DICTIONARY OF MUSIC - El Atril

542 JOMMELLI JONAS
mild gravity, and it is not surprising that he
failed in ballets and other works of a light
nature. Yet he has left an ojKra buffa, ' Don
Trastullo,' which shows that he was not devoid
of a certain sedate humour. This opera is
remarkable (as are others of his) for the free employment
of accompanied recitative. JommeUi
was one of tlie earliest compjosers who perceived
the great flramatic capabilities of this mode of
expression, which has, in recent times, received
such wide development. He saw the absurdity,
too, ol' the conventional Da Capo in airs consisting
of two strains or movements, by which the
sympathy of the hearer, worked up to a pitch
during the second (usually Allegro) movement,
is speedily cooled by the necessity for recommencing
the Andante and going all through it
again. He would not comply with this custom
except where it happened to suit his purpose,
but aimed at sustaining and heightening the
interest from the outset of a jiiece till its close,
—anticipating by this innovation one of Gluck's
greatest reforms.
His invention seems to have required the
stimulus of words, for his purely instrumental
compositions, such as overtures, are singularly
dry and unsuggestive. Yet he had a more keen
appreciation of the orchestra than any contem-
piorary Italian writer, as is evinced in his scores
by varied combinations of instruments, by obbligajo
accompaniments to several airs, and by
occasional attempts at such tone-painting as the
part written for horns cuii sordini in the air
'Teneri affetti miei' in ' Attilio Regolo.' In
his Stuttgart compositions the orchestra becomes
still more prominent, and is dialogued with the
vocal parts in a beautiful manner. The Requiem
contains much pathetic and exquisite music ; but
intensity is wanting where words of sublime or
terrible import have to be conveyed. In this
work and the ' Passion ' is to be found a great
deal that is closely allied to composition of a
similar kind by ilozart, and to the earlier master
is due the credit of much which often passes
as the sole invention of Mozart, because it is
known only through the medium of his works.
A comparison between the two is most interesting,
showing, as it does, how much of Mozart's
musical phraseology was, so to speak, current
coin at the time when he lived.—The Miserere
which was Jommelli's last production seems in
some respects a concession to Italian taste, which
possibly accounts for the comparatively great
degree of subsec^uent popularity it enjoyed, and
suggests tlie thought that, had its composer
been spared a few more years, his style might
once more have been insensibly modified by his
surroundings. It possesses, indeed, much of
the sympathetic charm that attaches to his
other works, but the vocal parts are so florid as
to be sometimes unsuitable to the character of
the words.
He cannot, however, be said to have courted
popularity by writing for the vulgar taste.
Among contemporary composers of his own
school and country, he is pre-eminent for purity
and nobility of thought, and for simple, pathetic
expression. His genius was refined and noble,
but limited. He expressed himself truthfully
while he had anything to express, but where
his nature fell short there his art fell short
also, and, failing spontaneit}', its pilace had to
be supf)lied by introspection and analysis. His
sacred music depicts personal sentiment as much
as do his ojieras, and whereas a mass by Palestrina
is a solemn act of j)ublic worshiji, a mass
by JommeUi is the exjiression of the devotion,
the replentance, or the aspiration of an individual.
[In 1785 a project was started at Stuttgart for
publishing a com[)lete edition of his opjeras, but
' L' Olimpiade' was the only one published.]
The following works of Jommelli's have been
republished in modern times, and are now acces-
sible :
Salrao (Miserere), Settings for two and four voices, with orchestra
(Breitkupf i Hiirt«l].
Victimae paschali. Five voices, score (Schott),
Lux eterua. Four voices (Berlin, Schlesinger).
Hosanua filio, Mulierea bouae. and In iloutc Oliveto. Four voices
(Berlin. Schlesingerl.
Requiem, for S.A.T.B, Accompaniment arranged for PF. by
Cbsing (Cranzl.
Many other pieces of hie are, however, included, wholly or in part,
in niiacellaneous collections, such as L.'ttrobe's Saiyred Miuic, the
FitztcUUam Mvsic. Choron'e Jou-ninl de Chant, Rochlitz's Cojtpction
de Mrrrccaux de Chant, and Gevaert's icj Gloirei de Vltalie, Porro's
Hiuique Sacree, etc.
[For the complete list of works, see the
QueUen-Lc^'nk'on, from Avhich many corrections
and additions to the above article have been
taken.] r. A. M.
JONAS, Emile, one of the younger rivals
of OH'enbach in ojn^ia-boutfe, born of Jewish
parents, March 5, 1827, entered the Conserva-
toire, Oct. 28, 1841, took second prize for
harmony, 1846, and first ditto, 1847, and
obtained the second ' grand prix ' for his
'Antonio' in 1849. His debut at the theatre
was in Oct. 1855 with ' Le Duel de Benjamin'
in one act. ' This was followed by La Parade '
(August 2, 1856) ;
' Le Eoi bolt ' (April 1857)
' Les petits Prodiges ' (Nov. 19, 1857); 'Job
et son ' chien (Feb. 6, 1863) ;
' Le Manoir des
' La Renardiere (Sept. 29, 1864) ; and 'Avant
la noce' (March 24, 1865)—all at the Bourtes
Parisiens. ' Then, at other theatres, came Les
deux Arlequins ' (Dec. 29, 1865); ' Le Canard
a trois bees' (Feb. 6, 1869); 'Desire, sire de
Champigny ' (1869). Many of his f>ieces have
'
been given in London, such as 'Terrible Hymen
at Covent Garden, Dec. 26, 1866 ; 'The Two
Harlequins ' (adapted by A'Beckett) at the
Gaiety, Dec. 21, 1868 ; and ' Le Canard,' also
at the Gaiety, July 28, 1871. This led to his
composing an operetta in three acts to an
English libretto by Mr. A. Thompson, called
'Cinderella the younger,' produced at the
Gaiety, Sepit. 25, 1871, and reproduced in
Paris as ' Javotte ' at the Athenee, Dec. 22
following. ' Le Chignon d'or, ' was
brought