and, how correct soever the harmony of the parts may be, it must still be dependent upon the melody for variety of expres sion. In vain will the composer try to compensate the monotony of the melody, by the richness of his accompanimentsthe learning of the composition-the difficulty of the execution -the multitude and fulness of the parts the frequency of his modulations; all these will avail him nothing if the melody is deficient. What his composition wants in music will only be made up in noise.

As vocal music existed long before instrumental, it must have owed its origin to the different ways of expressing sense by sounds. This is exemplified in the music of the Greeks; the rythm of which is simply the measure formed by the variety of combinations of long and short syllables, which their language was peculiarly qualified to afford; and the more flowing and poetical those combinations, the more pleasing and melodious would be the music adapted to them. If the prosody of a language is bad-if it is irregular and without exactness-if the long and short syllables bear proportion one to another in the verse; it will be difficult, or almost impossible, to form in it combinations which shall have agreeable effects upon the ear, or to dispose its sounds so as to produce what is called rythm, or poetry-and the case is the same as to those qualities of sound which constitute its melody or music.

Now all these circumstances unite in giving charms to Italian music. Its simple and pure melody-its exquisite modulations-its correct and appropriate accompaniments-all tend to excite feelings which no other music is capable of producing. We have already noticed the excellent effects produced in the vocal music of Italy, by the style of the accompani ments: And it is this simplicity-this unity which is preserv ed, and which is ten thousand times more essential in Music than unity of action is in Tragedy that distinguishes the music of Italy from that of France. In the latter, the nakedness of the melody is hid as much as possible, by the fulness of the other parts: the poverty of the one is concealed under the richness of the other-and the attention is distracted from what ought to be its principal object, by noises which are quite foreign to the main design. But in Italy, by a skilful disposition of the parts, every thing unites to give energy to the subject and to increase its expression:-by making the accompaniment subservient to the grand design, it embellishes and gives fulness to it, without hiding or obscuring it. Their accompa niments in unison, soften and mellow the sounds of the melody,

and at the same time assist the memory in retaining the ideas impressed by the melody:-they render the music sufficiently powerful and sweet, without making it appear overloaded or cloying. This method of accompaniment, in general, is impracticable in French music;-chiefly because of the very different character which marks their vocal and instrumental music. The vagueness, and want of expression too, in their measure, prevents any combination of parts which may produce effects in concert; so that their accompaniments, instead of blending with the melody, take off the attention by being at variance with it, and weaken the effect of the vocal part, which is in fact the source of all the beauties of the accompaniment. The following anecdote, related by Rousseau, particularly applies to these remarks- J'ai vu,' says he, à Vénise un Arménien, homme d'esprit, qui n'avoit jamais entendu de musique; et dévant lequel on executa dans un même concert un monologue François, qui commence par ce vers—

"Temple sacré, séjour tranquille;

Et un air de Galuppi, qui commence par celui-ci

"Voi che languite senza speranza;

L'an et l'autre furent chantés médiocrement pour le François, • et mal pour l'Italien, par un homme accoutumé seulement à la musique Françoise, et alors très-enthousiastique de celle de M. Rameau. Je remarquai dans l'Arménien durant tout le chant François, plus de surprise que de plaisir: mais tout le • monde observa dès les prémieres mésures de l'air Italien, qué 'son visage et ses yeux s'adoucissoient: il étoit enchanté,-il prêtoit son ame aux impressions de la musique;-et quoiqu'il • entendit peu de la langue, les simple sons lui causoient un ravissement sensible. Dès ce moment on ne put plus lui faire 'écouter aucun air François.'

In fact, the French music has very little that is agreeable in itself:-it owes any merit it may possess to arbitrary ornaments or conventional beauties, which, after all, have charms only for those who have been accustomed all their lives to hear them, and no other: and hence it is, that their music is scarcely to be endured, even by themselves, when executed by moderate performers; and it requires the exertions of their first-rate musicians to make it tolerable to the ears of foreigners. Italian music, on the contrary, is always delightful, even under the disadvantages of a moderate voice and a moderate taste;—for the beauties are in the melody, and not in the skill of the singerIt forms and corrects the taste-and its chief excellences depend only upon itself. Nous exécutons la musique Italienne, disent * nos musiciens,' Rousseau observes, after relating the anecdote

we have just cited, avec leur fierté accoutumée, et les Italiens ne peuvent exécuter la notre; Donc, notre musique vaut mieux que la leur; Ils ne voient pas, qu'ils dévoient tirer une conséquence toute contraire, et dire, Donc, les Italiens ont une mélodie, et nous n'en avons point.'

6

From this digression, which has been longer than we anticipated, we return to our musicians of the latter end of the last century. We shall say a few words as to the music of our own country, before entering upon that of Germany.

Among musical countries, England makes, we fear, but a sorry figure;-so small is the number of her indigenous composers, compared with the hosts from Italy or Germany, that she can scarcely boast of having a music of her own. She She may exult in the Metrical Psalmodies of Thomas Sternhold and John Hopkins,-or in such divine compositions of Maister William Bird,' and Maister Giles Farnabie,' or the Carman's Whis tle, '* and Jhon cum kiss me now,' which are preserved in that rare and curious collection, called Queen Elizabeth's Virginal Book,-or she may glory in the laboured pieces of that rare professor, Maister John Bull, Doctor of Musicke,' whose compositions are so difficult of execution, that they were impracticable even to the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, although a first-rate performer upon the virginals,-and, after all, the mu

sic

may not be one whit better than what Thomas Mace quaintly designates as whining, yelling, toling, screeking, short-squareeven ayres.' But a species of dramatic composition was now getting into favour in England, which was the means of bringing music into fashion, and calling forth the powers of the few original and good composers this island has to boast of, During the reigns of James, and Charles the I., a favourite amusement at court, and also at the houses of the nobility, was the representation of short musical interludes, called Masques. These were performed with the most splendid decorations, and the parts usually acted by the nobles themselves. Henrietta, Charles's Queen, was particularly partial to these entertain ments, and frequently took the principal character herself, Ben Jonson was in general the writer of these Masques; and Harry Lawes, who is more likely to be immortalized by Milton's Sonnet than his own airs, was the composer of the music.

In

We have had the pleasure to hear the Carman's Whistle.' It is composed by Bird, and was the favourite tune of Queen Elizabeth. It has more air than the other execrable compositions in her Majesty's Virginal Book; and more resembles a French Quadrille, than any modern tune we can compare it to.

1634, the Mask of Comus, which was set by him, was acted at Ludlow Castle. The compositions of Lawes, particularly the songs in Comus, are highly spoken of by the writers of that period as excellent melodies and delightful to hear.' Perhaps we have degenerated from the good old times; but any music of Lawes which we have ever heard, seemed to have as little air or melody, as the tunes played by pokers and tongs to make bees hive, But there is one composer who lived soon after this time, and was in his prime in the beginning of Charles II.'s reign,-whose music has never, in our opinion, been equalled by that of any Englishman before or since we allude to Matthew Locke. Every one who has heard his songs in Macbeth, or in the Tempest, must have felt their wild beauty and originality; it is unaccountable that he has had so few imitators; -perhaps his works were not fully appreciated by musical persons of his own time;-for there is no taste so variable as that for music. What delights us now, may perhaps be execrable to the ears of the connoscenti of 2020;-but still we cannot but think it a proof of the superior excellence of Locke's composition, that it is almost the only genuine English music which is now-a-days thought worth listening to. Purcell and Arne have, undoubtedly, produced very beautiful music-particularly that in Comus, which Arne re-set in 1738-the melodies of Lawes being, by that time, discovered to be intolerable but, generally speaking, they, as well as Arnold, copied from the Italian school; so that their compositions have not that originality and raciness which characterize those of Locke.

i

The long residence of Handel in England, was perhaps the most conducive to correcting and forming the musical taste of that country. His operas were the first that had been eminently successful; and tended, more than any thing else, to introduce a taste for that species of composition, which afterwards led to the establishment of the Italian Opera in London. This grow ing affection for music of foreign growth, was much ridiculed and abused by the periodical writers of that day;-particularly in the Spectator, where Addison laughs at the absurd custom of introducing Italian actors into the opera, who sung their parts in their own language; while the inferior characters, which were filled by Englishmen, performed theirs in their na tive tongue. Handel showed his surprising genius for music

*

No. 18. A ludicrous description of the decorations and machinery used then, for the first time, in the Opera, such as introducing singing birds, real cascades, &c. is given in No. 5. But in all his hostility to the Italian Opera, we must take into account, that

at a very early age; and, like all other wonderful children, there are of course many anecdotes of his precocity. He received his first instructions from the organist at Halle, his native city, and finished his musical education at Hamburgforming himself upon the best Italian and German models. He was only fourteen when he played the second harpsichord at the Hamburg opera; and the same year he produced an opera, which had a run of thirty successive nights. After passing a few years in Italy, he returned to Germany, and settled at Hanover, where he was much encouraged by the Elector. The connexion between the Courts of England and Hanover, tempted him, in 1710, to accept an invitation from some amateurs in London, who had known him at Hanover. His first visit was only for a year; but he got leave from the Elector to repeat it, shortly after his return. The tempting offers made him in London induced him to settle there, in spite of his engagement to the Elector-who chose to resent this neglect when he became King of England. Handel however contrived, by a little artifice, to get again into favour.-A Royal party of pleasure upon the Thames had been announced, and directions given at Court to have a barge of musicians in attendance. Handel got notice of this; and composed for the occasion those celebrated pieces, which, from the circumstance, have been called his Water Music. He conducted the performance himself; disguised, so as not to be detected. The King, who really had a German ear for music, was very much delighted, and begged to know who the composer was. A German baron, who was a friend to Handel, and in the secret, told him that it was written by a countryman and faithful servant of his Majesty; but who, fearing he had incurred the displeasure of so gracious a patron, dared not, in a more open manner, contribute to the amusement of his sovereign. Upon which the King declared, that if Handel was the culprit, he had his entire forgiveness; and, moreover, substantiated his gracious pardon by the donation of 2001. a year. Handel's chief excellence is in his sacred music. Yet, of all his Oratorios, only a few have stood the test of time. Even when they were first produced, several were very unsuccessful; and very often were performed to such empty houses, that the king (George II.), who was a constant attender, composed nearly the whole audience. Lord Chesterfield, one even, ing coming out of the theatre, was asked by a friend if the Ora

Addison disliked music, and that his friend Steele was a patentee of one of the other theatres, whose audiences were much thinned by the Opera.