cell's taste barbarous; yet he thinks that, in fpite of fuperior cultivation and refinement, in fpite of viciffitudes of fashion, through all his rudeness and barbarifm, original genius, feeling, and paffion, will be difcovered, by candid and competent judges, in his works!' This is the language of a true critic, more willing to praise than to cenfure; but without exclufively admiring the mufic of any age or country, Purcell's tafte will be eiteemed barbarous, even by those who reverence his genius. The ode on his death, by Dryden, which Dr. Burney has fubjoined, in fome refpects will give thofe who do not understand mufic, an idea of Purcell's compofitions: it is full of the puerilities of the times, with marks of genius which ought to have flourished in better days. Dr. Burney concludes his account of Purcell with a review of his most popular fong. Let Cæfar and Urania live,' a duct in a birth-day ode, during the reign of king William and queen Mary, is built on a ground base of only two bars, which are invariably repeated to different paffages in the voice-parte in harmony with it. The compofing fongs on a ground bafe, our hiftorian obferves, was an exercife of ingenuity, in which Purcell greatly delighted, though the practic was certainly Gothic, and unworthy of a man of genius and original refources. We agree with the doctor in this opinion; yet, perhaps, as Pope obferves, graces fometimes start even from difficulties; and as inftances of this, in the cafe of ground bafes, we would remind the reader of Bieffed is the people,' of Dr. Croft, and what, perhaps, he is better acquainted with, Father of Heaven,' in Judas Maccabæus. He next proceeds to mention Purcell's defects. Though there are grand defigns in his works, and masterly ftrokes of compofition and expreffion, yet his melody, the hiftorian thinks, wants fymmetry and grace, and his harmony is not always fo pure as it ought to be, in confequence of his writing on a given bafe. The abfurdity of repeating a word of one or two fyllables, an unlimited number of times, for the fake of the melody, was carried farther by Purcell than any other compofer. But the whole of our author's obfervations, which difplay great difcernment, are too long for an extract, and would fuffer by an abridgment. After giving us the progrefs of the violin in England, during the last century, he proceeds to the ftate of mufic in Italy in the fame period. In fpeaking of the canons of Turini, he fays, there is one, upon the fubject of which Handel has compofed one of his fineft inftrumental fugues; but he has enlivened and embellished the theme, with a counter fubject, and and fhown, that he faw farther into its latent fertility than the original inventor! It is difficult to trace the origin of this agreeable fubje&t: we recollect it in a madrigal of Morley's, Ah, cruel, you pull away too foon;' it has also been taken by Corelli, in his concertos; and lastly, by Handel, who added a fecond fubject; fo that it has gained by paffing through his hands. A great number of compofers, mufical authors and performers, flourished in this time, of which we have a long lift, with judicious remarks. It concludes with fragments of Italian melody, in the early part of the 17th century. The ninth chapter contains an account of the progrefs of the violin in Italy, from the 16th century to the prefent time. This, as the laft chapter on the fubject, neceffarily contains accounts of many profeffors, who have, by degrees, brought forward the violin to its prefent ftate. We dare not fay of perfection; for, probably, the performers of the last age thought as well of themfelves as the moderns; and, perhaps, in the next century, the prefent performers may be thought to be only in the infancy of practice. The following paflage we should not have expected from Dr. Burney: it is in the tyle of Malter Mace. A Quartetto, compofed by GREGORIO ALLEGRI, for two violins, tenor, and bafe, which Kircher has inferted in his Mufurgia, published 1652, the year when this author of the celebrated Miferere, which is constantly performed in the Papal chapel during the l'affion-week, died, does not manifest any great progrefs which the violin tribe had made towards perfec tion, about the middle of the last century. The celebrity and importance which this family has acquired, fince it may be faid to have got up in the world, and made fo much noife every where, may excite curiofity in its admirers about its manner of going on, and paffing its time, one hundred and thirty years ago, before its offspring had contrived to be invited as pleafant and neceffary companions in all places of ceremony, festivity, and amufement. The difpofition of the feveral orders and ranks of this fraternity, as noted down by the learned Kircher, in the infancy of their fate, was the following: Violino prima, Violino fecondo, Alto, and Baffo di Viola; an order that is ftill continued in their private, as well as public meetings, which may afford fome fatisfaction to curious enquirers into familycompacts. And it must appear fomewhat fingular, that though many of this race are of a gigantic fize, yet the great usually fubmit to be led and governed by the mall, in every congrels or mufter, be their numbers ever fo confiderable.' As the account of Tartini is more easily extracted, and more interesting than those of most of the other masters, wè fhall give it with a few omiffions. Giofeppe Tar ini was born at Pirano, in the province of Iftria, in April 1692. His father having been a great benefactor to the cathedral church at Parenzo, had been ennobled in reward for his piety. Gufeppe was intended for the law, but mixing Mufic with his other ftudies during the courfe of his education, it foon grew too powerful for the reft, and tyrannifed over the whole circle of filter fciences. This is not fo furprising as another strong propenfity, which during his youth occupied his attention very much, which was fencing, an art that was not likely to become neceffary to the fafety or honour of a man of fo pious and pacific a difpolition, in a civil employment; and yet he is faid to have equalled in this art even the mafter from whom he received inftructions. In 1710, he was fent to the university of Padua to pursue his ftudies as a civilian; but before he was twenty, having married without the confent of his parents, they wholly abandoned him, and obliged him to wander about in search of an afylum; which, after many hardships, he found in a convent at Affifi, where he was received by a monk his relation, who, commiferating his misfortunes, let him remain there till fomething better could be done for him. Here he practifed the violin to keep off melancholy reflections; but being difcovered on a great festival in the orchestra of the church of the convent by the accident of a remarkable high wind, which forcing open the doors of the church blew afide the curtain of the orchestra and expofed all the performers to the fight of the congregation; when being recognifed by a Paduan acquaintance, differences were accommodated, and he fettled with his wife at Venice for fome time. This lady, indeed, was of the Xantippe kind, and being himself very Socratic in wisdom, virtue, and patience, her reign was unmolefted by any domestic war, or oppofition to her fupremacy. While he was at Venice, the celebrated Veracini arrived in that city, whofe performance awakened an extraordinary emulation in Tartini, who, though he had been thought to have a powerful hand, had never heard a great player before, or conceived it poffible for the bow to have fuch varied powers of energy and expreffion. He therefore quitted Venice the next day, and went to Ancona, in order to ftudy the ufe of the bow in more tranquillity, and with more convenience than at Venice, as he had a place affigued him in the opera orchestra of that city. This happened in the year 1714, the year in which he difcovered the phenomenon of the third found. It was here too, and in the carnival of the fame year, that he heard and perceiv ed the extraordinary effects of a piece of fimple recitative, which he mentions in his Trattato di Mufica. It was during his refi dence at Ancona, that, by diligent study and practice, he acquired fufficient abilities and reputation to be invited, in 1721, to the place of first violin, and mafter of the band in the cele brated church of St. Anthony of Padua. By this time, his fame was fo extended that he had repeated invitations from Paris and London to vifit thofe capitals; but by a fingular devotion and attachment to his patron faint, to whom he confecrated himself and his inftrument, he declined entering into any other fervice. By the year 1728, he had made many excellent scholars, and formed a school, or method of practice, for the students on the violin, that was celebrated all over Europe, and which increased in fame to the end of his life.' The tenth chapter is on the progrefs of mufic in Germany, during the 17th century: but it affords little to engage attention. Keifer was one of the best muficians of this time; and of those compofers, whofe works our hiftorian has not feen, he does not doubt the merit. So far as harmony, contrivance, complication, and diligence could carry them, they were, he thinks, fuperior to all other muficians of their time. The author gives us the ftate of mufic in France, during the 17th century, in chapter xi. The lift of great musicians is not numerous, nor was mufic much cultivated till the time of Lulli. The French, however, had, and ftill have, a high opinion of their own mufic. • One propofition in this book (Merfenni xxxiv.) is to enquire whether the French method of finging is the best of all poffible methods? and determines in the affirmative, not only with refpect to this propofition, but affirms that of all thofe he had heard fing into neighbouring countries, as in Spain, Germany, Flanders, and Italy, he had met with tone who fung fo agreeably as the French. "There may," fays he, "be now and then a miraculous performer in other countries, but I speak here in general." None of the old French muficians is fo well known out of his own country, as Lulli. " On a recent examination, fays our author, of the operas of Luili, I am much lefs furprifed at the high favour they obtained in France, than I ufed to be; for though the recitative is difagrecable to all but the natives of that kingdom, yet the airs, chorufes, and dances, are fo eafy and natural, that it is hardly pollible for a lover of Mufic, gifted with a voice and difpofition for finging, to hear them frequently performed, without remembering them. And this accounts for what I have often heard afferted in my youth, that the audience in the parterre of a French opera-houfe, ufed to join with the performers in finging the chorufes.' The account of Lulli's band gave occafion to mention La Maupin, whofe ftory is full of extraordinary character and incident; but for this we must refer to the work. The The progrefs of church-mufic in England, after the death of Purcell, is the fubject of the twelfth chapter. The name of Jeremiah Clarke is well known to all lovers of churchmufic; but his compofitions were few, for his end, in confequence of a difappointment in love, was untimely. The following circumftances relating to it are fingular and worth tranfcribing. Being at the houfe of a friend in the country, he found himfelf fo miferable, that he fuddenly determined to return to London; his friend obferving in his behaviour great marks of dejection, furnished him with a horfe, and a fervant to attend him. In his way to town, a fit of melancholy and defpair having feized him, he alighted, and giving his horfe to the fervant, went into a field, in the corner of which there was a pond furrounded with trees, which pointed out to his choice two ways of getting rid of life; but not being more inclined to the one than the other, he left it to the determination of chance; and taking a piece of money out of his pocket, and toffing it in the air, determined to abide by its decifion; but the money falling on its edge in the clay, feemed to prohibit both these means of deftruction His mind was too much difordered to receive comfort or take advantage of this delay; he therefore mounted his horfe and rode to London, determined to find fome other means of getting rid of life. And in July 1707, not many weeks after his return, he shot himself in his own house in St. Paul's church-yard.' The belt of Clarke's anthems is, I will love thee,' which Dr. Burney has omitted to notice, in the lift of his compoGtions. To the account of Dr. Creighton we would add, that his canon, I will arife,' one of the most pleafing compofitions of this clafs, is done with good effect as an anthem, and is perhaps, the only thing of this compofer's worth preserving. William Tucker fcarcely deferved mentioning; but fince our author and Mr. Mafon both agree that in his anthem, ' O give thanks, every "fyllable has its juft length," we would requeft them to look at the point, and call upon his name:" they must then retract their commendation. Every one has heard of Dr. Aldrich; but we do not think, him deferving of much praife as a musician, except in adapting English words to Latin motets, in which he was remark ably fuccefsful. The movement of cariffime neque defcendet, better known by the English words, for he hath delivered' in the anthem, I am well pleafed,' is one of the finest inftances of melody and harmony, to be found in the old writers. The original motet, with a great many others, in Dr. Aldrich's own beautiful writing, was in the poffeffion of the |