At the end of the volume was "An additional stanza to the Nut-brown Maid, from Mr. Percy's old MS." "Here ye may see, that women be In love, kinde, meeke and stable; But rather pray* to God, that they That have proved, such as they loved; But all men wolde, the women sholde And serve but him alone."+ The following are the pieces marked :— x The Despairing Shepherd xx To the Hon. Charles Montague, Esq. x To a Lady, she refusing to continue a dispute, &c. xx Ode on His Majesty's Arrival in Holland, 1695 x Imitation of Anacreon x An Ode x English Ballad on taking of Namur x To Mr. Howard; an Ode x Love Disarmed x Cloe Hunting x Cupid and Ganymede x Cupid Mistaken x Venus Mistaken XXXX The Dove xx A Lover's Anger xx On Beauty; a Riddle XXXX The Garland xx The lady who offers her looking-glass to Venus "This last seemingly indicates it to have been written by a lady." xx A better Answer xxxx To a young gentleman in love xxxxxxx An English Padlock XXXXXX Hans Carvel x Paulo Purganti XXXX The Ladle x To Dr. Sherlock, on his Practical Discourse concern ing Death xx The Chameleon xx Merry Andrew xxx A Simile x The Flies x Epigram-" To John I ow'd," &c. x Another "Yes! every poet," &c. XXXXX Nut-brown Maid Xxxxxxx Henry and Emma x A True Maid-" Ten Months," &c. x A Reasonable Affliction xx An Epigram written to the Duke de Noailles xx Epilogue to Phædra xx Epilogue to Lucius xxxx The Thief and the Cordelier xxxx An Epitaph x Earl Robert's Mice xxx In the same style x In the same style Xxxx Protogenes and Apelles xxxxx Alma; three Cantos xxx The Turtle and Sparrow xxx Down Hall xx Epistle to Fleetwood Shephard, Esq., 1689 xx The Remedy worse than the Disease xx On Bishop Atterbury burying John, Duke of Bucks Xxxx The Conversation xx Colin's Mistakes xx The Female Phaeton x Judgment of Venus xx Epitaph for Himself, spoken extempore. W. A. L. THOUGHTS ON THE SUBLIME IN MUSIC.* BEFORE we proceed to the consideration of this subject, or rather as affording some prefatory explanations of our own views, let us examine two papers by Mr. H. J. Gauntlett, which appeared as leading articles of a monthly publication, called the Musical World; and in which, the principles laid down by Dr. Crotch in his musical lectures, and elsewhere, are controverted with rather more warmth than the occasion seems exactly to require. Mr. Gauntlett appears to ground his hostility mainly on the bad judgment shewn in awarding the Gresham prize, and on the small success which has attended the labours of Dr. Crotch and his followers, in the production of music for the church. We say appears, for though he does not say so in as many words, and although he has, in a loose and rambling manner, brought forward arguments which he imagines tend to demolish these principles; yet it is sufficiently evident that his remarks were prompted by what he considers the malawardment of the prize: from this springs his hostility to the principles above mentioned, to shew the justice of which hostility, he afterwards seeks for arguments, and brings forward examples and even ridicule. With what ability, fairness, and success he has wielded these weapons, we now propose to inquire. Mr. G. commences by giving an account of the origin of the Gresham prize, annually awarded, "for the best original composition in sacred vocal music, either hymn or anthem; the words to be selected from the Canonical Scriptures, &c. ; and to be set for three, four, or five voices, with a separate part for the organ; the music to be entirely new." Mr. G. has put the last two sentences in italics, for reasons, doubtless, most excellent, but which we confess ourselves unable to fathom. The first prize was awarded to Mr. Charles Hart, the second to Mr. Kellow Pye, the third to Mr. Goss, the fourth to Mr. Elvey, the fifth and last to Mr. C. Lucas. Now, from these compositions having gained the prize, Mr. Gauntlett infers that they are all in what the umpires consider the true sublime style, and thence that the principles on which Dr. Crotch (one of the umpires) has founded his decision, are groundless. This inference is, we think, not borne out by sound reasoning: is it not *We propose, in future, to dedicate a few pages in each number to an original paper on the "divine art," and a few more to critical notices of such new musical publications as are sent to us for review.-EDS. 2 H VOL. V.-NO. XVIII. possible, nay probable, that, far from being what Dr. Crotch would have wished them, they were only what he considered the best of those presented to him. Mr. G. begs the question; he first takes for granted, not only that there are those existing, who can write in the style advocated by the doctor, but that compositions in this style were sent in for competition; and then, because a certain composition gains the prize, concludes it must be in that style. He cannot escape this dilemma, for he has made the Gresham prize compositions the test of the soundness of Dr. Crotch's opinions on the true style of church music. But suppose all sent in to be indifferent (a thing not at all impossible) some one must gain the prize, which was to be given for the best, but not necessarily for a good composition. Having now taken down what in reality, if not in seeming, is Mr. G.'s main-sail, let us now examine the minor details of his rigging. Let him speak for himself:-" The habit of madrigal and glee writing has hitherto exercised a powerful influence on the ecclesiastical style of our countrymen. Indeed, the two modes acted reciprocally upon each other. The vocal works of Handel have, in some degree, effected a departure from the more ancient forms of church music. The fine anthem, Like as the Hart panteth for the Water Brooks, evidently afforded a model to Boyce for that best effort of his genius, the anthem composed for the annual celebration of the festival of the sons of the clergy. Battishill also adopts the very phrases of the great German composer. The beautiful point on the words 'Think thou on me, O Lord,' from the trio anthem, Call to Remembrance, is taken from the last eight bars of the movement which closes the fine duett, Se tu non Lasciamore. That it was a favourite sequence with Battishill, is evident from his use of it again in one of his three-part glees." Now what, in the name of common sense, has all this to do with the question? the vocal works of Handel, may, or may not, have exercised the influence he speaks of; the effect, however, from whatever cause arising, still remains the same, namely, the increasing secularisation, and consequently, the decreasing sublimity of music for the church. Who that has an ear to judge of, and a mind to appreciate, true sublimity, will deny that from the time when Bird flourished, down to the end of the last century, to bring it no further, modulations and harmonies derived from the madrigal, the opera, and the concert room, have been gradually though not imperceptibly creeping in and polluting the fountain, which at its source was pure and unalloyed, and calculated only to rouse those emotions of veneration and awe, which should be almost the sole end of sacred music. No one, we think, acquainted with the compositions produced during this period, will deny our position with regard to their general tendency: some great minds, we admit, there were, who endeavoured, and for a time did stop this downward march; but that march, nevertheless, did continue, and may with propriety be compared to a mountain stream, at times interrupted by rocks and other impediments, but only flowing the faster to its destination after it has overleaped those impediments. Mr. Gauntlett divides the ecclesiastical composers of the present day into five classes : "1st. The school adopted by Wesley, which has been carried out on the same principles that led to the changes effected by Gibbons, Purcell, Boyce, and Battishill. "2nd. The school adopted by Attwood and Novello, which, although they differ in degree, we do not deem the difference so important as to call for a distinct arrangement. These composers, like Wesley, recognise the principles laid down and practised by the great names just referred to, but apply them in a more dramatic manner. In each of these schools intense feeling takes the precedence of school-boy imitation."-We suppose from this that the great names above referred to" made "school-boy imitation" their chief aim! "3rd. The school (yet in its infancy) founded on a union of Purcell, Bach, and Beethoven, of which the Exeter Wesley may be said to be the inventor."-So that this school unites the merits of these three great masters! Surely Mr. G. was not awake when he penned this sentence. 1 "4th. The school adopted by those glee writers, who are not addicted to the schism propogated by the Oxford Professor, and which includes the names of Robert Cooke, Shield, Evans, Walmisley, Jolly, and others. "5th. The 'true sublime,' of which Messrs. Crotch and Horsley are pre-eminently the corner stones." Let us ask Mr. G. which of the schools (if schools they must be) has produced, or is capable of producing, such another work as Dr. Crotch's Palestine, except the one of which he is pre-eminently the corner stone? The answer is inevitable; none. Again, whose name, amongst those above mentioned, stands highest as a composer ? If Mr. G. is unwilling to answer this question, we will answer it for him, and instance the Oratorio of Palestine, as Dr. Crotch's |