290.—ROYAL MUSICIANS.
Music has had its votaries among the crowned heads of all ages. None of them have achieved great fame, however, as composers or performers, as distinct from their royal positions. Were it not for their exalted station, we should never have heard of their accomplishments.
It is fame enough to be a prince or king without being a musician!
If we delved among the records of the ancient Greeks and Romans we might find many a monarch who was celebrated for his flute playing or his singing. We know that these personages were excellent performers, for did they not win all the contests into which they entered, even when their opponents were the principal musicians of their countries? In fact, the continuation of the good health of the opponent required that the emperor should be victor.
We have all read the old story of how Nero fiddled while Rome burned. This is a very respectable and antique myth; for there are no records of any kind to show that the Romans knew or practiced the use of the bow—save to slay their enemies. No doubt the fiddle that Nero played on was a flute, that is, if he played at all on the occasion of that historical illumination.
Coming down to more modern times and less sanguinary musicians, we find the Emperor Charles the Fifth, of France, to have been quite a music critic (though that does not necessarily imply great musical erudition). His namesake, the Emperor Charles the Sixth of Austria was endowed with musical abilities of a very high order. So discriminating was his knowledge of musical worth, that Farinelli, the greatest singer of all Europe at that time, said that the Emperor gave him musical instruction that was "of more use to him than all the precepts of his masters or the examples of his rivals." The idea that this royal teacher advanced was that a more simple and less exaggerated style would reach the heart quicker than all the long notes, roulades, and tours de force that the singer could use.
King Henry VIII, he of frequent marriages, was regarded in his day as "extremely skilled in musical art" and as "acquitting himself divinely." He was quite a singer and played the organ, harpsichord, and lute. Besides this, he was a poet, and frequently set his verses to music. There are still in existence two services of his composition for the royal chapel.
Good Queen Bess and the unfortunate Mary, Queen of Scots, were both excellent performers on the virginal. Mary's ambassador at the court of Elizabeth one day heard her playing, and the Queen, discovering him, required his opinion as to which was the better player, she or his royal mistress. This inquiry placed the poor fellow "'twixt the devil and the deep sea," as Queen Bess's temper was none of the most pacific, and of course he must not disparage his own Queen. But, courtierlike, he complimented them both and came out with flying colors.
Leopold I, of Germany, was an ardent lover of good music and kept up an orchestra that was regarded as being remarkable in its general ensemble. His love for music manifested itself up to the hour of his death. Feeling his end to be near, he sent for his band of players and ordered them to play a symphony. They obeyed, and the monarch expired with a full orchestral accompaniment, à la opera.
Frederic the Great was a fine flute player as well as having a large collection of harpsichords, spinets, and the like. So many flutes did he have that it required one man's time to keep them in good condition. This royal amateur had one good point. He considered it a disgrace to play a wrong note, and would never undertake a composition till he had shut himself up alone and practiced it for hours. Oh, for more of the kind! Emanuel Bach held the position of accompanist to Frederic the Great, and his especial duty was to accompany on the harpsichord as the king played his beloved flute. This monarch combined a musical appreciation with the strictness of a military martinet. He would station himself in the pit behind the conductor, so as to have a full view of the score. In this position he would frequently usurp the conductor's duties; and if a mistake were committed on the stage or in the orchestra, he would rebuke the offender on the spot. And if any of the singers ventured to alter a single passage he was reminded that he changed the notes at his peril, and that he had better adhere to the composer's intentions.
Queen Victoria was, in her youthful days, an excellent pianiste and vocalist. Mendelssohn relates that on visiting England he was entertained by the Queen and Prince Consort at Buckingham Palace, and that the Queen sang some of his songs with charming expression and feeling. Says he, "I praised her heartily and with the best conscience in the world." Prince Albert was himself an excellent organist and Mendelssohn leaves record that "his playing would have done credit to any professional." He was also a composer of no mean ability.
The Duke of Edinburg and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha has inherited his father's talent and is quite proficient as a violinist. He has appeared frequently in public both as a violinist and as an orchestral conductor. He is really possessed of much talent, although some of the Liberal papers delight to speak in a sneering way of the "royal fiddler."
The present Princess of Wales has had the degree of Doctor of Music conferred upon her by one of the great English universities, although it was evidently a matter of honoring royalty more than one of honoring a musician.
The royal family of Germany is also quite musical. The recent emperors have had considerable musical training and old Emperor William had been known to take the baton and conduct a military band, in this way securing a performance to his liking. The present Emperor, William II, is much of a musician and has even published a few compositions in march and song style. In one of his recent compositions both words and music are from the royal pen.