Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

'
620 SONTAG SONTAG
production in 1720 until 1843. Dr. W. Hayes
was at one time eonductor of the festivals, and
added instrumental parts to the Old Hundredth
Psalm tune for their use. Dr. Boyce also was
for many years their conductor, and composed
for them his two anthems, ' Lord, Thou hast
been our refuge,' and 'Blessed is he that considereth
the poor and needy,' besides adding
accompaniments to Puroell's Te Deum and
Jubilate, and expanding several movements in
them. After 1843 the services were for some
thirty years accompanied by the organ only,
the choir being, as before, very largely augmented.
Since 1873 orchestral accompaniment has again
been called into requisition ; Evensong has
taken the place of Matins ; and modern compositions
by various living composers, often
written expressly for the festival, have been
introduced. [A history of the corporation,
by Rev. E. H. Pearce, was published in
1904.] w. H. H.
SONTAG, Hbnriettb, Countess Rossi,'was
bom at Coblenz, Jan. 3, 1806. Her father
was a good comedian, her mother an actress of
no ordinary merit, to whom the daughter, when
at the height of fame, continued to turn for
instruction. At six, Henriette made her first
public appearance, at the Darmstadt theatre,
as Salome, in Kauer's Donauweibchen.' Three
'
years later her mother, then a widow, settled
at Prague, where Weber was conductor at the
theatre. Here Henriette acted in juvenile parts,
and in 1815 was admitted, though under the
prescribed age, as a pupil to the Conservatoriura
of the city. She studied singing under Bayer
and Fran Czegka, and when only fifteen was
suddenly called upon to replace the prima
donna at the opera in the part of the Princess
in Boieldieu's 'Jean de Paris.' Her precocity,
appearance, and vocal gifts at once created a
great impression, but shortly afterwards her
mother removed with her to Vienna, where the
next few years were spent, Henriette Sontag
singing both in Italian and German opera, and
deriving, according to her own statement, incalculable
benefit from the counsels and example
of Mme. Fodor-Mainvielle. Here "Weber, in
1823, after hearing her in the Donna ' del Lago,'
went next day to ofl'er her the title-r&le in his
'Euryanthe,' whose production, Oct. 25, was a
triumph for Mile. Sontag. Beethoven could
not hear her, but How did ' little Sontag
sing ? ' -w^as his first question to those who had
been at the performance. When, in 1824,
his Ninth Symphony and Mass in D were produced,
it was she who sustained the difficult
and ungrateful soprano part. She was next
engaged at Leipzig, and then for Berlin, making
her first appearance at the Konigstadt theatre,
August 3, 1825, as Isabella in the 'Italiana in
Algieri.
Henceforward her career was one unbroken
triumph. She made her debut in Paris in June
1826, as Rosina in the 'Barbiere,' and became
a favourite at once. Her introduction of Rode's
air and variations created a furore. She sang
also in the Donna del Lago ' ' and ' Italiana in
Algieri,' and returned to Germany in July with
heightened prestige. Everywhere her beauty,
charming voice, and exquisite vocalisation combined
to excite an admiration amounting to
frenzy. At Gottingen her post-chaise was thrown
into the river by the ardent crowd, no mortal
being counted worthy to make use of it after
her. Even Ludwig Borne, after commenting
humorously on the extravagance of the public,
confesses to have yielded in his turn to the prevailing
infatuation. Her figure was slender and
mignonne, her hair between auburn and blonde,
her eyes large, and her features delicate. Her
voice, a soprano of clear and pleasing quality,
was specially good in the upper register, reaching
the E in alt with facility, and in perfection of
execution she seems to have been unsurpassed
by any singer of her time. But she was deficient
in dramatic power, and only appeared to the
highest advantage in works of a light and placid
style. On her return to Paris, in Januai-y 1828,
she essayed parts of a difl'erent order, such as
Donna Anna and Semiramide, with success, but
in passion and emotion never rose to the distinction
she attained as a songstress.
In England she appeared first on April 19,
1828, at the King's Theatre, as Rosina, and
met with a most flattering reception, sharing
with Malibran the honours of that and the
*
succeeding season.
At Berlin, Mile. Sontag had formed the
acquaintance of Count Rossi, then in the
diplomatic service of Sardinia. An attachment
sprang up between them, and was followed by
a secret marriage. It was feared that the young
diplomat's future might be compromised were
he to acknowledge an artist of low birth as his
wife. But after a time Count Rossi's efforts to
procure Court sanction to his union were successful—the
King of Prussia bestowed a patent
of nobility on the lady, who henceforth appeared
in documents as -nie de Launstein, and she
definitely bade farewell to artistic life. As
Countess Rossi she accompanied her husband
to the Hague, where he was representative of
the Sardinian Court. Occasionally she would
sing for public charities, in concerts or oratorio
—a style in which she is said to have been
unrivalled ; still, for nearly half her lifetime
she remained lost to the musical public, following
the career of her husband at the Courts of
Holland, Germany, and Russia. As to her
domestic felicity and the character of her
husband, we quote the positive testimony of
'
her brother, Carl Sontag : Rossi made my sister
happy, in the truest sense of the word. Up to
the day of her death they loved each other as
on their wedding-day ! ' But the disorders of
1847-48 had impaired their fortunes, and she