MUSIC.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 112, 23 March 1864, Page 3

MUSIC.

The othc-r evening at the Brunswick Hall, while two bandsmen of tho 50th were singing a duet from an Italian Opera, and accompanied by their baud, a gentleman very fashionably dressed accosted us saying " I cannot understand tho words. are not written for tho audience answered we, "but for the composers and the singers."

Now that the public will have some difficulty in deciding whether to attend the Brunswick Hall, tne Odd Fellows' Hall, or anv other Hali, that may he found necessary for tho accommodation ol the several entertaining companies in Auckland ; we propose giving a few hints to those who entertain the very common but mistaken idea of gaining information from the words of operatic pieces or oratorios, which, as we have stated above, are not to be attained from the singer in a theatre or the concert room.

\\ e wish to be understood—we are not spooking ot " Clirisiey ?tlinstreis orother comic sinking, but operas and oratorios. Opera is w. in a drinn ifir form ; us oratorios are religious songs set to music ; and people go to the theatre and the concert room and listen to the music, and wishing to hear the music as if if were so much prose. They have even been known to complain, during or after the performance, thai they could not hear the words, as if it were through the mere logical meaning of the words the composer proposed to e\cite the emotion of the audience. The only pity is. that it. is necessary to have words at. all : but it is evident that a singer could not, enter into the spirit ot' a dramatic situation i! he had a me;.- string of meaningless syllables, or any sort of inappropriate nonsense to uftcr. He must fii-so produce an illusion on himself or he will produce none on the audience, and he must therefore fully inspire himself with the sentiment, logical as weil as musical, o! what he has to sing, otherwise, all v. e want ro know about the words of Cdx'a dim: (lo lake examples from the most popular of 1 talian operas) is, that it is a prayer to a goddess ; —ot the l.lruids' chorus, that il is a chorus of Druids : —ol die trio, that orma having confronted Pollio with Adalgisa, is reproaching him indignantly and passionately with his perlidy ;— of tile duct, that Norma, is confiding her children to Adalzisa's care ;—of the scene with I'ollio. that Norma is again reproaching him, but in a dill'erent spirit—with sadness and bitterness, with the compressed sorrow of a woman who is 1 wounded to the heart, and must soon die. I

One night, at DruryLane, when Sims Reeves was sinfjint; the commencement of a duet in Satanella." a man dressed in black anil white, like every one else, said to us uravelv :— " 1 cannot make out the words : can vou tell me what he is saying to her!-'" " He is telli:i^ r her thai he loves her," we answered. " What is he saying now?" asked our inquisitive amateur two minutes afterwards. "lie is tellim; her that he loves her," we repeated. "Why. he said that, before!" objected this person, who had apparently come to the opera with the view of gaining son-, kind of valuable information from the performers. I'm. out horny-eared neighbour wondered none the less that-poor Sims Reeves could imt .-ay "1 love you." in three words. " He will say it ajraiti," we answered, "and then she will say ii. ami then they v. hi sac it toiether: indeed thev will sav nothing ehe for th" next ten minutes, and when vou hear them exclaim ' farewell ' with one voice, and :jo on repeating it. ii will still mean the same (hum." \\ hat a foul litis was who wanted us jo tell him the words oi' a beautiful duet .- Ami is there much ditlereiiee between such a "tie ami tiie artblind savage who would look at the texture of a

canvas to see what the paintiieion it. was worth ? \\ e will admit, that, ihe words ot' the opera and ora'ono. as a ride are nm ititel|ie-i|,!e u itiiout a. libret to ; but is r. drama al« :)vs intelligible u ithont a play-bill ? The words of an opera, as of an oratorio om_;ht to be read, and yd need not be heard. 'they should be poeiieal that thev mav iu.-pire the .-iiitfe:, ami should he rhythmical ami sonorous thai lie may sin<_r them easily and with due effect : above all thev not to be ridiculous, !e-t the ;mi'lic siimild hear them am! lan-ili at the music just uhere it was intended thai it. should ailed them to tears. \\ e have said uot'iim: of the duty of the composer in ehoosin:; his poetry, and sri'im.- it to

j music. but of rinir«i' if lit* in* a man of raste hi" | t "ill not li«> work of;in idiot. Kstilis'i <•->:; - ; i JiixiTr. how-ver. have )i«.( unicii choka- in this j* ■■ ' ; -pe'M. aivi :i!| w ■ can ask.oft ii,mi is tlmi tlu-V will j ' ootain : iii-i 111■ I'!I: j!i hi too laanv r"pe; it ion-. am! n ■ s I !:r:u;:' i'n* i: i - a;:'! jil'-•! i - = !■•: i of . ('at''hill!'it* " oro's of a u ii'imlir sonc eaiuio; In'c\ |ir,-lei!, ami ;!ii-oil,'mi:Hiei !i»i-; l>ccii re:i- , dere. I weir,.' in" the I fin i J.'i'- < if ! !n* com; o<er, i > \ ■! I i 11 _C More than in If-a-do-.en notes to I In* vimc , uioi ios v i iabl'*. especially if (his hioiio-yllaMo oc--I'ii- in iln* middle of iin* inn*, ami liic vouel <. ! or worse si ill. in I lie mi<l l!i* of t lie ntouosvi- ! laltle. I'm* of ourt:i. >>l cmiuetii composers. Mr. t \ . W';ill:ici\ |i:\> .riven us a s!!*i!;illi; <*V:l!tlJ>!<* of j tin* fault we uri* :-;n*;;k inir of. in his x\ ell-l.tiown ! trio " Turn mi. old Time. thy (" AF:ii*ilai!i.") i.i i 11• -11. a.vordhnr to tin* music. i tin* scanning ol' Ih ■ lir.-i half line is as f.ilow s :— : Turn on j oM Ti— | i —i —.i — i — i—im, j ,';c. Vfc km>\v thai- Tim.* i~ inlim!.-. but seven sounds ! do no! convey tin* notion of inliuiiy : and even j if they did. it would not I'C any more pleasant ; lot* a singer to hare io take a livo-nou* K*;ij) ami i then execute ii\'e oilier ln.il; on ;l vowel wliicll j c.iunot he utter.'i! without closing tin* tliroa.t. j Mr. V. Waliaot* should. :it :tli events. have in- | sisted on ilit* poet niakiu:.'. one change : instead j of " t H'l Tinie,' he should iI..* inserted " Old ! Pirn-." _ j Turn on j oiii }'a— | a—-a —;;a —a —a —arr, | \c., would not have 1 more liiiinti-11 i*_j;ibU* (o the audience than " Turn on. old Ti —i —i —i —i - i—ini," \e.. and would have been n thousand lime.s easier u. muit. .Nor, in spite of tin- little i]n;iort:ince, il' any, ue iuusi attach to the phraseology of the poetry when we an* listcnim: to rtinsic in a dr.amatit* form, would we. if we were a composer. accept such u lint* us— I I " Y\ lieu the promt land ol Poland wa- ploughed m ! . the hoc;." 'j; with a <11s;>i• n;i>t» of sen-c after the word h..o|':- I >'o; til'- I'oel liiiu'lit tal-.e hoof I'l-ew here. I ] It should lei appear in opera : •':! Ica-i not ! : in hen of a |*S.>11 j.ls. \\ e shoa'J icll him thai he i miu'iit Keep .-it.it j'ioii;.'!is for !iiiii-e.i'. | The --in■_*■ :■ -ho th! ecr'riinlv umiersi an i uini ■ he is villain.*, *i|).i m C ■: t • ■ * - *. I -h .i;ai tit.* : I '.*ri 11 lI tin- litcat iv or a c ■ii'-.fi - i'mom. stoi-y told I'V Mr. M n. of a fri-*u.i of i,i-. * cotniposcr. :md suir! a eou'.rast ol'rhytltm u ltii-h j he 11: i! talteii -:vi pains to proituee. An [talian j contsio ;er. 100, un'rowiv escain'i! the terrors of! rile 1 mtu!s|<n. **'id !"t! for ii;s avowc.-ii ;o*,| j ch*;ir!v ptvivi'd. of Lntin. would lit'.v" i made a ]■:*<! end of it. for a f ontlar tlioiii,d\ nor tniite >■<» ludicrous a Munder as the one } • t * r; u * - j iratcd in- ,M * {-'anvil's friend. Ii c Itad I't'en ;i'- . custittned to a,l-l .ton ;tnd v/ to flu* vcr.srs oi ill.-; i l"jetrv when t!it: uiubio rcqunvd it. and n» sttuuj; the creed, found it, ccnveuient- to tnii-oduce a j Ti'.iri 'iovil •roriijor. o: *ifi Boho.' ooe- ■

nienced Cretin,—non ; credo, non a-cdo in Dcum, and it was well for him that ho was able to convince the Inquisitors of his inability to understand it.