Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

'
410 SEMELE SEMIBREVE
original MS. is in Buckingham Palace, and
'
I Puritani,' and was highly successful there
'
Gil Bias ' (March 26, 1860),
twelve ; she afterwards received further instruction
Musical Society revived it on Nov. 27, 1878. round note of our present system {o), though
on these instruments from Stengel (to whom
The
there are some interesting sketches (principally
she was afterwards married), and Brustermann, of Act iii.) in the Fitzwilliam Museum at
both professors at Lemberg. She then went to Cambridge. w. b. s.
Vienna, for completion of her studies under SEMET, Th:^ophile, bom at Lille, Sept. 6,
Liszt, but discovering herself to be the possessor 1824. The prizes he gained at the local Conservatoire
of a iine voice, determined to attempt a voeal
procured him a grant from the
career, and for that purpose studied singing at municipality to study in Paris, and he entered
Vienna, under Rokitansky, and later at Milan Halevy's class for composition. His first work
under Lamperti the younger. On JuneS, 1877, was merely a few songs and some charming
she made her d^but at Athena as Elvira in orchestral music for La petite Fadette,' vaudeville
'
in two acts (Vari^tes, Dec. 28, 1850), but
'
for two months in that, and as Lucia and he at length procured a better opportunity, and
Dinorah. She returned' to Vienna, studied the his 'Nuits d'Espagne,' two acts (May 26), and
German repertoire under Professor Richard
'
La Demoiselle d'honneur,' three acts (Dec. 30),
Lewy the horn -player, and in October 1878 were both produced in 1857 with success at the
made a highly successful d^but at Dresden as Theatre Lyrique ;
Lucia. She remained there until the spring of an opera- comique in five acts, and 'Ondine,'
1880, becoming famous in coloratura parts. three acts (Jan. 7, 1863), followed at the same
After singing at the Lower Rhine Musical theatre, and his next work, La ' petite Fadette'
Festival of 1880 she made her first appearance (Sept. 11, 1869), was produced at the Op&ain
England on June 12 of the same year at the Comique.
Royal Italian Opera as Lucia, and was greatly Besides his operas he composed songs for a
successful in that, Amina, and Margaret of piece called 'Constantinople' (1854); songs;
Valois. She returned there for the seasons a cantata (performed at the Opira, August 15,
1881-84, playing Dinorah, and Constance in the 1862) ; airs de. ballet for Les ' Pirates de la
revival of Mozart's ' Entfiihrung. ' Dinorah and Savane' (1867), and many part-songs, some of
Astrifiammante were among her best parts. At which, especially 'La Danse des Sylph es,' are
Benedict's ' Jubilee ' Concert at the Albert Hall, remarkable. He was drummer at the Opera
June 7, 1884, she sang and played the violin for many years ; he died at Corbeil, near Paris,
with great success. After singing with much April 15, 1888. G. c.
success in Paris, Russia, Spain, the United SEMIBREVE (Lat. Semihrevis ; Ital. Semiireve
States, etc., she appeared at L. E. Bach's concert
; Fr. Monde ; Germ. Taktnote, Ganze Note,
at St. James's Hall, June 25, 1889, and whence the American term 'whole note').
was to have sung in opera at Her Majesty's Franco of Cologne, the earliest -known writer
Theatre, but for the premature closing of the on measured music (Oantus Tnensurabilis) who
season there. She reappeared as Susanna at furnishes the types from which the forms of
Covent Garden in 1895. Of late her career, our modern notation are evidently derived, describes
both in opera and concerts, has been divided
the semibreve as the shortest note in use,
between Austria and the United States. though no very long time elapsed before the
Madame Sembrich's voice is about two and a minim was added to the list. The forms of
half octaves in compass, viz. from the lower G these notes are generally supposed to have been
to F in alt, and is very brilliant in the upper suggested by those of the Neumes of an earlier
register ; she also possesses great powers of period, the Breve and Semibreve being derived
execution. A. c. from the Punctum. Don Nicola Vicentino,
SEMELE, a secular oratorio by Handel, was however, in his L' antica Musica ridotta alia
composed in 1743, between June 3 and July 4. inodema Praitica, printed at Rome in 1555,
The libretto is slightly altered from an operabook
refers the forms of all these notes to a different
of Congreve's, written in
'
1707. Semele origin ; deriving the Large, the Long, and the
is termed by Arnold 'A Dramatic Performance,'
by Mainwaring 'An English opera but and the Semibreve from the B rotmidum ( 5) ;
Breve from the £ qttadratum, or square B (^) ;
called an Oratorio,' while it was announced at the transformation being effected, in each cEise,
different times in the General Advertiser as by depriving the figure of one or both of its tails.
' Semele, after the manner of an Opera, ' and But Vicentino has fallen into so many palpable
' Semele, after the manner of an Oratorio. ' The errors that we cannot trust him ; and, in the
first performance took place on Feb. 10, 1744, present instance, his theory certainly does not
at Covent Garden Theatre, where it was repeated
accord with that early form of the Semibreve
three times in the same year. In the which is produced by cutting the Breve ( ) in
following December it was performed twice, with half, diagonally, thus, (r). This form soon
additions and alterations, at the King's Theatre, gave way to the Lozenge (or o), which was
Haymarket, and was revived by Smith and retained in use until late in the 17tli century,
Stanley in 1762. The Cambridge University when it was replaced in measured music by the