MUSICIANS AND COMPOSERS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 1 September 1909, Page 80

MUSICIANS AND COMPOSERS.

PRODUCTION OF ITERLANGER'S "TESS." Although the operatic version of Hardy'e "Tese of the D'Urbervilles," set to musio by Baron Frederic D'Erlanger, which was performed for the first time in England rej oently at Covent Garden, can hardly be said i to be an entirely successful presentment of ■ tho leading themee of the famous novel, j there is no doubt that Hhe librettist, Luigi , Illica, has contrived to make an effective ! enough scheme for an opera. The issues I are clear, and ithere are plenty of oppor1 tunties lor lyrical singing. Otherwise, I those who expect a musical commentary on the tragic story in its full significance are bound to feel disapointed. The principal cause "for dissatisfaction lies in the fact that the opera ends at the point where Tess leaves Angel when the latter discovers her secret. It is ■necessary, therefore, to forget, in so far as ie possible, the original, and take the opera as it stands. The version, briefly, is as follows. In Act i one is shown the Durbeyfield's cottage, the intimation of the fuppossd kinship with the D'Urberville family, and the final misfortune, the death of the horse, which kads Tess to leave hei home In the second j act Te.=s % s disagreement with the servant.? ! is shown, and it end-> A\ith a duet between J her and Alec, a prelude to her downfall. | The scene of Act iii ie the Talbot hay's ( Dairy, where both Tees and Angel are working, the former beciiming to feel that a new life might be for her now in their mutual love. She hesitates, however, to tell Angel of her past, and on her father coming to cay that Alec, now that his mother ie dead^ will many her, she begs ■ him to reveal her secret to Angel. The ! act ends with a duet between the lovers. ' In the last act Te»s finds, co her horror, j that her father has neglected to fulfil her . request, and the curtain falls on her flight j and Angel's despair. The libretto is quite i Italian in charact-3", and the music is in ' the Italian style, too. The English atmosphere of the story is reflected only on the j stage with it-s picturesque scenery, painted j by Mr Harry Brooke, and in the eoMuine^ | '"■ <l<?t>igned by Signoi Oo.nelh. The com- ■ poser has an abundant flow of easy-going I ' melody; it is not vei\ oi initial or distinc- i ' tive, but is pleasant to listen to in its ! way, and -the whole work may ba said to j afford ar evening's entertainment of an | 1 agreeable enough kind to those who do not i / expert much depth of feeling or strength ' ] of dTamatic expression One rather had I , the impression that w.th a story of a lighter i t and more cheerful type Baion d'Erlanger ! might win very genuine success. Yet ""T- c s" ! has this much in ite favour — it is not pro- , ' tentious, and it only fails to hold the u-iten- | tion seriously or slir the emotions bocaurc ' I of Wie music's intrinsically slender quality i j little more, we think, need bo said, fcr ' <here is nothing revolutionary or "mcdein" ( ( in the writing; familiar progression? rrako J their way through the score, with familiar r

' ■ treatment thereof. ft is the musio of A.^. „ experienced hand rather than that of air „ innovator, or of one who -has Anything- very important to say; An admirable perform- ! an4e in every respect did much to give i interest to, the production.— Pall Mall Gazette. CHEVALIER TITO MATTEL Chevalier Tito Mattel, one of the most popular musicians of the time, has written ; 6ome hundreds of songs with gratifying success. He thus recounts his first success as a composer of songs:— • My first success with eong was made with "Non c -ver." The story of tihat- song is curious. I was living at PrevitaliV Hotel at the beginning of 1864-, just after my waltz had come out. Early one morning my friend Caravoglia, a famous baritone einger, who was afterwards to win a great success at the opera, oame into my , room. I was asleep at the cime, but ho came .to my bedside and shook me Until I j opened my eyes.^ "Wake up, wake up, you • laay fellow, he said; "I have got some I words for you. You must compose a song." ; | "Go .away, .go away; you stupid- fellow,' j J said, "*nd ~tak& your" wordfe with you. ' 1 want to sleep." ' . I 1 "No, no," he^eried,* getting^ more ex1 cited, "you must not go io.eleep. I" tell ] j you you ■must- get np. You must compose I this song for me*right away." .;.'». .j j As >he would not Jet me sleep, and he J 1 would not go away, I had lo^jjjetlii^,. „JJ rubbed my eyes and put on a dressing ] I gown. Them he put the verses into my j I hands and I read them. The title, "Nbn I c ver," todk my fancy right away. As I : | read the words an air began playirig^itself I ,in my head. I went to the- piano, halfI dressed as I was, and, sitting down, began to play. In & very, little while .1 had set J the words. As soon as I had finished Caravoglia sang the song. • He wa« enthusiastic. "Now get dressed," he said, "and I 1 we will go offl to the publishers' ritrht! away." . I I dressed, Jia"d some breakfast, and we ' went off to the publishers' who had been, | , doing my music. 1 played the jaccompani- | ] menfc and Caravoglia sang "Non c ver" to i them. When he had finished they asked i what I wanted for it. i I "£30," I said. | i "What!" they almost screamed. "£3O for an Italian song! It is ever so much too \ much." | '-What!" they almost screamed— "£3o for I "A royalty of sixpence per copy," they \ 6aid. ; I accepted it. . j i It was produoec; and was a great suei cess, so that practically my first success as a composer and a eong-writer came to- ' gethei*. "Non c ver" made Caravoglia's , reputation as a singer, as it made mine as ' a song-writer. " r | On one occasion a big concert was got up, at whioh I was asked to accompany the singers. When it came to a certain geirtle- , man's turn to sing he told me he intended to give "Non c ver." tWe got through the first verse all right, but when he came to .the refrain the put in all sorts of flourishes on his own account. As soon as I saw what he wae doing I imitate*? him -on I the piano, with the result that everybody in the room began to titter and hen to laugh aloud. As soon ac the song was finished, and I saw which way he was going off the platform, I went the other way, as I did not want to meet him. It was no use, however. He followed me, and as soon as h© came up he said to me, "How did you like the way I sang your song, Mr Mattei?" "Not at all,'] I said quite frankly. "If I had wanted it to be sung in that fashion I would have written in all . the flourishes tha>t you sang." •