Part 21 (1/2)

In the end, it cannot be denied that the spirit of German music practically obliterated it, and, while acknowledging the independence of thought that Bennett's music often displays, and which one likes to think may be owing to his Cambridge days, it must be admitted that its similarity in style to that of, above all, Mendelssohn's, detracts from the value that it would otherwise possess.

He remained at the Academy for several years, during which he wrote, among other things of note, two or three pianoforte concertos, the most popular, although not the best, being the one in F. It is related that one of its movements, which attained great popularity, was composed one afternoon when the other students were absent on a holiday excursion.

Their delight when, on their return they heard The Barcarole, as it was called, was so great that, as the late Dr. Steggall, for many years Organist of Lincoln's Inn Chapel told me, they carried him in triumph round the concert-room on their shoulders. In 1836 he went to Leipzig to continue his studies, and there came under the immediate influence of Schumann and Mendelssohn.

That his abilities met with sincere appreciation is shown by the eulogistic way in which the former wrote of him in a musical journal he edited.

That Bennett's stay in Leipzig was a successful and even delightful experience, there is no room to doubt; it is, though, open to question whether it did not, to some extent, denationalize him as a musician. Men of his temperament and genius, are peculiarly open to exterior impressions, and going at an age of mental expansion and enthusiasm, everything that happened seems only natural. Blind ourselves, as one willingly would, the fact must be admitted that the German impress remained indelibly stamped on him during his whole life-time. It must in justice be remembered that when he was removed from Cambridge, at the age of ten, all essentially English thought, so far as music is concerned, became as a thing of the past.

He returned to England to remain permanently, after a second visit to Leipzig, in 1842. He was appointed a Professor of Music at the Royal Academy of Music about this time, and was a.s.sociated with that inst.i.tution, where his memory is held in just veneration, until he died in 1875.

His work there, in conjunction with composition, became the main occupation of his life. His energies were not, however, wholly confined to it.

He was a pianist of the first order. Indeed, I was told, many years ago by a celebrated pianoforte teacher, that his technique, in exact.i.tude, compared favourably even with that of Mendelssohn himself.

Soon after his final settling in London, he commenced a series of chamber concerts, and continued to present the cla.s.sical masterpieces of this form of music for about twelve years. It was his enthusiasm alone that accounts for this fact, not public support, for that, he may be said never to have received, to any appreciable extent.

His style was, perhaps, too refined and his tastes too rigidly cla.s.sical.

In this respect he was, if one may be permitted to say so, somewhat narrow in his outlook. For instance, he could not tolerate Chopin's music, and, as one of them told me, would not permit his pupils to play it in his presence.

He was of a retiring disposition, and the arts of public advertising were as objectionable to him, as they appear to be acceptable to many performers to-day. Again, the rivalry of eminent foreign musicians and the conspicuous patronage they received in high quarters, which naturally aroused public interest in them, militated against his success, and so, feeling that the conditions were unequal, he withdrew from the arena. He was especially great as a player of Bach's music, to which he was intensely attached, and it may be at once admitted that he was entirely lacking in that emotional temperament, which seems to appeal so strongly to the feminine atmosphere that so frequently pervades the public concert-room.

He was essentially a player who most appealed to musicians. His personality must have been a fascinating one, for he aroused even pa.s.sionate attachment in many of his pupils, and it has often been a source of interest to hear grey-headed men talk of his memory in the language of a lover.

His pianoforte music contains much that is both beautiful and original in style, the lovely sketches, ”Lake,” ”Millstream” and ”Fountain,”

being the best known and most popular.

The more important chamber compositions include a sestet for piano and strings, a trio, and a sonata for violincello and piano. In 1855, he produced his cantata, ”May Queen,” at the Leeds Festival, with great success. It contains much delightful music, and, like other of his works, the comparative neglect into which it has fallen, seems perfectly extraordinary. Nine years were to elapse before his great work, ”The Woman of Samaria,” was to appear at the Birmingham Festival.

If it created no great sensation at the time, that may be accounted for by the fact that he studiously avoided sensational effects. It is, however, characterised by n.o.bility of thought, religious feeling, and perfect grace of expression. Although seldom performed as a whole, the touching quartet, ”G.o.d is a Spirit,” is in general use, and remains a model of beauty and simplicity.

This work, together with his overtures--especially the ”Naiades” and ”Paradise and the Peri”--and his pianoforte concertos in F and D minor, are the chief compositions on which his fame will princ.i.p.ally rest.

Sterndale Bennett founded the Bach Society in 1849. His extraordinary enthusiasm for the works of the great master was a leading characteristic of his life, and was doubtless stimulated by Mendelssohn during his Leipzig days.

He was appointed conductor of the Philharmonic Society in 1856, and Princ.i.p.al of the Royal Academy of Music in 1866.

He was elected to the chair of music of Cambridge University in 1856, and was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1871.

It is difficult as yet to a.s.sign Sterndale Bennett's definite place in the history of music.

His genius, if not of the order that sways mult.i.tudes, was undoubted, and he seems to form, together with Samuel Sebastian Wesley, the connecting link between Henry Purcell and Sir Edward Elgar.

SIMS REEVES

Birth--His precocity--His musicianly attributes--His protest against the ”high pitch”--Sims Reeves in opera--a.s.sociation with Macready--Reeves in Italy--Triumphs in that country--First appearance in oratorio--Doubts expressed as to his probable success--Scene of enthusiasm after ”Sound an alarm”--The greatest interpreter of Handel--His idiosyncrasies--His high standard of art.

John Sims Reeves, one of the greatest tenor singers of whom the world has any record, was born in Kent on October 21st, 1822. His genius as a child was early evident. At an age when the average boy is found playing cricket on the village green, as should be, this one was playing the organ at a village church near by.