MARIA LUIGI CARLO ZENOBI SALVATORE CHERUBINI CONTENTS. PAGE P h e p a c e ......................................................................................................................... v B i r t h a n d P a r e n t a g e .....................................................................................1 U n d e r S a r t i ...................................................................................... 3 E a r l ie s t W o r k s .............................................................................................................. 5 V is it s L o n d o n ...............................................................................................................6 L o d o i s l c a............................................................................................9 Medee .. 14 Lea D eux J o u r n e e s.......................................................................19 F a n i s h a........................................................................................................................ 2 8 B e r l io z a n d AU B a b a .................................................................................. 3 2 C h e r u b i n i ’s Ov e r t u r e s .................................................................................. 41 A S a c r e d M u s ic C o m p o s e r .....................................................................4 2 M a s s , i n E........................................................................................................................44 M a s s , i n D m i n o r ..............................................................................................4 8 M a s s , i n C [ N o . 6 ] .............................................................................................. 51 R e q u i e m , i n C m i n o r .............................................................................................. 55 R e q u i e m , i n D m i n o r .................................................................................. 5 7 C h e r u b i n i ’s P rolipicness ..................................................................................61 A t C a t e l ’s G r a v e .............................................................................................. 6 2 D e a t h , Ob s e q u i e s , a n d C a r e e r ......................................................... 6 3 His Influence upon M u s ic ..................................................................... 69 MARIA LUIGI CARLO ZENOBI SALVATORE CHERUBINI Uniform with this Volume HENRY PURCELL By DR. W . H . CUMMINGS, JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH By REGINALD LANE POOLE, GEORGE FREDERICK HANDEL By MRS. JULIAN MARSHALL JOSEPH HAYDN By MISS TOWNSEND WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART By DR. F. GEH RING LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN By H . A. RUDALL CARL MARIA VON WEBER By SIR JULIUS BENEDICT GIOACHINO ROSSINI By H. SUTHERLAND EDWARDS FRANZ SCHUBERT By H . F. FROST FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY By W . S. ROCKSTRO ROBERT SCHUMANN By L A . FULLER MAITLAND RICHARD WAGNER By DR. FRANCIS HUEFFER MARIA LUIGI CARLO ZENOB1 SAL­ By FREDERICK J. CROWEST VATORE CHERUBINI JOHANNES BRAHMS By E. MARKHAM LEE ii i D'flHjou «EQuitn uODOISKfl MARIA LUIGI CARLO ZENOBI SALVATORE CHERUBINI 1 7 6 0 - 1 8 4 2 BY FREDERICK J. CROWEST FOREWORD BY FRANCESCO BERGER HON. R.A.M., F.G.S.M, S L - M s i C ? MDCCXCIV LONDON SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & CO., LTD. 1 427 .i PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY PURNELL PAULlON, SOMERSET, ENGLAND PUBLISHERS’ ANNOUNCEMENT T a k e the light away from the skies, take the flowers ofL our earth, take the waves from the sea, and take Music out of our lives, and what is left ? A darkened world, a barren earth, a waste of stagnant water, saddened days and joyless nights. Music, in one form or another,—whether learned or simple, vocal or instrumental, dramatic or lyrical, appeals to our entire race, and those who have spent their years in pro­ ducing it for us, have contributed abundantly to the sum of human happiness. Acknowledging our indebtedness to them, it is but natural that we should wish to know something about the when, where, and how, of their activities. This information the present series of biographies of Music’s mighty Masters, supplies, in briefly-told volumes, full of reliable facts, with very little exaggeration or parti­ sanship, and compiled by authors of highest standing, each with special qualification for his task. The volumes are issued at the uniform price of 2s. 6d., and are obtainable from any bookseller in the Kingdom and Colonies. The general editorship has been entrusted to Mr. Francesco Berger, Hon. R.A.M., F.G.S.M., whose extended experience has been of valuable service to us and whose ready help we gratefully acknowledge. S a m p s o n L o w , M a e s t o n & C o., L t d . CHERUBINI C h e r u b i n i stands at the parting of the roads—the older from the newer, in music. He appears to have worthily closed that procession of great musicians, whom, for want of better definition, we conventionally speak of as “ classic.” While musicians of every type take off their hats to his name, his music has never been “ popular” with the masses, who, at all times and in every land, prefer to be entertained rather than elevated. Unlike most musicians of his rank, Cherubini’s fame is unconnected with any particular instrument, whether organ, piano, or violin. It rests on the far grander founda­ tion of masses, symphonies and operas of masterly quality. Musicians have occasionally been known, by their candid admiration, to arouse public interest in some particular favourite of theirs, or to add the lustre of their name to the ranks of worshippers at some recognised shrine. Mendelssohn was enthusiastic about Bach, and Saint-Saens worshipped Mozart. What should be the attitude of the world to one whose genius evoked unqualified praise from a Haydn, a Beethoven, and a Mendelssohn ? Surely the day must soon dawn when Cherubini will come into his own, and tardy justice be done to a composer whom such illustrious contemporaries acknowledged as one of Music’s mighty Masters. F . B. CONTENTS. PAGE P h e p a c e ......................................................................................................................... v B i r t h a n d P a r e n t a g e .....................................................................................1 U n d e r S a r t i ...................................................................................... 3 E a r l ie s t W o r k s .............................................................................................................. 5 V is it s L o n d o n ...............................................................................................................6 L o d o i s l c a............................................................................................9 Medee . 14 Lea D eux J o u r n e e s.......................................................................19 F a n i s h a........................................................................................................................ 2 8 B e r l io z a n d AU B a b a .................................................................................. 3 2 C h e r u b i n i ’s Ov e r t u r e s .................................................................................. 41 A S a c r e d M u s ic C o m p o s e r .....................................................................4 2 M a s s , i n E........................................................................................................................44 M a s s , i n D m i n o r ..............................................................................................4 8 M a s s , i n C [ N o . 6 ] .............................................................................................. 51 R e q u i e m , i n C m i n o r .............................................................................................. 55 R e q u i e m , i n D m i n o r .................................................................................. 5 7 C h e r u b i n i ’s P rolipicness ..................................................................................61 A t C a t e l ’s G r a v e .............................................................................................. 6 2 D e a t h , Ob s e q u i e s , a n d C a r e e r ......................................................... 6 3 His Influence upon M u s ic ..................................................................... 69 X CONTEXTS. PAOB E s t im a t e o f h i s D r a m a t ic W o r k s ..... 6 9 E s t i m a t e o f his Sacked M usic ..................................................................... 7 7 His I n f l u e n c e a s a T e a c h e r .....................................................................83 His Temperament and D isposition .........................................................91 A n e c d o t e s o f C h e r u b i n i ..................................................................................9 3 C a t a l o g u e o f C om positions ...................................................................K>5 I n d e x ................................................................................................................................. I l l CHERUBINI. "T he last and noblest Roman in tlie purely classical style of Art,” as Baillot has styled Cherubini, was born at Florence on the Tlth of September, 1760. The register of baptisms at St. John the Baptist Basilica, records the full name as