DICTIONARY OF MUSIC - El Atril

GUEST GUGLIELMI 255
Charles V., tells us that Guerrero presented this
volume to the Emperor, and that nionarcli's
musical reputation chiefly rests on the fact that,
after hearing one of these compositions, he called
Guerrero 'a thief ami a plagiarist, while his
singers stood astonished, as none of them had
discovered these thefts till they were pointed out
But they may possibly have
by the Emperor. '
discovered, notwithstanding their resiiectful astonishment,
that Guerrero was guilty of nothing
more than using the ordinary mannerisms of a
particular school.
Books of motets were also published in 1570
and in 1589, both at Venice ; a second volume
of masses appeared at Rome in 1582, aTid several
works in MS. are mentioned in the Quellen-
Lexikon. Eslava has printed in his Lira-sacro-
Mispana the Passion according to St. Matthew
for four voices, for Palm Sunday, a]id that according
to St. John (five voices) for Good Friday.
Also three motets for five voices and a four-part
mass, 'Simile est regnum coelorum.' [EsLAVA.]
[See also Pedrell's Hispaniae Schokt Miiska
Sacra, vol. v.] j. R. s.-B.
GUEST, Ralph, was born in 1 742 at Broseley,
Shropshire. At a very early age he became a
member of the choir in the church of his native
place. On attaining his majority he came to
London and engaged in commercial pursuits ;
but the love of music induced him to enter in
addition the choir of Portland Chapel. After
five years he removed to Bury St. Edmunds, and
entered into business on his own account. From
Ford, organist of St. James's Church, Bury, he
learned organ -playing, and in 1805 was appointed
choir-master at St. Mary's, and later, on
the erection of an organ there, its organist. He
then devoted himself entirely to the profession
of music. He published 'The Psalms of David,'
arranged for every day in the month, retaining
many of the old psalm tunes and adding about
sixty new ones. He subsequently published a
supiplement under the title of ' Hymns and
Psalms,' with music composed and adapted by
him. Healso composed many songs. Heresigned
his appointment as organist in 1822, and died,
at the advanced age of eighty-eight years, in
June 1830.
His son, George, was born at Bury St. Edmunds
in 1771. He was initiated in music by
his father, and subsequently became a chorister
of the Chapel Koyal under Dr. Nares and Dr.
Ayrton. On the breaking of his voice he obtained
in 1787 the appointment of organist at Eye,
Suff'olk, but gave it up in 1789 for that at
Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, which he lield during
the remainder of his life. His compositions include
anthems, hymns, glees, duets, songs, organ
pieces, and pieces for a military band. He died
at Wisbech, Sept. 10, 1831. w. H. H.
GUGLIELMI, PiETRO, born (according to
Baini) at Massa-Carrara in May, 1727. His
father was an accomplished musician and Maestro
di Capella to the Duke of Modena, At the ago
of eighteen he was sent to supjilement his home
training at the Neapolitan Conservatorio di San
Loreto, where he had the advantage of the
tutorship of Durante [and where he composed
an opera, 'Chichibio,' in 1739, his twelfth year,
if the date given by Baini is to be trusted. As
he is called 'maestro di capella' on the text-book,
preserved at Naples, it is probable that an earlier
date of birth should be given]. A'olatility of
temperament rather than stupidity hindered his
progress in harmony, and it only required a single
incident, sufficiently exciting to induce twentyfour
hours of self-concentration, to make him at
once evince his superiority to all his class-fellows.
As soon as he left the Conservatorio he staited
on a tour through the principal cities of Italy,
beginning with Turin, where he brought out his
earliest opera (1755). Everywhere his genius
was cordially acknowledged, and his best works
met with general apjdause. He is known, how-
ever, to have made a gTcat number of failures,
which were probably the result of that careless
workmanship to which aitists of his self-indulgent
and pleasure-loving habits are prone. From
Italy he went in 1762 to Dresden, Brunswick,
and finally in 1768 to London, whither his wufe
appears to have accompanied him, and where
his success seems to have been checked by the
intrigues of a musical cabal. Inl777he returned
to Naples to find that Cimarosa and Paisiello,
each in the height of his fame, had eclipsed
between them a reputation which his own filteen
years of absence had allowed to wane, It is to
his credit that the necessity of struggling against
these two younger I'ivals spurred Guglielmi to
unw'onted effort, and that the decade duiing
which he divided with them the favour of the
Neajiolitan public was the culminating epoch
of his mental activity. "Wearied of the stage,
Guglielmi finally in 1793 accepted the post of
Maestro at the Vatican, and died in harness
at Rome, Nov. 19, 1804.
He was a spendthrift and a debauchee : a had
husband, and a worse father. He abandoned a
faithful wife, neglected his promising children,
and squandered on a succession of worthless
mistresses, most of whom were picked up in the
green-room, a fortune which it was his one trait
of worldly wisdom to have known how to amass.
But he stands high among composers of the
second order, and he had the fecundity as well
as the versatility of genius. His operas were
numerous and their style was varied, and he
composed masses, motets, hymns, and psalms
for the church, and several oratorios, besides a
great deal of iinportant chamber-music for the
harpsichord, violin, and violoncello. Four
oratorios are mentioned in the QitelUn-Lcxil on
as still extant, many motets, etc., and the
number of Guglielmi's operas is given, in an
article by F. Piovano in the Rivista Musicale.
Italiana, vol. xii. p. 407, as 120. Some are of