The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1885-05-22
MUSICVOCAL AND IN
ST,RUMENTAL.
Continued from May ~

LA AAy Ae'oU t11 OiOlC, uAJ ACouC1o VIII AC-
member, perhaps, 1 spoke of American
opera. In regular course of writings
on the subject of music, the ballet should
be next spoken of. In my estimation,
which should be taken for what it is
worth, this 1.-THE ballet) is superior and
more excellent kind of composition than
the opera. Before writing Ola the sub
ject of ballet music, however. wish to
say, as warning to nay readers, that
the subject will require at least three
efforts, or articles, in order to give you
even a limited knowledge Of it. 1t,
therefore, becomes necessary for you to
be prepared to leave off where I happen
to stop writing and take up the subject
again, with my continuation. Ipromise
you that will peruse my entire library
in order to give you the names of the
greatest writers, the names of what they
wrote, the dates of their writings, and by
whom their compositions were used. /
will, for your benefit, comment sufficient
ly for your understanding, as | proceed
with the subject. In fact, this, and the
two articles that are to follow, may be
considered the greatest and my last eff
forts for the present.
The ballet has long been intimately
connected with opera, though it is even
a more modern entertainment The
name seems to have been derived from
the Italian boHdIa, the parent of our own
"ballad;" and the earliest ballets (Ballets
de Cour), which correspondent closely
enough to our English mosques, were
entertainments not of dancing only, but
also of vocal and instrumental music
M. Castil Blaze, in an interesting mon
ograph {" La Dance" ETC., Paris, Paulin),
traces back the ballet from France to Italy
from Italy to Greece, and through the
Greek stage to festivals in honor of Bae-
ehus. But the ballet as signifying an en-
tertainment exclusively in dancing dates
from the foundation of the Academic
Royal de Musique, or soon afterwards.
In 1871, the year in which Cambert's
=" Pomoul," the first French opera heard
by the Partisan public, was produced,
-" Psychl," a so-called tagedae ballet by
Moliere and Corneille was brought out.
Ballots, however, in mixed style were
known much earlier and the famous
I" Ballet comique de la Royne," the
mounting" Of which is said to have
cost three and half millions of francs,
was first performed at the marriage of
the Duke of Ioyense in 1881. The ex-
traordinary work in question consists of
songs, dances, and spoken dialogues land
seems to have differed in no important
respect from the mosques of an earlier
period. Another celebrated ballet which
by its historical significance is better
worthy of remembrance than the "Bal-
let comique de la Royne," was one rep
resented on the occasion of Louis XIV.'s
marriage with Marie Therese, and en-
titled I'll NY plus de Pyrenees." In
illustration of this supposed political fact
half the dancers were dressed in the
French and half in the Spanish costume,
while Spanish nymph and a French
nymph joined in vocal duet. Other
ballets of historical renown were the
/" Hercule amoreux,' at which more than
700 persons were on the stage, and the
=" Triomphe de L'Amour" in 1861.
Louis XIV. took such delight in ballets
that he frequently appeared as a ballet
dancer, or rather as fgurant, himself.
For the most part his majesty contented
himself with marching about the stage
in preposterous costumes, and reciting
verses in celebration of his own greatness.
Occasionally, however, he both sang and
danced in the court ballets. When in
1869 the ''Great Monarch assumed,
ostensibly for the last time, the part of
the Syn in the ballet of "Flora," it was
thought that his majesty's theatrical
career had really come to an end. He
felt, however, as so many great perform
ers have done under similar circum-
stances, that he had retired too soon and
the year afterwards he appeared again
in Les Amantes Magnifques," compos-
ed by the king himself, in collaboration
with Moliere. In this work Louis ex-
ecuted solo on the guitar-an instru-
ment which he had studied under Fran
cesco Corbetta, who afterwards went to
England and obtained great success at
the court of Charles III. 1t is in
deed recorded Of him that in connection
with "Les Amantes Magnifques" he
played the part of author, ballet-master,
dancer, mimic, singer and instrumental
performer. AS Louis XIV. did not
think it beneath his dignity to act at
court entertainments, he had no objec- |
tons to his courtiers showing themselves
publicly on the stage. In the royal
letters patent granted to the Able Perrin,
the first director of the French opera, or
4" Academic Royal de Musique" as from
the beginning it was called, free per-
was given TO "all gentlemen
and ladies wishing to sing in the said
pieces and representations of our royal
academy without being considered for
that reason to derogate from their titles
Of nobility or from their privileges,
rights and immunities.
FRANCIS L. RAWsoG.
To Be Contin,ted.)