and familiar letters, down to a very late period. The Italian was not used in poetry till the twelfth century. Indeed it must have been late in that century; for Dante, who flourished towards the end of the thirteenth, declares that the language was not 150 years old. Their first attempts in verse were short pieces of Lyrical Poetry, whose origin may be satisfactorily traced to the poetry of Provence; the Kings of Sicily succeeded the Spaniards in the sovereignty of Provence; and from the intercourse thus formed with the Troubadours, arose the poetry which the Italian language imbibed during its progress at the courts of the Sicilian monarchs, and which was afterwards transmitted into Tuscany, and other parts of Italy. Before the usurpation of Tuscany by the family of Medici, the form of Government at Florence had been Democratic. The numerous opportunities thus afforded to the citizens of speaking in public, and the consequent encouragement given to popular oratory, and to a free communication of opinion, may account for the care bestowed upon the language of that particular province, and the polish it so early received.

Little is known of the secular music of Italy, at this early period. A few specimens of the Canzoni, or songs of the Tuscan Giocolari, have been preserved in the Florentine collections of MSS., and also of the Madriali, *-alla Madre,-hymns to the Virgin: We are told also that the populace went about the streets singing the verses of Dante, so delighted were they with genuine poetry, the first they had ever heard. But the character of their music was not yet established; and although, in the time of Petrarch, poetry had acquired nearly its highest perfection, the progress of music had by no means been corresponding. Indeed, in its advance towards perfection, music appears to differ from all the fine arts. In painting, in poetry, in sculpture, there has been but one step from childhood to maturity-from invention to perfection;-from the roughness of the unhewn block to the high finish and masterly polish of the statue. Take away Milton, and we find all the greatest geniuses, born in the infancy, and still alive in the maturity of their respective arts:-Since the days of Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dante-of Raphael, Michael Angelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and, their gigantic contemporaries, there have been no such constellations of unrivalled genius. Men of high fame have indeed appeared in after-times; but it has been only at intervals-and they have come sparingly. Milton, Tasso, Guido, Rembrandt, are

* Whence our Madrigals, which certainly do not abound with religious sentiments.

great names; but yet, even with all the advantages of their predecessors' experience, they fall short of those great forefathers of mighty proof.' In music, on the other hand, particularly instrumental, there is just so much science mixed with the art, as to place it beyond the power of individual genius to bring to perfection. Its march must in a certain degree be progressive, -it must pass through youth and manhood-and in its scientific character there are no limits to its perfection. Once carried beyond its rudest state, it may receive a sudden advancement from the genius of a Corelli; but it is capable of still further progress from the invention of a Haydn, and may be carried yet nearer to perfection by the originality of a Beethoven. Hence it is, that, though Italy and other countries abound in composers and theorists, we find no one, till as late as the 17th century, whose genius was sufficient to stamp music with a new character. Zarlino, in the sixteenth, was a composer and a theorist of great authority; but he went very little out of the beaten path. Palestrina, who lived somewhat later, did more for the art, and was esteemed an excellent musician, as the register of his burial sufficiently attests- In St Peter's Church, near the altar of St Simon and St Jude, was interred, in con6 sequence of his extraordinary abilities, Pierluigi da Palestrina, the great musical composer, and Maestro di Capella, in this church. His funeral was attended by all the musicians of Rome, and "Libera me Domine," as composed by himself, in five parts, was sung by three choirs.' Early in the seventeenth century, music began to relax a little in its character; and occasionally little conceits and capriccios were introduced. Thus Merula composed a piece of music to the words Quis vel Qui; nominativo Qui, Quæ, Quod,' &c. in which the stammering and hesitation of the boys, and the corrections inflicted by the master, are imitated in a very ludicrous manner. But we pass over all other composers of this period, and come at once to the first very remarkable era in instrumental music, -the time of Arcangelo Corelli.

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This great man, whose works and whose practical skill, gave a reputation to Instrumental music, which it had never before enjoyed,-was born at Fusignano, in 1653. He was not formed to astonish the world by any display of very early talents; he was scarcely known before the publication of his first Twelve Sonatas, at Rome, in 1683: Nor was it till some years afterwards, that he acquired the name of a great performer.-He was of a singularly modest and retiring nature, and was with difficulty prevailed upon to take the principal violin, and the arduous task of leading the band, at Rome. The work, by

which he obtained the greatest reputation, was his solos for the violin, published in 1700. Before Corelli appeared, instrumental music could boast of little beauty, either of melody or expression. Until the establishment of the Opera, indeed, it received little assistance from any source except the music of the Churchthe sober and monotonous character of which, was not likely to infuse much variety into that of the secular music. The change which it underwent through the genius and originality of Corelli, was therefore great. He introduced the Concerto, and was the first who organized a regular band of performers, to which he paid such minute attention, that Alessandro Scarlatti, whose admirable cantatas have furnished ideas to a vast many of his successors, then a young man, declared, that if any thing could add to the merit of Corelli's compositions, it was the excellent management and wonderful accuracy of his band. The striking feature of Corelli's music, is its simplicity and tenderness. There is no bombast or pedantry-nothing that is farfetched or incomprehensible; and, above all, it possesses the greatest of all possible merits-that of being wholly original. At the same time, there is a certain sameness, a mannerism, which rather betrays a want of resource. He appears to have carefully avoided copying from any of his predecessors,-and thus loses in variety, what he gains in originality. His example brought instrumental performers, particularly on the violin, into great vogue everywhere; and the advancement of this practical branch of the art, had, we apprehend, a considerable influence upon the music of the Theatre, which soon after became of so much importance.

Of those who followed the steps of Corelli, we can only afford a slight notice of Tartini, whose work upon Temperament, written about the middle of the last century, although founded upon wrong mathematical principles, is nevertheless very ingenious and original. He is a voluminous composer his concertos alone exceeding 200 in number. He was esteemed the greatest master of his instrument of his day-except perhaps his contemporary, Veracini-a man as remarkable for his conceit and self-sufficiency, as Tartini was for modesty and timidity.

*

* Veracini being at Lucca during La Festa della Croce, entered his name for a solo concerto, according to custom. When the day arrived, he went to the place of performance, which was one of the great churches, with the intention of taking the place of first violin. He found it, however, preoccupied by Laurenti, the usual leader of the band. In great indignation at being refused the lead, he turned

cini, set to music by Caccini and Peri, and performed at the house of Signor Corsi, a great patron of the arts, in the year 1597; and from this time we may date the invention of Recitative. The first opera that was publicly exhibited, was the Euridice, also at Florence, in 1600,-written and set by the three above-mentioned persons. In this century, the opera appears to have made no great progress at least none written about that time have retained any great celebrity. The most magnificent representation, during the seventeenth century, was that of the opera of Berenice, set by Freschi, and performed at Padua in the year 1680 with a splendour of decoration, which excels even the gaudy pageant of our modern theatres. One chorus alone, consisted of one hundred virgins, one hundred soldiers, one hundred cuirassiers, forty cornets on horseback, six trumpeters ditto, six drummers, six ensigns, six sackbuts, six flutes, six octave flutes, six harpers, six cymbalists, twelve huntsmen, twelve grooms, eighteen coachmen, six pages, two lions, and two elephants! We have no mummery now-a-days which can at all compare with this. There were then no fewer than seven theatres for the performance of operas, in Venice alone. The most celebrated composers in Italy, of this period, 'were Luighi, Cesti, and Stradella-although the principal works of the latter, consist of cantatas, madrigals, &c. rather than of operas or oratorios. A story is told of Stradella's music, which our readers may believe or not as they please; we relate it as we have received it. Stradella having seduced the wife of a noble Venetian, fled from Venice with the lady, to escape the vengeance of the enraged husband, who, having heard that they had taken up their abode at Rome, despatched two ruffians thither to assassinate Stradella. The bravos hearing, soon after their arrival, that he was to conduct one of

his back upon the performers and would not play a single note, till being called upon for his concerto, he requested permission to play a solo, accompanied only by a single violincello. His performance was so exquisite, as to draw bursts of applause from the audience. He was interrupted by e vivas, and other tokens of approbation, a thing never before heard within the walls of a church. Veracini was delighted; and whenever he was about to make a close, he turned round to Laurenti, saying in the fulness of his satisfaction, si suona per fare il primo violino, Messer Laurenti!' Veracini had two famous violins, one of which he called St Peter, and the ther St Paul.

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Così

his own oratorios at one of the churches, chose to lie in wait for him in the portico, and there to despatch him, after the con clusion of the piece. They got to the church while the oratorio was performing; and such an effect had the beauty of the melody upon their savage minds, that they relented, and vowed they could not find in their hearts to put an end to such a melodious spirit:-they even waited till Stradella came out of the church told him how much obliged to him they were for their evening's amusement; and, disclosing the purpose for which they had come, recommended him to make his escape speedily from Rome. The persevering vengeance of the Venetian followed them, however, from place to place;-and about two years afterwards, Stradella and the lady were found dead in bed, one morning, having been both stabbed to the heart.

In the beginning of the last century, the Italian opera ace quired a great accession of strength from the works of Vinci, Leo, Hape, Galuppi, Porpora, and Pergolesi. To Vinci may be ascribed the greatest improvement which the opera had yet received that of separating the vocal part, in a great measure, from the instrumental. Before this time, the voice parts were drowned by the instrumental; a fashion in composition patronized by the Germans, from Keiser downwards. Vinci saw the absurdity of this; and reformed it, by distinguishing between the melody, and the accompaniments-simplifying both, but especially the latter, which he kept as much as possible in uni'sons. It is a reproach to the taste of the audiences at Rome and Naples, that they did not recognise the merit of Pergolesi's music, till the admiration of the rest of Europe recalled their attention to it, and compelled them to acknowledge their want of judgment. The great excellence to which the opera was now approaching was principally owing to the new lights which the subject had received from Vinci, and Pergolesi, in the melody -and from Porpora in the recitative;-and yet, strange to say, the Olimpiade, Pergolesi's finest opera, was not heard with the applause it deserved, till after his death, in 1737. He died at the early age of thirty-three; and it was during the last years of his life, when worn out with sickness, that he composed his celebrated Stabat Mater.

In the crowd of composers which now filled Italy, there are many very celebrated names, who brought the vocal music of Italy to a very high pitch of perfection, to be surpassed only by the authors of Don Giovanni, of the Matrimonio Segreto, or of the Molinara. In compassion to our readers, we have been sparing in our enumeration of composers, and in criticisms VOL. XXXIII. No. 66.

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