The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-01-13

lone must be either very musical or very
upmusical; but please let us return to your
self. Where did you begin to learn music r.
"At Bologna. A certain Prinetti, of Navara,
taught me the spinet. He was queer fellow;
who made liquor, gave q few music lessons,
and so Just managed to rub along. He never
possessed q bed, but slept standing. At night
he wrapped his cloak round him, leaned
against the wall in the corner OF some arcade,
and slept. The watohman knew him and
didn't disturb him. Then he came to me very
early, got me out of bed, which didn't at all
like, and made me play. Sometimes he hadn't
slept enough, and used to 60 off standing,
whilst was hard at work at my spinet but
always took advantage of that, and crept back
under the bedclothes. When he woke and
found me there, he was quite content with my
assuring him that, while he slept, l had
played through my piece without any faults.
His method was by no means the newest; for
example, he made me play the scales with the
thumb and finger"
''That did you as little harm as shirking the
canons. But who else taught you 20
ga certain Angelo Tesei taught me to play
from figured bass, and how to accompany,
and made me practise solfeggi. A once cele-
brated tenor, Babini, gave me more advanced
lessons"
"You had lovely voice 2''
GAS boy sang well, and 1 once played
the part of a boy in Paer's Camilla. But
"Did any Of your companions at the Liceo
turn out we'll Y'
"The first year which spent there was
Morlacchi's last, and my third year was Doni-
zetti's frst.''
81 thought that Donizetti was a pupil of
Simon Mair's 7"
"He tried for a time, but his real musical
education was acquired at Bologna; and
that he learned to some purpose no one will
deny"
"Who were the Mombelli for whom you
wrote Demetrio PoLibiO ?"
"Mombelli was good TENOR" said Rossin.
"He had two daughters, one soprano and the
other contralto; they got bass 70 complete
the vocal quartette, and then, without fur
ther help, gave operas in Bologna, Milan, and
other places. They made their first appear
ance at Bologna in a small but very fair opera
of PortogallO's.'
ga Portuguese ?"
''No, an Italian. He was not without
talent, and thoroughly understood the voice.
| His compositions were much in favor with
many of the best singers. My first wife,
Madame Colbran, had about forty of his
| things in her repertoire. The way in which |
made Mombelli's acquaintance was funny
enough. Though but boy of thirteen, was
an ardent admirer of the fair sex. One ofmy
fair friends wished for an aria out of an opera
| of Mombeli's. | went to the copyist,
but he wouldn't hear of it. Then l
tried Mombelli himself, but he also refused.
very well,' said L, I'll hear the opera again
| tonight, and then write out whatever l like
we shall see, answered Mombelli. In the
evening, listened TO the opera as hard as
could and wrote out a complete pianoforte
copy, which Icarried to Mombelli. He couldn't
believe it, called the copyist rogue, and so
on. IF you can't give me credit for that
said l, Il will hear it a few more times, and
| tha, ta Mt fha full hpf0 Wn
eyes, My great self-confdence, in this case
perfectly justifable, conquered his suspicion,
and we became good friends"
81 have often witnessed your extraordinary
memory, but to put whole opera on paper is
quite marvellous"
"WelI, it was not a score like Mozart's
Figaro; but really may pride myself on my
tremendous musical memory at that time. As
young man, / could have accompanied
Haydn's Oratorios without book. | knew
the whole Creation by heart, down to the
smallest recitative-true, l had played it
through and accompanied it often enough"
"But to return to DemetriO e PoIiJio. Nom
belli asked you, then, to write the opera ?''
she first gave me the words for duet,
then for an arietta, and paid me few piastres
for each, so as to make me get on faster; and
in this way wrote my first opera almost
without knowing it. Babini gave me plenty
of good advice over it. He was violently op-
vogue, and used every effort to make me avoid
them"
81 rem ember a quartette from Demetrio
which had a certain celebrity when l was in
Italy, and was quoted as a specimen of your
precocity. When the opera was put on the
stage, did you do anything more to it ?''
'No, was away; Mombelli brought it out
J at Milan without my knowledge. The thing
which astonished people so much in that
quartette was its ending with sort of ex-
clamation from all the voices, instead of the
usual close. A duet out of it was much sung
for long time; it was very easy, and that is
, the chief thing"
} "It is strange that with your beautiful voice
} you never thought of being a singer"
81 thought of nothing else, my friend; but
> l wanted to learn music more thoroughly thar
l most of the singers | met. l found it easy al
? an early age, and got place as maestro a
= cembdLo; my first attempts at composition
9 were favorably received, and so took to i
a almost by chance, and stuck to it., though
S could always see how far better singers wer,
9 paid than composers"
: "No doubt OF that. Beethoven barely got al
d much for all his works as they give CruVell
d every year at the Grand Opera"
d SIT had not then reached such an insan
1t pitch; but the difference was the same; wher
le the composer earned fifty ducats, the singe
~ would get thousand" said Rossini angrily
ID II confess that l have never been able to ge
Or over this I'M ustice, and have often vented M
g. hl-temper about it to the singers. you are
tn ood- for nothing set' / said to them; 'yo
can't even sing as we'll as l can, and vet i
~ one night you earn more than l get for
whole scOrA-' Rut what's ono IN do9