Musical Phenomenon.
The Times, 1824-01-02T00:00:00

In tMe more select musical circles, where the leading professors-2s. sociate in th character of friends, rather than in that of artists, there ham been unobstrusively stealing inteo notice a child,: in whom is developed so early and so extraordinary a'talent for mrisic, that the most fastidiSus predict for him a reputation of the highest oer, and speak of him as the geniu;s born to bestow a character fo4j. nence in that art, wbich ha.s hitherto been withheld by ft2;ers from the nati-es of this country. The name of this Chiids Aspull, and his present age is said to be only eight years, irhb his appearance sufficiently proves hiot to have been underst%ted for th, purpose of making thE wonder appear the greater." is i ther was formerly, we understand, int business, buKtZV'be. ing successful in the pursuit be at first chose, was com- pelled to resort to music as a profession; and by- dilgent and successffil practice has acquired some rqutation as a performer on the violin. It was not til his son had considerably passed theageof 5 years that be gave any indicationsof that decided bens. which his mind has since taLken; but the marks of genius he .then di;sovered were so-evident, that PMr. AspuU determited to un- dertake himself the care of bis education in mus7, and, foreseeing the1advantages to which it Eight lead, devoted the whole of his time and a Eeitipn to that object. The fruit of his care 2nd assiduity is apparent(in the surprising talent which young Aspull now.displays. The instrumei"on which he performs is the pianoforte, atwhich he does not usuallj sit, his stature being so small as to render the position of standing that which gives him the most perfect command of the instrument. His fingers are extremely short, even for his age;'- with the left hand he cannot reach an octave so as to press dbwn the two notes which form it at one time, and is only enabled to do so with the right hand with much difficulty, and by depressi g the wrist. The impediment thus formed to the acquisition of the mere mechanical difficulti6s of the pianoforte,will be perfectly uaderstood by all those who have ever attempted that instrument, but they have not prevented young Aspull from conquering the most'complex and rapid passages that have ever appeared in the form of musicalcomposition. With some slight allowance only for those passages irequiring greater strimgth than that to which his little frame is abquatre or combining more distant intervals tbhan his -fingers: can possibly command, there is no difficulty of execution that can st4. him for a moment. Thecompositionsof Kalkbrenncr and Aloschiles, pre. pared for displaying in public the manual skill of those celebrated professors, are played evidently without the smallest effbrt bythiis extraordinary child. He has also made bimwelfmasterx f ~a piece of most singular difficlcty, by a foreign composerwhosenameisOzerny, and wvho wrote it ac a tria of skil for all the eminent professors of Europe, and in order to combine all the mechanical: niceties of exe- cution of which the instrument is susceptible. This piec, consist- ingof onlyone movement, occupies iearly 40pages of printed mu- sic, every one of whic-h is crowded with rapid divisions, intricate modulations, and the mot chromatId passages that-the axt of the comnposer could devise. Some idea may be formed of the com- plexity of this mnovement, by the fact that some of our most eminent professors to whom it has beds sbown. haye shrunk from the attempt to play it. But the mechanical skillof young Aspull is that which has least surprised those who have had the pleasure of hearing him performn. A child with a certairn cleverness and quickness of parts, may be taught by repeated efforts to conquer the greatest intricades, and when cnqguered, there will remain nearly the same impression from th-em whichtecsults on view-ing an exhibitioa on the tight rope, or- the antic tricks of the unfortunate pupIs-ofVa posture-master. Ir. 4gull'e hupi isJiotof this ciass. The bWy's mind evdently particpa?es in all that his-hand executes. A passage which hetis compelledto leaveimperfectthrough a defect of phvsical pover, does notstop or disconcert hir, as it would an or. dinary pupil, but he passes on to the neat, and is as certain to give it with effect, as if himself had composedl it. Short as the period is which young Aspull has devoted to -the study of music, he has cultivatedievery style, and all with success. In these are included the concertos of Handel, and the fugues of the Bacha and Scarlatti, than which latter, perhaps, no wrorks could possibly be seleCted les accessible to a juvenle student. Young Aspull unites with these the talent, which is rare amnong professors, of cr_ tempore playing, at which, if permitted to do so, he wil pass hours, and with a fluency that would indicate musical notes to be that ve- hidce by which he couald best expresg his ideas. We ought not to omit to state of him, that be sings ballads to his ovn aceonm, paniment on the pianoforte, in a voice thin and weak, owing t, his extreme youth, but with peculiar taste and delicate expres- sion. His appearance and behaviour do not diffrr from thcse of other children of the same age, but his manner, when performing on the pianoforte, is that of a person deeply attentive. The most ra. pid and involved passages do not produce a change of countenance, nor any sign of effort. Little study is requisite even for the most elaborate pieces; and those of ordinary difficulty he can execute at once, on being permitted to cast his eye over them befor- taking his station at the pianoforte. The merits of this extra- ordinary boy are as yet known only in a very confined circle. Heis shortly tobe introduced to theRing,who, having heard his wondarfuLE talents described, hLS expressed a desire tobe enabled himselfto-judge of their reality. Ve should almost fear, if througb the cclat of such an introduction and such prnise,youngAspul were cormpelled.to ru the gauntlet through the fashionable winter parties of the nobility; the process might injure the bodily health of the rising artist, while hig mind mi,ht suffer almost equally by the incense that would be of. fered to his vanity. But if he escape these parils,-he beara about him pro-gnostics of future eminence, which could not have been greater or more conclusive in the person of Mozart himself. MUSICAL AHENOMENON.