The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-05-24
NEWMAN, THE MUSICIAN.

Less familiar to the general reader
than some other phases of the many
sided John Henry Newman was his love
for music.
At 10 he had already begun to learn
the violin. and his brothers Joined him
in trios, Francis taking the bass. When
he went to Oxford he still found time
/ for his favorite diversion, and took part
in weekly concerts. In June, 1920, he
wrote:
II was asked by a man yesterday
| to go to his rooms for a little music at
Z o'clock. 1 went. An old don-a very
| good-natured man. but too fond of
music-played bass, and through his
enthusiasm 1 was kept playing quar-
| tettes on heavy tenor from Z to Il.
| Oh, my poor eyes and head and back"
/ When the news arrived of his sue
! cess at Oriel he was practicing music.
| The provost's butler made his way to
Mr.. Newmans lodgings in Broad
| street, and found him playing the vio-
lin. Delivering the set address for
such occasions. that He had, he
| feared, disagreeable news to an
nounce, namely, that Mr. Newman had
been elected fellow of Oriel, and his
immediate presence was required
there" he was astonished to hear the
future cardinal answer: every we'll"
and go on fiddling.
One author thus recounts the must
cal relations of Newman with Blanco
White and Reinagle:
Both Newman and White were vio-
linists but with different instruments.
Blanco Whites was very small Poor
gentleman Night after night anyone
walking in the silence of Merton lane
might hear his continual attempts to
surmount some little difficulty, return
ing to it again and again, like Philomel
to her vain regrets. With Reinagle
Newman and Blanco White had fire.
quent trios at the latter's lodgings.
where 1 was all the audience. Most
interesting was it to contrast Blanco
Whites excited and even agitated
countenance with Newmans sphynx-
long, rich notes with a steady hand"
Canon MCNEIL of Liverpool, the cele-
brated anti-Catholic, attempted at one
time to arrange a public debate with
DR.. Newman. The great man sent
word that Canon McNeill's well known
talents as a finished orator would
make such a public controversy an
unfair trial of strength between them;
because he was himself, he said no
orator. His friends, however, had told
him that he was no mean performer |
or the violin, and if he agreed to meet |
canon MCNEIL ne would only make |
one condition, that the canon should |
open the meeting and say all he had to |
say, after which DR.. Newman would /
conclude with tune on the violin. The /
public would then be able to judge who /
was the better man.
Though early initiated into the mys-
teries Of Beethoven, music of high
order did not appeal to him at once
without study; Brahms, for instance.
When he was in Rome in 1883 he wrote
home:
This last week we have heard the
celebrated Miserere, or, rather. the two
Misereres, for there are two compost
tons by Allegri and Bali, so like each
other that the performers themselves
can scarcely tell the difference between |
them. One is performed on the Thurs
day and the other on Good Friday.
The voices certainly are very surpris-
ing; there is no instrument to support
them, but they have the art of con-
tinuing their note so long and equally
we'll that the note is as if an organ
were playing, or, rather, an organ of
violin strings, for the notes are clearer
more subtle and piercing, and more
Lnpassioned $50 to say) than those of
an organ.
''Teh music is doubtless very fine
as every one says, but 1 found myself
unable to understand all parts of Il -
The Republic.