The Portland daily press., 1875-05-08
Recent Publications.


added 10 the library of every student of music,
is intended to fill the same place IN musical
literature that her well-known and deserVediy
popular books, The Old Masters and Modern
Painters, take in their department-nameiy'
to aid the student, and by presenting sketches
of the masters and their works, to render more
general an appreciation of them by those VINO
have not attained to great technical knowieoGe'
Without any pretension TO be complete MS
tory or biographical cyclopedia of music, II
gives in readable style and available form
great deal of information upon musical subjects
presented with a clearness of expression and
detail that prove that the writer has carefully
studied and compared authorities, and brought
to her work genuine enthusiasm for art, and
skill in selecting from the mass of material
such points as would chiefly interest and assist
the student. Mrs. Tytler purposely omits any
account CT imusic in its early stages, following
the theory of Mr. Hullah that modern music
originated in the 10th century. Music -four
ished indeed with extraordinary richness in
that time, and the compositions of Palestrina
and his school form decided and important
epoch. Still, the truer and more comprehen-
sve view of the subject is that taken by
learned composer and writer upon musical his
tory who SAYS: "The cradle of music as an
art, in the sense ace understand it to oday. may
be traced to that of Christianity" Indeed.
it is i'm possible to form clear idea of the prog
ress of music without recalling the patient and
steadily improving work of the early composers
the monk Hucbald, in Flanders, who lived in
the latter years of the ninth century and
the early years of the tenth, and whose treat
Use on harmony was the first of which any rec
ord remains; Guido d. Arezzo, from whose sys-
TEN of notation the present one was derived'
and whose ingenious setting OF pious hymn
to the patron saint Of singers was the solfegglo
of that day, and is of ours; Franco de cologne,
who first wrote upon mensural music in dis
tinctiOn from the Gregorian cantas planuS, and
whose views of harmony, though primitive,
contain much of value at the present time;
Josquin des Pres, eminent in the middle OF the
18th century, and many more who aided to
form, little by little, the theory of music
Meanwhile, wandering singers, whose tribe
may be traced back to the days of Homer, and
who were called later Trouveres and Mime
singers and the fresh and melodious folk-songs
which exist in every land-brought life and
spirit to the strict musical forms and softened
their austerities. The modest preface OF Mrs.
Tytlers book forestalls criticism, yet it is ap-
parent that if less were devoted to Mozart,
Beethoven, Moschees and Mendelssohn, more
room would be left to speak of some important
composers at present left unmentioned. The
letters of Beethoven, Mozart and Mendelssohn,
and Moscheles' memoirs have been published in
popular editions, so that, interesting as these
lives were, they are so familiar as to require
little development in the scope of general
musical work. Instead of such DETAIL mention
might have been made. for example of Tallis,
Bird, Stanley and Dowland, who formed part
of the vigorous group of English composers IN
which were Arne, Gibbons and Purcell; OF Or
lando Lasso Luca Marenzio, Carissimi, Leon
ardo Leo and other leaders of the Italian school
of nearly the same date; of Emilio del Cava-
liere composer of the first oratorio, TAninaa e
Corpo; of Peri and Caccini, whose Euridice was
the first opera, and to whom is due the inVen'
ton of rectative, in emulation of the
lost art of Greek defamation. For the most,
Mrs. Tytler's facts, dates and opinions are cor
rect; and her style is pleasing and unaffected,
Astounding in anecdote which is neither tire
some nor undigni6ed. Her praise of Bach is
| somewhat inadequate, indeed she seems to have
| a difidence in treating this subject. which re-
auires special training for its full appreciation
| In future editions of the book some errata will
| be in order, for example: Catalini, II Traviata,
| oryertissina- onoratissinaa, etc.
M, de ST. Saens will be surprised to hear himself
spoken of as a composition of M. Massenet.
| page 406) and the aria "Ah non gunge" is
not to be found in the score of Norma. Mrs.
Tytler's scorn of the Offenbach opera boufs is
decided, fine and wholly just-but when SINH
lar language is applied to the eminent, talent
ed and conscientious Signor Verdi, it becomes
inapplicable bigoted and out of place. "Pos-
sessing share of the qualities of melody and
adaptability which stood Bellini and Donizetti
| in good stead, Verdi is inferior to both in art
| while he has been of all composers the most
| reckless, unhealthy, and absolutely vicious in
| his choice of some of his themes" is the sweep
| ing condemnation that she gives him. That it
| is unjust in every respect, all unprejudicea mu-
si,ians will allow. The parallel drawn between
| the talent of Verdi and that of Bellini and
Donizetti is rather pointless and requires no
special refutation-but the assertion as to the
l VICIOUS UOue 0I WOih 10 oSohOSiy " w
passed over Verdi is sometimes sensational,
never Intentionally low in tone either morally
or musically; and an intelligent review OF the
progress of his manner of composing gives
| proof of his desire and ambition for genuine i'm
| provement. 1t is a fashion among the would
| be critical in musical matters to consider
| dispraise of Verdi's works mark of refine
| ment and culture. 1t must be admitted that
| thew are in some degree open to criticism, in
respect to the despotic rule of the brass instru-
mepts, the occasionally noisy scoring and
SNOWY fnaR-but these.are extravagances of
genius which with difficulty restraints itself
| In his later works-notably aida, which will
| he found to be the work of a transition period
| with him-he proves himself ready to profit
| bv the advantages that assiduous study of
| strict models on the one hand, and the modern
| "school of the future offer him, on the other.
| He has accepted from the latter one of its most
| fortunate theories, when not carried to ex-
cess that of the characteristic melopee Nor
| itz Hauptmann, the honored successor OF Sc
| bastian Bach at the Conservatory OF Leipzig,
expressed in conversation with an American
musician his warm admiration of Verdi, and
| declared him to be the first operate composer
| of his time. This, from musician whose
| traditions were of fugue and counterpoint,
whose nature was essentially German and
| therefore not too readily sympathetic with the
| passionate Italian music-is but sample OF
the justice that ought to be, and later will be
accorded to Veldi. The points to be criticised
| in Mrs. Tytler's work being disposed of. the
pleasant task of praise and appreciation only
| remains. The talent, care and industry of the
| writer have combined to form volume that
| cannot fail to be both useful and delightful
| And debt of gratitude is owed her for this
excellent effort in the cause that all true musi-
| clans have at heart-the popularizatIon of good
| music.
| CHRIST AND HUMANITY. BY Henry NJ. Goodwin
| Published by Harper Bros. For sale by Loring,
| Short s. Harmon.
So far as any one sect may claim the author
| of this volume 1t will be that of the liberal or.
thodox school; but the spirit which it manifests
of inquiry reverent, yet so fearless, as of one
| persuaded that searching will find out nothing
| at variance with the honor of the Creator, OF
l I;c Ixxri1t TO 80 fO ha hnnal