The Washington times., 1917-11-04
MUSIC CABOUEDS
INFALS|T|ES Of
NUMEROUS SORTS

The art of music abounds in falsi-
ties of various sorts, but above all
in the incidents pertaining to its his
tory. All history is seasoned with
pretty stories, from Alfred and the
cakes to Washington and his little
hatchet-tales invented to make the
study OF history n little less deadly
dull than 1t is and the personalities
OF musicians a little more interesting
than they are.
To enumerate the spurious works
OF Handel would have puzzled even
that composer himself His style and
material were so identical with those
OF numerous italian and German con-
temporaries that it is really impossi-
BILE to say which plagiariZed which.
One thing is absolutely certain: the
loveliest of the songs accredited to
Handel, "AnEeIs Ever Bright and
Fair" in "Jeptha," i5 not by him at
all, but by Steffani. The theme
known as "The Harmonious Black
smith" on which Handel wrote some
neat variations for harpsichord is
generally believed to be by Wagen-
sell and the title and story attached
to it Is known TO he the invention OF
one Richard Clark, relative OF Bar
abbas, as Byron would call him.
"IsrneI- Was Copied.
\ large part Of the material Of
Israel in Egypt" is known to have
been copied without alteration from
works by contemporaries, yet these
contemporaries never awakened a
1.-THE OF interest IN their known
works that HanGe, did with his, So
we must allow him the ownership OF
Israel"
There is a piece purporting to be
by Haydn called The OK Minuet."
This Is the forgery OF a forgery. In
Haydn's lifetime an operetta with
this title was produced, the plot be-
ing about a penni!ess composer sat
isfyinF his indebtedness TO his butch
er by composing n minuet for the lat
ter's wedding. The music was a
hotch-potch, or pasticcio, of various
trifles by Haydn. The piece was soon
forgotten, but the story survived and
YVES applied to the composer himself.
The minuet written up to this YER
sion was OF muc.l later date, and Is
not Haydn's at all. When one com
pares the melody with those OF ia
Brabanconne," La Parisienne," and
other revolutionary songs OF the
period one finds no atom of novelty
in 1t. 1t is merely a parody.
Last Rose" Not BY FIotOw.
The weIl-known Last Rose OF
Summer" is not by Thomas Moore,
who only adapted new and charming
words to a tune that had no actual
parent But II IS certainly not by
Flotow, as is commonly believed in
France, Germany, and Italy. Flotow
introduced il into his opera of MAR
ta' in order to Rive a local color.
there being no dIfft renee in his mind
between English and Irish. Similar
ly, Donizetti, in order to convey a
flavor OF Henry VIII. introduced
Home, Sweet Home" ~ into his
opSRR OF "Anna Bolena," and Am
brOfse Thomas introduced a popular
modern Swedish song into his opera
OF Hamlet" not because Ophelia was
/ Swedish but because the prima dom
ma who sang the part was. As to
the origin OF Home. Sweet Home"
l told the readers Of The Etude some-
thing about this q little while ago,
but I was not Their aware that Amer
leans in general believed Howard
Payne to be responsible for the tune
as well as the verses of this immor-
tai song. That is not so, and II would
be a bold man who would venture
to name its composer, even Bishops
claim being far from certain He
at least believed he composed II, so
we cannot hold him guilty of either
fraud or fiction. But fraud and fic-
tion run riot through the history of
music and OF musicians.