Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

many
—'
124 ROLLI ROMANTIC
of which many are in the Eoyal Library at
Berlin ; fiite Passions, and at least sixty other
large church compositions. Besides these there
exist twenty-one large works of his, of a nature
between oratorio and drama, such as ' Saul, or
the power of Music,' 'Samson,' 'David and
Jonathan,' 'The Labours of Hercules,' 'Orestes
and Pylades,' 'Abraham on Moriah,' 'The
Death of Abel,' etc. The last two were for
many years performed annually at Berlin, and
were so popular that the editions ha(i to be
renewed repeatedly. In addition to these he
left songs and compositions
I for organ,
orchestra, and separate instruments. (See the
Quellen-Lexikon for list.) All have now as
good as perished ; but those who wish to know
what kind of music they were, will find a
specimen in Hullah's 'Vocal scores,' 'The Lordis
King.' It has a good deal of vigour, but
no originality or character. Others are given
in the collections of Sander and Eochlitz, and
a set of twenty motets for four voices was published
at Magdeburg by Eebling (1851-66.) g.
ROLLI, Paolo Antonio, an Italian poet, a
Florentine, who was employed by the managers
of the Italian opera to supply the libretti for
several of the operas put before the English public
in the early years of the 18th century. It is
said that he was originally a pastry-cook, but
coming to England about 1718, his productions
pleased the public, and he became much noticed.
In 1727 he issued a small book of canzonets
and cantatas, with the music, dedicated to the
Countess of Pembroke. At a later date he set
up as teacher of the Italian language, and left
England for Italy in 1744. Two stanzas of
his poem, Se tu m' ami,' were '
set by Pergolesi,
and three by J. J. Rousseau ; and his whole
book of canzonets and cantatas was adapted
to new music by William De Fesch about
1745-46, and published with a fresh dedication
to Lady Frances Erskine. r. K.
ROMANCE (Germ. Somanse). A term of
very vague signification, answering in music to
the same term in poetry, where the characteristics
are rather those of personal sentiment and
expression than of precise form. The Romanze
in Mozart's D minor PF. Concerto differs (if it
differs) from the slow movements of his other
Concertos in the extremely tender and delicate
character of its expression ; in its form there is
nothing at all unusual : and the same may be
said of Beethoven's two Romances for the violin
and orchestra in G and F (opp. 40 and 50), and
of Schumann's ' Drei Romanzen ' (op. 28),
Schumann has also afiixed the title to three
movements for oboe and PF. (op. 94), and to a
well-known piece in D minor (op. 32, No. 3),
just as he has used the similar title, ' in Legendenton.
' The Romance which forms the second
movement of his symphony in D minor, is a
little poem full of sentimental expression.
In vocal music the term is obviously derived
from the character or title of the words. In
English poetry we have few romances,' though
'
such of Moore's melodies as She ' is far from the
land where her young hero sleeps ' might well
bear the title. But in France they abound, and
some composers (such as Puget and Panseron)
have derived nine -tenths of their reputation
'
from them. Partant pour la Syrie ' may be
named as a good example, well known on this
'
side the water. Mendelssohn's Songs without
Words' are called in France 'Romances sans
Paroles.'
ROMANI, Felice, a famous Italian litterateur,
born at Genoa, Jan. 31, 1788. He was
educated for the law, but soon forsook it for
more congenial pursuits, and was in early life
appointed to the post of poet to the royal
theatres, with a salary of 6000 lire. The fall
of the French government in Italy drove him
to his own resources. He began with a comedy,
'
L' Amante e 1' Impostore," which was very successful,
and the forerunner of many dramatic
pieces. But his claim to notice in a dictionary
of music rests on his opera-librettos, in which
he was for long the favourite of the Italian composers.
For Simone Mayr he wrote 'Medea'
(1812), 'La Rosa bianca e la Rosa rossa,' and
others ; for Rossini,
' Aureliano in Palmira,'
and ' II Turoo in Italia ; '
for Bellini, Bianca
'
e
Faliero, '
'
La Straniera, '
'