after the fashion of the times; but set the whole of the Dialogue in Recitative. Now, among the numerous qualifications indispensable to a really great dramatic Composer, the most important, by far, is that innate perception of rhetorical truth without which good declamation is impossible. Perfect elocution is as necessary to the development of scenic power as perfect acting: and Recitative, which, instead of assisting the effective delivery of the text, serves only as an hindrance to it, must be radically bad. Lulli, following the example of the Italian Monodic Composers, bore this carefully in mind, and hence, in great measure, his Operas were so extraordinarily successful. Pelham Humfrey had seen enough of Lulli, in Paris, to understand this position, perfectly; and, no doubt, he imparted much of his experience to his promising pupil: but Purcell, from the very first, took higher ground than either Humfrey, or even Lulli himself. It is not too much to say that the declamatory consistency of his Recitative has never been surpassed. It is so true to Nature, and shows so intimate an acquaintance with the genius of the English language, that no good Singer, resigning himself to its lead, can possibly misconceive his part. Its command of delineation is unlimited. Passing, constantly, from the unaccompanied to the accompanied form, and, from this, to the more highly-wrought phrases of Recitativo a tempo, or Aria parlante, it becomes, alternately, a vehicle for the expression of profound pathos, or passionate excitement. Moreover, its adaptability to the individual character of the Scene, even in situations of the most powerful dramatic interest, is very remarkable. In many of Purcell's Operas, we meet with very near approaches to the Romantic. And the Music is always equal to the emergency. One of the highest flights he ever attempted, in this particular direction, is to be found in the Frost Scene in 'King Arthur'; in which the shivering Voice of the Genius of Cold is brought into contrast with the bright Song of Cupid, by means as legitimate as those used, in the 'Zauberflöte,' for the purpose of contrasting the 'Hm, hm, hm, hm,' of Papageno with the Voices of the Three Boys. This, however, is only one case, out of many. Wherever the necessity for a master-stroke presents itself, Purcell is invariably found ready to meet it.
In summing up our estimate of the genius of this most gifted writer, we cannot but be struck by its wonderful versatility. His Overtures and Act-Tunes are as interesting as his Choruses. His Instrumental Chamber Music, if inferior to that of Corelli, ranks far above that of any other writer of the period; and, in the difficult art of writing upon a Ground-Bass, he was never even approached, before the time of Handel—the only Composer who has ever yet succeeded in investing that particular form of construction with a perfectly unfettered aspect. That he was largely indebted to Lulli, in the first instance, there can be no doubt; and he himself made no secret of his admiration for the works of the Italian Monodic Composers: but, he passed them all, as Handel passed Ariosti, and Haydn, Porpora. The only one of his contemporaries who can fairly claim to be placed by his side is Alessandro Scarlatti; between whose work and his own a strong analogy may be traced. But, Scarlatti lived 66 years, and Purcell only 37. How he contrived to accomplish so vast an amount of work in so short a life-time is a secret which we shall best understand by comparing his career with that of Schubert, to whom he is very closely allied, by his indefatigable industry, the exhaustless range of his productive power, the spontaneity of his conception, and the intensity of his devotion to an Art which, from first to last, formed the mainspring of his existence.
We have dwelt so long upon the work of our greatest native Musician, that we have but little space left for the consideration of that accomplished by his successors, though some of these have left us Compositions which we could ill afford to lose. We have already spoken of two sets of Choristers, educated in the Chapel Royal. That famous nursery of Art produced yet a third set, educated, for the most part, under Dr. Blow.[1] Among these were, Jeremiah Clarke, and William Croft, Mus.Doc.; the former, celebrated for the exquisite tenderness of his style, which finds its most touching expression in the well-known Anthem, for Treble, Solo, and Chorus, 'How long wilt thou forget me'—an embodiment of pathos only too applicable to the sad history of the Composer's life; the latter, one of the most conscientious, as well as the most prolific of our Cathedral writers, whose Anthems and Services, all characterised by masterly workmanship, true musicianlike feeling, and even—as in 'Cry aloud and shout'—by something approaching sublimity, are little less popular at the present day than they were a hundred years ago. To the names of these Composers must be added those of some excellent Musicians, who, though educated in other Choirs, almost all become Gentlemen of the Chapel Royal in later life; notably, those of Drs. Greene, Boyce, and Nares, John Goldwin, John Weldon, and the clerical amateurs, Drs. Holder, Creyghton, and Aldrich, who all did good service to their Church, and their Art, and are gratefully remembered in every Choir in England. Had Purcell's life been spared, these men would have supplemented his work with no ignoble contributions to the archives of the School. Greene, and Nares, though a little too much inclined to sæcularity of manner, were thorough masters of Melody; the few Compositions we possess, by Creyghton, are marked by an originality which could not but have led to excellent results, had his pen been more productive; while Weldon, Boyce, and Aldrich, needed only a greater breadth of style to raise their works to a more than satisfactory level. But their leader was taken from their head.
- ↑ After the death of Captain Cook, in 1672, Pelham Humfrey held the Office of Master of the Children, until his early death in 1674. Humfrey was succeeded, in turn, by Dr. Blow, Dr. Croft, J. Church. Bernard Gates, Dr. Nares, and Dr. Ayrton.
