The Standard Cantatas Part 22

The Pilgrimage of the Rose.

"The Pilgrimage of the Rose," for solo and chorus, with piano accompaniment, twenty-four numbers, was written in the spring of 1851, and was first performed May 6, 1852, at a Dusseldorf subscription concert. The story is taken from a somewhat vapid fairy-tale by Moritz Horn, and has little point or meaning. It turns upon the commonplace adventures of a young girl whose origin is disclosed by a rose which was never to fall from her hand.

The princ.i.p.al numbers are the opening song, a joyous hymn to spring, in canon form, for two sopranos; the dancing choruses of the elves, for two sopranos and alto; the male chorus, "In the thick Wood," which is very effective in harmony; the exultant bridal songs, "Why sound the Horns so gayly?" and "Now at the Miller's;" the duet, "In the smiling Valley, 'mid the Trees so green;" the Grave Song; the quartet, "Oh, Joy! foretaste of Heaven's Rest;" and the duet, "I know a blus.h.i.+ng Rosebud."

The work as a whole has never attained the popularity of his "Paradise and the Peri," though detached numbers from it are frequently given with great success. The inadequacy of the poem has much to do with this; and it must also be remembered that it was written at a time when Schumann's powers had begun to weaken under the strain of the mental disorder which finally proved fatal. Reissmann, in his a.n.a.lysis of the work, says:--

"The man who had hitherto refused to allow even the simplest composition to flow from any but a distinct idea, who constantly strove to enter into relations with some distinct movement of the heart or the imagination, here grasped at a poem utterly dest.i.tute of any rational fundamental idea, and so arbitrary in execution, so tasteless in parts, that the musical inspiration it offered could never have moved any other composer to set it to music."

The Minstrel's Curse.

"The Minstrel's Curse," for solo voice, chorus and orchestra, was written in 1852, and first performed in the same year. Its text is based upon Uhland's beautiful ballad of the same name, which was adapted for the composer by Richard Pohl. The libretto shows numerous variations from the original text. Some of the verses are literally followed, others are changed, and many new songs and motives are introduced. Several of Uhland's other ballads are a.s.signed to the minstrel, the youth, and the queen, among them "Die Drei Lieder," "Entsagung," and "Hohe Liebe," as well as extracts from "Rudello," "Lied des Deutschen Sangers," "Gesang und Krieg," and "Das Thal." Instead of the beautiful verse in the original poem:--

"They sing of spring and love, of happy golden youth, Of freedom, manly worth, of sanct.i.ty and truth.

They sing of all emotions sweet the human breast that move, They sing of all things high the human heart doth love.

The courtly crowd around forget to sneer and nod, The king's bold warriors bow before their G.o.d.

The queen, to pleasure and to melancholy willing prey, Down to the singers casts the rose which on her bosom lay,"--

which leads up to the tragedy, it is the singing of the "Hohe Liebe"

which is made the motive by Pohl, who from this point on follows the story as told by Uhland.

The work contains fourteen numbers. The first two verses, describing the castle and its haughty monarch, are sung by the narrator, and are followed by an alto solo, very bright and joyous in style, which tells of the arrival of the two minstrels. The fourth number is a Provencal song, full of grace and poetical feeling, sung by the youth, followed by full chorus. The King angrily interposes in the next number, "Enough of Spring and Pleasure," whereupon the harper sings a beautiful ballad interpolated by the librettist. The queen follows with a quiet, soothing strain, appealing for further songs, and in reply the youth and harper once more sing of spring. The youth's powerful song of love, which changes to a trio in the close, the queen and harper joining, indicates the coming tragedy, and from this number on the chorus follows the story as told by Uhland, with great power and spirit. The general style of the work is declamatory, but in many of its episodes the ballad form is used with great skill and effect.

SINGER.

Otto Singer was born in Saxony, July 26, 1833, and attended the Leipsic Conservatory from 1851 to 1855, studying with Richter, Moscheles, and Hauptmann. In 1859 he went to Dresden and for two years thereafter studied with Liszt, of whom he was not only a favorite scholar but always a most zealous advocate. In 1867 he came to this country to take a position in the Conservatory at New York, then under the direction of Theodore Thomas and William Mason. In 1873, upon Mr. Thomas's suggestion, he went to Cincinnati and became the a.s.sistant musical director of the festival chorus of that city, a position which he filled with eminent ability for several years. At the festival of 1878 he conducted the first performance of Liszt's "Graner Ma.s.s" in this country, and also his own "Festival Ode" set to a poem by F. A. Schmitt, and written to commemorate the dedication of the new Music Hall. In the same year the Cincinnati College of Music was organized, and he was engaged as one of the princ.i.p.al instructors, a position which he still holds, and in which he has displayed signal ability. Mr. Singer has written many compositions for piano and orchestra, and besides his "Festival Ode," the cantata "Landing of the Pilgrims" (1876).

The Landing of the Pilgrims.

"The Landing of the Pilgrims," written in 1876, was Mr. Singer's Centennial offering to the patriotic music of that year. The text of the cantata is the familiar poem written by Mrs. Felicia Hemans, which was first set to music by her own sister, Miss Browne, though in somewhat different style from this work of the modern school.

The cantata opens with an instrumental prelude which gives out the princ.i.p.al motive as we afterwards find it set to the words, "With their Hymns of lofty Cheer;" and truly lofty cheer it is, that antique, strong melody. Breathed softly at first, as from afar, it is repeated after a rapid crescendo with the whole weight of the orchestra, to melt away again on an organ point in more subdued tone-color. In the second movement (andante) it appears in quadruple time, augmented in its cadence by a chromatic harmony which serves well to enrich the working-up of this fine piece of orchestral writing. A short interlude containing the germ of a second theme, which afterwards appears at the words, "This was their Welcome Home," now prepares the entrance of the voices. To the words, "The breaking Waves dashed high," the ba.s.ses and tenors give out the first motive, and after declaiming the stormy opening lines of the poem break forth in unison with "When a Band of Exiles moored their Bark on the wild New England Sh.o.r.e." The time again changing, the composer very happily contrasts the phrases, "Not as a Conqueror comes" and "They the true-hearted came." Soon, however, the ever-pliable princ.i.p.al theme falls into a martial stride, and a very effective setting of the words, "Not with the Roll of stirring Drums," concludes the opening male chorus. Here follows the Centennial Hymn as given out in the beginning, sung first by an alto voice, and repeated by the full chorus of mixed voices. After the close, the orchestra, dreaming along in the spell, as it were, seems to spiritualize the st.u.r.dy Pilgrim Fathers into meek Pilgrims of the Cross,--a piece of exquisite tenderness, Liszt-Wagnerish, and yet beautiful. After some alto recitatives and short choral phrases, the leading theme once more enters with heavy martial step to the words, "There was Manhood's Brow," etc. The musical setting of the question, "What sought they?" etc., is cast in simpler form, and the response, "They sought a Faith's pure Shrine," is given in six measures, _a capella_, for five voices. This brings us to the last movement, _andante maestoso_. The leading motive, now contracted into one measure, is tossed about in the double ba.s.ses as on the waves of a heavy surf until it reaches the climax on the words "Freedom to wors.h.i.+p G.o.d." The cantata forms a valuable addition to our musical literature, and was first sung by the Cincinnati Harmonic Society, of which Mr. Singer was leader at the time.

SMART.

Henry Smart, one of the most prominent of the modern English composers, was born in London, Oct. 26, 1813. Though almost entirely self-taught, he soon made his mark as a musician of more than ordinary ability. For many years he was princ.i.p.ally known as an organist and organ-writer. He wrote numerous compositions for that instrument, which are still largely in use, and from 1836 to 1864 was famous in London for his contributions to the church service. In 1855 his opera, "Bertha, or the Gnome of Hartzburg," was produced with success in that city. Among his festival works were the cantatas, "The Bride of Dunkerron," for Birmingham (1864); "King Rene's Daughter" and "The Fishermaidens," for female voices (1871); the sacred cantata "Jacob," for Glasgow (1873); and two anthems for solos, chorus, and organ, for the London Choral Choirs' a.s.sociation Festivals of 1876 and 1878. As a writer of part-songs he has also achieved a wide reputation. Grove states that he also was "a very accomplished mechanic, and had he taken up engineering instead of music, would no doubt have been successful. As a designer of organs he was often employed." Shortly after 1864 he lost his sight and thereafter composed entirely by dictation. His services for music secured him a government pension in June, 1879, but he did not live to enjoy it, dying July 6 of the same year.

The Bride of Dunkerron.

"The Bride of Dunkerron," words by Frederick Enoch, was written for the Birmingham Festival of 1864, and is based upon a tradition, the scene located at the Castle of Dunkerron, on the coast of Kerry, which has also been made the subject of a ballad by Crofton Croker. The story is a very simple one. The Lord of Dunkerron becomes enamoured of a sea-maiden, and as she is unable to leave her element he follows her to her abode. She seeks the Sea-King to obtain his consent to their union, but returns to her lover with the sad message that she is doomed to death for loving a mortal. He in turn is driven from the Sea-King's realm, and is cast back by the tempest to the sh.o.r.es of the upper world; and the work closes with the laments of the sea-spirits for the maiden, and of the serfs for their master.

After an expressive orchestral introduction the cantata opens with a chorus of the serfs (tenors and ba.s.ses) ("Ere the Wine-cup is dry"), followed by a very romantic chorus of sea-maidens, the two at times interwoven and responsive,--the one describing Lord Dunkerron's nightly vigils on the seash.o.r.e, and the other the melody of the maidens which tempts him. A charming orchestral intermezzo, full of the feeling of the sea, ensues, and is followed by recitative and aria ("The full Moon is beaming") for Dunkerron, which is very simple in style but effective as a song, even apart from its setting. It leads up to another chorus of the sea-maidens ("Let us sing, the moonlit Sh.o.r.es along") and a long love dialogue between Dunkerron and the Maiden. The next number is a very spirited and picturesque chorus ("Down through the Deep") describing the pa.s.sage of the lovers to the Maiden's home, which is followed by a st.u.r.dy, sonorous recitative and aria for ba.s.s voice ("Oh, the Earth is fair in Plain and Glade") sung by the Sea-King. Two very attractive choruses follow, the first ("O Storm King, hear us") with a solo for the Sea-King, and the second ("Hail to thee, Child of the Earth") by the sea-maidens. Another graceful melody, "Our Home shall be on this bright Isle," is a.s.signed to the Maiden, leading to a duet with Dunkerron, in which she announces her departure to obtain the Sea-King's consent to their union. A chorus of the storm-spirits ("Roar, Wind of the Tempest, roar") indicates her doom and leads up to the finale. A powerful trio for the Maiden, Dunkerron, and Sea-King, followed by the angry commands of the latter ("Hurl him back!"), tells of the death of the lovers, and the work closes as it opened, with the intermingled choruses of serfs and sea-maidens, this time, however, full of lamentation over the sad tragedy.

King Rene's Daughter.

"King Rene's Daughter," a cantata for female voices only, the poem by Frederick Enoch, was written in 1871. The story is freely adapted from Henrik Hertz's lyric drama. Iolanthe, the daughter of King Rene, Count of Provence, was betrothed in her infancy to the son of the Count of Vaudemont. When but a year old she was stricken with blindness. She has been reared in ignorance of her affliction by a strict concealment from her of all knowledge of the blessings of sight. A wandering magician agrees to cure her by the use of an amulet, provided she is first informed of the existence of the missing sense; but her father refuses permission. Her betrothed has never seen her, but wandering one day through the valley of Vaucluse, singing his troubadour lays, he beholds her, and is captivated by her beauty. His song reveals to her the faculty of which she has been kept in ignorance, and the magician, his condition thus having been fulfilled, restores her to sight.

The work is divided into thirteen numbers, the solo parts being Iolanthe (soprano), Martha (mezzo-soprano), and Beatrice (contralto). In the third number another soprano voice is required in a trio and chorus of vintagers; and in the sixth number, a soprano and contralto in the quartet, which acts the part of narrator, and tells of the troubadour's rose song to Iolanthe. It is unnecessary to specify the numbers in detail, as they are of the same general character,--smooth, flowing, and graceful in melody throughout. The most striking of them are No. 3, trio and chorus ("See how gay the Valley s.h.i.+nes"); No. 5, arietta for Martha ("Listening to the Nightingales"); No. 6, quartet ("Who hath seen the Troubadour?"); No. 8, Iolanthe's song ("I love the Rose"); No. 11, duet and chorus ("Sweet the Angelus is ringing"); and the finale, with the jubilant chorus:--

"Rene the king will ride forth from the gate With his hors.e.m.e.n and banners in state; And the trumpets shall fanfaron ring To Rene, to Rene, the king.

Then with rebec and lute and with drum The bride in her beauty will come; And the light of her eyes, they will say, has surpa.s.sed The diamonds that s.h.i.+ne at her waist,-- The diamonds that s.h.i.+ne in her long golden hair,-- King Rene's daughter the fair."

SULLIVAN.

Arthur Seymour Sullivan was born in London, May 13, 1842. His father, a band-master and clarinet-player of distinction, intrusted his musical education at first to the Rev. Thomas Hilmore, master of the children of the Chapel Royal. He entered the chapel in 1854 and remained there three years, and also studied in the Royal Academy of Music under Goss and Sterndale Bennett, during this period, leaving the latter inst.i.tution in 1858, in which year he went to Leipsic. He remained in the Conservatory there until 1861, when he returned to London and introduced himself to its musical public, with his music to Shakspeare's "Tempest," which made a great success. The enthusiasm with which this was received, and the favors he gained at the hands of Chorley, at that time musical critic of the "Athenaeum," gave him a secure footing. The cantata "Kenilworth,"

written for the Birmingham Festival, the music to the ballet "L'ile enchantee," and an opera, "The Sapphire Necklace," were produced in 1864.

In 1866 appeared his first symphony and an overture, "In Memoriam," a tribute to his father, who died that year. The next year his overture "Marmion" was first performed. In 1869 he wrote his first oratorio, "The Prodigal son," in 1873 "The Light of the World," and in 1880 "The Martyr of Antioch;" the first for the Worcester, the second for the Birmingham, and the third for the Leeds festival. The beautiful "Overture di Ballo,"

so frequently played in this country by the Thomas orchestra, was written for Birmingham in 1870, and the next year appeared his brilliant little cantata, "On sh.o.r.e and Sea." On the 11th of May, 1867, was first heard in public his comic operetta, "c.o.x and Box." It was the first in that series of extraordinary successes, really dating from "The Sorcerer," which are almost without parallel in the operatic world, and which have made his name, and that of his collaborator, Gilbert, household words. He has done much for sacred as well as secular music. In addition to his oratorios he has written numerous anthems, forty-seven hymn tunes, two Te Deums, several carols, part-songs, and choruses, and in 1872 edited the collection of "Church Hymns with Tunes" for the Christian Knowledge Society. His latest works are the opera "Ruddygore" and the cantata "The Golden Legend," both written in 1886. He received the honorary degree of Doctor of Music from Cambridge in 1876, and from Oxford in 1879, and in 1883 was knighted by the Queen.

On Sh.o.r.e and Sea.

The cantata "On Sh.o.r.e and Sea" was written for the London International Exhibition of 1871. The solo parts are allotted to La Sposina, a Riviera woman, and Il Marinajo, a Genoese sailor. The action pa.s.ses in the sixteenth century, at a port of the Riviera and on board of a Genoese and Moorish galley at sea. The cantata opens with a joyous sailors' chorus and the lament of the mothers and wives as the seamen weigh anchor and set sail. The scene then changes to the sea. On board one of the galleys, in the midnight watch, the Marinajo invokes the protection of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, for the loved one left behind. The scene next changes to the return of the fleet, triumphant in its encounters with the Moorish vessels. The women throng to the sh.o.r.e, headed by La Sposina, to welcome the sailors back, but the galley on board which her lover served is missing. It has been captured by the Moors, and in a pathetic song she gives expression to her sorrow. In the next scene we find him toiling at the oar at the bidding of his Moorish masters. While they are revelling he plans a rising among his fellow-captives which is successful. They seize the galley and steer back to the Riviera, entering port amid choruses of rejoicing. The cantata is full of charming melodies, the instrumentation is Oriental in color, and the choruses, particularly the closing ones, are very stirring.

The Golden Legend.

"The Golden Legend" was first produced at the Leeds Musical Festival, Oct. 16, 1886. The story of the legend has already been told in the description of Mr. Buck's cantata by the same name, which took the Cincinnati Festival prize in 1880. The adaptation of Mr. Longfellow's poem for the Sullivan cantata was made by Joseph Bennett, who while omitting its mystical parts, except the prologue, has confined himself to the story of Prince Henry and Elsie. All the princ.i.p.al scenes, though sometimes rearranged to suit the musical demands of the composer, have been retained, so that the unity of the legend is preserved.

The prologue, representing the effort of Lucifer and the spirits of the air to tear down the cathedral cross, is used without change. The part of Lucifer is a.s.signed to the barytone voice, the spirits of the air to the sopranos and altos, and the bells to the tenors and ba.s.ses, the whole closing with the Gregorian Chant. The orchestral accompaniment is very realistic, particularly in the storm music and in the final number, where the organ adds its voice to the imposing harmony. The first scene opens with the soliloquy of Prince Henry in his chamber ("I cannot sleep"), followed by a dramatic duet with Lucifer, describing the temptation, and closes with a second solo by the Prince, accompanied by a warning chorus of angels. The second scene opens before the cottage of Ursula at evening, with a short alto recitative ("Slowly, slowly up the Wall") with pastoral accompaniment, followed by a very effective choral hymn ("O Gladsome Light") sung by the villagers ere they depart for their homes, the Prince's voice joining in the Amen. The remainder of the scene includes a dialogue between Elsie and her mother, in which the maid expresses her determination to die for the Prince, and a beautiful prayer ("My Redeemer and my Lord") in which she pleads for strength to carry out her resolution, closing with her n.o.ble offer to the Prince, which he accepts, the angels responding Amen to the blessing he asks for her.

The third scene opens with Elsie, the Prince, and their attendants on the road to Salerno where the cure is to be effected by her sacrifice. They fall in with a band of pilgrims, among whom is Lucifer in the disguise of a monk. The two bands part company, and as night comes on the Prince's attendants encamp near the sea. The continuity of the narrative is varied by a simple, graceful duet for the Prince and Elsie ("Sweet is the Air with budding Haws"); the Gregorian music of the pilgrims in the distance ("Cujus clavis lingua Petri"); the mocking characteristic song of Lucifer ("Here am I too in the pious Band"), interwoven with the chant; the song of greeting to the sea by the Prince ("It is the Sea"); and a very effective solo for Elsie ("The Night is calm and cloudless"), which is repeated by full chorus with soprano obligato dwelling upon the words "Christe Eleison." The fourth scene opens in the Medical School at Salerno, and discloses Lucifer disguised as the physician Friar Angelo, who receives Elsie and takes her into an inner apartment, notwithstanding the protests of the Prince, who suddenly resolves to save her, and finally effects her rescue. The music to this scene is very dramatic, and it also contains a short but striking unaccompanied chorus ("O Pure in Heart").

The fifth scene is short. It pa.s.ses at the door of Ursula's cottage, where a forester brings the mother the news of Elsie's safety and of the Prince's miraculous cure. The dialogue is followed by a prayer of thanksgiving ("Virgin, who lovest the Poor and Lowly"). The last scene opens on the terrace of the castle of Vautsberg. It is the evening of the wedding day, and amid the sound of bells heard in the distance the Prince relates to Elsie the story of Charlemagne and Fastrada, at the close of which the happy pair join in an exultant duet. The cantata ends with a choral epilogue, worked up to a fine fugal climax in which Elsie's "deed divine" is compared to the mountain brook flowing down from "the cool hills" to bless "the broad and arid plain."

WAGNER.

Richard Wagner, who has been sometimes ironically called the musician of the future, and whose music has been relegated to posterity by a considerable number of his contemporaries, was born at Leipsic, May 22, 1813. After his preliminary studies in Dresden and Leipsic, he took his first lessons in music from Cantor Weinlig. In 1836 he was appointed musical director in the theatre at Magdeburg, and later occupied the same position at Konigsberg. Thence he went to Riga, where he began his opera "Rienzi." He then went to Paris by sea, was nearly s.h.i.+pwrecked on his way thither, and landed without money or friends. After two years of hard struggling he returned to Germany. His s.h.i.+pwreck and forlorn condition suggested the theme of "The Flying Dutchman," and while on his way to Dresden he pa.s.sed near the castle of Wartburg, in the valley of Thuringia, whose legends inspired his well-known opera of "Tannhauser."