossible. Paganini not only far surpasses his con

temporaries, in all that constitutes violin playing, by means hitherto known, but produces the most delightful effects by means invented by himself. Notwithstanding the laudatory and enthusiastic accounts of Paganini's playing, the reality outstripped, to an extent perfectly astounding, our previous conception of it. We were first struck with the remarkable beauty of his tone: we could plainly distinguish it from that of the other instruments as soon as he touched his violin, in the opening movement of his concerto. When he is left to himself, wonders thicken upon you apace: at his command, the instrument breathes forth sentiments, pathetic or playful, amorous or martial. The adagio is superior to the most refined singing-the use of words would seem to be an impertinent superfluity. The enharmonic intervals (not practicable in the human voice) which Paganini employs in this movement, add considerably to its impassioned cha

racter.

As regards execution, all sorts of impossibilities are effected with the greatest nonchalance. Intervals the most distant are reached with certainty in rapid succession: of these, double octaves are mere child's play. In his variations on some well-known tema, Paganini performs some of the most difficult, entirely in double stops; and when his enraptured audience think they have heard the ne plus ultra of his art, lo and behold, he gives them passages in treble stops, that is to say, passages in which three notes are sounded simultaneously. Then come the harmonics. Solo players are generally satisfied with giving us the harmonics of the common chord. Paganini has no notion of such parsimony; every thing which he does by single stops, he appears determined to do with harmonics. We heard him play a brilliant variation to" Nel cor più," entirely with harmonics: the effect of these ethereal notes is quite enchanting. The extraordinary precision with which he can hit any of these notes was evinced in a subsequent variation, where every phrase (played in the ordinary way) was answered instanter by the corre sponding harmonic sounds. Another variation consisted in a series of suspensions: the suspending note being heard in a full, round, sustained tone, while the other parts of the chord were heard in a continuous shake. The richness of the harmony of this variation was delightful.

But there is yet another wonder in the playing of this astonishing artiste-we mean his pizzicato playing. He has the power of doing this with his left hand alone; so that while he is bowing an air with the right hand in the usual style, he performs a pizzicato accompaniment with the other, as distinctly as if it were done by another performer on another instrument. Sometimes he will end a passage with a full octave of these notes, delivered with such force, that they sound like musical crackers.

It matters not what number of strings Paganini plays upon: if you leave him but one, he does more with it, than any body else can do with four, as far as single sounds are concerned. It is here that the harmonics tell with the greatest effect, constantly deceiving the mind into the belief that he is playing on the full complement of strings. On the commencement of every variation Paganini alters the pitch of his instrument, evidently for the purpose of obtaining a new set of harmonics, and this has given rise to the most ridiculous surmises. A newspaper critic has hazarded the assertion that Paganini purposely plays out of tune by half a tone as a freak! That is, supposing the band to be accompanying in F with one flat, Paganini will play the air in F sharp major. The ludicrous absurdity of this notion would be apparent to the veriest tyro in harmony. An ignorant and affected young female, who sat near us one evening, had evidently taken her cue from this precious criticism; "I can't bear his playing," said she," he is so wretchedly out of tune." The gentleman who had the misfortune to belong to her, was not the least disgusted with this ill-judged sally.

Paganini is remarkable for his personal appearance: tall and thin, with an intellectual and amiable expression in his countenance, which bears strong marks of suffering from ill-health: his forehead is very fine, and is well displayed, as the hair is pushed back and falls on the shoulders. His gait is rather awkward, especially on his entrance, which seems partly to arise from diffidence, for he actually appears as if he were fearful of intruding on the audience. When playing,

he is by no means ungraceful, and his style of bowing is the most free and elegant we ever saw: while he is shifting, in order to reach some out-of-the-way interval, the violin is mainly supported by his shoulder, which he has a knack of forcing into a position such as nobody ever had before. His hand is very large, and the thumb has such flexibility, that it is like a sixth finger. The memory of this gifted man is so retentive that he plays all his compositions without any copy, and many of them are of great length. As a composer he displays no mean talent: the scoring of some of his concertos is excellent, and the instrumentation is frequently productive of fine effects.

On the first night of his appearance he performed some variations without orchestral accompaniments, the interest of which was not a little heightened, by the cluster of talent which crowded round him: we noticed Dragonetti, Lindley, Špagnoletti, Mori, Costa, Willman, Harper, and Mariotti; they had all left their instruments except Lindley, who hugged his bass the tighter the more he was delighted; those who were nearer the stage than we were, say this veteran positively shed tears. Mori's was the only countenance that was downcast. To see one so infinitely his superior in every respect, as not to admit of the slightest comparison, made him eschew that haughty bearing, which we regret a man of his great talents should ever indulge in. It is rather unfortunate just at this time that Mori, for the sake of gratifying his curiosity, should have condescended to play a ripieno in the quadrille band led by Musard, at St. James's palace.

Paganini's glory in this country was crowned on Wednesday the 22d of June. Every nook and cranny in the Opera-house was occupied, and some hundreds were admitted on the stage. Among the latter, seated in the middle, close to Paganini, we saw the celebrated Jeremy Bentham, watching with intense interest, the miraculous performer who stood before him. During the intervals of the performance it was delightful to see the venerable philosopher holding out his hand to Dragonetti, Lindley, Spagnoletti, and a few others who anxiously pressed forward to be introduced to him.

On this occasion, Paganini, in the course of his variations on the dance tune, "Delle streghe alla noce di Benevento," set the audience in a roar of laughter, by his striking imitation of the tremulous voice of an old woman; and not long before he had made many of them shed tears by the exquisite pathos of his strains.

After what we have said, it is almost needless to say that all those who have the means should go and hear Paganini. We have heard of a Professor who recommended his pupils to pawn their coats rather than miss hearing so extraordinary a phenomenon.

ITALIAN OPERA.

IT is somewhat creditable to the taste of the frequenters of this theatre, that the opera of Medea has had a run of seven or eight nights. The character of the terrible sorceress is worthy of Pasta's genius; it is one which we are convinced no other actress of the present day could adequately sustain. The interest of the opera by no means hinges on the supposed supernatural powers of Medea, but on the exhibition of the passions-some of the best as well as the worst-which are the lot of human nature: and it is in the vivid representation of the workings of these passions that Pasta is unrivalled. The

only novelty has been her appearance in Semiramide, if we except her Zerlina, which she undertook merely to oblige Lalande at her benefit. Semiramide has great beauties in parts of it; but as a serious opera, it is a very incongruous affair: for example, what can be more absurd than the introduction of a jig tune immediately after the scene with the ghost! Semiramide does not attract an audience, as Medea does, and the reason we take to be this: The interest in the last-mentioned opera centres in the part filled by Pasta, whereas in Semiramide the interest is divided between the Queen and Arsace.