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Tempest, Julia in The Rivals, &c. But sional excursions by her mother; and her not finding herself brought sufficiently be-private character has been ever highly bore the public, after remaining two seasons and justly appreciated.

Published by 1. Bell, 1ooTan? 1849.

LA BELLE ASSEMBLÉE;

For DECEMBER, 1818.

A New and Improved Series.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF ILLUSTRIOUS AND

DISTINGUISHED CHARACTERS.

Number One Hundred and Seventeen.

MRS. WEST.

and entered into an engagement with the late Mr. H. Siddons, and appeared at Edinburgh, Nov. 10, 1814, as Juliet, where she received the most unprecedented approbation, and which character she repeated more than twelve nights in the course of the season.

MRS. WILLIAM WEST, the subject of || at Covent-Garden, she quitted that Theatre these memoirs, is a native of the city of Bath; in which place her father, Mr. Cooke, is a highly respected tradesman. She was born March 22, 1794. And in the year 1810, she was solicited to appear on the stage of the Theatre Royal, Bath, for the benefit of her uncle, Mr. James Cooke, who was at that time a member of the company. She consented, and made her first début as Miss Hardcastle, in Goldsmith's comedy of She Stoops to Conquer. She again made a second essay for the benefit of her relation, the season following, in Emily Tempest. This effort, like the former, was crowned with complete success. In the summer of 1811 she accepted an engagement with the late Mr. Watson, of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Theatres; In the summer of 1818, Mrs. West was where, after remaining one season, so great was the progress she made in her profes-engaged by Mr. S. Kemble, and appeared sion, that through the interest of Mr. and at Drury-Lane Theatre, Sept. 17th, in Mrs. C. Kemble, she obtained an engageDesdemona. She has since performed Belment at Covent Garden; and made her videra, Juliet, Lady Townly, Lady Macbeth, début before a London audience, September Imogene, aud Hermione, in The Distressed 1811, as Desdemona. Mother.

In this city she was married to Mr. West of the same Theatre, who, when a child, performed the juvenile characters at the Theatres Royal, Drury-Lane and Haymarket. During the summer of 1815, they received proposals from the proprietors of the Bath and Bristol Theatres, where they for three seasons met with the warmest marks of approbation in their different casts of characters (Mr. West's line of acting is simple lads and country boys).

Her success was highly flattering; she Previous to the marriage of Mrs. West, afterwards performed Miranda, in The she was always accompanied in her profesTempest, Julia in The Rivals, &c. But sional excursions by her mother; and her not finding herself brought sufficiently be-private character has been ever highly fore the public, after remaining two seasons and justly appreciated.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF MUSIC.

(Continued from page 197.)

In the reign of Charles 1. the Psalms || cheerful: had he lived at a later age his were paraphrased by Mr. George Sandys, an ancestor of Lord Sandys, and better versified than they ever were before, or have been since; they were set by Henry Lawes, whose melodies were much inferior to the poetry, which deserved better; they were set in three parts by him and his brother to very florid counterpoint.

Since that time the parochial tunes have been so firmly established that it would be difficult to prevail on the whole nation to admit new melodies, by whomsoever composed. Some of our diligent orgauists, however, compose, and prevail on the congregation to have new tunes, both to the old and new version.

In the time of Elizabeth, though choral music had been cultivated by several able harmonists before Tallis and Bird, yet few of those compositions, anterior to those two masters, have been preserved. Tallis was Bird's master, and one of the greatest masters in Europe during the sixteenth cen tury. He was born in the early part of the reign of Henry VIII.: he was organist of that monarch's royal chapel, as he was of that of Edward VI., Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth. In the reign, however, of Heury and his daughter Mary, when the Roman Catholic religion prevailed, the organ was usually played by monks.

The melody of the cathedral service was first adjusted to English words by Marbeck, but it was Tallis that enriched it with harmony: this harmony is admirable. This venerable musician died in November, 1585, and was buried in the old parish church of Greenwich, in Kent: but the old church having been pulled down in the year 1720, no memorial remains of any illustrious character interred there before that period.

Bird, that admirable scholar of Tallis, shewed a superiority of composition to every other competitor both in texture and design his melodies were lively, and are, even at this time, regarded as airy and

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genius would, no doubt, have expanded in works of invention, elegance, and taste. But the harmony in old tunes, especially for keyed instruments, was then crowded into what the fingers could possibly grasp, and all the rapid divisions of time they could execute. Indeed the melodies of all the rest of Europe had no other model than the chants of the church till the cultivation of the musical drama.

In the Monthly Miscellany of one of our numbers, we gave a description of Queen Elizabeth's Virginal Book. There is another manuscript collection of Bird's compositions now in existence, which is Ludy Nevil's Music Book. It is a thick quarto, very splendidly bound and gilt, with the family arms beautifully emblazoned and illuminated on the first page, and the initials H. N. at the lowest left hand corner. The music is well written in large bold characters, with great neatness, on fourstaved paper, of six lines, by Jo. Baldwine,' a singing man of Windsor, and a celebrated copyist in Queen Elizabeth's time. The notes, both white and black, are of the lozenge form. Lady Nevil was Bird's scholar, and he composed several pieces expressly for her Ladyship.

It will be some gratification, no doubt, to the curious reader, who reflects that those royal fingers are now mouldered into dust which formerly touched the keys of harmony, often played over the following || celebrated airs with infinite skill, a few of which we now present to our fair readers, as they stand in the Virginal Book of the once renowned Elizabeth:-The March before the Battel; The Hunt's upp; Will you walk the woods soe wylde; The Mayden's Songe, composed in 1590; Have with you to Walsingham; The Carman's Whistle; Hugh Ashton's Grounde; and Sellinger's Rounde.

Morley, another celebrated musician, composed the music to the burial service, as it still continues to be sung at West

minster Abbey on solemn occasions; he was the first who composed the burial service music after the reformation: it is grand and pleasing, and causes the words to be well expressed. The sentence, "He fleeth as it were a shadow," is exquisitely fine.

Instrumental music had made but a small progress towards that perfection to which it has since arrived. The lute and the virginal were the only two instruments for which any tolerable music had, as yet, been composed. The violin was but little known, for, indeed, many of the English were ignorant both of its form and name. Viols of different kinds, with six strings, and fretted like the guitar, were admitted into chamber concerts; at those that were public their sound was too feeble. We may easily judge of the poor state of music

The English were not at first taught to admire Italian music by the sweetness of the language to which it was set, but by Italian madrigals, literally translated into English, adjusted to original music, and published by N. Yonge, 1588. The editor was an Italian merchant, who having op-in Henry VIII.'s time, in the year 1530, portunities of obtaining from his correspondents the newest and best compositions from the Continent, had them frequently performed at his house for the entertainment of his musical friends. These being chiefly selected from the works of Palestrina, Luca Mareuzio, and other celebrateding to Henxner, to be regaled during din masters on the Continent, gave birth to that passion for madrigals which afterwards became so prevalent.

when Holinshed informs us of a masque being given at Cardinal Wolsey's palace, where the King was entertained with a concert of drums and fifes. This music was, however, soft compared with that of his daughter Elizabeth, who used, accord

ner with twelve trumpets, and two kettledrums; which, together with fifes, cornets, and side-drums, made the hall ring for half an hour together.

The lute, of which the shape and sound' are now scarcely known, was the favourite

celebrates the playing of Mrs. Arabella Hunt on this instrument; and Sir Thomas Wyatt left us a Sonnet to his Late, which we published among our Fugitive Poetry, in a preceding Number.

Lyric poetry was in a wretched state in England at the time these madrigals were translated; and making allowance for that, these soumets were really tolerably exe-instrument for two centuries. Congreve cuted, even before Spencer or Shakespeare. The Italians, themselves, had but little rhythm or melody in their music; but still their poetry, having been longer cultivated, was far superior to ours: their traits of melody were better marked and more airy, The following is a specimen of a very favourite madrigal, called The Nightingale: "But my poore hart with sorrowes over swelling, Through bondage vyle, binding my freedom short,

"No pleasure takes in these his sports excelling,

"Nor of his song receiveth no confort."

In 1597, Youge published a second collection of madrigals, and the following Bacchanalian soug is not devoid of wit and humour:

"The wine that I so deerly got,

"Sweetly sipping, my eyes hath bleared; "And the more I am bar'd the pot,

"The more to drink my thirst is steered. "But since my heart is cheered, "Mangre ill fuck and spiteful slanders, "Mine eyes shall not be my commanders; "For 1 maintain, and ever shall, "Better the windows bide the dangers, "Than to spoil both house and all.”

Choral compositions, madrigals, and songs in that style, always of many parts, formed the only vocal music in favour in the time of Elizabeth. The art of singing only consisted in keeping tune and time: taste, rhythm, accent, and grace, were not to be found. The music was grounded on church music, where the innovatious of taste would offend; therefore the modulations of the sixteenth century, though they had a fine and solemn effect in the church music of that time, are not accommodated to the modern student, as the most agreeable keys in music are precluded. In our cathedral service some of the words are uttered too rapidly, while others are protracted to an unreasonable length; there is a certain degree of simplicity in choral music that is requisite to render it the voice of devotion, which seems to demand a full, clear, and articulate pronunciation of the different words.

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