Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

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by
EOSSINI ROSSINI 161
' '
pianos. On this occasion it was sung by the two royalties,' and an enthusiastic admirer of the
Marchisios, Gardoni, and Agneai, and was much Italian School having replied somewhat angrily,
applauded. Rossini afterwards scored it with Rossini wrote to him,
slight alterations for the full orchestra— I am much obliged to
perhaps you for your vigorous treatment Qavemenl) of
a little heavily—and in this shape it was performed
for the first time in public at the Theatre A number of friends were disputing as to which
the tonsure of my friend the Cur^ d'Ortigue.'
Italien, on the evening of Sunday Feb. 28, 1869, was his best opera,
'
and appealed to him. You
on the seventy-eighth anniversary of the composer's
want to know which of my works I like best?
birth as nearly as that could be, seeing "Don Giovanni" ! ' He took extreme delight
that he was bom in a leap year, on Feb. 29. in his summer villa at Passy, which stood in the
In the last years of his life Rossini affected Avenue Ingres, and had a fine garden of about
the piano, spoke of himself as a fourth-rate three acres attached to it. In that house he
pianist, and composed little else but pianoforte died on Friday Nov. 13, 1868, at 9 p.m., after
pieces. Most of these were in some sense or a long day of agony. His funeral was magnificent.
As Foreign Associate of the Institute
other jeux d'esprit ; some were inscribed to his
parrot, or had the most fanciful titles—
' Valse (1833) ;
Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour
anti-dansante,' 'Fausse oouche _de Polka-mazurka,'
(1864), and the orders of St. Maurice and St.
'Etude asthmatique,' 'EohantiUon de Lazare ;
commander of many foreign orders,
blague,' etc. The whole were arranged in oases and honorary member of a great number of
with such quaint names as 'Album olla podrida,' Academies and musical institutions—Rossini
'Les quatre mendiants,' 'Quatrehors-d'ceuvre,' had a right to every posthumous honour
'Album de ChS,teau,' 'Album de Chaumike,' possible. The funeral took place at the church
etc. For the Exposition universelle of 1867, of the Trinite on Saturday Nov. 21, it was
however, he wrote a Cantata, which was performed
gorgeous, and was attended by several deputa-
for the first time at the ceremony of tions from Italy. Tamburini, Duprez, Gardoni,
awarding the prizes on July 1, and was also Bonnehee, Faure, Capoul, Belval, Obin, DeUe
executed at the Opera at the free performances Sedie, Jules Lefort, Agnesi, Alboni, Adelina
on August 16, 1867 and 1868. It opens with a Patti, Nilsson, Krauss, Carvalho, Bloch, and
hymn in a broad style, in which the author of Grossi, with the pupils of the Conservatoire,
sang the Prayer from ' Moise. ' Nilsson gave
'
Semiramis and Moise ' is quite recognisable,
but winds up with a vulgar quick -step on a a fine movement from the Stabat ' ' of Pergolesi,
motif not unlike the country dance known as but the most impressive part of the ceremony
' L' Ostendaise. ' The title, which we give from was the singing of the Quis est homo ' from
the autograph, seems to show that the son of the Rossini's own ' Stabat mater ' Patti and
jolly trombadore ' ' of Pesaro was quite aware of Alboni. To hear that beautiful music rendered
the character of the finale of his last work. by two such voices, and in the presence of such
artists, over the grave of the composer, was to
i Napoleon III.
feel in the truest sense the genius of Rossini,
et
k son vaillant Peuple.
Hymne
avec accompagnement d'orchestre et musiqtie militaire
pour baryton (solo), un Pontife,
choeur de Grands PrStres
chceur de Vivandiferes, de Soldats, et de Peuple,
A la fln
Danse, Cloches, Tambours et Canons.
Excusez du peu !
The final touch is quite enough to show that
Rossini to the last had more gaiety than propriety,
more wit than dignity, more love of
independence than good taste. He preferred the
society of artists to any other, and was never so
happy as when giving free scope to his caustic
wit or his Rabelaisian humour. His hons mots
were abundant, and it is surprising that no one
has yet attempted to collect them. One or two
may find place here. One day, in a fit of the
spleen, he cried out, ' I am miserable ; my nerves
are wrong, and every one offers me string instead.'
D'Ortigue, the author of the Dictionnaire
liturgique, had been very severe on him in
an article in the Corre^ondavt on 'Musical
VOL. IV
and the part which he played in the music of
the 19th century.
At the opening of his career Rossini had two
courses before him, either, like Simone Mayr
and Paer, to foUow the footsteps of the old
Neapolitan masters, or to endeavour to revolutionise
the Italian opera, as Gluck and Mozart
had revolutionised those of France and Germany.
He chose the latter. We have described the
eagerness vrith which he threw himself into the
path of innovation, and the audacity with which,
while borrowing a trait of harmony or of piquant
modulation from Majo (1740 - 71) or the
skeleton of an effect from Generali (1783-1832),
he extinguished those from whom he stole,
according to the well-known maxim of Voltaire.
We have already mentioned his innovations in
the accompaniment of the recitatives, first, in
'
Elisabetta,' the full quartet of strings, and
next in ' Otello ' the occasional addition of the
wind instruments. This was a great relief to,
the monotony of the old setxo recitative. But
his innovations did not stop there ; he introiduced
into the orchestra generally a great deal
M