Page:A Dictionary of Music and Musicians vol 1.djvu/595

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GARDINER.
GASSMANN.
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with translations of Schlictegroll's 'Life of Mozart' and other pieces. He next compiled an oratorio, entitled 'Judah,' by adapting English words to music selected principally from the masses of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, and connected by compositions of his own. He wrote to Beethoven offering him 100 guineas for an overture to this work, but received no reply, owing, as he supposed, to the miscarriage of his letter. In 1830 he published a work, entitled 'The Music of Nature; or, an attempt to prove that what is passionate and pleasing in the art of singing, speaking, and performing upon musical instruments, is derived from the sounds of the animated world.' The musical examples were published separately. In 1838 he published two volumes called 'Music and Friends; or, Pleasant Recollections of a Dilettante,'—the utility of which is much impaired by its frequent inaccuracy,—with a third volume in 1853. In 1840 he adapted Pope's 'Universal Prayer' to music by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. 'Sights in Italy, with some Account of the present state of music and the sister arts in that country' appeared in 1847. Besides these works Gardiner composed a few anthems. He died Nov. 16, 1853, in the 84th year of his age.

GARDONI, Italo, born at Parma late in 1821, studied singing under De' Cesari. He made his début at Viadana in 1840 in 'Roberto Devereux.' In the same year he was engaged by Ronzani, with whom he went to Turin and Berlin, where he sang the rôle of Rodrigo, with Rubini as Otello. Rubini took a great fancy for the young artist, and predicted for him a brilliant career. Gardoni sang during two seasons at Milan, and afterwards at Brescia. Thence he went to Vienna, and sang, in company with Viardot, Alboni, and Tadolini, in the 'Barbiere,' 'Linda,' etc. In 1844–5 he appeared at the Académie Royale, creating the tenor parts in 'Marie Stuart,' 'L'Ame en peine,' etc. In Paris Gardoni remained for three years, singing the principal rôles in the 'Favorite,' 'Robert le Diablo,' 'Charles Six,' etc. In 1847 he went to the Théâtre des Italiens, and in the same spring made his first appearance at Her Majesty's Theatre, and 'by his charm of person and of voice (somewhat slight though the latter has proved) did more to reconcile the public to the loss of Signor Mario than could have been expected. A word is his due—as the due of a real artist, who has finished every phrase that he has sung, and has pointed every word that he has said. There has always been the real Italian elegance—and that more universal elegance which belongs to no country in Signor Gardoni' (Chorley). Here he created the tenor rôle in Verdi's 'Masnadieri.' Since then, with the exception of a few seasons spent at St. Petersburg, Madrid, Amsterdam, and Rome, Gardoni has come every spring to London, and returned to Paris (Italiens) for the winter.

Gardoni belonged to the mezzo carattere class of tenors. His répertoire was rather exceptionally large; for he sung in the 'Barbiere,' 'L'Italiana in Algieri,' and 'Le Comte Ory,' as well as in the 'Puritani,' 'Sonnambula,' 'Robert le Diable,' 'Masaniello,' and Gounod's 'Faust.' He is a member of the 'Société de Bienfaisance Italienne' of Paris, and a chevalier of the 'Corona d'ltalia.' He married a daughter of Tamburini Aug. 14, 1847; and in 1874 retired from the stage. [App. p.645 "date of death, March 30, 1882."]

[ J. M. ]

GASPARINI, Francesco, born at Lucca in 1665 [App. 646 "Mar 5, 1668"], according to Fétis, but the date is possibly somewhat too early. He was a pupil, first of Corelli and afterwards of Bernardo Pasquini, was Maestro di Coro at the Ospedale di Pietà in Venice, and a member of the Accademia Filarmonica. In 1725 [App. p.646 "1735"] he was elected maestro by the Chapter of St. John Lateran, but he was already in broken health at the time of his appointment, and retired upon halfpay in August of the following year. He retained his post nominally, with Girolamo Chiti for a coadjutor, until April 1727 [App. p.646 "1737"], when he died. The celebrated Benedetto Marcello was his pupil for many years both at Venice and at Rome, and a correspondence between them, continued up to a few weeks before the death of Gasparini, testifies to the esteem in which the great scholar held his master. A professional conflict between Gasparini and A. Scarlatti, the origin of which was unknown to Baini, took the form of an exchange of cantatas, by no means a regretable method of retort between rival and disputative artists. [[App. p.646 "These dates are given by Cerù in his 'Cenni storici dell' insegnamento della musica in Lucca.'"]

Gasparini wrote equally well for the church and for the stage, and Fétis gives a list of no less than thirty-two of his operas. Several of them were favourites in London in the early part of the century. He also composed several cantatas. But the work by which he is now best remembered is his treatise upon accompaniment intituled 'L'Armonico prattico al cembalo, ovvero regole, osservazioni ed avertimenti per ben suonare il basso e accompagnare sopra il cembalo, spinetta ed organo.' This work was republished so lately as 1802 at Venice, and has maintained its position in Italy even since the appearance of the clearer and better arranged treatise of Fenaroli.

GASSMANN, Florian Leopold, born May 4, 1723, at Brüx in Bohemia : in 1736 ran away from his father who wished to educate him as a merchant. By playing the harp he worked his way to Bologna, where he studied for two years under Padre Martini. He then entered the service of Count Leonardi Veneri at Venice, and his compositions were soon in general request. In 1762 he was invited to Vienna as a ballet-composer. On the death of Reutter in 1771, the Emperor Joseph II. appointed him Court Capellmeister with a salary of 800 ducats. Very soon after entering on his new office he suggested the formation of the 'Tonkünstler Societät,' a Fund for the Widows and Orphans of Vienna musicians, a society which in 1862 was reorganised under the name of the 'Haydn.' See Pohl's 'Denkschrift,' etc. (Vienna 1871). Gassmann died Jan. 21, 1774, owing to a fall from his carriage. He composed 23 Italian operas, of which two were translated into German, 'L'Amor