A Sea-Spell by D. G. Rossetti; Hubert Bath; Three Songs for a Medium Voice by Heinrich Heine; Louis Arthur Hamand; Coast Scenes. Four Lyrics for Medium Voice by Louis Arthur Hamand The Musical Times, Vol. 50, No. 794 (Apr. 1, 1909), p. 248 Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/907998 . Accessed: 24/12/2014 18:27

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This content downloaded from 128.235.251.160 on Wed, 24 Dec 2014 18:27:48 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 248 THE MUSICAL TIMES.-APRIL I, 19o09

The firstaim of Mr.Rutland Boughton's choral writing is SONGS. to provideinterest in everypart, the occasions being few Love's secret. The wild flower'ssong. In a myrtleshade. whenthe lowervoices form merely an accompaniment.Words by William Blake. Composed by Granville The continuousflow of thepart-writing disguises the rigid Bantock. stanza-formofthe narrative, and with its frequent modulations Good-night. For soprano or tenor. Words by Shelley. eliminatesall monotony.The seriousmood of themusic, Music byJ. D. Davis. rightlyexcludes a 'tuneful'style, but effectivethemes or Truth. For mezzo-soprano. Words by Ben Jonson. figuresoften occur in associationwith various shades of Music by VictorG. Booth. feelingin thepoem. Theyappear chiefly in theorchestral Six little songs. For contralto voice. Composed by part,while the skilfully woven choral part-writing continues its N. [Novello & Co., Ltd.] course Choralistswill find that the Hodgkinson. simultaneously. apparent In the of authorities,Mr. Bantock has chromaticdifficulties of their parts are smoothed over by the opinion many flowand vocalnature of the claimsto be consideredthe foremostof Englishsong-writers. eminently writing. In any case his reputationis greatlyenhanced by thesefresh examplesfrom his pen. The pianofortepart takes an equal share in the effectwith the voice part, not by means of elaboratefiguration, but ratherby expressivephrases and harmoniesthat in much subtlerterms. 'The Reminiscences Charles telling speak of mylife. By Santley. wild flower'ssong' is a tone-poemin miniature; it has three short contrasted each a different Isaac Pitman& sections, conveying [Sir Sons, Ltd.] mood in the words. The final chordis an interestingone. 'Love's secret' is made noteworthyby the musical The breezinesswhich characterizes Sir Charles Santley's of a ' In a shade' is is reflectedin this readable representation sigh. myrtle eloquent temperament and informingand effectivein everybar. These songs requirea high volume. One can fancythe veteransinger seated by the voice. firesidein his favouritearm-chair recountingwith unaffected Mr. Davis's 'Good-night' is less ambitious in design. franknessand evidentenjoyment the incidentsin his long The is contentto in. the music the and honourablecareer. He is noteven averse to a composer reproduce telling story regular accentuationof Shelley's lines, a process which against himself. It is well-knownthat tenor vocalists enableshim to be melodious. An violoncello bewail the have ' frankly optional littlethey to do in Mendelssohn's Elijah.' obbligatois provided,which adds to the tunefulnessof the On the occasion of a performanceof the oratorio,as the The is dedicated to and has been sung excellenceof the the song. composition exponentpar title-r6lewas leaving by Madame Melba. orchestraof Albert Hall, a nice-lookingold lady, accom- . 'Truth,' Mr. Booth, for an a the by gives every opportunity panied by youngman, emerged from entranceto expressivestyle of singing. It is byno meansdifficult either the area. 'I heard theirconversation,' he says, 'without forsinger or accompanist,but has neverthelessconsiderable listening, as they were speaking at full voice. The emotionalsignificance. young man said, "'Well, dear, what did you think of The six little Mrs. are of the sort ?" songs by Hodgkinson it " My dear," she replied, "it was delightful,really. thatwill appeal to children,whether as singersor listeners. I enjoyed it very much." " Was it not a wonderfullyThe words are in one instance the and the ?" " by composer fine performance continuedthe gentleman. It was, remainderby ChristinaRossetti. Both voice and pianoforte said the old "there was indeed," pleasant lady; only parts are easy. one drawback: in myopinion, there was too muchof Elijah and too littleof Mr. Edward Lloyd."' A lostlove. And so I madea Villanelle. By CyrilScott. There is, however,much in this attractivevolume that Love's mission. Love's retreat. Cecil Hazlehurst. calls for seriousconsideration. Sir Charles does not By spare BonnyBlue-cap. By JuliusHarrison. [Elkin & Co.] the publicfor their lack of artistictaste ; and he speaks in no uncertaintones of the low standardof now in The two examplesfrom Mr. CyrilScott's pen are highly singing The and clever vogue. He says: characteristic. dainty melody rhythmic accompanimentof 'And so I made a Villanelle' should Ambitionto reachthe of theartistic ladder seems ensurepopularity. top Mr. Hazlehurst'ssongs exemplify the better-classballad; to have sleptor died out. The rage formoney-making the conventionalvein of sentimentflows through them by ballad concertsand royaltyaccounts has oustedthe strongly. Alternativeendings, the one ff and the otherpp, desire to succeedin which to be the aim are suppliedin 'Love's mission.' opera, ought Mr. is a of and withoutwhich no can claim 'Bonny Blue-cap,'composed by JuliusHarrison, everysinger, singer rousingsetting of Sir Walter Scott's words,in which the the title of perfectartiste. Some few earnest,gifted controversialtopic of trans-Tweediansuperiority is liable to studentshave attainedeminence as concertsingers, and rousedispute. more have been added to theirnumber many might A Sea-spel. Words by D. G. Rossetti. Composed by but forthe lack of knowledgeof the rudimentsof their HubertBath. art,for which not they,but the ignoranceof thegreater Tltreesongs for a mediumvoice. Poems by HeinrichHeine. numberof thosewho professto teach,and the careless- English translationsby the composer. Composed by Louis ArthurHamand. [Breitkopf& nessof the fewwho, with and attention, Hirtel.] patience proper Coast scenes. Four lyricsfor mediumvoice. Words and mightteach, are alone responsible. musicby Louis ArthurHamand. [Augener& Co.] The modernismof Mr. HubertBath findsits mostnatural These reminiscencescover a wide field of interests- outletin the expressionof mysticism. He is thereforewell biographical,travel, friendships,&c.-the volume being qualifiedto providea musical settingto Rossetti'swords. crowded with readable matter from cover to cover. Apartfrom an unwontedstrength of character,' A Sea-spell' Sir Charlespays a worthytribute to his friendand comrade shows all the characteristicsof Mr. Bath's music. The in song, Sims Reeves,and in so doing refutesthe baseless harmonicscheme is as eerie and ambiguousas the most insinuationsagainst the characterof that great artist. The advancedmodern could wish. book is one to be read ratherthan quoted from, because it The twosets of songsby Dr. Hamandcontain much music would be difficultto stop makingextracts, nor wouldit be that is picturesqueand interesting.The flowingindepen- fair to do so. Its attractivenessis increased by several dence of the pianofortepart is an importantfeature. For illustrations,including a beautifulportrait of Sir Charles instance,the accompanimentto 'Eine Liebesbotschaft,'one Santley's motherand a lifelikepresentment of the great of the Heine songs, is self-containedand would make an singerhimself. There are also two facsimilesof sketchesby effectivelittle pianoforte piece if played alone. The melodies, Mendelssohn,one of them being a pencil drawing of rhythmsand harmoniesare variedwith great skill throughout Ludgate Hill, made by the composerof 'Eli'ah' duringhis theselittle compositions, which deserve to becomepopular. visitto London in 1832. REVIEWS (continued on page 256).

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