Review: [Untitled]

Reviewed Work(s):
Mass in A Flat. In Vocal Score by Franz Schubert; Berthold Tours
Communion Service in A Flat by John Troutbeck; Franz Schubert

The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular, Vol. 17, No. 402. (Aug. 1, 1876), pp. 563-564.

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 T H E M U S I C A L TIMES.-AUGUST I, 1376. 563
I
nation. Also, to Sir Henry Cole, I<.C.B., to commemorate REVIEWS.
his zealous instigation and active promotion of various pub-
lic institutions which are tending to diffuse a knowledee of -
the Arts and Sciences among thYe people, to increase Their NOVELLO,EWER AXD CO.
home enjoyments through the cultivation of music, and to
add to the wealth of the country through improved taste Mass irt A J a t . I n vocal score. Composed by Franz
in its art manufactures. T h e Company of hIusicians, by Schubert. T h e pianoforte accompaniment arranged from
whom the freedom is presented, is an ancient guild, dating the full score by Berthold Tours.
from the reign of Edward IV., and having a second charter Co~?~i~eu~zioit Sevvice in A $at The English adaptation
from James I. I t had long the obligation of seeing to the by the Rev. John Troutbeck, M.A., composed by J3ranz
efficiency of public performers and of silencing incompetent Schubert.
musicians. The present master of the Company is W. THESE two works, as our readers will surmise, are
Chappell, F.S.A., and hlr. W. S. Collard is one of the identical, excepting that the former contains the Latin
wardens. text to which the music was originally composed, n-hiie for
A gathering of the members of the ~ l i choral
~ d the latter the words of the ~ n g f i s h~ i a y e ~r o o have
k been
society took place a t the School.room, Henrietta Street, skilfull~adapted by Mr. Troutbeck, so that the music may
W.C., on Tuesday evening, the 11th ult., for the purpose be for use in Our church services.
of entertaining Mr. James Calmer, a gelltleman who has The present is the fifth of six Masses which Schubert
laboured for many years on their behalf. Several solos r N r o t e l and was between the Years '1 9 and
and part-songs 'Ivere well rendered by the choir, accom- 182'. T h e remainder of the series h a r e been published
panfed by Messrs. Freeman and clayden on a ~~~~d some time since, but until a very recent period it was
pianoforte, kindly lent for the occasion by M ~ ~ ~~ ~ impossible
~~ d ~. to , ~ include
. this &lass in the collection, as it
wood and s o n s ; after which the chairman, ~ ~ ~ existed d ~only~ in manuscript,
i ~ k till the full score was issued a t
Woollacott, Esq., begged hlr. Colmer to accept a hand- Vienna rather than a year Though by no
some drawing.room clock (which had been purchased out means equal as a whole to Schubert's last and greatest
of a fund raised by the blind,, bearing a suitable inscrip- Mass in E flat, the one before us contains much that is not
tion. Mr. Colmer briefly returned thanks. only charming in itself hut thoroughly characteristic of its
Pr,","lllP,'
'V...yVU".
ON Tuesday the 27th June, at a convocation holden in The opening " Kyrie," in7A flat, common time, is one of
Durham, the Rev. W. Statham, B.A.,vicarof Ellesmere Port, the most pleasing and interesting numbers of the xvork.
near Chester, received from the University the degree of Schubert, in all his Masses, has set these words to quiet
Doctor of hlusic. Dr. Statham is well known from his and devotional music, instead of (as is too often the case
connection with the Choral Association of the Frodsham with Haydn) to a lively chorus, utterly out of keeping with
E. and W. Deaneries, and from hymn tunes and anthems the spirit of the text, however pleasing to listen to.
which he has written. The honour of a musical doctorate Among the more noteworthy points in this piece should be
has been but seldorn granted by the University of Durham, mentioned the first entry of the solo voices at the
one of the last to receive this distinction having been the " Christe " (p. 3), with the charming effect of the alterna-
late lamented Dr. Dykes. tion of solo and chorus. which will be found a t the bottom
I N Mr. Collet's letter on the I' hIacbeth " music, published of the same page, and which is repeated later in the
in our last number, a printer's error, in some portion of movement. T h e close of the " Kyrie" is also of great
our edition, has made him mention " hlr. John Locke," beauty; and the whole number is orchestrated with inuch
instead of " Mr. Tom Cooke," as the composer of some delicacy, and with delightful solos for the wind instru-
music supplied for Mr. Macready's revival of " Acis and ments, which are carefully indicated in Mr. Tours's
Galatea." I n paragraph 5 , line j, me may also say, the accompaniment.
word lead " should be substituted for "leave."
'$
The greater part of the " Gloria " must be pronounced
by no means worthy of Schubert's reputation. I t is
T H E author of a string quartett recently performed at a effective and brilliant music, full of tune, a s is everything
trial of new works by the Musical Artists' Society, writes from its composer's p e n ; but the first movement might
t o u s correcting a mistake in our notice last month, which almost be called absolutely commonplace. The " Gratias "
h e says is of '' frequent occurrence " in other journals. I t in A major is far more interesting, yet it contains little
appears that there are two artists before the public whose which reveals its author. T h e same can hardly be said of
names are very similar, and that we have mentioned the I ' Cum sancto spiritu," because considered a s a fugue
" Lehmeyer" instead o f " Lahmeyer " a s the composer of it is so very weak that hardly anyone but Schubert could
the auartett referred to. have written it. This seems a bold assertion: but those
THEdeath of Mr. Edwin Ransford, a t the age of 71, who are most familiar with the composer's works are
which occurred a t his residence in Welbeck Street, on the perfectly aware that scientific writing was by no means
his fovfc. In this piece there is hardly even an attempt at
11th ult., deserves more than a passing record, for though counterpoint; and although the full harmonies and the
but seldom before the public latterly, he was, in the old brilliant accompaniments for the violins make very effec-
days of so-called "English Opera," a favourite vocalist, tive and pleasing music, it is almost absurd to describe the
singing for many seasons in the Covent Garden Company, movement as a fugue at all, though it was evidently
under the successive managements of Charles Kemble, intended for one.
Laporte, Bunn, Osbaldiston, Macready, and Madame Ves-
The "Credo" is of far higher musical value than the
tris. As an exponent of the songs of Dlbdin, he was well "Gloria." T h e opening movement, with its effects for
known in the concert-room, and apart from his professional
merits, was universally esteemed a s a genial and kindly- unaccompanied chorus, and its beautilul contrasts of
instrumentation, seems t o foreshadow the fine setting of
hearted man. The funeral, which took place in his native the same portion of the text in the Mass in E flat. The
village, was, at his especial request, unattended by any but " Et incarnatus," which is in the somewhat unusual form
his sorrowing relatives and a few of his warmest old
for this movement of an eight-part chorus, is of special
friends. excellence. the modulations beine verv unusual and of
ON the eve of going to press we have received intel- effect. At the " ~ r G i f i x c s , " Schubert ven-
figence of the death of Mr. T. 31. hludie, one of the pupils
originally elected on the foundation of the Royal Academy
of Xlusic. An excellent musician, an earnest artist, and a
sincere friend, he was yet too retiring to urge those claims 53) will be found by no means easy to sing. T h e close of
upon the public which were well known to a limited circle, the movement pi~znissi~?zo is very lovely, the effect of the
but we still believe that his pianoforte works will, eventually, simple harmonic progressions of thevoices being heightened
command that recognition towhich their merits justly entitle by solo passages for the oboe and clarinet in the composer's
them. happiest manner. The " Et resurrexit," a s is often the
564 T H E MUSICAL TIMES.--AGGUSTI , 1876.
case at this part of the hlass, is chiefly founded upon the
subjects of the opening movement of the " Credo," which
are here differently treated and more amply developed than
a t first. A long coda at the "Amen," with a pleasing but
somewhat light episode for solovoices, concludes this section
of the work.
T h e commencement of the " Sanctus" is one of the
most remarkable Parts of the Mass. Though the
merit is in F major, the three u t t ~ ~ n c eofs the word
" sanctus " by the chorus, each being divided by anorches-
tral interlude of four bars, are all in different keys. T h e
voices first enter, not in F, a s rvould be expected, but in F
sharp minor, their second entry being in E flat minor, and
their third in C minor, after which the music returns a t
once to F major for the words " Dominus Deus Sabaoth."
he passage is very striking, though it must be admitted
that the effect is abrupt, almost biznyye. A melodious
subject for the " Pleni sunt cceli " with an elegant triplet
accompaniment for the violins succeeds, and leads with a
half cadence on the dominant seventh t o the " Osanna.''
This nmvement is as is generally the treated
fugaliy ; with the exception of the " Cum sancto spiritu,"
already noticed, there is no attempt at a fugue throughout
t h e Mass. T h e present is a bright little chorus in eight
parts, short exclamations of the word " Osanna " by divided
trebles and altos being answered by similarly divided tenors
and basses. T h e " B~nedictus"' for and
tenor solos with chorus is a good specimen of a portion of
t h e Mass in which Schubert was invariably successful. I t
is full of charming and flowing melody, and is certainly
one of the best movements in the work. T h e " Agnus
Dei " is also of much excellence ; the modulation at the
bottom of p. 88 of the score, and the beautiful treatment
of the word " Miserere," should be especially noticed. T h e
" Dona," on the other hand. though exceedingly Pretty, is
in no way great music ; it is remarkable for the simplicity
of its construction, the voices moving together in plain
chords, without t h e least attempt a t counterpoint through-
out.
I t will be seen from our remarks that thepresent Mass is
a somewhat unequal work. Judging from the evidence of
the music itself, we should say that the latter half-from
the "Sanctus," or perhaps even from the " Credo " to the
end-was certainly of considerably later date than the
6' ~ ~ and ~ N ~ li ~ ~ ~ i ~ the .u u earlier part we only
occasionally trace the style of the genuine Schubert, but in
the " sanctuS " and '&AgnusW there is no mistaking him.
T h e publication of the Mass will add nothing t o his repu-
tation, for it presents us with no new phase of his genius ;
but apart from the interest that attaches t o every work of
so great a musician, the intrinsic merits of the present
position are sufficient to justify its issue in the present
cheap andconvenient form. Those who possess Schubert's
other hlasses will doubtless be glad to complete their sets
by the addition of the Mass in A flat.
" M a k e 7izclody witlzilt yozlv lienrts." Harvest carol. By
the Rev. F. A. J . Hervey, hf.A.
T H I S little composition is not of a kind calling for any
no possible reason lvhy compositions like
detailed criticism. I t is in the form of a simple part-song;
but though quite unpretending, it is, ofits kind, very good.
There is a pieasant swing the and the
harmonies are both correct and tasteful. For Harvest
Festivals where no great musical resources are available
this little carol will be found useful, and may be safely
recommended.
Ovgan Colnpositioics. By J. Baptiste Calkin. N o . 7.
Harvest Thanksgiving March.
Two-part Song without words.
T H E former of these two pieces is also published for the
piano, in which form it was reviewed in our last number,
W i t h regard t o the composition itself we have nothing t o
add to the favourable opinion previously expressed. I n its
present shape it is so well suited for the organ, and, with-
out any undue difficulty, so effective, that we are in doubt
a s t o its original form, and are almost inclined to think
that it was first written for t h e organ and subsequently
arranged for the piano. T h e two-part song without
words we do not think quite equal t o the March. I t is
melodious and well written, but rather too reminiscent of
hlendelssohn, the original inventor of this form of piece,
and whose influence, therefore, in compositions of this
class it is more than usually difficult t o avoid.
~ ltollr, oYglle
~~~i~ ~ ~ ( N ~~ . sonate
f pontificale
~ ~ ;
No. 2 , Sonate 0 Filii; No. 3, Sonate Pascale). Par
J, L ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ .
W H I L Ew e cannot consider these sonatas works of abso-
lute genius, as we should, for instance, apply the term to
the organ sonatas of hlendelssohn, we can nevertheless
them as good sound music, and admirably
to the instrument on which, a s our readers know,
their is so distinguished a performer. we are
glad to see that M. L~~~~~~ has taken as his the
solid compositions of the German school of organ-playing,
rather than the light, not t o say frivolous, French style so
much in favour with some writers, and of which the organ
works of ~ ~ f g b ~ and - ~ e are
~ ~ ~~~i~~~ l ~examples.
, E~~~
vvhere M. L~~~~~~ adopts the modern style-as, for in-
stance, in the middle of the opening movement of the first
sonata, where chords for the won hzrlnaiia are accompanied
by the 8.feet flute in the great-he does not degenerate
into mere prettiness ; his music is always dignified. T h e
slow movements in all the three sonatas are excellent ; but;
the composer,s special partiality would seem to be for the
fuual style, ~~~h sonata contains at least one fugue, and
th: second has two. T o say that some ofthese, thoughvery
cleverly written, have a suspicion of dryness is no reproach
to the because the art of writing a fugue whicl,
shall be a s interesting as it is ingenious is one of the rarest
of musical qualifications. ~h~ names ' t 0 filii ,, and
,, pascale," given to the second and third sonatas, refer to
the old ~~~i~ hymns ', 0 filii et filiZu and , 6 ~ i c t i m r t .
paschali,~ which are introduced, in the former into the
slow movement and in the latter into the finale of the works.
think that M. L~~~~~~ has been judicious in givin gl
except for special effects, merely general indications for
registering. I n the majority of cases particular directions
as t o stops are " more plague than profit," unless the per.
former happens to have under his hands a n instrument
precisely similar to that which was in the composer~s
mind when Lvriting.
W ~ CHa7zds
'L Meet. Part-Song. Words by Edward
Oxenford. Music by Ciro Pinsuti.
A" unpretending, and charminglyvoiced Part-
song, which we cordially commend to the attention of
Choral Societies in search of novelty. Signor Pinsuti has
well studied the art of simply expressing simple phrases,
and in all his ~ a ~ ~ reads - ~ a ~lesson
s ~t o cthose who
believe t h a t such compositions are made attractive by mere
display of learning.
soldieys of the Captailz. H ~ ~ ~ ,
~h~ ~ ~~ e f le of~ ~~ ~d i~ ~~1 ~~~~1 ~i .N, ~ , ' ~ ~ ~~
Son.. '4
Words by Lieut.-Colonel W. R. Buck.
Music by the Rev. W. H . M. Buck.
T ~ E ~
canE be
this should not be written and but we cannot see
why they should be sent for review. A clergyman, for
example, composes a hymn, as in the present instance, for
the ~ h ~ ~ services
~ h of . a volunteer
~ ~ ~~~~i~~~~
~ d in~
which, we doubt not, by the name of the ~ i ~ ~ whc ~ , - ~ ~
,rites the verses, he takes a deep iilterest ; yet it can
scarcely be expected that the admiration of his work
should extend beyond the immediate neighbourhood for
which it is especially intended. W e do not say t h a t
" Soldiers of the Captain " contains any grammatical
errors ; but this, after all, is only a negative merit, and we
certainly want something more in a hymn which we can
conscientiously recommend to our readers' notice than a
correct progression ofchords. T h e "National Song," in the
same key, has a wonderful similarity with the hymn : indeed
the suspended fourth on the key-note triad, at the double
bar, and the following passage, commencing in unison,
reminded us so strongly of " Soldiers of the Captain " t h a t
we were compelled t o turn t o it again in order t o see in
what respect it differed. W e presume, however, thatevery